“You want to go to an art museum? You of all people, Maria?”
“That’s right. I would like to expose myself to the art of this world. I want to ascertain the differences between the art here and the art in the Demon Realm. It’s an inspiring desire that’s just suddenly sprung up within me!”
The next day following their conversation, Basara accompanied Maria to visit an art museum in the city.
“We’ve come here like you asked, but…”
Maria, who appeared to be extremely excited as she stood beside Basara, seemed to be genuinely curious about such a new experience.
“I’ll make one thing clear, and that’s the fact that we won’t be seeing any obscene types of art like figures of naked women here.”
“What are you saying? Eroticism is absolutely a vital component of art. The beauty of the erotic is simply an existence that’s one of a kind. Or are you saying that you’re one of those extremely rare types that are so obsessed with such erotic art that you’re able to portray it so accurately, Basara-san!?”
“No, what exactly are you referring to when you say ‘rare types’?”
In the past, artwork that depicted nudity or other similarly obscene elements was considered deviant taboo.
“…Touche. It’s not like there’s a clear delineation between the two.”
“That’s right. There exists a mutually influencing relationship between eroticism and the arts, one that brings out both aspects to even greater heights.”
Although Basara was usually dissatisfied and puzzled by Maria’s explanations given that she usually had nothing but erotic thoughts in her head, the persuasive way she’d worded that meant that he couldn’t help but admit what she’d said was objective deep down.
As they talked, Basara took in the structure of the art museum. The building was isolated from the rest of the buildings on the streets, and it was smaller than expected; the structure was not decorated in a particularly flashy manner, and the surrounding trees in the vicinity further added to its modest, tranquil appearance.
“This place seems very nice,” Basara muttered quietly.
“Basara-san, over here, over here! Come on, hurry up—”
As he turned toward Maria, he discovered that she was already beckoning him at the museum entrance with a ticket in her hand before he’d even realized it.
“When did you…”
Maria and Basara entered the interior of the museum wearing a highly motivated expression a wry smile, respectively.
The interior of the building gave off the same expression as the exterior—not particularly spacious and leaving a calm impression.
There were a lot of visitors present, though not of an amount that would require a queue that extended outside the interior.
Naturally, the visitors ahead in line of Basara and Maria were slowly observing the displayed items surrounding them; it was understandable that there were a lot of people present if even Maria wanted to bear witness to the displays of the museum herself.
Basara started to wonder what it was that was being exhibited that attracted so much attention, despite having almost no interest in the museum up until now.
As the line progressed, Basara could catch a glimpse of some of the artwork of the exhibition.
They were all Japanese drawings, with almost no foreign art whatsoever; they also seemed focused on work from the olden Edo era.
They all seemed to be depicted as going through their rich, lively daily lives, except they were openly hugging, kissing and most notable, lovingly craving each other.
“Wait, all of this is erotic art, isn’t it!?” Basara barely managed to keep his surprised voice under wraps in consideration of the surrounding visitors; perhaps his Infinite Slayer reflexes had allowed him to do so.
He turned to inspect his ticket closely, and discovered that the words “Shunga Exhibition” were written on it.
Shunga—in other words, they were erotic illustrations or erotic books.
“Of course. Is there something wrong with that?” Maria asked, appearing to be puzzled.
“You didn’t tell me anything about this!”
“Is that so?”
Basara knew that Maria was clearly playing dumb with the seemingly confused way she was looking at him.
“Come to think of it…it is really particular of you to want only the two of us to come to a place like this…”
Looking back on it now, Basara was the only one that had been invited to the event, while Mio and the others seemed suspiciously uninvolved.
“Oh, but I just wanted the two of us to come together, Basara-san!”
“Don’t make it sound all weird, damn it.”
Turning his glance upward, he turned Maria down flat as she clung to him.
“Still, Mio-sama didn’t show any sign of disapproval about this, did she?” She didn’t go like, ‘You’re gonna go there just to get some weird thoughts in your head, huh!?’ or any of the sort. She knows full well that I’m here to just to bask in a collection of erotic inspiration.”
“Well, Mio wasn’t exactly very smooth when she was talking earlier, was she?”
Basara took a glance at the ticket he was holding and raised an eyebrow.
