How to Catch Lily
After finishing my bath and returning to my room, Claire was busy cleaning. I told her exactly what had happened in the bathhouse.
“Did something like that really happen?”
“It might be a succubus. We need to look into the environment she grew up in. There’s a high chance she picked it up in the region where she lived as a child.”
“So you see her as a succubus, my lady?”
“Honestly, it looks that way.”
Drugs have their limits. As the second daughter of a ducal house, obtaining them wouldn’t be impossible, but would that idiot even come up with the idea? Besides, I’ve encountered succubi multiple times. I can spot one when I see it.
“Hmm. In that case, what about holy power—”
“Monsters that aren’t contracted with demons don’t change a person’s fundamental nature from the start. To become truly evil, you have to form a contract with a demon and become the same kind of being.”
A contract with a monster is nothing more than borrowing power.
“You’re very well-informed.”
“Isn’t it strange that an assassination guild—the very group that’s supposed to be well-informed—doesn’t know this? What the hell have you people been doing while I’ve been collecting information like this?”
“We specialize in background checks on assassination targets, so we only excel at investigations involving people. I’m sorry, my lady.”
“Still, whatever the case, it’s not too late yet.”
Maybe it’s because she’s an idiot, but even after contracting with a succubus, Lily isn’t actively trying to seduce men.
“But the imperial capital’s barrier would only react to a succubus—”
“It’s because it’s only a succubus. The imperial capital’s barrier only activates against high-level monsters and demons. Everything else is just trash, and the imperial guards responsible for defending the capital take care of those small fry.”
The kingdom is far smaller than the empire. Naturally, its royal capital is smaller than the imperial capital, and its defenses are inadequate. Thanks to that, there was even an incident where the capital nearly fell to a surprise attack by the Demon King’s army.
Even though the empire is a huge nation, I once asked the imperial military about the capital’s defense system just to be safe. That’s how I learned about the grand anti-monster barrier. Back then, they only had small barriers meant to defend against monster intrusions. So I created a new spell formula for a barrier that would only react to monsters powerful enough to belong to the Demon King’s forces. Honestly, it was mostly to show off my magic skills.
The reaction was the absolute worst.
“Well, what do you think? This is the work of the great mage, Lord Noah.”
“As expected of the world’s foremost mage scholar. To create such a spell formula…”
“Have you no interest in becoming the head of the imperial court mages?”
Fuck. Of course my formula had a flaw. The barrier didn’t react to low-grade monsters. Still, the capital basically alerts the guards if anyone without proper identification enters unauthorized. Relying solely on the barrier would turn the military into a bunch of incompetents, so I deliberately left gaps for small monsters to slip through. It was meant to serve as training for the soldiers.
“In that case…”
“If it really is a succubus, it probably entered after forming the contract beforehand and arranged places to meet inside the capital.” She would have already secured escape routes and meeting spots.
“If what you say is true, my lady, how should we handle this?”
“We find that succubus and end it before things get any worse.”
A succubus has practically no combat ability. It can exhaust a man to death in bed, but it’s the kind of monster a physically fit adult male could at least put up a fight against.
What the succubus wants might be to turn Lily into a comrade, or perhaps use her to lure in men. The fact that it specifically targeted the empire’s capital makes me suspect a connection to one of the Demon King’s high-ranking officers. Even without that, if it’s a reasonable and thoughtful succubus, we might be able to talk. It might even let her go if we threaten it.
“By ‘any worse,’ you mean…”
“There’s a chance Lily could awaken as a succubus.”
I smiled bitterly, a hollow laugh escaping me. That was the one thing that absolutely could not happen.
Claire’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she had understood exactly what I meant.
“Ah. So you are thinking about your sister after all?”
Huh? What the hell kind of bullshit is that? Me? Worrying about that pink-haired bitch? Me?
