The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

The two Rown carriages were at the stables when Kanae and her companions went to retrieve them. Just like Renya had said, she really didn't take either of them and opted to leave The Diamond her own way. Kanae hoped she was alright. For whatever reason, the Harpy King was after her life. He sent the Dervish Five to pursue her, and if the other four were just as strong as Sofisa, the Dancing Dervish, she wasn't going to last very long against them.

Now that the party had been reunited, they could recommence their journey into Savir and make headway to Bravost at last. Also known as the Emerald Jewel, Sultana Dudula ruled through sheer wealth and the ability to buy off anyone, anything, and even those after her life. But with her paranoia growing in recent years, her good fortune might be running on a thin line now. With any luck, they had set back Avanesse and Ortesia's attempt to overthrow her. Though, Kanae doubted it was over just yet.

On the morning of the next day, Kanae awakened in bed next to Sadul after a night-long romp to return the favor. After all, he did hold his end of the bargain in getting her into the banquet, and they achieved much in doing so. The boar beastman spooned Kanae from behind, both hands planted firmly on her breasts and his corkscrew cock still fastened in her pussy, plugging up all the cum he emptied into it.

The second Kanae tried to wriggle away, Sadul embraced her even tighter.

"Where do you think you're going, my dear?" Sadul whispered, drilling his dick back inside her womb.

"Mmm! I have to meet with my friends. I'm leaving for Bravost, remember?" Kanae replied playfully.

They fooled around for a little before she climbed atop and straddled his waist. Sadul's stringy cock writhed within her in ways a normal shaped one couldn't. The bed creaked and groaned every time she bounced. Two large hands reached up to her breasts again and squeezed her stiff nipples.

"Ahhh! So good!" Kanae threw her head back and moaned.

Sadul climaxed, pumping his load into her. The feeling of his hot, scalding seed brought Kanae to an orgasm. She collapsed onto his chest to catch her breath. Two gropey hands caressed her behind in the meantime.

"So, you will be off to Bravost to save the sultana. Would you perhaps drop my name that I had a hand in her rescue?" Sadul asked.

"I think you've earned enough accolades. Besides, you probably don't want anyone painting a target on your back, do you?" Kanae reminded him.

"Eh… I s-suppose not," he stammered, recalling when Romira's Stalkers first attacked.

They got dressed, and Sadul escorted Kanae down the tower. A few days had passed since the banquet, and association members still gossipped over what happened. She couldn't blame them, given the damning allegations levied against the conspirators.

Now, however, that security had increased and members were on guard, the assassins might not have another chance.

"Are you going to Bravost with us? If you do, we can continue there~" Kanae offered flirtatiously, clinging to his arm.

"There is no sane man whose resolve your body cannot weaken! But alas, I must decline. I am no merchant without wares to peddle. The Mamba's token has also opened… new avenues and opportunities previously not available to me. This is where we part ways. May we meet and fornicate again!" Sadul hailed a carriage for Kanae, waving to her until she was out of sight.

The others were waiting at an inn. As soon as Kanae arrived, they had already packed and were ready to grab their Rown carriages at the stable's wagon park near the eastern gate. 

"Ugh. I'm going to get some shut-eye. Wake me up when we make it," Claudia said, climbing into one carriage.

The second she did, one of the wheels popped off and the entire vehicle tilted. She stumbled back in shock, then whirled around to face everyone.

"Alright, if anyone cracks a joke about my weight, you're getting the paddle!" she threatened.

"I don't think it was you," Edina said, kneeling down next to the carriage. "The hub's broken. It connects the wheel to the axel."

Petyr and Vizier Duran stepped away from the second vehicle they were about to enter. Everyone inspected the hubs of each carriage for signs of damage. Sure enough, they were all cracked. If someone were to enter and start moving it, their wheels would also pop out.

"Well, I can't blame your northerners' engineering. They were never ready for Savir's harsh terrain. We should have taken one of mine instead," Duran said pompously.

"Renya was proud of her carriages being all-terrain though. If there's one thing I trust, it's quality Rown engineering. There's no way this just broke," Kanae countered.

"That's because someone sabotaged them," Edina explained to the gasps of the entire party.

"Why do you think so?" Alicia asked.

She pointed to the hub and continued, "You can brace a cracked frame and replace a broken wheel. Hubs also need to be replaced. But worse, they gotta be replaced by the original maker. I doubt we'll find someone in Savir who's got the hub schematics for Rown carriages. When I ran with the Outriders, we always broke this piece. Let the wagons break down in the middle of the road, then hit 'em for their stuff. I bet whoever did this, doesn't want us making it to Bravost."

