Chapter 799 – #167_연인대총회(4)
#793
1.
“What? Again?”
“No! Assistant! We want to come too!”
The twins, laden with shopping bags on both arms, reacted as expected.
Their mouths were pouting, complaining.
“It won’t take as long as last time. I just need to stop by Gehenna for an hour or two.”
“Why?”
“Assistant, you’re acting suspicious? You’re not going to meet a girl behind our backs, are you?”
Odile, who seems defenseless at first glance, is sharp in strange ways.
It’s true that I’m going to meet a woman, but not for any sinister purpose.
More than anything, if there’s such a sudden call, there must be a reason.
“It’s not like that, so please look around the mortal realm with the others. I’ll be back really soon.”
“…Assistant, whenever you say that, you always disappear….”
Shiwoo diligently soothed the sulking twins and asked his master for protection.
It’s not that far, and I thought nothing would happen since I’m just going to the Han River, but I was once kidnapped inside Gehenna, so I took every precaution.
“Shiwoo, I’ll come with you.”
“It’s really nothing. I’ll be back in a flash, and it’ll be a bother for you.”
“It’s not a bother to be with Shiwoo….”
“Amelia, please protect Odile and Odette in the mortal realm. If a problem arises, the mortal realm will be more urgent.”
“The assistant is even more suspicious now….”
It was a bit unnatural, but Shiwoo politely declined Amelia and Sharon’s offers to accompany him and headed to the Han River with his master.
“Huu….”
“Shiwoo, is it because of the examination?”
“Yes, it is.”
There was a reason why I hid my true purpose and even refused company.
First, it was to reduce the worries of my lovers, especially Amelia.
The reason Shiwoo lost his left arm was because of Amelia’s rampage.
Shiwoo, who was arbitrarily caught up in her memories in the randomized space, lost his arm to save Amelia.
The damage was so severe at the base level of his spirit body that it was an injury that could not be permanently recovered, but he was able to avoid becoming disabled by receiving a ‘self-prosthetic’ that rivaled modern biotechnology.
For some unknown reason, the sensation was not properly transmitted, so it was difficult to say that he was completely normal.
Anyway.
Even if Shiwoo himself didn’t care much, Amelia would be different.
She made her beloved lose his arm because of her mistake, so how could she not feel guilty?
Therefore, Shiwoo was thoroughly hiding his abnormal symptoms from his lovers other than Eloa.
“…….”
But there is something that bothers me a little.
Yebin clearly said that the examination would take about three days.
If it’s just the test results, and a test with no problems, would there be a need to notify me so urgently?
The communication process between Gehenna, which is surrounded by a semi-permanent otherworld barrier, and the mortal realm is quite complicated.
The anxiety that there might be a reason to go through such a hassle is growing.
My unease must have shown on my face.
I can tell by the hand that’s tugging at my sleeve.
“It’ll be nothing.”
“Thank you. I think so too.”
Half of me is worried, while the other half thinks, ‘What could it be?’
Eloa and Shiwoo, who had returned to the clinic in Tarot Town after going through immigration again in a day.
Yebin, who was sitting at the table on the first floor, looking intently at something, greeted them with a slightly complicated expression.
“Hello, Duke Tiferet, Shiwoo.”
“You’re working hard until late. You’ve done a lot of work.”
“No, it’s nothing. I’ll bring you some tea, so please wait a moment.”
Yebin cleared the books piled up on the desk, brought tea and a thick stack of documents, and sat down.
“First, I’d like to apologize.”
“Yes?”
“Shiwoo’s problem is not something I can solve.”
Yebin calmly opened her documents.
“The examination itself was really thorough in many ways. First, do you know what the principle of Count Kohab’s self-prosthetic is?”
“Yes, I’ve heard the explanation.”
Count Kohab’s ‘self-prosthetic’ is, as the name suggests, a prosthetic made of pottery made by molding special clay and baking it in a kiln.
In many myths, humans are creatures made of clay, so it can be said that the magical principle is to use that symbolism to transform a ‘prosthetic’ into a ‘body.’
“In other words, from the perspective of spirit body composition, Shiwoo’s arm is perfectly identical to the original. Count Kohab has done a great job of performing his magic.”
“He didn’t seem like a quack.”
“Of course, he’s a count.”
Yebin said that and showed a picture that looked very similar to an MRI scan.
As she said, there was no difference between the left and right arms, from the magic circuits to the skeleton and muscles.
“But Shiwoo said that he can’t feel anything properly…. What’s the matter with that?”
“I think it’s probably a problem with the soul, not the spirit body. No, if it’s not that, it can’t be explained.”
“……?”
Eloa couldn’t keep up with the sudden occult remarks.
Of course, from a scientific point of view, the existence of the soul is partially acknowledged in magic.
However, it only acknowledges the use of the soul as a resource, that is, the magic power that is generated when the soul and its connection are converted into magic power.
Most witches took the same position on the existence of ghosts, the afterlife, and magic that uses the soul.
The generally accepted theory is that the ‘soul itself,’ which is not converted into magic power, is difficult to have a significant impact on the laws of the world.
“I’m sorry to say this…. But aren’t you losing focus?”
