Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 51

—–CROW—– 

Hoyeon Guild was rich.

Even before it had properly established itself as a guild, thanks to government support, corporate sponsorships, and the extensive connections of its owner, Hoyeon Guild boasted an infrastructure that dwarfed that of any small-fry guild.

It wasn’t just about money, either.  Hoyeon Guild had a proven track record of success, conquering dungeons, liberating unexplored territories, hunting giant monsters, and even achieving significant results in government-commissioned North Korean reclamation projects.  They were a behemoth, rivaling pre-apocalypse conglomerates like Samsung or LG.

Naturally, Hoyeon Guild treated its high-ranking Hunters, its primary earners, with the utmost respect.

Today, as usual, Yoo-jin’s secretary knocked politely on his door to announce dinner.

*Knock, knock*

“Yoo-jin-nim, welcome back.  It’s time for the executive dinner.  We have prime rib steak and salmon tonight, along with a bottle of 30-year-old Balvenie that just arrived…”

“Not hungry!”

“Sir?”

“S-Sorry.  I’m fine!”

The secretary tilted his head.  It was definitely Yoo-jin’s voice, but… something was off.

*‘A woman’s voice?’*

Yoo-jin, despite his actual age, looked like a pretty boy in his late teens.  His voice wasn’t particularly deep to begin with, but today, it sounded distinctly feminine and delicate.

“Yoo-jin-nim?  Are you feeling unwell?”

“Uh, y-yes!  Yes!  I am!  I have a cold!”

“Aha.”

The secretary grinned.  An S-rank Hunter catching a cold?  *‘I guess even a Hero who cares about public image is still human.’*  He likely had a woman with him.

While Hoyeon Guild didn’t forbid relationships, Yoo-jin’s [Admiration] ability required him to maintain a positive public image.  He usually presented himself as ascetic, indifferent to women, which ironically boosted his popularity among young women, who saw him as an idol.

*‘Naturally, he wouldn’t want anyone to know he has a woman in his room.’*

The secretary smiled slyly, imagining some woman inside, desperately trying to imitate Yoo-jin’s voice.  Yoo-jin was probably either sleeping after a passionate encounter or had stepped out for a moment, leaving the woman alone in his room, flustered by the secretary’s sudden appearance and too embarrassed to answer the door.

*‘Hahaha, he doesn’t need to hide anything from me, his secretary.’*

Well, if Yoo-jin wanted to keep it a secret, he would play along.

The secretary stepped back from the door.

“Understood.  I’ll leave your dinner outside your room. It’s not good to skip meals.”

“…”  A startled sound from inside made the secretary grin wider.

“Two bottles of Balvenie should be enough, right, Yoo-jin-nim?”

“Uh, y-yes…!”

*Yes, two bottles for two people.*

“Enjoy your evening, Yoo-jin-nim.”

The secretary discreetly retreated.

But inside the room, Yoo-jin was alone.

“…Fuck.”

Despite his usual efforts to maintain a heroic image, even in private, thanks to his [Admiration] ability, Yoo-jin couldn’t help but curse.

He’d asked for two bottles of Balvenie because he needed something to numb the pain.

He looked down.  His previously short hair now reached his shoulders, cascading down with his gaze.  And now… he couldn’t see his feet.  Large, soft, jiggly mounds of flesh strained against his shirt, threatening to burst through.

His already androgynous voice was now completely feminine.  His Adam’s apple was gone, as was… everything else down there.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it…!”

He had become a woman.

Overnight.

His last memory was hazy.  He remembered fighting Dan Ah-yeon, realizing what Lee Jae-hee truly was, and then… what happened?  He vaguely recalled meeting someone, but the details were lost.  He woke up in his quarters at Hoyeon Guild, feeling exhausted and feverish, as if he had a bad cold.  He collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

*‘And I woke up like this…’*

He had always been androgynous, pretty, but looking in the mirror now, Yoo-jin saw a seductress staring back.  His blond hair flowed down to his shoulders, his nose was more defined, his features softer and more delicate.  He couldn’t help but murmur, “Wow… beautiful…”  But the girlish tone of his own voice sent a chill of horror down his spine.

“Ugh…”

What was he going to do?

Transformed into a woman overnight, Yoo-jin was paralyzed by fear, confusion, and awkwardness.  His mental fortitude seemed to have weakened along with his body.  He was afraid to go outside, afraid of his own reflection.

“Oh, ohhh…”

He huddled under the covers, drawing his knees up to his chest and shivering.  The sensation of his breasts pressing together was unsettlingly soft.

“Ooohh…”

The sweet, alluring scent permeating the blankets filled him with terror. He closed his eyes, tears welling up.

*This… this is a dream…*

★

★

★

Halfway through the 21st century, with the Rifts scarring the world irrevocably, what was the most surprising development?

There were countless surprising things, but perhaps the most unexpected was South Korea’s rise to global superpower status, thanks to the Rifts.

Korea had the highest number of Awakened per capita and boasted world-class infrastructure, internet, transportation, and facilities.

It had been a developed nation before, but now, it was a contender for the top spot globally.

The real reason for Korea’s ascendance had nothing to do with its leadership.  It was pure luck.

Russia, China, and India were devastated by the numerous Rifts and monsters that emerged in proportion to their populations.  Japan lost half its landmass to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes triggered by the Rifts.  The United States, struggling with internal strife and civil unrest, relinquished its role as global police.  The European Union, facing the consequences of its past actions, was targeted by the Defectors.  Compared to these catastrophes, Korea’s struggles seemed relatively mild.

Of course, it helped that Korea was home to the Succubus Empress, whose ability to maintain peace and stability had transformed the country into a haven of relative tranquility, a safe and stable currency zone.

