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Luka's Story	By : Ditmag Category: +M through R > Monster Girl Quest Views: 4827 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Monster Girl Quest is owned by Tortorro and I make no money from this project. It is a labor of love.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Morning came, and we headed off to the desert. It’s amazing what a little bit of experience traveling through a desert can do. I managed to find the pyramid without difficulty. It was quite a landmark. Think of the biggest pyramid you’ve ever heard of on Earth, and then double its size and that should give you an idea. I wondered how long it would take to wander through it and find who I was looking for.
But it turned out that a lightly armored woman was already there appraising the place as well! She said she had business in the pyramid. Something about a Dragon Seal Trial. She seemed to be unaware of the princess’s kidnapping, which was to be expected since the king had been trying to keep it a secret and all. She’d been there for the past day, actually, trying to work up the courage to go inside. I agreed it must be pretty dangerous in there, so suggested we go in together. I liked the idea of having someone to fight by my side for a change. Maybe we could achieve both of our goals.
Alice decided to stay outside. There really seemed to be no rhyme or reason to why she wanted to accompany me for some missions but not others. Maybe there was nothing to eat in that pyramid? I shrugged and the armored lady and I walked inside.
She introduced herself as Sara. “Is that silver haired woman your lover?” she asked me as we began our delve into the depths of the pyramid.
“Um….” I stammered, at a loss. “More of a traveling partner. So what’s this Dragon Seal Trial?”
“It’s a trial that anyone who wants to marry a dragon or dragonkin has to complete to earn the right to marry her.”
“Oh?” I said, taken aback. “Your own love is a monster?”
“Well, it’s kind of one sided,” Sara replied. “She probably doesn’t even remember me. She’s so devoted to the sword.”
A dragonkin devoted to the sword? Could it be? That seemed to be a leap though. I had only ever met one dragon or dragonkin. Well, there was also that kid, but I know Sara couldn’t be talking about her. But maybe they all practiced swordsmanship?
My thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of what looked like a mummy. A mummy in a pyramid? I guess that made sense. How in the world does a mummy girl evolve naturally though? This world made no sense, and yet Alice was constantly lecturing me about things being scientific vs unscientific.
“Humans undergoing the trial?” the mummy girl said. “If you wish to continue, you must first defeat me.”
“I’m not undergoing the trial,” I replied. “I’m here to find someone. Can I pass since I’m not doing the trial?”
Sara, however, obviously was doing the trial, and held her sword up bravely at the mummy girl. Could I stand by like Alice and just watch? I guess I could if it was just a contest and Sara could leave if she lost. But then I remembered hearing that others had entered this pyramid and never returned. Argh. I couldn’t just watch her lose. Or kill the mummy girl with that formidable looking sword. Maybe using Angel Halo would be the better outcome for both of these women. This is why Alice gets mad at me, I thought.
The battle began with Sara and I charging forward. Sara was pretty good with a sword, actually. At least as good as the better soldiers I’d sparred with in Ilias village. Against monsters though I realized it wouldn’t be nearly good enough. If I hadn’t been here she’d have lost in pretty short order. But at least she was competent enough that I didn’t have to protect her. That made the battle a lot easier. In theory, the mummy girl should have been able to fight two opponents. She not only had her actual body, she seemed to have total control over her wrappings, using them to swat us painfully like wet towels, but also to grab us. Instead, she focused almost entirely on me. Maybe it wasn’t a terrible strategy, as I was the bigger threat, and presumably tastier. She managed to get me wrapped up pretty good. I probably could have broken out myself given some effort, but Sara cut me out. That made the outcome a foregone conclusion. The mummy girl surrendered before I was able to seal her, complimenting us on our achievement and letting us continue.
As we walked on, I remembered her talking about her love. “By any chance,” I asked. “Is the one you love named Granberia?”
“Why yes,” she replied. Wow. I couldn’t say I blamed her though. Granberia was remarkable. I wouldn’t say I was in love, but I certainly would have liked to get to know her better. What we’d been doing so far could be called intimate on a certain level. Granberia certainly seemed to get a lot out of it. But it didn’t tell me as much about her as I would have liked to know. I wonder if Sara encountered her the same way I did? If so, it’s understandable why Granberia might not remember her. Sara would have been knocked aside with little effort by the Heavenly Knight.
