The Hound's Pursuit
The next morning, Mistflower Village was abuzz with an unexpected commotion.
It was all because of the three mercenaries discovered in the inn's stable.
They were found stark naked, their eyes hollow and their cheeks sunken. To make matters worse, the moment they regained consciousness, they began babbling incoherently, trembling in sheer terror.
"Hieeeek! S-Stay away! There's nothing left! I've got nothing left to give!"
"It won't stand... I can't feel a thing... My cock... it's dead..."
"Save me... I'll never sleep with a woman again... Please..."
Berrick, Gant, and Moss babbled their nonsense with faces as pale as if they had seen a ghost. However, their fellow mercenaries didn't pay them the slightest bit of attention.
"Tsk, tsk. You pathetic bastards. Just how much did you drink last night to pass out like this as a group?"
"Cut the crap about succubi. Did you guys drop some bad drugs or something? You look pathetic, so shut up and go wash yourselves!"
They were merely scolded, their pleas dismissed as the drug-addled ramblings of a severe hangover. No one believed that what they had experienced was terrifyingly real.
At that very moment, Lia and her companions had already left the village behind, traveling down a quiet, secluded road.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was strangely subdued. Tom and Jack repeatedly let out deep, regretful sighs, their faces painted with disappointment.
"Sigh... I was just so exhausted yesterday..."
"Tell me about it. Falling asleep like a log without even getting to have an intimate chat with Miss Lia... It's the biggest mistake of my life."
The two men were drowning in self-reproach over the fact that they had shared a room with Lia and slept the entire night without so much as touching her fingertip. Of course, they had absolutely no idea what Lia had actually been up to all night.
Sitting in the corner of the luggage compartment, Lia listened to their grumbling and snorted inwardly.
I need to start preparing to part ways with these fools soon.
Thanks to the essence she had absorbed last night, her body felt as light as a feather. Her skin glowed with an even more translucent radiance, and a heavy, potent strength surged through her entire being. She felt as though she could easily overpower one or two grown men with sheer physical strength alone now.
"Please don't be so disheartened, you two. We still have plenty of time ahead of us, don't we?"
When Lia offered a sweet, comforting smile, the two simple-minded men instantly brightened up.
"You're right! Tonight, without fail...!"
"Today is the day I will burn with passion for Miss Lia!"
Reigniting their burning motivation, they eagerly drove the carriage forward.
The journey continued without any major incidents for the next few days. Though they occasionally spotted signs of wild beasts or bandit groups, they managed to pass safely thanks to Jack skillfully finding detours and Tom diligently keeping watch.
After three full days of traveling like this, the group finally arrived at their next destination.
Ironforge, the City of Steel. This was the empire's largest mining city and a holy land for blacksmiths. The entire city was filled with a scorching heat, like a massive blast furnace, and it was a bustling, rugged place where the sound of hammering never ceased day or night.
The towering city walls, constructed from black stone, exuded an imposing presence, and the area in front of the gates bustled with weapon merchants and mercenaries gathered from all over the continent.
"Whoa... So this is Ironforge! It's absolutely massive!"
Tom gaped in awe. For someone who had only ever grown up in a rural village, a metropolis like this was a first. Jack chimed in, putting on an air of sophistication.
"The goods here are top-notch. Miss Lia, is there anything you need? You can find absolutely anything in this place."
Lia peered at the city scenery through a crack in the carriage window.
The pungent smell of sweat, iron, and the acrid scent of burning coal filled the air. Most of the men walking the streets were muscular blacksmiths or rugged-looking mercenaries. It was a place overflowing with rough, raw men who were on an entirely different level from greenhorns like Tom and Jack.
Lia's eyes sparkled.
This place... is perfect for stocking up on necessary supplies while avoiding Kyle's gaze. And...
Her gaze lingered on the sweat-glistening back muscles of a shirtless, burly blacksmith hammering away at hot iron.
"Mr. Jack, Mr. Tom. Let's stay here for a few days. I'd like to rest up a bit and buy some things we need."
"Of course! If it's what Miss Lia wants, we can stay for a whole week!"
The carriage rattled as it passed through the heavy gates of Ironforge.
Lia fell into deep, complex thoughts inside the swaying carriage.
Am I really changing?
Her body was gradually becoming accustomed to pleasure, and her guilt over coveting male essence was fading. It felt as though if she devoured enough men, she might become even physically stronger than she had been in the past.
Kyle is no easy opponent. He is incredibly strong. Even if I manage to return to being a man, I don't stand much of a chance in a direct, head-on confrontation. In that case...
But Lia shook her head to dispel the distracting thoughts.
No, let's not harbor such weak thoughts. I must grow stronger by any means necessary and return to being a man. I must focus only on that.
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
Having completed his quest, Kyle kicked open the door to the room Leon had been staying in.
"Leon? Have you been waiting obediently?"
