Contract with the Succubus

An Elite Orc. Completely unexpected.

Cold sweat sprang unbidden across my forehead and down my back.

Instinct screamed that I had to get away from that thing right now, and my legs obeyed. Reason, having already calculated that fighting was hopeless, only made me run harder.

Why the hell is something like that even here?!

That was a monster I shouldn't have been seeing for a long, long time. Four adventurers at my level wouldn't stand a chance against it. And yet it was right behind me — so all I could do was run like a maniac.

Keeping this up would only take me deeper into the forest, but facing that Elite Orc head-on was simply not an option.

Thud. Thud—

The footfalls of that colossal frame were getting closer by the second. With these short legs and these tiny lungs, outrunning it was never going to happen.

I had no choice. Twisting my upper body around, I hurled a fireball to slow it down.

Fwoosh—

The Fireball struck its torso and burst in a small explosion—

Grrrrrk—!

—and left nothing but a shallow scratch, only enraging the savage orc further.

"Eek!"

It sped up. I poured every last scrap of strength into my legs, but those thunderous footsteps were already right on my heels.

Then a crushing impact slammed into my back.

"Gahk?!"

My upper body pitched violently forward. I hit the ground and tumbled twice.

"Ghhh…!"

Shit — am I dying?

It felt like every bone in my body had been pulverized. All I could do was lie face-down and groan. If it hadn't been for the ring Barto gave me, the pain might have knocked me out cold.

But it wasn't over.

The orc closed in, seized my entire body in one massive hand, and lifted me into the air.

"Hiek?!"

It grinned — then reached for me with its free hand.

And then—

Whoosh—

Once again, the world drained to black and white. Time itself seemed to freeze.

A familiar message window. Then time began to flow again.

Rustle—

This time, a familiar sound rose from the undergrowth.

Kiiik—!

Keeeeeek—!

Sssiiik—!

Goblins, alarmed by an uninvited guest thrashing about in their territory. The racket from every direction pulled the orc's gaze toward the brush.

N-now!

I cast a Fireball straight at its wrist.

Fwoosh—

Bang—

The blast went off so close it felt like my skin was searing, but there was no time to care about something that trivial. The sudden pain made the orc flinch, and the grip crushing me loosened by a hair.

I thrashed with everything I had and managed to slip free, dropping to the ground.

I have to run…!

I scrambled up and bolted — this time the opposite way, toward the city. The orc watched me go, casually swatted the heads off a few goblins that charged it, then snatched up its massive club and came after me again.

The chase was back on.

"Hah…! Hah…!"

I ran until the taste of iron rose from my lungs — but another problem was dragging at my ankles.

"Ghhh…!"

That chest pain from last time, when the Minor Protection Law had triggered against the goblins. The agony hit right on schedule. My steps naturally slowed, and that was all the opening the orc needed to catch me again.

Gruk—!

"Hhk…!"

Twice already. At this rate, escape was impossible. And if magic wouldn't land properly, I had no other options.

Am I actually going to die…?

An absurd streak of bad luck, death staring me in the face. I scrambled through every desperate idea I had — and then it hit me.

The Ero Perk!

My last resort. The one I'd almost forgotten.

Under normal circumstances I would have accepted death with dignity before carving a lewd mark into my own body. But there was a chance the Minor Protection Law's power might let me dodge the mark entirely. I couldn't guarantee it would get me out of this — but still.

I have to at least check before I die…!

Still caught in the orc's grip, I hurriedly opened my status window.

I was about to take the perk when the orc's hand reached for me again — and the world froze once more.

The same message. This time, a powerful shockwave erupted from my body.

FWOOM—

The blast slammed into the orc's hand holding me, and I broke free.

Now…!

I scrambled up, fled from the orc, and at the same time reached for the status window still floating open.

And at last—

Back when I'd first arrived in this world, I'd been certain the Ero Perks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would never have anything to do with me. And now I'd taken one.

Message windows kept popping up, but I had no time to read them.

What do I do now?

Right — stats. The lewd mark was supposed to boost my stats massively. Maybe my attacks would actually work now.

"Ghhh…."

Gritting through the inevitable chest pain, I hurled another fireball at the orc. This time, at its legs.

FWOOSH—!

Roaring flames slammed into its thick thigh—

BOOM—!

—and the explosion was bigger than before, leaving a real wound in that solid muscle.

