Though the method was somewhat twisted, it was an undeniable fact that one of the Four Heavenly Kings was gone. For now, our purpose had been achieved; we needed to return to the nearest city and decide our next destination.
“Alright, let’s hurry back!”
Among all this, Lindy was inexplicably thrilled, smiling brightly unlike her earlier nagging demeanor.
“But… How do we bring her along?”
Eventually, after everyone unanimously agreed, we decided to bring Lilith along. However, no matter how much Lilith may resemble a human woman, her horns, the wings fluttering behind her back, and the tail swaying side to side clearly announced her as a demon.
In such a situation, even if we persuade the villagers that Lilith is a demon who doesn’t harm humans, the moment we reach the village entrance, the guards would undoubtedly gather all their forces to exterminate her.
“Ahh! Don’t worry about that!”
But perhaps taking care of herself was her responsibility. Lilith stepped a few paces forward, turned around to face us, and with a few small exclamations, erased all the features that identified her as a succubus. Her horns, wings, and tail all vanished without a trace. Though they didn’t disappear completely, they resembled faint scars, hardly noticeable unless you inspected closely. Moreover, they could easily be mistaken for old scars. And considering they were on her back and butt, they were unlikely to be seen by others.
“So… What about the clothes? Anyone have any spare?”
Even though the identifying features of a succubus disappeared, the clothing she wore was quite revealing, exposing more than it covered. Furthermore, the other clothes she had at the hideout were discarded since they were all of a similar style.
Even if we tried to sneak her in with a robe, unlike us who have ID, Lilith, a demon, wouldn’t have any such proof. They would certainly check her for weapons, and naturally remove her robe.
However, my question was met with silence as my companions stared awkwardly at me.
“Ah…”
Then only did I realize my mistake. Luna and Presia were shorter than me, so if they lent their clothes to Lilith, the result would be even more risqué. So I turned to look at Lindy.
Comparing heights, Lindy was the closest in size to Lilith. However, there was a significant issue with lending Lindy’s clothes.
“Hey, why are you staring at me like that? And what does it mean that you’re shaking your head at me?”
Lindy’s figure wasn’t frail; in fact, it was quite beautiful. But the problem was the kind of beauty — it was different from Lilith’s. Lindy had the classic features of a slender beauty. If Lilith were to wear Lindy’s clothes, it might suffocate her to death.
“It seems it won’t work. Let me hit you once.”
While dodging Lindy’s punch, I glanced at Lilith. Well, what else could we do? The best choice, albeit somewhat embarrassing, was to use my clothes. They weren’t perfectly fitting, but better than others’ clothes.
“Once we get back, we’ll go shopping for clothes right away. I’ll cover the expenses.”
“Yes, Master. I’ll take good care of them and return them clean!”
I handed Lilith a set of my spare clothes from my backpack. Without any shame, she casually stripped in the open field and changed into my clothes. Being a succubus, she was beyond the level of perversion even Lindy could reach, who was often labeled a “lesbian pervert.” The only saving grace was that Lilith followed commands with utter respect as she called me “Master.”
When Presia and Lindy suggested marking Lilith with a Master-Slave Mark to ensure her loyalty, both Luna and I opposed it. Both had suffered enough from the Master-Slave Mark in the past.
Strangely enough, Lilith herself seemed excited at the mention of the Master-Slave Mark, leaving me quite baffled.
After returning to the town, the others decided to find accommodations while I took Lilith directly to a clothing store. Although I didn’t need it right now, she needed to buy some extra clothes since she was a woman.
“Let’s start here first. Since we may end up homeless at times, buy some comfortable outfits.”
“Yes!”
The first store we encountered was an underwear shop, so we decided to pick some undergarments before anything else. Given my experience from a past life, shopping for female underwear still felt quite awkward, so I left the selection entirely up to her.
Not long after wandering around the store in awe, Lilith returned with a large pile of underwear.
“What’s with this huge pile of underwear? We still need to buy clothes.”
