Chapter 199: Subjugation Battle of the Church of Love, Summoning a Storm (1)

“You need blood?”

Cellu looked at me with an uneasy expression. Holding the needle, I began to gently coax her.

“Yes. I don't need a lot, just enough to make one person go wild.”

“You're not going to use it for anything weird, are you?”

Gazing at me with even more suspicion, Cellu covered her body with her arms. I started to persuade her. Cellu's blood was a crucial element in this plan. High-purity mermaid blood was practically an aphrodisiac, and refining this blood would create a high-quality aphrodisiac. I began to persuade the terrified Cellu again, who was horrified at the thought of having her blood drawn.

“It's a matter of saving someone.”

“Even if your intentions are good... I'm a leader among mermaids, so my blood is incredibly potent, you know? Didn't you see those crazy women in Esta? They all lost their minds after drinking water mixed with my blood. If you're planning on using it on Sieri or Elsi, don't.”

“Just one drop is enough. I'm not asking for it to fuck some woman, so don't worry too much.”

“It's because you're the one saying it that it's more suspicious.”

Despite her words, Cellu held out her finger. I carefully pricked her finger with the needle. Blue blood swelled up like a drop of paint. Making sure it didn't fall into the swimming pool, I collected the blood drop in a vial, then wrapped her finger with a bandage and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. Cellu stared intently at the bandage wrapped around her hand and then smiled.

“Heh.”

“Did it hurt?”

“It hurt, but I like that you're the one who bandaged it.”

“You're still saying such cheesy things. The bleeding will stop if you keep it on for about 10 minutes. Don't take it off before then.”

“Okay.”

I took the vial of blood and headed to the workshop. In Soya's workshop, tucked away in a corner on the first floor of the mansion, research that made the room shake was in full swing again today. She must not have known I was coming, as I could hear something violently bumping around from beyond the door.

“Sonia Yaivan? I'm here because there's something I need you to do.”

“Heung... My Lord... Heueut... My Lord... Ah... Aah... My Loooorrrd!!”

There was a clattering sound as something came tumbling down. What the fuck. I opened the door and hastily checked on her.

“Ah...”

“...Hello. Did I interrupt something?”

“Ah, My Lord, it's just...”

Soya was sprawled on the floor, her face bright red. Her legs were spread wide with a dildo stuck in her crotch, and since she had fallen from her chair, she couldn't get up easily. For the sake of her dignity, I turned my head and spoke.

“You seem to have been busy. Should I come back later?”

A scene that was too explicit killed my erection. Soya's beautiful appearance, her bursting chest, and her attractive leg lines had aroused me, but the sight of her trembling with her legs spread wide like a dead frog with a dildo in her made my sexual desire plummet. What is she, a living contraceptive for men? Soya, her face beet red, shouted in a fluster.

“M-M-M-My Lord! It's! I mean!”

“First, would you like to get up?”

“Ah! Aaht! Yes! Yes! I underst... Eek...! Eek...!”

Soya tried to get up, but whether it was the chair acting up, she couldn't manage it easily. In the meantime, I examined the chair and saw its base was slightly bent, making its balance unstable, and the surrounding miscellaneous junk was tangled up, making it difficult for her to extricate herself. Soya, legs trembling, was struggling to get free somehow.

“J-Just a moment, My Lord... Eek... Eek...! Eit...!”

Awkward. This moment was so awkward. I tried to close the door again. But Soya spoke hastily. Soya's urgent tone rang out desperately.

“D-Don't close the door! Please don't leave me alone right now! Th-That is... uh...”

“Are you telling me to keep watching this scene?”

“Ah! I-I'm sorry! I mean! Heung...”

Soya brought a hand to her lower body and pulled out the dildo shaking between her crotch. Blushing and letting out a moaning sound, she fell into self-loathing over her actions and hesitated for a moment before quickly pulling down the hem of her skirt. What? What is this act? After placing the dildo neatly in a corner, she straightened the hem of her skirt and started trying to get up again.

“Eeeek!”

“...Shall I help you?”

“...I mean, I can do it myseeeelf...! But... uh...!”

More than feeling horny, I just wanted to get out of here quickly. Being face-to-face with a masturbator in the room where she was masturbating was a very unpleasant experience. Soya was a very arousing woman, but I didn't feel like pouncing on her right now. She kept struggling to free herself, and she started to tear up as she watched my expression rot in real-time.

Her leg was also impaired, so it wasn't easy for her to get up after falling like this.

“Eek... Eek... I mean... uh...”

“Sonia Yaivan?”

“...Please help me. My Lord... whimper...”

Her whimpering was cute. I let out a snort of derision, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up. Since the chair was old, once it fell, it was hard to get it back up. After a few pulls, I ended up breaking the chair to get her up. Soya flinched upon seeing the broken chair and said.

