The Puppeteer

“Um... who exactly are you?”

I couldn’t feel even a trace of a presence from this girl. However, upon closer inspection, I could just barely perceive a faint flicker of something.

Is she hiding it on purpose, unlike that rabbit doll? Or is her presence just naturally thin?

Meanwhile, Ram’s jaw was still working away.

“Lu... Luna’s doll...” the girl whimpered.

“You mean this, mee? It didn’t taste very good, so you can have it back, mee.”

With a wet ptui, Ram spat the Rabbit Doll out of her mouth.

Luna’s face turned deathly pale as she stared at the doll. It was slick with slime, barely maintaining its original shape.

However, Gale looked even worse. His face was practically translucent.

“U-Um, if you’ll excuse me, I shall take my leave—”

Despite being bound, he tried to scramble away. It was a futile effort; he ended up simply flopping on the ground like a landed shrimp.

“I won’t forgive you,” Luna whispered. “Hurting Luna’s doll... I won’t forgive you.”

Though she had felt almost empty a moment ago, her presence suddenly swelled to a suffocating degree.

“I won’t forgive you... I won’t forgive you... I won’t forgive you...”

Her Magic Power began to bleed out of her, manifesting as a murky, pitch-black aura. The sheer intensity of the pressure forced me to take an involuntary step back.

On the other hand, Ram—the source of all this—remained entirely unbothered.

“Can I eat that Black Haze?”

“Are you kidding? You really shouldn’t provoke her any further!”

As usual, she was operating entirely at her own pace.

“The person who hurts Luna’s doll... I will absolutely never forgive them!!”

The Black Haze erupting from Luna swirled into a single point, gradually expanding and distorting until it took the form of a massive doll. It was a round object covered in black fur—essentially a sphere with four stubby appendages that barely qualified as legs. Based on the ears at the top and the round eyes and mouth, I assumed it was supposed to be a cat.

It was a titan of a creature, so massive I had to crane my neck to see the top of it. It was even slightly larger than Ram.

“All-you-can-eat?” Ram asked, her eyes sparkling.

“Why is eating the first thing that comes to your mind?!”

“Go, Mr. Cat! Defeat the bad Demon!” Luna cried.

“Naa—!!”

The cat-like thing began to move, its tiny legs carrying it forward with slow, deliberate steps. Its cry didn't sound particularly feline; it had the faint silhouette of a cat, but it was far more accurate to call it a Monster.

Come to think of it, since she’s a Puppeteer, this Pseudo-cat must also be a doll. If there’s such a thing as a Pseudo-sheep, maybe a real version of this thing exists somewhere too...

The Giant Cat Doll suddenly accelerated, body-slamming Ram with immense force. Ram grunted, barely holding her ground. A second later, she lunged back, returning the favor with a body slam of her own.

The Pseudo-cat endured the hit. The two were surprisingly well-matched.

“It’s too big. It’s hard to eat, mee!”

“Naa—!!”

The two behemoths were rampaging so violently that the surrounding area was becoming a death trap. That included the members of the Single Digits, and by extension, Luna herself.

“Naa—?!”

The Giant Cat Doll was sent flying backward, hurtling straight toward Luna and the other Single Digits.

“Fritz!” I yelled.

“On it! Leave it to me!”

Fritz scrambled to grab Gale and Lark, hauling them away from the impact zone. Meanwhile, I lunged forward, scooped Luna up into my arms, and used magic to vault into the sky, narrowly dodging the crashing Giant Cat Doll.

“Hey, Ram! Watch it! You’re going to lose your dinner privileges!”

“T-That would be a disaster, mee! I-I’ll be careful, mee!”

I barked the warning at her, and she let out a repentant bleat. Once I confirmed the immediate danger had passed, I descended back to the ground and set Luna down.

“W-Why...?” she asked.

“Why what?”

She looked up at me, her voice small and trembling with anxiety. I honestly didn't understand the point of the question.

“Luna attacked you. Why did you save me?”

“Ah... well...”

Now that she mentions it, she was the one who set that Giant Cat Doll on us.

