Ch.6666. Sister, Aren’t You Going Home?

“I lost…”

“I lost? That’s it?”

I lifted the leather scabbard that had contained the Raiden Sword once more and struck the succubus with all my might.

Whack-!

Thud-! Thud-!

The succubus shed a tear and finally spoke.

“I said I lost!!”

Seeing how she still refuses to speak politely despite being beaten like this, perhaps she’s inherently incapable of using formal speech?

I’m getting tired of hitting her.

Taking a deep breath, I pointed at the collapsed Jawill Wilson and Rio Sergan.

“What about them?”

“What do you mean?”

“Return them to normal. Now.”

“They won’t die from receiving my charm skill. They’ll return to normal with time. I do not harm humans!”

“What are you talking about? You killed all the people who came here 20 years ago.”

The succubus wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, looking wronged.

“20 years ago? This one hasn’t seen humans for over 50 years.”

“50 years? That’s ridiculous. You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s true. I do not kill humans.”

“So as a succubus, you absorb life force instead?”

“Absorbing life force is what lesser succubi do. A noble succubus like myself has no need for such things.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard of a succubus not attacking humans. Then why did you attack us first?”

The succubus opened her eyes wide at my question and raised her voice.

“Did you not enter my sanctuary without permission?”

“How is this place a sanctuary? Isn’t a succubus’s sanctuary the Dreamwalker’s Sanctum?”

“H-how do you know about the Dreamwalker’s Sanctum?”

The Dreamwalker’s Sanctum is where succubi and their queen live.

It’s also the place that will eventually fall to the protagonist, Serion Lykus, and his companions.

But wait.

Come to think of it, this is strange.

Succubi are monsters that move in groups.

The original work states that even when they occasionally leave the Dreamwalker’s Sanctum, they never wander alone.

Yet, here’s a succubus all by herself…

“Don’t tell me, were you banished from your group?”

“N-not banished, but betrayed.”

Considering she refers to herself as “this one,” could she be the former Succubus Queen?

But succubi are famous for being a species without power struggles.

“By Moranas?”

“M-Moranas? How do you know about… Human, what exactly are you?”

I don’t know much about Moranas.

I only know that when the protagonist and his companions invaded the Dreamwalker’s Sanctum, the Succubus Queen’s name was Moranas.

“Are you the former queen?”

“Former…? There can only be one queen, and that’s me. I’ve merely had my position usurped by Moranas, who isn’t qualified to be queen.”

“Why were you banished?”

“…I was betrayed.”

“Yes, but why were you betrayed?”

“Perhaps it was jealousy of my beauty.”

“Really? You still haven’t come to your senses?”

I gritted my teeth and raised the scabbard over my head again.

The succubus squeezed her eyes shut and raised her voice.

“S-she coveted the queen’s position!”

“What’s so great about being queen?”

“The queen is the only being who can live without absorbing the life force of other monsters.”

“Not human life force?”

“It doesn’t matter. Whether human or monster, the queen can live without absorbing any life force.”

“So since you’re not queen now, you need to absorb life force to survive?”

The succubus opened her eyes and continued with a reddened face.

“Didn’t I tell you? The queen is a chosen being. Even if the position is stolen, nothing changes.”

So that’s why?

Could it be that Moranas, the Succubus Queen in the original work, was driven mad because she couldn’t become the true queen?

Come to think of it, Moranas did maintain her youth by absorbing life force.

“So you’re saying you’ve truly never killed humans?”

“Never.”

“But you just tried to charm Rio and kill him earlier.”

“I only meant to knock him unconscious so he would be scared and leave my sanctuary. I had no intention of killing him.”

Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to be lying to save her life.

But what could I do?

Whether a succubus or a queen, she’s still just a monster.

However, I couldn’t kill her right away.

Before killing her, I needed information about the Forest of Death.

“Fine, I understand. Are there any other monsters in this forest besides you?”

“I don’t know. All I can say for certain is that deeper in the forest, I sense the presence of a monster much stronger than myself.”

In that case.

Going deeper is currently impossible.

Even this succubus in front of me would have been a difficult opponent if her charm skill had worked on me.

