The Hero Became a Succubus! - Chapter 182

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Chapter 182

Fall was fast approaching. It was like a painter had taken an orange brush across the forest around Radevic and the trees within the city, but the changes were gradual. Soon, the Commonwealth would follow suit with brand new colors. This year felt a little different. Although Gretchen Redbaron's coup was still a fresh wound on the city, its citizens were much more lively.

Kanae passed by students, knights, and faculty who had their heads up high and with smiles on their faces. The corridors filled with chatter. People were in much higher spirits, and she couldn't figure out why. Even the trainees, whom Kanae remembered were nervous leading up to the aptitude test during her candidacy, didn't look at all bothered by their upcoming trials.

"Amethyst, perfect timing!" Grand Eye Analise peeled away from a group of academy faculty in the hallway.

Today, she was accompanied by Sheena and Camilla. The normally always on guard Saint Priests were also more relaxed than usual, and it likely had to do with something other than the fumes from Camilla's pipes.

"I feel like I missed the memo. Why is everyone looking like we're about to have a party?" Kanae asked.

"Ah. That's because the Arum Taum approaches. It is a once every eight year celebration in Radevic, thanking the eight priests and Saint Rue for establishing a foothold that eventually became this city," the Grand Eye explained.

Camilla expelled a column of fumes from each nostril. "An eight-day festival of feasting and drinking!"

Sheena and the Grand Eye shot a weary look to their beastman companion.

"Not quite." Analise cleared her throat. "Yes, there is feasting and drinking. However, the octennial holiday is a holy day. People from all over the world come to Radevic to join in the festivities. Yes, even as far as Ortesia and Rotandrix."

"The purpose is to reenact the sanctification and baptism of Saint Rue's eight priestly followers. Well, that occurs on the eighth day. The first seven are intended for people to gorge themselves and drink themselves to a stupor." Sheena rolled her eyes at the happily-humming Camilla.

"I know you're eager for some Draketail Whiskey, Sheena! I've seen your hidden stock." Camilla threw an arm around her stone-faced colleague's shoulders and poked her cheek.

No wonder people looked so excited.

The Grand Eye continued, "Such celebrations demand a great amount of food. Villages, towns, and farmsteads across this side of the continent set aside a portion of their harvests for Arum Taum. Among them, one reached out to me with a problem that I hope you can resolve before leaving on your next journey."

"As Knight of Amethyst, I'm ready for anything. What is it?" Kanae asked, eager to serve the people she swore to protect.

"Indeed. It may seem trivial in comparison, especially considering what you have done as of late. A farming community by the name of Ambernite is facing an infestation of fingercrabs. Nasty little vermins. The adventurer's hall has sent a few members to take care of it and faced no success. I'd like for you to liberate Ambernite from their plight," she said.

Fingercrabs? They didn't sound very strong, but it had to be a big problem if the Grand Eye came to her about it.

"Consider it done! This is going to be a nice change of pace from dealing with demons and succubi." Kanae was hankering to go back to her glory days of being an adventurer anyway.

The Grand Eye and the Saint Priests wished Kanae luck, and she spread her wings to go fetch Lapis. It was a good chance to show her the world outside of Aidenhall. Marwin and Eliza were too busy tuning dungeon cores to stop her anyway.

As Kanae headed for the Illuminant Repository, a familiar sensation closed in on her at breakneck speeds from behind.

"Maaaamaaaaaaa—"

Kanae turned around too late. Teana slammed into her, sending them both crashing to the ground. They rolled to a stop against a pedestal. The bust of a long-dead important person teetered side to side. She shielded her daughter's head and caught the statue with her tail before it hit them.

"Teana. What did I say about speeding through the halls?" Kanae scolded.

"But you were going fast, too! I had to go faster to catch up!" Teana pouted, inflating her cheeks into balloons.

They picked themselves up, and Kanae replaced the bust onto its pedestal. At least nothing was broken. She dusted off her daughter's clothes.

"So, what did you need that you were breaking the speed limit for? Shouldn't you be in class? The aptitude test is coming up soon," Kanae recalled.

"That's actually why I wanted to talk to you. I'm so busy, I don't have time to take Tiny for walks. He's getting antsy and lonely. Can you take him outside for a bit?" Teana asked.

Kanae put a hand to her face and sighed. That was right. The giant devil mutt was lying around in Aidenhall, probably freaking out a bunch of knights in the courtyard.

"I guess I am going out. I can bring him along," Kanae said.

"You're the best, mama! Love you!" Teana got on her toes to scrape their horns together.