Before I could ask her more, we encountered a cobra girl. “Under instructions from Sphinx, I cannot let anyone weak pass. I shall eat you both now.” Cobra girls I’d actually heard of. They were a subspecies of lamia. I’d have to ask Alice what subspecies she was sometime. I guess I’d always just thought of her as a lamia, but her color scheme was unusual.
Oh yeah, gonna get eaten. Gotta work on that focus, I thought. Lamias are dangerous and this one is poisonous. I opened with Thunder Thrust, with the usual satisfying results. As with the mummy girl, she focused primarily on me. It was going pretty well until she got her tail around me. Lamias were just too fast with that tail. I really needed to master the power of the wind so that I could learn to avoid that. To make things worse, the first thing she did after coiling around me was bite me, injecting me with poison. Sara flailed at her body trying to free me, but lamia tails are not bandages. They are also a lamia’s least vulnerable part. All Sara’s sword served to do was irritate the cobra girl, who swatted Sara away in annoyance.
“Now, my tasty little man, how shall I end you?” she stared into my eyes sadistically. “Shall I play with you until you shoot your liquid failure onto my body? Or should I just squeeze you to death?”
Being paralyzed I had no answer for her, although I’m sure she could guess what my preference was. I was scared. I wasn’t sure I could break out of a lamia’s embrace even unparalyzed. I knew I’d regain full movement within minutes, but would that do me any good wrapped up in such a powerful tail? My only hope was that she would assume me helpless and loosen enough to give me a chance to break out. Or maybe Sara would think of something.
Since monster paralysis seemed to work in such a way that you could still feel everything(they want to extract your semen after all, can’t do that while you’re numb), it was hard to tell if I could move yet. I couldn’t risk pathetically struggling before I had full control of my body back, or else she’d tighten her hold or worse, bite me again.
Sara bailed me out again. With the cobra girl focused on playing with her tasty male captive, Sara drove her sword into the cobra girl’s human side. Crying out in rage and pain, she dumped me to the ground and coiled around Sara. Sara’s eyes started bulging immediately. The cobra girl was going to crush out her life as quickly as she could. I had to move now. I did, grabbing my sword and coming off the wall for my sweetest Demon Skull Beheading yet. It sealed her in an instant.
Sara was on her knees, coughing and gasping. “Are you sure you want to go on?” I asked her. “it’s not going to get any easier.”
She stood up and looked me directly in the eye. “Are you giving up?” she asked.
“I can’t,” I replied. “I made a commitment to rescue someone being held captive here. I couldn’t return in failure.”
“Then I’m not leaving either,” she said firmly. “Even if I can’t complete the trial, if someone needs our help it’s our duty as heroes to save them.”
So she was a hero! That answered my question about female heroes. And I had to admit, although she wasn’t enormously skilled, she had been resourceful and possibly saved my life twice. We’d either succeed together or fall together.
As we continued to explore the pyramid, I thought about what Alice had said. This wasn’t a video game or a fantasy novel. This was real. The hero doesn’t just keep on doing dangerous things again and again and come out of it living happily ever after. You don’t get another life when you screw up. You don’t get bailed out by improbable coincidences. To this point things had gone about as one would expect in a real life situation. I’d won some battles that I should have won. I’d lost, or almost lost battles that I should have, and was bailed out by Alice. And I had lost one battle stupidly where I was alive and free only because the particular monster that defeated me wasn’t the killing type. The next fight I got into in this pyramid was going to be even tougher than the cobra girl. It could very well be too much for Sara and me to overcome. Alice wasn’t here to give advice or help while swearing she wasn’t helping. The possibility that I could die was very real now. It felt very real. I was honestly scared. I only continued on because I feared facing the king with my failure even more.
Wasn’t my one big task I’d set for myself dangerous enough? Alice was right, I had to stop doing these side quests, no matter how worthy they seemed. These were jobs for real heroes. The main quest I’d chosen for myself was something no hero was taking on, or could even do. I really should focus just on that. As soon as I got through with this one. Would I be able to keep that promise to myself? Was I even capable of ignoring someone in distress? If I couldn’t, did that make me a hero? Would I be less of a hero if I picked my battles more wisely?
