Vol 3 Chapter 30: Even If It’s a Trap, It’s Too Late to Turn Back…?

Nighttime. After seeing everyone off, I remained sitting on the bed without changing, alone in my room. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

“Um… Shin-sama… may I come in…?”

It was the voice of a young girl I had become quite familiar with over the past few days. However, for some reason, it trembled, as though she was afraid.

I slowly stood up from the bed, walked to the door, and turned the knob. There she stood, frozen in place.

“What brings you here at this hour— Wait, w-what happened to you?”

She wore an adorable, pure white nightgown, but there were visible tears in the fabric, as though someone had handled her roughly.

Her eyes brimmed with tears, and with a vulnerable expression that tugged at my protective instincts, she clung to me.

Her figure wasn’t as pronounced as some of the others, but her softness was undeniable, distinctly different from a man’s. A sweet and fragrant scent lingered in the air.

“My father… he’s been acting erratically… I’m sorry for appearing before you like this…”

Her trembling fingertips painted the picture of a tragic heroine. She looked so pitiful that I felt an urge to embrace and comfort her.

“That must have been difficult for you. Please, come inside.”

I gently supported her shoulders, feeling the faint shiver of her body beneath my touch, and guided her to the bed. I carefully seated her and stood before her, prepared to listen.

“Sniff… Shin-sama… I… I’m so scared…”

As soon as she sat down, tears streamed down her cheeks as she voiced the fears she had bottled up.

From her tattered nightgown, glimpses of her pale skin peeked through.

Her well-shaped abdomen, porcelain-like arms and legs, and her still-developing chest came into view, revealing even the faint tones of her body’s hidden parts. I quickly averted my gaze.

“My father… he turned into someone else… and he even tried to harm me… like a beast… I-I was terrified…”

She hugged herself protectively, trembling at the thought of being subjected to the twisted emotions of a man far larger and stronger than her.

As she shifted, the fabric around her waist slipped slightly, revealing a hint of her undergarments.

“I have a request… Shin-sama… that is…”

Her tear-filled, upturned gaze stirred a mix of emotions—sympathy, protectiveness, and even primal desires. It was a look designed to disarm any man.

“I want… you to comfort me…”

With that, she let her gown slip from her shoulders. A strange allure, combining innocence and sensuality, emanated from her. Despite her innocent and sweet appearance, her movements were suggestive, as if luring me in.

“Please… I beg you… hold me…”

Her searching eyes glimmered with a mysterious light, drawing me in. Before I realized it, I had taken a step closer to her.

I found myself thinking she was… truly beautiful.

“…Please, come closer.”

She opened her arms to welcome me, creating an atmosphere where there was only one possible course of action for any man.

In response, I—

“Before that, may I ask one question?”

I drew the sword from my waist and pointed its tip at her chest.

“Shin-sama…? W-What are you…?”

The sudden unsheathing of my sword threw her into confusion. She looked back and forth between my face and the blade, appearing bewildered. To an outsider, it might have looked like a robber threatening a defenseless girl.

“Who are you?”

Ignoring her questions and confusion, I kept the threatening stance, lowering my voice to ask.

“W-What are you saying?! I-I am Mio Requille, the lord’s daughter!”

“…The lord lost his wife when he was young… and he doesn’t have a daughter.”

At my straightforward declaration, her brow twitched slightly. For just a moment, I caught a hint of anxiety in her expression.

“W-Who told you such nonsense?!”

“A former knight from the lord’s estate who was dismissed—a certain exhibitionist kindly informed me.”

I was referring to Chris and Lala, though I unintentionally blurted out their rather unflattering nickname.

Regret for using the term “exhibitionist” in such a serious moment flickered through my mind, but I pressed on regardless.

“That was just the start. You were suspicious from the very beginning… which is why—”

The stiffness in my words was a result of borrowing someone else’s explanation—in this case, Fana-san’s.

From the beginning, Fana-san had noticed the girl’s suspicious behavior.

She had appeared before us as soon as we arrived in town. While it could have been a coincidence, her timing felt far too calculated—almost as if she had been watching for someone like us. Moreover, the ease with which she led a group of unknown adventurers into the lord’s mansion was abnormal.

Additionally, she had known the name of our party, “White Lightning,” even though none of us had introduced it. This fact deepened Fana-san’s doubts.

When we first visited the manor, her ability to calm her enraged father with just a few words had struck Alice as unnatural. According to Alice, it had seemed less like persuasion and more like issuing a command from above.

At the very least, Alice’s father hadn’t been in any state to be so easily reasoned with.

Combining these suspicions with our investigation, we arrived at a single conclusion.

“That’s enough, isn’t it? Mio-san—no, Leia!”

The words I spoke cut through the silence that followed, ringing out sharply.

A stillness lingered for a moment before it was shattered by a dry, mocking laugh.

“Fufu… fufufu, ahaha… hahahaha!”

The woman before me exuded an otherworldly aura, as though she had transformed into someone else.

“…Ahh, my, my. So, I’ve been found out.”

Though her voice still retained its girlish tone, it now carried an unnervingly haughty air.

