Chapter 1127 – #268_Unholy
#1121
1.
The first snow of Gehenna comes quickly.
Just when you think, ‘I should start the fireplace soon,’ the city is covered in a blanket of heavy snow that fell overnight, creating a beautiful scene.
Even just walking down the street, the charming winter scenery is a feast for the eyes in this witch city of Gehenna.
Beyond the windowpane, where condensation trickles down like tears due to the temperature difference, the Hessed Academy building is draped in winter. The gently falling snowflakes were covering someone’s footprints.
“…Hmm.”
Even during his days as a slave, Siwoo liked snow.
The snow piled high on the roof acted as insulation, making it a little less cold, and unlike the snow in the city, it was clean, so sometimes Takasho would get syrup and they would make shaved ice.
In those days when there were no proper snacks, it was a small pleasure.
Now, even as he eats fresh fruit sherbet in the cozy academy president’s office warmed by the fireplace, he doesn’t often miss those times.
Siwoo quickly shook off the past, which was trying to be beautified by his brain, and regained the solemn thoughts of the academy president.
“Hmm, a memory I don’t want to relive.”
“What memory?”
“There are such things. It’s a memory that someone like Periwinkle, who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, wouldn’t understand.”
“Is it a memory of a poor pauper? Let me guess. You couldn’t go to the harvest festival party?”
“You’ll probably never guess it.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
Periwinkle, who was half-lying on the sofa with her feet up in front of the fireplace, grumbled.
The reason she was lazing around in the Hessed Academy president’s office was because they had finally started the joint research on Mistletoe that had been postponed.
Since the research began, she wouldn’t go home even if told to, sticking to the president’s office like a leech.
The researchers were whispering about this unexpected housemate, but Periwinkle seemed to enjoy Siwoo’s discomfort, wearing increasingly revealing clothes.
The outfit she was wearing today was a shiny, satin party dress that would be hard for anyone to pull off.
Note that when the words Periwinkle and party dress meet, the amount of fabric covering her body is usually halved.
Well, it doesn’t really matter.
The president’s office is just a ‘room’ in name, but it’s actually a villa within a mansion with three bedrooms, a study, and a bathroom.
It’s not exactly cohabitation.
“What? You made shaved ice with snow?”
“Yes.”
“You’re lying again, aren’t you? Trying to tease me.”
“Are you mocking my simple and contented life? This is why I can’t talk to people from rich families.”
Upon learning the truth, Periwinkle widened her navy blue eyes, showing an uncharacteristic reaction.
Soon, she looked at him with the eyes of a bodhisattva looking at a pitiful creature.
“So that’s why you eat sherbet like it’s so delicious…. I didn’t know you had such a story…. You can have mine.”
Periwinkle stared at the half-eaten sherbet for a moment, then willingly offered it to him.
She seemed to think that the sherbet he’d been eating a lot lately was a reaction formation to his painful past, that is, the memory of eating snow instead of shaved ice….
It’s not really like that.
That’s actually one of the better memories.
If he told Periwinkle about ‘Shin Siwoo’s vivid slave life in Gehenna,’ she would probably be quite surprised.
“Come here, your big sister will comfort you. Do you want to touch my chest?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re being expensive. So, I’m not enough for you anymore?”
“Of course, how can a self-made count associate with a baron?”
“That snot-nosed kid who cried over the homunculus has grown up.”
Periwinkle laughed heartily at his impudence.
One month had passed since the interim report of the project.
A lot had happened before the banter with Periwinkle became a daily routine.
First of all, the ‘Gate’ of Border Town was completely normalized.
All the kernels that were riddled like rat holes were closed, and the other-dimensional barrier became so solid that it was nearly impossible to enter Gehenna without citizenship.
The magic power used in the construction process and the various jewels that formed the core of the magic circle.
All of the tons of pure gold and tens of tons of pure silver were handled by the Hessed Academy’s distribution network.
The scraps alone were enough to pay off the debt to R’lyeh, including interest, and still have plenty left over, making it a successful large-scale civil engineering project.
“Gacha? Gacha? Lottery tickets? Is the business doing well?”
“Of course, money is being duplicated.”
The hunting tickets, despite including a bit of luck, were selling like hotcakes.
Within three days of pre-orders opening, 1,000 packs that hadn’t even been made yet were sold out.
Since it wasn’t just about sales, the follow-up was also done meticulously.
First, with the help of his teacher and Professor Sua, he signed business contracts with location points all over the world.
The contract stated that when the witches of Gehenna went hunting around the world, the location points would serve as safe bases.
The location points could supplement their insufficient finances, which was a benefit, and for Siwoo, it was a win-win situation as he could stabilize the business and indirectly support the location points, contributing to the stability of the mortal realm.
The influence over the location points that came with it was a given.
Since the Geminai Count family, a renowned artifact maker, was his in-laws, a joint production system was easily established.
“The 10 hunting tickets we made as a trial are in very good condition, so I think we’ll start production sometime this spring.”
“Our little brother. Are you going to become richer than your sister?”
“I don’t think so.”
Even so, it would be difficult to be wealthier than Periwinkle, who attracts all sorts of luck just by breathing.
How could he win a money fight against a woman who wins at least third prize in the lottery if she buys one on the street?
“I’m suddenly curious, how much wealth does Periwinkle have?”
“Hmm…. I don’t really know.”
“Come on, don’t be like that…. How about just a little hint?”
