The next morning, Amira and Eva only made limited provisions before leaving the town in a hurry as the sun was just showing up. A part of it had to do with the fact that the duo had decided to party at the Mermaid pub and left an impressive unsolved tab. Ironically, they hadn't drunk that much, but both monsters had offered a lot of drinks for different reasons: Eva had wanted to get several men drunk to bed them, and got each of her kill stolen by a mermaid, while Amira had started counting a tale and promised regular drinks to those that listened to her, attracting several moochers in the process.
A few hours later, they had reached the Natalia coastline, without any mermaid following them to make them pay for what they had done. Eva sighed as she pulled Mephisto's letter. Before she could do anything, Amira tapped into her, and the duo moved away from a small herb garden that was tended to by a small crab girl and two nuns from the church. They moved around the beach, careful to not get noticed by the gardeners. Once they were sure they were far enough, Eva read silently the letter again.
"Hueeurgh… We have to follow those instructions and then we'll have a chest to dig out and we don't even have a shovel. Why do we even bother with this?"
Amira came close to Eva, and sensually whispered in her ear. "Mmmmoneyyyyyy…"
The succubus instantly perked up and started walking forward, her backpack loaded. "What are you doing there, twiddling your thumbs? Let's not lose time!"
The two monsters started looking around for anything that could match the instructions, unwary of the three men that were looking at them from the treeline.
"Yay!"
Rami, Remi and Rumi were happily searching treasures in the forest of spirits with fairies. Or, more accurately, Rami was enthusiastically running around "guided" by the fairies, while Rumi was lazily dragging her feet and Remi mostly kept herself hidden behind trees.
"Oh, oh! I think there are treasures there!" A fairy pointed down to the ground. Rami started digging feverishly with her own hands, before Rumi arrived and slammed her foot violently, creating a shockwave that propelled a small pillar of a mix of dirt, grass and insects upward. Rami backed up, surprised and half covered in dirt.
"That was rude, Rumi!"
"There's nothing here. Again."
"Dang!" One fairy shouted loudly before resting her head on her hand midflight, pondering what to do next. "Oh, oh, I know, where the Wind Spirit resided! There's bound to be treasures there!"
"Yay!" The whole party happily ran under the careful gazes of the elves patrolling through the forest. After a few minutes, they reached the deepest point of the forest, the place where Sylph used to reside. However, the Wind Spirit was currently missing, more likely than not busy accompanying the hero on his adventure.
"Woaaah, there's a strong wind here!" Rami was enraptured by the magic that seemed to seep from the place.
A fairy twirled around left and right, gauging the ground. She suddenly stopped and pointed down at the ground like an excited child.
"There! There! It's there!"
Rami instantly stopped and invited Rumi to make the same move. The white haired imp sighed and stomped her heel once again. However, there was no dirt or grass kicked up. Instead, the ground reacted to the assault, and the three imps were catapulted out of the forest, propelled at high speed toward the sea.
"Gotcha!"
All the fairies laughed good heartedly, rolling on the floor in a mocking cacophony while an angry elf showed up.
"This is not funny! They can get hurt when they fall! Waaaagh!"
The elf proceeded to stumble into a pitfall, making the fairies laugh louder and louder. One of them calmed and sniffed the air.
"Wait. Is it me or the wind is becoming all sweet and wiggly?"
Gradually, every fairy collapsed, their mind falling into an ecstatic daze.
A lone figure was looking above from the tree line, happy with her handiwork. Those fairies were so many little pesky annoyances, maybe she should remove a few of them from existence…
They were right though. It was actually pretty funny. But now, she had to run to where the imps had landed to check on them. The trio had somehow grabbed her attention and weren't letting go of it right now.
"Your arrival is a sign! We must free ourselves from the oppression of monsters once and for all now!"
Eden felt more awkward than really touched by the praise from the priest. While the man, Maximilian, had a welcome passion, she also had recognized a level of zealotry that even herself felt was repulsive deep down.
"I came here first and foremost to share her fair word. Shouldn't we share it with the flock?"
"Aaah, but gracious lord, you will find in our company all the support you need in your righteous mission to remove monsters from this holy region! The people in this city know her word well enough, but those are the ones out of these walls that need to hear and accept it!"
