Unrestrained taking?
Hearing this, Henny only felt a wave of inexplicable strangeness.
But Cocotte kept on reciting without stopping.
The extremely rich language in the book made it feel as if she were experiencing the scene firsthand.
"Her alluring gaze shimmered with a hazy light, like starlight."
"Like poison, it made me sink into an endless sea of desire."
"Her lips, red as fresh blood, drew out the deepest longing in my heart, manipulating the desires within me."
"I was captured by her bewitching charm, unable to free myself."
"Her touch was gentle yet powerful, intoxicating me with this forbidden love."
"Under her teasing, I couldn't help myself, letting her strip away all my clothes, wrapping me up…"
"Stop! You don't need to translate anymore!"
At this point, Henny couldn't take it any longer. She loudly stopped Cocotte, preventing her from continuing to read.
Just hearing these things made her face burn red.
From her cheeks all the way to the roots of her ears, she was completely flushed.
No wonder Cocotte had looked so strange when she was reading this book.
This was simply an obscene book that would never pass censorship.
How could it possibly appear on Professor Viktor's bookshelf?
In a panic, Henny snatched the book out of Cocotte's hands.
Cocotte was a little stunned. Looking at Henny's face, now red through and through, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but lift slightly. With a somewhat teasing expression, she joked, "So you like reading this kind of… romance novel?"
"It's no big deal. I read this kind of stuff sometimes too."
The more Cocotte spoke, the more ashamed Henny felt.
In the end, she simply pulled the huge hood of her robe over her head, covering her face and not daring to look at Cocotte anymore.
But Cocotte still revealed some useful information.
"However, judging from the description of the female lead in this book, she should be a succubus."
"…A succubus?"
Henny lifted her head again and looked at Cocotte in confusion.
Cocotte crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and nodded calmly.
"That's right, a succubus."
This knowledgeable former councilor finally showed her worth.
"Succubi emit a unique aura of charm."
"Once someone sees a succubus's true form, regardless of gender or race, they'll be affected by that charm."
"Their body will involuntarily feel heated, and they'll crave being loved."
Hearing this, Henny couldn't help but think of Vanilla.
She was exactly like that after seeing her own body.
Wasn't this extremely similar to what Cocotte was describing?
Gradually, Henny seemed to have some guesses about her own situation.
But she still found it hard to believe.
How could that be possible?
She was clearly a human.
"Pure-blooded succubi will appear beside others in the form that person likes the most. If they want to, they can even transform into elves like us."
Cocotte pointed at herself and continued.
"Oh right, by the way, there are also non–pure-blood succubi."
Hearing this, Henny froze slightly.
"They're the result left behind after a succubus seeks pleasure with other races. They retain some succubus traits, but can't transform into other races."
"And they crave being loved even more intensely."
Listening to Cocotte's nonstop explanation, Henny suddenly stood there, stunned.
At this moment, it felt as though all the doubts in her heart finally had reasonable answers.
No wonder every time she saw the professor, deep in her heart, there would be a restless longing.
As if she were craving something.
"So… am I a succubus?"
She stood there blankly, unconsciously murmuring it out loud.
Hearing her words, Cocotte was even more confused than Henny and blurted out, "What did you just say?"
She urged the cloud beneath her, circling around Henny as she examined her back and forth.
Then Cocotte pinched her chin and thought for a while.
Finally, she gave a very serious conclusion.
"Impossible! How could you be a succubus?!"
"What kind of succubus would be like you, almost over twenty years old and never even dated once?"
"If you were a succubus, wouldn't you have died from holding it in long ago?"
Henny looked at Cocotte with a blank expression, opened her mouth, and couldn't say a word.
"I…"
As if trying to test something, Henny made an extremely bold attempt toward Cocotte.
She undid the buttons on her chest and took off her loose robe, revealing her shapely body.
When she saw the body of this little succubus, the former elven councilor froze on the spot.
For the first time in nearly a hundred years, her body, one that had never felt anything, produced a strange sensation of heat.
It was like an unprecedented pleasure filling the depths of her heart.
Although this charm didn't last very long, after all, for a fourth-tier mage on the verge of breaking into the fifth tier, being affected at all was already impressive,
the pleasure it brought to Cocotte was deeply engraved into her body.
Cocotte widened her eyes, staring at Henny, whose face was red and who looked incredibly shy.
Then she suddenly lowered her head and compared Henny with her own figure.
"…Sorry."
"I believe you now."
———
The Clavenna household finally welcomed a long-awaited period of peace.
