Chapter 24 – 24 – But What Do We Do Now?
Not only Eshen, but all the combatants who participated in this expedition were bound to receive good reviews.
Because the opponent was a group of demons who had taken over the entire city.
In fact, it was already a failed expedition. It was already over by the time the male party members were sent in droves.
Common sense dictated that each person should focus on surviving rather than fighting, and it would not be surprising if everyone went missing without anyone returning home.
According to the supervisor, this is the first time such a miraculous reversal has occurred against a succubus of that size.
Not only did everyone survive safely, but the city was also recovered.
—————
“Sword and will to the Lady! For the honor of Vanir!”
Bjordin raised the tip of his sword, pointed at Eshen, the vanguard, and shouted.
For the honor of Vanir. Vanir Lily’s party members repeat their names and clear the path.
Every time a silver-coated sword sliced through the battlefield, the succubi turned their bodies into smoke to avoid them and retreated helplessly.
However, what they had to be wary of was not only the sacred silver sword, which was a special medicine against demons.
Captain Tomko’s party members, who slipped away and retrieved the ship, blew up a catapult that nearly injured several of our allies with gunfire. Then, he committed the eccentric act of removing the gun from the ship and dragging it to land.
It turns out that, in addition to the sailboat we came on, another ship was secretly parked at the dock. There is no way to know where the pirate ship secretly followed our ship. There must be a pirate’s secret.
“Pay for the bread you earned! You bastards like liquor bottles floating on this water’s edge!”
“Egg-!”
“The women who fed us bread gave us a chance by using the party members as living sacrifices! If they can’t pay for the bread, what will they do with my salary? Any piece of trash that gets out even a single step will be hung on the main mast as daily food for the sea goddess. Teda! Unlike you, the goddess knows how to pay for food, so she will take that scum’s life and turn it into a tailwind!”
“Egg-!”
“Let’s see which one will become Mast’s dried meat! Shoot!”
Someone said this when black powder that catches fire was invented. That gunpowder would one day end the age of mystery.
That may have been true to some extent. Once upon a time, succubi, who pretended to be local gods and reigned over people, had to run away like cats from the wall due to the roar and firepower of black gunpowder.
[Even if charm doesn’t work, how do you fight so well? The soldiers of this city were helpless?]
[You idiot, there is a hero! Everyone aims for the hero!]
The strength of [Hero] Trait holders like Bjordin and Captain Tomko is not limited to their natural fighting ability and leadership. Their unique abilities were causing trouble for the succubi.
Beurdin, a warrior with a sharp sword, made the swordsmanship of his followers sharper than flowing water.
Tomko, the gunpowder warrior, keeps the cannon fire burning brightly even in the heaviest rain.
That is the absolute power that changes the situation of the battlefield, given by this world that chose the warrior.
It is a blessing, a ‘strengthening’ given to the army they lead.
“Goddess of Lake Vanir! Protect our territory from enemies!”
“Cadibris, Mother of Storms! Let the masts of my enemies fall!”
The warriors’ prayers echoed throughout the battlefield, but it was not the warriors who stood out that day.
A battle between an army of succubi who continuously turn into smoke and come back to life, and party members protected by the power of the hero.
The endless battle ended with Eshen breaking through the siege and running out, sniffing.
They found the leader of the succubi somewhere in the city.
“I said it smelled dirty, like mating.”
Mithra Prayer House on the outskirts of the port city. Eshen, who burst through the door, flinched when he saw the people lined up throughout the wide prayer hall.
All the men in this city were gathered there. Everyone was lost in their own happy dreams and growing thinner little by little. While exhaling purple vapor that had turned into vital energy through its mouth.
The gorgeous-winged succubus, who was sitting on the bishop’s chair and inhaling the steam, was startled when her eyes met Eshen’s.
[What are you?]
“What are you? Are you the ‘Succubus Queen’? According to the pirate man, if you catch the Queen, the rest will take care of itself.”
Eshen said with a grin.
“While your subordinates were working hard outside, were you eating? The bitch called the leader is so leisurely sucking on honey, huh?”
A succubus can protect itself by turning into smoke without dying. But Queen is different.
The queen of bees is the largest and strongest, but she is often too fat to perform aerobatics like a bee.
Quinn, who turned pale, tried to use her magic first. The energy she had exploited from the citizens during this time was enormous, so if she had planned and prepared, the village might have been greatly destroyed.
However, Eshen had an effective way to deal with wizards. ‘Seonbbang’.
The truth is that if you drive a knee kick to the temple first, it is no use, even if it is a spell.
As the Succubus Queen, with her head caved in, was dragged out onto the battlefield, the Succubi fell to their knees and wept as they surrendered to her.
[Aaaaah! Sister-!]
“Yes, Queen Bee, her life is in my hands! If you do anything foolish, I can find out!”
The cheers of the combatants rang out in a voice that sounded as rough as a gangster.
It was a complete victory for the party.
———–
“And they’re all locked up here.”
Eshen took out a crystal ball and showed it to him.
Inside the monster-sealing beads that the white wizard professors said were coated with light, succubi the size of ants were screaming to be let out.
“Are you supposed to have this, not the Party Alliance Director?”
“The director entrusted it to me. Out of respect for my skills, he asked me to send these guys to the monastery to purify them.”
The supervisor dispatched from the Hero Party Alliance said he was impressed by Eshen and our party’s performance.