“So how did you fall in love with Granberia?” I asked as we continued our exploration.
“I’ll never forget,” she replied. “It happened about three years ago. I was out in the desert alone and a scorpion girl attacked me. Granberia saved me from her. She was amazing! I’ve been wanting to learn how to use a sword myself ever since!”
Wow. Alice had told me that Granberia was known to do that sometimes. Was it possible that with some convincing she could be an ally to humanity rather than an adversary? She definitely seemed to have a good side. Unfortunately, it seemed the only way to get to that persuasion stage was to beat her down first.
“How does that fit in with the Dragon Seal Trial?” I asked. “is this trial a means to prove yourself?”
“She’s from the dragon race,” Sara replied. “So I studied them in great detail. Apparently there’s a law that dictates who they can get married to. It seems they can only get married to someone who has passed this trial.”
“Interesting,” I thought. If I get through this, I wonder if I would be qualified to marry Granberia? I certainly liked that idea better than just being her plaything. Assuming there was a likeable personality underneath that thick layer of violent intent. “Does Granberia know you’re doing this?”
“No,” she said ruefully. “I haven’t seen her since that day.I swore to myself I wouldn’t try to meet her again until I was a suitable woman for her.”
But what if Granberia wasn’t into girls? She was clearly into me, at least physically. Maybe she’d be into anyone who could give her a good battle? I realized I should probably not work too hard trying to figure out monsters. They just didn’t think like humans.
“So why are you here?” she asked. “I know you said it was to rescue someone, but who? Is it someone you care about?”
“I haven’t met her yet,” I said. “I was sent here to rescue her.”
I felt something in the wind just then. This time it appeared to be multiple opponents. I gestured to Sara to get ready. This might be our toughest fight yet.
As we turned the corner we faced four lamias. Oh no. They didn’t look like poisonous types, although lamias could have a variety of abilities. This particular species was unfamiliar to me. They were dark skinned, and of various ages. Two of them appeared to be about Alice’s age. One was much younger, older than the lamia child bandit I’d encountered seemingly an eternity ago but not by much. The one leading them was older, middle aged with graying hair and yet still beautiful. Definitely not suffering from semen deprivation, that one.
I realized that lamias sometimes used magic eye powers. While I was uncomfortable with the idea, if it was the only way to survive I’d take it. If one of them flashed me, the fight would be over. I motioned for Sara to stay behind me, not wanting her to get caught in the explosion if it happened.
The oldest one spoke. “Sorry, but we can’t let you pass by here. Sphinx will only allow strong humans to have an audience with her.”
The youngest spoke up. “She said we can feed on any weak ones!”
This time we didn’t attack first. With typical lamia speed, one of the younger ones coiled around Sara in an instant. No! Now the four lamias and Sara were in front of me! If one of them flashed me, Sara would be caught in the blast! Would I have to fight with my eyes closed? No. I was unlikely to win this fight with them open. I would just have to hope the lamia would bear the brunt of it. Assuming it even happened, of course.
It never did. The only saving grace was that the lamias seemed unable to work effectively together. The youngest was ineffective and just seemed to be in their way. That left me with only two formidable opponents instead of four, since one of them was busy with Sara, who was struggling mightily but would be in danger if I didn’t get to her soon.
I should probably correct myself here. They weren’t effective working together in combat. They were very good at working together coordinating pleasure attacks. At first, the battle was going surprisingly well for me. Two of them tried to restrain me at once and only ended up creating a weaker bind as a result. I was sure I almost had the older one sealed until the crafty lady tripped me with her tail(or it could have been the other one, I never saw it), and I went down on my back. In a second, not just my pants, but my shirt and shoes and even socks were off as well. Before I could even process what was happening I had three long lamia tongues licking me all over my body. “Mmmmm, this one is particularly delicious!” I heard one say.
