I am Succubus!

Chapter 301

We brought Amira back without any more beastkin ambushes. Their leader kept to his word, thank goodness for us. When we returned to the mining encampment, the elite infantry that personally guarded the princess were overcome with relief. They were, however, less than thrilled to hear that she was almost captured.

Fortunately, Amira was safe and sound. That was what really mattered. As Erma carried her into the carriage, I followed suit out of instinct. The guards stopped me until their legate had them stand down.

Erma laid the princess gently on the velvet couch and sighed. The cousins, Vanessa and Leandra, orbited around her worriedly.

"I knew having the succubus around was trouble," Vanessa huffed.

"Absolutely unthinkable that the princess was nearly captured!" Leandra added.

"Hush, you two. Princess Amira is sleeping, and it was by Saeko's quick thinking that we all escaped unscathed. Saeko, I cannot thank you enough. I… I better take my leave before she awakens, and…" Erma leaned in and whispered quietly. "Please, do not let her know I was actually present."

"You got it." I nodded with a smile.

Erma corralled the cousins to leave with her. I stayed behind and watched the servants tidy up the place nervously. Some of them shot me uneasy glances, trying not to stare while they worked.

It wasn't long before Amira stirred. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room as if waking up from a nap.

"Saeko… I had the most terrible nightmare, I—" Amira gasped and snapped upright. "We were surrounded by those mongrel animals! Wh-What happened?!"

"You're safe! We're back at the camp, and Mio's outside cutting up the bird to make fried chicken out of. I hope you can handle spicy food, because she wants to give you some," I explained to take her mind off the traumatic experience.

"The bird… Oh, yes. We captured it. Rather, you or Mio had charmed the creature. I see… We're safe. Somehow, I felt like I saw Legate Erma there. Was she?" the princess glanced up at me and asked.

"Erma? Not that I recall…"

Amira regarded my answer with an appraising look. Her eyes squinted a little. She paused to let the silence sink in after I responded. Did she find out? Did she know I lied? No way, right?

Either way, the princess expelled a labored breath and relaxed back into the couch— Until Mio kicked open the door and stormed right in, terrifying the servants. A couple of the carriage guards behind were slumped on the ground or keeled over.

That could only mean one thing…

"Princess up yet?" Mio exclaimed on the way in. "I got her portion riiiight here! Already fed some to her guards, who wanted to check for poison. Kahaha! Should see their faces." She sat the plate down of some perfectly fried… ostrich lathered in bright red hot sauce. "Here ya go!"

"Is this… safe to eat?" Amira asked.

"No, but I guarantee you won't die," I said.

"Very well. But I will not have this in such a meager fashion. Servants!" She clapped her hands twice, and they became animated at once.

One rolled out a circular table, a second laid a cloth over it, and a third set out some silver dishware. They each brought out a bottle of wine, and Amira took her sweet time looking them over before settling on one tied with a ribbon.

What was supposed to be just fast food had suddenly turned gourmet. The servants even plated the fried chicken on the table. They gave us forks and knives, even though the latter wasn't really necessary. At least I thought it wasn't. Amira held her utensils with the perfect poise and posture. Mio and I watched with bated breath as she sliced a piece of the fried morsel into a third, then lifted it up to her nose.

My mouth salivated. My nose wrinkled. Amira seemed rather pleased with the scent. Satisfied, she finally proceeded to bite down on it.

"Whaddya think? Whaddya think?" Mio asked eagerly, leaning over the table.

"Mio… I think your fried chicken stun locked her," I said and pointed to the petrified princess, who was frozen in place with the fork in her mouth.

As if time had started moving again, Amira flung the fork across the table. It flew past our heads, nearly hitting a servant and plunging into the wall. She spat, heaved, and groaned in agony.

"Wh-What is this absolute monstrosity? Poison? Did you try to poison me?!" Amira cried, downing a whole glass of wine and pouring another. "The pain won't subside! In fact, it's getting worse! My tongue… ish it going to faull ouff? Why han't I shpeak hahyhor?"

"This is the part where the tongue goes numb!" Mio erupted into laughter.

