episode_0086

000

A dark, humid, and dirty space, as if created by those who do not know the meaning of the word cleanliness.

Every time I turn my gaze, I see disgusting bugs I don’t know the names of, and what appears to be bloodstains belonging to a person buried in piles of trash.

And something raw that emits a foul odor.

The girl barely suppressed the urge to vomit rising from under her robe and headed towards her destination.

With each quick step, the silver feather-shaped pendant hanging around her neck swayed.

Occasionally, figures who appeared to be residents of this place looked at her as if licking their lips.

The girl avoids making eye contact with them as much as possible and walks forward quickly.

The source of the sticky magical power that seemed to cling to her entire body was a building located even deeper.

I’m sorry to the Duchess Tromaeia, but I won’t be able to rest until I see this with my own eyes.

Before the royal capital Elkerto is put in greater danger due to the darkness seeping out from the back alleys.

“I have to hurry, or else…”

Just as she frowned at the increasingly strong black magic.

The moment she turned the corner, she collided with someone and was bounced backward.

What she felt was something soft, not a hard sensation.

“Oh my…”

A sweet, feminine voice coming from the front was mixed with a slight surprise and delight.

When the girl covered her mouth and nose at the strong, sweet scent of perfume and looked up, there was an adult woman with brown tanned skin standing there.

A revealing, daring outfit barely covering her vital areas, and a chest and buttocks emphasized as if they would burst.

Long, glossy hair and an unnaturally beautiful face.

She didn’t know what she did in the back alleys, but she instinctively felt danger.

“I’m sorry…”

Still covering her mouth and nose, she tried to pass her and move forward.

The woman grabs the arm of the girl who is trying to pass.

“Kuh…!”

The girl is surprised by the sudden contact, but bites her lip to avoid making eye contact as much as possible.

“That’s strange… I’m sure you’ve passed several people to get here… How could you get here? A girl like you…”

She speaks in a nasal voice and grabs the hood of the girl’s robe.

“Ah… You, you’ve weakly cast a barrier of divine magic on your body? To eliminate the sense of incongruity and reduce the attention of others…”

The girl remained silent at her words and noticed that the woman in front of her was a highly skilled being compared to the other back alley residents she had seen on her way here.

She grabs the wing-shaped pendant with her free hand.

`Is there no other choice…?`

The woman smiles at the girl’s silence.

“Well, that’s fine. If a `material` comes in on its own two feet from the outside, then we should be happy to use it, right…?”

“Material…! Then, you are from Astaroth…!”

In the next moment, the woman’s hand strongly tightens, trying to pull the girl.

The girl also tries to channel magic power into the pendant to chant something-

“Sky Pillar…”

A jet-black blade dancing in the air.

Like a butterfly flying in the moonlight, above the dark alleyway, under the narrowly shining light of the sun.

The woman, who appeared suddenly, twisted her body in the palace and grabbed her sword with a reverse grip, striking the back of the neck of the woman in front of her.

The dark-skinned woman loses consciousness and collapses without even screaming.

The swordsman – Lovera, who landed lightly, adjusts her disheveled fedora and sighs.

Then, she turns to the girl she saved.

“Even so, isn’t coming here with bare hands reckless?”

As Lovera spoke quietly, the girl, who had been momentarily stunned by her appearance, snaps out of it.

Then, with her robe deeply covering her, she hesitates for a moment before opening her mouth.

“…Thank you for helping me. You must be Lovera… right?”

The voice that came out was very youthful.

Lovera slightly widened her eyes and guessed that the girl in front of her was about the same age as Sasha, who was at Cleon’s mansion.

And as she expected, it was she herself who had been sitting in front of her on the carriage yesterday without saying anything.

Knowing her name was proof of that.

“…Yes, that’s right. And you must be a high-ranking person whose name and identity cannot be revealed, right?”

Even Duchess Tromaeia is sticking by her side to conceal her identity.

If so, she’s probably someone from the royal family.

The girl in the robe nodded and opened her mouth again.

“Why are you here…? Weren’t you looking for work in the royal capital?”

“What I have to do is here. You are not of the status to come to a place like this… Or, perhaps you are enjoying a little deviation here?”

At Lovera’s words, spoken in her unique sarcastic tone, the girl stiffened for a moment and shook her head.

“I too have come because there is something I must do here.”

Then, she answers in a resentful voice, yet as if she would not be defeated by Lovera.

Lovera stared at the girl for a moment, then turned her body.

“I don’t know what you’re going to do, wandering around without properly bringing a bodyguard. I guess I should take you to Duchess Tromaeia.”

At Lovera’s words, the girl takes a step forward, as if that is the one thing she cannot allow, and says to Lovera.

“Wait! Lovera, do you know anything about ‘Astaroth’?”

Lovera had no choice but to react to the word that came out of the girl’s mouth.

But no matter how you look at it, it was strange for the name of an organization that was engaged in power struggles over the interests of the back alleys to come out of the mouth of a precious young lady who seemed to have grown up straight and tall under the warm light of the sun.

