Second Night: Night Duty with the Hero
I didn't think much about my clothes. The lining was a bit scratchy, but it was fine. If I could just have long sleeves to hide these arms without flinching every time I look at them... but I didn't even wish for that. As long as it covered my body, it was okay. My only real complaint was the lack of underwear. My breasts go without saying, and even though I tried not to think about it, down there... it was just... not great.
So when the saintess got clothes from the mage—who whined and complained endlessly—I almost said I didn't need them. There was a hole in the belly area when I felt around, but it was wearable enough. Then I saw the "clothes" she was giving me, and I seriously considered refusing.
"Put them on."
"Uh... th-this...?"
The saintess gave me a faint, serene smile as I stammered.
"Put them on."
I had to. I'd seen the mage screeching like a banshee too. I couldn't walk around in clothes with a hole in them. So I put them on. The mage's outfit looked pretty from the outside. That's why I crammed my body into that tiny thing. Putting it on was torture from the start. I was so careful not to snag my horns, gingerly pulling my head through, that by the end my neck was stiff.
And the bottoms were a skirt. A skirt. Me, wearing a skirt now... If it had been a one-piece, it would've clung to my thighs and I'd have died before wearing it. But since it was wrap-and-tie style, that was a small mercy. Once I had it on, I could say for sure: my old clothes were way better. This didn't feel like wearing clothes—it was like super uncomfortable panties and a bra. The skirt hem fluttered with the slightest movement. My breasts... I swear this thing might actually burst. Even just sitting still was uncomfortable. And because it was a skirt, it felt... weird. Sitting made me automatically adopt this demure posture.
Still, I tried to think positive. Yeah. Another day down. I got slippers back. And clothes, sort of. My stomach's growling, and these clothes are so tight I can barely breathe. But... this much is... this much is fine.
The day faded, and it was time for dinner again. Only the saintess and the mage were at the seats. No hero. Just two bowls. They weren't even bothering to prepare anything for the succubus since she supposedly couldn't eat normal food. But the smell was so savory I swallowed hard. I'm hungry. Once I noticed it, the hunger swelled uncontrollably. So hungry. I slept properly for the first time last night, but I've never really eaten.
Impregnation. Impregnation doesn't have to mean that, right? Plants have male and female parts meeting to make fruit, and eating that could count as impregnation too. It was a thought I just made up, but chewing on it, it made sense. So maybe I could eat normal food. Like "impregnating" plants by eating. Just one bowl. Just one bite. Just one spoonful...
"Fucking hell, who let this thing bunk here?!"
The mage exploded. I held back from speaking. Licked my lips. She's always been a shrieker anyway. Ask the saintess instead of the mage. She might give me one spoonful. The saintess is a real saintess, unlike that bitch...
"A servant, you say?"
The saintess's voice was always pleasant to hear. She wasn't looking at me. Servant? What did she mean? No idea. Food first...
"...Looking at it, it doesn't know shit anyway. Might as well make it do servant stuff, right?"
Obvious who she was talking about, even without looking. Better to ignore pointless chatter. Figuring out how to beg for food was more important. Or just ask now. Can I have one bowl?
"Hey, succubus. You're on night duty for Leona tonight. I'll scoop you some porridge—take it to her."
...Huh?
"Don't you dare spill a drop."
"Even I can manage that much."
No no, wait a sec.
"Night duty. Don't pull any funny shit."
"...I'll manage somehow."
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the hero's tent, holding a single bowl of porridge. Night duty? What the hell is that? No explanation. Just shoved a bowl of porridge at me and sent me off to the hero's tent. Steam rose invitingly from the bowl. My hands warmed around it. A spoon was stuck inside. It was too dark to see clearly now that night had fallen. But the smell was good. Hearty. Rich. Just one bite. Please, just one bite...
"...No, no."
I didn't want to know what would happen if I ate it. The mage would freak out, but the saintess told me to bring it to the hero. Maybe the hero would spare a spoonful. From last night, she seemed way better than the mage.
I nudged the tent flap open carefully. Had to use my shoulder since I was holding the bowl.
"...Heh, heh heh."
A low chuckle came from inside. What was she doing? The hero was on the bed in her white nightgown. Back comfortably against the pillow. A thick book in her hands. I couldn't read the title, but it was the one from earlier today. All the women in the hero party—even the mage—were pretty. If the saintess had elegance, the hero had... coolness? She seemed blunt and scary when yelling or silent. But seeing her laugh like this changed everything. She looked so immersed in her reading that I just stood there waiting quietly.
She glanced up from turning a page. Her face lit with amusement, and I smiled back without thinking. But her expression changed instantly. To shock.
"Wh-when?! When didst thou enter?!"
The leader of the hero party—and the hero herself—Leona's one hobby was reading. Leona knew well the value and importance of books. It was from books that this country bumpkin girl had dreamed of becoming a knight. From books she'd glimpsed corners of the empire she'd never see in a lifetime. Even the noble etiquette and refined speech she'd never learned due to her upbringing—all from books.
Nor did she read solely for knowledge. Reading was fun. The tale of an ordinary knight becoming a hero was thrilling. When that hero showed human frailty, it tugged at her heart. She cheered inwardly for heroes stumbling before trials. The moment they vanquished the empire's foes and received acclaim, or basked in near-eternal happiness at the end—it was all wonderful.
Leona was an imperial knight, chosen as the empire's hero. Duty weighed heavy. Especially lately, she hadn't even had time for her beloved reading. It was necessary work, but she'd been dying to know the protagonist's unfinished journey. Ignoring Aisoll and Lucilla's concerns, she'd pulled an all-nighter to finish tasks for this very reason. A simple plan: read the book she'd put off until departure eve.
The plan succeeded, more or less. The succubus's sudden scream broke her immersion, but she'd shooed it out and read comfortably in bed, so it was fine. The peculiar scent the succubus left wasn't bad either.
Leona loved reading, but she hesitated to recommend this book to others. It wasn't fair to say she liked "that kind" of novel. Her tastes were more mainstream, really. Popular novels sold by being stimulating, pandering to the masses. They padded length with descriptions too—like gory enemy dismemberments, lavish depictions of the elite's lives. Or blatant, lascivious sex scenes.
The part Leona was reading was one such scene. This book's title screamed it, packed with erotic moments. And right now: the lord summoning foreign dancers to "reward" the protagonist at her lodgings. In truth, a clichéd plot to dispose of the hounds once the prey vanished. To mask it, the dancers were stunning. Clothes accentuating curves. Exotic skin tones more alluring for their foreignness. Varied looks to show their number. Sultry dances, lewd motions,lewd whispers.
Text had limits in description, but that was its strength. Leona's imagination ran wild. This protagonist's armor looks like mine. A fine inn means a grand bed first. One dancer with massive tits? Like Breri—no, maybe that succubus...
The candle was nearly spent; she needed a new one, and hunger gnawed. But she couldn't tear away. Tomorrow meant travel again. They'd stop at a city for supplies, but who knew the next chance for leisure? The candle's shrinkage showed time flying. Two sleepless nights would tire even a hero. So, just to here. This paragraph. No, this page. Heh, heh heh. This won't end. No helping it. Just this chapter, then...
"...Huh?"
A glance up caught something. Purple, color-wise. And black? Leona blinked. Identifying it was easy.
"Wh-when?!"
The purple-skinned succubus stood blankly in something barely qualifying as clothes.
"When didst thou enter?!"