#21
1.
On nights like this, even a short venture into the forest plunges you into an impenetrable darkness.
The lights from the harbor, the moon obscured by clouds—
They were as good as nonexistent in the dense oak forest.
That’s why a magical decorative light floated beside Amelia, illuminating the surroundings.
The Cloud Mushroom Village was truly a bizarre sight.
Would this be the scene about 200 years after the Earth’s demise?
A tree growing through the roof of a mansion, a tree blocking the middle of a road, a tree standing tall amidst the ruins of a collapsed house, and so on.
Each one was an oak tree that had grown over 50 meters, rampant throughout the residential area.
Following a path where acorns crunched underfoot instead of stones, we arrived at our destination.
It was a villa, the only place emitting light in this dark (former) residential area.
After many twists and turns, we finally reached the villa, but both Siwoo and Amelia wore dumbfounded expressions.
The villa we had finally arrived at was perched halfway up a 20-meter-tall tree.
This incident happened 10 years ago, and since the villa was only built 3 years ago, it must have been intentionally built in such a place.
Would it be right to call it an exotic hotel?
There are quite a few on Earth, aren’t there?
A hotel in the middle of the desert, a bed placed alone on a hill overlooking the Alps, a room 20 meters below sea level.
It seemed like a villa built with that kind of feel in mind.
“Is this really the right place?”
“It might look small, but it’s probably under a space magic spell.”
The two stood side by side, looking up at the treehouse suspended in the air.
Looking at it from below, it was truly hanging high up.
Amelia lightly pushed off the ground and flew into the villa like an angel, while Siwoo climbed up the ladder that had been lowered from above.
It was the first time in his life he had climbed a ladder of this height, and he was quite nervous.
And then.
When he finally managed to climb up, what Siwoo found was Amelia’s back, frozen in place with the villa’s door open.
“Is something wrong?”
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Siwoo quickly moved close to Amelia’s side and froze just like her.
“……..”
“……..”
Contrary to Amelia’s expectation that it would be under a space magic spell, the villa was extremely small.
If two people stayed together, they would inevitably see each other no matter where they were.
The treehouse, which looked like something you might see in rural America, had facilities that were as good as new, despite its shabby exterior.
It was meticulously cleaned and maintained without a speck of dust, and rather than adhering to Gehenna’s typical old-fashioned interior design, it had a layout that seemed to have been taken straight from a modern hotel.
However, there was a slight problem with that layout.
A candelabra with erotic pink flames and a single, enormous bed.
On the ceiling above the bed, there was a huge mirror that allowed you to see what was happening below in real-time.
And it didn’t end there.
The only thing separating the bedroom and the bathroom was a single translucent glass wall.
What more could be said?
It was just a love hotel.
Amelia was speechless, and Siwoo was even more at a loss for words.
“Caregiver, shut your mouth.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“Don’t think anything either.”
Amelia let out a deep sigh and rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache.
After a moment of contemplation, she turned and faced Siwoo.
“As you know, this is my first time coming to this villa.”
“I know.”
If that weren’t the case, there was no way Amelia would be this flustered.
Amelia kept twirling her hair as she spoke.
“This wasn’t something I prepared, nor did I ask anyone to prepare it. It was completely unexpected.”
“I understand without any misunderstanding, Associate Professor.”
On the other hand, seeing her, who was always so confident, in such a flustered state was quite precious.
“It’s good that you understand.”
Siwoo changed into the slippers that were placed side by side and entered the villa.
2.
Closing the door made it feel even more sleazy for some reason.
It felt like he had entered a love hotel with only Amelia.
Could this all be a green light from Amelia?
Deliberately heading to Border Town together on the day of the portal’s regular maintenance, wearing black, suggestive underwear, being unusually nice today, and the villa they came to was in an atmosphere perfect for lovers to have sex.
She had the dignity of a witch, and Amelia was especially someone who valued such things, so she couldn’t directly say she wanted him to serve her at night.
Was she subtly appealing in this way?
Siwoo, who had been letting his imagination run wild, shook his head.
“There’s no way.”
Even if it were someone else, there was no way Amelia would resort to such tricks.
Especially not just to spend a night with a slave.
-Swish, swish
The sound of water seeped into Siwoo’s ears as he sat on the floor, facing the wall, and indulging in various fantasies.
It was the sound of Amelia taking a shower.
Becoming a witch frees you from many things.
A witch who has been branded becomes a ‘spirit body,’ and this spirit body is a transcendent body that is beyond the natural order.
They don’t have to grow old and die, they don’t have to eat, they don’t have to poop, and they don’t have to sleep.
They seem to sweat to regulate their body temperature, but even that can be solved with magic.
Nevertheless, witches eat delicacies, sleep in good beds, and bathe in large bathhouses.
It must be that their ‘preferences’ from when they were human continue with inertia even after they become witches.
The fact that Amelia went into the bathroom to wash her body must be in the same vein.
Soon, the sound of the shower stopped, and the sound of splashing water could be heard.
Siwoo couldn’t resist his curiosity and very slightly turned his head to look at the translucent glass wall that separated the bathroom.
He could see the silhouette of Amelia, her hair tied up, sitting in the bathtub.
“Caregiver.”
“Yes!”