Eden frowned. Was the infestation really that bad? She had heard about the manor infested by zombies created by a necromancer, but the latter had been cleared in the past by the actions of the hero Luka. There also was the Forest of Spirits, but monsters there wisely kept to themselves. The only real problem was Port Natalia, which was filled with mermaids, with whom humans didn't hesitate to consort.
"…Very well. By where shall we start?!"
"Oh, the very first place where humans are opressed by monsters is not far from here… Come to me my brothers!"
Several men came out with various weapons made of mythril or crystal. They all shared that small light that was a mix of passion and insanity that Eden feared.
"Do we really need so much protection in this area? I remembered that the hero made it pretty safe for travel after all."
"Where we're going, we will need them indeed. We're going to a place where we've been oppressed for far too long. Far too long indeed…"
Eden readied her powerful spear. If it was that serious, then indeed her help was needed. Furthermore, maybe that action would yield a monetary reward that could help fill her stomach with a sweet or two…
She solemnly declared. "Very well. Consider my spear your."
"Excellent! With your might, nobody shall stand a chance against us!"
The small mob left the city by the southern entrance, and soon left even the road to continue further south.
Eva was half wading, half swimming through water. She had difficulties believing she was at the place where the chest was buried. She turned toward Amira and shouted.
"Are you sure this is where our fortune is lying?"
The lamia clicked her tongue. "Look, it's the only spot that matches the given instructions. It is not my fault if the spot is under water because of the high tide!"
Eva groaned. "I guess we'll just have to wait then. Let's hope that nobody else show up."
"Indeed, we're lucky that this beach is calm right now. Should anyone hear of what we're doing, this place would be crawling with people trying to get our booty... What's that?"
Eva turned to see three small forms in the sky emitting a whistling noise on their way toward the beach.
"No! You jinxed it!" She accusingly looked at the lamia who kept her composure. The latter clicked her tongue, further unnerving Eva.
"Don't worry, It doesn't look like they're conscious of what's really happening. Look at them."
The three imps ended crashing into the water further alongside the beach, at a place where they couldn't get to see the duo.
"See? No problem!"
"You mean new problem!"
Eva pointed at the natural ramp that led from the plains to the beach. Several humans clad into clergymen robes were coming down on the beach, weapons brandished and shouting motivationnal cries to give themselves courage.
"Oh no! They're coming for us! Hide!"
Eden looked at the calm beach presenting itself in front of her. She could see signs of monster's activity here and there, but they were only tending to themselves and not hurting anyone. Besides, most of them scurried away as the group of clergymen were moving toward them. Eden turned to see that the men were making their way toward a small garden, which was tended to by a duo of nuns and a young looking crab girl.
One of the nun sighed upon seeing the mob moving toward them. The crab girl instantly hid behind the other one, who gave the small monster a reassuring smile.
"Greetings, what do you need help with today?" Her tone was tired, the one used by someone who dealt with this situation on an all-too regular basis, and yet had both the charity and the discipline to muster politeness anyway.
Maximilian accusingly pointed his sword at the garden.
"You know why we're here! We know you're involved into the monster's devious plans! As the truly faithful arm of the goddess, we cannot accept this!"
She frowned. Wasn't that garden one of the few actually helpful project put into action by one of the resident of the Pocket Castle? As if on cue, one of the nun answered.
"The healing herbs produced here are needed at the hospital in San Ilia to heal the wounded there, and is a gift from the mermaid's representative to atone for her attack. Furthermore, it is the only reason we're not in a penury right now." The nun's gaze became more severe. "It is also sanctioned by his holiness, the king himself, and most of the priests support it as well. I suggest you take your issue with him if you do not appreciate it, or, even better, share your skills within the healing ward of the hospital."
"Nonsense! He doesn't understand what the goddess is about! He is too passive! He won't solve anything! We are the change that is needed for this world to restore orders and put it into its rightful rails!"
The man riled up his mob as Eden felt even more confused by what she was seeing. She couldn't tell what made her the most uncomfortable: The nuns protecting a monster, the men wanting to destroy an helpful garden rather than claiming its use for the goddess (which was apparently already the case), or the fact that two groups, both clear worshippers of the goddess, were ready to face each other?