That’s fucking ridiculous. If I ever start worrying about that woman, it’ll be the day she breaks up with the crown prince. I just hope those two stop dragging each other down and live happily ever after. Even that concern is tied to my own safety. The moment that crown prince bastard releases her, the imperial family—eager to connect with the ducal house—might push to make me his fiancée again. I’d rather die. So if she becomes a succubus, the engagement breaks, which solves that problem. Plus, the thought of how miserable she’ll be afterward actually brings tears to my eyes.
“Honestly, with an appearance like that, becoming a succubus on top of it would be too pathetic. She’s a virgin, and if she turns into a succubus she’ll have to drain men’s vitality, but with that body, how would she even manage? If I were the target, I’d rather just visit a brothel.”
It would be devastating for the Ashtar family, too.
“……”
“Don’t give me that look. I’m doing this for the family’s sake. The second daughter of the ducal house who finally seduced the crown prince turns out to have contracted with a succubus and become one? The Ashtar family would be so humiliated we’d have to take our territory and declare independence.”
And if she becomes a succubus but still can’t handle even one man, she’d be utterly useless both as a human and as a monster. At least the current hero party is somehow making use of that worthless body to face the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings.
“I see. Then since time is pressing—”
“Taking it slow isn’t necessarily bad. If we rush and miss the succubus, that would be a disaster.”
“But couldn’t that lead to her becoming a succubus? Weren’t you the one who said it might already be too late?”
“That was when I was imagining myself just relaxing and playing around.”
The transformation into a succubus won’t happen quickly. Actually, I’m doubtful it’s even possible. For someone contracted with a succubus to awaken as one, specific conditions must be met.
“The condition for becoming a succubus is sexual intercourse. She’d need to do it with at least dozens of men. But right now Lily is obsessed with the prince, and even if she genuinely tried to become a succubus, with that body, not even a beggar on the street would find her attractive.”
It’s different from demons, who can turn humans into their own kind whenever they want.
“That makes sense, but still… your own sister…”
Ugh. It can’t be helped. Maybe some lingering influence from the original Olivia is affecting me. It really pisses me off.
“Wouldn’t it be simpler if my lady handled it personally?”
“What, you don’t like taking orders from me?”
“Not at all. It’s because if it’s you, my lady, you could resolve it in one move.”
Hmm. It’s not impossible. But as I said before, it could completely shatter the relationship between the crown prince and the Ashtar family.
“It’s not that I can’t, but you know my current position in the academy. I’ve been beating up nobles left and right, but Lily isn’t just my sister or another Ashtar. She’s still the crown prince’s fiancée—however inadequate she may be. Touching the crown prince’s fiancée? The already furious crown prince wouldn’t stand for it.”
“There are ways, however.”
“What ways?”
There’s a legitimate way to beat the shit out of Lily right now? You should’ve told me sooner!
“Wouldn’t it be fine if she simply becomes a saintess?”
“Are you even listening to yourself?”
If she becomes a saintess, she’d be stuck in the church healing people all day. She might even get dragged into that godawful hero party.
“The empire currently holds significant doubts about the kingdom’s hero party.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The empire’s central intelligence bureau has pointed out that the hero party continues to be pushed back in repeated engagements with the Demon King’s army, claiming that not only the hero but even the saintess supporting him is inadequate.”
Claire showed me the front page of an imperial newspaper.
Empire Questions Competence of Kingdom’s Hero Party and Supporting Saintess
As the saying goes, a long tail eventually gets stepped on. It only got noticed after things had gotten this bad.
Wait. Then right now the empire is…
A terrible scenario suddenly flashed through my mind.
“Don’t tell me the empire is…”
“Yes. They’re planning to artificially create a hero party.”
Not a bad idea. Honestly, it does feel like the church colluded to prop up that hero. If the goddess had truly chosen, there’s no way a guy like Eugene would have been selected. The empire suspecting the hero and creating their own party is actually smart. They’ve been nursing an inferiority complex toward the kingdom for a while now. Since this generation’s hero is useless, the empire has decided to take matters into their own hands. It’s a good plan, but the problem is that it’s far too late.