“…By the way, this exhibition happens to be age-restricted.”
“Well, it’s a shunga exhibition. Even standard erotic books aren’t exactly age-restricted, aren’t they? That should be a given.”
“Oh? Says who, you?”
“Oh, by the way, I did happen to use a little bit of magic when I bought my ticket earlier, but it’s a necessary evil, right? For the sake of my erotic pursuits, I don’t care how underhanded I have to be!”
“You little…”
“I have to see all this, okay!” Maria suddenly raised her voice, her expression had since turned serious compared to her oblivious look a while ago. “I’m a sex demon—a succubus, after all, so I have to learn all about this world’s erotic forms and presentations, given this world never really had our kind to begin with. I have to learn about all this, and I thought it would be my sacred duty as a succubus to expose myself to the sexual history of this world.”
“…You’re not gonna talk me through this.”
Basara then considered the fact that it wasn’t all far-fetched for someone like Maria to adopt what she’d said as an actual principle.
The human world and the Demon Realm had their distinct cultural differences, which extended to differences between the human race and the succubi. Perhaps it was sound to wonder if there were really any differences between the two worlds?
“…Well, I suppose things like this should be of interest to someone like you.”
“Oh, Basara-san, thank you so much! I’ll be sure to give it my all when learning about everything!” Maria’s face suddenly lit up, her attention circling around the various shunga arts surrounding her.
Noticing her excitement, Basara also glanced sideways to see the surrounding shunga for himself.
“I suppose…all this can really be amazing.”
“So you understand it now? As expected of you, Basara-san!”
“I don’t find sexual submissions on a daily basis to be particularly elegant. I’m mostly just marvelling at the remarkable talent that shows in these art pieces.”
“And as much you’re marvelling at them, you don’t look too thrilled about all this, are you? Why are you being so condescending, anyway?”
“Am I not a professional at eroticism?”
It was admittedly hard for Basara to not get at least slightly frustrated at the way Maria was actually making sense in this case.
And while I’m at it…Basara thought.
Perhaps the succubus race was truly diligent when it came to their culture, even if said culture happens to sway toward the erotic side of things. Even then, Maria was already doing dedicated research and exposing herself to erotic games and other related things in such a culture that was foreign to her on a normal basis.
“I don’t know if diligence is the right word for this, but—” A certain someone appeared in his mind as he said that out loud—it was Maria’s older sister, Lucia. Rather than a lustful succubus, Basara saw her more as the capable right hand of Ramusas, the leader of the Moderate Faction of the Demon Realm.
She was cold and collected, and she was quite powerful herself. She was strict regardless of who she was working with, and these traits meant that she showed no evident signs of affection toward her younger sister Maria.
Comparing her to Maria, the latter was more of the specialist in eroticism in that regard.
Basara rubbed his forehead, wondering if his line of thinking was correct.
“I guess Sheila-san’s closer to Maria, though.”
Sheila was Maria’s birth mother; she was the mother of both Maria and Lucia, and she had a face that was no less youthful than her youngest daughter’s.
For a moment, Basara thought he’d imagined the free, uncontrolled and mischievous person in question happily and excitedly surveying the shunga exhibition.
“…Hmm?”
Basara blinked and rubbed his eyes; the image of Sheila that he presumed he’d merely imagined had yet to fade from his sight.
“Eh~It’s a kappa! A kappa, huh! It’s an erotic oriental monster…it’s really amazing. This shirigotama (a mythical ball inside the anus that’s sought after by kappa) play…”
And she was in their line of sight—moreover, she was dressed in an attire he had not imagined, with a disguise of sunglasses, a mask, and a large hat.
She was nodding in approval of the various shunga paintings surrounding her, and as Basara had imagined—she was in high spirits.
“It really is her!”
Basara barely managed to hold himself from speaking too loudly again, and he found no real explanation apart from having plenty of experience fighting formidable opponents to the point where he’d attained an almost inhuman level of restraint.
“Mom, why in the world are you here?” Maria asked, dumbfounded.
Basara was now convinced that Sheila’s presence here wasn’t just something he’d imagined in his head.
Sheila was now before them, and she took off her mask and her glasses.
“Hello there,” She said with an embarrassed grin.
