Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 36

#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations

—–CROW—– 

The walk home was enjoyable.  

It felt like returning from a department store shopping spree, laden with gift bags and boxes filled with goodies. 

Huhuhu~ Now, the first thing to do upon arriving home is to wash my hands thoroughly.  

Then, I put my clothes, which might have gotten dusty, in the style care system. 

Of course, the aura and life force of the Succubus Empress naturally repelled impurities and dust, but it was better to be safe than sorry. 

 Microscopic particles might have settled, so a shower was in order.  No matter how perfectly beautiful and clean I am, a shower is basic courtesy to Mr. Bed.

And I needed to change clothes, too.  When I went out or when Officer Dan visited, I usually covered myself from head to toe in a suit to avoid revealing any skin.  

But now, it was completely my time, so I could wear something more comfortable.

“Would you mind helping me change?”

Ah, lovely. Be careful with my skin; it’s delicate and soft.  Huhuhu, it always felt a bit lonely changing clothes alone, but having someone to help felt strangely empowering. 

I considered taking a bath, but… huhuhu, if I made her bathe me, she might actually die.

I took off the slightly stuffy suit and put on a comfortable negligee and robe, finally feeling relaxed.

-Drip

“Oh dear.  You should clean up after yourself.”

“…Hi, hic, kgh…”

Was that a nosebleed? Bloody tears? Or perhaps blood from biting her lip?  Well, it didn’t matter.  I grabbed her hair and scrubbed.  Aha, cherry-flavored.  I expected wolf blood to have a beastly smell, but it was surprisingly refreshing and sweet, like cherries.

“Haaaahm, there’s no place like home.  What do you think, Miss Bella?”

“….”

“Huhuhu, you agree? Thank you~ My house is bigger than you expected, right?  The higher-ups gave me all sorts of things for free, so I live quite comfortably despite being unemployed.  Ah, I’m not unemployed anymore.  Life is unfair, you say?  That’s how it is~”

The world is unfair, but it always tries to maintain balance.  That’s the fundamental law.  Where there’s fire, there’s water and ice.  Where there’s light, there’s darkness.  Where there’s love, there’s hate.  Where there’s prey, there’s a predator.  

And where there’s a predator, its flesh and blood, washed away by the rain, nourish the trees and grass, which in turn become food for someone else.  What I mean is… every natural law has a counterpart, an opposing force.

And it’s the same in this world.  The transformation caused by the Great Rift?  It was a turning point, a disaster in human history, but it also created a corresponding counterpoint, following the laws of nature.  

The Rift brought disaster, filling the world with mana, and this mana-filled world awakened heroes and Awakened to fight against the disaster.  Even if it seems unequal, nothing is as fair as nature and this world.

But this raises a question.

“If there’s a counterpoint to me in this world… who would it be?  A hero? An angel? A demon? Huhuhu, I wonder.”

“Huu, huff, heek.”

“Ah, no.  I wasn’t asking you, Miss Bella… huhuhu, you look cute like that.”

Miss Bella… looked much cuter than when we first met.  Her hair was a little disheveled, and she had a forlorn, melancholic expression, like a woman who had been forced…

Actually, I didn’t intend to harm her.  Of course, I was angry that she tried to kill me the moment we met, but unlike other humans, death wasn’t a big deal or something terrifying to me… Hmm, let’s see.  If I had to make an analogy… it’s like the fleeting annoyance and hatred a mother feels when her baby, not even a year old, cries for milk, waking her up from her sleep.  Of course, I’m not that mother, but… ahahaha, the analogy is a bit strange, but the point is, I wasn’t particularly angry at Miss Bella for trying to kill me.

“By the way, Miss Bella, tell me more about your oppa.  You tried to kill me on your own because you were jealous of his interest in me, right? Huhu, how cute.”

“He, hee… kgh… kgh…”

“Ah, right. I sealed your tongue.  Here, I’ll release it~”

I pulled my hand.  A string was pulled out of Bella’s tongue.  A string of restriction and sealing, made of essence and life force.  Ah, this wasn’t my ability.

‘Our Ego Violin has this ability, too~’

It imbues the owner’s power and life force into its strings.  Usually, this would be expressed through music and melody, but it seemed I could also use the violin strings and bow, made of human muscle, as threads that obeyed my will.  

Huhuhu, manipulating the violin strings like threads made me feel like Spider-Man.  Huh, me in Spider-Man’s suit… totally awesome!  Unbeautiful… or beautiful?  Uh, I’m not sure about this one.

“Puha! Haa, haa, haa…!”

“You should be able to speak now.”

“You… you crazy bitch…!”

She started cursing as soon as her tongue was freed.  Judging by her expression, one would think I had violated her.

“Just kill me! I’d rather die than lick the toes of a whore like you!”

Ah, how unfair.  Why am I, so delicate and beautiful, constantly subjected to slander and misunderstanding?  I flicked my finger.  Just because I released her tongue didn’t mean I released complete control of her body.

“Ahet?!”

Bella’s tongue involuntarily stretched out.  Perhaps because she was a wolf, it was slightly longer than a human’s.

“Bad words are forbidden in my house.”

