High above the city, on the top floor of the grand church, Kailith sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor. Igret sat directly across from her, watching her quietly.
Days ago, Igret had given Kailith a short book about charm spells and hypnosis, along with a few glowing charm path essence stones. For an ordinary student, the text would have taken weeks to understand. But for a genius like Kailith, it was far too brief. She had already memorized every page.
Kailith closed the book with a soft thud and looked up. "How long am I supposed to just read about this?" she asked, her voice tinged with impatience. "When do we start doing something practical?"
Igret did not look angry. Instead, her expression relaxed into complete honesty. "I know it is frustrating," she answered simply. "We succubi are born with an instinctive knowledge of these arts. This is actually my very first time trying to teach someone else. I have been sitting here wondering how to guide you effectively."
Igret leaned back slightly, letting out a small sigh. "To be honest, I thought I would start by having you watch how I interact with others. But you completely refused to be intimate with anyone."
"And why would I?" Kailith shot back. A wave of irritation flared in her chest. For the past few days, she had been trapped in this church, surrounded by succubi. Every single conversation around her revolved around sex, charm, pleasure, and euphoria. It was exhausting, and she was thoroughly sick of it. "I honestly don't understand how all of you can talk about these things and give yourselves away so lightly."
Igret's face grew still. Her playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a sudden, heavy seriousness. "So, you think sex is dirty?"
Kailith felt her lip twitch. A knot of tension tightened in her stomach. Did I offend her? she thought, suddenly feeling defensive.
Trying to soften her tone, Kailith picked her words carefully to sound as neutral as possible. "Well, no. I don't think that. But there has to be some decency, don't you think? There should be a boundary. A line that shouldn't be crossed."
Igret nodded slowly, falling silent as she weighed the words. After a long moment, she looked directly into Kailith's eyes. "And who decides where that boundary is?"
Kailith opened her mouth to answer immediately, but the words trapped themselves in her throat. She paused, a sudden wave of confusion washing over her. She had always taken the rule for granted, but now that she had to voice it, she faltered.
"Society?" Kailith finally whispered, her voice dropping so low it sounded more like a question to herself.
Igret's shoulders dropped, and she let out a long, disappointed sigh. "You mean human society," she corrected, her voice dripping with pity. "Ever since the dragons made peace with humans, it seems their culture has rubbed off on your kind. It has softened you, Kailith."
Igret leaned forward, her gaze intense and unflickering. "Listen to me. There is no such thing as absolute right or absolute wrong in this world. If society decides tomorrow that killing is a virtue, then killing becomes right. Anyone who opposes it will be hunted down as a monster, just like how people look at those who defend murderers today."
Kailith stayed completely still, listening to the heavy weight of Igret's words.
"The exact same thing applies to desire," Igret continued, her voice sharp and clear. "Humans label these natural acts as dirty and inappropriate. Anyone who breaks their rules is branded as shameless, a whore, or a slut. And strangely, it works for them. Humans are weak. They are entirely dependent on one another and cannot survive alone for long. They invented these moral standards for one reason only: to control the crowd."
Kailith just sat there, her eyes locked on Igret, unable to look away.
"But we are not humans," Igret said, her voice rising with a quiet pride. "We do not need to hide in groups to survive. We are powerful. What ordinary people think or do has absolutely no effect on our lives. For us, this power increases our strength, and we use it to its absolute limits."
Igret slowly raised both her arms out to her sides, gesturing to the massive, ornate walls of the cathedral around them. "Look at where we are standing. It took me less than twenty years to completely take over this entire kingdom. My charm alone was enough to make the previous king willingly hand everything over to me."
Silence settled over the high room. Kailith processed the long, intense explanation about morality, power, and human weakness. She sat in the quiet for a moment, blinked twice, and looked blankly at her teacher.
"Are you, by any chance, a philosopher?" Kailith asked.
Igret cleared her throat, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she looked away for a moment. "I did... I did read a lot of books," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Forget that," Igret said, waving her hand dismissively. "Tell me about all the degenerate things you've done. It'll give me an idea how much more degenerate—," she paused, coughing into her fist, "I mean, how much more professional you need to become."
"Umm... I... I masturbate for days?" Kailith answered, her voice so low and hesitant that Igret almost didn't catch the words.
