Succubus Kim Nari
"Did it work? Did we succeed?"
"Not yet. We need to wait a little longer."
Nari heard two voices.
"You've been saying 'wait' for ten minutes already. You said we'd have an answer in five."
"My predictions aren't always right. But both of them are still alive, so watching and waiting is the right call."
Both voices sounded familiar. Nari's mind was still too hazy to place them.
"...Then can't we at least separate them? I... I can't look at that."
Separate them? Separate who? Ah—that's Nayeon's voice.
Then came a voice that sounded faintly teasing.
"Still?"
Nari knew whose voice that was. It was Kayla.
Nari had a favorable opinion of Kayla—not just because she was a mage, but because she was supporting Nayeon like this right now.
"C-can't we? They'll be embarrassed too! Fine for you, Kayla, but what about me and Elena?"
"We can't separate them yet. For the two of them to stay connected, their bodies have to remain linked."
But who are they talking about separating this whole time? And why would it be embarrassing?
Nari slowly opened her eyes.
Something was right in front of her face. It was so close she couldn't make it out at first, but gradually she realized it was a person's face.
...Jungmin?
Jungmin was lying on top of her. Nari understood what Nayeon had meant about being embarrassed.
"Th-that's..."
"If it's hard to look at, you can just turn your head, unnie."
"...I don't know."
Still, she wondered if this was really something for Nayeon to be that embarrassed about.
They're just lying there...
Or so she thought.
That was when Nari felt something pressing into her lower abdomen—something hot and hard.
It hurts...
It was a pain she'd felt somewhere before. Nari recalled that the same thing had happened in the dream she'd just had.
Another dream?
Nari felt pathetic. She'd never had dreams like this before, but lately they kept coming—always the same kind. It was disrespectful to the other person, too. Regardless of his consent, he was being violated in her dreams. The greater offense was summoning him into her dreams without any feelings for him at all.
She had never once thought of Jungmin as a man. Not just Jungmin—she'd never thought of anyone that way. She knew she was unusual, but what was she supposed to do about how she was born?
Time to wake up for real.
Nari brought both hands to her throat again—the way she always did, to choke herself awake.
"(Wait! Hey!)"
It hurt more than usual, but she didn't care—she squeezed with all her strength. That was how she woke up.
But someone stopped her.
"Unnie! What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!"
It was Nayeon.
"...Pretty realistic for a dream. It's fine, Nayeon. This is just a dream, right?"
Nari tried to shake off Nayeon's hands. But Nayeon was stronger than her—she couldn't break free. Before she knew it, Elena had come over and grabbed her other hand.
"...This isn't a dream. So snap out of it."
"...Then what about this guy?"
The pain in her lower abdomen was still there.
"Huh? That's... Kayla, just get them apart already."
"Not yet. Jungmin has to wake up first. Otherwise he'll be trapped in the Leader's mental world."
"Then wake him up already!"
Nari tried to get a clear picture of what was going on. She saw Nayeon's flushed face, Kayla wearing what looked like a faint smile, and Elena looking relieved. And Jungmin, who had somehow already opened his eyes.
Jungmin gave an awkward smile and spoke.
"Leader, are you all right?"
At the sound of his voice, Nari realized this was all real.
So she fainted again.
"...Unnie? Unnie!"
"So this is how things ended up?"
"Yes. We're deeply sorry for proceeding without your consent, Leader. But we had no other choice. We'll accept whatever punishment you give us."
Nari looked at the people in front of her. Nayeon, Jungmin, Kayla, Elena. All four were kneeling.
"Ahem..."
When Nari cleared her throat, all four flinched and trembled. It was a little cute. Not that it was anything worth fretting over. It was a bit—no, quite a lot—embarrassing, but that was all. If you thought about it, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Was anyone embarrassed about showing their body to a doctor?
"Would you all please stand up now?"
"Huh? No, um..."
Despite Nari's words, they just fidgeted and couldn't bring themselves to stand. Jungmin was trembling the most.
"Don't make me say it twice. Stand up, please."
"Y-yes!"
Nari found it rather enjoyable watching the four of them squirm in front of her. But she decided that was enough. If anything, she was the one who should be grateful.
Nari bowed at the waist.
"Thank you for risking yourselves to save me. Nayeon for giving me her life force, Kayla for working so hard with her magic, Elena for standing guard so reliably, and Jungmin for staking his life to enter my mental world—thank you all. I owe you my life."
They each reacted differently to her formal gratitude.
"No, unnie, you don't have to—"
Nayeon tried to lift Nari up.
"I only did what I had to."
"(I didn't really do anything.)"
Kayla and Elena smiled calmly.
"We're the ones who owe you our lives. Without you, Leader, the succubus would have killed us all. Thank you, truly."
Jungmin bowed in return.
They're all good people.
Nari thought herself lucky. People who tried to look out for each other rather than use each other—that wasn't common these days.
"Then let's call it even—we saved each other's lives. That settles it. How's the Gate cleanup going?"
"Oh, Garam oppa's handling that."
If Garam was handling it, there was nothing more to worry about.
"Got it. Then let's discuss the next issue."
"Next issue? Unnie, are you hurt?"
Nari gave a reassuring smile to Nayeon, whose eyes had gone wide.
"No, it's not that. But something has changed. I think Kayla or Elena might be able to help."
"What is it?"
"My potential has increased dramatically."
"After going through something so major, an increase in potential is only natural. A rise of about two points is something that occasionally happens in our world."
Kayla answered Nari's implied question. Raising potential by even one point was difficult. A rise of two was worthy of being called dramatic. But if it were only that much, Nari wouldn't have brought it up.
"It went up by exactly twenty-six. It doubled."
"...What?"
