Nonhuman Residential District
Nonhuman Residential District
For the first time, I faced the Demi-human Residential District not through documents, but with my own two eyes.
There was no checkpoint, nor any enormous sign announcing the beginning of the district.
It was simply Seoul.
But everything was just a little different.
The entrances were wide and tall enough for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Some shop windows only came up to an adult's waist.
The signs displayed unfamiliar writing and pictures alongside Hangul.
People with ears, tails, and horns naturally came and went along the streets.
The feeling was completely different from the images I had seen on the news.
On the screen, they had stood out.
Here, I was the one who stood out for having no distinguishing features at all.
The gazes of passersby occasionally lingered on me.
"Are you nervous?"
Sera asked.
"A little."
"Don't worry too much. Places where people live are all pretty similar."
Sera pushed up her glasses and moved close beside me.
"Still, there are a few things you should be careful about."
"Like what?"
"Don't take pictures without permission, and don't ask if you can touch their ears or tails."
"Why would anyone ask that?"
"Because a lot of humans do. That's why I'm telling you."
Sera's answer was dry.
"And don't say things like, 'You look more human than I expected.'"
"People actually say things like that?"
"All the time."
I shut my mouth.
A mistake made out of ignorance was still the same mistake to the person on the receiving end.
"Got it. I'll be careful."
"You don't have to be that scared."
Sera gave a small laugh.
"At the company, you're my senior, Kim daeri-nim, but here I'll be your guide."
The first place we visited was a shop registered in the documents as a household-goods wholesaler.
However, a restaurant occupied the address.
"The shop that used to be here?"
A restaurant employee tilted their head.
"It moved out last year."
"Do you happen to know where it moved?"
"I think it went out of business."
The records still listed it as operating normally.
It was ominous from the very beginning.
We succeeded in finding the second company.
However, the moment I revealed the company name, the owner who came out from the back stiffened.
"Market research?"
"Yes. Could we talk for just a moment?"
"Got nothing to say."
The owner shut the door as if there were no need to hear anything more.
The third was similar.
The moment I mentioned market research, they started waving me away.
"We have no intention of doing business with a human company."
"Could I at least ask why?"
"I'm telling you, I'm tired of explaining why."
The door closed.
All we had gained in an hour was one piece of information about a business closing and two rejections.
A venture the company hadn't expected much from had produced no response worth expecting in the field, either.
"Are you all right?"
Sera asked carefully.
"I'm fine."
There was no way I was fine.
I wondered if I had merely wasted my time, just as Department Head Choi had said.
But if I went back now, that really would be all I had accomplished.
I couldn't make a big show of confidence in front of Sera, go so far as to secure permission, and then give up after a few rejections.
"Where to next?"
"A little farther in."
Sera looked at me and gave a small smile.
"Why?"
"It's nothing."
"What is it?"
"You're more persistent than I expected."
The words "than I expected" bothered me a little.
Still, I decided to take it as a compliment.
The fourth place we visited was a small shop that dealt in both clothing and household goods.
Through the window, I saw pants with tail openings and shirts with wide slits cut into the back.
The shop owner was a middle-aged woman with foxlike ears.
She, too, grew wary the moment she heard the company name.
"You're from a human company?"
"Yes. We're considering entering the demi-human market."
"What are you trying to bring us this time?"
"We haven't decided on a specific product yet. We'd like to investigate what sort of demand exists first...."
"I already don't like the way you put that."
The owner grumbled as she refolded the clothes on the display rack.
"Human companies always ask only what we need. Do you think we can't make a single proper product ourselves?"
She pointed to the pants hanging by the window.
"The last company that came here brought pants with one tail hole cut into them and called them a new product. Those have been all over this place for ten years."
"......."
"Cleaning products, furniture, clothes. We have companies that make those things here, and we have trends, too. But humans act like we're primitive people encountering civilization for the first time."
Her tone was sharp, but it felt less like anger and more like a long accumulation of complaints finally spilling out.
The moment I heard those words, I remembered the materials from the first meeting.
Every item dealt only with what we would sell to the district.
Not a single thing had been researched about what businesses in the district made or what they sold.
"In that case, could you show me some products you believe would also be competitive in the human market?"
At my question, the owner's ears slowly perked up.
"You're the first human to ask me that."
The owner brought several items from the back of the shop.
A lock whose position could be changed according to the user's body shape.
A completely odorless cleaning product made for species with sensitive noses.
Even household goods that changed shape to fit the user's size.
They had initially been made for demi-humans, but they were products that could easily be useful in the human market as well.
The conversation I had expected to end in a few words continued for nearly thirty minutes.
I wrote down the features of each product and the points where the supply process had run into trouble.
I couldn't judge the entire market based on the story of one shop.
"Could you introduce me to more companies that make products like these?"
The owner thought for a moment, then wrote down two addresses.
"If you mention my name, they'll at least hear you out. Just don't make empty promises about signing contracts."
"Thank you."
As we left the shop, Sera followed close beside me.
"You're good at this."
"At what?"
"You immediately changed the direction of your questions. Most people just read through the survey they prepared."
"There was no reason not to ask when good products were right in front of me."
"But that's completely different from the research the company assigned you."
"It's the same."
"Excuse me?"
"If I find out what they're good at making, I can also see where they're running into trouble."
I lightly shook the addresses I had received.
"If the products are good but distribution is blocked, then the weakness we can exploit isn't the product. It's distribution."
"So in the end, you're looking for an opening for our company to enter."
