Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 17

—–CROW—– 

Fortunately, Jae-hee’s outing concluded without incident.  

A sort of contractual agreement, a favor solidified in writing, had been established with Citra, the Succubus Queen and owner of the auction house.  

However, neither party realized that this contract could be broken at any time, and that the power dynamic between them was completely reversed.

“Don’t ever do that again! Do you know how worried I was that something might happen to you?!”

She had been so worried that she bolted upright from sleep, grabbed her car keys, and rushed over like lightning.  

This was Mapo District, a restricted area, with security Hunters and soldiers blocking roads everywhere.  

Yet, Officer Dan had ignored them all, driving straight through as if she would bulldoze her way through any obstacle.  

Of course, she would probably have to write a report or explanation later, but what could she do?  

Jae-hee was more important.

“Huhu, it makes me happy to know you worry about me, Officer Dan, so I want to go out more often.”

“Jae-hee-nim!”

“I’m just kidding.  By the way, Officer Dan, what were you thinking might happen to me?”

“….”

Dan Ah-yeon’s mouth snapped shut, momentarily silenced by Jae-hee’s question.

“Oh my, Officer Dan?  Why did you suddenly go quiet?”

And Jae-hee, whose nature was to tease and joke with Ah-yeon 24/7, didn’t miss this opportunity.

“Officer Dan? I’ll become a grandmother waiting for your answer.”

“…Well, you see… Jae-hee-nim, you’re a… succubus…”

“A Succubus Empress, to be precise.”

“Ahem, anyway, about that…”

“About what?”

“….”

Dan Ah-yeon’s face flushed red as she drove.

“Well, you know… that…”

“If you don’t tell me properly, I won’t know. Even I can’t read your mind, Officer Dan~”

Of course, Jae-hee knew exactly what Dan Ah-yeon was getting at.  She was an adult, and the Succubus Empress, no less.  How could she not understand such subtle cues and nuances?  Yet, Jae-hee kept pressing, a playful smile on her face, simply because she found it amusing.

Teasing the efficient yet clumsy Officer Dan was the most fun thing in the world!

“Well, um…”

Meanwhile, Dan Ah-yeon was quite serious.  Succubi were known for their unique issues and racial characteristics, serious enough to be considered a social problem.

‘A succubus is both the master and slave of sexual love.’

Currently, various non-human returnees and Awakened existed throughout the world and Korea, and a significant number of them had transformed into succubi and incubi.  And these succubi and incubi naturally became fixated on “sexual love.”

This “obsessive tendency” should never be viewed from a human perspective.  If they had a way to satisfy their needs, succubi could live normal lives.  However, if they were starved of essence, the story changed.

For a succubus, being starved of essence was a hell beyond words.  Those with weak mental fortitude would lose their reason and sanity to the overwhelming pleasure they felt as succubi, resulting in what was commonly known as mental contamination.  This mental contamination meant their reason being consumed by their succubus instincts, effectively turning them into a different person.  Once their reason was completely devoured, their human sanity and composure would vanish entirely, their body, mind, and soul becoming nothing but succubus.

“…That, that’s…”

And Dan Ah-yeon, as a high-ranking government Hunter, had witnessed many heartbreaking cases.  There was a young succubus who begged and pleaded to be “taken,” and an incubus who couldn’t control his desires and targeted a married woman, resulting in a life-or-death struggle with her Awakened husband.  There were succubi who became addicted to sex like drug addicts, living like derelicts, and those who fully embraced their demonic nature, turning into villains.

That’s why the government had strict regulations and management lists for succubi.  Of course, these laws were essentially created to control and manage Lee Jae-hee, the Succubus Empress.

“Hmm, what could our Officer Dan be so embarrassed about that she’s blushing?  I’m dying to know.”

Ironically, Jae-hee herself was largely exempt from these regulations.  A Succubus Empress who disliked lewdness.  So, it was understandable why Officer Dan was so alarmed when Jae-hee, who had been living peacefully, suddenly said, “I’ll even pay with my body.”

“Will you tell me?  What kind of terrible and awful thing did you imagine happening to me, Officer Dan?”

“…Eek!  Y-you know what I mean!  I need to concentrate on driving, so stop it!”

“I have no idea. I need to know what you’re worried about so I can be careful.”

“Eek…!”

Of course, Officer Dan wasn’t always on the receiving end of teasing.

Damn it!

It’s better to just say it than to be continuously teased!

“S-sex! Sex! Intercourse!”

“…Oh my.”

“A-are you satisfied now?! Are you happy?! I’m worried because I’ve seen many cases where succubi become addicted to it and can’t function in society, or end up going down the wrong path! Are you happy now!?”

After her bold declaration, Officer Dan felt dizzy from the awkward silence that followed.

What have I done?

And in front of the Succubus Empress, no less…!

Dan Ah-yeon was terrified.  Jae-hee usually dressed modestly and showed no interest in anything lewd or obscene, but she was the Succubus Empress.  If a single word triggered her and unleashed a wide-area charm, it would be disastrous.

“But Officer Dan.”

“W-what?!”

“Just saying that word doesn’t tell me much.  Why would I do such a thing in the first place?”

“W-well, that’s… because you said you would pay with your ‘body’…”

“Oh my?  I’m quite strong, you know?  You could have thought I meant working as a Hunter, going into dungeons and selling what I find.  Gasp, could it be that you had the image of me as a promiscuous woman who readily offers her body to others, Officer Dan?”

