7 PM, Inn.
After searching all afternoon with no results, it was as if the Puppet had completely vanished from this world, leaving no trace behind.
Exhausted from the lack of magical energy, Hilxi returned to the inn.
Since Jiai and Naersha were with Votait-san, her presence was not needed.
“Welcome back, Miss. You look really tired,” greeted the inn staff.
“Yes, I just want to have a good sleep now.” After responding politely, Hilxi dragged her weary body upstairs to her room.
She casually closed the door, hung her black coat on the rack, then eagerly rolled onto the bed, exhaling a heavy breath.
I’m completely exhausted.
Reaching out, she pulled the blanket over herself and lay flat on her back, arms and legs spread wide, her eyes drifting aimlessly on the ceiling.
That Puppet… why did it disappear?
From Jiai, she had learned that Puppets were a type of magical creature or demon race, formed from prolonged exposure to areas rich in magic, leading to unknown mutations.
These mutated Puppets were called—Demonic Puppets.
There were three known abilities of Demonic Puppets. The first was that through touch, they could gradually Puppetize a person. The Puppetization process took about 2 to 8 hours, depending on individual constitution.
The second was Teleportation. Yes, the Puppet vanished because it Teleported from one place to another, though the range of this ability was currently unknown.
The third, which Hilxi hadn’t witnessed, was the Puppetman. Demonic Puppets could create Puppets as tall as humans, controlling their speech, movements, and even attacks.
After reviewing all the information about Demonic Puppets in her mind, Hilxi suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head.
What kind of demons and monsters are these… If only I hadn’t gotten involved.
Now that I want out, I can’t.
The Association won’t just let go of such a useful tool like me…
Hilxi, helpless, banged her head lightly against the bedboard, then closed her eyes in defeat.
Soon, her weary body welcomed sleep, and she gradually drifted into dreams.
But she was destined not to sleep until dawn. The stove, forgotten and unlit, sat lonely and idle, radiating a cold chill.
11 PM.
Outside, the moon was hidden behind thick dark clouds.
From time to time, a howling cold wind swept through the streets, causing scattered newspapers to flutter wildly.
Whoooosh—
The curtains swayed, cold wind poured into the room, making the already chilly space even more unwelcoming.
This made a certain girl pull her feet under the blanket, trying to escape the cold.
But reality was cruel.
The supposedly warm blanket offered no warmth at all. Hilxi’s eyelashes trembled, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
She had dreamed of wearing a dress and dancing ballet at the North Pole—such an excruciatingly chilly feeling… but she was awake now, so why was it still so cold?
She sat up and saw the fluttering curtains and the creaking window swinging in the wind. The cold air was coming in through there.
“Did I forget to close the window? And the stove isn’t even on?” Hilxi curled up on the bed, her hands and feet turning cold.
Getting out of bed was too troublesome. Better just use magic to close the window.
Thinking this, she summoned her Magic Wand and checked her magical energy. It had already recovered more than half.
With a loud clatter, she successfully closed the window with magic, then turned to light the stove.
After doing this, she put away her Magic Wand, straightened the blanket with satisfaction, and prepared to sleep again.
“Huh? Why is the blanket so narrow?”
Feeling like it didn’t wrap her properly, Hilxi reluctantly pulled back the blanket and saw a black-haired Puppet staring at her.
“……”
Hilxi calmly covered herself again, sighed, and shook her head:
“I was so tired today I must be hallucinating…”
She lay back down, closed her eyes, intending to return to her dream at the North Pole.
But then, she suddenly realized something. Her body stiffened, and her pupils trembled like an earthquake.
What did I just see?
What was that?
Without hesitation, Hilxi tried to turn and put distance between them to summon her Magic Wand, but just one second before she could move, something cold pressed against her stomach.
A chill unlike normal air, giving an intense sense of deadly danger!
A knife? A dagger? Some kind of sharp weapon flashed through Hilxi’s mind.
“Don’t… move.”
A harsh, unpleasant voice with a muffled tone came from beneath the blanket.
“Calm down, don’t act rashly…” Hilxi said instinctively, then froze for two seconds.
The Demonic Puppet can talk!?
