Mrs. Sharron's life seemed almost too perfect from the outside to Nero.
Her husband's job as a successful peddler meant they had a solid financial situation as a rock.
Mrs. Sharron also had a fruitful career that worked perfectly with her husband.
She had gained her path as a florist and used it to cultivate flowers to produce perfume, body oils, and decorations for all events in the village. Carlos used these as his signature products to strike an opening into the circles of nobility.
The couple had worked seamlessly over the years to build their careers and home. Their joy was complete with their precious child. With plans to move into a city, her life seemed completely blissful, with no holes left unfulfilled.
Except that was not the case.
Being a lucrative peddler ensured the family never had to worry about sleeping on an empty stomach.
Carlos was also an easy-going guy with an amicable nature. He would get his lovely wife anything she wanted from the finest silk to the new jewels that were making waves in the upper echelons of rich women.
But the man himself was not present.
Carlos would be out of the village for most of the year, being present only when the trading caravan would be anchored around here.
Nero also figured Carlos got that chronic back pain that came as a bonus for wagon drivers. All this meant something was missing from Mrs. Sharron's life, something that her husband was supposed to give her.
The male residents of Agroville village also knew clearly that there was a void in Mrs. Sharron's life, a void they could fill, fulfilling the role typically reserved for her husband. Yet, for any simpleton who mustered the audacity to knock on her door, she would seize her broom and mercilessly crush their misguided hopes.
Throughout the years, Mrs. Sharron's unwavering devotion to her husband had earned her admiration from everyone, including Carlos himself, who praised her for patiently awaiting his return while caring for their young son.
So was that it?
Were Nero and the men from the village doubting a faithful housewife?
Was he reading too much into it? Maybe he had misinterpreted her friendly attitude.
But Nero knew better.
Hehe.. She can fool anyone in the village for this matter except for me.
All bloodline carriers will gain powers of the being they trace lineage back to in proportion to the amount of bloodline awakened.
Nero's only inherited ability from his Incubi lineage at the moment was enhanced senses.
An Incubi's senses.
The power allowed him to sense people's dark desires. His senses, tailored specifically to the dark desires and vulnerabilities of women, granted him an insight into the odds he held over them.
Of course, these senses weren't absolutes. Nero was not getting some yes or no answers, but mere intuitive feelings.
Mrs. Sharron's rejection of all men until now was easily understandable. The woman was as prideful as a peacock and simply looked down at them. How could these country bumpkins who never stepped out of the Agroville village catch her fancy eyes?
Then what about me? Nero idly taped his fingers over the table while weighing over the reasons. Was Mrs. Sharron attracted to scholarly men? No, that can't be it. Nero felt strongly from his interaction she was a practical type of person who saw education as a means to an end. So, that couldn't be the reason. Perhaps it is an effect of his bloodline powers that he has yet to figure out. Or maybe... Nero leaned back from his chair, turning his eyes towards his reflection in the mirror, illuminated by the ethereal glow of moonlight.
Within a few breaths, he straightened up, shaking his head. There was no need to speculate about the inner workings of her heart. All that matters is that my Incubi senses hinted I have a chance at this.
With no goalkeeper guarding the post, Nero decided to take a shot.
Now then, how should I kick start this affair?
Since she had already shown her hand, I will let her know I'm interested too.
And he had a simple plan in mind for how to accomplish that.
Nero took out a stack of papers with black and white drawings that seemed to be printed on it. He looked at his creation with pride.
Darn, it was a hassle to make. Everything from conceiving a storyline to hand drawing each page, and even applying spells to achieve the look of professionally printed pages.
This would be the key to his idea.
An Ero manga!
Nero's idea was simple. He would entrust his Ero manga to Jacob, who would then pass it on to Mrs. Sharron. She will see this as a change in his attitude and interpret it as a green signal.
Nero knew his plan had more holes than a block of Swiss cheese.
For example, why the fuck would Jacob hand over an Ero manga of all things to his mother? And why would Mrs. Sharron take these as a green signal?
Nero's first point rested on Mrs. Sharron's personality. She was an overcontrolling mother who never seemed satisfied with leaving her child to his own devices. She decided what he wore, what he ate, and even when he shat. The last one was over the top, but you get the point. The chances of her overlooking the manga or Jacob successfully concealing it from her were close to nil.
As for the second question, the answer lies within the manga's theme itself.
It followed the classic trope as old as time, the story of a guy going after the needy mother of a close friend. To make it more spicy and familiar, he infused the story with a similar dynamic between himself and Jacob. Nero has also outdone himself in drawing it, making it raw without the least bit of censoring. Such attention to the tiniest details would have been impossible for a simple country bumpkin from Agroville.
But Nero was from a digital age where millions of porn were a mere click away from his fingertips. He had seen it all.
In all languages, shapes, skin tones, ages…ok maybe not all ages. Definitely not all ages!
I swear I never looked for any weird stuff on the web.
Damn it, focus on the present.
He couldn't afford to dwell on his innocent internet browsing history.
The next part is super important. Take deep breaths.
Phew… Regardless, he couldn't deny that he had done an exceptional job on the manga. Its quality was indistinguishable from a professionally printed book sourced from the city. This was a crucial point.
If things took a turn for the worse, it should only appear as if Nero had obtained the material from a fraudulent peddler in the caravan. It must not be associated with someone from here or seen as his creation. If it came to light, that Nero came up with this material on his own, he would be labeled as a deviant who needs immediate attention. However, in the latter scenario, he was just an innocent young man duped by an unscrupulous merchant from the city. With new merchants continually arriving in caravans to explore fresh markets, no one could trace it back to him. He just had to be mindful of the details he would give out.
This was Nero's attempt to soften the blow, in case his plan failed.
Now let's add the finishing touch. Focusing on his mana and spell, he concentrated on the paper stack he placed inside the book cover.
Alchemists had a single set of magic they were proficient in. That was Transmutation magic.
The four spells Bind, Split, Haste, and Delay formed a basic array of a beginner Alchemist skill set. They were combined as a combination of two or more to create the spell Morph. These spells were the bread and butter of an alchemist. Their success heavily depended on alchemists' understanding of the matter they were working with, the results they were trying to achieve, and the spell itself.
As Nero channeled his mana into the spell, a radiant white light enveloped the book. He slowly felt his sense pick up the minute changes. The pages became firmly attached to the book cover as if they were always one. He felt his focus and mana strain as the spell entered the final stage. The book slowly lost its crisp, clean strong pages and the new book smell. It gradually started to show signs of wear, such as slightly softened edges and gained a more muted scent. The book cover lost its vibrant colors, altering towards a slight fading on the cover.
Success! Nero looked at his final product with a beaming smile. This was a combination of bind and haste spell. He had to work innumerable times to ultimately grasp the spell and result he wished to bring forth.
Darn it, I still suck ass at the haste spell. I have a subpar affinity towards spacetime. If this was something like animal or human skin, I might have done an even better job with my life affinity.
Hehe, I wonder how Jacob and Mrs. Sharron react to an Ero manga on human skin.
Nero picked up his creation from the table and slowly flipped through the pages to check for abnormalities.
Seeing no discrepancy in the book, he put it away safely and made his way over to bed.
Now I can only give it away and see how it all unfolds.