Chapter 337: Tara Denshi to the Puppeteer (2)

Chapter
337: Tara Denshi to the Puppeteer (2)

Before
waking up in Denshi’s body.

Balkan,
having subdued the Puppeteer, earned the chance to meet Celsia.

“Really,
you did it in three days…”

“I
promised I would.”

As
the matter was serious, Celsia rushed to the underground warehouse as
soon as she heard the interrogation was over, and faced Balkan and
the Puppeteer, who was kneeling with both arms raised beside him.

It
was as if a child who had been naughty in front of an adult was being
punished.

It
was hard to believe that this was the Demon of Greed who had fought a
life-or-death battle just a few days ago.

The
change wasn’t just in appearance.

“Please
accept this.”

“Huh?
What’s this…?”

“It’s
a written apology.”

“An
apology?”

“The
Puppeteer’s written apology.”

“…Wait,
Balkan. Are you saying this demon wrote an apology right now?”

“Yes.”

Celsia
blankly stared at Balkan, who calmly answered her question and handed
her the paper.

She
took the paper and examined its contents.

There,
she found crooked handwriting, as if it had been written by hand.

[=I
have no intention of apologizing for breaking the contract with the
foolish late king=]

The
first sentence was crossed out with a red pen, as if someone had
edited it.

The
moment Celsia saw the edits, she recalled the time when she was
educated as a princess by the Queen in her childhood.

Her
kind grandmother was stricter than anyone else when it came to
education, and if she got a similar problem wrong more than twice,
she would hit her calves with a switch.

‘Could
it be that the Demon of Greed also…?’

She
looked at the Puppeteer’s calves, who was still in Denshi’s body, but
there were no red marks.

Instead,
perhaps, there were clear handprints of Balkan’s large hands on her
buttocks.

[I
violated the non-aggression pact with the late king and occupied the
lawless zone, committing acts of rebellion.]

After
the butt-patting punishment, the apology, which seemed to have
accepted the edits, was written in even more crooked handwriting
under the crossed-out sentence.

To
summarize the contents very simply:

[I’m
really sorry. Can’t we just pretend this never happened? Instead,
I’ll side with the kingdom from now on.]

In
addition to unconditional surrender, she would sign a contract not to
engage in hostile acts against the kingdom.

Not
a loose non-aggression pact like the one she had with the late king,
which she could break and endure the penalties, but an absolute
contract with her life on the line.

There
was nothing bad about the content, but the phrase at the end of the
paper bothered Celsia.

[However,
the only being who can directly command the Demon of Greed is limited
to the explorer Balkan.]

“This
content…”

“She
said she couldn’t compromise on that.”

Balkan
said, shaking his head.

Celsia
tapped her chin at those words.

‘Is
she saying that she won’t acknowledge commands unless they come from
the person who directly brought her to her knees?’

A
woman’s intuition rang a strange alarm, but there was no other way.

She
wasn’t an existence that could be easily executed, and even if she
was imprisoned in any facility, the Puppeteer was a powerful being
who could easily find a way out.

But
such an existence had declared that she would live quietly under a
man.

‘There’s
no one more suitable, though…’

From
the royal family’s point of view, Balkan was a trustworthy existence.

He
was the only one in this world who had a Gluttony Demon worshiper as
a slave, a succubus worshiper in a familiar contract, killed a
Jealousy Demon worshiper, and was at odds with a Sloth worshiper.

He
even drew his sword against the Wrath and Pride Demon worshipers to
save the princess.

He
had brought the Demon of Greed to her knees and made her take a
humiliating pose with her arms raised.

In
many ways, he had great compatibility with those related to demons.

“Well,
there’s nothing more to judge. Tsk tsk…”

When
Celsia returned to the royal palace and reported what had happened in
the underground warehouse, Queen Telesd Arlonia chuckled and stroked
her chin.

Seeing
the smile on her face, Celsia asked anxiously.

“Your
Majesty. Is it really okay to entrust him with the control of the
demon? It’s a demon we barely captured.”

“That’s
a worried voice, Celsia. Are you worried that your lover will fall
for the demon’s sweet talk?”

“Th-!
Ugh, that’s not it…”

“Tsk
tsk tsk! What do you mean it’s not? Hide your blushing face and
speak.”

“Ugh…”

Queen
Telesd smiled slightly at her granddaughter’s reddened face and
smiled inwardly, thinking of the man she had seen before.

‘I
should have forced her to marry him back then…’

She
thought he was a considerable warrior back then, but she never
expected him to achieve so much in such a short time.

It
was a pleasant miscalculation in many ways.

“Leave
the matter of the Demon of Greed to him. Diana is by his side, so
there won’t be any major problems.”

“Understood.”

“Oh,
and… bring me a royal magician before you go.”

“A
royal magician?”

“Yes.”

Queen
Telesd nodded with a look of great interest.

“Ellie
Ordia… I heard she’s been researching portal magic recently?”

***

Balkan
told Denshi everything about how he came to have not only the right
to punish the Puppeteer, but also the right to control her.

“So,
the Puppeteer’s main body is now locked in the inn room… and you
used the puppet curse to make it possible for our consciousnesses to
coexist?”

“Normally,
you can be alone, but through simple words, you can accept the
Puppeteer’s consciousness and use her power whenever you want.”

In
other words, unlike before when she lost consciousness when the
Puppeteer used ‘Link’.