Periwinkle, who was muttering things like ‘stocks, nominee accounts, paper companies, trusts, limited company funds’ while counting on her fingers, said nonchalantly.
“If you sell everything and put it together, it would be about the GDP of a small city-state.”
“…How much is that roughly?”
“It’s not much. It’s just pocket change compared to the oil-rich royal families.”
He recalled the conversation he had when he proposed the joint research on Mistletoe to thank the generous Periwinkle.
He was sure she had said ‘I’ll give you all the money in my account’ back then….
He shouldn’t think like this, but he thinks he should have taken that money.
“What’s wrong?”
“I suddenly have a stomachache….”
“Did your malangie get hard? I understand. You have to keep a pretty sister like me by your side every day without being able to touch me.”
Siwoo was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even react to Periwinkle’s lewd jokes.
“Come to think of it, when is the next meeting?”
“The Tree of Sephirot? It’s the day after tomorrow. Are you going to attend again? You didn’t say a word last time.”
“It’s fun to watch, isn’t it?”
Among the barons of Gehenna, there are some who do nothing, like Amelia.
However, from the rank of count, they are in a position that can be considered administrators of Gehenna.
As a proper count and the president of the Hessed Academy, Siwoo participates as a proud member of the ‘Tree of Sephirot,’ the general assembly of Gehenna.
The Tree of Sephirot, which usually just dealt with important matters while the city hall was slacking off, had become a proper regular meeting after the launch of Hexennacht, and important issues were discussed at each meeting.
The main topic was finding countermeasures for when Hexennacht, which had rebuilt the destroyed ‘Gate,’ would emerge.
Siwoo and Sharon’s act of demolishing the gate was interpreted as a ‘military retaliation by Gehenna against Hexennacht’s preemptive attack’ rather than a personal vendetta, so they were not held responsible. However, since they had shaken the hornet’s nest and then locked it in a box, they were trying to prepare for what would happen next.
Before attending the meeting, there were some things he was worried about.
The Gehenna that Siwoo knew was good at bureaucratic administration, quite annoyed by practical matters unrelated to magic, and had almost no sense of crisis, looking down on public affairs.
“Honestly, I was a bit surprised.”
“What?”
“I didn’t know you would be so well prepared.”
“If you want peace, prepare for war. It’s a famous saying, isn’t it?”
But that wasn’t the case.
Gehenna had a perfect war and counterattack protocol.
It was a city that had fought a major war with Clifoth in the distant past, though it had been virtually forgotten due to the long period of peace.
And for some of the remaining elder witches, that great war was not just a ‘vague old story.’
It was a past they had felt with their skin and experienced with pain.
The main buildings in the city were structures that formed a great magic barrier by receiving the magic power supply from the ‘Gate,’ and the witches were assigned to perform their respective roles in their assigned locations.
In particular, the Truth and True Name Society, under the command of Duke Erelim, had completed its reorganization from the moment Hexennacht was born, and in preparation for the occupation war that would take place in the mortal realm, they had collaborated with the location points and completed preparations to launch an all-out offensive in case of emergency.
“I had the impression that witches valued their lives.”
Periwinkle said, while scolding him, ‘You should value yours too.’
“You know, there are things more important than life.”
“Honor and pride?”
“Now you’re acting like a witch.”
Anyway, let’s stop the banter here and start the research again.
“Sister, get up now.”
“No, no. I like the fireplace.”
Periwinkle became one with the sofa, wriggling around.
After wriggling for a while, she cleared her throat and said slyly.
“I’ve been doing research lately, and my shoulders are a bit stiff. I wish someone would give me a massage. Then I’d be able to do research with energy.”
It wasn’t hard to notice that this was the first flirtation she had thrown in the past month.
She wasn’t usually the type to wriggle around and beat around the bush like this.
“Oh my, why are you doing this again?”
“It’s because of you!”
Periwinkle grumbled, as if she was offended.
“Because of you, I can’t be satisfied with doing it alone anymore…. If you feel uncomfortable like you’re cheating, then do it with your hands like before.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Then I’ll quit being the department head.”
“…….”
“I’ll also withdraw all the money I invested.”
“…….”
Periwinkle was openly acting like a spoiled brat.
It was quite a rare sight.
In fact, with Mistletoe, there was no reason for her to quit being the department head, and the Hessed Academy’s finances were strong enough that it wouldn’t be affected even if she withdrew all the money she invested.
However, the fact that he owed her a huge debt remained unchanged.
“Oh my, I’m such a fool. I gave away my formal attire because a naive and ignorant kid begged me. I saved his life. I bought him a car. I even gave him free fortune-telling. I helped my friend’s business….”
Periwinkle kept complaining next to him, but it was all true.
If Siwoo’s life was a novel, just removing Periwinkle would shorten the number of chapters.
The slave Shin Siwoo, who was captured in the witch city, became a male witch after five years and died at the hands of the lustful witch Bianca~ The end.
Or, he could have died at the hands of an enemy knight without sensing the danger~ The end.
It could have been a much faster, sloppy ending.
“But sister.”
“I even allowed you to do things I would never have done before… huh?”
“Why are you so good to me?”
Siwoo was aware that Periwinkle thought he was cute and pretty, but he didn’t know the reason.
It couldn’t be because they had a good night in bed that one time.
“Will you do it? If you do it, I’ll tell you. Really honestly.”
“Well, helping you with your masturbation is….”
“I just recorded that?”
“…Just don’t report it to anyone.”
The two succeeded in a secret agreement.
