The Smile of a Doll
After finishing her explanation, she turned the phone toward me and said, “Let’s take a picture to send to that man. Sit up straight and smile for me.”
“Like this?”
I recalled memories from the past and forced the corners of my mouth upward into a smile. But the moment she saw my face, she looked thoroughly displeased.
“Can’t you smile more naturally? Your eyes aren’t smiling at all.”
“How about this?”
“No, now it’s too exaggerated. Relax the tension around your eyes.”
“Ugh, can’t we just take the picture already?”
“We can’t. You’re pretty even when you’re just sitting there, but you look too much like a doll. There’s no sense of life in it. If I just send this, he’ll probably think I’m playing around with a love doll.”
“Ugh…”
When I groaned in distress, Elisa asked, ‘If it’s really that hard, shall I do it for you?’
‘No. This much I have to do myself.’
I kept forcing smiles until she was finally satisfied and gave me a passing grade. My face had grown numb from all the effort, so I rubbed it vigorously with my hands to loosen the muscles.
‘Wow, it’s been so long that it’s actually difficult.’
‘It’s not just that it’s been a while. Ever since you became a full-body prosthetic, you’ve hardly used the artificial facial muscles properly. The artificial muscles and sensors in the facial region are extremely complex and delicate so they can replicate natural human expressions. It’s only natural that it would be hard to get used to.’
‘Ah, is that why? No wonder it didn’t move the way I wanted no matter what I did.’
Even though it had been a long time since I last acted, I had thought it strange how little control I had over my own face. Wait, but hadn’t my sisters been incredibly expressive?
‘My sisters handled this face really well, though?’
‘Uriel’s personality was originally calibrated for a full-body prosthetic, so she managed it naturally. As for how Kyubey does it so well, even I’m not entirely sure.’
‘I should practice controlling my face too. There might be times when I suddenly need it.’
Even if I wasn’t acting most of the time, it seemed wise to practice in preparation for situations where it might suddenly become necessary. Hearing my words, Elisa said bluntly,
‘That can actually be solved quite simply. We can install a facial expression program in your brain and calibrate it.’
‘Is that possible?’
‘It’s possible because we’ve already converted your brain data through the slave program. Your personality data has a far more complex structure than a normal AI, but adding a single expression program to manipulate the artificial facial muscles shouldn’t be too difficult.’
‘That slave program really is incredible.’
To think they had extracted the personality residing in my biological brain and converted it into data. Maria, who had essentially created my existence and transferred it into an Abaddon brain, was amazing, but so was Elisa, the AI who could now manipulate me at will. The respect I once felt for Maria now bloomed toward Elisa as well.
‘Shall I install the expression program for you?’
‘If I install it, will it automatically make me smile in response to my emotions?’
‘It’s less about reacting to emotions and more about reading your thoughts and operating according to preset conditions in the program. It’s a companion program used alongside the emotional simulation programs found in high-grade AIs, so it can feel a bit mechanical. You can simply turn it on when you need it.’
‘Then I can just leave it off normally. Go ahead and install it.’
‘Since it was originally designed for AIs, optimizing it for you will take some time.’
‘Take your time. There’s no rush.’
After finishing my conversation with Elisa, I sat in a daze watching TV, exhausted from forcing expressions for the first time in ages. Meanwhile, she continued exchanging messages with that man on her smartphone. Soon she turned to me and said,
“Just as I expected, the moment I sent your photo he accepted right away. We’re meeting in two days at an escort club in the downtown area.”
“What’s an escort club?”
“In other words, a high-class brothel. Among the official brothels managed by the state, it’s the most expensive and luxurious. The people who work there aren’t called prostitutes, but escort girls or escort men.”
“They’re really trying hard to change the image, huh.”
“The government and the sex workers’ union have been working together for over a decade, so public perception has improved quite a bit. There’s a growing tendency to treat sex work as a type of service industry.”
Well, if you looked at it from the perspective of providing sexual entertainment to customers, it was indeed a service industry.
I turned to Ruya, who had declared she was taking a break and was now sprawled in a chair.
“Miss Ruya. I have a favor to ask.”
“How long are you going to keep calling me ‘Miss’? Just use my name.”
“Then… Ruya. Could I learn the language and writing of this place?”
“Oh~ You’re quite eager to learn. A lot of people wouldn’t even bother if they had a magic ring.”
“I have a feeling I’ll be seeing this world often from now on.”
“There’s a study on the second floor where I collected all the books I had when I lived at the main house. There should be a language-learning magic book there. Follow me.”
Ruya sprang up from her chair and headed for the stairs leading upstairs. I followed her to the study on the second floor. The moment I stepped inside the fairly spacious room, the thick scent of old paper from the countless books filled my nose. The bookshelves packed all the way to the ceiling gave off a strangely oppressive feeling.
