The Incubus Mage Who Conquered the Church
The Incubus Mage Who Conquered the Church
The next morning arrived.
After a short sleep, the first thing I did was head to Rebecca's room in the same inn.
Rebecca was already up early, not in her room but in the inn's front yard, practicing her swordsmanship with a wooden blade.
The moment I stepped into the yard and our eyes met, she looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Luke? What's going on? You always sleep in on your days off, but you're up early today."
This wasn't the time for leisurely morning chat.
I cut straight to the point and told Rebecca my plan.
"Tonight, we're throwing a party on the inn's rooftop. A founding celebration to mark the formation of our fixed party. You, me, and Kate—I'm bringing her too. We'll all meet there tonight."
At Brown's inn, you could rent the entire rooftop just by paying the private room fee.
The rooftop had a barbecue grill, charcoal, and all kinds of party supplies, making it a great spot for a small group to enjoy a gathering.
I wanted to grill some meat, drink, and share a real talk with my fixed-party members tonight.
When I made my intentions clear, Rebecca looked flustered.
"A rooftop party is fine and all, but you're telling me Kate has to be there? She won't even come near me if I'm around. Outside of our quests, she and I have never hung out one-on-one."
"Leave bringing Kate to me."
"Huh? You've got a plan?"
"Yeah."
I nodded in response to Rebecca's question.
But hearing my answer, Rebecca just made a face like she found the whole thing ridiculous.
She had every right to be incredulous.
After all, my so-called "plan" wasn't exactly built on some meticulous scheme.
"I'm heading to the church right now to seduce her."
"What did you just say?!"
"I'm an incubus, remember? Got to do this like a proper incubus. I'll just charm Kate. All I have to do is make her so crazy about me she'll cling on whether you're there or not."
I'd make Kate fall for me all over again.
This time, I'd make her affection so intense she wouldn't even care about Rebecca's presence.
That was the solution I'd come up with after listening to Rumi's advice last night.
Tap!
Of course, after hearing that, Rebecca placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature.
Her soft touch brushed against my brow.
"No fever... Did you eat something weird yesterday or what?"
"I'm completely fine right now."
Seeing how serious I was, Rebecca let out a sigh and spoke.
"Honestly, how the hell am I supposed to believe you're going to seduce a girl? Even if you two are already a thing, you're still... well..."
"Well, what?"
"You've got zero game. You're not a carnivore; you're a total herbivore of a man. I've heard a ton of stories about other incubi, and apparently there's hardly an incubus out there as careful and hesitant around women as you. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is—do you even know how to seduce a woman? Are you just going to walk into that church, fail to make a move on Kate, and stand there fumbling around?"
The way Rebecca looked at me was filled with disbelief.
And she had a point—up until now, I'd never been the type to actively assert myself with my lovers.
In fact, before we got together, I'd barely even expressed that I liked someone.
And now that same guy was saying he'd make Kate fall even harder and drag her out of the church.
Of course she'd have zero confidence in me.
But I believed in myself.
"It's possible. Hitting on a nun in the church is easy."
"What the hell kind of confidence is that?"
"Because I'm an incubus."
I pointed a finger at the horns on top of my head.
For 21 whole years, I'd suppressed my incubus nature.
I didn't want to end up like the rest of my kind who lived shit lives, so I deliberately refused to act like an incubus, trying to live as nothing more than a human with horns.
But from now on, I'd decided to stop holding my true nature back.
All for the happiness of my lovers.
"Ha. You're so full of it, seriously! If you're that confident, why don't you try seducing me first? Go ahead—make Lady Rebecca here swoon for you. What if I refuse to come to the party? Did you even think about that?"
"Of course not."
"See! That's exactly what I mean—you're so damn sloppy."
Rebecca frowned and placed a hand on her hip. That was when I added a quick reply.
"I didn't need to think about it. Because you're coming no matter what."
"Excuse me?"