This might be a good chance to ask…

"Say, Teana… How's Pan doing?" Kanae asked reluctantly.

"Oh… Pan's okay," Teana answered, though seemingly not too sure of herself. "Maybe a little distracted. We heard about what happened to Auntie Edina. We're all super worried about her. Is she going to be okay?"

Kanae certainly hoped so.

"Damn it… Teana… I can't fly, so… don't take off like that…" Gasping for breath, Nelly collapsed to his knees in exhaustion after catching up.

"Edina's going to be fine, but you leave her to me. Tiny, too. Behave in school and do your best in the trial, okay? Good luck!" Kanae kissed her daughter on the head.

"I will! I'll make you so damn proud, so just you wait!" Teana exclaimed, then turned around to pick Nelly up. "Now's no time to nap. We got a trial to conquer!"

"Oh, come on. I just got here!" He groaned.

Kanae watched them for a second longer before flying off to the Illuminant Repository's lab. As usual, Lapis was inside and bored out of her mind. Half a dozen researchers went from desk to desk, conducting experiments like testing the toughness of her skin, moving magical items closer to see when they went inert, and just prodding her in the private parts. That last part was likely giving into temptation.

"Amethyst? If you're looking for Marwin or Elizabeth, neither of them are here," a researcher informed her while in the middle of mixing a potion.

"I'm actually here for Lapis," Kanae said, earning a smile from the automaton but also many confused looks from the labs' residents.

"Erm… I don't recall anyone telling us—"

"Arum Taum is coming up." She rubbed up against a bespectacled elf. "If you keep this a secret from Marwin and Eliza, I'll let anyone who wants to fuck me during the celebrations~"

They exchanged glances with one another and agreed in unison.

Kanae snatched a woolen cloak resting on a chair and threw it over Lapis. They left the Illuminant Repository, thinking that was easy. She didn't even need to use charm.

"Sneaking out when I shouldn't… this is so exciting! Where are we going anyway?" Lapis asked.

"Outside of Radevic," Kanae said.

"REALLY?!" she exclaimed a little too excitedly.

"Yes, but you have to keep it quiet and a secret!"

Lapis sealed her mouth and nodded. They emerged from the palace and into the courtyard. Tiny, the giant devil mutt, was lying belly-up in a field of grass underneath the shade of a large oak tree. A few leaves had fallen on top of him.

Two guards were in the middle of trying to coax the hound away when Kanae and Lapis arrived.

"You damn mutt, you can't lie here all day. The landscapers need to take care of this part of the courtyard, too." A human guard pulled vainly on Tiny's collar to get him to move.

"At least take your business outside of Radevic! We're getting complaints about your mountain-sized poops and pools of piss every single day!" his companion added.

"Tiny!" Kanae whistled and patted her thighs. "Come here, boy~"

The devil mutt rolled over and raced up to Kanae, dragging the poor guard along who clung to the collar for dear life.

"What is this? Looking at him makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!" Lapis went glossy-eyed and petted Tiny's nose.

"Ughh… Good day, Amethyst… Are you here to take care of the mutt?" the guard asked, letting go to drop down.

"Sorry for making you guys put up with this. I'll take it from here, so don't worry about him pooping or pissing in the courtyard today." Kanae mounted Tiny and pulled Lapis up with her.

Both guards stepped aside and bowed.

There was one more person to drag along. Kanae had Tiny bring them to the mansion. The citizens of Radevic had slowly grown accustomed to seeing the devil mutt around. They used to regard him with fear and hid inside buildings. Nowadays, butchers threw chops of meat into the streets for him to munch on. Children bravely came up to pet him. When they got to the mansion, Arenade was in the backyard gazebo being served tea and snacks by a fleet of servants.

"Oh, crap." Arenade locked eyes with Kanae like the horseman of war had come. She dropped the teacup and picked up her dryadic staff, brandishing it at them in an aggressive manner. "Today's my day off! Don't come any closer, or I'm entangling the three of you!"

"Tiny, go fetch!" Kanae commanded.

The devil mutt barked playfully. All of the servants dove away as he charged ahead, undeterred by the grasping vines and roots. As for Arenade…

"No, no, no, no— aaaaahhh!"

Tiny picked up Arenade, kicking and thrashing, by the back of her robes. Together, and amidst the high elf's unceasing protests, the four of them traveled out of Radevic and into the sea of red and orange leaves which blanketed the forest.

"It's so much more beautiful than the palace! How come you live behind walls instead?" Lapis asked, her eyes taking in autumn's grandeur.

"A lot of people actually do. For others, they don't feel safe. It's why the city tends to get so packed," Kanae said.

