Succubi Chapter 242. Wines and Snacks I
Succubi Chapter 242. Wines and Snacks I
Alyra lifted one shoulder. “We ended up not eating at the banquet.”
True.
The food had looked expensive and untouched by my mouth. Tragic. But I had eaten at the dorm before the mission, and Lilith had said she saved some dishes for after I came home. Which meant taking a bunch of banquet leftovers back might look suspicious.
Also, Gladia would smell rich food, appear from nowhere, and claim half while I was asleep.
No.
Better strategy.
“I had dinner before the mission,” I said. “And food is waiting for me back at the dorm.”
Alyra’s eyes sharpened slightly at that.
She didn’t comment.
I glanced toward a cabinet near the side where I had seen bottles earlier. “But…”
Alyra followed my gaze.
I smiled faintly. “I can take two bottles of wine instead.”
The butler paused.
Alyra’s lips curved. “Wine?”
“As a harmless gift from a client,” I grinned innocently.
“For your girlfriend?”
I coughed. “For my dormmates.”
Alyra smiled, and there was only a little sharpness in it. “Of course.”
A few minutes later, the butler brought a dark rectangular box tied with a ribbon, elegant enough to look expensive but discreet enough not to scream scandal. Two bottles inside. I didn’t know wine well, but the labels looked like they had family histories, and price tags capable of killing me.
I accepted the box with both hands.
My broke soul bowed. “Thank you.”
Alyra stepped closer as the butler retreated. “For the record, Evan…”
I looked at her. “Those are not part of your payment. They’re a gift.”
“Yes. A gift from a client.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “From Alyra.”
Dangerous distinction.
I held her gaze for a second, then nodded. “Then thank you, Alyra.”
That pleased her.
I saw it in the slight softening of her eyes.
The mission screen appeared faintly in my vision as we reached the teleportation room inside her mansion.
[Special Request Mission]
[Primary Objective: Attend Banquet as Requester’s Partner (Complete)]
[Secondary Objective: Preserve Requester’s Status (Complete)]
[Combat Clause: Duel Victory Recorded]
[Report Required: Academy Mission Office]
[Return Available]
Beautiful.
Paid soon.
Blessed night.
Alyra stood beside the teleportation circle, her hands folded in front of her. She didn’t try to touch me. Didn’t lean in. Didn’t whisper. Maybe because she was clever enough to know restraint could be more seductive than pressure.
Honestly?
Her restraint made her more attractive.
“Will I see you again?” she asked.
I adjusted the box under one arm. “If the academy sends another mission.”
Her lips curved faintly. “And if I want Evan, not Blackthorn?”
I smiled. “Then send a message that doesn’t come with a contract.”
Her eyes warmed.
“Dangerous.”
“For me or you?”
“Both.”
I activated the circle. Light gathered under my boots.
Before the spell swallowed me, Alyra gave me one last look, dark, amused, blushing just enough to make my Pride insufferable.
“Good night, Evan.”
“Good night, Alyra.”
The teleportation light rose.
The mansion vanished.
Space folded again, unpleasant as always, and then I reappeared in the academy teleportation room with a wine box under one arm, dressed in uniform, carrying the emotional exhaustion of a man who had survived nobles, temptation, and unpaid kissing.
The staff member looked up from his desk.
Then at the box.
Then at me.
“…Mission report?”
“Yes,” I said, stepping off the circle.
He stared at the wine box again.
“Gift from client.”
“Of course.” His voice said he did not believe me. His face said he was paid not to ask. Excellent employee.
I gave the report cleanly. Banquet attended. Requester protected socially. Formal duel occurred under noble rules. First blood victory. No lethal injury. No academy emergency intervention. No kidnapping. No poisoning. No green tea ambush noted in official language because how the hell would I write that?
The staff crystal recorded everything.
[Mission Report Submitted]
[Requester Confirmation: Pending]
[Duel Bonus Logged]
[Payment Processing: Within 1x24 Hours]
As always.
One by one, future money lined up in my soul like little glowing angels.
“Payment will be transferred within one by twenty-four hours,” the staff said.
“Thank you.”
I left before he could question the wine again.
The academy was quieter now. Night had settled properly across the paths. Lamps glowed along the stone walkways, and the distant training grounds had finally stopped sounding like someone was murdering furniture. My steps felt slower than before.
The dorm came into view, warm windows glowing against the night. My hand tightened around the wine box.
I walked through the entrance with my head high, the wine box under my arm.
Honestly, I expected silence.
It was past ten already. The dorm usually became quieter around this hour, not peaceful, because this was still a succubus dorm and peace had probably filed a resignation letter years ago, but quieter. The kind of quiet filled with soft footsteps, distant laughter behind doors, Sera sleeping in places she had no legal right to sleep, and Lilith’s minions grumbling like tiny retired war veterans.
I imagined walking in like a successful man.
Mission completed.
Bonus secured.
Luxury wine obtained.
Dignity intact.
But the moment I entered, I found three women standing near the entrance like they had just stepped out of a crime scene.
Rivy, Sera, and Val.
All three had blood on their faces.
Not much.
A smear on Rivy’s cheek. A thin streak near Val’s jaw. A spot on Sera’s collar and one lazy red line across her temple.
My body reacted before my brain did.
I stopped.
The warmth from the mission dimmed slightly.
“What happened?”
Rivy turned first.
Her eyes lit up when she saw me, like someone had delivered dessert after a fight. “Oh. Prince Moneybags returned.”
“Don’t dodge the question.”
Val tilted her head, calm as ever, wiping a bit of blood from her chin with the back of her finger. “Same as you. Academy mission.”
I looked them over again.
The blood didn’t smell like theirs.
Good.
My shoulders loosened a fraction. “You guys need money too?”