Should I retreat for now?

Sigh…

With only half a year left until the monster wave, I thought the power gap wouldn’t be that significant, but was I too hasty?

I even brought Rio Sergan along.

I looked down at the succubus with a cold face, gripping the Raiden Sword.

The succubus glanced up at me once and sighed.

“I see you intend to kill me.”

I had sought information, but it was clear I shouldn’t have conversed so much with a high-ranking monster capable of human speech.

Especially since a succubus looks almost human, it was inevitable to feel some compassion.

Of course, I should end this now.

“I won’t tell you not to hold a grudge.”

“I was hoping to live quietly and die peacefully here, but it seems even that was a luxury not permitted to me.”

Watching the succubus close her eyes in resignation made me feel like the villain, which left a bitter taste.

I sighed briefly and sheathed the Raiden Sword.

“Hah…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hide here for exactly two years, then go to the Dreamwalker’s Sanctum. By then, Moranas who betrayed you will already be dead.”

“She’ll die?”

“Yes, so even if strange things happen in this forest in half a year, don’t leave. Stay put quietly.”

“So you’re sparing me?”

“I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.”

I shook my head, and the succubus gave a gentle smile.

“Humans truly are unpredictable beings.”

“Enough. Live well so I won’t regret sparing you today.”

“…Remember this, human. My name is Evareen.”

Jawill Wilson and Rio Sergan were beginning to wake up.

By the time I turned my head again after supporting them, the succubus had vanished.

*

“Sister, aren’t you going home?”

“How can I return to the family when I haven’t figured out your true identity yet?”

“Are you doubting that I’m ‘Selden Alphonse’?”

“Yes, because my sweet brother would never hunt monsters with such a terrifying expression!”

“But why did you follow me into the bath?”

Across from me, Miria Alphonse shakes her head with a reddened face.

“T-that’s to determine whether you’re really my brother or not!”

“If you’re suspicious, couldn’t you just ask me about a childhood memory?”

“…Never mind.”

“Worried I might not be able to answer?”

Instead of being flustered as I expected, Miria Alphonse gives a meaningful smile.

“It’s the opposite. If you can answer, then you really are my brother ‘Selden Alphonse.'”

“What do you mean?”

“If you’re not ‘Selden Alphonse,’ then we’re not related.”

“Yes…?”

“Then we could officially get married.”

This woman…

As always, she exceeds all imagination.

Was that really why she hadn’t questioned me much despite her suspicions?

“If I’m not Selden Alphonse, there’s no reason for us to marry, is there?”

“Why not? I felt how well my Selden has grown when I saw you in the bath last time.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You seem like you could please your sister every night.”

“Haha… Your joke goes too far.”

“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

I looked at Miria Alphonse.

She stared back with wide eyes, not averting her gaze.

Though she didn’t appear in the original work, she seemed to be one of the craziest women in this world.

“I’ll tell Father.”

“Tsk! The fact that you’d tell on me proves you’re my brother.”

“I came to the bath to relieve fatigue, not accumulate more.”

Miria Alphonse chuckled and adjusted her posture.

“Where did you go today that made you so tired? Did you go monster hunting again?”

“Didn’t Padericks tell you? I went to explore the Forest of Death.”

“The Forest of Death? Right… W-wait, you went to the Forest of Death?”

“Yes, but only to the entrance, so it wasn’t dangerous.”

“Are you trying to die?! Going to such a dangerous place without permission?”

“It was just for exploration purposes. As I just said, it was only the entrance, so there was no danger.”

When I spoke calmly, Miria Alphonse seemed at a loss for words, opening and closing her mouth before finally speaking.

“Father designated it as a forbidden zone himself. There’s no reason to risk your life for exploration!”

“You don’t think I’m your brother anyway. So why should you care?”

I responded indifferently, remembering the lecture I’d received from Padericks, and Miria Alphonse’s expression immediately hardened.

Then she raised her head with an eerie smile.

“Selden Alphonse.”

“…Yes?!”

Miria Alphonse lowered her voice and slowly approached me, rising from the water, completely naked.

“If you’re truly not my brother, I’m thinking of pouncing on you right now. What do you think about that?”