Chapter 162 – #35_Friendship
#160
1.
“Hoo… Hoo… Hooo…!”
The fierce battle was over.
The shadow that had enveloped his body melted away, and Siwoo collapsed.
His upper body, which had been constantly exposed to the flames, stung as if he had been standing in the scorching sun all day.
His cheekbones were pressed against the ground, and his muscles twitched as if they were about to break.
His magic circuits were overused, and his left eye throbbed.
As soon as the battle ended and the adrenaline level in his blood dropped, every part of his body screamed.
“…Damn it… Did I win?”
Even after thinking about it again, it was an unbelievable, divine struggle.
It was enough to add another mad movie to play at his funeral.
Of course, Siwoo judged that ‘luck’ played a very big role in this victory.
Siwoo’s opponent, who was helpless against overwhelming magic power, happened to be a slow starter.
Also, he had a long-range attack method that could dispel her start altogether.
On top of that, she had already clashed with Sharon, so she was somewhat depleted.
In particular, there was no doubt that Siwoo’s eye had the greatest influence on the victory.
He remembered hearing that magic battles could be compared to chess.
In such a magic battle, Siwoo’s left eye, which could read the flow of magic power, was nothing less than a cheat key that could predict ‘the opponent’s next move.’
In conclusion, the fact that he decided to keep pushing Della, easily dispelled her relay magic, and blocked Della’s two counterattacks at the last moment was all thanks to this eye.
“…I guess I should give it a name soon.”
He thought he should give it a cool name.
Why, in Japanese manga, there are various things, right?
Like Kaleidoscope something or Direct Death something.
Had his brain cooked along with his face?
Silly thoughts wriggled.
Siwoo turned his body and lay down on his back in a sprawling position.
“Keuha….”
He felt like he was going to die, no lie.
Although he had the support of his armor, he had been swinging his sword at full swing for almost 20 minutes.
At the same time, he had to constantly check Della’s magic power and move the ribbon to break the magic circles floating in the air.
He must have used amplification at least 30 times to replenish the magic power that was constantly being sucked out.
No matter how strong and fast-recovering a spirit is, it would be strained both mentally and physically if pushed to this extent.
“Kkeueuk…! Sharon.”
Siwoo, who was wriggling on the floor like a caterpillar, barely managed to raise his body.
Sharon was still lying on the street.
He had to support her and lift her up before her mouth twisted, and he couldn’t just leave Della as she was.
She might recover her magic power by some means and launch a counterattack.
“Sharon, hey!”
The otherworld barrier slowly receded, and the destroyed things seemed to be restored as if they were playing in reverse.
Actually, rather than being restored, it was just that the original copies disappeared and the originals were being called back, but that was not important now.
Siwoo picked up Sharon, who was completely unconscious, and tapped her cheeks.
But there was no response.
Was it because her chest was so big?
He struggled for a long time trying to lift only her upper body, and then he heard Della’s groan from the other side of the sidewalk.
“Keuk… Keueuk….”
“Oh, dear.”
Siwoo leaned the unconscious Sharon against the wall of the underpass and dragged his legs towards Della.
Her clothes were disheveled from being thrown to the ground, and Della opened her eyes with difficulty.
She was holding her side, which had been hit by the ribbon, with her elegant face contorted in pain.
But he didn’t feel very sorry.
“I won.”
Della, seeing Siwoo standing tall in front of her, tried to quickly retreat.
However, that was just her will; for Della, who had exhausted all her magic power and stamina, moving a few centimeters was the limit, like a snail.
“I… lost… What do you want?”
Her arrogant eyes lost their confidence and trembled from side to side.
She looked like a victim facing a serial killer.
Seeing the witch, whom he had barely managed to beat by luck, so afraid made him feel a little awkward.
Siwoo wasn’t a crazy killer, and she wasn’t even a public enemy, so would he really finish off an opponent who couldn’t even resist?
But he didn’t bother to explain.
He thought it would be easier to proceed with the conversation if she was appropriately scared.
“You said you were Della Redcliffe, the witch?”
“…Baroness…”
“Pardon?”
“Baroness Della Redcliffe…”
Della suddenly interjected, adding the title of Baroness, which she hadn’t mentioned in her introduction.
Siwoo, who was momentarily dumbfounded, understood her intention.
‘I’m a Baroness, so you’ll be in big trouble if you treat me carelessly?’ It was a subtle appeal.
Seeing her, who had been so imposing, become so timid was a little funny and somehow satisfying…
“Ah, so you were a Baroness.”
It was a relief that she wasn’t a public enemy.
Well, considering the face of the Jemina Count family, he had said that he wouldn’t take her life, so the probability of her being a ruthless exile like Aea was low, but still.
This created room for compromise between them.
“You asked what I wanted, right?”
“Yes…”
“I don’t have any particular intention of harming you, Baroness. But I would like you to keep my existence a secret.”
If she went around blabbing about it, it would be Siwoo who would get tired.
He couldn’t kill her to shut her up, so he wanted to find a reasonable compromise.
“I will never, ever tell anyone. Even I don’t want to go against the Jemina family head-on. The secret will be kept.”
Della spoke with a speed that felt desperate.
It was natural from Della’s point of view.
A man with a suddenly appeared stigma + a magic composition and combat power specialized for fighting great witches + a ring from the Jemina family.