“Don’t give me that ‘Hello there…’ nonsense! After all, mom, right now, you’re…” Maria stammered, evidently panicking.
“Ahh. Of course. I’m fully aware of the situation I’m putting myself in at the moment. The hostilities between the Moderate Faction and the Current Demon Lord Faction have since ended, but that hasn’t really changed the tense relations between the two factions. The only thing that they’ve agreed on is to not involve Mio-chan, the daughter of the previous Demon Lord, into all this. That said, I am well aware that my allegiance to the Moderate Faction sparks the potential of something really bad happening by interacting with you two like this.”
Basara’s body began to tense up; he felt nervous about the situation.
Basara knew full well what Sheila said was right; and if she understood that herself, why was she here, then?
The reason she had come here was—
“Still, I just wasn’t capable of resisting the urge to look for more exotic forms of eroticism, and today happens to be a day where the erotic masterpieces of Japan are gathered in one place! I wasn’t going to run away from a golden opportunity like this! You understand me, right?”
“Oh, I see! I understand now, mom! I suppose there’s really no helping it then, is there?”
“And you’re going to accept that explanation just like that!?”
“Come, let’s enjoy this gathering of the best of the erotic art in the human world.”
“You said it, mom!”
Basara turned around, still astonished by the exchange, and he saw mother and daughter enjoying the sights of the various shunga illustrations displayed around them.
“So this is what a succubus is like…”
Basara could only watch them with an indescribable expression on his face as the two little succubi who reached no taller than an average shoulder’s height watched the surrounding shunga paintings with great interest.
“And Sheila-san’s as difficult to understand as always.”
He had no doubt that Sheila had every intention of coming here if only to attend this shunga exhibition. Nevertheless, he also pondered on the possibility that Sheila had also come here to visit Maria.
Given the implications of Mio’s relationship with the Demon Realm, Basara understood that it was, in fact, a risk for either Sheila or Maria’s older sister Lucia to visit her.
Although she was usually bright and cheery and usually showed no signs of feeling lonely or homesick, Maria was still a normal girl at heart, and she definitely had some longing and love for her parents deep down.
Before he’d met Mio, Basara always had a parent by his side—his father, Jin—and his very existence made his trials in the Village and the absence of a mother bearable all the same.
He understood how precious it was to have a parent.
Still, was it really okay for Sheila to come here? And of all of the places that her carefree self could choose to arrange a meeting with Maria, was a shunga exhibition really the best choice?
In the end, he supposed that it wasn’t impossible for Sheila to come to an art exhibition such as this, even if only to keep an eye on Maria, and apart from the fact that it was natural for a succubus to want to come to a place like this.
Watching Sheila’s motherly behaviour brought a pleasant smile to Basara’s face, and he could feel the tension on his shoulders fading.
“Oh, there’s a harem of nothing but women who’ve snuck into a temple! And there’s another harem of women that’s been left stranded ashore!”
“As I thought, harems are still quite coveted. Nothing’s changed in that regard over the past millennium or so, huh?”
“Look, mom! I know that we have women cavalry in the human world, but there’s amazon women here too! There’s even a folding screen, too!”
“I knew it! Tomboys…or women crossdressing as men. The moment you realize it’s really a girl’s face behind those masculine mannerisms…really turns you on, doesn’t it?”
“Mom! There’s this…this woman, but it’s a guy dressed in women’s clothing!”
“Look, Maria-chan! There are beasts here too! I didn’t think there’d be furries in the human world…”
“Maybe these beastmen happen to be demons from the Demon Realm who handed down their erotic ways and have the human world inherit them to this day? Whatever explanation’s true, it’s still really naughty.”
“Ahh, this shunga exhibition really is the best! I’m so glad I decided to come here.”
Basara reconsidered his thought process again as he continued to watch the two enjoy themselves.
Did Sheila really come here just to attend this shunga exhibition?
“Come, Maria-chan, I want you to kneel right over there. Yes, just like that…”
“I can handle being tied up, no problem!”
“I’ll make sure to make it so that it won’t hurt at all when you’re all wrapped up.”
“And it doesn’t hurt at all. Just as I’d expect from you, mom!”
“Wait, what the heck are you two doing? And when did you set up this barrier?”
