The Succubus's Regret
The succubus. A monster that seduces men using its sensual and obscene body to drain their vitality and convert it into life force. To obtain that vitality, sexual intercourse is required, and they typically lure human males into bed. However, there was one major problem.
Back when the Demon King was still alive and the Demon King's army moved with some semblance of strategy, even low-ranking monsters received decent treatment. But with the Demon King's death, that all ended. The Four Heavenly Kings were each leading their own legions against humanity, but they no longer gave a damn about lowly creatures like succubi. Thanks to that, succubi found it much harder to prey on human men.
On top of that, with the times being what they were, the number of adventurers hunting monsters had skyrocketed. The only places left for succubi to operate were among goblins or orcs. And even that barely made a difference.
The succubus named Nora, who had contracted with Lily, was in an especially dire situation. She had fallen behind in the Demon King's army right before his death and ended up isolated inside the Empire. It was utterly bleak.
She wasn't frail like Lily. If anything, she had the kind of body that drove men wild. But with the Demon King gone, human men had become extremely wary of monsters, making it difficult to approach them.
The only thing she had left was that brainless idiot Lily. Originally, she'd approached the human girl a few years ago thinking she might make a useful ally. Who could've guessed all that effort would turn out to be completely worthless?
And it didn't look like her body was going to grow into anything useful either.
"Ugh."
She was a monster. A monster of lust, at that. And if someone formed a contract with her and gained the ability to command others, wasn't it only right that they pay the proper price?
No, she wasn't even asking that much from the stupid bitch. Just lure some men over, at the very least. Was that so hard? Instead, she had to sit here listening to her whine about her own problems.
'That spoiled brat.'
Why did she have to be treated like this? Had she been the idiot for thinking she could use someone like this? Was she just as stupid as the girl in front of her?
Nothing else mattered. The damn girl right in front of her could survive just fine without pulling these stupid stunts. But Nora couldn't. If she didn't absorb vitality through sex, she could literally die.
In other words, unlike this spoiled girl, Nora was in a desperate situation where her life was on the line. She'd even considered throwing herself at random men on the street, clinging to their pants and begging them to spend one night with her.
She'd thought about openly advertising herself in front of brothels, shouting, "This succubus works for free!"
Still, she'd decided to trust this Lily girl. But the anger was impossible to suppress.
Veins bulging on her temple, the succubus did something she'd never done before in her life. She used her power like other monsters and lifted the stupid girl's neck.
"You're misunderstanding something, Lily."
"Kek! What?"
The succubus held Lily up and spoke coldly.
"Even if I'm just a succubus that gets looked down on among monsters, killing a loud-mouthed bitch like you isn't that difficult."
Even if her body was dying. Even if she hadn't sucked a single drop of male vitality. She could still rip this damn girl's throat out.
"Kek. So you're saying you're actually going to kill me?"
She genuinely wanted to. But right now she didn't have many options. Her strength had dwindled to almost nothing, and there weren't any orcs or goblins nearby. She was at the point where she'd even consider jumping a pig.
So actually killing her was difficult too. She could only scare her.
"You need to think carefully, Lily. You're not in any position to act so shamelessly with me. What the hell have you been doing until now? If you don't have the confidence to seduce men yourself, then at least bring them here while they're already hypnotized!"
The succubus threw Lily, who was still in her grasp, to the ground.
"B-but Sister told me—"
"You stupid bitch. Did your sister say she would interfere if you tried to seduce men? If you're not going to seduce them properly, drain their vitality, and turn them into my allies, then just hypnotize them and drag them here! Is that so damn hard? Is there nothing in that head of yours?"
She should've used a cunning girl instead. Or risked her life and gone after an adventurer herself.
"No, that's not—"
"If you don't do your job properly, I'll tell your sister about the contract and everything else, so keep that in mind."
"How can you threaten me like that?"
Threaten? Threaten? Wasn't it strange to expect mercy from a monster? No. If anything, what she'd shown so far went beyond mercy—it was practically charity. Especially when she was drying up more and more with each passing day.
"Hey, you bitch. Logically speaking, I'm the one who should feel more betrayed! I've been waiting for you to bring men, and my neck is about to fall off from the stress. I'm suffering from sexual frustration over here, but this crazy bitch is busy trying to ruin her own sister. Ugh. Why don't you just become the Demon King yourself!"
"But Sister chased everyone away, so even the guys I worked so hard to seduce, I can't bring them..."
What bullshit. The curses rose all the way to her throat, but she barely held them back, afraid the guards might hear.
"You think I don't know you? You ignored what I said and tried to enjoy playing queen bee as much as possible, and then you got slapped in the face, didn't you?"
"Ugh."
Yeah, that seemed to hit the mark.
"Anyway, this is your last warning. I said it clearly. If you pull this shit one more time, I'll go straight into the capital, offer up my neck if I have to, and spill everything!"
"Ah. I got it! I understand!"
If she didn't bring a man next time, it would be all or nothing. Even if she got beaten to a pulp by the church's whore-like nuns. Even if she got smashed by a holy knight's mace. She would scream the truth at the top of her lungs.
An uninvited guest had come again. This time it was just one person. The same one who had come as the representative last time. But the news this time was quite ridiculous.
