The Succubus of Rucella
Rucella was a minor nation, but its capital was surprisingly splendid. While it lacked the grand boulevards of the Empire’s capital, the streets here were wide by local standards and bustling with people. Simple food stalls lined the roads, offering quick bites—cricket skewers, exotic sweets from the distant East, and more. As I wandered, I gathered information from passersby and sampled the street fare.
Not bad. Hmm, this one’s pretty decent too. It was a satisfying little expedition. I polished off the last of the snacks in my hands and organized the data I’d collected that day.
First, her husband, Rober, was a fat slob covered in bruises… and lately he’d become a regular at a certain tavern. The waitress there was an absolute beauty who supposedly offered very special services if you paid enough. People called her a man-eating succubus, yet they kept flocking to her anyway.
A succubus, huh… If she was simply beautiful, there’d be no real problem. Promiscuity wasn’t an issue either, at least not if she were unmarried. But a woman who could enchant men to that degree might be…
No, that’s too much of a leap, isn’t it? I inwardly dismissed my own suspicion. Making assumptions without seeing her was dangerous. Still, if my guess turned out to be right…
Normally I don’t bother with heresies outside my jurisdiction.
I turned my steps toward the tavern. I wasn’t in the habit of handling heresies beyond my field, but if she really was one of those… it wouldn’t hurt to check. No harm in being thorough.
The Church of Mercy that worships the Goddess Yuno is the largest religious organization on the continent, with influence so vast that ninety percent of the population are believers. Even the Emperor of the Empire cannot ignore the authority of the Pope. Priests are respected across most regions simply by their presence.
Among them, those who carry the inverted cross and serve at the lowest level are the Inquisitors. They are the most legally knowledgeable scholars within the Church. On the surface, their purpose is to judge heretics… but in truth, they seek to grant merciful punishment to the suffering masses oppressed by harsh laws, salvation to those mistaken for devils and witches, and an opportunity for enlightenment to those who have fallen into moral decay.
Of course, this is overreach. It infringes on the authority of kings and lords, so the common people fear their judgments while monarchs and nobles resent the intrusion. This is the headquarters of those Inquisitors—Saint Arthur Church in Hamon—where a visitor had arrived.
“This time, the Inquisitor dispatched to the Kingdom of Gapr has gone missing along with his accompanying Holy Knight.”
The man spoke casually to the silver-haired woman sprawled lazily across the desk, looking bored. For Inquisitors, who were hated and feared by most, such disappearances were common. One day, an Inquisitor and the Holy Knight protecting him would simply vanish.
Silvestina, the Bishop responsible for those Inquisitors, continued fiddling with a cigarette, her face weary. The ornate vestments she wore clearly marked her as a high-ranking cleric, yet her behavior was anything but.
“Bishop Silvestina?”
The visitor—actually a priest in plain vestments—asked with a worried expression. Only then did Silvestina slowly open her mouth.
“…I already know, so shut up.”
Her tone toward the reporting priest was icy. She swept her flowing silver hair back roughly and kept toying with the cigarette.
“It’s like that old saying. Some cheapskate leaves meat hanging and then claims he ate it. Same thing here.”
The man sighed as he listened to her excuse. The Church of Mercy permitted wine and other alcohols as divine gifts, but smoking was strictly forbidden. The reason was that allowing tobacco would lead people to worship it more fervently than the gods themselves.
At first the priest had wondered if that prohibition was truly right… but seeing even the venerable Bishop Silvestina like this, he now thought the ban was justified.
“Ah… I miss the days when I was an Inquisitor,” she grumbled softly.
Inquisitors were largely free from the usual church restrictions. Their work was so grueling that they were even allowed to smoke. She found herself longing for those hard days simply because of the damn cigarettes.
The priest, who had been staring at her with a pitying look, finally moved on to the main topic.
“More importantly, I heard you sent Priest Jenkinson this time.”
Silvestina nodded at his words.
“That’s right. So you came all the way here looking like that? You idiot.”
“Cough!”
The priest let out a dry cough. Honestly, she was probably the only person who would speak to him that way.
“I’ll lecture you about that un-priestly language later… but is this really okay? Priest Jenkinson is…”
He was genuinely worried. After all, Jenkinson was the only Inquisitor who operated without a Holy Knight escort. Seeing the priest’s anxious face, Silvestina spoke as if it were no big deal.
