The Magical Girl Has Surrendered to the Succubus (1)
[Beep— After the tone, you will be connected to voicemail——]
Several days had passed since Lupin got his hands on me.
Whenever I recalled what happened or saw those humiliating photos of myself floating around on social media, a wave of gloom would hit me. But the moment I thought about the limited-edition Rubii merch I'd scored as loot (the stuff Lupin had left behind), my mood recovered instantly.
Ahh, pure bliss.
Surrounded by this much merch…
I could stare at Bunny Bunny Rubii all day. I could flip up the skirt of her 1/4 scale figure, peel off her panties, and give her a good lick. Since I had two of each—one for display and one for practical use—I could do it as much as I wanted. I could even hug that life-sized body pillow that moaned lewdly whenever you pressed it…!
This was heaven.
On top of that, a few ultra-rare premium goods that had been out of print were mixed in… Just what the hell is that guy's real identity?
Maybe it came with being a phantom thief. Did he just hoard anything valuable?
Anyway.
I'd taken some losses, sure, but the gains far outweighed them. If I decided it was a net positive, then it was a net positive.
Would that Lupin bastard show up again?
If I caught him next time, I'd torture him until he coughed up every last coin with Rubii's face on it.
……Though I might end up being the one getting caught instead.
Whatever it was, that Submission Gauge thing had appeared.
Over time it had slowly decreased, now sitting at 71%, but…
Anyway.
While I was happily tearing open each package one by one, I somehow found a piece of Location Girl Lemon Yellow merch mixed in.
It was, of course, another ultra-rare premium limited item. Since she wasn't my favorite character, I was debating whether to keep it when Yura suddenly came to mind.
That piss-stained idiot liked Lemon Yellow, didn't she?
With that thought, I tried calling her.
“……? She's not picking up.”
She hadn't read any of my texts, either. No replies to messages. No answer to calls.
Even her username on the Location Girl community site, LemonPissGulpGulp, hadn't been active recently.
Maybe something happened… I was starting to worry.
“You know anything about what happened that day?”
“Today's me wants pancakes, nyang. The Fluffy Honeyblood Pancakes place in front of W Station is supposed to be amazing. Go buy some right now, nyang.”
Shuk— Thunk!
“You know anything about what happened that day?”
“Kueee… F-Forks aren't used like that, nyang… Something precious is about to come out along with the cotton stuffing, nyang….”
Even threatening Cookie when he came over to the house didn't yield anything. He really didn't seem to know.
What the hell was going on?
If she was just busy with work, fine. But if she'd been captured by some monster and turned into a prisoner, that would be bad.
Well, she wasn't a kid. She could take care of herself.
“More importantly, Kei. We've got work, nyang. A rather dangerous monster has appeared, nyang.”
“About that, Cookie.”
“Nyang?”
“This is the first time I've seen you since that incident, you know?”
That incident referred to what happened at Mera Studio.
I'd been hypnotized, roughed up plenty, and even taken down the enemy boss, but the suspicious things Cookie had said back then still hadn't been cleared up.
Why did the fairies help us humans?
What was that stuff about brainwashing?
What exactly was Cookie hiding from me?
“If you don't spit out everything you're hiding, I'll stuff your body full of nails and screws instead of cotton.”
“Th-That's impossible, nyang…! It'll be too heavy to move, nyang… And more than anything, this soft, fluffy body will turn all bumpy and hard, nyang!”
“Hahahaha! If you don't want that, then start talking, you little shit!”
With a knife, scissors, and a pre-prepared bag of screws in hand, I threatened the fork-pinned Cookie, who broke out in a cold sweat and trembled violently.
He might look like a cute cat plush on the outside, but I knew exactly how dangerous this guy was. No amount of cuteness was going to save him!
“Up until now, I've been going along with whatever you wanted without thinking too hard. But this time, I'm not letting it slide.”
“Kuh….”
Without trust, we couldn't work together.
