A Woman's Transformation Is Not a Crime
He was back home. His home in the Adventurers' City. Before visiting his homeland, he'd thought there was no place more comfortable than his family estate — but having actually gone back to his hometown, he'd discovered that wasn't true at all.
My house. My home. A space free from anyone else's interference — he'd come to realize that such a thing was incomparably more comfortable than any family estate.
"Ahhh—! We've only been away from the house for how long, and there's already this much dust...!"
Contrary to the comfort Evan felt being home, Anya gasped in horror the moment she arrived, seeing the accumulated dust.
Watching her immediately wet a rag and start wiping the grime away, he told her to work hard, then headed into his room. He locked the door and slowly began rummaging through his subspace.
'I'm sure I put it somewhere around here.'
It didn't take long to find the business card that Penelope had given him. He stared at it intently.
A business card brimming with a seductive energy. A card that, according to Penelope, served as an invitation to the succubus city of Monghwanhyang.
There was one problem, though: she hadn't taught him how to actually use this card.
'...I can't exactly ask anyone about it, either.'
It was a succubus's business card. If he told Anya, she'd surely try to confiscate it. If he asked the kingdom or the Guild, the result would probably be similar.
And he certainly didn't feel comfortable asking any of his well-informed acquaintances about it. Since pretty much everyone he could ask about such things was a woman, asking how to use a succubus's business card was basically the same as telling them he was going to go satisfy his sexual urges.
"Hmm..."
There was only one way, since time immemorial, to obtain knowledge you couldn't ask anyone about.
Reading books. He thought of the library in this city. For a city of adventurers, the library here wasn't very large. Even the books it did have were mostly general-interest titles.
'If it were the capital city... wouldn't they have something?'
The Royal Capital Library, that is.
If the capital was where everything in the world gathered—
Perhaps they'd have books related to succubi.
"—It's settled."
His next destination was the capital.
The day after Evan decided to go to the capital. He used the Guild's communication crystal to contact Carnelly, who was in the capital.
Since it was the first time he'd ever reached out to her first, Carnelly stopped her experiment mid-progress and came running immediately to receive his call.
When he said he was coming to pick up the earring with the communication crystal that he hadn't received last time, she practically vibrated with excitement.
The capital's soldiers and servants, on the other hand, freaked out for entirely different reasons.
"—His Grace, the Swordmaster, is coming! Make sure not a single speck of dust is visible!"
"What's with the angle of that jar? Tilt it slightly more to the right."
"Hehehe, Evan, I need to make the earring for Evan quickly..."
Not long after, Evan arrived in the capital. He'd come so fast it was like he'd set off the moment he'd contacted her. The servants, who hadn't had enough time to prepare, were horrified the moment they heard Evan had arrived, but it wasn't like they could tell him to slow down.
His official title might only be a mere viscount, but wasn't he in reality a Transcendent who had supposedly reached a level on par with the Spear King himself?
Offending the Swordmaster was the same as offending His Majesty. That common sense was deeply ingrained in the minds of the capital's soldiers and servants.
"—Welcome, Your Grace, the Swordmaster. All preparations for your welcome are complete."
"Welcome preparations?"
Arriving at the capital, Evan tilted his head at the knights who greeted him from the very entrance of the city gate.
What did "welcome preparations" mean — a party or something? He wasn't thrilled. For Evan, who had grown up in the countryside, a party was something the whole village enjoyed together.
From his perspective, the parties that nobles held in their castles, enjoying themselves amongst themselves, were an extremely self-centered culture.
"I only came to see Miss Carnelly, you know. I'll be leaving soon anyway."
"It's fine. If you would just show your face for a moment..."
"Hmm... I'm not really in the mood for it."
Evan looked at the knight who was persistently clinging to him, wearing an expression of trouble, then nodded as if he had no choice. It wasn't that he liked the culture of parties, but rather, he thought canceling a party that had already been prepared would be an even bigger waste.
Seeing this, the knight let out a sigh of relief and guided him to the royal castle. Evan sat quietly in the carriage, looking out at the scenery around him.
Nothing blocked the carriage's path. A carriage escorted by a knightly order of several dozen men — who would dare block its path, knowing what would happen?
Even entering the royal castle was instantaneous. Evan succeeded in entering the castle without going through any procedures at all.
"—Welcome, Your Grace, the Swordmaster!"
"Welcome!"
"Uh, uh-uh... yes."
Entering the castle, Evan scratched his cheek at the sight of dozens of servants bowing to him. It was the first time he'd seen so many servants at once.
It was also the first time he'd been greeted by them so loudly.
As he stood there blankly, Anya, who was more familiar with the royal castle, quickly stepped to his side and guided him.
"This way, Your Grace!"
"Ah, right. Let's go, Anya."
