Succubus at First Sight
The succubus Jeong Harin sighed dramatically. "Still only Tuesday? Haha... don't lie to me. It feels like Thursday-level exhaustion right now."
By the time I reached the school gate, I suddenly felt a genuine, soul-deep urge to turn around and go straight back home.
"We're literally at the school gate and that's the best complaint you've got? We even got out early yesterday at ten-thirty."
Lee Hana was staring at me with an expression that screamed utter disbelief, like I was the most pathetic creature alive.
"That's exactly why it's so horrible. Homeroom ended at four-forty? Ughhh... just kick me with your hoof and knock me out already."
"If I actually kicked you for real, you'd be on medical leave for a month, not a day. Want me to do it right now? I can make it quick."
Ehe, she's taking my WWE joke seriously~
"Good morning, everyone~! Starting today we have our first full regular schedule, so don't fall asleep already. Up, up, up~"
Hye-na sensei used the very tip of her proud lamia tail to tickle the cheek of a student dozing off in the front row.
"Mmmnya... ah! Cold!!"
"Next time I catch you, it'll be your neck instead of your cheek that gets wrapped~."
Lamia are cold-blooded, so their bodies are naturally chilly. The thought of a freezing tail suddenly coiling around an unsuspecting neck... yeah, that had to feel like getting hit with ice magic. Meanwhile, the guy sitting in front of me muttered, "If I'd known this would happen, I would've sat in the front row." Dude, you've got issues.
"First period is about to start. I'll come back during third period~."
With a soft slithering sound, Hye-na sensei closed the classroom door with her tail and left.
"What's our first class? We haven't even gotten our textbooks yet."
"I think it was math... and anyway, we don't need textbooks. You know we're doing fully digital classes with tablets starting this year, right?"
"??? For real??"
Okay, this one actually made sense. Now that she mentioned it, I vaguely remembered the school giving us tablets during vacation...
"Judging by that blank look on your face, you probably tossed yours somewhere in your room and forgot all about it. We'll share mine today. Where else are you gonna find such a kind desk mate~?"
"Ugh... I seriously didn't realize it was a tablet thing. I'll have to go hunting for it when I get home. Sorry, but can I borrow yours just for today? Thanks for the favor, Lee Hana."
"I'll just deduct it from yesterday's pork belly bill~. And come a little closer. If you sit that far away you won't even be able to see the screen."
Hana hooked her polymorphed high-heel foot around the leg of my chair and dragged it toward her. Whoa, not so suddenly—
"I'll take notes for you, so just sit back and enjoy the free ride~. In return, you handle the afternoon notes. We'll split it half and half."
The moment I was pulled close, Hana brushed her side hair back and tapped the tablet screen with her stylus. Her slightly pointed ears peeked out from beneath her hair, and a few strands of her long white locks settled gently on my shoulder. Every time she moved, those soft snow-white strands would sway and brush teasingly against my neck. It didn't feel bad, but there was no way I'd be able to concentrate on class like this...
"Miss Hana, your excessively long hair is making some very bold territorial claims on my neck. Please refrain from invading my personal space."
"You're so demanding~ Fine, fine."
Hana pulled a red hair tie from her pocket at my complaint. She gathered her hair and tied it into a neat ponytail.
"Better? No more tickling now."
"Fast feedback, I like it. You look good in a ponytail too, you know?"
"You said you liked it long before... that's why I kept growing it even though it tickles..."
"Sorry, did you say something? You were muttering so quietly I couldn't hear."
"You don't need to know~. I'm just annoyed with you right now."
Why was she mad this time...? I swear, the patterns of a Balrog are impossible to predict.
"Hello, students. I have arrived at precisely 9:00:00. Excellent. Zero margin of error."
A math teacher with sleek cream-colored bob hair entered the room. "I will be teaching you mathematics this year. My race is Automata. Please address me as Renata-sensei."
Automata. A race whose entire bodies function like computers, similar to the androids or mechanical lifeforms you see in movies. They too came from another world—an ancient civilization from a far older era. They're all female in appearance. When they were first discovered, they were silently guarding the ruins of that ancient civilization. Apparently they fell in love with humanity at first sight and crossed over to serve us as their new masters... Though they look cold like machines (and they technically are machines), they're fundamentally very friendly toward humans. They're also a species that children often idolize.
"Since it's the first day, I'll explain how we'll be conducting class going forward. So please direct your attention this way."
Renata-sensei touched the crystalline core in the center of her chest, and a holographic screen bloomed in mid-air. It felt like watching a 4D movie. A few of the boys let out awed "Whoa..." sounds. I wasn't immune to that kind of technological romance either, so my eyes lit up immediately.
"Boys really are weak to stuff like that. Whether they're demons or humans, they're all the same..."
Hana muttered from beside me, chin propped on her hand, looking genuinely puzzled.
Renata-sensei's cyberpunk orientation was so engaging that the fifty minutes flew by in a blink. The gears on my shoulder started turning slower and slower. Soon the screen began to fade, then shut down completely. At the exact same moment, the speaker chimed. She had ended class perfectly on time. As expected of an Automata. When it came to keeping time, they were razor sharp.
