Chapter 1086 – #258_귀로(3)
#1080
1.
The way the lotus restored the body was surprisingly similar to how Keter had healed Siwoo when he was half-crippled.
“It’s because it returns to the purest state of the source of life. The vessel of the soul changes and transforms over time, right? So, it means that a process of returning to its primordial form is needed to balance it.”
Gretel explained, but Siwoo didn’t quite understand.
Even though he had reached the ranks of a transcendent, it seemed that their fields of expertise were too different.
“This feels very occult.”
“It is occult.”
And so, a side effect, or something like that, of the lotus occurred….
Dorothy had turned back into a one-year-old.
After that, she was unconscious, but she grew about one year older each day.
On the pedestal, above the elegantly blooming lotus, Dorothy (a baby), curled up like a fetus, was spinning around like a character in a character selection screen.
Some time had passed, and now she had a physical age of about 12 years old.
Whatever the process, she had essentially reverted to her youth.
Siwoo looked at Dorothy with affectionate eyes and asked,
“When will she regain consciousness?”
“I’d say she’s stabilized now. She should open her eyes in about three or four days.”
“I should prepare a surprise event for her. I’ve already secured an apartment.”
“…You seem like a good man.”
Gretel, who was employing Happy Pig, nodded, realizing Siwoo’s ‘event.’
-Bang
Albiereo entered the healing room.
“Siwoo, are you here?”
The pilot semester, which had been temporarily suspended after Siwoo had suddenly left for the mortal realm, was being managed by Deneb and Albiereo.
Now that Siwoo was back, the pilot semester would resume, and they had things to tell him about the accumulated work.
Albiereo had been suddenly burdened with extra work in the midst of her busy schedule, but she had understood Siwoo’s grief over losing his lover.
However, contrary to her worries, when she heard the victory report he brought, she was truly dumbfounded.
Even Albiereo, who had a high opinion of Siwoo, had not expected that the lecherous son-in-law would accomplish so much.
Moreover, it was all to revive the woman he loved, what a great heroic tale!
She felt sorry for him, proud of him, and even felt reassured, knowing that he would have acted the same way if a similar tragedy had befallen her twins.
“Ah, Albiereo.”
She had come all the way to the Tiferet mansion to deliver the surprising news to him.
“……”
What Albiereo saw was Dorothy, who had turned into a girl of about 12 years old.
“……”
“……”
A meaningful silence stretched out.
At first, Siwoo was confused, but when he followed his great mother-in-law’s gaze, he understood the situation and flinched.
“…So, now you’re not satisfied with just apprentice witches?”
“I expected you to say that. But you are mistaken.”
Siwoo calmly responded to Albiereo’s cold, trembling voice.
Having broken through the wall of the 23rd rank with his recent enlightenment, Siwoo was now confident that he could defeat most 22nd-rank witches.
However, Shin Siwoo was still afraid of his tiger-like great mother-in-law from Jemenaiga.
But before Siwoo could explain, Albiereo suddenly knelt down.
“Oh my! My poor twins! Oh, my, my poor things…. To be married off to a man like that…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so powerless… *sniff*….”
Faced with absolute despair, humans lose even their anger and fall into despair.
Albiereo didn’t even try to kick her son-in-law in the shin, and just sobbed helplessly.
“Gretel, please explain.”
“Huu, okay, okay.”
But the misunderstanding was still just a misunderstanding.
It was true that her poor image management had led to this disaster, but if Gretel intervened, her great mother-in-law would surely understand.
“Countess Albiereo.”
“*Sniff*…?”
Albiereo slightly raised her head at Gretel’s attempt to explain.
“I was just following the client’s detailed requests.”
“Oh my…! Oh my…! Odile, Odette….”
Albiereo cried again.
“No! When did I ever ask for that!”
“You said you needed a slightly underripe, fresh taste.”
“*Sob sob*!”
Gretel found it very amusing.
Siwoo didn’t find it amusing at all.
2.
Let’s turn back the clock three days.
Dorothy, who had glimpsed Siwoo’s romantic side, was a little pouty after finishing her meal in the kitchen of the house that Siwoo had prepared as a surprise.
“Darling, you can be so frustrating sometimes~”
It had been only a day since death had separated them, and they had overcome it with a miracle close to a heroic tale, and reunited.
After a passionate kiss, they were about to express their affection.
But even though they had been kissing passionately, Siwoo had recoiled in horror when Dorothy tried to take off his shirt.
“What’s the big deal~? My body is just a little younger, right? My mental age is fully adult. So, isn’t it legal?”
“No, I still have a guilty conscience….”
“What about the cute twins? They were apprentice witches.”
“But they were both adults.”
In the witch society, apprentice witches were considered immature beings who needed protection and observation, but they were still adults in terms of physical age.
They were just slim and petite, but they had clearly completed their secondary sexual characteristics and had their coming-of-age ceremonies.
“On the other hand, Dorothy is still growing.”
“Hmm~ You’re not satisfied with a C cup instead of a full I cup?”
