Succubusekai: The Demoness Just Wanted To Stay With Her Friends! [Original-Ish] [Quest]

[X] (Roommates) Let Eira and Helen wake up on their own
[X] (Morning Rituals) Plan: feminine morning.
-[X] shower.
-[X] do some steppy poses in the mirror.
-[X] Do some shapeshifting in order to mimic a make-up routine for that extra feminine feel.
-[X] get dressed.
-[X] Make some fancy breakfast for your new roommates.
-[X] Drink some coffee.
-[X] Write a diary if they are still asleep, maybe you can get some money by publishing a book using your experiences as inspiration or something eventually.

---

… Seriously, though, you just did that. You wanted to game all night, and you did. And you even got adequate rest out of it to feel fresh for your bardic resources.

If at any point yesterday, you doubted your choices of wish, that doubt is purged from your skull quite thoroughly at really considering that.

But, as you look through your living room, you decide to start on a morning routine.

Passing by the closed doors of Helen and Eira's rooms, you don't hear anything - they're probably both still asleep.

Into the bathroom you go, and on goes the shower. It still takes a good thirty seconds to get to hot water, but at least it does, and there's no sign of the water or sewer failing or anything. You don't really know how this space is getting all of this other than 'the goddess did it'... Which is probably enough to not look the gift horse in the mouth.

You may need to explain 20th-century bathrooms to Eira… Hopefully Helen's toilets aren't unrecognizably more advanced as to require explanations.

But for now, after using your shapeshifting to banish your clothes with a flourish… Into the shower you go. The same shapeshifting makes it easy to banish dirt and stuff off yourself, honestly, but neither it nor prestidigitation is nearly as soothing or comforting, giving a refreshing burst of normal - a reminder that your life may be rather impressively upheaved, but a lot remains the same. That you chose to keep a lot the same.

Once you're out, it's over to the vanity to look at yourself again. The back of your hand. The naturally confident smirk. As you move, your seductive side rises to the forefront easily - the come-hither look, the confidence in your gaze, posing to emphasize this feature or that just a little… Knowing you could drive most men and many women wild with just your looks and your ability to flaunt them is still kind of a total rush.

Your shapeshifting continues, as you basically shift your features to simulate various bits of makeup. (It kind of makes you want to get the real thing.) Skin smoothed with a foundation, teeniest hint of blush on each cheek, deep red lipstick after trying purple and decided it made you look more venomous than hot honestly…

It doesn't take long to get why women often do this. Though the fact that it was expected back on Earth always struck you as kinda crap. Choosing it is neat; being stuck with it, not so much.

As you settle into a 'natural' look, you quickly slink back to your room… Hmm. The act of dressing would be good for the feeling of normalcy, but none of your current shelves fit anymore - you're slimmer except around one specific area, a bit shorter, different shoe size… And, you know, the fact that all of it's not of the world you'll be stepping out into in not super long.

You'll need to work on that once you have some more funds. For now, the best you can do is shapeshift quickly into the 'normal human bard' look. Maybe another day you can try summoning the clothes cleverly to actually put them on the long, slow way? Could be cool. But later.

Next up… Food. You're not nearly as good a cook as Jack (not that you got to enjoy his food super often), but you do have the essential skills and a few basic things to work with - turning the electric stove on, pulling out one of Eira's iron pans… Seasoned, even, handy.

As the stove and pan start to heat up, you get coffee going. It's at this moment, when you're pulling out your preground coffee beans and setting up the filter, that you realize Jack had a point about grinding whole beans yourself - the convenience was always more important to you. But it's still a good coffee that you can introduce to Eira (and maybe Helen? Is coffee still popular in her timeframe?), and your coffeepot should do a solid job.

Back to the pan. A bit of oil here, then some eggs, some bacon (unless you can get it shipped, you'll need to learn to make the strip cut of bacon yourself), precut hash brown potatoes, orange slices and banana on the side…

… It does make you think about the food options that are trivially available in most 21st-century cities but would only be possible with the aid of significant proportions of Wizardry here on Aridia. (Helen's probably already considering arcane greenhouses. Not, like, right now if she's still asleep, but in general.)

By this point, you can hear one of the doors opening - and Eira comes out first, wearing a longish tunic and not much else. She slips around into the kitchen, just kind of watching from one side.

You turn towards her with a smile. "Breakfast should be ready in a couple minutes - though I suspect that's less interesting than how I'm preparing it?"

