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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Kerry used the Eyes of the Goddess on the shield Lina was holding.
Amazing.
Even without the unopened skill, the indestructible characteristic alone made it incredibly powerful.
A very suitable item for a tank.
Lina held out the shield to Victoria as if it were only natural.
Victoria’s eyes sparkled as she shyly accepted the shield.
“…Is it alright for me to take this?”
“Of course. The shield is yours, Victoria. I’m sure everyone else in the party agrees.”
“Kerry?”
“Naturally, Victoria should have it.”
Kerry was satisfied with having obtained the bracelet. Besides, the stronger Victoria became, the safer Kerry would be.
“Natasha?”
“…It’s fine. If it were twin swords instead of a shield, I wouldn’t give it up.”
Natasha clicked her tongue, seeming disappointed. Natasha would probably be taken care of by Lina anyway.
Victoria, seemingly very pleased with the shield, kept stroking it this way and that.
While the party watched her, Kerry walked a little away from them and around a pillar.
There, he found numerous cocoons.
A food storage, perhaps? But among them, one cocoon stood out.
It was set apart, as if it were special. The faint form of a woman could be seen inside. Lina approached Kerry.
“…She’s dead, right?”
“I don’t know. Spiders keep their prey alive for long-term storage.”
“…”
“Shall we open it?”
“Is that alright?”
“We need to tear open the other cocoons here and rescue the people inside anyway. Not everyone will be alive…but we can probably save most of them.”
“Let’s do it then.”
Lina carefully cut the cocoon with her sword. The dissolving liquid applied to her blade seemed to make cutting easy.
Sizzle-
The spiderweb tore. At that moment, Lina and Kerry’s eyes widened.
“This is…”
“…”
Lina and Kerry had assumed the contents of the cocoon would be human. But they were wrong.
Inside the cocoon was every man’s fantasy.
A succubus!
Her shimmering silver hair and, befitting a succubus, voluptuous figure caught their eyes.
She was clothed, but her lower body was clad only in a black garter belt. Her top was little more than a bra.
Cute wings and a tail were visible behind her back. There was no doubt. The woman before them was a succubus.
He had said monster girls weren’t his type, but succubi were, of course, an exception.
“Husband. Why are you so surprised?”
Natasha approached Kerry and, seeing the succubus, her eyes also widened.
Victoria, who had been admiring her shield with satisfaction, also approached, speechless.
“It’s a succubus. I’m certain. I’ve seen one before.”
“…”
Then Natasha spoke.
“Kill it. It’s a monster.”
“!”
Kerry clenched his fists.
In this other world, there were a few things that embodied a man’s romantic ideals. One was magic.
The other was a succubus.
People imagined succubi as beings who seduced males and drained their life force, killing them. But that was a false rumor!
It was all just jealous gossip about succubi.
At least, that was the case in this world.
Here, succubi were actually good creatures.
Succubi did drain men’s energy, but they didn’t kill them. There was no reason for a succubus to kill a man.
Why kill them when they could be left alone to continuously generate energy, which served as a good source of sustenance?
Succubi provided men with valuable experiences and, in return, took only enough energy to avoid harming their health.
Thanks to this, among male adventurers, encountering a succubus was considered a godsend.
Then Natasha said,
“Kill it before it wakes up.”
“Good. I’ll take off its head in one stroke.”
“It can’t be helped. It looks like a delicate woman, but…a succubus is definitely a monster.”
No. These merciless women seemed to have no intention of letting the succubus live.
Just then, the succubus began to flutter her eyelids open.
Her alluring red eyes became visible. They suited her silver hair perfectly.
“Oh…oh! It’s opening its eyes!”
“Kill it now!”
Victoria raised her sword high. How could she harbor such murderous intent toward such a cute creature?
What was good, and what was evil? To Kerry, his companions, raising their swords, appeared to be evil.
Not all monsters were harmful!
But what constituted good or evil wasn’t important right now.
What mattered to Kerry was his romantic ideal.
Even if it was just one succubus, letting her die here would be trampling on the romantic ideals of every man in this world.
Don’t crush a man’s dreams!
“Die peacefully, you insignificant creature.”
Victoria’s sword swung towards the succubus. The succubus, having just regained consciousness, looked terrified by the sudden situation.
That vulnerable and lovely appearance shook Kerry’s heart.
But…if he protected the succubus here, his image within the party might plummet.
That’s when it happened. A single idea flashed through Kerry’s mind.
“Shield.”
Kerry quietly chanted the spell, pouring mana into his bracelet.
A barrier deflected Victoria’s sword.
“Ke, Kerry?”
Victoria’s bewildered voice reached him. Lina and Natasha also stared at Kerry with surprised faces.
Kerry silently blocked Victoria’s path.
Succubi were creatures who understood gratitude very well. She would certainly never forget that he had saved her.
“Kerry! Why are you blocking the way?
Don’t tell me…you’ve fallen for the succubus’s appearance? It looks quite cute, but it’s a monster. Don’t be fooled!”
“Hu…Husband? Why are you…leaving me for her…?”
“…”
As Victoria and Natasha questioned him, Kerry began to act.
He’d never focused so intently on acting before.
His eyes glazed over, and he remained silent with a vacant expression.
There was someone who immediately recognized his acting.
“Everyone, it’s a misunderstanding. Right now, Kerry…is enthralled by the succubus!”
“!”
Lina shouted with a serious face. He hadn’t expected Lina to be the first to fall for it. She was surprisingly gullible.
“To enthrall Kerry with just a glance…it must be an intermediate-level succubus or higher.”