Shiwoo wished he could think the same way as his master, but….
Unfortunately, there is a part that is too accurate.
“That thing inside Shiwoo…. Is it still there?”
“Yes, it seems to be because of this.”
Shiwoo sighed.
The Shin Shiwoo in my subconscious.
The black knight hanging upside down at the bottom of the abyss.
That guy, who had never once surfaced to the conscious level since he was sunk after challenging the ‘trial’ in the Nukelavi Palace.
I don’t know what his intentions are, but he has a history of trying to take over Shiwoo’s body.
“I’m just cautiously guessing that that might be the problem.”
Yebin said calmly.
Perhaps the reason why Kohab and Yebin came to different conclusions is also the difference between knowing or not knowing the existence of the black knight.
“I’m really sorry, but…. I don’t think I can help you any further. It’s not an area where my magic can interfere….”
“No, it’s okay. You’ve done your best.”
I tried not to show it, but my face inevitably darkened.
My master is also depressed.
It’s like going to a local hospital and not being able to find the cause, so I came to a famous doctor, but in the end, I feel helpless.
“But it’s not like there’s no way.”
Yebin quickly added an explanation.
“As you know, Smirna is a witch who uses self-healing magic to heal the body and spirit body. But there are also witches who have taken the opposite path.”
“A witch who studies the soul…? Was there such a witch?”
“Yes, it’s ‘Nephthys, the Witch of the Soul.’”
Yebin added further explanation.
I don’t know her name, but the ‘Witch of the Soul’ is an exile like the previous Smirna.
The previous Smirna and Nephthys are said to have walked the path of magic together for a long time.
They conducted joint research for nearly 60 years, but they came to have different views on magic.
Smirna believed that the realm of transcendence was in the body, so she focused on the spirit body and recovery.
On the other hand, Nephthys focused on the mind and soul that transcended the body.
The two people, who could not easily agree on their research topics, conducted independent research after their separation, but they still maintained a good relationship.
“I’ve seen her face about twice when I was an apprentice witch. I also know the location of her workshop. I can write you a letter of introduction.”
“Then I can go there and have the rest of the examination done.”
I don’t know exactly how it will proceed.
But Shiwoo is a little relieved just by the fact that there is now a way to solve it.
“But there’s one problem….”
“What problem?”
Yebin, who was trailing off, said.
“I didn’t really want to say this because it sounds like gossip…. But her personality is really, really bad.”
2.
While Shiwoo and Eloa were briefly visiting Gehenna, the lovers who had finished shopping at the department store were on their way back to the officetel.
It was a rather tense atmosphere for having finished a satisfactory shopping trip.
It was because the twins and Sharon were arguing fiercely.
“What? Of course not.”
“Why?”
“We’re just going to look around.”
“You’re still apprentice witches. The Count trusted us with you, so what would he think of me if I took you to such a place!”
The twins wanted to go to an adult store.
Isn’t it a place where you can see the rare artifacts of the mortal realm that are hard to find in Gehenna?
Moreover, it would be a win-win situation as it would help them have a good time with their assistant.
Of course, they couldn’t help but be curious.
If this were Gehenna, they would go over the fence at night, but unfortunately, this is the mortal realm.
It is forbidden to move without the accompaniment of a guardian.
“Anyway, it’s forbidden. No.”
Sharon, who was adamantly refusing, had her own position.
Even if the twins have secretly climbed halfway up the stairs of adulthood, they are still apprentice witches who need protection.
Sharon is the most familiar with this city, so she has taken on the role of protector and guide.
But to escort the twins to an adult store?
It’s tantamount to neglecting her duties as a tutor of the Geminai Count family.
Sharon, who is full of responsibility, cannot tolerate it.
“Sharon unnie is so mean….”
“She enjoyed herself to her heart’s content….”
The twins could no longer hide their anger.
If they hadn’t followed her that day, they wouldn’t have known, but they already know that Sharon bought a lot of things.
Sharon’s actions of not letting them go to the adult store didn’t seem to be solely out of a sense of responsibility.
“What?”
“We know everything!”
“The day you made up with the assistant, you came back with a bunch of stuff!”
“H-h-how do you know that?”
While Sharon, who didn’t know about the stalking, was flustered, Dorothy, who had been watching the conversation, intervened.
“Was it Sharon?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“It’s okay just to look around, right? How curious they must be?”
“Even so….”
“It’s okay~ It’s okay~ It’s not good to just hide things. It’s better to experience things under supervision, which is good for cultivating a healthy sense of sexuality.”
“Dorothy is right. I’m also interested in the adult toy store.”
Following Dorothy, R’lyeh also joined the twins.
Sharon looked at Amelia as if asking for advice.
The twins are afraid of Amelia, who was a former associate professor, so she thought that if she said a word, she could quell this backlash.
But….
“I think it’s okay.”
Amelia was also curious about the strange artifacts of the mortal realm.
The majority had already crossed over, but Sharon looked at Linne, the ‘Sword Witch’ who had newly joined, as if grasping at straws.
If it was her, who was wearing a kimono and had a dignified impression, she might give at least one opposing opinion, but….
“…….”
She was withdrawing won from the currency exchange machine at the entrance of the department store for some reason.