"Y-yeah," Eira responds, her ears perking up as she looks over everything. "I mean, that's obviously eggs, looks like really thin pork…"
"On Earth, we call it bacon; mostly that just means it's meat from the pig's belly, but it also implies being very thin." You slide the cooked pieces off the pan onto some paper towels - and overall slide into introducing Eira to the various foodstuffs and tools of your American-style kitchen.

A little ways in, Helen arrives, though she doesn't say much, just observing. Only after a bit does she observe, "I'm surprised you use such a basic pot for your coffee, Senaz."

You blink. "I didn't like thinking too hard about it before the caffeine kicked in. Right, Eira, if I recall correctly… This stuff's gonna be stronger per cup than your tea, and also much stronger tasting. Take a tiny sip once it's cooled, then add cream and sugar to taste."

Helen smiles. "Oh, to have replicators to not have to do the whole process each time."

"Eh. The effort's worthwhile," you respond, finally setting up plates - large portions for Helen and Eira, a smaller portion for yourself. You don't need to eat anymore, but by every damn layer of the Abyss you're going to enjoy at least some of your work.

Sitting around the smallish table, you look towards the two allies you have - possibly your only ones you can count on. It's hard to say how the Red Queen will react to all this - it's possible she'll want to immediately order you hunted down for willingly teaming with a Paladin, but just as feasible she'll just ignore the whole business or try to find a way to exploit it.

But for now, you can just enjoy the food.

Eira's first sip of coffee causes her tails to stand on end a bit. She immediately goes for a fair bit of cream and sugar before her second sip. Helen enjoys hers black, though she does observe that she might need to pursue lighter coffees to be perfect to her tastes. Easy enough to order at some point.

Their plates are also cleared quite quickly - Eira needs to adjust to the finer metal utensils, but watches you and Helen and picks up the finer points quickly enough to enjoy the particular starch of potatoes easily. It's Helen who knows offhand that potatoes have mildly poisonous roots (and skin if you don't wash it off well), and come from almost the opposite corner of the planet as the region you're on.

"Which feels so weird," you observe, "given that in similar regions on Earth, they're the staple crop now."

Helen nods. "Bringing them over could be a powerful boon for food security. Guess that goes on the list of things to figure out how to make happen in time."

You blink. "... You're really into trying to uplift society here, huh?"

"Indeed," Helen responds. "I know too much to consider otherwise, other than needing to control the pace to help ensure the ensuing upheavals are good overall. Magic doesn't substitute for enough things by itself. Sure, medical care is advantaged through the blessings of the gods, but strong vaccination theory would alleviate the load and help prevent full-on plagues - even those spread with magic, potentially, just to name one area. Put enough together, and you can uplift conditions enough to eliminate the conditions most responsible for the rise of evil."

"At least," you respond, "from the mundane sources of man. We already know we're dealing with an active - well, calling her a Goddess of Evil's an oversimplification, but she's not even the entire surface of the iceberg between devils, demons, and plenty of other sources."

"Correct," Helen observes, "But reducing the mundane conditions can help reduce their sway. If they were less desperate, those men we took down yesterday may never have become cultists of She Who Must Be Abjured in the first place."

You're not sure it's truly that simple - greed's absolutely a thing - but the basic point at least somewhat stands.

More than that… Even if it doesn't banish evil entirely or even massively, it's still worth doing if you can. And…

Wait.

Huh.

"... Winding back to the uplifting itself, I just realized that I'm a massive shortcut to this, aren't I."

Helen nods. "I was wondering when you'd realize that. But yes, we can potentially order all kinds of items from technology levels higher than what's common here, and information on more advanced smithing, crafting, and eventually full-on manufacturing techniques."

"We'd need quite a bit of money. Earth money," you note.

Eira pauses. "Never mind that if you're noticed doing this, multiple powers-that-be might not be into it. Keeping the peasantry down is a big part of how the nobility keeps itself up, after all."

Helen's response takes several seconds. "You are, of course, correct there - at least, vastly more than not. There's likely to be individual nobles who would see it as worth the loss in power, but that's different than the nobility as a whole. The best tool I have to best such an entrenched structure is another. My goddess is actively a supporter of the idea, and presumably Aurora would be so, too… But I think there's a better tool than the Church."

You pause, think… And smirk. "A reputation. A proven Paladin who has saved entire regions is much harder to touch from a social standpoint. Her enterprises - or those she supports - will be harder to attack from a social standpoint."

"Not exactly what I was thinking," Helen responds, "but very true. Of course, that adds the difficulty of keeping that reputation going…"

To which Eira responds, "... Which means more good quests. The company itself, if at all profitable, can easily be tarred as just greedy. But if you yourself keep saving innocents and stopping evil all the while, and those acts become your funding base as well…"

"Thus avoiding the issue of needing to depend on noble sponsors," Helen observes. "However, wanting them is another thing."

