I am Succubus!

Chapter 233

After showing us where the ball took place in evening, Erma brought us to our rooms in the guest quarters of the castle. The arrangements were lavish. We had a nice view of the city from up here. Obviously, no gigantic bed like on the ship's royal suite. It was going to be a snug fit when we go to sleep. Shayle and each of her escorts were given rooms, too. They almost yanked Kana away to bring him to his own room until we told them there was no need.

The light elven guards regarded him sadly after that, thinking he was our sex slave. Well… in a way…

Erma had to leave to take care of the security for tonight's ball. For someone who amounted as a commander of a country's army, she sure was a busybody. All that remained in the room was myself, Mio, Kana, and Shayle to deliberate on what to do with our free time.

The answer was unanimous. They wanted to go out. Well, Mio and Kana did. The two were very vocal about it.

"I want to go out, too, but is there even anything we can do? None of us has this world's currency. The most we could do is sightsee," I said.

"Actually, Queen Elendir has a royal stipend for you. She asked me to hang onto it until prompted." Shayle retrieved from inside her captain's coat and handed me a fat sack bulging with coins.

Mio and Kana peered into the bag when I opened it. Our eyes reflected all the many shining currencies within it. They were mostly made up of gold, with some silver and copper scattered about. Each coin was circular in shape and had a small square cut into the center of it. Symbols and words of a language I didn't understand were carved around the thin edges.

"Holy. Fuck," Mio muttered.

"Is… Is that a lot? Mio's reaction makes it sound like a lot," Kana said to our illustrious captain.

"Unlike in your Japan, most merchandises, services, and trade goods don't have a set price. They always fluctuate. Maybe I can give you an idea of how much you have. Let's see… This entire pouch can buy you rather modest-sized castle. Unstaffed, of course!" Shayle explained.

Our jaws dropped.

"That sounds like a lot, but I'm still having trouble understanding what I can buy with it in this city! But Queen Elendir gave us enough gold to buy a castle? How often do I get a royal stipend?" I exclaimed in shock.

"Haha! If you were living here, she would provide you with a yearly stipend. Enough to live very comfortably off of. Unless you spend it recklessly." Shayle shrugged.

Well, we had a small fortune in our hands and a city full of things to do. Judging by the looks Mio and Kana were giving me, they already knew what to do with it.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" I asked.

"Can we buy some enchanted equipment to bring back to Earth? Like a flaming sword?" Kana pleaded to me like a child.

"We should spend it at a brothel and fuck some light elven babes!" Mio shook my shoulders.

"W-Wait, they have brothels here? Aren't the light elves like super prudish?!"

"Maybe the upper class is," Shayle began and pulled out a map of the city from her person. She pointed to a section closer to the outer walls where buildings were drawn smaller, with less details. "Not even the lighties can stop prostitution and crime within their own city. Here, for example, is rife with crime, gambling, lucrative dealings and… well, you can probably guess."

Actually, my biggest question now was why did Shayle have a map of the City of Everlight… It even had red arrow marks pointing to different sections of the walls like these were battle plans.

She quickly rolled it up upon noticing me staree too hard. "It's not what you think! This was drawn up during the war when we had plans to invade the light elven capital. Obviously, we have no such intentions anymore, and it's the only map I have on hand!"

"Uh huh… Anyway, we have money. Let's do some shopping," I suggested.

When we emerged from our room, it seemed Erma had posted guards right outside. There were six in total, dressed in the same white and blue tabard over their chests. They looked us dead in the eyes.

"Lady Clarenbell instructed us to escort you wherever you intend to go in the city. All she asks is that you stay within its confines," one light elven guard said.

"Oh, perfect! Can you bring us to an equipment store? For like magical items?" I asked.

"Very well. If you will follow us." As soon as he moved, the rest of them became animated at once.

