Whoosh—
Holy light scattered beneath gentle, caressing motions, bringing warmth and radiance to the faithful.
"Ivsha-senpai… what should I do here?""It's fine. Like this."
Ivsha gathered the blooming holy light and guided it smoothly.
"Oh—so that's how it works~"
Alice mimicked Ivsha's movements.
Her motions were still a little clumsy. As she followed along, her brows knit faintly, a trace of bitterness flashing across her expression—so subtle it was easy to miss. Clearly, this kind of new experience left her somewhat uncomfortable and out of her element.
Wait—hold on!
Kurose Akira suddenly felt dizzy.
What… what the hell is all this supposed to be?!
He genuinely couldn't understand why Alice was learning this from Ivsha. Even though things hadn't reached the final step yet, judging from the exchange between Ivsha and Alice—
This was only the first lesson?!
"Heehee~ Master, are you satisfied?"
Alice cupped Akira's cheeks with both hands. He could clearly feel the lingering warmth in her palms, as if traces of holy light were still drifting through the air.
Faced with this mischievous little troublemaker, Akira could only sigh helplessly. He raised a hand and lightly knocked her on the head.
"Why are you learning everything?!""Ah~"
Alice let out a soft, low whimper and covered her little head.
"And you!"Akira turned to Ivsha and pinched her cheeks, trying to reassert his authority as guild master.
He'd been treated like a prop and toyed with for over an hour—absolutely unforgivable!
…Though, he had to admit it.Alice's hands were incredibly soft.And Ivsha's weren't any worse.
"Mr. Akira~ You clearly enjoyed it very much~ didn't you?" Ivsha chuckled softly.
As a succubus, she could sense the state of her "food" with perfect clarity.
That blazing holy light earlier—It had represented Akira's desire at its absolute peak.
Words and expressions might lie, but that never would~
Akira had no rebuttal.
In the end, he could only flee the scene in disgrace to attend to his own affairs.
Damn it… to think he'd been completely played by a succubus!
"Ivsha-senpai, was Master satisfied?" Alice asked curiously as she stared at Akira's retreating back.
"Of course not~" Ivsha replied with a smile.
That single sentence nearly made Akira stumble.
"Master wasn't satisfied?""Yes~ Alice. Next time, I'll teach you an even more wonderful way to feed… ah—no, I mean, techniques to please Master~"
"Really?! Thank you so much, Ivsha-senpai!" Alice said gratefully.
Their conversation echoed in Akira's mind, making him let out a quiet sigh.
"Those two…!"
Who would have thought Alice would become Ivsha's devoted junior, eagerly learning knowledge meant for succubi?!
At this rate, in just a few days, Alice would turn into a full-blown succubus doll!
Absolutely not.
How could his guild be constantly drenched in the scent of desire?!
Next time he recruited, he had to bring in some proper, serious adventurers!
Perfect timing—
There was still a branch from the Elven Mother Tree in his inventory.
Elves!
Creatures filled with kindness and purity—surely they were elegant and dignified, right?
…Right?
Just as Akira was lost in thought, a letter suddenly drifted down from midair and gently landed in his hand.
"Hm? A letter?"
Curious, Akira opened the envelope and found that it was from Natasha.
The letter read:
Dear Mr. Akira,
Roxia asked me to write and inform you that the Lord of Sunset City has issued a commission to certain adventurers, requesting assistance in defending against a monster tide that will arrive in five days.
You left rather hurriedly at the time, and Roxia didn't have the chance to tell you in person. I've enclosed the commission letter along with this note.
I hope this letter reaches you in time and conveys this important information.
Additionally, if you have the time and are willing, would you help me choose a formal dress? I believe that with your unique perspective, you might notice a kind of beauty others would overlook.
"The Lord of Sunset City issued a commission to the Adventurers' Guild…?"
After finishing the letter, Akira fell into thought.
For Sunset City, relying on adventurers to repel a monster tide truly did seem like the best possible choice.
He removed the enclosed commission letter from the envelope. Instantly, lines of eye-catching system prompts appeared before him.
[Special Event Quest Acquired — Defend Sunset City!]
[Quest Description: Sunset City is about to face an invasion of magical beasts and urgently needs protection! A fierce battle is imminent. As a brave adventurer, you must unite with others and fight alongside Sunset City's warriors to repel the invading monsters.]
[Quest Objective: Prevent Sunset City from being destroyed during the monster tide.]
[Recommended Level: 20]
[Quest Reward: 5 Gold, 5000 EXP]
[Special Reward: Bond Crystal]
Akira's eyes lingered on the special reward, curiosity flickering across his face.
[Bond Crystal (Rare): A crystal unique to Sunset City, symbolizing familial bonds. Effect: All guild members' Defense +20.]
Just as he was about to dismiss the item's effect as underwhelming, another prompt suddenly appeared.
[Bond Crystal: Grants access to one Bond Trait!]
That single line made him reevaluate the seemingly ordinary item.
"Bond Trait? What's that?" Akira muttered, staring at the unfamiliar term.
So far, he had obtained [Rare Traits], [Common Traits], and [Additional Traits].
Rare and Common Traits replaced one existing trait during recruitment—the difference lay only in rarity—while Additional Traits added an extra one, turning the initial three traits into four.
But this Bond Trait… what kind of trait was it?
His curiosity was instantly piqued.
[Bond Trait: Adds one special Bond Trait. This type of trait will only present three bond-related options—choose one. Each type of bond item can only be used once.]
"Only effective once? So even if I have multiple Bond Crystals, I can only exchange them for a single Bond Trait?"
Akira murmured to himself.
Still, from the description, it was obvious there had to be other bond-related items as well.
As for the types of traits tied to bonds—
He clicked to view the possible Bond Traits.
The moment his eyes landed on the list, he froze in shock.
Possible Bond Traits included:[Friends], [Brothers], [Sisters], [Best Friends], [Father–Daughter], [Mother–Daughter], [Uncle–Niece], [Mortal Enemies], [Lovers], [Grandparent–Grandchild], [Master–Servant], and more.
Golden light flashed in Akira's eyes as excitement surged through him.
These Bond Traits made one thing crystal clear—
It was possible to attract more than one adventurer in a single recruitment!
Two for the price of one?!
There's actually something this good?!