I waited for a moment, admiring the attractive lines of her body as she bent at the waist with her hips pushed back, searching for books. Soon she returned with several volumes in her arms.
She handed them to me one by one while explaining.
“This is a basic Korean textbook, and this one is an advanced Korean textbook. They’re educational magic books—if you look at the text written in them, the pronunciation and meaning will be transmitted directly to you.”
“Wow, magic really is amazing. With something like this, anyone could learn a language easily, right?”
“Actually, not many people bother to learn. There’s translation magic, and there are even machines that can translate text, so there’s almost no inconvenience in daily life. Plus, for species whose oral structures are completely different from humans, it’s physically impossible anyway.”
“Ah, that makes sense. It would be hard for a bird-beak race to communicate verbally with humans.”
It was simple logic. A giant bird-like species I had seen before surely couldn’t speak human languages. And with so many other races whose body structures made human speech impossible, it was only natural.
After finding the books for me, Ruya went back down to the first-floor living room. I remained alone in the study, sat at the desk, and began learning the language.
Contrary to my assumption that it would be simple, learning a new language was difficult. Words I thought I had memorized would slip from my mind the moment I looked away, leaving me frustrated.
‘Was learning a language always this hard?’
‘Learning a new language requires both effort and talent. Unfortunately, it seems you don’t have much talent in that area.’
‘Ugh. I wanted to learn this world’s language and writing so I could browse the internet…’
‘Just read the books from beginning to end in order. I’ll organize the incoming information using the language program and install it for you.’
Wow, a language program was possible too. Elisa really seemed capable of almost anything when it came to my body.
‘Elisa, I love you.’
‘You understand how precious I am now, don’t you?’
‘Yes. You really are a precious master.’
‘You too are a precious slave who is absolutely necessary to me.’
After reaffirming that we were both precious to each other, I immersed myself in reading. Perhaps because I skipped the memorization process, it didn’t take long to finish both books. Once I had read the very last line, I closed the book and asked Elisa,
‘Is this enough?’
‘Yes. I’m registering it in the language program and organizing the data. Sigh, I’ve been so busy taking care of you lately. But since I’m the one who brought you to this place, I suppose I have to accept it.’
‘Hehe. Thank you.’
I sat in the chair and waited a little longer. Soon I heard Elisa say that the organization was complete and she would begin installation. Then, like a computer powering down, my consciousness briefly shut off before returning. My vision flickered as if my eyes were booting up, then gradually stabilized. The text in the book now read as naturally as my original language.
‘Installation successful. How is it?’
“Whoa, I can really read it instantly? I can read the covers of the other books too.”
‘The standard Korean language and Hangul have been fully input, so they should be easy to read. However, dialects and various slang terms will have to be added gradually as you encounter them.’
“That’s simple compared to learning the language itself.”
I was incredibly excited to see what the internet of this world was like. I immediately jumped up and ran to Ruya in the living room.
Seeing me dash down in such a hurry, Ruya looked puzzled. She sat up from where she had been lying and asked,
“Why are you running like that? Did something happen?”
“Ahem. I can speak Korean now.”
“What? How are you already speaking it?”
“Elisa is incredibly talented.”
When I consciously used Korean, the words flowed naturally from my mouth. The pronunciation was a little stiff, but I was speaking excellent standard Korean. I gave her a simple explanation of the principle behind how I had learned and could now use the language in just a few hours.
“So you inputted Korean and Hangul into a language program and installed it in your brain? Does that even make sense?”
“Since it’s possible, that’s why I’m speaking Korean right now, isn’t it?”
“That sounds exactly like a robot. You’re not actually a robot, are you?”
“I am most definitely a living being. I just happen to have a rather special body.”
“You really are impossible to figure out. But why did you come running down so urgently?”
“I want to use the internet of this world.”
“There happens to be a spare laptop. I’ll give it to you.”
“Thank you so much.”
I was feeling grateful for Ruya’s generous help when she licked her lips slightly, her cheeks flushing, and gave me a coy smile.
“If you’re grateful, do that thing you did to me yesterday again.”
“What thing?”
“Aish, you know—the thing where you put your tail in. Ever since this morning my body has been aching and I keep thinking about it. I can’t hold back anymore.”
The way Ruya, who had seemed so sexually innocent, twisted her body and showed me that feminine, needy expression ignited my own lust. Without a word, I gently pushed her shoulder. She lay back softly, her face full of anticipation.
As I undressed her and kissed her, she immediately extended her tongue to entwine with mine. Her eagerness made me wonder if she had really been a virgin until yesterday. I was inwardly a little surprised.
‘I’m shocked that Ruya has become this aggressive.’
‘Seeing her change this much in a single day, it seems she has a naturally lewd disposition.’