I extended my leg.  As my robe shifted, revealing my bare leg, Bella’s gaze was drawn to it, and the involuntary charm activated, weakening her resistance.  I slowly moved my toes and placed them lightly on Bella’s lips.  I stopped near her parted lips and gently nudged them upward with my toes.  Ahaha, her lips were softer than I expected.  Miss Bella moaned like a beast and glared at me with hatred, but she was helpless against my beauty.

Ah, how thrilling.  Her gaze sent shivers down my spine.  The sight of the wolf girl, who could tear apart even a high-ranking Awakened in an instant, glaring at me with those fierce eyes, made me…

“A naughty tongue that speaks bad words…”

I wanted to torment it.

“Ah, ahee, heek…!”

“Will be punished like this.”

“…!”

I gently grasped Bella’s tongue with my toes.  Very lightly, so it wouldn’t hurt.  That alone was enough to completely paralyze Bella.

“Ah, ahe… huff…!”

But even that was enough to bring tears to Bella’s eyes, as if a knife had been thrust into her tongue.  She looked pitiful, gasping for breath, but she was the one who tried to kill me, right?  Why was she looking at me like a victim?  I’m the victim…  Ah, how unfair~

“And don’t even think about escaping through death.  Death is… not that big of a deal.”

Sensing the subtle chill in my words, Bella’s eyes teared up, and she reluctantly nodded.  Her chest heaved, and her eyes swirled with annoyance, anger, and at the same time, a self captivated by me, even lust, but with control of her body completely surrendered to me, she couldn’t do anything.

“Huhuhu, Miss Bella. I really like your expression right now.”

I pressed down a little harder with my toes, and Bella shuddered as a slight pain shot through her tongue.  Then, her furious gaze slowly turned to fear.  I kept reminding her that her body moved at my command, no matter how much she struggled.  I thought she finally understood her place.  Only then did I release her tongue from my grasp.

-Sizzle.

I drained and evaporated the slight trace of Bella’s saliva on my toes, making them clean again. I considered making Bella lick it off, but… wouldn’t that be pointless?  Cleaning saliva with a saliva-covered tongue?  Well, I also stopped because I thought she might actually cry if I teased her any further~

Ah, it was time for chicken.  I had steak at the restaurant with the higher-ups, but… ugh… I didn’t even know if the food was going down my throat or my nose.  And well, my stomach could hold more than one might think.  Even if I stayed home in comfy clothes like a bum, even the sight of me munching on chicken in that state would be beautiful, so it was fine.

“What kind of chicken do you want, Miss Bella?”

“….”

“If you don’t choose, I’ll order whatever I want~”

I simply ordered chicken using the delivery app on my smart watch. I usually ordered one whole chicken, but since Miss Bella was here, I ordered two.  Bone-in chicken tasted better, but since it left behind bones as trash, I ordered boneless.

While waiting, I played with Miss Bella.  Touching her ash-gray and silver hair, staring into her glaring eyes.  Ah, of course, she started bleeding from her eyes, nose, and mouth again while staring at me.  Being charmed didn’t mean the charm just ended.  The Succubus Empress’s charm intensified exponentially with prolonged exposure.

Fortunately, the order arrived quickly before Miss Bella dedicated her soul to me.  Since there was a chicken restaurant on the first floor of my mansion, it arrived almost instantly.

“Here, Miss Bella, eat before it gets cold.”

“….”

“You’re not eating? Ah, you don’t have an appetite?  But if you don’t eat, I lose my appetite too~”

“….”

Miss Bella turned her head away, trying to resist me.  Huhu, how cute.

“Eat.”

“…?! Ha, huff!”

Miss Bella unconsciously started putting the boneless chicken in her mouth.  Once she tasted it, she seemed to enjoy it, eating without further instructions.

I spent a pleasant time eating chicken with one hand, playing with Miss Bella’s hair with the other, and watching the holographic TV in the living room.  Oh, a clip from Ugly Friend Festival Season 11 was on! I couldn’t miss this.

“Ha, hah, ha… why, why with such power… why did you submit to the government…!”

“Huh?”

Miss Bella, who had been enjoying herself, looked at me with a flushed face.

“You can do anything… why are you just living like this?  Why are you living under the government’s surveillance like a sucker?!”

Ah, she didn’t just come to me today; she had spent some time observing me.  Huhuhu, despite her hot-headed appearance, Miss Bella had good observation skills and patience.

“Shall I tell you an interesting story? There was a monster that craved battle and honor.  But that monster avoided truly strong opponents like dragons and only sought out those slightly weaker than itself… opponents it could defeat with moderate effort.  And after winning, it would spout nonsense about being an honorable warrior and having a good fight.  Now, here’s the question. What did battle and honor truly mean to that monster?”

“Wh-what nonsense…!”

“Ahaha, you don’t understand because you have a bird brain? The answer is simple.  It had no honor or noble cause from the beginning; it was purely driven by self-interest, or perhaps the lowly pleasure of trampling on the weak. That was its so-called battle and honor.”

I stopped laughing and looked at Miss Bella.

“And you… do you think the Defectors are any different?”

