Chapter 220
It was obvious at a glance. "...W-Well, I guess you could say I have s-some connection to demons..."
Judging by how she was blushing and mumbling vaguely, Yoo Seol-ah had no intention of admitting that the demon she was connected to was a succubus. Of course, I got it. The typical image that came to mind with "succubus" was pretty out there, and more than that, these two probably knew more about succubi than most people, so she must've figured it'd lead to weird misunderstandings.
...Honestly, though, some of those thoughts didn't seem like misunderstandings at all.
"...U-Um, it's probably from the mana I absorbed from those demons who surrendered back in the day..."
Lee Seo-yeon was stifling a laugh beside her, which made it clear that hiding the succubus thing was honestly kinda funny. And even now, without mentioning succubus at all, it wasn't like there were no problems. Aside from Lee Seo-yeon, who seemed to enjoy the weird stares, and Doyun hyung, who didn't care at all, the gazes from the people around us felt pretty sharp.
The folks just passing by were probably Japanese, while the ones staring at us like they'd misheard were either the Koreans who'd arrived with us or people who understood Korean.
It'd be weirder not to think you'd heard wrong when strangers were talking about demons and surrenders right in front of you.
Yoo Seol-ah must've noticed too, because her face flushed bright red as she hurried up to SPICA ahead of us.
"...U-Um, sh-should we maybe move somewhere else first?"
"Oh, sorry. You must be tired from standing..."
And actually meeting SPICA in person revealed something new: she was about the same height as Yoo Seol-ah. There might be a slight difference with shoes on, but with all the tall women around us, seeing someone Yoo Seol-ah's height felt kinda novel.
But aside from that one similarity, they seemed total opposites. Yoo Seol-ah had a cool face but was a massive klutz deep down with some serious destructive power, while SPICA had that undeniably cute look but oozed coolness from her speech.
She didn't seem to care about the stares from unrelated people at all. Though she didn't come off cynical—no, she always had this faint smile when talking to Yoo Seol-ah. Cool was the perfect word for her.
"I've got a car ready. Ladies, ride with me. Guys, this one... er, he'll show you the way."
For a second, hearing "car ready" made me think of some massive limo. Probably because Lee Seo-yeon was around—being with her made me seriously consider those drama-level scenarios sometimes.
We followed their lead to where the taxis were gathered. Doyun hyung and I trailed behind QL.
The moment we got in the taxi, QL greeted us warmly.
"Sorry I couldn't properly introduce myself earlier. I'm Aisaka Itsuki."
"Kim Doyun."
"Baek Sion."
We exchanged quick names, but unlike SPICA, QL was the type who did interviews and some external promo for his work, so we already knew who he was.
He had that handsome look where anyone would say "yeah, he's good-looking"—if anything, a warm, wholesome style like Doyun hyung. And his upbeat energy was obvious just from how he talked.
"Online, I'm QL. I make my living writing. Call me whatever's comfy."
In Japan, people usually go by family names with new acquaintances. But like SPICA, his fluent Korean and friendly vibe made it easy to warm up quick.
Doyun hyung had great social skills anyway, and I'd gone through all-boys middle and high school, so bonding with guys was a breeze.
By the time we reached our destination, things had turned into this.
"...Wait, the director you asked about at first? That's the guy? Director Baek Seung-hyun."
"That's my dad."
"No way?"
"Yeah. He said he couldn't take it because of his schedule back then."
"Man, if we'd met sooner, I would've begged him somehow..."
"I was bummed too, honestly. Wonder if there's any unreleased footage I could snag."
"I might have some, but if it leaks, the mangaka would kill me..."
Coming back from Astasia felt like four years ago now, so this all-boys high school vibe was a real throwback. He'd said he was 23 in Korean age, but we'd all spent so long in places where age didn't matter much, so we ended up chatting like old friends.
We naturally shared stuff like Doyun hyung's roguelike hit and my involvement in music.
Didn't take long for "Aisaka-ssi" to become "Tsuki hyung." He'd joked to just think of his family name as "Lee," so that's how it stuck.
Skipping Astasia talk, we pretty much learned everything about each other. What stood out as we kept chatting was that Tsuki hyung seemed like Iroha's total opposite too. Not that she had a bad personality— this kinda affability was just innate.
"Thanks."
Time to get out. Massive hotel-like buildings came into view.
"The mangaka's a huge Yukinyang fan. Booked this the second he heard you were coming to Japan."
"...How much is a place like this roughly?"
After getting out and hearing the price, I stood there with my mouth slightly open for a while.
...Two nights here. For a whole five-person suite. All booked out.
I'd kinda expected it from the business-class flights, but a popular mangaka's income was no joke.
Of course, without his fondness for Yoo Seol-ah, none of this would've happened.
Heading inside through the hotel entrance, the women—who'd arrived first—came into sight. Yoo Seol-ah walked right over the second our eyes met.