The surrounding visitors had disappeared before Basara knew it; he presumed that the barrier they were now in was a copying variant that took the form of a particular surrounding area, much like the one Hasegawa had used the other day.
Though Basara was already surprised at the speed and precision it took for Sheila to create a barrier around them before he was even aware of it, what surprised him even more was the scene the two succubi were involved in before him.
Sheila had withdrew a rope out of nowhere and was tying one end to one of the pillars nearby, and was using said rope to tie up Maria with her hands behind her back.
“Sheila-san, that’s…”
“It’ll be fine. I’ve already set up a barrier.”
“Oh, my. Why are you acting so flustered, Basara-san? This is actually quite normal for us, you know?”
“What do you mean, normal!?What exactly do you mean when you say this is normal for the two of you?”
“We’re going to put it into practise. Come on, Basara-kun. It’s been decided, now, hasn’t it?”
“That’s right! Come on, Basara-san, you too…”
“Now, Maria-chan. I’m going to put you in a state like this now.”
“As expected from a barrier made from you, mom.
“Well, then, Maria-chan. What do you think of this atmosphere?”
“Mhm. I still don’t really feel anything.”
“I suppose so. After all, you still have a long way to go, right, Maria-chan? Hey, Basara-kun.”
“You’re saying you want me to swing that thing? I don’t understand this. I don’t understand this at all.”
“Come on, it’ll be fine. Look, I’ll even give you a hand.”
“Huh?”
“It’s not going to be difficult at all, so come on! We’re just going to do exactly what’s depicted in this illustration.”
“Exactly?”
Basara looked at the shunga painting Sheila had handed her—the painting featured a personal touch that included a girl that resembled Maria being tied up, and despite the clothing being different, the girl’s clothing was loosened in the picture just as Maria’s was.
And then there was the man in the picture—presumably her partner—humiliating the girl by violating her most precious bodily spot.
“Hang on a second, Sheila-san. We can’t do this.”
“…Is that so?”
“It’s impossible. We just can’t do this. Not even if we do it in a barrier.”
Basara seemed to show more disapproval than usual; this was an entirely different matter than when he would usually conquer the girls in the household.
“I guess it can’t be helped. Have a look at Maria over there, then. I’m talking about what’s in the picture.”
“If that’s the case, then…”
He did as he was told and put his attention on Maria, who was now all tied up.
Her coat had been taken off; the unusual position she was tied in meant that her skirt was half folded inside out, such that her black tights within were exposed. Her loosened collar also revealed her delicate collar bone showing through her fair skin.
And that was not the end of it—there was a gap that revealed a part of her underwear, if only a little. Moreover, the way her body was tied up also emphasized her small chest, a vivid portrayal of how a fragile little girl was well on her way to becoming a woman.
Despite Basara knowing full well that Maria was a succubus, her current state still looked quite pitiful and shameful to him as he continued staring at her.
Basara gulped at the sight, even though he knew that it was not an uncommon scene for the Toujou household (and largely due to Maria herself).
Perhaps it was largely due to the fact that Basara wasn’t the only one reacting to the situation.
Maria was actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that Basara was wordlessly staring at her current state; rather than feeling the joy and comfort of her mischief, she was actually truly starting to get embarrassed.
And not knowing why exactly she was starting to feel like that, Maria unconsciously averted her gaze.
“N-No…”
It was then that Sheila began to disturb her; she placed her hand on Maria’s chin so that she could not look away. With an undoubtedly roguish smile on her face, she directed Maria’s line of sight toward Basara and flaunted the shunga she was holding in her hand toward her.
Basara and Maria were now enacting the scene depicted in the shunga—a man facing a woman all tied up. The two said nothing, and Maria’s breath suddenly became wild, a hint of crimson rising on her cheeks as white as snow, her richly-colored tongue licking her lips in craving anticipation.
“What’s wrong?” Sheila whispered into Maria’s ear.
“Nothing’s…wrong…”
Maria’s response only enticed Sheila’s expression even further as she continued tickling her daughter’s ear with her breaths, twisting Maria’s bound body.
“I see…so there’s absolutely nothing wrong at all…”
Sheila gently stimulated the nape of Maria’s neck, sending shivers down her petite body.
