Chapter 435 – #91_Merry Christmas(7)
#434
1.
No one can stand on a rainbow.
Even with the power to create and destroy worlds alone.
Even with the power to purge those who disrupt order.
That doesn’t define perfection.
Everyone has their own internal contradictions.
Lilith knew this better than anyone, and she also knew how to exploit it.
She finds the tangled threads of invisible contradictions and pulls them out.
She grabs them and swings them around like a slingshot.
Lilith decides the length of the string and the timing of its release.
All the chaos that follows is determined by the dice thrown by God.
When the tightly spinning string buzzes around her ears like a bee’s wings, she always falls into contemplation.
Is it now?
When should I release it to create the most spectacular festival?
Like when someone topples a carefully built domino set.
The thought of the chaos and disorder that will unfold makes it impossible for her not to smile.
“Keter.”
Duke Keter, how grand.
Lilith spoke the name of her distorted mirror.
The arrogant ghost of order who abandoned, discarded, and deserted Lilith like an old rag.
Keter failed.
That fact made her heart tremble with a bitter sneer.
“You couldn’t stand on a rainbow either.”
Lilith snatched one of the cards Keter had prepared.
The heart of the ‘order’ she had built, the witch city of Gehenna.
How disconcerting would it be if a carefully prepared item turned into a bomb and returned to her bosom?
Clara suppressed the smile that kept spreading and approached Amelia.
Now was the time to pay more attention to her facial expressions.
Amelia trusted Clara, but suspicion is formed from small clues.
“Have you decided?”
“…Yes.”
“Good! You thought well! Staying cooped up in gloom will only make you depressed.”
Today is the Harvest Festival.
Clara encouraged Amelia to go out.
For several days after reuniting with Siwoo, Amelia had been spending her time in a daze.
In the midst of gloomy thoughts, regrets, and the despair of her expectations being shattered, she pushed away everything external as if she had become autistic.
Except for Clara.
For this moment, Clara had been playing the role of a cooperative helper.
She maintained a distance and attitude that Amelia would find least repulsive, and in the end, she released the self-defense mechanisms in her body and flowed self-magnetic magic disguised as magical power into her brand.
Amelia’s world is narrow.
Her immature ego and interpersonal skills are not easily revealed due to her cold demeanor.
Even Lilith, who had cooked up the cowardly witch who was half-mad and the cunning witch of desire, found her to be an easy prey.
“……”
“Why? Did you suddenly change your mind?”
Clara asked in a slightly higher tone than usual at Amelia’s sudden silence.
If it was just a suggestion to look around the Harvest Festival, Amelia wouldn’t have hesitated this much.
The reason she was wrapping her shoulders as if she was afraid was because this outing was just an excuse.
“You were the one who said you wanted to see it with your own eyes.”
“That’s right… I did…”
The real purpose of this outing was to meet Amelia’s unrequited love, Shin Siwoo.
To confirm his true feelings and have a conversation.
To ‘whisper,’ one must empathize with the target more than anyone else.
She had to understand in detail what psychological process Amelia went through to reach her conclusions, and what past she had gone through to reach her current state.
Clara had Amelia’s thought patterns in her hands.
She could predict the flow of thoughts and emotions that were determined in the whirlpool of the unconscious and conscious.
If Lilith were to shed Clara’s appearance and imitate Amelia, she would be such a deep understanding that no one would notice.
Therefore, she should never laugh, but she couldn’t help but chuckle every time she looked at Amelia.
She never imagined that she would have such extreme avoidance mechanisms.
Amelia hadn’t even properly read the note Siwoo left at the time of their separation, nor the will left by her teacher.
It was an infantile defense mechanism that was impossible to understand.
“If there’s a misunderstanding, you have to confront it directly. Nothing will change if you do nothing.”
“I know, Clara. You’ve told me that many times.”
But that way, nothing would change.
Personal change is usually triggered by external circumstances.
Clara took the time to persuade Amelia.
Wearing the mask of a friend’s sincere advice, she directly interfered with her unconscious.
She planted the seeds of hope in the depths of Amelia’s barren heart.
She made it possible for her, who was about to retreat into her shell again, to go and meet Siwoo on her own.
It is important to have hope.
The higher you fall from, the greater the difference.
Of course, she would never have a direct conversation with Shin Siwoo.
Clara gently wrapped her arm around Amelia’s shoulder, who was as anxious as a bird that had just left its cage for the first time.
“It’ll be okay. Don’t worry too much.”
“It’s what you always say… but thank you so much.”
“It’s what I always say, but friends help each other.”
Amelia’s reunion with Siwoo, who had squeezed out her last bit of courage.
That reunion would surely be the worst possible.
It would be a problem if it wasn’t.
2.
“Ugh, I’m screwed, I’m screwed. Why is the world so mean to me…”
Sharon pouted with a deathly expression.
Sharon was assigned the second day of the Harvest Festival by the council.
It wasn’t that she needed special sex for a special date on a special day, but she knew how to please Siwoo, who was secretly a pervert.