“…I know the name.”

Lovera answers her, concealing a bit of the truth.

In reality, the Astaroths were running businesses centered around brothels, and that the members were all a group of crazy women who worshiped pleasure, made up entirely of `women`.

She knew quite a bit of detail.

“Then, what about ‘Succubus’…”?

Lovera couldn’t help but be a little embarrassed by the sudden name of the monster that came out of the girl’s mouth.

`Succubus`

Also known as incubi or dream demons, they are believed to be the reincarnations of ancient demon’s sex slaves who have received their magical powers.

They have beauty that never deteriorates, seduce men and use their energy as food.

They can also reproduce through sexual intercourse with human males, and only succubi are born between them.

During the dungeon raid, in the case of a man who is completely fascinated by the succubus, even the party members dispose of him in order to prevent the succubus from increasing in number.

However, they mainly use spells of enchantment and charm, and their personal combat ability is not considered to be that high.

If it is an adventurer with a certain level of skill, it is one of the few demon-type monsters that can be dealt with if they know the weaknesses, even if they don’t put in much effort to defeat them.

“Currently, strange things are happening in the royal capital Elkerto every night.”

The girl said so and started the story.

And the story she heard from her after that was something that made Lovera’s head hurt.

Most of the residents living in the royal capital, regardless of their status or occupation, were having erotic dreams all night long.

From lighthearted dreams where a person of interest appears and creates a good atmosphere.

To lewd content close to the limits of human imagination.

The girl coughed a little as if embarrassed while saying those words.

Lovera frowned, recalling what had happened last night.

Ironically, she was able to believe the girl’s absurd story because she had experienced the dream.

However, it was natural that the condition of those who had erotic dreams was not very good.

It was better to just be tired from not getting enough sleep, and the more severe the erotic dream, the more severely they would exhaust their physical strength or become weakened as if they had really exhausted their energy.

Of course, most of the people in the royal capital were not in such a state due to frustration.

The girl was saying that there must be someone behind the scenes doing this.

“What does that have to do with Astaroth?”

At Lovera’s question, the girl closed her mouth for a moment, took a deep breath, and answered.

“About 3 weeks ago, a bad flow of magic power spreading from the back alleys has been flowing out towards the entire royal capital. At the same time, I heard the name of an organization called ‘Astaroth’. They are people who believe in hedonism… I think they are summoning or employing ‘Succubus’ and using their power to show the residents of the royal capital ‘erotic dreams’. I came here to solve that.”

Her words were logically correct, but Lovera still had unresolved questions.

“Why are you alone? There must be court wizards, and if it’s a matter related to demons, wouldn’t it be reasonable to entrust it to the clergy?”

“That’s…”

The girl hesitated as if she was a little troubled, but then spoke, stammering a little more.

“…I am the only one who knows that magic power is flowing out from the back alleys.”

According to the girl, she has a constitution that is very sensitive to malicious magic power compared to others, so she was able to sense the influence of the magic power that was spread thinly and widely throughout the entire royal capital.

She was the only one in this royal capital who could do that.

Unfortunately, even if she opened her mouth and told others about this, most of them would not believe her or her opinions would be ignored.

She says that is why she is trying to solve the case by moving directly.

“Why is that? You’re royalty, right? Who would ignore the opinion of royalty?”

Lovera found the girl’s words strange and pointed that out. The girl looked a little surprised, then slowly took off her hood.

The figure that appeared there was the face of a really youthful girl with light platinum blonde hair braided and lowered below her neck.

Her eyes shone gold, and the shape of her face was as neat as a statue carved by God.

And, Lovera knew that face.

A tragic member of the royal family with the nickname [Secluded Princess].

Amelia Caldearis.

Amelia’s mother is the king’s second wife.

After her uncle – that is, Amelia’s mother’s younger brother, attempted treason while she was in her mother’s womb and was executed after failing.

It is said that she and her mother were confined to a separate room in the royal castle and had to spend the rest of their lives without being recognized by anyone.

It is said that her mother died a few years after she was born.

The reason Lovera knew her face was that once a year, on the kingdom’s biggest anniversary, `Victory Day`.

She, too, is forced to participate in the procession where all the royal family members show their faces, but she reveals her face and participates in the last row of the procession.

Because she is forced to participate in the procession while kneeling.

No one dared to talk about what the king was thinking when he was doing this.

However, according to Duke Hughes’ previous thoughts, it was to show the people the face of the secluded princess so that she could be quickly captured if she ever escaped.

He was having an evil imagination that perfectly matched that level.

“Amelia… why are you in a place like this…”

Lovera usually has no respect for the royal family, so she calls her with rude titles such as `you`.

Amelia does not change her expression as if she does not care.

“There is a way. I can understand why Mrs. Tromaeia forced you to keep quiet about me.”

Lovera put her hand on her head, suffering from a worsening headache, and nodded.

If a princess who was originally unable to leave a designated place had gone outside the royal castle, let alone the royal capital, and returned.

