I've lost count of how many times we had sex.
I'd dare say we made love if I weren't a devilish corruptor.
There was no time to sleep, just a few hours.

I'm already awake; it must be 5:00 am. There's school.
I could skip it, but I wouldn't want Kanna to have trouble with work.
I may be a devil, but I'm also responsible.

The shower water in the hotel bathroom washes away the strong scent of sex from my skin.
These doubts that occasionally arise, I could justify them with the residue of humanity that's left in me, but it would be almost absurd since I've been a ruthless monster.
I start to think I've been cursed too.
This all began after I violated Luysia.

I step out of the shower.
I look at this face in the mirror that is now mine.
The hunger for something more, instead of being satisfied, increases.
I want a lot, much more.
This greed will be my downfall.
I realize it, but I can't do anything about it.
I want everything.

*Knock Knock*

My train of thought is interrupted by a knock on the hotel room door.
I grab a towel to cover my dick.

This is not the typical breakfast of Hallemagner; rather, it's a memory of my previous life.

I take the tray and bring it to the bedroom.
Kanna is sleeping naked in bed.
I place the tray on the bedside table.

Gently, I wake the woman.
"Good morning, Professor."

She opens her eyes with effort.
The expression is tired, but when she sees me, it lights up.

"Good morning, Strauss."

Then her gaze shifts to the tray, drawn by the scent of coffee.

"I brought you breakfast."

"Thank you," she thanks me happily.

I get up and drink my coffee with satisfaction.
It's not the best coffee I've ever had, but it'll do.
I've had worse.
I check the time on my phone.

"It's early enough. You should have time to freshen up and get to the academy," I inform her.

Kanna looks at her watch.
"Thanks for waking me up. I have time."

We haven't slept enough, but we'll have to tough it out for today.

"We went a bit overboard yesterday," I say with a smile.

"And whose fault is that?" she playfully accuses, sipping her coffee.

Then my gaze lingers on the weapon the professor bought at the auction in my place.
It is wrapped in a black cloth that conceals it.
The woman notices that I'm looking at the mace.

"I want to give it to you," she says with a slight embarrassment.
This revelation surprises me.
I wondered why she went to such lengths to buy it, but I didn't imagine it was for this reason.
I thought she bought it because she had noticed the curse on the mace.

"It's madness!" I exclaim, thinking about the amount she spent.

"I know... I got carried away," she lowers her gaze.

"I'm honored that you bought it for me. It means a lot to me. But I can't be at ease knowing you spent all this money."

"You gave me the Midnight Lady, which is an expensive flower. I didn't want to be outdone."

"Professor, I don't have money problems. I would feel uncomfortable accepting such a gift, considering that the value of the Midnight Lady is justified while the price of that mace is excessively inflated."

She seems hurt by my words.
I didn't mean to hurt her pride, but I also don't want to ruin her financially.

"I'm willing to buy it for the amount you spent," I tell her.

"Absolutely not! It's a gift, and buying it back would offend me, Strauss."

This is problematic.
I approach her, and she looks at me angrily.
She looks beautiful even with a scowling expression.
I take her hand and look into her eyes.

"How about we split the cost in half? I care about you, Kanna. I don't want you to be in financial difficulty," I say earnestly.

"It's not an economic problem for me," she lies.

I caress her face and smile at her.

"If there hadn't been an auction, you would have bought it for a tenth of what you paid or less. It's not fair. If we're a couple, we should share the losses too."

She blushes upon hearing my words.

"How is it possible that you're only eighteen? You're more of a man than anyone I've met in my life."

"Probably that's why you fell in love with me," I smile at her as a charming bastard.

I'm prideful. Another one of my flaws.
I don't like feeling indebted, and I don't like the idea of being taken care of.
It's not my style, although it would be clever to receive the weapon as a gift.
And maybe... I have a genuine interest in Kanna.

We share a tender kiss.

Then I get up and grab the croissant, looking out of the window at the city slowly waking up.
I devour the brioche with satisfaction.
I grab the mace and free it from the covering cloth.

"Did you hear the seller, that Morgan Reeval; this weapon is apparently cursed," I tell the professor.

"Is that why you wanted to buy it?" she asks as she gets up from the bed.

"It's one of the reasons. What can you tell me about the curse of this weapon?" I say, handing her the mace.

The professor takes it and studies it carefully.
"I don't sense anything. Even yesterday when the auctioneer handed it to me, I didn't sense anything," she shakes her head.
The fact that she doesn't perceive the mace's malevolent aura is positive for me.

"The 'owner-killer'... probably Reeval is just a charlatan," I smile, misleading her.

"In the end, it's a lousy gift," the woman becomes saddened.

I place my hand on her shoulder.
"Absolutely not. What I was really interested in about the weapon is that it could be summoned," this is true.
The [CONJURE] ability allows me to summon it on command once equipped.
The utility of always having a means to defend or attack is crucial for me.

She smiles, but then her expression becomes serious.
"You shouldn't underestimate the possibility that there might actually be a curse," she says, concerned.

"With the ritual to detect curses, could you identify it?" I ask.

"We could try," she replies.

On one hand, I would like to identify the curse, but on the other, as long as Kanna is not my slave, I wouldn't want to burden her so much. The problem is that she now knows about the existence of this potentially cursed weapon, and ironically, she was the one who bought it.

"How long do you think it will take?"

"Several hours if we're lucky."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time now. Let's postpone it to another time," I say, checking the time on my phone.

"Right, I risk being late for work. I'll go take a shower," she tells me, giving me a quick kiss.
Then she quickly heads to the bathroom.

*SNAP*

As soon as Kanna is under the shower, and the water begins to flow, the succubus appears in front of me.

"If you want, Raqahela can identify the curse for you, her dear Strauss," she smiles mischievously.

Interesting, but I know she never does anything for free.
"I don't think you would do it for free, right?" I ask her, looking at her eyes.

With a twirl, she joins me.
She is very close. Her purple eyes scrutinize me amusedly.
"For the modest price of two [CORRUPTION POINTS], Raqahela can do this and more for her favorite."

"You're too expensive." I can't spend two points on this.
I'm saving them for the purchase of the [MIND READ] ability.

The demon snorts annoyed.

"It's been too long since you spent points in her [DEMONIC SHOP]. Raqahela understands that you want to save for more powerful abilities, however, her dear Strauss, you know how much she needs [CORRUPTION POINTS]. She absolutely needs them. She can't stand to see them rotting away in your system," her expression changes to that of a craving addict.
Maybe I can leverage this hunger for points.

"So give me a discount," I tell her, smiling wickedly.
I am aware that she can read my thoughts.
Did she intentionally show me her weakness? Is she playing with me?

The demon smiles at me.
"How about one point, her dear Strauss?"