Chapter 22 : Mongma (4)

Unfortunately, it seemed sleeping next to Caspar didn’t allow me to enter his dreams.

However… it was enough to catch the Mongma.

Because I had considerable skill in lucid dreaming.
I hadn’t been doing it intentionally before, but if I wanted, I could have a lucid dream anytime.

It was due to the considerable years I spent escaping into dreams.
Wanting to deny the fact that both Caspar and Enhen died because of me, I used to indulge in their phantasms every night.

I think it’s fortunate.
Both indulging in dreams and cutting them off at the right moment.

Aren’t I appropriately using lucid dreaming right now?

Thinking that everything was a stepping stone for the present, I could willingly accept even the horrific memories of the past.

‘Certainly… Someone did enter my dream.’

Normally, the basic scenery of my lucid dreams was the bedroom of the royal academy dormitory.
Because it was the happiest time of my life, I had set it that way.

But the dreamscape now was quite different.
Walls decorated with lewd adult items, a full-size bed, and a strangely suggestive atmosphere.

It was a typical ‘erotic dream’.
Except…, the fact that there was a woman on the bed instead of a man was a little different.

“A succubus?”

If it came to seduce me, an incubus would have come.
Of course, the very act of such things approaching me was quite unpleasant, so I would have immediately eliminated it, but a succubus felt even worse.

Isn’t she trying to steal someone else’s husband when his wife is right here?
Though it might be slightly different from their perspective, anyway.

The succubus opened her mouth slightly and stared blankly at me.

“…My Queen?”

The response held more question and slight fear than wariness.

Just as I was about to ask about it, the succubus blatantly stared at my chest, then let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah. Looking at the chest, nope. Phew. Tch. Got scared for nothing?”

Ha. This little vermin.

“…”

The succubus, walking over in clacking heels, tilted her head and touched my hair.

“Hmm. Strange. This silver hair is uncommon. Are you perhaps a secret child of the Queen?”

-Click.

I summoned my Magic Bullet and loaded it.
Up to number 6 is fine, so maybe using one shot here is okay?

“W-Wait. It’s a dream, how…?”

Pow!

“Kyaa!!”

Lightly stomping on the succubus with my foot, I whispered softly into her ear.

“Because you don’t know that, you’re a lower demon.”

If one can control lucid dreams, no, even if the soul’s stature is just slightly higher, this kind of trick doesn’t work.
Despite the wide erosion range encompassing the dreams of everyone asleep, it was probably rated B-rank for this reason.

Burning with bright green spirit flames, I aimed the gun barrel at the succubus’s forehead.

“Hic. Heut. S-Sorry! Um, I was wrong. So, could you please…?”

Hmm. Fortunately, she seems suitable for conversation.

Appropriately scared, and more importantly, rational.

“You… A demon. Right?”

The succubus nodded vigorously in affirmation.

“Yes! Yes! I’m a demon! But, I haven’t really harmed people much. Could you, could you please let me go…”

Harm? My feelings were just harmed.

“If you mess with a taken man, you should be prepared to die too. Isn’t that right?”

“Heek!”

Seeing her overly frightened look slightly eased my venom.
Having only dealt with mindless monsters or powerful enemies lately, seeing such a relatively ordinary foe felt novel.

Right. Even if I kill her, I need to extract information first.

“Where is Hell, do you know?”

I softened my expression slightly and asked the succubus.
She touched her arms with her hands and answered hesitantly.

“Huu. A-Ah, I know. Maybe the day I thought I might finally lose my virginity turning into a near-death experience, isn’t this moment hell itself…?”

The succubus, spouting nonsense, trembled while watching my expression.

“Ha. You don’t know. Right. If scum like you knew, information control wouldn’t work.”

“I, I know quite a lot too… I originally knew about Hell too… My memory was suddenly deleted, but still, I was, sob, quite elite.”

…Anyway. A virgin succubus. Does that even make sense? She has less experience than me?

No, originally all non-virgins were once virgins, so maybe it’s not entirely nonsensical.

“Enough. More importantly, what trick did you pull on Caspar?”

I contemplated whether to grab the succubus’s horns or tail, then firmly grasped a horn with my strength and smiled sweetly at her.

As if I would break the horn if necessary.

Indeed, the effect was certain.

“Th-That. His dream was too solid. So I thought maybe if I slightly chipped away his mental strength first… I briefly induced a nightmare and was taking a break. Aak! S-Sorry!”

