Chapter 96: Help(2)
Chapter 96: Help(2)
Lina’s party decided to head for the capital.
The Saintess, after all, was there.
When I suggested it might be better to get permission from the imperial family to meet her, Lina replied:
[The current emperor is a greedy man. I do not wish to get entangled with him. He will surely try to use us for his own ends. The Saintess is just one of the people he uses. Though she seems to enjoy it.]
It seemed Lina was worried that she, the Hero, would be used by the Emperor to consolidate his power, just like the Saintess.
To be fair, I had also assumed the Saintess was some kind of angel descended to earth.
The reality… was different.
In any case, our goal was to meet the Saintess while avoiding contact with the imperial family as much as possible.
The only problem was that the Saintess herself might be reluctant to meet us.
She had, after all, explicitly told us not to ask her for help.
It was then that Victoria, being a noble, came up with a rather good idea.
[I believe the Saintess holds a social gathering once per quarter. My memory is hazy… but I believe it was around this time of year. We have no connections to the event, but… if you were to use your title as the Hero, I am certain you could attend. The Saintess is quite vain, you see. She would surely be delighted at the prospect of bringing Lina to her gathering.]
And so, the plan was to attend the Saintess’s social gathering in the capital.
All for the sake of recruiting her.
Lina’s party had taken plenty of time to rest and recover from their fatigue.
Lina didn’t know it, but they probably would have recovered much faster had it not been for the fucking we did every night.
Lina didn’t know how to rest, but in a different sense, neither did Natasha or Victoria.
The party finally arrived in an inhabited town.
From here, they would take a carriage to the capital. The capital was so far away that it would require changing carriages several times.
“It’s a relief this is a bustling town. It should be easy to find a carriage.”
“I hope we can get the best carriage possible this time. I shall pay.”
“It’s reassuring to have a sugar mama.”
Carriage services were usually located on the outskirts of town. The party walked, asking for directions along the way.
That’s when something caught Kerry’s eye.
In front of a dark alley, sultry women with their chests exposed were soliciting passersby.
“Hey there, handsome. How about you come play for a bit?”
“Oh my, he really is handsome, isn’t he?”
“I’ll give you some special service. Come here, darling.”
Now that we were in a fairly developed town, I could see these women with their decadent allure all over the streets.
They must have been the faces of their establishments, as they were all uncommonly beautiful. Of course, I didn’t let my admiration show.
“Get away! My husband doesn’t go to places like that.”
Natasha growled, chasing away the sultry women every time they tried to solicit me.
Thanks to her loudly fighting with them, we became the center of everyone’s attention. Dammit. This is a little embarrassing.
“We’ve finally found the carriages. Now we can travel a bit more comfortably.”
Lina and Victoria approached the driver with the best-looking carriage and began to negotiate.
The only ones by Kerry’s side now were Natasha and the old woman.
This was his chance.
Kerry had to briefly split from the party to visit the Magic Tower and meet his brother.
He already had a plan for it. He’d just been waiting for the right opportunity.
“Natasha, I’m going to go buy some snacks for the road. Please tell the others for me.”
“I’ll go with you, husband.”
“But then your grandmother will be all alone. Please stay by her side. I’ll be right back.”
“Are you treating me like a senile old hag already, son-in-law?”
“I’m just going to grab some simple snacks. Honestly, if you come with me, Natasha, you’ll spend so much time deliberating over this and that, it’ll take forever.”
“Gasp… That’s so mean, husband.”
Finally, he was alone.
Between a constantly worried Lina and a Natasha who wanted to be attached to him 24/7, getting a moment alone was no easy feat.
Kerry pretended to walk toward the market, then hid himself in a deserted spot.
He whispered, “Succubus. Are you there, Succubus?”
The succubus who repays her debts.
She had said she would follow Kerry until her debt was fully repaid.
He had only called her name a few times when a dark shadow began to slither toward him from the ground.
He was startled for a moment, but when a cute face peeked out from the shadow, a smirk escaped his lips.
“Benefactor! You called?”
The pretty, silver-haired succubus came into view.
As if conscious of prying eyes, she had hidden herself well in a corner.
What a cute little thing! So she had been following me diligently.
“Succubus. It’s been a while. I was worried since I hadn’t seen you.”
“Of course! I can’t leave your side until I’ve fully repaid my debt to you, Benefactor.”
Just then, a loud growl came from the succubus’s stomach.
She seemed flustered herself, her face turning red as she stammered.
“That was… I mean… I mean… I-It’s nothing!”
“Haven’t you been eating essence?”
“Ever since I had yours, Benefactor… I haven’t had an appetite for anything else. But… I can manage.”
“Don’t say that. Would you like some of my essence?”
“C-Can I? To be honest… I can’t get your dick and your essence out of my head. I’d never seen a dick so big and hard before.”
The succubus stared at my pants, licking her lips.
To think such a grateful species actually existed. Even in this absurd other world, there were still beautiful things to be found.
“Then do one favor for me. If you do, I’ll let you have all the essence you want.”
“!”
The succubus beamed with joy.
“Just tell me what to do!”
*
Kerry bought some bread and ingredients and returned to the group.
He could see them gathered in front of a carriage that looked luxurious at a glance, waving at him. It really was nice having a moneybags around.
“You’re back, Kerry.”
“Yes. I just bought a few things to eat.”
“Thank you for always being so considerate of the party.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Well, it seems we’re about ready, so let’s depart.”
“Husband! Uwahh. I missed you.”
“We were apart for less than thirty minutes, Natasha.”
Natasha whined as she clung to Kerry. Seeing this, Victoria shot a sharp remark at her.