"Pathetic!" Igret sighed dramatically, shaking her head in disappointment. "I had such high hopes from you."
Her words struck Kailith like a physical blow to the chest. The pain was sharp and unexpected, making her flinch slightly.
"It's not just that!" Kailith rushed to add, her voice growing stronger. "I... I had intercourse with my girlfriend in front of my mom," she said, lifting her chin defiantly.
"Now that's noteworthy," Igret answered with an appreciative nod, her eyes lighting up with interest.
For some reason, Kailith felt a surge of pride at Igret's approval. She closed her eyes, nodding to herself as a small smile touched her lips.
"But that's it? Is there anything else? Like public kissing?" Igret pressed.
For a second, Kailith wondered if the passionate kiss she shared with Maruti before departing for the church kingdom would count as public kissing. She quickly realized it wasn't at all what Igret meant.
"I can do it, but my girlfriend doesn't like it," Kailith sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly.
"Or maybe you're just not good at it," Igret taunted with a smirk.
"You wanna get a piece of me, huh? I'm not afraid of fighting some succubus queen or whatever!" Kailith shouted, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her lips twitched with rage, and her dragon eyes flashed dangerously.
Igret couldn't help but laugh, a rich, mocking sound that filled the room. "Everyone resists at first. You need to learn when to be dominant and when to be submissive. Mark her as your possession," she advised, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Like I said, it's not that I can't," Kailith retorted, her anger deflating slightly. "It's actually way easier since as long as someone pleads with her enough, she eventually gives in. If not for this personality trait of hers, I would've been her only partner," she sighed, feeling a familiar emptiness settle in her chest.
It wasn't that she hated Alice, Brenna, and Ravenna. In fact, it was the opposite—she was growing more attached to them, starting to feel comfortable in their company, almost like they were becoming a family to her.
But still, her possessiveness and obsession with Maruti always made her feel a slight regret that she couldn't have Maruti all to herself.
Seeing Kailith's downcast expression, Igret immediately realized she had accidentally steered the conversation in the wrong direction.
"Well, see? We talked about dirty things for a few minutes,You're getting used to it," Igret said with a triumphant smirk.
"I'm not!" Kailith immediately protested, her cheeks flushing as she reverted to her usual defensive self.
"Whatever," Igret shrugged. "This should be today's lesson for you. The more raw and unfiltered your charm is, the better—without caring what others think." She spoke in a high-pitched voice, imitating some kind of wise professor.
Kailith rolled her eyes. "I never cared about what others think. People at the academy used to address me as 'tyrant' or 'ice queen,' you know?" she said with a hint of pride in her voice.
But Igret completely ignored her words as if she hadn't heard them at all.
"Look, starting tomorrow, Ceres and I will begin your practical sessions," Igret said, standing up and beginning to pace back and forth across the room. "So before that, I should give you a clear idea of what your goal is."
Kailith just looked up, her red dragon eyes staring at Igret without blinking, giving her full attention.
"From the information I have, you reflected one of your enemies' attacks with your charm, right?" Igret questioned.
Kailith immediately remembered her fight with that other fallen dragon, where she had charmed the attack and made it turn back on its caster instead.
She nodded. "Yes."
"Good. That shows your great potential. Not even all high-ranking succubuses can do that," Igret praised, a genuine smile finally reaching her eyes.
"Well then, that is your goal. You need to charm even non-living objects," Igret says, her voice firm and clear.
Kailith blinks, her mind struggling to process the words. For a moment, she feels completely lost.
"Didn't I already do that?" she asks, her forehead wrinkling in confusion.
Igret stops pacing, her brow furrowing as she tries to figure out how to explain something so complex in simple terms.
She takes a deep breath, her chest rising noticeably. "What do you think charm is? What does it do?" she asks, turning to face Kailith directly.
"Getting people to like you? Changing their preferences? Making them attracted to you?" Kailith offers, her answers coming out as small, uncertain questions.
"Charm manipulates wills," Igret explains, her voice taking on the tone of a seasoned professor. "Everyone has their own will. It decides an individual's preferences. A person without will has no affection, desire, or needs. A can of trash and a divine beauty would be the same thing to them."
She continues, "By manipulating their will, you make them like you, become obsessed with you, love you. In a way, it's different than hypnosis because you're not controlling their actions directly. Instead, their own will submits to you slowly, changing their own preferences."
