[No title provided]
Pure love? No way in hell that'd ever happen. But if I'd been a full succubus, at least I wouldn't feel this embarrassed. For them, sex is just like eating a meal. But what if a human smells like a succubus? Anyone would picture a total pervert obsessed with nothing but lewd stuff...
"Unnie, I didn't absorb it because I wanted to. I was just worried he might do something weird..."
"Ah, yeah. You can't trust demons like that. I get it completely."
Roha unnie nodded right away at my explanation. I was grateful for her kindness, but her cool tone—and the fact she'd been pretending not to notice anything succubus-related—didn't help my mental recovery at all.
...She just seems so effortlessly cool that my paranoia kicked in, making me imagine contempt in her eyes.
"It's weirder to believe someone who surrenders with words alone."
"...Right?"
That's Roha unnie for you. I'm just a totally normal human. Honestly, the only reason I started actively using succubus powers was because tumbling around with Baek Sion hits me with overwhelming pleasure, making recovery take too long. It's definitely not like I'm using them to recover faster for round two or anything...
"Where should I bring the eel donburi?"
"Ah, right here."
The glossy donburi bowls started arriving one by one, and Roha unnie neatly sorted them according to our orders. She speaks Korean so fluently that it's weirder hearing her use Japanese.
"Unnie, how'd you get into studying Korean?"
"Ah, honestly, I had free time at home. I wanted to travel to Korea anyway, and it was easy to pick up, so I just started."
She's an illustrator like me, but she gives off total career woman vibes—super cool. Is this the power of image? Maybe I should try for a cooler look too.
"You two go to the same school, right?"
"Yeah, both first-years."
"Must be fun going together. I don't really have anyone I'd call a friend..."
"Hang out with us then!"
Lee Seo-yeon draped an arm lightly around Roha unnie's shoulders from the side. ...I'd been about to do that first... It felt kinda silly getting jealous over a girl, but hey, I'm an illustrator too. Seo-yeon's just a regular fan. But Roha unnie flashed a slightly pleased smile, blowing away my jealous thoughts in an instant. She's a total beauty...
"Unnie, can I ask how tall you are?"
"...You've already asked..."
Roha unnie looked a bit flustered by Seo-yeon's question. ...I was curious too, honestly. My shoes have a bit of a heel, so it's not precise, but I figured she was in the low 150s like me. Not that I love thinking this way, but I've wished she was shorter than me before. Still, no one wants to be the shortest in the group.
"I'm 158. I get jealous of tall people."
"...Ugh."
...Lost again? Is there no one I can beat? And 158cm—not even close enough to call it measurement error.
"But unnie, your face is so small it doesn't make you look short at all."
Small people with small faces don't seem as short. I don't look tiny in photos unless someone's next to me. It's just that giants over 181cm are always by my side.
Still, snagging a 150s buddy makes me smile. The savory donburi aroma wafting over is whetting my appetite too.
"Add a little wasabi. The wasabi here isn't that spicy."
"Got it."
Roha unnie explained like a regular, having clearly been here before. One bite of the donburi with wasabi, and my eyes flew open.
"...Mmm!?"
"Eat up. We can order more tempura too."
She smiled faintly at my instinctive exclamation and slid a plate of assorted tempura my way. Japanese donburi really hits different in Japan. Korea has plenty of places, but nothing beats the real deal.
"...So season 3 is confirmed?"
"Yeah. Meetings are ongoing, but the staff's the same, so no worries."
Roha unnie hadn't eaten breakfast either, but now that we were all filling up, the conversation flowed even easier. Topics usually revolved around Lupco Yanglip anyway—everyone here knows it inside out. I prefer the manga for its details, but I binge the anime too for the characters' lively animations—by cour, of course.
As we grew closer, Seo-yeon, sitting next to Roha unnie, leaned in and whispered.
"...But unnie, that... was it real life?"
"Huh?"
I caught on immediately and leaned toward unnie too, but she still looked confused. Seo-yeon had to spell it out.
"With Aisaka over there..."
"...No way...! We've got this sticky bad blood from way back..."
Sion and I bicker daily, so I can't rule it out just from that. But if she's calling it a bad connection herself, something definitely happened. Seeing Seo-yeon's mischievous glint, Roha unnie bit her lip and playfully covered her mouth with her small hand.
"...If you keep going, I can't eat this..."
She glanced at Seo-yeon pointing at her donburi with her eyes, then made a shushing pose with her other hand and pulled away.
"...Eat first. I'll tell you later."
"For real?"
"...Fine, just be quiet for now..."
Makes sense with QL right behind us. The guys' table, though...
"Whoa, so you can run on all fours too?"
"I tried it once—super fast."
...What the hell are they talking about? They're chatting excitedly, but guys always veer into dumb topics when it's just them, so who knows.
Banned from girl talk, I pivoted to QL's identity.
"Unnie, is Aisaka a beastkin too?"
"Ah... He's a dog."
"Dog?"
"Yeah, that puppy type."
...Now that she mentions it, his friendliness radiates even from afar. Like a pup charging at strangers in a friend's house. "Dog-like personality" sounds insulting, so "puppy-like" fits better.
"...Whoa, so you two don't get along..."
"...Nah, cats and dogs don't mix."
The old saying holds—cats and dogs clash. Sure, people raise both now, but in the wild, they're rivals.
"At least the demons invaded, so temporary alliance. We hadn't seen each other for ages and bumped into each other there."
"Knew each other before Astasia?"
"...Later on that too."
Too intriguing—I demolished my donburi and tempura in no time. I'm a fast eater, so the girls' table still has a ways to go.
...Time to join Sion and grill Aisaka? I excused myself and slid next to the solo Sion.
"Seol-ah, right? Loving your illustrations."
"Ah, I buy every light novel volume...!"
"For real? I can send you first editions if you want."
No awkwardness—he jumped right in, just like Seo-yeon. Total puppy beastkin. Explains the summoning. Super upbeat, blond hair—straight-up golden retriever vibes.
...Might be rude, but he seems like the type with ten exes. Is that why Roha unnie mentioned bad blood...?
I'm a huge Lupco Yanglip fan, but if he hurts her, no way we're buddies.
"You two look great together. Similar art styles make it comfy..."
"...Huh."
...This guy's actually nice? Sion and I do have similar looks.
"Ah, you're a mage, right? I main magic too—mages are so respectable."
"What about assassins?"
"...Assassins feel like trap-disarmers..."
"Stop dragging assassins into this again..."
Sion grumbled beside me, instantly lifting my mood. This guy gets it...
Aisaka chuckled warmly, looking pleased.
"You two seem really close—nice. Best to have someone to confide in."
Perfect opening. I pitched my voice low so the girls wouldn't hear.
"...Aisaka, ever had a girlfriend?"
"...Ah..."
He hesitated. My exes theory true...? But he answered quick.
"Just one so far. Not anymore."
...Just one? As a pure-love stan, even one ex might bug Roha unnie... But at least not a player. Progress?
Sion leaned in eagerly. "Who?"
No way we know her. Aisaka grimaced, then side-eyed instead of naming.
"...Over there."
"......"
"......"
"Eugh."
Only one possible target in this crew. No need to look. Silence blanketed our table.
I'd dismissed the cliché of heart-pounding glances and tsundere denial as too basic. Time to rethink that one-dimensional take.
...Is this pure love too?