“You’re just starting to sweat a little—”
Sheila then extended her hand toward her daughter’s chest touched her breast in a flicking motion.
“—Ah!”
“And your nipples have grown just a bit hard, huh?”
A mysterious, licentious glint appeared in Sheila’s eyes as she laughed at the display.
“Why are you getting so excited? Your body’s the same as it was when it was being tied up earlier, isn’t it?”
“That’s…”
Maria said nothing, only managing to let out sweet breaths.
“I suppose I should be explaining it all to you now. Right now, Basara-kun can see you directly, Maria-chan. It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? I suppose I should show you how effective it is being an exhibitionist in front of people for the first time. There’s the mirror, too—it’ll allow you to be self-aware of your own perverted self through what Basara-kun’s going to do to you.”
“Basara-san…?”
“You like this kind of play where you get to show off when someone’s around, don’t you? I assume you do it in front of Mio-chan and the others? Oh, and one more thing.”
Sheila directed Maria’s attention to the shunga, the latter of whom was starting to grow enchanted by the picture and its implications.
“We’re going to re-enact the situation in this shunga. I imagine it’ll allow you to fully empathize with the characters in the shunga, don’t you think? I recall that you’ve done something like this before, trying to empathize with an erotic game with your magic? We’re going to do that again right now.”
“I’ve already…done so a couple of…nnn!”
Knowing full well that the girl in the shunga was embarrassed in her restricted state, she had a beguiling expression on her face nonetheless, and she could no longer hold in the overflowing pleasure.
“Aaah…This is, I…I’m already very…Nnn, haah♥…”
Maria was reduced to a mess, writhing as her insides rubbed against one another.
“That’s right. Shunga like this exists too, you know. Very well, Basara-kun.”
Basara stared at the copy of the shunga painting Sheila had handed him, feeling somewhat impressed.
“With this—we’re really going to start making the two of you look like what’s going on in the picture, okay?”
Apart from the newly made shunga painting, a series of small, tightly packed words were included on it as well—the lines of the scenario of the man and woman in the shunga were written in amazingly vivid detail, down to the sound effects present in such a situation.
“The font is adjusted a bit, but you should be able to read it. It’s amazing, isn’t it? This stuff isn’t that much different from the erotic manga in our current age.”
Although Basara wasn’t particularly surprised that someone from the Demon Realm would be knowledgeable about erotic manga from Japan, he was genuinely surprised that Sheila was already knowledgeable in shunga, an area that dated almost hundreds of years back.
“Well then, Basara-kun, go ahead and read it.”
“You’re asking…me to do it?”
“Yep. And grope her butt, too, here.”
Basara found himself slightly confused by the surprisingly innocent way Sheila had said that, and moved to stand beside Maria.
“Sorry, Maria. It seems your mom isn’t really satisfied yet.”
“Alright…Basara-san…” Maria’s eyes were wet as she looked at Basara, doing her best to suppress the feelings that were fast welling up inside her, biting her lip.
Basara could also start to feel something fester within him from her gesture.
Am I being influenced by the shunga too? Or am I just being enthralled by how tempting an embarrassed Maria is? With such thoughts in his mind, Basara’s gaze turned to the script written on the shunga that Sheila had given him, and his mouth opened to read its contents out loud:
“ ‘What’s wrong, what’s wrong? You say you feel absolutely nothing from this, but isn’t this part of you getting really hot?’ ”
As he spoke, he roughly caressed Maria’s butt and occasionally gave light slaps on it.
“Ha…ah♥, ah!”
Maria began to pant sweetly as she writhed in Basara’s hold.
“ ‘Where is it that you want it? Come on, I want you to say it yourself.’ ”
“N-No….After all, Basara-san…ah, ah♥…it already feels so good just by you touching me. Even so, nnn, nhaah♥…”
Tears were already flowing down Maria’s eyes. Her tongue was sticking out as if she were desiring something.
“I’m being tied up like this…the shunga…uuu, aahn, haaan! I don’t know anything anymore, but…I want more…Basara-san♥!”
Basara sucked up her flowing tears with his lips. He then leaned in close to her and carried her little body, his left hand reaching to caress her breast, while his other hand went for her butt and violated it roughly.
“Aaaaah, fuaaaah♥!”