Contrary to his gentle voice, his sharp gaze swept across the room. But the room was empty. The bed was cold, and Leon's massive shield, which had been resting in the corner, was gone without a trace.
Kyle slowly walked into the room. He opened the wardrobe and checked under the bed, but there was nothing but dust bunnies. It looked like Leon had been gone for quite some time.
"Ha..."
The corners of his mouth twisted upward.
"Pfft, kuhahaha!"
Kyle burst into a loud laugh that shook the room. He had already beaten the truth out of Tom's mother, the innkeeper. He knew that her son, who helped run the inn, had run away in the middle of the night in a carriage with his hoodlum friend, Jack.
"Amusing. Truly amusing, Leon."
Kyle stood by the window, gazing out at the road stretching into the distance.
"To think that you, who worshipped nothing but strength and muscle... would actually seduce men to escape on your own."
It was something unimaginable for the Leon of the past. He had been an uptight warrior who shunned women and pursued only strength. Kyle had never dreamed that Leon would use his new female body as a weapon.
Wasn't he a man who had been drowning in self-loathing just the other night when Kyle had forced himself upon him? And yet, he had changed this much in just a few days?
"Sure, go ahead and run. Let's see how far you can get."
Kyle's eyes flashed.
"I'll chase you to the ends of the continent. And the moment you're caught again... I'll make sure to give you a proper education, completely different from last time. So you won't even dream of running away again."
He turned and left the room. Waiting for him in the first-floor lobby of the inn were his party members: the mage Ella, the assassin Luna, and the priestess Sera.
"Kyle? What's going on? Did you find Leon?"
Ella asked, crossing her arms. Her face was etched with annoyance and disgust toward Leon. In truth, from the moment Leon had been cursed and turned into a woman, she had noticed the sticky, lingering glances Kyle cast his way. Seeing the attention that should have been hers directed at Leon, Ella's jealousy had reached its peak.
Kyle instantly wiped his expression clean, putting on the most sorrowful and worried face in the world as he began his act.
"We have a major problem. Leon... I think he's been kidnapped."
"What? Kidnapped?"
Sera gasped, covering her mouth in shock. She was the only one in the party who genuinely cared about Leon. Even when Leon had insisted on going to the High Temple in the capital to break the curse, she had felt a sense of guilt about abandoning him for the sake of their quest.
"Yes. According to my investigation, a male employee of this inn conspired with his friend, forced Leon into a carriage, and fled. They must have... targeted Leon's beauty."
Kyle clenched his fists tightly, pretending to tremble with rage.
"Right now, Leon is completely powerless and weak because of the curse. He can't even resist... He might be undergoing something terrible as we speak."
Kyle lied through his teeth without a shred of shame. He completely hid the fact that Leon had left of his own free will, let alone that he had seduced men to do so. Only by framing it this way could he justify going after him.
The reactions of his party members were mixed.
"Kidnapped... Oh my goodness... Heavens..."
Sera paced back and forth anxiously, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
"We have to go and save him right away! Poor Sir Leon..."
However, the other two reacted differently.
"Hmph, serves him right. Whining about becoming a woman, only to end up getting snatched like that. Isn't this actually a good thing? We don't even have to get our hands dirty."
The mage Ella snorted and sneered. Seeing Kyle's eyes fixed on Leon after he became a woman had fueled an intense jealousy within her. It was far more beneficial for her if Leon vanished forever.
The assassin Luna toyed with the dagger at her waist, looking thoroughly bored. She was naturally stoic and absolutely detested anything troublesome.
"So? Do we really have to go save him? What a pain. Kidnapped or not, it's his own fault for touching that treasure chest and getting cursed in the first place."
Luna let out a deep sigh and scratched her head.
"Sigh... Still, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If word gets out that we ignored our own party member getting kidnapped, our reputation will take a hit. Besides, that idiot obviously can't do a single thing on his own."
To Luna, Leon was a troublesome piece of baggage, but her pride as a fellow party member wouldn't allow her to just leave him to die at the hands of strangers.
Having gauged his companions' reactions, Kyle drove the point home.
"He was still our comrade. We must find and protect him ourselves; we can't leave him in the hands of filthy kidnappers. And... the honor of our party is at stake. If we let the bastards who laid a hand on our member live, others will look down on us."
Kyle raised his voice, bringing up the party's honor while putting on a righteous front.
"We pursue them immediately. The carriage tracks are still fresh. They couldn't have gone far."
"Sigh... Fine. If the leader says so, we have to follow."
Ella grumbled as she gathered her staff. Since Kyle was insisting this much, she couldn't refuse. Luna also stood up, shrugging as if she had no choice.
"Alright, alright. We're going, okay? Just let's get this over with quickly. I'm tired."
"Let's go! To save Sir Leon!"
Sera took the lead, brimming with determination. Behind his companions' backs, Kyle grinned wickedly.
Just you wait, Leon. My cute little toy.
Kyle's party began their pursuit to find Leon.