The church had taken quite a big gamble. Or perhaps it was more accurate to call it a major decision. For a moment, I wondered if I'd heard wrong and grew suspicious.
"Is that true? You're saying you'll accept all seven conditions?"
At my question, the priest Lapel—who looked like he'd been slapped around somewhere, judging by his red cheek—touched his face carefully and opened his mouth.
"Yes. However, we hope you will at least maintain the bare minimum as a saintess. A cross necklace for the goddess's follower, for example."
"That much is fine."
It wasn't difficult. After all, I planned to drop by the church from time to time anyway.
"However, not collecting taxes from commoners will be difficult to implement right away. There was a war, and with military expenses and the need to fill the national treasury, it couldn't be helped. Now that the Demon King has been defeated and the Four Heavenly Kings will have their power drained by the hero's side, how about gradually reducing the taxes?"
"Sounds good."
I'd already sold everything I didn't need, so I wasn't short on money. Why would I bother squeezing it out of people? To live like a noble lady and indulge in luxuries? If that were the case, I wouldn't have sold the dresses in the first place.
If I became a saintess and received one million linos from the church, I was planning to distribute it to the commoners anyway. The sight of the theology professor getting plucked clean had made the students who already resented the church happy, and even the commoners who had no choice but to enter the theology department for a stable job had cheered.
That just showed how rotten the church was. If left alone, wouldn't a rebellion against the church break out? If it spread across the entire Empire, it would be dangerous. It would be better to scatter money in advance and pacify the commoners while I still could.
"And about the saintess's attire... You said to follow your request."
Saintesses were basically affiliated with the church, so nun habits were recommended. Of course, I planned to do whatever I wanted.
"Ah, so that bitch dressed like that to look good for the hero."
The Kingdom's nun habit had a rather loose feel, suitable only for prayer and not very good for combat. Saintess Cyria, being a saintess in a different sense, must have wanted to seduce the hero because hers was quite tight and had side slits. Honestly, if I were a female adventurer, I would've thought that outfit looked better. It seemed to have good mobility(?). Of course, that bitch had other kinds of "mobility" in mind.
Come to think of it, I'd caught a glimpse of the Empire's nuns last time. What did they look like again?
"Pardon?"
"For now, could you show me the existing nun habits?"
Suddenly curious, I politely asked the red-cheeked male priest Lapel.
"Ah, yes. Unlike the Holy Kingdom or the Kingdom, our church's habits are somewhat less restrictive..."
The crazy bastard started pulling out clothes as if showing off a pamphlet. Did he think I'd come to a clothing store?
"Just show me."
"Yes, ma'am."
Lapel, as if he'd been waiting for this moment, took out a nun habit from an envelope.
"Wow, you're well-prepared."
"Hahaha. The nuns care a lot about their clothing, so we keep samples in every size in advance. We show them to talented commoners who visit the church as well. Occasionally, there are noblewomen who have an interest in becoming nuns as a hobby or something. We bring them like this when we visit."
So that meant they were that popular?
"Is being a nun a popular profession?"
"Yes. It has the feel of a civil servant position. Even commoners who curse the church try hard for it. Mostly students who graduated from Atelina but couldn't enter government service aim for it."
Ah, that made sense. If you graduated from Atelina but couldn't become a civil servant, you'd have to go to the provinces or somewhere. The church would probably be the easiest option.
"Are there more women than men?"
"Well, men with good skills can at least succeed as adventurers in the worst case, but women have fewer options."
That was true. Even now, female adventurers existed but in small numbers.
"What? Why are there two?"
"Recently, the number of young nuns has increased, so there are differences in preference for the habits."
"Ah, I see. But this one..."
It wasn't at the level of that lewd saintess, at least. The nun habit that was popular among young women had side slits and felt somewhat revealing. This one seemed better. At least for combat, it was extremely suitable.
Wearing armor wasn't my style, and because of those damn hero bastards, my combat style had changed from long-range magic bombardment to something different. It had become a near-hybrid style where I sometimes used a bow, sometimes a sword, and fought enemies head-on.
So a mage's robe was actually inconvenient. My body was already that of a woman, and fighting in an uncomfortable robe was quite difficult.
But still. I was becoming a saintess, after all. Wouldn't it be better to have something with a bit more character?
No, wait. Why was I even thinking like this? Fuck. It's not like I was seriously going to be a combat saintess. I was a mage.
"For now, the nun habit isn't urgent."
"Understood. But since the church requires it, we'll make a special emblem and attach it. Should we tailor it in the style of a school uniform?"
"Mm. Yes. So is that all?"
"Ah, and it would be good if you could formally attend the saintess appointment ceremony on the weekend."
So there was even a saintess appointment ceremony. In the Kingdom, I'd met a saintess right away, so I hadn't even known such a thing existed.
"Understood. I'll see the Pope then."
"Um. Still..."
He sure talked a lot. Genius with an arrogant concept or not, even back when I was Noah, I was never the type for polite pleasantries. So it was better to just lay everything out in the open.
"Since we both know everything anyway, why bother? I'm a woman with no faith, and I have no particular desire to go to church. From the Pope's perspective, isn't 'The Empire has a saintess too!' all he needs?"
Why wear masks and act all stuffy with each other? Once I became a saintess, we'd all be in the same boat anyway. So let's just be honest with each other.