Chapter 9: Apostle of Desire

Morning.

Dong, dong, dong~

The long, drawn-out peel of the bells from the Holy Sanctuary’s mountain rang out, the sound spreading with the morning light throughout the entire pristine white city. And along with the bells, an incredibly explosive, juicy, and scandalous rumor spread throughout the city as well.

Although the Holy Sanctuary had officially decided to keep the matter confidential, it was a well-known, and deeply inconvenient, fact that the clergy members within could not lie. The moment their shifts ended, the guards couldn't wait to find a friend, a neighbor, or a tavern wench to tell the absolute, unvarnished "truth" to.

One told ten, and ten told a hundred. In just one day, the streets and alleys were all abuzz with discussions about the great Hero George and his new succubus slave.

The great Hero actually has a succubus slave! For… personal use! Everyone who heard the rumor immediately perked up their ears. Before long, men who had just heard the rumor were discussing the heroic prowess of the Hero and his succubus in nightly battles with great authority, as if they had personally witnessed the glorious combat from the bedside, scorecards in hand.

At the same time, crudely printed, and even more crudely drawn, pamphlets began to appear in the city’s shadowy corners, accusing the Hero of being a contemptible hypocrite. Remarkably, the pamphlets also described, in breathtakingly graphic detail, the physical struggles between the Hero and the succubus.

Instantly, the pamphlets became the hottest commodity in the white city. On the black market, a single pamphlet could sell for as much as a silver coin at its peak. Enterprising merchants, sensing a golden opportunity, immediately left the city to find people to write and print more pamphlets, helpfully adding some "eyewitness testimony" from involved parties to lend an air of authenticity.

Three days later, the latest, best-selling edition of the pamphlets sensationally claimed that more than ten succubi, ranging from innocent little girls to voluptuous, mature women, were imprisoned beneath the most sacred church in the Holy Sanctuary for the private use of the clergy. A "Mr. Hammer," who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that he had personally witnessed high-ranking members of the Holy Sanctuary enjoying the… enthusiastic services of the succubi.

......

Two immaculate white horses pulled a pristine white carriage into the rumor-filled white city. The carriage itself seemed to radiate an aura of peace. As it moved through the noisy streets, it passed by two shrews who were in the middle of a screaming match. The moment the carriage passed, both shrews felt a sense of profound calm wash over them, their previous anger vanishing without a trace. They immediately apologized to each other and stopped torturing everyone’s ears.

Inside the carriage, the maiden known by the knights of the realm as the most holy and beautiful girl on earth sat, carefully sewing a diamond-shaped amulet with a needle and thread. A rising sun was embroidered on it with shining silver silk.

If the famously proud knights of the Kingdom of Barto were to see this scene, they would surely fight for the amulet in the maiden’s hands until their lances broke, their warhorses wailed, and their helmets went flying into the heavens. Only the last knight left standing would be deemed worthy enough to approach her and humbly beg for the precious amulet.

The silver-robed maiden was often invited to serve as the "The Fairest Maiden" at knightly tournaments. Whenever she attended, the knights would fight for three days and three nights straight for the singular honor of kissing the back of her hand.

The last stitch of the amulet was finished.

The silver-robed maiden clasped her hands together, holding the amulet to her forehead, and prayed in a low voice to the Dawn God. A moment later, a faint white light shone from between her fingers. She opened her hands with joy and whispered:

“Thank you, Lord of the Morning.”

In order to have some private time to make the amulet, she had even sent away her personal, ever-present handmaidens.

She planned to give the amulet to George. The thought of George solemnly placing the amulet on his broad, strong chest and fighting evil with his holy sword held high made her cheeks flush a faint red, completely devoid of her usual lofty and pure demeanor. Whether it was a vicious curse, a foul undead creature, or a powerful demon, all would be shattered and turned to dust under the radiant light of her amulet.

The carriage gradually came to a stop. The voice of a guard came from outside. “Lady Saintess, we have arrived at the inner city.”

The Saintess, Jenna, placed the amulet close to her heart, tucking it safely away, and took a deep breath, reassuming her holy, unapproachable, and slightly intimidating air.

