NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23
The newly opened space beyond the door was just an ordinary bedroom.
A single candle illuminated the vast, dark room.
“Look who’s here?”
I noticed a woman seated on the bed, swinging her legs like a child.
Two devilish horns sprouted from her head, and her wings resembled those of a bat.
Her skin, pure white in contrast to the darkness, and her red lips and eyes were enchanting.
With a captivating smile, Roseha approached, wearing a sheer nightgown that left little to the imagination.
It was distinctly Roseha, so I wasn’t too surprised.
Her aura was different from Calandas.
While Calandas projected a terrifying energy making it hard to even look at him, Roseha captured attention and seduced just by her presence.
However, if I let my guard down, it was clear I’d become her possession.
If I weren’t undead, I would’ve succumbed, but here I was, a castrated undead.
At least there wasn’t as much tension as with Calandas.
Roseha stood before me with her arms crossed behind her back.
Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me towards her face.
With her tipsy ballet pose, our faces were nearly touching.
Just like our first meeting, I found myself bumping foreheads and staring at each other.
“I missed you.”
“….”
I couldn’t say a word.
My mind was swirling with a thousand questions.
[Lv. 73]
The sixth boss of The Seven Lairs is only level 73?
I almost mistook her for a game graphic replica.
I’m no fool to not know what this means.
‘Still playing hard to get?’
Roseha doesn’t trust me.
She wouldn’t have dragged me into the bedroom if she did, so it was clear she welcomed me with a clone instead.
What a bummer.
My goal here requires trust as a foundation, and it looks like I’ll be starting off on the wrong foot.
As it stands, I could trust her, but she’d still distrust me.
Forget about a temporary alliance; solid support is off the table.
Currently, her level color was a light green.
Even if she had goodwill, does that mean there’s also distrust mixed in?
I calmly raised my chin.
“I told you we’d meet again in my true form.”
“Hehe. You really don’t fall for it, do you? I prepared a lot this time.”
And she did prepare a lot.
Looking at her, one could easily mistake her for a replica.
“Due to circumstances, I’ll show you my true face later. Alright? Is that okay for you, darling?”
“Roseha. Although it was our first meeting, you left quite a good impression on me.”
I couldn’t back down here.
Her clone was the source of distrust. Talking to the current Roseha was starting off on the wrong premise.
If it were some trivial matter, it might be one thing, but the situation was different now.
Roseha looked startled, her mouth slightly agape.
Then she crossed her arms and bent forward, her signature captivating smile in place.
As her face got closer, I instinctively almost turned my head away.
“Hehe… A good impression, you say? What does that mean?”
“If I didn’t have trust, I wouldn’t have come all this way. I came here to establish a friendly relationship with you. But what’s with this obvious trickery?”
“I’ve come this far to establish a friendly relationship. But what is this obvious trick?”
Roseha stared at me silently, her gaze piercing.
“It seems you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself, huh?”
“You showed interest in me first. You supported me without any conditions. Roseha, I’m not as rigid as the other bosses. My intentions are clear, and I still remember the favor you did for me.”
“It wasn’t that great of a help for me. What if it was a decision made on a whim?”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t be here right now. You called me here because you have some interest, right?”
“Hmm. So you know manners? Right. A man and a woman can’t just be in the same bedroom without a special relationship.”
Fortunately, the expected push and pull were absent.
“In the end, you want to see my true self, don’t you?”
Her blunt words caught me off guard. I nodded cautiously.
“I understand why you want to see it. I mean, isn’t it true? I didn’t know you had a naughty side.”
I had no idea what she was thinking, but she completely missed the mark.
Anyway, things were going well. It seemed like Roseha would soon return to her true form.
After that, we would continue the conversation positively, and once I received a nice affirmative answer, everything would be wrapped up.
“Sorry, but that’s still not going to happen.”
“….”
So she wasn’t that easy, huh? Judging by her demeanor, she seemed like she would be simple, but peeling back the layers revealed a fortress.
No wonder she was a virgin succubus; her defenses were no joke.
“I told you, there are circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a circumstance anymore. That’s how it is.”
I wondered if it was some bizarre excuse, but it was not that either. The laughter faded from Roseha’s face, leaving only a serious expression.
But if I backed down now, everything would go up in smoke.
“I have no strange intentions. I just want to build trust through honest conversation.”
“….”
“But it seems you don’t. If you keep pretending to be a doll, I don’t see the point in our conversation. I’ll take my leave.”
If you can’t show your feelings, I’ll play hard to get from my side.
She turned away coldly as if truly uninterested. Inside, I prayed desperately for her to stop me.
“You were quite the difficult man, huh? Fine. I’ll wait.”
The light faded from the eyes of the succubus doll in front of me. Inside, I couldn’t help but rejoice against my emotionless facade.
I didn’t know what it was, but enduring personal circumstances enough to meet indicated that a solid trust had been built between us.
“Here we are.”
I turned my head at the voice from behind. There stood a succubus waving her hand gently.
[Lv. 90]
Seeing her level, I was convinced she was the real deal, despite her appearance.
Roseha grabbed my wrist and pulled it toward her face, then poked my cheek with my fingertips. The soft texture of her skin resonated through my bones.
“This time, it’s really me. Not a fake.”
“…Seems that way.”
“You need to know, I showed you this after making a big decision, okay? The other Seven Lairs bosses don’t know. I’m showing you this specially because I have personal interest in you.”
“Did you actually decide to show me? The other bosses from The Seven Lairs have no clue either. You’re only showing me because you have a personal interest, right?”
