City ​​of Witches 339

Chapter 339 – #74_The Witch Of Laziness (4)

#337

1.
The Yesod Count’s family meals always involved two people.
Count Lucy never missed dinner with her daughter, no matter how busy she was.
Especially after Diana was forced to go out from morning till evening, the Count was even canceling appointments to join her for meals.

“My dear, you’ve worked hard again today. Your mother is so proud of you.”

The Count’s expression was quite bright.
Honestly, even when she kicked Diana out, she hadn’t expected her to fulfill her expectations so diligently.
She had thought she would just pretend to do things and then come home.

But to succeed in going out for a whole week straight.
And to come back and tell stories about her various experiences.
Now, she had no regrets even if she died.

“Today, there’s plenty of lamb chops, your favorite. Eat a lot! Ohohoho!”
“……”

However, Diana was just staring blankly at the lamb chops the Count had served, lost in thought.
The Count was taken aback by Diana’s unusual behavior.
Diana was someone who would pretend to do something even when she was being lazy, but would perk up at the mention of lamb chops.
Normally, she would be eagerly moving her knife and fork, devouring the lamb chops…

“What’s wrong? Did something happen outside?”
“No, Mom. I’ll eat well.”
“Okay, okay, I bought a lot of snacks from the mortal world in Border Town. So, what did you do today?”

As if it were natural, it was report time during the meal.
It was the time when Diana would tell the Count about her day, and the Count would grin with a face that looked like she was about to die of happiness.

“I went to a host bar.”

The Count’s expression, which was already preparing to smile, shattered like a plate thrown from a rooftop.
Her hand slipped as she was cutting the lamb chop, and the meat fell to the floor.

“Wha, wha, wha, what bar?”
“A host bar.”
“You can’t go to places like that! I told you! All men are just perverts who are trying to take advantage of your pretty face! Why did you go to such a place? Are you rebelling against your mother now?”

Apprentice witches should stay away from men.
This was essential to prepare for any possible accidents.
However, Count Lucy’s indoctrination and constant slander were not based on such common sense.

She was so worried and sad that some scoundrel might take away Diana, who wouldn’t hurt even if she put her in her eye.
To be honest, just imagining Diana, who had become a witch, rolling around in bed with some man made her feel depressed.

And how many tears would the inevitable farewell that would come with time make Diana’s beautiful eyes shed…
She didn’t want her beloved daughter to experience the sadness of growing old alone, getting sick, and eventually leaving in loneliness.
Just imagining it made her heart ache.

“No, I’m not rebelling. I heard there was a male witch there. I wanted to see him.”
“Ah.”

At Diana’s calm response, the Count realized she had been worrying too much.
Yesod, being a business, reacted very quickly to rumors.
She already knew that a host bar had opened and that there was a male witch working as a host.
It was something worth visiting for magical curiosity.

“Ahem, Mom got too excited. I’m sorry, my dear.”
“It’s okay.”
“So, what did you do there? What was it like seeing him in person?”
“…It was nothing special.”

The magic he showed was actually nothing special.
It was magnetic magic, but it wasn’t something worth going out of your way to see.
Even if they were to fight, she thought she could win as an apprentice witch.
If he was a ‘male witch’ who had only lived for a mere generation, that was probably his limit.

“Really? Rumors can’t be trusted. Well, no man would catch the eye of our pretty daughter!”

But there was something that kept bothering her, even though she tried to brush it off.
The second game.
A move that she hadn’t expected at all, one that almost cornered Diana.

Was it really intentional?
If so, it meant that he had analyzed and responded to all the magic Diana had been building up step by step.

“Mom.”
“Yes, my dear?”
“Is that position board, is it good?”

The Count answered Diana’s question as if it were obvious.

“Why are you asking that again?”
“I just suddenly became curious.”
“Our Diana is smart like her mother, so her skills are amazing! Shall we take a bath together before bed and play a game?”
“I don’t need a bath. To be a bit more objective, what would you say about my skills?”

The Count, who was disappointed that her request for a bath together had been rejected, answered Diana’s question.

“Among apprentice witches, there’s no one to compare to… If you’re at a level to match me, you wouldn’t be inferior to most witches, would you?”
“Right?”
“Of course, of course~ Our daughter is sooooo smart.”
“You’ve never gone easy on me, have you?”
“I only did when you were very young~ If I did that now, you’d notice right away and get angry.”

Actually, she was going easy on her just a little bit.
Even though it was a game where apprentice witches and witches could compete equally, there was a gap in experience.

But even considering that, Diana’s skills were excellent.
Moreover, as it was a hobby that could be done while sitting, she was quite the veteran, looking at game records or reviewing them on her own.

The attack she had prepared this morning was also disguised so that it wouldn’t be noticed.
That man had seen through it…
Was that really possible?
Diana’s worries grew deeper.

2.
The next morning.
Siwoo was lying on the sofa in the quiet host bar, reading a book.
It was none other than the game record of the ‘position board’ he had played with Diana for the first time yesterday.
Although not as much as chess, it was a game with a fairly long history, so there were many records of famous witches.

Siwoo’s impression after looking through the records was…

“It’s more fun than I thought?”

It was a game he had never expected.
The runes were randomly placed, so there were many variables, and unlike other board games played on a 2D plane, the game board itself had a three-dimensional shape, so there were a great number of possibilities.

