Vol 2. Chapter 79: Who Did You Say Your Queen Was?!

At this rate, Vinny’s rush to back up Aesphyra had been completely pointless. Whether he showed up or not, it wouldn’t have made a difference. If anything, he was just here to provide a little eye-contact-based emotional support.

Still, as a professional freeloader and certified thigh-hugger of black stockings, Vinny figured there was one thing he couldn’t lack—and that was attitude. He might not bring anything else to the table, but he was damn sure going to check in on the girl who carried him to easy wins and make it look like he was always ready to jump in.

Otherwise, how the hell was he supposed to earn a good score? What would he write in his post-mission report??

Actually, he could already start writing it: While Classmate Aesphyra engaged in an intense battle with the demon forces, I, Vinny, successfully completed the critical mission of rescuing villagers, killing numerous succubi along the way, and rushed to the frontlines at a pivotal moment to provide crucial backup!

Yeah, you tell me that isn’t a critical contribution. If he’d shown up any later, the succubi would’ve all been slaughtered by Aesphyra and he wouldn’t have had anything left to see. That is critical! You can’t say it’s not!

When Aesphyra had previously said that the mastermind was a not-too-bright succubus, Vinny had figured she could handle it alone, though it might take some time and resources.

After all, this was still a demon we were talking about—not some roadside bandit. And considering demons lived much longer than humans, a demon general’s average power level was significantly higher. And this one even had a squad under her command.

But in the end, Vinny had still underestimated Aesphyra. These demons were getting their asses kicked solo. And she was still just a first-year Aesphyra?!

Give her time to grow—by the endgame, would the demon race even be able to play the game anymore? Who could even match her??

Wait, actually... there was someone.

If she were here, Aesphyra at her current level might really not be able to win.

But that foxy bitch was busy cleaning house right now. There was no way she’d come all the way into human territory just to cause trouble. She didn’t even care about humans—she had zero motivation to show up here.

Yeah, come to think of it, this was just a first-year field mission. If the fate-bound final boss villainess who Aesphyra could only beat in the late game showed up now, wouldn’t that just be game over for the both of them?

Vinny couldn’t help but snort at his own mental rambling.

Besides, succubus business had nothing to do with her, right? Wasn’t she a fox demon?

“Aesphyra, I wasn’t too late, right?” Vinny decided to seize the moment and farm some presence. He jogged over to Aesphyra in a few long strides. “Most of the remaining villagers have already evacuated. You can go all out now.”

“Mhm~ Vinny, you weren’t too late, but you should’ve been. That way, you could’ve just picked up the loot for me.” Aesphyra’s voice had a teasing lilt.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Am I just your personal loot vacuum now? You think that’s the only reason I came?” Vinny pouted.

“If I hadn’t shown up, you’d probably be doing something weird again. This round, I’ve clearly made huge contributions, thank you very much.” Vinny shamelessly declared credit for the win.

“Weird?” Aesphyra tilted her head.

“Hey, I gotta say—you’re doing great this time. At least you haven’t been stopping mid-battle to flirt with every pretty face you see.” Vinny added, glancing toward the red-haired succubus.

“Vinny, I do have some taste, you know. I don’t just eat anything that walks~” Aesphyra replied, smiling with her lips but not her eyes.

Huh? You have taste??

Vinny had serious doubts about that. In the original game, Aesphyra was a complete omnivore—on the level of a bottom-tier succubus. As long as a girl looked even remotely decent, enemy or ally, she’d flirt with them all the same.

He’d half-expected her to go off the rails again the moment she saw that hot succubus lady. But to his surprise, she’d stayed totally normal. Even claimed she had standards and wouldn’t mess around mid-fight??

Vinny couldn’t help but wonder—was it because the game-version Aesphyra had been influenced by the player’s consciousness? Or had something about this life changed her? Or maybe... both?

Meanwhile, the red-haired succubus frowned deeply. She wasn’t a green-eyed type, but still—that remark felt like a huge insult.

And the worst part? It sounded familiar. That was exactly how she felt about Farkas.

“These succubi are all quite beautiful,” Aesphyra said softly, lifting a hand to tuck her hair back. “But unfortunately, none of them are my type. In fact, they’re the exact opposite of my type.”

The hell??

Vinny stared at Aesphyra like he was seeing her for the first time.

Did the flirty sea-empress Aesphyra really just say that??

“So what is your type then?” Vinny asked before he could stop himself.

“Oh?~ Didn’t you ask me that back in the carriage ages ago? And didn’t I answer?” Aesphyra smiled innocently.

Ah, right. He remembered now.

But while the two of them chatted away like no one else existed, the red-haired succubus and her remaining subordinates were seething. Being completely ignored, treated like circus clowns—this white-haired brat didn’t even see them as a threat.

What were they supposed to do? That girl had wrecked her with one hand. And now she was already half-dead.

“Hah... I admit it,” the red-haired succubus wheezed. “You’re far stronger than me. The weak being humiliated by the strong—that’s only natural.”

“But don’t get cocky, humans. You pathetic little wretches will always be our prey. One day, Her Majesty the Queen will reign over all! The Northern Continent, the Southern Continent—both shall kneel at her feet!”

“Queen? What kinda dumbass queen? Where’s your queen now, huh? What’s she doing, getting rich off merchant scams? Why hasn’t she shown up? Go ahead—call that brain-dead basketcase and see if she shows up to save you!” Vinny immediately switched into abstract roasting mode. Nobody did “shit talk post-defeat” better than him. The surrounding succubi were practically overheating with rage—but couldn’t touch him.