Of course, the biggest reason I did this job was money. Cookie's threats played a part, but the pay was decent and it was a novel experience.
Besides, being a magical girl ultimately meant protecting Earth. We were Earth's defense force, striking back against Mekrak's tyranny. Even if turning into a woman was annoying, it wasn't that inconvenient, and I figured the benefits were worth it.
But what if Cookie had some hidden agenda?
What if doing what he wanted actually harmed Earth instead?
What if our goals didn't align?
Once those thoughts took root, I couldn't just obey him like before.
Even in Location Girl, plenty of pure girls had suffered because of their fairies' schemes!
Having already learned that fairies couldn't be trusted at face value, I wasn't going to be an easy mark!
“Ah, I get it, nyang… If you're going to say that, then I have no choice….”
“Hmph. Don't get any funny ideas. Today, no amount of threats will make me back down. I won't let you go until you've scraped every last bit of that pitch-black underside out into the open!”
Still pinned to the wall, Cookie reached out with his tiny cat paw, opened a rift in space, and pulled something out from inside.
What he held was a rectangular slip of paper. It looked like some kind of ticket.
“I happened to find out in advance where a monster was going to appear… and it turns out to be the venue for the new Location Girl theatrical version's preview screening, nyang….”
.............Huh?
“After everything that happened at Mera Studio, I felt like I'd been working you too hard. So as a reward, I used my connections to get premium tickets for the screening, nyang… Even got the best VIP seats….”
Gulp. I swallowed unconsciously.
With a sigh, Cookie reached his other paw through the rift and pulled out a luxurious Zippo lighter that gleamed brilliantly.
With a sharp clink the lid flipped open, and a beautiful flame flickered to life.
“But after being suspected and threatened like this… I'm not feeling very motivated anymore, nyang… I think I'll just burn this ticket and disappear myself, nyang….”
“W-Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait!”
“Don't move, nyang!!!!!”
At Cookie's sharp command, my body—which had been about to lunge forward to stop him—froze in place.
“If you take even one step without my permission, I'll burn it right now, nyang!”
“H-Hey… calm down! Nobody's going to be happy if you do this!”
My fingertips trembled. I could feel the blood draining from my face.
A preview screening for the new Location Girl movie.
Thanks to its massive success, Location Girl was introducing the revolutionary new 6D technology. The opening and ending songs were composed by the famous Italian artist Tivari, funded by generous donations from China's top ten richest people, directed by the animation industry's pinnacle Amakachi Hon, and written by Korea's pride, writer Jo Annie. It was an ultra-ultra-ultra blockbuster.
That movie's!
Preview screening!
And premium VIP tickets on top of that!
“A world that suspects and hates me… has no value, nyang! I'll burn this ticket and become a bad kid too, nyang! I'll fall, nyang! Watch quietly as the hard Cookie becomes the moist Cookie, nyang!”
“Don't do it! I don't understand what the hell you're saying, but the ticket's innocent! Calm down, Cookie!”
“Nyaang! Don't you dare move again! Put down that weapon (the screws) right now and kneel on the floor with your hands behind your head, nyang!”
“F-Fine… Just don't hurt the hostage… I'll do whatever you say…!”
“Repeat ten times that Cookie is an invincible angel greater than any angel, nyang!”
“Cookie is an invincible angel greater than any angel, Cookie is an invincible angel greater than any angel, Cookie is an invincible angel greater than any angel, Cookie is an invincible angel greater than any angel, Cookie is an invincible angel greater than any angel…!”
“Are you still going to suspect me, nyang?!”
“I won't!”
“Isn't Cookie the best, nyang?!”
“Yes! Cookie is the best! Please forgive this foolish mortal for doubting you!”
“……Hmph.”
Still waving the ticket, Cookie kept flicking the lighter's lid open and closed with his other paw, as if threatening to burn it at any moment.
“You know, Kei, nyang. I do have things I'm definitely hiding, nyang. But every working adult has a secret or two, don't they, nyang?”
“W-Well, yeah….”
