The Bonds We Break 7 (Patreon)

The Bonds We Break 7 - (Post-Shinmai Maou no Testament OC-MC)

Out of all circumstances that she could be doing in that moment, this was not the one she was that pleased about.

Then again, it was a duty tied to her current role within the former Demon Lord’s house. Despite being the firstborn of her mother, Lucia wasn’t exactly tied to her ‘step-father’ Ramusas and thus was not eligible to heirship over his domains.

That, of course, wasn’t a problem for anyone as the young woman was happy to serve as a maid and an accountant whenever possible, at the sole expense of being recognized as a child to his boss, and also being granted free time to either entertain her succubus-related urges. And her personal needs- like online businesses.

She didn’t ask much since many would want to be paid for this job three times their weight in gold, and her price was a far more accessible one than what her ‘step-father’ had expected. Thus, Lucia was hired in a good job that gave her the chance to be a sloth and a lustful Succubus… yet, things have been going quite bad for her.

Not necessarily in a path of depression, but enough to leave her pissed at the man known as Toujou Basara. While she really was thankful for the young man for proving that humans could be nice and by taking care of her sister in a reasonable manner, Lucia was outright miffed when a chance to land herself closer to someone she had been getting close to had been scorched without a warning.

It’s been five months since the one known as Fukaya Jo had left his home, and Lucia had ultimately lost the chance to get a boyfriend out of him. The reason why this very detail would shock many stemmed from several reasons. It all started from the fact that Jo was the first truly human good situation that she had faced as of late.

Not necessarily pure, but he was an easygoing individual that had coerced her to look into games and actually discover the wonderful world of Eroges. The genres, the ideas, the many times where she could easily solve some ‘stale’ boredom by just tapping into those amazing games.

Lucia’s life had gone up through this individual, the interactions they shared and, truth be told, the way she could understand her mother when she mentioned that the ‘lucky one’ didn’t have to be a strong demon.

The way that Jo had burdened his back with responsibilities well above his height made him an impressive specimen of a man, even more when he wasn’t looking at her just as a piece of juicy meat like many males would.

A succubus can like that sort of attention for so long, and even less if this is tied to her romantic life.

For Lucia, it was non-existent. For Jo, that should have culminated with Nanao, that lucky Dhampir, becoming his wife and… leaving Lucia in the dust. The succubus wasn’t the kind of girl that could give up on the spot, but she was a realist- her ‘rival’ had years on her, and Jo was smitten to the bespectacled girl.

So… it was kind of a boner-killer for her when she realized that Basara just came forth, claimed Nanao, and pretty much wrecked the status quo because of ‘it was the same thing as usual’.

He didn’t say this, but his reasoning as he spoke with others inquiring about it pretty much translated to the reckless behavior of someone claiming women whenever he felt like it.

A pretty normal trait among demons, but to actually go and claim someone that he knew was already been eyed by a trusted ally made the entire situation change into a negative one.

Basara had bred the woman that someone akin to a brother had made him aware was trying to get. Without a warning, he claimed her and gave her a child. A most powerful move, but it was ironic how he appeared baffled by the reaction he got instead.

Basara was the son of a God and a Demon (plus Jin), but Jo was human and born with human reactions.

He never had to ‘shed’ his humanity to fit in the ranks of people that were ruthless. But he had to work his ass to be loyal and show his true worth by being loyal and helpful.

When the video reached the attention of Raphaeline and Sapphire, the situation took a rather peculiar development: the two requested to speak privately with their son and… Basara was subjected to their ‘version’ of roughhousing. Jin had to intervene, but, even then, Basara left the skirmish fairly ‘ruffled’ if one could call it that.

As strong as he was, the young man was still not prepared to face two furious women that were particularly strong and driven by interesting reasons. After all, Sapphire had little reason to care about Jo- no, the one most upset by what happened was Raphaeline herself.

When she was rescued, Jo had been the one rustling her from her cage. She had lost focus, hope and thus abandoned any energy to get out of that place, but Jo had reportedly told her about Basara in the most nice way possible, trying to remind her that she had a lot to fight and live for.

This had been a monumental first impression, especially since the Goddess was fond of Jo with the way he had behaved back then and later on during her recovery. In a sense, he saw the human as a second child that she could feel just as proud of when compared with Basara.

But now that his true son caused this mess? The situation had been the most perplexing.

Lucia’s ‘revenge’ if it could be called as such was one of malicious compliance. While she didn’t have much to do with the Toujou Family’s expenses up until recently, the sudden disappearance of Jo meant that 1) she was the newest accountant by Jin’s request and 2) she was given a free hand in Basara’s piggy bank.

Pranking was not her thing, but the Succubus was still able to dodge punishment for ‘erroneously’ ordering Basara several Vocaloid-themed body pillows in various shameless positions.

How could she have known he meant ‘instruments’ when he meant ‘musical stuff to play with’?

Still, the bitterness was cheap and easy to come around, but the upset of having wasted a golden chance by not seeing the ‘lucky girl’ failing to get the ‘lucky guy’ was never ending.

Months went by, and Lucia’s irritation kept on persisting as she was sent in a diplomatic envoy to the US Hero Clan in response to their recent interest to claim leadership over the worldly role the Hero Clans of Earth had.

The request was fair and voted upon, supporting the elevation of this group to the higher levels. The Chinese branch had surprisingly voted in favor of this motion, mentioning that they were still busy with some bureaucratic issues.

So, the Succubus was soon walking in Boston, having changed to fit better within the new environment and… she was instantly irked by the man that was Hercule Rushmore. He wasn’t bad, but he clearly was a terrifying monster under that jolly Santa Claus mask of his.

Discussing within the Clan’s school was also somewhat dreadful as she had to further restrain her Succubus-related aphrodisiac, yet all that expense would soon mature a gain for her to love to the very core.

As they were wandering about, Hercule took her to see the training grounds and she expected little kids struggling to keep up with their exercises. Just like it was with the Japanese Branch.

What Lucia hadn’t contemplated as a possibility was that the very source of singular affection and cause of upset was actually there. Sure, she couldn’t perceive his energy- but his smell was right.

Her eyes were not betraying him, nor was her Succubus sense. This was him, that was Jo and he looked much more appetizing than ever!

She had to hold back a moment from salivating at the sight as he was clearly lecturing three students of his, showing them how to do things and then resuming the session. His speed and strength were beyond what he showed when he was still in Japan, and he looked… happier.

“Something caught your eyes, Miss Lucia?” Hercule asked, the Succubus pausing and then freezing up as she realized that she was smiling at Jo.

“Who is… who is that?” She asked, testing her English and feeling pleased when the man nodded.

“That’s my apprentice and one of the teachers in this school, Joseph Funkman.”

Her lips twitched at the silly Bastardization of Jo’s name, knowing it had to have been his idea. To Lucia, this was the chance she hadn’t gotten back then. And… she wasn’t planning to let it go to waste once more.

“I believe that my year-long stay will be much more acceptable then.”

Hercule snorted, then eyed her coyly as if he knew what was going on inside her head.

“I had a feeling about that, miss.”

—-----d-d-d-d—----

AN

Next time, Jo taps into the ‘Darkness’ and he realizes that someone from his past is far closer than he could have predicted and that she is… not planning to let others in with his current location.