City ​​of Witches 412

Chapter 412 – #88_Harvest Festival(5)

#411

1.
In the end, Siwoo, having been turned away without even a proper attempt at conversation, let out a long sigh.

To make excuses, it was the Countess who had first come on to him and seduced him, and the subsequent physical intimacy was also the result of a mutual agreement for magical research. But would anyone believe it if he said it straight out?

However, even if magical enhancement could be achieved through intercourse, and even if it meant he couldn’t sleep with a beautiful older sister like Countess Yesod, he thought it was time to sort things out.

With a heavy heart, Siwoo knocked on the door.
Perhaps not as much as Diana, but he wouldn’t get a very good reaction from her either.

“You may come in.”

After hearing the dignified voice, he carefully opened the door.
The Countess’s private library, where they always studied together, and which had recently become a place for passionate intercourse.

“It’s been a while.”
“Indeed.”
“I heard you came to visit me while I was sick. Thank you.”

She received Siwoo’s greeting, wrapped up so tightly that she might as well have been wearing a thick fur coat.
However, the atmosphere was a little different from usual.

A sense of distance, a clear gap in the welcome.

Judging by Countess Yesod’s behavior patterns before they parted, it wouldn’t have been strange for her to immediately shower him with kisses upon their reunion.

Especially since Siwoo had returned from the brink of death.
However, she was simply sipping her coffee, sitting in her place.

“I want to say you’re amazing. To be born a man, to research magic alone, and to even defeat the Witch of Desire with that magic.”
“You flatter me. It was all just good luck.”

In fact, Siwoo felt a little awkward with these compliments.

It was more his rampaging unconsciousness than Siwoo himself that had led to the fifty-fifty fight.
Also, Bianca, who specialized in hit-and-run tactics, made the mistake of trapping herself in a narrow cage.

Even with that mistake, if Amelia hadn’t been there, Siwoo would have lost his life in the final counterattack, so he didn’t exactly feel proud.

“If modesty is excessive, it’s no longer modesty. Mr. Siwoo, you will write a new history in the witch society. It’s an achievement to be proud of.”

Anyway.
The reason he came to see her today was not for tutoring.
It was to clarify their future relationship and to offer her a kind of apology.
Even if it was a light relationship that started with physical intimacy, he had to show at least some courtesy for the sake of parting, didn’t he?

Just as he was about to start talking, the Countess spoke first.

“By the way, I was a little surprised.”
“In what way?”
“I didn’t know you were hiding such a big secret, Mr. Siwoo.”
“What secret are you referring to?”

Just as he was tilting his head at the Countess’s roundabout way of speaking, instead of getting straight to the point.

“Mr. Siwoo, why didn’t you tell me? That your lover was Duchess Tiferet.”

The expression of Countess Yesod, who had been maintaining her composure, slightly distorted.
There was no displeasure or betrayal.
It was a meeting that was based on the premise of playing with fire and research.
She was already aware that Siwoo had another witch by his side.

“I’ll tell you that I don’t feel any betrayal about that.”

Therefore, the reason the Countess was holding her head and looking upset was that her lover’s legal wife was none other than Duchess Tiferet, who was revered as a god of war.

“But Mr. Siwoo! If the other party was Duchess Tiferet! You should have given me a little hint!”

As befitting the only three titles in Gehenna, she possessed that much power.
She had purged more witches with her own hands than anyone except Keter.
And this was the most important point, she was a witch who was more ‘upright, strong, and strict’ than anyone else.

“You said you were my teacher! I never even thought it would go that far!”

Countess Yesod stood up from her seat and confronted Siwoo, as if demanding an explanation.
The faint shadows under her eyes seemed to represent her recent hardships.

What witches seek is to raise their self-magic to a higher level.

Therefore, the titles of Gehenna do not have much effect, at least among witches.

The titles themselves were given to witches who helped Keter establish early Gehenna to give them benefits, and they do not have many privileges in themselves, like ministers or vice-ministers in the present world.
Therefore, the difference in titles, such as countess or duchess, does not mean a hierarchical relationship of power.

Yesod was one of the wealthiest families in Gehenna.
On the other hand, Tiferet had an unstable financial situation that could lead to bankruptcy overnight if it weren’t for the support of a few witches who respected her.
The influence of the Yesod family was also greater in the present world, so even if the other party was Duchess Tiferet, there was no reason to be intimidated.

However, Countess Yesod had met Tiferet before.
She had experienced what kind of person she was.

Her expression and tone were always blunt.
She was a vengeful spirit who went madly after achievements and hunted down homunculi to avenge the world that had taken her disciple’s life.
Her violent power and her sharp, knife-like gaze had intimidated even the great Lucy Yesod.

“Was it such a big problem?”

Siwoo realized what Countess Yesod was worried about from their conversation.
Didn’t many witches ‘revere’ Duchess Tiferet?

The Chinese character for reverence (敬) means to respect, and the character for awe (畏) means to fear.
In short, Countess Yesod also feared Tiferet without exception.

Well, it was understandable.
His teacher’s actions were, to put it cutely, a mini-Keter-like path.

He had been overlooking it because he had only seen her always smiling gently recently, but even at their first meeting, she had been a very scary and difficult person to deal with.

“Of course! Didn’t you say you were learning from Duchess Tiferet? You know better than I do what kind of witch she is!”
“My teacher isn’t that scary, you know?”
“Of course she’d be kind to you! Who would be so strict with their lover…?”

The Countess, as if frustrated, thumped her chest and gulped down the hot coffee, then sighed and poured out her grievances.

