Chapter 99: Trust(1)
Chapter 99: Trust(1)
So that silver-haired succubus who’s been following me around could become the Succubus Queen.
That was something I didn’t know.
[Just give her plenty of your love. Then that child, like my Cecilia, can become the Succubus Queen.]
Apparently, a succubus can become a queen by consistently consuming high-quality life essence.
How did the Sage manage to provide so much essence at his age? Then again, considering he’s in a constant state of arousal, it might not have been a problem for him.
In any case, I had a good time catching up with the Sage after so long.
He generously served me expensive liquor and food. A parade of dishes I’d never even seen in this world appeared one after another.
Perhaps because I could see the sincerity of the Sage, who would casually lend out even Legendary-grade items, the time felt even more enjoyable.
“Leaving already? It’s only three in the morning.”
“Agh. Staying any longer would be an imposition. You should watch your drinking too, Sage, considering your age.”
“My body is still as vigorous as a man in his twenties.”
Thinking about the Sage’s libido, that didn’t feel like an empty boast. In any case, the drinking session finally broke up at three in the morning.
When the Sage offered to let me sleep at his place, Kerry waved his hands dismissively and refused.
“Whew. That old man can really hold his liquor.”
I had no idea how old he was, but for a man with a graying beard, he was impossible to keep up with.
There was a reason Kerry had insisted on sleeping alone.
My luggage, which I had left at the inn before visiting the Magic Tower. The Doll Ginseng was inside.
I was worried about it, and I couldn't wait to show it to the White Witch as soon as possible.
Kerry retrieved his bag from the inn and used the orb.
As always, the pure white bedroom welcomed him.
“My lady.”
Slightly tipsy, Kerry called out to the White Witch.
Seeing the lace canopy drawn around her bed, it seemed she was asleep.
Kerry pulled back the lace curtain.
He saw the White Witch sleeping amidst tangled sheets. She was truly beautiful, even in her sleep.
Then, perhaps because of the alcohol, I accidentally kicked the bed with my foot.
“Hnngh… Ke…rry? You’re here…?”
The White Witch woke up, rubbing her eyes. Too bad. I was thinking of playing a little prank.
“…You reek of alcohol. Have you been drinking?”
“Yes. I had a drink with my brother today.”
“Brother? You have a brother?”
Drunk, Kerry started spouting nonsense.
“Well, you see. I’m the terrible younger brother who stole my brother’s woman… but the Sage… he treats me like a real brother… hic… boohoo…”
The White Witch just shook her head at the sight. Then, she taught Kerry how to dispel the effects of alcohol.
A moment later, Kerry came to his senses.
“Wow. There was a method like this? Then… is this why the Sage never seemed to get that drunk, no matter how much he drank?”
“Of course. A man of the Sage’s stature would naturally know how to control his level of intoxication.”
I felt somewhat betrayed. But it was my fault for not knowing. Only then did Kerry fully snap out of it.
“More importantly, my lady. Take a look at this. I got my hands on something incredibly rare.”
Kerry showed the Doll Ginseng to the White Witch.
The moment he opened the leather pouch, a white frost became visible.
It was due to the cold energy of the Doll Ginseng.
“This is…”
“It’s called a Doll Ginseng. I found it in a dungeon.”
The White Witch took the Doll Ginseng from Kerry. Her touch was cautious, as if handling a precious treasure.
Well, this was a Legendary-grade elixir, after all!
“Kerry… this is incredible. You’ve had a truly great stroke of fortune. This is only the second time I have ever seen an elixir of this quality.”
“The second time?”
“The first was the elixir I consumed myself.”
So, a legendary archmage not only has talent but also gets lucky finds like this. That’s just unfair.
“To think it’s overflowing with so much yin energy that it exudes a chill. I have only ever read of such a thing in books.”
Kerry felt his shoulders puff out with pride. After all, that lucky find was his.
“Want a bite?”
“…A Doll Ginseng is meaningless to me, as I cannot use magic. Besides, its efficiency drops if you share it.”
“Honestly, I was just being polite.”
