Despite answering many of Saria's questions, Lucien didn't talk about Claire having a soul contract with Greed. But Lust's appearance to enjoy the relaxing bath with him makes the Mermaid Princess wonder about that.
"Hmmm…" She looks at Claire quickly before speaking to Lucien. "If you allow me to ask, does your other sisters also have such soul contracts?"
His expression turns neutral as he can imagine Saria's reason for asking that question. He can't help but quickly glance at Claire too.
'Greed is asking me not to reveal her presence.' Lust speaks to him mentally.
He doesn't want to lie, but he also doesn't want to provoke Greed further, making Claire's life more problematic, so he takes a while to think of an answer that doesn't expose that.
Saria notices that Lucien is in doubt about what to do, but before she regrets asking that question, Claire breaks the awkward silence. "Yes, we do."
Lucien sighs, relieved that he doesn't have to lie to hide Greed, who gets upset while Claire looks concerned. "I didn't mean to hide it, but-"
"You don't need to explain." Saria smiles. "I can feel that you have good intentions in your heart, and the fact that you have a demon in your soul doesn't change our friendship."
"Thank you." Claire feels really lucky to have met Saria and the Mermaids.
The beautiful and gentle Mermaid Princess giggles. "You don't need to thank me for anything. In fact, my mom and I knew you had some kind of secret power. We could feel it, but we also knew you were in control of it and wouldn't hurt us."
Lucien never gets tired of being amazed by the fantastic nature of the Mermaids. "Haven't you ever thought to question Claire about it?"
"We knew she would tell us about it eventually." She quickly responds but then makes a thoughtful expression. "My mom told me to be patient, but I really wanted to ask Claire why I felt weird feelings when I was around her..."
"What kind of feelings?" Kamala asks.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Hmm…" Saria tries to explain as she looks at Claire. "It's not easy to put it in words. I think I feel intense cravings... I mean possessive desires for things I don't normally care for, and... other things more important."
"It's Greed inside her, after all." Lust comments while stroking Lucien's hard member underwater.
"Greed the Sin??" Saria asks with an impressed expression.
Claire nods. "Yes, this annoying and inconvenient creature that is complaining in my mind right now."
"Hahahaha..." Saria finds the situation fascinating. She should be upset about having a demon hidden among her people, but due to her ability to understand others' feelings, she doesn't have any concerns about Claire's intentions.
"So that's why you can convert treasures into your own energy?" She asks. "And is it also because of Greed that you are so powerful??"
"It and the damn Bloody Rose..." Claire comments.
"What?!?!" Saria is shocked again. "You mean the greatest Vampire treasure ever???!?"
Claire nods, and Saria sighs. "I'm going to freak out with all this information… it's too much for my mind."
"Can I meet her?" Saria asks. "I mean Greed."
"Sorry," Claire responds. "She doesn't want to leave now... it's something about her being frustrated because her plans aren't working out."
"What plans?" Saria asks. "Is this about the war?"
"Yep," She nods. "Greed convinced me to help you fight back against the Nagas so that we could have many treasures as loot... I thought the Nagas deserved this for everything they did to your people, but..."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})She looks at Mire and Kamala with a sorry expression. "Now I know that not all Nagas are bad. In fact, I perfectly understand what it's like to have a tyrant king who corrupts his people and own family..."
Saria feels anger and resentment grow in Lucien and Claire's hearts when they talk about that, so she quickly tries to change the subject. "Well..."
She looks at Lust and tries not to focus on her arms moving toward Lucien's groin. "You are also a Sin, right?"
Lust keeps stroking Lucien's cock while making a lewd expression. Due to the intense brightness of the water, no one can see what it is really doing, but they can still imagine it.
"What do you think?" Lust asks.
Saria has read many books about demons, and the Sins are certainly the most famous among their race, so one name quickly comes to her mind. "Lust! You are Lust, aren't you!?"
Lust doesn't need to answer that question. Meanwhile, Claire rolls her eyes. "My brother didn't deserve such an end. I bet Naomi would be more suitable..."
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Lust," Lucien speaks in a proud, loving tone. "Also, our family could not be alive if it wasn't for her power."
Claire doesn't want to be hostile or arrogant, but the influence of Greed and Bloody Rose awakens feelings in her that she can't control.
Yet, before she starts a pointless discussion, Saria quickly tries to change the subject again. "So... Lust, what's your power actually?"
"Pleasure," Lucien responds while Lust is focused on licking his chest. "We transform pleasure into power."
"Oh..." Saria makes an amazed expression as she notices that both of Lucien's hands are under the water, and Mire and Kamala's faces are flushed as they seem to be enjoying something more than that magic water.
"I'm sure it's easy for you, hehehe..." She giggles while blushing a little too. "Also, it seems simpler than searching for treasure..."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Claire can't help but be upset by that comment. Not because of Greed's mutterings but because that seems to encourage her little brother to be further corrupted by pleasure to get power.
"However, Greed explained to me that Lust's powers mostly empower women who have sex with her host than the host itself." She comments. "In other words, Lust is turning my brother into a sexual tool."
Lucien can't help shaking his head as he doesn't get used to the other Sins underestimating Lust. "If Greed really thinks so, I dare her to come and taste my strength personally."
"..." Greed doesn't want to leave Claire's soul, and she doesn't want to fight her brother, so they are silent.
Saria is again concerned with those many intense feelings. "I'm sure all seven deadly sins are very powerful, and you siblings, as... their partners, so awesome too!"
"Though none of Lucien's sisters or even the Sins can currently beat him." Lust comments in a proud tone.
"Bullshit!" Claire exclaims. She doesn't underestimate Lucien but feels uncontrollably jealous of Lust. "What about Eve and Donna?? I'm sure they're doing great."
"Hey, hey!" Saria quickly draws attention to her. "Let's continue talking peacefully, alright?"
"Humpf!" Claire turns her face away not to keep looking at Lust's happy expression as she caresses and kisses Lucien's body.
Lucien sighs. "I understand why the other Sins think that way of Lust. And our power is indeed about empowering my women, but it's not a situation where they use me, but rather we get stronger together."
Saria's eyes sparkle as she gazes at Lucien, Lust, Kamala, and Mira. She can feel that they have the same good intentions towards each other, making them look like a perfect family, which also includes Helena and Oya.
Claire, on the other hand, only has good intentions towards her brother while appearing neutral about the other girls and clearly jealous of Lust.
"That power seems fascinating..." Saria comments. "Can you tell me more about it?"
"There's not much to say." Lucien answers. "We get stronger while enjoying each other. Thanks to it, our power as a family grows, and thanks to them, my personal power also overgrows."
"I see..." Saria makes a thoughtful expression. "So you must be looking forward to getting back to your wives, right?"
"Yes." He answers. And then he holds the hands of Mira and Kamala. "But now my goal is to kill Tyrion to solve the Nagas and Mermaids problem and then deal with the Leviathan that stands between my family and me."
Saria nods like a little bird pecking corn. "Yes, yes, this really sounds like a good plan. But even though I've seen your power personally, we're talking about killing a Cosmic Realm person... it's not going to be easy, you know."
"That's why we're here," Lucien responds as he continues stroking his girls. "Stopping the Mermaids' attack was not our first intention when coming here but to buy time to become stronger."
"The situation shouldn't be susceptible in the Naga Kingdom..." Saria comments. "I mean, Tyrion doesn't know you stole his beautiful wife, right?"
Lucien laugh. "Maybe he found out already..."
"Hehehe..." Saria giggles. "I can't say I feel sorry for him."
"What about now?" Claire asks as she looks at Lucien and his girls. "A-aren't you g-going to... I mean, do it in Saria's pool, right???"
"No, no." He raises his hands. "Although this place is very nice, I wouldn't abuse her hospitality."
Saria blushes while it's not easy to stop her mind from imagining many hot situations with Lucien in her pool. "Y-you know... y-you can use this place... it's for a g-good cause, after all. I mean, killing Tyrion is the cause."
Claire rolls her eyes as Lucien smiles at Saria. "Thanks for the offer, Princess. But we'll stay in that soul realm I mentioned until my messengers come back with the Mermaid Queen's reply, and then we'll think about next steps."
"Naturally." She nods. "Anyway, feel free to ask me anything, and also, I'll send my own messengers to make sure my mom comes to us as soon as possible."
"Thank you again." Lucien smiles and then gets up. "So I'm taking the girls home now as they're in the mood for... you know, a good training session."
Mira and Kamala blush, as does Saria. But Claire just shakes her head, even though her eyes are fixed on Lucien's chest.
Lucien opens the purple world portal, and Helena enters, followed by Kamala and Mira, who respectfully say goodbye to Saria.
Then he goes to Oya and helps her get several trays of food. "Forgive me for it; my girls get hungry after… the hard work."
Saria laughs as Claire rolls her eyes. Then Lucien looks at his sister before entering the portal. "I've wanted to talk to you alone for a while, but you seem to need some time to get your thoughts in order first."
"..." She doesn't know what to say because she doesn't understand the feelings she's feeling right now.
Lucien understands that and knows that giving her time and space to think about all that is for the best right now. Then he enters the portal. "Just don't let Greed turns you against your family..."
The portal closes, and Saria continues to stare at that place with a fascinated expression. She can't stop thinking about Lucien and his unbelievable story.
But then she looks at Claire and notices her upset expression. "You should be happy to be reunited with your brother... he seems like a really nice person, at least for those he loves, and you certainly have a special place in his heart."
"I love him too!" Claire declares determinedly. Then she blushes a little. "I mean as family."
Then she sighs. "But I feel like I haven't been a good sister all these years... I just wanted to get closer to him now and be a good sister to him. But... now there are so many women around him... I'm afraid they're not really good to him."
"You are jealous!" Saria laughs and splashes water in Claire's face.
"No, I'm not!" Claire tries to deny it, but that is evident in her every action and word.
