Chapter 82. Rain and Deer (1)
"Mom, I'm all done- Huh?"
As Camellia came downstairs, she found Cecilia alone at a table, ordering simple food while reading a newspaper as she ate.
Since newspapers were hard to come by outside fairly large cities, travelers would buy them whenever they had the chance to gather information. However, judging by Cecilia's indifferent expression, there didn't seem to be particularly valuable information or anything useful for their group. Camellia briefly glimpsed a political conflict story from another region dominating the newspaper's center.
Cecilia folded the newspaper and was about to dip bread into her cream soup when she noticed Camellia descending the stairs. Smiling, she spoke.
"Ria, all finished?"
"Yes. What about Mother Triae?"
"*Sob sob*, they left me alone to get beaten up while they went off to play with Rita-nim. I guess the setting moon can't compete with the rising sun?"
Cecilia joked while pretending to cry. But her smiling mouth suggested she wasn't actually upset about it.
Camellia often wondered what Cecilia was thinking. She always wandered around with a smile, and even when something disappointing or upsetting happened, she'd just go expressionless for a moment before smiling again-making it impossible to guess her true feelings.
According to Triae, Cecilia had grown up in a very gentle and mild-mannered family, and had she not chosen the path of a nun, she might have married into a good household as a fine bride.
After becoming a Vassal, her lively side had increased like a carefree girl, but to Camellia, it just seemed like she was deficient in the emotion called "negativity."
This wasn't unique to Cecilia. Rita too had changed her stance on justice after becoming a Vassal, appearing similarly deficient in something.
Her justice, which had always pursued only what was right and righteous, transformed after becoming a Vassal into narrow-minded hypocrisy that could be folded away whenever convenient to happily commit evil for her master and family.
Those who fell to a succubus and became Vassals-slaves who offered their bodies, minds, and souls-abandoned what they had cherished most.
For Cecilia, it was her responsibility as the church's last remaining nun and as an older sister caring for her younger sibling. For Rita, it was her unshakable sense of justice.
Camellia reflected that this change likely contributed significantly to shaping their children's personalities too.
Lycoris resembled her birth mother Cecilia in not expressing negative emotions, but neither did she express positive ones.
Rose, influenced by her mother Rita, possessed firm convictions, but those convictions had become twisted into something extremely self-righteous, self-centered, and selfish.
'So the Vassals' changes extend to their children too,' Camellia marveled at her discovery, secretly proud of being the first to realize this.
Then a new curiosity sprouted. What influence had she herself inherited from Mother Triae?
Hmm, probably the succubus's innate provocative charm. Hahaha-
That joke was fine. Camellia patted herself on the back.
"By the way, Mother Cecilia. There's something I need to report."
"...About Lyco?"
"Yes. I think she'll cause some trouble soon. She's been secretly gathering Vital Energy, so I believe we should prepare in advance."
Young succubi who couldn't collect Vital Energy themselves had an instinctive taboo against taking it without permission from the group's leader or parental succubus. To succubi, Vital Energy was both sustenance for survival and nourishment to grow their power, so taking it without permission could be seen as anything from declaring independence from the group to outright rebellion.
Even accounting for excitement, the fact that Lycoris-who called herself a genius and remained rational in any situation-momentarily lost control to take Vital Energy was incomprehensible to her family who'd watched her longest.
"Hmm... Alright. I'll tell Triae later. Good job, our eldest daughter."
"Hehe, it's nothing. I just don't want our foolish sisters to bother Mother Triae."
"Camellia, just asking... Have you ever felt it was unfair?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"No, just a sudden thought... I don't know everything about Demon Tribes, but aren't unpredictable behaviors like Lycoris's or Rose's more demon-like? Or is this prejudice...?"
"Well... You're not wrong?"
"That's why I worry about you. Are you suppressing yourself because of your duty as the eldest?"
Camellia couldn't immediately say no. Because initially, she too had often found it stifling to follow human lifestyles and values.
Though she'd found some distractions to forget that frustration, if even those lost their appeal, she herself didn't know what might happen.
"You know I'm not the type to endure discomfort, right? If it really bothers me, I'll tell you, so don't worry."
Camellia smiled innocently.
And she was a born liar.
* * *
When Rita and I finished our business and emerged from the room, Camellia had gathered the whole family together.
The reason? To make Rose apologize for causing trouble.
"Now, do as you were taught, Rose?"
"S-sorry for being rude to everyone..."
"Tsk tsk, you need to finish. Why are you stopping?"
"Ugh...♥ From now on, I'll get along well with all family members...!♥"
Camellia patted the head of Rose, who'd completed her public apology, saying "Good, good♥"
Though Cecilia and Rita didn't notice, I saw Camellia's hand firmly gripping Rose's buttocks during the apology.
As her butt was kneaded, Rose bit her lower lip and fidgeted her thighs anxiously, but others seemed to interpret this as embarrassment over apologizing.
Since I had no intention of infringing on the authority I'd given Camellia, and Rose seemed secretly pleased, I pretended not to notice, assuming they'd resolve it themselves.
After safely concluding Rose's first transgression, we loaded our luggage and ourselves into the carriage toward our next destination.
"Hmm...♥ I feel refreshed and great♥"
"Ugh... My, my back..."
While I glowed with vitality, Rita lay face down in the carriage groaning with a hand on her back.
For naturally athletic Rita to be this worn out-male sexual desire is truly terrifying.
Though I barely moved, letting Rita do all the work, she'd lost control of herself in the novel sensation of her first male organ experience, thrusting wildly until her hips gave out.
The result: Rita's back now cried out in pain with every carriage jolt.
"If it's too hard, we could've stayed another day in town. Are you okay?"
"Gnn... I'm fine. More importantly, we couldn't delay because of me. Otherwise we'd miss the timing..."
"Timing?"
"Huh? Oh, right, I hadn't explained yet. Miss Cecilia, could you bring the map?"
At Rita's request, Cecilia produced a map from her bag with a flick.
The unfolded map showed a large forest area ahead with a small city at its center. The forest's name...
"Raindeer Forest?"
"Named because it has many deer and heavy rainfall. Rather simple, no?"
"Simple to the point of being laughably bad humor..."
"Anyway. At the center of Raindeer Forest is a city called 'Expeer.' Around this time, it's their rainy season-if calculated, two days from now should be the heaviest rainfall day. So our immediate goal is arriving there before it's too late."
"Rita, I think I roughly understand why, but... How much rain falls on the heaviest day?"
Rita grinned, spreading her arms wide while prone.
"Enough to submerge half the forest. So we must hurry. In two days, entering or leaving the city becomes impossible."