“You truly are irritating beyond measure.”
“My lady. How am I supposed to eat this? It felt like I shouldn’t just eat it as is, so I brought it to you.”
“Of course you cannot just eat it. Well, it is possible to eat it as is. That is, if one possesses enough yang energy to suppress this yin energy. But a master of that caliber is a rare sight indeed.”
The White Witch stared intently at the Doll Ginseng, pondering how best to consume it.
Kerry moved behind the contemplating White Witch.
And slyly touched her butt.
The White Witch jumped in surprise and spun around.
“D-Don’t do that. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of some important thinking?”
She shot Kerry a glare before turning back to stare at the Doll Ginseng.
Feeling mischievous, Kerry reached around from behind and gently touched her breast.
“Eek! I told you not to!”
The White Witch shot up and slapped Kerry’s forearm. Of course, it didn’t hurt at all. A trade that was a massive win for me.
Grumbling, the White Witch began to explain how to consume the Doll Ginseng without side effects.
“There are largely two ways to eat a Doll Ginseng without side effects. For the record, I will exclude the method of simply suppressing it with yang energy. That is not an option for you right now.”
“Yes, understood.”
“The first method to consume it without side effects is to suppress this extreme yin energy.”
“How so?”
“By… aging it.”
“Aging it?”
“Indeed. It is a method where you seal the Doll Ginseng with plants that contain yang energy and let it age. By doing so, the plants will neutralize the yin energy of the Doll Ginseng. Of course, you must not forget to continuously replace the yang-filled plants.”
That sounded rather tedious.
But to obtain a hundred years’ worth of mana from the Doll Ginseng, I was more than willing to endure that much.
“How long will it take?”
“…”
The White Witch seemed to hesitate for a moment before holding up ten fingers.
“Ten… weeks?”
I could definitely wait that long. Absolutely.
But the White Witch shook her head.
“Whew. Ten months, huh? That’s longer than I thought. I guess there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
The White Witch shook her head again.
Still holding up ten fingers. Dammit. Please don’t let it be that.
“…”
As Kerry trailed off, the White Witch delivered the final blow.
“…Ten years. You must seal it in a sunny place with plants full of yang energy for ten years to draw out the Doll Ginseng’s potent yin energy.”
“…”
My hands and feet started to tremble.
The back of my neck grew stiff. This meant I had to just watch it for ten years, like making aged kimchi in a clay jar.
In ten years, wouldn’t the hero Lina save this world twice over?
Though I still had no idea what dangers were threatening this world.
I wanted power. Lately, Kerry had often felt the need for it.
But ten years was just ridiculous.
Sensing Kerry’s deep-seated anger, the White Witch began to ramble and make excuses.
“Th-This can’t be helped. The Doll Ginseng is a concentration of a hundred years of yin energy. The fact that you can suppress that energy in a mere ten years is all thanks to my knowledge. It’s true, Kerry. Please believe me.”
For the first time in a while, Kerry felt his blood pressure spike.
Seeing this, the White Witch’s complexion paled drastically, as if recalling the trauma of his gut punch.
“Ke-Kerry? Calm down. This is not my fault. You mustn’t awaken the equal-opportunity offender inside you. Get a firm grip on yourself… and just calm down for now.”
Right. Let’s calm down. I’ve only heard one of the two methods.
The other one might be more suitable.
“The other method… please tell me the remaining method, my lady.”
“…”
For some reason, the witch couldn’t bring herself to speak easily.
She darted her eyes around as if in a difficult position.
“The remaining method is…”
“Is?”
“The method is…”
“Hurry up and tell me, my lady. My rage is about to awaken the equal-opportunity offender.”
“Eek! Y-You’re being too cruel. I thought we’d gotten quite close, so you wouldn’t do that anymore!”
“That’s how pissed off I am. Why are you dragging this out and not telling me?”
“…”
The witch let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“The final method is… to have a… a wo-woman to share the yin energy with.”
“A woman?”