At first glance, I had no idea what was going on.
Is she bare-faced? Is her face puffed up? Women can be sensitive about stuff like that.
She looked like a goddess I was seeing for the first time, so I didn’t suspect anything in that regard.
If she wasn’t truly Undead, I would have had some bad thoughts.
“Hmm? Could it be you really don’t recognize me?”
Roseha asked with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
I felt a jolt, as if she was thinking, ‘The boss of The Seven Lairs doesn’t recognize this too?’
I wondered if there was anywhere else I could divert my attention, and my eyes caught the jewelry attached to Roseha’s chest.
“That gem’s pretty.”
“Of course. I knew you’d notice.”
… I was just trying to change the subject!
Roseha sighed deeply and fiddled with the gem.
“Yeah. Because of this, I’ve been avoiding the other bosses. It’s probably been over 50 years now?”
Naturally, my gaze stayed fixed on the gem.
While I was listening to Roseha’s voice, my vision suddenly filled with a pop-up message.
[Calasutra’s Binding Amethyst (S)]
[Enhancement Success Rate: 3%]
[※Warning! If enhancement fails, it will be automatically destroyed!]
[If enhancement fails, the cooldown will be reset.]
[Do you want to enhance Calasutra’s Binding Amethyst (S)?]
[YES/NO]
What the heck is this? Even I had never seen an item like this before.
If it’s an S-grade item, it must be pretty good, but it’s a shame there’s no info panel.
“Do you know what this is?”
“That’s Calasutra’s Binding Amethyst.”
“Wow, you know that too. You’re right. This amethyst seals my traits.”
Did I just hear that right? I almost asked again without realizing it.
First, I was surprised to learn it wasn’t just an accessory, and then I was shocked to find out it seals her traits.
If it’s the Succubus Queen’s trait, it must be Dream Mana, right? That means dream interference power, doesn’t it?
“I wish I could have figured it out just like you did at first glance… Oh well, it’s a late regret.”
For the past 30,000 hours, I hadn’t seen this setup, let alone any clues hinting at it.
Looking back, Roseha didn’t use Dream Mana even up to Phase 3.
Seeing Roseha’s dialogue about being careless made me think she underestimated the player and died before she could go all out.
“It was about half a century ago.”
Roseha continued, perhaps misinterpreting my dazed gaze.
“At that time, Duke Calasutra offered me tribute. He gave me this expensive gem and told me to try wearing it.”
Roseha poked at the amethyst on her chest.
“If you place it near your chest, it sticks automatically. I found it so fascinating that I tried it right away, and suddenly his attitude changed! He said, ‘Let’s roll in bed once, and I’ll unseal the amethyst for you.'”
“…Unseal.”
“So, do you know what I did? I got so mad that I killed him. I wiped out his entire bloodline. Oh, and now Duke Calasutra is just a puppet I’ve placed.”
“Prince Rasutra is just a puppet I’ve set up.”
Things were slowly coming into focus about the situation.
“After killing the prince, there’s no way out, right?”
“Yep, that’s right. Ever since then, I couldn’t get out no matter what method I tried. Be it magic or racial traits, nothing works. Even the elder, ah, you wouldn’t know, would you? Even the second-in-command of the 10th circle of hell couldn’t solve this. They say I have to keep living this way…”
“….”
“They think they are right. I’ve put on this eternal seal myself. It’s the biggest mistake of my thousand-year life. The regret is immense.”
Roseha chuckled bitterly.
That powerless laugh was far from Roseha’s true nature.
Looking back now, Calandas was level 93 while Roseha was at 90.
That one rank difference felt like a massive level gap.
I just thought Roseha was a boss depending on her subordinates, but it wasn’t like that at all.
“This gem has completely sealed my traits. I can no longer interfere with any dreams. Isn’t it funny? A Succubus Queen unable to meddle in dreams. I should be able to show even Undead good dreams… Aren’t you disappointed?”
Roseha smiled faintly, trying to hide her weakness behind a joke.
“I’m weak because I can’t handle dreams. Someday, I’ll end up getting killed by someone. Be it the four heroes or that skeleton. Hmm, maybe a few years from now, our ranks could swap?”
“Is that really okay?”
“Yeah. I think it’s fine if it’s you. You just fit perfectly in my heart. I couldn’t stand seeing any other skeletons dead, but with you, it’s alright. Only my adjutant and elder know my secret. And now, you’ve gotten to know it too. You’ll keep my secret safe, right?”
Her smiling face suddenly turned extraordinarily detached.
Roseha didn’t distrust me; she actually had something she couldn’t say.
I felt a pang of empathy mixed with guilt for doubting her, which made me unable to negotiate.
[Enhancing the Calandrusa Bond Amethyst (S).]
[Enhancement failed. Calandrusa Bond Amethyst (S) has been destroyed.]
I nodded as I looked at her chest.
Feeling a change, Roseha flinched.
When she lowered her gaze, the gem that should’ve been there had vanished without a trace.
“…Huh?”
With a baffled expression, Roseha and I alternated our gazes at the spot.
[Lv. 91]
[Lv. 92]
[Lv. 93]
Roseha’s level rapidly increased by 1 every second, stopping at 93 in the end.
Seeing it match Calandas, I thought she had returned to her prime. This was proper normalization.
I shrugged, meeting her shocked expression.
“It’s resolved.”
I was about to say more when I saw the color of her level change, and I shut my mouth.
It was a deep pink, darker than I’d ever seen, not even from Charlotte.
“Hey, do you want to marry me?”
Seeing the completely changed look in Roseha’s eyes, I felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.