I am greeted onboard the friendly ship by Henna and Blake. It's a happy occasion as both Blake and Henna were apparently worried sick about us. Blake has been healed from his injuries sustained during the fight against the armored woman. A few members of the crew helped me load some of the goodies and gear I took from the treasury. Henna makes a comment about the dragon hide but aside from that our reunion was largely uneventful. It was the ride home that was eventful because I got a rundown of what happened while we were gone.

After the big teleportation spell happened things got quiet for a second before that armored woman started a swearing fit beyond what anyone else has ever heard. According to Blake you would've thought she was actively being abused or something the way she was screaming and cussing. Around this time the friendly fleet started to approach and the two Hasslerouge girls began tearing the airships out of the sky with some impressive fire magic, and the Schneemacher girl froze another stiff along with all of its crew. With this happening the remaining enemy knights grabbed their cussing hero and brought her aboard one of the two remaining airships which then hauled ass away.

Of course, friendlies chased but the Lusthardia ships are really good or something. I haven't gotten ahold of a spec sheet or anything so I can't say for certain why this is. Regardless they got away while their special armored lady swore vengeance against me, my family, the kingdom, and probably my dog if I had one. I then received information on this foe.

Either it is her name or her nickname, but she goes by Sakura with no known last name. She was born the first princess of the Lusthardia Kingdom and was chosen as the hero of their patron god. Some asshole named Bullhard. She along with her brother killed the entire rest of their family, most of the nobility, and now runs an absolutist monarchy with her brother, High King of Lusthardia and All the Skies Jakob Zweiblitz. The reason for their attack and focus on the princess is unknown at the moment.

What bothers me is the hero. Not her powers or strange attachment to her brother but the name. I remember her face. She is as white as they come. The only thing that could've made her more white is if she were a ginger. Her going by that name gives me some questions, because if she is from Earth, like Blake and I, in theory, she should look the same now as she did back then. I'm less stout than back home and of course, I never faced the abuse I've had here back on Earth, but aside from that I look similar if I remember correctly... well sorta similar I think I'm more tan. From what Blake has explained to me the few times we've discussed he looks the same, but apparently is less fat. So this either means we had a different reincarnation style than her, or she is simply cringe and is trying to live out a power fantasy, much like Blake was not long ago.

Overall this is an absolutely annoying situation that I need to get started on fixing, and I need to leap the gap in airship technology and capability, but that should be handled soon enough.

I ask about my Aunt and how she is. It is explained to me that she is fine, and faced no injury, but will be wearing a headwrap for a while so her scalp doesn't get too cold. She has returned to her posting at the fortress. I make a mental note to send her something nice as a thank-you for not only saving my life but giving me a fairly effective weapon.

As for the fight, I will admit I lost. I won the overall victory by denying my enemy their goal, but in the one-on-one, I lost. I had no true way to finish the fight with a decisive blow, and despite how I removed the limiters on the strength enhancements, I was not strong enough to end her faster than my body breaking apart. I am not mad about the loss, I gave everything I had at the time and fell short, there is no shame in that, I am frustrated that I have no true counter at the moment. Even if my toxic blood was effective at disabling her, she won't let me get away with that shit again.

All of this needs to be worked on, and I will not be left lacking again.

Our ship docks and I have my stuff taken to the hangar complex so I can work with it later, first I have someone I need to visit, and I am oh so happy to meet with them.

I enter the dark dungeon room and find Karl sitting at a table. His nice clothes are torn and dirty. His face and exposed skin is bruised and he is clearly gaunt from lack of proper feeding. I sit down across from him and he looks up weakly before letting out a light laugh as he gives me a smile. He says,

"Yeah... you really fucked up my big ritual spell... I should have known you'd be able to screw it up...It sucks I couldn't get to you before the attack happened... they came way too early. If I had my way we wouldn't have failed... oh yeah... sorry I hit you with lightning... my face still hurts from that beating you gave me... I deserved it though admittedly... at least based on what you knew about the situation."

I pour water from a ceramic jug and hand the cup to him. He thanks me and drinks the water greedily. I refill his cup and he drinks it again. After I let him wet his mouth and throat again I then say to him,

"Enlighten me on your reasoning for your actions. I want to hear it."

He licks his lips while swallowing hard and then starts,

"Well, you know it starts..."

I hold up my hand and say,

"No bullshit right to the point."

A group of guards carry a small stone grill into the room, hot coals burning brightly, and they set it next to Karl, I motion my eyes to it and repeat,

"No bullshit. Right to the point, I mean it."

