Chapter 162: The Succubus Queen (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 162: The Succubus Queen (4)
The meeting place Isabelle had arranged with the Succubus Queen was a watchtower on the outer city wall. Clutching the branch of the World Tree, Isabelle ran toward it.
Ugh…
Urgh…
The soldiers who should have been guarding the watchtower were all fast asleep.
Thanks to them, Isabelle was able to ascend the tower without any interference. When she reached the top, the watchmen were asleep as well, and a woman was using their stacked bodies as a makeshift chair.
Her light violet skin, the black bat-like wings at her waist, and the two large horns on her head made it clear she was not human.
Humming a tune as if something delighted her, the woman’s slitted pupils turned toward Isabelle.
“Took you long enough. You’re so late~.”
“Shut up. You think this was easy?”
“My, my. You’re the one who’s late, so why the attitude?”
The Succubus Queen giggled and held out her hand to Isabelle.
“Still, you’re not completely late, so I’ll let it slide.”
Her condescending tone made Isabelle’s irritation flare. She was already in a foul mood from an earlier incident, and the Succubus Queen’s behavior made the knot of frustration in her chest feel like it was about to burst.
She bit her lip, barely managing to swallow her anger.
It’s almost over.
Once I hand this over, I’ll be rid of this bitch.
Isabelle practically slammed the branch of the World Tree into the Succubus Queen’s hand.
“Finally, it’s in my hands.”
Smiling faintly at the branch, the Succubus Queen rose to her feet. She flapped her wings, leaving the watchtower and soaring into the sky.
Her gaze fell upon the city’s central plaza, where citizens were gathered around a cleric, praying to the Goddess Iries.
Others might not have seen it, but she, the queen of succubi who fed on the emotions of dreamers, could.
The surging desires of the praying masses were gathering to form a massive pool of energy.
‘Normally, this is energy our great Goddess would feast on.’
But not this time.
The Succubus Queen intended to intercept the power meant for the Goddess.
And it wasn’t a particularly difficult task.
After all, it wasn’t much different from feeding on emotions.
All it took was a little knack.
‘Come to me.’
The Succubus Queen beckoned, seducing the energy. The collective desires of the people began to flow toward her in a trickle.
She didn’t absorb the energy right away.
While this energy was surely sweet, what she desired was something of a higher dimension.
So she refined the energy, transforming it into an entirely different power. When enough had gathered, she spread her hands and released it.
Fwoosh!
A black wave burst out from her, sweeping across the entire city.
The humans exposed to the black wave began to collapse one by one.
Isabelle felt a sharp headache for a moment but didn’t fall. From the watchtower, she frowned as she watched the people collapsing below.
“Don’t tell me you killed them.”
At her words, the Succubus Queen tilted her head as if she’d heard something incomprehensible.
“Kill them? Why would I kill humans?”
“Then why are people dropping like flies?”
Isabelle knew nothing of the Succubus Queen’s plan. That was a condition of their contract. And until now, the Succubus Queen had never given her a single clue as to her true purpose.
But now, seeing no need to hide it any longer, she answered Isabelle’s question.
“They’re just asleep.”
“Asleep? All of them? Why would you do that?”
“I’m a succubus, am I not? The emotions from human dreams are the source of my power. Which means every human in this city is now giving me strength!”
The Succubus Queen began to suck in the emotions the sleeping citizens were feeling in their dreams.
Fear, anger, joy, despair, and so on.
The emotions of countless people rushed toward her all at once.
It was an amount that would have made an ordinary succubus burst from the strain, but as the queen of succubi, her capacity was on a different level.
She absorbed every emotion that came her way.
“Aaaah...! It’s amaaaaziiiing~~~~♡”
With a look of pure ecstasy, the Succubus Queen shuddered like a woman in the throes of passion.
Isabelle watched her with a disgusted look.
After some time, the Succubus Queen returned to the watchtower, a satisfied expression on her face.
“You look pleased.”
“Yes. It was the best. Human emotions are so delicious! Especially feelings like anger and despair, they’re just…”
The Succubus Queen shivered once more.
Isabelle crossed her arms and made her demand.
