Spying

I roamed the alleys to observe soldiers, and unfortunately, as far as I see the soldiers had much better mental defenses than the townspeople. Maybe thanks to life or death situations they've experienced, or maybe thanks to the training they've received, I wasn't sure.

Still, there are a few I can influence. One of every ten soldiers was weaker than the others. Some were rather young soldiers, others were traumatized on the battlefield, lost loved ones or longed for home.

As I used my skill, I realized that the more people desire something, the more vulnerable they are. As the weather was getting dark I chose my preys and started to wait for the right time.

I entered the alley that in the area two soldiers were patrolling and started to wait. There were two reasons I chose these soldiers, firstly both had relatively weak mental defenses. Second, the area they patrolled was deserted.

''Hey fox, you said the people I fed on have affection for me, right?'' I asked while waiting.

''Right. But you have to be careful. The skill works like a double-edged sword,'' It said.

''How?''

''As the link between your minds grows stronger, you become prey if you cannot protect yourself,'' It said. I frowned but before I could say anything, I saw the soldiers approaching.

''Light,'' I whispered, ''Make me invisible to their eyes,'' I said. I felt a light layer covering me and headed the soldiers. Our eyes can perceive what is happening around us, thanks to the refracted and reflected light rays. Currently, the light was reflecting like I wasn't there.

Of course, it wouldn't work against smell or sound-sensitive breeds, but humans used to trust their own eyes more than anything. I could have called the shadow as well, but I think soldiers would think that a shadow covered freak wandering around is suspicious.

I approached the soldiers, trying to be as quiet as possible. Sneaking up wasn't something I'm particularly good at, but the soldiers didn't expect an attack and were careless. Patrolling was nothing but a boring chore for them.

''What do you know kiddo? You know nothing, I haven't seen my wife and child for years,'' The older one said. His voice was in a scolding tone.

''C'mon old maaaan,'' The other one said in an annoying tone, ''Where is your spirit? I hope I don't end like you. No, no way. I will definitely be a hero and I'll return home with pretty girls under my arms.''

I took note of what I heard and started making my plan. We were going to enter my neighborhood soon. First of all, I looked into the heart of the man to find the wife he missed.

What I saw made me smile, indeed he missed his wife, but he had not acted like a faithful husband in the years he spent without his wife. Still, his wife had a special place in her heart from all other women.

Then, I looked at the younger one's desires. He was like almost every other young man in the world. He could stab his best friend to spend a night with a beautiful woman, and his friend probably will say, "It's okay bud, spank her in the ass for my sake,'' or something like that.

I saw a woman chatting with a few men, she didn't saw me but she saw soldiers. She walked to the soldiers and stopped right in front of them. She opened up her coat and showed what she offered. I took the image of the soldier's wife and I made the prostitute look like the man's wife for his eyes.

He gulped and stared at the woman for a while. ''Wait here kid, I'll be back soon,'' He said.

''What? The hell I'll wait. Hey! HEY! Come back old man we're on duty,'' He yelled in vain. ''Heck. Heh, 'back soon,' It's surprising that you can erect at that age,'' He said.

The younger guard sighed, ''What will I do now? Should I keep patrol,'' He murmured. I looked at his desires to learn his preferences for women.

''Light, can you make me blonde? Also, make my face unrecognizable, please,'' I said quietly. Then I removed the light layer that made me invisible and approached the young soldier.

''Umm, mister officer?'' I called and touched the young soldier's arm. It seems like touching the on the outfit also was also helping me, though not as much as touching the skin.

''Yes?'' He said and couldn't stop himself from looking at me from head to toe. His anger for the other soldier and love of duty was already gone. Not because he is useless as a soldier, it was thanks to the passive effects of Desires of Heart skill.

''I'm lost, can you help me?'' I said with my sweetest voice. Well, it wasn't a perfect excuse, but I was new to this spying stuff, okay?

''Ah,'' He said in an anxious voice. He stared blankly for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. I wasn't knowing of his all thoughts, but I still remembered my encounter with the nine-tails fox. All I wanted was for her to hug me and make me forget everything else.

Naturally, there was no way my influence would be as strong as hers, but the effect was probably something like that. Wondering exactly when I would evolve into a succubus, I looked at the young soldier.

''I'm not familiar with this neighborhood,'' He said. He was upset that he wouldn't be able to spend any more time with me. I could see this in both his face and his heart.

''I'm afraid of the dark, can you accompany me?'' I asked, trying to look scared.

''Sure,'' He said smiling. I took his arm to head to the hostel I'm staying in, hoping that the other soldier is skilled for his age. I didn't know how long it would take, but I had to feed, ask questions, and then make him forget everything.