Volume 9 Chapter 17 Beloved Room’s Melfidis
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”So, the second wave already? You must be in quite a hurry—seems you’re running out of options.”
Without even a day’s rest, the second pursuit battle began.
Kuzuha greeted the new attackers not with fear but with a smirk, her words sharp and taunting.
Beside her, Melfidis only watched in silence, eyes fixed forward, motionless.
”What is this shameless woman supposed to be…?”
Gina’s disgust was plain.
Before them stood a naked woman—utterly, unapologetically so.
To Melfidis, it was nothing out of the ordinary, but for any human, Gina’s reaction would have been the same.
A being like a flower blooming into human form—a flower human.
A woman who seemed to blossom with every breath.
Her appearance was art itself, a living sculpture of grace and sensuality.
In every sense, she was a beautiful flower.
Yet if one saw her as human, she was simply an exposed woman, bare to the world.
A brazenly erotic figure, showing off without a hint of shame.
Her full breasts and the curve between her legs—nothing hidden, everything revealed.
To any man, she was pure temptation, a vision almost painful to behold.
”She’s a flower-human succubus,” Kuzuha explained coolly. “They exist even in the Beast Country. They don’t have a culture of wearing clothes.”
”…I can hardly believe we’re the same species. What kind of civilization ends up like that?”
Gina suddenly snapped to attention and stepped in front of Klock.
”Brother! Staring at a naked woman like that is hardly praiseworthy.”
”W–wait, what? It’s not like I—!”
Was he actually staring?
Gina’s glare was sharp enough to cut through stone.
Athena had been naked too, he remembered—but that time, they’d kept their distance.
Now, under Gina’s burning gaze, he didn’t know where to look.
Before he could stumble through an excuse, Kuzuha gave Gina a quick smack on the head.
”Don’t lose focus over something so trivial. That’s not like you.”
”…Apologies. It was improper of me, especially before Princess Kuzuha, my wife in name.”
”Oh my. You were thinking of me?” Kuzuha’s lips curved slightly. “Don’t worry. When it’s a matter of life and death, I don’t care about such things.”
Even as she spoke, the fox princess never took her eyes off the enemy.
They were, after all, facing a foe.
This wasn’t the time to blush over a little nudity.
Throughout their exchange, Melfidis still hadn’t moved.
That she didn’t take advantage of the distraction only made her seem more composed—almost aloof.
She might look indecent, but perhaps her heart was that of a lady.
”Flower-humans are simply like that,” Kuzuha continued. “They may look similar to you humans, but their essence is very different.”
”Different… how?”
”They’re not people with flower traits—they’re plants shaped like people.”
Her voice was calm and deliberate, like a teacher explaining a delicate fact.
Maybe it was to keep everyone’s minds sharp.
Or maybe she wanted the enemy to think she’d let her guard down—to bait them in.
Klock had met Melfidis a few times before. She never spoke.
Even when greeted, she remained as still as a statue.
Once, he’d even touched her breast to test her reaction—she hadn’t moved a muscle.
It was as if she didn’t even perceive the action.
True to the name Beloved Room, she simply stood nearby, quiet as a houseplant.
When hunger struck, her vine-like tendrils would stretch out to feed.
There was nothing human about her gestures.
Just as Kuzuha said—she was far more plant than person.
”Kuz-Kuz, you’re amazing,” Klock said earnestly. “Even as a princess, you’re like a seasoned adventurer—so much knowledge, and you’re so strong too!”
It wasn’t exactly the right time for compliments, but he couldn’t help it.
He wanted to be the kind of man worthy of this small but fierce wife. He tried to act in the best way possible, so his future self wouldn’t hold his head in his hands when he returned.
”Don’t be ridiculous,” Kuzuha said, her tone sharp but not unkind. “I was raised in comfort, a fragile girl who knows little of the world. I can’t compare to that stupid wolf princess, a true-born warrior. Brains aside, the only reason I look competent here is because you humans and the succubi are so weak.”
”Uh… right.”
Her curt answer left Klock smiling awkwardly.
Apparently, even praise wasn’t easy to give to a princess.
If his future self had truly won over this prickly woman, then it was nothing short of a miracle.
Around Kuzuha’s arm, glowing letters began to appear.
They circled and danced, weaving together like wind.
Instead of chanting, she was writing the spell directly in the air. This allowed for instant activation of the spell.
Melfidis, still silent, simply watched.
She had appeared before them but made no move—no gesture, no sign of attack.
Though an enemy, she stood there like a decorative plant, serene and unsettling.
”She made the first move, but now she’s just standing there?” Kuzuha muttered. “Fine, then I’ll—”
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her brow furrowed; a moment’s pause.
”…What?”
”Princess Kuzuha…?”
Kuzuha extended her right hand.