The carriage door opened. A silver-armored guard in a greathelm respectfully bowed his head.

After blessing the guard, the Saintess asked, feigning a casual, detached air, “Has the Hero George recovered his strength and returned to serving our Lord since his return from the demon realm?”

The guards exchanged nervous glances. “Milady, George has been stripped of his title of Hero.”

“What!?”

“He… Lady Saintess, I wish to remain silent.” When the truth was difficult to speak, one who could not lie could only keep his mouth shut.

“Please speak,” Jenna said faintly, her voice calm and devoid of emotion, exactly like the image of the pure and untouched Saintess in everyone’s hearts.

The guard told her everything, one mortifying detail after another. The charming little succubus, the unholy slave contract, the humiliating Trial of Sisyphus.

Jenna blessed them again, her face a perfect mask of serenity. In the guards’ eyes, the Saintess was as holy and untouchable as ever.

After they parted ways, it took Jenna a long, long time to come back to her senses. Her mind had gone completely blank. She couldn’t believe her ears. The Hero George… her George… had actually brought back a succubus and signed a slave contract with her!

She suppressed the overwhelming urge to run and find George immediately and, clutching the now-useless amulet tightly, went to find the Cardinal to demand an explanation.

At that moment, the bronze bell on the Holy Sanctuary’s mountain rang for the seventh time.

…...

The eighth bell toll came from outside the window with the morning sunlight, falling on Gima’s small, demonic horns.

Gima sat on a high stool, swinging her legs, in an exceptionally cheerful mood. Just a moment ago, the lust she had absorbed had finally met the requirements to unlock her supernatural abilities.

>DM: You have unlocked the supernatural abilities of a succubus. This is the first step on your path to supernatural power.

More like the ten-thousandth tedious, humiliating step… Gima pouted. Then she felt a warm current flow upwards from her lower abdomen. Her face quickly grew hot, and she began to pant slightly, her heart itching with a strange, unfamiliar sensation.

Gima immediately realized she was leveling up. She quickly turned on the chair so her back was to George, who was busy polishing his armor.

The embarrassing warm current came and went quickly. The next moment, her head felt like it was about to explode. She felt a sudden, violent surge of jealousy and anger towards George and had the primal urge to run into the kitchen, grab a cleaver, and chop him into tiny, bite-sized pieces.

Gima understood that this was just a side effect of leveling up and quickly gritted her teeth to endure it. The strange, murderous feeling lasted for less than fifteen seconds before it was over.

The side effects of leveling up were related to her new supernatural abilities. Gima’s heart itched with curiosity. She closed her eyes, pretending to be napping, and checked the supernatural abilities she had acquired.

>You have become an “Apostle of Desire.”

>Eyes of Desire: As long as a person has desires, they cannot escape the fate of depravity. You can now use the Eyes of Desire to observe the seven negative desires of all intelligent creatures: greed, pride, jealousy, wrath, etc.

>Stirring Desire: You can, with a mere flick of a finger, stir one of a target's negative desires. But be warned, if you are too blunt or obvious, the target may notice the abrupt, unnatural change in their own psyche.

So that means I can use deception and misdirection to make the target ignore the abrupt psychological change? Interesting…

Gima thought about it and continued to read.

>Upgrade Requirement: Play the role of a succubus well and strive to manipulate the negative desires of others.

There were no more detailed instructions. It was always like this. Vague and unhelpful.

It was within Gima’s expectations. She planned to experiment immediately and familiarize herself with her new supernatural powers.

Gima activated her “Eyes of Desire.” Her eyes grew slightly warm. She felt her spiritual power slowly draining away, and she knew that a succubus needed lust to replenish it.

She looked at George, who still had his back to her. As soon as her gaze fell on him, Gima immediately saw seven colored clouds of gas circling near his heart. Based on her knowledge of mysticism, she instantly identified the negative desire corresponding to each color. The clouds were about the size of walnuts and were very faint, like light, transparent mist. It meant that George’s negative desires were extremely, almost boringly, weak.

