Chapter 123
Chapter 123
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Succubus's Temptation (2)
Mary woke up with a jolt, her eyes snapping wide open after groaning uncomfortably in her sleep.
Her breathing came in sharp gasps, nothing like someone who had just been asleep moments before.
The bedsheets beneath her were drenched in the cold sweat she'd shed while sleeping.
Damp as if she'd just finished exercising.
'Feels sticky...'
As she steadied her ragged breaths and sat blankly on the bed, Mary glanced toward the window.
The sun hadn't risen yet, leaving the outside world shrouded in darkness.
Early dawn hours.
Was it because of the unfamiliar bed?
Or perhaps...
"......"
Mary's gaze shifted to Jerry, who lay sleeping in the corner of the room amid their luggage.
Mary had tossed and turned in a nightmare until she finally opened her eyes.
And the content of that dream had revolved around Ken.
A brutal scene of herself being abandoned by him.
Right after waking from the nightmare, as her heart pounded with fear, the thought of the succubus Jerry suddenly crossed her mind.
But Jerry was sleeping soundly.
Still bound by the mana-absorbing chains Ken had specially crafted for her.
'It must be because of that unpleasant conversation from earlier today.'
Nightmares were something anyone could have.
Back when she was a child receiving lessons from her father, she'd had them frequently.
There was no reason to assume a succubus was involved just because of a bad dream.
But the nightmare had been so vicious that even entertaining the suspicion felt justified.
So vicious she never wanted to see or even recall it again.
What if it was a prophetic dream? The mere thought made her shoulders tremble with fear.
'I need to cool my head.'
Instead of lying back down, Mary headed straight for the bathroom.
She channeled a bit of mana into the magic tool made from water and fire spirit stones.
Warm water streamed down from the magic crystal above her head, following the pre-designed spell array.
The perfectly tempered water soaked her body in a soothing rush.
'It was just... a simple nightmare.'
Even as the water washed away the unpleasant stickiness,
the dream's scenes replayed unbidden in her mind.
Among all her most mentally tormenting memories, the worst had been Ken's funeral.
The sudden news of his departure from her side one day had chilled her heart cold while setting it ablaze.
Her mind went blank, the world spun, and the ground seemed to flip upside down.
The dream of being abandoned by Ken felt just as harrowing.
Not a permanent farewell through his death,
but the fact that even if he lived, she could never see him again.
It struck her as even more cruel than his death, perhaps.
The problem was that the dream's content wasn't some impossible fantasy.
What if.
What if the worst luck of her life struck, piling misfortune upon misfortune.
It could unfold exactly like that.
A strangely plausible flow.
Nightmares always flowed so eerily naturally,
and their lingering persuasiveness even after waking tangled the mind terribly.
That was why Mary tried to let it go under the warm cascade.
So that after sunrise,
she could face Ken with a smile, free of such displeasing memories.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After the sun rose and the group finished their early morning meal, they hurriedly packed and left the village where they'd rested briefly.
If they didn't hurry, they wouldn't reach the next village before sunset.
The rest of the journey proceeded much like the day before.
While walking, Jerry whined, and Mary created a hand of ice to carry her.
Then Ken, Rapne, and Emily took the lead, dispatching any monsters they encountered.
But one thing differed from yesterday.
Mary trailed behind, watching Ken's back with anxious eyes.
Ken was the same as yesterday.
No, he was always the same.
Rapne acted spoiled toward him, Emily scolded her for it but subtly leaned against him herself.
Normally, Mary would have squeezed into that gap somehow.
But not today.
Watching the three of them laugh together from behind,
the scenes from last night's dream kept flickering before her eyes.
"What a lovely couple."
At that moment, Jerry, now perched atop the hand of ice and seemingly accustomed to the cold, smiled leisurely and spoke up.
"Mary was right after all. What matters isn't that man's heart—it's the heart that loves that man."
Unlike her rudeness yesterday, for some reason Jerry affirmed the answer Mary had given then.
"What brought this on all of a sudden?"
"Huh? What do you mean? Just some idle chatter to kill time."
"Yesterday you said something different... About who Ken loves the most."
"Exactly, that was just pure curiosity! Wouldn't you be the same? The guy's engaged to three women at once."
Jerry smiled as if truly apologetic, swaying her body in what seemed her best attempt at a sorry gesture.
With her body bound by chains, it was the most she could manage.
"Ask any passerby. That's the kind of thought that comes naturally. Loving three people equally at the same time isn't easy under normal circumstances."
"......"
