Commander Sepheer
"Still, this place is really lively."
I glanced around as I spoke.
"It's a famous tavern. Makes sense."
Athena wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
I couldn't help but stare at her in surprise.
"A tavern?! This was a tavern?"
A tavern.
No wonder it was so loud and bustling all around us.
The atmosphere had been far too lively for an ordinary restaurant.
A sudden thought flickered through my mind.
...I wonder what alcohol tastes like in another world...
Before the transmigration. Back when I'd been living the life of an office worker.
Aside from reading novels, I hadn't had any particular hobbies — and alcohol had been a very close friend of mine.
Whenever my boss chewed me out, or whenever I got stuck with overtime, I'd always washed away the day's stress with a can of beer.
That crisp, refreshing taste of beer had always managed to lift my mood for no real reason.
I'd been the type who genuinely enjoyed drinking, so of course I was curious what the liquor sold in this world would taste like.
...It should be fine if I have some, right?
This body was an adult, after all...
And before the transmigration, I'd had a pretty solid tolerance. I wasn't going to cause any trouble.
All right.
Having made up my mind, I carefully looked over at Athena.
"Athena... want to have a drink with me?"
"Sure! I can hold my liquor really well. Don't worry about me."
...
"This is delicious...! It's been so long — it tastes amazing."
...
"Hehe... Athena, hurry up and drink too~ Cheers!"
...
"Hyaah... this feels so good... phew..."
...
"Hehehe... I feel... heehee..."
...
"Hic..."
"....."
I pressed my fingers against my throbbing temples as I looked at Hera sprawled across the table.
The woman who'd boldly declared she enjoyed drinking had passed out cold before she could even finish a single glass.
No — she wasn't just bad at holding her liquor. She was catastrophically bad at it.
And it wasn't even strong stuff. It was just beer.
"...That's so like Hera."
If even this looked cute to me, did that mean I was completely smitten?
I drained what was left in her glass in one go, then leaned back against my seat and closed my eyes.
— I love you.
The confession Hera had given me.
Those words of hers kept echoing through my mind, refusing to fade.
The first words of affection she had ever offered me.
Even if it hadn't been romantic love, it still meant she had opened her heart to me that much.
Thump—thump.
My heart still hadn't settled down.
The word I love you from Hera's lips had hit me harder than any bizarre attack I'd ever taken.
"I'm not some girl falling for her first love..."
Well. Technically, it was my first love.
I'd never liked anyone before this — not as a romantic interest, not even as a person.
...I'm glad I held back.
I'd resisted countless temptations until now.
The urge to take her every time she wagged her tail at me day after day.
Every night I spent with her, I'd endured the trial alone in my own private hours.
The fatigue had piled up considerably because of it lately, but still.
Looking back on it now, I was genuinely glad I'd managed to hold out.
If I had forced myself on her.
If I had ignored her will and taken her body as I pleased.
She never would have said she loved me. She would have looked at me with nothing but hatred in her eyes.
I was almost there.
Now that she had opened her heart, I had no intention of letting the opportunity slip away.
I would use the opening Hera had given me to draw even closer to her.
And someday, I would make her confess to me not as family — but as a lover.
And on the day we became lovers.
I would pour every desire I'd been holding back onto her.
We probably wouldn't leave the bed for at least a week.
Just imagining it made my mouth water.
"Nnngh... Athenaaa... are you there?"
Hera blinked blearily, half-asleep. She was thoroughly drunk.
I should put her to bed.
"You're drunk. Let's go back."
I stroked her hair once, then headed to the counter to pay.
"Oh, no! How could I possibly take a hero's money?"
"Stop talking and take it."
"I truly mean it! Knowing you enjoyed the meal is more than enough."
The proprietor refusing my money. Not unexpected.
Everyone I'd ever met had shown me this kind of goodwill.
And in return, they'd freely expected things from me.
The moment they saw me appear in their city, they assumed as a matter of course that I'd take care of whatever monster was plaguing them.
If I ever said I wouldn't hunt the beast, the admiration in their eyes would turn to disappointment in an instant.
They expected whatever they wanted. They were disappointed however they pleased. Selfish creatures who thought only of their own convenience.
Only Hera had been different.
I thought back to the first time I'd met her.
Not eyes full of admiration — eyes full of fear.
Hera had acted as if she'd known my true nature from the very beginning.
As I thought. It's fate.
A bond handed down from the heavens themselves.
A gift from the sky, bestowed upon someone as weary as me.
"Just take it. I've got more money than I know what to do with anyway."
I tossed the coins at the proprietor and turned to walk away.
Toward my beloved slave.
She's drunk... so I can be a little rougher tonight.
She was thoroughly intoxicated. She wouldn't wake easily.
I could afford to be bolder.
Tonight, maybe I'd use her mouth instead of her fingers. Or her chest... no, that could wait.
Whatever it was.
It would bring me a taste of heaven.
I returned to the table with my heart full of anticipation.
But what greeted me was nothing more than a messy table —
and a chair so cold that every trace of warmth had already vanished from it.
".....Hera?"
Pink hair streamed behind me in the night wind.
"Hahaha!! I did it. I actually did it!!"