They brought us back out into the courtyard. A chariot rolled up to us as if on cue, pulled by several large horses of muscular build and equipped with colorful, ornamental armor. Our escorts, however, climbed onto a mount of their own. Kana and Mio settled into the seat, but Shayle stayed behind.

"The three of you enjoy yourselves. I'm going to pay Erma a visit and give her an earful for the embarassment she inflicted on me during the war," Shayle said, waving to us as the chariot lurched forward.

As we entered the city, Kana and I were in awe of its architecture. It looked like Rome at the height of its power cranked up to ten. Archways and columns were a common sight for their larger buildings. Even shops and stores were made of stone. Trees had been planted between the streets and around residences. Terraces were open venues for the wealthy to lounge around in and doubled as parks. Large symbols, faded over time from wear, were painted onto the wide roads.

Our chariot was one of many on the streets, including passenger carriages, wagons transporting goods, and pedestrian walking about. Like at the docks, countless people stared at us. Some quickly made themselves scarce. 

We grinded to a stop in front of a store with a statue of a fist holding a hammer, framed by floral hedges.

"This place services many who seek magical equipment. It is even Lady Clarenbell's preferred store," an escort said.

A elven citizen who was on his way into the store opened the door, thinking to hold it for us. When he laid eyes on me and Mio, he tucked tail and ran. Kana dashed ahead and kept the door open for us.

The three of us entered a clothing store, but instead of clothing brands selling polyester, the place was selling metals, magic, and silk. A dwarf in a fancy kilt emerged from behind the counter to greet us.

"Name's Paycahn. Color me surprised that. The two of ye be the first succubus to ever walk through that door! Put 'er there." The dwarf shook my hand and practically crushed the bones.

A real dwarf. Not like a small person or someone who was stunted in growth, but a real dwarf was right before me. They were stocky, like I expected. He had more beard than face. When Paycahn got to Kana, however, there was a little bit of a stand-off.

"Aye? Ye a funny-lookin' dwarf, aren't ye? All skin and bones, me lad! A light wind can knock y'over if we dun put some meat on or armor on ye," the dwarf said.

"I'm not a dwarf!" Kana exclaimed.

"Speaking of dwarves, I don't see many living in the City of Everlight. Where do most of the dwarven race reside?" I asked.

"What kinda succubus are ye not to know? We live in the snowy peaks northeast of here. Ye musta sailed past it on yer way here, I s'pose?" Paycahn scratched his jungle of a beard.

My eager boyfriend and girlfriend had already walked past to browse the merchandise.

"Hey, Kana. Try this!" Mio handed him a spiked mace.

"What's it do?" Kana asked, but it ignited the moment he grabbed it.

"That there's a mace enchanted with fire magic," Paycahn said.

"Magic… this is so cool… Do you have swords enchanted with fire magic, too?" He put the mace down and had to blow on his hands.

"What for?" The dwarf looked at him stupid. "To cut someone and cauterize their wounds at the same time? What a waste of an enchantment!"

I looked at the price tag of the fiery mace, and it showed a number and symbol that made zero sense to me. The more I looked around, the less I cared to buy. Every single thing in here around be dangerous back on earth.

"Saeko, look at me!" Mio shouted from the back of a shooting range. "Okay, let 'er rip!"

To my horror, Kana nocked an arrow and very awkwardly fired it at her.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!" I cried in panic.

The arrow, however, just barely hit Mio and curved hard off to the side.

"Kahaha! Chill! It's from this ring of projectile evasion." Mio flaunted the ring on her pinky finger.

"It's good for up to 1000 projectiles." Paycahn gave a thumbs up.

"And… how many times has it been used in a demonstration?" I asked unamusedly.

"Ermm… Maybe I should take that off the shelves until I find out," he said.

The sun was beginning to come down. We had browsed the equipment store for so long— well, play was more like it— and hadn't bought a single thing. We decided to come back another day and hit up the brothels, but…

"We're terribly sorry, but Legate Clarenbell made it clear to us that we bring you back if it starts getting late," one of our light elven escorts explained.

