F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!!-Chapter 189: An Important Battle
"Finally, we’re here..." I murmur as Eve, Syl’Vyr, and Faye approach me along with Clarissa, who also came. We’ve reached the battlefield, and I see a massive army standing by, waiting.
In the distance, I can also see a strange pillar of gold and blue stretching from the ground to the sky. That must be the so-called [Bridge] we need to secure.
"Evelyn-chan, can we talk?" Syl’Vyr says, coming closer.
"Sure, I—"
"Evelyn, come. We don’t have time for this," Lucien says, glancing briefly at me before walking toward a large dark-green tent bearing a sword crest—the command tent.
"...Sorry, Syl’Vyr. We’ll talk later. Go with Eve and Faye and get the standard puppets ready. I want them operational in two hours!! And Clarissa, prepare something sweet for me to eat!" I say quickly before running to the tent where Laplace and Lucien are waiting.
"This is the map of the region," he says, showing it as I approach. The surrounding area is dense forest, while the [Bridge] is on a plain—an advantage for the angels since they can all fly and attack from above.
"We need to be quick, before the [Bridge]’s security strengthens too much. If they start sending troops en masse, we’ll lose our chance to take the place. That’s why we should attack as early as tomorrow," Lucien is brisk and sharp with his words.
"..." I stare at the map for a second.
’Hey, this plain...’ I pull out one of Esther’s stored books. The two watch me as I search for something inside.
"Lucien, look." I show him a map. Beneath the plain lies a complex tunnel system. Esther discovered it five years ago; she once used this place to train soldiers.
"Oh... this is useful." He tries to take the book, but on impulse I pull it back, hugging it to my chest. It’s one of the few things I have left of Esther.
"..."
"I-I won’t give it to you, it’s mine... I-I can draw the map for you, but I won’t give up my book," I defend what’s mine. He lets out a low grunt.
"Be quick about it. Also, Laplace, what will you do with the troops?" Lucien asks, knowing that if Laplace gives wrong orders, it’ll mess up his plans.
"I’ll divide them into three groups... send them along the flanks and from behind... and encircle them..." Laplace’s plan fits perfectly with Lucien’s frontline assault style.
"...At least you know how to do your job," Lucien says with disgust in his voice as he marks some arrows on the map.
"I’ll attack from here with my troops. And you, Evelyn?" Lucien asks.
"I-I’m not strong... I’ll stay here and u-use the corpses to make more puppets... a-and I’ll handle the medical side, tending to the wounded..." Even if it feels strange to do this, I want to help somehow and earn recognition.
"...That... is actually pretty good. We really do need someone to lead and manage the wounded. After all, injured soldiers can still return to battle once they recover..." Lucien places some kind of totem on the table. It’s shaped like a black cross with a red jewel embedded in it.
"Here, take this, Evelyn. It has a high-level barrier spell. If the wounded area is ambushed, just activate it and hold out until reinforcements arrive." He tosses it to me and I catch it, storing both it and the book in my storage ring.
"O-Okay... a-and I’ll use my 10,000 support troops... I-I’ll send some of them to bring the wounded to this safer area and deal with any remaining enemies."
"Good... I’ll send 10,000 troops underground. I need maps of these tunnels in at most two hours. We have to be fast... Also, Evelyn, no crying. I hate people who cry near me, just like you used to in childhood," he says, referring to the original Evelyn.
"I-I won’t cry..." If I’m going to cry, it’ll be alone at night in some corner where no one can hear, not in front of everyone.
"...Here’s your communicator. It has two functions: the first is a loudspeaker to address all your troops, and the second is to communicate with me or Laplace." He hands me a small sword-shaped crest while placing one on his own uniform chest.
Laplace also takes one and tries to put it on her chest, but her massively large breasts get in the way as she fumbles. Lucien facepalms when she drops the item on the floor.
"Lucien, about how long will this last?" I ask curiously. Depending on the time, things could get difficult.
"Three months at most. We either lose or win. But supplies only last two months, meaning we have just one month of stability. So we have to be quick. After all, this is an emergency mission, not one meant to prepare for a long war over the [Bridge]. We have to be fast."
"I see... a-after this, we’ll return to the castle, right?"
"...Yes," he confirms.
"Once we finish here, the angels will be forced to retreat if we win. That means the war will pause, and all us throne candidates will return to the castle," he says something good. I’ll be able to see Esther again and try to fix everything.
"Great..." We continue discussing the preparations more calmly. Laplace hardly participates, but at least she listens carefully and answers when asked.
...
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...
"Syl’Vyr, what’s wrong?" Faye asks, seeing me stare at the army ahead of us—the great army that will soon march into battle.
"Nothing, Faye... I’m just overthinking things..." I say, watching them with my tail drooping. Faye sits beside me and also observes the army.
"I feel strange about all this..." she says, and I agree with her. I also feel strange about everything—this war, the changes happening.
"Haaa... Faye, what do you think about how things have been lately?" I ask, seriously considering something.
"Well... they’re normal?" she says without really understanding. Having been born more recently, she doesn’t grasp the dynamic we had in the past.
"I wish you’d been with us when we were adventurers... It was a happier time..."
"Evelyn was much more excited, spontaneous, and fun... She thought more positively about life and really made decisions with all of us in mind... Now..."
"Now everything is about war, or making Esther proud... I feel like I’m losing the friend I had..."
"Or maybe it was never like that?" Faye says, fluttering her wings.
"What do you mean?"
"Isn’t Evelyn just treating us like the puppets we are?" she says something I hadn’t considered.
"..."
"That’s... not really it... We’re still all friends. She’s just changed a little... Besides, that’s not what I meant when I said I agreed things feel strange." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
"It’s like... something deeper, you know?"
"Hmm, I think I get it! I’ve also been feeling kinda weird being near Lyn or far from her. Do you think Eve feels it too?" Her curiosity makes me think of Eve.
"No... Eve wouldn’t understand... She was created first, being the oldest and with the most memories of Evelyn. She knows her on a level we never will."
Whenever one of us is created, we never know the same Evelyn. I don’t know the Evelyn that Eve knows. Eve always talks about how Evelyn was before. And Faye doesn’t know the Evelyn I knew—that adventurous Evelyn.
And in the future, when Evelyn creates another puppet, that puppet probably won’t know the Evelyn that Faye knows, and so on. The more Evelyn changes, the more different she’ll be to each of us.
"I like you, Syl’Vyr, so that’s what matters, right?" she says, giving me a hug. We’ve been growing closer recently.
"I guess so... Maybe I’m just thinking more than I should... I wasn’t created to be a genius or anything..." I say, stopping overthinking things and calming down.
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...
"Marie, you look so cute pretending to be asleep," I say to Marie, who’s covered by a sheet. She opens her eyes, and I see her flushed face.
"G-Grace... t-that was... really intense," she murmurs as I see bite marks scattered all over her little body. She got all cute and trembly after a few hours.
"You really let loose during sex. I didn’t know you could say all those cute things," when I say this, her mouth opens and closes like she wants to say something but can’t find the words.
"...D-Don’t tease me," she finally just says that as I get up, leaving the sheet. I stretch my arms up, leaning my whole body in a stretch off the bed.
"..." She stares at me anxiously as I think of what to say.
"You really are the best girl," when I say this, she gives a satisfied smile, finally truly sated since I proved to her she’s the best girl I’ve ever been with.
"Normally, I’d never do this for anyone else, but... here." She sits up in bed, pulling the sheet to cover her lower body. I see the little bite marks on her cute, small breasts. They’re small but still nice.
"A rose?" She creates a rose. I take it without understanding until I realize it’s her blessing—the blessing she hardly ever uses on trivial things because of her past.
"..." I smell the rose. It has a wonderful floral scent.
"Thanks for the gift," I say as I grab my clothes and start dressing.
"A-Are you leaving already?" she asks uneasily.
"...Yes. You have to command this side of the war, and like I said before, if I’m seen here, it could cause problems. I’m going back to the castle. I’ve been discovering lots of interesting things looking through the castle’s books and secret places," when I say this, she stares at me for a few seconds.
"Second door to the right, go down three floors, in front of the statue on the upper sixth level starting from my bedroom door..." she just says that and covers herself completely again.
’Oh, another secret spot?’
"Thank you..."
"Get out!! I want to change!!! You pervert!" She goes all tsun-tsun defensive again. I sigh, finish dressing, and take the rose with me.
"Have a good day, Marie. See you soon, love," I say flirtatiously as I leave the tent, ready to return to the castle and see what’s in that secret passage.