The one that was holding Sara got distracted by that, releasing her and joining the other three. Now it was four tongues and they were working in a very coordinated fashion to get me to surrender. They hadn’t even started on my penis yet, which on the good side meant I wasn’t about to orgasm, but on the bad side made me think that all I wanted was for them to use those tongues down there. My struggles were becoming halfhearted at best. Why wait for Alice when I could have four foot long tongues right here? The only way to make this more perfect would be a fluffy tail!
Sara’s sword, as well as my own, were on the ground out of reach of both of us. I was pinned down and the four lamias were between Sara and our weapons. But I give her credit for guts and fighting spirit. She put what resembled a sleeper hold on one of the younger lamias, I believe the one that had been holding her in the first place, as if insulted that she had left their fight with Sara still standing.
I guess I’d been under the impression that all lamias were both warriors and magicians, but these four seemed to be neither. Pleasure attacks were their specialty. Did this make them easier to fight? Far from it. In my experience the pleasure attacks were even more dangerous than the physical! Sara was giving the lamia she had the hold on a lot more trouble than I would have thought possible. The lamia was flailing around in silly fashion trying to shake her off. Even while being licked, combat had become so automatic for me that I could identify at least four ways the lamia could have broken the hold with ease. It had never occurred to me to think of a monster this way before, but the lamia kinda fought like a girl. The other lamias were starting to get annoyed as well. The two older ones stopped licking me and went to aid their companion, leaving me inexplicably with the youngest one.
She moved over to my penis. “You seem ready for me to end this now,” she said. “Don’t you want me to finish you with my mouth? Beg me for it.”
If she had just done it I probably would have succumbed, but something about a lamia that looked like a 12-year old saying that made me want to resist. This was so wrong! I got up and pushed her aside to reach for my sword. “Hey!” she yelled. “Am I not pretty enough?”
She advanced on me as I reached my sword. I held it up to her face. “You should get out of my way,” I said. “I don’t want to have to seal you. It won’t kill you, but it does hurt. Please don’t force me to do it.”
She blanched. “If you don’t want the pleasures only a lamia can bring, then fine! Meanie!” She folded her arms and moved out of my way.
Sara was doing a commendable job of struggling against three lamias while being held. She had been stripped naked as well and was getting thoroughly worked over by their tongues. “Surrender already! If you give up we’ll do this to you every day for the rest of your life!” One of them had her tongue far up Sara’s pussy.
I pointed my sword at them. “Stop! I will seal each and every one of you if I have to!” I felt immediately foolish. Shouldn’t I have attacked them with their backs turned. Why was I being all chivalrous? Alice was right. I kept thinking I didn’t need to be heroic, but I kept on acting like I was.
The three turned around to face me. They released Sara, who rose, ran to me, and clutched me, even though we were both naked.
The lamias made no move to attack. The older one spoke. “This part of the challenge is complete. The first two were to test your physical strength. Our purpose was to test your ability to resist temptation. You have both succeeded to our satisfaction. There is no need to continue this contest.”
The lamias parted to let us through. “Um, can we get our clothes first?” I asked. The lamias nodded consent and Sara and I began to retrieve our scattered clothes.
As she was dressing herself she said to me, “Luka, am I useless?”
“What? No, of course not. I wouldn’t have won any of these fights without your help!” Well, maybe the first two I could have pulled out but that last one was good as lost.
“But you’re so much better than I am,” she lamented.
“That doesn’t matter if you’re not alone,” I assured her. “We make a good team. Just don’t try to do more than you can handle alone in the future, okay?”
She nodded, thanks in her eyes. I realized that I should probably start taking my own advice. I was about to go charging into this place alone as well. My journey would be over now if I had.
Once presentable again, we walked into the next chamber. It was huge. This had to be the chamber of the Sphinx they were talking about. I still didn’t see any princess though. I hoped that once this Dragon Seal Trial was complete that maybe Sara and I could then search the rest of the pyramid without being attacked.
The wind changed. Something big, something powerful, almost Heavenly Knight level, was approaching. I was filled with dread. If this turned into a fight I was dead meat. Judging by the look of her when she appeared, that seemed literal. She was huge, with six snakes extending from her body. Her lower half looked like a lion’s mouth. Clearly meant for consuming prey. Judging by the huge sharp teeth it didn’t look like this was a monster interested in making it pleasurable for the prey either. My consolation in all this danger so far had been that if I was gonna go, at least I’d go out having a great time. She didn’t appear to be any fun at all.