Just as Gima was about to analyze them further, a brilliant white light suddenly obscured George’s “desire clouds.” The light felt like a physical blow, piercing Gima’s soul. She felt her head go numb and immediately deactivated her Eyes of Desire. Just as George turned his head, she quickly looked down and pretended to be playing with her tail.

Damn it. George is way too strong.

“Strange. I can’t shake the feeling that Gima was just spying on me,” George muttered to himself, walking towards her.

Gima pounced on her dancing tail like a playful kitten, ignoring him completely.

“Gima, I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?”

Gima’s heart gradually quickened, but she still pretended to be innocent, looking up at him while lightly biting the tip of her tail, her big, golden eyes wide and guileless.

Her eyes are clear, with no trace of a magical backlash. Hmm, unless she has a soul as powerful as a Demon Lord’s, it must have been my imagination.

For a moment, George didn’t know what to say. He glanced at Gima’s tail, which was still dangerously close to her mouth, and cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Gima, in the future, don’t tell anyone about my… hobby of drawing,” George said with great difficulty. “And especially don’t reveal the content of my drawings.”

“Oh,” Gima nodded sagely. “I understand. It’s indecent behavior. Don’t worry, I’ll help you keep it a secret.”

“Ahem, the Holy Sanctuary has a mission for us today. Cardinal Gregory has requested that we go together.”

Hearing the name Gregory, Gima was instantly reminded of a roaring pyre. She was absolutely sure that old fox dreamed of burning her at the stake every single night.

“Okay~.”

Gima jumped down from the high stool and pulled up her hood to cover her horns. George handed her his massive two-handed greatsword. Gima took it, carrying it for him, diligently fulfilling her new duty as a squire.

For now, Gima was nominally George’s squire. These past few days, besides reading, copying brainwashing religious texts, and finding creative excuses to play with her tail in front of George, she also had to learn how to do a squire’s work.

After leaving the house, the fully-armored George strode towards the main church. Gima had to walk quickly, her little legs working overtime, just to keep up.

Walking on the white stone road, they encountered many people along the way.

“Good morning, Brother George,” a young priest said with a polite nod.

“Good morning…” George returned the greeting.

But Gima felt the priest’s eyes linger on her.

Gima activated her “Eyes of Desire” and looked up, meeting his gaze directly.

The young priest instantly felt as if a warm, pleasant ray of sunlight had fallen into his heart.

Gima saw the seven clouds of desire circling his heart. Even the smallest was the size of a large walnut, and the colors were distinct and vibrant.

An excellent test subject… Gima gave him a sweet, dazzling smile. “Good morning, Mr. Priest~.”

“G-Good morning.”

The priest replied, his eyes shining as he looked Gima up and down, a little too intently. The pink cloud of jealousy around his heart gradually deepened in color.

Gima deliberately slowed her pace, falling a step behind.

“Gima,” George called, not looking back.

“Coming, Master George! Your greatsword is coming!”

“Don’t call me Master.”

“Okay~.”

Gima immediately quickened her pace. As she passed the priest, she flicked her little finger at his pink cloud of jealousy.

She watched with her own eyes as the priest, while maintaining a polite smile on the surface, had the pink cloud of jealousy around his chest swell instantly to the size of a large apple, its color darkening to a furious, ugly shade of magenta.

The young priest’s eyes turned slightly red as he stared daggers at George’s back, a classic case of the green-eyed monster.

Gima lowered her head, her hood hiding the slight, wicked smile that curved her lips. She suppressed her bubbling excitement and asked George in a low, innocent voice:

“George, the priest just now, his clothes seemed a little different.”

“A linen robe and a bronze holy symbol mean he is a newly appointed official priest,” George said, ever the helpful guide. “According to the common supernatural ranking system, he is at the Bronze level. To have such strength at such a young age means he is usually hardworking and diligent, not arrogant or proud.”

Gima had gotten the strength level of her test subject, just as she’d hoped.

So, how powerful of an enemy’s desires can I manipulate? Gima’s heart itched with curiosity, and she immediately began to look around, preparing to find another test subject.