A puppeteer usually manipulates several small puppets for scouting or decoy purposes.

During battles, all they can do is distract monsters to a limited degree—a profession known for its misfortune.

That’s the common evaluation.

Every puppeteer accepted that assessment and contributed to their party by sacrificing their puppets as decoys.

But I couldn’t agree with that.

I mean, think about it.

Even though puppets have no will of their own, they are precious companions that take the form of humans.

What meaning is there in victories achieved by sacrificing them?

I was determined to fight without allowing my puppets to get hurt.

From the day I embraced that belief, I’ve devoted myself to relentless effort.

I’ve been mocked and criticized more times than I can count.

Even so, I poured my heart into treating my puppets with care, and we grew together.

And now...

Before me stands a puppet with a will—Flare.

“You really do have a will of your own, huh?”

“Yep! It’s all thanks to you, Ike!”

Flare beamed with a joyful smile.

Then, she began to talk about how she gained her will.

It was also a story about a new possibility for puppeteers.

According to Flare, puppets manipulated by puppeteers typically don’t have wills.

They move mechanically, obeying the formula embedded in their bodies and the contract with the puppeteer.

For normal puppets, that state would persist until the moment of their destruction.

But Flare was different.

Each time I treated her with care, she gradually developed a heart and a will.

And, during the recent moment when I prioritized her safety over my own life, she fully acquired her self-awareness.

Come to think of it...

Just before I lost consciousness, I heard a voice.

I’m sure it was the same voice that spoke when I was told my profession years ago.

That voice had mentioned words like “evolution” and “acquisition.”

It’s likely I awakened to a new power.

It seems natural to assume that power allowed Flare to gain self-awareness as well.

“I think I understand the situation now. Thank you, Flare.”

“You’re welcome! Hehe.”

I couldn’t help but be captivated by Flare’s adorable smile, which I had never seen before.

But I couldn’t stay relaxed forever. The situation we were in was dire, and I needed to think about our next steps.

With the collapse of the stone bridge, Flare and I had fallen to a deep place.

Depending on how far we had fallen, our course of action would change.

In other words, I needed to figure out how to get out of the dungeon.

“If only we knew what floor we’re on...”

This Great Labyrinth of Septem is said to have seven floors in total.

We had been on the third floor just moments ago.

It was almost certain that we had fallen to a deeper floor.

Ideally, we’d be on the fourth floor.

At the very least, the fifth floor.

I’ve heard that below the sixth floor, there are monsters so dangerous that even an S-rank hero party might not make it back alive.

“Hey, Ike, does that mean we just need to figure out how far we fell?”

“Exactly. I regret that I lost consciousness during the fall and couldn’t check.”

“...I remember though?”

“What, really?”

Flare nodded with a blank expression.

“Yeah, because I woke up during the fall. I was so focused on protecting you from the impact, but I still kept track of how far we fell.”

“I see...”

Apparently, I only sustained minor injuries because Flare had protected me.

Gratitude welled up in me toward her.

“Thank you, Flare. It’s because of you that I’m safe.”

“I should be the one thanking you! You saved me from that monster. But still, it makes me happy to hear you say that.”

We smiled at each other and expressed our gratitude.

“Back to the matter at hand, I think we fell about two floors. We passed one floor during the fall.”

“Which means this is the fifth floor. We’ve avoided the worst, but it’s still not a great situation...”

Even with the entire party, including Nord, it would have been challenging to conquer this floor.

The thought of breaking through it with just me and Flare seemed like a far-fetched dream.

Still, if we moved carefully and avoided combat with monsters, we might have a chance.

Just as I was sinking deep into thought—

“Ike, behind you!”

“Huh—?!”

I turned around, responding to Flare’s urgent voice.

Something brown was rushing toward me.

“Ugh!?”

Without thinking, I twisted my body and dodged it.

A fraction of a second later, the ground where I had stood was shattered with a loud crash.

Embedded in the ground was a stone axe.

When I saw the creature holding the stone axe, I couldn’t help but grimace.

With a pig-like face and a swollen, muscular body much larger than a human, this monster was way out of my league.

It was a B-rank monster—High Orc.

“A strong enemy right from the start, huh...!”

While a B-rank monster might be manageable for a party, for someone like me, a C-rank adventurer, the odds of victory were slim.

But I couldn’t run.

Without a safe place to retreat, fleeing only to encounter another monster would be disastrous.

With resolve, I braced myself to challenge the stronger foe!

“Flare, let’s go—huh?”

Just as I was about to use my usual skill, Magic Thread Manipulation: Marionette, to prepare for battle, Flare dashed past me at incredible speed.

Watching her, I realized something.

Flare could now move of her own will.

That meant she could fight on her own without me needing to use skills.

Even so, a High Orc was still a stronger opponent.

Without my support, Flare’s life could be in danger.

With that thought in mind, I prepared myself to provide backup—only to witness something unbelievable.

The High Orc barely reacted to Flare’s swift movements.

By the time the distance between them closed to less than a meter, the High Orc still hadn’t pulled its stone axe from the ground.

Flare slashed at the defenseless High Orc with her sword.

The High Orc’s thick skin, which should have protected it, was no match for Flare’s attack. Its head was cleanly severed and flew into the air.

With a sharp sound, the defeated High Orc dispersed into a cloud of magical mist.

Only the magic stone, a reward from slaying monsters, remained on the ground.

“I won, Ike!”

Flare proudly smiled at me after confirming her victory.

But I was still struggling to comprehend what I had just witnessed.

I had thought the only change in Flare was her ability to communicate through speech.

How wrong I had been.