Sara faced her bravely. “Are you the sphinx?”
“Indeed,” it replied. “I am the master of the pyramid. I am the judge that watches over the deaths of those who would attempt the Dragon Seal Trial.”
“So you’re the final judge,” Sara observed.
“Correct,” the sphinx replied. “If I deem you unworthy, I shall swallow you whole. Do you still wish to continue?”
“Excuse me?” I spoke up. “Could I ask a question?”
“I have no reason to answer your questions,” the sphinx replied, glaring at me coldly. “The only thing I will acknowledge from you is whether you are taking the trial or not. If you aren’t going to take it, leave at once.”
I wasn’t sure if that meant I could continue exploring searching for the princess or not. I looked to Sara. “So what is the final trial?” she asked the sphinx. “Do we have to fight you?”
“It is not possible for a mere human to beat me,” she replied. “it would be a pointless trial if the final task was impossible.”
“What am I supposed to do then?” Sara asked.
“The first trial was to test your physical strength,” the sphinx replied. “the second was to test your commitment. This final trial is to test your mind. You must answer my riddles. I prefer the wise. Fools deserve to be nothing but food.”
Riddles? That didn’t sound too promising. I was a first order fool. I hadn’t yet agreed to do this trial and didn’t feel I could help Sara on this front. She would either succeed or be eaten and there wasn’t much I’d be able to do about it. My only choice was whether to stand by and let it happen or suicidally attack the sphinx and prove Alice right. I prayed Sara would answer correctly. I had no idea what I would actually do and was convinced I’d regret either choice.
“Sara,” I said. “Are you sure this is going to be okay? I’m not going to be much use here.”
“Of course!” she said. “Probably. I studied a lot growing up after all.”
She bravely faced the sphinx and waited. The sphinx took that to mean she was ready. “Now I ask of thee: what goes on four legs at dawn, two at noon, and three at dusk?”
Really? I didn’t remember why I knew this one, but I definitely did. Maybe this was a tough one on this world? Before I realized I was doing it, I blurted out the answer. “A human!”
The sphinx turned her gaze from Sara to me. “Am I to assume that you are taking this trial as well?”
“Um…. I guess I am now.”
“You are correct, then. We shall proceed with the next question. Why am I asking you riddles?”
How was I supposed to know the answer to that? It was a question about her own personal motivations, and as I’ve established here, I don’t understand how monsters think at all. Much less ancient, powerful monsters who have been cooped up in a pyramid for who knows how long? I looked to Sara.
“To understand the transience of man?” she replied.
I didn’t get it, but the sphinx looked pleased. “You are correct, girl. The life of a human is frail and short. Yet mine is so long.”
The sphinx’s face then turned sorrowful. “Now,” she said. “The final question. This shall decide your fates. Why are you taking this trial?”
That one had to be left to Sara. After what Alice had told me, surely the sphinx would judge me a fool and eaten me on the spot.
Yet Sara seemed at a loss. C’mon Sara! I thought. This is easy! Why does anyone take the trial? If it’s to gain the right to marry a dragon then the answer is obvious!
“Do you not have an answer?” the sphinx said. “One of you had better say something.”
With Sara still frozen, I had to speak up. “I didn’t come here to take the Dragon Trial. I’m here to find someone who was kidnapped and brought to this pyramid. I was helping Sara.”
The sphinx surprised me with her response. “A worthy reason, to be sure. Rather than let her face the dangers of the trial alone, you sought to aid her. Some would deem that foolish. But the fact that you made it this far proves that you are not a fool. I may do something I haven’t done in many centuries and spare you both even if she cannot answer the question. But if you want the Dragon Seal, answer it you must. So I ask again, girl: Why are you taking this trial?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t give a good reason,” Sara answered. “I’m doing this to get closer to the one I love.”
The sphinx fell silent. “What?” Sara said. “Was that not good enough? Should I have said for honor, or justice?”
