Chapter 241
Chapter 241
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Returning the Favor (2)
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"You're far more striking in person than the rumors led me to believe."
Sua said this as she poured tea into Siu's cup.
She'd never learned any of that complicated tea ceremony etiquette, but she created an air of utmost formality.
Maybe it was on another level compared to the showy displays from the twins who'd studied noble manners?
The combination of archaic honorifics and her hanbok made him wonder if he should even be sitting across from her on the sofa. Shouldn't he be kneeling to accept the cup?
Honestly, it felt a bit overwhelming.
"P-Please, you don't have to speak so formally."
"I couldn't possibly. Had it not been for your decisive action in that recent assault, the disaster would have been two or three times worse— that's plain as day. Protecting Seoul's peace is my duty as branch manager, so how could I treat it lightly?"
Sua bowed her head politely as she spoke.
Normally, someone humbling themselves so much would seem a bit easygoing.
But this hanbok-clad witch gave off no such impression.
She was like the proverb personified: the riper the rice, the lower it bows.
"Still, you seem uncomfortable, so... how about this? Etiquette is all about consideration for the other person, after all."
"Ah, yes. That would be great."
Sua flashed a bright smile and toned down her speech from extreme honorifics to standard polite form.
Siu sipped his tea cautiously as he replied.
"You said you wanted to talk with me first... Is there really something worth discussing with someone like me?"
"Of course. I wanted to express my gratitude, and I imagine you're also curious about the current situation and Miss Evergreen's condition."
Come to think of it, Eloa had mentioned that Sua was handling Sharon's treatment.
Siu trusted Eloa and hadn't worried too much, but asking the attending physician directly was the surest way.
"Then, could I start by asking about Sharon's condition?"
"I figured as much."
Sua closed her eyes and nodded calmly, as if she'd anticipated it.
She went on to explain in detail with all sorts of magical knowledge, but unfortunately, Siu knew next to nothing about healing magic.
He was a self-taught witch who hadn't gone through the proper apprentice course, after all.
Still, her thorough explanation gave him a rough idea of the situation.
"So... her body's healed, but there's a mental issue left?"
"That's right. More precisely, she's refusing to regain consciousness. It's like a form of autism, you could say. She's rejecting awakening out of fear and terror."
Wasn't that a big problem?
Physical wounds heal and that's that, but they say mental scars last a lifetime.
The word "autism" carried heavy weight on its own.
Sua spoke reassuringly, noting Siu's stiffening expression.
"Don't worry too much. Even if it takes the full two weeks, she'll definitely open her eyes by then."
"Two weeks... Any aftereffects?"
"Once her self-defense mechanism fully settles in, I predict no serious aftereffects. After all, the poison that pierced her throat was just another form of 'magic'."
Only then did he feel a little relieved.
Glancing sideways, he saw Sharon lying there like Sleeping Beauty in the woods.
Every time he looked at her, he recalled the harpoon's sharp tip that had pierced her slender back, and his throat tightened.
At the same time, a red spike of hatred poked out from a corner of his heart.
Directed, of course, at the Cowardly Witch behind it all.
Siu wiped cold sweat from his brow and took a sip of tea.
Then, one person fluttered into his mind.
The witch who had proposed a deal in the moment he'd given up everything, saving Sharon and Siu.
Kybele Periwinkle.
He had no clear memory amid the chaos, but he remembered agreeing to grant her one favor in exchange for their lives.
To only now recall something this important... it really showed how out of it he'd been.
"On another note... have you considered leaving Seoul for a while?"
"Pardon?"
"As you can guess from the string of incidents, Seoul is far too dangerous right now. The Cowardly Witch's accidents are escalating in threat level. Staying here could bring an even greater danger than last night."
According to Sua's subsequent explanation, everything that had happened so far was the Cowardly Witch's doing.
The one who created the splitting homunculi, the assailant at Coex, the creator of the White Knight— all one person.
And hearing that four witches had died in an instant last night made the gravity sink in.
What kind of beings were witches?
In Siu's memory, witches were transcendent figures who could escape most dangers unscathed.
For four of them to die in a single breath...
It confirmed once more that surviving yesterday had been pure luck.
"I've reissued your travel permit and citizenship under Countess Jemernai's request. I've contacted her as well, so staying in Gehenna until the crisis passes would be wise."
Escaping danger and holing up somewhere...
It was sound advice.
His abilities, which he'd thought sufficient, were still immature, while the scale of events was overwhelmingly vast.
His rational mind concluded that fleeing was the right choice.
