The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

Queen-Mother Zariah and the Mistresses sure were taking their sweet time. Kanae was getting worried. Another day had gone by without any signs of their approach. Even the harpy scout squadron she sent out haven't reported any sightings of them. They weren't the only ones she was concerned about either…

"Mooooom! Where's dad? I wanna show dad my shield I won at Arum Taum!" Suvee complained, rushing into the courtyard from the margrave's manor to interrupt Kanae and Grell's discussion.

"You're dad's busy helping adventurers. I'm sure he'll be back soon," Kanae assured her with a pat on the head.

"Hmm. Noah has been away for some time by now. Perhaps he, Mitty, and their group ran into some trouble in the Rift?" Grell wondered aloud.

"Eh? Dad's in trouble? We have to save him!" the girl exclaimed, tugging on Kanae's arm.

Kanae glared at the margrave.

"Ah— No! You're father is fine, I'm sure of it! I raised him myself, you know? He's strong. Like me!" Grell panicked trying to calm Suvee down.

"The Queen-Mother still hasn't arrived yet, so maybe I'll go check on Noah and Mitty. Do you have the location to the Rift?" Kanae asked.

"I don't, but the adventurers hall should know," he suggested.

Some adventuring was in order to get the blood flowing again.

"Suvee, your mom is going to go bring dad back. Wait here with your sister, okay?" Kanae scraped their horns together and had Grell walk her back inside.

In their place, Esta and Aisha emerged from the manor already dressed for battle.

"I overheard, Master. We shall accompany you," Esta insisted.

"If my brother's in danger, my mom would want me in the search party," Aisha said.

"Aisha can come, but Esta, you're staying put. You're one of the strongest people in the Commonwealth. Keep an eye on the demons for me. I also don't want you going into a Rift while pregnant." Kanae eyed the drakeling's abdomen which barely had a bump.

Sulking, Esta relented much to Kanae's relief.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Chappy, the living grimoire flew in front of Kanae's face to block them from leaving. "Hope you haven't forgotten about me! You've kept me cooped up for days! When am I getting my meeting with my old pal, Charron?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, Chappy, it's just that I don't know what they might do. Stay put until after the summit, after I worked out an alliance they can't back out of," Kanae said, and the living grimoire capitulated at last.

Together with Aisha, they mounted Titan to set off. As the languisteed galloped towards the Hunter's Ward, three familiar faces came into view on the streets. Kanae tugged on the reins, pulling Titan to a grinding halt.

Lord Charron, Lady, and Minestra were staring hard at an ice cream stand. The terrified elven vendor shivered under their presence. People made a wide berth around them to avoid the demons.

"Well, if it isn't the Queen of the Commonwealth. Where are you off to this fine morning?" Charron took his eyes off the tubs of ice cream to ask.

"The adventurers hall. More importantly, are you just going to stand there or order some ice cream? I think the seller's about to piss himself if you glare any longer." Kanae chuckled.

"Ice cream? Is that what this is called? Is it… edible?" he asked.

"Yes… That's the point of ice cream— Wait, is ice cream not a thing in Artaggon?"

All three of them shook their heads. Kanae paid the vendor for each of their ice cream cones. When they received their scoops, they stared at the foreign, creamy morsel with curiosity as it slowly melted.

"This isn't poison, is it?" Lady sniffed the ice cream, then snarled at the scared vendor.

Kanae rolled her eyes.

"How am I supposed to eat this?" Lord Charron shoved the entire thing into his mouth, cone and ice cream scoop all. His eyes snapped open. He fell to his knees and clutched his head.

"Lord Charron!" Minestra cried out.

"I knew it was poison!" The hellhound threw her ice cream to the ground and unsheathed her claws.

"N-No, it's not poison! He's just suffering from a brain freeze for eating it all at once like an idiot!" Kanae exclaimed.

"This…" The demon lord slowly rose to his feet again. "This is DELICIOUS! I must have more. Sir elf, your culinary expertise is astounding. Give me another, nay— two more!"

The vendor reluctantly scooped another cone, and again, Lord Charron shoved the entire thing into his mouth. Lady and Minestra glanced at each other, and the latter slowly nibbled on the ice cream she hadn't tossed to the ground like the other had.

"This is the demon lord that Gabrul desperately seeks to impress?" Aisha watched the man himself devouring ice cream after ice cream, and subsequently suffering from a brain freeze each time.