"Come on~. I'm really sorry, okay? I admit I was wrong yesterday~."
Mary had thought that rude question from yesterday was deliberate, even up to morning.
Maybe she'd asked it to lure Mary into that nightmare.
That she'd stayed close using the excuse of fatigue as a ploy.
But Jerry's current demeanor truly seemed like an apology for yesterday's slip.
Not intentional.
Just innocent curiosity.
'...And I was the one who offered to carry her with magic.'
Thinking back, Jerry had only complained about being tired—she hadn't suggested the arrangement. Mary had volunteered to carry her alone.
Was she just lashing out, seeking someone to blame for her nightmare?
"Um... what do you think?"
"Huh?"
That was probably why.
"...Do you think so?"
"What did you say?"
Mary felt like unburdening her tangled heart right now.
And among their traveling companions,
the one person she could confide in honestly was
Jerry.
She couldn't voice it to Ken, Rapne, or Emily.
Not to any of those three.
"What do you think...?"
"What exactly~?"
From morning—no, from the moment she woke from the nightmare.
...Perhaps from the instant yesterday's question had hit her,
the worry that had knotted in her heart like a lump
she cautiously confessed to the demon girl beside her.
"...Does Ken really love us all equally?"
It was a simple anxiety.
In truth, as she'd answered yesterday, it didn't matter who Ken liked more.
What mattered was how much she loved him.
But.
Still, she wondered.
That was the inescapable nature of love.
Wanting to be loved as much as she loved, to be his priority as he was hers.
Such a simple desire.
A curiosity born from that greed.
Anxiety.
And she knew all about it.
Jerry Ban Perlion.
The succubus who tempted humans.
A high-ranking demon called the Conductor of Illusions.
She understood the essence of humanity all too well.
"You were curious too, huh?"
And for a human showing even that tiny crack,
with just a voice laced with the slightest mana, alluring,
dominating emotions to her will was child's play.
"I could help you out a little."
Mary's eyes sparkled with anxiety at the demon girl's gentle smile.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Is this... the right way to do it here?"
"Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's a triangle, not a circle. The circle goes inside the triangle. That's where the spirit goes."
That night.
The group arrived at another village just before sunset and secured rooms to avoid camping.
But as night deepened,
Mary slipped out of the room with Jerry instead of going to bed.
Their destination: an empty lot on the village outskirts.
In the dark, seldom-traveled space, relying only on moonlight, she drew lines on the ground per Jerry's instructions.
It was a magic circle.
A blueprint that amplified spell effects or aided casting.
Mary, who had vied for top honors at the academy in magic circles, knew them well.
But this one, made with demon script and designs unique to her kind, was new, so she fumbled a bit while following Jerry's guidance to complete it.
"Do we really need to draw a magic circle for this?"
"Who do you think it's for? If it's a hassle, just unchain me."
"As if."
"Then quit yapping and draw it already. I'm dying of curiosity here too."
The simple reason Mary drew the circle under her directions:
Jerry had offered to divine Ken's true feelings using her dream magic.
Of course, it wasn't free.
Though it started from Jerry's curiosity, she was still helping Mary.
In exchange for the spell, Mary would carry her with the hand of ice for the rest of the journey.
Perhaps because Jerry demanded such fair compensation,
Mary didn't suspect the offer much.
Even if not Mary specifically, Jerry came across as a merchant satisfying her curiosity while gaining profit.
She wasn't serving Mary out of pure goodwill.
So Mary saw no hidden agenda in this.
—Perhaps.
Maybe she didn't suspect because of the alluring mana seeping from her voice.
But once ensnared by temptation, no human could notice.
Mary obediently followed Jerry's instructions, drawing the circle.
"Ooh, nice, nice. See? You can do it if you try."
"Whew... Is the prep done now?"
"Yep. Now for the simple part. Come over here and channel some mana into this mana-absorbing stone on the chain."
"Mana? How much?"
"Hmm, about the amount for Bibentusia?"
"A mid-level earth spell's worth for just dream magic?"
"If you're gonna nitpick, go complain to your future husband who made this annoying sealing chain."
At Jerry's glare, Mary blushed faintly, oddly pleased.
Because of the "future husband" label.
Jerry noticed the subtle expression shift and stared, prompting Mary to clear her throat and approach as if nothing happened.
"Then I'll channel the mana. Make it quick."
"Sure, don't worry. ...This is my specialty from here on."
Mary gently placed her hand on the purple mana-absorbing stone.
At her touch,
as the tiny cracks prepared thus far bore fruit, Jerry grinned wickedly.