In my arms right now was a black-haired woman, sleeping soundly.
The moment Athena stepped away to the counter, I hadn't hesitated — I'd erased my presence and approached the woman.
She was so drunk someone could have carried her off on their back and she wouldn't have noticed. Kidnapping her had been far easier than I'd expected.
I'd run without thinking and arrived at my camp.
Technically it was just an abandoned house I'd found in the forest while searching for hatchlings, but it had a decent bed, so I'd been using it.
I gently laid the woman on the bed and caught my ragged breath.
"Haa... haa... hehehe..."
After tailing Athena all day, I'd learned just how precious this woman was to her.
By now she was probably burning up inside, searching desperately for her.
But by the time she found her, this woman would already be my slave.
From the looks of it, she was lusting after this one...
If I mixed bodies with this woman right in front of Athena, would I get to see the despair on her face?
Or maybe it wouldn't be so bad to make this woman spread her own legs for me willingly.
Just imagining that monstrous bitch writhing and screaming beneath me made laughter bubble up on its own.
"Hoo... perfect."
My breathing had steadied. I approached the woman sleeping soundly on the bed and looked down at her.
Her cheeks flushed with drink, her breath coming in soft, excited little puffs.
...She was pretty, I'd give her that.
A beauty so striking that even I — called the pinnacle of demonic allure — couldn't look away.
Her skin was so white it was almost pure, as if she'd never once been touched by sunlight in her life.
Once I make her my slave, I'll have to try all sorts of things with her.
My main goal had been dealing with Athena. But looking at this woman, a more personal kind of desire was starting to creep in.
It seemed I'd be able to enjoy myself with this slave for quite a while.
All right. First things first — the charm.
I shook the softly snoring woman awake.
I needed her to look me straight in the eyes for the charm to take hold.
"Come on, little one. Wake up for me. I have a present for you."
"Nnngh... Athena...?"
She was calling me Athena.
Mistaking me for that monster, was she?
That actually worked in my favor.
The more fondness she felt toward me, the stronger the charm's power would become.
Just as Athena had done, I gently stroked her hair.
"That's right. It's me. Athena."
"Hehe... Athena..."
She made a cute little sound and nuzzled her face against my lap.
"Hehe... good girl... would you look into my eyes for a moment?"
I took her pure white face in both hands to lift her head.
And when I raised her face, her eyes came level with mine.
"That's it... that's it... now, look into my ey—"
"Nnngh.... want me to do it for you?.. I know howww..."
She suddenly mumbled something incomprehensible.
But before I could even figure out what she meant, it happened.
"Hahp."
"Hiiik?!"
The hands I'd used to hold her face — she grabbed them, pulled them toward her mouth, and —
slipped one of my fingers between her lips.
"Ahp.. hahp.. mmph.."
Slurp— suck— schlorp—
"Wh-wh-wh..... what is this?!!"
Her sudden behavior sent my heart hammering wildly.
"Hyaahp.. schlorp....."
Watching her passionately suck on my finger with that flushed face, my mind started to go hazy.
G-g-g-get a grip, Sepheer!!
I slapped my own cheek hard and yanked my finger out of her mouth.
As if reluctant to let go, her lips pursed around my slowly retreating finger and sucked it clean to the very tip with one last wet schlorp.
My finger, glistening with her saliva.
Just looking at it sent lewd thoughts blooming through my head.
I shook my head violently to cast the desires aside.
Then I looked at the woman and shouted.
"You... you... what are you?!"
I was the pinnacle of succubi, and even I had nearly fallen under her spell for a moment.
That was absolutely impossible.
C-could she be... one of those nine-tailed foxes I've only ever heard about?!!
A youkai that existed only in stories.
Every living thing that ever saw one had its vital essence drained until it died — so the legend went that no one alive knew what the creature's face even looked like.
For a second I wondered if this woman might be one, but no matter how I looked at her, she was human.
There wasn't a trace of youkai energy to be found.
R-right... as long as she's human, she'll end up falling under my spell eventually.
It had to be a fluke.
I was the Queen of Succubi. The pinnacle of desire itself.
I would never lose my mind to her again.
I pulled myself together and looked at her — only to find her gazing back at me with a vaguely hurt expression.
"...My finger.. why'd you take it out..? Was it no good?"
"Th... thaa..."
What are you doing, Sepheer.
Why can't you answer?
Say it right now.
Tell her that whatever she did felt absolutely nothing like good!
"...Ah..! There's something I wanted to do for you...!"
"S-something you wanted to do?"
"Mmhm.. it'll definitely make you feel better. Lily liked it too..!"
...Gulp.
Faced with her sensual expression, I couldn't help but swallow.
Make me feel better. Just what was she planning to do?
No.
Every instinct in my body was screaming at me not to accept.
But I was far too curious.
Like Pandora's box. Something I absolutely shouldn't open — and yet something I felt I couldn't possibly endure without opening.
"W-what is it?"
In the end, I couldn't resist the temptation.
She broke into a bright smile and gently pushed me down onto the bed.
"Hehe... you have to stay still, okay?"
And then she leaned in toward my face —
and with a soft lick —
slipped her tongue into my ear.