“It’s fine, Priest Henri. Nothing will happen.”
The reason that guy went alone was simple. He didn’t need anyone else. He was on an entirely different level from the other Inquisitors.
“If you’ve got the energy to worry about that kid, why don’t you worry about this poor Bishop suffering from withdrawal instead?”
At her grumbling, Henri sighed and replied bluntly.
“How can I worry about you when you’re not even pitiful?”
Leaving the openly sulking woman behind, Henri exited the church.
“What did Bishop Silvestina say?”
The middle-aged Holy Knight waiting outside in silver armor asked, cold sweat dripping down his face. Henri answered calmly.
“She says we should trust him.”
The Holy Knight continued sweating as he stared at him. The man guarding this church felt like he might faint at any moment just from the visitor’s identity.
“Ah, yes… By the way, Your Holiness, why are you dressed like that…?”
That was why the Holy Knight asked in a trembling voice, seeing the man in ordinary priestly robes. He couldn’t bring himself to call Bishop Silvestina “Your Excellency” because the man before him held an even higher rank.
The middle-aged man with the kindly smile was none other than Pope Henri de Luma Bel Ameani—the man said to wield greater influence than even the Emperor of the Empire.
Though he appeared to be in his early thirties, he was actually well past sixty.
“Silvestina hates it when I show up with too much pomp. Anyway, for now we have no choice but to trust that boy.”
With those words, Henri climbed into the carriage that had returned exactly on schedule. This case would not end as a simple adultery investigation. Therefore…
May the Goddess Yuno protect him.
Henri prayed for the safety of that poor servant of God.
Creak. Creak.
“Ahn~ Please go a little slower…”
With a coquettish voice, she wrapped her arms around the neck of the man who had her pinned against the wall, thrusting roughly into her.
“What? We still have plenty of time, don’t we?”
Her pure-white naked body glistened with sweat. The middle-aged man groped her full, beautifully curved breasts while frantically working his fat hips.
“Sorry, but I don’t have much time on my side.”
“Haaang!”
She moaned seductively and naturally matched the rhythm as he lifted both her legs. When her enchanting face formed a gentle smile and her mysterious purple eyes gazed at him with temptation, the man began moving his hips as if possessed.
Creak. Creak.
“Haaang! Hngh!”
Her sweat-soaked white hair swayed softly in time with her natural moans. In the dimly lit room, the lantern that had only illuminated her face now briefly revealed the man’s.
Surprisingly, the man was none other than Rober.
Rober was busy shaking his hips like a dog while gripping her soft thighs. Watching him, the woman embraced his head with an expression of affection. Rober’s ugly, pig-like face buried itself between her soft breasts.
“I love you. I love you, Marane.”
“Ahn, instead of talking, hurry up and move your hips.”
She pouted cutely, then smoothly rotated her waist. At that movement, Rober began to climax.
“Haa… Haa…”
She roughly tossed the exhausted, haggard-looking Rober onto the bed. Once he fell asleep, she put a cigarette between her lips.
“Haa… I can’t keep doing this for long.”
Love? What a joke. How many women could possibly love a pig like him? She sneered inwardly while checking today’s harvest with satisfaction.
Money… ten silver coins. And I’ve gathered enough life force too… Should I do one more today?
She smiled as she stroked the vivid demonic pattern on her lower belly.
Thanks to that person’s blessing, her fate had completely changed. Her once-ugly appearance had become so beautiful that everyone turned to look. The poverty that could have killed her had transformed into wealth enough to buy a mansion.
All of it was thanks to that person’s grace. Therefore, Marane gave thanks as she washed herself cleanly, changed clothes, and left the room to greet the next customer. The entire tavern with this attached room had been prepared specifically for her work.
Besides that man, there were plenty of others ready to become her prey.
Let’s see…
Descending to the tavern floor, she quickly scanned for her next target.
That guy’s life force is too low. That one’s too ugly. I don’t want two ugly ones in a row…
While she was hunting for prey like that, her eyes met a certain man’s.
And she smiled with deep satisfaction.
A man overflowing with vitality, so handsome that merely looking at him was a feast for the eyes… was sitting alone, leisurely drinking.