You pause. "Which means finding nobles of a strong sense of social responsibility and for whom that sense is deeply real - the latter being the harder part - or who benefit from supporting you sufficiently as to be well and truly mollified, without it being just profit - otherwise it's right back to the greed thing."

Helen nods. "Could be as easy as someone of sufficient power who, by the course of our actions, feels they owe us… or for whom the benefits of new types of food inspire sufficient awe that they're okay with the risks. Or any number of other combinations."

Eira nods. "It doesn't even need to be food, necessarily. Plenty of other things could bring that level of amazement. Like, that bathroom. It doesn't need to be shoved to the outer corners, because it's not a stench nightmare. It barely seems like you need to use mitigating potpourri or the like."

You nod. "Central plumbing - water in, waste out. I… think it's probably the most important innovation of all, more than electrical power or all the things it enables."

Helen ribs, "Says the girl who no longer needs it and spent all night in online games."

"Just because I love them doesn't mean they're the most important technology," you snap back. "... The ability to have distant social connections, however, is wonderful." Especially given it's now, though only for you, crossed the literal boundary of death itself. "But improvements in water and sewage treatment have been borderline ludicrous in terms of their value for health outcomes."

All three of you spend some time thinking, before Eira responds, "Well, there's more to consider on that front for sure… But I think after me and Helen wash up and get dressed, we probably should set our sights lower for now. By which I mean getting supplied and getting walking towards Arnstey Keep. It's a good four days' travel from here… Half that if we move at night while using this space to rest."

Helen nods. "Meaning we stock up for four days' travel. The area is wooded, so no need to carry firewood, thank the heavens, but we still need to look like we're fully set to go without the extradimensional lair."

"And," you add, "without outing my own nature too badly." You did have to carry trail rations even if you often didn't use them, because people expect you to have them.

Eira nods. "We should be able to get the stuff we don't already have quick enough. After that… It's onward to the Keep on the Borderlands, to stop a cult from… Um. Something."

"I'm sure we'll find out what soon enough," Helen responds, before taking a sip of her coffee.

You consider the plan a bit - this is basically your last major decision before you get to Arnstey Keep, so going over your adventuring supplies is a Good Idea.

[ ] (Travel Plan) Get with a coach traveling toward Arnstey Keep. Faster and it simplifies your supply needs, but means you won't be able to use the apartment until you're at the Keep. It will likely cost a few gold for the coach plus one for supplies.
[ ] (Travel Plan) Go heavy on the supplies - people won't notice if you're overstocked and stashing stuff in the apartment. This'll likely run closer to ten gold.
[ ] (Travel Plan) Go reasonable on the supplies - you have much of what you'd need already, so just go with what'd be typical for sensible travelers, running a couple gold.
[ ] (Travel Plan) You've got the apartment, skip the supplies and exploit the hell out of it! This might draw attention you may wish to avoid, but would mean saving money and get you out on the road faster.

QM NOTE: For the next three vote categories, please only put the [X] on your plan name, not on any details within - there's going to be five vote categories this time around, so some sanity is mandated.

[ ] (Eira's Equipment) Write-In - so, decision paralysis is absolutely a thing for me with equipment. I went with the "Start with GP" option to put in Eira's starting number of 160 GP. Assume she had the ability to buy stuff that might not be legal through Contacts, and give me ideas! QM reserves right to line-item-veto or tune once given a full seed. You are free to use a class and background selections set in place of her GP, but make clear you're doing so!

[ ] (Helen's Equipment) Write-In - Helen currently has 50 loose GP, besides the gear listed in her character sheet (see the first page). Assume that she had access to a city at some point and could have bought some equipment there, or that she's buying items here as makes sense. QM reserves right to line-item-veto or tune once given a full seed.

[ ] (Senaz's Equipment) Write-In - Senaz currently has 14 loose GP, besides the gear listed on her character sheet (see the first page). Assume that any equipment she bought before today would be stuff a Succubus would logically go for. QM reserves right to line-item-veto or tune once given a full seed. You can also list items she might already have in her apartment and would keep handy while outside of it - these would not take her GP.

***

I looked it up, and yes, Senaz could in fact get bacon shipped to the apartment via the major e-tailers or local-order delivery - it'd just be Kind Of Expensive.

This will be the final prologue segment - the next post will be on the longer side, and I'm starting on it already.

