Chapter 93: The ancient men

At the headquarters of the Sacred Sun Men’s Council, the discussion concerning Laviana’s assets had ended long ago, yet her former Partner had still not left.

He was sitting on his electric vehicle inside one of Zeka’s private lounges, his entire body still sealed within the thick silver-white spacesuit. The two large air tanks on his back made his already obese body appear even more cumbersome, while the abdominal section had been widened so much that, from a distance, he looked like a giant white sphere placed atop a vehicle. He saw nothing wrong with this appearance, however. On the contrary, he occasionally took a deep breath through the filtration system and revealed an expression of pure enjoyment.

Sitting across from him, Zeka was also examining the suit with unusual interest. His long white hair nearly touched the floor and had to be carefully held up by the two Succubus behind him, while the nails extending more than half a meter from his fingers made it rather inconvenient for him to touch the suit himself.

"You truly can’t smell anything?"

Laviana’s former Partner immediately understood what Zeka meant and arrogantly raised his chin, though the spherical helmet restricted the movement and made him look somewhat ridiculous.

"Not a thing."

Zeka glanced at the two maids standing nearby.

"Even with them standing that close?"

"I’ve already tested it." The man inside the protective suit smiled smugly. "Their body odor, their breath, even the air just exhaled by a Succubus is completely isolated. Any air entering the suit is fully filtered before I breathe it in."

Zeka’s eyes visibly brightened.

A maid preparing to pour tea unconsciously paused for half a beat, but even that tiny movement immediately caught Zeka’s attention. Her face paled, and she hurriedly tried to continue, only for a hand tipped with exceptionally long nails to rise and stop her.

"There’s no need."

The maid stared blankly for a moment.

"God Zeka?"

"You touched that cup."

She fell silent briefly, then immediately lowered her head.

"I’m sorry."

Zeka did not bother looking at her again and resumed studying the spacesuit before him.

"If this technology can be replicated, every high-ranking man should have one. We cannot spend our entire lives enduring an environment saturated with the presence of Succubus."

Laviana’s former Partner immediately nodded in complete agreement.

"I think so as well."

He took another deep breath, then looked through the transparent visor at the Succubus in the room with contempt.

"I used to think the discomfort of being near them was something we simply had to endure. Only after wearing this suit did I understand that a person could actually live this comfortably."

One of the maids behind Zeka quietly clenched her hands, but quickly lowered her head again. Zeka had probably noticed, but he did not care in the slightest and merely asked, "Where did Laviana find this?"

"In an ancient human ruin."

The man immediately began recounting what had happened, but the story quickly became completely different from the truth once it came from his mouth. In his version, Laviana had been so desperate that she used the most precious item she possessed to beg him to dissolve their Contract, while he had only reluctantly agreed out of pity.

"I didn’t want to at first either." He sighed, speaking as though he had performed an extraordinarily noble act. "After all, it’s rather pitiful for a Succubus who has been with a man for so long to suddenly be abandoned outside. But she insisted on dissolving the Contract and even brought this suit to beg me."

Zeka slowly nodded.

"You’re too softhearted."

"I know."

"That is a weakness."

"I’ll bear it in mind."

The two men looked at each other with perfectly solemn expressions, while the Succubus surrounding them could only continue bowing their heads.

Had Laviana been present, she probably would not have known where to begin correcting them.

Zeka pondered for a moment before saying, "Send me the location of the ruin. Once I’ve dealt with a few matters, I’ll go there myself."

The man looked slightly surprised.

"You intend to go personally?"

"This is worth the trip." Zeka gazed at the spacesuit, making no effort to conceal his fondness for it. "If there are similar devices inside the ruins, we need to retrieve all of them. Finding the production technology would be even better."

At that point, he frowned slightly.

"The colors are too plain, though. If we manufacture new ones, the exterior should use more precious metals. At the very least, it needs to bear the Council’s sun emblem."

Laviana’s former Partner immediately imagined a gold-plated spacesuit with an enormous sun engraved at the center of its chest, then nodded solemnly.

"It would indeed look far nobler."

A nearby maid immediately lowered her head even further, struggling to hide her expression.

Just as their discussion about transforming the spacesuit into a "sacred vestment for noble men" became increasingly serious, the door suddenly opened. A Succubus wearing a Council uniform entered, holding a black letter in both hands. Golden magical lines ran around its edges.

"God Zeka, an urgent letter has arrived."

Zeka immediately stopped.

"Bring it here."

The woman approached, placed the letter on a silver tray, and handed it to someone else to carry before him, as his long nails made even accepting a letter personally rather inconvenient.

Zeka channeled magic into the letter. The seal at its center immediately lit up, and the paper unfolded itself before floating in midair. Lines of magical writing began appearing one after another, seemingly visible only to the two men in the room.

Laviana’s former Partner was not particularly interested at first, but after reading only a few lines, he slowly sat upright.

"They’re coming?"

Zeka finished reading the letter before giving a slight nod.

"Probably before long."

"Those ancient men?"

"Mm."

The room fell silent for several seconds.

Laviana’s former Partner immediately became interested. He had heard about this group before, but information concerning them had always been scarce. The Council knew only that they were a group of men who had existed since an extremely distant era, possessed their own inheritance, and had almost no contact with modern society.

"What does the letter say?"

"Not much." Zeka looked at the floating lines of text. "Only that their preparations are nearly complete and that they’ll send someone here afterward."

"That’s all?"

"There is one more matter."

Zeka slowly leaned back in his chair. A smile gradually appeared on his face, which was so emaciated that it looked like little more than skin stretched over bone.

"Perhaps we won’t need Succubus anymore in the future."

Laviana’s former Partner froze, wondering if he had misheard.

"We won’t need them?"

"Mm."

"What do you mean?"

Zeka raised his chin slightly. His voice carried unmistakable excitement, though he still tried to preserve his usual air of nobility.

"I once asked about their cultivation methods. According to the information I received, those ancient men do not rely on Succubus Contracts to advance."

This time, the man across from him truly widened his eyes.

"They have their own cultivation method?"

"So I’ve heard."

"They don’t need vital essence?"

"No."

"Nor do they need enhancements from Succubus?"

"No."

The man inside the spacesuit stared at Zeka for a long time before suddenly laughing. The sound became somewhat distorted as it passed through the filtration system, but his delight was impossible to conceal.

"Finally."

He turned toward a Succubus standing in the corner, causing the woman to instinctively lower her head even further.

"Finally, we can free ourselves from these filthy creatures."

Zeka smiled as well, but quickly shook his head.

"Don’t be hasty."

Laviana’s former Partner looked at him in confusion.

"You still need them?"

"Of course." Zeka answered as though it were self-evident. "Even if we no longer require Succubus for cultivation, they can still fight, work, manage assets, and attend to our daily needs. There’s no reason to discard a tool merely because we are no longer dependent upon it."

The other man thought for a moment, then nodded.

"That’s true."

"It’s merely that, when the time comes..." Zeka slowly looked at the Succubus around them. The softer his voice became, the more obvious its contempt sounded. "Their status will need to be redefined."

One of the maids trembled unconsciously.

Zeka noticed, but rather than growing angry, he merely smiled.

"Don’t be afraid."

The woman immediately dropped to her knees.

"I... I wouldn’t dare."

"I’m only speaking of the future."

Zeka looked back toward the floating letter, his smile deepening.

"If those ancient men truly possess a cultivation method that does not require Succubus, then the final thing that makes you uniquely valuable will also disappear."

Hearing this immediately improved Laviana’s former Partner’s mood. He leaned fully back in his electric vehicle, folded both hands across the enormous belly sealed inside the protective suit, and took another deep breath.

The air had been completely filtered, leaving no trace of a Succubus’s scent. In his eyes, the future seemed to be growing as pure as the air inside his helmet.

...

At the same time, elsewhere in Silver Moon.

The elevator doors opened, and Laviana stepped onto the top floor of the media company. A secretary standing nearby stared at her for several seconds before hurriedly lowering her head.

"My lady."

Laviana gave a slight nod and continued walking.

Compared to the last time she had appeared here, her condition had changed almost completely. The dark circles beneath her eyes had vanished, her already well-maintained skin seemed even more radiant than before, and even her footsteps were so light that she hardly resembled someone who had recently endured an extremely physically exhausting experience.

Her red hair flowed naturally down her back, and the corners of her lips had remained slightly raised ever since she stepped out of the elevator. A passing woman unconsciously turned to look at her again, but Laviana paid no attention. Memories of the wooden villa, Erik, and the warmth radiating from the Mark beneath her abdomen continued surfacing in her mind. Each time they did, the smile on her lips became a little more pronounced.

Vylana was sitting in the office handling documents. When she heard the door, she looked up, and her gaze immediately settled on her mother.

Laviana walked to the desk, set down her bag, and asked naturally, "Is something wrong?"

Vylana did not answer immediately. Instead, she slowly examined her mother from head to toe. Her complexion was healthy, her energy was excellent, and her face looked even more beautiful than it had several days ago. Most importantly, she was in such a good mood that the word happiness might as well have been written directly across her face.

Vylana narrowed her eyes.

"Mother."

"Hmm?"

"Did you sleep particularly well last night?"

Laviana paused slightly. The reaction was tiny, but Vylana caught it immediately, causing the suspicion in her eyes to deepen.

"Mother..."

Laviana looked at her daughter and slowly smiled.

"What do you want to ask?"

Vylana recalled the phone call from the previous day, especially the sounds that had made Corvina blush all the way to her ears. An extremely suspicious possibility immediately formed in her mind.

"You and Erik..."

Laviana did not answer. She merely raised one finger to her lips and smiled.

"Secret."