Chapter 12 Preparations Before the War
Jima sat on a stone bench in front of a church, propping her head on her hand, contemplating ways to harm George in Shalin City.
A rumble from her stomach interrupted her thoughts, signaling her hunger.
The thought of having to go find George for food unsettled her. Not only did she fail to engage in NTR, but she also had to sell herself to her enemy; life was truly tough. She felt like the most frustrated demon king in history.
Someone stopped in front of her.
“Little demon?”
A male voice came, and Jima looked up to see a young priest. He wore a linen robe and had a bronze religious emblem at his collar, looking somewhat familiar.
“It’s you, George’s little demon slave,” the young priest continued.
Jima recalled him as the first test subject from that morning. She remembered how jealousy consumed him when she teased him, and his jealousy stemmed from lust.
He might be able to provide food for her as well.
“What do you want?”
Jima instinctively tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear.
The young priest looked around and said, “I… was just curious why George left you here alone; it’s really irresponsible of him. A genius doesn’t need to follow rules; the higher-ups all favor geniuses.”
Let me guess, you have nothing to say but are tempted by my beauty and are desperately trying to talk to me… Jima flashed a charming smile and said,
“He’s a good person.”
A scent gradually rose in the air.
The young priest frowned and warned sternly, “Succubus, don’t try to seduce me. I’m not like George, easily enchanted by you.”
People of the church are not supposed to lie, and sometimes, the truth can be as insulting as a curse.
Jima only sensed his lust, which had a sour stench. The thought of this guy having feelings for her filled her with disgust. Not wanting any of his lust, she raised her hand to fan her nose and whispered,
“There’s a sour smell.”
“What did you say?”
“I said, a sour smell of jealousy.” Jima glanced at him; she usually didn’t even bother looking at such weaklings, “Sigh, people like you have no value for charm, okay? Don’t be so full of yourself.”
One good thing about the church was that one could speak freely; after all, the other party wouldn’t dare retaliate.
“By the grace of the God of Dawn, look what George has brought back.”
“Stop bothering the God of Dawn all the time.” Jima stood up, turned her back on the young priest, and left, “If He hears you, he will surely kick you in the backside.”
The young priest fell silent as George approached.
“Jima, I finally found you.”
After a sharp jab earlier, Jima felt much better. Seeing George, she couldn’t help but swallow.
From now on, she would get her food from George only.
Jima quickly walked up to George, who glanced at the departing young priest and asked, “If he discriminated against you, I apologize.”
“It’s nothing.” Jima replied, “That bronze genius only expressed his vulgar opinion about me and your relationship.”
George didn’t want to discuss that topic. He said, “Come with me to the armory; we leave for Shalin City tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Jima followed closely behind George, holding the greatsword he wielded.
Twenty minutes later.
In the cool armory, the guard pushed open the door, and a beam of light fell into the room, illuminating a row of smooth armor resting on straw, reflecting the light.
“Brother George, take your time choosing. Just register once you’ve made your selection.”
Jima set down the sword and curiously ran into the armory. Rows of shelves stood on the floor, and there were stairs leading to the second floor, resembling a library, or perhaps a millennia-old library. On the first floor, Jima could estimate she could arm a thousand warriors.
Weapons and armor were diverse, strictly categorized into military weapons, simple weapons, exotic weapons, heavy armor, medium armor, etc. In front of each row of arms was a plaque introducing the weapon.
George’s original full armor couldn’t be worn to Shalin City. Otherwise, anyone would know he came from the church at first glance.
Jima ran over to the heavy armor section and was drawn to an enchanted breastplate.
“This iron-gray breastplate is nice!” Jima lifted a breastplate from the straw. If she remembered correctly, when she last visited Shalin City, the mercenaries were keen on wearing iron-gray armor.
She glanced at the plaque, which read, “+4 breastplate, suitable for someone 1.8 meters tall, borrow 300 points, deduct 4000 points for damage or loss.”
“Still a +4 breastplate, and this whole row is like that; the church really is wealthy,” she said.
“Jima, take it slow; I clearly never taught you about enchanted equipment, but you seem to know quite a bit.”
Jima was prepared; she replied, “It’s in the memory inheritance of succubi.” But she didn’t mention that her related knowledge didn’t come from the memory inheritance of a succubus.
George glanced at the plaque, his face showing the pain of getting punched, and said, “Forget it, I’ll just borrow a non-enchanted breastplate.”
“Ah? Why?”
“Because I don’t have points.”
Points were the currency circulating in the church, usable for purchasing or borrowing all manner of things the church provided.
“But you’re the hero who defeated the demon king.”
George handed the license he was holding to Jima, and she looked at it, which read:
“Task Points: 1000”
“Original Points: -600.”
“Teleportation Cost: -200.”
“Remaining Points: 200.”
George continued, “These task points were earned by Gregory for me. It wouldn’t be this high ordinarily.”