After about three days, Halnarsen, far away in the family's old territory, carefully selected a large number of demi-human guards for Viktor and sent them to the royal capital residence.
Nearly a hundred shadow guards stood solemnly on the vast training ground of the Clavenna family, arranged in neat formations, awaiting orders.
All of the shadow guards wore hoods and cloaks, revealing only their differently colored eyes.
They looked every bit like a well-trained force.
Leon stood at the very front of the entire team and reported to Liya, "Miss Liya, everyone has arrived."
"They're all elite members who stood out from the training camp."
However, Leon was a little curious.
Why did Miss Liya suddenly summon all these demi-human guards to the royal capital?
For demi-humans, the royal capital was a very dangerous place.
Here, the inhuman discrimination they faced was even more severe.
There were strict laws stating that if demi-humans were encountered, anyone could expel them from the country.
If their demi-human identities were exposed in the royal capital, they could very likely be treated badly.
Liya counted the people and nodded to Leon.
"Mm, have them line up first. As for what we're doing, we'll wait until Viktor gets here."
"Vi… Viktor?"
Leon was a bit confused. 'What did this have to do with Viktor?'
But very soon, a man wearing a trench coat appeared before everyone.
The crow perched on his shoulder was like a symbol of his identity.
Everyone recognized the man in front of them.
Viktor Clavenna.
The true master of the Clavenna family.
The moment he appeared, it was as if a terrifying pressure descended upon the demi-humans' heads.
Like a world-ending magical beast was constantly sizing them up.
All the shadow guards lowered their heads, not even daring to meet the man's gaze.
But Viktor didn't grant them that mercy.
"Raise your heads, all of you."
"Take off your hoods, remove your masks, and look at me."
His words carried an unquestionable authority, echoing in everyone's ears.
Their bodies trembled slightly. Then, very obediently, they removed their hoods and masks.
Their appearances and figures were fully revealed.
Viktor calmly looked at them.
Most of these demi-humans had cat ears or dog ears growing from their heads.
Viktor quietly observed them. Then, beneath his feet, an extremely massive magic array suddenly formed.
Crimson and luminous green lights intertwined as the array spread across the sandy ground, completely enveloping the demi-humans.
A powerful glow surged upward, seemingly lighting up the entire training ground. The brilliant dual colors continuously shifted and moved across the earth.
Soon, a gigantic array with complex patterns began to converge from the edges toward the center.
All the demi-humans stood within the array, feeling that terrifying power. A slight stinging sensation rose across their bodies.
Before Viktor, the levels and health bars of these demi-humans appeared.
The average was level 25, with some at level 26 and 27.
All of them were at the second tier.
Halnarsen's eye for talent was indeed quite good.
Then, along with that magic array filled with astonishing power, dark clouds gradually covered the sky above.
Ripples slowly appeared in the sky.
It was as if something was starting to fall from above.
Everyone present couldn't help but look up, staring at the corner revealed within the ripples.
They were blades and armor.
They shimmered with faint light as they fell from the sky like meteors, one after another, toward the ground.
Perfectly and accurately, they landed in front of every demi-human.
They lowered their heads in confusion, unanimously looking at the heavy armor and sharp weapons.
Seeing this, Liya couldn't help narrowing her eyes and laughing softly.
"Alright, now I finally understand what those weapons and equipment are for."
At the very center of the training ground, Viktor's voice rang out like a massive bell, booming in all directions.
"Do you want to become stronger?"
That voice seemed capable of blowing away all the dust in the air. Even the gloom in the sky seemed to disperse a little under its thunderous sound.
"Do you want to earn the respect that belongs to you, and no longer suffer discrimination and oppression?"
In a daze, they seemed to hear it, a sharp, hoarse voice overlapping with Viktor's.
Before their eyes, the man's figure seemed to change slightly.
As if he had turned into a gigantic, mysterious jet-black crow.
It flapped its wings, flickering and beating continuously.
As though proclaiming some strange divine revelation.
"Then follow me. Worship me."
Suddenly, several black waterfalls rose from the ground, flowing upward against the sky.
The clear sky, freed of dark clouds, gradually connected with those black waterfalls.
They stared in shock at this bizarre scene.
Like an illusion.
"And then..."
The instant the voice fell, upon those upward-flowing black waterfalls, an enormous single eye rose into view.
The massive, terrifying eye stood upright, a long, thin pupil opening within it.
As if it were looking them up and down.
Under that gaze, their minds seemed to twist and distort.
Only in their ears did that hollow, godlike voice continue to echo.
"...Believe in me!"