'Indeed it is,'
As I walked farther into the kingdom, I began to receive some sponsor requests but when I turned them down, none of them shot me a glare or a scoff but just gave me a little present before sending me off with a bright smile.
But, this time, I could tell some of the smiles after I rejected them had a slight amount of fakeness.
I see… so the higher you are in the hierarchy, the more real you become.
After a few hours of fun walking but most of my money getting sapped by the surrounding stands and stores, I was really full and had some drip, but was getting tired.
I had to be near the center of the kingdom now, right? I mean, I've been walking for at most three-quarters of the day.
The sun had already set, revealing three grey moons that shone brightly in the sky, exactly like the sun during the day.
Plus, the amount of activity in the kingdom seemed to have gone up, instead of down after the sun had fallen.
After seeing no end and not a single high-tier noble in sight, I was ready to settle down for one of the lower-tiered noblemen, as that was all I could see in sight.
I'm sure they wouldn't do anything, but I'll still be on my guard because the nobles are probably still just the slightest bit corrupted.
As I rested down on a bench, I glanced at the dancing sun drakes who stormed the streets, their bodies lingering with the scent of alcohol.
It felt as if I was going to get drunk just by sitting here, right next to the road where all the partying was happening.
"Hello… How are you doing today?" A voice sweeter than honey suddenly appeared beside me and a woman who looked to be in her late thirties sat next to me on the bench.
She wasn't hot, but she wasn't ugly, just average y'know.
Well, I guess with the makeup she was a bit above average but her beauty was nowhere near any of my wives or the succubus queen who I was currently serving.
"Hello? Is there something you need?" I asked, though I already had an inkling as to what she was going to say.
"Yes, I saw you were resting here, and I thought you didn't have a sponsor yet, so if you would like, I could let you stay at my place for a bit,"
"Well, I was being pretty picky earlier today, but I was just planning on choosing who came next, so I guess I'll go home with you," I responded as the woman helped me stand up from the bench.
We conversed as we made our way toward her mansion, and eventually, I realized just how overpowered my luck stat was.
Apparently, she was actually a duchess staying in the main city for a bit as there was some sort of meeting.
"What's the meeting about?" I asked, expecting no answer.
"Just something. You don't have to worry about it and just enjoy life… I'm sure you struggled to get here since the demons have been slowly invading the lands,"
"Y-Yeah," I replied, not expecting the easy information to just be handed out.
We continued to talk and walk for about an hour, and eventually, we arrived at a large mansion with tons of servants, men, and women, greeting us.
"Welcome home Mistress," They all said in unison and as we walked through the center of the pathway they had created, I could feel their eyes trail across my body as if I was a piece of meat or some sort of prize.
I could see that they took pride in seeing their Mistress bring home such a beautiful elf… meaning these elves are definitely used for something.
It was pretty suspicious how elves just live with their sponsors for years and years until either they die or their sponsors die.
There is no benefit for the sponsor unless they fell in love with them, but I'm sure they see elves more as pets rather than actual humanoid beings.
It would be like falling in love with your dog, kissing it, and marrying it which isn't the best thing to imagine.
"This may be a bit presumptuous of me, but may I ask what us elves are used for?" I asked the duchess who brought me to the dining room where I was met with hundreds of dishes.
"Elves are used for a beauty competition. The sponsor of the winning elf is then granted permission to converse with the angels," She explained with a warm smile and as I feasted on the food, I kept my tastebuds wide open, just in case I noticed a hint of poison.
There's nothing… That's good.
"Am I allowed to ask what exactly our relationship will be because this sponsor thing just seems like a better word for 'owner,'" I asked and just like always, the woman replied with a cool and collected tone as if she had been through this a multitude of times?
Seems I'm not her first elf… then what happened with the others?
"You're exactly right. Elves are pretty submissive in nature, which is why you see not only us sun drakes keeping them as pets, but also the demons just across the Dark Forest. And if I had to guess, I'm sure some of the other strong races keep elves as pets… But that doesn't mean we take elves from the elven metropolis. Elves from there are extremely prideful and strong, unlike the ones who come from their elven trees that are spread across each plane," The Duchess explained.
They're submissive in nature? Then why is every other elf that I've met not very submissive?
A few questions lingered in my mind, but my inner demon quickly answered them and I guess the conclusions weren't that hard to come to.
'They were most likely very feisty after seeing their own kind getting slaughtered before them. Anybody would go through a negative metamorphosis if they saw their own family and friends get killed and themselves becoming a slave. These sun drakes are pretty smart, taking advantage of the scared and helpless elves…'
"Is there anything I need to do while staying here?" I asked the duchess who was already directed the maids to get what I assumed to be my room prepared.
"Yes, we'll have to treat your skin about three times a day and you'll do some exercise and go through some magic therapy. You'll also have to wear a corset, but once I feel your waist has slimmed enough, no touching it. The feeling of seeing your waist slim is intoxicating and almost addictive, so make sure to not get hooked on it," The duchess said and I just continuously nodded my head the entire way through.
"Is that all?"
"Yes-, Oh wait, there is something else. You have to sleep right next to me in order to absorb the fragments of life coming off my body. We're still finding out ways to store and use them, so just sleeping next to me will have to suffice. But, it seems you also have some proper etiquette training, so I guess we won't have to do much of that,"
"Wow… It seems much more complicated than I initially expected,"
"Oh, don't worry. All of this should take at most four hours every day beside the corset around your waist,"
"Hm… I see. Okay, well, thank you for the meal," I said and was a bit dazed since everything was happening so suddenly.
I wouldn't mind becoming more beautiful, but I also can't forget that I'm here for a mission, not to gain the favor of a sun drake.
As we began to clean up, she let me use her private bathroom which had the silkiest and warmest water I had ever felt in my life.
It was almost like I took a bath in lube the way my skin felt after stepping out of the addictive and warm water.
"Are you all done?" The woman asked, in a pretty revealing robe and it seems she had taken a bath as well since her hair seemed to still be a bit wet.
"Yes Mistress," I immediately replied.
"You don't have to call me that. Please just call me Duchess or Miss," The woman said as she gestured for me to sit down in front of a mirror that had tons of different materials lined up against the bottom desk.
I assumed she was now going to lotion up my skin, maybe do something with my face… and I was correct… but I had to take my clothes off before her.
"It's alright baby, I won't do anything," She assured me and her voice was so sweet that it was a bit hard to resist.
In the end, I stripped off my clothes and blushed red as I covered my private parts with my hand as I sat on the stool.
But, I must still take note of the fact that she was able to influence my mind… hey, bitch, was that due to me or some kind of skill
'Definitely a skill, so be careful,'
Alright.