“Sophia.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Are you okay? You’ve been losing focus.”
“Oh, I’m totally fine, seriously!”
I was definitely not fine, but I managed to pretend to be in front of Kyle.
But come on, I couldn’t just spill what happened today, right?
If I did, I might actually consider signing up for a one-way trip to the afterlife.
“Stop with the weird comments and toss me that document next to you. I can’t reach it.”
I tried to redirect Kyle’s attention.
Anyway, this wasn’t going to change anything for me, but anything was better than continuing our previous conversation.
I started going through the papers Kyle handed me, diving back into work.
Kyle, too, returned to looking at documents like nothing had happened.
Honestly, I was baffled why I was making such a fuss over something that hadn’t even happened in reality.
It was a clear fact that I touched Kyle and all that jazz, but at the same time, it felt like a blatant lie.
After all, that stuff all went down in a dream.
Kyle hadn’t exactly released his… essence in real life, and none of that actually happened.
So if I did something in the dream, then of course, I didn’t do it in reality, right?
I knew it was a weak argument, but anyway…
I wanted to believe that.
I wasn’t a pervert, and I definitely wouldn’t do such things like that.
Even if I did, it was not because I wanted to.
Absolutely not.
“Ha….”
“Sophia, about those documents over there…”
Well, it was time to focus on work.
My head felt a bit fuzzy, but I wanted to do what I wished with Kyle.
But working properly was the priority.
*
“Kyle, nothing strange happened today, right?”
“All of a sudden?”
“Yeah, just curious. It’s summer now… if you aren’t feeling well, that would be bad, right?”
The truth was, summer had nothing to do with it, but I just had to toss that line out there.
After everything that happened today, I felt better than usual.
If I had wings, I could have soared right now!
It was tough to admit, but there was only one reason for it.
The succubus had definitely taken a bite of the manly essence.
Naturally, the effects would show up.
Of course, I still didn’t know the full extent about succubi, but it was only natural to think that way.
I had always thought that succubi were all like that.
Even if that wasn’t the case, my current condition served as undeniable evidence against me.
“Um… I feel just the same as usual.”
“Really?”
“Yes, nothing to report, just a very normal feeling.”
“Is that so….”
Those words were different from what I had expected.
After all, I’d taken… a hint of that essence from Kyle.
I thought he’d feel tired or something.
Usually, in stories, succubi would end up killing knights through such means.
I didn’t know if that was real, but I’d heard enough of those stories to think that way.
There were tales about men being drained of energy until they died from it during… *ahem* activities.
Naturally, I thought Kyle would look a bit off, but he looked perfectly fine.
“Glad to hear that…”
“Why?”
“Um, it’s nothing! I just thought I saw someone looking unwell while wandering around the castle recently, and I got worried about you!”
I had no idea if such a person really existed, but I used it as an excuse.
After all, if Kyle were unwell, that was some bad news.
It should be fine.
“There shouldn’t be any reason for me to feel unwell. I exercise regularly and eat healthy food, way more nutritious than others.”
“That’s true.”
Kyle was right; there was genuinely no reason for him to feel unwell.
Kyle wasn’t a beggar, always eating the best and doing only healthful activities, so there was no way he should feel bad.
In conclusion, I felt relieved that Kyle was in good shape.
If my actions had affected his health, I’d really feel guilty.
While I was doing those things, my mind was a bit hazy, but one thing was clear—Kyle hadn’t been conscious.
So, effectively, I had snuck into Kyle’s dream and committed some—not so wholesome acts.
Of course, even though we called each other lovers, there was no consent whatsoever.
I had been swept up by sudden urges when I got distracted by Kyle’s, uh… assets.
“By the way, Sophia, do you still have that book from last time?”
“Huh, huh?! Of course, I tossed it away!?”
I was startled by the abrupt question but answered calmly.
Well, calm wasn’t exactly how I felt… but I did my best.
“Why’s that?”