Kanae clicked her tongue. It could have been the Ortesians, Cerberus, or Harpy King who could have done this. Any one of them benefited from delaying their journey.

"No matter. I will leverage my status to obtain new carriages from us," Duran said before leaving the stable.

Not a second later—

"What do you mean you're out of beasts to loan? Do you know who I am?" the angry vizier shouted from outside.

They emerged outside to find Duran shouting at a young feline beastman stablehand. The boy was holding the reins to a camel, wincing at every lashing word.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, sir! Our burden beasts broke out of their enclosure last night. The others are out in the blistering heat right now, trying to bring them back," he explained.

First, their carriages broke down. Now, they were learning that the beasts used to pull vehicles had all run away. That couldn't be a coincidence.

"If you yell at this boy one more time, I will throw you from the tallest tower I can find." Petyr came to the boy's defense, causing the vizier to shrink away.

"Y-You wouldn't…" Duran stammered.

"Unfortunately, she would." Alicia patted him on the shoulder.

"We just need a carriage or two. Leave something to pull the wagon to me," Edina said.

"If you're about to do what I think you're about to do, I hope you remember what happened last time!" Kanae warned.

"I'm about to show you how many fucks I give." She summoned four skeletal creatures that must have been dire beasts in life.

The stableboy was frightened at first, but he began to clap with childish delight. Vizier Duran's wealth obtained them two Saviran travel carriages. They were isosceles-shaped, with the farthest point of the apex being the front of the vehicle. With everyone pitching in, the group harnessed and hitched Edina's undead in no time.

Petyr, who was holding the beastman boy's hand, was about to enter a carriage with him until Kanae stopped her.

"Seriously?" Kanae groaned.

"Tsk." Petyr clicked her tongue and let him go.

Since Edina controlled her minions that pulled the wagon, they had no need for stagecoaches and set off from The Diamond without delay. Several guards watched in exasperation as the skeletal beasts sauntered past them. They threw their arms in the air but didn't give chase.

"Hehe. Suckers." Edina tossed a piece of paper over her shoulder, letting the wind carry it into the deserts.

"What did you litter just now?" Kanae asked.

"That dumb ticket I got for using necromancy in the city. Fuck 'em! I ain't paying a single coin!" she exclaimed.

"For your sake, it better not come back and bite you in the ass later…"

The journey to Bravost was a lot smoother than the trek through the Arkesian Wastes. Beaten paths were less treacherous. There was more sand than jagged canyons and valleys. Dire vultures and carrions still circled above, hoping for one of them to drop dead for a feast. Thanks to Edina's undead not needing rest nor water, they never tired despite the blistering heat. Renya might want to look into investing in necromancy for Rown Company.

Kanae eyed Alicia inconspicuously. The succubus sat next to her sister, Claudia. Like right next to each other, shoulder to shoulder close. She still worried about her trauma. Alicia had done so much since being freed, trying her best to repay Kanae by being a staunch member of Amethyst Hall… but she wondered if there was anything to help ease her pain.

"Got some company," Edina said suddenly, her eyes glowing and likely looking through her undead minions.

"Let me check." Kanae popped open the roof hatch and climbed out.

Riders from afar closed in on them from both sides. There were maybe twenty in total, dressed in heavy cloaks and riding on muscular canine beasts.

"Stop the carriages! Surrender goods and empty your purses, and no one has to—"

"Uhh. Those are undead! There's a necromancer aboard, and that's a succubus!"

"What the fuck! Never mind! Have a good day!"

"No, you don't. You just volunteered to guide us to Bravost." Kanae casted Mass Charm to prevent them from leaving, and when the spell took effect, the raiders obediently fell into a defensive formation around their carriages.

They could question them at their next stop. No need to waste time at the moment.

"Who were they just now?" Alicia asked as Kanae descended back into the cabin.

"Some kind adventurers who offered to escort us." Kanae grinned.

The sun was beginning to set. Bleak blue skies darkened in color, and millions of stars lit up the night. They emerged from the carriages to set up camp and found the raiders passed out from heatstroke. Alicia shot Kanae a look.

"Er… Oops?" Kanae shrugged nervously.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be recharging!" Edina hoisted a small-race beastman into the cabin with her, and it started jostling soon after.

"We're still a little ways off from Bravost. I worry for my cousin's safety…" Duran sighed, sulking by the campfire.

Petyr was nowhere to be seen. Kanae checked the second carriage, and the paladin was in the middle of polishing her suit of armor inside. She wore a light tunic, drenched in sweat. Her golden hair had been fashioned into a bun. For being such a princess, the high elf didn't seem to be a stranger to labor. 