"Why don't they feel safe? Is there danger?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "There's always dangerous monsters. Sometimes, other places like Radevic want to harm the people who live there."

Lapis frowned and asked no more.

They reached Ambernite after half an hour of traveling. Trees were sparser, and the terrain was much more uneven and hilly. The fields were layered into multiple terraces instead of the smooth landscape Kanae was used to seeing, but having come from Japan, she recognized them immediately. These were rice terraces, purposefully formed this way to control and retain water.

However, there weren't any farmers out and about. It was eerily quiet.

Tiny dropped Arenade to the ground. She was covered in drool and slobber.

"I hate you." Arenade glared.

"I love you." Kanae pecked the angry elf on the lips, making her blush and lose her composure.

"W-What are you doing out here that needs my help anyway? You can handle yourself!" she complained.

"What are you saying? I always need you. Better safe than sorry, and it helps to have a healer around just in case."

They entered the village in which the cabins were made of wood and thatched with dried straws. Many hand-cranked rice mills sat empty without workers, and the brick silos were likely hollow inside. Someone suddenly poked their head out from the window.

"Are you crazy? There are— What in three hells! If fingercrabs ain't bad enough, there's a devil mutt right behind ya!" an older human lady cried.

Tiny whimpered and lowered himself to the ground.

"Tiny's harmless! I'm the Knight of Amethyst, sent here by the Grand Eye. We're actually here to help with the fingercrab problem," Kanae explained.

"Your village is in trouble, right?" Lapis raced up to the window and startled the woman. "We'll take care of the danger for you, so everyone can rest easy!"

"My… You're quite the energetic and sweet one, aren't you? Well, thank the Supreme One a Knight of Color and help is finally here. Please, there are fingercrabs all over the fields. We haven't been able to harvest any rice in days and every day that passes, we lose more and more of our prized crops," she said.

Arenade gasped. "Wait a minute. This Ambernite? This is among the few villages that produces midnight rice, one of the most fragrant and delicious damn rice in the world! Hells yeah, I'm in!"

Kanae pursed her lips.

"Glad your priorities are in the right order…"

"Ufufu! Indeed! Our rice is the best in the world. Even Ortesian magistracies often bid for tons of it." The woman lifted her nose up in pride.

"I-I want to try some." Lapis gulped, drool slipping down the corner of her mouth.

"If you take care of the fingercrabs decimating our fields, we'll be happy to mill you a sack to go. They lurk within the water of our paddies and terraces. Name's Ella, by the way. I'll take ya there." She emerged from her home and walked with a cane.

Tiny crawled over, still flat to the ground and almost spooked the woman dead.

"He's trying to offer you a ride," Kanae said. "Tiny really is harmless! I even trusted my baby children with him."

"Hmm… Alright, but no funny business," Ella said.

The happy-go-lucky devil mutt lowered his head for Ella to climb on. Following Ella's directions, they entered the rice terraces from an elevated path. When they got to the top, their jaws dropped. The hilly terraces had hidden a vast field of rice paddies, farther than their eyes could see. Paddies were usually flooded with water, but for some reason, these plains were filled with… silky white liquid.

"We're supposed to deal with an infestation?" Arenade gaped.

"That's right. Fingercrabs are led by a single female queen. Take her out, then they ain't got nothing to breed with. Rest'll die in time. I just need ya to kill enough fingercrabs and the queen, so we can start working again. Right-o, pup. Let's get back down to the village and let these here gals take care of it." Ella ushered Tiny back down to her village.

Left to figure things out on their own, the three of them stared into the endless paddy fields in despair.

"So… How are we supposed to find them? And why does the water look like that?" Kanae asked, drawing her whip in case of a fight.

"A nice steaming bowl of midnight rice is waiting at the end of this quest. Step aside and let me handle it. I'll have this handled before dark!" Arenade waded into the flooded paddy fields.

"Should we… follow her?" Lapis asked.

"No. It's best to let nature do its thing to keep her confidence in check," she said.

Arenade channeled magic into the Forest Nymph's Regrowth Staff. The rice stalks around her began to grow in height until they matched her shoulders. They burst with many clusters of grain.

"Uhuhuu! I can smell it already!" Arenade mused aloud.

"Are you an exterminator or a farmer?" Kanae called out.

"The fingercrabs are obviously attracted to the rice, alright? Just wait patiently while I draw them to—"

Kanae and Lapis waited for Arenade to finish her sentence, but she didn't. Instead, she turned around with a red disc-shaped creature latched to her face.

