The Memories of a Succubus
Char-shilla was groaning in agony. Her eyes felt like they were burning, and her head throbbed as if it were being scorched by fire. She called out for Charle, but there was no answer. When did she leave the house? And for what purpose? Char-shilla bit her lip. She could guess the reason from the sad, resolute expression Charle had worn while wiping her forehead earlier. She had gone to a brothel to sell her first experience.
'Charle, you don't have the talent for acting in reality. Just take customers in your dreams.' She had wanted to protect Charle, even with such lies. It is said that centuries ago, succubi wandered through the dreams of the human realm to harvest spiritual energy. Succubi who wanted to mingle their bodies with humans would engage in direct intercourse, while those who only wanted to harvest energy would stick to wandering through dreams. While succubi as a species are fond of sexual activity, there are individual differences. And in Char-shilla’s eyes, Charle was not the type to enjoy intercourse. She was the type satisfied solely by the mana earned in dreams. She knew this just by looking at the books Charle read: King Lear, Dracula, Shakespeare. To think that a child who preferred literature over adult erotica would be forced into brothel work... but because she herself had fallen ill and collapsed, there was no other choice. If she didn't sell her body, they would have to worry about survival.
'I didn't want to make Charle sell her body.' Char-shilla bit her lip again, pulling the blanket tighter. In the days when they could cross over to the human realm, succubi had flourished, but everything changed after Goethe's book was published. Before Faust was written, demons who crossed over to the human realm were rare. But Faust, which spread throughout the Demon Realm, fueled the demons' delusional fantasies. Like the Gold Rush of the 1900s, they believed that if they just crossed over to the human realm, they could return with massive amounts of souls. After that, demons flocked to the human realm. Among the demons who crossed over believing the rumors, the stupid ones were deceived and exploited by humans, the average ones made deals that were harmful to both sides, and only the most cunning demons deceived kings to incite wars and snatch the souls of the dead.
Wise demons in the Demon Realm worried. Is this really okay? And their worries came true. The gates collapsed. For the demons, it might have ended with just one big score, but the humans who suffered miserable fates due to deals with demons spread rumors. That contracting with a demon corrupts the soul. That everything would be taken away. People stopped trusting demons, and the Templar Knights found and closed every open gate. Succubi who lived without harming humans, imps who made a living through light pranks, and lower-class demons were thrown into a panic. The gates were closed, and the way to reach humans vanished. The children born were abandoned to starvation. Since then, the Demon Realm became a true hell.
The actual Hell (not in a metaphorical sense) was fine and a livable place. The gates that accepted those receiving punishment were forged by God Himself, so they didn't close, and in the first place, that side was managed by Satan, the King of Hell, so it was connected to God. But the Demon Realm, with its gates closed, withered away. It was so bad that the jailers of Hell looked at the beings of the Demon Realm and pitied them as much as the sinners. Only a tiny fraction could use the gates that even appeared in Dante's Divine Comedy. It was a benefit that a low-ranking succubus like Char-shilla couldn't even dream of. The same went for other demons. A hellscape unfolded in the Demon Realm. A world where you squeeze the life out of the living, and even if you work hard, there is no food to put in your mouth. A life without hope that tomorrow will be better than today. A life endured while being whipped like a mule. And, the one jewel remaining in this desolate world. My lovely younger sister, Charle. Ah, Charle. I didn't want to make you work in a brothel. It would have been enough for me alone to endure such an unhappy world.
Char-shilla bit her lip. Her fever rose again. Her body, having only drunk water for days, trembled. She curled up in the cold, and then the door opened. "Sister, I'm back!"
"Charle... you're back...? But, what's in your hand?"
Charle's basket was full. Char-shilla closed her eyes at the dizzying sensation. Where did she get the money? As if answering her question, Charle said, "Actually, I was going to have my first experience today, but fortunately, I just showed them my naked body and it ended there. It was a bit scary, though..." She was smiling brightly, but her voice trembled. The red handprint on her neck was noticeable. The tear tracks around her eyes. The bruises left on her cheeks. Charle stood in the kitchen, pretending to be cheerful. "I got three gold coins! There's meat and oats, too. Tell me whenever you want to eat porridge. I'll mix honey and salt in water for you, so just wait a little, Sister. Just lie down!"
Charle quickly mixed honey water and brought it to Char-shilla. Food bought by her younger sister while suffering such a miserable fate. She didn't want to put it in her mouth, but her hands subconsciously took the cup. The food, appearing after three days of fasting, made her stomach churn. Char-shilla sniffled in guilt and drank the liquid. Sweetness spread through her mouth. "I'm sorry, Charle. I'm sorry... It's all because I'm sick... If I weren't sick, this wouldn't have happened..."