"It turns out the Ortesians in Savir are being led by Arnault Pyrelle. This probably isn't what the empire wants, but House Pyrelle's schemes in trying to bring back the Cult of Lust and Depravity like during the war," Kanae explained.

"Arnault? Guillaume's little brother, hah! This mission in Savir suddenly became a lot more interesting for me. It won't be the same, but I can look forward to pummeling a Pyrelle," Petyr sneered.

"What do you know about Arnault? Is he dangerous?"

She laughed out loud. "I often sparred with him in training. Arnault is weak. Though, I have to hand it to him for always getting back up for another beating. A word of caution: he has the makings of a leader. You already know the Rook's master is Guillaume. Well, Guillaume had her groom his younger brother to be a tactician."

Well, wasn't that nice? A student of Avaline's to contend with. She was always one step ahead of them during the war. Between her, Admiral DeSalle, and Lord-Major Petyr, they never managed to get one up on the drakeling general. If Arnault had even a fraction of Avaline's prowess in stratagems, he was going to be trouble.

As Kanae backed out of the carriage, Petyr followed her out carrying only the felmetal warhammer. She marched from the campsite and into the night barely illuminated by the moon and stars.

"Wait, where are you going? It's dangerous out there!" Kanae shouted.

"Good," Petyr said. "My limbs are stiff. I'm heading out to hit some things."

Suspicious, Kanae chased after Petyr. The elf noticed and scoffed, but at least she didn't tell her off.

When the fire light from the campfire dwindled, Petyr infused her hammer with holy energies. It was bright enough to light up a three yard radius around them. Tiny critters fled and dove into sand dunes. Kanae thought Petyr was going to hunt for monsters until she stopped in front of a large stone jutting from the ground.

The paladin smashed the hammer into the side of the rock, sending chunks flying off into the darkness. Kanae's jaw dropped. Petyr proceeded to look for another geological monolith and pummeled them, too.

"This is what you meant?!" Kanae exclaimed.

"The next best thing is Claudia. But if I pick a fight with her, that bitch Alicia paralyzes me with those damned toxins. If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears!" Petyr fired back.

"I… could spar with you? O-Only if you don't actually kill me!" she hastily added.

Petyr thought for a moment.

"Deal." Petyr charged without warning.

"Oh, crap—" Kanae dashed back as the warhammer plunged into the ground, throwing sand into the air. "What happened to not killing me?!"

"Within an inch of your life is still alive!" she shouted from behind the wall of sand.

The paladin barreled through with her warhammer raised. Kanae fired bolts of fire from her enchanted ring, but the spell's impacts didn't so much as faze Petyr. She called down Conjured Caltrops, forcing the elf to a halt.

Then Petyr did the unthinkable by flinging the warhammer. Kanae's eyes went wide. She barely sidestepped the flying weapon and lassoed it with Lust. Using the momentum, she threw the hammer back to its wielder. Petyr craned her neck at the last second, mere inches from meeting a skull-shattering blow. It hit the ground with an explosive boom that fired holy energies out in sparks.

"I'm impressed. You're not the same naive succubus from before. You might stand a chance of actually defeating me," Petyr complimented and picked up her weapon.

"Maybe you're misremembering, but I did beat you," Kanae reminded her.

"That was a fluke. When you're ready for a real rematch, let me know." She headed back to the camp, leaving Kanae in the dark with bits of sand still glowing from golden energy.

Kanae was about to leave, too, until she noticed two sets of footprints in the sand that didn't belong to her or Petyr.

"Claudia, Alicia… Did you two follow me?" Kanae folded her arms.

Magical Stealth faded from the sisters.

"We were only worried about you," Alicia insisted.

"You think Petyr is still up to sparring with me? I'm going to go ask!" Claudia raced back to camp, panting like a dog.

The second Claudia was gone, Alicia quickly jumped to Kanae's side and clung to her arm. However, she realized right away and let go, putting on a brave face in the dark.

"Alicia, it's okay." Kanae extended a hand to her.

"Have you ever considered that you are maybe too kind?" Alicia grabbed her hand and locked their fingers together.

"Is that so bad?" She smiled.

Alicia giggled, and the tension left her body even as the bright remnants of Petyr's smite faded, leaving them with only the stars and distant campfire to light the way.

"I hope the accommodations in Bravost are better than what we had in The Diamond," Alicia said.

"If they aren't, we can take it up with Vizier Duran. He owes us plenty by now." Kanae grinned.