“But isn’t that just copying us?”
“Of course the hero party belongs to the kingdom. The empire is simply selecting new elites on the same level as a hero party.”
Honestly, I don’t think it’s impossible. Just look at how everything collapses without me around.
“Who’s taking the lead?”
“Do you know about the Seven Stars of the Empire?”
“Of course I do.”
They’re also called the empire’s seven pillars. I’ve seen them several times. They’re seven elites who exist in a completely separate class from the imperial military. They protect the imperial family and only obey the imperial family’s commands. I’ve even carried out operations with them. It was on the eastern front against the Demon King’s army. When a gap appeared in the region’s forces, tens of thousands of the Demon King’s troops invaded. The imperial military requested the imperial family to dispatch the Seven Stars, and the hero party staying in the capital joined them. The result was, naturally, victory and the front line being maintained.
The problem was that these Seven Stars—who had basically just been guarding the house—possessed truly outstanding abilities. Whether it was swordsmanship, magic, or shield work. People like that. At first I thought they’d be weak due to lack of real combat experience, but they were quite strong. Come to think of it, the ones who should be called Sword Saint or Archmage probably don’t receive those titles because they’re part of the Seven Stars. They seemed perfectly satisfied with just escorting the emperor. And they became friends with me—the one dragging around the hopeless hero party.
If they build something like a hero party around them, it wouldn’t be bad at all.
“It seems they plan to establish an anti-Demon King front centered on them.”
“Honestly, isn’t it too late? There are even rumors that the Demon King died alongside Noah.”
The fact that the Four Heavenly Kings are each moving independently is proof that the Demon King’s control has weakened. In other words, even without concrete evidence, the disappearance of Noah followed by the splintering of the Four Heavenly Kings who once moved under the Demon King’s command. Even an idiot could figure out that the Demon King is dead.
“Even after catching all that, the kingdom is still incompetent. That’s why they’re selecting a saintess at this opportunity. The Four Heavenly Kings are dangerous right now. Until now, because they were under the Demon King’s control and attacked strategically, both the kingdom and empire could predict the Demon King’s army’s routes and strategies. But now it’s completely unpredictable.”
Yeah, let’s say it goes that far.
“But if I become a saintess just to catch a succubus, wouldn’t that be a problem?”
Spending the rest of my life as a saintess is too pitiful. Above all, I have dreams of becoming an archmage. Beyond that, I dream of becoming a great sage. Me, a saintess? What kind of ridiculous title is that?
“The imperial church will need you, my lady. They’ll accommodate whatever you want to do as much as possible.”
“Hmm.”
That makes sense. The Ashtar family stands behind me, and it’s the church that’s desperate.
“In the end, what matters is that you receive the title of ‘Saintess.’ They won’t ask for anything beyond that. Your background as an Ashtar helps significantly.”
Oh, a saintess backed by family influence? That’s not bad.
“It’s not bad, but…”
“The church won’t stay idle either. Negotiate with them at an appropriate level.”
To think that after everything, I’d end up in the same position as that woman. Honestly, it’s the worst. Still, traveling with the hero gave me some experience. The theology professor I met back then looked at me like I was some kind of savior and fled the academy. In other words, he probably went straight to the church. Some kind of conversation must have taken place there. No, it’s still too early to be certain.
“Would they really come looking for me? If they knew what our family is like, they’d back off, right?”
I’m the young lady of the Ashtar family. From the church’s perspective, I’m practically an impure element.
“You’re underestimating the church too much, my lady.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
And before long, I came to understand exactly what she meant.
That father of mine seems to have changed his mind after seeing me this time. I could probably skip theology class. Uninvited guests always arrive with unexpected ambushes.
“The church has arrived! We wish to meet with Lady Olivia!”
“Like fuck I care, you bastards.”