I Took A Succubus's First Time

Convincing someone like Ruri would probably feel like trying to have a serious conversation with a boulder, or at least that was the impression Yuka had given Kouhei when she explained what Ruri was like. She had made it sound as though getting through to Ruri was less a matter of persuasion and more a matter of somehow convincing a completely immovable object to suddenly cooperate with them.

Kouhei did not necessarily believe that it would be quite that difficult, though.

He had never been particularly fond of assuming that someone was impossible to reason with before actually speaking to them, and Ruri had not exactly done anything to him personally that would make him immediately decide she was completely unreasonable. Still, Kouhei understood why Yuka had warned him about her, especially considering what he was about to ask.

Convincing someone to stop another person’s time while having their own time stopped as the price for doing so was obviously not an ordinary request. It was not the kind of favor someone could casually ask for and expect to receive without any hesitation, especially when the person being asked would have to accept a serious consequence themselves.

There was simply no easy way to convince someone to do something like that.

Even so, Kouhei was determined to try.

The situation made it impossible for him to simply give up because Ruri might be difficult to persuade. The word "convince" made the whole thing sound like some ridiculously high bar that had been placed in front of him, but Kouhei knew that he still had to get over it somehow. Kozue’s condition was the reason he was doing this in the first place, and as far as he was concerned, that was more than enough motivation to keep trying even if Ruri decided to make things difficult.

Unfortunately, Ruri was currently resting.

It seemed that freezing Kouhei’s time had placed quite a considerable strain on her, which meant that using her ability had probably taken much more out of her than Kouhei had initially realized. She had managed to use an ability powerful enough to interfere directly with the flow of time, after all, so expecting her to simply stand up afterward and casually continue with her day would have been unreasonable.

Kouhei therefore had little choice but to postpone his attempt at convincing her until tomorrow.

He did not particularly like the idea of waiting, but there was also no point in approaching Ruri while she was exhausted and expecting her to listen properly. If she was already sensitive to begin with, according to Yuka, then approaching her while she was tired and immediately asking for a huge favor probably would not end well.

While Kouhei was walking along the hallway, he eventually came across Nagisa and Misuzu.

The two of them were standing in front of the med bay where Kozue was currently being looked after, and judging from their expressions, neither of them had managed to relax much since the previous day. Their attention immediately turned toward Kouhei when they noticed him approaching.

"How did it go?" Nagisa asked, her voice carrying obvious concern.

"The person who has the power to use time manipulation is currently resting," Kouhei explained. "I want to let her rest for a while, and I would like to talk to her once she wakes up, but..."

Kouhei paused briefly.

There was no need to explain the rest because the problem was already obvious to everyone involved.

Letting Ruri rest was certainly the right thing to do, especially after seeing how much strain using her power had placed on her. At the same time, postponing their attempt for too long could become dangerous for an entirely different reason.

Their enemy was time.

They did not know whether Kozue would still be alive another day from now.

Kozue did not appear to be in a condition where she was immediately on the verge of death, at least from what they could tell, but that did not mean they could afford to become careless. Her health had already deteriorated badly enough, and there was always the possibility that something unexpected could happen and make her condition worse.

Waiting until tomorrow might be harmless.

Waiting until tomorrow might also turn out to be the worst decision they could possibly make.

That uncertainty was what made the situation so frustrating.

It would have been much easier if they had been dealing with an enemy they could simply fight, because at least then they would have some idea of what they needed to do. Time, however, was something they could not punch, threaten, or overpower through brute force. It continued moving regardless of how desperate they became, which made the entire situation feel even more unfair.

Still, they could not exactly rush Ruri either.

Yuka had already told Kouhei that Ruri was sensitive, so approaching her with a hard-headed attitude and demanding that she immediately use her power could easily push her away from them. If that happened, they might lose their only realistic opportunity to save Kozue.

They absolutely could not afford to do that.

"For now, I think we should wait for her to wake up, and then try to convince her tomorrow," Kouhei said after thinking it over.

Time was of the essence, but time was also their enemy.

The two things were unfortunately true at the same time, which was probably the kind of situation that made everyone involved want to complain about how unfair the universe could be.

"Has Yumi-san rested?" Kouhei asked.

"No..." Misuzu shook her head before answering properly. "She has been there for quite some time, trying to heal the cells that were destroyed by the holy mana eating away at Kozue, and she hasn’t gotten any sleep yet."

