-[Dream Invasion LV 1], [Subjugation LV 1]-
These were magic I had never seen before in Stura.
The magical power and anti-demon resistance of the cat girl who introduced herself as Beatrice were both at 1, so they weren't particularly significant.
However, she didn't possess any elemental magic and only had these two abilities.
I decided to ask Beatrice first.
"So, what brings you to me… nya?"
"…Just speak comfortably, nya."
"Okay. Why did you come to find me?"
"I came to meet the hero who defeated the hero, nya!"
Her personality was completely different from the retainers I had sat with yesterday.
She seemed cheerful and curious.
She was already an interesting character, and it felt like things were going well.
Looking back, Viola still seemed to be in dreamland, so there didn't seem to be any major issues.
"And the Demon King told me to guide you around personally, nya."
"Oh, I actually wanted to tour the castle. Can you guide me?"
"Leave it to me, nya!"
With a confident expression, she thumped her small chest with her hand and boldly took the lead.
'…She's so cute. No, should I say cat-ute?'
[She's a unique bloodline. A hybrid of the Cat Tribe and a Succubus.]
'Wow, that's amazing. No, cat-mazing. Isn't she like a top-tier genetic combination?'
The cat ears and tail from the Cat Tribe, and the wings of a Succubus.
Above-average chest size, her "nya-nya" speech, and her cute appearance.
Once again, I was reminded of the dirty laws of genetics.
I began wandering the castle with Beatrice, whom I had just met.
Thanks to her lively energy, touring the castle wasn't boring at all.
The training grounds, dining hall, armoury, duelling arena….
After about an hour of wandering, we arrived at the garden.
It was a garden filled with beautiful flowers.
I never expected there to be a garden in the Demon King's castle.
Beatrice led me to a gorgeous gazebo in the center of the garden and continued her explanations.
But as I started to feel a bit bored, I decided to ask her something I was curious about.
"By the way, how is it possible for a Cat Tribe member and a Succubus to have a hybrid?"
"Hwat! How did you know I'm a hybrid, nya?"
Ignoring her surprised reaction, I communicated through our mental link.
'…First off, I can tell she's a bit of an airhead.'
[The Cat Tribe is generally not known for high intelligence…]
'Okay, found one inferior gene.'
Beatrice began to share her story.
Originally, a hybrid between the Cat Tribe and a Succubus was considered impossible.
The Cat Tribe couldn't reproduce with other species, and Succubi were a race that couldn't get pregnant in the first place.
Her father, who was from the Cat Tribe, happened to meet her mother, a Succubus, and somehow the two fell in love.
Despite the impossibility, Beatrice was born.
"Huh? How?"
"…I don't know, nya. My mom and dad never told me, nya."
Though their love bore fruit, there were problems.
Beatrice was shunned by both tribes because she imperfectly inherited the genes of both.
Her father and mother, who were her only allies, died during the war.
Moreover, both the Cat Tribe and the Succubi were nearly wiped out during the war, leaving her as the sole survivor.
But something felt off.
Even if she was the last representative of her race, it didn't seem like she'd be in a position to dine with the Demon King.
"Towards the end of the war, I was finally deployed, nya. All I could do was hide and peek into the dreams of sleeping people, nya."
"That's still a useful ability, isn't it?"
"…I'm not as agile or good at hiding as a pure Cat Tribe member, and I can't stay in dreams as long as pure Succubi, nya."
In fact, the reason she wasn't deployed until the end was because her abilities were so lacking.
Ironically, that's why she survived until the end.
But the achievement she made changed the course of the war.
Gardia, through Zodiac's revelation, ordered Beatrice to look into the hero's dreams to find out who the woman he loved was.
The resistance army had advanced to the doorstep of the Demon King's castle, and she risked her life to infiltrate the hero's lodging.
Fortunately, the resistance army, on the verge of victory, had lax security, and Beatrice managed to reach the hero's quarters and peek into his dreams.
"But in the dream, I found out that the hero had a woman he loved back in his hometown, nya. After I reported that, the hero disappeared shortly after, nya."
"Wow, that's a huge achievement!"
I had no idea the information I received came from Beatrice.
In fact, I feel like I owed her a debt for finding Viola first.
That explained why she was at last night's dinner.
"…."
But despite my praise, Beatrice just stared blankly into space.
"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
"…I'm all alone now, nya. My mom, dad, and even the tribes that could've accepted me are all gone, nya."
"…."
Even though the Demon King's army embraced all races, the fact that she was the last of her kind remained unchanged.
To lighten the mood, I asked her about the Dream Invasion skill I had seen earlier.
"How do you enter someone's dreams?"
"Ah~ that's simple, nya. I can enter the dreams of someone sleeping within about a room's distance, nya."
"Oh… Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, nya!"
Her earlier gloom disappeared, and she suddenly brightened up at my request.
I decided to experience it once and, if it was helpful, learn it through Enel.
"So… do I need to sleep again? Should we go to a room?"
"No need, nya. Here, lie down, nya."
"…Uh…."
She suddenly knelt in the flower bed and patted her lap with her hand.
Her ears fluttered as if she enjoyed being asked for favours.
'Wow, she has zero guard up.'
[It's probably because she's been ostracized by her tribe and has no one around her now.]
I thought she'd have a cat-like, self-centred personality, but she felt more like a puppy.
I approached Beatrice.
If a beauty offers you a lap pillow, only a gay or a cursed eunuch would refuse.
I laid my head on her lap.
As I looked up at Beatrice's face, her chest came into view.
My eyes kept drifting to her chest…
But Beatrice just smiled and murmured.
"Sleep… sleep…."
"…."
Even lullabies aren't that lame.
I was so dumbfounded that I communicated through our link.
'Is she joking…? Like, seriously….'
[Guardian?]
With Armonia's words, my eyes slowly closed.
***
When I opened my eyes, I was in a dark, empty space.
I was floating weightlessly in the void.
"Huh?"
"How is it, nya?"
Beatrice popped out of the darkness and started showing off in front of me.
"Isn't it amazing, nya?"
"What? How did you make me sleep?"
"Succubi have sleep skills, nya. But for me, one minute is the limit, nya."
"Wow… But there's nothing here. I thought dreams would have all sorts of scenes."
"Normally, you'd enter while someone is dreaming, but since we did this suddenly, there's no content, nya."
All my senses were alive, and it didn't feel any different from reality.
I could even feel touch.
"Wow, amazing… But how do I know I'm dreaming?"
"That's because I warned you I'd make you sleep, nya. If I used the sleep skill secretly, you wouldn't notice at all, nya."
But even though we entered the dream, Beatrice's level wasn't high enough to control someone else's dreams.
She could only gather information.
It seemed like her low skill level was the issue.
If I used Enel to break through and raise the skill level, though?
I decided I absolutely had to learn this skill.
As Beatrice finished her explanation, her chest came back into view.
She fluttered her ears and put on a boastful expression.
"How is it, nya? Isn't it awesome, nya?"
"Ohhh… It's really amazing."
"Hehehe…."
Beatrice started twisting her body proudly after receiving praise.
'This skill is really good. It suits me well.'
[But you should be careful. While you're in the dream, communication with me is impossible.]
'Ah, that could be dangerous. Got it.'
Next was Subjugation.
"Eek! How do you know about that, nya…?"
"Well, you said you're a Succubus. I figured there'd be something similar."
I couldn't exactly tell her I saw it in her status window…
Beatrice thought for a long time before explaining.
"Subjugation is indeed a unique Succubus skill, nya. But it has a lot of problems, nya…."
"What problems?"
Unlike Dream Invasion, Subjugation wasn't a simple skill.
-[Subjugation]-
It was a skill that charmed the target's ego, making them subservient to the user.
It wasn't exactly hypnosis, but more like creating a master-servant relationship.
Subjugation also had quite a few side effects.
"There are cases where the master-servant relationship gets reversed, nya. Many Succubi who tried to use Subjugation ended up being enslaved by humans instead, nya."
"…I'll have to be careful."
Dream Invasion also had side effects, but they were mostly limited to things going wrong in the dream, so it wasn't a big deal.
'…Isn't this similar to what I learned in Special Magic Studies?'
It reminded me of what I learned in Special Magic Studies in Stura.
Abstract magic had a high-risk factor.
[That's correct. This world doesn't have a magic system. Physical skills are dominant, and magic is the domain of special individuals, so it hasn't developed much.]
Like the self-defense corps members I saw in Krel, this world was one where physical training could make you superhuman, but magic remained at a primitive level.
'Let's learn all three. And raise Dream Invasion and Sleep to level 5.'
[32,000 Enel consumed.]
Subjugation, Dream Invasion, and Sleep were added to my traits.
I wasn't sure about Subjugation, but I raised Dream Invasion and Sleep to level 5.
For some reason, level 5 felt like a manageable limit for me.
After learning the skills, I started wandering the castle with Beatrice again.
When we returned to the guest room, Viola came running to me, crying.
"Waaah! I thought you disappeared!"
"Hahaha… Sorry, sorry."
Viola had woken up and, finding me gone, thought I had disappeared and started crying.
Despite being resistant to all fears, the fear of me disappearing seemed deeply ingrained in her.
After calming Viola down, her attention turned to Beatrice, who was beside me.
"Eek… P-Please spare me, nya…."
Beatrice's ears drooped, and she was trembling.
'With this kind of courage, how did she manage to infiltrate the hero's dreams…?'
[She must have been desperate.]
Viola approached Beatrice, curious, and started examining her.
"Wow! How can someone be this cute…?"
"Eek… Eek…"
"Relax…"
Beatrice flinched and trembled in fear.
Viola's gaze was practically killing Beatrice.
As Viola marvelled at Beatrice, someone approached us.
Tap, tap, tap!
Walking with precise, dignified steps was Lena de Feron.
Her long pink hair swayed minimally as she confidently walked up to us.
When she reached us, she bowed slightly and spoke politely.
"Lord Gardia has invited you to lunch. Allow me to guide you."
Seeing her in person, it was hard to believe she was a woman whose heart was dying.
'Wow… Who would think she's emotionally dead? Plus, she's addressing the Demon King, whom she fought fiercely, with such respect without a hint of disturbance.'
[She's someone who can perfectly hide her true feelings.]
She's truly an impressive woman.
Me, Viola, and Beatrice—who wasn't invited but was dragged along—headed to the dining hall.
Lena led the way, with me right behind her, followed by Viola, who was hugging Beatrice and marvelling at her.
The maid-uniformed Lena's back view was truly a work of art.
'Wow… A woman's charm really starts from the hips.'
[Isn't it the same for other parts?]
'No, I don't care if she's flat or busty. Ah, but she has to have a pretty face…'
It was a bit contradictory, but I continued.
'But if her hips are lacking, I just can't. She doesn't even seem like a woman…'
[….]
For me, if the hips are lacking, she doesn't seem like a woman.
Well, if it's above a certain level, it's fine, but if the hips are flat, it doesn't matter if she's pretty or busty.
She just doesn't seem like a woman.
Lena's hips were beyond passing—they were an artistic line.
Her tall stature, long straight hair, and hip line were all art.
But as if she sensed my gaze, she glanced back at me while walking.
I tried to act nonchalant, but I think she noticed.
'…Armonia.'
[Yes.]
'Let's start the Lena conquest today!'
[….]
I genuinely wanted her.
***
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