That is a huge issue.

“…I am a flawed being in the royal family, a hateful woman in the eyes of the people whose blood is like treason, but I have a duty to fulfill my responsibility as a member of the royal family. A responsibility to protect the royal capital within the reach of my own hands.”

Amelia reveals her thoughts to Lovera in a dignified tone.

Lovera listened to her quietly and then answered her.

“…So you were trying to solve the case with your own hands instead of the people around you who don’t believe you.”

Lovera pondered for a moment, looking at the girl nodding her head.

Would it be right to take her back like this?

Whether being with Mrs. Tromaeia means she is condoning the princess’ outing, or whether she was taking her back.

But then she shook her head and decided what she had to do.

“You can track the succubus’ magic power.”

“Yes, and maybe. That’s where Astaroth’s hideout is.”

Saying that, Lovera approaches Amelia and puts her hood back on.

“Let’s go… It just so happens that I also have business with them. If you can track them down, helping you is the fastest way to meet them.”

Looking up at Lovera who said that, Amelia nods and guides the way, chasing after the afterimage of magic power that is only visible to her.

001

Cough, cough.

Amelia coughs.

The deeper they go into the back alleys, the stronger the poison and yin energy become.

Certainly, Lovera and Amelia could feel with their whole bodies that there was something dangerous inside that they could not identify.

Among the two, Amelia is the one who is more sensitive to magic power.

Perhaps the discomfort she feels is greater than the discomfort Lovera is feeling.

Lovera hands her a handkerchief that she had with her so that she could cover her mouth and nose to make her feel a little more comfortable.

The subtle pink mist flowing through the air was like poison to humans.

[Barisada]

[Yeah. I’ll purify the magic power coming into Lovera’s body.]

Quietly entrusting her life to her magic sword.

They get out of the curved path and stand in front of a building.

It was a large, luxurious mansion that didn’t fit in with these back alleys.

The inside of the mansion, which could be seen over the high walls, had lights on in almost every window.

I don’t know if it was intentional, but the silhouettes created by the shadows easily revealed that lewd acts were in full swing.

In other words, this was a ‘brothel’. A place where women sell their bodies to satisfy men’s sexual desires and receive money in return.

Among them, high-end brothels demand such a high monetary price that even ordinary people cannot even pass through the entrance.

Standing in front of `Walpurgis`, one of the most luxurious brothels in the back alleys, Lovera frowned.

`How dare they scatter such thick magic power and think about receiving customers? Ordinary people will collapse along the way. What are they thinking?`

“Lovera.”

Turning around at the voice calling her from behind, she saw Amelia pointing her finger over the entrance, at the woman standing in front of the front door.

Lovera’s eyes widened as she saw her appearance.

Wings like bats sprouting from her back, and curved horns like goats on her head.

And, a perfectly mesmerizing body and face that even a woman would find attractive.

Finally, pointed ears and a tail like a shaking arrowhead.

“Succubus.”

“There really are monsters in the royal capital…”

At Lovera’s answer, Amelia’s face darkened and she clenched her fist tightly.

On her face, she could see resentment towards herself for not having the power to persuade others.

“What are you going to do?”

When Lovera asked Amelia that, she grabbed the pendant hanging around her neck for a moment and said to Lovera.

“Of course, we have to stop this from happening. Find the leaders of Astaroth and…”

“They won’t let you get to my sisters, will they?”

A voice from above interrupts Amelia’s words.

When Lovera and Amelia looked up at the sky, there were several succubi licking their tongues with lewd smiles, looking down at the two.

Before they knew it, the two were surrounded by succubi.

“… … It’s good that you came out on your own two feet. If I cut you down a few times, you’ll answer my questions obediently, right?”

Lovera said so and drew her magic sword Barisada, taking a stance.

Her footsteps naturally take the form of protecting Amelia.

But Amelia throws off the robe she was wearing next to Lovera.

Lovera was taken aback by Amelia’s sudden action, but what was even more embarrassing happened right after that.

“Holy spirit, give me the courage and strength to fight against evil…!”

The silver light feather-shaped pendant she was holding shone at the same time as her voice echoed.

A strong light of divinity poured down from the sky, covering Amelia’s body.

Then, at the same time as the dress Amelia was wearing inside disappeared as if annihilated by the light, the pure white armor took its place.

The sight was like the `Holy Knights`, who are said to be the strongest knights in the kingdom.

And finally, the `pure white giant war hammer` is held in her hand.

No matter how you look at it, she didn’t seem to have the strength to wield such a thing.

She was grabbing the large hammer as lightly as a feather and moving her arm.

Soon, when a series of transformations was completed, she looked at the surrounding succubi with the same dignified eyes as before.

“The hammer of justice to the foolish evil that disturbs the royal capital. Saint Princess Amelia, appearing here…!”

With a fancy pose and a storm of divine magic power swirling around her.

Lovera, like the surrounding succubi, stares blankly at the sight for a moment.

“… … … …”

Sigh. Another strange thing has been added.