Chapter 234
Chapter 234
Wherever I went, Erma was by my side at all times. Her eyes, at least I could tell with the cowl over them, were on me and anyone coming up to me. She was like an eagle, scanning for anything suspicious going on. We still had that monocled light elf to worry about, so I had a hard time talking to people.
Kana, on the other hand, somehow turned out to be very popular among the light elven nobility. After explaining for the hundredth time that he wasn't a dwarf, a gaggle of young men was now pestering him about our world. They bombarded him with questions about his culture. Others wanted to compliment how well he was dressed. I got the feeling Earth and Elza might one day collide at this rate.
Then there was Mio, flirting with every attractive light elven woman she could find. At one point, she was getting a little too friendly with someone's daughter. Her father came by and stopped that real fast.
"Queen Saeko, a pleasure to meet you!" A tall gentleman dressed in a red tailcoat that flared up came to me and bowed slightly.
"This is Lord Alabaster Remeroy. His family owns several large quarries that supplies the construction which goes on in the city," Erma whispered.
"Th-The pleasure is mine…" I replied nervously.
He leaned in and lowered his voice. "I've always been fascinated by the succubus race. Would it be alright if you… used your magic on me? I consent to this, of course!"
When I searched Erma for permission, she offered me a nod. If the point was to make friendly with the people here, then I guess that was one way of doing it…
Sighing, I focused my aura around Alabaster. He shuddered intensely. A content smile flashed on his face. I didn't want to cause a scene and ended the effects after a few seconds. A look of disappointment replaced the smile.
"My, how marvelous! To think, the Armies of the Everlight faced countless succubi in battle this way. If only I was a few decades younger," Lord Remeroy said thoughtfully.
"Are you suggesting…? You know what? Never mind." I turned around only to find a female light elven woman right behind her.
"Hello, darling! I've always wanted to meet a succubus. Is it true that you can charm and compel anyone to do what you want? Do you think you can… charm a certain man to ask my hand in marriage?" she asked.
"This is Lady Talda, eldest daughter to Gerard Talda of the Talda Trading Company. My lady, I'm afraid Queen Saeko cannot fulfill such a request. You will have to make use of your own charms to woo this man instead," Erma explained.
Lady Talda cursed under her breath and stormed off. Several more important-looking high elves met with me, and they all shared similar… strange requests. However, it became increasingly clear as the night went on that none of them regarded me as someone. Rather, a tool.
I was beginning to get hungry, so Erma brought me over to a table with food and refreshmens.
"Man, I didn't expect you light elves to be so weird." I sighed with a glass of water in hand and biscuit in the other.
"As you can see, the upper echelons of our society isn't as different as your own. The difference is it happens behind closed doors. If you ask me, you have been handling yourself quite well. Even your companions." Erma directed my attention to who I came with.
Mio had kabedoned a blushing elven servant against the wall. Kana was still chatting up the noble class. Shayle and the supposed 'crack troops' were spread across the throne chamber, engaged in conversations with their counterparts. This just looked like any other party, though I suppose that was the intention.
"Hrm. I kinda expected to meet a king and queen when it came to peace talks. Are they even around?" I asked, tossing the rest of the biscuit into my mouth.
"As it happens, the royal couple is on vacation. Their absence is intended out of an abundance of caution in case your coming was something other than peace," Erma said.
"Huh. If you ask me, it sounds like there's still some trust issues going on."
Erma shrugged. She picked up a carafe of water to refill my cup, then grabbed a biscuit for herself to eat. Everything from her pose to the way Erma spoke told me she was incredibly attractive. I didn't even need to see the upper half of her face to know.
"I know that look. You wish to bed me," Erma said.
I spat my water out.
"No! No…" I glanced away.
"You couldn't fool me even if you tried. I've fought enough succubus to know." Erma grinned.
"So… have you ever…?"
"To tell you the truth? Hm. Maybe I shall keep you guessing instead," she replied in a sultry manner.
Now I was the one being teased, and… it wasn't so bad. Wait, was I being flirted with? Was Erma flirting with me? When I turned to her, she had her back to me and in the middle of speaking to a trio of men. My eyes fell to her thin waist yet buxom rear. The way the robe draped over her body brought out all the nice curves.
Not good. Not good. I shook my head to knock the thoughts out of me. This was Legate Erma, a military commander with a lot of power. She was probably plenty powerful herself.
As the night went on, and I was trying to rein in my libido, Mio and Kana had their fill of chatting up the light elves. They dropped by to the table I was being a wall flower at. Shayle did, too, with a look of concern written all over her face.
