The Incubus Hides His Kindness #1
The Incubus Hides His Kindness #1
I wasn't sure if I could call myself famous.
But I knew I had some name recognition among the citizens of Yoen-su. After all, I'd been an adventurer there for two whole years. A horned dream demon working outside as an adventurer was bound to stand out.
Still, it was rare for any citizen to actually approach me. Almost no women ever called out to me. Far from calling out, they were too busy running away the moment I got close.
Like identical poles of magnets facing each other!
Whenever I approached, the women backpedaled as if pushed by repelling pressure.
I could register my body as a humanoid magnet with the patent office.
"First, let's sit down and talk. Adventurer."
The actress Michelle showed me and Rebecca to a small sofa in the room. Then she took cups from a shelf, poured cool water, and handed them to us. Looking around, this room seemed to be an actual break room.
I sipped the water and asked Michelle.
"I know I have some recognition as an adventurer. But the citizens don't seem to look at me favorably, do they? As you know, I'm a dream demon... there are plenty of bizarre rumors floating around."
"They can't help but have a bad perception, adventurer. Incubi always bring bizarre incidents with them. I've heard there's even an incubus who fucks his pet in the asshole."
"There's a bastard who fucks his pets?"
"Let's skip that dreadful story! Anyway, dream demons who drift into the city never last more than a few months before getting kicked out. They're typically dragged off by the guards and banished, barred from entering the city again. But you, horned adventurer, are different from your kin. You've been working as an adventurer without incident for two entire years. The citizens can't help but be amazed."
"Is that so."
Just staying out of trouble for two years was enough to amaze people?
Just how low were their expectations for incubi?
"The people I know see you in exactly one of two ways. Either you're an intelligent incubus who's concealed his crimes flawlessly for two years, or..."
Michelle swallowed and continued.
"The one and only good-hearted dream demon untouched by evil."
"Pfft."
The sheer absurdity made me laugh out loud.
Me, good-hearted? By incubus standards, that is? I'd never done anything particularly kind, so I hadn't expected to hear such an embarrassing thing said about me.
Michelle glanced back and forth between me and Rebecca.
"Personally, today I've come to believe that you, horned adventurer, are a good-hearted dream demon. I didn't think much either way until yesterday, but today is different."
"Why? Did something happen today?"
"......Seeing you stick close to the woman beside you, you really didn't look like a dream demon who would harm anyone. When you were alone, your aura was so sharp it was hard to even approach you. But today, the atmosphere is completely different. I'd say it's quite gentlemanly.... You seem like a sweet and gentle incubus. Why do you normally hide that kind of good nature?"
"Hahaha—!!"
I nearly spat out my water laughing.
A sweet and gentle incubus? What kind of bullshit is that, fuck!
And I hid my good nature?
Not a dream demon who hides his strength, but one who hides his goodness?
Rebecca beside me giggled and said.
"She's calling you a gentlemanly incubus."
"Hehehehehehe."
It was laughable, but I could kind of understand where she was coming from. Back when I traveled alone, I'd always been on guard, even in the middle of the city. I couldn't relax my guard, fearing someone might pick a fight. But after meeting Rebecca, that wariness had melted away. Meeting a woman gave me room to breathe.
"Thank you for seeing a dream demon like me in a good light. So, what did you actually call me for, Miss Michelle? Surely you didn't bring me here just to lecture me on my reputation among the citizens."
"You're an adventurer! I obviously called you to entrust you with a quest. I've been so busy I haven't had time to visit the Adventurer's Guild in person. So, since you happened to be here, I'd like to assign you this quest."
"A quest, you say?"
"Luke. Shouldn't you be avoiding quests because of your promotion match?"
"...Hmm."
I recalled Wendy's words in my head. Her advice had been to control the timing of quest completions in preparation for the Silver Tier promotion match. But what Wendy had mentioned was only the timing of *completing* quests. With some maneuvering, it wasn't impossible to carry them out.
"It doesn't matter. After completing the quest, the client just needs to submit the report later. If we delay the report to the Adventurer's Guild, my achievement points won't increase either."
"Aha."
It wasn't that I had no desire to earn money. I'd already collected the bounty for killing the giant, but having more money was never a bad thing.
I also wanted to eventually move to a more livable inn room. Meaning I wanted to raise the money to move.
"What kind of quest is it, Miss Michelle? If possible, I'd like to avoid work that takes us outside the city."
"It's not a quest that requires leaving the city. Then, let me explain the quest to you, adventurer."
Before speaking, Michelle closed the curtains by the break room window. Then she even locked the break room door, came back, and spoke in a low voice.
"Please catch the stalker who's been following me."
"A stalker?"
"...A masked man has been shadowing me for two weeks now. A truly loathsome stalker. It started with leaving traces on my belongings, then stealing my underwear. His harassment is getting worse by the day. And now he's sending letters like this!"
Just talking about it made Michelle tremble with fear. She took a letter from her pocket and held it out to me. The moment I opened it, I recoiled in horror.
"Gasp."
- I l o v e y o u!
Just three words were starkly stamped on the letter in red ink. An ominous, chaotic smear of crimson letters. A feeling so dreadful washed over me that my hand trembled as I held the paper.
A blood letter?
A stalker who sends blood letters to an actress?
