She's So Feminine It Makes Me Mad
The moment we opened the door, a rather luxurious sight greeted us.
Apparently there really had been a reason the innkeeper had recommended this room with such confidence.
There's still only one bed, though…
Having two beds in a single room would have been stranger, but I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed all the same.
Fortunately the bed itself was quite large—big enough that two people could sleep on it without any trouble.
Maybe it was because I hadn't been out like this in so long, but a faint weariness had settled into my body.
"Athena. Mind if I wash up first?"
I wanted to get clean and collapse into bed as soon as possible.
Athena stared at me with a blank expression, then answered in a slightly drained voice.
"…Yeah."
The second I had her permission, I headed straight for the bathroom.
Stepping inside, I found a space larger than I'd expected.
Floors of white marble, an array of elegantly arranged toiletries, and a bathtub roomy enough for two.
They called it a single room, but it was basically a room-and-a-half.
Humming under my breath, I began peeling off my clothes one by one.
Rustle—rustle—
With every piece of fabric that slipped from my body and fell to the floor, more of my pale skin came into view.
Once I was completely undressed, I stood before the mirror and looked myself over.
I was used to it by now; it barely registered anymore. Even so, I still thought I was beautiful.
The strange part was that no matter how little or how much I ate, this body always kept the exact same figure.
"…This bothers me a little, though."
I slowly lowered my gaze toward my stomach. There, lower down, was a pink-colored mark engraved into my skin.
Why did it have to be carved there, of all places? Anyone who saw it would be perfectly justified in thinking I was some shameless, lewd woman.
I didn't like the mark. Because it looked exactly like…
"…like I'm begging someone to fuck me."
Thud—
…Huh?
Something large had just slammed into something else. Judging by the direction, it had come from the door.
I raised my voice so she could hear me from outside.
"Athena, is everything okay?"
"……Nothing."
Her answer came after a long pause, and her voice sounded strangely rushed.
Had she tripped over her own feet or something? That would actually be pretty funny.
The mental image of Athena stumbling over herself made a smile tug at my lips for no good reason.
Once I'd finished washing, a faint, pleasant fragrance clung to my skin and drifted up to my nose.
"Hm? What's this…"
When I opened the drawer to grab a towel after my bath, I found something unexpected.
A garment made of white silk. It looked just like the complimentary robes hotels always provide.
Well… should I put it on?
We'd finally come to an inn. Weren't we supposed to enjoy every little perk?
Besides, the thing looked incredibly comfortable. Sleeping in it would probably leave me feeling completely refreshed.
I set my usual black dress aside and slipped into the white robe with nothing but my underwear underneath.
A freedom like wearing nothing at all settled over my body.
In the mirror, a thin, fluttering white mantle that suited my snow-white skin came into view. A little of my bare flesh showed through, but all the important parts were covered, so it was fine. We were both women anyway.
"Athena, I'm done~"
"You took quite a whi—…"
Athena looked at me and abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes trembled violently, as if an earthquake were rolling through them.
"…Where did you get that?"
"Hm? It was in the bathroom. Looked comfortable, so I put it on. Does it look weird?"
It hadn't seemed strange when I'd checked the mirror.
Maybe it looked bad to her?
"……No. It's pretty."
After staring for a long moment, Athena spoke in a low voice.
Thankfully, it didn't seem all that strange after all.
Maybe it was the afterglow of a refreshing bath.
A languid feeling began to spread through my entire body.
Eager to sleep, I hurried over to Athena and gave her a little push in the back.
"You hurry up and wash too. Let's sleep together."
"…You really…"
"Hehe. I'll be waiting. Come out quick once you're done."
I shoved her into the bathroom and flopped down onto the bed.
"Haaah… I'm tired."
The moment the soft mattress caught me, a cozy warmth wrapped around me and drowsiness came pouring in.
…If I fall asleep first, she'll get mad, won't she?
"…Did I just dig my own grave?"
Even while she washed, only one thought occupied her mind.
The sight of her from just moments ago.
Hera in that fluttering white robe had looked no different from a white fox lazily swishing its tail.