“Honestly, I can’t say I did well either. Mr. Siwoo told me that he had a lover, and I ignored that and pushed him, so it’s my fault.”
“It’s the same for me. It’s not just the Countess’s fault.”
“Still, I thought she was someone I could handle. I even thought about getting our relationship recognized in the future. It’s a cowardly thing to say, but I never imagined it would be Duchess Tiferet…”

Even if she had asked about her lover’s identity when they were in a relationship, Siwoo would have given Sharon’s name.
Because until then, his memories were limited by his teacher’s seal.

The Countess, who was almost in despair mode, firmly grabbed Siwoo’s arm.

“By any chance, have we been caught? Well, that can’t be. If we had, she would have come looking for us already.”
“Countess, wouldn’t it be better to calm down a little?”
“Calm down? You really don’t know anything about Duchess Tiferet.”
“It’s not just to me, but my teacher is a reasonable person. She doesn’t take out her anger on others for no reason.”

Before they started talking, he told her because she seemed too worried.
It seemed necessary to explain for the sake of his teacher’s honor, who was probably scratching her ears, feeling ticklish, without knowing anything.

“Really…?”
“Of course. She may look scary and stiff on the outside, but if you explain the situation, she’ll understand. She won’t get angry either.”

For Countess Yesod, it was just an evaluation coming from the Duchess’s lover.
It might not be objective.
However, the deep sense of trust that emanated from Siwoo’s tone was enough to reassure the Countess.

As if to judge the truth, the Countess stared at Siwoo with her vermilion eyes for a long time, then let out a sigh like a dog that needed to pee.

“…Then that’s really a relief. I can’t believe everything you say, Mr. Siwoo, but even if half of it is true, I feel like a weight has been lifted.”

The Countess, who seemed to have lost strength in her legs, slumped onto the sofa and took a series of long breaths with a tired expression.

“It’s not good to do bad things carelessly.”
“It seems like the best thing to do is to live an honest life.”

Siwoo also sat facing her and shared a wry smile.
He had relieved some of the burden on his heart.

Rejection is something that is burdensome not only for the person being rejected, but also for the person who has to declare the break.
Although they had started lightly, they had become close through their physical intimacy, and he was worried about how she would accept this situation.
It was because the flow of the conversation was heading towards ‘Let’s stop the affair.’

“While we’re on the subject, I was wondering if we should stop our research here.”

Even so, he cautiously looked at her and spoke.
Here, research naturally meant research on the amplification of magical power during ejaculation.

“Huh?”

The Countess’s reaction to that was different from what Siwoo had expected.

“Stop… seeing each other?”
“Rather than stop seeing each other… I think we should stop having sex now. At least for the sake of minimal honesty.”
“That can’t be…”

Contrary to the topic of conversation that had been flowing smoothly until now, the Countess was shocked as if she had just received a sudden breakup notice.
Just a minute ago, she had been so worried about Duchess Tiferet’s wrath.

“Research is important, but there are more important things than that…”
“No. For me, researching Mr. Siwoo’s body is also a very, very important thing.”

A serious voice cut him off.
Countess Yesod was already staring intently at Siwoo.
Her gestures contained a firm expectation that did not seem like a mere attachment to physical intimacy.

“Look at this.”

When the Countess slightly waved her hand, a thick stack of documents on the table flew into her hand.
She spread out the analysis data in front of Siwoo.

Although it was half-baked, Siwoo now was different from his old amateur magician days.
He had basic knowledge that he had seen and learned.
He couldn’t understand everything that Countess Yesod showed him, but he could read about half of it.

“Did you see? Mr. Siwoo, when you have sex, you’re not just charging up magical power. Through that pure magical power you inject, you’re copying the circuits engraved on the stigma.”

The Countess, in an enthusiastic voice, showed him the data with all sorts of complex graphs and explained each item to Siwoo in detail.
She explained how his magical power was involved in self-magic during intercourse.

“I see.”
“What do you mean, ‘I see’?”

And the Countess’s words became a link that overlapped with the current situation.
All the magic that had newly joined Ain was from the person he had ejaculated inside.

In order, Yebin, Aea, Sharon, Eloa, and Lucy.
Their self-magic was also copied and given to Siwoo.

Siwoo told the Countess about that fact, as well as what he had observed in the palace of memories a while ago.
Countess Yesod, convinced that his hypothesis was correct, clapped her hands and her eyes lit up.
She was full of energy, as if she had never been intimidated.

“See! Mr. Siwoo! If we can establish this well, maybe we can even make something like the ‘transfer’ of stigmas possible! Even if the predecessor doesn’t die, the apprentice witch can inherit the stigma! Of course, to do that, we’ll need to adjust the detailed values and extract a lot more samples… It’ll be a revolution!”
“Ah…”

Siwoo realized belatedly.
Just as Diana didn’t want Lucy to leave.
Lucy also didn’t want to leave Diana alone.

In that situation, Siwoo’s existence had become the only lifeline to escape this difficult situation.
Whether it was Duchess Tiferet’s frown or resistance, it was something to be put aside.

“Mr. Siwoo, I’m begging you. Please help me with the research a little more… I can’t say that I don’t have any personal motives, but Mr. Siwoo’s help is essential for me and Diana.”

The Countess desperately grabbed Siwoo’s hand.
She was about to take off her clothes and kneel down if he showed even the slightest sign of refusal.

“For now… I understand.”

Although he felt uneasy, he wanted to end it cleanly.
However, if it wasn’t just a matter of sexual desire, Siwoo couldn’t coldly refuse.
How could he cut it off so easily when it was a matter of life and death?

“I’ll talk to them.”
“Thank you, thank you, Mr. Siwoo…!”

With this reason, wouldn’t he be able to get some consideration from his four women?
Thinking that, Siwoo gave a positive sign for now.

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This is a fan art of Sharon comforting Eloa provided by Blessing.

Thank you for the beautiful picture.