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“Your Majesty!”

Out of nowhere, a Succubus knelt down on one knee and shouted with a loud voice. Even though we were in a somewhat deserted alley, it wasn’t completely empty, and all eyes instantly turned this way.

But why is this Succubus calling me the queen instead of Lilith? I took a subtle step to the side, but the kneeling Succubus turned to face me directly again.

Naturally, I was taken aback, and my friends were too. Especially Lilith, who knew me as a fellow Succubus, looked even more flustered. It must be quite confusing and ridiculous for her to be overlooked and for someone like me to be called the queen.

I couldn’t understand why this was happening, but the more pressing issue was that we needed to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, which made the situation quite uncomfortable. If our identities were discovered, it wouldn’t just be a little troublesome. Resolving the situation took priority over curiosity.

“Wait, just a moment…!”

I couldn’t let myself be caught so easily after we finally snuck in. However, we couldn’t just step out with everyone’s eyes on us while disguised as slaves. Fortunately, Lilith stepped up first to try to manage the situation.

“Hey, hey! Get up quickly!”

Lilith forced the kneeling Succubus to stand.

“Let’s go to my place nearby and talk.”

As expected, the kneeling Succubus looked touched and readily agreed to Lilith’s invitation, who was like a superior Succubus to her.

Even as we headed toward Lilith’s hideout, the Succubus intentionally lingered behind Lilith and then behind me while pretending to be a slave, creating an awkward little parade that certainly drew suspicious glances from passersby.

Hiding my anxiousness about potentially being discovered, I hurried my steps as much as possible. At least the hideout wasn’t far, or we might have really been caught if we had to pass through a busy street.

“Just wait a moment.”

Stopping us in front of the door, Lilith mumbled something. After a moment, the door creaked open, welcoming us in.

“Come in.”

And soon, the Succubus followed Lilith inside.

Bang!

As soon as we stepped inside the hideout, Lilith quickly closed the door so loudly that it echoed. This meant we could ignore the gazes from outside.

Whether it was due to magic or not, the lights inside automatically turned on, brightly illuminating the entire place.

“It is an honor, Lady Lilith, Your Majesty.”

The Succubus didn’t just call Lilith the queen, but made a precise distinction with the titles. I had no idea what she was seeing, but it was certainly not a good situation.

While it would have been fine to simply ignore her, we had to resolve this matter since we were all here.

The simplest solution would be to eliminate her, but that could lead to complicated consequences. If she was on her way to meet someone, discovering the sudden disappearance of the Succubus could lead her to our existence.

Knowing that, I was still pretending to be a slave even after entering the house.

“Haha… When I say queen, are you referring to me?”

Lilith asked, even though she already knew the answer but perhaps hoped for an alternative.

“Of course, while Lady Lilith is a Succubus Queen… right next to her is the true queen.”

As expected, the Succubus’s answer was not what I had hoped for.

“Are you, um, talking about me?”

I asked in a trembling voice, still acting as the captive slave.

“Of course, it is directed at Your Majesty. But you can speak comfortably. No, please do speak comfortably.”

“Why do you call me Your Majesty? As you can see, I have no horns, wings, or tail.”

Though I thought I might turn the misunderstanding to my advantage, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity at the Succubus’s unwavering confidence and asked. I had no identifiable features of the demonic race.

“If you ask why I call the queen, what should I say…”

I scrutinized her expression to see if she was lying but didn’t see any signs of it. Yet, I couldn’t be deceived. After all, I used to be the continent’s best assassin. Identifying a lying face from a truthful one was simple for me.

Leaning in close, I examined her expression. Unless she was a golem with a blank face, a living being couldn’t lie without revealing something.

This wasn’t a reaction that could be easily suppressed by mere effort unless one was a professional like me. Faces, in particular, were hard to hide.

I brought my face close enough to touch hers, examining her dark eyes. As soon as they met mine, they darted away and looked anywhere but at me.

That’s a sign of a liar.

I noticed a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead. She must be nervous about her lie being exposed, causing the cold sweat to form.

Another sign of a liar.

We were so close that our noses almost touched, and her breathing became gradually more ragged, enough to tickle my face. Despite her attempts to control her breathing to keep her tension hidden, being conscious only made her breath come out more hurriedly.

Yet another sign of a liar.

Slowly pulling back, I took a more holistic view of her face. Her reddened cheeks certainly suggested that she was hiding something. If she weren’t trained like me, one might mistake it for mere embarrassment, but I wasn’t falling for it. There’s no reason for her to be embarrassed, especially since she, a Succubus, shouldn’t feel shy in front of a mere human like me.

Another sign of a liar.

I didn’t know what her goal was by calling me the queen with such ridiculous lies, but it was clear that all her reactions indicated she was lying.

She likely wouldn’t confess easily. So instead, I could turn her lie to my advantage. Since she was calling me the queen, I might as well play the part she intended.

“Fufu… You managed to find me out despite my attempts to hide.”

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“Indeed, you were right! If Lady Lilith calls you her master and acts like a slave… then you must be the late Succubus Queen, especially the first and exceptional Succubus Queen! It’s an honor to meet you!”

Wow.

Having grown up as an assassin, I thought I could act pretty well, but looking at the Succubus before me made those thoughts vanish. Her reaction was so natural it felt less like acting.

“But may I ask why you are in human form… Ah!”

The Succubus was about to ask me a question but suddenly clapped her hands with a look of realization.

“Exactly! You’re playing that kind of role! It’s only natural for you to feel disturbed having been interrupted while enjoying it.”

The Succubus inadvertently struck at the core while we were still acting. It seemed she had already understood that we were currently playing the role of mesmerized slaves to Lilith.

While I could deceive others, it seemed that being another Succubus like Lilith made it too easy for her to notice.

Thanks to that, I could see that she had grasped the situation and understood why she was acting.

It was likely because her life felt at stake.

She had unwittingly realized that we were a party of heroes, and that we could simply slay her, a mere Succubus, without a second thought.

So, to avoid giving away that she knew nothing and to signal that she had no intention of exposing our identity to other demons, she came in with her head bowed.

“Hmmm…”

I realized her intentions and fell into a moment of thought. Should I just let her go this time? Or should I push through and eliminate her, wasting her efforts?

Both options had risks. If I let her go and she talked, it could become a real hassle. If I tried to kill her and she managed to escape, we would be trapped and surrounded within the city.

After weighing the pros and cons, I found my conclusion.

“I’ll forgive your rudeness. However, you must erase everything you’ve seen here today from your mind. The moment you utter even a single word, the master will personally take your life.”

If both options had risks, I would choose the safer one. Statistically, the chance of her escaping us was low, but the dangers were overwhelmingly high in the latter scenario.

It would be far better for her to expose our identities only after we had left the city.

If my threats worked and she kept quiet, that would be even better.

Fortunately, it seemed my sincerity in the threat got through to her as she bowed her head completely.

“Fufu… Such a good girl. Now, the queen is busy, so you may return now. We will meet again.”

I bid her farewell, layering my final warning that if she spoke, I would come back. Having narrowly escaped with her life, she smiled brightly and hurriedly dashed out the door.

As she ran out, she glanced back, perhaps to appreciate my mercy with a bow. It seemed she wouldn’t spill any words.

What could have turned into a risky situation for all of us was luckily passed without incident thanks to my cleverness.

My friends seemed to think I was amazing, staring at me with their mouths agape in a daze.

Heh. This is nothing.

 

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