"Uwweehhh… Shaeho…" The princess turned to me for help with pleading eyes.

"Fight the urge to swallow or spit, and just let your mouth salivate itself into a mouthful. Grit through it for a little while, and the spiciness will start subsiding," I suggested.

Amira followed my instructions, much to Mio's disappointment. I could see the tension leaving the princess' body in real time, and even she recoiled in surprise that it was working. She eventually spat out enough saliva to fill a quarter of the wine glass.

"It worked!" Amira exclaimed.

"Just a little trick I learned since Mio likes hiding the milk and ice cream whenever we eat spicy food," I explained.

"You're no fun." Mio stuck a tongue out at me. "I'm gonna go see if Shayle and Erma are alive."

The princess wiped her lips and frowned. "What a dreadful experience… I still feel the burn. Just looking at the…" She lit up and flashed a smile. "Oh, servants!"

"Yes, Princess Amira?" Four of the carriage servants came to her at once.

Uh, oh. I knew where this was going.

"It would be an utter waste of Mio's efforts to throw this away. Eat the rest," Amira ordered.

"B… But, Princess… We…" They exchanged nervous glances, knowing full well what entailed after witnessing her suffering earlier.

One glare from Amira, and the servants moved to do as she demanded. They anxiously drew closer to the table, eyes fixed on the flaming red morsel. The first picked one up using a fork. Her trembling hand guided it into her mouth— and she immediately started coughing and choking.

Amira's devilish smile widened. The rest of the servants followed suit, only to retch, cry, and dry heave over trying to eat them. The spiciness was probably a lot worse than it actually was only because they weren't used to it though. Still, their suffering pleased the princess, who stared hard as if to commit the bloodbath to memory.

"There's still more. This plate better be spotless in the next ten minutes, or you will be seeking employment elsewhere," Amira threatened.

"P-Please… may we drink some ice water… at least?" one servant begged.

I couldn't take it anymore and said, "You know what? I'm, uh… I'm kind of hungry! Let me just eat the rest, if you don't mind."

Without waiting for a response from anyone, I scarfed down the remaining fried chicken. My entire body shuddered, but I resisted the urge to heave. Thankfully, I had plenty of experience with spicy stuff from Mio sneakily dabbing her sauces in my food. A powerful gamey taste helped with the spiciness. When I swallowed though, Amira sighed a little.

"Oh, Kanae. I'm smarter than that. I know you did that for their sake. But very well. Servants, thank your savior. And bring us some gelato. For us, not yourselves," Amira reiterated.

They brought out a chest enchanted with cold magic. Inside was a tub of gelato ice cream that soothed my tongue and throat. Our nice little snack was interrupted by a knock on the door. At least I knew that couldn't be Mio, because she would've kicked it open instead.

A servant, still suffering and sweating profusely, rushed over to open the door. Professor Bernard announced himself from below.

"I'm here to report the miners have succeeded in excavating a sufficient amount of illuminating quartz. We can begin the process of refining it, which will eventually allow us— with some luck— to repair your mirror artifact," Professor Bernard explained.

"That's great!" I cheered.

"Oh, thank goodness." Shayle sighed in relief.

Although, one person didn't share our sentiments. Amira was looking a little crestfallen after hearing the news. She recomposed herself, putting on that usual arrogant demeanor.

"It seems you will be returning home soon. Good for you." Amira turned away to avoid showing her sour expression.

That much was true and would mark the end of mine, Mio, and Shayle's sudden stay in Elza. Coming back to the City of Everlight and meeting Princess Amira wasn't on my bingo card when we first got here. Although things became pretty hectic, I didn't mind it at all. I averted a crisis between succubi and light elves, grew closer to Erma, and made a friend in Amira. It wasn't so bad.

We journeyed back to the light elven capital right away. No one wanted to overstay their welcome in beastkin territory, especially not after the close call involving the princess. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief once we emerged from the jungles of Emerald Dardaria.

