episode_0027

“Could you please step back, Noona?”

“I’m bored. Ah, you got that wrong. Twenty sets of adamantite armor would cost four thousand eight hundred and sixty gold at the current market rate.”

Time passed, and the Hyte Trading Company finally arrived at the city of blacksmiths, Blacksmith.

While Arina, who had entrusted the weapon crafting to others, idled around with nothing to do, Daniel was busy handling paperwork from the morning.

Waiting for Daniel, Arina peeked at the documents from behind him, trying to help with his work.

“Noona… You’re touching me…”

Unable to focus due to the soft sensation pressing against his back, Daniel grew restless. Arina tilted her head in confusion.

“You’re bothered by something like that?”

“Just because I like men doesn’t mean I see myself as a woman. Of course, I’d be conscious if our bodies touch.”

She had never considered that. She’d assumed that since homosexuals were attracted to the same sex, they wouldn’t mind physical contact with the opposite sex. That was an incredibly self-centered way of thinking, wasn’t it?

Worried she might have upset him, Arina obediently stepped back and perched on the bed.

“Then hurry up and finish.”

“Where did Miss Lirit go?”

“She got bored of the men in the trading company, so she went to find new ones.”

During their travels, Lirit had “sampled” every man in the company except Daniel. Of course, that included Duke, Daniel’s father, and his younger brother, Dennis.

“Come to think of it, Dennis once asked if he could have Miss Lirit if you weren’t an option. I refused, of course.”

“Oh? No wonder he’s been less interested in me lately. It’s been a smooth trip thanks to that.”

Instead, there had been a messy love feud among the male servants of the trading company over Lirit, causing quite the headache.

Watching Daniel’s back as he buried himself in paperwork, Arina lay down on the bed.

“This’ll take a while. Wake me when you’re done.”

“Understood.”

‘If Lirit drags in another troublesome mess, I won’t let it slide.’

Thinking about the slave who had already caused multiple incidents over men, Arina closed her eyes.

Succubi were known for draining men’s vitality and possessing a powerful charm ability. That was the extent of common knowledge.

But if anyone thought that was all a succubus could do, they were dead wrong.

Every succubus possessed an extremely rare and special ability—Mystic Eyes!

“61 points.”

“Huh?”

Lirit waved her hand dismissively at the man in front of her, as if shooing him away.

“Too bad. You’re disqualified. Today’s a day for a special meal.”

The man, rejected and baffled by the mysterious scoring, grumbled, but an ordinary human stood no chance against a demon. With just a glare, Lirit sent him packing.

The power of a succubus’s Mystic Eyes allowed her to quantify a man’s virility. The man she’d just dismissed was average, but today, Lirit had resolved not to settle for anything less than an 80.

The servants of the Hyte Trading Company had been… disappointingly lacking.

“Sigh, that Daniel kid scored an insane 92. It’s such a waste I couldn’t taste him.”

A whopping 92 points—a man no succubus could pass up. If not for Arina, she would’ve charmed him and taken him by force.

After seeing such a colossal score, nothing else seemed satisfying.

Would she ever find another man like that? Even when an 80-pointer passed by, Lirit felt no excitement.

“Hey, Millen. Now that we’re in Blacksmith, shouldn’t we finish our investigation first?”

“No way. Who do you think got us here so fast? Honestly, I deserve at least one day of reward.”

Ah, a couple. Perfect timing.

Absently shifting her gaze toward the flirty conversation, Lirit’s pupils trembled.

95 points. And an incredibly handsome one at that!

Before her brain could process it, her body moved on its own. She slipped her arms around the stranger’s neck and pressed his arm between her breasts.

“Hey, Oppa. Wanna have some fun with me?”

A sudden, full-body assault. The expression of the woman beside him, presumably his lover, instantly soured.

But who cared? Even if he was taken, she could make him choose her instead. Lirit had absolute confidence in seducing any man.

“Who the hell are you? Can’t you see he’s with his girlfriend? I’m already sick of all the girls throwing themselves at Ian!”

“Hmm, so what? It’s up to Ian Oppa to choose between you and me, isn’t it?”

“Who’s your ‘Oppa’?! You damn stray cat!”

No matter how much Millen yelled, Lirit paid no attention. She flaunted her gorgeous figure, waiting for Ian’s reaction.

In her mind, she was already chosen, rolling around on a bed with him.

‘You can’t resist, right? Do you know who I am? I’m on a whole different level from some pretty-faced girl like her.’

