Chapter 12: Physiological Needs
"Imagine if you were trapped for decades in a world cut off from the outside—no humans, no animals, not even insects—and you grew so thirsty, so hungry, that you'd even resort to eating bugs."
With a sinister expression and persuasive words, Fingal shook Aura, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"Can you imagine it!"
Aura suddenly stammered, the long-buried fears of her childhood resurfacing, shattering her frozen emotions.
"I-Imagine what?"
"At a moment like this! You've been invited by me to a café, ordered a table full of ice cream cones, a dozen servants vigorously fanning you to drive away the heat, with the scorching sun outside—and you're enjoying my services, your loyal Fingal. Can you really resist indulging in it?"
This guy... what is he babbling about? How can he talk so much? He's putting on such an act, as if he really knows Illusion... I really want to tear his mouth shut.
Aura bit her lip, her teeth feeling slightly sore.
Strangely, she seemed to catch a faint, elusive fragrance, different from the ice cream.
[Aura feels mildly puzzled by your words.]
[Entry generated: Slight increase in favorability.]
Huh?
Still puzzled?
Fingal's mind was in disarray. Damn it, did the judgment fail? Aura, has your brain actually gotten smarter? No! Impossible!
Turn failed, drew a Twelve-Star White Card! No!
Feeling somewhat nervous, he began to exert force in his hands—had he failed?
"Can you understand! Aura-sama!"
His voice grew somewhat shrill, startling the female Demon.
"Mhmm, alright, alright, I understand! Anyway—" Aura found she couldn't even muster anger anymore, simply wanting to push Fingal away, "Let go of me first! I get it already!"
[Triggered---Drastic Fluctuation in Favorability---Judgment: Great Success!]
[Aura's Favorability Slightly Increased...]
[Aura's Favorability Moderately Increased...]
[Aura's Favorability Mildly Increased...]
[...]
[Aura's Favorability: 101 (Neutral+)]
"...?"
What just happened?
Fingal was stunned, but seeing Aura's slightly flushed face, he realized he had hit rock bottom and bounced back—the system was truly formidable, capable of affecting even beings like a Demon.
So powerful.
The system is too powerful,
But I'm strong too.
Hmm, it must be so.
"Didn't you hear me? I order you to let go!"
Aura tried to break free from Fingal's grip, only then realizing how strong this guy was—when he held her, it felt like being clamped by iron tongs... and he was just an ordinary Warrior. Is this guy really human?
[Aura's Favorability Mildly Decreased]
[Favorability: 100]
[Favorability... Neutral (+)]
"!"
Fingal's eyebrows twitched slightly. Fine, as long as she listened—it seemed his coaxing plan had succeeded. Aura had bought into his story.
Eighty percent success!
My plan!
"This is a dream, a high-level dream targeting you." Fingal took a deep breath, calming his strained breathing from the pressure, his tone becoming gentle. "Even you won't be able to break free immediately—so you must resist this temptation. Your spirit needs to be strong enough."
"So, Aura-sama, you need to enjoy delicious food—not slaughter the humans who make it. Otherwise, who will prepare your delicacies and practice Illusion Resistance for you in the future?"
Finally, he revealed his true intentions.
This guy...
Aura also took a deep breath. She wasn't a fool; there might be some truth to what this subordinate said—but more importantly, he probably didn't want her to slaughter humans.
All this talk about Illusions and dream resistance practice was nonsense, utterly illogical.
A mere servant, daring to order me around and even deceive me.
How audacious. Could my Magic have failed? Is this guy really under control?
Aura had never felt so conflicted. Theoretically, she should eliminate this unstable element.
But...
"So—come have some ice cream! Aura-sama, this is chocolate flavor."
"What comes next is hell!"
Fingal snatched a chocolate cone from the vendor and shoved it right into Aura's face.
"Open wide—Aura-sama."
"Ah—!"
He stood very close, sweating slightly from his first clumsy, pretentious speech, and his scent seemed to drift into Aura's nostrils.
Damn it...
Just this once, I'll let him off for now.
Aura narrowed her eyes slightly and couldn't help but part her lips.
[Tier 3 Entry Generated!]
[Mortal Desire—Physiological Desire implanted. Even the Demons can have 'vulgar' desires!]
[Implanting... Implantation successful!]
[Note: This entry has an extremely high activation difficulty. As the Demons are a long-lived species, their sexual needs are suppressed to the limit, with an activation probability of 0.01%.]
[Higher-tier entry require higher favorability. Please take note.]
Oh?
Fingal, who had been delighted by the system's constant notifications, immediately frowned. Seriously? Even in another world, gacha mechanics are still chasing me?
Is there a pity system or not?
Damn it.
Speaking of... a pity system...
A sudden thought flashed through Fingal's mind. If he remembered correctly, the empire had recently dispatched some reinforcements to help nobles resist the Demons as a fallback plan.
But up north... they probably wouldn't make it in time, right? The empire's efficiency is notoriously low.
He didn't dwell on it further.
...
Meanwhile, at the northern castle in the center of town.
"Huh? What did you say... there's a beautiful woman? And... that idiot Fingal?"
"He's still alive?"
A chubby nobleman, not yet twenty, with a large head and ears, was lounging at home with a panting maid below him—when suddenly a servant interrupted with news.
"Could he have defected? Father and brother should be out exterminating the Demons... Never mind, first tell me, how beautiful is this woman?"
"Extremely beautiful, my lord! She has a big chest, and her skin is as smooth as honey."
Oh?
He decided to go see for himself.