He gulps and starts,

"Look at our hero. A fat slob who can barely defend himself. He only is able to fight because of the powers the goddess has given to him. You saw his fight against the Hero Sakura, he got smoked. Hell, no offense but you, a non-mage, made him back down in fear, surrendering instead of facing you.

I don't think he is able to fight the demon king. Our nation, while strong is not overwhelming in power enough to support him in his duty. Unfortunately, it is not possible for multiple heroes to exist at once. One must choose one or the other as the many gods of this world do not like cooperating. I hope you understand this."

I sigh and shake my head. I do get what he is saying. I guess it makes sense if a world-ending threat is coming and the only person as far as I know who can stop it is either Blake or that Sakura girl, I'd probably prefer Sakura on pure ability alone. It's stupid but a decent enough reason that I could have gotten behind if not for the situation that unfolded. While I am friendly with Blake I neither hate nor love the dude. I don't think he deserves to die or anything but I'd probably help capture and imprison him, in a fairly nice prison like a house arrest or something, he doesn't deserve a cold dungeon.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The issue is the outright terror attack that was committed, plus for some reason, they wanted Godiva which makes no real sense to me. I ask Karl,

"Not the worst reasoning for things... but what was the plan? What was the purpose of the attack? "

He shakes his head and replies,

"Yeah, I didn't agree with it either. It turns out their new king is quite obsessed with the Princess. I think they met once or twice in the past. He basically wants to marry her, bla bla bla, kidnap the princess. It sounds like some sort of cliche story, all we need now is a dragon or demon lord. "

We laugh at the joke lightly and he continues,

"Well as it turns out Sakura is absolutely obsessed with her brother. Not in an odd way, but from my experiences with them she is completely emotionally dependent on him. She can't do shit without his okay first or she is constantly second-guessing herself and freaking out. It's stupid and if he wants the princess she will get her for him.

Getting rid of Blake was just going to be icing on the cake as it was. I had about three hours of preparation for the attack so that's about all I have to explain on the situation. Hell, I learned that ritual spell less than a day ago. "

I rub my face in a little bit of frustration about how stupid this whole thing is. A mentally unwell hero and some obsessed fanboy. That's the people who nearly killed me. I sigh deeply and say to him,

"Are you sure this is the hero you want to put your faith in?"

He shakes his head laughing lightly with a defeated look,

"Nope. Had I known how... idiotic they are I would have looked elsewhere. I didn't know about their issues beforehand, but by that time I was already too far along. Now here I am."

A guard enters the room carrying a folded cloth. He sets it on the table in front of me and I stand up and move over the Karl and the grill. I say to him,

"Yes, here you are, with me."

I begin unwrapping the cloth and stoke the hot coals as Karl begins shifting uncomfortably trying to scoot away from me but his chains hold him in place. I say nothing as I continue with my task. I finish unwrapping as Karl begins begging for forgiveness his eyes forced shut out of fear. Then the sound of sizzling meat and the smell of rendering fat fills the dungeon room. He looks up at me slowly and I say to him,

"What? You'd think I'd actually be as nice to simply burn you? Oh no, I won't torture you. In all honesty, I forgive you. As for everyone else? No idea, but I can help you gain that forgiveness. "

He nods as a guard enters the room and sets a small wooden table on the ground in front of Karl. I unlock his chains as I flip the strips of meat on the grill. I can see the hunger in his eyes as he watches the meat cook. I know for a certainty he hasn't had any meat since his incarceration. He's hungry, and he's regretful, if not about his actions, but for his decisions. The stage is set. At the end of my last statement, I noticed that his head perked up so I continued,

"But, despite how easy I am to forgive, there is a price, because I cannot help anyone without them helping me in return, but how this help is done I leave to you."

From behind the grill I produce a bowl and a plate. I set the plate on the table and the bowl on the ground. I ask him one question my voice filled with ice-heartedness,

"I either need an equal to eat at the table with me, someone who I can have no patience with. Someone who is within reach of my blade so that their head can be removed at a moment's notice, a sword hanging above their head at all times.

Or I can have a loyal dog, eating at the table beneath me, I can be patient with a dog as a loyal hound cannot think for itself. The only requirement to be a good dog is loyalty and obedience which can be trained.

Now... you choose where you eat here, and I will leave it at that."

He stares at me with wide eyes for a moment before answering,

"I-I will....."

