A Crazy World Where Human Rights Fees Exist

Humanity was defeated.

Tearing through the clear blue sky, without a single cloud, a spaceship appeared from a purple Warp Gate.

Unexpected invaders arrived, and a voice echoed from the sky. To the Monsters who introduced themselves as 『Clausin』, the planet was taken.

Nuclear weapons and the like didn’t work at all. They blocked missiles before they even exploded, didn’t they?

Earth’s bombs, capable of devastating everything in war, were like stone axes from the Paleolithic era to them, and they mocked us, calling us primitive.

To the Clausin, the blue planet Earth seemed merely a collection of monkeys that hadn’t advanced, rich in resources, and they sneered, saying they hadn’t expected us to surrender so easily.

We can’t win…against things like that.

With military power far surpassing human physical capabilities, and weapons capable of completely erasing a city in the blink of an eye. The names of nations have long since vanished into the annals of history…

Even the name Earth, now, has been changed to Colony Star Klaus-009 for over ten years now…

But…defeat wasn’t the end. As if to suck even the liver of a flea, the Clausin introduced a special system that humans had no choice but to follow.

『Human Rights Fee』

When I first heard it, I wondered what it was. I thought they mispronounced “labor costs,” but it really was “Human Rights Fee.”

If you want to be treated as a human…you must choose one of two resources to pay as tax.

One is money. Even though the Clausin could seize resources by force, they offered the dog collar of money to obtain continuous resources.

Even after becoming a colony planet, what humans had to do was the same. To live…that was all.

If anything changed…it was that more than half of the monthly income in the household budget was paid as Human Rights Fee?

If you’re short on money, you can extract the second resource, a substance called Magical Power, from your body.

The invaders said that every being born on their respective home planets possesses Magical Power, and since it’s used to strengthen themselves or as a power source for Spaceships, they don’t indiscriminately slaughter the residents of conquered planets…If that’s the case, they shouldn’t have come in the first place…

I don’t want to know how much Magical Power is in my body, and the feeling of something being extracted from my body when I already have money wouldn’t be very pleasant.

What happens if you don’t pay either of them within the deadline? You’d live a miserable life until you die, to the point where the thought “it’s better to live as livestock” wouldn’t leave your mind.

First, you’re sent to a Prison where tax evaders are incarcerated.

There, men are either modified into Monsters or endlessly drained of Magical Power by Succubi, and women are said to have their Magical Power taken in the same way, living as broodmares for the Monsters.

To be modified into a naked purple creature or live as an onahole for life…perhaps slitting your own throat would be an easier way out.

How great would it be if we were invaded by Deviluke instead? At least their princesses are pretty…fuck.

What’s even worse is…that the quality of human life is steadily plummeting.

Even children and teenagers have to pay Human Rights Fees, and the outer areas, far from the city where most people fled, have long since turned into slums, no less plagued by looting and fights than old London.

Monsters live in cities glittering with neon signs, and apart from the murderous expenses…well, it’s not bad…it’s really bad.

The number of humans residing in the city was quite sparse. The ratio of city residents was about 2 humans to 8 Monsters, so Monsters were seen more often than people.

The reason the Clausin…Monsters lived here was a surprisingly unexpected answer. Because the food was delicious, and the creative works were interesting…

That these guys, who invaded nine planets and could build structures straight out of sci-fi fantasy, had something similar to baked potatoes as their staple and best dish before invading Earth…it’s a funny story.

The occupations of the 20% human population were diverse if you looked broadly, but extremely narrow and biased if you looked closely. Excluding part-time jobs, most of the employed people were food business owners and those working in animation or novels…

“Senpai~ I’ve refilled all the syrup bottles.”

“…”

“..Se.n.pa.i?”

So…I can live in the city. It’s a life in a small wooden building in the neon-lit downtown area…but it wasn’t bad.

I’m the owner of a small cafe with only a dozen or so tables and no kiosk, but a cafe near the station can’t fail. Plus, I have a cute employee…a hoobae-nim, so I’m actually blessed.

Race? Human, who can be treated as human.

Then, occupation? Manager of [Cafe Lapin].

I wondered if I really needed to run a business, but there were welfare systems like startup benefits, and it was also a cafe I inherited from my parents who passed away at a young age, so I didn’t want to leave it to others…to Monsters.

“Are you worried about something? Yes? Yeees~?”

Poke-poke-

A soft finger touched my cheek, waking me from my daze.

“Haa~ always the same…Nothing’s left because of the Human Rights Fee.”

“Then we’ll have to work harder, won’t we? Should I add my smile to the menu? I’m confident I can hit five million won in daily sales…hehe.”

“Hey…that’s…”

…possible?

She hasn’t changed at all…except for her height and chest. How can she not change at all and still have such moist skin?

Perhaps because of the appearance of my hoobae-nim, whom I was close with in high school, the cafe was mostly filled with male Monsters, but at this level, I can live without complaining compared to other people.

With glossy, bright black straight hair, a puppy-like face that could make anyone smile just by looking at it, and even a generous heart. This child’s smile is only a thousand won? How much would it be for an hour…the Monsters’ wallets would probably burn up, wouldn’t they?

