‘Perhaps I can get information about the Four Heavenly Kings from this prostitute.’
‘Even if it’s outdated, as long as I have something, I can prepare for what’s next.’
“Did he have black hair with streaks of white in it? Surely, even with that stupid head of yours, you remember something like that.”
Unusual appearances tend to be memorable.
It must be a mix of black and white hair.
“No! He… he was just bald! A muscular bald man! I thought he was a customer, but he said he was selling me a scroll! And he had a purple mark on his forehead!”
‘A purple mark on the forehead?’
‘If that’s the case, is he a subordinate of Zerato?’
Zerato is a fool who failed at mana fusion and became a demon, serving the traitor Clanis.
His main skill is using dark magic to curse humans, turning them into monsters or corrupting them.
‘Is it already too late?’
Zerato’s subordinate wouldn’t have sold a scroll only to this prostitute.
Sure enough, it’s been five years.
So, it’s normal for this town to have already started falling into corruption.
However, it’s surprisingly intact.
Then again, the knights of Ashtar were watching over this woman.
If something had happened, they would have known long ago.
Five years ago, it was just a few months before I, Noah, joined the hero’s party.
Not that it matters, but as Olivia, I am an imperial citizen.
So, I can’t stand by and watch anything that could harm the Empire.
***
“Did anything happen in Moran afterward?”
“Th-there was… a group of people, dozens, who either went mad or suddenly turned into monsters. One of the Seven Stars happened to be passing through Moran at the time and took care of it, killing that bald man too!”
The Seven Stars handled it, so it’s been taken care of, I guess.
“In that case, Zerato, that coward, wouldn’t have dared to come back a second time. He probably just tested the waters once.”
“If it were simple dark magic, that’d be one thing, but the problem here is the Demon King’s curse.”
“The traitor Clanis… Was she using Zerato to mess with the Empire?”
“Well, this was all before I joined the hero’s party anyway.”
“It’s not my concern anymore.”
“Still, what bothers me is the fact that this scroll contains the Demon King’s curse.”
“When Zerato fought me, he used regular dark magic scrolls, not ones with the Demon King’s curse.”
“Since I destroyed his mana circuit, he probably can’t act on his own anymore.”
“He wouldn’t be able to create any more subordinates either.”
“Was he trying to turn me into a monster with that scroll back then?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Thinking back, Clanis once said something like that.”
- “The hero is just a symbol; you’re the real deal. You’d make a fitting vessel for the Demon King.”
- “Let’s start with a good punch.”
“That was the beginning of them talking about me as the Demon King’s vessel.”
“So, was the traitor Clanis using Zerato to find a vessel for the Demon King?”
“Was she preparing for the possibility of his defeat?”
“Right now, I don’t have enough information. There’s no way to confront Clanis, who’s likely hiding somewhere.”
“I don’t even know if I could beat her alone at this point.”
“This isn’t a problem I can deal with right now.”
“After all, I haven’t encountered Clanis yet.”
“Then, is my next stop Lily?”
“Fine. I’ll let this go for now.”
“I haven’t gathered much information.”
“All I’ve learned is that Zerato tried to probe the Empire using a subordinate, only to be crushed by the Seven Stars.”
“And that Zerato, under Clanis’s orders, was searching for a human to serve as a vessel for the Demon King.”
“That’s about it.”
“Then, are you just letting it go?”
“Let it go?”
“Quit it! Then I’ll pretend I don’t know anything either!”
Watching her beg me with a bruised face was satisfying.
But seeing her act like she’s still important disgusted me to no end.
‘Living in a place like this, she truly knows nothing.’
“Do you live in such a backwater that you’re unaware?”
“What?”
“Lily was disowned.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t lie!”
“If I’ve come all the way here to beat and interrogate her, she should realize at least that much.”
“This will be the end today, for both her and Lily.”
“Honestly, it’s not even about avenging the previous Olivia’s death.”
“I’m just angry at having to use my power for something with so little information.”