And what had burned itself even deeper into her brain—
was the black underwear faintly visible through the thin white fabric.
Trickle—
A sticky fluid mixed with the bathwater and ran down her legs.
She recalled the things Hera had said earlier.
Athena. Mind if I wash up first?
Hm? It was in the bathroom. Looked comfortable, so I put it on. Does it look weird?
You hurry up and wash too. Let's sleep together.
Hehe. I'll be waiting. Come out quick once you're done.
"…Hah…"
At this point, wasn't she just openly seducing her?
Hera's complete lack of self-awareness was enough to drive her out of her mind.
"……Could it be."
Maybe.
Maybe she had been the dense one all along.
Maybe Hera had been sending signals this whole time, and she herself had simply been too stupid to notice.
Otherwise there was no way a person could act this thoroughly, this infuriatingly female.
Spending the night alone together at an inn, saying she'd wash first, telling her to hurry up and come out, saying they should sleep together—
Anyone looking at it would think she was begging to be fucked all night long.
If she thought about Hera's personality, she knew the words had almost certainly been completely innocent.
But the dizzying sight from earlier had left her judgment thoroughly clouded.
"……"
She wiped away the fluid that kept dripping between her legs without end.
Right.
Hera had to know, too.
Unless she was truly empty-headed to an absurd degree, she had to know.
That Athena hungered for her body.
That was why she was seducing her like this.
"You filthy little slut… you lewd little bitch…!"
She was probably waiting for her outside right now.
Athena pictured Hera lying on the bed with hearts in her eyes, reaching out toward her.
Trickle—
It seemed she needed to hurry and share her master's love with her slave.
She finished bathing in a rush and changed into the same kind of robe Hera had worn.
Except she wore nothing underneath.
The bare skin showing through the white silk robe looked quite provocative even to her own eyes.
They were going to take everything off anyway. There was no need to bother with underwear.
She forced her pounding heart to calm down and shoved the bathroom door open.
"Hera. Hera. Hera."
But reality was a cold mistress.
Softly—softly—
There lay Hera, sleeping as peacefully as a princess in the forest.
Sleeping so comfortably it was almost irritating.
The moment that hopeless sight entered her eyes, her lower body still burned—but her mind went ice-cold.
"Hera… you're asleep?"
The only answer was the quiet sound of her breathing.
"……Should I just rape her."
This was seriously pissing her off.
A dense forest.
Trees stretching straight toward the sky blocked out the sunlight and left the surroundings dim.
"Athena. Are you okay…?"
"…."
She was especially quiet today.
Exhaustion was written all over her face. She'd been like this pretty often lately.
Once someone reached the level of a Master like her, they shouldn't even need sleep to recover from fatigue. So why did she look so worn out?
— Graaaah!!
"Athena!! Beside you—"
"…."
A massive beast in the shape of a bear charged at Athena. It swung its savage claws at her, but—
—Crack-sshhh
Golden mana crashed over it, and in an instant the beast was reduced to ash.
Athena hadn't even glanced at the thing once.
"……Beside you… yeah… never mind…"
I'd been worrying for nothing. Of course I had. Who did I think she was?
Right now I was out in the Eastern Forest with Athena.
The rumors about the rising monster population had been true; we'd already run into quite a few beasts.
Not that I'd gotten the chance to do anything before she burned every last one of them…
At any rate, a suspiciously large number of monsters were living in this forest.
It was almost strange that the city we'd stayed in had remained unharmed.
"Hera."
"Hm?"
Her voice was low and bleak.
"We're going deeper. Follow me."
"O-okay…"
She really didn't look like she was in a good mood.
Her atmosphere was so different from usual that even I felt myself sinking with her.
…Should I do something for her?
I didn't know what had happened.
But I wanted to make her feel even a little better.
When Athena was this low-pressure, it made me depressed too for no reason.
I was going to have to think of some way to lift her spirits while we hunted monsters.
Quite a bit of time passed after that.
And the farther our footsteps carried us, the more monster corpses piled up throughout the forest.
But even after killing this many beasts, there wasn't a single demon in sight.