Basara buried his face into the nape of Maria’s neck, causing her to moan considerably loudly; the sweet, womanly scent of sweat entered Basara’s nose as he did so.
“Are you finally learning it, Maria?”
“Ah, ah…uu…aaah—♥!”
Maria could not respond even if she was only being touched ; her head was dangling back and forth between breaths and her eyes were shut as if she were really enjoying the sensation.
“Well, study it to your heart’s content, then. This is what you wanted to study about, right?”
“Y-Yes, Basara-san. I’ll be learning…human culture…ah♥!”
“ ‘Are you really in a position to say anything!?’ ”
Basara’s finger went up Maria’s skirt and rubbed the cavity between her buttocks.
“Aaah! This is amazing…Even though I’m a succubus…aaah, nhaah♥! Human culture really feels so goooood!”
“ ‘Well, it’s time. I’m going to do it!”
Tugging on the ropes that bound Maria as he twisted her constricted body to his leisure, Basara insert his hand deep into Maria’s skirt.
His fingers slipped deeper within her, down her tights and her underwear, and finally…to her most sensitive spot.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah♥!”
Maria’s jaw widened as she moaned, her silver hair a mess as she writhed amidst the pleasure.
The liquid that pooled on the floor as a womanly odor wafted around the closing barrier was not sweat.
Part 2
“We’ve enjoyed ourselves so much today, haven’t we, Basara-san! The culture of the human world—the culture of Japan—is absolutely amazing, isn’t it!” Maria said, her face glittering with excitement following the trip.
The three had now left the museum, including Sheila.
“Yeah…I’ve managed to see just how amazing the world is.”
The sun that shone in the cloudless sky that day was a bright as Maria’s own smile.
“I suppose that’s great, then.” Basara’s couldn’t help but let out a complex expression; despite having conquered Maria in an art museum of all places, the fact that he’d done so in an enclosed barrier without bothering anybody meant that he didn’t really feel all that guilty about it all.
“Thank you, Basara-kun.”
Basara felt his sleeve being pulled, and as he turned around, he could see Shella wearing a warm expression on her face. She was watching her own daughter as she enjoyed herself a certain distance away from them, her gaze full of love.
“Even if Maria-chan’s a succubus, she’s still mighty inexperienced when it comes to being a girl.” She said, her youthful form letting out an infectious smile. “Still, she’s also been in this world or quite some time, and so she’s learned many things that she couldn’t have learned in the Demon Realm—much more than even I have.”
Her words seemed to be earnest, and she straightened herself.
“I know she’s caused quite a lot of trouble for you. Still, I hope that I can continue to leave my daughter Maria in the care you and the others.” Sheila said, bowing deeply.
“Of course,” Basara replied, nodding. “She’s a precious family member to us.”
Those were words that came from the heart.
“Thank you,” Sheila said.
Basara still didn’t understand the true reason why Sheila had come here. Did she really come here to visit the shunga exhibition like she’d said? Maybe she came to see how Maria was doing? Or perhaps she had come to visit Basara himself to confirm something for herself?”
Nevertheless, Basara was convinced of one thing that day–Sheila really loved her daughter from the bottom of her heart.
“Sheila-san, I…” He said, turning toward her.
She was now gone despite being right beside him just a short moment ago, however.
“Mom! There’s some really good stuff over there!”
“There’s some illustration books, too! Oh, you’d want to buy some of them, don’t you, Maria-chan? That’s right, maybe I should pick up some illustration books and handkerchiefs for Lucia-chan as souvenirs.”
“Just as I would expect from you, mom! I’m already looking forward to what sort of reaction that stubborn Lucia onee-sama’s going to give now.”
The two succubi were now enjoying themselves in the souvenir section; Basara looked at them with astonishment for a couple of moments, but his expression eventually loosened.
I don’t know what Sheila’s true intentions are, but everything should be fine, Basara thought.
He suddenly realized Sheila was there, just a short distance away from him.
“That’s right. Do you think we should get any souvenirs for Mio and the others? Like this shunga handkerchief here—”
“They’ll definitely need this for school, right?”
“They’ll definitely get furious at you, I’ll tell you that!”
And the duo’s affairs properly ended for the day with an unusually high-spirited shopping trip.