Chapter 20
Translator: IPO
Chapter 20
Good dreams… are like coincidences that come to you without realizing it.
The happiness and satisfaction felt in dreams naturally seem as ordinary and natural as my daily life… because memories of reality do not surface, I indulge in that happiness as if it is completely natural.
In dreams, one cannot recognize that they are dreaming, so in a way, it is only natural.
Thus, many people end up showing their most terrible things as well as their happiness and beauty too easily in dreams.
“And even that applies to Officer Dan Ayeon.”
On nights when the sea opens and the fog rolls in.
Ordinary citizens trembled in fear and pulled their blankets over themselves, but surprisingly, for the government hunters, it is not such a busy night.
In fact, it is much quieter and easier to rest than usual.
Once the protective spell inspections are done, it is as if there is nothing else to do.
Unless some fool deliberately walks outside the protective spell, casualties are unlikely to occur.
So for government hunters… especially for Officer Dan Ayeon, it is a rare, very comfortable and cozy rest.
“Haah, I’m hungry.”
My stomach is empty.
The hunger of a succubus comes quite suddenly.
Humans feel hunger when they skip meals, but the succubus’s craving for energy and vitality is highly irregular.
Even after expending tremendous energy hunting monsters and anomalies, the hunger may only hit a week later, or sometimes, not even half a day after eating, the stomach empties again.
If you ask what a succubus eats, this would be the answer.
What people commonly think of as a succubus meal.
That’s it.
What?
You don’t think I eat the essence of human men, do you?
Ugh, why would I eat that?
A normal succubus might, but I am a beautiful Empress.
Even in eating, I must be modest, dignified, and eat beautifully.
‘What dream shall I eat today~’
What I eat is dreams.
I am so hungry.
Today, I am unusually hungry, so much that my hands tremble.
I am not normally gluttonous.
I do not need to eat at all, but I simply value the act of eating and the enjoyment of taste.
However, the fundamental succubus needs—vitality and energy—must be consumed.
And the most lively and vivid source of human life and energy is found in dreams.
‘Ah, of course, I could forcibly drain through skin contact… but that would kill them.’
I am a peaceful succubus who dislikes killing.
Of course, hideous things are an exception.
Spreading my wings, I fly across the city night sky until reaching a familiar and comfortable place.
-Tap tap tap
Shilla Villa, 8th floor window.
Inside, a familiar face sleeping soundly.
I have arrived~
“Officer Dan Ayeon~ I’m here~ I’ve come~”
“…….”
Through the window, I see Officer Dan Ayeon sleeping peacefully.
Perhaps because she is a government hunter, her face is tired and worn from the daily grind.
She is in a very deep sleep.
But Officer Dan Ayeon, I’ve come, you know?
If you do not open the door, I will come in anyway.
Even if Officer Dan Ayeon responds or says anything, even if she tells me absolutely not to enter, I will enter.
-Click
I slightly flick my fingers, and the window lock opens by itself.
Since my area is always filled with vitality and energy, I can manipulate objects from afar like telekinesis.
“Officer Dan Ayeon, are you sleeping~?”
“…Kuul…”
“You are sleeping, right~?”
Sleeping Officer Dan Ayeon is quite cute.
Her head is turned completely to avoid disturbance, shaped like a steamed bun, and wearing bear pajamas that blend with the bed itself.
Heehee, would Officer Dan Ayeon even know?
Probably not.
The location-tracking spell she placed only activates when I allow it, and normally, it is buried like I am asleep due to my inherent high magic and magic resistance, so it does not trigger any alarm.
Even if she knew, it would not matter.
What could she do if she knew?
Carefully, I loosen my hair and fold my wings.
I wrap Officer Dan Ayeon, sleeping soundly in bed, snugly with a blanket.
If she moves and there is excessive skin contact, it could not just drain her mana, but her lifespan could shorten.
I must be careful too.
Human life, energy, and beyond—lifespan—are far too sweet to me… and when I am hungry, I might make mistakes.
“Sleep~ Sleep~ Sleep well~”
“….”
“You are sleeping, right? Sleeping, right, Officer?”
Okay. She is really sleeping.
Then I carefully lie down beside Officer Dan Ayeon.
Dust does not stick to the Succubus Empress, so even lying here in my suit is fine.
“Then, I shall eat well.”
-Haawp.
I open and close my mouth.
Like biting into ice cream.
Then I close my eyes.
What I see is not darkness.
A strange dream.
Yet a world where happiness exists and someone’s ideals and paradise are realized.
“Dreams are like a fleeting paradise that disappears in an instant.”
A world within a dream, not reality.
The happy dream I must see, hear, drink, indulge, and consume.
The delightful dream of Officer Dan Ayeon.
“…Kuul.”
“Even in dreams, Officer Dan Ayeon is sleeping?”
She often said she wanted to sleep as much as possible.
High-ranking officials summon Officer Dan Ayeon for any awakening or gate-related incidents.
In reality, Officer Dan Ayeon should only have to worry about me.