Siwoo answered loudly, wondering if she had heard him, at Amelia’s muffled voice from the bathroom.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like she had caught him.
“Bring the glasses and wine from the wine cellar. And the cigarettes I bought today.”
Was there such a thing? Siwoo looked around and noticed a small wine cellar tucked away in the corner of the room.
Unlike Siwoo, who was out of it, Amelia had somehow managed to find it in the shadows.
Even without Amelia saying so, Siwoo had diligently prepared even the ashtray.
He tried his best not to look at Amelia as he placed them in front of the glass door of the bathroom.
“I’m ready.”
“Bring them in.”
However, Amelia’s instructions didn’t end there.
An additional order was given to enter the bathroom where she was soaking.
“I, I can’t do that!”
I need to stay calm.
This is Amelia’s trap.
If I happily go in here and see her bare skin, there will surely be a terrible punishment waiting for me.
It wouldn’t be strange to hear her say, ‘A slave, getting excited at the prospect of seeing a witch’s body. A castration is fitting for a caretaker like you.’
“I won’t say it twice. Come in.”
Amelia didn’t say another word after that.
Siwoo took a deep breath.
He just had to go in, look at the floor, hand over the wine, and that would be it.
“Then, I’ll go in.”
Siwoo opened the bathroom door with his head bowed low.
Thick steam blurred the flickering candlelight in the bathroom.
The fragrant scent of roses filled the air.
And what Siwoo saw was Amelia’s clothes and underwear in a basket on the bathroom floor.
The extremely mature and skimpy underwear, neatly folded, was drawing his gaze from inside the basket.
“It’s alright. There’s plenty of foam anyway.”
Siwoo cautiously raised his head at Amelia’s words.
Just as she said, the bathtub was filled with foam so thick that the bottom couldn’t be seen.
Therefore, all Siwoo could see was Amelia’s beautiful shoulder line.
Her deer-like neckline was visible because her hair was tied up to keep it from getting wet.
“Cigarette first.”
Siwoo took a cigarette from the pack and placed it between her lips.
Come to think of it, he never smelled any cigarette smoke on her usually. Was that also a kind of magic?
“Wine.”
Siwoo carefully tilted the bottle and poured wine into the glass she was holding.
She closed her eyes tightly, inhaled the cigarette smoke, and then moistened her lips with the wine.
Even though it was hidden by the foam, it was quite revealing.
Her plump cleavage, her bare white arms, and her armpits were all exposed.
“Caretaker.”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“Caretaker, have one too.”
“Yes.”
Siwoo immediately put a cigarette in his mouth.
It seemed like a pretty good way to stop the storm of lust that kept trying to rise.
“You’re not refusing this time?”
“You granted my request, Assistant Professor.”
If Amelia had killed the middle-aged man there, even the last bit of affection he had for her would have disappeared.
“I heard you were quite a capable mathematician outside. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is.”
Strictly speaking, I was a math prodigy in the making.
More surprising was that Amelia knew even the trivial details of a slave’s life.
I soon found out why she was bringing this up.
“I need an assistant to organize and manage my research materials.”
“Yes.”
“I’m saying, come work exclusively for me, like I suggested five years ago.”
“Pardon?”
Siwoo gaped stupidly.
It was as if electricity had jolted through his head, snapping him awake.
Five years ago, wasn’t that when Amelia had asked for his ‘night service’?
What did she mean by offering him an exclusive slave back then?
“Professor, may I ask a rude question?”
“If it’s not excessively rude, then yes.”
Siwoo swallowed hard.
He had a feeling there had been a serious misunderstanding all this time.
“Five years ago, weren’t you asking me to provide you with night service?”
In his memory, Amelia had definitely approached Siwoo after his work was done and said something to that effect.
However, Siwoo, who was a virgin who knew nothing but math and had been thoroughly frightened by the slave trader about the terrors of witches, had been scared and rejected the offer.
After that, Amelia had been furious and had tormented the slave who had rejected her offer with persistent and petty methods.
That was Siwoo’s memory.
“Indeed, it is a rude question.”
Amelia frowned unpleasantly and took a sip of her wine.
“I told you to come to my chambers after work that day. But I never once mentioned anything about night service.”
“Why specifically to your chambers…”
“I needed to test how useful you were, and it was much closer than the research building. So, the manager, have you been thinking of me as a cheap woman who brings any man into her chambers?”
Amelia’s voice was cold.
She sounded a bit like she was trying to cover something up, but he wasn’t bold enough to question it.
“I, I’m sorry.”
Siwoo bowed his head in apology.
The entire premise had been twisted.
Come to think of it, it was obvious.
He had never heard of Amelia bringing other men into her chambers.
She was a traditional and conservative witch who had no interest in anything but magic.
And that Amelia would think of dragging a slave she had just met into her bed?
And that she would suddenly fall in love?
He was clearly suffering from a severe case of wishful thinking.
Taka-sho was fanning himself beside him, but it was a clear mistake.
“I’m sorry!”
“I don’t even want to hear your apology. Well, that’s what all males think.”
Amelia’s anger, sharper than a winter’s gale, tore through Siwoo’s back as he groveled with his head bowed.
The earlier fluttering in his heart was gone.
Now, he had to figure out how to appease her and improve her mood.