See, the next post will begin Succubusekai: The Demoness Just Wanted To Stay With Her Friends! Act I: Chaos Mountain! Save The Keep On The Borderlands! - where the full flow of the quest begins to kick in, with more combat, heavier exploration elements, and lots of planning to work with.

(And no, I haven't forgotten the diary; it'll get a more specific mention in the next post.)

And, in keeping with common norms on quite a few sites, there's one more vote category… Except this one might start seeing things done before the vote closes.

[ ] (Omake Segments) Write-In - Give the QM ideas for things to write short bits about! These may be canon Interludes, or non-canon Omake segments. Want Senaz to meet characters from other quests? AUs of her in different settings? Helen getting advice from other Helens? What Senaz might look like with a different class? Give The QM Ideas. The QM actively intends to write Omakes that get multiple votes and feel right well before the vote closes, plus at least the top vote-getter the QM is willing to write and hasn't already after the vote closes.

I'm borrowing this tradition from sunt, who may have gotten it in turn from Worm. Either way, it's a great way to mix things up!

Helen Garland had to admit that there were times when Senaz's choice to reincarnate as a Succubus had clear practical value. Like when it meant Helen could get a message passed to a temple of Aurora by the very simple dint of Senaz's ability to teleport, now that she had taken the time to craft a basic plan to stymie the cultists of Echidna who hadn't yet made it to Chaos Mountain, hopefully making things easier for the trio.

There was, of course, catches to this method too.

For example, because the door wasn't handy and they couldn't go far ahead since Senaz hadn't been down this road, it left her and Eira sitting next to each other.

Eira Nicholls was… Helen wasn't willing to call her a problem, not when her talents might be critical for the mission. But she certainly was… Something.

The Vulpinae was just kind of stretching right now, not particularly looking towards nor away from Helen, when the Paladin spoke. "... Did you have anything specific in mind, when you offered to join us?"

Eira blinked, looking towards Helen. To the foxy thief, Helen was a potential stick in the mud. After all, her first encounter had been Helen striking at Senaz and freeing her from the Succubus' charms when they were, in fact, exactly where she wanted to be. And then being indignant when Eira was indignant about that. At least she hadn't tried to stop Eira again when she openly stated her consent!

But still, sure, question, she can respond. "Only a little, honestly. Like, I was getting tired of the lay low civilian lifestyle, something finally interesting shows up but was probably going to leave the next day, I'd rather do something interesting with my life, decent chance for money… I saw an opportunity, and I took it."

"... No qualms about any of it?"

"Maybe the fact that I gotta put up with someone like you," Eira said with a certain smirk. "But if you don't gimme crap for what I like as long as I'm not hurting anyone, I can handle."

"Why do you think I'd…?!"

"Isn't that pretty normal Paladin moralizing behavior? Literal power from your gods for stick-in-the-mud tendencies?"

"That… That's not how that works," Helen responded with exasperation. "My oath to Solaria isn't based on stifling people!"
"So you'll put up with my vices, then?", Eira observed, clear doubt in her tone.

"That… That wouldn't be the way of balance, no," Helen responded. "I seek to help others, spread truth and honesty, and try to make people's lives better. Insisting they live by the tenets I am foresworn to would directly betray those same tenets!"

"... Wait, seriously?", Eira responded with a surprised tone.

"Yes, really," Helen responded. "Civilizations aren't built on perfect order - not real ones, at least. Harmony isn't about conformity, but about people working through differences to find their path."

Eira paused, clearly considering this for several seconds. "... Mmm. I guess that makes sense. Not that a lot of civilization around here did great by me."

"Dare I ask?"

"Maybe later."

"... I might just hold you to that."

"Maybe by then you'll have earned it. For now, just be lucky to have a capable sneak with you, all right?"

"And hopefully you feel lucky to have a capable sword with you."

"Best hope you're more than just a sword against what we might be seeing," Eira responded with a grin…

… And then a shimmering pattern appeared several paces away, as Senaz reappeared, looking if anything a bit tired.

Eira was the first to speak. "So, how'd the delivery go?"

"Well, I can set foot in at least that church without catching flames."

Helen paused. "I don't think it works like that. Like, it's hallowed ground, yes, but the impacts would be more subtle. Just like I could step on unholy ground, it'd just weaken my divine powers until the unholy power was broken."

Eira shrugged. "Well, I can work just fine in either, so yay for me."

Helen sighed a bit at that. There was still a long way to go for sure...

***

... I'm starting to feel like I haven't sufficiently defined Eira's appearance - Blond and attractive to Senaz on some level is about all I'd established so far.

So if people wish to give me thoughts there, I'd love it!

Also, more Omake chapter ideas, please.