Within a certain forest within the Demonlands, there was a High Succubus and a Succubus walking along the road.
It was a narrow road enclosed on both sides by trees. Although it was to the point that it was weird that there was even a road there, well, there was only the one road, so it wasn’t as if they would get lost. There was no one else about, save for maybe some birds or insects.
“Really, I thought I was going to die. I never thought that squirrels could be such vicious creatures. I felt like I was forced into a nightmare.”
“You did well, Natsuno-sama.”
One of them, the High Succubus, was one of the Four Kings from No. 564’s dungeon, Natsuno the Sorrowful. She’d raised the white flag to the large swarm of squirrels and took the chance to escape.
As for the other one—
“Are you sure you can go against No. 564 already?”
“Yes, I’m not in pain at all. I wouldn’t feel like this if not. Besides, I’ve found something much more interesting.”
It was one of the succubi who had been hit by No. 564 as a sandbag.
“Still though, unlike me, you’re a dungeon-born Succubus, right? I’m surprised you managed to betray it and escape.”
Monsters born within a dungeon would usually like and die with the dungeon. To look at that from another angle, let alone leaving the dungeon as a traitor, it was impossible to even think of it as being possible.
“The reason’s simple. No. 564-sama told me, no, us that he didn’t care about us. That let me come in contact with that person. I alone was chosen from among us—for no particular reason, apparently. If I had to say, it was probably down to luck. Let’s dedicate my luck to god.”
“By god, you mean that person, I take it?”
“Is there anyone else?”
“No. Maybe the Evil God?”
Like this, while her fellow Succubi were being slaughtered in No. 564 and Orange’s Dungeon Battle, this succubus appeared, calm and collected. Not that Natsuno, who’d begged for her life, had any room to speak about others.
Although Natsuno was also scouted by [That Person] in a sense, as far as this Succubus was concerned, she was the sole person to be recognized as being chosen.
“It would have been great if everyone could have been saved, though.”
“It is only because of their sacrifices that I was able to escape without being noticed by No. 564-sama.”
“That guy was the lowest. Not that I can talk about anyone.”
“Thank you, that’s a good thing in our industry.”
“… Your master’s subordinates are all Succubi, right? Perhaps I should stop being your companion?”
“Kusukkusu, don’t say that. Natsuno-sama, you’re scheduled to play the part of the leading role in this project.”
Let alone that [Project] she’d mentioned, Natsuno didn’t even try to hide the bad premonition she got about that [Leading Role].
“So, what was this project thing about again? I heard you call it Konyakuhaki Zamaa, but I don’t really get what that means?”
“It’s an experiment… no, more like a play. Natsuno-sama is the spitting image of the main heroine role. Moreover, the preparations have already been made, including personality correction and planting memories that will lead to a self-indulgent young woman [being convicted and dying].”
“… Yeah, I still don’t really get it, but what is it that your master wants to do?”
“I can’t hope to understand her thoughts, but she will also be your master from here on. Natsuno-sama, your status will be that of a certain Baron’s daughter from Daido from here on.”
“That’s not what I asked… But I assume you’re telling me to figure it out myself, aren’t you?”
Seeing the Succubus grin, Natsuno could only sigh.
“I believe that person is interested in what your first [Action] will be, Natsuno-sama.”
“The heck? I’m getting more and more of a headache…”
“Please take a look over this while we walk.”
Saying that, the Succubus took out a a bundle of paper—and passed it to her.
There were strange red seals saying [Strictly Confidential] and [Company Secret] on the strangely high-quality material, the characters they were written in were arranged strangely, too. Natsuno wondered if this was one of those rumored printed items as she skimmed through it page by page.
“Document collection? And this method, what…? Such strange, trivial things are a nuisance. What’s with this ‘illegitimate noble-born child growing up as a common villager’? Then there’s the ‘cajoling target list’…”
“It should be easy for a High Succubus like you though, right? Oh, and that list is just to be informative. It doesn’t matter if you only choose one of them or even someone not on it. Everything on the field is left 100% up to your discretion, Natsuno-sama.”
“Really, what is the point…? Oh, there’s even a method to capture a prince? So this was made by a Succubus, after all? How amazing, you could even control a country.”
At any rate, it seemed as if Natsuno would be free to do as she pleased. She could even spend her entire life as a Baron’s daughter without cajoling anyone. Or she could cajole someone into being her fiance. Really, what was the point of all of this? Natsuno couldn’t figure it out.
“… If you don’t want to, you could resign. It’s not too late.”
“I never said that I don’t want to. I figure this will at least be amusing to me. If it turned out well, I could even take hold of a country. That’s better than most Succubi could ask for!”
“Kusukkusu, what a wise decision.”
Saying that, the Succubus put away the knife she’d withdrawn from her [Storage]. Its blade was long and thick, the kind one might use for battle… moreover, it even had the [Dreamslayer] enchant applied to it.
As the two continued toward Daido, Natsuno was not aware of what might have happened to her if she’d turned the Succubus down just then.
“… By the way, well, are we walking to the border? Surely we won’t be walking the entire way?”
“… True, I believe that we will be picked up on the way… but we will at least have to walk out of the forest first.”
A black bird kept its eyes locked on the two Succubi as they made their way down the forest road.