“Don’t be so childish with Kerry, Natasha. You are not a little girl.”
“Stay out of it, Victoria. Hmph.”
“What-What did you say? You have worse manners than my five-year-old nephew.”
Here we go again.
Still, it wasn’t as awkward as before; they felt more like bickering sisters, so it wasn’t a bad sight.
Lina just shook her head, but a faint smile graced her lips.
“Stop fighting, both of you, and let’s get going.”
Victoria and Natasha started glaring at each other at the carriage entrance.
They were having a standoff over who would get the seat next to Kerry.
But today, neither of them would be taking that seat.
Just then, a voice came from the outskirts of the town.
“H-Help me! Hah… hah…”
The voice of a woman who seemed to be pursued rang out. Lina, who was already in the carriage, shot out like an arrow and ran toward the voice.
Where Lina ran, a woman with her clothes half-torn was fleeing in terror.
“Are you alright?”
“S-Save me. I’m being chased by robbers.”
There was no one behind her.
The woman approached the party, supported by Lina.
She began to explain her situation, which could be summarized as follows:
“I came here with my friends for sightseeing… but somehow I ended up alone. It’s my first time here, so I don’t know the way… I was wandering and ended up on an unfamiliar street when some rough-looking men tried to attack me… hic… sob sob.”
She even hiccuped as if she were terrified, looking utterly pitiful.
“Where is your hometown? We will take you there.”
Of course Lina wouldn’t just ignore her.
“The Magic City… Villn.”
“…That’s quite far.”
The Magic City, Villn, wasn’t as far as the capital, but it was in a different direction, making it awkward to take her there.
After all, the party had to reach the capital in time for the social gathering.
That’s when Kerry spoke up.
“Lina, you don’t have to take her there yourself. Don’t you have important matters to attend to?”
“But… it’s dangerous for a woman to travel all the way to the Magic City alone.”
“I will escort this woman to the Magic City. The rest of you can go on ahead and prepare.”
Lina looked at Kerry, seemingly moved. Her gaze was truly burdensome every time.
“Besides… I wanted to stop by the Magic City at some point to speak with the Sage anyway. About my magic proficiency. My circles are a bit unusual, aren’t they?”
Only then did Lina nod.
“…Then I will entrust this woman to you, Kerry.”
“Husband, I’ll go with you!”
“I shall accompany you as well, Kerry.”
“…”
I was wondering when they’d say that.
But he had already predicted this.
“Victoria, don’t you need to handle the arrangements for the Saintess’s social gathering? It’s best you go with Lina. And Natasha, don’t you need to prepare a dress and learn some etiquette and proper greetings before attending the gathering?”
“A d-dress! But I don’t want to be away from you, husband.”
So persistent. Kerry whispered into Natasha’s ear.
“You’re a good girl when you listen to me. Have you forgotten?”
“…”
Natasha’s eyes went blank.
“And I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in a dress.”
At that, Natasha’s vacant expression cleared, and she answered.
“Okay, husband. I’ll get all pretty and wait for you. Like a new bride!”
“…”
It would’ve been better if she’d left out the ‘new bride’ part.
In any case, he had succeeded in shaking them off. Fucking hell. This was as tough to pull off as clearing a dungeon.
As the carriage pulled away, Natasha waved with tears in her eyes, as if they were a family being torn apart by war.
“Husband! You have to come back soon. It’s a promise! Don’t you go straying anywhere else.”
Victoria also fussed over me like I was a child.
“Kerry, take care of yourself. The weather is getting colder, so be careful not to catch a cold. And make sure you eat breakfast.”
Lina and the old woman just waved quietly from the carriage. Would it kill them to give a normal farewell like that?
Kerry waved back at them until the carriage was far out of sight. Once he confirmed it was gone, Kerry got into his own carriage.
The one heading for the Magic City, Villn.
“Let’s get going.”
Kerry and the woman he’d promised to escort to the Magic City got into the carriage.
The woman was now staring straight ahead with a blank expression, a far cry from the person who had just been begging for her life.
“We’re departing, my lord.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
The moment the carriage started moving, a black shadow entered. The shadow transformed into a silver-haired woman.
“Benefactor, how was my acting?”
“It was perfect. I almost fell for it myself, even though I was the one who asked you to direct it.”
“Hehe. I tried really hard.”
The nameless woman before me.
The woman who had begged for help from robbers was being controlled by the succubus.
“Isn’t she pretty? I took great care in choosing her! You can have her if you want, Benefactor.”
She was a good succubus who knew how to repay her debts.
“She is quite a looker.”
Even to Kerry, whose standards had risen considerably after traveling with Lina and the others, she was a pretty woman.
The succubus gulped.
A shameful growl rumbled from her stomach.
“I promised you essence if you did a good job. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you! Benefactor. I think I’ve become addicted to your dick.”
“I’ll give it to you whenever I can.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much for giving me your dick.”
The succubus bowed repeatedly.
Then she began to shed the lingerie-like clothes she was wearing.
The succubus’s lewd body was revealed in its entirety.
A cute face with short, silver hair, contrasted by massive breasts and a plump ass.
It was less the body of a normal woman and more something you’d see in a manga.
A body befitting a succubus, born to seduce men.
Kerry took his time appreciating the sight.
Then, the succubus spoke to the woman beside her.
“What are you doing! Hurry up and take off your clothes. We’re going to please the Benefactor together. Quickly!”
The nameless woman’s clothes began to slide off.
Just then, Kerry stared intently at the woman’s face.
Why did the face of this woman, whose name he didn’t even know, look so familiar?