Chapter 240 – #55_보은
#238
1.
Thanks to Ms. Sua’s kindness, I was able to borrow the penthouse on the top floor of the building with the location point.
It was originally a place prepared for the branch manager to reside, but Sua willingly handed over the card key, saying that she spends all her time in her office anyway, so I could feel free to stay there.
The large glass window that filled the entire wall was letting in the usual pleasant sunlight.
It wouldn’t be such a good light intensity for someone who was sleeping soundly.
Both Siwoo, who was lying soundly on the bed, and Sharon next to him were sleeping peacefully.
Eloa knelt at the head of the bed, looking at Siwoo.
She looked like a mother nursing her child, or a praying cleric.
“……..”
Eloa silently stroked Siwoo’s cheek.
His skin had become so rough that it looked like it had deteriorated in just one night.
He had no injuries, but just looking at his gaunt face and sunken eye sockets, one could guess the hardships of the previous night.
“…….”
If he had been lost again this time.
If he had experienced the same thing again, helpless and without being able to do anything, just like before.
Would I have been able to stay like this?
Even if it was a selfish feeling, even if it was a somewhat immature relief, it was fine.
But just the fact that Siwoo came back without any major injuries was enough to make me grateful, so grateful.
Eloa clenched Siwoo’s hand tightly and held back her tears.
Eloa had no right to think, “It’s a relief,” and cry her heart out here.
She had arbitrarily formed a bond as if she were Siwoo’s teacher, and had said she would protect him, but had put him in danger with a flimsy plan.
Sharon had already suffered a major injury, and if it hadn’t been for Periwinkle’s help, an even worse situation could have occurred.
What face could she make to cry and be happy?
“Umm….”
Then, Siwoo’s hand, which was caught in Eloa’s slender fingers, twitched.
He frowned as if he had woken up from a nightmare, then slowly looked at his hand and turned his gaze to the side, making eye contact with Eloa.
“…Your Grace?”
“Are you awake?”
Eloa greeted his return with a smile that wasn’t entirely comfortable.
Siwoo, who was slowly reflecting on what was going on, shook violently as if he was having a seizure.
The last scene he had seen before collapsing.
The black, cold seawater that had risen to his waist.
The rusty harpoon piercing through Sharon’s body.
And Sharon slowly collapsing, and his own helplessness.
All of that popped up as if it was being played in reverse.
“Now…!”
“Calm down, calm down… Come here.”
“Y-Your Grace, now… Where is Sharon…?”
The Drowned Witch.
It was a powerful monster that Sochtl had been using for over a hundred years, so the analysis of it was already complete.
Eloa, who had hunted and chased many enemies, also knew the identity of the homunculus.
The Drowned Witch stimulates the fear of its opponents.
Just because a human is physically strong doesn’t mean that their inner self is strong.
If they had fought an opponent who could tear apart a human’s mind and consciousness like paper without proper countermeasures, they probably wouldn’t be in their right mind.
Stress beyond their limits would be boiling in their head.
So, she just reached out and hugged Siwoo.
Siwoo’s body was trembling like a malaria patient.
Each of those vibrations was transmitted.
“Ms. Sharon… is fine for now. All of her physical injuries have been repaired, and all that’s left is to slowly detoxify the poison that has penetrated her. Now, look over there.”
His pupils, which had shrunk with fear, and his rough breathing.
Siwoo, who had been reacting violently like a survivor of a terrorist attack, gradually calmed down.
Eloa patted his back while holding him tightly as if she wouldn’t let him go.
“That’s right, are you feeling a little better?”
“T-Thank you. First, I want to check on Sharon’s condition first.”
“I see.”
Of course, not everything was restored just by Eloa hugging him.
His lips were still trembling, and he seemed to be doing something that was out of place, as if he had just woken up from a terrible nightmare.
When he saw Sharon sleeping peacefully right next to him, the tension that had stiffened his body drained away.
“It’s a relief….”
The shadow cast on his face contained relief, and… another emotion that was very familiar to Eloa.
Self-loathing and guilt.
Eloa knew better than anyone how these emotions, like a disease, gnawed at the heart.
She also knew that it was effective and certain in breaking down a human, like a pest that gnaws at a young tree.
“Siwoo, you…”
Therefore, Eloa tried to offer comfort, however clumsy it might be.
But before that, a voice full of regret intervened.
“…I couldn’t do anything.”
“……..”
“Why was that?”
In movies and cartoons, the protagonist throws away their life without hesitation to save their comrades in moments of crisis.
There are also many heartwarming stories in the real world.
In fact, Siwoo had risked his life for others quite a few times so far.
Small cases included the slaves in Border Town, the swindler in the magic tool shop, and Larisa, the owner of the Blue Snake contact point.
Larger cases included Odile Odette, Sharon, and Amelia.
He had nothing, and most of the time, his actions were out of his depth…
Nevertheless, his body moved first.
It was because he believed it was right.
No matter how helpless he was, even if it was a childish sense of justice, he didn’t try to calculate this and that at that moment.
Even if he couldn’t become a hero.
