Under the moonlight, the girl looked at the pattern on her lower abdomen that flickered in sync with her breathing.
Her arms, which were holding up her clothes, trembled slightly as she stood on the verge of tears.
“I’m not a Succubus! Your Majesty! Your linguistics have a serious problem!”
If she had known this would happen, she would have corrected the Demon King’s incorrect usage of the phrase “spending the night together” just now!
Now, if this thing were seen by anyone, she wouldn’t be able to clear her name even if she jumped into the River Styx!
Katy reached out in desperation and rubbed the pattern on her belly, trying to scrub it off as if it were an ordinary tattoo sticker.
“This thing won’t actually change color if someone tries to… plant their seed, will it? No, no, what am I thinking!”
However, the moment her palm brushed against the pattern, the heart-shaped design at the center suddenly erupted with an eerie red light.
“Huh!?”
Boom—!
After the ground shook and the mountains swayed, the dust and smoke in the forest clearing dissipated.
A demonic knight over two meters tall stood tall, and a deep, metallic hum echoed from within the helmet.
“So this tattoo is my… transformation device?”
Back inside her familiar armor, Katy looked at her black-armored hands in shock.
The power belonging to a Calamity Pillar had indeed returned.
A long-lost feeling of fullness flowed through her entire body.
However, whether it was the Demon King’s twisted sense of humor or something else, her transformation device for becoming a Calamity Pillar had been changed from her original belt to an incredibly shameful Silver Crest.
Furthermore, she could feel that this armor wouldn’t last long.
If she were deep inside a Labyrinth where Mana was dense, her activity time might be extended.
But in the human world where Mana was thin, this heavy suit of Abyssal Magic Armor could probably only be maintained for three minutes at most.
Her power had returned a bit—not much, but… she didn’t know if it would be enough.
The girl sighed helplessly.
With a thought, she deactivated the heavy armor covering her body.
As the black-purple light particles dissipated, she transformed back into that frail and helpless blonde girl.
Katy picked up the crystal ball used for communication from the ground and stumbled toward the town, muttering under her breath, “Her Majesty is really something. It’s one thing to pull me over here so suddenly, but couldn’t she at least send me back—Gwah!”
With another crisp twang of a string, a teleportation array lit up without warning beneath the girl’s feet.
In the next second, she disappeared instantly, person and ball together, like a rubber duck being flushed down a toilet.
Two minutes later, a bolt of lightning tore through the night sky and struck the spot where Noctiluca had just been standing.
When the lightning faded, Gray, holding a long blade, knelt on one knee and warily scanned his surroundings.
“Was it an illusion? No… impossible.”
That magic fluctuation was undoubtedly Noctiluca!
Besides that—
The young man’s iron-gray eyes stared fixedly at the two deep, giant footprints sunk into the mud.
Only Noctiluca’s heavy armor, which was like a fortress, could leave such marks on the ground.
That guy had definitely appeared here!
***
“So, you didn’t sleep all night?”
The next morning, near the bread stall in the central plaza of Knox City.
Looking at Gray, who was currently sporting dark circles under his eyes while devouring a croissant, the stall owner shook his head helplessly and handed him a cup.
“Even if I’m not an Adventurer, I know that since the previous Demon King was defeated three hundred years ago and the Peace Treaty was signed, no one from the Demon Race has dared to act openly outside of a Labyrinth. Are you saying the Demon Race is about to make a comeback?”
“Cough, cough, who knows?”
Gray took the apple juice handed over by the owner to clear his throat, his face full of seriousness.
“That’s Noctiluca we’re talking about. There’s probably no more despicable or evil member of the Demon Race in the world. You have no idea how low he’ll stoop just to make you let your guard down—”
“Mr. Gray!”
A girl’s crisp voice interrupted his words.
Gray turned to look and saw Katy, who had changed into a clean, beige coarse cloth dress, running across the street toward him.
The morning light spilled over her blonde hair.
Her youthful and beautiful appearance caused passersby to stop and look back.
Gray habitually scanned her from the bottom up.
When he saw that Katy’s originally bare feet were now tucked into a pair of small brown boots, he felt a strange sense of disappointment in his heart.
Although he swore he wasn’t a pervert, it was always a pity when that kind of natural beauty was covered up, wasn’t it?
However, as his gaze moved up slightly and he saw the white fabric tightly wrapping her legs, tracing the slender lines of her ankles and the tight curve of her calves, that little bit of disappointment vanished instantly.
Thigh-highs are a great civilization!
You should have “ice cream” in the summer!
“I’m sorry, I took a bit more time to change… how do I look?”
Katy, having run up to Gray, spun in place.
Her hemline swirled in the air like blooming lily petals.
Watching Gray stare blankly for a few seconds before nodding his head like a woodpecker, the girl couldn’t help but reveal a “just as planned” smile in her heart.
Even though she had been single since birth in her previous life, as a Succubus in this life… bah, as a member of the Demon Race, she understood the little thoughts of a purehearted virgin like Gray all too well.
Undercover work?
Piece of cake!
“You look great.”
Gray swallowed hard, feeling like any objection he was about to raise would sound as ridiculous as saying one plus one equals three.
“It’s just that Hero registration involves some basic physical fitness tests. Is it… okay for you to wear a dress, Miss Katy?”
“It’s no problem! Don’t look at me like this, I’ve actually fought some monsters in the forest before!”
The girl waved her arms, which looked as thin as lotus roots, and gave an energetic thumbs-up.