My definitive tone must have irritated her a little, because Rebecca's voice rose.
Right at that moment, I placed my hand on Rebecca's shoulder and focused mana into my horns.
Ssss—
The instant I channeled power into the horns, a sweet scent wafted into the air.
It was the incubus's innate ability: a pheromone that arouses women.
However, the concentration of this particular release was extremely faint—just enough to make her slightly light-headed.
That was more than sufficient to make Rebecca swoon.
After inhaling the pheromone, Rebecca let out a flustered voice.
"W-wait a second. Is that your pheromone? We're not even doing mana charging—why are you releasing it now?"
"To make you swoon."
I answered with a smile.
Rebecca stared at me with unsteady eyes.
"You... you've never used pheromones on me without permission before. You always asked for permission like a total wimp about everything!"
"I shoved that wimp off a cliff yesterday. The incubus here will take over his role as your lover."
Maybe it was because her head was spinning from the pheromones.
Rebecca staggered, about to collapse onto the yard's ground.
In that instant, I swiftly reached out and caught her body as she tilted toward the earth.
"Ah!"
The moment our bodies pressed together, Rebecca's pale cheeks flushed red, as if she were embarrassed.
Even though we'd known each other for three months, Rebecca still got flustered all the time.
"Hey... we're outside. People are watching! You idiot!"
Up until yesterday, I would have pretended I couldn't win and let Rebecca go here.
But I'd resolved to act differently.
Because what Rebecca wanted right now wasn't me letting go.
"That doesn't matter."
"What?"
"Why should we care about people staring? You and I promised to get married."
I held out my hand to Rebecca, showing her the pearl ring on my finger.
The Mermaid's Tears ring I'd given her once.
When we'd exchanged these couple rings, we'd promised to marry each other in the future.
As I showed her the ring, Rebecca hesitated, then opened her mouth.
"W-well, that's true..."
"As your fiancé, I'm asking. Please take care of the celebration party. Get the food and drinks ready and wait. I'll bring Kate tonight."
"O-okay."
It was a request thrown at her like a fastball, but Rebecca nodded.
"I'll have everything prepared. But Luke... can I ask you one thing?"
"Ask."
"Aren't you suddenly being a little too assertive?"
I shrugged and shot the question right back at her.
"Does my assertiveness feel like a burden to you?"
"No. Not a burden at all."
Rebecca, embarrassed to reveal her true feelings, added in a voice that practically faded out.
"It's... way better than you being all frustrating. I like it. Reminds me of the warriors who protect my homeland."
"So you like it?"
"Ahem!"
She faked a cough, but it seemed like she liked it.
I pulled Rebecca back to her feet and was about to release her from the embrace.
"Hey... can't we stay like this just a little longer? Luke."
But Rebecca's side didn't let me go, so I had to hold her a while longer.
After the embrace ended, Rebecca and I parted ways.
I needed to go to the church to get Kate, and Rebecca needed to order food and drinks to prepare for the party.
"See you on the rooftop tonight."
After saying goodbye to Rebecca, I set out immediately for the church.
*
They say the day you head out is the day the market's on.
I never thought that proverb would apply to me, but today was the day.
When I arrived at the main gate of the church grounds and looked inside, I felt completely stuck.
Because today, of all days, there was a church event.
And not just any event—the most extravagant one of the year.
'Baldur's Birthday.'
Today was the birthday of the Radiant God Baldur, whom the church served.
Thanks to that, the church grounds were lavishly decorated, and far more congregants than usual were wandering around inside.
Honestly, just looking at that crowd was suffocating—the sheer mass of people.
"Hey, there's an incubus over there."
"Why's he here on Lord Baldur's birthday? Did the demons send him to sabotage the ceremony?"
"Someone go stop him."
I could hear the muttering of the surrounding churchgoers, but I paid them no mind as I crossed the main gate and entered the church grounds.
Even if their numbers were massive, followers of Baldur were fundamentally non-violent.
