Love from the Male Protagonist’s Harem - Chapter 18-1

Chapter 18-Points at the Mall Part 1

Translated by Snowfall77

Regarding the difference between a demon puppet and a normal puppet, the system struggled to explain it.

[……A Long, Long Time Ago, There Was A Particularly Powerful Puppet Master. She Wanted To Be Able To Make Puppets With Their Own Feelings, Who Wouldn’t Require The Emotions Of The Puppet Master.] The system paused, thinking. [She Walked Many Crooked Paths. One Of Those Crooked Paths Was Using The Soul Of A Human Or A Beast As The Material For A Puppet’s ‘Feelings.’]

Xia Ge pondered: “Is the same puppet master who successfully make a head puppet with a sense of self?”

System: [……Yes.]

Xia Ge: “Right, go on……”

[……Of Course It Ended In Failure.] The system went on: [Typically The Souls That Remain In The Human World Are Evil Spirits With An Obsession. A Puppet Fused With Such A Spirit Will Retain The Soul’s Mad Obsession, Making The Puppet Difficult To Control. By The Time The Obsession Finally Fades Away, The Puppet Has Become A Mindless Machine That Only Knows Destruction. Therefore The Puppet Master Was Forced To Abandon This Method.]

“And that demon puppet……”

[Although The Puppet Master Forwent This Method, The Method Still Spread. People Long To Possess Immortality And Puppets Could Satisfy A Little Of That Desire. Because Of This Amazing Puppet Master Who Appeared Five Hundred Years Ago, Being A Puppeteer Momentarily Became Popular On The Continent. Any Random Person Could Make Puppets……And According To The Secret Method Developed By The Puppet Master, Others Could Preserve Their Souls Within A Puppet……]

“But,” Xia Ge asked, “Wouldn’t it be an evil spirit that remained?”

[A Soul Using A Puppet As A Vessel Would Not Immediately Turn Evil. An Average Person Would Be Able To Maintain Their Clear-Headedness For Approximately Ten Years. Basically They Would Be Borrowing A Puppet Body For Ten More Years Of Life.]

[At That Time, The Common Pratice Was That After Ten Years, When Consciousness Was About To Disappear And The Puppet Become Demonic, The Soul Would Find A Great Master To Destroy The Puppet Body and Perform The Rites For The Soul To Pass Over.]

“……” Xia Ge thought for a short while, “Why don’t you ever hear of this pratice now?”

[Because The Method Is Now Forbidden.]

[Originally The Soul Should Have Reincarnated. However, If The Soul Was Housed In A Puppet For More Than Ten Years, The Soul Could Only Become Demonic. When Now Demonic Puppet Would Be Destroyed, The Frightened Spirit That Possessed It Would Fly Away And Be Scattered. If The Soul Did Not Pass Over, It Could Not Reincarnate.]

[So That Is Why It Was Classified As A Forbidden Pratice.]

[But Of Course There Are Still All Kinds Of Demon Puppets and Yimei……There Will Always Be Desperate People Taking Risks.]

Xia Ge gently poked the tiny puppet in her hand. In any world, people would inevitably find personal justifications for breaking taboos.

Whether noble or lowly. And Xia Ge herself was no different.

“Can this puppet talk?” Xia Ge asked abruptly.

[……It Will Not.] The system explained: [Small Puppets Such As This One Are Generally Used For Exploring, Eavesdropping, Or Assassination.]

“She won’t grow up?” Xia Ge found that somewhat a pity.

[If You Want, You Can Turn Her Into Your ‘Leader’ Puppet. However, Even Low-Level Puppeteers Can Make And Master Many Of These Types Of Puppets. Because They Are So Small And Weak, They Can’t Mount A Serious Counterattack.]

“If this puppet was destroyed, I would be very sad,” Xia Ge said sincerely after checking in with her conscience.

System: [……It Would Truly Bother You……]

“Ai, it is what it is, this puppet has been made. Now, how does a puppet master upgrade?” Xia Ge grinned, “The main task of a puppet apprentice was to collect the 5 materials to make a Liuli puppet. So what’s the upgrading task for a puppet master?”

System: [Capture The ‘Zhen’ Soul.]

Xia Ge was a little taken aback: “Zhen soul? What the hell?”

[It Is A Type Of Yimei.] The system told Xia Ge: [A Yimei Called ‘Zhen Hun.’ It Can Suppress All Kinds Of Demonic Essence, While Leaving Souls Uninjured.]

Well, that sounded incredibly awesome.

Xia Ge: “Where is it again?”

System: [I Don’t Know.]

Xia Ge: “……”

The system hypocritically sprinkled flowers: [Cheer Up, Host! You Are Already A Puppet Master! Renew Your Efforts! This New Task Is Simple; So Long As You Capture The Zhen Hun And Subdue It, You Will Be To Fly Up To Heaven! It Truly Is Very Simple!]

Xia Ge: “……you sound like an encouraging official game slogan…..but somehow I don’t feel the slightest motivated.”

(And I don’t think it’s as simple as you claim.)

[Yes, Very Good. Host, Be Hopeful! Let’s Look At Your Upgrade Rewards!] Full of insincerity, the system changed the subject: [Many Great Rewards Are Available For You To Choose From!]

Inwardly, Xia Ge was contemptuous of the system’s obvious ploy to distract. Though on the surface she pretended cooperation—-

Xia Ge: “Reward, huh……can you make a 10 billion fortune fall from the sky?

System: [……]

Xia Ge: “Oh…if you can’t, just shut the fuck up. Thank you.”

The system suffered deep hatred and resentment: [Would It Kill You To Show Some Promise?! What Is 10 Billion?! Flying Over Eaves And Running On Walls Is Not Inferior To 10 Billion. ‘Give A Man A Fish And You Feed Him For A Day; Teach A Man To Fish And You Feed Him For A Lifetime.’ Don’t You Understand This Simple Principle?]

Xia Ge assumed a ‘nothing left to live for’ expression: “I’m not asking to be first under heaven, I’m just asking for some money. Am I wrong for wanting to get rich quick?”

System: [……]