Kouhei’s expression became more serious when he heard that.

Although demons did not necessarily require sleep in the same way humans did, sleeping was still something they did for practical reasons. It allowed them to recover their mana much faster, and it also gave their minds the opportunity to rest after prolonged exertion. Sleep might not be considered a healing technique for demons, but it was still important for recovering mentally and maintaining enough strength to continue functioning properly.

Yumi had already been inside the med bay for hours.

She had barely stopped using her healing magic on Kozue, and from what Misuzu was saying, she had continued doing it without taking a proper break. Yumi was essentially pouring her effort into keeping Kozue alive while ignoring the fact that her own body also had limits.

At this point, it was only a matter of time before Yumi’s body eventually reached its limit as well.

"We have to convince her as quickly as possible for both of their sake," Kouhei said, his voice becoming more serious as he looked toward the med bay.

"Yes," Nagisa and Misuzu both answered together.

Their agreement came immediately because neither of them needed to be reminded about what was at stake.

While the three of them continued talking, however, there was someone else nearby who had been quietly listening to their conversation.

It was Chiemi.

***

Kouhei woke up the following morning with both of his arms being used as pillows by two beautiful women.

Nagisa and Misuzu had apparently decided that sleeping beside him was preferable to spending the night alone, and Kouhei found himself stuck in the middle of the two of them when he finally opened his eyes.

They had not had sex last night, of course.

The circumstances alone made that pretty obvious.

One of their own members was currently fighting to stay alive, and everyone was worried about Kozue’s condition. Trying to have sex under those circumstances would have felt completely out of place, especially when their minds were occupied with whether Kozue would survive the next day.

Instead, Nagisa and Misuzu had simply wanted to cuddle with him.

Kouhei did not particularly mind.

He actually found the situation rather comfortable, although his arms had become somewhat stiff after remaining in the same position for so long. Being used as a pillow by two beautiful women was hardly the worst problem a man could wake up with, so he decided that complaining about it would probably make him look incredibly ungrateful.

After carefully pulling his arms away from both of them, Kouhei stretched his body and slowly got out of bed. He rolled his shoulders a little before heading directly toward the shower, wanting to properly wake himself up before dealing with whatever problems were waiting for him.

Once he had finished showering, Kouhei put on his clothes and prepared himself for another day.

The previous day had already been exhausting enough, and judging from everything that was happening, this day was probably not going to be any easier.

After getting himself ready, Kouhei eventually left the room.

The moment he stepped outside, he was greeted by Hina.

"Hina-san?" Kouhei asked, looking at her with mild surprise.

"Yup, good morning," Hina replied in her usual casual manner. "Ruri is awake now."

Kouhei looked at her for a moment.

That piece of information immediately caught his attention.

Ruri was awake.

After everything they had discussed the previous day, there was no reason for him to waste more time now that the opportunity had finally presented itself.

Kouhei gave Hina a small nod before immediately heading toward the place where Ruri was currently staying.

When he arrived, he found Ruri lounging in the lounging area and looking surprisingly relaxed. She appeared to be taking her time and enjoying the quiet moment, as though there was absolutely nothing particularly urgent happening around her.

Considering that Kozue was currently lying in the med bay and Yumi was exhausting herself trying to keep her alive, Kouhei found Ruri’s relaxed attitude almost bizarre.

Still, he reminded himself that getting annoyed would accomplish nothing.

Ruri was Ruri.

If Yuka’s description was accurate, then Kouhei was going to have to approach this carefully.

The moment Ruri noticed their presence, she briefly looked in their direction.

Kouhei waited for her to say something.

Ruri simply looked at them for a moment before returning her attention to what she had been doing.

She was cutting her nails with a nail cutter.

Kouhei stared at her.

For a few seconds, he wondered whether she was intentionally ignoring them or whether she genuinely did not care enough to acknowledge their presence.

Judging from how casually she continued cutting her nails, it was probably the former.

Kouhei took a breath.

Apparently, this was what Yuka had meant.

Trying to convince Ruri really might feel like negotiating with a boulder.

Even so, Kouhei refused to let her obvious lack of interest discourage him. He had come here for a reason, and he was not going to turn around simply because Ruri decided to pretend that he was not standing in front of her.

"Tatsugami," Kouhei finally said, keeping his voice calm despite her blatant attempt to ignore him. "I want to ask for your help."