If she wanted to know why I’d saved an enemy, I didn't have a very good answer.

“I guess my body just moved before I could think?”

I was genuinely stumped. I hadn't operated on any grand logic; it had just been a reflex.

“I... see.”

A White Haze suddenly drifted from Luna’s body. The Giant Cat Doll shrank instantly, returning to a size she could easily carry, and its fur bleached from black to a pure, snowy white.

“You aren’t Luna’s enemy,” she decided.

“I have no intention of fighting you,” I replied.

This was a girl who could freely manipulate a doll capable of matching Ram in a test of strength. Moreover, she felt like she was still holding a significant amount of power in reserve. Considering how genuinely terrified Gale was of her, it was clear she was the real deal—a true member of the Single Digits.

She hadn't appeared in the Original Game, but the game had only ever introduced the first, second, fourth, and seventh members of the elite. Thinking pragmatically, no empire would ever deploy its entire top-tier force against a single target. She likely just hadn't been assigned to deal with the protagonists in the original timeline.

I wasn't such a battle-junkie that I’d go out of my way to fight someone this dangerous.

“The only enemy is that sheep,” Luna said, pointing a finger.

“Got it. I’ll boil her later.”

“W-Wait, mee?! Why are you deciding to eat me on your own, mee?!”

The startled Ram shrank back into her small form and tried to scramble onto my head. I immediately swiped her off and dangled her by the scruff of her neck.

“She’s my Emergency Food, but I suppose it can’t be helped. It’s a small price to pay if it saves me from using up my other ingredients.”

“Hold on a minute, mee! I’m just now hearing about this Emergency Food thing, mee!”

“Mmm... roasted sheep...” Luna murmured.

“That’s a good choice too. Right, then.”

“It is not ‘right,’ mee! You don’t need to start a Fire, mee!”

“...A shame,” Luna whispered, sounding genuinely disappointed.

However, the murderous rage from earlier had completely vanished from her expression. Feeling a bit more at ease, I picked up the Rabbit Doll Ram had been gnawing on. I used Water Magic to wash away the grime and slime, then followed up with Fire Magic to dry the fur.

“There. Is it clean now?”

“T-Thank you...”

Luna nodded happily, offering her thanks in a tiny voice.

“Sorry about my Ram—I mean, my Emergency Food. I’ll be sure to invite you the next time we have a mutton party.”

“Mm. I’m looking forward to it. Luna lives in the Empire, so please send word to the castle.”

“Understood.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t understand, mee!”

I ignored the Emergency Food’s protests.

“Also... I want to make up for this. Please come to Luna’s house.”

“Ah... you mean your house back in the Empire?”

“Yes...”

“Well, we have to head to the Beast Kingdom's Royal Capital first. So, after that—”

“I understand,” she interrupted. “In that case, I’ll come with you.”

“Eh?”

I blinked, not expecting her to suggest joining our party.

“And when your business is done, we will go to the Empire together.”

“Well... I suppose that’s fine.”

There was no downside to staying on good terms with Luna. She held a significant position as one of the Single Digits. If my plans for independence fell through, she could be a very useful contact for seeking asylum.

“Yes. It’s a promise. I’m going to give big brother a reward.”

Luna held out her pinky finger. I mirrored the gesture, hooking my finger with hers. The moment our skin touched, I felt a sharp, brief flash of Light. Luna smiled, looking incredibly pleased.

That felt less like a pinky swear and more like a binding contract.

“The number of dangerous people just doubled, mee,” Ram lamented. “My life is in constant peril, mee.”

“Don’t worry. We can’t have a party right now, so you’re safe for the time being.”

“That means we’re eventually having one, mee! I can’t relax at all, mee!”

“Setting that aside,” I said, looking over at the others, “what should we do with these guys?”

Since they officially claimed to be part of the Empire’s Single Digits, I couldn't just dump them in the middle of nowhere. I decided to let Luna handle their fate.

“...Are you coming?” she asked them.

“H-Ha! Yes! Understood!” Gale shouted, his forehead pressed firmly against the dirt in a deep kowtow.