Because standing next to this blue-haired punk... was a terrifying white-haired death goddess.

“You—!” The red-haired succubus gnashed her teeth. It was one thing to lose to the white-haired freak. But this blue-haired little brat? Who the hell was he to be mocking her?!

“What, nothing to say? That’s right. I’m standing right here dragging your no-name ‘Succubus Queen’ through the mud. What kind of coward sends her disposable idiots to do dirty work for her? Looks like your ‘queen’ is just as pathetic—nothing but a weakling propped up by dumber weaklings.”

“And this is the one who’s gonna unite the demon race? Hah! If she pulls that off, I’ll livestream myself eating a brick.” Vinny dug in his ear and looked supremely unconcerned. “By the way, what the hell is your queen’s name? Never even heard of her. Who dragged this bargain-bin NPC out of the gutters?”

“You don’t deserve to know Her Majesty’s name, little human.” The succubus hissed.

“Don’t deserve it? She doesn’t deserve to be known by me, got it?” Vinny shot her the finger.

“Don’t deserve, huh? Then answer me this—do you even know who I am?” Vinny puffed up and planted his hands on his hips.

“.....” The succubi and incubi all glanced at each other in confusion. No one spoke.

“Hah. Ignorant, low-class demon trash. No wonder you’ve fallen this far. You don’t even know me? How can you play the villain like this?”

“Listen closely! I am the infamous villain of the Camella Capital! The top-ranked mental archmage! The number one heartthrob of Carillian Academy! The most handsome man on the Southern Continent! The Trickster Prince of Camella—Vinny!!” He slicked back his hair and struck a ridiculous pose.

It was so cringe, even the succubi were stunned into silence. Even Aesphyra was just... staring.

“...So many titles?” the red-haired succubus muttered after a pause.

“What do you mean so many?! You dumb succubus! All those titles belong to me! Get it?! You’re just playing with leftovers! Hahahaha!”

“......”

“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?!” Vinny frowned when no one responded to his bit. “You’re making this really awkward for me, you know? At least pretend that was cool!”

“Vinny, step back. It’s over now.” Aesphyra stepped forward, cutting him off. “Don’t torture them anymore.”

“What do you mean, ‘torture’?! Hearing me speak is torture? That’s called art, okay? It’s a luxury!” Vinny was indignant. It had felt damn good to say all that.

There was nothing more satisfying than flexing in front of demons.

“...As a defeated foe, I accept your ridicule. But you humans will regret this,” the red-haired succubus said through gritted teeth. “Even if I fall, Her Majesty Jiu Lixue will avenge us!”

“There we go again. What was it—‘Jiu Li...’” Vinny’s ear-scratching hand froze. He went silent for a moment, then asked slowly, “What... did you say? Your queen is... Jiu Lixue?”

“Hmph. You humans will repay this blood debt in time. Our Queen, Jiu Lixue, will one day reign supreme over the continent!”

“........”

Now it was Vinny’s turn to fall silent.

Ah.

He remembered now.

Or rather—how had he forgotten?

The current Succubus Queen... was Jiu Lixue.

Not only was Jiu Lixue the primary heir to the royal fox bloodline, she was also the first-in-line to the succubus throne.

Daughter of the Ten-Thousand-Beast Fox King and the Queen of the Succubi, she inherited both legacies and fused their territories into the single largest demon faction in existence.

And in the original story, she would become the future Demon Lord.

Yeah. The Succubus Queen was Jiu Lixue. How could he forget?

Vinny thought he knew why.

Last time he’d seen her, she’d taken the form of a tiny white fox. Even when she took on human form, it was with her fox bloodline—so he’d automatically categorized her as a fox. On top of that, it had been a long time since that event... long enough for him to forget the link between Jiu Lixue and the succubi.

But in truth, both the succubi and the fox demons bowed to her.

Jiu Lixue had earned the respect of all demons—by pure power.

“Gulp.” Vinny swallowed hard. A bad memory flickered through his mind. His legs wobbled slightly.

No. No no no. Why was he panicking?

Even if that was true, it didn’t mean she would show up here!

That’s right. Jiu Lixue had no interest in humans. And her attention was focused elsewhere. There was no way she’d waste time coming here.

So this whole incident was probably just the red-haired succubus acting on her own. Jiu Lixue didn’t know a thing about it.

Yeah. That made sense. What the hell could she want with some backwater dump? She was way too big-picture for that.

Vinny had to believe that.

Otherwise... what, was he supposed to be that unlucky? He wasn’t even the main character.

Then he glanced at Aesphyra.

Shit.

But she was.

And he had followed the fate-bound protagonist out here today.

No. No way. Right?

Vinny’s ominous premonition was intensifying fast. His heartbeat pounded in his chest like a warning drum.

He looked at Aesphyra and quickly said, “Aesphyra, I’ll stop bothering you now! Go ahead and finish off these guys, haul that traitorous priest back to the church, and let’s go report in—ASAP!”

“Oh?~” Aesphyra eyed Vinny curiously. She couldn’t quite understand how he’d gone from swaggering and cocky to suddenly quivering like a scared bird.

“What’s wrong, Vinny? Didn’t you just say you weren’t scared of the Succubus Queen?”

“I’m not! I mean, I wasn’t! But... but...” Vinny fumbled, looking increasingly desperate. “Let’s just say the longer we linger, the more likely something bad happens! This place is cursed, let’s wrap it up and go!”

“I’m telling you, I’ve got a really bad feeling right now.” Vinny dropped his voice to a whisper.