Chapter 241 – #55_보은(2)
#239
1.
“You are much more handsome in person than I had heard.”
Soo-ah said, pouring tea into Siwoo’s cup.
She had never learned any difficult etiquette like tea ceremonies, but the atmosphere felt very formal.
It was on a different level from the twins, who had learned noble etiquette but sometimes seemed superficial.
The combination of archaic honorifics and a hanbok made him wonder, should I even be sitting across from her on the sofa? Shouldn’t I be kneeling to receive the cup? Such thoughts kept popping up.
Honestly, it was a bit burdensome.
“Um, you don’t have to speak so formally to me.”
“I cannot do that. It is clear that if it were not for your decisive action during the recent attack, a disaster twice as large would have occurred. It is my duty to protect the peace of Seoul, so how can I treat you lightly?”
Soo-ah bowed her head respectfully as she spoke.
Usually, if an ordinary person lowered themselves so much in words and actions, they would appear a bit easy to take advantage of.
But this hanbok witch lady was not like that at all.
She was like a personification of the proverb, “The more the rice ripens, the more it bows its head.”
“However, since you seem uncomfortable, how about this? Is this enough? Etiquette is ultimately for the sake of consideration for the other person.”
“Ah, yes. Please do.”
Soo-ah smiled brightly and changed her tone from extremely formal to just formal.
Siwoo carefully sipped his tea and answered.
“First, you said you came to see me because you wanted to talk… Is there anything someone like me could talk about with you?”
“Of course. I wanted to express my gratitude, and I also thought you would want to hear about the current situation and Ms. Evergreen’s condition.”
Come to think of it, he had heard from Eloa that Soo-ah was in charge of Sharon’s healing.
Siwoo trusted Eloa and believed that he didn’t need to worry too much, but asking the doctor in charge directly was the most reliable way to know.
“Then, I’d like to ask about Sharon’s condition first.”
“I thought you would.”
Soo-ah closed her eyes as if she had expected it and nodded calmly.
After that, she explained, listing various magical knowledge, but unfortunately, Siwoo had no knowledge of recovery magic.
After all, he was a makeshift witch, not someone who had gone through a formal apprenticeship course.
Still, she explained so thoroughly that he could vaguely grasp what her condition was.
“So… her body has recovered, but there’s a mental issue left?”
“That’s right. To be precise, she is refusing to regain consciousness. You could call it a kind of autism. She is refusing to wake up due to fear and terror.”
Isn’t that a big problem?
Physical wounds heal, but wounds in the heart are said to last a lifetime.
The weight of the word “autism” itself was also significant.
Seeing Siwoo’s expression harden, Soo-ah spoke soothingly.
“Don’t worry too much. She will definitely open her eyes within two weeks at the most.”
“Two weeks… Will there be any aftereffects?”
“If her autonomous defense fully takes hold, I predict there won’t be any serious aftereffects. After all, the poison that pierced her neck was also part of ‘magic’.”
Only then did he feel a little relieved.
He glanced to the side and saw Sharon lying there like Sleeping Beauty.
Every time he saw her, he was reminded of the sharp tip of the harpoon that had pierced her frail back, and his throat went dry.
At the same time, a red, awl-like hatred poked out from a corner of his heart.
Of course, it was hatred for the cowardly witch who was the cause.
Siwoo wiped the cold sweat from his face and drank his tea.
Then, one person suddenly came to mind.
The witch who had offered a deal and saved Sharon and Siwoo at the moment when they had given up on everything.
Kybele Periwinkle.
He didn’t have a clear memory because he was flustered, but he remembered that he had agreed to fulfill one request in exchange for saving their lives.
He couldn’t believe he hadn’t remembered this important thing until now, which made him realize how out of it he had been.
“This is about other things… Do you have any thoughts about leaving Seoul for a while?”
“Yes?”
“As you can guess from the series of incidents, Seoul is too dangerous. The accidents caused by the cowardly witch are gradually increasing in intensity. If you stay here, you might face even greater danger than last night.”
According to Soo-ah’s explanation, all the incidents so far were the work of the cowardly witch.
The creation of the splitting homunculus, the culprit who attacked COEX, and the one who created the White Knight were all the work of one person.
Moreover, when he heard that four witches had lost their lives in an instant last night, the seriousness hit him hard.
What kind of beings were witches?
The witches Siwoo remembered were transcendent beings who could easily escape from any danger.
That four of them had died in an instant.
He reaffirmed that surviving yesterday was truly nothing more than luck.
“We have reissued the passes and citizenship that were issued at the request of Count Jemaine. I have also contacted the Count, so it seems best for you to stay in Gehenna until the disaster passes.”
To escape from danger and hide…
It was a valid point.
His abilities, which he had been confident were strong enough, were immature, and the scale of the incidents was too large in comparison.
He made the rational decision that it was right to avoid it, to run away.
But Siwoo had already run away once.
He had been seized by fear and waited for death without doing anything.
It had only been a few hours since he had vowed to Eloa that he would become stronger, and he couldn’t easily accept the sight of himself considering the option of “running away.”
More than anything, now was not the time to be racking his brain with such thoughts.
There was a more important issue than that.
