Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 44

—–CROW—– 

As a result, Lee Jae-hee’s Hunter license re-evaluation concluded successfully.

Jae-hee was already treated as a High-ranking Hunter.

Although she wasn’t assigned a specific Hunter rank like A or S, the High-ranking Hunter designation, which required at least high B-rank or A-rank, had stringent qualification criteria in itself.

Since Jae-hee had successfully cleared the Massachusetts Rift, which no one had been able to conquer and had been left untouched, before sunrise, even Sarah, who handled administrative tasks at the Association headquarters, could issue Jae-hee a new High-ranking Hunter license without raising objections or requiring further review.

—Beauty.

—Beauty.

—Beauty.

—Beauty.

—Beauty.

—Beauty.

—This unit is not equipped with the emotion of “beauty.”

—However, this is interesting.

—Continuous observation required.

—It appears that, under certain circumstances, this unit may be capable of interactions similar to human emotions.

Of course, there was a minor incident where Sarah, a mere AI mechanical doll, was swept away by the unknown emotion of “beauty.”

Hunters and staff who frequently interacted with Sarah expressed concern, saying, “Our Sarah has become strange…”

Sarah, who had previously shown no interest in human behavior or artwork, became fixated on various artworks, architecture, and mysterious landscapes after seeing the “Tower of Humans” in Uiwang.

“Sarah, is everything okay?”

—If you are referring to the D-rank evaluation process, I report no issues.

“Really? Okay. Let’s do our best.”

Anyway, after receiving the “no issues” verdict, Sarah dedicated about half of her processing power to the Association’s administrative tasks, while the other half was used to appreciate the Tower of Humans and similar works.

Afterward, Sarah continued to slowly admire and enjoy the aesthetic of the monstrous Tower of Humans and its surroundings, which remained at the former site of the Massachusetts Rift, using her authority to restrict civilian access.

As they say, a late bloomer is more passionate.

Ironically, it was quite amusing that a mechanical AI doll became fascinated by beauty and began trying to understand it.

Perhaps the Succubus Empress’s allure and beauty had even contaminated the mind of a machine.

★

★

★

In the car on the way back, Civil Servant Dan Ah-yeon, unable to drive properly, pulled over to the side of the road, her head bowed over the steering wheel, tears welling up in her eyes.

“…There, there, Dan Unnie. I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”

This was the first time Jae-hee had seen Dan Ah-yeon like this, so even the arrogant and impertinent Succubus Empress, Lee Jae-hee, seemed quite flustered.

*Did I go too far with the prank?*

*I think I might have…*

To be fair, even if it wasn’t Dan Ah-yeon and Lee Jae-hee, but any other person, it would have been a heart-stopping, terrifying experience.

The tentacles weren’t ordinary tentacles; they were the tentacles of human-faced jellyfish that devoured human brain cells and nervous systems, taking control of their bodies.

To have those on her head, intertwined between her fingers, with an ecstatic expression on her face… if that wasn’t a sign of bodily possession, then what was?

In fact, the moment Dan Ah-yeon saw the selfie Jae-hee sent, she rushed to Uiwang as if she were flying.

“Dan Unnie, I’m fine. So please stop crying.”

“Ah, n-no.  No.  I’m not crying.”

Her teary eyes sparkled a bit too brightly for someone who wasn’t crying.

The tricky and troublesome thing here was the mind of the Succubus Empress.

Usually, her human reason kept her in check, allowing her to live like a normal person.

But when her dormant Succubus Empress instincts awakened, it was as if she was making up for lost time, explosively succumbing to her desires and aesthetics, unable to control her impulses.

This was especially true when it involved beauty and Dan Unnie.

One of the few people in this world she could truly consider her person, her ally.

Moreover, as a High-ranking Awakened, Dan Ah-yeon was unfazed by most pranks.

It was precisely because Dan Ah-yeon was one of these few people that Jae-hee played such mischievous pranks and scattered provocative jokes and allure.

