Devote Yourself to the Witch! - Chapter 4

Von might have looked like a spineless lump of dough, but I was not discouraged.

I decided to prescribe stronger medicine.

One day, I took Von for a walk around the neighborhood. I made a particular point of introducing him to the family next door—and their adorable guard dog.

At dinner that same day, I presented Von with a collar attached to a leash.

It was identical to the guard dog’s.

Von stared at the collar in its gift box, where the fancy presentation made it look even more absurd. He asked cautiously:

“Is this… for me?”

“That’s right,” I said with a mocking laugh.

When he continued staring at it in silence, I made my tone nastier.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like the gift your mistress bought you?”

Those words were pure humiliation. Yet Von merely reached out and stroked the inside of the collar.

“…I like it.”

Then he actually put it on.

I clicked my tongue.

Refusing to admit defeat, I asked, “Does it fit? It isn’t choking you, is it? Make a sound and let me hear.”

Von was no fool. Thinking back over our excursion that day, he quickly understood what I meant.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he barked.

I was awestruck.

Such an obedient dog almost made me reluctant to keep bullying him.

With that thought in mind, I unceremoniously poured the remaining meat broth over my fingers and held them to his lips.

“Good dog. Here’s your reward for obeying.”

“Do you know how a doggy is supposed to eat?”

Our eyes met. My smile brimmed with malice, while the leashed adult demon in a maid dress looked perfectly docile.

Von slowly sank to his knees. He shuffled over to my feet and murmured:

“Thank you for the reward, Mistress.”

Then he cradled my wrist as if it were precious and eagerly licked my hand like a starving dog.

My submissive little slave sucked each finger with solemn attention. Even after every trace of broth was gone, he refused to let go.

The dress he wore had a rather low neckline. From my angle, I could see his abdomen flexing unconsciously—and all four of his heads stirring with excitement.

Only when my fingers began to go numb did Von reluctantly stop “eating.”

They slipped from the warmth of his mouth with a soft pop.

After a long silence, I finally asked the System the question that had been troubling me for some time.

“What kind of demon is he, exactly?”

The System stammered incoherently for ages.

[I think… I think he’s a succubus?]

I did not know what that was, but it sounded like someone born with the perfect constitution for the Joyous Union Sect.

I took a deep breath. With little hope left, I asked Von:

“How does it make you feel when I treat you this way?”

Was he angry, or—

Von raised his face shyly. “It feels wonderful. I’m very happy. Thank you for the reward, Mistress.”

Ha.

I knew it.

What a depraved world.

For the first time since joining my sect, I felt that I had encountered a truly monumental challenge.

Honestly, if those emotionless-path cultivators had possessed even half Von’s endurance, the Joyous Union Sect would have lost all face long ago.

I began to consider abandoning my plan to make him angry.

At this point, if I slapped his left cheek, he would probably blush and offer me the right one.

But I still had a world-saving mission to complete.

If I truly could not teach him to resist…

Then I would simply have to keep him leashed at my side forever, never giving him an opportunity to destroy the world.

I tugged his leash close and flippantly patted Von’s cheek.

“If you insist on being a sweet, temperless little dog, then I’ll have to keep your leash in my hand for the rest of your life.”

Von’s mind worked in ways no ordinary person could comprehend. His eyes lit up at those words.

“Yes!”

For a moment, I thought his little goat horns had grown.

I paid it no mind and dismissed it as an illusion.

From that day onward, however, Von became even more attached to me.

He stopped eating from a bowl. He insisted that I feed him strips of meat with my fingers like a real dog, claiming it was the only way he felt full.

He also abandoned his own bedroom. He would rather sleep on the cold floor than leave my bedside, until I had no choice but to let him sleep at my feet.

He wanted to orbit me every hour of every day, though I occasionally went out alone.

Whenever I returned, I found Von crouched at the door in the throes of separation anxiety, twisting the broom in his hands so hard it nearly snapped.

This would not do.

I had said I would keep him leashed at my side, but that had been an exaggeration. There was no need for his attachment to become pathological.

Yet the instant I gently pointed this out, Von jerked his head up as if triggered.

“Mistress doesn’t want me anymore?!”

A vein throbbed in my forehead. “What?”

The System promptly intervened.

[Don’t be angry. The villain must be going through a special phase right now!]

According to the System, Von’s body probably believed it had found a safe environment, allowing the awakening of his sealed mana to resume.

As an adult succubus, he would become excessively dependent on the scent of someone he liked during his mana reawakening. This was perfectly normal.

[He is the adult Demon King, after all. His mana reawakening won’t last long. You only need to endure this phase.]

I prodded the demon horn pressed against my calf, my head aching.

“How long is ‘not long’? He’s far too clingy. I hate feeling constrained.”

The System showered me with praise and reassurance in an attempt to pacify me.

Then, without warning, its voice rose in excitement.

[The second villain has appeared!]

The elven Holy Son would soon encounter some trouble, and I needed to rescue the beauty like a hero.

The timing was perfect. By the time I returned, Von’s mana reawakening should be nearly complete.

I snapped my fingers in satisfaction.

“Then let’s leave right now.”