Unless I pulled some kind of nonsense, there wouldn't be any bloodshed.
'Where's Kate?'
But the sheer number of people made finding Kate unbelievably difficult.
I wandered around the church grounds for a long time, even poked my head inside the buildings, but the bright-blonde nun was nowhere to be seen.
An entire hour had already passed since I'd arrived at the church, and Kate still hadn't appeared.
During that time, of course, I'd also been subjected to countless comments from the congregants.
"You filthy incubus! You should be meekly returning to hell—what business do you have in a church?!"
"Lord Baldur will judge you!"
The churchgoers yapping away from a distance were obnoxious.
Just as I was continuing to wander the grounds, someone suddenly spoke to me from behind.
"M-Mister Mage! What are you doing here?!"
Sniffle!
I turned around to see a little girl in a nun's habit staring at me and about to cry.
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu—it was a face I'd seen a lot when I'd visited the church before.
Nancy.
The young novice nun who used to follow Kate around.
The little brat who'd start wailing like a siren every time she saw me, an incubus.
This time was no different: the moment our eyes met, Nancy started sniffling and keying up her cry-baby engine.
I guess I must've looked really terrifying to her.
"Sniff! Hic..."
Nancy was about to burst into tears, but I stayed calm.
After all, I had no intention of getting steamrolled by that little human alarm system a third time. No way—not three times in a row.
In an instant, I closed the distance to Nancy and reached my hand out.
We were in an open part of the church grounds, so the eyes of the nearby congregants naturally converged on me.
But there was no need to worry.
I wasn't trying to hurt Nancy.
"You like sweets, right?"
A lollipop.
Before stopping by the church, I'd thought of Nancy and bought it in advance.
"Ohh, candy!"
The moment Nancy took the candy, she stopped crying instantly.
The last time I'd visited the church for the foot-washing ceremony, I'd seen Kate use candy to soothe Nancy.
I'd prepared this item with that in mind, and surprisingly, it worked like a charm.
"Don't cry. And I want to ask you something. Where's Kate right now?"
"S-Sister Kate? She's not at the church right now. The paladin who was out on an expedition is returning today, so she went outside briefly to escort him back. Escorting the returning paladin is the task assigned to her today."
She was outside?
No wonder I couldn't spot her no matter how much I scoured the place.
"Where do I have to go to meet her?"
"She'll be back at the church with the paladin any minute now. That means if you wait right here, you'll be able to meet her."
"Thanks for the answer."
As thanks, I gave Nancy one more lollipop.
Holding two lollipops now, Nancy tore the wrapper off right then and there and started devouring it greedily.
I'd heard the Luminous Church was organized like a military force, so bringing in outside food was extremely restricted.
Because of that, nuns apparently had a habit of gobbling down any edible gifts they received right on the spot.
The reason Nancy was eating the candy like a starving beast was exactly that.
"Ah, so good. Seriously delicious. You just can't beat candy from outside."
"......"
"But Mister Mage, you can't stay here. If the paladin comes back and sees you here, you're in huge trouble."
"Why?"
"Sister Kate told only me, but... she said you and her have that kind of relationship?"
That kind of relationship?
She was clearly talking about us dating, so I nodded.
But I didn't get what me dating Kate had to do with some paladin.
"Kate told you? That the two of us are dating?"
"She only told me among the church members. The others don't know. Even though rumors are going around, no one actually believes a nun and a dream demon could be a couple. I only know because Sister told me directly."
"Okay, got it. But what about the paladin?"
Nancy put on an awkward expression and spoke.
"Jake Ruden. That's the name of the paladin who's returning to the church right now. Among the paladins at our Yoen-su branch, he's as strong as you are. And there's something even more important."
Listening to Nancy's next words, I finally understood what she meant by "huge trouble."
"Paladin Jake has a one-sided crush on Sister Kate. What do you think he's going to do when he sees some incubus coming near her? He'll draw his sword and challenge you to a duel on the spot."