The letters swirling around her arm began to fade—consumed by the magic pattern—
”…How irritating. What is this woman?”
The spinning runes froze in place.
The spell’s activation had been canceled.
Kuzuha’s irritation flared visibly.
”Every time I try to attack, it gets replaced by a dream.”
”The Daydream ability you mentioned earlier?” Gina asked.
”When I try to act, it only happens in my head. My thoughts move, but my body doesn’t. From the outside, I’m just standing still, doing nothing. It’s an obnoxious kind of illusion—hard to notice unless you know it’s there.”
What a troublesome ability.
If it prevented all action, how could anyone even resist it?
It was a perfect paralysis—a total blockade of will.
”Hey,” Kuzuha snapped, glaring at Melfidis. “What do you think you’re doing? Didn’t you come here to fight? All you’re doing is getting in the way!”
Her frustration grew with every passing second.
Apparently, Melfidis was casting the Daydream over and over.
To anyone else, it looked like Kuzuha was just ranting to herself.
”Maybe she’s trying to buy time?” Gina suggested.
”Could she have allies nearby…?”
They scanned their surroundings.
No other succubi in sight—or at least, none they could detect.
In this overgrown, misty place, hiding one’s presence was all too easy.
”How utterly annoying. With this kind of trick, I can’t do anything…”
She trailed off again.
For a second, they thought she’d been hit by another illusion—
But then she said quietly, “No. If I think about it simply… it’s not that scary after all.”
”Eh?”
”If that’s all her ability can do, the magic cost must be enormous, don’t you think? Right, Melfidis? I can hardly feel any magic coming from you. How many more seconds can you keep showing us this Daydream?”
”…!!”
Melfidis, who had stood there silently like a plant, seemed to twitch ever so slightly at Kuzuha’s words.
”Klock! Gina! Run forward—now!”
Kuzuha’s shout rang through the air.
The sudden command caught them off guard, but hesitation meant death.
If she said to run, then running was the right choice.
Without a second thought, they dashed ahead.
In battle, hesitation was fatal—there was no time to think, only act.
Even Klock, still inexperienced, understood that much.
Gina darted past Melfidis on one side, Klock on the other.
They broke through—
—or so they thought.
The next moment, all three of them were standing right in front of Melfidis again.
”What…?”
”Don’t panic. This is Daydream,” Kuzuha said. “You thought you ran, didn’t you? She hates it when we act, so she made all of us use our skills inside the dream instead.”
They hadn’t run at all.
Their movements existed only in their minds; the commands never reached their bodies.
They had been trapped in an illusion where they only believed they moved.
A spell that lured you into a waking dream, freezing your real body in place—
so this was the illusion skill, Daydream.
”Both of you, again! Keep running! Do it over and over—until she can’t use that Unique Skill anymore!”
Kuzuha’s voice cut through the air.
No time to reply—they simply moved.
Once more, they rushed past Melfidis.
Gina on one side, Kuzuha on the other—this time, Kuzuha vaulted clean over her.
Were they actually running this time? Was this reality?
If they kept repeating the motion, could they break free?
Was there a way to see through it?
”—Huh?”
”Good morning. That was a quick awakening.”
When Klock came to, his feet weren’t touching the ground.
He was in the air—Kuzuha was carrying both him and Gina as she leapt through the forest canopy.
A cry escaped him at the sight of the forest falling away below. “Whoa… wait, did we break through Daydream…?”
”It seems the effect varies depending on the target,” Kuzuha explained. “It’s based on the difference in magic power. The skill she just used barely grazed me—I almost fell into the dream, but not quite.”
Klock had been fully caught, but Kuzuha nearly resisted it completely.
It had worked on her before, yet not this time.
Maybe Melfidis had tried to conserve her magic too much—
or maybe she’d already exhausted herself from overusing the skill.
”Melfidis, standing against us alone was your mistake,” Kuzuha declared. “With your level of magic, you can’t even stall us for long.”
The little fox girl—no older than eight—bounded through the treetops, carrying both of them with surprising strength.
From branch to branch, she leapt effortlessly, cutting through the thick forest.
Her legs looked so slender, so fragile.
Klock had the uneasy feeling that when her magic ran out, he’d be the one carrying her again.
”Heaven as Heaven. Celestial Water Song. And you’d better take care of my body later—this’ll leave me sore!” Kuzuha huffed, pouting at Klock.
Klock blinked.
Take care of her?
Did she mean a foot massage afterward?
Such a demanding princess… though of course, he’d do it gladly.
”What kind of spell is that?”
”Heaven as Heaven is the same one I used on her,” Kuzuha said. “It optimizes the body’s motion flow—removes the limiters so you can push your strength to the max. Step too hard, though, and you’ll snap your ligaments. Celestial Water Song channels luck into our escape—it sharpens our awareness of obstacles, makes us instinctively choose the easiest route to flee. But if we switch from fleeing to fighting, the flow turns against us.”