The Defectors had committed countless crimes.  Robbery, terrorism, attacking merchant ships, even evaporating the entire city of Chicago in the US.  Large-scale drug trafficking, inducing Gate collapses and dungeon overbreaks to destabilize nations, were commonplace.

“Some say they’re the new humanity, some say they must usher in a new era, it’s all ridiculous.  A truly great person is someone who can offer a piece of bread to a hungry child without hesitation, not a terrorist group filled with destructive impulses like you.”

The Defectors said it was for a greater cause.  For the new world of the new humanity.  For revenge.  They preached bloody nonsense and propaganda.  But what about the innocent civilians who were sacrificed in the process?  Did the Defectors care about them?  Bella probably knew this, too.  But even if she did, the current Defectors wouldn’t care.  At this point, me joining the Defectors wouldn’t be a beautiful picture, would it?  It’s beautiful for those with power to understand the meaning of the smallest and most insignificant things.

“Ah, of course, I’m also currently experiencing the lowly pleasure of trampling on the weak.  But it’s okay because I’m beautiful.”

“…Kgh!”

Miss Bella seemed offended by being treated as the “weak,” something she had never experienced before.

“D-do you dare ignore our oppressed brethren?  And if you’re a Returnee, you should know better! How much they oppressed and ignored us… how they drove us and our brethren to our deaths, demanding sacrifices as soon as the Great Rift opened, how many Returnees they experimented on and tore apart!”

“Yes, I know. I know very well.”

“You… you can change everything with that power!  You can brainwash the president, charm the officials of the Capital Defense Command and the Hunter Association…!”

“In my experience, those things aren’t fun at all.”

“…What?”

“Ah, I’m not talking about this world.”

I didn’t start out wanting to suppress my power or live a quiet life…

“The world is stronger and more resilient than you think… but it’s also more fragile than you think.  Humans are the same.”

“….”

“The world is like a miniature made of glass, a precarious tower of cards, a paper boat sailing through a storm.”

I grabbed Bella’s tongue with my finger as she was about to say something.

“And I said earlier, right? The world is surprisingly fair, and everything has an opposing force, a counterpoint.  So, my counterpoint must exist somewhere… and if I live as I please, my counterpoint will probably start wreaking havoc as it pleases, right?”

“…Ah, aah?!”

“And my current life is pretty good? I can do whatever I want, I get government support for what I lack.  Officer Dan is by my side… Ah, I’ve talked too much today.  So…”

-Sizzle!

“Hi, hic, kghhh!?”

Through my finger, immense life force and essence were engraved onto Bella’s tongue like a grotesque tattoo.  In succubus terms, it was a stigma.  But it wasn’t a real stigma.  In some fictional works, stigmas are depicted as increasing sensitivity or allowing for remote-controlled orgasms, but… a real stigma is a kind of contract, a curse.  A curse of body snatching, engraved on those who submit to me or are weak.  Of course, it doesn’t actually steal the body or possess the target; it’s used to force certain actions or impose restrictions.

“Ah, ahe… huff, huff…! I-is this a s-stigma?!”

“Yes, that’s right.  It’s a stigma.”

But explaining it was bothersome, so let’s just call it a stigma.  Good.  Now that I’ve given her the stigma and we’ve finished the chicken…

“Now, Miss Bella, you’re free to go.  Go back and tell them that I’ve refused the offer to join the Defectors.”

“…You’re letting me go so easily?”

“Ah, pets aren’t allowed in my mansion.”

“….”

“Actually, I brought you here because I was lonely eating chicken by myself.  Other than that… you’re pretty much useless. Huhuhu.”

“Crazy bitch.”

Bella gritted her teeth in frustration at being treated like a mere pet, the fearsome Defector with the wolf’s maw, but there was nothing she could do.  But she was allowed to leave.  This was both permission and an order.  With that single phrase, Bella melted into the shadows before she could retort and disappeared from Jae-hee’s sight.  As a werewolf, she was physically capable, and she could also teleport short distances within the shadows.

After quickly escaping from Jae-hee, Bella thought to herself, Lee Jae-hee.

‘She’s a terrifyingly powerful being, but she’s not an invincible monster.’

Her physical abilities and durability seemed lower than expected.  Reality warping was an unbelievable ability, but Bella felt a surge of immense life force every time Jae-hee used it.  That meant reality warping also consumed mana, so there must be a way to counter it.

‘When I get back, I’ll make her regret this. I’ll ask Liquai to remove the stigma…!  I’ll tell oppa, I’ll kill this bitch myself, no, I’ll make her wish she were dead…!’

There were ways to kill her with a surprise attack or terrorism in a split second she wouldn’t even register, and ways to erase the mana in the area.  Besides, there were other monsters among the Defectors besides herself.  There had to be a way to get revenge on this woman.

How dare she, she…

Toy with me with her toes, her toes…!

Use them on my lips, my lips…

‘…Her toes were soft. Delicious… N-no, what the fuck am I thinking…!’

But Bella didn’t know yet.  The stigma engraved by the Empress herself… was something far beyond a normal succubus’s stigma.  

And that her body and mind were no longer her own.

—–CROW—– 

#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations