I am Succubus!
Chapter 265

The next morning, Mio wanted to hear all about my adventures. I told her everything over breakfast. She was especially amused by us seriously leaving Layla stuck to bait the chronomancer. When I retold what happened in the temporal anomalies, she was particularly interested. She grilled me over our counterparts, about Beatrice, and if Hatsumi as a succubus was as hot as we last remembered her.

"Man, it sounded like you guys had a blast. Next adventure, I'm coming with. Well… as long as it has nothing to do with seeing Bea in any form," Mio said while stuffing her mouth with cereal.

"Next? I need a long break before the next… By the way, how did looking for… you know. That go?" I asked anxiously.

"Hrm? Oh! That. I got a fat list. You wanna see it?" She fished out her phone, but I avoided looking.

"No, actually. Maybe it's best if I just find out on the day of."

We agreed to begin next week, just so that I had some time to brace myself. After all, locking myself in a time dilated microcosm to overload me with sex for a month was big. When I came out of Dokuko and Uta's months-long ordeal, it changed me. Turned me into a bigger sex fiend than I expected…

All I hoped was that Kana would be among the people she included, that was it. We continued to eat breakfast until I noticed the sound of scratching coming from Mio's room.

"Uh. Mio, what's that?" I asked, leaning over to peer at her room door.

"Probably just something in the walls! It's nothing," Mio insisted nervously.

Now she was just being overly suspicious… I was about to let it go until the knob turned, and the door swung open. A black cat strolled into the living room and plopped down in front of us.

"That cat doesn't look like 'nothing' to me!" I exclaimed.

"Damn it, Shadow! I told you to behave!" Mio groaned, bolting from the kitchen to pick up the cat.

"Mind explaining to me why there's a cat in our house?"

"Guh…" Her shoulders slackened. "I… I adopted her from Asakura. But what's the harm! We make moolah. We can take care of a cat. Shadow's so cute, too. Look at her!"

Mio lifted the cat up to my face. She tried to paw at me, but I was just out of reach. Shadow was black all over. Instead of a long tail, she had a little nub that reminded me of a cotton ball. A bobtail maybe?

It wasn't helping that Mio was giving me puppy dog eyes over wanting to keep Shadow. My resolve had already been weakened from having seen a different version of her in a coma.

I folded my arms and asked, "Did Shadow get her shots?"

"Yep!" Mio nodded.

"You bought pet supplies, a bed, and toys for her?"

Mio nodded again, more enthusiastically.

"Are you going to make sure she stays indoors, and keep her closely supervised if you ever bring her out? You'll be diligent about feeding her, bathing her, clipping her nails, brushing her fur whenever she starts to shed, clean up if she ever vomits or coughs up a hairball, take her to the vet when she gets sick, clean her litter every day, pet-proof the apartment, find a pet-sitter whenever we're not home, and more that I haven't thought of yet?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes!" Mio exclaimed.

"Fine." I sighed. "We can keep her."

"Aw, fuck yeah! You hear that, Shadow? You're part of the family now!" She bear-hugged the cat and jumped in celebration.

A cat, huh? I guess we really were looking like a family having a third around. For the rest of the day, Mio snapped pictures of herself and Shadow, then uploaded them to her social media accounts. Apparently, she couldn't do it before in order to keep her having adopted a cat a secret from me. I wasn't exactly sure how she expected to keep quiet about this for long.

Mio suddenly yanked me into the couch and plopped Shadow on my lap.

"You stay still. Look cute for me!" Mio whipped her phone in our direction to take a hundred pictures per second.

"Haven't you taken enough pictures yet?" I groaned.

"Nope," she said as a matter of factly. "Come on, hold her. Shadow won't bite!"

I nervously pet Shadow on the head a few times, fearful of being scratched. She flopped over onto her side and started purring. This was an incredibly chill cat. Not that I minded.

My phone started ringing and spooked Shadow. The poor cat jumped from my lap, then darted into Mio's bedroom. Mio chased after her, leaving me to scour the couch for my phone. The call went to voicemail just as I found it. Kaede's name was on the screen. But what could she possibly need?

"Hello, Saeko!" Kaede's uncharacteristically cheery voice boomed. "Hope you and Mio have been doing well. I've missed you two! This past week had me swamped with deadlines, but I suddenly got some free time. I'm calling to ask for a favor. Would it be alright if you set me up a meeting with your dark elf friends like Shayle? If possible, I'd like to meet them before the end of the weekend. Let me know. Thanks!"

"Was that Kaede I heard?" Mio asked, emerging from her room.

"Yeah. She wants to meet some dark elves from Elza. Is Shadow okay?" I peered past her shoulder but couldn't see the black cat.

"Pooped out a log, so I scooped it up. Shadow's fine though. More importantly, let's help Kaede. I wanna hang out with her again!" she exclaimed.

I folded my arms and shot glances into her room.

"Awww, come on. We'll only be gone for half a day. She's not due to eat until night, and her water bowl is full. I don't seriously need to look after her all day." Mio pouted.