What kind of fucked-up shit even for a sasaeng fan!
"Eek."
Rebecca, who'd been looking at the letter with me, also widened her eyes. I couldn't suppress the chills running through my body.
So he cut himself just to write this single letter?
I clutched my head, picturing the stalker cutting himself.
The blood-letter-writing of a crazed stalker!
Just imagining it was hideous beyond words.
"That's a goddamn lunatic! Writing with his own blood? What kind of bastard is he? Is he a vampire or something?"
"N-no, that's not it. Luke!"
"What?"
Rebecca leaned her nose close to the letter and sniffed, then spoke with an appalled expression.
"This is ketchup!"
"What!"
Ketchup?
Now that I thought about it, it did smell faintly of tomatoes.
"O-oh. I see."
I felt embarrassed about causing a fuss over nothing. So what was it, then? The crazed stalker's ketchup smearing? That's just a loser bastard. I got spooked for nothing, fuck.
Michelle, who'd been watching me, spoke with a composed expression.
"That's right. It's ketchup. The tomato scent is quite fragrant, isn't it? I also panicked at first, thinking it was written in blood."
"That prank is way over the line. That stalker bastard."
"But you mustn't take this lightly! The stalker shadowing me possesses an uncommon talent!"
Michelle added with a solemn expression.
"━Magic! That stalker knows how to use magic!"
A stalker who can use magic?
Hearing Michelle's words, I couldn't help but feel interested at last — in that masked stalker bastard.
*
Two years had passed since I started working as an adventurer.
But I had still never once faced a mage as an enemy. The population of magic users on the continent was extremely small.
It wasn't that the guild had no quests to pursue criminal mages. But those quests were nearly all ranked too high for a Bronze adventurer to access.
"So the stalker after you can use magic, Miss Michelle. Was he particularly skilled at it?"
I grew cautious as I asked. If he was a genuine mage and not just a wandering magic user, I'd have no choice but to back out of this quest. Even though I had the Water Whip and a mana sphere, I couldn't say my magic skills were high yet. I had doubts about how well I could hold up against another mage.
"Well, I don't know much about magic. But he didn't seem like a highly skilled mage. After casting once, he'd look completely exhausted. He was panting heavily behind that mask."
"What kind of magic was it?"
"A magic that creates a translucent hand in the air...? My belongings were grabbed by that magic hand and floated into the air. I saw the stalker bastard use it to steal my underwear."
Using magic just to snatch women's panties?
Sure, I'd thought about massaging Wendy's chest with magic too, but that was pure fantasy. I never knew there were real deviant mages who'd actually act on it.
"I think I roughly know what kind of magic that is."
"Huh? You know about magic?"
"It's probably a basic foundation spell called Mage Hand. Not that impressive of a spell."
Since I also owned a Mage Hand spellbook, I could easily deduce its identity. Though I'd only read through the book so far, since I'd been focused on learning Boiling magic.
"Did you ever see that magic hand lift a heavy object?"
"I saw it try to lift my handbag and drop it on the floor."
The fact that it had limits on lifting weight beyond a certain point matched the description written in the spellbook exactly. A magically created hand inherently has weaker grip strength than a real one. Hearing Michelle's explanation, I finally relaxed.
The opponent was no genuine mage.
He was a clumsy wandering mage, just like me. He'd shown signs of exhaustion after casting nothing more than a basic foundation spell, so his actual magic ability was below mine.
"His magic skills are low. If I face him head-on, subduing him shouldn't be difficult."
"But still, he's a mage? You're not even afraid of a mage?"
"No need to fear him. I'm a mage myself."
I formed a hand seal and created a flame.
In an instant, a magical flame ignited above my finger.
Michelle stared at me with an expression of disbelief.
"Y-you! You were a mage? A dream demon who uses magic...?!"
"That's right. I have some skill, for a wandering mage."
"Incredible! Calling for you was truly the right choice, adventurer! I can trust you with eliminating the stalker! To think the adventurer I picked was a mage."
I spoke to Michelle, who looked as thrilled as someone who'd just hit the jackpot.
"What's the reward?"
"5 silver! If you resolve the case within a week, I'll add a bonus!"
5 silver.
Not even a dispatch job outside the city, and I could earn 5 silver? It was a pretty decent sum. If I earned another 5 silver here, I'd probably have enough saved to move to a better room — even after splitting the pay with Rebecca.
I asked Rebecca for her thoughts.
"A worthwhile quest has come up. What do you want to do? If you want to rest, I can handle it alone."
"Of course I'm joining in! Are we starting today? Should we head out now and beat that masked stalker bastard into the ground?"
"No, not today."
"Why?"
"It's date day."
I placed my hand on Rebecca's shoulder and spoke.
At my words, realization dawned on Rebecca's face, and she looked at me with admiration.
"That's right. Dates are important."
"I can't let a client's request ruin our first date. To me, you're more precious than any request."
"Giggle."
It was a line I'd thrown out to score points with Rebecca, but for some reason, the client Michelle also reacted.
Michelle showed an even more intense reaction than when she'd looked at my magical flame.
With her eyes wide as saucers, she muttered to herself.
"An incubus who's a pure romantic—?! A dream demon who's considerate of a woman, what kind of absurd combination is this!"