I leave the dungeon satisfied as I begin walking toward the Hasslerouge Villa. I need a fucking bath, plus I have a little bit of work to do. I don't spend much time thinking about Karl, he is dead to me for his betrayal, even if it was somewhat reasonable. All I did was make sure I have a powerful lightning mage at hand, that shit hurt, so that might be useful. In the end, he will feel as if it was his choice on how I treat him. It's funny how a pampered person like that can be broken that easily. I have no intention of treating him differently despite what choice he made.

I sit inside the bathroom for a while enjoying the hot water. Despite my very limited understanding of more traditional magic, I really can appreciate magical water heaters. If things are going to move in the direction I want them to, I doubt I'll be able to relax like this. While upsetting, my time back in Yotesden was good for me. I didn't have to pretend or act in a certain way. While my court demeanor is lacking compared to everyone else, I still have to hold back smart-ass comments and act all proper-like for the Alrius Kingdom. I also feel some closure despite everything. People I knew now are buried, and my dad and I tidied up some important places.

The door to the bathroom opens and I raise my voice and say,

"I'm in here!"

I cuss under my breath when Mekare says,

"Oh, I know. I just felt you needed some help."

With my relaxation done for the day I ask her,

"So how was your vacation?"

She scowls and replies in a mean voice,

"I lost my main food source. Gotta find a new one. But I did get my shopping done."

I nod and ask,

"Food source?"

She sits on the edge of the tub, wearing some form-fitting dress that only goes to her knees, like one of those modern "sexy" Chinese style dresses, a very healthy amount of side boob. She sighs and says,

"Well... since I am what I am, Karl was a good and easy source of food. It also helps considering he is a looker, makes the task all the easier."

I nod understanding a little more now and ask,

"So what do you eat? Is it his.... uhhh."

She sharply states,

"No."

I nod and ask,

"Then what is the sustenance?"

She thinks for a moment before explaining,

"Well... I don't eat the soul... it's more like I consume the mental energy produced when emotions are high enough. Succubi like I eat the energy produced from emotions like love and lust... and it requires skin contact. I have found that it is more filling the more powerful the magic user. I don't think I'd get anything out of a Frontiersman, or it'll be a little snack for all the effort it takes to get it done correctly."

I nod and then say,

"Well... It's been a question on my mind for a while. Do you like do mind control and stuff? I mean you said that you had Karl under your spell or something like that. How does it work?"

Her face goes neutral for a moment before she answers in a thoughtful tone,

"Mind control is... not really possible. I mean you can get close with certain artifacts and some other things, but the mind is quite complex. What my kind does is... well we change emotions. Our... assets can heighten sensitivity during feeding actions which in people can create strong attractions and mental attachments. That one big spell I created while we were given a... dire task, all it did was greatly increased sensitivity to emotions, so the princess was overcome to a very high degree with the fear she felt.

Before you ask, yes, I can feel emotions and that's what she was feeling. My mist just made it... extreme. It was impressive how she managed to stand her ground though.

Succubi as a whole can also brute force emotions into people's minds. The more powerful and experienced the succubus the stronger the emotional change will be. Physical contact and eye contact is the strongest way this can be done. So I can't control someone's mind, but through emotional manipulation, I can create a similar effect."

I reply,

"So you create addiction?"

She thinks for a second and then nods answering,

"That's a good way to put it. I condition myself to be the center of their pleasure so that makes sense to explain it like that."

Satisfied I stand up and get out of the water with a big stretch. She takes a long look at me up and down and I say,

"Yeah it's small, what about it? No meal and no fun from me."

She laughs for a moment and responds in a seductive tone,

"Oh, I wouldn't go with you for a meal. That rugged look you have is... alluring in its own way."

I scoff looking down at my destroyed body and walk over to a towel rack. I leave my back facing her as I cover my groin. Mekare asks me suddenly,

"When did you get that tattoo?"

I respond dumbly,

"Huh?"

I move over to the mirror and wipe the steam off of it. I turn around and sure enough, there is a very impressive tattoo on my back. A pair of what look to be dragons on each of my shoulder blades. One is a long serpent and the other is clearly Silus. I guess this is the skin he promised to take. I shrug and reply to Mekare,

"No clue, probably got it while drunk."

She shakes her head laughing lightly as I pull on some clothes. I roll my shoulders out as I leave the bathroom with Mekare trailing behind. I say to her in a determined tone,

"Glad you enjoyed your time off, but now, it's time to get some real work done..."