"Tsk. There's clearly a demon's scent around here…"
Athena clicked her tongue.
A demon's scent, huh. Once you reached her level, could you really distinguish something like that by smell alone?
Wondering if maybe I could catch it too, I drew in a deep breath through my nose.
Nope. Just clean air, as expected.
We searched the area a little longer, but still found no demons.
"Hera. We're heading back for today."
She spoke in a thoroughly irritated voice.
Well. After killing this many monsters and coming away with nothing to show for it… I would have felt empty too.
…I'd cheer her up myself.
Making your master feel good was a slave's job, wasn't it?
I still hadn't fully accepted her as my Master in my heart. But she was someone precious to me all the same.
I'd already decided what I would do for her while we were hunting.
I didn't know if it would actually improve her mood…
But Lily always liked it when I did this.
Surely Athena would like it too.
"Crazy…! This is crazy!!!"
The great demon legion led by the Demon King.
Below the Demon King himself, the highest authority belonged to the four Legion Commanders.
And one of them—
Succubus Queen Sepheer.
She was currently in a certain forest on the Demon King's orders.
She had come to investigate the intense magical explosion that had occurred here not long ago.
A shock strong enough to collapse a cave. Magical power erupting at that level was highly unusual.
According to the intelligence, there was a possibility a dragon hatchling had hatched.
If so, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she absolutely could not afford to miss. Taming a dragon hatchling would become an enormous asset to the Demon King's army.
It was still young and couldn't properly wield its power yet—but a dragon was a dragon. In just ten years, its breath would be strong enough to burn an entire village to the ground.
So Sepheer had come, leading the monsters she used for regional scouting.
Whatever else she might lack, when it came to taming living creatures, she was the best.
Dazzling beauty. A body so sensual it stirred lust just by existing.
It was no exaggeration to say a hundred men would fall under her thrall with a single gesture of her hand.
Originally she had planned to tame the hatchling, bring it back to the army, and bask in the Demon King's praise.
"Why the hell is that bitch here!!!"
Right now she was pressed flat against a tree, not daring to move a muscle.
Even a single step would give her away.
The woman known in the Demon Realm as the Sun of Death—or the Golden Reaper.
Athena Caladbolg.
She was here, right now.
When Sepheer had accidentally laid eyes on her standing there so proudly, radiating overwhelming presence, every hair on her body had stood on end.
For some reason Athena's condition seemed poor, which was the only reason Sepheer hadn't been discovered yet—but the situation was still extremely dangerous.
Had that bitch come looking for the hatchling too?
If so, there was zero chance.
Even all four Legion Commanders attacking together would barely stand a chance against that monster. How was she, the weakest of them in pure combat power, supposed to even think about challenging her?
"I came here for an easy score… and this is what I get!!"
Carefully, she began chanting a spell.
A spell that shared the vision of a familiar she had tamed.
The moment she gained the eyes of a bat circling in the sky, she saw Athena and some other woman heading back toward the city together.
…Come to think of it. She'd been staring at that woman the entire time…
Were the two of them close?
That endlessly merciless monster.
Right now, that monster couldn't take her eyes off a single woman.
In the gaze she fixed on the black-haired girl swirled an enormous emotion that defied description.
As if she were craving her.
…Maybe.
Just maybe.
There might be a chance.
If that black-haired woman was someone precious to Athena, then an opportunity existed for her.
Athena herself was impossible. But any other human would be powerless to resist her.
One of the Succubus Queen's authorities. Charm.
The power to bewitch a living being and turn them into a slave who would serve her for eternity.
"If I can just charm that woman…"
If she charmed the woman and used her to deal with that monstrous bitch—
Then the achievement would dwarf something as trivial as securing a hatchling.
It might even be enough to promote her to a direct executive under the Demon King himself.
"Heh heh……"
Imagining herself living large in the Demon King's Castle, she let a greedy smile spread across her face.
Sorry, but you're going to have to become my slave. Mysterious black-haired lady.
…
"Hm?"
Is someone talking about me?
Why are my ears suddenly so itchy?