Seeing the small and pitiable two hundred points, she reiterated, “But you’re the hero who defeated the demon king.”
That was where the savings she had fought for thirty years were stored.
“We can’t just forget about the demon king’s female slaves after rescuing them,” George said. “To bring the female slaves out of the demon world, other demon kings required us to leave behind the furniture, decorations, and artworks from the demon king’s palace as a toll.”
“The church is quite open-minded.” Jima recalled and silently noted down the names of the demon kings that had charged a toll.
“As for the gold coins, gems, and magical items in the demon king’s palace, they were all sold for money to provide severance pay for the female slaves, and some even requested to have their memories erased, hiring a mage.” George said, “I also contributed some money to help them assume new identities, avoiding the troubles of rumors.”
Jima remembered that among her maids, many were nobles, and one was a small country princess. She wondered how much bribing it would take. The thought made her heart bleed.
“Later, I found that I still owed quite a lot of points to the church. It took me half a year to slowly repay them through tasks. I initially had some savings, but I heard that there was a hidden treasure under the ruins of the demon king’s palace. I used points to purchase teleportation services to the demon world, and you know the rest.”
“George, you’re really a good person.” Jima’s facial muscles twitched slightly.
In her original expectation, with George, along with a good set of equipment, he could walk through Shalin City without a hitch, contributing greatly to her cause.
But now, the points could only exchange for a barely decent magical equipment.
“Do you still have savings?”
George thought for a moment, “Hmm… I still have quite a bit.”
“How much? Can you buy me a magical piece of equipment that can hide my succubus traits?” Jima’s eyes lit up as she asked.
“All the money is in the chest at home; you even played with it yesterday.”
Jima immediately recalled the shabby chest she saw yesterday. An old, rusty box contained a shallow mix of yellow and white metal coins, along with cheap copper coins worth about 100 gold. Not even enough for her to spend half a day in Shalin City!
So poor, how could it be so poor?
Under the double blow of hunger and poverty, Jima suddenly grew despondent, pathetically putting the breastplate back.
“I’ll pay more attention to the loot this time to try and get you something magical that can hide your horns, wings, and tail,” George said, unable to help but comfort her by patting her head.
A dignified demon king, actually consoled by having her head patted, felt even more upset. Jima didn’t take George’s words to heart, as it was clear he was just trying to appease a little child.
She replied listlessly, “Oh.”
In the end, George borrowed a regular iron-gray breastplate for thirty points. He originally wanted to borrow a full suit of armor, but since the other parts didn’t fit, it would require the craftsmen several days for adjustments.
Time was too tight. Thus, George had to spend an extra forty points to ask the craftsman and mage to dye the remaining parts of his original full armor – the bright enamel sunrise on his original breastplate was too conspicuous and could not conceal his identity.
After some banging and casting, that night, George finally got a complete set of iron-gray armor. Once he donned a brown-gray cloak, he at least looked less like a paladin – if one didn’t closely examine his righteous eyes.
He used an additional forty points to purchase a bunch of random adventure gear. No need to mention healing potions or antidotes.
A pack of iron briars, holy water, ten days’ worth of rations, a twenty-five-meter-long hemp rope, a large backpack, a two-person tent, blankets, a map of Shalin City, a waterskin, and two worn Gwent cards.
Jima knelt on the ground, counting the equipment in the large backpack while complaining,
“Although this is very adventurer-like, isn’t it too much? I’m just a newly hatched little succubus, you know.”
“I’ll carry it.”
George put on the half-rusted bucket helm, jumped in place, and the heavy armor on him felt like it weighed nothing at all.
“Forget it.” Jima sighed, “It’s strange for a servant of a wandering knight not to carry a backpack. Oh, and we still need two oil lamps.”
“Oil lamps? I can see in the dark; I remember succubi can see in the dark too.”
“But others don’t know that,” Jima said. “Carrying oil lamps in the night will make others instinctively think we lack night vision.”
“Is the memory inheritance of succubi that terrifying?”
“Ah, sorry for exposing my evil nature again.”
In the end, George spent an extra ten points.
The remaining points were spent on purchasing Jima’s gear: a studded leather armor and a hooded cloak. Fortunately, it fit Jima pretty well.
She had a short sword on her left belt and a light crossbow hanging on her right, fully equipped. Jima draped the cloak over her shoulders, posed with her hands on her hips, and in a childish voice exclaimed,
“Hey, this Robin Hood is off to Shalin City to liberate the slaves!”
As she said this, she put on a distressed expression while hoisting her large backpack, exclaiming dramatically, “The oppression from the knight is so heavy!”
Like a servant who had been oppressed for too long.
George smiled and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”
“There’s no other way; if we reveal ourselves, we’re both done for. A warrior and a little demon girl, the good master of Shalin City would laugh themselves mad,” Jima said, then turned her head and asked, “So, George, can you be mute?”
“Ah?”