"Hey, it's been hours since the ball started. Do you think the monocled elf is even here?" I asked.
"My guards haven kept a lookout. Nothing suspicious so far," Shayle relayed to us.
At the moment, Erma was speaking with her personal retinue of knights. It seemed that they also haven't had any luck finding the man or signs of him.
"I bet that dude fucked right off after learning me and you were around. Who cares about that nobody anyway? There's a whole castle of guards. Even if he manages to get past them, Shayle and her broads are here, too." Mio shrugged, showing little concern.
"I mean, she's right." Kana agreed. "Whoever they are, the attack at sea was probably their only plan. You foiled it. We should just enjoy the night and forget about what might happen."
Maybe Kana and Mio were right. I was worrying too much. The whole point of coming to Elza was to relax after all. Suddenly, a hand extended into my vision.
"How about we go for a dance? Take your mind off things," Kana said.
"Do you know how to dance? Because I certainly don't," I teased.
"Oooh. You two get frisky. I got a bleached cutie looking my way." Mio adjusted her breasts and proceeded to go flirt.
Left to our own, I grabbed Kana's hand and let him lead me into the dancing area. As we entered, people and pairs parted out of the way for us. The music seemed to flare up. Kana brought his other hand to my waist, and I wrapped my arms behind his neck. We started swaying the only way our awkward selves could.
"Kana… you have a boner," I said.
"I now… I can't help it. You just look so pretty. It's hard keeping it down when I have someone like you and Mio as my girlfriends. Sometimes I wonder if I'm dreaming or what. My friends and other guys are always telling me how lucky I am, so I feel pressured to make myself worth being with you," Kana explained.
"If you weren't worth it, I wouldn't be with you to begin with. Mio, too. You two mean the world to me. If you want to feel special about it, why not?" I pressed my body against his and kissed him.
When our lips met, fireworks shot into the in my head. The boner between Kana's legs got harder. It poked against my inner thigh, gradually getting me in the mood despite us being in the middle of many people.
"Besides, I like confidence. You better be careful and watch yourself. Or I might end up dating Koga for real," I joked.
However, Kana's erection became even harder. I stared at him in disbelief.
"You can't just get me excited like that when we're in public…" Kana said, glancing away from me.
"Oh?" My body grew intensely hot and the urge to tease him surged, so I leaned up to his ear and whispered, "How about I tie you to the corner of the room and bring guys over to fuck me in front of you?"
Kana tensed up. His arms wrapped tighter around me very briefly, then I felt a dampness between our thighs. I peeled away and saw a wet spot where his dick was poking.
"I swear to god, Saeko… I think you have more fun teasing me than anything." Kana shut his eyes in embarassment.
"Hehe. Do you want me to keep going?" I continued to gently hump him to a second climax.
"Mio, help! Tag out!" he cried out.
An explosion sent rubble flying inwards from a balcony. There was a hole in the side of the throne room now. Chilly night air rushed in. People screamed from every direction, and castle guards rushed over to investigate. I thought Erma was going to do the same, but she pushed into the crowds to grab mine and Kana's arm.
A magic circle carved itself into the ground at our feet. Erma yanked the two of us away just as a column of fire erupted up to the ceiling.
"That was… too close for comfort." Kana sighed.
"Thanks," I said, quickly getting up in the event something happened again.
Raucous laughter filled the chamber now that it had quieted down. A tall, elven man with a monocle over his right eye stepped out from the smoke left behind by the column of fire.
"I am Vrau Glassken, and I will see my country fall to ruin before my brothers and sisters ally themselves with our former enemies!" the monocled elf exclaimed as flamboyantly as possible.
"Ah, so it was Vrau all along. Hm. Shouldn't you be in prison? How did you escape?" Erma asked as though he was just a minor inconvenience.
"Why? Because there are others who disagree with the direction this city is taking. You! Legate Erma, you led our soldiers into war. Don't you have shame?" Vrau asked.
"The alternative is to continue war. More will perish. So, no. I am not ashamed to go the route of peace," she answered.
"Look, Vrau. I know you're angry—" I began.
"Angry doesn't even begin to describe it!" he interjected sharply.
I continued amidst his protests, "But I have no bone in this war. I'm not even from this world. Through a series of circumstances, I became the succubus queen. All I'm here to do is to ensure that Queen Elendir's people rejoins the light elves in a peaceful resolution. If you're going to deny them that, then I'm going to have to retaliate."
Vrau shied away from the fight, probably precisely because I was a succubus. However, Erma stuck an arm out to stop me from intervening. She stepped forward instead and placed a hand on the hilt of her rapier.