Another, wielding a staff, incanted a magic portal out of thin air. We saw our room on the other side of it. 

"Awww, man! But the prostitutes!" Mio complained.

"Come on, Mio. We still have tomorrow and the day after," I said, pushing her in from behind and pulling Kana by the hand.

The guards followed us through. There were two less from what I assumed they left behind to bring the horses and chariot back. Erma was right in front of us, and flanking her with three light elven maids each with a neatly folded outfit in their hands.

"I hope these will be to your liking." Erma smiled.

Kana went to get changed first. He made a funny face at the suit they gave him, then entered the other room. In the meantime…

"Erma, do you happen to know of Raniel and Arniel will be attending? I met them a while back. Figured they might be some kind of nobility," I said.

"Ah, the twins! No, unfortunately they will not be attending the ball. Those two are merely high-ranking officers of great talent within the army, nothing more beyond that. They are, however, currently in the city. I can send for the twins, if you like?" Erma offered kindly.

"Would you? Yeah! I want to see them again. It'd be nice to meet a familiar light elf. No offense to you. We only just met."

"None taken. I'll have a servant ride out to their estate. Regrettably, there might not be time to meet them before the ball. Tomorrow might be best," she suggested.

I agreed, and Erma whispered to one of the servants to go send a message. Another servant rushed in after the other left and muttered something frantically into her ear.

"I see." Erma nodded.

"Did something happen?" I gulped, hoping there wouldn't be any bad news.

"It seems Princess Amira has decided against attending the ball, upon her advisors urging. They believe the terrorist threat, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is not worth her highness' life. But she encourages that it continues without her," the elf explained.

Right… Risk everyone else's life, but not your own. I rolled my eyes. 

When Kana came back in his garb, Mio and I had a hard time stifling our laughter. The robe was far too big on him. It was draped over his shoulders like a carpet. He had to hold the kilt up with one hand or risk flashing someone.

"Strange. Now that I have a good look at you, you're rather thin for a dwarf." Erma tapped her chin in thought.

"That's because I'm not a dwarf!" Kana retorted and sighed. "Look, I noticed some of the elves here have the same build as me. Can you just grab something a male elf might wear?"

"That can be arranged." She made a tss tss sound to the servants, who hurried out of the room to find something for Kana to wear.

In the meantime, Mio and I went to get changed into our dresses. Mine was shoulderless. It wrapped around my chest tightly and parted deeply down my back, likely with my wings and tail in mind. However, the split practically went down to my tailbone. Wouldn't I be flashing my butt crack to someone if I bent over? The blue color seemed to shift from different shades, as light as turquoise to as dark as midnight. Another split at my right thigh offered me a greater range of movement.

Mio's dress was a deep red, glittering red that strapped over her left shoulder. A ribbon tied at the lower back and offered a hole for her tail to slip out of. They must have gotten her one size too small, because her boobs were almost bursting out and pinched at the skin.

"How do I look?" Mio asked, giving me a twirl.

"Stunning." I grinned.

My choice of compliment was correct, because Mio threw her arms around my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. Our dresses were glowing. The red and blue coming so close emitted a royal purple hue. Her tail hooked onto mine, and we swayed back and forth while making out. We only stopped when I slapped her hand away from trying to open the back split wider.

"Okay, you hornbat. Calm down. We don't want to ruin these nice dresses the light elves gave us." I wagged my tail.

"What a tease. Fine! But you better keep that dress on after the ball. I wanna fuck you in it." Mio nibbled on her lower lip.

We returned to the other room. Kana's back was turned to us, since he was facing the door waiting for the servants. Mio tapped him on the shoulders. When he spun around, his jaw dropped.

"Holy. Crap." Kana gaped and popped a boner.

"D-Does it really look that nice?" I asked, getting embarassed because of how speechless he was.

