Chapter 959 - 959 Chapter 959 Apparently we do Self-Help Now

959 Chapter 959 Apparently we do Self-Help Now

“So… should we be hiding from the recordings?” asked Kat.

“Eh, it doesn’t really matter. The summoning circle should disrupt spells that record voices. They can see us, and maybe lip read? Not sure about that second one but they definitely can’t hear us,” explained Sue.

“Why? That seems specific… or at the very least not a coincidence,” said Kat.

“That’s because it IS. Dad talked about it once, apparently it’s to stop people trying to make Contracts over long distances. This way they can’t make a flimsy Contract but stay far enough away that they’re hard to find. People need to be nearby to make a Contract. Well, I’m not sure if they NEED to but things certainly make it hard for Contracts to go through if they aren’t nearby,” said Sue.

“Right…” said Kat slowly. *I mean… that makes sense… but I feel like I should’ve been aware of this before. Then again… every other time I’ve been summoned by someone directly in front of me.* “Well… whatever,” Kat decided just to move on to other topics. If Sue wasn’t worried, it was probably fine, “What have you been up to since we last met?”

Sue waved a hand at Kat dismissively, “Well, unlike some of us, I kept up with shorter term but more regular Contracts. Nothing fancy, and likely nothing you want to hear about. Sure I could start teasing you about it, but with us being watched I wouldn’t want to make it obvious how easily you and Lily can be flustered. Might also be best if Lily doesn’t show off her human form just yet.”

“Nothing special at all?” asked Kat again.

“Kat… you seem to have developed a bit of a warped version of Contracts because of how different yours have been. Add into that the fact that you’ve gained strength very quickly…” Sue paused for a moment to sigh, “I’m not sure what I feel about that fact. It’s not something I’d be interested in, but somehow I do still feel a bit envious. Regardless, I get summoned, once a week, for something my Summoner things is a weird sex thing.

“It’s normally something I’ve tried before, and that’s a shame because I’m not even a century old yet. Most of the time I get summoned by men, but considering my own preferences I’m not suggesting that men are more likely to burn money for a good night of sex. Sometimes it’s more of course. Sometimes I get a date out of it, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it’s one guy trying to show off his stamina, sometimes I go through a few rooms worth of people…

.....

“But I’m not going on grand adventures that span weeks or months. I don’t get friendly with most of them, and the Contracts that take more than a day are the exceptions not the rule. Summoning a Succubus for sex is expensive, but not ruinously so because of how many Succubi are interested in the work. Or well, it’s more accurate to say they summon ‘someone to sleep with that’s X gender’ and the portal does the rest.

“Which is still expensive, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of rich people are willing to pay big money for a courtesan to warm their bed for a night. The prestige of summoning a demon for it, is decently high in some worlds and my missions are basically never dangerous. Take your last mission for example. There was a risk of fighting a Rank 4 combatant. You did in fact, fight a Rank 4 combatant.

“If I had a mission where I ‘risked’ meeting a Rank 4, it’d just be to sleep with him, and wouldn’t be considered any more dangerous then sleeping with a mortal. Plenty of people with more power then sense summon a demon to warm their bed. Now, I could go into the specifics, I don’t mind that. In fact, it’s something I do with the acquaintances I used to call friends before I met you and Kamiko…n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“And sure it’s nice to gossip… but it’s all so shallow. They don’t really care about how much I enjoyed my outings, it’s all about how well I retell the story, or hearing about odd specifics like how large the guys junk was, or how many times he was able to finish. They don’t even care about the fake date missions except for the finale most of the time,” Sue paused and winced, taking a step back. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to unload that on you,”

Kat skipped over and pulled Sue into a hug, “Aw it’s fine. I don’t really know why you felt the need to unload like that, but it’s fine with me. I thought you enjoyed the work? That you were proud of it?”

“And I AM” said Sue with a huff. “I’m not ashamed of myself. I enjoy what I do… but I just… maybe I’m burnt out when it comes to talking about it? It just… it feels kinda pathetic you know? To brag about bagging this or that guy when it really is just a job. It’s like bragging about how much money I made from every summon, but instead it’s bragging about how good the food was. Metaphorically speaking.”

“I feel like that’s exactly what a Gluttony demon would do though…?” suggested Kat carefully.

“You’re not wrong…” murmured Sue in agreement, “I don’t know why this is starting to bother me. I know it didn’t bother me before… and I don’t know why it’s starting?”

[I mean… if it’s all she’s ever know… now that she has us as friends she has a chance to explore other interests. The fact that she doesn’t seem to HAVE other interests is probably causing her issues. Sue seems to be trying to branch out into more than just a ‘Slutty Succubus’ but is running into the issue that currently, she isn’t much more than that.]

*Surely she’d notice if that was the problem?*

[I think the fact that she enjoys her ‘job’ is making it worse. Just because she wants to be MORE doesn’t means she wants to be someone entirely knew. So she’s fighting with herself. Clinging to her old thoughts even as they annoy her. It’s like… hmm… she thinks that she needs to straight from swimming, to sky-diving. Instead of mixing regularly swimming with a bit of diving board acrobatics.]

*Lily… I have no idea what you’re talking about.*

[I thought it was a good metaphor!]

*I’m making no judgement about that, but I think you’ve lost me truth be told.*

[Ugh. Sue wants a hobby, but she enjoys her work more than anything she’s ever tried as a hobby, but her lack of a hobby is starting to grate on her. Despite that, she can’t get a hobby because she keeps thinking of her job as a hobby, or thinks that she’s getting an entirely new job. Does that make more sense?]

*Let’s go with… ‘I think so yes’* Lily just threw up her mental hands and didn’t elaborate any further. Kat suppressed a grin at the image… but honestly wasn’t following Lily’s train of thought all that well. Still, if it helped Sue it was worth repeating. “Lily seems to think that you’re trying to be more than you are and failing at it,” said Kat.

“Huh?” emoted a confused Sue.

“I don’t fully understand it either… but Lily thinks you need a hobby?” said Kat.

“But… but I love my Contract work. I enjoy sex. Why do you think I need a hobby?” returned Sue.

Kat shrugged, “Not me, Lily. I don’t entirely understand Lily’s point myself, but apparently you’re trying to grow as a person and confusing that with completely changing who you are. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah… yeah I think it does…” mumbled Sue.

“Good. Can you explain it to me then?” requested Kat.

Sue grinned and said, “Nope. I don’t think I will,”

Kat raised an unimpressed eyebrow, “Ganging up on me? With my girlfriend as well?”

Sue shrugged, “I don’t know what Lily said to confuse you so much but it makes a great deal of sense from where I’m standing. I got into the sex stuff because nothing else captured my like sex does. I’ve tried board games, I’ve tried parties, I’ve tried video games and reading books. Sexualising my hobbies never really worked out, because I’d rather be sleeping with someone…

“But maybe that was always the problem? I need, or at least desire, properly separate hobbies. I wonder which one I should pick out? Any suggestions Kat?”

“Sue… I don’t really have hobbies…” responded Kat awkwardly.

“Maybe when we’re done with this Contract we can both work on that then? You could even pick where we start!” suggested Sue.

“Eh…” Kat grumbled carefully. Trying and failing to suppress her dislike of the idea. Kat liked things as they were. She had Lily, Sylvie, Vivian and Callisto for social stuff. Training to fill the hours, and sleep of course. Did she need something else?

Yes. Yes she did. Now Kat just had to admit that to herself.