A blessing and a curse cast together—that was Kuzuha’s magic style.
Her techniques were unlike any human’s: strange, elegant, and powerfully flexible.
”Good girl,” Klock said softly.
The little girl wore a proud expression. Children should be praised to help them grow. Half-impulsively, he patted her head.
”Wha—hey! Are you treating me like a child? I’m older than you right now!”
A sharp pain stabbed through his back.
Since Kuzuha was supporting him with her right hand, that meant her claws had just sunk into his back.
”Ow, ow, ow—sorry! I’m sorry, okay?!”
”That’s what you get for teasing me! Remember this, Klock! I’ll hold this grudge for the next fifteen years!”
Klock arched backward like a flopping fish on her shoulder.
Apparently, treating the princess like a kid was not a wise move, even if she’d asked to be carried.
Their squabbling echoed through the treetops as they soared over the forest.
”Is she following us?” Gina asked calmly, ignoring their bickering. “I can’t see a thing through the trees.”
He glanced back. All he could see was the dense, overgrown forest. There was no way to tell if anyone was below.
”Melfidis may have an impressive ability,” she said, “but if she really came alone, that’s overconfidence. Her magic reserves are barely above an average person’s. She’s no threat to me—and a Hero-class fighter could repel her completely.”
Daydream was powerful, yes—but too draining to sustain.
Using it solo made no tactical sense.
If she’d fought alongside Celes or Athena, they might’ve had a real fight on their hands.
”Maybe she didn’t come here,” Klock said. “Maybe she was already here.”
”This forest is her territory? …That would explain a lot.”
”But even then,” Gina cautioned, “she likely has allies nearby.”
”You’re right. It would be strange if she didn’t.”
They all reached the same conclusion—Melfidis wasn’t alone.
Her ability was meant to support others, not carry a battle by itself.
So if she had comrades, why hadn’t they appeared?
”Those who rely too much on their powers,” Kuzuha muttered, “never learn to watch their own footing. When they finally rush in, I won’t show any mercy.”
Had the enemy fallen behind schedule?
Maybe they were racing to catch up right now. What if he looked back and saw them running with pale faces?
…Surely they couldn’t be that incompetent.
They landed at last in a small clearing.
Kuzuha wasn’t using flight magic—just her own strength. After so many leaps, her legs finally began to give out.
The moment Klock stepped down, his feet sank into the soil again. It felt strange to touch the ground after being carried for so long.
Before them stretched the same dense, shadowed forest.
”I don’t sense anyone following us,” Kuzuha said.
”Then let’s keep going straight through,” Gina replied.
No sign of Melfidis anywhere.
If she’d been right behind them, they would’ve had to fight here and now—but since she wasn’t, fleeing seemed the wiser choice.
”…Hm?”
A flicker of red light flashed through the trees.
It was so brief that Klock almost doubted he’d seen it at all.
”…Ah.”
Neither Gina nor Kuzuha seemed to have noticed.
If Klock had only just arrived at the Crimson Spire today, he wouldn’t have either.
But the past few days had sharpened his instincts enough to recognize it.
”Klock, this way—”
”Got it.”
Kuzuha grabbed his hand and pulled him toward a thick patch of underbrush.
She leapt gracefully over a fallen trunk. He couldn’t imitate her, so he took a large stride to cross it.
She paused, waiting for him to catch up.
Then they ducked under a low branch together, like creeping beneath a curtain of young saplings.
Like lovers, they continued on, holding hands the entire time. Just moments ago, she had been so prickly. Now, her hand was held tightly, as if she would never let go.
”This way,” she urged with a small tug.
”Huh? Through the puddle?”
A pool of water gleamed ahead, as though rain had just passed.
Instead of avoiding it, she waded straight through.
”Wait—where’s Gina?”
It struck him that things had grown quiet.
He turned around—no sign of her.
Somehow, they’d gotten separated.
”Kuz-Kuz! Gina’s—”
”If we’ve come this far, I guess we’re safe now~”
”…What?”
The world changed.
In its place stood a room of stone—walls, floor, everything like part of a castle.
Somehow, they had crossed the dream’s threshold again, and the forest had vanished without a trace.
And there was a change in the girl before his eyes.
”I’m so glad you’re okay! You disappeared so suddenly—I was so worried!”
”Alice…!”
The black fox girl whose hand he had been holding until just now.
Her appearance had changed to that of a rabbit girl. Crimson eyes. Small demon wings. She, in her light blue apron dress, was smiling brightly.
An illusion from a Cursed Eye…?
No. It was KuzKuz whose hand he had been holding until just now. Her voice had been hers too.