-Snap.

One horn ripped off, she grimaced, but honestly, I think it was justified retaliation.

Both me and Caspar. We both have so many trauma triggers.
Occasionally when we argued, it often ended with only scars remaining for both of us.

So. I decided to never touch Caspar’s painful spots again, I was so careful about it…

Thinking that he might suffer because of some strange b*tch like this makes my heart ache.

“I! I know a lot! Please. Sob. Spare, spare me… Heok. You’re exactly like the Queen… Ugh. Ah. B-But. By any chance, do you know our Queen? You look exactly alike.”

Depressed one moment, eyes sparkling brightly the next, totally incoherent.

This thing is a demon…?

Zamiel was a damn son of a b*tch, but he had dignity.

“Queen? Like a Succubus Queen?”

Probably nothing special.
Since it’s a B-rank Gate boss monster.

“Yeees. Um ? Yes. You look exactly like her. Ah, except for the chest… Same shitty personality too-. Aak!”

As I applied force, both her horns broke off, revealing smooth cross-sections.

“Cut the crap and get to the point. Hell. Demons. The Succubus Queen you mentioned. Everything you know about these three.”

“Hell is… As I mentioned earlier, I forgot too. Demons… Hmm. Honestly, everyone around me was a demon, so I don’t know anything particularly unique. Um, Hunter-nim, if asked to recall what you know about humans, you’d be at a loss too…”

“Fine. Then do you know Zamiel? A son of a b*tch who scammed me with a contract. I desperately need his soul.”

Flinch.

The succubus, who hadn’t shown much reaction until now, reacted to the name ‘Zamiel’.

As expected.
If even the Association President knew, it must be a name known among demons.

…Though I don’t know how a demon from another Gate knows Zamiel.
I’ll have to ask the Association about that later.

“Um. I do know him… It really seems like you know the Queen.”

As the succubus opened her mouth, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

“I don’t know the Queen’s true name… but I have her portrait. Do you perhaps know her? Ah! S-Sorry if you don’t …”

Seeing my stiff expression, the succubus shrank back, thinking she misspoke, but that wasn’t why I froze.

Because the information I desperately sought came from such an unexpected place.

Enhen.

My sister’s portrait was held in the succubus’s hand.

***

Silver hair with a fresh color, unlike mine.
Deeper blue eyes, more refreshing and passionate.

Not a particularly important fact, but large breasts.
Added to that, a vibrant aura that seemed like it would be loved by anyone.

My younger sister. Enhen was that kind of woman.

“What, is this…”

Words failed me due to the sudden shock.

The Enhen in the portrait was clearly the one I knew.
Except for the fact that she had horns and a tail.

“You. This, is it real? No. It must be real. Then…”

What should I say?

The name, she wouldn’t know.
Zamiel. Ah, there was Zamiel.

Zamiel was the one who took Enhen’s soul.
How could Enhen be like that…?

“…Um. Do you really know her? Th-Then please put away that gun first. Huu. I’m scared to death.”

I tuned out the succubus’s words.
Organizing my swirling thoughts, I asked her.

“I ask the questions. I ask again. So, do you know Zamiel? What is his relationship with the woman in the… portrait?”

As I asked, I prayed to God.

Please. Let there be no relationship, or let it be one already settled.

Let Enhen not be forced into prostitution by that devil’s clutches.
Praying like that.

“A s*ave… yes. That’s right.”

Thump.

My heart felt like it would drop, a dizzying sensation, but thankfully, I could soon let out a sigh of relief.

“The most popular part of our Queen’s life story is that one. The story of a woman rolling around at the bottom of hell who cleverly deceives a great demon, eventually reverses their positions, and ends up enslaving Zamiel, who was once a great demon.”

I felt truly sorry for Enhen.
At that moment, I felt a little relieved.

Because it seemed you probably didn’t resent me amidst endless suffering.
Because it seemed like my sister, you tenaciously survived wherever you were.

However, pretending to be calm, I extracted information from the Mongma before me.

“Ah. How did I know about the great demon? Uh…… As I mentioned, he’s somewhat famous? Among succubi. Should I say the biggest pushover in hell? Famous for ending his demon life by getting scammed after scamming others with contracts. Though what scams he pulled before is forgotten.”

The story spun by the chattering little demon was, for the first time in a long while, a story I could enjoy listening to.