Professor Bernard invited me to join him and the other researchers in the long wagon. They had a very robust laboratory inside, including a miniature smelting forge that looked like a keg with smoldering coals underneath it. One of the professor's men twisted the tap, letting a glistening liquid flow down into a two by four inch ingot mould.

A spellcaster cooled the bar down with ice magic. He then casted telekinetic magic that lifted it out of the mould and gently onto the counter. At a glance, illuminating quartz really did look like quartz. White, clear, and a little cloudy. However, the ingot also glittered and sparkled like there was an aura of crystal powder surrounding it. Mio and Shayle leaned over the table, staring as if laying eyes on a priceless gemstone.

"We have enough to make two more ingots," Professor Bernard started. "I just want to reiterate, these are very precious. As far as anyone is concerned, there is no material price on them. Illuminating quartz in this current state is very frag—"

"How fragile can it be?" Shayle picked one up, but the ingot slipped from her fingers and shattered into powder on the ground.

Every jaw in the room also hit the ground.

"I WANT TO REITERATE, THESE ARE VERY PRECIOUS. FRAGILE!" Professor Bernard yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I'M SORRY. YOU COULD HAVE OPENED WITH IT BEING FRAGILE FIRST!" Shayle shouted back.

He expelled the heaviest sigh ever. "It cannot be handled by touch. Magic only. Please, the experts and I will fix your mirror. But if the other two break, we will have to return to the dig site. Just get out and let us work!"

And thus, Professor Bernard kicked all three of us out of the carriage while it was still moving. Legate Erma was riding along when she saw us tumbling to the ground.

"Bad news, I presume?" Erma tried not to laugh.

"Her fault." Mio and I pointed to Shayle.

The mobile lab lacked the fine equipment and tools to continue any further experiments. Apparently, heating the illuminating quartz and moulding them into ingots were a necessary step in preserving their arcane attributes. In their base form exposed to weather, they would have denatured by the time we got back.

It was going to be another few days at the light elven seat of power before we returned home. When we returned, Professor Bernard locked himself with his most trusted researchers in the royal laboratory. No one was allowed to enter.

Speaking of Amira though, she vanished the second we got back. I looked for her all over the castle, but the princess was nowhere to be seen. When I tried asking some of the palace guards, they turned me away. It saddened me some because I thought we had become friends. I had half a mind to charm the guards, but if they weren't telling me, then maybe she wasn't interested.

Sulking, I figured I'd wander the halls of the palace at night for a bit. Mio and Shayle had gone out earlier to cause some last moment mischievousness before our inevitable return to Earth. As I left the royal guest suite, a familiar was coming down the corridor. She wasn't in her armor anymore, just an embroidered blue tunic and light cloak.

"Saeko! I have great news." Erma came running over with a big smile. "I've spoken with my commander. He granted me a leave of absence!"

"Does that mean what I think it means?" I asked, unable to contain my glee.

"Yes! I'll be able to come with you, Mio, and Shayle back to Earth. For a time, of course. I must return to Elza and resume my duties in—"

I didn't let Erma finish. I picked her up and spun us both in circles. This meant I got to keep my light elf sex slave, even if it was for a temporary time. Although, we might have a residence problem, seeing as our apartment was only intended for three people.

Distant footfalls echoed across the corridor. I quickly put Erma down. A pair of patrolling guards turned around the corner. We put on our poker faces, and they wished us a good evening before continuing to the end of the hall.

"This means I'm going to have to buy you a collar. Maybe buy a French maid outfit for you to wear, too," I thought aloud.

"I don't know what that means, but hearing it from you is getting me excited… Um… Can you… give me affection tonight, my master?" Erma panted.

I was about to invite Erma into my room to fuck her stupid until another elf rush down the hall. This one wasn't a guard, but a researcher under Professor Bernard. His face was covered in sweat, academic robe disheveled, and appeared distressed.

"Queen Kanae… Legate Erma… the professor, he sent me to inform… you…" The man gasped for air, unable to finish his sentence.

"Take a deep breath first," Erma urged him.

He sucked in a quivering breath and said, "The illuminating quartz ingots… They've gone missing!"

"What?!" we cried.