Ch.40Plan – 2

In the grand cathedral of the Starlight Order’s papal territory.

At the very center, in the place where the ‘throne’ meant only for the Pope was located, Astaroth sat in that seat of authority, legs crossed seductively, playfully wiggling her toes.

The Pope, who should have been sitting there, was kneeling beneath Astaroth’s feet like a decrepit old man, bowing his head low.

But there was no indignation or resentment on his face. He was merely scanning Astaroth’s entire body with a lustful gaze, his eyes filled with desire.

Wearing something that was closer to scraps of cloth than actual clothing, Astaroth casually accepted his gaze as it explored even her most intimate areas.

“How did it go?”

“The Black Dragon and the Crown Prince have come out to meet my son! It seems the threats worked!”

The Pope answered in a booming voice that belied his nearly 90 years of age. Astaroth pretended to brush back her hair, slightly exposing her armpit. The Pope’s eyes widened.

“Hmm, is that so? I didn’t think that would actually work. Meligor must have grown weak from mingling with humans. It was good that I planted that idea to at least try forcing the issue.”

At this moment, the Pope’s mind was filled with nothing but jealousy toward his own son. Such was the thought process of someone bewitched by a succubus.

“As you’ve probably heard, the Demon Lord has ordered us to expedite all plans as much as possible. We’ll need to pick up the pace from now on.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll keep that in mind!”

“How are things progressing with the Order?”

“Most of the male followers have accepted Astaroth’s blessing, and about half of the female followers have as well!”

“We can leave the men as they are, but speed things up with the women. You can be more forceful than before. Internal Order matters don’t leak outside anyway, right? Or am I mistaken?”

“That’s correct! Astaroth could never be wrong!”

The Pope answered with bloodshot eyes and a shout. Astaroth chuckled and switched the order of her crossed legs with a seductive smile.

As her left leg moved over her right, a glimpse of what was beneath her extremely short skirt was briefly visible. No underwear could be seen. The Pope bulged his eyes, greedily exploring that secret garden.

Astaroth looked down at him, inwardly cackling. It was always most entertaining to watch a male crazed with lust desperately trying to catch even one more glimpse of her body.

“What about the Imperial Palace?”

“We’re sending nuns carrying Astaroth’s pheromones under the pretext of eliminating minor ailments through healing magic! The number of requests for nuns is increasing, and the frequency is accelerating, suggesting that quite a few nobles have been infiltrated!”

“Good. You’re doing well. Proceed slowly with that. I don’t care if you die, but if you’re discovered, it could affect the House of Astriere. I can’t lose a house I’ve carefully cultivated because of mistakes from idiots like you, can I?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Alright. If you’ve said everything, you can go. I have other matters to attend to.”

Astaroth waved her hand dismissively. Her claim about having other matters wasn’t an excuse but the truth. She had been so busy accelerating plans on the Demon Lord’s strict orders that she hadn’t even had time for proper energy harvesting lately.

It was only natural, considering she had to complete within half a year what was originally planned to take another full year.

She was so busy that she had corrupted the Starlight Order to use them as pawns. These were people she had originally planned to eliminate entirely, except for a few who would be turned into monsters to make them realize they had been used and discarded.

As a result, her accumulated sexual energy was about to explode. Simply bringing a succubus to her bed was far from enough.

“What? Why aren’t you leaving?”

Astaroth frowned at the Pope, who stubbornly remained with his head bowed despite being clearly told to leave. The Pope smiled obsequiously and said:

“Since I’ve… properly carried out your orders… please grant me Astaroth’s blessing…”

“What? Again? You old man with one foot in the grave, you’re so greedy. You can barely get it up without me, yet you have such an appetite for women?”

Astaroth openly mocked his weakness, but the Pope, long since bewitched, neither saw nor heard the insult. He simply bowed his head submissively, anticipating the blessing to come.

With an expression full of contempt, Astaroth spat on the floor. The Pope hurriedly rushed over and licked it up.

Instantly, his lower body, which hadn’t stirred even while looking at the Succubus Queen’s body, began to swell again. The Pope raised his head with a cheer.

“Thank you, Astaroth!”

Then he immediately ran out of the room. Astaroth watched his retreating figure with disdain.

He was someone she had kept alive only because he was useful for invading the human world. His life energy was all dried up and tasteless, yet he had such lust. There was no way she could have any affection for such a creature.

Once the takeover of the Order was complete, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to create a new Pope and ask the Maker to turn this one into a monster.

“…Ah, damn. Thinking about life energy makes me keep thinking about him. His energy would probably taste really delicious.”

Mira Crate. The man who had already resisted a succubus’s seduction twice. Astaroth licked her lips as she muttered.