"Owi." Rami rubbed her head as she slowly got up, confused. Her surroundings had switched from a forest to a beach, and there no longer was a sign of all the fairies that were playing with them. She searched for her friends, and could see Remi buried headfirst into a small dune, while Rumi was floating like a plank on the water.
The white haired imp sighed. "Can we go home now? I just want to get back to lazying in the Pocket Castle…"
Rami ignored her and pulled Remi out of her trouble. The purple haired imp shivered. "That was scary! Those fairies are really wicked!"
The blond imp examined her surroundings. She recognized the southern coast of Natalia, and proudly put her hands on her hips.
"I know where we are, and this is a fine new opportunity for adventures! Let's search for treasures!" She heard something that sounded like a muffled, slithering string of swears. "What was that?"
"I don't know, but what is that?"
Remi had noticed the group of men surrounding the small garden. She also noticed the seraph that was accompanying them.
"Is it that sraph Aden? Let's see what she wants!"
Before they could move, a tide higher than the other surprised the trio who managed to evade the water by running away. When the tide receded, it revealed a huge manta girl.
"Mwahahaha! I told you I would get my revenge!"
Rami shouted in a panic "Noooo! Not again!"
"I will get you for hurting me that one time!"
The sea monster started rising higher and higher above the beach, readying herself to strike at the imps.
As the men prepared to lay waste to the garden, Eden stepped forward and turned toward the mob.
"Wait! You don't have to destroy this place! It is already put in service of the goddess!"
Maximilian blinked twice, surprised. "But, my lord, I'm only doing it for you!"
"For me? I am only merely a messenger of Ilias! You should do it for her!"
Maximilian completely lost his temper as his friends kept shouting at the nuns guarding the small garden.
"But she's not there, and you, you're an avatar of her grace, and I will gladly give my body for you, no matter your demands!" He moved closer to the seraph, almost touching her.
Eden slightly pushed back the man and growled. "I am certainly not interested in doing that with you if this is what you think! You had chosen to consecrate yourself soul and boy to the goddess, start acting as one of her messenger should!"
Maximilian completely lost his temper as his friends kept shouting at the nuns desperately protecting the small garden.
"What the fuck is wrong with you all?! I found my call after that cheap whore of a succubus rejected me, then I endured countless trial for that goddess, never getting any recognition for anything I did, and when you shameless excuse of an angel come, I bend myself in four for you and I don't even get the reward I should!"
Eden went wide eyed. This was a joke. A cruel, idiotic joke that not even the spawns of the Dark Goddess would enjoy. That man's faith in Ilias was only a crystallization of his self-entitlement after a monster rejected his company. It was so cliché, so idiotic and so out of phase compared to what the goddess really was about that she took it as a personal insult to her and her goddess.
The seraph's rage swiftly struck in the form of a thunderbolt. However, for an unknown reason, the bolt didn't hit her target but instead hit a large flying monster. The behemoth glided in the air for a few seconds, then fell at great speed to disappear behind one of the small peninsulas that dotted the area, making a ruckus in the process.
Everybody remained silent for a moment, dumbfounded by the unfortunate monster. Maximilian eventually rose his sword again.
"This is a sign of the Goddess! All monsters and those who supported them must be purged!"
The men rushed at the garden and proceeded to stomp it in spite of the monster and the nun's protests. Eden was too dumbfounded by what actually happened to react to anything.
"Out of the way, filth!" One of the nun stepped between the group and the garden. Maximilian grabbed her by the wrist and threw her against the back wall of the garden.
Eden instantly reacted upon hearing a sinister cracking noise. In the blink of an eye, she healed the wound of the fallen nun, before angrily turning toward the men stomping all too happily on a work done for a common good.
Maximilian kept stomping when he was suddenly grabbed by the hem of his priest's robe. He wetted himself as he was faced with the burning eyes of the seraph, who was trembling with a barely contained rage.
"THOU! SHALL! NOT! HARM! A! FELLOW! MESSENGER!" Her voice boomed through the whole beach. She effortlessly threw the man across the area, and he landed face first into a tide. The men turned back to see what just happened. While several fled, too many made the mistake of attacking the seraph. She effortlessly blocked their attacks with her spear, which appeared to dance in her fingers. She dodged every incoming attack with graceful, atural movements, while each of her strike incapacitated someone, only held back by her respect for the creations of Ilias in spite of her bloodlust.
