City ​​of Witches 364

Chapter 364 – #78_Outdoor Activities(6)

#362

1.
“Miss Diana. You seem a bit distracted today.”

Yesterday was for outdoor activities, so today was location board training.
Diana snapped out of her thoughts at Siwoo’s sudden remark.

“Why do you think so?”
“It’s just… you’re missing things you usually wouldn’t. Are you not feeling well? Would you like to rest a bit?”

Indeed, he was right.
Usually, Diana and Siwoo’s matches would last for about 250 to 300 moves.
But today, they were all around 100 moves.
Sometimes, she even lost in just 50 moves.

Moreover, Diana hadn’t even asked Siwoo for feedback after the games through review, which she usually did.
She was playing mechanically, and as soon as one game ended, she would immediately start another, without saying a single word.
At least when it came to location boards, Diana had acknowledged Siwoo and tried to learn from him.

Diana stared at Siwoo.
They had been playing together for over three hours today, but this was the first time they had made eye contact.

“……”

Her feelings were complex.
As if she didn’t understand what was going on.
And with a hint of worry in his eyes, Diana couldn’t bring herself to say what was bothering her.

“Yes, I’ll rest a bit.”
“You’ve worked hard.”

Diana replied in a listless voice and returned to her bedroom.
She flopped onto her custom-made bed, which boasted a perfect ergonomic design.
It was her own little hideout, decorated like a princess’s bed with layers of flowing fabric.

“Haa… What is this feeling…”

After realizing the secret relationship between her tutor, Shin Siwoo, and her mother yesterday,
Diana was experiencing a feeling she had never felt before in her life.

She had been somewhat shocked by her mother’s unseemly behavior in the novel.
And by the lie of hiring a tutor as an excuse to keep him by her side, but she had sorted that out while sleeping last night.

Diana had read about love, even if only in books.
Although it was hard to accept that her mother, who had always warned her to be careful of men, was hiding such a secret.
She tried to understand everything.

Because of Diana.
Because of the eyes of those around her.
She felt sorry for her mother, who couldn’t express her true feelings and instead wrote erotic novels in her room to relieve herself.
She wondered how lonely and isolated she must have been to do that.

But there was something strange.
Diana had clearly understood her mother’s situation.
So, even if her mother met a new man and had a secret affair behind Diana’s back, there was no reason for Diana to feel uncomfortable.
It was a minor thing that she could just say, “That’s good,” or “I’m glad,” even if it was a bit surprising and bitter.

Once she had sorted out her feelings, she should have felt at ease.
She should have had a sweet, dreamless sleep last night.

But the turmoil in Diana’s heart began when she faced Siwoo, who had come to see her again today, without fail.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Diana buried her face in the pillow and kicked the bed as if she were swimming.
Siwoo, still dressed in his neat butler’s uniform.
From the moment she opened the door and let him into the living room, the words from the novel began to float in her mind.

Unlike women, the Adam’s apple that protrudes from the second stage of puberty.
The firm forearms peeking out from the slightly raised shirt cuffs.
Even the way he looked at the location board with such seriousness.
It perfectly matched the descriptions in the novel.

Just as she was about to close her mouth, feeling strangely restless.
Just as she became aware that he would be receiving her mother’s ‘private tutoring’ again tonight.
Diana found another discomfort.

“It’s strange…”

She felt unpleasant.
She was extremely uncomfortable with him, who was taking away her precious mother.
And with him, who knew a side of her mother that Diana didn’t know.
But at the same time, a very small complaint that arose like a whisper wasn’t directed at Siwoo alone.

He’s my tutor.
I knew him first.
She told me all men are wolves.

She couldn’t understand it herself, and it was absurd.
But for a very brief moment, she felt dissatisfied with her mother.

“Ugh… ughhh…”

Diana, who couldn’t understand anything anymore, pounded the bed again.

2.
Private tutoring with Countess Yesod always took place in the evening.

But today, Diana had retired earlier than usual, and the Countess happened to have some free time, so the lesson was scheduled for the afternoon.

“We’re going to start finding a way to control the Red Branch in earnest. It’s like going into practice.”
“Is it okay not to do more theory?”
“From here on, I think it’s more efficient to learn by directly confronting the issues and then supplementing the areas where you’re lacking.”
“I understand. But where are we going?”
“Hehe, it’s a secret.”

She had expected them to go to the usual private library.
But the path was a little different.

The Countess’s back, slightly ahead of him.
From what he had observed, the Countess was a witch who loved to dress up.
Apart from her preference for white outfits, she wore different clothes every time, and her style was always outstanding.

As he was staring blankly, wondering how much her clothes cost, he noticed the Countess’s hips swaying slightly as she walked ahead.
The elegant lines created by the combination of her slender waist, wide hips, and high heels, which didn’t seem to match, were captivating.
His eyes were drawn to her, and then…

“Mr. Siwoo, it’s rude to stare so intently at a lady’s back.”

The Countess turned around and caught him.
Instead of getting angry, she gave Siwoo a seductive smile and a sidelong glance.
He was at a loss for words and just blurted out anything that came to mind.

“I’m sorry. I’m just used to your style, Countess. Is that perhaps from Flora’s Dress Shop?”
“Hmm~ Is that so? You have a good eye.”

The Countess smiled knowingly but didn’t make an issue of it.
Instead, the topic naturally shifted to the dress shop.

Siwoo mentioned that he had also had a suit made there, and that most of the nobles in Gehenna had their clothes tailored there.
Naturally, the conversation then turned to Flora Arabesque, the owner of the dress shop.