"I-it works!"

The orc limped for a moment — then came at me even harder.

"Eek!"

I fired five more fireballs at its legs, but it still caught me again.

Three times.

This time I could feel its grip tightening, crushing harder.

"Gahk…! Khek!"

The force was so brutal I could barely breathe. I knew this was my last chance. The orc started unfastening the leather at its waist — and that familiar stillness descended.

This time the orc staggered, losing its balance.

Thud—

Its legs gave out and it dropped to its knees. Then, as if seizing one final opportunity, an even stronger shockwave burst from my body.

BANG—!

The blast hurled me clear of the orc. I tumbled across the ground several times, then clutched my chest as the pain hit again.

"Ghhh…!"

But I couldn't waste this chance. I thrust my hand toward its thigh.

Fireball.

Fireball.

Fireball.

Fireball.

I kept pouring fireballs into it. And still the thing tried to get back up.

How is its durability this insane…?!

GRAAAAH—!

It bellowed in agony and charged at full speed.

"Hik?!"

But after that sustained assault, a leg stripped down to the bone could no longer support that massive frame.

Thud—

The orc lost its balance and crashed face-first to the ground — right in front of me.

Yes!

One difference between combat in a game and combat in reality: targeting specific body parts actually matters. In a game, every hit just chips away at a health bar no matter where it lands. In reality, different hits produce different results. I'd learned that fighting goblins, and I'd clung to that knowledge like a drowning man to a straw — aiming only for the legs.

And the strategy had worked.

Grrrk—!

Even with its legs in that state, the orc still tried to rise. So I started aiming for its head.

Fireball.

Fireball.

It tried to shield its skull with its arms and club, but it wasn't enough to stop the empowered fireballs.

"Fireball! Fireball! Die! Die, you perverted orc bastard! Fireball!"

Whether it was the Ero Perk or not, the well of mana inside me was deeper than anything I'd ever felt. I drained it to the last drop — and finally the orc's entire body went limp.

"Hah…! Hah…! T-try me again!"

Afraid it might still be alive, I scrambled back and watched for a long time. It didn't so much as twitch.

"I'm alive…!"

The relief of survival hit, and the body that adrenaline had been barely holding together finally gave out. I collapsed.

"Hah, hah…! Pff… I actually won…!"

But the joy of victory was short-lived. Lying on the ground, gasping for air, I heard someone running from the direction of the city. And it wasn't just one set of footsteps.

A goblin pack?

I couldn't fight any more like this. I managed to turn my head — and what came into view wasn't a monster. It was people.

"Whew."

Three figures. And among them, a familiar man.

"You've got to be kidding me…! That's a real Elite Orc? Wait — hey, kid! Are you okay?!"

Barto shouted the moment he spotted the fallen orc and me. Word of an Elite Orc must have reached him; he'd rounded up people and come running.

He approached, took in the scene, and asked in sheer disbelief:

"Kid. Did you do this?"

The fact that I'd taken down an orc alone filled me with a joy I couldn't quite contain. I made a V-sign with my fingers and grinned.

"Insane. Even most C-rank adventurers hate facing one of these alone… What the hell did you do?"

"She really fought it by herself?"

"That's impossible."

Even among orcs, Elite specimens with superior physical ability were monsters you had to handle carefully when playing the game. Their absurd durability and raw power, combined with a complete lack of technique — just charging straight in — made them uniquely unpleasant to fight. Even with the Ero Perk boosting me, without the Minor Protection Law's ability I would have been completely helpless. For a little girl to solo one of those… of course they were reacting like this.

I'd privately hoped for something cliché and enthusiastic — "Whoa, that's amazing!" — but what came out of Barto's mouth was something else entirely.

"You didn't sell yourself to a Succubus or something, did you?"

"Hic."

His sharp intuition froze me solid in an instant.

An Ero Perk meant contracting with a Succubus. And women who made that kind of contract were said to have "sold their bodies" to one. The problem was how those women were regarded… and as the phrase "sold their bodies" suggested, it was never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a good reputation.

The Succubus was considered an evil deity. If a contract with her came to light, you got to spend some quality time with the Inquisitors of the Celestial Church — the largest religious order around. And that applied to me now that I'd taken the Ero Perk.

I shook my head and played dumb.

"N-no? Of course not."