“…….”

“…I see.  So you, like the government officials, want to control me chastely, with all my limbs bound.”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

Please don’t say such things…

Coming from someone who had an extremely poor relationship with the Korean government, those words made Officer Dan dizzy again.

“Ugh! You wouldn’t listen to me anyway, Jae-hee-nim!  F-fine!  Think of me as your mother!  A mother can’t just stand by and watch her daughter wander around dangerous areas alone!”

“My mother is dead.”

“Ah…”

Another awkward silence.

Dan Ah-yeon felt her hands, gripping the steering wheel, becoming clammy.

She had stepped on a landmine, and a big one at that.  Usually, Ah-yeon was a confident woman, someone who spoke her mind clearly, even to high-ranking officials.  But for some reason, she became easily flustered in front of Jae-hee.  She was aware of it, but whenever she was with Jae-hee, she lost the ability to be strict or assertive.

“…S-sorry.  Well, you see…”

But was this really something I should apologize for?

Thinking about it, this all happened because this woman put me to sleep and went out on her own!  And she recklessly went to an auction house in a lawless zone and brought back a cursed tool…!  And I’m the one who has to report this to my superiors, minimizing the danger and downplaying the incident!

‘Alright, let’s be firm.’

Even Jae-hee-nim can’t treat me like a toy!

“…Sniff.”

“…!”

However, a small sniffle from beside her sent shivers down Dan Ah-yeon’s spine.

Ah, I crossed the line.

I was wrong.

Just moments ago, she had been about to scold Jae-hee, saying things like, “Even so, what you did was wrong! I’m not a toy, so stop playing around!” and demanding an explanation for why Jae-hee went to the lawless zone in Mapo District.  But now, her mouth was sealed shut.

“….”

“Sniff…呜…”

Wh-what should I do?

What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?

She’s crying.

The beautiful Jae-hee-nim is crying.

She’s shedding tears… sniffling…?

Ah, I’m a sinner.

Should I kill myself?

Trembling, Dan Ah-yeon carefully averted her gaze, as if even making eye contact was a grave offense.

And then their eyes met.

Even the way Jae-hee covered her face with both hands as she sobbed was so pitiful and heartbreaking.  And between her fingers… a fox-like, smiling eye.

“Ufufu, you’re finally looking at me~?”

“…No, really!!!”

Officer Dan realized she had become a toy again.

“Officer Dan. Do you know why I like you?”

“Hmph, I don’t know!”

“You remind me of my late wife.”

“…Huh?  No, are you kidding me again!?”

Just what… was she saying…?  Dan Ah-yeon, about to ask with a dumbfounded expression, puffed out her cheeks at the sight of Jae-hee’s suppressed giggles.

“Hmph! I really hate you!”

“Sob, sob…”

“Ah, I-I’m sorry…!”

“Ufufu…”

★

★

★

★

[…So, nothing happened?]

“Yes, as you requested, I didn’t take any money from that human… Lee Jae-hee. Though I’m not sure if she’s actually human.”

Citra, the Succubus Queen and owner of the Clacklashton Auction House, spoke to someone on the phone.

In reality, Citra was a calculating person.  Even though Jae-hee was her type, and her succubus instincts had been prickling with fear and a chilling dread, she normally wouldn’t have given away an item worth over $100 million for free.  She could have used various tactics and pressure to extract a hefty sum, even if not the full amount.

In fact, since Jae-hee’s face was Citra’s type, if Citra had been so inclined, she would have used threats or other means to bind Jae-hee to her through debt and drag her to bed.

There was only one reason why Citra had shown such unusual leniency and favor to Jae-hee.

It was because of Mikkelsen, the owner and founder of the [Beetle Nest].

“Huhu, by the way, the person who never accepted my invitations… is now calling me and asking for leniency.  Are you finally planning to remarry?”

[Don’t misunderstand.]

“I’m just kidding.”

The person on the other end of the line was Mikkelsen, the middle-aged man who ran a bar in the ruined Mapo District.

“I didn’t know there was someone you cared about this much, a first-generation Hunter like you.  It seems that Jae-hee… is more influential than I thought.”

[…She’s a valued customer.  It’s not often I find someone to talk to in this lonely place, and it would be troublesome if the beautiful songstress were to stop visiting because she’s upset, as I wouldn’t be able to hear her lovely songs.]

“Oh my.”

Citra was surprised that Mikkelsen, who had never been swayed by her own advances, was showing such favor towards someone else.  She had said it jokingly, but could he really be planning to remarry?

Come to think of it, Mikkelsen…

He was a decent man, far better than most of the unnies and oppas she knew.  He was clearly in his late 40s, but he was more handsome than most actors… and as a first-generation Hunter, he must be incredible in bed…

[Anyway, she’s someone worth knowing… It would be good for you to get acquainted with her.]

“Is she that important?  What is Jae-hee’s real identity?  It seems she uses a different name…”

[Find out for yourself after you become friends.]

With that, Mikkelsen ended the call.

“Hmm, find out after becoming friends… That will take a while.”

However, Citra was a Succubus Queen.  A being driven by desire, impulse, and instinct.

“Hello? Ah~ Assemblyman-nim~ It’s Citra~ Yes, yes, it’s been a while~ I apologize for not visiting. Are you free tomorrow, by any chance?”

She wasn’t one to suppress her curiosity or desires.

—–CROW—–