"Of course, it looks nice!" Mio nudged me in the ribs. "Just look at that cock! It's raring to go!"

He put both hands over his groin. "Don't point to my dick as an indication! But you two really do look beautiful. Like… really beautiful."

My face became red hot. Even Mio got a little flustered.

The attendants eventually returned with Kana's new outfit. He was thankful to escape into the other room to hide his boner. It took him a while to change. We figured he might be rubbing one out. Just I thought to knock and check on him, he emerged in an incredibly dashing attire.

It wasn't a tuxedo or suit like I was used to seeing men wear back in my world. The tailcoat was a royal purple with floral, gold embroidery on the chest. Epaulets made of tiny gold rivets linked together in long chains ran down the shoulders. The entire thing fit him quite snug.

"I feel silly in this. Like I'm at a renaissance faire and have no clue what to do," Kana said.

"Meow! I like what I see!" Mio purred.

Kana glanced at me, and I nodded in agreement.

"I think this fits you better than a suit," I said.

"These are traditional garbs for military-age elven men. I'm rather surprised by how well it suits you compared to the dwarven outfit." Erma walked circles around Kana as though appraising him.

"That's because I'm not a dwarf!" Kana groaned aloud.

"Now that we're all settled, shall we go down to the ball together?" She gestured to the door.

We followed after Erma down the corridor. Along the way, we picked up Shayle and the guards. The dark elf donned a silken, jet black dress that had golden rings hold its front split together. 

As we descended the palace, my heart started racing. My throat was desert dry. Come to think of it, I'd never been to a formal gathering before. The closest I got to dressing up for something was a gown during my high school graduation and in kimonos for special festivals. Erma must have noticed my nervousness and slowed down to match my pace. Despite us going down to a ball, she was still in that dress with a head covering that concealed her eyes.

"Have you ever spoken to an audience before?" Erma asked.

"Uhh… I-I participated in a theatrical play… does that count?" I pressed my fingers shyly.

"I supposed it is similar," she replied, giggling into the back of her hand. "You speak in front of an audience who are strangers to you, not knowing how they may respond to your words. Fear not, Queen Saeko. I will be by your side."

Somehow, Erma's reassurances calmed me down a little. I actually felt better. It was hard to imagine that this woman fought in a war. She had the disposition of a kind grandma at a bookclub.

"Sorry if this sounds strange, but… you aren't what I expected for someone who killed dark elves and succubi during a war," I said.

"Would you prefer I be more terrifying? With jagged teeth and eyes glowing red?" Erma grinned down at me.

"Honestly? It would definitely be a lot stranger!"

"I was a nun before I enlisted into the army. I suppose kindness is second nature. Yes, I've slayed countless during the war. Made difficult decisions for myself and those under my command. However, never once did I believe violence to be the first answer. Only ever the last. As the succubus queen, you must have faced much adversity yourself. We are more alike than you think," she suggested.

That put me at ease. Chattering and music grew louder the closer we approached the light at the end of the corridor. The second we crossed the threshold, we were in the throne room from earlier today again. It was empty when we first arrived, now? Now, it was a party.

Hundreds of light elves dressed in fancy and expensive clothes schmoozed with each other. They were the upper class, the lords and nobility, high military officers in the army, and possibly even royalty among them. Some wore masks on the top half of their faces. The conversations came to an abrupt stop, and they all turned to us at once.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Erma began and stepped aside to throw an arm to me. "Today is a momentous move forward for the elven race. For years, we have been splintered. War tore a fissure between us. The dark elves wish to return to the fold, and we shall welcome them with open arms. Queen Elendir could not make it. She sends her representative instead. Join me in bidding welcome the succubus, Queen Saeko!"

Applauds erupted from everywhere at once. Kana was just as nervous as me. Shayle and her guards kept a vigil. Meanwhile, Mio didn't give a damn and was waving at them like an idiot.

Time to mingle…

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