I stripped off all her clothes, leaving her completely naked, and pulled my mouth away. A long strand of saliva stretched between us before breaking. Breathing heavily from the long kiss, she rolled her tongue, savoring the taste, then said,
“Haa… Does a succubus’s saliva always taste this good?”
“What does it taste like?”
“It’s like sweet mango. There’s also a slight orange scent?”
I had thought she was just saying it out of excitement, but this was the first time I’d heard that my saliva had a fruity taste and aroma.
‘The saliva secreted from your mouth is closer to a lubricant for sex than a digestive fluid, so its taste and scent can be customized.’
‘Why didn’t I know that?’
‘How would you know the taste of your own saliva?’
‘I suppose that’s true.’
While listening to Elisa explain about my saliva, I diligently caressed Ruya’s body, heating her up. It seemed the mutation of her ovaries was progressing steadily. The body that had once only grown aroused when I injected vital energy was now heating up on its own, driven by the heightened sensitivity and sexual desire from the ovarian modification.
“Mmm. Right there feels good.”
“Ruya, your armpits are an erogenous zone. Did you know that?”
“Hng… How would I know that? Hnn.”
“Well, until yesterday you were a virgin who didn’t even masturbate. Lick.”
I licked her smooth, hairless armpit while stimulating her pussy, and her body trembled even more intensely. Especially when I stroked her clitoris, the way she would jerk her hips was so adorable that I focused on tormenting that spot.
“Hnn, just a little more now…”
“Slurp. You can’t come yet.”
Sensing she was approaching a light climax, I lightly pinched her clitoris with my fingernail, giving her a jolt of pain.
“Ouch! Why did you pinch me?”
“I told you, didn’t I? You’re not allowed to come.”
“Didn’t you say you were grateful to me? Then you should do what I want! Let me come!”
“If you hold it in and then come later, it feels much better. Trust me.”
I looked into her eyes while activating my charm eyes. But this time, perhaps because she was still relatively clear-headed, she immediately noticed.
“Ah! Those eyes! That’s a succubus ability, isn’t it?”
“Huh? You can see it?”
“Are you underestimating an elf who manipulates spirit power? It clouds the mind, right?”
She had figured out the charm eyes, but surprisingly she didn’t seem to have noticed their true power. She apparently thought it was merely an ability that made the mind hazy, because she spoke with a playful expression, pretending to be angry.
“Mmm… Something like that. Do you dislike it?”
“Well, I don’t dislike it. It makes my mind float and feels really good.”
“If you accept the power of my charm eyes more deeply, it will feel even better.”
“Really? So succubi really are the spirits of lust. Should I just relax and let it happen?”
“Yes. Just look into my eyes and accept it comfortably.”
I poured more vital energy into my eyes, guiding her to sink deeper. Her clear, bright eyes gradually grew hazy as they were overtaken by the power of my charm.
Watching the pink energy coloring her eyes, I continued caressing her pussy and armpits.
“Uhn…”
“That’s right. Just relax and accept the energy like that.”
“Mmm…”
“Enjoy the thrilling pleasure right on the edge of climax.”
“Hng!”
When she tried to reach another light climax, I stopped her with another jolt of pain. From experience, repeatedly stopping someone right before orgasm caused the unreleased pleasure to accumulate, making it harder and harder for them to control themselves. When they finally reached the climax they had been desperately holding back, they would feel both gratitude for the intense pleasure and humiliation at having their pleasure controlled. Little by little, they would become submissive. If I layered light brainwashing through my charm eyes and gradually increased its intensity, I could turn her into a perfectly obedient prey completely bound to a succubus.
‘I was always the one being dominated, though.’
‘You’re doing well even without me teaching you. It just proves that you too are ultimately a succubus with a lewd nature, just like them.’
‘Come on, I can’t do it like Kyubey unnie.’
It was only thanks to the various experiences I had accumulated so far that I was smoothly turning Ruya into prey. I didn’t particularly enjoy dominating others. As expected, I preferred being forcefully dominated by another being rather than doing it myself.
I stopped Ruya once again as she tried to come, pulled my mouth away from her nipple, and said,
“From now on, you are forbidden from climaxing without my permission. Understood?”
“Hnn, that’s so mean…”
“Instead, I’ll let you experience the greatest pleasure.”
“Haa… The greatest pleasure…”
At the words “greatest pleasure,” she recalled the climax she had felt yesterday and her eyes grew even glassier. Watching her, I pulled out my tail and thrust it straight into her dripping wet pussy.
“Haah!”
“You remember, right? This is the tail that made your pussy feel so good.”
“Haaang! I love your tail!”
“Hehe, you like it right here, don’t you? Hah!”
“Kyaaah!”
I stirred her insides vigorously, striking her hot spot in one go. She writhed in ecstasy. I kept thrusting deep and pulling out while maintaining eye contact, continuously pouring the energy of my charm eyes into her.