Is It Strange for a Succubus to Wear Clothes?

Chapter 10: The Beetle’s Egg Nest 2

The underground world of Mapo-gu presents a unique landscape, blending the eerie atmosphere of ancient dungeons with the dark alleys of a modern city.

The path leading underground can be accessed through abandoned buildings or subway stations, and the “back door” of the nameless bar run by Uncle Michelsen is one such passage.

The entrance to this place is always shrouded in deep darkness or disguised so thoroughly that it’s impossible to notice, making proper regulation by the government nearly impossible.

Once you pass through the entrance, you’ll encounter a maze-like network of intricate pathways.

Beyond what was once a subway station lies a deeper section filled with tangled tunnels and caves of various sizes.

The space underground is so vast it’s hard to believe it exists below ground.

The soaring ceilings, collapsed structures, and scattered debris paint a scene that, even from an aesthetic perspective, feels like a post-apocalyptic or end-of-the-world setting.

Though it may appear chaotic and disorderly, this underground world has its own rules and order.

“Hey, stop.”

As you stroll lightly along, you’ll come across the gatekeepers.

Gatekeepers vary by area, ranging from awakened individuals labeled as criminals to drifters and homeless people.

A variety of people guard the doors of the underground.

“Huh? This woman….”

I could feel the thick presence of lust, desire, and greed emanating from their gazes directed at me.

Ah, being beautiful really is a sin, isn’t it?

Even though I wrapped myself tightly, my attire and figure were impossible to conceal.

Even with my face veiled, it was inevitable that the sparks of lust would ignite.

“…Wow, damn.”

“B-Bro, this isn’t the time for that. W-We need to, uh, check her p-pass….”

“Ah, r-right. Yeah. Y-Young lady, do you have an entry pass?”

What a shame.

If their mental barriers were a little weaker, they would have been completely bewitched by my appearance.

Now I had to go through the trouble of speaking.

“An entry pass?”

“Huh.”

“Wow, what’s with that voice….”

“Ah, screw it. Forget the pass. Let’s just let her through if she….”

Eventually, one of them, unable to suppress his lust, began approaching me, and our eyes met.

I smiled.

When people’s eyes meet, it’s polite to smile.

That’s common sense, isn’t it?

“…Ah….”

“B-Bro? What’s wrong….”

“Everyone.”

Though I didn’t remove my veil, my voice echoed deeply within the dark cavern.

A succubus’s allure doesn’t rely solely on eye contact or facial expressions.

Voice, gestures, even subtle movements—anything that could evoke attraction can be amplified to its fullest extent.

“Unfortunately… I don’t have an entry pass.”

“……”

“Uh, uhm…?”

“T-Then, t-that’s a p-problem….”

Their faces, already captivated, made their feigned concern somewhat amusing.

No, actually, seeing them in that state but still trying to block me showed that their mental barriers were stronger than ordinary people.

Ahaha, I’ll give you some credit for that.

Though it won’t matter in the end.

“If you could simply cooperate with me in a small way… no one would need to be troubled. What do you think?”

“….”

“….”

“….”

I gently caressed their ears with my delicate and enchanting voice.

I added a slight gesture of tilting my head while raising my hand to touch my cheek, as if troubled.

Ah, they’ve all fallen for it.

No one responded.

Neither answering nor resisting.

They simply stepped aside and opened the door as if complying with my words.

“Fufu, thank you.”

Well then, gatekeepers of the underground world.

Keep up the good work today, okay?

Oh, and…

“Please forget about me.”

“….”

Now, there’s nothing to worry about later.

There may be CCTV cameras nearby, but that’s fine.

Such devices are no issue for me.

An entry pass?

As if I’d have something like that.

If I wanted, I could get one from Uncle Michelsen, but last time, after I passed through like this, he seemed unwilling to give me another.

So, I’ll just continue to meet their gazes like this.

“Just let me in.”

“And forget about me, and that’s it.”

“Simple, right?”

“I don’t need an entry pass~”

“Haah, the air here feels so stifling, unlike outside.”

Still, the scenery itself is a work of art.

The first things you see are jade and black hues, massive pipes, slums, markets, and monster nests.

Mushrooms, jagged rocks made of mana stones, and the scent of melting hydrochloric acid hot springs.

The underground world has many different names, but I call it the [The Beetle’s Egg Nest].

Back during the early Rift period, there was a massive spatial shift in Mapo-gu, causing gates, dungeons, and a flood of monsters to appear, plunging the area into chaos.

Naturally, many hunters were deployed to suppress the chaos and hunt the monsters.

However, at that very time, a parliamentary hearing was being held.

It just so happened that this hearing took place during a period when the government was desperate to control hunters and awakened individuals.

The massive budget initially allocated for the Mapo-gu flood disaster was significantly slashed due to various excuses and nonsense from the higher-ups.

As a result of the reduced budget, the hunters didn’t even receive proper compensation from the government.

Naturally, the hunters protested.

If it were today, a major guild might have just bombarded the parliament building.

But back in the early Rift period, both the government and the general public forced sacrifices on hunters while completely ignoring their rights and well-being.

When was it…? Ah, only after several disasters, including the Melting Coup about six years ago, did the rights of awakened individuals start to improve.

Not that it matters to me.

Anyway, at that time, the government thought the surface-level monsters in Mapo-gu had been dealt with sufficiently and decided there was no need to allocate more funds.

They delayed compensating the hunters, claiming ridiculous things like their scars were one centimeter short of qualifying for merit recognition.

Naturally, the hunters were furious, but the societal atmosphere of that era forced them to accept sacrifices quietly.

Ah, but the higher-ups didn’t know much about the ecology of dungeons, gates, or monsters.

At least now they receive some nominal education, but back then, they thought monsters were no different from deer or wild boars.

So while the surface of Mapo-gu was cleared, they didn’t realize a massive disaster was laying eggs underground.

That disaster was the [Kaklash Beetle].

Despite being a beetle, it behaved like an ant queen, hiding underground, laying countless eggs, and preparing to invade the surface.

I don’t know how many eggs that beetle laid or how much of a threat it posed to humanity, but according to the hunters, if left unchecked, the entire Korean Peninsula would have been overrun by beetles.

And so, a few righteous hunters and awakened individuals hunted and subdued the beetles.

At the time, these awakened individuals challenged this underground space for justice, risking their lives for the people, for peace, and for ordinary citizens.

Naturally, many awakened individuals died, and there were tragic and sorrowful sacrifices.

But the government didn’t want to compensate them, didn’t want to allocate the precious budget to a bunch of awakened individuals, and above all, worried about losing public support.

So, they tried to bury the incident using the media by claiming:

“It’s all a fabrication by the hunters!”

“In fact, there’s nothing in the underground of Mapo-gu.”

“Some of the hunters were drunk driving, and their deaths were staged as part of this so-called operation.”

Ahahaha~ It’s a miracle that things have merely reversed between awakened individuals and the government today.

But actually, the hunters didn’t hunt the Kaklash Beetle.

They merely used some rituals and seals to suppress it.

In other words, they could unseal it and release it at any time.

It was essentially a threat that they could turn the entire Korean Peninsula into a nest of beetles whenever they wanted.

When the government realized this belatedly, they hastily tried to negotiate with the awakened individuals who had cleared Mapo-gu’s underground.

They promised compensation.

They promised more when the budget was allocated.

They asked them to be satisfied with what they had for now.

They appealed to their sense of patriotism as fellow citizens of Korea.

But, fearing a drop in public approval ratings, they refused to issue a public apology through the media.

The awakened individuals, who already knew all too well about the government’s hollow promises and delayed tactics, flatly rejected the offer.

Instead, they accepted something the government could give immediately.

Mapo-gu, its underground world, and autonomy.

“What they received was this The Beetle’s Egg Nest. Didn’t they say they built Mapo-gu and its underground world as their own domain?”

No further compromise was possible, and without these terms, they would have released the beetles.

In the end, the government had no choice but to accept and retaliated by politically and administratively framing the awakened individuals who gained autonomy as criminals or placing bounties on them.

But the awakened individuals didn’t care.

They were all first-generation hunters, seasoned in combat, confident they could beat any soldiers or bounty hunters sent their way.

Moreover, their trust in the government and the nation had hit rock bottom, so they had no intention of remaining Korean citizens.

As a result, this vast and expansive underground world was created in Mapo-gu.

This place became a gathering ground for all sorts of drugs, smuggled goods, illegal weapons, unauthorized monster byproducts, criminals, and homeless people with nowhere else to go.

But at its core, it remains a place for awakened individuals.

That’s why I enjoy coming here.

It’s a visual treat, sometimes offering great finds, and it possesses a rare, vulgar beauty.

“Ahaha~ Thanks for your hard work, boys~ Come again~”

“Uh, o-okay… uh-huh….”

Oh, and there are plenty of shops run by succubi and incubi here too.

As the Succubus Empress, seeing things like this gives me a strange feeling, but it’s not like being the Succubus Empress means ruling or governing the species, so I just let it go.

Oh, but what’s with those clothes?

I mean, sure, it’s not unusual for succubi to wear revealing and attractive clothing to seduce men, but oh my. Everything is visible!

Their attire and behavior are vulgar.

Beauty and charm don’t stem from exposure or vulgarity.

Of course, the desires evoked by vulgarity and exposure are primal and stimulating, but oh, I don’t like it.

“…Gasp!”

Meanwhile, a succubus, feeling some kind of chill, glances around nervously before disappearing.

It’s probably because of me, right?

Sorry.

Actually, I’m not sorry.

The underground world operates with a fairly massive economy.

While smuggled goods and drugs are part of it, the most important element is the eggs of the Kaklash Beetle.

The beetle, still alive but bound and sealed somewhere in this underground world, continues laying eggs out of sheer instinct.

When life energy is extracted from these freshly laid eggs, they solidify into a petrified state.

At this point, the eggs, hardened into a mineral form, can replace what’s commonly referred to as mana stones.

Considering how mana stones are used in every industry and aspect of modern life, this place is essentially no different from an oil field.

No, it’s probably even more significant.

Thanks to this, the government finds itself in a situation that brings tears of blood.

Due to their misjudgment, the awakened individuals ruling over this nest have gained a position capable of shaking the nation’s economy even without military power.

Well, they brought it on themselves.

Lost in the somber yet bustling scenery of the underground world, I eventually arrive at the location where the auction is held.

It’s the most magnificent and enormous structure in the The Beetle’s Egg Nest.

This place was once used as the Hongdae Entrance subway station, but through various modifications and expansions, it now resembles a grand opera house.

“Stop.”

As I approach the auction house, several people in fully armored suits, covering even their faces, surround me.

Judging by their gear, the suits seem to include mental barrier enhancement features.

Well, it makes sense.

With hypnotists and brainwashing-capable individuals around, they must prevent unauthorized and unidentified entries.

“Who are you? If you don’t have an invitation, you absolutely cannot enter.”

“Oh my, is that so? Fufufu.”

“External infrared scan results show no invitation detected.”

“Indeed. In that case, leave immediately.”

“Oh no, what a shame… I just wanted to have a look at the auction…”

“I’ll say this again: leave immediately, and no one will get hurt.”

Sensing some kind of threat from me, the armored individuals switch into combat mode.

Oh dear, violence is bad.

“If you don’t comply, you will die.”

“This is your final warning.”

“Right now…”

“Oh no, how frightening.”

So, I just smile.

A smile.

A smile.

To everyone working hard today, here’s a smile.

How is it?

Seeing my smile has made you feel better, hasn’t it?

“…You may… enter….”

Ah, mental barriers!

Such impressive equipment!

Though not against me.

Anyway, smiling feels nice.

You should smile too.

They say fortune comes to those who live with a smile.

“Thank you~”

“Have… a good… time….”

“Oh, right.”

I almost forgot.

“Please forget about me.”

“…Yes.”