Chapter 12
She hastily made up the usual human excuses for stepping out. As she spoke, the knights’ expressions turned awkward and ambiguous. They shuffled uncertainly, looking at the hand Ashtel had grabbed, sighed deeply, and began to lead her away.
‘I did it!’
Ashtel finally glanced back to check on Payne.
Fortunately, he seemed to have sensed that the situation was resolving safely and was quietly hiding without making a sound.
* * *
“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.”
Having no choice but to return to her cabin, Ashtel immediately contacted Carmen. Normally, she would have clung to Hella, but given that she had brought Carmen’s experimental tools, the communication devices were all linked only to Carmen’s lab.
Not that Ashtel disliked her eighth sister, Carmen. On the contrary, there was no better advisor.
Carmen was so knowledgeable that she often appeared like a comet when Ashtel was lost, providing the right answers.
However, Carmen had a clinical side, being responsible for ‘intelligence’ among the succubus sisters.
—What’s strange about it? Just come back to the underworld.
“I don’t want to. I haven’t properly talked with Payne yet!”
—You did during the confession. By my calculations, you spoke for exactly 12 minutes and 34 seconds, right?
“Uh, yeah. About 10 minutes, I guess. But how did you know?”
—Your earrings. Aren’t they my gadgets? I calculated it because they respond to magic.
“Ugh.”
The red teardrop-shaped earrings were necessary to maintain the spell that concealed her stunning face, making it an essential tool for her temple visits.
Carmen had likely tracked Ashtel’s location through them.
—That should be enough. Don’t mingle more with that dim-witted human. You’ll lower your own intelligence.
“Carmen, that’s harsh!”
Whether it was Hella or Carmen, their responses were the same. They did not regard humans as equals.
Ashtel might not have thought highly of humans, who were fragile and full of flaws, but Payne was an exception.
It wasn’t just her that was strange.
“You also hang around with that human all the time.”
—…What?
“Remember the time I saw you chatting through that mirror connected to the human world? You thought I didn’t know?”
—When did you… No, did you tell eldest sister about this?
“I haven’t. Not yet.”
The first fruit born from the divine tree Asti thousands of years ago, Sermedes, had reigned long as the queen of succubi and incubi. She was a warm family figure to her sisters from the same tree but still a formidable ruler among demons.
If there was one to be feared among her sisters, it was unequivocally Sermedes.
—Shu, you know what I’m about to say?
“Yes. So, help me out here, sister.”
—…Damn.
Sermedes valued discipline. She had spent ages controlling the succubi and incubi who frequented the human world for energy consumption, and seeing her sister attempting to form a liaison with her prey by breaching dimensions was sure to end more severely than just a stern look.
Carmen’s shivering could be felt through the communication device. She clicked her tongue lightly and adjusted her glasses before getting to the point.
—What do you want?
“Something seems off about Payne. He got an e-ection suddenly during confession.”
—Did you spray pheromones?
“No. I was in human form.”
—There’s a chance he became aroused seeing your face. According to my stats, about 76.45% of human males would get an e-ection on seeing you.
“I was transformed, he couldn’t even recognize my face!”
Even if she wanted to seduce him with her beauty, the layout of the confession booth made it impossible.
After Ashtel explained a bit more, Carmen paused to think before responding.
—Speaking of which, Shu. You’ve entered that human’s dreams before, haven’t you?
“Gasp.”
—Don’t ask how I know. I found out because Hella was furious.
Damn it, it seems she has been caught.
The image of Hella, furious and holding the hunter’s snare, flashed in her mind.
When she returned, she would have to grovel and then transform into the muscular, tearful elf man that Hella favored.
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