“Alright, I’ve fulfilled your request. Now, as per our contract, you fulfill mine.”
“Hm? Oh, the contract? Right. Come here for a second, will you?”
As Isabelle approached, the Succubus Queen placed a hand on her head. A black energy flowed from her palm and seeped into Isabelle’s mind.
“Urgh?!”
Isabelle slapped the Succubus Queen’s hand away. As her consciousness began to fade, she leaned against the railing and glared at her.
“What… are you…!”
“What am I doing? I’m fulfilling the contract. You wanted to be with that guy Mars, right? It seems you had a lot you wanted to do with him. Don’t worry. In dreams, anything you can imagine is possible!”
“You… you…! This is a breach of contract…”
“If it were a breach of contract, my heart would have already exploded. But look, I’m perfectly fine.”
The contract between the Succubus Queen and Isabelle had been made through the notoriously strict Constraint Witch. Anyone who failed to fulfill or violated the contract would die from their heart exploding.
The fact that the Succubus Queen’s heart hadn’t burst meant the contract recognized her actions as valid.
“H-How could this…”
The Succubus Queen smiled sweetly at the bewildered Isabelle.
“No matter how desperate you were, how could you be so careless with the contract? Next time, make sure you meticulously cover all the bases when making a deal. Assuming there is a next time for you, of course~.”
Isabelle’s consciousness faded with the sight of the succubus’s mocking face.
*
“…”
“…”
Frillite and Cloud sat some distance apart.
Silence flowed between them.
It wasn’t an awkward, uncomfortable silence, but one filled with a heart-fluttering atmosphere.
At least, it was for Frillite.
‘What should I say?’
There was one thing Frillite had overlooked. Isabelle had only told her to go into the bathhouse; she hadn’t told her what to do after that.
As a result, Frillite was in a state of considerable confusion.
Cloud let out a small laugh as he watched Frillite, blushing and unable to do anything.
He broke the silence.
“So. What were you really thinking, coming in here?”
“H-Huh…?”
“You came in even though I was here. If you just wanted a bath, you could have waited until I was gone. Were you planning to jump me or something?”
“J-Jump you! I just…”
“Just?”
“Just…”
What was she supposed to say?
After several seconds of deliberation, Frillite decided to just be honest.
“I wanted you to see me as a woman…”
Her words made Cloud’s eyes widen. He might have expected her to say she wanted to be seen as a knight, not a woman, but to ask to be seen as a woman… It was the last thing he’d ever imagined Frillite would say.
Seeing his surprised expression, Frillite quickly added, “You and I are to be married, are we not? We will eventually be husband and wife, but it seemed you still only see me as a friend. So…”
“So, you wanted me to see you as a woman and decided to barge into the bathhouse? Like that? Stark naked?”
“St-Stark naked! I most certainly covered myself with a towel!”
Frillite raised her voice, turning her head away from Cloud.
Cloud sighed, then stood up and moved to sit beside her.
So close that their shoulders were touching.
Frillite stiffened.
“Cloud…? This is… too… close…”
“Frillite.”
“Y-Yes…?”
“You’re already a very charming woman. You don’t have to force yourself like this.”
Cloud said, placing a hand on her shoulder. The warmth from his palm seemed to spread through her, warming her heart. As her tension eased and she was about to turn her head toward him, it happened.
The black wave released by the Succubus Queen swept past them.
As the two of them had strong mental immunity, they were unaffected by the wave. However, they could easily sense the evil energy it contained. Without a word, they looked at each other and nodded.
Cloud slammed his hands on the floor outside the bath and used the momentum to quickly leap out.
And that’s when a minor problem occurred.
The knot of the heavy, water-soaked towel couldn’t withstand the sudden movement and came undone.
Plop.
As the towel fell, it revealed his penis, standing straight up toward the sky.
“Ah…?”
Frillite, who had been about to follow him, froze like a statue. Cloud took a few steps, then stopped and looked back.
“Frillite, what are you doing? Let’s go.”
With a trembling hand, Frillite pointed at his groin. Cloud glanced down, then yelled back at her.
“Is my dick really what’s important right now? Hurry up!”