The supposed intermediate-level succubus was simply rolling her eyes, bewildered by the situation.
“I…I didn’t know…I’m sorry for doubting you, Husband! You would never cheat on me for a succubus!”
“Indeed. So that’s what it was…”
Even Kerry hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. Perhaps he had a hidden talent for acting.
Kerry remained silent, his eyes unfocused.
He put his hand behind his back and gestured to the succubus to escape quickly.
The succubus, gradually understanding the situation, was regaining her composure.
“The succubus is trying to escape!”
“No. We can’t let something like that roam free.”
Let her go! This succubus was a good succubus. He hadn’t spoken to her, but he was sure of it.
Victoria raised her sword high, attempting to break Kerry’s shield. At the same time, Kerry channeled more mana into his bracelet, visibly thickening the shield.
Clang!
The shield and sword clashed, sparks flying. Victoria’s sword failed to break Kerry’s shield.
“You succubus bitch! How dare you manipulate Kerry like this!”
“I’ll try.”
Then Lina stepped forward. He could sense a faint blue aura surrounding her sword. This was scary!
He wasn’t confident he could stop Lina yet.
But there was no need to fight Lina. Kerry released the barrier.
It felt a bit pathetic, but it couldn’t be helped. It was all to protect a man’s romantic ideals.
Kerry pulled a dagger from his pocket and held it to his own throat.
“!”
In that instant, the party froze as if turned to stone. Then, with grief-stricken expressions, they cried out.
“This cursed succubus…! How dare you put a knife to his throat!”
“Husband…Husband! Come to your senses! Don’t be controlled by a succubus!”
“…”
Lina remained silent, but she was visibly flustered, the tip of her sword trembling.
Their intense reactions made his chest ache. This was genuine.
But it couldn’t be helped. It was for a man’s romantic ideal.
“…?”
The succubus cautiously shifted her body, observing the situation.
But even seeing this, the party remained unable to act. Finally feeling safe, the succubus flew away.
Kerry continued to act until he could no longer hear the sound of the succubus’s wings.
Live. A man’s romantic ideal. And then come back and repay your debt.
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The succubus incident in the dungeon was concluded. The succubus had escaped, and Kerry had safely broken free from the succubus’s enchantment – that was the official story.
When Kerry removed the dagger from his throat, the sigh of relief from the party made his heart ache.
But he had protected a man’s romantic ideal.
Lina’s party returned to the village.
They explained the situation and rescued the people cocooned in the cleared dungeon.
With everyone in the village working together, the rescue was swift.
After everything was settled, the next day arrived.
From morning till evening, it was a continuous festival.
Drinking parties erupted everywhere, and people sang songs.
“Long live the heroes! Kerry! Natasha! Victoria! Long live all of you!”
Lina had considered leaving as soon as the situation was resolved, but she couldn’t.
She, too, had heard those words along with Kerry.
The sorrowful voice of the Spider Queen.
[Yes. You know very well. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but that bastard…that disgusting village chief is my enemy.
No! Our enemy! I will tear him and those villagers to shreds, even if it kills me!]
They could have dismissed it as the ravings of a monster, but Natasha’s grandmother’s words prevented them from doing so.
“Perhaps this village worships a wicked god. The proof is that, although the villagers are unaware, an evil energy resides within their bodies.”
Kerry had also mentioned that the village chief was suspicious. Lina decided to stay in the village a little longer.
“For now…I’ve tested various things, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any poisoned food, so let’s enjoy ourselves.”
“Yes, Kerry.”
If Kerry said it was okay, it must be okay. Lina and the others ate without worry.
Of course, they didn’t let down their guard against the villagers. They smiled kindly on the surface, though.
A red sunset descended upon the village. The festival continued even then.
Kerry carefully slipped away from the party, who were enjoying the festivities. He had warned them to be careful, but he already had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
He had the Eyes of the Goddess, after all.
The villagers wouldn’t suddenly attack him or the party.
“Rather, it’s about time she appeared…”
As Kerry wandered alone on the outskirts of the village, a woman approached him, seemingly drunk. Quite pretty.
“Kerry? The hero’s companion…Kerry, right? Wow…you’re handsome…hehe…”
The woman stumbled and clung to Kerry, blatantly seducing him.
Kerry shook his head. This woman was pretty, but she wasn’t the one he was waiting for.
“Stop it and come out. You don’t have to repay the favor like this.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the woman who had been seducing him collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Red eyes glittered within the dark shadows. It wasn’t a frightening feeling. Rather, because he knew her identity, it felt cute.
“…”
To the hesitant eyes, Kerry said,
“It’s okay to come out. I won’t eat you.”
Only then did the figure hidden in the black shadows slowly emerge. Was that also a succubus ability?
The owner of the red eyes was the succubus.
“You came to repay the favor, after all.”
“…Yes. Benefactor. Thank you so much for saving me.”
The beautiful silver-haired succubus bowed deeply. Whoa. Her cleavage was clearly visible.
A lewd but polite succubus.
Succubi were good creatures indeed. He had done well to save her.
“Um…um…Benefactor. I really want to repay your kindness…but why didn’t you accept the woman?”
Cats were said to bring gifts to those who showed them kindness.
Of course, gifts from Earth cats were things like mice or cockroaches.
Succubi were similar. She had brought a woman to repay his kindness, just like a cat.
“I…don’t want this woman.”
“Then? Should I bring another woman?”
Kerry shook his head. There was a different woman he wanted to…have. Kerry pointed to the woman he desired.
It was the succubus with the perfect combination of silver hair and red eyes.
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