"We did it, Alice! We did it!" I screamed, but no voice cheered me right after.
I turned around and spotted Alice cradling like a baby. Alice can't move a muscle. She let her body become vulnerable on the ground, falling like a stick to the soil. Snores coming from her mouth resounded with the wind whistling in the air.
"She's still a young teenager, after all," I remarked, and laid my back beside hers.
My eyes glued themselves to Alice's figure, still sleeping in a fetal position. I did not want to wake her up, so I let her do what she wanted.
Alice's eyes almost sparkled in front of me as the ray of sunshine bathed her face. Every breath she made calmed my nerves, despite not having any human organs inside my body. If I had a heart, I knew organ would melt as soon as I met Alice's face.
"I will never leave your side, Alice. I will always be here for you."
My hands winced with excitement as I got alone time with Alice once again. I never dared to move from my place and waited for Alice to wake up from her tranquil dream.
.....
"Gah!"
A violent scream came out from Alice as she jolted out from the grass. The frightened girl stared at me for a brief second before averting her gaze.
"How long have you been watching me sleep? And why would you do such a thing?!" she asked. Her voice became even louder than before.
"Believe me. If we switch places, you'll do the same thing as I did."
"Fumu~! Pervert! Even though you're a puppet, you have that lecherous gleam on your face!"
My smile curved downwards as she spotted my beam. "No, no, I wasn't smiling that pervertedly!"
I tried reasoning with the girl, but Alice stood up from the soil and walked away from me. That girl was not mad at me. She just felt flustered about what happened... I think.
The hobgoblin that I fought with still had his corpse in front of me. And it made me wonder why the rest of his army had already turned into smithereens. I had been waiting for the hobgoblin's body to disappear so it could give me something.
Monsters in this world could reward anyone who defeated them. Just like the dracogre, the bat gave us a voice box attached inside of me. The same concept applied to hobgoblins.
However, no matter how much time I spent watching the carcass, the monster's body did not vanish and turned into something. It was just there, with the dust nestling on the grass field.
"I thought I had it. It turns out this hobgoblin refuses to admit defeat," I grunted, and stomped my feet. "Come on, ugly goblin! Give me something useful already!"
I wanted to have something that could aid Alice and me in our journey. Since we planned on purging the war, we better earn some items that could help us battle against our foes. And one effortless step that could grant that was defeating enemies such as monsters.
But not a monster spawned an item or any valuable product out of their deaths. I knew that these monsters rarely give out something when they die, but it should not be like this. My system told me that there was a mysterious percentage that allowed monsters to give gifts to their slayers, but what now?!
"WHERE IS THAT ITEM!" I shouted.
And I guessed both the system and the world heard my prayers.
After a blessed hour, the corpse finally had a light surrounding its body. A cloud of pixelated dust enveloped the vessel and turned into a brilliant display of twister. That tornado also had the same design as the dracogre when we first defeated the beast.
It was a matter of seconds before the item revealed itself on the ground.
"Too bad Alice can't get to see this," I murmured, and watched everything unfold in front of me.
The spinning light ended with a blast as it revealed a pocket-size figure on the ground. As I approached the item, my eyes widened in disbelief.
"Oh no… It can't be?"
The item was a barrel that connected to a gun. My hands reached out for the gun and inspected it, using my system.
[Congratulations! You have found a barrel of a gun. Once you find the remaining parts, you can upgrade your puppet body and weaponise the gun!]
"WEAPONISED?" I freaked out, and continued reading the information.
[There are three items to complete the blueprint for the gun. You need to defeat a hobgoblin (barrel), an Obsidian Bat (bullet), and a Kraken (trigger)]
[Right now, you have the hobgoblin (barrel). You may further unlock the rest of the items after defeating or getting such objects. You still need two out of three items!]
[I will update further information once you receive the three items.]
The system explained everything I needed to know about this item. However, I became flabbergasted to hear everything about it. I had never expected to wield a gun using my puppet form, especially in this magical world.
But Alice told me that this planet had modern technologies. She also mentioned that guns became common weapons against creatures that produce magical abilities. Since having a gun was a more reliable arsenal than magic circles, non-magical humans used these weapons at their disposal.
"It turned out the weapon that Alice hated would become mine…" I pondered, hoping that the future would turn out pleasant for me.
I shook the thought off and asked my question. "Hey, system. Can you tell me how I could find the Kraken and the Obsidian Bat? And didn't we defeat a bat before? The dracogre?"
With a sudden beep, the system answered. [I cannot tell you the locations of the Kraken and the Obsidian Bat. The bat that you defeated in Wonderland's forest differs from the Obsidian Bat. A cauldron of Obsidian Bats would lurk around the exterior parts of Wonderland and Detroit. These bats have mammoth-sized wings comparable to the drakes. I cannot provide basic information about these species, since you never discovered one in your journey. My database can only project something that you experienced.]
After that lengthy explanation, Alice turned towards me and shouted. "Hey, pervert! Aren't you coming with me?"
I slid the azure windows aside and turned around to meet Alice. I waved my hands and answered, "Yeah, yeah. Coming in a second. And I am not a pervert!"
"You're the one who's sleeping on the ground with your mouth opened wide. You should be thanking me for not touching you! Since I can't feel anything with my cotton hands, touching you would mean nothing to me," I murmured, and went towards the gothic girl.
"You know I can understand your lip's movements from miles away," Alice snorted, and led the way. She refused to look me in the eye. How could she have heard me saying all of those from before?
…..
Alice and I ventured back to the woodland, wondering where to go next. Birds kept chirping in the distance, as well as plants that got crushed by our feet. It was the only noise that resonated inside this jungle.
But right now, we needed something to talk about while walking without a plan. And that was the topic of our conversation.
"Did something happen back there?" Alice asked, as we wandered around the forest.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"You kept me waiting here in the forest after walking away."
"And that's your problem."
"Huh?! You've been staring at me for a long time while I was sleeping!" Alice shouted.
"Yes! Because I cannot sleep, and I need to protect you!"
Alice stormed off once again and yelled, "But you don't need to look out for me every passing second! It's creepy!"
"Then do you have any better plans? Those monsters might still be out there for us! I was just trying to keep you safe? I'm a puppet, so I cannot sleep or rest like you. Although I did that from my previous life, I can't do it right now."
After our exchange, we stepped foot at the gates of the village. Dozens of townspeople were patrolling the area. There were recognisable faces among the crowds. But one man stood out among the mob.
That guy was none other than Clint, the farmer we met earlier.
"Shh, get down."
I snatched Alice up and hid behind the bush. The gothic girl tied, squirming away from my latch. But as soon as she noticed the people lurking in front, she covered her mouth, using her hands.
"Why are there people in the village? Shouldn't they be sleeping in their shacks right now?"
"How should I know? We've been here together, you know."
"What tarnation are you doing in my village? Didn't I tell you to stay out of the town?"
A third voice entered our conversation. That person sounded pissed off! Alice and I nudged our heads around and let out a faint smile.