In Della’s mind, Siwoo was already a killing machine created by a large-scale project being carried out by the Jemina Count family.
Or a hunting dog of the Count family created to kill public enemies and homunculi.
She had no intention of telling anyone about that fact.
Even if the Jemina Count family didn’t care about minor conflicts, things would be different if the identity of their secret project was revealed.
Even Della was reluctant to openly turn her back on the Albiereo and Deneb sisters.
Besides, she was in a situation where she didn’t know what she might be subjected to under the pretext of maintaining secrecy.
“This might sound unpleasant, but how can I trust you?”
On the other hand, Siwoo, who had no idea about such delusions, had no guarantee to trust Della.
If the Count family’s anger was so scary, she shouldn’t have started the fight in the first place.
“A contract… I’ll write a contract. A contract in the name of Redcliffe that I will not reveal any facts.”
“Hmm…”
In the society of witches, putting one’s witch name on the line is by no means a light matter.
It doesn’t mean that there are any magical restrictions.
However, putting one’s witch name, which has been built up over generations, on the line means that the promise is that much heavier and more serious.
Moreover, if it was Della, a typical witch, and especially if she was a noble, the meaning would be even heavier.
During his five years in Gehenna, he had seen promises made in the name of a witch only about three times.
“Yeah, well. Then write it.”
He was having a hard time even standing, and he felt like he was going to throw up if he kept his mind focused any longer.
As soon as Siwoo’s permission was given, Della hurriedly took out a business card and began to scribble in small letters.
After roughly reading it, it was nothing special, just a statement that she would not reveal Siwoo’s identity in the name of Redcliffe, along with Della’s signature.
Siwoo also signed it and roughly put it in his pocket.
“Now… can I go?”
Where had her high-handed attitude from before gone? Della asked in a subdued voice.
When Siwoo nodded, she staggered to her feet, still holding her side.
“Ah, and.”
He almost forgot to say it.
Della, who was limping away, was startled and turned back to Siwoo.
“I don’t know the details of what’s going on between you two. But don’t harass Sharon.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
With that last conversation, Della disappeared at a fast pace.
After that, he didn’t have the confidence to carry the unconscious Sharon back home, so he used a coordinate teleportation spell.
He secured magic power through three amplifications and finished the calculations with his head, which wasn’t working well after staying up for two nights, and teleported together.
After that, he had no memory.
He had collapsed and lost consciousness, leaving Sharon on the bed as she was.
2.
“Kkeueo….”
Siwoo opened his eyes with a strange groan.
The pain and headache that he still felt instantly reminded him that the memories from before were not a delusion or a dream.
No, rather than feeling the pain after waking up, it felt like he had woken up because of it.
It was Sharon’s bedroom.
It was true that a spirit was incomparably stronger than a human body, but that didn’t mean that it could be recklessly used like an indestructible object.
If he felt an enormous amount of fatigue, he would fall asleep or faint, but usually, it wasn’t easy to push his body to that level.
This was proof of how desperate Siwoo’s struggle had been.
“Huh?”
As soon as Siwoo raised his body, he could find the warm touch of nursing.
A lukewarm wet towel was placed on his forehead.
He had collapsed while wearing his clothes, but now his upper body was bare, revealing the abs that had naturally formed when he became a spirit.
It seemed that Sharon had done this for treatment.
“It stings…”
It wasn’t as red as before, but his upper body still felt hot.
Especially his face stung as if he had been splashed with some kind of chemical.
-Click!
“Siwoo! You’re awake?”
Sharon, who was opening the door and bringing a glass of water, rushed over as soon as she saw Siwoo, who had half-raised his body.
Unlike her almost dying appearance from before, she looked lively, as if she had recovered some of her stamina, which was a relief.
“Let me see, are you okay? Is there anything particularly hurting?”
Sharon was restless, unable to even touch Siwoo for fear that he might be in pain.
Her eyes were filled with tears of worry.
“Uh, are you okay?”
“Ugh… sob… I’m sorry… I’m sorry….”
Siwoo, who was a little embarrassed by her intense reaction, answered awkwardly, and Sharon began to shed tears as if a dam had burst.
It was all because of her that Siwoo had been injured because of her conflict with Della.
The guilt and remorse pierced her heart.
“Because of me… you got hurt too….”
“Hey, hey, why are you being so embarrassing? We help each other when we’re having a hard time.”
“Sob… sob… I’m sorry… I’m sorry….”
“I said it’s okay.”
It was really okay.
No one had forced him to go, it was Siwoo’s own will.
Moreover, he hadn’t been brutally defeated, but had achieved a victory full of accomplishment after a hard fight.
He understood her feelings, but he had to explain this.
“Was it that Della?”
“Yeah… what did that bitch say to you? Other than getting hurt, you didn’t have anything bad happen to you, right?”
“Ah, that… actually, I won.”
“What?”
Sharon’s eyes widened.
“I won by fighting her head-on with magic. I also got a promise that she wouldn’t harass you anymore.”
Sharon, who had been staring at Siwoo with her mouth open for a while, suddenly hugged him.
Since Siwoo was sitting and Sharon was standing, his entire face was buried in her soft chest.
The volume of her E-cup was indeed felt even through her underwear.
“I know, yeah, yeah… I believe you.”
“No, I’m serious?”
“Yeah, I really believe you.”
Sharon sobbed for a long time, hugging Siwoo’s face to her chest and holding him tight.