"Allow me, Saeko. It would reflect poorly on me if I let a guest come to harm." Erma drew her rapier, a thin length of steel sharpened to a fine point.
"Ha! Learn your place, Legate. A soldier should—"
Erma vanished from sight. She appeared behind Vrau, flourished her rapier, and returned it to the sheath. The elven man was none the wiser. By the time he looked back, his clothing had been made ribbons of. All that remained was his underwear. The staff in his hands fell to the ground as small little blocks of wood.
"What was that about soldiers? Perhaps you should have spent more time training than legislating, for whatever good that has done for you. Place this man under arrest," Erma ordered her unit.
Applause erupted across the throne room. Knights moved in to apprehend him, but he produced a crystalline stake into his hand.
"It's not over yet! I will have my revenge, mark my words!" Vrau yelled before activating it and disappearing.
Erma's knights were too late. They grabbed empty air instead.
"Tsk. A quarry escaped from under my nose. How humiliating." Erma clicked her tongue and sighed.
Unfortunately, the terrorists showing up caused enough of a stir that the ball ended early for guests' safety. Not only were the castle guards disgraced for an attack that happened so close to so many VIPs, the ringleader named Vrau Glassken escaped without a trace.
Mio, Kana, and I returned to our rooms. Shayle and our guards stood vigil just outside the door for the rest of the night.
At the very least, they didn't keep us within the confines of the castle the next day.
After being briefed by Legate Erma, she had explained that what transpired wouldn't affect the newfound relationship between light elves and dark elves. That was a relief. Imagine one terrorist just ruining it for everyone. Shayle was the most relieved of all.
Since Mio wanted to go find some light elven prostitutes no matter what, we set back into the city. However, with a much bigger entourage this time around.
Twenty knights followed us on chariots of their own as we rode down to the shitty part of the City of Everlight. We must have looked outrageous to the lesser class folks down here. Buildings were much shorter and packed together. Wooden boards and mossy stones cobbled places of residence in oddly-arranged communities.
Mio picked the first brothel she saw, a run down two-story, rickety old building with escorts lingering around outside.
"The rest of us will wait here. The three of you, please enjoy your time inside." Erma nodded with a soft smile.
It must be so weird for them, to escort us all the way out here specifically to bang prostitutes… I put a hand to my face and sighed
The light elven were all sitting around what appeared to be a tavern on the first floor, minding their own business. A couple were painting their nails by the window. Another Some of them looked pretty, but the others… were pretty trashy in appearance. Light clothing clung to their bodies. Others just had a robe on parted in the middle, no underwear to hide their naughty bits. While Mio was rubbing her hands and drooling, Kana and I were standing there wondering what kind of disease hot pot we walked into. One of the girls stared in disbelief at both me and Mio.
"Uhm… Madam! There are succubi here! What's the protocol for that?!" she cried.
A rather heavyset light elven woman with a large face stomped down the stairs. She wore a glittering purple dress, had on black lipstick, and smoked from a pipe that smelled… illegal. Her eyes, however, shot to the window and noted the light elves, particularly at Legate Erma.
"Protocol? Why, the protocol is to provide them with the proper hospitality! I am Madam Ledder. Enchanted to meet you two very fine succubi. And… dwarf?" Madam Ledder smiled.
"I'm not a dwarf! Hey, Mio? Are we sure there aren't any high class brothels to go to instead?" Kana asked.
"Oh, I'm hurt! Do you not find my girls absolutely delectable?" she asked.
Kana and I took another glance at the brothel's women and decided against answering.
"I know! What you need is a demonstration of what they can offer. How about one of my best girls? Alayna, would you come down and entertain our new guests?" Madam Ledder shouted upstairs.
A light elven woman of average height skipped down. She paused half-way after seeing that we were succubi but continued realizing we weren't aggressive. Orange pigtails flared out the sides of her head. She had a cute smile, if it wasn't for all the tattooes
"Name's Alayna! Never had a succ before, but until you're dead there's always a first for everything. Not sure what I can offer succs who've probably taken more than me in my lifetime though. Whaddya want? My magic lets me change into anything and anyone!" Alayna proceeded to transform into a dark elf, dwarf, wolf, some weird primate, and even a succubus.
"Now I'm interested." Mio whistled sharply.
My mind swirled with lewd thoughts. If Alayna could transform into anyone…
"I'll take Alayna!" I exclaimed before Mio could.
There was one person I really wanted right now, and I wasn't leaving until I got to.