The fleeing group noticed the trio of imps that were timidly stepping toward them. One of the men pointed his sword.
"Here comes an occasion to redeem ourselves! Attack!"
"Nooooo!"
In a panic, Rami threw a strong but localized ice storm, freezing the men in place as they were waddling through water.
"Waaaah!" The three imps ran away, and hid themselves amongst the rocks once again.
"Wow, they're really getting at it." Eva was looking wide eyed at the fight that had broken out.
Amira clicked her tongue. "Well, since they're too busy, we can as well resume our treasure hunting. That sweet gold will soon be our!"
Eva groaned. "The tide is still high. We need to wait for the sea to recede before going treasure hunting."
"Tch! You're right! What misfortune has befallen us!"
"Stop jinxing it! Or else something even worse will happen to us!"
Eva was right. In that kind of situation, the sun would find itself suddenly conveniently blocked by an opponent preparing a diving attack, attracting the attention of the heroes toward his assailant's plan and making sure he could dodge at the last second.
This time, however, only looking at the sky would have allowed the duo to notice the large form that was falling at a relative speed toward them.
They only noticed the sea behemoth when she crashed into them, knocking them both unconscious.
"Damn, this is really an enjoyable show!"
The three thugs were watching the beach from afar. They had seen the duo starting to dig, the imps fall on the beach, and now that all out brawl starting. They were salivating as they were already seeing themselves cleaninghumans and monsters alike from their riches
"Man, look at how loaded those priests are! Mythril and Crystal weapons, jewelry, fine clothes… We'll just have to bend and grab everything to get rich!"
"Yeaheaheah, you're right." The leader was looking at the clergymen and snorted. "Look at those men, they have spent thousands into their weapons, and don't know how to use them… It's a shaaame…"
"I agree." A female voice behind them answered him. "They are so sluggish and clumsy, it's not even funny to see. It's clear they're waving around their huge sword to compensate for a little something."
All three men turned to see a blue haired, half naked succubus wearing white gloves and stockings, sitting behind them cross legged, her head resting on her hands with a smile covering her face. "Hello there!"
"AAAh No! It's a hell bitch! Run!"
The three men started running while Morrigan nonchalantly got up, pouting. She had hoped for a small fight, but it looked like those men had no spirit at all and prefered fleeing instead.
As he was running, the leader was looking for something, anything that could help him get out of his trouble. He noticed a hooded silhouette ending with a spade tipped tail leaning on a tree. Likely one of those succubus nun. Too bad for her...
She didn't make a single noise as he grabbed her and put an iron dagger under her throat while turning back toward Morrigan in one smooth motion, his partners in crime standing behind the man and his hostage."
"One move and your fellow whore get it! I won't hesitate!"
Morrigan raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Bwuh? Sis? What are you doing here?"
A sensuous voice answered. "Well, I'll tell you later, first…"
The succubus sent her heel straight into the man's crotch, propelling him up a few meteres before he fell on the ground, bent over in pain.
"…This is more Astaroth's kind of thing, but sometimes getting physical can help stay sharp."
The two succubi slowly looked at the two other thugs, who were recoiling terrified, their hands raised.
"No, no…"
The next second, both remaining men were incapacitated by their opponent's skills. Lilith removed her cowl, freeing her long purple hair. She looked at her now torn outfit and whistled disapprovingly while shaking her head. "Already damaged… This outfit is so impractical, I don't understand why a succubus would wear it, even as a disguise…"
"I don't get it either…" Morrigan effortlessly lifted one man. "Want to bring the snacks for the spectacle?"
"Sure, let me just get this man and this one…" She turned to look down at the man she had struck. His mouth was getting filled with a mix of blood and foam, and the crotch area of his pants was turning red.
"Oww. I may have struck him too hard."
Morrigan shrugged. "Meh, we still have one each… Astaroth isn't there?"
"She's busy at the castle. Let's get watch the show before it's over."
The curb stomp battle had only lasted barely a few minutes. Eden was still breathing heavily as her anger was slowly subsiding. She looked amongst the unconscious men, and saw one of the nun tending to the wounded, crying crab girl. She unsummoned back her spear and kneeled in front of the scared duo.