“Thank you very much for the offer. What about Sharon? Can’t she return to Gehenna with me?”
“The safest thing would be to return to Gehenna, but… Ms. Evergreen is an exile, and she has also incurred the resentment of several witches. Even if we start the exemption and citizenship review right now, it’s likely that we won’t meet the deadline.”
“Then, how about she takes refuge somewhere else in the mortal realm for a while?”
“Taking her out of the country is also an option, but it is also dangerous for her to wander around the mortal realm without consciousness.”
Gehenna was not an option.
Neither was going abroad.
Just as he was about to become depressed by the bleak answers, a welcome reply came.
“Therefore, I will take custody of her.”
That answer put his mind at ease a little.
He didn’t know what kind of rank the witch named Soo-ah Agasa had, but she was still the branch manager of a location point.
She was probably a great witch who could not be matched by any mediocre public official, right?
“As for taking refuge in Gehenna… I’m sorry, but I’ll just accept your offer in spirit. I can’t go alone when Sharon is here.”
Soo-ah didn’t seem surprised at all.
She just nodded slightly as if she understood.
“Then, is there anything else you would like to ask?”
“Is the reason you’re being so kind to me because of the previous incident?”
The incident where Dagon’s flute, which had been activated without an interdimensional barrier, had shaken up COEX.
At the time of the accident, Siwoo, who was at the scene, quickly defeated the piranhas and destroyed the flute, reducing civilian casualties by more than half.
“That’s part of it.”
According to Sharon’s explanation, a ‘certification’ was not a light promise at all, as it basically involved staking one’s witch name.
For example, certifying Siwoo’s identity meant becoming Siwoo’s guardian and also meant “I will take the same responsibility for any mistakes or wrongdoings this person commits.”
It was unlikely to happen, but if Siwoo killed an apprentice witch, they would all have to pay the same price.
Siwoo had no idea why someone he had never even spoken a word to would show him this much kindness, even if he was grateful.
“Do you know what is more precious to a witch than life…?”
Soo-ah’s answer was somewhat unexpected.
“Isn’t it… a brand?”
“That’s right. To a witch, a brand is a legacy passed down through generations. It is a treasure created from all lives and deeds, reaching back to the ancestors and the ancestors of the ancestors.
That is why they throw away their lives like straw for the sake of the development of magic.
The witch name inherited along with the brand contains a mission and an unfulfilled calling.”
He knew that.
That the witches considered mass suicide over long periods of time for the sake of magic to be a matter of course.
“The self-generating magic within the brand has a deep meaning for a witch. And you possess the magic of Count’s disciple, Rapi.”
Soo-ah poured tea into Siwoo’s empty teacup.
“Since the tragedy of that day, it’s the first time I’ve seen the Count become so attached to someone else. Teaching someone, telling me someone’s story, feeling emotions other than revenge or regret… You are the first.”
The only person with whom Tiferet, who was suffering from an irreversible loss, could share her heart.
That was what Siwoo meant.
Siwoo had already guessed that Eloa was seeing Rapi in him.
“The Count is a fragile person. She is a strong person who can easily handle a thousand, but her heart is… exhausted.”
That was also why Soo-ah had certified him.
To help Tiferet, who had been unwillingly thrown out of the cycle of revenge, find a purpose in life.
She had found the beginning of that in Siwoo.
“It may be a presumptuous request, but… I hope you will take good care of the Count.”
“What can I do…”
“You can. You’re already doing it.”
Soo-ah recalled Eloa’s appearance when she had spoken about Siwoo with delight earlier.
She had told her that she had started cooking again, that she had started teaching Siwoo how to use his body, and that his achievements were remarkable.
Soo-ah didn’t know how happy she had been to see her light smile as she boasted.
Therefore, she also felt great gratitude towards Siwoo.
“Besides, if the Count believes in someone, there is nothing I cannot believe in. She has always had an eye for people that is better than anyone else’s. You must be a good person too.”
“I’m not that great of a person.”
Siwoo awkwardly rubbed the tip of his nose.
“Soo-ah, teacher? What brings you here without notice?”
Then, Eloa, who had gone out for a while, returned.
Eloa tilted her head, causing her pink hair, tied up like a horsetail, to sway.
“I came to check on Ms. Evergreen’s recovery status and to have a conversation.”
“Is that so? Siwoo’s stamina probably hasn’t fully recovered yet, so don’t keep him too long.”
“The conversation was just about to end anyway.”
Looking at Eloa after hearing Soo-ah’s words, she looked different to him.
Eloa, who had seemed distant because of her terrifying martial arts and magic, and her title as a count, was just a weak person who needed a place to lean on, just like Siwoo.
“Teacher, I’m fine.”
After a moment of thought, Siwoo called her teacher.
It was a title he had hesitated to use until now, wondering if he was needlessly reopening old wounds or interfering presumptuously.
But if this small action could help her, he was willing to do it.
“My body is fine now, so can you help me with my training?”
At Siwoo’s call, Eloa’s eyes widened.
As if she had never imagined that he would call her that.
Just as he was worried that he might have gone too far, her eyes, which held crimson jewels, curved into a beautiful arc.
“Very well. But don’t overdo it today.”
Eloa smiled brightly like a cherry blossom in full bloom.