“Indeed. After you eat the Doll Ginseng, you would expel the yin energy that enters your body… through a woman. Women are naturally more resistant to yin energy than men, and with two people shouldering the burden together… it is a viable method…”
“I’d like to hear the details.”
“No! Any more than this… I cannot say.”
“?”
“…How about you just use the first method? Ten years may feel long… but having lived a long time, I can tell you it is not such a long time! In the first place, ten years is a very short time to obtain that much mana…”
“…”
The White Witch seemed to realize Kerry would never accept it, even as she said it, and spoke with a look of resignation.
“In the second method, the way to expel the yin energy into a woman is…”
“…Through sexual intercourse.”
Kerry immediately pounced on the White Witch on the bed.
“Kyaa! Kerry! D-Don’t do this!”
“What’s the problem? It’s just like what we always do. Who would let something rot for ten years when there’s such an easy way?”
“I… I refuse. I will not permit you to put your yin energy into me.”
Kerry spread the White Witch’s legs.
He lifted her white, nightgown-like dress. The white panties visible underneath were soaked wet.
“My lady, your panties are soaked!”
“It’s not what you think! Th-This is from when I was drinking… and spilled some water.”
“Who spills water on their panties?”
“…I told you I refuse… Hnngh!”
Kerry began to gently rub the White Witch’s pussy through her panties. Perhaps she was already quite aroused, because her reaction was strong.
“Kerry… even if you… release your yin energy into me… I will not accept it! I… I will reject it all. Then you will be the one in trouble. You might die, unable to handle the Doll Ginseng’s yin energy.”
“I believe in you, my lady!”
“You… believe in me?”
“That’s right!”
Kerry kissed the White Witch while caressing her pussy.
She turned her head as if to refuse, but it was useless.
Kerry pressed his lips against hers. His fingers found the entrance to her pussy and slid deep inside.
“Haah… Hnngh!”
The White Witch’s body was aroused, but her mind was filled with other thoughts.
He… trusts me? Me, the one they call the White Witch…?
Ever since she was young, even her parents had feared her.
The White Witch was a legendary archmage who held the most infamous reputation on the continent.
Everyone feared her, and at the same time, they badmouthed her behind her back.
They pointed their fingers, calling her a wicked and evil witch.
That was the kind of name a witch had.
“Kerry… you… hnngh… can you truly trust me, the White Witch?”
“Of course!”
Kerry continued to touch the White Witch’s body.
When he pulled down the straps of her dress, her breasts spilled out with a jiggle.
But the White Witch was lost in a different train of thought.
“If… what if I were to betray you… what if I really didn’t accept your yin energy… you would surely die.”
“…”
“Can you really trust me enough to stake your life on it?”
Could I trust the White Witch?
It had been quite some time since I’d gotten to know her.
In the legends… she was portrayed as an atrociously evil archmage, but the White Witch I actually met was different.
Far from being atrocious, she was soft-hearted and kind. She just didn’t seem that way because of her needlessly high pride and stubbornness.
Besides, someone who couldn’t be trusted wouldn’t ask a question like that in the first place.
The thought that the White Witch would betray me never crossed my mind.
“I trust you, my lady. From what I’ve seen, you’re not cruel enough to stand by and watch someone die.”
“D-Don’t lie! I know… I know this is just a scheme to coax me into cooperating, don’t you think I can see that?”
Kerry lifted the Doll Ginseng, as if he were really about to eat it.
“Wait… I haven’t said I’ll cooperate yet!”
“I told you, didn’t I? I trust you.”
Kerry tossed the Doll Ginseng into his mouth. It tasted far more bitter than wild ginseng.
No, I’ve never had wild ginseng before. It felt as bitter as a hundred-fold concentration of regular ginseng.
Kerry chewed and swallowed the entire Doll Ginseng.
The sound of him gulping it down reached the White Witch’s ears.
She couldn’t believe it. He had really trusted her and swallowed the whole thing.
Even though he would die if she didn’t accept his yin energy.
Truly… a foolish man…
The White Witch couldn’t push away Kerry as he approached, taking off his clothes.