Following Anya, Evan arrived at the party hall. He looked at the party hall, which was completely empty except for himself, and for a moment he thought it was some kind of trap.
Food was laid out in abundance, but unlike the parties at the viscount's castle, there wasn't a single person here.
He glanced at Anya as if to ask what was going on, and she tilted her head as if it were obvious and said,
"It's a welcome greeting for you, Your Grace. There won't be any disturbances from other people coming in! At most, the Prince or Princess might show up?"
"...What kind of party is that?"
"Huh? It's not a party, it's a welcome greeting."
"Ahh—so they set all this up for me to eat by myself... What if I can't finish it all?"
"Then we'll enjoy the leftovers!"
Only then did Evan let out a sigh of relief. He sat awkwardly at the table and began his meal. He didn't even need to exert any effort during the eating process.
If he stared at something that looked delicious for about 0.3 seconds, a maid standing nearby would swiftly bring it over, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and place it on his plate. All Evan had to do was move his fork and spear the food. If sauce got on the corner of his mouth, it was quickly wiped away with a soft silk cloth.
'I feel like a baby...'
While he was continuing his meal, feeling a sensation he couldn't quite decide was good or bad, the doors to the party hall swung wide open and a blonde man appeared.
A face he was seeing for the first time, yet one he felt he'd seen somewhere before. As he frowned slightly at this contradictory information, the blonde man slowly approached Evan and bowed his head.
"It is an honor to meet you, Swordmaster. I am the First Prince, Elshadai."
"Ahh—hello. I'm Evan."
"Thank you for visiting the royal castle today. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will ensure that my authority is at your disposal."
"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."
The First Prince smiled brightly as he said this. Evan tilted his head at the First Prince, as if to ask if he had anything more to say.
And then, belatedly, he realized the prince was glancing at the food. Ah, this guy must be hungry too.
"If you haven't eaten yet, would you like to join me?"
"—Thank you. Then, if you'll excuse me."
That must have been the right answer. Hearing Evan's words, the First Prince quickly took a seat and gestured to a servant. The servant swiftly placed a bowl of soup in front of the prince and then withdrew.
The First Prince took a light spoonful of the soup, immediately wiped his mouth, and looked at Evan.
"If it's not too forward of me, may I ask the reason for your visit to the royal castle today, Swordmaster?"
"I came to see a friend. Miss Carnelly."
"Ah, you two are friends? If I may ask, are you in a close relationship?"
"Well, yes. We're friends."
Evan didn't really think of Carnelly as a friend. He considered her more of an annoying woman who clung to him. But regardless, she served as a useful justification he could use whenever he had business in the capital or the castle.
Her value was more than enough for that. She also gave him various gifts from time to time.
Evan lifted the ring on his finger and said,
"Miss Carnelly gave me this ring too."
"...That ring is..."
"Why?"
"No, it's nothing. You received a fine gift."
"Huh—so it really is that precious."
"It is precious, but... well, is there a particular reason you chose to wear it on that finger?"
Hearing the First Prince's words, Evan looked down at the ring on the ring finger of his left hand. Was there some problem with wearing it here?
"Miss Carnelly said the effect only manifests if I wear it here."
"...Ah, I see. Yes. I understand."
The First Prince cleared his throat a few times, then grinned and looked away from the ring. Evan was curious about what that smile meant, but before he could ask, the First Prince spoke again.
"—Swordmaster. I'll be frank. Would you be willing to join my side?"
"Your side? Who are you fighting?"
"Everyone in the royal castle could become my enemy. For political and practical reasons. Even my own father."
"You mean you're going to fight His Majesty, the Spear King?"
Hearing Elshadai's words, Evan paused for a moment and imagined himself fighting the Spear King. He didn't know exactly what the Spear King was capable of, but the fact that he could keep coming indefinitely without dying was already a problem in itself.
Evan didn't want to fight an immortal. He made a tired expression as he looked at the First Prince.
"I don't really want to fight His Majesty."
"...I misspoke and caused a misunderstanding. I'm not asking you to fight my father—"
"—Ugh, seriously! Just get in here already!"
"M-my skirt...!"
Before the First Prince could clear up the misunderstanding, the doors to the party hall burst open once again.
Evan immediately turned his head to look at the door. Standing there was Elenoa in a dress, and beside her, a black-haired woman also in a dress.
A face he was seeing for the first time. Wondering who on earth she was, Evan's expression hardened as he stared at the dark-haired beauty.
Gulp—the dark-haired beauty swallowed her saliva, slowly approached, and greeted Evan.
"E-E-Evan... It's been a while."
"...Miss Carnelly?"
There is a saying that a woman's transformation is not a crime.
...But he couldn't help but feel that this was more like fraud.
Carnelly had changed that much.