“Th-The chair... I'm sorry.”

“I can buy you as many chairs as you need, so put in a claim for supplies. You're the only mage in our territory; you think I can't even provide that much support?”

“B-But... that seems... a bit wasteful, and I can still use it...”

“You made an unseemly sight of yourself trying to save money. Sonia Yaivan. For now, I'll give you the chair from my room as a temporary replacement, so use that for the time being.”

“Ah, th-thank you...!”

Soya started giggling foolishly again. It seemed she had already erased the unseemly sight from a moment ago from her mind. It was a memory I didn't want to recall for long either, so I decided to forget it. Soya subtly distanced herself from me, sniffing the air, then placed the dildo she had used on the desk. Then, she unnaturally blocked the view of the dildo with her silhouette and spoke.

“S-So, what can I do for you?”

Her hiding it so overtly, on the contrary, made the memory of what just happened come rushing back, making it even more awkward. I gently shook the vial I had brought and spoke.

“Have you ever made an aphrodisiac?”

“What?”

“An aphrodisiac. One using mermaid blood.”

Since manufacturing aphrodisiacs was illegal, my question was basically a shot in the dark. It would be best if Soya could make the aphrodisiac, so I could use a refined version. There were no scenes in the original work where the protagonist used an aphrodisiac, so it was never revealed whether Soya could make them.

But wouldn't it be weirder for someone who makes twerking dildos to not make aphrodisiacs? Wouldn't the probability of an aphrodisiac-maker creating a twerking dildo be lower? According to Cellu's explanation, just mixing it with water would produce an effect, but I wanted to use a proper aphrodisiac. And for good reason, since this was a task that required the best effort in every little detail to succeed.

Soya, as if suspecting I was testing her, hastily shook her head and said.

“Ah! I-I don't know... about things like that... uh...”

“I'm not trying to run an illegal business with an aphrodisiac. I need it for a very great cause.”

“A great cause?”

“Yes. Sonia Yaivan. I need your help. You're a wonderful mage, aren't you? You know that among all the mages, I trust you, Sonia Yaivan, the most, right?”

“Ah... um...”

Soya blushed and turned her head away. I pressed her again.

“Sonia Yaivan. I know you're the right person for this job. This isn't a crime; it's you, Sonia Yaivan, unavoidably making a sacrifice for me. You know I really like you, right?”

“Ah, um... you like me...?”

“Among all the mages, I trust you the most.”

“Eheh... Eheheheh...”

Soya laughed gloomily while scratching her cheek. Still, since her original version was pretty, it wasn't too unsettling. I smiled and spoke again.

“Sonia Yaivan. I need your help. Can you make an aphrodisiac?”

“Um... I can make it for you, but can you do me one favor?”

“What is it?”

I asked. Soya couldn't hold back a grin, which was plastered all over her expression. She looked a little foolish, yet also slightly scary. I took a step back so Soya wouldn't notice.

“Soya.”

“Yes?”

“Call me... Soya. Sonia Yaivan is... too, uh... heheh... stiff. Stiff...”

Fuck, why is she looking at the dildo on the floor while saying the word stiff? Is this her idea of a joke? That was one joke I didn't want to entertain. So, I fixed my pupils, which had followed her gaze, back onto Soya's face and spoke.

“Soya.”

“Heh, heheheh...”

That one word seemed to be reward enough. She nodded, grinning foolishly. I handed her the vial. Soya carefully took the vial and said.

“It'll t-take a few days...”

“How long specifically?”

“Ah, um... about three days...”

“Is it because you're lacking ingredients? Or does the manufacturing process itself take that long?”

“It's the manufacturing time. The process of extracting the aphrodisiac component from the mermaid's blood involves double boiling.”

“You must have done this a lot.”

“Ah, um... it's a secret from Cellu. But I-I don't do it anymore.”

“I understand.”

Since she said she doesn't do it anymore, I just accepted it. This was just one more reason for Eve or Cellu to dislike Soya, but I decided to keep my mouth shut for the sake of her last shred of dignity. Isn't there an old saying? Silence is golden.

When I came outside, Elsi was standing there with a bag packed full of luggage. I asked, seeing her unexpected appearance.

“Elsi. What's with all the luggage?”

“Aren't we leaving today?”

“Why today?”

“But the cleric said we would leave in a few days. It's already been three days. So today must be the day.”

“We're not leaving today. We'll go in at least four days.”

“Four days?”

Elsi's ears drooped. Her swaying tail dropped along with them. I held back a twitch of my lips and spoke.

“It's alright, Elsi. Four days won't take that long.”

“Understood.”

Indeed, four days passed quickly. Like the wind.