But Siu had already run away once.
Paralyzed by fear, he'd done nothing but await death.
He couldn't easily accept considering "flight" again, mere hours after vowing to grow stronger to Eloa.
More than that, now wasn't the time to agonize over such thoughts.
There was a more pressing issue.
"I truly appreciate the offer. What about Sharon? Couldn't she come with me to Gehenna?"
"That would be safest, but... Miss Evergreen is an exile, and she's earned the grudge of certain witches besides. Even if we started exemption and citizenship reviews immediately, we might not meet the deadline."
"Then how about hiding somewhere else in the mortal world for now?"
"Smuggling her abroad is an option, but wandering unconscious in the mortal world is risky too."
Gehenna was out.
Abroad was out.
As despair loomed with these grim answers, welcome words arrived.
"That's why I'll take custody of her."
That eased his mind a bit.
He didn't know Sua's exact rank as a witch, but as Wizpoint branch manager, she had to be a formidable great witch beyond petty public enemies.
"As for fleeing to Gehenna... I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline. I can't go alone while Sharon's here."
Sua showed no surprise.
She just nodded slightly in understanding.
"Anything else you'd like to ask?"
"Is the reason you're being so kind because of that incident?"
The incident where Dagon's flute activated without an inner barrier, shaking up Coex.
Siu, present at the scene, had swiftly slain the piranha and destroyed the flute, halving civilian casualties.
"That's part of it."
According to Sharon, "notarization" basically involved staking a witch's name, so it was no light promise.
Notarizing Siu's status meant becoming his guardian and sharing responsibility for any mistakes he made.
Unlikely as it was, if Siu killed an apprentice witch, she'd pay the same price.
Grateful as he was, he couldn't fathom why someone he'd never even spoken to would extend such favor.
"Do you know what witches value more than life itself?"
Sua's answer was a bit unexpected.
"Their stigma... right?"
"Exactly. To a witch, the stigma is a legacy passed down through generations. A treasure forged from the lives and deeds of ancestors and their forebears.
That's why they throw away their lives like mere grass for magic's advancement.
The witch name inherited with the stigma carries a mission and unfulfilled duties."
He knew that much.
That witches saw prolonged collective suicide for magic as a matter of course.
"That's how profound the Nature Magic within a stigma is to witches. And you possess Duke Tiphereth's disciple Rafi's magic."
Sua refilled Siu's empty teacup.
"Since that tragedy, this is the first time I've seen the Duke take to someone like this. Teaching anyone, sharing stories with me, feeling emotions beyond revenge or regret... you're the first."
The one person with whom Tiphereth, tormented by irrecoverable loss, could share her heart.
That was Siu.
He'd already suspected Eloa saw Rafi in him.
"The Duke is a fragile soul. She can handle a thousand foes, but her heart... it's weary."
That was why Sua had notarized him.
To help Tiphereth, flung unwillingly from revenge's cycle, rediscover purpose in life.
She'd found that spark in Siu.
"It might be presumptuous, but... please take good care of the Duke."
"What can I even do...?"
"You can, and you already are."
Sua recalled Eloa speaking joyfully of Siu before.
She'd started cooking again, was teaching him how to use his body, and his progress was remarkable.
Sua could tell how happy Eloa had been from that proud, lightly smiling face.
Thus, she felt great gratitude toward Siu too.
"And if the Duke trusts you, how could I not? She's always had the sharpest eye for people. You must be a good soul."
"I'm not that great."
Siu rubbed his nose tip, feeling bashful.
"Branch Manager Sua? What brings you without notice?"
Eloa returned from a brief outing.
Her ponytail pink hair swayed as she tilted her head.
"To check Miss Evergreen's recovery and have a talk."
"I see. Siu's stamina isn't fully recovered yet, so don't keep him too long."
"Our talk just wrapped up."
Looking at Eloa through Sua's words made her seem different.
The fearsome prowess, magic, and ducal title had kept her distant.
But she was just a weak person needing someone to lean on, like Siu.
"Master, I'm fine."
After a moment's hesitation, Siu used the title "Master."
He'd held back before, fearing it might reopen wounds or seem overstepping.
But if this small gesture helped her, he'd gladly do it.
"My body's recovered now. Could you help with my training?"
Eloa's eyes widened round at his call.
As if she'd never imagined him addressing her that way.
As he wondered anxiously if he'd gone too far, her magenta-gem eyes curved into pretty arcs.
"Very well. But don't push yourself too hard today."
Eloa smiled broadly, like cherry blossoms in full bloom.