“Why would you hesitate to answer with that?” the sphinx asked. “This trial is intended to be for marriage between man and dragon. However none have attempted it thus far with that as their reason. Every other person who has attempted it has done so for the riches and treasures in this room. Are you truly taking the trial in the name of love?”
“Yes,” Sara said, utter sincerity in her eyes. “I am.”
“Do you understand why I gave you that first riddle?” the sphinx asked. “It’s a ridiculously easy one. Most humans have heard it as children, and even ones that have not could figure it out with some thought. I was not attempting to trick you with any of my questions, nor make you prove your genius. My questions were to remind you of the fundamental reason why marriage between man and dragon is so challenging. Really, marriage between most men and monsters: the short lived nature of man.”
“So what you’re saying is, that my love will outlive me?” Sara asked.
“Correct,” the sphinx replied. “It is inevitable that the monster will be forced to watch their partner die. The human may have had a satisfactory life, but the monster will be forced to live on, separated from their love for far too long.”
“It sounds like you’re talking about yourself,” Sara said, boldly. It had never occurred to me that this might be true. Did women just instinctively understand each other?
“A thousand years ago, I loved a human,” the sphinx confirmed. “He was the hero Sabasa, the Emperor of the Burning Sands. For generations our descendants have ruled this kingdom.”
The king of Sabasa was descended from monsters? No wonder he seemed so strong!
“My love slowly aged,” she continued. “as I could do nothing but watch him die. I wanted to use my magic to turn him into a monster to prolong his life. But he refused. He wished to face his death as a man. We were together until his death. Then I was alone.”
I felt overwhelming sorrow for her. It also reminded me how complicated monster/human relations were. As much as I wanted to see a better world, the differences seemed so large.
“It was possible for me to die as a human,” the sphinx said. “There is power in this world that can seal a monster as a human. Had I used that, I could have met death together with him. But I did not. I was afraid of death. If my love and I both died, none would remember him in this world. Having every memory of his vanish from this world terrified me. Thus I was separated from my love by death. For a thousand years, I have been alone.”
She turned to me. “Your name is Luka, is it not? You hold a strange fate. If it was you, what would you have chosen?”
“I would live on,” I replied. “For the reasons you stated, but also because where there’s life, there’s always hope. Always possibilities. Death is… final. If you can see my fate, then perhaps you know why I’m on a journey.”
“I do,” she replied. “Although there is much that confuses me about you. I can see your future, but not your past. With others who have come before me I have been able to see every moment of their lives. It is as if you didn’t even exist a few years ago.”
“That means you can’t tell me about my past,” I noted. “But if you can see my future…. Do I ever see my home again?”
The sphinx laughed bitterly. “Be glad the trial is ended. That was the question of a fool. I do in fact know the answer to your question, but I do not tell anyone about their future unless I want to play a cruel joke on them. And I am not the joking type. I do riddles, not jokes.”
“I understand,” I replied. “and I see the wisdom of what you say. Forgive me, I’m desperate to find out who I am. It’s hard to have good judgment when you’re only two years old.”
At that she gave a genuine smile. “Indeed. I like you, human, you are an intriguing one. If you had come to me a mere 500 years ago I might have sought to get to know you better. But I fear I’ve become too jaded and bitter recently. However, if you would like, you may return here anytime to visit me and talk. I will inform my subordinates here to welcome you, in any way you desire. Especially the lamias, for whom you seem to have an affinity.”
I coughed and stammered. “Um, thank you. I would enjoy that. Seeing you, I mean. I imagine I could learn much from someone as wise as you.”
If she was flattered, she didn’t show it. She turned to Sara. “For one who loves a monster, the true trial is ahead. You may both go, but not before I present you with the proof of your accomplishment.”
She mumbled a few arcane words and a symbol appeared on the back of my hand. It was small, so tiny it was hard to see unless I looked closely. Sara received it as well. She gazed at her hand in wonder.
“If I could impose on you just one more thing, since you invited me to come and talk anytime,” I said. “I was sent here to rescue the princess of Sabasa.”
“The princess was not kidnapped,” the sphinx said, almost with amusement. “I am the master of this pyramid. Nothing occurs here without my knowledge. But perhaps Sara can shed some light on your problem.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Sara shouted at me.