Nayeon's eyes went twice as wide as before. She was shocked that the potential had risen, and shocked again that Nari had revealed the exact number. Any number on a status window was personal information that should be kept secret.
"A-are you sure you should be telling us that..."
Jungmin was flustered by that part as well.
"It's fine. I trust all of you."
Nari herself didn't mind at all. If she couldn't trust these people, there was no one in the world she could trust. She led the crew with the sharp edge of a blade in a world full of betrayal—but even she needed a place she could call home. Nayeon had already been in that circle, and now Jungmin, Kayla, and Elena had joined it.
"Understood. I'll make sure to live up to that trust."
"You already have."
Nari wasn't particularly surprised that a smile came to her lips on its own. Jungmin deserved that kind of regard. Entering someone else's mental world meant being prepared to die. They'd said the odds of winning were high, but if he'd lost, they all would have died. On top of that, he'd had to have sex with her—something he hadn't wanted. Jungmin felt bad as if he'd forced her, but Nari felt bad as if she'd forced him.
And finally, Jungmin had already repaid her beyond any expectation. When she'd given him a ten-percent stake, she never imagined it would come back to her like this. So she found herself looking forward to it a little. How much would it come back as this time?
"...If it rose by that much..."
After things had settled a bit, Kayla—who had been lost in thought—spoke up.
"There's a high probability you've fused with the succubus."
"...What? What does that mean? Is she okay?"
Nayeon reacted with alarm before Nari could. Nari was quite shocked herself. She'd thought it was some kind of anomaly, but she never expected to hear she'd fused with a succubus.
"We'll have to monitor the situation, but I think you'll be fine. Has anything else changed besides your potential? Any magic or skills that have come to mind?"
"Nothing else. No magic or skills that I know of."
There were no other changes on Nari's status window. Just the potential. That alone was an astonishing change, though.
"It might still be in the process of fusing, so if anything else comes to mind, please tell me right away."
"Understood. So is this... a good thing?"
"Yes. It's a good thing."
Having Kayla around was truly a blessing. With an expert like her, the slight unease Nari had felt completely vanished. So now she could simply savor the joy.
"So unnie is... S-class now?"
"Not yet, but maybe someday?"
Filling that potential would take time, and there was no guarantee she could fill it all—but it was completely different from before, when there'd been no hope at all.
"Wow! That's amazing! Congrats, unnie!"
"Congratulations, Leader."
Nari answered the congratulations with a smile.
Finally, I can actually be useful to the crew!
Nari, who'd barely scraped by as a C-class, had been reborn as a Keeper with S-class potential. Now she could become the kind of leader who'd stand at the front—the kind she'd always wanted to be.
That night.
Exhausted from everything that had happened, Nari fell asleep early. She'd been unconscious for three days, but that could hardly be called sleep.
Nari dreamed. It was strange. She didn't usually dream much. And once again, Jungmin appeared in her dream.
"Ha, again..."
"...Leader?!"
Jungmin was naked again this time. So was Nari.
"This is a dream this time, right?"
"Huh? A d-dream... I guess?"
Jungmin spoke while covering his crotch. His voice wasn't sleazy—it felt a little different from the dream she'd had in the cave.
Still, it's a dream. There's no way I'd actually be like this with Jungmin. But why does it keep being him? Don't tell me I...
Unlike Jungmin, Nari didn't cover her chest or crotch. This was already the fourth time something like this had happened. Showing her naked body to Jungmin wasn't even embarrassing anymore. She boldly looked him up and down.
Nice face, broad shoulders, solid chest. Well-trained abs, thick thighs...
Jungmin had a body he wouldn't be ashamed to show anywhere. Nari fully agreed. But that was as far as it went. As someone without sexual desire, it didn't go any further for her. She had no urge to touch him, no desire to kiss him.
As I thought... there's something different about me.
What they called an asexual. Nari knew what she was. She had no complaints. If she'd had complaints, she wouldn't have been asexual in the first place. She was content with who she was.
But her body didn't seem content with the current state of things. Without her even realizing it, wetness was gathering between her legs.
...Huh?
This was a first for Nari. Her face went red.
"...Leader?"
"D-don't come closer."
"Leader? Are you all right?"
At that sweet voice, her heart suddenly started pounding. She clearly wasn't thinking anything, yet her body was reacting on its own.
"Stop!"
"Y-yes!"
Jungmin, who had been approaching, stopped as she'd ordered. And then, instead, Nari walked toward him. This wasn't her will either.
"Wait, wait..."
Nari knelt in front of Jungmin. Right in front of her was the hand covering his crotch. She pushed his hand aside.
"...Leader?"
His large, imposing cock came into view.
"Close your eyes! Close them!"
Even in a dream, her body wouldn't obey her. The only thing she could control was her voice. But it seemed she wouldn't be able to use even that much longer.
At last, her hand wrapped around Jungmin's cock. And she brought her mouth toward it.
"Haa, no, haa, I said no!"
Just as it was about to touch her lips, Nari woke from the dream.
"No!"
"What isn't allowed?"
"...Huh?"
Kayla and Elena were right in front of her. And Jungmin, lying on the bed.
"...Where am I?"
"Elena's room."
"Why am I here? And why is Jungmin sleeping here?"
She instinctively sensed something odd about Jungmin being in Elena's room. Being in Kayla's room would make sense since they were dating, but Elena's room was suspicious. Even without sexual desire, a woman's instincts worked just fine.
"Is that really what matters right now, Miss Succubus Kim Nari?"
"...What?"
When Nari asked back in confusion, Kayla let out a sigh—a sigh that somehow carried resignation.
"Leader, you just entered Jungmin's dream and came back out. Do you understand?"
"...What did you just say?"
Nari froze with her mouth hanging open.
Power gained suddenly always came with side effects.