Seeing this, Gray could only manage a helpless smile.
Although the Association’s requirements for an E-rank Hero weren’t exactly “as long as you have hands,” any healthy adult without a physical disability should be able to pass the test if they worked hard.
If all else failed, he could use his A-rank privileges to quietly have the staff in charge of registration cut her some slack.
After all, he couldn’t let her go home disappointed.
With that thought, Gray and Katy arrived at the Hero Association located in the core area of Knox City.
The moment they pushed open the heavy wooden doors, a wave of noise hit them.
Katy couldn’t help but let out a “wow.”
Adventurers in groups of two or three carrying weapons, several tall walls pinned with countless parchment request forms, and busy receptionists in uniforms behind the counters…
It perfectly matched her stereotypical impression of an adventurer’s guild in another world—except for a few large screens hanging high up, which seemed to be live-streaming the exploration footage of popular teams, which was a bit jarring.
“This is the request area.”
Looking at Katy, whose eyes were full of stars, Gray puffed out his chest and timely began his explanation.
“The Association or individual employers will pin requests and their corresponding rewards on the wall. If a Hero sees a request they like, they can take it down and register at the front desk.”
“Of course, rookies—that is, E-rank Heroes—can only take E-rank requests, like clearing out over-proliferated Slimes or driving away bears that have broken into farmlands. To get higher-level requests with better pay, one generally has to accumulate a number of completed low-level requests to raise their Hero rank.”
“Then, is there a way to quickly raise one’s Hero rank?”
Seeing Katy raise her hand like a good student to ask a question, Gray nodded with satisfaction.
“Good question, Student Katy. There is indeed a shortcut: conquering a Labyrinth.”
At the mention of the word Labyrinth, Gray’s eyes brightened a bit.
Successfully conquering a Labyrinth can bring in massive amounts of money and Hero Points.
This is why Heroes who are confident in their strength prefer going into Labyrinths rather than taking on requests for odd jobs.
“However, sometimes the Association will also issue special requests to conquer a Labyrinth. This usually happens when some major change occurs in that Labyrinth, like a very powerful boss suddenly moving in…”
Katy nodded as if she understood. In truth, she had started zoning out halfway through Gray’s long-winded explanation.
After all, back when she played games, she would skip the plot whenever possible.
Although she had been criticized for it with things like “How is doing that any different from skipping your own life,” after skipping her previous life as a corporate slave and reincarnating into another world as a beautiful Demon girl, she felt it wasn’t bad at all.
“Mr. Gray!”
The girl tugged at the corner of the young man’s leather jacket while he was talking, causing him to reflexively look down.
In Gray’s eyes, Katy’s azure pupils had a watery quality, almost sucking his gaze in.
“So, what do I need to do to become a Hero immediately? I want to go on adventures with Mr. Gray as soon as possible.”
Katy used “Act Cute.”
It was super effective.
“Cough!”
Gray’s face turned red. He looked away and cleared his throat defensively.
“The normal process is to go to the receptionist to register and pay a registration fee. The test will usually be scheduled for about a week after registration.”
“Eh? So I can’t take the test today…”
Katy sighed with disappointment, but she secretly noted the upward curve of Gray’s lips that he was trying hard to suppress.
This kid definitely had something hidden up his sleeve, and he was just waiting for her to be a little unhappy like this before pulling out a surprise like a certain blue robot cat with no ears.
After all, that was how the routines for building favorability in dating sims worked.
Sure enough, the young man pulled a polished silver badge from the inner pocket of his leather jacket.
A dazzling iris pattern was engraved on it—the proof of an A-rank Hero.
“Ahem, Miss Katy, don’t forget that I am a genuine A-rank Hero.”
Gray tossed the badge in his hand, his tone carrying a hint of pride he couldn’t hide.
“While I don’t have the privilege to seal criminal records, I still have enough face to pull some strings and arrange an early test.”
“Oh! As expected of Mr. Gray, you’re amazing!”
As the first highlight moment in the two days they had spent together where he could show he was a reliable adult male, Gray—who had specially polished the rust off the badge last night—was clearly quite pleased with this praise.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to register.”
Gray, who hadn’t been looked at with such worshipful eyes by a girl in a long time, felt a secret thrill in his heart as he led Katy toward the counter he was familiar with.
“Miss Lily, I have a newcomer to recommend for membership. Can you arrange a fast-track test?”
Lily, the receptionist behind the counter, looked up and adjusted her glasses.
After seeing who it was, a standard professional smile appeared on the woman’s face.
“Oh my, isn’t this ‘The Weakest Always Defeated’ Mr. Gray? What a rare guest.”
“Cough, you don’t need to mention that nickname.”
Gray coughed awkwardly.
“Let’s talk business. I want to use my A-rank authority for this lady—”
“Ah, speaking of authority.”
Lily seemed to suddenly remember something.
She pulled a red notice from under the counter and placed it on the desk, her professional smile remaining unchanged.
“Mr. Gray, according to the records, because your Hero Points haven’t had any positive movement for an entire year after your promotion to A-rank, your A-rank status evaluation is currently flashing a red light.”
“If you don’t complete at least one qualified A-rank request within the next month…”
Lily lightly tapped the paper with the red stamp next to Gray’s polished badge, her voice sweet.
“I would suggest you mentally prepare yourself to be demoted to B-rank, or even C-rank.”
Gray’s smile froze on his face.
“…Huh?”