Even during the second attempt, he had remained unaffected despite being given not only Roxanna’s pheromones but also a small amount of her own saliva as the Succubus Queen.

The effect was so strong that the female hero had been affected by pheromones meant to seduce men, yet Mira Crate, the actual target, had calmly driven Roxanna away.

“No matter how I think about it, it’s suspicious…”

Astaroth nervously wiggled her toes. According to Roxanna’s report, it seemed to be working for a while, but suddenly the effect of the pheromones disappeared. That point felt extremely suspicious.

“There’s something there. Definitely.”

Pondering ways to uncover Mira Crate’s secret, Astaroth decided to give orders to another succubus under her command instead of Roxanna.

Using Roxanna three times in a short period would be too much, so she planned to use a disposable card to uncover that man’s secret.

“Just you wait until you fall.”

She vowed to suck him dry until blood came out instead of life energy, not leaving a single drop. That was Astaroth’s pledge.

‘He was bold enough to act out even in front of the dragon and the crown prince.’

I observed as the nun with her severed ankle was being treated by her colleagues, newly appreciating the performance of holy healing. When they placed the severed ankle back and shone a white light on it, it reattached instantly.

Unless it was an elixir-grade potion, this was absolutely impossible with regular potions that merely enhanced the natural regenerative abilities of the human body.

Moreover, I heard that even if the severed part was lost, continuous application of holy power would make it regrow, so I could understand why the Order acted so arrogantly.

Separately from that, I didn’t particularly feel sorry for that nun.

‘She brought it upon herself.’

Unlike the nuns who had to serve Rosaria until their bodies were literally torn apart, she had apparently climbed the ladder well, accompanying the Pope’s son and participating in his misdeeds.

She was more like a soldier than a nun. So there was no need to sympathize with her. I turned my attention away from her and back to Rosaria, who was engaged in a fierce battle of wills with Alexander.

“It’s an order, Rosaria! Come along quietly!”

“An order? Ha, who are you to give me orders? Just because everyone around you pampers you, you think you’re something special?”

“Do you know who I—”

Alexander stopped mid-sentence. He seemed to have realized there were listening ears nearby. Rosaria, also aware of this, sneered and shot back:

“If you’re going to speak, finish what you’re saying. Hmm? You’re nothing but a candidate for the next Pope. You’re not even Pope yet, so why are you acting so high and mighty? What, do you think you’re something special?”

“You insolent…!”

“Why don’t you stop there?”

I intervened when I saw him trembling with rage and even raising his hand. Priscilla followed me closely and took her place beside Rosaria.

“Who do you think—”

Alexander’s eyes widened when he saw me. It was a complete 180-degree turn from how he had been treating Rosaria. He cleared his throat and completely reversed his attitude.

“Haha. I apologize for showing such an unseemly display.”

“…?”

I was confused by his sudden change, but then I remembered that he was bewitched by a succubus.

Given that the Succubus Queen had shown enough interest in me to attempt seduction twice through Roxanna, it was highly likely that she had given some instructions to this guy, who would inevitably encounter me at the Academy.

Judging by his reaction, he must have been told to avoid conflict with me as much as possible.

Well, it was already too late. After causing such a scene from the start, there was no way I would look favorably upon him now. He seemed to be a bit lacking in intelligence.

Even if he had approached me amicably from the beginning, I wouldn’t have viewed him kindly knowing what he had been doing. But he was still politely making requests, completely unaware of my feelings.

“I’m sorry, but I have something to discuss with Miss Michaela. Would you mind stepping aside for a moment?”

“I would mind.”

“…I see. Then I have no choice. I’ll come back a little later.”

With that, he bowed slightly and retreated, groping the buttocks and breasts of the nuns gathered around him as he went back into the carriage. Rosaria, dumbfounded, asked with wide eyes:

“What’s going on? Did you secretly mess with his brain while I wasn’t looking? Why is he suddenly acting like that?”

“I think it’s because he’s bewitched by a succubus. He probably received instructions to try to get along with me before coming here.”

“Him? Ugh, as if he would.”

While Rosaria was expressing her disgust, I looked at the carriage that had begun to move ever so slightly.

‘Should I consider the possibility that they’ve all been bewitched?’

Considering the Order’s notorious insularity, if the Pope’s own son was in such a state, it was unlikely that those around him would be unaffected. I had to consider the possibility that they were all in it together.

Or perhaps the entire Starlight Order had been consumed by succubi. That was the worst-case scenario, but not an impossible one.

“Rosaria, about what you asked me before.”

“What I asked…? Oh, is it that?”

“Yes. I think it might be resolved more easily than expected.”