■ Curiosity □
Perhaps because I’ve gotten the hang of it after a couple of days, today’s farming work was much easier compared to yesterday.
The villagers didn’t seem to mind just sitting there and picking up bundles of grain either, so they had no complaints about waiting nearby.
Right now, it’s lunchtime in the middle of working, and we’ve spread out a mat under the shade of a tree to take a short break.
Besides the potatoes Violet steamed this morning, the villagers also shared some snacks they brought from home. They might not look like much, but when you’re hungry, they taste like honey.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll go grab some water to drink.”
“Yes, please go.”
And perhaps due to what happened last night, Violet stuck close to me, taking care of me with utmost attention.
The villagers praised her as a diligent daughter-in-law of the village chief, but since I knew the truth, all I could do was smile bitterly inside.
Well, if the only men around are kids or old folks, I suppose she must have been quite starved.
Not to mention, in such a small village, rumors spread quickly, so she probably couldn’t just throw herself at any man.
Thinking about that, I guess I, who suddenly showed up from the outside, was the perfect candidate for someone she could consider as a new partner after six months of solitude.
As for me, well, with a meal set right in front of me, I just ate without hesitation.
However, because of that, a small problem arose.
“…”
Could it be because I teased her this morning? A certain Miss Maid is still refusing to make eye contact with me.
She’s a succubus, yet a virgin—something I should have noticed earlier—but compared to typical succubi, she seems to lack sexual knowledge. Every time I made suggestive jokes, her face turned bright red.
Her reactions were so amusing that I kept making similar jokes, and now she refuses to even talk to me.
I casually tossed a question to Camilla, who was sitting a little far away from me.
“Are you still mad?”
“…I’m not angry.”
Camilla replied while putting up an impenetrable wall.
But if I thought she would give up that easily, I wouldn’t have started in the first place.
I slowly scooted my butt closer and held out a steamed potato to her.
“Just try this one. It’s soft and incredibly delicious.”
Then, Camilla, who had been sitting at the edge of the mat, glanced silently at the potato I offered, sighed softly, and took it.
“…This isn’t because I forgive you. I’m accepting it out of respect for the effort Violet put into making this.”
Saying that, Camilla bit into the potato in her hand.
“…”
Waggle—waggle—
While eating together, I discovered something interesting: Camilla expresses her emotions through her body rather than her facial expressions when she enjoys food.
Apparently, she liked the taste of the potato because the demon tail peeking out from under her skirt wagged gently from side to side.
It was cute, like a puppy.
“…It’s delicious.”
“Right?”
When I grinned confidently, Camilla seemed to realize we were technically still in the midst of a cold war. She lowered her head shyly and began nibbling on the potato in her hand.
As I watched Camilla eat the potato, a sudden curiosity came to mind, and I asked:
“By the way, Camilla, why do you eat so little?”
At this, Camilla covered her puffed cheeks with her palm while eating and answered earnestly.
“…Succubi don’t actually need to eat. Though we can taste things, most of us eat purely out of interest. However, my constitution is a bit special, so I need to consume small amounts of food to get nutrients. That’s why it looks like I’m dieting to others.”
That answer was somewhat expected.
But it wasn’t entirely satisfying, so I decided to ask another question.
“Camilla, may I ask one more thing?”
“…What is it?”
“Camilla, why are you still a virgin?”
Cough! Cough!
Suddenly, it sounded like she choked. Camilla turned her head, covering her mouth while coughing continuously.
I waited patiently until she calmed down.
Still coughing and patting her chest, she glared at me with tears welling up in her eyes.
“What kind of person asks such a thing while someone is eating!”
A normal person might shrink back from her reprimand, but since I’d come this far, I decided to brazenly push forward.
“But it’s true, isn’t it? For a succubus who supposedly feeds on the essence of men to remain a virgin even as an adult… If other demons heard about it, they’d probably laugh at you.”
At this, Camilla seemed at a loss for words and hung her head, her face turning red.
“Hmph, but while working at the Demon King’s Castle, I never had time to meet men. Besides, love would only interfere with my job anyway.”
“Then, do you not even masturbate?”
“Ma, masturbation…!”
Startled by my blunt choice of words, Camilla reacted unlike her usual composed and cool self. Instead, she blushed like a teenager experiencing puberty for the first time, fidgeting with her fingers.
“I, I’ve never done that. Though I know about it theoretically…”
She was purer than I imagined.
For someone with her appearance and being a succubus, the fact that no one had touched her yet was almost miraculous.
‘Does the Demon King’s Castle only hire uptight women?’
I found that fact genuinely intriguing, so I decided to probe further.
“So, what did you think when you peeked into my room yesterday?”
“Huh? I didn’t see anything!”
“Don’t try to hide it now. It’s all over your face.”
“…”
Realizing that she couldn’t hide it anymore, Camilla bowed her reddened face and hesitantly answered while avoiding my gaze.
“It was… impressive.”
“In what specific way?”
At this, Camilla’s gaze momentarily flickered toward my lower half before darting away.
“Th, that thing… How does it fit inside someone? It’s almost as big as my forearm.”
“…
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at her exaggeration.
“My equipment might be a bit larger than average, but honestly, it’s not that big.”
“Huh? But…”
Camilla looked indignant as if she wanted to argue.
But I silenced her with a raised finger as I heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Camilla immediately shut her mouth, and I greeted Violet, who returned with a bottle of water, acting as if nothing had happened.
She alternated her gaze between me and Camilla before tilting her head curiously.
“Did something happen while I was gone?”
“Huh? No, nothing happened.”
“Yet the two of you seem to have gotten quite close.”
Only then did I realize that I had moved closer to Camilla while talking to her. To cover it up, I joked.
“I just suggested that Camilla try a potato since it tastes good.”
As I subtly gave her a hint, Camilla reverted to her usual poised demeanor and politely thanked Violet.
“It was very delicious, thank you.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
Violet smiled brightly and handed the water bottle she brought to Camilla.
“There’s plenty, so feel free to eat more. Seeing you enjoy it makes me happy too.”
While forcing a smile, I silently said to Camilla,
‘Come to my room later.’
After hesitating for a moment, Camilla nodded slightly.
When the second day of farming ended, we returned to the village chief’s house a little earlier than usual.
Since we’ve finished 20,000 pyeong so far, if we finish the remaining 10,000 pyeong tomorrow, we’ll have completed the 30,000 pyeong harvest the villagers requested.
Though I suffered a bit from magical exhaustion, I felt a sense of accomplishment, and above all, it was fun.
I never expected to use magic, which I had developed and used mainly for killing, in this way.
In that sense, it became an opportunity for me to reflect on myself a little.
After returning to our lodging, I wiped my body with a towel soaked in cold water and changed into different clothes instead of the sweat-soaked ones.
They were borrowed from Violet’s husband.
Since it was a bit early for dinner, I told them I’d rest in my room for a while.
Violet then said she understood and entered the kitchen humming a tune, telling me to look forward to tonight’s meal.
…What does she mean? What’s the meaning of that?
Her words were so ominous that I couldn’t help but tremble with instinctive fear.
Anyway, after changing into comfortable clothes and lying down on the bed to rest for a bit, I heard a knock on the door.
“Come in!”
Soon after, Camilla cautiously opened the door and entered.
She glanced once at the living room with a flushed expression, firmly closed the door, and slowly approached me who was sitting on the bed.
Then she spoke in a serious tone.
“I want to consult with you.”
