Editor : Amethyst00



"Senior. So that's… just not really my taste……"

"There's no need to be embarrassed. I heard men like that sort of thing."

"No, I mean…"

"You don't like it?"

"No, it's not that I dislike it… Hup!"

Carl unconsciously spoke his true feelings and quickly covered his mouth.

"Ah. Seriously."

And with his face flushed bright red, he covered it.

Seeing him like that, Lyl tilted her head.

"You usually act all sly—why are you so flustered now?"

"Because it's embarrassing. It feels like I'm some pervert who wants his girlfriend to wear stuff like that."

"It is a bit indecent. But isn't it totally age-appropriate? They call it a fantasy, don't they?"

Lyl giggled.

"Carl, you actually have a surprisingly cute side, huh?"

Hearing that, Carl, whose face was now beet red, peeked at the succubus taking on Eliza's appearance with one eye still covered.

'Wow, she's really pretty. Seriously…'

Just as he thought that, the succubus winked at Carl.

And just as Carl's face turned even redder—

Sshk—!

Lyl blocked Carl's view with her battle hammer.

"I understand the desire to look, but don't stare too much. If you fall for the temptation, it'll get troublesome in many ways."

"Y-Yes ma'am."

Carl quickly lowered his gaze.

With the battle hammer resting on her shoulder, Lyl narrowed her eyes.

"Still… it's strange, succubus."

"What is?"

The succubus twirled a lock of hair with her fingertip flirtatiously, still giving Carl that seductive look.

Seeing that, Lyl spoke.

"Why are you only reflecting Carl's tastes and not mine?"

"I'm a succubus. Incubi deal with women."

The succubus smiled sweetly, and Lyl tilted her head again.

"I was under the impression you guys don't really discriminate between men and women?"

Succubi and incubi are both dream demons.

But they don't necessarily feed only off the opposite sex.

They seduce regardless of gender.

Which is why Lyl found it odd that the succubus was only targeting Carl.

Carl, too, had doubts in his mind.

'Shouldn't she be trying to neutralize Lyl-sunbae first, not me?'

While Carl was thinking this—

The succubus grinned.

"I just find it such a hassle to spend time and effort hunting someone stronger than me."

Carl flinched.

"Instead, preying on weak little targets like you… hoo~! That's more my style."

"Hyaaaah!"

Suddenly appearing behind him, the succubus wrapped her arms around him and blew into his ear, startling Carl out of his wits.

Fwoosh—!

"Gack?!"

Lyl's hammer swung past Carl's ear with terrifying force.

The blow was powerful enough to break a massive fortress wall, and Carl froze completely.

The succubus avoided the attack, reappearing at her original spot, laughing.

"My, my. Seems the noble hero candidates can't tolerate such a lowly attack?"

"I don't really see it as lowly. Efficiency matters—it's a basic strategic principle."

Lyl nodded with a serious "Mm!"

At that, the succubus briefly hesitated and looked at Lyl.

She wasn't sure if Lyl was just trying to play it cool, so she glanced at her face.

But there was nothing fake about Lyl's expression. No anger at all about Carl being targeted.

"Then why were you so upset earlier when I was going after that man?"

Looking flustered now, the succubus asked that, only for Lyl—who had been nodding seriously—to suddenly widen her eyes.

"Because I want to see a version of you that suits my tastes too!"

That bold declaration left the succubus gaping.

Carl, too, stared at Lyl with a stunned expression.

But Lyl was perfectly serious.

"Come on! Hurry up and seduce me, succubus!"

"What the hell kind of crazy woman are you?!"

Seeing Lyl charging at her with a raised battle hammer, the succubus looked horrified.

Crash—!

Lyl's hammer slammed into the ground.

Rumble rumble rumble—!

The surrounding area shook like an earthquake had struck.

The succubus gasped.

"What the—! What is this monster woman?!"

"Who are you calling a monster woman?!"

Furious at the succubus's words, Lyl unleashed a massive surge of spiritual power.

Seeing this, the succubus made a serious face and waved her hand in the air.

"Eh?!"

Space warped—and Lyl was sucked into that distorted space.

"Lyl-sunbae!"

Carl's face twisted in shock.

The succubus chuckled while looking at him.

"No need to freak out, Carl. I just sent her off somewhere for a little while."

"Sent her somewhere?"

Carl narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah. So, with that in mind… how about you and I have a quiet little chat? Carl-oppa~?"

"What—how do you even know my name like that…?"

"Oh my?"

As Carl backed away cautiously, the succubus pouted, pulled a whip from thin air, and swung it at him.

Swish—! Smack!

"Gah?!"

"How cold of you! Sure, I'm a succubus, but right now, I'm also Eliza Hergin, remember?"

The whip wrapped around Carl's neck, and the succubus yanked him toward her.

And then—

The space suddenly shifted.

'This place is…?'

It was the secret room Carl used as a personal workshop in the dorm.

Dragging him in front of her, the succubus shoved him onto the bed.

Now fully appearing as Eliza in her school uniform, the succubus climbed atop Carl.

"Hehe~ So, Carl-oppa? Doesn't your body start heating up when your girlfriend's alone with you in a private space like this?"

Carl, face bright red, shouted.

"You're not even Eliza! How are you my girlfriend?! And Eliza's a year older than me anyway!"

"I know."

The succubus smiled, her body glowing faintly.

"Ta-da! Now I'm younger than you."

"Are you freaking kidding me?!"

"You love it, don't you? Hehehe!"

Carl screamed and thrashed, while the succubus giggled.

She now looked like 16-year-old Eliza, from when she first entered the academy.

"The key point is that I'm still in the third-year uniform. Cute and sexy, right?"

With a shy, innocent smile, the succubus beamed—and Carl squeezed his eyes shut.