I wasn’t concerned about the cost since the emperor generously supported our funds. Regardless, even I had mentioned buying generously, this was beyond generous—it was excessive.
“What? I thought we were here to buy clothes?”
“Yeah? So?”
“So we’re going to another shop to buy more clothes?”
?
This was an odd conversation. It seemed the meaning of our words was slightly off.
“We’ll go to the store next door to buy clothes. What’s your point?”
“I think the outfits here are sufficient?”
?
She pointed to the mountain of underwear she had clutched in her arms.
“While these are technically clothes, they’re more specifically underwear—meant to be worn under normal clothes.”
“What? Wear more clothes inside? Isn’t that uncomfortable?”
Perhaps this was a succubus’ concept of dressing. It seemed that the very idea of wearing undergarments didn’t exist in Lilith’s mind. Whether it was due to her youth or an inherent trait of all succubi, I couldn’t be sure. But it seemed that teaching her basic human customs was necessary. And who else but a former man turned woman would have to educate her on such customs? What an absurd thought.
“Well, just pick a few from these that you like and return the rest to their proper places.”
“Tch, Master is so stingy.”
Even though she clearly knew I could hear her as she complained, Lilith grumpily returned most of the underwear except a few pieces. However, the moment we stepped into the next shop, her pout disappeared.
Inside the new store, Lilith happily wandered around again. Whenever she spotted a dress she liked, she would immediately bring it to me and ask for my opinion. It was quite a joyous sight, and I couldn’t help but smile seeing her happy.
The only issue was that all the outfits she brought me were nearly identical to the revealing clothes of a succubus, which made the entire shopping trip seem rather unnecessary. So I asked her to reconsider and pick again.
“Do you like it this much?”
“Yes! Though I like the clothes I’ve worn before, I love this outfit you bought me! It also means a lot that Master chose and bought them.”
Despite her tendency to bring only risqué outfits, in the end, I picked all of the clothes Lilith bought, choosing ones that featured some exposure but weren’t excessively revealing while ensuring they allowed freedom of movement. We bought several outfits.
“Hello there… Ah, Miss.”
It wasn’t hard to find the inn that Presia had booked. We were in the same city we stayed at before our mission to capture a Heavenly King, so there was no need to change inns.
It had only been a few days, and the innkeeper already recognized me.
“Hello.”
“Within the span of a few days, you’ve got another woman. Miss, could you secretly teach this old man your techniques?”
Ah… Now I remember, last time, I almost left Luna behind and she caused a scene, which made the innkeeper misunderstand the situation. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but I hadn’t expected to encounter him again under these misunderstood circumstances. And now, Lilith clung tightly to my arm. He must misunderstand even more now.
“Stop with the strange talk. By the way, my companions already arrived and booked rooms. Could you tell me which room it is?”
“It’s on the second floor, the last room. It’s spacious and soundproof; you don’t have to worry.”
“That’s not what I meant. And, as a piece of advice, maybe you could tuck in that protruding belly a bit.”
I left the chuckling innkeeper behind and headed upstairs. Upon entering the room, I saw Luna already lounging around on the bed with Tokki. Presia sipped tea, served by Bear.
“Luna! Didn’t I tell you to wash up and change clothes before lying on the bed?”
“Hiiing…”
I picked up Luna off the bed and tossed her directly into the shower. Tokki, who came along for the ride, struggled but couldn’t escape Luna’s firm grip.
“Oh? Aren’t you going yet? No urgent matters?”
Contrasting with Luna, Lindy was already dressed and sitting on another bed.
“Did you forget our date plans?”
“It’s a joke, Lindy. Since it’s getting late anyway, let’s do it tomorrow.”
Because of the pranks I previously pulled on Lindy, she was overly sensitive even to jokes. However, seeing Lindy’s excitement over our date plan, her effort to clear her schedule so hastily, I couldn’t possibly forget.
Lindy relaxed her tense expression upon hearing my playful remark and smiled again.
Now the only worry was how to assign beds between Lindy and Lilith.
*