To compare it to a familiar game, it was like connecting stones to complete magic like in Gomoku, fighting with that completed magic like in chess, and at the same time, claiming territory like in Go?
It required complex calculation and thinking skills, and with the addition of psychological warfare, it couldn’t be boring.

So, as soon as his work was over, he went to the bookstore in a nearby gallery and bought a collection of game records.
There were also things like basic openings, standard strategies, and game guides, but he got tired of them after skimming through them a few times.
Strange terms kept popping up.

After that, he had been reading the game records alone all night, observing the overall flow of the game.
He had been so focused that he had forgotten about the passage of time, and before he knew it, the sun had risen.

-Knock knock knock!

At a time when nothing was prepared yet.
7 a.m.
There was already a knock on the door.
When he went to the front door and opened it, the guest he had expected was standing there, as if she had been drawn in a picture, with a demure posture.

“I’m here again.”
“Good morning, Diana. You’re here early.”

Siwoo greeted her politely with the etiquette he had learned and led Diana inside.
There was still quite some time before the start of business, but it didn’t matter.

Siwoo was quite competitive.
He was ready to make up for yesterday’s humiliation.
Well, whether it was possible or not, he would have to try it himself.

“I’ll order drinks again today. Since I came early, three of the same as yesterday. Okay?”
“One bottle is enough. We have plenty of time anyway.”

As soon as she sat down, she set up the position board.
He had charged his magic power enough yesterday, so he could play games all day today.
A question suddenly came to mind, so he asked.

“By the way, does the Count know you’re coming to a place like this? It’s not my place to say, but… it’s not really a place for an apprentice witch to set foot in…”
“She knows. It’s okay. Please prepare quickly.”
“Yes.”

Diana also seemed strangely fired up with competitiveness.
That appearance was cute, and it also reminded him of his twins, making him feel familiar.

3.
Diana, who had finished setting up the game, naturally opened her mouth.
She didn’t know how long she had been waiting for this moment since last night.
As soon as she had finished breakfast, she had come straight here without stopping anywhere.

“I’ll give you nine moves again today. Go first.”

She was giving him nine moves as if it were natural.
Even though yesterday’s result was unexpected, it was she who had won even after giving up 9 points, so it was a perfectly reasonable penalty for Diana.

“Ah, it’s okay today. I studied a bit yesterday.”

But the answer that came back was?
It was a bold answer that she didn’t need to give up any moves.
Diana had to try hard to manage her expression, which was about to twist.
It seemed like he had gotten carried away because they were a bit even yesterday.

In this position board, where life and death were at stake with every move, he had lost even after receiving that many moves, and now what?
He didn’t need it because he had studied for a day?
She was so dumbfounded by his recklessness that she was almost sighing.

“…Okay.”

But to blush here and explain everything one by one was rather a low-class behavior.
If she showed an overwhelming difference in skill, the opponent would naturally realize his place.
Diana made a resolution to kick the opponent, who was standing on the peak of ignorance, into the valley of despair.

Thus began the first game.
Diana and Siwoo took turns claiming magic sources.

Diana claimed three sources, spacing them two squares apart, which was very orthodox.
Siwoo kept the three sources clustered together, as before.

“……”

As soon as she confirmed that, Diana was fidgeting.
It wasn’t that she was anxious and worried.
It was just that she was so dumbfounded and absurd that she couldn’t help but say something.
After a long deliberation, Diana threw out a word.
Of course, it wasn’t a pleasant sound.

“You said you studied.”
“Yes, I looked at game records all day.”
“Did they play like this in those records?”
“No, I just think this suits my style better.”

A new kind of patience test?
Of course, there was a way to place magic sources like that.

But that was closer to a surprise strategy that would catch you off guard, like the one he had used yesterday.
Even if you went to the mid-game, your power would wane, and in the late-game, it was a strategy with a clear limit that you couldn’t win in a head-on fight.

Was he trying to use the same strategy again because it seemed like the strategy he had tried to get away with yesterday had worked?
Diana felt her insides boiling.

He was already an unpleasant presence, and now he was doing things that she didn’t like from head to toe.
Even the easygoing Diana couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you.”

She wanted to completely crush him from the beginning to the end, but first, she had to solidify her defense and the preemption of runes.
Diana’s stable strategy, with a hot heart and a cool head.
Meanwhile, Siwoo’s strategy was ambiguous.

Instead of focusing his power in one place, he was making moves as if scattering it everywhere.
It was impossible to even guess what he was aiming for.

It was a waste of time after all.
The opponent was just a narcissist who was full of pretense, intoxicated by the fame of being the first male witch.
Of course, yesterday’s game was also a fluke.
She should just end this boring game quickly and go watch a play instead.

Having come to that conclusion, Diana tried to complete her magic through a stable move as usual.
And then.

“……”

A move was placed between Siwoo’s randomly placed stones.
It pierced through the magic power fortress in the shape of a triangular pyramid that Diana was building, as if it had been waiting for it from the beginning.

With just one move, he broke the stabilization device and pierced the circuit that connected magic power from the magic source.

What Siwoo was preparing was a magic formula arranged in a straight line, which would fundamentally block the generation of magic itself.
It was something that could only be used if one understood the principle and structure of the magic.

It was a dispel pin.