“Lily was caught contracting with a succubus. Do you think a woman like that could ever become the Empress of a country?”
“She must already know.”
“That’s why she pushed her daughter to use that power to seduce the Crown Prince.”
“Well, her intention was clever.”
“Instead of seducing Aslan directly, she made me look like a terrible person so that Aslan would lose all affection for me.”
“Only then did this woman, feeling anxious, crawl toward me with her broken limbs.”
“W-what do you mean? Then where is Lily? Where is she?”
Her love for her daughter is evident.
“Duke Ashtar threw her into the river.”
“N-no way! My daughter!”
“When you pulled those filthy tricks to get into Ashtar, you should have been prepared for this.”
“Pine caterpillars should stick to eating pine needles. Why did you meddle and make things this way?”
A funny idea came to mind.
“So… is Lily really alive?”
“I did save her.”
“H-hurry, return Lily to me! I promise I’ll stay away from you from now on!”
“Really?”
She sure talks a big game.
Even if she bows and scrapes now, it won’t change the fact that the previous Olivia is dead.
“She will not be resurrected.”
“Not even I can bring back the dead.”
“In that case, you’ll have to die, too.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I’m sorry, but your daughter Lily no longer exists.”
“I can’t consider that a human being anymore.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying she’s dead? You killed her, didn’t you!”
As she lunged at me with murderous intent, I struck her in the abdomen again.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
‘Is this a bit harsh for a woman?’
Since she’s going to die anyway, it doesn’t matter.
The prostitute collapsed, groaning in pain.
“I know you’re a prostitute, and you love your child dearly, but know your place. Kill you? To be precise, this is karma. Here.”
I pulled Lily, whom I had confined in a pocket dimension, out and threw her on the floor like an object.
The succubus Lily, with pink hair, horns, and wings.
Had she not been caught by me, she would’ve likely done something terrible and escaped.
“Cough, cough… Who… who is this?”
Coughing as she struggled to move, the woman slowly examined the monster lying in front of her, then looked over at me.
“Your daughter. You should be able to recognize her face, right?”
“No… This can’t be. My daughter—”
It must be hard to believe, considering how much she cherished her daughter.
She probably tried her best not to raise her daughter to be like herself.
But of course, that feeling alone wasn’t enough.
‘Didn’t she realize that her filthy nature had been passed down to Lily?’
If she’d noticed that, she might have had the sense to stop Lily from contracting with a succubus.
“You should have prevented Lily from making a contract with the succubus or at least restrained her from using that power. But she awakened as a succubus, driven by the instinct to survive.”
I kicked Lily’s unconscious head, causing her to stir and barely come to her senses.
“M-mother?”
“L-Lily?”
“Now she even has a tail and wings. If she gets caught, she’ll have no choice but to die.”
The moment she steps out of this building and reaches the village, the adventurers will likely behead her.
“What? Why would anyone kill my daughter?”
“Then should we let a monster roam freely in the middle of the village? Especially a succubus—beings known to enthrall imperial soldiers to weaken their combat power.”
Even if she manages to escape capture, a bounty will be placed on her.
The woman who called herself Lily’s mother looked at me with a pleading gaze.
‘Does she think I can do something about this?’
“You… you can save her, right? Please.”
“I’m sorry, but didn’t you try to turn me into a monster yourself? Don’t you remember?”
‘How could she be so shameless?’
“I-I’ll apologize. I’ll bow my head as many times as it takes. You can even take my life. Just spare my child.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little too late for that?”
“I’m… I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!”
Watching her apologize with her face pressed to the ground was pitiful.
I don’t even remember my own mother’s face, yet I found myself wondering if this was truly a display of maternal love.
“M-mother? Why are you begging this woman?”
“Beg her too! It’s the only way we’ll survive here!”
Her desperation was written all over her face.
“Why would I? I’m the daughter of the House of Ashtar. Why should I help a monster and her mother?”
“Please!”
“What do I stand to gain by helping you?”
Nothing.
