Honey

I took one last look at the captain's room and got out. There was no way they won't notice someone was here, but I had left nothing for them to understand who the intruder was.

''Go back to the dormitory,'' I said to the soldier who led me here. I knew this would happen, but still looking at the scene I couldn't stop myself from gulping.

Soldiers were minding their own business because I told them to do so, most of them had returned to their own beds. Nobody was interested in Miran lying motionless on one of the beds.

Her eyes were blank and seemed unaware of what was happening around her. There were tears on her face. Her flawless skin was spoiled by bite marks on her breasts and nipples.

''Everyone,'' I said. ''After we are gone, you will forget everything about us. Nobody came here tonight.'' The only one left is the soldier who greeted us at the entrance, I thought.

I found the torn nun's outfit and tried to cover Miran's body as much as possible. She didn't seem aware of what I was doing. I focused on the connection between our minds, ignoring her feelings and thoughts, and ordered her to get up. ''Get dressed, we're leaving.''

She did as I said. It hurt to see her blank eyes, but I was not going to back down. She ran her hand around her neck as if looking for something, and when she could not find it, her bright blue eyes filled with tears. ''Mother...'' I heard her whispering.

''Does the necklace have something to do with her mother?'' I murmured. I took the necklace from the floor by the chain and threw it into my bag, ignoring that it burned my hand.

''Aww how cute! You are too softhearted,'' The fox complained.

''Don't be silly. We cannot leave a clue that reveals our identity,'' I said but I didn't agree with what I said with all my heart. Somehow, Miran was my subordinate and I was responsible for her.

Before we left, I got an idea. ''Pour some of the potions I gave you to the potions of the other soldiers,'' I ordered. ''I will not be able to control the soldiers as it's diluted, but the duration and number of affected soldiers will increase,'' I said to the fox.

It nodded approving, ''A good move that I wouldn't expect from you,'' It said. I treated it as praising and took Miran's arm to help her walk. Luckily, the same soldier was standing at the entrance to the base and it was not too difficult to erase his memory since he gladly accepted the potion.

''I wonder I wonder if they are stupid to drink what they got from people they don't know or is the Nun outfit reassuring?''

''Nun outfit,'' The fox said. ''Also, you have fed on most of them before.''

We first went to the room I rented to switch Miran's torn outfit with mine. I wiped her body with a wet cloth and helped her dress, trying not to hurt her bruised breasts. ''You too will forget everything that happened today,'' I said. ''Tell Roen everything went well.''

''Why did you done this?'' The fox asked.

''The fewer witnesses the better,'' I said trying to fix her necklace, I removed the broken chain link and tied the other two chain links together. I'd have new scars, yey. I put the chain necklace around Miran's neck. Touching the chain wasn't that much of a problem, but the angel feather burned my hand so bad that I couldn't touch it.

''How do you feel?'' I put my hand on her cheek.

''...tired,'' She murmured.

''Go, rest. You did a good job today,'' I said. She obediently nodded and left the room. I watched the door after she's left for a few minutes. Then, I took a deep breath to calm myself, ''Both quests have been completed, it was worth it.''

{CONGRATULATIONS! You completed a special quest and received a single-use disguise seal. Click to learn more.}

I clicked.

{Quest reward: A single-use disguise seal. The person carrying the surface that the seal applied on will have the ability to change one of the basic features shown in the system as desired. For example, if you apply the seal to a ring, you can change your name or level as long as you wear the ring.}

I looked at the crown-shaped seal, ''I need someone to forge this,'' I said.

''On what?'' The fox asked.

''On me,'' I said and clicked to the next notification.

{A special quest created by an anonymous user especially for you, as an additional reward for your success at gathering information.

One of the documents you have handed over to us mentions a hitman hired by the human army. An agent of our side was killed in a treacherous attack two nights ago. The purpose of the quest is to learn about those who have planned the attack.

Quest reward: The reward will be assigned Queen Mab of The Winter Court, The Queen of Air and Darkness.}

The fox whistled as it appeared in front of me, ''A reward from a FAIRY QUEEN?!!'' Unable to control its excitement it jumped on the bed until I stopped it.

''If you didn't notice, the human army hired assassins to hunt spies,'' I said. ''I don't want to be a spoiler, but this is beyond what I'm capable of.'' The excitement of the fox faded like a collapsing balloon.

''Won't you do it?'' It asked. I shook my head and I moved on to the next notification. It was about the level-up quest.

{CONGRATULATIONS!

You have met the requirements to reach level 3. You completed the quest, destroying a clergy's belief. Again, seducing the purest ones is all demon's priority. With that, you've proven you have what it takes to become a demon. Keep going like that!}

{CONGRATULATIONS!

You have collected enough exp to complete level 3. The experience you earned during the missions has accumulated. Now you're level 4.}

{You will now have broader access to the resources of your breed.}

''Huh? No level-up quest for level 4?'' I was both surprised and happy.

''Yes,'' the fox said, ''This is how succubus' introduce a new one to the breed. The quests you have completed were to measure your qualifications. We cannot allow an inadequate person to join us.''

I stared at the fox, ''You knew this?''

The fox kept speaking, ''The first quest was replacing someone's life with yours. If someone can't mentally handle it, there's no way to become a succubus. This is how we survive,'' It said and its serious eyes fixed on me.

''The second quest, accept it or not, someone who has lived her only sexual experience with a certain man and cannot satisfy herself is unlikely to break with the past. We want those who join our breed to be cut off from their past.''

I opened my mouth to say something, but the fox lifted one paw and stopped me. ''Let me finish. The second task would not be complete if you were dreaming of that man or anyone else. Finally, the last quest. I guess I don't need to explain.''

I paused for a second to think, '' What does 'You will now have broader access to the resources of your breed' means?'' I asked.

''This means now there are more of what I can explain to you,'' The fox said. ''Firstly, me. The mother of all of us created me to be transferred with the succubus core and to guide new members of the species. I was an artificial intelligence built from her memories and knowledge,'' It said.

''Mother of all of us? Who is that? Weren't you made up of Malice's memories?'' I asked.

''Shut your mouth and listen. As the generations come and go, the world changed and the mother's memories became insufficient to guide. The clan of lust demons has switched to a new system. With that, each individual would add their own memories to the artificial intelligence created by the mother, and the guide would be based on the person who transferred the core mainly,'' The fox said.

I frowned ''Are lust demon clan and succubus' community the same things?''

The fox shook its furry head, ''No. There are other lust demons besides succubus,'' It said.

I took a deep breath to gain myself time to think. ''So... you have memories of every succubus since that time?'' If it was so, I could not imagine the amount of secrets and knowledge it had.

''Not everything. Some may choose not to transfer everything while transferring the core, and I can choose not to tell you even if I know something. I have the will to decide things for the benefit of the breed and the clan. Plus, I can only pass on some information when you meet certain requirements,'' The fox said.

I thought for a while to digest the new information I had just learned, finally, ''Is there anything I especially need to know?'' I asked.

The fox nodded, ''There is something that humans can't but you can do now. Evolving, you need to learn the paths you can prefer.'' Curiously I raised my eyebrows to listen.

***

At the human base in the town, there was turmoil in the captain's room. A slightly slim man entered, dressed in military clothes, neither tall nor short. His face was ordinary and had no distinguishing features.

He looked at the scattered documents and the captain shouting at the soldiers. He sighed in boredom. ''Wait,'' He thought, ''This fragrance... honey?''