Chapter 763 – #162_A Field Trip To The Mortal Realm (2)
#763
1.
The newly built officetel provided by my eldest mother-in-law was quite spacious.
The living room, with its sofa and table, was also considerably large, comparable to a regular apartment.
However, with everyone gathered here so closely, it felt quite bustling, like a family gathering on Chuseok.
With the Geminai family, Amelia, Eloa, L’Riel, Siwoo, and even Sharon joining, there were a total of nine people.
Albiereo clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention and then opened her mouth.
“Now that Siwoo has returned safely, we should have a welcome party. Has everyone eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“That’s perfect. My sister and I have some business to take care of in the mortal realm, so how about we all have a luncheon, Siwoo?”
“A luncheon? Sounds good.”
“Then, I’ll make a reservation at a nearby restaurant.”
Siwoo stopped Deneb, who was quite skillfully taking out her smartphone.
A restaurant was nice, but this officetel had a long-standing tradition of dining.
“Um, my little mother-in-law.”
“Yes, Siwoo.”
“A restaurant is nice, but… how about we order a bunch of mortal realm food?”
Shinchon, the mecca of youth, was filled with all sorts of restaurants.
Fine dining was nice, but they enjoyed that every evening at the Geminai mansion, didn’t they?
Since they had made the difficult journey to the mortal realm, he wanted to taste the local food and let his lovers taste it too.
“Delivery food… would that be okay?”
“Yes, yes, but I plan to order a lot of different things. And bring some king crab too.”
“What do you think, sister?”
“It’s Siwoo’s welcome party. If that’s what he wants, we should go with it.”
My eldest mother-in-law nodded obediently.
“Oh, so we can taste the food of the mortal realm? I am truly looking forward to it.”
“Yay! I want to eat samgyeopsal! And add some raw oysters too.”
“Assistant! The kimchi stew I had before was delicious. Make sure to add raw oysters too.”
The triplets were smacking their lips.
“K-Kimchi stew…?”
Amelia’s eyes shook with delight at the mention of kimchi stew.
“Yes, yes, then I’ll order now.”
Siwoo, pleased with his excellent choice, opened his smartphone to launch the delivery app after a long time…
-Click!
He quickly closed it.
“……”
It was dangerously close to a spine-chilling moment.
Come to think of it, he had jokingly played a prank on Sharon earlier by locking the screen with last night’s video still playing.
As soon as he unlocked the pattern, a feast of flesh tones had unfolded.
“Gulp…”
He swallowed and looked around, but no one seemed to have noticed…
“Siwoo?”
Not quite.
And of all people, he had been caught by the one person he shouldn’t have been caught by.
“Can you come out for a moment?”
Albiereo called Siwoo out with a murderous glint in her eyes.
2.
The rooftop, where a cool breeze was starting to blow.
It was a place where he had often gone to smoke or train with his master when he was in the mortal realm.
He had been there many times even in the dead of winter, so it wasn’t particularly cold, but Siwoo felt a chill that seemed to freeze his marrow.
“Haa…”
Albiereo, who had arrived first, put a cigarette in her mouth.
A long stream of bitter smoke mixed with a sigh.
“Siwoo, I’m tired too. I don’t want to be stressed by these kinds of issues anymore. It’s embarrassing to even talk about it…”
My mother-in-law, who was always angry, seemed to be too tired to even be angry now.
Her listless scolding even had a hint of tears mixed in.
“Siwoo isn’t a human male, and after several thorough verifications, it was confirmed that there wouldn’t be any problems in the future, so I’ve been turning a blind eye to the twins’ secret escapades.”
“Mother-in-law.”
“I tried to understand it because you’re lovers. I don’t know much about it, but you’re in love, right? But, but… did you really have to film a video?”
To Albiereo, the twins were precious apprentice witches.
They were her daughters, whom she had raised since they were tiny babies.
Even if she conceded that it was understandable to share a relationship, filming it and keeping it was something Albiereo couldn’t accept.
Even though she believed that Siwoo had the integrity not to show it to anyone and that he wouldn’t have forced them.
It was a mother’s love for her daughters.
As a bad son-in-law, he fully understood her feelings.
There was a chance that it could be leaked by even a minor mistake, or that it could be seen by a third party.
Her scolding, ‘Why are you so careless?’ was justified.
“Countess, I know it’s a situation that can be easily misunderstood, but… yesterday was the first time. Of course, I don’t have any videos or photos of the twins. I can swear that I won’t do it again.”
“Really?”
“Should I show you my photo album?”
At Siwoo’s sincere explanation, his mother-in-law blinked and replied.
“…No, Siwoo isn’t the kind of person who would lie. Then I was unfairly pushing you. I’m sorry.”
My mother-in-law bowed her head in apology.
At the end of her shimmering violet eyes, like the twins, there was relief mixed with apology.
“No, no… please don’t do this. It was a situation that was easy to misunderstand.”
“That’s right, this misunderstanding is also due to Siwoo’s usual behavior.”
My mother-in-law, who seemed to have gotten over her worries, became a bit more lively.