"I focused from the very first period and I'm already exhausted... total failure in pacing."
I planted my face straight down on the desk. Staring up at a floating screen for so long had left my neck stiff and sore.
"You're already wiped out just from looking at a few slides? How are you planning to survive the remaining six periods?"
Hana poked the back of my head a couple times, clearly telling me to get up.
"Instead of poking, just scratch it. That'd feel way better."
"You're trying to use a Balrog as a back scratcher? I'm going to the bathroom. You don't need to go?"
"Nah. It's still only first period, I'm good. Getting up just to go to the bathroom sounds more annoying..."
"Are you sure your race wasn't supposed to be sloth? Want me to bring back some leaves from a tree on the way?"
"Whatever, just hurry up and go. You've got makeup to fix and everything~"
I kept my head down and lazily waved my arm to shoo her off. "Your makeup looks perfect today~" she said as she stood up from her seat.
I figured I could catch five minutes of sleep. But contrary to my hopes, I felt someone press down firmly on my head again. Was today officially "Stimulate Seha's Scalp Day"? They were really giving it a full variety of treatments.
"What is it now, Hana? Did you run out of toilet paper and come back?"
I grumbled as I lifted my head. When I looked up, it wasn't Hana. Instead, I met the eyes of an unfamiliar girl with sky-blue hair and crimson eyes... and a single bat wing that gave off a completely different vibe from Hana's.
"Finally looking this way, huh?"
She had both arms draped over the back of my chair and was grinning at me.
I quickly glanced at the name tag on her right breast.
"You force me to look and then say it like that, Jeong Harin?"
"Oh my, you remembered my name? I think my favorability just went up a little~"
"Remember or not, you made such a huge impression during yesterday's self-introductions. It'd be weird if I didn't."
The succubus girl had announced she was looking for a boyfriend, and there were definitely plenty of guys who'd fallen for that. In fact, several boys in class were currently staring at me and Harin. When they glare like that, it's hard to pretend I don't notice. It's not like I approached her first, so why are they looking at me like that...? It feels like the standards only get ridiculously strict when it comes to me.
"So? Got something to say to me? If you're looking for Hana, you'll have to wait a bit. She's in the bathroom."
"No, no. I don't have anything to say to Hana. I just got a little interested, that's all."
Harin tilted her head slightly while fluttering one wing.
The heart-shaped earring dangling from the tip of her wing was especially eye-catching.
"Interested in what, exactly?"
As if she'd been waiting for exactly those words, she pointed straight at me.
"You. I'm talking about you, Yoon Seha. I've developed a very thick interest in you."
The way she slowly licked her thumb with obvious sensuality was just the cherry on top.
"I'm not following... We weren't even in the same class last year. You're really hitting on me just because we saw each other once during self-introductions?"
"Mmm~ Do you know how many seconds it takes for a person to fall in love?"
This time Harin brought my finger to her lips.
"Hey, hey... what are you doing?"
I panicked and tried to pull away immediately, but the difference in strength made it impossible. Harin gave my finger one slow lick, looked at me, then smiled seductively again.
"They say it's only seven seconds. But since I'm a succubus, it's even shorter for me. Three seconds."
".....This is incredibly awkward. Getting hit with a sudden confession attack from a girl like this."
After licking, Harin finally released the pressure, so I quickly pulled my hand back to my chest. Thank god Hana didn't see this. The other kids definitely saw it though, so rumors would spread...
"I didn't say it because I wanted an answer from you~. I just wanted to let you know how I feel."
"I'll ask one more time. Is there seriously no real reason? This isn't a manga. Why would someone like you suddenly go after an ordinary human guy like me?"
With Harin's level of looks and the fact that she's a succubus, she was basically a walking cheat code. If she grabbed any random guy on the street and flirted, tons of men would come running. The fact that someone this beautiful was doing this to me made it impossible to shake my suspicion.
"Wow, our Seha is really suspicious, huh? I'm casting Charm on you like this and you're still not falling for it easily."
"It's so dreamlike that it actually woke me up instead~. Logically speaking, there are plenty of guys way cooler than me. I just can't buy that you'd pick me."
"If we were only talking about looks, maybe... but your soul is exactly my type. So much that I want to suck it all out and take it inside me~"
She deliberately waved her hand slowly up and down in a sensual motion, basically advertising loud and clear that she was a succubus.
"Haa... I appreciate the interest, but go find one of the other guys. There are other classes besides ours, you know."
There were even upperclassmen and underclassmen. Surely there was at least one soul owner out there who would suit her.
"What if the one who has that soul..."
This time she leaned her face in really close.
"...is you? Would you accept me then?"
Her figure was even more glamorous than Hana's, so the destructive power was on another level. This was seriously dangerous...
"Hey, Yoon Seha. What the hell are you doing?"
Ah, perfect timing. The landmine—and not just any landmine, but one powerful enough to take out two hundred anti-tank mines at once—finally detonated.