Chapter 36 - Astlan Dragons and the Eldest

I landed in an area immediately adjacent to the town, with Haikai still trussed over my shoulders like a piece of dead weight—though there was nothing dead about her. The spot where I landed was just far enough from town that the unsuspecting eyes of the night watch would not find me.

I expended very little effort as I trudged toward the town. I jumped over the wall and left the unconscious Haikai on the ramparts, propping her back against the wall for the surprised young man on duty—the current night watch.

Without looking back even once, I walked toward the house where the succubus was most likely still sleeping. Somehow, I had a distinct feeling that come morning, there would be trouble from the female guard I had abandoned on the ramparts.

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By the time the sun had passed its high point, I had learned all that I could from Lizil. Her history lesson had not gone quite as efficiently as I would have liked, with a few short and long interruptions in between. These breaks had involved a few more hours of intimacy—six times, to be precise—cleaning ourselves at the town's public bath, which was not yet crowded due to the early hour of the day, and some interesting displays of her body. There was also a need to relieve ourselves, but I won't get into that.

In summary, I had garnered a lot of information about the succubus and her race. This information, mind you, was given quite freely from her without any coercion from me—there were just some insertions.

1) It seems like Lizil has been living on this continent for years now, and she is most likely the only succubus on the entire continent, as the other members of her race who had come to this place had died during the ocean voyage. This piece of information raised many implications and made me even more curious: why had these succubi embarked on such a dangerous voyage to this continent, so perilous that only one had survived? I asked her about this point, but Lizil only remained silent, a forlorn look on her face, so I decided to be tactful and ask other questions.

2) When I asked about her bodily transformations, she replied that all members of her race could do this. This led me to think that it was not magic and confirmed the fact that I had not seen any strands of magic from her when she had grown two horns. Still, I was a little suspicious. The succubus could have just been proficient at hiding her magic, or the gift for doing that could have come naturally. The implication that all members of her race could do magic, however, left little to be desired.

3) Then I bluntly asked her if she would get pregnant from our time together. The only responses I received from her were a sideways shake of her head, a withdrawn silence, and a little bit of shyness. I left this point alone after that, no longer interested.

4) Lizil told me a few more stories about herself and some quirks of her race, which I noted, storing them away in my mind. One interesting quirk was that the best way for a succubus to replenish herself was through intercourse with a suitable male (regardless of race); they could live on normal food, but as time passed, it grew harder for adult succubi, eventually leading them to succumb to weakness.

By the time our conversation finished, with her doing the majority of the talking, there was only one more thing I was curious about—her relationship with Dan Gojer. She answered honestly, without hesitation, that Dan had been her accomplice for several years, helping her out when she had first arrived on this continent.

I could observe some tension in her as she answered, but I ignored it, not caring much for her relationship with Dan now that I found it to be unimportant; Dan could have been the succubus's main lover and accomplice in killing for all I cared.

Our exchange of information had been unequal; I told her nothing of myself, whereas she had shared a few integral stories about her. Fair or unfair, we were done.

I left the house, bidding her goodbye as a courtesy, and walked out without waiting for her reply.

Outside the house, I could have chosen to fly off into the air with all the people still milling around, doing whatever they were supposed to do. But I chose not to, as there would have been no benefits in doing that other than wild rumors spreading about me. I could sense their nervousness around me, like that of prey that just had a premonition of danger from a beastly predator.

The townspeople gave me a wide berth as I approached the open heavy wooden entrance gate; the reason for its openness was that members of the town were obtaining some necessities from the wilds. It was also likely opened since there were no foreseeable dangers from invaders and raiders.

During the morning, I had learned that a few townspeople had died in defense of their town against the goblins on the other sides of the town while I had been battling with the main army. This information had been supplied by a few people who had braced themselves with newfound courage to converse with me. Most of them were thankful young women of marrying age, while a few others were fighting men.

As I neared the entrance, I saw three guards taking up their posts. Among the three was Haikai, who had an angry look on her tomboyish face. When she saw me, her expression turned into a sort of sullen anger.

“You again,” Haikai said, resignation in her voice. “Are you leaving town now?”

“Yes, it has been a pleasure meeting with you, and rescuing you from goblins.” My tone was as blank as usual and had no hints of mockery in it.

Still, a look of suspicious anger crossed Haikai's face and she narrowed her eyes, not sure whether or not she should be offended. “Thank you, stranger,” she started and paused a little before continuing, “for saving me and this town...”

I merely nodded at her acquiescence—it must have taken all of her willpower to have admitted that, seeing that she was stubbornness personified.

Just like that, without any troubles or hindrances, I walked out of town wearing my new clothes that the succubus had given me for free, a silver key missing from my body, left purposely behind.

It was time to call upon the eldest.