"Sister, this is just work... Why are you crying? Don't cry." Charle smiled and leaned her head on her sister's lap. Sister is alive now. So everything is fine. After a week of nursing, Char-shilla was finally able to escape the red plague. Char-shilla secretly sighed in relief. You're all better, so it's okay. Now, Charle will never have to sell her body again. I'll just let her dream.
But something was strange. In the brothel, the customers who had the dreams Charle created all complained. 'The dream was weird. The woman in the dream was trembling. Is she sick?' 'Ugh, it wasn't a sexy dream, it was a nightmare! Damn it! Give me a refund!' It seemed that because Charle's first experience stopped just before rape, a deep wound remained in her mind. Char-shilla quelled their complaints by letting them have the dream one more time, but she couldn't find a way to heal Charle. Since that day, Charle sat staring blankly into space more often.
'Charle, are you okay?'
'I'm okay. But I think I'm half-witted. Since that day, I'm so scared... It's hard to even create dreams.'
Although she wasn't penetrated, Charle, having experienced a violent situation, was cowering. Char-shilla was sad. 'Charle. That's not your fault. Anyone would be hurt and struggle if they went through that...' My lovely younger sister, Charle. This is Hell. You are too fragile to live here. Go to the human realm. Live with humans. 'Charle. Remember what I said. If you see a gate, jump into it. For low-ranking succubi like us to survive, that's the only way—'
Sister Char-shilla's last words echoed in her mind. Charle snapped her eyes open. Her body was drenched in sweat. 'What was that. An old dream?' She reached out and felt the soft blanket. She looked to the side and saw Kangmin sleeping soundly. It seemed the dream with Yuda had ended when Yuda fell asleep. Kangmin must have fallen asleep with her then. But Charle had dreamed of the past. It must have been because Yuda's experience overlapped with her own.
'It's been a while since I had a dream about the past...' Charle, her sleep completely gone, poked Kangmin's cheek. He made a groaning sound and turned over. He's cute when he's like this. Even if he's aggressive when we have sex. Charle rested her chin on her hand and let out a deep sigh. 'Does Kangmin Oppa know my heart?'
When she crossed the gate, she lacked mana. So she placed a restriction and received a bit more mana. It was a promise to contract with the first man she saw after coming out of the gate. The gate was satisfied and accepted that promise. Isn't there an old story? A merchant who was helped by a wanderer promised to give him the first thing he saw when he entered his house. And when the merchant entered his house, his daughter welcomed him with a smile, so he married his daughter off to the wanderer. That was why Charle was nervous coming out of the gate. She was afraid she might run into a strange person, but Kangmin was a decent enough man. His memories were also interesting. She felt a sense of camaraderie, especially in the fact that he had experienced poverty just like her, and she could accept that his sexual tastes were intense. Kangmin would stop if she said she truly hated it. Unlike the orc back then. That point gave her peace of mind.
'Still, I was terrified because he tried to kick me out. If I hadn't been able to contract, the gate would have sent me back to the Demon Realm.'
Her first experience with Kangmin, who had hesitated while rejecting her, was good. She had done it many times in dreams, but having sex with her body was truly different. Not being the one taken, but being the one in control, riding on top of Kangmin. 'At first, I made a lot of mistakes because I thought Oppa liked being NTR'd.' Charle had misread Kangmin's tastes at first and approached him with a slutty + NTR preference. She pretended to be a slut on purpose, asking things like, 'How about doing it with someone else?' making him suffer. It was much later that she realized her mistake. It was funny, Charle chuckled. 'And I also like that I don't have to worry about having sex with other men.'
That was what Charle worried about. Would he make me sell my body to other men, like in the brothel? But as a result of probing him by pretending to be a slut, that didn't seem to be the case. He said he liked pure love. 'And yet, he likes hardcore play. Well, that's Oppa's taste. I don't hate it that much either... Since Oppa likes it, I find myself getting immersed in it without realizing it...' Charle blushed. Enemas, anal, maybe later he'll do even more hardcore play. Still, it was fine. Sister Char-shilla wouldn't have known, but there were a few erotic books hidden under the bed. She wasn't a naive girl who only read literature. The problem Charle was worried about was different. Does Kangmin Oppa love me? Honestly, she thought it would be nice if Kangmin loved her.