“Anyway, call me boss now. It’s been ages since we graduated, and you’re still calling me senpai…”

“Senpai is senpai, you know? I, Miweol! As an employee of Cafe Lapin, I have the right to call the boss senpai, don’t I?”

“Yes, yes~ Call me whatever you like, hoobae-nim~ I’ll close up alone, so you can go home. It’s tiring to stand all the time, isn’t it?”

“What? Oh, it’s not closing time yet, is it? And when you do it alone, you always mess up the inventory.”

“Hey…it’s not always, okay? It’s a boss’s order. I won’t cut your salary, so go home. Take the main road so you don’t run into any perverts on the way, okay?”

“Tsk…then…Let’s close up together tomorrow and go for a drink. If you promise, your hoobae-nim will *gladly* go home.”

“She’s teasing me to the very end…Fine. I’m going to order something super expensive.”

Of course, I’ll have to pay in the end.

Miweol…how could I refuse the offer of my cute hoobae-nim who calls me senpai? She’s a sweet girl any man would want as a girlfriend…but I just can’t seem to find the courage…

When I saw her in high school, she was just cute…who knew I’d fall for her…

If it were up to my heart, I’d want to stay with Miweol right now, but I have something else to do today. I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

Because I can’t involve my precious hoobae-nim in dangerous business.

……………

The catalyst was planted deep within my solitary body several years ago.

“Get awayyyyyyyy!!!!”

Turning my head at the sound of footsteps behind me, two purple creatures were licking their lips, eyes burning, coming to hunt me.

“Aku will violate!! Aku will violate!! Aku will violate humans!!”

The targets for punishment, 『Rogue Monster』 Aku…they’re like mob enemies in a sentai show.

To become the subject of an incident I’d only seen on YouTube or the news.

These guys are also Clausin, but they’re illegal immigrants belonging nowhere. They are low-grade Monsters, classified as mob enemies with strength comparable to modified humans.

Despite having human rights, they indiscriminately rape, slaughter, or devour people who have had all their Magical Power drained, not following the law, so they were a nuisance even to other Clausin.

“I’m a man, you bastards!!”

They paused, then the Aku tilted their heads as if deep in thought, seeming to hesitate.

Yeah…if you’ve got something dangling every time you run, aim for women, not men…please…

Aesthetically, genetically, and with a lower body, I’m a man…I wished they would just leave me alone…but they looked at each other, nodded, and with a terrible, unforgettable smile on their faces, they pushed off the ground.

“Aku can get Magical Power from women or men! Quietly hand over your Magical Power, Aku! Whether it’s a male or female fish, as long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters!!”

“High-quality Magical Power!! You have high-quality Magical Power, so you’re a female too!”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

…Wait a minute.

High-quality…high…quality?

Wrong. They don’t understand.

Your way of thinking is different…you guys. More importantly, didn’t you not add “Aku” at the end?!

If caught, you’re violated. If violated, your Magical Power is taken.

If your Magical Power is taken, you can’t move.

If you can’t move…you’ll be taken to an underground mine or a sewer and violated, and if your body no longer produces Magical Power, you’ll end up as meat on a dinner table. In some ways, it’s a more horrific death than becoming a Monster.

Of course, if you catch them, you get an unspeakable reward…but there’s no way a human can defeat a Monster.

What did I do wrong to be chased by these kinds of guys? No, more than that…

“Akuku-!! The game of ‘catch me if you can’ is over, human! Aku will strip you naked and violate you until your whole body turns pure white, Aku, Akuuuuu!!”

Thump-

“Gasp..!”

I’ve been caught, haven’t I?

And so easily, like flipping a child’s palm, I was grabbed by the scruff of my neck and slammed into the wall, and with a thud, my head rang.

The sensation in my legs, which had been sprinting, dulled, and though I wanted to shake off the Monster’s arm, my body was lifted, unable to move a single finger.

“Aku finally caught you! Aku will take you to the hideout and extract every last drop of Magical Power!”

My narrowing airway blurred my vision, and one of the Monsters licked its lips and opened its maw wide.

The bottle containing the devil’s water, which I hadn’t even taken a sip of, fell onto the asphalt, scattering into glittering green shards under the streetlights.

In an era where soju costs 6,000 won…what a waste. A damn waste.

To think that the cost of soju was more regrettable than the danger of being violated…with prices skyrocketing like crazy these days, perhaps I’ve gone crazy too…

“Aku smells good! Aku will eat one arm!”

Crunch-

“【I shall deliver the moon’s judgment.】”

“I’ll eat well…gasp?!”

A voice I’d heard somewhere. An otherworldly moonlight descended from the sky, piercing the body of the Aku who had bared its teeth.

“Wha, what is it, Aku! Who are you?! Revea…your identity?!”

In my fading consciousness, I coughed as my airway suddenly opened, and I fell to the ground.

A few shards of the broken soju bottle had pierced my leg, but a girl, who descended from the sky with blue-coated swords, embraced me and slowly stroked my calf with her hand, the flowing blood stopped, and my leg was perfectly healed without a single scar.

“Senp…Are you okay?!”

“You are…”

“My…my name is Luna! Magical Girl Luna!”

