She's My Wife
"You two make such a lovely couple..."
The words the man who'd called himself the cafe owner had tossed out a moment ago kept circling in my ears. Heat climbed into them, and a flutter I couldn't bring myself to name spread across my whole face before I could stop it.
...A couple. That's what humans mean when they talk about lovers.
Something the older girls used to say, back when I was preparing for my Coming-of-Age Ceremony, flashed through my mind. They told each other they were in love... and they f-fed each other by hand, or so I'd heard.
So we looked like the kind of relationship that does embarrassing things like that...?
I whipped my head around, hiding my face from Kim Hyunsung. Instinct screamed that I absolutely could not let him see it right now. If I hadn't been concealing my wings and tail, they'd probably be trembling like mad.
This is so annoying... why is my heart beating this fast?!
I pressed a hand hard against my chest, but the pounding showed no sign of slowing. For some reason, the Tattoo of the Covenant settled over my belly seemed to burn.
"......"
I stole a sidelong glance at Kim Hyunsung's face.
...Why is he completely fine? How can he be like that?
I was this flustered, and the man walking beside me looked utterly unbothered. That calm expression, as if none of it had anything to do with him, stirred a strange sense of being wronged. Was I the only one blushing like an idiot?
"Why are you just standing there? You coming?"
Kim Hyunsung turned back to where I'd frozen and asked, indifferent.
"......It's nothing."
My lips twitched before I could stop them. I glanced ahead, and once the retriever's owner had vanished from sight, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I rounded on Kim Hyunsung and snapped.
"Hearing that just now really doesn't bother you at all?"
"Hearing what?"
Kim Hyunsung blinked and tilted his head, genuinely lost.
That blank reaction nearly made me yell.
...Why am I this emotional?
I was so startled by my own feelings that I couldn't bring myself to say another word.
"Forget it... Let's just get to the supermarket."
"Sure."
For no good reason, I strode off ahead of him.
The moment we stepped through the doors of the big supermarket, Selene's stomping footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
"Whoa..."
Her red eyes went wide at the endless shelves and the sheer number of things crowding them.
"There's so much......? Do humans come to places like this every day?"
"Not every day. Sometimes."
Her knowledge was patchy enough that I could never predict what would set her off. Instead of one of the big carts by the entrance, I picked up a plastic basket light enough to carry in one hand.
If it's just the two of us, this should be plenty.
A cart was more convenient, but a basket was far easier when I also had to look after Selene on her first trip here.
"If you want something, just put it in the basket."
At that, Selene turned to me with round, disbelieving eyes.
"Really? I can really buy whatever I want?"
"As long as it isn't completely ridiculous. We're going to be living together, so we should stock up on what we need."
Money, at least, I had enough of. One extra mouth wasn't going to make a grocery run pinch.
"Okay!"
Only then did Selene break into a bright smile and scurry off toward the snack aisle.
So she was a girl after all. Straight for the snacks, on instinct.
What she pointed at, eyes sparkling, was a soft cookie packed with chocolate.
"Those are good. But they're sweet, so they taste better with milk. Let's grab some milk too."
"Milk...?"
Selene slipped the chocolate cookies into the basket and let her gaze drift, ever so slightly, toward the front of my pants.
...This succubus.
At that sticky look, I gave her forehead a light push with one finger.
"I'm more drawn to the milk over here."
"Not that one... actual milk."
At my words she offered a sly, bewitching smile and flicked her red tongue out at me.
"I know that much, you know? I was just teasing."
"Tease too much and you'll get in trouble."
"How...? Like last time?"
"...You."
When I shot her a look, Selene only smiled, playful, and moved on ahead to browse the other shelves.
Must be because she's a succubus... She has zero resistance when it comes to sex.
She reacted normally to everything else, and only about sex was she completely uninhibited. That strange gap kept throwing me off.
I hauled her along — she'd been gawking like a kid — and headed for the meat section to buy something for dinner.