Both
the Puppeteer’s and Denshi’s consciousnesses coexisted, and Denshi
could choose to connect or disconnect according to her will.

It
was possible to take the Puppeteer’s main body with them, but the
Puppeteer was voluntarily locked in the room, saying that she would
accept at least some punishment.

‘Actually,
that’s just an excuse, but she just likes Denshi’s body.’

Thanks
to repeatedly entering and exiting Denshi’s body and repeating the
link, the Puppeteer had become familiar with her body enough to exert
her power in Denshi’s body.

It
was only possible for her to exert as much power in another person’s
body as she could in her own because Denshi had a high link
compatibility with the Puppeteer.

“Then,
am I not riding the Puppeteer, but the Puppeteer is riding my body?”

“The
nuance is important. The nuance. You are the one who allows the
Puppeteer’s link.”

“Hmm…”

Denshi
tapped her chin at those words.

To
put the relationship between the Puppeteer and Denshi bluntly, it was
a ‘bad relationship’.

In
any case, the Puppeteer had stolen Denshi’s first time like a thief.

“You
don’t have to use the Puppeteer’s power if you don’t want to. I won’t
abandon you for such a trivial reason, so you don’t have to worry.
I’m just letting you know that this option exists.”

“No!
No… It’s still hard to forgive the Puppeteer, but if I can use her
power, it’s right to use it. It’s just…”

Denshi
muttered in a slightly regretful voice.

“I
wanted to grow stronger to protect my master and be recognized with
dignity… It feels like I’m using a shortcut… That’s a little
bothering me.”

Kkuuuk…

Denshi
clenched her fists with a resentful expression.

A
slave who had lost her master once was determined to protect her
master and worked hard to become stronger.

But
her efforts were not enough in the face of overwhelming growth, and
she didn’t like the situation where she had to use the power of the
being who had stolen her and her master’s precious memories.

“Denshi…”

“…!
Ah, no! Don’t say anything that worries me! If I receive even an
apology after receiving this, I’ll really become an idiot!… And,
this is my determination.”

Just
as he was about to say something to her, who was drooping, Denshi
desperately shook her arms and head.

“I
won’t remain a medium for using the Puppeteer’s power. I’ll become an
arrowhead and shield that protects my master. I’ll thoroughly use and
hone the Puppeteer’s power, and one day I’ll definitely protect my
master with my own power! Let’s do it!”

Denshi
said with a determined expression.

What
else could he do for the admirable slave who was determined to
protect her master?

“You
rascal. I always believe in you.”

“Hehehe.”

Balkan
ruffled Denshi’s hair wildly.

Even
if it’s the same body, if the person’s inner self is different, the
feeling of stroking it is clearly different.

***

With
the capture of the Puppeteer, the riot in the lawless zone was
somehow settled.

The
rioters and the idiots were restored to their original state by the
Puppeteer, but she couldn’t heal the injured in the process.

“The
temple can’t accept any more injured people. The relief center is
full of injured people!”

“The
adventurers who were injured by the monsters with mana that exploded
last time are still being treated, and there are as many people
injured by the riot as there were then…”

“I
heard that a low-level adventurer who had his left arm cut off in the
labyrinth missed the healing period at the temple because there were
too many people. Unless it’s a top-level potion that only a few
people use, the supply of mid- and low-level potions can’t keep up
with the demand, so he’ll be an amputee for the rest of his life.”

There
was still noise coming from all over the labyrinth city.

“How
is Serif doing these days?”

Balkan
asked, bringing beer to Idelbert in a quiet inn.

“The
high-ranking clergy are in a busy period. They have to prepare for
the calming ritual for the labyrinth.”

He
had heard that the high-ranking clergy of the Mother Earth Church
were busy preparing for something called the calming ritual before
and after the prelude to the labyrinth’s upheaval.

‘Come
to think of it, High Priest Koolidge invited me to the calming
ritual.’

“Why,
are you curious about the calming ritual? My disciple.”

Idelbert,
who had grasped his disciple’s intentions with only his sense of
smell and presence, said, tilting his glass.

“Yes.”

“It
sounds grand, but it’s nothing special. You just go into the
labyrinth, pour out divine power, and pray. Please don’t let anything
shitty happen during the prelude—and.”

“…Does
that work?”

“It
must have worked to some extent, since the prelude hasn’t happened in
the last 10 years. I don’t know what will happen this time. More than
that, take this.”

Idelbert,
shrugging his shoulders, looked around for a moment and handed
something over.

A
golden badge shining with golden light.

It
was not just a simple golden badge.

A
badge proving the status of a high-level adventurer.

“You’ve
accomplished things, and you should go to a higher place, regardless
of merit or anything else.”

“……!”

Balkan
held up the golden badge as if possessed.

High-level
adventurer.

The
warrior who had reached level 50 was worthy of that shining
recognition.

“My
disciple… no, High-level Adventurer Balkan.”

And
the fact that he had become a high-level adventurer meant that he had
become an existence that went down to a deeper level.

“A
designated request has come for you.”

The
fact that it was not just a simple designated request could be felt
enough by the fact that the person who informed him of the request
was the head of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“…Who
requested the request?”

At
that question, Idelbert raised his finger and pointed to the sky.

Balkan
understood the meaning and held back a hollow laugh.

…It
was a request directly made by the royal family.