But Ian’s reaction was colder than expected. The stoic young man didn’t budge at her advances and peeled Lirit off him.

“I don’t know who you are, but don’t touch me so casually. It’s unpleasant.”

“What?”

Lirit stiffened, replaying his words in her head, wondering if she’d misheard. She hadn’t even used her charm, but with her beauty—enough to topple villages and organizations—being rejected by a man was unthinkable. Well, except for one recent incident.

“Are you… gay?”

“You’re not worth my time.”

“It’s just that I’ve had a similar experience before…”

Ian shot her a disdainful look and turned to leave. Desperate, Lirit acted.

Charm.

She’d been forbidden by Arina to use it, but when would she ever meet a 95-point ultra-handsome man again? This might be her only chance in life.

Determined not to let him slip away, she activated her signature skill—Charm.

At the same time, two blades shot toward her throat.

“Eek!”

Lirit barely dodged. If not for the reflexes honed by Arina’s beatings, her head would’ve flown off instantly.

“Ian, this woman—!”

“Yeah. A succubus.”

Sweating bullets under the pressure of their murderous intent, Lirit panicked.

‘The charm didn’t work? Are these two that strong?!’

Detecting and resisting charm meant they were first-class adventurers or higher. What were the odds of running into two such rare powerhouses at once? Lirit cursed her luck.

“Um… I’ll leave quietly, so how about letting me go?”

“Like hell we will! You filthy bitch, hitting on someone else’s man!”

“That’s not quite right. I’m not anyone’s yet, but we can’t just let a demon go.”

The couple she’d mistaken for ordinary was neither ordinary nor even a couple.

‘This is so unfair! I’m gonna die of frustration!’

More importantly, she was about to die for real. Arina would’ve noticed her using Charm, so if she could just buy a little time, she might survive with nothing worse than a near-fatal beating.

Lirit’s mind raced.

“Wait! I’m a tame, good-natured succubus!”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Since when do good-natured demons exist?”

“It’s true! Look!”

She pulled up her sleeve, revealing the slave crest in the same spot as Arina’s. Ian muttered in disbelief.

“Who in their right mind brands a succubus and keeps it as a slave?”

Consorting with demons was a capital crime across the human realm. Even setting that aside, the idea of parading a succubus as a slave defied Ian’s common sense.

“Whoever owns her must be a total freak. Whoever it is, I’ll send them to the same place soon.”

Millen raised her dagger, not because Lirit was humanity’s enemy, but because she’d dared to flirt with Ian. Trembling, Lirit desperately pleaded for her life.

“You’ll regret killing me! My master is crazy strong! The world’s strongest mage! Aren’t you scared of revenge?”

“Sorry, but the world’s strongest mage is my friend. No matter how strong your master is, they’re just second best.”

Ian laughed self-deprecatingly. He’d come all this way for her, but would Arina come to his aid if his life were in danger?

Would she ever even realize he’d come here for her?

“Laugh all you want, but I’m not lying! You’d better be careful. My master isn’t just strong—she’s as nasty as she is powerful!”

“Who did you just call nasty?”

The long-awaited voice came from beyond the crowd of onlookers. The same voice that once made her shudder now sounded oddly welcoming.

For the first time ever.

Finally, Arina and Daniel pushed through the crowd.

“Master! You’re here already!”

“Da—Master and I were just walking by, so we came quickly. Right, Miss Lirit?”

Since her slave crest was exposed, Arina played her role diligently.

But the murderous glint in her smiling eyes and the low tone when she said Lirit’s name made her anger clear.

Happy? Sad? Maybe dying earlier would’ve been better. Lirit fell into deep contemplation.

“A… Arina?”

Someone else’s heart was plummeting—Ian.

The scene before him was unbelievable. Though her face was more refined and beautiful now, there was no mistaking it. The woman before him was undeniably Arina.

The woman he’d searched for so desperately was calling another man “Master.”

That Arina was wearing makeup and a revealing dress. Her demeanor, once so different, was now strikingly feminine.

What the hell had happened in his absence?

The succubus had said her master was the world’s strongest mage. Arina was a slave, and she knew the succubus.

The only conclusion was that Riel Frost had been defeated by some unknown mage and enslaved.

How many on the continent would believe such a story? Millen’s eyes widened in shock.

“Ian? Why are you here?”

Arina was just as surprised, not even bothering to pretend otherwise.

Flustered, she covered her chest and blushed.

Between her fingers, the slave crest she couldn’t fully hide gleamed.

That day—no, this very moment.

Ian’s world crumbled.