Knowing this, the woman merely closed her mouth and rolled her eyes, unsure of what to say.
“If you share the same blood as my father, you could at least show some mercy, couldn’t you?”
“Lily, you’re truly vile to the end. And I like that.”
‘It’s great. She’s making sure I don’t hesitate in the slightest.’
Her expression begged for vengeance against me, and there was something I was genuinely curious about.
“And you—are you really Lily’s mother? Do you truly love her?”
“Of course, she’s my mother! She loves me!”
‘Right. She loves her daughter dearly, but she’s too brainless to intervene even when her daughter dabbled with a succubus.’
The woman must have already despaired upon seeing her daughter transformed into a succubus.
“Poor Lily. Doesn’t it strike you as odd? Why did your mother let you go unchecked, even after knowing you were using succubus powers?”
“Sister, stop saying strange things and just help us!”
Unlike creatures born as monsters, humans who become demons or monsters often lack stable identities and emotional control.
“Think about it, Lily. From the moment you made a contract with the succubus, you were already as good as caught. Yet your mother knew and chose to do nothing. Why do you think that is?”
“I just wanted my daughter to succeed!”
The foolish woman shouted.
‘Yes, yes. That’s about the limit of what your brain can process, isn’t it? That’s how it is.’
But in the end, it was that same dull mind that brought Lily to this state.
Though Lily still seemed to trust her mother.
Now that she’d just become a monster, any slight shake would be deadly to her.
“Are you saying my mother used me?”
I grabbed Lily’s hair, lifting her head as I kindly continued to explain.
“If she truly cared about you, she would have stopped you from contracting with the succubus. She would have guided you onto the right path and sent you to Ashtar properly. But why did she let you make that contract? In the end, it led you to this.”
It’s true that she meant well for her daughter, but it’s also true that her daughter’s life was ruined because of her.
And Lily herself is utterly vile.
She may not realize it, but she never takes responsibility for her own actions.
She always blames others for her misfortune.
So far, she’s only blamed me, but if she had even a hint of brainpower, she’d realize that her mother didn’t stop her from contracting with the succubus.
“Lily, don’t listen to her!”
“My mother would never use me.”
She denied it, but the tremor in her eyes was amusing.
“It’s obvious. She used you to fix her own miserable life. She couldn’t get close to Ashtar because of my mother, so she hoped you’d become empress to benefit herself. Later, if you were caught and executed for becoming a succubus, she’d take the money and escape abroad.”
“No… no way.”
She shook her head, looking distressed.
‘Of course. You’re easily swayed, aren’t you? You’re bound to be affected by my words.’
Lily’s mother—whatever her name is, though I don’t care to know—looked truly wretched.
I whispered in Lily’s ear.
“If your mother hadn’t left you unchecked, you’d still be a student in Atlerina. Even if I hadn’t interfered, you were bound to be caught eventually. Your life didn’t fall apart because of me—it’s because of your mother.”
“This… can’t be.”
“Shut your ears, Lily!”
Her mother tried to cover Lily’s ears, but she was blocked by a gravity spell.
“Let’s be real. When you made the contract with the succubus, I didn’t even know who you were. I wasn’t the one who pushed you down this path—it was your mother.”
“A…ah…”
Lily finally held her head in her hands, sobbing.
Her horns and wings had grown, and her tail lengthened.
She was becoming more monstrous.
“Think carefully. If you hadn’t made that succubus contract, or if your mother had stopped you, you’d still be the noble daughter of Ashtar.”
“Ugh…”
“Lily! Don’t listen to her!”
“Why wouldn’t she? She should listen. That would make this even more interesting.”
“Honestly, if it weren’t for that incident, she could have continued living in Ashtar.”
“But going even further, the reason you were born with a prostitute’s bloodline is because your mother is a prostitute. You’ve been ridiculed because of that heritage, even before you came to Ashtar.”
“So this is all… my mother’s fault?”
“Exactly.”
At my words, Lily glared at her mother.
“A madwoman.”