The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 423 – Families and Friends

Seven, Kara, Camilla, and Kanae ventured out of Bravost on a shaded wagon under the afternoon sun. The destination was a village called Pardine, which sat on rising and grew fruits called rockheart. They had picked up a quest from the adventurers hall, originating from a group of farmers having trouble with monsters stealing their harvests.

Things were going well on the way there. The mood was uplifting, Kara and Camilla had a lot to talk about, and Seven enjoyed a couple of mole rat skewers Kanae bought for him in the bazaar before leaving. It all came to a head when Seven and Kara started asking about Theena, and Kanae finally told them. From working with the Harpy King again, their multiple encounters and fights, her refusal to come back, and letting them go free on the stolen edirashem wagon.

Seven took it the worst. He clammed up, no longer the talkative boy who had so much to say about his recent adventurers. Even as Kanae tried to reach out to Seven, he scooted away and sulked quietly to himself.

"This Theena person," Camilla leaned in to whisper. "What kind of woman was she to them?"

"Like a big sister. Theena was always looking after Seven and Kara. We met them in Kandis when Arenade and I went there for our honeymoon. We were at the adventurers hall. I picked out a quest that Kara had been eyeing, and Seven almost picked a fight with me over it. That was when Theena came in to diffuse the situation— Not that I was going to butt heads with them over a quest," she explained.

The Saint Priest sat back and patted her sister Kara on the head.

"Any friend of my baby sister is a friend of mine. I'm sure Theena had your best interests in mind, even if they were a detriment to herself." Camilla smiled.

"Hmph. Theena's always going off on her own… she should rely on us more…" Seven muttered from the corner of the wagon.

"We've arrived at Pardine!" the stage coach announced.

Everyone pulled the shade cloth back to look outside and found a surprisingly green scenery in the desert. The ground was covered in low grasses being grazed on by ronoas. Stout trees with thick trunks and branches sprouted fern-like leaves with a waxy coating on the surface. They formed an umbrella canopy which children played in, the elderly smoked hookahs under, and animals rested from the sun.

Farmsteads buildings made from pale brown adobe, sun-dried mud bricks, formed clusters of communes. Their homes and stables were all dome-shaped, encircling a large bonfire at the center of each group.

Beyond them was a vast field of cacti. They were v-shaped growing out of the ground, producing two large stems. At the top of each stem was a bundle of rigid gray fruits that looked like rocks.

"Hmm. I wonder if Sadul runs a farm like this but with dowugut," Kanae wondered aloud.

"Who?" Camilla asked.

"O-Oh, nothing! Just someone I'm remembering," she said, brushing it off. Although, just recalling Sadul was getting her soaking wet. Those few days as his sex slave really left his mark.

Kanae shook her head violently. There were more important things to focus on right now, like the quest. The four of them headed into Pardine to hard stares and a lot of erections. To many, it was their first time seeing a succubus. Camilla had changed out of her Saint Priest vestments and into something less eye-catching to avoid standing out, but that didn't stop the succubus of the group from drawing attention.

"We're looking for a man named… Arwa," Theena said, reading off from the quest notice.

"That would be me. How may I help you, travelers?"

They turned around to an old dark elven man, whose eyes were cloudy and gently swinging a walking cane side to side.

"We're adventurers from Bravost!" Seven perked up and took the initiative to introduce them. "Heard ya got monsters that need dealing with?"

Arwa breathed a sigh of relief. "Adventurers! I thought we had all been forgotten when no one came to handle our quest for months. Teppers have been devastating our crops. They eat their fill in the night when we're all asleep. We've posted watchmen to scare them away, but they have started getting violent. None of us are fighters. Just farmers."

"What are teppers?" Kanae asked.

"Primitive nomadic imps, closer to animals than to their talking counterparts. But teppers have a unique skill that lets them teleport around, making them hard to catch and hunt. We have a cactus farm expert come in to set up traps. Unfortunately, the teppers are too slippery. Ah! There he is now. Mr. Sadul!" The farmer beckoned to a familiar someone wearing a sun hat afar.

"S-Sadul?" She gulped.

"Are there finally adventurers here? Thank good— Oh." Sadul met Kanae's gaze and froze.

"Do you two… know each other?" Kara swapped glances between them.

Arwa showed everyone to some lodgings at his farm. Meanwhile, Kanae took a stroll with Sadul into the cactus fields. The porcine beastman looked a lot more put together than before. He carried himself with greater confidence. His clothes were made from silken finery, but odd and out of place in a farm like Pardine.

Along one row, a woman stood shakily on the ladder as she picked rockhearts from the top of the cactus. Sadul rushed over to hold it and pressed his foot on the lowest rung. She thanked him, and quickly picked every fruit before descending safely down.

"I'm surprised to find you here. Figured you would be living it up back in The Diamond," Kanae joked.