“If I think it's necessary, I'll tell you. So let's just move past this for now, nyang?”
“B-But….”
“Want me to burn it, nyang?”
“No! That's right! Having dozens of secrets wouldn't be strange at all!”
“Still going to interrogate me, nyang?”
“I absolutely won't!”
“I can't trust words alone… Write a written oath, nyang.”
With a flutter, a sheet of paper appeared before me. I quickly grabbed a pen and scribbled out a crude oath: [I will never interrogate Cookie again]. Below it, I even pressed my thumbprint in blood.
“Good… This is special contract paper from our Magic Land, nyang… If you break the terms written here, you'll be cursed with the Hand of Minus, nyang….”
“Th-The Hand of Minus…?”
I didn't know what it was, but the ominous ring of it made me gulp.
“That's right, nyang. The Hand of Minus is Magic Land's greatest curse… Any item you touch—especially figures or precious limited-edition goods—will instantly break, nyang!”
“Wh-What?!”
“Got it, Kei? Thanks to this contract, your limited-edition goods are now being held hostage, nyang!”
“Y-You're a demon… You must be a demon…!”
“Huhu, doesn't matter, nyang. To achieve my will, I'll become a demon or anything else, nyang… You wouldn't want to live a life where you can only look at your figures and merch with your eyes, would you, nyang?”
“Kuh, uuuuuuuu…!”
The Hand of Minus!
Not being able to flip up a figure's skirt, not being able to take off its panties, not being able to lick it—what kind of horrific curse was that?!
It was a curse that perfectly targeted otaku!
“But it's fine, nyang, Kei. As long as you don't make unnecessary suspicions about me, the curse won't activate.”
“Huh……?”
“Just trust me and follow along obediently, nyang. Didn't I even get you these premium VIP tickets for your sake, nyang?”
“C-Cookie….”
“Don't worry, nyang. Just follow me, nyang. Don't suspect me, nyang. Then maybe I'll give you another reward someday, nyang… Understand, nyang?”
“Y-Yes! I'll follow only Cookie for the rest of my life!”
“Still suspecting me, nyang?”
“Of course not! Cookie is truly a messenger sent by God! It would be absurd to suspect someone like you!”
“Then you'll pull out the fork stuck in my neck too, nyang?”
“How could I commit such a rude act!”
“Huhu, I'll forgive you, nyang. I'm generous, after all, nyang.”
“O-Ooooooh… As expected of Cookie…!”
The sight of me kneeling and sobbing while receiving the ticket from Cookie resembled some kind of fanatic, but.
Overwhelmed with nothing but the joy of being able to attend the Location Girl theatrical preview screening, I didn't notice a thing.
Even my worries about Yura had completely slipped my mind.
“And so, the delivery was a success, nyang.”
[The magical girl you chose—is that really okay, kkekko?]
“As long as she's competent, it doesn't matter, nyang. Even if it doesn't look like it, she managed to defeat Mekrak's secret weapon, the Colossus, nyang.”
[Hoh, that Colossus… Then she really is impressive, kkekko.]
“Still, I was surprised when you suddenly contacted me, nyang. And a gift on top of that… It was perfect timing since I needed something to tempt Kei with, nyang.”
[For an old friend from Magic Land I haven't seen in a while, this much is nothing, kkekko. Glad you liked the tickets I made myself, kkekko.]
“Yeah. I liked th—made yourself?”
[That's right, kkekko. Premium tickets are expensive, so how else would I get them, kkekko? Still, I'm glad she was happy with the ones I made by hand, kkekko.]
“........”
[Is there a problem, kko?]
“No, no problem at all, nyang. Yeah. It should be fine.”
[Then that's a relief, kkekko. Let's meet again sometime, kkekko.]
“Y-Yeah…… Kei should be okay, right, nyang?”
The date on the ticket Cookie gave me was tomorrow.
Whoa, a preview screening!
Whoa, finally!