"Let me help you. It will hurt slightly." At her surprise, her voice sounded different but familiar to her own ears, as if it wasn't exactly her own.
The crab girl winced as the wounded parts of her body were bathed in light. A second later, the monster was moving naturally, her scars and her wounds disappeared.
"Yaaay! Thank you, miss angel!"
Eden smiled sadly, then looked at the nuns with slightly sterner eyes.
"Those men are unworthy of those clothes and do not deserve their riches. You shall take those to reimburse the damages you suffered."
"Actually…" One of the nun looked at her feet, afraid to speak up her mind. "We don't exactly need money. We have plenty enough as is…" She shuffled awkwardly "What we need are competent healers, medical supplies and guards to protect them from thieves."
"In that case." Eden stepped forward and smiled. "Allow me to help you. I am an accomplished healer and a loyal defender of those in need. I can help you for both."
The nun looked up. "Are you sure? We help people and monsters indiscriminately, the work is difficult, and it doesn't pay very well."
"I insist. This is the least I could do after the role I played in today's event."
The nun looked at her colleague who was nodding with her approval fervently. "In that case… We will gladly welcome you. Let us accompany you there!"
Eden smiled and slowly nodded. As she slowly started stepping away, she recognized the unpleasant scent of succubi. She stopped and called out.
"Please, show yourselves!"
She saw three imps stepping from rocks, and instantly recognized them as fellow companions of the hero Luka. She smiled to them and crouched to be on their level.
"What are you doing here? You could've been hurt."
"We…" Rami timidly answered. "We were on adventure hunting for treasures to help the people back at the castle."
The seraph realized she had more or less forgotten why she was initially looking for a job. She indeed had wanted to participate to help fund the Pocket Castle to keep on getting cake to eat, but right now it seemed secondary compared to her new self affected goal: She wanted to help other people. She could do without sweets for a time. And if those imps wanted to do the same in their own way, well… It was time to kill two birds with one stone.
"Well, you can take all the riches those bad men carried with them. You're free to do so if it's to help people." She stood up. "But do not molest them. They do not even deserve it."
The imps timidly nodded.
"Good. I trust you to do well in the future." She slowly nodded, still smiling, and caught back with the two nuns as they were moving back to San Ilia.
Eden suddenly froze realized who she was hearing when she was talking herself: The voices of Micaela and Lucifina after they had fallen from Heaven. She stopped herself. Was it also what was happening to her? Was her fall actually starting?
"Are you alright, miss…"
Before she realized it, she fell into an existential crisis. She realized it was now a long time since she had left Heaven after all, and, since the hero left Ilias Temple, she had been travelling this just like her sisters before her. She was now on the same level as them. In fact, she was sharing her new experience with all those that were walking this world.
And even more than before, she now cared about them. Was it what Lucifina and Micaela felt too? Was it a new form of love? She found a certain sense of comfort in it. One she was not used to, but one she could live with and enjoy nonetheless.
"Please, just call me Eden. I will work with you after all." She realized that indeed, her voice sounded just like Lucifina when her sister was discussing with a friend after falling. The same care was present.
Yes. If this was what falling meant, then she embraced it with all her heart.
"I… Definitively didn't expect that." Lilith was dumbfounded by the seraph's behavior. Eden had never been known for anything beyond chanting the name of Ilias all day long for a reason. Lilith smirked again as she prepared a spell. "Maybe we can also have fun with her…"
"Wait!" Morrigan stopped her. "Think of our plans! We no longer attack the hero or his friends, we don't antagonize them, and he will join us once and for all. It will be an all-you-can-eat buffet of angels, seraph included."
Lilith stopped herself and sighed. "You're right. I'll wait. For now."
Morrigan looked at her sister, who looked slightly upset with letting her prey get away. "Don't worry, we'll have aaaaaall those men begging for their lives for us once the imps are done looting them!"
Lilith looked at the three imps that were plundering the unconscious priests while loading a chest made with the fence from the garden, and which was comically as big as them. She leaned back against a tree after magically changing back into her signature outfit. "Fine. What should we do in the meantime?"