This wasn’t a mere hallucination—it was enchantment.
”…Klock. Let’s kiss.”
”Eh—”
”You can, right? We’re lovers, after all.”
That… was bad.
He remembered the first time she had drained his essence.
That had been intimidation, not affection.
So why now, of all times, was she asking this?
It was obvious—she knew the previous charm had been broken. She wanted to re-bind him.
”…Why aren’t you saying anything? Huh?”
”N–no, no, of course! A kiss, sure! Maybe, uh, over there—”
Terrible. Absolutely terrible.
He couldn’t possibly fight her alone.
All he could do was stall, buy time until Kuzuha found him.
But how?
Yesterday, this bunny girl had been his beloved.
Now, she was terrifying.
Even if he wanted to run, her hand held him fast.
What could he possibly do—
”Why are you resisting?”
”W–what? No, not at all—”
”Huh? Then bend down and match my height! Lover’s kiss!”
Alice was petite—about Gina’s height.
To kiss, either she had to stand on tiptoe or he had to stoop down.
Alice reached for Klock’s collar. She pulled him forcefully, bringing his face closer.
Yesterday she’d been gentle, rising on her toes for a soft kiss.
Now, the sheer force of her pull stunned him.
The bunny girl’s lips drew closer—
The cute rabbit girl. The fleshy lips of his lover, his rabbit wife.
If their lips met, it would all be over—a demon’s kiss.
If his essence was drained, it would be over. He would be carried away once his legs gave out.
He couldn’t overpower her, couldn’t resist.
This was the end of his flight.
”Right here!!”
From empty space, something suddenly came with the force of kicking through.
Black cloth exploded into the room, lashing out at Alice and Klock.
”Kuz-Kuz!!”
”Tch.”
The black cloth—it was one of the fox princess’s signature spells, likely her familiar.
She’d used it before to ambush Alice.
But this time, head-on, it wouldn’t be so simple. The trick wouldn’t work twice.
”Oh? A succubus who uses an axe?” Alice sneered.
”And a beastkin who uses magic,” Kuzuha shot back.
The shredded black fabric fluttered to the floor and vanished.
It was a short-handled hand axe, clearly meant for single-handed use.
She’d torn through the spell and slammed the heavy blade against the stone.
The weapon was nearly as tall as she was—massive, brutal.
Unlike most succubi, Alice was one of the rare ones at the Crimson Spire who fought with steel instead of spells.
”Be careful, Princess,” Gina warned. “This rabbit beastkin wields a Cursed Eye.”
”I know. What an annoying pair we’ve run into this time,” Kuzuha muttered.
Kuzuha and Gina—finally, they’d caught up.
How they’d tracked him—by scent, by divination—he couldn’t tell.
It was a close call. He thought it was over.
Alice said, “Melfi. Leave these guys to me. Take Klock and go.”
Before he could react, Alice hurled him backward.
The next moment, plant stems wrapped around his body.
”Guh—!”
They wrapped around him like ropes, lifting him clean off the ground.
The pressure tightened painfully around his chest until he could barely breathe.
And then she appeared before him—the nude flower woman.
”Ms. Melfi—w–wait, what are you—!?”
”Klock,” she said gently. “Be a good boy.”
He’d let his guard down, reassured by Kuzuha’s arrival.
Melfidis had crept up behind him, seizing the chance.
Now she carried him effortlessly toward the exit, away from his allies.
Alice swung her axe, blocking Kuzuha and Gina from reaching him.
Kuzuha and Gina were no longer visible.
”Well then…”
Alice hefted her massive axe and gave it a casual swing.
The air hissed as the heavy blade sliced through it.
The speed of that motion left no doubt about her strength.
With a fierce glare, the bunny girl stared them down—her expression pure, focused fury.
”I’ll never forgive you. I’ll tear you to shreds and kill you, you thieving fox!”
”That’s my line. I’ll make you into stew for today and tomorrow, you plundering rabbit!”
Notes:
• Melfidis – Plant-like Succubus, female, “Lady Kispe’s delicate ring finger.”
• Gina – A kind choir member who shows genuine concern for Adelina. She’s a rare ally in this unfamiliar place, offering some comfort and companionship.
• Athena – Harpies adventurer; appears alongside Alice at Barreith gathering, flirtatious, joins Klock and volunteers for upcoming battles
• Celes – A bear-type Beastkin Succubus living with Alice after Klock’s arrival. She’s playful, physically strong, and driven by her species’ “mating season” instincts. She teases Alice often and treats life with freedom and spontaneity. No known family or formal ties; she’s Alice’s companion and occasional housemate.
• Alice – Rabbitkin adventurer; appears at the same Barreith gathering, playful and mischievous, interacts with Klock, part of recruited volunteers
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply