#15
1.
“Hmm….”
The twins and Siwoo were huddled together, heads bent over a magic circle draft spread out on a box.
Actually, Odile and Odette hadn’t intended to discuss magic this seriously.
Even when he confessed that about 70% of the magic circle was complete and that there was about a year left before opening a new ‘gate,’ they thought it was just the delusion of an ignorant beginner.
They had planned to give Siwoo some appropriate advice after seeing his clearly messy draft, and then use that as an excuse to drag him to Tarot Town and try various things.
“Assistant, why does it turn out like this? There’s some weird, squiggly drawing here.”
“It’s calculating the range of valid magic power values in the process of moving from the deployment section to the transformation section.”
“How?”
“You can’t understand it if you think of numbers as points on a one-dimensional line. Think of it as the phase changing, not the value, depending on the rotation angle.”
“Ah~”
Siwoo picked up a pen and quickly drew a simple diagram on the paper.
Odile listened intently to Siwoo’s explanation of the formula calculations to Odette, but was lost in thought.
He had skillfully used the dispel pin against Odile’s magic.
But that was within the realm of what was ‘possible.’
However, it was not logically understandable that a mere slave who had never formally learned magic had constructed a large-scale magic circle, and that too, according to his own system.
“Why did you deploy the rune characters in series here? Wouldn’t it be better for noise rectification to put them in a bridge form?”
“If you take the bridge form, the output is halved. Here, you need to maximize magic power efficiency to increase stability. Why does a slowly thrown paper airplane wobble?”
No matter what question was asked, an answer came without hesitation.
And with quite plausible analogies.
“Isn’t this part a bit strange? It seems like you’ve chosen the wrong magic resistance?”
“Ah, you can ignore that part. It’s a ground that intentionally lowers the resistance value to prevent backflow of magic power when the magic fails.”
“That’s possible?”
Moreover, he was completing the magic using methods they had never heard of or seen.
His magic was like a building built in an absurdly unconventional way.
It was as if a building drawn by dreamy children was actually constructed using all sorts of unheard-of technologies.
“Still, there aren’t no problems. The biggest problem is the transmutation section. It’s unique, but the risk is too high.”
“And unless the variable section is confirmed, there’s a possibility that Assistant Siwoo won’t be able to control it.”
“Is that so?”
Still, they were apprentice witches in name.
To the twins, who had been studying magic since they were old enough to read, the problems with Siwoo’s magic were slowly becoming visible.
“Look at this. For example, here you’ve planned the magic power load value at 11.26, right? This will convert the magic power output to 0.33, so…”
And so, the three of them had a heated discussion until sunset.
2.
Siwoo’s daily life didn’t change much.
Fortunately, the twins were very friendly to Siwoo.
Even though they threatened to tell Amelia or blackmail him, they didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.
Rather, they even came back the next day and diligently helped Siwoo with the parts he was having trouble with.
“That’s it for today!”
Siwoo tidied up the last book scattered in the library and climbed down the ladder.
Tomorrow, he had to go to Tarot Town again.
It was time to pay the ‘price’ to Odile and Odette.
In fact, if he let go of his inhibitions a little, it could be quite a pleasant experience.
Even if the main game, sex, was impossible, where else could he easily roll around in bed with women of that caliber?
Who knew, maybe they’d even show him their breasts this time.
Just as he was enjoying his lewd fantasies and feeling a bit of self-loathing,
-Tap tap
The sound of heels echoed, so Siwoo straightened his clothes.
He didn’t want to hear any unnecessary nagging.
Just as herbivores can immediately recognize carnivores, Siwoo could tell who the owner of the footsteps was just by the sound.
“Custodian.”
It was Amelia, the ferocious, man-eating deer herself.
She brushed her messy hair to one side and stood in front of Siwoo.
A fragrant, sweet, yet salty scent wafted from her.
Today, Amelia’s outfit was a light blue dress that revealed her straight collarbones and rounded shoulders.
Her white neck was prominent, and his gaze naturally went there.
Her cleavage was also slightly visible, making him unsure where to look.
“What brings you here?”
Siwoo bowed politely.
It seemed like he had one more thing to feel guilty about, and more than anything, he remembered Amelia’s request.
“I’m planning to go to ‘Border Town’ tomorrow. I need an escort.”
“A porter?”
“Yes.”
This Amelia likes me?
Looking at Amelia’s face, which was colder than an ice block, it was hard to believe Takasho’s words.
If Amelia really had feelings for him, wouldn’t she at least show a friendly smile like Odette?
“I plan to go in the morning, so come to my research lab by 9 o’clock.”
“Understood.”
Suddenly, a desire to confirm it arose.
If Amelia’s favor was real, as Takasho said, wouldn’t she forgive this much?
“But, Amelia-nim.”
Amelia’s left eyebrow twitched upwards.
For reference, that was Amelia’s body sign expressing doubt.
“Did you come all the way here just to tell me that?”
The research lab and the main library were quite far apart.
It was a subtle question, testing whether she had come all the way to a secluded place to meet him alone, something he wouldn’t notice if he had nothing to hide.
“If you have business, you can send someone. I’ll go myself. Is there any need for the associate professor to bother moving?”
This way, he could show that he was respecting Amelia, and also have a way out if things went wrong.
“I decide my own affairs. You should worry about your own business, custodian.”
Amelia replied without any change in expression.
She seemed to have nothing to hide.
And look at her way of speaking.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing to be careful about.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
“Have you been having private conversations with the apprentice witches recently?”
Siwoo was startled by Amelia’s sudden question.
He tried his best to hide his surprise and racked his brain.
Recently, Odette and Odile had been coming to his quarters, and separately, he had had small conversations with them when they ran into each other in the hallway.
“Private conversations, you say…?”
“I mean, have you been having any unnecessary conversations with them beyond the relationship between a slave and a witch?”
He was already having more than necessary conversations.
They had discussed magic circles together, and he had even received oral sex from one of them four days ago.
Could he have been caught?
Where could they have seen him?
Was it too dangerous to meet inside the academy after all?
“No, I haven’t.”
He denied it for now.
He didn’t know how much Amelia knew, but the moment his affair with the twins was revealed, Siwoo would be ruined.
Amelia stared intently at Siwoo’s face.
He was in a bind.
As Amelia’s piercing blue eyes gazed at him, he even felt like she could read his mind.
“The caretaker…”
Amelia hesitated for a moment.
“Weren’t you supposed to hate witches?”
True to her nickname, the Ice Statue, Amelia’s tone and expression hardly changed.
But Siwoo, more than anyone else, could tell.
The words she had just spoken were accompanied by a slight hesitation.
“That’s… not true.”
Of course, he hated them.
How could he like those magic-crazed lunatics?
“Is that so.”
“Yes.”
“……”
“……”
This awkward atmosphere, this silence.
He had no idea what Amelia knew, or why she had brought up such a topic.
“If you have nothing more to say, may I finish my work?”
And it was also suspicious why Amelia, who usually spoke concisely and to the point, was enduring this silence while standing in front of him.
“Wait.”
Amelia stopped him, who wanted to get out of her sight as soon as possible.
“Yes.”
“….Um…”
The resolute and sharp Amelia was dragging out her words?
They say if a person suddenly changes, it’s a sign of death, was she suffering from a terminal illness?
“Um…?”
Amelia’s lips moved several times.
Her hesitation to speak was detrimental to the mental health of an impatient Korean like him.
“Hah, it’s nothing. Just know that if you’re late for our appointment tomorrow, I’ll have you cleaning the research building again.”
As if nothing had happened, Amelia disappeared with a cold gust of wind.
“What is she trying to pull now?”
Shiwoo stared blankly at the library door that had slammed shut.
3.
Someone blocked Amelia’s path as she walked quickly through the corridor.
“Amelia, how did it go? Did your date application succeed?”
“Avenuga, I told you it’s not a date.”
Bright, flamboyant purple hair, dark eyes.
Unlike Amelia, who still had a youthful air, she exuded the charm of a mature woman, down to her chest.
Sophia Avenuga, the top professor at Trinity Academy, was the only person Amelia, who was not sociable, could call a friend.
Although that was only Sophia’s claim.
“Amelia, shall I tell you something? You call me by my witch name when you’re in a bad mood.”
“That’s probably a faulty statistic.”
“Especially when I hit a nerve.”
“I’ve never been hit a nerve, Professor Sophia.”
Amelia brushed past Sophia as if she were annoyed by her clinginess.
“What did you lure him with this time? Don’t tell me you used the appointment time as an excuse to call him to the research building alone, like last time?”
Amelia glared at Sophia, who was cackling, saying, “Honestly, that was such a turn-off,” with a disgusted expression.
“That wasn’t a date either. And I certainly didn’t seduce him. I was merely teaching a slave the proper way to behave. Does that answer your question?”
“Of course, Assistant Professor.”
Amelia walked faster to get away from the clingy Sophia, but their strides were different from the start.
Compared to Sophia, little Amelia, no matter how much she toddled, would be caught in just a few steps.
“By the way, how long are you going to keep tormenting her? You two haven’t even had a proper conversation yet, have you?”
“A ‘conversation’ between a slave and a witch? How fitting for a vulgar witch who can’t live up to her name. Does rolling around with slaves in your bedchamber every night make you lose all sense of propriety?”
Amelia’s sharp tongue was well-known even in society circles, but Sophia didn’t even bat an eye. If she were the type to cower at this level of criticism, she wouldn’t have remained her friend in the first place.
“Five years is just a short time for us, but not for a slave. You keep dragging your feet and only torment him, so Siwoo also dislikes you.”
“Didn’t I tell you that’s not true?”
Sophia threw up her hands at Amelia’s raised voice. They had been friends for over 60 years, and yet how could she still be so childish? Amelia’s biggest flaw was her inability to be honest.
“If you keep doing that, I’m going to take it.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“If you’re going to Border Town tomorrow, should I lend you my villa there?”
“We don’t need it.”
“Amelia doesn’t even have grown-up underwear, does she? Black lace underwear is an essential quality for a lady.”
“Don’t create such vulgar qualities.”
Amelia scurried away, and Sophia chased after her.
Their banter continued for quite a while.
Siwoo didn’t know it, but the person who could make Amelia the most troubled was none other than Sophia.