Then thrashed wildly.

Thump—thud—!

His body hit the bedframe and wall.

Pain shot through him, but he ignored it.

The succubus forcefully pinned him down.

"Stop. S-Stop moving!"

But it wasn't easy restraining him with just strength.

Eventually, the succubus called on dark magic.

"Stop!"

"Ghhk?!"

"You're rougher than I expected, oppa~?"

She pouted.

Then said—

"Oppa, wanna make a bet with me?"

"A bet?"

"Mhm."

She smiled sweetly.

"If you win, I'll become your slave."

"And if you win?"

"You become mine."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just kill me? Why the whole slave thing?"

"Because it'd be a waste. Even if your power's trash, you're still a hero."

She chuckled.

"You can pick the game. Whatever you want."

Carl glared at her and said,

"Let me go first."

The succubus obediently released the whip around Carl.

He sat up, rubbing his neck, eyes fixed on her.

'…Yeah. It's confirmed. This is a dream.'

Carl realized he'd already been caught by the succubus.

He first suspected it when she "sent" Lyl elsewhere.

'Lyl-sunbae wouldn't go down that easily.'

Lyl was someone who even attempted to destroy illusions Leo couldn't.

Even a legion commander-level enemy wouldn't be able to teleport her that easily.

'And controlling space this freely doesn't make sense either.'

She changed the environment in an instant.

That meant—

This space was already under the succubus's complete control.

If it was a dream, then it made sense.

Most decisively, while Carl had crashed into things, there were no bruises. No marks from the whip either.

'After how often I've been hit by Eliza's whip, I knew something was wrong.'

All signs pointed to this being a dream.

'But then, why bother with a bet if she already has me in her dream?'

After all, succubi aren't that powerful.

Even a Lumene student's mana resistance should be enough to resist their power.

And Carl wasn't even asleep—he got pulled into a dream while awake.

'If she's that powerful, she shouldn't need a bet to kill me. So why?'

And she even explained her reasoning.

With all that considered, Carl spoke.

"Say 'Erebos is a bastard.'"

"…What?"

"Say 'The Lich King is a bastard' too."

"What are you…!"

"If you do that, I'll just admit I lost the bet."

"Ha? Look at this guy! The Lich King wasn't kidding when he said you're sly."

The succubus's gaze sharpened.

Carl smirked.

"I see. So lies aren't allowed here."

A restriction on power.

Carl narrowed his eyes.

"A divine authority. Are you one of the new commanders?"

"You really are clever, aren't you?"

She looked amused.

Then smiled.

"Call me Psyqea, Queen of Succubi."

"Explain this space to me."

"It's created by my divine authority. As you guessed, lying is impossible here."

"How do I get out?"

"Become the master of this space. Win the bet and enslave me."

"Then why offer the bet in the first place?"

"It's a contract."

Psyqea smiled.

"Through the contract, I take your soul."

"Doesn't sound fair."

"Since when has any contract been fair? Besides, I'm offering to let you live. Normally, I'd just kill you."

"……"

Carl scowled at the giggling Psyqea.

"The Lich King thinks highly of you. That's why you'll be our spy. Take it as an honor."

"What's so honorable about becoming your slave and suffering?"

"Don't worry. I'll give you unimaginable pleasure… until your soul shatters."

As she licked her lips, Carl sneered.

"So? You in, or not?"

"……"

'I can't win by force anyway.'

"Just to be clear, even if I win, I'm not becoming queen of the succubi or anything, right?"

"Correct. I'm just a fragment of her. You do plan on winning, though?"

"Obviously."

"Dream big. So, what's the game?"

Carl opened a drawer in his workshop.

He took out a case of seven six-sided dice.

"We each roll once. Higher number wins."

"Leaving it to luck?"

"What other chance do I have? If it's a tie, we roll again."

"Trying to be fair, huh?"

Psyqea snickered inside.

'Too bad. This space is mine.'

She picked a die.

"Then the contract is sealed."

She rolled.

Clatter—

A 6.

"Oh dear. Looks like you're my slave now."

She handed Carl a die.

Expressionless, Carl put it in the case.

And then—

Rattle rattle rattle—!

"……"

He dumped all seven dice onto the floor.

All rolled a 1.

"Seven. I win, right?"

"Wait! You can't do that!"

"There was no rule against rolling more than one die."

"Still! That's totally unfair!"

"You're the one who said fairness doesn't exist, remember?"

The fact all seven rolled 1 meant Carl had broken the space's control.

As Psyqea stared at him like he was some kind of scam artist—

Carl, now the master of the dream, snapped his fingers.

Snap—!

And they returned to Fairy Forest.

"Well, now that you own this space, I guess you can do whatever you want, you damn cheater."

Carl said coldly, face blank.

"Call me Master."

"Yes, yes, Master. What would you like? Should I strip?"

Psyqea, still in Eliza's form, provocatively tugged at her blouse.

"Return to your real form."

Instantly, she transformed back.

"Well, I am beautiful even in this—"

WHACK—!

"Guh?!"

Carl, without hesitation, kicked her in the stomach.

As she staggered, gasping, he grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the ground.

SLAM—!

"Don't you ever say crap like that with Eliza's face again."

Carl's voice was ice-cold.

"Next time you try that, I'll make you wish you were dead, demon or not."

Grabbing her by the hair, he forced her to look up.

"Got it?"

But then Carl flinched.

Psyqea was trembling—laughing.

"P-Please punish me moooore, Master…!"

She sounded strangely pleading.

Carl shuddered in horror.

"Gah! Seriously! Leo was right! Why is there not one sane new commander?! Cancel space! CANCEL!"

Terrified, Carl scrambled to escape the succubus's dream.