Since the last time Kyle and I read it together, I hadn’t shown him since.
The content was just too… risqué!
It was more like an encyclopedia, but given the subject matter…
“You said I shouldn’t read it, but it actually has a lot to do with you.”
“Uh…?”
“Just in case, I thought it might be beneficial to read it a little more.”
“….”
Was it because of the fondling, or was it because Kyle seemed serious after talking about noble matters?
He was expressing himself a bit more earnestly than last time, which was more embarrassing for me.
Last time, he had looked like he was expecting something provocative, but now he was genuinely serious.
Thanks to that, when Kyle asked about the book, I felt ridiculous for having these weird thoughts.
“Um….”
“If you threw it away, I’d have no choice but to find it elsewhere…”
“….”
Suddenly, I could feel sweat trickling down my forehead.
Kyle seemed to be thinking of the book normally, but I was the one reading too much into it.
In truth, last time he wanted to read it not in a lewd way, but because, as he said, it related to me.
“Uh… actually, I forgot and haven’t thrown it away yet….”
But I really didn’t want to show him because it was too embarrassing.
The content basically screamed, “I have a super freaky body!”
It wasn’t about me at all; it was a description of a succubus, yet I was still embarrassed reading it.
So admitting I hadn’t tossed it out felt incredibly shameful.
After all, I’d said I was going to burn it and throw it out before.
*
To cut to the chase, I found myself reading that book alongside Kyle from cover to cover.
Yep, from the moment we opened the cover to when we eventually closed it after reading the last page, we were in it together.
“Wow, there’s actually way more than I expected!?”
Kyle had claimed before we started that there probably wouldn’t be much, but he was dead wrong.
“I had a reason to keep saying bizarre things to you, you know?!”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea there would be such content….”
I felt so unfair.
I couldn’t even count how many times I said, ‘Can we stop now?’
I would wager I’d never said that more in my entire life.
Yet each time I brought it up, Kyle shot me down, and I had no choice but to read to the end with him.
Sitting side by side on the bed, shoulders pressed together, made it even more embarrassing.
“Seriously….”
“….”
“So, what’s your take? How did you find it?”
“Um… the succubus is… definitely a lewd race.”
“….”
It was something I had to admit.
Since the first time I heard about it from Mom, that was my continuous thought.
For real.
The fact that they secrete aphrodisiacs when excited and suck the essence from men was just irrefutable evidence.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say they are naturally a lewd race.
“Though, in many ways, I did learn a lot… so, it was beneficial.”
Despite the extremely embarrassing stuff, most of the content was indeed useful.
To be precise… useful yet embarrassing content?
Though it bore the title of sex life, it wasn’t solely about that.
If anything, it might be better to say it described the ecology of succubi.
Of course, there were things that didn’t apply directly to me because they discussed succubi in general, but overall, it was fascinating and informative.
“Ha… why do I feel so drained just from reading a book…?”
I just flopped onto the bed.
I’d already eaten dinner, and I was dressed in my pajamas, so being sprawled out like this was totally fine.
I often sprawled out like this in Kyle’s bed anyway, so it really wasn’t an issue.
“Kyle, want to touch?”
“… Suddenly?”
“Just… if you don’t want to, it’s fine.”
Kyle didn’t catch on at all, but I had made a mistake with him today.
So all day long, I felt a bit guilty about it.
I felt bad while working and even while eating.
After all, I had done something that almost amounted to sexual harassment while Kyle was asleep.
Even if I was embarrassed about it, it was something I had to apologize for.
Kyle didn’t know, but I brought it up just to alleviate my own guilt.
“If you don’t want to… we could do something else…?”
Kyle undoubtedly had more than me.
He had money and power, which meant there wasn’t much I could do for him.
In the old days, when he was younger, I could do more things as an older partner.
Not anymore, though.
So what came to mind was… a little physical comfort as an apology.
“Or would you rather kiss…?”
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