Her weakness disappeared, and she naturally regained her villainous young lady-like tone as she tapped Siwoo’s chest.
It was only a brief moment, but he felt sorry for having caused her so much distress.
“Haa, if you had been as diligent as you were during our first meeting, I would have been able to close my eyes in peace…”
Albiereo, who was smiling bitterly, offered Siwoo a cigarette.
A friendly cigarette between mother-in-law and son-in-law.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since they had had a conversation alone while maintaining their composure.
Usually, when he was alone with her, it was an extreme situation where he had to prepare shin guards.
“Albiereo, are you planning to proceed with the succession as is?”
“I have to finish it within three years as planned. This trip to the mortal realm isn’t just a picnic either. It’s a process to reaffirm to our retainers who they serve so that the twins can properly lead the business even after we succeed.”
“……”
As he had felt before, Albiereo’s view on succession was quite firm.
Unlike the extremely doting father-of-daughters, Count Yesod, she had consistently shown her intention to leave a clean mark.
The fact that she had never once asked about the results of the research on the succession of marks using Siwoo’s magic amplification was proof of that.
And when you think about it, it was a very bitter decision.
Albiereo and Deneb would disappear from the world.
They were having a normal conversation like this now, but in just three years, they wouldn’t be able to talk or be scolded normally.
She was living a life where euthanasia had been decided.
Even though he knew that was the essence of a witch, he felt somewhat depressed.
“Hehe.”
When he looked ahead at the gentle laughter, he saw Albiereo smiling with her mouth covered.
“Don’t make such a serious face. It’s a good thing for you, isn’t it? Your mother-in-law, who nags you about everything, is going to disappear.”
“How could that be?”
“No matter what, I can’t hate you, Siwoo. That’s probably why the sharp-witted twins are so hung up on you.”
“Isn’t it natural to be sad?”
“It’s not natural. The world is cruel, and the people who live in it are more heartless than you think.”
She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and continued.
“So, please be a companion to Odile and Odette. A reliable companion who will hold them back if they waver and comfort them if they are struggling.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“I believe in you, Siwoo.”
-Click
At that moment, a figure who had followed them appeared.
It was his master, dressed in a tracksuit and windbreaker, suitable for exercise.
“Come inside after you’re done talking.”
Albiereo tactfully gave them space, and Eloa hesitantly approached Siwoo.
“I missed you.”
“Me too. This is where I first learned to fight from you, Master.”
Eloa started a small talk by leaning on the railing as naturally as she could, but Siwoo could tell that she had a lot to say.
“That chick has grown up well. Now you’re a full-fledged witch.”
“Isn’t it thanks to having a great master?”
A great master…
That wasn’t true.
Eloa was feeling a considerable amount of self-reproach.
She knew how perverse it was to spy on the love between lovers.
If she had even used that scene to soothe her loneliness, it was already in the realm of crime that couldn’t be respected as a preference.
Even for Eloa, it was difficult to easily ask Siwoo for forgiveness or tell him the truth.
Therefore, the reason she had followed Siwoo was for a separate issue.
“I would like to discuss with you the treatment of the Sword Witch and the Path Witch.”
“Ah, I saw the key you left, Master. But…”
“I plan to visit Duke Errelim in the near future. Even if they can’t get citizenship, I will try to negotiate so that they can be exempted from being considered public enemies.”
“Really?”
“We have a weakness on our side, and Duke Errelim still needs my reputation. It won’t be difficult.”
Eloa calmly replied to Siwoo, who was overjoyed.
Of course, she hadn’t made this decision because she had done something bad to Siwoo.
Eloa was the type of person who had the mindset of ‘this is this, and that is that.’
“I’m hesitant to ask, but… are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“I don’t think I can get close to the Sword Witch, let alone the Path Witch. I don’t trust or believe in them.”
But she had been able to return to Seoul after a long time and face her past memories.
She had been a vengeful spirit wandering the mortal realm.
She had never doubted that she was justice.
She had been falling apart after hearing the rumor that the target of her revenge had disappeared.
And even the memory of the most beloved disciple in the world who had held onto such Eloa.
“But I believe in you. I believe in your character, your integrity, and the goodness that strives to see your true nature.”
“Master…”
“I will have a conversation. I don’t even know what kind of person the Sword Witch is.”
On the way back from the funeral of ‘Paola Sochitl, the Cowardly Witch,’ who had caused the disaster in Seoul.
Eloa had told Siwoo, who said that he didn’t feel quite refreshed, that the things in the world weren’t neatly divided like a knife cut.
That there were no humans who were only evil and no humans who were only good.
And yet, Eloa herself had not been able to put that into practice.
“Thank you so much.”
Anyway, it was good news for Siwoo too.
He didn’t fully agree with Rinne’s saying that harmony among concubines leads to peace in the family, but it was better to get along if possible, wasn’t it?
“Master, then can we go today?”
“Today? It’s not difficult. Let’s take the meal with us.”
Rinne had asked Siwoo to travel with her.
However, from Rinne’s perspective, the only option was outside the mortal realm.
It was unknown when an outing to the mortal realm with such safe escort would be possible, so it was perfect timing.