‘But seeing Dan Unnie on the verge of tears, I think I really went too far this time…’

They say that when people are extremely angry or bewildered, they sometimes can’t express their anger.

Especially when it involves someone precious or important to them.

And humans were truly fickle creatures.

They should treat their loved ones, family, and friends with more love, care, and respect. Yet, they often showed more courtesy and caution to strangers or those they weren’t close to.

Speaking harshly to family and politely to strangers was a common occurrence in everyday life.

And Jae-hee was no different.

She played more pranks on the people most precious to her.

Of course, these pranks were a sign of intimacy, proof of their closeness, but this time, she definitely crossed the line.

Taking a picture with jellyfish on her head, tentacles digging into her ears, poking around her brain cells, and sending it to Dan Unnie?

There was a reason why Dan Unnie rushed over with tears in her eyes.

“…Sniff, sniffle.”

Look at that.

Her chest rose and fell as if her heart was pounding, and her face was still pale, suggesting she was beyond mere surprise.

“Dan Unnie, I was wrong.”

“…I don’t know. I was harsh, telling you to just get your re-evaluation done, but you didn’t have to go this far and ruin your body…”

“Hehehe, no. I’m not hurt at all.”

Jae-hee leaned closer to Dan Ah-yeon, as if to prove she was fine.

“Look here. The jellyfish tentacles crunched and squished into my delicate ears… but see?  Not a single drop of blood. Even if they really did crush my eardrums and pierce my brain, it would all regenerate, so it’s fine.”

“Ah, n-no. That…”

“Of course, there’s a bit of a difference in perception between me and ordinary humans. Even if my head explodes, it feels like a slight paper cut on my fingertip to a normal person… I’ll try to fix that little by little.”

“S-Stop.”

“Huh?”

Dan Ah-yeon’s face was bright red, tears still welling up in her eyes as she desperately tried to pull away.

“F-Face.  Face…”

“Face? Ah…”

Ah, right.

I had my veil off.

Even if Dan Unnie had a resistance to my allure, it would still be difficult to endure my unveiled face at such close proximity.

“I keep causing you trouble. I’m sorry, Dan Unnie…”

“Haa, haa… My heart.  Ugh, i-it’s okay.  What matters is that you’re safe, Jae-hee-nim… I was just very surprised…”

“Haa, I know I shouldn’t be like this… Dan Unnie is the closest person to me, but I keep being mean to you.”

“…You’re aware of it, then.”

Ugh, the instincts of a succubus were truly wicked, sadistic, and mischievous.

“Then, to comfort Dan Unnie, who is so distressed and shocked… what should I do today?”

“It’s fine. I’m okay… Let’s just go back.”

“Ah, okay. Dan Unnie, do you have time?”

“…I said it’s okay.”

“You can just report to the agency that Specially Managed Returnee Lee Jae-hee has requested a meeting.”

“No, Jae-hee-nim…”

Dan Ah-yeon often suffered from the heavy workload typical of public officials.

She was constantly bombarded with paperwork that wasn’t even hers.

And since she was a High-ranking Awakened, she was the first to be summoned by government agencies whenever incidents related to Rifts and dungeons occurred.

But if Jae-hee, Dan Ah-yeon’s primary responsibility as a Specially Managed Returnee, requested a meeting, other tasks would naturally be pushed back.

“I’m sorry for being selfish again, but just this once. Okay?”

“…”

“Or, how about I use that ‘Dan Unnie time’ I asked for before?  Would that be okay?”

“…Alright.”

Was it because she saw Jae-hee’s unveiled face so close?

The anger and frustration she felt earlier had dissipated considerably.

And more importantly, she couldn’t go to work in her current state.

In the end, Dan Ah-yeon followed Jae-hee’s wishes,

driving somewhere early in the morning.

Dawn still lingered over Seoul.