It’s intelligent?
Makes sense—it’s the middle of the night, and it’s here trying to stab me, a Prophet… bad.
“Y-you, why, do, you want, to stop me?”
Feeling the cold touch on her abdomen, Hilxi was flustered. After hesitating a moment, she forced out a smile:
“Because… helping others is the right thing to do…”
“Helping… others?” The Puppet’s tone turned puzzled but quickly caught on: “Then, can you help me, destroy humans?”
You’re not human… why would I help you?
Though tempting fate, Hilxi still asked:
“Why do you want to be hostile to humans?”
The moment she finished speaking, she tensed her stomach, prepared to endure a stab and counterattack, screaming to wake Saya-san and Monica-san next door to help deal with the Puppet.
But the blade didn’t stab down.
“Humans are bad! They throw me away carelessly, so I want to throw them away too!” The Puppet’s tone was angry.
Ah… that’s it?
Is that really your reason? So impulsive… I’m about to get stabbed over something so childish… Hilxi sighed heavily.
“You don’t like being thrown away, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must hate people who throw things away, right?”
“Yes, exactly. Those people deserve to die!”
“But aren’t you exactly the kind of person you hate? You’ve become what you despise…”
“…No, I’m not human.” The Puppet was silent for a few seconds before replying.
“Then let me say it another way: you’ve become the very existence you despise!”
You can’t say you’re fake, right? This isn’t a dream… Hilxi thought bitterly.
Then she pondered a strategy. The situation was very bad—completely against her.
If the Puppet developed murderous intent, she was half done for. She had to find a way to seize the initiative.
The Puppet fell silent.
Hilxi wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt like it was contemplating its life. It was strange to think a Puppet could have a life.
Suddenly, a whim made her smile.
“You’ve made so many mistakes. Even if I could forgive you, the Magic Unification Association would never forgive you. And you don’t think humans are weak, do you? You’re dead wrong. I’m just a fragile Apprentice Witch, but above me are powerful Witches! The Ashen Witch, the White Witch, the Grey-White Witch, and so on—any one of them could easily subdue you. It’s a pity you’re too weak and not worth the Witches’ attention, otherwise this would have ended long ago.”
The Puppet remained silent. If Hilxi hadn’t felt the cold blade still pressed against her, she might have thought the Puppet had Teleported away.
She continued: “You don’t like being discarded, right? That’s only because you haven’t found the right person! Come with me… cough, be my Puppet. As long as you don’t harm humans, I promise I won’t abandon you!”
Seeing the Puppet still silent, Hilxi kept talking, quietly raising her voice to try waking Monica-san next door.
“Instead of meaninglessly doing what you hate every day, why not come with me? I’ll show you that even an object, even without life, can have meaning and value!”
“As the saying goes, whatever a cute girl says is right. I swear I won’t lie to you.”
“Re…ally?” The Puppet seemed moved.
Sensing the risk of this strange turn of events, Hilxi lowered her head to look at the Puppet under the blanket and spoke in a voice so gentle it gave herself goosebumps:
“Really, I won’t lie. If you want to test if I’m telling the truth, then stab yourself with your knife. I won’t resist.”
“……”
The Puppet didn’t move, just like a real Puppet.
“If you don’t regret it,” Hilxi added.
At that moment, she felt the blade leave her stomach, but she didn’t relax immediately—she didn’t know if it was giving up or preparing another strike.
After nearly four or five breaths, Hilxi finally let go.
Then she heard the Puppet’s voice.
“I… believe you. But if you dare to throw me away casually, I won’t forgive you.”
Being trusted by a Puppet was a surreal experience… Hilxi was stunned, though it felt rather nice.
Sometimes, smooth talk was quite useful…
Of course, what she said wasn’t a lie, that was beyond question.
Thinking of the promise she had just made on impulse, Hilxi finally smiled resignedly:
“I won’t betray your trust, Miss Demonic Puppet.”
With her words, the room sank into a peaceful silence.
Only the stove radiated a comforting warmth, its crackling sounds lulling one to sleep, casting a gentle yellow glow over the surrounding darkness.
And so, the crisis was smoothly resolved…
All’s well that ends well.
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