Chapter 211. The Third Taming (2)
Although I was still positioned to stab my spear into her, the Succubus Queen let her defense down. Then, she grabbed my spear and pushed it away.
âCan you take this crude thing away? I only want to be stabbed by Dear Husbandâs spear in bed⊠Kyak!?â
I smacked her head. It should have hurt.
âDonât make coarse jokes. If you want to talk, letâs talk. Iâll listen.â
âHuu, youâd be perfect if you werenât so violent. Really, humans⊠Fine. Letâs go have a nice talk.â
She rubbed the place I hit then snapped her fingers. The succubus that led me here entered through the door with the other succubi and began to tidy up the place quickly. Soon, a table and two chairs had been set up with wine and two glasses. I couldnât understand what they wanted from me.
Regardless, it was clear that they didnât want to fight me. Other than Ruyue, I sent the elementals back. With Ruyueâs power, I cleaned myself up and put her on standby in case anything happened. Seeing me clean myself in an instant, the Succubus Queen looked at me with interest.
âOh? Surprisingly, youâre a man of culture! That magic, no⊠elemental?â
âYeah.â
I sat down across from her. She pushed a glass of wine toward me, but I wasnât stupid enough to drink alcohol in the middle of an enemyâs territory. When I snorted, she spoke a bit depressed.
âAt least say a toast.â
âSure, sure.â
âMm, good. So, what were we talking aboutâŠ? Our wedding date?â
âWant to die?â
âItâs a part of it⊠Fine, Iâll start from the beginning. From the moment I lost against them.â
My ears perked up. I didnât expect to hear anything important, but who lost to who?
âHave you heard of Elesia?â
âIs that someoneâs name?â
âItâs the name of a world. The world we were trying to invade and the world we lost against.â
âCan you be more detailed? Whoâs we?â
I pulled the chair I was sitting on closer in to the table. Her Evil Eyes flashed with joy.
âObviously, Iâm talking about the Mare Alliance. The demon continent Enesisâ rulers, the Mares.â
âAnd whatâs Enesis?â
âA continent where the worldâs power disappeared. To be precise, it was stolen by Elesia.â
âWhat? Stolen by Elesia? Didnât you say you were trying to steal it from Elesia?â
âEh? You didnât know about this? âŠDo you not know why your world is being invaded?â
I froze. In my head, I struggled to make sense of what she said. First, I organized what I knew about the enemies invading my world.
There was one that became greedy for more worldâs powers even after obtaining one, but I set that one aside for now. Normally, worlds that lost their âworldâs powerâ, which allowed them to continue to exist, invaded other worlds to steal their worldsâ powers. Worlds that were being invaded usually had races similar to humans, while the invading side were always demons or monsters.
Until now, I hadnât really thought about how the invading forces had lost their worldsâ powers. Perhaps, I was avoiding thinking about it as I had never even asked Loretta.
However, what the Succubus Queen just said threw a rock in a still pond. Why Earth was being invaded? The forces of Enesis should have tried to steal Elesiaâs power, but Elesia stole Enesisâ power first?
âYour troubled face is so cute. I was wrong. You must be popular with women.â
âPlease, explain.â
âOf course, Iâll tell you everything.â
With that, she emptied her glass. I poured more wine in her glass, then picked up my own and gulped it down. No matter what poison was inside it, I felt like I needed to drink it. Of course, the wine had a heavenly taste.
âDo you know how a world is born?â
âNo.â
âHuhu, I donât either. But I know this. There is a definite limit to the number of worlds that can exist. At a certain point in the past, the infinitely growing number of worlds reached that limit.â
âThe number of worlds reached⊠a limit?â
âIâll give you an example. Letâs say you have a bookshelf that can hold up to 300 books. At first, you bought all the books you could because you wanted to fill up the bookshelf, and before you noticed, it did. But, without realizing that was the case, you bought even more books. What would you do?â
âBuy a new bookshelf?â
âOnly one bookshelf can fit in your room.â
âThen Iâd sell or throw away the books I donât read.â
âExactly. Thatâs whatâs happening to us.â
She clapped as if Iâd answered a difficult question.
âThe number of worlds became too high, so it needed be lowered. There wasnât enough worldsâ powers for all worlds to have one. I donât know who, but the Lofty One came up with a solution.â
To pair up all worlds.
With that, she filled up my glass. I immediately grabbed it, and as she wanted, I clinked glasses with the Succubus Queen.
âGulp⊠Huu. Pair up worlds?â
âYep. It was an excellent way to halve the number of worlds. Just like that, countless number of worlds became paired. Enesis and Elesia was one of them. Between these two worlds, the one with less mana, or in other worlds, the weaker world became the focus of the worldâs power. In a way, it was a way of balancing them out. Everyone knows that defense is easier than offense.â
âYou mean⊠the current system of invaders and defenders was created by someone?â
âRight. Without the worldâs power, no world can continue to exist. As a result, one world was left with no choice but to invade and steal the other worldâs power. Regardless of whether the defender succeeds or fails, two worlds would decrease to one. With this, the number of worlds would successfully be halved.â
âThe hellâŠâ
Didnât that mean neither side was at fault? After all, the invaders were forced into their positions.
I was dumbfounded. What we were doing until now wasnât a heroic tale of defeating evil monsters nor an adventurous tale of exploring mysterious dungeons. Rather, it was a simple competition for survival.
âDonât be too shaken. Itâs not like what you have to do changed. You just have to protect what you need to protect. A thief may have needed to steal to survive, but that doesnât change the fact that a thief is a thief.â
âT-Thanks.â
Why was she comforting me? Though I was thankful, I was also a bit confused. Now that I thought about it, wasnât she the one in the invadersâ position? Why was she telling me all this?