"Well, why don't you start by telling me what you're doing here? I mean I'm glad to see you and all that, but I thought you'd be overworked with what was happening back at the castle!"
"I found myself some free time to travel a bit, then I saw the imps when I reached Port Natalia." She smirked. "Don't they remind you of something?"
Morrigan looked at the sky, pondering her sister's words as she was perambulating. "Meh, they kindaaaa remind me of us in the old times, but that's stretching it."
Lilith giggled. "Well, it's true that you weren't as much a scaredy cat as that small purple one, and Astaroth was a little more energetic than that. But… You get what I mean."
"Always running headfirst into trouble, looking for treasures… I didn't see them suck dry anyone though."
"Oh. Maybe we should do something about it later. I wonder if we can tutor them?"
Morrigan shrugged. "I don't know. The hero wouldn't like it and that would make for more competition on the long run."
"Meh, it still could be fun. In any case, it looks like they're done. Shall we get started?"
Most priests were still in a daze when the two succubi entered in their field of vision. The few that tried moving away were instantly restrained by tentacles made of darkness.
Lilith licked her lips as she could hear priests moan into despair. "It's too bad Astaroth isn't there… Ah, well, she'll have more opportunities later."
The two succubi reduced all the clergymen they could find to dried fish, thoroughly taking their time to torment the men before ending their lives. They eventually reached Maximilian's body. Apparently, the man had fallen unconscious when Eden had thrown him, and then he proceeded to drown into the few centimeters of water that were present where he had landed.
Lilith whistled disapprovingly. "Such a waste from the seraph."
"Meh, that guy was such an asshole I'm not even sure that would have been funny to make him beg."
"There are still a few men where the imps attacked, and now they're thawed. Let's deal with them."
The priests found themselves bound and gagged on the ground. Lilith was leaning over one, and she was enjoying the mix of panic and lust rising in his eyes as her chest was touching him.
"Oooh, don't you want to enjoy your final moments? Relax, big sis will guide you to the doors of Heaven..."
She started straddling him when Morrigan was already halfway done with her first victim. Their feast was interrupted by a strange, whistling sneeze.
"What was that?"
"Oh shit, I almost forgot about them!"
"Lilith Orgia!"
The succubi got up from their meal and looked at their victim. Eva and Amira were lying down, ecstatic expression covering their face.
Lilith looked down at them like one would look at a trash bag. "What a succubus. Can't deal with the smallest wave of pleasure..." She leaned toward Amira. "And… That. Of course. Let's just get rid of them."
Morrigan grimaced. "Still Luka's allies, unfortunately…"
Lilith sighed again. "So cleaning up, a pat on the back, and left free on their own?"
"Yeah..." Morrigan distractedly browsed through the backpack the duo had brought with them. "Wait…" She pulled out a small necklace. "That's the dexterity necklace the hero offered me personally! I thought I had lost it in the colosseum!" She started browsing frantically through the bag head first. "And that's the arousal perfume offered by that Succubus Queen! And that's one of the elemental pendant he got into the Labyrinth!" She pulled her head out of the bag and glared at the duo.
"Those bitches nicked and sold our stuff! I'm so mad I could kill them!"
"Luka's allies, Morrigan, Luka's allies..."
The blue haired succubus snarled and grabbed both monsters before moving further away.
"Soooo I'm going to finish the meal before it gets cold, should I save you something?"
"Just keep me one! I'll be back in a minute!"
"If you say so…"
Lilith got back to the still bounded victim and savored his terror. He tasted even better, and she decided that she could let the other ones cook a little more to be more tasty while waiting for her cute little sister.
Morrigan was indeed back only a minute later. Lilith took an ounce of sympathy for her last unfortunate victims, as her sister was definitively taking her rage on them and making the experience as unpleasant as possible. Still, passing her nerves like that helped her calm down, and she was cheerful again when she was done.
"Haaaa, that hit the spot!" She readjusted herself, and threw the bodies of their victims at the sea, letting scavengers have a go at them. "Well. It looks like I'm back at the Pocket Castle then!"
"What do you plan to do with the bag's content?"
Morrigan shrugged. "I'll just gradually empty it here and there so that they think everything was just lost. I'd get too many questions otherwise about what I was doing with their stuff."