"You just adopted her. You don't think it's cruel for us to leave out of nowhere for an extended period of time?" I asked.

"Hrm. Oh! I got an idea." She whipped her phone out and called Yumi.

Our favorite succubus-mom wasted no time flying over. She even came prepared with cat treats and treats for us.

"Sorry about Mio making you do this out of the blue. You got here really fast. Were you nearby?" I asked.

"Ufufu~ I was actually grocery shopping when Mio called me. It's no worries. All I had planned today was expanding my baking repertoire. I'll just have to make use of your kitchen. Now, where is your sweet little baby that I'm looking after?" Yumi searched the living room for Shadow.

"Here she is! Her name's Shadow. Shadow, say hi to Yumi-mama!" Mio lifted the cat up to Yumi the same way she did to me earlier.

"Ara ara! Aren't you the most adorable thing?" The matronly succubus was immediately enamored by the cat after picking her up.

Mio texted Kaede that we were headed over to pick her up while I drove there. She asked if we could grab her a snack from the konbini on our way, so we stopped at a place to buy her a curry bento. The young mangaka had actually lived in the same suburbs as me and Kana. That was during high school though. Ever since graduating, her parents booted her out of the house so she could learn to live independently.

It was out of love though. According to Kaede, they intended to pay half of her rent for the first two years out of high school and expected nothing in return. Such a gift came from a promise the family made, that if Kaede became published, they would put her college fund into living expenses instead and allowed her to keep the rest. That was a lot better of a compromise compared to Kameshiro, who— last I checked— was a complete deadbeat. I should probably check on him at some point…

We arrived at a pretty beaten down apartment. It had those kind of tiny balconies outside each window only large enough to accommodate an AC unit. The small parking lot in the back was cracked in multiple places, with overgrown weeds sprouting from them. Some shady-looking guys were sitting out front and smoking.

"Did you give me the right address?" I asked Mio.

"I gave you exactly what Kaede sent me! This place looks like shit though. Is she really living in this dump?" Mio squinted at the second floor where our friend supposedly lived.

I texted Kaede to come out just in case, but she didn't answer. When I tried calling, she didn't answer that either. Her last text to us was the apartment number. We headed up to #12. Mio knocked on the door, and just like the text and phone call, Kaede didn't answer.

We exchanged worried glances that something might be wrong.

"Kaede, it's us!" I knocked even louder.

However, the instant my knuckles hit the door, it creaked inwards. Our worries vanished instantly. Inside the tiny studio apartment, dressed in an oversized hoodie and baggy sweatpants, Kaede was sleeping at her desk. A hot compress pad had been stuck to her forehead. Sketched manga pages were strewn all over the floor. She still had a hand on a stylus pen pressed to the tablet. Numerous energy drinks filled the waste basket beneath the table. 

"If you don't wake up, we're going to eat your curry bento!" I warned, lowering the meal down to her face.

"No, please!" Kaede awoke with a start and met our gazes." Oh, hey! Ahh, it's so good to see you both again. Especially this… hehe…"

Kaede opened the bento box to some mouthwatering curry over steamed rice. She didn't hesitate to dig in.

"Pfft… Kaede, do you really live like this?" Mio struggled to keep from laughing as she gestured to the pigsty.

"Yeah, didn't you tell us your parents pay half your rent? Why not pick a nicer place?" I asked.

"Why? This place is good enough for me. Besides, the less the rent is, the more money I have left over to buy manga, light novels, and figures!" Kaede exclaimed with a glint in her eyes.

Spoken like a true otaku.

While Kaede ate, Mio and I decided to give her a hand in cleaning up the place. It was tough. She had worn clothes mixed in with new clothes. The trash bin over in the kitchen was stuffed full of instant ramen and energy drinks, too.

Everything else was up to Kaede to do on her own, like throwing her futon into the laundry because it smells heavily of sweat and loneliness. Some stacks of sketches looked important, and we didn't want to just randomly toss them away. She wasn't even sure herself, so better left alone than sorry. Hard to believe this was the same timid girl I got to know back in Okinawa, who was too scared to break up with her asshole boyfriend.

"Shiiit. You're getting better at drawing every time we see you. These characters were inspired by us, right? They look hotter than me!" Mio complained as she flipped through one of Kaede's manuscripts.

"Hehe. I do my best! Sometimes, I still feel like I'm not where I want to be yet. So, where are they? Will they be coming by soon?" Kaede asked me expectantly.

"We're actually going to bring you to them. They all pretty much live in a single apartment complex. Queen Elendir should also be there right now," I explained.

"I have to go outside?" She made the most sorrowful expression possible.

When I lightly exerted my aura, Kaede must have felt it and yielded right away. Although I wasn't one to use a heavy hand, getting her out of the apartment and into sunlight was good for her. 

We waited on Kaede to get dressed, then headed out together. She hissed at the sunlight on the way out and tightened the hoodie string to cover her face. Maybe post-school life was bad for her after all. I dreaded what she was going to look like five years from now…

Kaede looked a lot better as soon as we hopped into the car. With the wind kicking up her hair, she asked to put on some anime music. We must have looked so silly, cruising through the city while blasting those songs.

"Hehehe… Dark elves…" Kaede giggled like a perverted old man as we arrived at the apartment complex.

"You've met Shayle before. It's not like dark elves are some magical unicorns for you," I joked.

"Yeah, but it's just so cool to meet more! Adding on the fact that there's a fantasy world that they originally come from? I want to visit soooo bad!" Kaede exclaimed.

"Hey, that sounds like an idea. All of us, going on a vacation to Elza. Not just you, me, and Kana. We can bring the whole gang! Oh, and Shadow has to come!" Mio added.

"Shadow?" Our friend cocked her head.

As if on cue, Mio brought out her phone to show Kaede the copious amounts of pictures she had taken earlier. We entered the apartment building, where a receptionist in the lobby glanced up at us.

Come to think of it, this was one of the fancier mid-rise apartments Juna Hoshino had secured for the dark elves. Since they were sponsored by the Japanese government to live here, our old real estate friend probably wanted to show off. Or maybe she cut a good deal with the city.

After checking with the receptionist which floor Elendir lived on, we took the elevator up to the fourth floor. The dark elven queen herself was waiting for us outside her door. She had a cigarette in hand but snuffed it out upon seeing us.

"Greetings, Saeko. Mio and Kaede, too. Shayle already gave me the report on how your expedition in finding the chronomancer went. I'm glad everything turned out well," Elendir said.

"Me, too. Shayle helped plenty. I'm seriously grateful she tagged along." I bowed in gratitude despite being above her hierarchy.

A cat meowed from within the living room. Snowball lifted his head from the backrest of the couch, then lazily went back to napping.

"Snowball says hello, too." Elendir smiled.

"I'm gonna go show Snowball our new cat real quick!" Mio burst into the room.

"From what I understand in your message, this is the friend who wishes to meet with members of my kind? Kaede, I don't believe we met yet." The dark elven monarch extended a hand to Kaede, who responded by snapping a picture with her digital camera.

"Wow! I thought Shayle was beautiful, but you're just stunning! It's nice to meet you, Miss— Sorry, Queen Elendir!" Kaede grabbed her hand and shook passionately.

"What a flatterer you are! But I'll not be selfish in keeping your compliments for myself. I've informed some of my subjects who aren't busy that we may pay them a visit. Shall we?" The queen led us back out of her apartment.

My giddy friend was energized now, not like the recluse she was earlier. We followed Elendir to a room several doors down. When she knocked, someone answered promptly like they had been waiting.

A dark elven woman with the sides of her head shaved and the rest of her hair made into a long, thick braid draped down her chest. She had a somewhat grayish tint to the dark brown complexion.

"Your majesties." The elf kneeled down.

"Kaede, this is Dharia," Elendir introduced her.

"Oooh! The cool and stoic type. I like it. I like it! Can you strike a pose for me?" Kaede asked while snapping pictures.

Dharia humored Kaede and did just that. She took a lot of close-up pictures, too. Like the dark elf's pointed ears and an extreme close-up to get the pores of her skin.

"I don't understand. Why exactly does Kaede want to meet with people of my race?" Elendir asked.

"Er… Well… Kaede's occupation is, how do I explain this… She's a painter. She paints lewd and erotic subjects, and then sells them to make a living. Kind of. It's a little complicated though," I answered.

"We can just show her. Lookie here, Elly. Kaede based these two succs off me and Saeko." Mio revealed the h-doujin that had been Megane-Sensei's bread and butter in the manga world.

Elendir only flipped a few pages and turned bright red.

"I-I see. I presume she seeks inspiration from dark elves?" Elendir asked.

We nodded.

For the rest of the afternoon, Elendir introduced Kaede to about a dozen more other dark elves who were happy to meet with Kaede. She took pictures of them all. At one point, she even had the guts to ask two elves to strip naked— and they did! Sometimes, I forgot that dark elves could be as kinky as succubi since they were allied in Elza.

When night fell, I offered to treat Kaede, Elendir, and all the elves out to dinner, but they declined for different reasons. Mio made plans with Elendir to do a kitty play date between Shadow, Snowball, and Taco in the near future. Instead of dinner, we drove to a convenience store again to have a quick bite before driving Kaede home.

"Thanks for the help, you two. I seriously, seriously appreciate it. I've been working all day, every day for so long that it's been hard to find any time for myself," Kaede said.

"No sweat. You're like one of our best friends. We got you." Mio grinned.

"If you ever need anything, just let us know again," I insisted to her.

"Really? In that case… can I get some uncompromising pictures of you two for my next volume?" she asked, lifting the camera up to us and her eyes glinting with eagerness.

Mio was down. As for me…

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." I rolled my eyes.