The sun was rising in the distance, but the darkness hadn’t completely lifted, and a gentle breeze swept through the air.

In the quiet stillness before the start of the day, Dan Ah-yeon and Jae-hee got out of the car.

“A movie theater…?”

“It’s the Buklip Cinema.  It’s a place that’s been around since before the Rift, using analog projectors.”

While modern digital holograms offered superior image quality, the Succubus Empress’s sensibilities preferred the raw, analog feel of older technology.

Since she was allowed to go out, Jae-hee had explored Seoul, discovering various places that retained the charm of the past and analog nostalgia. Buklip Cinema was one of them.

One of the few places that still used analog film projectors after all other theaters switched to holographic digital projectors.

Naturally, there were no other customers.

Even large multiplex cinemas wouldn’t have customers this early on a weekday morning, but this analog theater was especially devoid of any human presence.

“Jae-hee-nim, why are we at a place like this…?”

“Why else would I come to a movie theater?”

“Huh?”

“To watch a movie, of course.”

“No, skipping work to watch a movie…”

“Oh, it’s not skipping work. Dan Unnie simply received a serious and official meeting request from a Specially Managed Returnee. You can even blame it all on me if you want.”

“But my main job is to look after you, Jae-hee-nim…”

“Shush.  Stop talking.”

The scenery of Buklip Cinema was quiet and still, as if time had stopped.

The paint on the outer walls was faded and peeling from age.

Some bricks were completely worn, their colors faded.

The cinema’s sign above the windows wasn’t as bright as it used to be, and some of the neon lights flickered dimly, as if malfunctioning.

As they entered, the red carpet on the floor was worn and frayed.

Only the movie posters looked relatively new, featuring old classics like *Roman Holiday*, *The Shawshank Redemption*, and *Home Alone*.

“…Did they do a memetic contamination check here? I heard you can get mentally contaminated if you watch the wrong old movies…”

“It’s fine, I’m here.”

Why worry about memetic contamination when a mental contamination entity far above that, an embodiment of allure, was right beside her?

In reality, even without Jae-hee, a High-ranking Awakened like Dan Ah-yeon was practically immune to most memetic contamination.

Further inside, they saw the ticket booth.

It was a small booth with a hand-cranked window.

Perhaps because the customers and staff didn’t make eye contact, it was said that criminals, wanted individuals, adulterous couples, and those with something to hide frequented such places.

The old ticketing machine beyond the glass window made a rusty creaking sound as it slowly operated.

The way it dispensed tickets was also old-fashioned.

In analog cinemas like this, movies weren’t played on a fixed schedule.  Instead, they were screened when customers arrived, and the projector was operated accordingly.

Especially at this hour, there was no way other customers would show up, so they could choose whatever they wanted.

Hmm, what to watch?

Watching a romance might make things awkward…

Ah, Dan Unnie probably hasn’t seen this movie at all.

“Two tickets for *The Shawshank Redemption*, please~”

“…That movie?  Are we watching it together?”

“Why not?”

“But…”

“Is there some clause in the public official Hunter regulations that prohibits personal feelings towards Specially Managed Returnees or equivalent individuals?”

“…”

There was.

Whether it was strictly enforced was a different matter.

“Well, even if there is, it doesn’t matter~”

Saying that, Jae-hee grabbed Dan Ah-yeon’s wrist and began exploring the old cinema.

They still had about five minutes.

They bought popcorn too.

Caramel popcorn, orange Fanta, and dried buttered squid.

The couple set was perfect.

She didn’t usually like these snacks, but strangely, she craved them in movie theaters.

“Come on, let’s go in~”

“…”

Dan Ah-yeon, usually a diligent public servant, still felt hesitant about skipping work and coming to a place like this in the morning.

But there was no escaping now.

Her wrist, firmly grasped in Jae-hee’s hand, seemed unlikely to break free.

—–CROW—– 

#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations