Chapter 9: The Amber Molting and the Embrace of Obsessive Love

Inside the golden log house, the room pulsed with life and the intense heat of mana.

Allen twisted restlessly on the clean bed Kuu had prepared for him.

The human upper body Allen had forced out in the last battle was caught between the curse trying to turn him back into a mascot and the royal mana surging inside him, making his body temperature soar.

“Ah, haah…! My body… feels like it’s burning…”

His human skin, peeking out from under the golden fur, was bright red. The chain around his neck pulsed purple and red, throbbing as if to mock his pain.

“Allen! Hang in there, I’m constructing a cooling spell right now…!”

Luna, her face pale, summoned several magic circles. But just as her indigo mana neared Allen’s skin, the Curse Chains pushed it back with a wave of rejection.

“…Move aside, thieving human. Your cold logic cannot quell this ‘heat’ of Allen-sama’s.”

A low, confident voice called out from behind.

It was Misha. Her reptilian eyes, with their vertical slits, narrowed as she looked at Allen with the intensity of a predator.

“What are you saying! I am a Court Mage, if we take a medical approach—”

“What Allen-sama seeks is not knowledge. …It is my female body heat.”

Misha grabbed Luna’s shoulder and shoved her out of the room.

“Misha! What are you doing, let go of me!”

“Pee, Kuu! Restrain this woman. …I am going to perform a secret art of the Lamia race now. …Don’t let anyone interfere.”

Outside, Pee and Kuu took hold of Luna’s arms, their faces showing mixed emotions.

“Let me go! Allen is… Allen is in danger!”

“…Luna, let’s leave this to Misha for now. She delayed her ‘molting’ for today.”

As Kuu spoke, the door closed tightly and Misha raised a barrier with her mana.

In the now silent bedroom, Misha slowly removed her tattered clothes.

A layer of old skin with a pearly shine began to appear on her white skin. For the Lamia, molting was a sacred ritual that refreshed all their mana, and the amber membrane shed during this process was a powerful healing agent, soaking up heat and restoring life.

“Allen-sama… I’ll put an end to your suffering right away, okay…”

Misha pressed her body against Allen’s feverish form, almost crawling over him.

Her snake tail wrapped around Allen’s legs, while the soft curves of her upper body pressed against his chest.

(…Misha…? What, are you…)

“…The ‘Amber Molting.’ Casting off all of myself to envelop you… Hehe, please look. My new skin… is it not beautiful?”

As Misha moved, her old skin split open, revealing fresh, translucent skin underneath. The thick scent of pheromones and mana filled the room, coloring the air amber.

She wrapped Allen’s flushed body in the freshly shed, warm membrane, leaving no space between them.

“…Ah, aah… It’s cool… feels good…”

Allen drifted into the soothing coolness that only Misha’s cold-blooded body could provide.

But Misha’s touch went beyond simple care.

She leaned in close to Allen’s ear and let out a warm breath.

“Allen-sama… That human woman cannot do something like this, can she? Her, who tries to save you with knowledge, and me, who embraces you while carving away my life… I will teach that body of yours which of us is more fitting to be by your side…”

Misha’s long tongue slid affectionately through the gaps in the chain at the back of Allen’s neck.

At that moment, the royal castle’s interference surged through the chain, pushing back hard.

“–Get away, take that filthy tongue off him!!”

A powerful electric shock burst from the chain, echoing Elizabeth’s furious roar.

But Misha didn’t back down. Her scales, strengthened by Allen’s mana, appeared and she took the shock directly.

“…Your love is too far away. …The one touching Allen-sama right now is me!”

Misha sank her teeth into the nape of Allen’s neck.

She wasn’t drinking his blood. This was a soul inscription allowed only to Lamia royalty, called “Marking.”

Misha’s mana flowed into the back of Allen’s neck, leaving a small amber snake crest.

(…Mi, sha… ngh, right there…!)

“…With this, you are mine. …No, I am yours. …I won’t hand you over to anyone anymore. …I just want to melt you inside my body like this…”

It was then.

“–That’s enough out of you, you giant snake woman!!”

With a thunderous crash, the door to the room burst open.

Luna stormed in, surrounded by indigo lightning and holding her staff, her hair standing on end. Pee and Kuu stumbled in behind her, struggling to keep their balance.

“To do something so shameless to Allen…! Erase that crest right now! Using nursing as an excuse to leave your ‘mark’… You deserve to die ten thousand times over!”

Luna’s eyes no longer showed any trace of reason.

She had carefully nurtured her feelings for Allen. Now, seeing a monster girl he barely knew connect with him so physically left her stunned.

“…Oh my, thieving human. And just when we were getting to the good part. …As you can see, Allen-sama’s fever has gone down. …With your magic, you couldn’t have ‘connected’ this deeply, could you?”

Misha, still naked, openly hugged Allen and gave a triumphant smile.

“Connected…? Connected, you say!? You took Allen’s first marking…! I won’t forgive you, I absolutely won’t forgive you!!”

Luna’s mana surged out of control, causing the whole log house to shake and groan.

“Allen, get away from there right now! That woman is a deadly poison! I will… I will burn off that filthy crest with my mana and overwrite it!”

(L-Luna! Calm down! You’re going to destroy the building!)

Allen tried to slip out of Misha’s arms, but her freshly molted body was both smooth and surprisingly strong, holding him tight.

“…Luna. If you want to do it too, go ahead. …But you are the only one who can find a way to return Allen-sama to a human while maintaining this ‘fluffiness.’ …I will take his ‘body and soul.’ …A division of labor, right?”

“Don’t screw with me! His body, his heart, everything belongs to me! My knowledge, my magic, it’s all for Allen’s sake!”

Luna lifted her staff, while Misha prepared her tail.

Caught between the two heroines, Allen, his human upper body still exposed, was hit by another intense headache.

Clink.

The chain around his neck soaked up the jealousy from Luna and Misha, growing even duller and heavier.

Even the crest Misha had made was absorbed by the chain’s mana, turning Allen’s curse into something even stronger.

“…Ah, guh…”

A mana overload.

A bright light flashed, and Allen’s body shrank again, turning back into a golden furball.

“–A-Allen!? / Allen-sama!?”

Luna and Misha reached out their hands toward Allen simultaneously.

Now, the world’s cutest mascot lay there, sleeping softly, with a faint snake crest still visible on the back of his neck.