“Flora Arabesque is also a great witch. Until 200 years ago, there was no witch of a higher rank than her.”

He was surprised because he had never heard of this before.

“Really?”
“Yes, except for Duke Keter. If she had continued to focus on magical research… who knows, she might have reached a very high level? She’s been a 22nd rank since ancient times.”

He had thought she was a laid-back person.
But she was a veteran of the strong.
As they chatted about trivial things, they had arrived at their destination.

“……”
“Shall we go in?”

Siwoo stopped at the entrance of the day’s classroom.
It looked like the entrance to a bathhouse.

“Is this the right place?”
“Yes, it’s my private bath.”

Siwoo asked, just in case, and the Countess answered as if it were obvious.
He couldn’t understand why they were having a private lesson in a bathhouse, so he looked at her, but the Countess tilted her head, looking as if she didn’t know anything.

“Is there a problem?”
“I think there are many problems?”
“Since we started the lesson early, wouldn’t it be nice to have a mixed bath and chat?”

As soon as he heard the words ‘mixed bath,’ Siwoo’s instincts scanned Countess Yesod’s body.
Yesterday’s fishing trip was somewhat like a date, but suddenly a mixed bath?
It felt like they had skipped a few steps.

“The bathtub is large enough for two people.”

The Countess approached him and whispered in a sweet voice.
His ears tingled.
Countess Yesod, who had been teasing him for the past few days, seemed to be testing him, and she chuckled softly at Siwoo’s bewildered reaction.

“I’m just kidding. Follow me.”

It wasn’t as extravagant as the large bathhouse he had been to before, but it was a beautifully decorated bath.
Her private bath, which was more like a fancy hotel lounge than a bathroom, gave him a sense of healing just by walking through it.

As he looked around and entered, there was a circular bathtub that seemed large enough for ten people, let alone two.
The tub was filled with water, and in the center was the Red Branch that Siwoo had entrusted to the Countess.

“The Red Branch was too unruly. The tub is filled with 99.9% pure magic heavy water, kept at -2 degrees Celsius.”
“What is magic heavy water?”
“Oh my, it’s a basic thing taught in alchemy, but you don’t know? It’s magic water that has been refined to have an extremely low reactivity.
First, let’s start by handling the Red Branch in there. If you fail to control it, you can just put it in the water, and it will act as a buffer and a decelerator.”

He could tell that it was different from ordinary water.
There was no refraction on the surface, and he could see all the way to the bottom without any obstruction.

“So, we start by controlling it in the magic heavy water?”
“That’s right.”
“I understand.”
“Ah, before that.”

Just as Siwoo was about to step into the tub, having only taken off his shoes and socks.
The Countess gently placed her hand on Siwoo’s shoulder.

“Wouldn’t it be better to take off your top? Since it’s set to a low temperature, you’ll be colder if your clothes get wet.”

It was a strange request, but it wasn’t like she was a woman, and it was just his top…
Weren’t they literally skin-to-skin?
After taking off his jacket, vest, and shirt, Siwoo stepped into the tub, and he immediately realized that the Countess’s advice was correct.
It was terribly cold.
But it wasn’t unbearable.

“Is it really okay to grab it like this?”
“Yes. It’s fine.”

In the water that reached his waist, Siwoo carefully grabbed the Red Branch that was placed in the middle.

“Ugh!”

His palm tingled as if he were holding a live wire.
He had felt something similar before, and it was a sign that his spirit was about to be distorted.
But unlike the previous pain that felt like his whole body was about to shatter, he could now hold it.
Moreover, it was much more comfortable just by the fact that the annoying red barrier wasn’t popping up.

“Would you like to wrap it with the magic I prepared and pull it out above the water?”
“I understand. Bloom.”

Siwoo calmly took out a ribbon.
It was a ribbon with shielding and control functions.
The ribbon, which had sunk below the surface like a water snake, wrapped around the Red Branch, and Siwoo carefully pulled it out of the magic heavy water.

He swallowed hard.
Unlike before, when it was sealed as if it were tightly wrapped, it was now just a thin layer of wrapping.
It might go wild the moment it was pulled out of the magic heavy water.

Finally, the Red Branch was out of the water.
Siwoo was moved.
The spear, which had been so disobedient, was now lying very still.
With this, he could use the coordinate movement even while holding the Red Branch, it was that stable.

“It worked!”

Countess Yesod, who had been watching him quietly, spoke in a kind voice.

“The way you used to use it had a shielding rate of only about 72% in its normal state. It doesn’t have a big impact on your spirit, but it’s enough to cause damage to delicate artifacts around you. Now, it’s close to perfect shielding.”
“It’s thanks to you. Thank you so much.”
“What are you talking about? All I did was give you some basic advice.”

The Countess responded to Siwoo’s beaming smile with a smile of her own.
It was a smile that seemed somehow pleased.

“But we still have a long way to go. The Red Branch also reacts to impact.”
“That’s right.”

He couldn’t forget the shockwave of the distortion field that had tried to turn his insides into mush just by clashing weapons when he fought the knight.
As the Countess said, he could control the Red Branch without any problems in its normal state, but he would need more precise control to wield it freely as a weapon.

“Shall we start by lightly applying impact in that state?”

Still, it was a great improvement.
He was confident that he would improve further in the future.
Siwoo nodded and continued the experiment.

3.
Haa.
What a sight for sore eyes.
The Countess smiled contentedly as she watched Siwoo, who had taken off his top and was fiddling with the Red Branch.