This attracted global capital and allowed Korea’s intact military and Hunter forces to reclaim and claim ownership of numerous undeveloped and unexplored territories.

Korea’s territory now extended beyond the Korean Peninsula, encompassing parts of the Shandong Peninsula, Manchuria, Harbin, and even the Primorsky Krai, including Vladivostok.  This was a natural consequence of Japan, Russia, and China’s collapse.

Essentially, Korea was the biggest beneficiary of the Rifts.

It was a cruel irony, reminiscent of pre-apocalypse Japan’s callous hope for another Korean War to boost its own economy.

With other continents and countries teetering on the brink of collapse, Korea, relatively unscathed, reaped the benefits.  While Korea had its own Green, Gray, Red, and Black Zones, its domestic situation was far more stable than most other nations.

Despite these changes, South Korea was still governed by the same government, albeit a drastically altered one.  And the country was far from peaceful.

The current government was a reconstruction of the one that had been completely destroyed.  The arrival of the Rifts had fragmented South Korea into various factions, the three most powerful being the Assembly faction, the Hunter faction, and the Underground faction.

The Assembly faction consisted of the current government: the president, the National Assembly members, the familiar faces of Korean politics, and even rumored to include exiled politicians from China and Japan.  Officially, they controlled all of Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula.

The Hunter faction, while closely tied to the Assembly faction, maintained a distinct separation.  The “previous government” had driven the first-generation Hunters and early Awakened to their deaths, attempting to systematically eliminate them.  There was no love lost between the two groups.

The Underground faction comprised the “illegal” residents of the Gray and Red Zones, centered around the [Beetle Nest], criminals, early Awakened abandoned by the government, and scavengers who profited from the conflict between the Hunter and Assembly factions.

But ordinary Korean citizens were unaware of any of this.

The office workers commuting to their jobs, the students staring out the windows during boring classes, the Hunters busy with their work, the armed police and soldiers patrolling the borders between the Green and Gray Zones…

None of them knew that the country had once been destroyed.

They didn’t know that the government, the president, the ruling class had made a “grave mistake” with the first Returnee, the Succubus Empress, and paid a heavy price for it.

In any case, that Succubus Empress, Lee Jae-hee, had her destroyed house rebuilt in half a day!

“Good news, Jae-hee-nim! Your house is finished!”

“Oh my, already?”

Jae-hee hugged a white beluga whale plush toy from Dan Unnie’s bed, feigning disappointment.  She had enjoyed her temporary stay at Dan Unnie’s place.  It was amusing to watch Dan Unnie give up her bed and try to stay awake all night, afraid to fall asleep in Jae-hee’s presence.

Of course, Jae-hee couldn’t stay there much longer.  Sleeping unguarded near the Succubus Empress was practically suicidal.  Even unintentionally, Jae-hee’s aura could twist dreams into nightmares, and experiencing a nightmare near her could drain even Dan Ah-yeon, with her strong mental resistance, of her life force.

*‘I’ve already eaten Dan Unnie’s dreams several times, though.’*  Something Dan Ah-yeon was probably unaware of.

“The fourth generation of Crafting Builders just finished their training. This was their first field assignment, and they did a surprisingly good job.”

Crafting Builders.

They were supposed to be multi-talented Awakened with abilities like telekinesis and material creation, but in reality, they were just “hybrid Awakened” who weren’t particularly good at anything.  They could summon a bag of dirt, conjure a couple of gallons of water, and use weak telekinesis that was useless against mana-resistant monsters.

They weren’t suited for combat and had no aspirations of becoming Hunters.

So the government gathered these hybrid Awakened and trained them as Crafting Builders.  Multiple hybrid Awakened would work together, like a construction crew.

The project had apparently started six years ago, and now, they were capable of erecting massive walls and barricades in an hour, restoring collapsed buildings in half a day.

A new job, a new career path, born from the era of the Rifts.

“I’ll go supervise the interior decorating and furniture installation at your house, Jae-hee-nim.  You’ll be okay on your own, right?”

“Waaah, waaah…”

“I’m glad you’ll be okay, Jae-hee-nim!”

“Dan Unnie, you’ve become quite bold lately.”

“Heehee, you taught me well.”

“Oh my, have I?”

Had she tainted even the incorruptible Dan Ah-yeon with her influence?

Oh, what a sinful beauty she was.

Heehee.

While Jae-hee reveled in her self-praise, Dan Ah-yeon left to oversee the finishing touches on Jae-hee’s new house.

“Oh, how sad~  We were having such a good time, and now we must part~”

—♪♪~♪♪

As Jae-hee hummed a melancholic tune, her Ego Violin resonated beside her, its mournful cries echoing in her mind, a cursed plea for another public performance, another broadcast.

“Alright, alright.  Just a little longer.”

While staying at Dan Ah-yeon’s house, Jae-hee had occupied herself with a simple pastime: savoring.

Not savoring *Dan Ah-yeon*, but the lingering traces of her dreams and memories embedded in the house.  By inhaling Dan Ah-yeon’s scent and the remnants of her presence on the clock, the bed, the table, the refrigerator, Jae-hee could experience Dan Ah-yeon’s daily life, her expressions, her emotions, like a psychometrist.  It was an amplified version of her Succubus ability to enter dreams, though Jae-hee didn’t understand the mechanics of it.

Just then, a message from an unknown number appeared on her smartwatch.  The number wasn’t displayed, suggesting a burner phone or encrypted message.

The message was simple:

—*Can you help me?*

Jae-hee thought for a moment, then recalled the pink-haired Succubus Queen.

“Sitra, was it?”

That high-and-mighty ruler of the underworld, as I recall.

‘But I’m the one who’s owed a favor.  Why is she being so humble?’

—–CROW—– 

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