"Queen Kanae, I would like to buy this man and his skill. How much?" Lord Charron asked seriously.

"This isn't Artaggon, and the guy is not for sale!" Kanae retorted. "Anyway, I've got people to find, so I can't stay and humor you."

"In that case, take Lady. Her nose shall aid you immensely," he offered.

"Wha—?" Lady gaped.

"H-How about I go in her stead? I can help Kanae!" Minestra pleaded to her sovereign.

Having a hellhound would help a lot, but… This was Lady Dahlia they were talking about!

"No, Minestra. Don't think I'm not aware of your obsession with Queen Kanae. Lady, aid the queen in her search. Failing her fails me," Lord Charron ordered.

"Yes… my lord…" Lady answered through a clenched jaw.

Maybe this was a good chance to ask…

"By the way, Lord Charron, do you happen to know of any living grimoires during your lifetime?" Kanae hesitantly brought up.

"Living grimoires?" Charron scratched his stubble stained with ice cream. "Living grimoires… Maybe? It's on the tip of my mind, but I can't quite remember. I've lived a very long lifetime. I can't remember all the little details. However, I will tell you that no good can come from consorting with one. If you ever come across one, dispose of it."

Dispose of… Chappy?

That grimoire had some explaining to do, but that was an issue to address when they returned.

Kanae and Aisha, now joined by a reluctant and prone-to-violence search dog, headed to the Hunter's Ward of Highgreen. The military garrisons and the adventurers hall was located here. Barracks replaced townhouses. The streets were wider to accommodate mass deployment of troops. Soldiers and guards roamed about more frequently than citizens in residential wards. As expected of a city based so close to enemy territory, they needed to be ready at a moment's notice.

They entered the adventurers hall that was once a hunting lodge five years ago. Every adventurer stopped what they were doing and choked on their spit when Lady, a demon lieutenant of Lord Charron's, casually strolled inside. On their way up to the front desk, she snarled at a nearby table of adventurers, scaring them white.

"Can you please not do that to my people?" Kanae groaned.

"Your people are pups that need to grow a backbone," Lady said.

The receptionist lady trembled. She was the only one out of three others who didn't hide underneath their desk. 

"H-H-How may I help you?" she stammered.

"Noah and Mitty should've joined an adventuring group to tackle a Rift. Can you give me the location of it?" Kanae asked.

"Oh! We were actually about to open the quest since they were taking too long. If the queen would like to go herself, I'd be more than happy to!"

The woman provided them with a map to the base of the frosty mountains, and they set off right away. Although Titan was large enough for Lady to hop on, she declined and stayed on foot. As a hellhound, her topspeed rivaled the languisteed while on all fours.

Mornings in Highgreen was cold, colder still because of the fall season and magically-chilly mountains up north. What was once a beautiful green landscape of rolling plains and hills had now been claimed by snow. Bone-chilling winds whistled a sharp tune and visibility was quickly falling. Fortunately, languisteeds were hearty beasts. Aisha, on the other hand, was not.

"Why… Why is it so c-cold? I can barely… f-feel my face," Aisha grumbled from behind.

"What's wrong, Aisha? Does it never get this cold in Hellfire?" Kanae teased.

"Hellfire?" Lady turned to them with a brow raised.

"Nothing!" they hastily replied.

They eventually found the Rift portal in the way of a narrow mountain pass. It was wide enough that travelers wouldn't be able to skirt around. No wonder Noah and Mitty came across it. Something like this likely impeded their expeditions.

"Let's go in already! I can't stand how cold it is out here!" Aisha was pushing before they even got off Titan.

For whatever reason, the languisteed dipped his head down to nibble on the snow, causing Kanae and Aisha to fall forward into the portal. They heard Lady's exasperated shouts on the way in. Kanae hit the cold swamp first, followed by Aisha, and then Lady.

"I'm already regretting this." Lady growled.

"Where are we?" Aisha asked, getting off Kanae and helping her up.

It was a forest, partially submerged in murky waters. Trees were covered in bright green moss, and their roots gnarled over each other.

"Kanae? Am I going crazy or is that really you?" a familiar voice whispered.

"Noah?!" Kanae whipped around and saw Noah peeking out from behind a toppled tree.

"Shhh!" He frantically shushed her and pointed behind them where a one-eyed giant was sleeping on a pile of stones.

They quietly waded over and joined Noah on the other side of the tree. Three more adventurers and Mitty were there, too. All of them looked haggard, but were otherwise fine.

"I was so worried about you two!" Overcome with relief, Kanae hugged them both.

"It feels like forever since we last saw each other," Mitty said, settling into the embrace and smiling. "But who are your friends? Did you bring help from the adventurers hall?"

"Oh, uh… This may come as a surprise but… They are—"

"I can't believe my fucking eyes. You really did bag a succubus, you green squirt!" Aisha threw an arm around Mitty's shoulders and grinded her knuckles into his hairless head.

"Ow! Wait… Is this… it can't be… Aisha? What are you doing here?" he cried.

"Came to find you! Mom's around, too, over in Radevic. She's been wanting to see you!"

Kanae had expected their reunion to be awkward, but they were siblings at the end of the day. The only one left to introduce was—

"Huh? Where did Lady go?" Kanae searched the surroundings for a missing hellhound.

"THAT was Lady?!" Noah gawked. "Well, she just jumped over the tree and went to the cyclops. It's what we need to kill to finish this Rift! She should be careful or—"

The ground rumbled. Everyone peeked over the tree. The cyclops woke up and stood to its full height, towering over Lady who was half his size. The single eye glared down at her full of rage for interrupting his sleep.

"Watch out! We've been having trouble killing that thing for days!" Noah shouted.

With a single swipe, Lady eviscerated the cyclops into cuts of meat. Kanae and the others around her stared in disbelief.

The entire world began to shudder. It was the Rift, beginning to collapse after the final trial had been dealt with.

Everyone spilled back out into the freezing cold. Their reward, a heavy iron-bound chest, plopped down in front of them, too. Unfortunately, it had nothing for Kanae, Aisha, and Lady, who had entered at the last minute. But the adventurers all got something nice out of it.

"Are we done? Can we get back to Highgreen?" Lady asked, licking the blood off her claws.

"I don't think I need anymore reminders to never get on your bad side…" Kanae cautiously remarked.

When they returned to Highgreen, Lady ditched their group to get back to Lord Charron. As soon as Noah stepped foot inside the margrave's manor, Suvee rushed downstairs and jumped into her dad's arms. However, their reunion was cut short by the horns bellowing across the city.

Kanae felt a faint burst of energy pulsing outwards, sending goosebumps across her skin.

"It's the Queen-Mother!" Esta rushed in and warned. "An army of succubi enough to blot out the sky has come!"

A chill ran up Kanae's spine. One didn't just bring a massive army to have a simple conference. They came out of the manor in time to see a dark cloud descending from the south. It wasn't just a mere cloud, but a swarm of succubi.

Sitting leisurely on a throne, carried by a group of succubus, was a woman clad in a black and red silk robe. Two elven men, gagged and blindfolded, sat with her on all fours like dogs. She ran her fingers through the hair of one, and stroked the chin of the other. Her lavender hair was long and straight, draping down to her waist. The horns that Kanae was used to seeing on the Mistresses were thicker and ribbed. Jewelry hung from them like curtains. Although not as busty as Arenade, the loose robes parted at her chest offered a cleavage to behold. Queen-Mother Zariah, in the flesh.

Thistle, the Matron's Regalia, seemed to vibrate a little. Kanae could feel their tremors, as if each piece was resonating with the crown on that woman's head, as if seeking to be whole again.

Accompanying the Queen-Mother were her daughters, the Mistresses of Subjugation, Pain, Debauchery, and Desire. They were looking well, if not a little too comfortable. Their eyes scanned the city like browsing the meat at a butchery.

"Master, they don't look friendly. No one brings an entire legion and does not expect a fight!" Esta exclaimed.

"Get my daughters inside. Now!" Kanae yelled at Gretchen, who immediately corralled them away.

"I'll go get my father!" Noah took off running to the Hunter's Ward.

Aisha and Mitty retreated back into the manor, too. Meanwhile, Kanae and Esta raced to meet the succubus army south of Highgreen. As soon as they exited the gate, an undead dragon landed next to them and kicked up a cloud of dust. Edina summoned four death knights and a Legion of the Dead, but the succubus army wasn't unfazed. All that separated them from the Queen-Mother's forces were an undead horde and a thin magical barrier.

"You must be the Queen-Mother," Kanae said, taking the first step forward to meet them. "I'm—"

Labelle, the Mistress of Debauchery, flew down and tapped the barrier. The succubus sneered. She strummed each note on her lute, then performed a rift. The vibrations in her music shattered the magical barrier whole. 

The Queen-Mother scoffed. She slapped the ass of one of her slaves, and he lifted one leg up like a dog ready to piss. However, the succubus jerked him off and picked up an empty glass cup to position under his dick. Steaming cum squirted into the glass, and she tipped the nectar over her crimson lips.

"I'm not interested in who you are, little succubus. You're a whelpling. No more a pup than the youngest of my spawn. I've not come to play your politics. Time and time again, you somehow managed to foil my beloved daughters. Not anymore. I'm here to watch my daughters bring your country of cattle to heel and to make an example out of you. Once and for all." Queen-Mother Zariah was about to snap her fingers until Lord Charron's voice rang out.

"You would do well to reconsider, Zariah!" The demon lord himself emerged from the gates, flanked by his trusted lieutenants.

"Father…!" Ambrosia gasped.

Nice! Thank goodness for Lord Charron's timing, now maybe—

"CHAROOOOOOOOOOOOOON" Infuriated, Zariah stood up on her throne and grinded a foot onto her slave's head. "You have some nerve showing your face after standing me up on our date three centuries ago! I can't believe you went as far as asking the cattle for help. My sisters perished in that war, you know? I had many years to think about forgiving you. I even sent my lovely daughters to find you! But now… NOW I FIND YOU WITH THAT WHELPLING TRAMP'S INVITATION? WHAT DOES SHE HAVE THAT I DON'T?"

Kanae was taken aback by the Queen-Mother's fiery tirade.

"For the love of… Your volatile emotions are exactly what I couldn't handle. That and I can't stand you sleeping with other people… Also, there's nothing going on between me and Kanae, you crazy bitch!" Charron shook a fist at her.

"You're even on a first-name basis without titles? Kuuuuuuh! That's it. Daughters, enslave this country of cattles and bring me that slut! Let's see how much she will enjoy the company of wild animals!" Queen-Mother Zariah ordered.

"I-I might actually like that!" Kanae exclaimed, drooling from the corners of her lips.

"I bet you— what?" The queen grimaced.

Both sides were poised to clash when Ambrosia came between them.

"Stop! Mother, I want to hear what the Queen of the Commonwealth has to say about this alliance," Ambrosia pleaded.

"You wish to sit in on these discussions between cattle?" The Queen-Mother crushed the cup, drenching her hand in cum and shards of glass.

"We can conquer them at any moment. I ask only to postpone it until the end of the conference," the favored daughter implored her mother, and this time it worked.

Queen-Mother Zariah flicked the jizz and glass from her hands, then waved the succubus army down. Everyone put their weapons away. The only one disappointed that this didn't turn into a fight was Edina, who made known her displeasure by groaning aloud.

"Very well. For the love of my daughter, I shall grant you an ear. What you have to say should better be worthwhile. Oh, and Charron? Shall we let bygones be bygones?" she asked.

"What? No! No, we should not let bygones be bygones!" Lord Charron retorted.

"Wait, where's Renya? The dark elf who accompanied Hilde?" Kanae shouted to them.

The succubus queen made a disinterested wave to one of her succubi.

"Ah. That was her name, was it? You may have her back. She bleats too much."

A crew of succubi guided a Rown carriage pulled by languisteed up to Kanae. The door swung open. A disheveled Renya climbed down patting her shoulders and rubbing her ass.

"Well, doing business with you, Kanae, has skewed my expectations of working with other succubi. No more for me, nope. No siree. Those stupid cunts' ideas of 'fun' should be considered crimes against humanity!" Renya complained.

Two Mistresses descended down to them.

"I thought you squealing like a pig was a sign that you were having fun! No? Maybe I gotta work on my technique so you can sing for me better." Labelle propped an elbow on Renya's shoulder and smirked. 

"Kanae, it's good to see you again!" Claudia beamed brightly, but her gaze glistened like someone with fantasies running wild behind those eyes. "Mother, Amby, and Hildy don't feel like sleeping next to cattles. Says it smells too much like a ranch. Labelly and I want to see what this city has to offer. So, how about you show us around?"

Great, Kanae thought. These two were possibly the worst ones to bring into the city…