"That's what market research is."
At my answer, Sera blinked, then smiled faintly.
"I suppose you're right."
By the time we heard more from the two shops I had been introduced to and came back out, it was past three in the afternoon.
Only then did I realize I had skipped lunch.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm starving."
"Why didn't you say so sooner?"
"You were having so much fun asking questions, Kim daeri-nim. How could I interrupt you?"
I wanted to deny the accusation that I had been having fun.
But I was the one who had filled an entire notebook.
"Let's eat something, at least."
"There's a restaurant nearby that I know."
Sera led the way.
It was a small restaurant tucked away inside an alley.
The sign bore Hangul alongside a crescent-moon-shaped emblem.
The inside was more ordinary than I expected.
The only differences were the wide spaces between the tables and the chairs, each with a different shape.
"A table for two?"
An employee with short horns on their head asked.
"Yes."
"I'll show you to a window seat."
We sat facing each other at a table in the corner.
The menu contained even more writing I couldn't understand.
The parts written in Hangul only listed the names of the dishes, so it was difficult to tell what ingredients they contained.
"What's good here?"
"The basic set meal is a safe choice."
While confirming the order, Sera suddenly stood up.
"Just a moment. I need to take a quick call."
"Okay."
Sera stepped outside the restaurant.
A little while later, an employee brought over a water pitcher.
Then, after looking at Sera's bag across from me, they asked me,
"The person you came with is a succubus, right?"
Apparently, they could tell even though she was wearing glasses.
"Yes."
"She's your companion, correct?"
I assumed they were simply asking about the person who had come with me.
"Yes. We came together."
The employee nodded as if this were perfectly familiar.
"Then I'll prepare something suited to both of you."
"Please make it the basic set meal."
"Of course. The basic set coming right up."
The food arrived before long.
A small hot pot filled with red broth and a bowl of rice were placed in front of me.
A meat dish topped with a dark-red sauce was placed at Sera's seat.
"Our dishes are different?"
"The set meals are served according to your species."
The employee answered that way and walked off.
Sera returned to her seat just as she finished her call.
"Did you order?"
"They brought out the basic set."
"That's how it normally works here. They make small adjustments based on the customer's species."
Sera sat down without the slightest suspicion.
It was a late meal.
For a while, we said nothing and focused on eating.
The red hot pot wasn't spicy at all, contrary to its appearance.
It had a sweet, slightly bitter aroma, and the meat melted softly in my mouth.
More than anything, every bite made me feel strength returning to my body.
The stamina I had lost over the weekend was being replenished from the inside out.
"This is pretty good."
"Tasty, right?"
"Yeah. It tastes like some kind of restorative tonic."
"District cuisine uses a lot of ingredients infused with magic. Quite a few of them suit humans well, too."
I finished every last drop of the broth.
By the time I set down the empty bowl, I felt lighter than I had in a long time.
At least, at first.
While organizing the results of our investigation after the meal, a strange heat began to rise inside me.
At first, I thought it was because I had eaten something warm.
But the heat didn't subside even as time passed.
Instead, my heartbeat gradually grew faster.
Sweat began to seep beneath my shirt.
I loosened my constricting tie with my fingers.
"Kim daeri-nim."
"Yeah?"
"Your face is red."
"It must be a little hot in here."
"It's not hot."
Sera studied my face closely.
Our eyes met through her glasses.
In that moment, the sweet scent became unusually vivid.
It was a familiar scent.
Sera's natural fragrance, which I had smelled all weekend.
Just having that smell reach the tip of my nose made the heat inside my body surge violently.
Without realizing it, I pressed my back against the chair.
"Are you really all right?"
Sera reached across the table.
The back of her cool hand touched my forehead.
"You're burning up."
The moment her skin touched mine, a sensation like an electric current spread all the way to the nape of my neck.
"...Kim daeri-nim?"
"Uh, yeah...?"
I was so absorbed in the sensation Sera's skin gave me that my reaction came a beat late.
More than anything, the scent coming from Sera was the problem.
Every time Sera exhaled or moved, the distinctive scent of a succubus relentlessly burrowed into my brain.
My cock swelled rock-hard with a mind of its own.
The front of my dress pants bulged so tightly that it felt as if they might burst, making it difficult even to keep my legs properly together beneath the table.
"Haa... haa..."
Ragged breaths escaped my mouth before I could stop them.
Sera noticed my strange behavior, and her expression hardened.
She pulled the empty bowl in front of me toward herself.
At the bottom of the bowl, hidden beneath the broth, was a small crescent moon and heart emblem.
Sera examined the emblem, then lifted her head.
"Kim daeri-nim. Who ordered this?"
"The employee prepared it on their own."
"What did they ask you?"
"If I had come with a succubus."
"That was all?"
"They also asked if she was my companion."
"And what did you say?"
"I said she was."
"Oh, no..."
Sera closed her eyes.
A short sigh slipped between her lips.
"What's wrong?"
"...Companion doesn't mean someone who simply came with you."
"Then...?"
Blushing, Sera leaned toward me and whispered,
"It means a semen donor who has sex with a succubus..."
"Uh...?"
"So, this is.... a Succubus Companion-only Aphrodisiac Tonic Meal that lets you keep going even while a succubus squeezes every last drop out of your body all night long."
Having said that, Sera imparted one rather shocking fact to me.
"If a human man eats that whole bowl... even if he ejaculates again and again, his dick won't go soft—it'll stay erect for at least three days, you know?"