“That’s not it….”
“Isn’t the reason why sexual attraction to children is taboo because they are considered to have no self-determination? The contents are still Dorothy, right?”
“Even if you argue logically, it’s still a no.”
But the current Dorothy was a real middle school girl.
No matter how much the age of a witch was determined by their unique aura, she was clearly a growing body.
It was beyond the level of talking about a sense of depravity, so it was even more difficult to touch her.
“Oh, Darling is Darling.”
Whether it was because he was so stubborn.
That frustration was like the usual Siwoo, so it was good in its own way.
In fact, she was so surprised when she looked at herself in the mirror that she could understand why he felt that way.
“Well~ I was a bit slow in development. My breasts kept growing steadily until quite late.”
-Beep beep beep beep
At that moment, the sound of the front door dial being pressed was heard, and someone came running in with a bang.
It goes without saying who it was.
“Dorothyyyy!!!”
R’lyeh, who had thoughtfully left to allow Siwoo and Dorothy’s emotional reunion, had returned an hour later.
“My Queen!!!!”
Dorothy’s slightly sulky face brightened, and she ran to R’lyeh, hugging her and spinning around in the living room.
A dramatic reunion between niece and aunt.
“No matter how many times I look, she’s too cute! She’s criminally cute!”
“Oh my~ My Queen is much cuter!”
“This soft cheek! If Dorothy had opened her eyes when she was younger, my cause of death would have definitely been a heart attack!”
The two of them were already a perfect match, but with Dorothy’s dramatic return, and her petite appearance, R’lyeh’s tension soared to the sky.
“It’s a masterpiece! Truly a masterpiece! Her cheeks are so soft! Dorothy is smaller than me!”
“Y-yes~”
Even Dorothy, who had been able to handle R’lyeh’s high-energy antics, which were even more intense than the twins, was starting to look tired.
“Come, sit here. From now on, I, Siwoo, and the green-haired one will tell you about our grand adventure.”
“Yes, yes~”
R’lyeh, who had been circling around Dorothy in joy, patted the sofa.
“If you hear how amazing Shin Siwoo was, and how much I contributed, you’ll be amazed.”
R’lyeh continued to explain to Dorothy, who had not heard the details except for the lotus.
The chaotic rescue operation for Dorothy began with R’lyeh’s characteristic long-windedness.
Dorothy, who had been chiming in with ‘Oh, really? How admirable,’ gradually became quiet.
Because the words that were coming out of R’lyeh’s mouth were not logically understandable.
For Dorothy’s sake, Siwoo had turned both the Lehar Group and the Solidus Trading Company into enemies.
Dorothy had been involved in public society for a long time.
She also had connections with the war witch Herja and the gold witch Lydia.
She knew how terrifying they were as enemies, beyond just their individual power.
Even Siwoo must have been afraid.
But he had carried out his plans without hesitation, sometimes thoroughly, sometimes precariously.
He had defeated the remnants of the Lehar Group and even defeated the leaders Herja and Lydia.
He had risked his life for Dorothy.
“Dorothy?”
R’lyeh paused, seeing Dorothy’s half-dazed expression.
“Shin Siwoo, come here.”
“Yes? Suddenly? Ha, well. I understand if you suddenly think I look cool….”
Dorothy, who had approached as if to hug him, quickly unbuttoned Siwoo’s shirt.
R’lyeh was strangely verbose about his achievements.
Siwoo had flinched excessively as soon as Dorothy’s hand touched his shirt button.
Those two things were the clues that made Dorothy feel something was off.
“…Y-you idiot… fool.”
Underneath the unbuttoned front of his shirt were various marks.
On his usually firm upper body, there were clearly abnormally raised veins.
Countless scars, so many that it was pointless to count them.
Some of them were scars that would not be strange if he had died on the spot, like a sketchbook filled with scribbles.
It seemed to show how desperately he had escaped from the jaws of death.
How dangerous every moment had been.
People love heroic tales.
Splendid battles and meticulous schemes.
The extraordinary feats of an extraordinary being.
All of that captivates the eyes and ears.
The shadow behind that splendor is these scars.
And for Dorothy, these scars were more poignant than his splendid heroic tale.
“What did I say? Even I can’t match Dorothy’s intuition. It would have been better to just be honest.”
R’lyeh, who had been working hard to hype things up as Siwoo had requested, shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s okay. They’re just a bit unsightly, but they don’t affect my life.”
“You fool, what, what if something had happened to you….”
“It’s all okay now. Because you’ve come back. That’s all I need.”
Siwoo gently pulled Dorothy’s head, who was crying with her head down, into his arms.
He kissed her forehead and nose, and gave her lots of pecks.
It was a heartwarming scene for a change.
“Well, now I’ll make a tactful exit so that the two of you can have a harmonious sex time.”
R’lyeh, who had been watching the scene with teary eyes, wiped her nose and gave a thumbs up.
“We’re not doing that.”
“Hmm? Why not?”
Siwoo was shocked again, and Dorothy laughed through her tears.