“Officer Dan Ayeon~”
“Kyaak!”
With a scream, Officer Dan Ayeon wakes from her deep dream.
Then the perspective shifts.
-Today, the gate incident has been resolved!
-All people can now enjoy a peaceful and joyful world!
-The lands and resources of the gate remain intact, and no one has to work! I’m quitting my announcer job and going home to relax!
“Waah! Waaaaah!”
Officer Dan Ayeon cheers like a child.
Ah, so this is the world she dreams of?
It seems like an ideal paradise.
Peaceful, no need to work….
Turning my head again, Officer Dan Ayeon is at home, watching Helflix, with chicken spread on the table, laughing flirtatiously.
“Hehe, chicken, chicken….”
“…But why is the chicken green?”
Strange. Does such chicken exist?
Even the green sauce smells faintly of chocolate along with mint.
What an abomination…
Yet Officer Dan Ayeon enjoys it well.
Thus, Officer Dan Ayeon’s dream… changes quickly and capriciously.
It is a characteristic of a person with many desires and usual stress.
Officer Dan Ayeon seems to want so many things.
She desires peace, restful sleep, leisurely time. And she wants many people to live peaceful and happy days like her.
“Heehee, so childish.”
Her usual cute demeanor brings relief.
“Focusing on paradise, countless people strain their necks. Unrealizable desires and ideals naturally unfold there. Isn’t it fascinating?”
Even villains who want the world’s destruction may only desire that.
Even evildoers who wish for the collapse of the world and gates… may imagine themselves farming alone in the collapsed, peaceful, and silent world.
Dreams make all of that possible.
Thus, for the Succubus Empress, this place is both prey and paradise.
“In a world where even love is not eternal, what can speak of immortality? A new beginning requires an end, so we must thank even for what is destined to disappear. Like…”
Yet dreams may be fleeting or eternal.
“Tonight, just like your dreams and paradise.”
The sun of paradise sets.
In the newly transformed scenery, Officer Dan Ayeon smiles while holding someone’s hand.
That hand becomes a parent.
A friend.
A future husband or child with indistinct face and form.
Ah, jealousy arises.
Do I have no place?
-“Jaehee! Did you have a good day today?”
-“Yes~ I even filled the waste bags fully~”
-“Well done!”
Ah.
There… is a place for me?
I wanted to ask why I was absent…
But suddenly, I feel happy.
Even in Officer Dan Ayeon’s peaceful and happy dream, there was room for me.
Anyway, the dream version of myself is still me.
Beautiful.
Perfectly with my real self. 100 percent… though my real self is far more beautiful and attractive, this is enough to pass.
-“Gasp! Did you even separate food waste and plastic? Jaehee! Well done!!”
And in the dream and paradise, I even properly sorted the waste bags…
Could it be that Officer Dan Ayeon felt great happiness simply because I managed the waste bags correctly?
‘In other words, perhaps it means she is sad and angry if I fail to manage the waste bags properly?’
Hmm, next time, I should at least make an effort to sort the waste myself.
But I don’t want to.
The Succubus Empress gripping waste bags and sulking while sorting them is never beautiful.
I cannot do what is not beautiful.
Honestly, I do not want to.
-“Jaehee, now that I’m gone, you can handle it properly, right?”
-“Of course.”
-“Promise me. Even without me. You must do well on your own. And… don’t do anything reckless. Just like when I’m with you….”
-“Don’t worry, Officer Dan Ayeon.”
The dream version of me had a trustworthy expression.
Officer Dan Ayeon still had a somewhat anxious face.
“…Even without me…”
Someday, Officer Dan Ayeon and I may part, unable to meet again.
It seems she wants me to live properly as a human, even without her.
“If Officer Dan Ayeon disappears from my life… hmm, I don’t want to imagine that.”
But wait.
I have not imagined a life without Officer Dan Ayeon, yet she already assumes we will part.
‘I feel… bad.’
Does she expect we will part?
That’s impossible.
I am not imagining parting from Officer Dan Ayeon, nor will I ever consider it happening in my life—
Yet does Officer Dan Ayeon want to part from me?
Dreams are the manifestation of the unconscious and personal wishes… could it be that Officer Dan Ayeon dislikes me?
I cannot believe she wants to part from me. I like Officer Dan Ayeon so much. Regardless of how much I like her, there is no way she dislikes me. If that were true, I would be very angry at her. So please tell me, you are not thinking that, right? If you were, I would have no choice but to become more aggressive, Officer Dan Ayeon. So I, I, I, I, I, I, I…
[ㅡPull yourself together.]
Hah, that was disgraceful.
Indeed, I shall abandon the idea of practicing waste sorting.
Officer Dan Ayeon will stay by my side precisely because I cannot do such things, right?
Right?
Thus, as the Succubus Empress, I must never touch waste.
Well, I have stayed too long.
If I linger here… the dream itself will be imbued with allure and lust, turning into a sexual dream.
I must leave at the perfect time.
“Today, I ate well again, Officer Dan Ayeon.”
-Haawp.
Good dreams were delicious.