"I have been, thanks to you!" Sadul laughed heartily. "Ever since the banquet, a vacuum of power opened up in the East Saviran Trading Association. I took the opportunity to elevate myself. Acquired myself several coins, too." He revealed a few gold and platinum tokens, highly coveted among members of the merchant guild. "I've also heard what happened to Migo. Word travels fast among us. I'm not all too excited for the Mamba to be Premier, but this is another opportunity for me to grow. Which is why I'm here."

"To help the farmers?"

He nodded. "To lend my expertise to the Pardine, hopefully to convince them to join my greater farming empire! Sadly, I haven't been helpful. Teppers are nasty little creatures. They learn quickly, too. I've laced the skin of rockhearts with a sleeping agent. Easily washed off before consumption. We culled a few who took the bait in the morning, but they have since learned to steal the fruits, wash them in a well, and take off. Thankfully, you're here now. You and your companions seem very capable!"

Sadul motioned Kanae to a break in the fields. A couple of farmers were using shovels to lift small fat monsters from a pile onto a wagon. Teppers. They came in all sorts of colors, red, green, brown, and more. Blunted claws protruded from their gnarled fingers. The imps had a face only a mother could love, like that of a bat with a smushed snout.

Except for those claws, they didn't look particularly dangerous. An average person could kick them square across a cactus field. However, it seemed their real problem was the ability to teleport. That and just stealing the crops at night.

"What do you think? Can you and the others handle them?" Sadul leaned over from behind.

"How many are there? Is it just one group, or is there a whole lot of them?" Kanae asked.

"We believe it is just one group, yes. These teppers serve no function in the environment. If you can wipe them out, the people of Pardine and I will be eternally grateful," he explained.

To be honest, these were probably going to be a piece of cake. Especially with Camilla here. Her incredible speed could match teppers, even if they had the ability to teleport. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the sun to go down.

Waiting…

"We have until nightfall." Kanae grabbed Sadul by the collar and pulled him up to her face.

"Eh? Until nightfall for… what?" Sadul stammered.

"My colleague interrupted my chance at a brothel earlier. I want you to fuck me silly like old times. Where's your carriage?" she demanded.

Sadul sprung an erection and didn't hesitate. They retreated into his covered wagon for the rest of the afternoon to partake in each other's flesh. He pounded away into Kanae's pussy as the sun slowly set over the vast deserts of Savir. With every load he blew, she had to blow him to get it hard again.

Soon, the wagon filled with sweat, and they baked under the humid atmosphere created from their own hot breaths. Sadul took Kanae roughly from behind. He spanked her ass, pulled on her nipple piercings, and pumped her full of cum.

"Yes, yes, yes! After so long… I feel your wriggly cock writhing around in my womb… it feels so good… Shoot more inside me!" Kanae pleaded.

"As you wish, my little slut!" Sadul poured another load into her, and they climaxed together.

"Kanaaaee!" Camilla shouted from a distance.

Both of them panicked. The footfalls were drawing closer. Two silhouettes took shape on the other side of the cover. Kanae poked her head out the wagon flap, and Camilla and Kara were staring right at her.

"H-Hey, guys. What's up?" Kanae asked, twitching with pleasure as Sadul continued thrusting.

"Kanae, we know you're in there doing the dirty with someone. The wagon's been rocking the entire afternoon. All of Pardine knows!" Camilla exclaimed.

Kara covered her red face and nodded.

"Are you serious? Ugh— ooohhh!" Kanae climaxed when Sadul pinched her nipples again. She kicked him off after coming back to her senses. "Quit it in there! J-Just give me a second, and I'll be right out."

"Well, hurry. That harpy boy, Seven? He went off on his own into the cactus fields," Camilla said.

"What? How long ago?" Kanae asked.

"Ten minutes ago by now. I told him to wait, but… he just wouldn't listen," Kara explained.

Kanae clicked her tongue. She got dressed and hurried out to join the others. They rushed to the cactus fields, where it was overrun with teppers. Unfazed by spikes, the little imps went from cactus to cactus and gorged on rockhearts.

Some of the farmers and watchmen tried chasing them away. One man brandished a pitchfork, but a dozen teppers ganged up on him and ripped the tool away.

"Get back here, you stupid imps!" Seven flew after a tepper holding an armful of rockhearts.

A couple hanging from a trunk waited until he was right under them, then leaped onto his back. They knocked Seven to the ground, wailing on him with the hard-skinned fruits.

"Seven!" Kara gasped.

"Leave them to me. Compel Duel!" Camilla stomped the ground, causing magic sigils to etch themselves into existence in a cone in front of her. They reached the teppers attacking Seven, and all of them recoiled as if slapped in the face. One by one, they got off and charged at the Saint Priest instead. She drew her rapier, and like a conductor of an orchestra, conducted a dance of death that cut them all down.

Kanae recognized the opening Camilla had made and darted in to rescue Seven. He was only mildly injured. The biggest bruise was to his confidence. She casted Flash Heal a few times on him just in case.

Frustrated, Seven brushed her off.

"Stop! I don't need your help," Seven growled.