"Arenade?!" they exclaimed worriedly.

No matter how hard Arenade pulled, the fingercrab wouldn't let go. She waded back over to them and pointed to her face, clearly gesturing for help.

"Pfft… What happened to taking care of this all on your own?" Kanae taunted.

"Mmh! Mrph." Arenade put both hands on her hips, seemingly unamused. However, something happened to make her gesture more frantic. She pointed desperately at her face, then went back to trying to pry it away.

"Ew… White stuff is oozing out!" Lapis grimaced.

Slippery white liquid gushed from the fingercrab and pooled into the water at their feet. Arenade dropped down to all fours, sputtering and choking. When they finally thought to help, a dozen discs flew out from the paddy field.

"Lapis, watch out!" Kanae warned, dashing back and whipping them out of the air.

A couple had attached themselves to Lapis' legs. More came out of the water to attack them. Kanae cursed under her breath, but in the brief moment her mouth opened, something plugged it up. Whatever it was plunged into her throat. She saw darkness. Or rather, the underside of the fingercrab. Six finger-like tendrils clamped down on her head and held tight.

"Mmmrpphh!"

The sound of splashing water clued Kanae in that more were coming. She tried to fly, but several fingercrabs tackled her from behind. Another crawled up her thighs and stuck a thick meaty rod into her pussy.

What's happening? Were these supposed to be their dicks? I can't see a damn thing, and I can't fly! Kanae groaned to herself.

Then without warning, warm liquid squirted down Kanae's throat. She could only swallow so much and started choking on it. The pressure forced it back up her mouth and oozed out the corner of her lips. It was happening down there, too. Hot juices poured deep into her pussy. Even her tail wasn't spared being used.

The worst part, or maybe it was a silver lining, the fingercrab gangbang began to feel good. Kanae fell flat on her back and climaxed, body shuddering as if an earthquake was going on. She clawed at the dirt but only found two more fingercrab dicks instead, so she chucked them away.

"Updating parameters…"

Kanae recognized that voice to be Lapis. Not good. If she were to go sex-berserk now…

"Updating parameters… to save… my friends!"

Someone picked Kanae off the ground and put her on her feet. Four human fingers pried into the monster, ripping it off her face. A flood of white juices poured from her mouth, and she swallowed the rest.

It was Lapis who had saved her. The female automaton's arms formed an earthen blade, and the ground was littered with sliced up fingercrabs.

"Thanks…" Kanae wiped the liquid from her chin.

Arenade was still on the ground and twitching. The same white liquid had pooled all around her. They wrenched the fingercrabs from her face and body. She stared blankly up at the sky, quietly gurgling the substance in her mouth.

"Is she dead?" Lapis gasped.

"Titanic Blow!" Kanae clenched a fist and brought it down on Arenade's chest. The impact forced the white liquid to shoot out like a geyser.

"Ow…" Arenade sucked in a deep, squeaky breath.

More fingercrabs were crawling out of the water. A cluster of them surrounded the tall stalk of rice plants Arenade had grown earlier.

"I thought you love me? Who sucker punches someone they love?!" Arenade wrapped two hands around Kanae's neck and pouted.

"Arenade… it works… The plants… You're a genius…" Kanae choked out.

"I am?" She let go to bask in the praise. "Heh. Of course, I am. By the way, why am I a genius?"

Kanae pointed across the paddy fields and said, "Grow more. We'll lure them all over here. Hopefully the queen, too, and we'll take care of them all at once!"

Arenade picked up her staff and bopped a fingercrab trying to fly into her face. She channeled magic into it again, but more continued to distract her.

"Gah! There's just so many— Wait. Holy Armament: Full Suit of Armor!" Arenade clothed from head to toe in plate mail.

Fingercrabs that tried to latch themselves onto her found themselves attached to the golden armor, which soon burned them with divine energies.

"Don't worry! I'll help!" Lapis came running in a hurry.

"Wait, stay back! If you come too close, it'll—"

The full suit of armor vanished.

"Uh… Oops?" Lapis laughed nervously.

No longer protected, the fingercrabs dogpiled Arenade at once.

"AHHHHHHHHH! NOW HELP ME, YOU DAMN SEX DOLL!" Arenade cried.

Kanae groaned into her hands. It seemed they still needed to work on their synergy. With Lust in hand, she struck the fingercrabs off Arenade with the power of Titanic Blow.

Back on her feet, Arenade begrudgingly cast an empowered Plant Growth spell. The rice stalks grew taller than houses, with rice grains as big as a fist. Numerous fingercrabs were drawn in by the fragrant smell. Including…

The ground shook. A crimson fingercrab as large as a carriage emerged from the paddy field and made its way over. This one, however, didn't have a phallus swinging underneath its disc body, but it did have hundreds of offspring clinging to the top of the shell.

Kanae gulped hard, imagining herself being covered by all of them— until a massive column of flames incinerated all of the fingercrabs off the queen, which came out perfectly unscathed.

"Seriously?" Kanae shot a dirty look at Arenade for taking away a precious toy.

"I don't care how horny you are. Screw that. I'm not letting it get close to me!" Arenade fired back.

"Alright, let's finish up… Tiny!" She whistled sharply.

The giant devil mutt sprinted back up the terraces, his tail wagging eagerly while chewing on a hunk of meat. Probably Ella's gift.

"Tiny, sic' em!" Kanae pointed at the queen fingercrab.

Tiny pounced on the fingercrab that was much smaller in comparison. He shredded into it with his fangs and claws, and flung it around like a ragdoll.

"Oh! Good boy! Who's a good boy? Rip those rapey things to shreds!" Arenade cheered him on.

By nightfall, they successfully eliminated enough of the fingercrabs that they wouldn't hinder Ambernite's harvests. Farmers were back to work. The mills were grinding to separate rice from their hulls. Slowly but surely, the silos were filling up. Adventurers would come and take care of the stragglers. For now, Kanae, Arenade, and Lapis joined Ella at her cozy home for dinner.

"Ahhh… This was so worth it…" Arenade breathed deeply of her rice before shoveling spoonfuls into her mouth along with beef stew.

"Ufufu! I'm glad you like it, dearie. What about you? Lapis, was it? Eat up!" Ella encouraged her.

Lapis hesitated. Her hands remained still on her lap.

"Something wrong?" Kanae leaned in to ask.

"I-I just feel like I don't deserve it… I almost ruined yours and Arenade's plan earlier. This anti-magic inside me has been a burden to everyone I met so far. Edina is in a coma… Arenade was almost fingercrab food… Am I a bother?" Lapis lifted a sad gaze up to them.

Arenade was about to say something until Kanae stared her down.

"You're not a bother," Kanae said. "Edina's situation is complicated. Her being in a coma has nothing to do with you. It was all Haxgorah or whatever that was. As for Arenade… Honestly, she needed to be taken down a notch anyway."

"Watch it, buster!" Arenade waved a spoon in Kanae's face.

"But, but… What if the reason the dwarves never activated me was because I only caused trouble? Who knows. Maybe I caused their extinction, too!" Lapis folded her hands tightly together.

Ella cleared her throat to draw their attention. "I may not know what any of you are talking about, but I do know a thing or two about making mistakes. Years working on a farm has shown me that messing up is part of growing up. My pa used to say I was as dumb as a sack of potatoes. 'Course I, a green-eared brat still wetting her pants, was dumb. But one year, two years, and soon, my pa would put a hand on my head and tell me, 'good work today, El.' You grow and learn at your pace, Lapis. First, ya gotta put some food away to grow. So eat up, ya hear?"

Lapis picked up a spoon and the bowl of rice. Kanae wondered if the dwarves gave her a sense of taste. They must have. When she scooped a spoonful of rice and dipped it into stew, her nose flared up a little. As soon as she stuck it into her mouth and chewed a few times, a wide smile flashed on her face.

"It's… so good!" Lapis squealed delightfully.

"Heh. That's the taste of hard work!" Ella winked.

"I'll work harder from now on. I'm going to learn from my mistakes and be better!" she promised.

Kanae sighed in relief and stuffed her mouth with midnight rice, too. The very gentle and subtle sweet taste reminded her of rice back in Japan. Those Ortesian magistrates were going to have to bid a little higher, because Ambernite just earned the Queen of the Commonwealth as their favorite customer.

"Hm. It don't taste like I remember." Ella chewed slowly.

"Is it bad?" Kanae asked. "I think it's the best thing I've ever had."

"Oh, no. It is a lot better. Better than it's been my fifty years of harvesting midnight but… could it be… " she wondered aloud and trailed off.

The fingercrabs. Their white stuff must have added extra nutrition to the water and soil. Kanae hatched an idea.

"Oh, gods… I don't like that look on your face…" Arenade gagged.

"Well, that's too bad. Because I've got a great idea to raise the quality of the Commonwealth's crops." Kanae grinned.

"Hm? Are you going to breed them? But Tiny already killed and ate the queen," Lapis reminded them.

"Who needs a queen when there's a substitute?" She rubbed her belly and activated Versatile Womb.