Since we're here, might as well pick up dinner too.
Under the lights, the packaged cuts on display made Selene's eyes sparkle all over again.
"Mmm...... There's so much meat. It's all red, and I can't tell which ones taste good."
As if seeing it for the first time, she tilted her head and stared holes through the display.
"Then how about we try a bit of everything tonight and figure out what you like."
I put well-marbled beef, chicken, and pork into the basket, one of each.
"Protein matters for the baby, and for you, since you're pregnant. Eat plenty."
"Okay. I'll eat a ton."
Then Selene snatched up a pack of beef large intestine sitting beside the beef.
"This one's shaped weird. Does it taste good too?"
"Large intestine? Well, grill it right and it's rich. Not bad. You want to try it?"
"Yeah! I want to try it."
When she nodded, I dropped that in the basket too. Grilling it at home meant splattering oil and a higher difficulty, but it wasn't impossible.
"Anything else you want?"
"Then let's look over there too."
"Sure. Seafood's good for you. Let's go."
The seafood section she'd pointed to smelled of salt and the sea. Selene peered at the fish lying on ice as if they were the most fascinating things in the world, then spotted a huge octopus on display and her eyes went round.
"Doesn't this one look kind of... lewd?"
"Are you insane..."
At her blurting that out over an octopus, I flinched and glanced around.
...Nobody heard that, right?
Luckily, no one nearby seemed to have caught it. I stepped in close and whispered in her ear.
"Do not say things like that out in public. You'll get us in serious trouble."
"Ah......"
The moment the whisper reached her ear, Selene startled, flinched, and edged back.
"......Don't whisper in my ear."
Her face was flushed, and the red eyes glaring at me were trembling.
Are a succubus's ears sensitive...?
"Fine. I get it, so don't say stuff like that outside."
"Hmph."
"Aigoo, out grocery shopping with the wife?"
A voice from behind made me spin around. Three older women working the seafood counter in aprons were watching us with thoroughly pleased looks.
...They didn't hear, did they?
"Oh my, the new bride's face is so tiny and pretty. You two suit each other."
Under their gazes Selene flinched and slipped behind my back. I eased in front of her and dealt with them.
"Yes. My wife's in the early stages of pregnancy, so I'm not really sure what I should be feeding her."
The instant the word pregnancy left my mouth, the women clapped in unison, as if they'd planned it, and fussed all at once.
"Aigoo! My goodness, congratulations! A young couple with good news already!"
"You've got to feed her well from the start if you want the little one growing up healthy and strong!"
Faced with the flood of attention and unsolicited advice, I answered with the friendliest smile I could manage.
"Yes, of course."
"Then early on you should feed her plenty of fish, too. The hairtail looks fresh today — how about taking some home?"
When one of them recommended the hairtail, the woman beside her nudged her in the side and stopped her.
"Come on, you want to stink up a newlywed's place with fish? And it's a pain to clean."
"Young man, see over there? In the prepared-foods section they've got packs with the bones already pulled and the fish already grilled. Heat one in the microwave and there's no smell. Easy, and good."
She smiled, thoroughly pleased, and added a little too knowingly:
"I buy it to feed my family all the time, so I know. That one's the best."
"Oh, they have something like that. Thank you."
When I smiled and dipped my head, the women waved me off.
"Yes, yes. Congratulations again to the new bride!"
"Thank you."
Taking their goodbyes, I quietly caught Selene's hand and headed for the prepared-foods section.
"Hm?"
Even after we'd gotten clear of the women, she kept her head down and said nothing. Wondering if I'd upset her, I tried to sneak a look at her face — and she gave my side a little poke.
"What's wrong?"
"Am I... your wife?"
"Huh?"
"You called me your wife just now."
Ah... because of what I said to those women?
"Oh — did the way I addressed you bother you? Sorry. It was too complicated to explain, so I just said it."
"No......"
Selene lifted the face she'd been hanging and looked up at me.
"...It just felt strange."