"But since your goal isn't just to charm others, what you need to focus on is the wills themselves. Even in small amounts, magic or an attack from an essence stone has its caster's will inside it. So what you charmed wasn't the attack itself, but the will behind it. If it were someone very strong-willed or a powerful attack with reinforced will, then your charm wouldn't necessarily work on it," Igret explains as simply as she can.
But seeing Kailith's confused expression, she realizes everything has gone right over her head.
With a sigh, Igret turns around, walking to one of the pillars. With surprising strength, she rips off a small block of stone from it and throws it toward Kailith.
Kailith catches it without effort, the stone feeling cool and rough in her palm.
Then, Igret goes and sits back on her seat once again.
"Throw it at me," she says.
"Okay," Kailith responds without asking any questions, directly throwing the stone at Igret.
But before it can hit her, the stone changes its pathway and passes right by her, smashing against the wall, as if it clearly wants to avoid her.
"See? It's a stone, a non-living thing. You didn't even use magic or an essence stone. It has no living being's will, yet it avoids me. That's what you have to achieve," Igret explains.
Finally, Kailith's expression turns slightly serious as if everything Igret has said is starting to make sense. A new form of inspiration is growing in her mind, like a seed sprouting in fertile soil.
"You see, no matter how sexy you look, or even if you dance around it, a stone will still be a stone. But Will is in Everything. And in every non-living thing—as stones, debris, water, and even concepts have a will. It's called nature's will," Igret explains.
"So to charm non-living things, I need to charm nature's will?" Kailith questions, her voice now filled with understanding.
"Well, if charming is the correct way to put it, but yes," Igret nods.
"But there isn't a clear path for how to do it. Let your aura of charm roam free while you're here. As you gain more mastery, I'm sure nature's will will start favoring you. It would be a sign of your growth. Having favour of nature's will doesn't mean a stone will suddenly come back to life and start attacking your enemy or start kissing you, But it'll certainly won't harm you as well, Like it did just now," Igret adds.
"But I won't guarantee that after this training you'll be able to do it," Igret says, not wanting to give false hope.
"It would have been quite easy if you had a divine rank essence stone 'Charm,' but forget it. We'll train you as best we can, and the rest will depend on your future growth by yourself," Igret exclaims.
"I'll work hard," Kailith nods, her determination evident in the set of her jaw.
But then, a hesitant expression appears on Kailith's face as she scratches her lips, not meeting Igret's eye contact.
"About what you said about me not being interested in charming individuals or living beings... well, it's not that I mind it. You can train me about that as well," she says shyly.
It is literally written on her face which certain 'individual' she wants to charm.
A mischievous glint appears in Igret's eyes, her lips curling up into a smirk.
"Of course, we need to start from the basics after all. It won't be our main focus, but certainly will be a main part of overall training," she answers, making it seem like she is oblivious to the main reason why Kailith has said it.
"You can go now," she adds.
"Goodnight," Kailith says, giggling to herself a little. She is certainly happy.
She turns around, walking to the exit, but before stepping outside, a question comes to her mind.
Turning back, she looks at Igret. "Umm... actually, I had this question for a while. Why are you helping us?"
"I mean, aren't you a demon lord? What if after getting stronger, I'll kill you or other demon lords?" she asks.
And to be honest, it is a genuine question.
But Igret just laughs out loud, her back shaking a little. Even her small laughter is so mesmerizing that Kailith finds herself staring.
"We are not that close. Besides I'm recieving great benefits by training you," she says.
"Also, if you challenge a demon lord in the future and kill one, it's not my fault. It's his fault for accepting the challenge."
"As demon lords, our rule is to not plot against each other or fight between ourselves. We focus on reviving the demon king and protecting the demon realm. That's it," she adds.
"If any danger falls upon the demon king or demon realm, then we'll have to unite and fight against the threat," she explains and then looks at Kailith with her piercing gaze. "So if in the future, you attack the demon realm or our king, you'll be my enemy. But that's for the future," she adds.
Kailith hears her answer, her expression serene. "Based," she says, turning around and exiting.
Meanwhile, Igret just sits there, looking at Kailith's disappearing figure. A smile appears on her face.
"I wish you a degenerate—," she pauses, correcting herself, "I mean, charming life ahead."