There was no trace of the earlier nervousness—her demeanor instead suggested she had anticipated this outcome all along.

“What a pity. I thought I could enjoy myself a little longer. Well… I was planning to leave this town soon anyway. I suppose this just moves up my departure a bit, doesn’t it? Ufufu♡.”

“Do you think I’ll let you escape?”

Despite the sword pointed at her, she remained unnervingly composed. Her smile showed no sign of faltering.

“Oh, I can escape, you know. After all… you’re just a man♡.”

In that instant, the girl’s nightgown-clad figure was enveloped in an inky blackness, as if swallowed by the night itself.

A massive surge of magical power radiated outward, so intense even I could feel it. It brought with it an overwhelming sense of danger that made me instinctively thrust my sword forward toward where her chest had been.

However, the sensation at the tip of my blade was not the feeling of piercing flesh but a hard, metallic resistance, like striking steel.

The next moment, my sword was deflected, and as the darkness dissipated, a cascade of silver shimmered in its place.

It was the radiant glow of long, beautiful silver hair.

“Once again, greetings♡. I am Leia… Leia the Succubus♡. Ufufu♡.”

Standing before me was a being of inhuman beauty.

Her silvery hair floated as if alive, and her skin, pale as moonlight, seemed devoid of any blood flow. Her stunning features—both alluring and bewitching—were captivating, even though I knew she was my enemy.

The petite figure she had shown earlier was gone, replaced by a taller form that loomed over me. Her pure white nightgown had transformed into a pitch-black dress.

The dress featured a short skirt and long sleeves that extended gracefully to her wrists. Her fingertips were adorned with crimson nails that sparkled like gemstones.

The chest of the dress was split from her neck to her navel, leaving much of her voluptuous figure exposed.

Tapun♡ Purun♡

Her ample bosom, far surpassing even Fana-san’s, swayed provocatively.

“Tch! So, you’re the one who ruined the lord and Alice’s household!”

Tapun♡ Tapun♡

“My, how straightforward you are♡. Where exactly are you looking as you say that?♡”

As I struggled to tear my gaze from her swaying chest and threw my accusation, Leia’s mocking voice rang out, dripping with scorn. Though infuriating, I had no defense for her taunt.

“But that’s fine… I like straightforward boys♡. Yes, as you guessed, it was I who drained this house and that girl’s household dry♡.”

Her sensual tone sent a shiver through me, but it was quickly replaced by anger.

“I enjoyed it thoroughly—feasting on men, sowing chaos in the human town… Wealth and treasures were just icing on the cake♡. Oh, but that girl—Alice’s face, full of despair—that was truly a masterpiece♡.”

Leia spoke with glee, recounting her heinous acts as if they were nothing but amusing anecdotes. Her words, especially as they mocked Alice’s suffering, ignited a seething rage within me that snuffed out any lingering hesitation.

“Enough! If you’re the one behind all of this, I’ll show no mercy! …Everyone, come in!”

“W-What?! Don’t tell me you weren’t alone!”

Yes, the notion that I was the only one here was a trap.

The plan was to use me as bait to lure Leia out, while the others would remain on standby outside the room, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“With six of us against you, you don’t stand a chance. Prepare yourself!”

“T-This can’t be…”

Leia’s silver hair, shimmering like stardust, trembled as she lowered her head.

“Fufu… fufu♡…”

…Her muffled laughter grew louder, bubbling up from the depths of her chest.

“What’s so funny?!”

A sense of unease churned within me, like wandering through darkness without knowing what lay ahead.

“Ahaha! Oh, you… no, all of you—you’re just so adorable and foolish♡.”

Her enraptured expression twisted into a lewd smile, as if basking in some perverse pleasure.

“Tell me… when will your friends come bursting in, I wonder?♡”

Wait… that’s right. Why haven’t they come in yet?

“Haven’t you realized? I’m not just any succubus—I’m an Elder Succubus♡. Magical interference, perception disruption—these are child’s play for me♡.”

Leia folded her arms, pushing up her massive chest, and spoke triumphantly, as if she were toying with a helpless insect.

“Human schemes are so shallow. Did you really think using you as bait would fool me? That woman—Fana, was it?—tried so hard to play strategist, but her plan was laughably simplistic♡.”

“No… everyone! Can’t you hear me?!”

Leia taunted me, her voice filled with mockery, as her chest swayed enticingly.

The realization hit me like a stone: I wasn’t the one trapping her—she had locked me in a cage of her own making.

“Fufu♡. It’s useless. None of your friends can enter this room now… nor would they even think to try. I wonder how bored they must be waiting outside by now?♡”

“Lena! Nina! Alice! Fana-san! This can’t be happening…!”

I shouted, though I knew it was futile. There was no response from outside. The walls and door seemed like an unbreakable fortress.

“Until I release my magic, no one can enter or leave this room. Fufu♡… Alone in a locked room with a man—oh my, does that set your chaste mind racing?♡”

“Damn it! 《Support Magic》—Body Reinforcement!”

“Oh my, how bold♡. In that case… let’s have some fun, shall we?♡”

Facing the Elder Succubus Leia, I clenched my sword tightly, ready to strike.