She seemed to have realized what I was thinking, as she continued her explanation.
âRight, so Enesis invaded Elesia. But, we lost. It lasted hundreds of years. Lord led everyone and all Mares participated. But I fought half-heartedly so that I could protect my clan members. Thatâs why many of us are still alive.â
âIf you lost, how are you still alive?â
âOh? You donât know this either? Isnât it obvious? Look where we are, and youâll know your answer.â
âThe dungeon.â
âRight, the dungeon.â
A full smile bloomed on her face.
âIn wars, itâs rare that victors completely wipe out the losing side. Of course, Lord and other powerful members had to die, but my clan wasnât strong enough to catch their attention⊠Thatâs when the dungeon stepped in. To give us life.â
âLife?â
âWhere do you think all the monsters in the dungeon came from?â
â⊠Ah.â
I remembered the Lizard Knight and Dullahan I first met. I remembered their voices of despair that I did my best to ignore. The Succubus Queen grinned as she looked at me.
âThey were feeling stifled⊠and crying in despair.â
âYep. Itâs like what those losers said. Monsters, Mares, Demons, and other invaders that didnât have the courage to die with their worlds joined hands with the dungeon. Eternally dying, yet being unable to die. The cursed immortality.â
ââŠâ
I couldnât say anything, especially because I had somewhat expected it. The dungeon helped us, the defenders. In that case, it was clear how the invaders viewed the dungeon. They undoubtedly hated it to their bones, so much so that theyâd give their lives to get back at it. Even so, they joined the dungeon for a chance at life.
âWhen you succeed in defending your world, the ones that failed will probably join the dungeon. Of course, with their leaders killed. They will then help grow other worldsâ defenders. Easy, right?â
â⊠What about you?â
âObviously, Iâm different. Do I look like the Mares that attacked you in the dungeon? Those Succubi that fell to being mere Floor Masters?â
âNo. I havenât seen the Floor Master yet anyways.â
âI refused. To be more precise, I set a condition. I didnât want to live a cruel life where my clan members and I died repeatedly.â
She spread out her arms. The entire castle seemed to be breathing like a living creature.
âI will cooperate. I will help the defenders grow. But, I will only give myself to the one who has the qualification.â
ââŠâ
âOf course, I set a very strict condition. This person had to be a man who was extremely strong, extremely fast, extremely charming, and extremely elegant. Oh, and he had to have extreme resistance against charming. Simply put, itâs you!â
âIâm speechless.â
Dumfounded, I gulped down the glass for the third time. The Succubus Queen pouted.
âWhat do you mean âspeechlessâ? It makes sense! I was born as a Succubus Queen, but I had to devote my life to battle without ever knowing men. Do you know how depressing that is? I didnât want to die without finding a husband, but I didnât want to become a battle machine for the dungeon. Since I was planning on accepting a husband, isnât it better if heâs fabulous? Most of all, I wanted someone who would love me as I was without falling for my charm! Of course, didnât really believe a man could resist my charm, but⊠huhu, I was so surprised when my charm didnât work even after I amplified it with magic! Thatâs when I felt fate!â
âYou call that fate?â
âItâs the reward I got for waiting for countless years. One time, I got frightened, thinking Iâd die of age in this boring castle. But look, I met you!â
âWho said Iâd accept you?â
âThen are you going to kill me? A pitiful beautiful girl like me? Youâre going to kill someone connected to you by fate? Un? Are you going to massacre me and my clan members who faced extinction just by being born in Enesis?â
âEekâŠ!â
This girl, she revealed everything on purpose! Just in case I killed everyone! She cusped her hands on her chest, and with tear eyes, she pushed her face up against mine. Her charming face was youthful like a teenâs, yet somewhat erotic⊠First, I flicked her forehead.
âOw! You hit me again!â
âIâll take you in.â
I said shortly. Her expression brightened.
âReally!? I love you!â
âThe first thing we did was fight, love my ass! I just didnât want to kill someone who has no hostility against me, especially when I have a way for her survival.â
âOh, looks like Dear Husband is rather inexperienced with love. Love isnât something anyone can explain and comprehend. The moment someone tries to explain love, its value drops.â
Then what, you know love!? I wanted to throw the question back to her, but upon thinking about it, she was the Succubus Queen. As sheâd at least know love more than me, I stayed silent.
She got up from her seat, pushed the table aside, then approached me and grabbed my hand. As it was unlikely that sheâd try to do something now, I let her be. She happily kissed the back of my hand and looked up to me. Her eyes shone with sparkling pink.
âDear Husband, vest me a name that connects us together.â
â⊠Licorice.â
At that momentâŠ
[You made an achievement of taming the SSS+ rank boss monster, âSuccubus Queen.â You obtained 3 skill point. Current skill points: 5]
[Taming became level 5. Even without taming, all neutral targets will see you favorably and easily listen to your commands.]
[Spirit of the Tamer became level 5. Your charm statâs degree of amplification increases, while your tamed monstersâ loyalty and affection increases greatly. Current tamable targets: 3/3]
[Event Dungeon cleared! You were acknowledged by the Succubus Queen and made an achievement of successfully clearing an Event Dungeon without killing. You obtained 10 bonus stats!]
[You became level 66! You obtained the qualification to challenge Beyondâs 15th floor!]
Wait, what? Did I hear wrong?
âThen, Dear Husband, please take good care of us. My clan of 214 succubi will forever serve you as our husband.â
âWhat!?â
I had instantly gotten 214 more mouths to feed.
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