Bringing it directly to the monastery would mean that you believe in Eshen that much. At the same time, Eshen’s status can be raised through word of mouth.
But I narrowed my eyes and had doubts.
“Aren’t you just passing this on to me for no reason?”
“I guess it was because he was really moved? I heard he was shaking and hiding in the bathroom the whole time. If we lost, he would have been drained of energy just like the city people…”
Eshen trembled as if she was horrified. I also made a confused face.
Fortunately, no one died or went missing, not only among our expedition team but also among the citizens of the city. However, everyone had to face the cruel reality.
Before the city fell silently to the succubus, the wives and children who fled out of the city thanks to the sacrifices of the men were very surprised upon their return.
That their dad is no longer their dad.
“It would have been better if I had died from a fatal accident. All of my energy was taken away, so…”
“You have become a woman? Really? So… Everything has changed, even the things around you?”
“That’s right. I’m a woman too, but I’m scared to even say it. Where is the evil spirit that can destroy even your balls? There are degrees of stealing.”
Eshen stared into his crystal ball.
“Is it true that every single one of them has been sealed? What if a few of them escape?”
“Anyway, the ones who fell away from the group will somehow catch the scent and return to the queen. They will go through the trouble of following this bead and either fall to their deaths or fall to their deaths.”
“It’s a bit pitiful that you speak so coldly.”
“I pity the citizens whose genders have been changed more.”
“That’s also true.”
I stood up, holding Eshen’s hand, and staggered out of the hospital bed.
The street outside the hospital where the storm had stopped was shining brightly.
The dockside at noon, with sunlight pooling in the puddles, was noisy with the sounds of sailors busy preparing to set sail.
It’s not just the sounds made by party members preparing to return. The noise made by people in the port city of Vyserk was also mixed in.
“I thought everyone would be disappointed. They adapted quickly.”
“You have to eat to survive.”
The residents, all of whom were women, were already slowly returning to their daily lives.
However, judging by the expression on his face, it seems that the mental shock is difficult to erase. I may have gotten my life back, but I couldn’t get my groin back.
···I’m glad Sister Monica isn’t that kind of succubus. I ended up just feeling a little tired.
Just cross-dressing is a headache, but having your identity taken away like that is unacceptable.
“So, which church decided to purify the orb? The Church of Mithras?”
“Absolutely not. Are you telling me to leave the monsters I caught to those obnoxious bastards?”
My feelings are similar.
But if you look at common sense, there is no place like the Church of Mithras.
Regardless of the resentment toward Christensen, it is true that the denomination that receives the most prayers is Mithras. There is a reason why religious beliefs are strong.
But why did Kristansen and her lackeys do that? Why couldn’t I use my power of prayer at all in the rain?
The sister’s ritual and the power the other warriors received from the goddess worked surprisingly well against the succubus.
“Vanir warrior, if you don’t have someone to entrust, go to Vanir for a long time. I heard that the goddess of the lake is also amazing at purifying monsters.”
“I guess she thought favorably of us too. We made a good connection. I don’t know if the goddess will accept her, but…”
···For a moment. That’s what I thought of when they said she was a goddess.
There is something the goddess Ishtar said. The monster succubi are creatures created by a traitor.
By any chance, should we make those demons return to Ishtar? Or should we leave it to another god without getting Ishtar’s hands dirty?
“···Should I show it to my sister?”
As if she overheard those words, the Succubus Queen was tapping on the wall inside the glass bead. As if there was something urgent to say.
I carefully took Eshen’s crystal ball and looked inside with narrowed eyes.
“Uh, be careful.”
“Know. “I will be careful not to be possessed.”
I can’t hear anything anyway. There is nothing to be embarrassed about in the first place. It has become the size of a fingernail.
So it was difficult even to recognize the shape of the mouth. So much so that I even had to take out the magnifying glass from my bag.
“What are you talking about? Please don’t hand it over to that person…”
Quinn is speaking with a face filled with fear.
‘Please don’t hand it over to that person. ‘I’d rather hand it over to another god and kill him cleanly!’.
···I think he felt traces of the god Ishtar in me. What on earth will happen to me when I go back…
Eshen looked at me strangely as I was sweating profusely.
“Him?”
“Well, there is something like that.”
“Hey, are you okay? Your complexion is pale blue?”
“Well, I guess it would be better to talk to an expert. Let’s show it to Sister Monica first.”
“Hmm. You mean Monica? I guess she has the aptitude to be a healer, not a purifier.”
“But you’re a priest, right?”
“That’s right. Let me ask you something. There’s something else too.”
Eshen flashed a troubled smile. I was shocked, wondering if I had made a mistake.
————
Sister Monica was just as safe as me.
···So, as much as I met God in the other world.
“There is no place that doesn’t hurt.”
Sister Monica, lying down in the cabin of her ship, had her crying expression on her face with a sad and melting expression. She covered herself with every blanket in the ship’s cabin. Could it be that her first experience of working late caused severe muscle pain?
In fact, Eshen walking around unharmed even though their first love was so intense would be a special case.
I patted Monica’s back as she leaned on my shoulder. She whispered, thank you for your hard work.
But that display of affection made someone else in the room very uncomfortable.
On the one hand, Sister Monica was enjoying my touch, but on the other hand, she was looking at me as if she was being pricked.
Said Eshen, who was scratching at the new bandage on her forehead.
“What do we do now?”