"That's… quite a good plan. Take care!"
The two sisters waved at each other, leaving behind the souvenirs of one strange party.
When Eva woke up several hours, she felt heavier and dirtier than usual. As she opened her eyes, she realized she was buried in sand up to her neck. Fortunately, she had been buried when it was high tide and wasn't threatened by the water, only midly inconvenienced as the crashing waves licked her neck. She tried to look around, but couldn't see her partner.
"Amira?"
"Right here, above you."
The reverse lamia was entangled in several coconut trees that had been knotted together, completely immobilizing her.
"What happened?"
"A monster crashed into us when we were digging." Amira clicked her tongue. "I am sure she knew about the treasure too! She fell on us right when we were on top of it!"
Eva felt her rage growing as the realization that all her hard earned work had been stolen at the last second by someone else. She groaned and struggled a little, but couldn't move an inch in the sand.
"I can't get out! Can you do anything on your end?"
"I am as stuck as you are, but I have a conveniently placed wooden panel with an escape plan written on it lying in front of me."
"Strange. What does it say?"
"Succubus training: Learn to use your body to get out of any situation. Step 1: The tongue is the most important muscle thanks to the sheer variety of situation it can solve, train it well."
"Is this a joke?"
"Alas, I am afraid not."
Eva frowned. She remembered reading something like that in one of the books of that potato mayor. She didn't exactly care for it, as reading that doorstopper would require more effort than what she was willing to spare.
"Fine, we'll just wait for help instead."
A few hours later, the situation hadn't changed and the sun was starting to set.
"I'm getting hungry."
"You know… I don't think someone is going to come and save us anytime soon… Are you sure you can't do anything to free yourself?"
Eva sighed. "Huuurgh, I certainly won't lick sand! Don't worry, I'm sure they're worried sick, and since Mephisto sent us here, she'll come personally to help us soon!"
Mephisto looked wide eyed at the large chest of gold the imps had brought. The yoma was absolutely dumbfounded. She had sent Eva and Amira on a wild goose chase with the hope to make them lose time and limit the loss of money, and those three little imps had brought them an actual treasure chest, filled to the brim with plundered loot from the Natalia Coast. She poured the whole content on a table in the council room in front of the angels and monsters present.
"There are thirty three seven hundred and fifty two gold coins, around sixty thousand gold worth of equipment, and an additional fifty four thousand gold worth of jewelry for a total that can be rounded to a hundred and fifty thousand."
Promestein kept scribbling notes while looking at her notebook. "On a side note, after a very thorough investigation, we found out that the cash duo, as everybody has been calling them lately, had spent an undeclared amount of five hundred and fifty thousand in various vanity projects and parties, which include but are not limited to eating at The First Gourmet daily, also known as the most expensive restaurant in the world. Thanks to their complete lack of management, we managed to recover about half of the money spent, and if we take into account the regular installments made by monsters working into society, we'll have recouped every one of their losses by the end of the month."
The angel librarian smirked. "Save for unplanned expenditures, it looks like we'll be fine with the current funds alone for the next three months."
Mephisto blinked repeatedly, still having difficulties accepting the situation. "Sooo… All that concern about our coffers emptying was just because tweedledimwit and tweedledumbass couldn't stop helping themselves to the common funds to live like queens?"
"It would be more correct to say like goddesses. Even queens don't spend that much for themselves." The angel scientist repositioned her glasses. "But otherwise, it is an entirely accurate assessment."
Mephisto wallowed on her chair and rubbed her forehead repeatedly.
"I feel… Tired. Please, don't say anything to anyone." She looked at the imps. "It includes you."
Rami faltered slightly under the gaze, while Rumi sighed and Remi barely trembled. It didn't look like the imps were going to let the cat out of the bag on this one. If the lack of explanations about the appearance of the loot-filled chest was any indication, they were good at staying silent.
Mephisto smiled reassuredly as gears clicked in her head. "I suggest you go back on another adventure, maybe you will be as lucky as you were on this one and will yield the same results."
All the three imps started crying and screaming before leaving in a hurry and slamming the door behind. The yoma and the angels were looking completely dumbfounded at the door. Promestein repositioned her glasses again.
"I think we're missing information about an existing variable here."
"Only one?"