He had thought that he would become a slightly courageous human being.
But this time was different.
The helplessness he felt to the bone.
Seeing Sharon collapse in a crisis where he was about to lose her without being able to do anything, all he could do was,
Was to tremble like a cripple.
“I was just sitting there trembling with fear. I learned so much from Your Grace… but I couldn’t use any of it properly.”
Siwoo turned all the blades on himself and said as if he was chewing on his words.
He looked very distressed.
Was the courage he thought he had just recklessness?
The distrust of himself turned into a venomous snake and wrapped around his heart.
“Siwoo.”
Eloa didn’t say things like, “The Drowned Witch’s magic is like this,” or, “You couldn’t have faced it with your level,” to Siwoo.
She knew that such answers were not helpful in the first place.
Because the question that Siwoo was holding now was the one that Eloa had been struggling with and repeating every night.
Eloa hugged Siwoo tightly once again.
To soothe his wounds with a gentle voice.
“You know that I lost an apprentice witch, right?”
“…..Yes.”
“Her name was Lapi. She was a very admirable child, and I wouldn’t have regretted giving her everything I had.”
“……..”
“When I buried her in my heart. Can you imagine how I was?”
It was the first time since losing Lapi that she had talked about that time in front of others.
But if it would make Siwoo feel even a little bit better, she would gladly do so.
The memories of the past that she had always seen in her dreams came to mind.
Her heart and voice sank heavily, as if she had swallowed iron.
But Eloa was able to face the past more calmly than she had thought.
“I held her and cried there for two days. I cried pathetically and miserably, unable to do anything. If I had chased after the Water Bearer Witch right away, I might have been able to get revenge. But I couldn’t do that.
After that, it felt like my heart had been cut out. It felt like my chest was empty. I couldn’t find anything to fill that space, and I actually couldn’t. It was painful, like a ghost who had only their body left.
Because I had to realize every day, every moment, that I couldn’t change anything.”
Eloa briefly let go of Siwoo and stroked his cheek.
“Losing someone precious is such a terrible and shocking thing. Don’t blame yourself too much for not being able to do anything right away.”
Her eyes, which were so close that their noses were touching, were full of warmth, and it felt like she would be sucked into them.
It was a sincere comfort that only someone who had experienced the same pain could give.
“Besides… you’re different from me, aren’t you? Although Ms. Evergreen was injured, her life is not in danger. There are plenty of opportunities to correct and fix things. You also have the ability to prevent this from happening again. You have a shining talent.”
“Your Grace…”
Siwoo’s eyes, which had lost their fighting spirit and were dull and empty like a dog with its tail down, began to become clearer.
“The first step in all achievements is to know your own shortcomings. You have only just taken your first step.”
Siwoo’s eyes always shone during sparring.
He was realizing that he was getting stronger, and it seemed that he had a high concentration on learning, so it was natural.
If he had continued to train with Eloa as he was, he would have achieved quite good results.
In fact, he had improved so much that it was difficult to compare him to before his training.
However, if Eloa were to be a little more greedy, there were also some things that were lacking.
Siwoo seemed to lack a clear purpose, a definite motive.
But she didn’t bother to point it out.
Not everyone needs to live desperately and earnestly.
Eloa, who knew how tiring a life burdened by purpose was, turned a blind eye to Siwoo’s somewhat loose sense of purpose, unlike his enthusiasm.
“I want to become stronger.”
And now, she felt that the last piece that was just a little bit missing had been filled.
“That’s a good thought.”
“I want to go to a higher place than now, an overwhelming place.”
“I will definitely make that happen.”
Eloa calmly stroked Siwoo’s hair.
2.
While Eloa was away for a while, an unexpected guest came.
“How is your body?”
Siwoo was sitting next to Sharon, stroking her forehead, when he suddenly stood up.
Perhaps because he had just experienced such a thing yesterday, he reflexively became wary, wondering if it was an enemy.
“Please don’t be alarmed. I am Sua Agasa, the branch manager of the Gwanghwamun branch of Location Point.”
Only then did Siwoo feel relieved.
Even for Siwoo, who had met many witches so far, Sua was a unique character.
Should I say she had the impression of a young lady from a noble family?
She wasn’t wearing a hanbok that had been modernized for easy wear.
She was wearing a traditional hanbok that made one momentarily mistake this penthouse for a tranquil traditional Korean house.
Among the witches with their colorful hair and eyes, her black hair and black eyes, which could be considered somewhat plain, were not hiding her beauty.
Rather, in the restrained and refined beauty like an oriental painting, she exuded an atmosphere like a single hydrangea.
“I’ve only heard about you. Nice to meet you. My name is Shin Siwoo.”
Siwoo bowed and offered a handshake.
Sua looked at his hand with a slightly surprised expression, then politely accepted the handshake.
“I came to talk to you for a while.”
“Yes, I have plenty of time.”
She came to talk to me?
I don’t think there’s anything to talk about, but she’s someone I’ve been curious about since before.
I also wanted to ask why she had vouched for Siwoo, whom she had never met before.