She was watching the twins prepare for a love-love Jenga, and she was also planning various things.
She helped Duke Tiferet, who didn’t know what to do and was just pacing around.
Duke Tiferet prepared a bunny girl outfit, and at that time, Sharon also ordered a special weapon.
That was the 13-piece adult toy package from the present world.
The problem was that the smuggling ship, which was scheduled to arrive this morning, was involved in a maritime accident and sank straight to the bottom of the present world’s sea.
Dildos and handcuffs didn’t even get to meet their owner and became hidden items on the seabed.
“I can’t believe this…”
She thought she would be able to make it just in time, even though the schedule was tight.
She never imagined that it would be ruined by a huge happening of a ship capsizing.
Sharon couldn’t help but laugh at her unfortunate fate, which could be considered a constitution.
“Hah… I was really looking forward to it…”
There were some pretty scary-looking tools in the catalog, but she was intrigued.
Wasn’t it said that different kinds of play also help maintain a couple’s relationship?
She thought that in order to secure a place next to Siwoo, who was arguably the most popular man in the witch society, she needed more than just a half-hearted determination and preparation.
But even if she lamented like this, she didn’t have time to prepare anything else.
It wasn’t easy to get adult toys in Gehenna, where there were many conservative witches, and even if it was possible, it would be a shameful thing to do to her teacher.
In the end, Sharon, who had done her makeup as pretty as possible and dressed up, sat on a bench in Tarot Town waiting for Siwoo.
3.
When Siwoo thought of the Harvest Festival, the first thing that came to mind was the plaza of Tarot Town, which was in a festive mood.
Trinity Academy didn’t change much even during the Harvest Festival, and Malkuth Gallery, which was known to be the most splendid, was not a place where he could freely set foot as a slave.
Therefore, the place he naturally visited with Takasho was the White Whale Tavern, where they would get dried jerky and draft beer.
“I’ve become quite successful.”
One of the factors that allows a person to gauge their success is ‘how wonderful a day they spend on holidays or special days.’
In that sense, he felt a great change.
He had a happy day with his teacher, who was one of the only three dukes in Gehenna, and tomorrow he was planning to spend his time leisurely with the five apprentice witches of the Jemenae County.
And today, he had a date with Sharon, whom the old Siwoo would never have dared to talk to.
Objectively speaking, he could only think that this was an undeserved happiness.
As with all festivals, the peak time was from the evening.
It was still just past noon, so the plaza of Tarot Town was not very crowded.
As if in reaction to last night’s revelry, people were struggling with hangovers and were cooped up at home with their lovers and families.
Of course, when it got dark, they would revive as splendidly as if nothing had happened.
As he walked for a while, he saw Sharon sitting on a bench near the meeting place.
He muffled his footsteps and went behind her.
He planned to surprise her, like he used to do.
“I won’t fall for it anymore?”
Just as he succeeded in sneaking up behind her, Sharon turned her head back and met Siwoo’s eyes.
She clearly seemed to be lost in thought, but she noticed him like a ghost.
“Do you think I’m stupid? You always do the same thing.”
“How did you know?”
Sharon pouted her lips, so he bent down and gave her a light kiss.
It seemed that his greetings with Sharon always started with a kiss.
“I can’t hide the smell. How many times have I smelled it?”
“You still get caught often, though.”
A meaningless, sweet conversation.
Sharon had the ability to make others feel comfortable.
Her first impression was that of a feisty, stray cat-like young lady.
“Ta-da! How is it? I dressed up a bit today.”
Sharon stood up and showed off her outfit.
Her hair, which she usually let down haphazardly, was styled in a princess-like bun.
The butterfly pin and earrings, which looked like they were made by a master craftsman, sparkled in the afternoon sun, and her warm winter coat and scarf were so elegant that she could be mistaken for a princess on a brief private visit.
Moreover, the influence of her midriff, which pushed up her thick clothes even more, was…
He had seen Sharon at home every day for months, but Sharon’s beauty was always new and thrilling.
She was really, damn pretty.
“Did you put on makeup too?”
“What! Why are you so soulless!”
“I was speechless because you’re so beautiful.”
“This is expensive clothes, you know? Praise me more.”
Even if she pretended to be angry, who would be scared if she smiled so brightly?
Sharon walked over and hugged him tightly.
The soft scent of her skin and the warmth that spread at the same time.
Sharon playfully rubbed her head against Siwoo as if she was trying to leave her scent on him.
“This older sister will pay for today’s date. Siwoo, just bring yourself.”
“What, is that okay?”
“Of course~ How much have I received from you when we lived together? Let’s go shopping at the gallery together, I just got my paycheck recently.”
Sharon clung to Siwoo like an affectionate puppy.
Sharon usually preferred skinship, but she seemed to be in a particularly good mood today.
If Sharon had a tail, it would have been wagging vigorously from side to side.
Looking at her excited appearance, he turned his steps towards Malkuth Gallery.
