Having left Agetha behind, I headed to the hideout in the dungeon for some rest.
I made sure that the vampire Judite wasn't using it and then entered.
"Master, what's the plan from here?"
As I sat down, the puppeteer started the conversation.
"Well…"
I nodded and zoned out.
I'm tired… I don't even want to think due to exhaustion.
"First, we need to find a way to get out of this dungeon. And we also need to think about how you can become human."
"Oh, are you really going to think of a way for me to become human?"
"Of course."
To be honest, I have no clue why the puppeteer has suddenly abandoned the idea of eating me. However, it's clear that the current situation isn't bad, and to ensure the puppeteer doesn't change its mind, I need to keep showing my willingness to cooperate.
"Do you have any idea of a way to become human other than eating humans?"
"Hmm, not really."
"I see…"
I wish there were some kind of clue, even a small one.
So, I start to think.
I've been tossed around by the parasitic sword puppeteer for a long time. Therefore, if there's any hint, I hope it can be found somewhere…
"Hey, puppeteer, you've parasitized many people before, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Could you tell me what it felt like when you did that?"
"Well, I don't mind."
Saying that, the puppeteer agreed.
"I can somewhat freely control the person I possess…"
The story the puppeteer told was similar to when it possessed me in a different timeline.
However, there was a specific reason I had the puppeteer explain it.
"So, when you kill monsters, you grow in size, and the level of influence on the possessed person increases, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Does that mean it's impossible to interpret that the more monsters you kill, the closer you get to becoming human?"
In a different timeline, when the puppeteer possessed me, I have memories of it growing in size each time I killed a monster, and eventually, I was consumed by the puppeteer.
So, I thought that the more monsters it kills, the closer it gets to becoming human.
"Well, it's impossible."
"Why are you so sure about that?"
I felt frustrated by the puppeteer's quick dismissal. I've been thinking about this a lot, after all.
"The more I kill monsters, the closer I get to becoming human. Killing monsters makes me bigger, enough to swallow humans."
Certainly, now that it's said out loud, it makes sense.
When I was possessed by the puppeteer, the more monsters I killed, the bigger it became, and it eventually swallowed me. But that didn't mean the puppeteer itself got closer to becoming human.
Even now, controlling the puppeteer, giving it skill points obtained from defeating monsters makes it grow larger, transitioning from a short sword to a greatsword at level 3, transforming into a large creature known as the "Ruthless Predator."
In both cases, it simply gets bigger without getting any closer to becoming human.
"In that case, should I also feed the villagers to you?"
"What do you mean by 'the villagers'?"
Asked this way, I decided to explain.
I explained how I had been persecuted by the villagers because of my silver hair and how they had killed my loved one, blaming me for the crime and subsequently banishing me to this dungeon.
"Hmm, Master, you've been through quite a lot."
"Yeah, I want revenge so badly I'd kill the villagers, so it's okay to eat them."
"I see. In that case, I'll graciously accept and eat the villagers."
"Oh, thank you."
"First, let's focus on getting out of this dungeon."
"…Right."
After repeating this conversation, I went to sleep, preparing for tomorrow.
It felt like I had finally slept well after a long time.
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The next day, I left the hideout.
My destination was the deepest part of the dungeon, the boss's room.
I had already leveled up sufficiently by defeating the Golden Living Armor. So, I should be prepared to defeat the boss.
Therefore, I headed to the room where the boss was, with the intention of escaping the dungeon.
"Wait, I thought the Parasitic Sword Puppeteer wasn't in its usual place. What on earth is the situation here?"
After defeating the mid-boss, the giant Griffin, she was standing there.
It was none other than the vampire Judite, herself.
◆