"…Yeah, figures. Even a Succubus wouldn't lay hands on a little kid like you…. Sorry. Forget I said anything. Hey — you two. You didn't see a thing."

For some reason Barto even apologized, dropped the subject without further questioning, and went so far as to put a lid on it for the others.

Come to think of it — what about the lewd mark?

Please don't be there…!

If a lewd mark was carved into my stomach, heresy or not, I was ready to bite my tongue and end it. No matter how pure I still was, once I'd willingly inscribed something like that on my body, there was no reason left to keep living as a unicorn.

But I couldn't check right now. The matter of my life or death would have to wait.

"So — can you move?"

"No…."

Whether it was from the beating or from running myself to the absolute limit just to survive, my body wouldn't cooperate. Barto considered that for a moment, then spoke to the two men who'd come with him.

"I'll butcher this thing and collect the goods. You two take her back to the city."

"Huh? O-okay."

Collect the goods? I killed it, so isn't it mine?

As if reading the worry that I was about to get robbed of the orc I'd barely managed to take down, Barto looked down at me where I lay.

"I'm not planning to skim what you earned. Stop fretting over nothing."

"Ah — whew…."

But compared to the hidden landmine waiting for me, the loot issue was nothing.

The two men looked at me — then suddenly exchanged glances. Come to think of it, this guy… he was one of the ones who'd hit on me when I first arrived. Judging by the still-purpling bruise around his eye, Barto must have beaten him half to death.

What are those two doing?

I watched them uneasily. Something seemed to click between them, and both turned to me with greasy little smiles.

Don't tell me these bastards…

These insane lolicon freaks…!

I was about to scream at the sheer creepiness of it when—

"You pieces of shit aren't even worth a goblin!"

—Barto caught the vibe first and roared at them.

"I only brought you because you were halfway useful, and that disgusting habit of yours still hasn't gone anywhere. You need another thorough beating before you learn? Huh?"

"Hik…! W-we were just gonna take her back, that's all."

"Cut the crap and get lost."

"Th-then the corpse—"

"I said get lost."

"Hik! F-fine!"

At his threat, the two pieces of trash bolted immediately.

Watching them scramble, I had to wonder — was Barto actually pretty strong? His behavior in the original story had been so awful I'd never imagined it, but he was clearly tough enough to thrash guys like that without breaking a sweat. I still didn't know why he was looking out for me, but having someone like him watching my back felt… reassuring, in its own way.

Of course, this was still the same guy who'd harassed Selena so relentlessly in the game. As far as I was concerned, he was still a bastard — just a somewhat useful one.

While I was assessing him, Barto — still fuming — roughly sliced off the orc's charred ear and came over to me.

"Come on. I'll take you back."

Without waiting for an answer, he scooped me up and set off toward the city at a brisk pace.

"Where's your inn?"

Once we reached the city, Barto asked where I was staying. Telling him where I lived made me a little uneasy, but there was only one place in this city you could safely lodge, and if he wanted to find it he could do it in minutes anyway. So I just told him. If he tried anything stupid, the innkeeper and her husband would protect me.

A short while later we arrived, and he asked:

"Which room, kid?"

"I have to pay tonight's lodging fee first."

"…Haa."

Barto walked up to the landlady. She eyed him with open suspicion, but he ignored it and spoke.

"Three days' room for this one. Put it on the tab."

"Oh."

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's coming out of your reward."

"Tch."

Cheapskate.

Having effectively received a not-insignificant advance of three days' lodging, I was carried straight to the room—

"Uegh!"

—and dumped unceremoniously onto the bed.

"Rest. Don't even think about showing your face at the guild for three days. And stop by a clinic while you're at it, just in case."

"Yessir."

He tossed me the key and left without another word.

Thanks to him I'd made it back safely. I should have at least said thank you.

"Hm…."

Next time, maybe.

More importantly—

"The lewd mark!"

There was still something critical left to check.

I gently took hold of the hem of my dress with both hands. If the Minor Protection Law had done its job, there would be no mark. If it hadn't…

Gulp—

Ready to bite my tongue and end it on the spot if I had to, I carefully lifted the hem of my dress.

And on the abdomen revealed above my undergarments…

"I-it's not there!"

Mercifully, nothing was inscribed at all.

But when I checked the message windows afterward, one suspicious notice was waiting for me.