“What, Sara? Do you know something?”I asked.
“The princess of Sabasa is me!”
I smacked my head with my hand. “Doh! Really? I was told you were kidnapped by a monster!”
“No!” she said. “I kicked out my window and snuck out of the castle. My father would never have allowed me to come here.”
“But there was a note…” I argued.
“I left a message with my destination. My father sent you to rescue me?” she paused. “Well, you did. I would never have survived this trial without you.”
I heard deep chuckling. Was the sphinx actually laughing? “Normally I eat fools, but you, Luka, are so amusing I would be denying the world a great gift if I removed you from it.” Her chuckling turned into genuine mirth as she nearly doubled over in laughter.
When her laughter subsided, she said, “I haven’t laughed in hundreds of years. You cannot know how much that means to me. For that, you deserve another reward.”
She began to approach me. I was really starting to notice that her upper body was naked. Her breasts were enormous and had been jiggling so fetchingly as she laughed. When monsters speak of reward, they often mean something lewd.
Instead she handed me a yellow gem. It looked just like the red one I already had received from the dragon girl, other than the color.
“This is a magical item called the Yellow Orb,” she explained. “It no longer amuses me to eat the thieves who come here attempting to steal it. Since you are the first to pass the Dragon Seal Trial without even intending to attempt the trial in the first place, you have earned something extra. Therefore, I shall give it to you. And also, that other thing that’s on your mind, if you really want it.”
Sara stared at me. “Luka!”
“I’m sorry!” I protested. “You don’t know how powerful monsters affect a male!”
“The boy speaks truly,” the sphinx said. “But he also makes poor excuses. I never touched you. My aura is not enough to create the lewd thoughts I saw in your mind.”
“You can read my mind?” I said, shocked. “My er… companion told me that was impossible.”
“I am not a practiced mind reader,” the sphinx said. “So I cannot comment on her opinion other than to say that I only hear what you loudly broadcast, and that thought was….rather high in volume. If you really want me to do that, I will, if you’re willing to endure the humiliation of having Sara watch me do it.”
“Luka!” Sara yelled again.
“I think… I think we’ll go now. Thank you so much for everything! And I will come back!” I promised.
“One more thing,” the sphinx said, approaching Sara. “Sara, I have lived in solitude and sorrow here for a thousand years. I see the light of my love in your eyes. I could tell even without reading the threads of your fate that you were one of my children. In truth, I could never have eaten you, or your companion, had you failed my test. I believe I was hiding it well, but as soon as I saw your face I was gladdened that you had come. It’s been.. so long since I’ve seen the face of my love. You look so much like him.”
She reached out a hand to touch Sara’s face. “Farewell, humans. Continue to live a noble life.” With that, she vanished.
Sara turned to me, clearly moved. “Even after a thousand years, she still loves him. That’s amazing.”
Alice had been right about so many things. I was totally addicted to these experiences. If only I could find a way to have them without nearly getting killed.
“Thank you, Luka,” she said, then laughed. “And I forgive you for being a pervert, too. And don’t ever tell me what it was you were thinking. I mean, for goodness’ sake Luka, she’s got to be 20 times your age!”
“No problem,” I said. “So are you going to go to the Monster Lords’ castle to find Granberia now?”
“That would be the obvious place to go,” she replied. “But last I heard she was in Iliasburg. I wonder if she’s still there? I hope she comes to Sabasa castle someday!”
That was a lot more likely than Sara could ever have suspected. I wondered if I should tell her about my battles with the Heavenly Knight. Nah, she’d never believe it. She probably also wouldn’t want to hear about Granberia’s interest in me.
“Welp,” I said. “I guess we have no further business here. We should find our way out.”
“Well then I will allow you to escort me out, Hero.”
“I’m not really a.-“
“Oh, shut up,” she said. “I know. You don’t smell like one.” Eh? Was monster blood that powerful that she could smell the unbaptized as monsters did? “But you acted like a hero and that’s what makes you a hero.”
I felt both good about that and depressed. I really was going to martyr myself. I had to find a balance.
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