"...Unnie booked one room for us. That cool?"
"Yeah. But unnie?"
"Roha unnie."
"......"
...Yeah, Yoo Seol-ah was totally smitten with Iroha at first sight.
Made sense—she was a total cutie who'd make anyone melt, and Yoo Seol-ah's fave illustrator to boot. She was a bit shy by default, but once she decided to open up, her charm kicked in.
We grabbed our hotel key cards and headed up in the elevator with our luggage to drop it off in our rooms.
"Whoa..."
The location was prime, but the view out the window was so stunning it filled me with deep gratitude for Roha unnie from the bottom of my heart. Same city vibe as Seoul, but distinctly different. And sharing my first-ever Japan trip with Baek Sion? Pure, indescribable joy.
The girls' talk started up in the taxi, so Roha unnie heard we weren't just dating but basically married. She went quiet for a bit after that.
Answering her questions was a little embarrassing, but at least we'd moved past succubus topics, so I answered as sincerely as I could. Stuff like already living together and having met each other's parents.
It was fun watching her expression shift to pure fascination.
"Booking a place like this? She must really like you."
"Unnie does like me a bit."
I caught Baek Sion trying to tease me, so I decided to own it boldly. Though honestly, the only guys catching Roha unnie's eye had to be QL and Aisaka-ssi.
We hadn't brought them up in the taxi, so I wasn't sure on their relationship yet, but now that we were grabbing food, I'd probably hear more.
"So, you still haven't spilled?"
"...Spill what?"
"That you're a succubus."
"Oh, no I haven't!... Wait, and I'm not a succubus...!?"
Baek Sion snickering. I'd tried to play it cool, but him straight-up calling me a succubus threw me off.
To be clear, I'm not a succubus—I just absorbed succubus mana...!
I huffed and stormed out first, while Baek Sion trailed after me, still chuckling as the door closed.
"...Whoa, I love donburi..."
"Yeah. It's seriously good here."
Even on casual banmal terms, Roha unnie kept that cool aura. Did she still remember the foods I'd mentioned liking before coming to Japan?
After ordering our faves, we finally got to the main topic.
"...So you all really went to Astasia, right?"
We were in a private room, so even if any Koreans were around, it didn't matter now.
"That illustration, the outfits—they had human regular army insignias. One match might be coincidence, but both? Tough."
Yep, she'd gotten the hint from Yuna unnie's art. Though she had liked my work before that too, of course.
"We were a party hunting down the cadres."
I skipped calling myself grand mage—too embarrassing—so I just said mage. Yuna unnie was introducing her Astasia side too.
The big mystery was Roha unnie and Aisaka-ssi, who we didn't know. After our intros wrapped, Roha unnie hesitated a bit, then started gathering mana.
"Heek."
The second I saw her face faintly flushed, I let out a weird noise without thinking.
Black cat ears had popped up on her head. And a tail was swishing behind her.
What was this adorable creature? Cool beauty blushing, plus those cheat-code cat beastkin traits? Nuclear-level cuteness.
"...The demon king didn't just invade humans. I got summoned to the cat beastkin side."
That's why she'd mentioned the demon scent earlier. Proving it must've been embarrassing, because she quickly reined in her mana, making the ears and tail vanish. I sighed in disappointment.
And from beside me came an even more disappointed voice.
"Unnie! Do it again quick...! Please..."
"...No."
"...Hngg..."
Lee Seo-yeon faceplanted on the table, sniffling.
...Come to think of it, she'd thrown a fit last time about wanting to see a real beastkin.
It'd only lasted seconds, so she looked super bummed. But Roha unnie showed zero interest in doing it again.
Seo-yeon seemed to half-give up, looking sad—then she glanced at me slyly and tossed a question at Roha unnie.
"Cat beastkin can distinguish scents super well, right?"
"Pretty much. For demons, you can even tell traits by smell..."
Roha unnie answered flatly, then flinched, subtly checking me out.
...Hold up. Distinguishing demons easily?
Meaning...
"N-Not that easy... More like, if you focus, you can tell..."
She backpedaled like she was covering for me, which only made me feel more embarrassed.
...She knew from the start? That I'm a succubus—no, that I absorbed succubus mana?
She'd been playing dumb for my sake...?
Heat rushed to my face. I downed my ice water in one go, then targeted Lee Seo-yeon's side, where her lips were twitching.
"Kyaaah!?"
Water ghost tactic, huh? She'd poked Roha unnie on purpose to see more cat mode since she missed it...!
Tickling her didn't cool my face at all. Meanwhile, at the guys' table behind, Baek Sion leaned over and whispered.
"Honestly, it's obvious at a glance."
"What bullshit...!"
I'm not walking around with "pervert" tattooed on my face or anything—how the hell does he know...!
But Baek Sion just dropped that line and dove back into guy talk, leaving me no shot at revenge.