The succubus woman slumped to the ground, her bag falling with a thud. Food items spilled out.
“—!!”
Seeing this, Karubene lunged forward without a sound. Before anyone could stop him, he bit into a sandwich from the bag. Then, he pried open a bottle of unknown liquid and drank it as if bathing.
“Karubene! What are you doing? That’s not yours!”
His hand-to-mouth eating made him look like a starving stray dog. One wrong move, and he’d bite. Elana appeared beside him and snatched the bag of bread, fleeing.
“Hey, hey, don’t make such a scene. Sorry, my companion is at their limit.”
The human-faced bird child on his shoulder had already landed and was rummaging through the bag. It flew off with a bag of sweets in its beak.
To suddenly appear and act like a robber, this would surely lead to direct punishment if discovered. The poor succubus remained slumped, weak.
“Are you alright? I’m truly sorry.”
As I leaned in to look at her face, she covered it with her arms. She muttered something in a low voice.
“…I forgot to draw my eyebrows today. It’s really impossible…”
“Eyebrows? What about your eyebrows?”
Forgetting to draw her eyebrows? What was she talking about? Eyebrows grow naturally, didn’t she? Was she referring to forgetting her makeup? I glanced at Nina, who sighed and took out a pen from her luggage.
“Here, use this. I’ll lend you a mirror too.”
The succubus peeked at me from between her arms and snatched the pen and mirror. Then, for several minutes, she turned her back and diligently applied makeup. Satisfied with her eyebrows, she rose from the ground and looked back down at me.
“Heh, I never thought I’d meet you in a place like this. You look well, Virgin-kun.”
Her previous meekness was gone, and she began acting as if nothing had happened. As for the eyebrows themselves, I couldn’t tell.
“I’m glad you’re revived. My companion was rude. Were you on your way back from shopping?”
When I returned the fallen bag, the succubus snatched it, her face blushing.
“Ahem, yes, well, I suppose so. What? Can’t I go shopping?”
“No, I just assumed a succubus’s food was men’s life force.”
“That’s true, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have taste buds. Isn’t it fine to eat meals?”
Come to think of it, that’s true. It’s easier to satisfy one’s hunger by eating than to sneak into someone’s sleeping place.
“Right, sorry for the trouble. Well then.”
“H-hey, wait!”
Even though we didn’t have time to deal with her, she followed us as we started walking.
“Where are you going? And why are you guys here? You didn’t just enter because there was a hole, right?”
“We’re chasing a Dark Elf man who entered before us.”
The succubus tilted her head.
“I haven’t seen him. What does he look like?”
“He’s a half-Vampire and half-Dark Elf. A powerful sorcerer, probably with a few companions.”
“Hmm, Vampire and Dark Elf. Not bad, huh?”
The succubus rubbed her hands together, as if imagining something. He’s not just a handsome guy like you might imagine. Unlike me, you won’t be immune to his strange magic, and you’d disappear in an instant.
The woman scowled at the human-faced bird child that flapped back to my shoulder.
“Wait, you have a Harpy child as a companion? And you smell. Did you pass through the Harpy forest?”
“Yeah, sorry, but I’m really dirty right now, so it’s best if you don’t come near me.”
I waved her away. The woman wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“I’ll let you off the hook today. But it won’t be like this next time, so be prepared.”
Even a succubus seems to choose her targets. She doesn’t just prey on men indiscriminately. If you want to meet a lewd succubus sister at night, you should take a bath and clean yourself first.
Karubene, who had been eating like a dog, caught up from behind. He seemed to be in a better mood now that his hunger was temporarily sated.
“Wow, lucky me, lucky me, to actually find food.”
“You should have a little more pride.”
We passed over the Forest of Suicides. Next, we saw a rain of fire. Boiling lava erupted from a nearby volcano, falling like bullets upon sinners amidst the flames.
The human-faced bird child perched on my shoulder, watching the sight.
“If you don’t go down, you won’t reach where you want to go.”
“I see.”
I was starting to understand the structure of hell. Cocytus, where Lucifer sleeps, is essentially a prison for sinners. It’s separate from the populated areas where demons live. Ultimately, no matter what, one must take the path of hell.
