Listy placed two cups before Chris and me. Based on the faint, floral aroma, I assumed it was rose tea. She began to speak as she unpacked the box of sweets I had brought.
“Let’s start with the basics. It isn’t just me; when a Succubus finds someone ‘romantically attractive,’ they generally prefer people stained by desire and warped by malice—the sort the world calls villains or scum. Both of you, make sure you never get involved with anyone a Succubus claims to like in a romantic sense. No matter how charming they seem on the outside, they’re almost certainly garbage.”
After transferring the sweets to a separate dish and placing it in the center of the table, Listy sat across from us and took a sip of her tea before continuing.
“...If you look hard enough, you might find an exception or two, but fundamentally, the people a Succubus views as romantic interests are villains by society's standards. Naturally, that includes me. Conversely, a boy who is a good person to his core, like Kaito, is completely outside my romantic interest.”
“I see.”
“Ah, Chris is a half-breed, so she’s different. I’m strictly talking about a pure Succubus.”
Hearing Listy’s explanation, both Chris and I understood the meaning behind her earlier words. Knowing the premise that Listy views villains as romantic interests, saying someone was “outside her romantic interest” was effectively calling them a good person. It was, quite literally, a compliment.
“Furthermore, for someone like me, I actually evaluate those who are ‘outside my romantic interest’ much more highly.”
“And why is that?” Chris asked.
Listy smiled, casually crossing her legs.
“It’s a fundamental issue. The moment I judge someone as a romantic interest, I classify them as either an ‘ingredient’ or a ‘toy.’ They have no value beyond that. When I say I like someone romantically, it’s no different than me saying, ‘That cut of meat looks juicy and delicious.’”
“...In other words, Mother, you hold Miyama-sama in high regard.”
“Of course. Saying I don’t view a member of the opposite sex as a romantic interest is a compliment I rarely give. Given my nature, I’m quite confident in my eye for people. Based on that, I’d say Kaito easily earns a passing grade.”
“Huh? A passing grade? For what?”
I tilted my head, confused by the sudden evaluation. Listy simply pointed a finger toward Chris.
“You’ve passed as a suitable partner for Chris.”
“...Mother?”
“Chris is so pure when it comes to love that it makes me wonder if she actually has Succubus blood in her. Someone like you—a genuine, softhearted person who is perhaps even a bit too kind—is perfect for her. Besides, it’s clear Chris has taken a liking to you... though since she’s a total Romance Ponkotsu, I doubt she’s managed a single decent approach.”
Listy spoke with visible amusement, while Chris’s expression shifted into one of slight panic. I suppose anyone would react that way if their mother started critiquing their love life right in front of the person they liked.
However, was Chris really a ‘pure Romance Ponkotsu’? That didn't fit the image I had of her at all. In the letters we exchanged, she always opened with saccharine, skin-crawling lines. Between those and her attempts at seduction, I’d pegged her as a sophisticated flirt who enjoyed teasing me.
“Mother, with all due respect, I have been quite proactive in my letters to Miyama-sama...”
“You were just recycling lines you pulled from romance novels and stage plays, weren't you?”
“...T-That may be true, but... I don't see the problem...”
“You used exaggerated lines clearly meant for fiction, while the rest of your letters were written in a deadly serious tone. Even if you intended to be sincere, to Kaito, it probably looked like nothing more than a practical joke. Isn’t that right?”
“...Eh? ...Is that... true?”
Chris turned to me, looking utterly shell-shocked. Wait, what? This was taking a very unexpected turn. Perhaps my entire understanding of our relationship was wrong.
I’d honestly assumed her seductive behavior and those flowery words of love were just a joke—the way an older woman might tease a younger man. I’d mostly just skimmed over them. But... was she actually trying to woo me?
“E-Err, to be honest, I did think the openings of your letters were a joke every time.”
“...That wasn't enough...? But they worked so well in the reference books...”
As I watched Chris mutter to herself with a look of total devastation, I felt my perception of her shifting.
Truthfully, I’d been a bit wary of Chris until now. I saw her as a calculating, mature woman who might lead me around by the nose if I wasn't careful. I’d worried that if I let my guard down, she’d have me dancing in the palm of her hand.
“Chris is serious to a fault and quite stiff-necked,” Listy added. “I bet the rest of your letters contained almost nothing personal. Just dry introductions to Arclesia’s tourist attractions, right?”
“...Prying into private matters in a letter is rude... Besides, I made sure to include topics other than the state of the empire...”
“And let me guess, you chose pets as a common topic of interest?”
“..................Yes.”
Now that she mentioned it, excluding those over-the-top professions of love, Chris’s letters were incredibly formal.
Just as Listy said, they were dominated by talk of the Arclesia Empire, with the occasional mention of her pets. I’d assumed she was aggressively promoting her country to me, but was it really just because she couldn't think of anything else to say?
Watching Chris wither and shrink under Listy’s sharp observations, I began to think that she was actually quite cute.
Serious-senpai: “Now that I think about it, that whole accident where he walked in on her changing was such a cliché... If she was in the middle of changing when Kaito arrived and thought, ‘Ah, this is a development I saw in a romance novel!’ and decided to roll with it... isn't this girl a way bigger Romance Ponkotsu than I thought?”