Magical Girl…I’ve heard of them. But this is the first time I’ve seen one like this.

Girls who suddenly appear, defeat 『Rogue Monsters』, and like fairies, leave without receiving any thanks, humans who are not Monsters yet possess power beyond Monsters.

The Clausin had put a bounty on Magical Girls, saying they would guarantee a lifetime of human rights to anyone who helped report or capture a Magical Girl with high-quality Magical Power…Yet not a single Magical Girl was caught by the Monsters.

The reason was….

“..Luna..it’s you. Thank you for saving me..”

Luna, who gave me a lap pillow and healed me, was so beautiful she could be called a goddess descended from the heavens.

With an innocent, puppy-like face, silver hair as spotless as a snowfield, sparkling amber eyes, and even subtly reddened cheeks…

..Reddened cheeks?

“Th-that! I’m sorry! Your upper body clothes are all torn…I-I’ll fix them right away!”

“..Why did you save me?”

“Uh…yes? Well, senp…no, you don’t need a reason to save someone, do you?”

It was from that day. That I came to admire Magical Girls…

It was a short conversation, but that one word, seeping into the hard ground, was so sweet.

“You’re so pretty…you shine so brightly. Truly…beautiful…you.”

“Oh, is that so…Thank you!”

I felt pathetic and ugly, having screamed at the Monsters chasing me to go violate other women. I wanted to change.

Like Luna, who saved my life without any reward, I also wanted to help someone.

If it were Magical Girls like Luna…I felt a sense of expectation that they could fight and win against the Clausin, and I might have presumptuously harbored the hope that Earth could be reclaimed from the invaders.

“Next time…can I see you again?”

“Next time we meet…don’t meet like this. Okay? Let’s meet with a smile…smiling. Hehe…”

With the smile visible within her silver hair, reflected by the blue moonlight, my vision gradually blurred.

….

Clink-clink-

Yes…that happened. I haven’t seen Luna once since that day, but thanks to her, I’m not bored every night sometimes.

Since I’m a man, I can’t become a Magical Girl. I don’t particularly want to, either. Walking around in such a uniform would be a bit…embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

I don’t even know how to properly use Magical Power…and I’ve lived a life unrelated to the ‘magic’ in “magic,” but I don’t want to keep living just seeing the faces of Monsters.

The desire to be helpful, if I couldn’t fight alongside them on the front lines, I wanted to become a recluse who could support them from behind, and lighten the burdens on their shoulders, even just a little.

Beep-beep-beep-beep

“Ah.”

Did I touch something wrong…Let’s just steal this much and bolt.

As expected, I was quickly discovered after infiltrating in disguise…The Monsters in this mansion are just too big.

They get suspicious even if you’re slightly small, so even if I wore height-increasing shoes or bulked up my physique with a rubber suit, I couldn’t replicate the distinctive dangling penis of male Monsters, so I tried my best to conceal it…

“What the hell are you guys doing to get robbed?! ”

“”S-sorry!!””

In an era where humans can become slaves, a class system also exists among Monsters.

Among them are those called nobles. While there are good nobles, in the already struggling outer areas of the city, through all sorts of illicit methods, there are also scumbags who seize property and Magical Power.

Saying someone didn’t kneel before a noble, or looked up with disrespectful eyes…Laughter never ceased on the faces of those pigs who wielded power in the name of fines and raked in money.

So I robbed them. Taking just a little more than the money those pigs had confiscated.

Of course, it wasn’t smooth sailing from the start.

If I fell into a trap, I had to cross the line between life and death, but as experience accumulated, the operations became more elaborate, with infiltration through disguise, analysis of internal structures, and securing escape routes…

Before I knew it, I had far surpassed the level of a petty thief…Maybe I had a talent for it. A talent for petty thievery…

“M-master! Where the safe was robbed, there’s this…”

By day, a cafe owner, by night…

I became a Phantom Thief.

[I’m taking the pearl from the pig’s neck – Lapin]

I don’t send out calling cards, but…I should have something like this, shouldn’t I?

“Ph-Phantom Thief Lupiiiiiiiiin-!!!!”

No…I didn’t intend to become a Phantom Thief from the start. The mask I wore when I first stole money was a rabbit mask, so it couldn’t be helped that I was unintentionally given the same name as the cafe…

The blue skin of the Monster who owned the mansion where the safe was robbed flushed and gradually turned red, and curses filled with rage echoed from inside the mansion to outside the windows.

“Wow…if I get caught, I’m dead.”

Anyway…no matter how I think about it, they look alike…Luna and Miweol.

Their faces and voices seem similar…Nah, it can’t be. There’s no way a person’s hair color would change so easily, right?

Miweol doesn’t create and shoot swords, does she? Her hair is black too.

If that were the case, the faces of the Monsters who kept grabbing her hand, pretending to hold coffee at the cafe, wouldn’t have been unharmed…

“A sound came from over there! Catch him!!”

“Tsk…can’t they just give up…?”

They’re more persistent than I thought…Are they planning to follow me all the way to the outskirts?

For the feast I’ll have with my hoobae-nim tomorrow, I can’t get caught in a place like this!