"This isn't about needing my help. We're a team right now, and you won't get anywhere acting on your own," Kanae scolded him.

More leaped from nearby cacti, and Seven instinctively shielded himself. Kanae caught one in her tail, sliced another in half, and knocked a third away with her whip. Kara and Camilla caught up, leaving a trail of dead teppers in their wake.

"Seven, you shouldn't have run off like that!" Kara exclaimed as she helped him up.

"Maybe you should tell Theena that!" Seven shouted back.

Kara shrunk a little. The girl definitely didn't expect to be yelled at. If only Arenade was here. She was closer to Seven and probably couldn't have gotten through to him.

While they were talking, the teppers had grouped up into a mass and surrounded them. The chittering monsters were furious. There must be a hundred. Kara stood protectively over Seven. Taking this many at once might be too much for those two. For Kanae and Camilla, on the other hand…

"My dear baby sister of mine, may I have the rapier back for a minute?" Camilla asked.

"Y-Yeah!" Kara handed the enchanted rapier over.

"On me, Amethyst! I want to show off to my baby sister. You're going to help me," she insisted.

"With pleasure." Kanae drew her own sword, the Blade of the First Temptress.

The teppers launched into an all-out attack, only to be stopped in place by Kanae's Conjured Caltrops. They might not have cared about the cactus spines, but the caltrop spikes packed a punch. Many stumbled over each other trying to get to them.

Next, Kanae casted Sleep through the Blade. Scores of teppers collapsed and fell unconscious. Camilla dashed in and, wielding two rapiers with deadly precision, plunged the sharpened steel into the hearts of every imp in her way. By the time they were done, the ground was drenched in an ocean of tepper blood. Ronoas tiptoed in and started feasting on their carcasses, too.

"A… Amazing," Kara muttered, staring in awe.

"Here you are!" Camilla wiped the blood off the rapier on her own tunic and returned it to Kara's hands.

A large group of farmers rushed over from the commune. All of them gaped at the sight before them.

"Good gods. It's hard to tell who the real monsters are…" Sadul wiped the sweat from his brows.

After finishing the quest so soon, they didn't need to spend the night. As much as Kanae wanted to for other reasons, Camilla had to return to Archbishop Patrice's side. The farmers of Pardine gifted them a couple of bushels of rockhearts as thanks. They tasted like kiwis, though sweeter and more firm.

Seven remained mopey all the way back. Even more so after being reminded of his lack of strength. Kanae scooted closer to him, and he scooted away. She scooted closer again, and he continued keeping a distance from her. Eventually, they reached one end of the carriage. He had nowhere else to go.

"You can't escape me, at least not until we're back to Bravost. Talk to me, Seven. You think Arenade or Theena would be happy about you being so down in the dumps?" Kanae asked.

"It's just not fair. I don't get why Theena wouldn't rely on us. We're supposed to be friends. Friends rely on each other! Are we not actually… friends?" Seven wrung his hands together and sighed.

"Hey…" She put an arm around to comfort him. "I think it's because you're friends that Theena is doing this. I'm sorry I couldn't bring her back when I promised to last time. My superior is most likely going to send me to Elusis next. I swear, I will bring her back. So, chin up."

"Hmph." He turned away.

"I said, chin up!"

Kanae bumped the bottom of Seven's chin with her fist until he did, then tickled him into laughter. Across the carriage, Kara flashed a soft smile. They arrived back in Bravost as the two youngest members of their party were nodding off. 

The carriage stopped in front of the dormitory apartment Kara and Seven were staying at. Seven was fast asleep, but Kara wasn't. She hoisted him onto her back as they hopped off.

"D'awww. Kid's a lot cuter when he doesn't look all sad." Camilla poked Seven's nose and made him wrinkle it.

"Thanks for coming with us today. Seven might show it, but I just know he still had fun. I really wish Theena was with us, too. But I'm sure she has her own circumstances to deal with. When you guys find her in Elusis, don't be too hard on her," Kara said.

"I'll try not to. But Theena needs as much of a scolding as Seven does." Kanae grinned.

"Nighty-nite!" She patted her sister on the head. "Keep that rapier sharpened. It felt a little dull when I was using it. Must be all the sand."

"Will do!" She bowed to them both before heading inside.

The two waited until the pair disappeared into the building before leaving.

"Seven doesn't have a family, does he?" Camilla asked.

"He does… but it's complicated." Kanae sighed, hesitating to reveal that Seven was the son of the Harpy King.

"But the fact is, his family isn't around. Seems to me Seven found a family in his friends. I understand why Theena's absence hit him so bad. Poor kid. I wonder if Theena feels responsible somehow," she said.

On the way back to the Emerald Palace, Kanae was about to veer off to go to Sandy Cooch again. However, Camilla threw an arm around her and steered her towards a hookah bar.

"Where do you think you're going? Didn't you have enough with that beastman in Pardine? There are other ways to have fun, my friend!" Camilla laughed.

"Oh, come on! Don't you have to go back to the archbishop?" Kanae groaned.