"Flare... what did you just do?"

"Huh? What do you mean? I just defeated the monster."

"That's not what I meant. That was a B-rank monster, right? Until now, you and I have never been able to defeat a B-rank monster on our own. So, how did we beat it so easily this time?"

Flare tilted her head, trying to understand my point.

"Oh, you're right. Now that you mention it, that is strange. But for some reason, I never felt like I could lose."

Hearing her answer sparked a question in my mind. The answer to this question could be painful and make me feel guilty towards her, but now that I've thought of it, I can't help but ask.

"Could it be... that I was just too inexperienced as a puppeteer before?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you didn't have consciousness, I was controlling your body with my puppeteer skill, Magic Thread Manipulation, to make you fight, right? I was thinking that maybe I wasn't able to bring out your full potential."

"That's not true!"

Flare loudly rejected my thought.

"Whenever I fought under your direction, I always felt it. I felt that Ike was always so careful, always treating me with such care. Even when there were moments where I could've hurt myself to deal more damage to the enemy, Ike would never choose that option."

"Flare..."

Her strong words made my chest fill with warmth.

"Ike always fought with my safety as the top priority. That's why I could give it my all no matter what. No, I was definitely fighting beyond my full potential! There's no way I was weaker because of you!"

I'd been criticized constantly by others. They said it was pointless to protect something as insignificant as a puppet. But Flare praised me for it, from the bottom of her heart.

I couldn't ask for more.

"Thank you, Flare."

"You're welcome! ...Wait, what were we talking about again?"

"Haha, we were talking about how you seem stronger than usual."

"Oh! You laughed, Ike~"

Now that the atmosphere had lightened, we returned to the conversation.

"Well, since I started moving on my own, my body's been feeling really good."

"Feeling good?"

Flare nodded firmly.

"Yeah! It's like my source of power has doubled. It feels like the energy I used to get from you is now welling up from inside me as well!"

"Your source of power has doubled... could it be!"

To test the possibility that came to mind, I activated one of my skills.

"Mana Supply."

This is a skill that allows a puppeteer to supply their puppet with the mana needed for them to function. Normally, a certain amount is supplied without even thinking about it, but this time, I consciously sent more mana to Flare than usual for an experiment.

Then...

"Huh? It feels like it increased again. But is this from the extra energy Ike sent me?"

Seeing her reaction, I became certain.

"I've figured it out. Flare, you're generating mana within your own body now."

"Mana...?"

"Yes, that's right."

Normally, a puppet can only move using the mana supplied by the puppeteer. Of course, they can't generate mana on their own.

But Flare is different.

It's only speculation, but it seems Flare hasn't just gained consciousness—her body may have evolved to resemble a human's, enabling her to generate mana internally.

As a result, Flare can now rely on two power sources: the mana I supply her with and the mana generated within her own body.

...And that's not all. Simply having more mana wouldn't explain such a significant increase in combat ability. Judging by how much she has improved, her body must have adapted to output twice as much mana, which would explain how she was able to overwhelm the High Orc.

I shared this theory with Flare.

"Does that mean... I've become twice as strong?"

"Well, yeah, pretty much."

"I see! That makes sense; I do feel that strong! You're amazing, Ike, figuring it out so easily!"

She summed up this miraculous development so simply, but she wasn't wrong. This gave me hope.

Maybe we really could return to the surface, even from the fifth floor.

"Alright."

I steeled my resolve. The longer we waited, the more our strength would be drained. We needed to act fast.

"Flare."

With a serious expression, I turned to her.

"We're going to aim for the surface now. We'll avoid fighting as much as possible, but we'll likely have to battle several more monsters. When that happens, will you lend me your strength?"

Flare closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled confidently.

"Of course, Ike. Let's make it back together!"

Filled with determination, we clasped hands. Even in the depths of the fifth floor of the Septem Labyrinth, a place teeming with monsters more powerful than anything we'd faced, I felt no fear as long as I was with her.