[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 222: And then an even more shocking meeting. (Patreon)

The human psyche is strong, so possession by any sort of spirit isn't a common occurrence by any means. For that to happen, the spirit needs to take advantage of a moment of mental weakness. Despair, hopelessness, anger, frustration… That was how Ishtar snuck inside Will’s head.

‘Correct. That was the night she cheated on you and you kicked her and the guy out of your place.’

Did that event also cause a moment of weakness in Helga? It wouldn’t be surprising if she cursed his name over and over after that. Even though he felt justified, Will did leave her without a home. He remembered that she had to stay with friends for the first week before finding a new roommate.

‘Why would she curse you? She’s the one who fucked you over. Didn’t you pick your university and move into this city because of her, even?’

‘I did. But that was a matter of course for Helga. She’s… selfish, self-centered. She expects everyone to follow along with her whims.’

‘And… why did you fall for her again? Weren’t you pretty serious about her?’

‘Hindsight is always 10-10. Back then she treated me well. She was kind, flirtatious, funny. I was aware of her flaws, but no one’s perfect. I could accept it because she made me happy. I guess… I underestimated how selfish and greedy she really was.’

It was like a lightning strike.

‘Will, we need to move somewhere nice. We’re not living in a single-room apartment.’

‘Will, can you buy me that dress? Please? Please? I’ll give you a nice reward if you do’

‘It needs to be right in front of our university. Either that or you buy a car. I’m not taking the bus.’

‘Will, I swear, if you propose to me with a ring worth less than 1k, I’m giving it back to you. I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Or am I…?’

‘This place is a fucking dumpster, anyway! You have no fucking idea how to treat a woman how she deserves!’

Scattered comments, sometimes said jokingly and sometimes in anger, but always with a hint of truth to them. Her desire for luxuries was always there. She hated their apartment for being ‘too modest’ despite being very expensive. She used to complain that Will never bought her enough gifts.

‘Ishtar… Spirits of Greed exist, don’t they?’

‘Hm? Oh yeah, they do. Dragons, mostly. Unpredictable fucks. They can be ridiculously single-minded, playful to the point of being annoying, totally fucking ruthless, unimaginably petty or the wisest creature you will ever meet. You never know with them. My mom was friends with one, Tiamat. All five of those traits combined in one. Though she did have five heads, so that would explain it.’

‘What kind of powers would a Spirit of Greed have?’

‘Hmm… Hard to say. So here’s the thing about Higher Spirits like me and the old man. This John guy put a term to it. We are specialists, we use concept-based magic. What matters to us is the result, not the process. Basically, our magic is whatever lets us fulfill our desires. For me it’s sexual empowerment, for old man Belphegor it’s mind control, suggestions and raw power. So for a Spirit of Greed, their magic could be whatever they decided to focus on to get the target of their greed.’

‘Well, shit. That helps but doesn’t narrow it down.’

‘Don’t overthink it too much. We still don’t have proof Helga is possessed at all. Though… if you were to sleep with her, I could totally read her mind like a lifestyle magazine.’

‘Ishtar, my girl, I love you. Don’t say things that make me want to throw up, please.’

‘I’m just saying I could! But yeah, probably not wise to put yourself in a vulnerable position close to her if we don’t know what her abilities are.’

“You’ll want a job to get you in everyone's ears, then,” Paul said. “If your potion works as you say it does, the advertising will take care of itself. You will practically have a monopoly there. As for the hunting part of your business, however, you have competitors.”

Crap. Will was so caught up brainstorming with Ishtar he missed a good chunk of the conversation. Thankfully, Cynthia and Amelia were taking care of that. It didn’t seem that Paul and John had noticed he had spaced out.

“Strong, reliable competitors, I might add,” John said. “For example, we had a newcomer some months ago. A freelancer.”

“She doesn’t take trivial jobs and only goes for the hard ones. 82% success rate, I believe. Tell her to get you some ogre blood and she will.” 

‘In fact, I think I saw her walking around. If she’s the same as last time, she should be… Ah, there she is, stuffing her face.”

Aoi was the only one who didn’t turn to look. Her job was to protect Will, Cynthia and Amelia, after all. But the other three did.

“There. The super tall blonde one in pants and a shirt.”

Oh hell, she really was tall. She was taller than any of the other men around her. She was at a buffet table, filling her plate with copious amounts of food. Her attire was hardly appropriate to the occasion. Black dressing pants, black shoes and a white long-sleeve shirt. The first three buttons were undone, exposing cleavage that matched Cynthia’s. Long, wavy blonde hair flowed down her shoulders.

‘H-Huh? No. No way! No WAY! HOW!?’

‘Um… Ishtar?’

‘Will, swap with me right now! RIGHT NOW! I’m begging you! I need to talk to her!’

Will felt the urgency. He got up, stood next to Aoi and whispered to her. “My friend needs something. I don’t know what it is, but I’m letting it happen. Take care of Cynthia and Amelia, please.’

Suppressing a grimace, Aoi nodded.

Then, in the blink of an eye and without the slightest shift in magical energy, Ishtar was in full control of Will’s body. She gave him a silent thanks for complying with her sudden and selfish request, but this was important.

The woman eating over by the table was a familiar face, even if he shouldn’t be. This was the real world, but nevertheless, that face was practically the same, and the way she stood was telling.

The freelance hunter was Johana the Amazon.