Even among Location Girl fans, I was at the very bottom of the barrel. Was it really okay for me to be here, skipping over thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of seniors ahead of me?
Thinking that made me feel a bit guilty, but what overwhelmed that feeling was an unbearable sense of pride.
Location Girl fans each had their own rank, broadly divided into ten classes. There were fancy names for each from 1st to 10th grade, but I'll skip those for now.
These ranks weren't determined by simple first-come-first-served. If they were, newer fans who only recently learned about Location Girl would be at a disadvantage.
That's why, aside from the one-month probationary period to graduate from apprentice rank, Location Girl didn't care about length of experience.
What mattered afterward was pure meritocracy.
How many premium goods you'd collected.
How much you'd contributed to Location Girl.
Whether you'd had experiences with Location Girl that others hadn't.
You stacked these achievements one by one, sublimating them into the form of Feats, gradually raising your rank as a fan.
For example, the reviews and missionary work I'd done for Location Girl so far counted as such Feats.
Anyway.
Attending a premium preview screening while skipping over even the seniors… This was definitely a Feat. If I kept raising my rank, I could access information shared only among high-ranking fans, and even get chances at dream-tier merchandise I'd never been able to reach before.
Good grief.
My happiness circuit was spinning so fast I felt like I was going to lose my mind. I was about to start drooling and grinning like an idiot right here.
That would be embarrassing in front of everyone. I couldn't do that.
'Ehehehe… Preview screening… I haven't slept in a month because I'm so excited…'
'Me too, me too. Maybe I'll finally reach 1st grade… Huhehehe…'
That's what I thought, but there were several others nearby wearing the exact same dazed, blissful expressions.
This was the venue for the Location Girl preview screening.
Right. This place was packed with terrifying seniors I couldn't even compare to.
“There are a lot of people….”
I quietly muttered while looking around at the excited, chattering crowd.
This was the lobby of the theater for the screening. Even though there were still thirty minutes until entry, it was already this packed. Once the time came, we'd show our tickets and sit in our assigned seats.
“Alpha must've been so jealous….”
Last night, I'd used all my strength to subdue Alpha when she tried to assassinate me to steal the ticket. Right now she was probably rolled up like a pill bug in a corner of my room, unable to move.
And Yura…
“.............I'm worried.”
Now that I thought about it again.
Worry welled up once more. She still hadn't responded at all. What the hell happened to that girl?
“Mekrak… huh.”
Mekrak's goal was to invade Earth and suck magic power from women.
In Location Girl too, there were otherworldly villains who invaded for the same reason. So it wasn't hard to understand.
Then why did Magic Land side with Earth?
Were they simply messengers of justice?
Rubii's fairy partner Nyangnyang-kun lent her power out of a genuine sense of justice.
But other fairies had their own motives for empowering magical girls, and some of them threatened Earth even more than the enemies the girls fought.
Whether fairy or human, nobody moved without profit.
Anyway, the reason Magic Land's fairies sided with Earth's people and magical girls—I had a vague feeling, almost like instinct, that I absolutely couldn't afford to overlook it.
'No, right now I need to focus entirely on Location Girl… I can't waste resources on this.'
I shook my head vigorously to push everything else out of my mind.
That's when it happened.
『Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!』
A scream…?
From deep inside the theater, beyond the passage that wasn't supposed to allow entry yet, came a woman's scream.
At the same time.
Rumble rumble rumble—
『H-Huh?!』
『An earthquake……?!』
A terrifying vibration swept over the theater. The ceiling and floor shook.
This feeling… This was… a monster?!
“No way?!”
The realization lasted only a moment.
The next instant.
The venue's windows and walls shattered outward as if exploding, and screams erupted from all directions.
And from the broken windows and walls, monsters of clearly abnormal size began pouring in one after another.
“Wahahahaha! We are Mekrak's monsters! Foolish and ignorant humans of Earth, we won't do anything rough, so just surrender obediently!”
……Come to think of it, Cookie had said monsters would appear here.
I'd completely forgotten.
