Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Price of Freedom
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"What I want isn't anything grand. Just the freedom to live without being trapped in this narrow little world. That's it. Nothing more. You should understand that as a fellow slave, right?"
Larissa spoke while still aiming her pistol at him.
It was a motive anyone could grasp without much thought.
Siwoo himself was delving into magic research just to escape this place, wasn't he?
"Let me make you a proposal. All you have to do is load this witch onto our ship. The Na-ga-ho is a vessel cleared by the port authority with proper permits—no one will bat an eye when we leave. After that, you'll live under the protection of the witch who hired us for this job. You get what I'm saying?"
Larissa flashed a sly smile.
"You'll be free too. Back to the real world."
Beneath the seemingly sweet offer.
That's when Siwoo realized why Larissa hadn't pulled the trigger yet.
A passage from a book he'd read long ago came to mind.
"It's because of Autonomous Defense, isn't it."
"Spot on."
Larissa shrugged nonchalantly, as if there was no point hiding it.
Autonomous Defense.
One of the traits that naturally manifests when a witch's Stigma reaches the 15th hierarchy or higher.
Its effect was as straightforward as its name.
A self-activating defensive magic circle that responds to sudden attacks.
If a certain level of impact or assault comes from outside, it activates automatically—no spellcasting required.
It was magic designed to prevent witches from dying without passing on their Stigma during surprise ambushes.
Given its purpose, Autonomous Defense was especially potent when the witch was asleep or unconscious.
Amelia was currently out cold from some inexplicable potion.
In other words, right now Autonomous Defense was operating at its peak vigilance.
"There's a saying: never touch a sleeping witch. Autonomous Defense doesn't just react to impacts—it senses human malice too. Even a light touch from someone with hostile intent triggers a barrage of spells. I put her to sleep so carefully, but now I can't lay a finger on her. What a mess."
If not for that, Siwoo would have been shot or crushed by Fedor's hands by now.
The thought sent chills down his spine.
"You're fond of this witch, so her Autonomous Defense won't trigger on you. So, I'm asking nicely— just carry her to the ship."
Siwoo looked down at Amelia, curled up and fast asleep.
She lay there like a child, her eyelids twitching as if trapped in a nightmare.
How much hardship had this infuriating associate professor put him through?
Forcing him to clean bathrooms in the dead of night, sending him to chop off the antlers of some massive deer out of nowhere, piling on enough overtime to fill entire days after jobs were done.
Over five years, he'd endured every kind of suffering imaginable.
Could he honestly say he harbored no resentment toward her?
"Wait, I think there's a misunderstanding. I hate this witch. If I touch her, Autonomous Defense will definitely activate."
"Nice try with the lie, but it won't fly. You're right up against her, and nothing's happening. I tried moving her earlier—take one more step closer, and the mana starts twitching. Not the case with you."
"Huh?"
Siwoo blinked in confusion.
Come to think of it, he was very close to Amelia right now.
Hadn't he just checked her breathing by holding his hand right in front of her nose?
"If you're so curious, test it yourself."
"That's dangerous."
"Being cautious is fine, but don't get any funny ideas. I'm making you this offer to give you a shot at freedom. I could drag some random citizen in from outside and make them carry her, though it'd delay us a bit."
Click.
"Hurry up."
"........."
The gun barrel was aimed straight at Siwoo's head.
With no choice, Siwoo cautiously placed a hand on Amelia's shoulder.
His heart raced for a moment.
But nothing happened, and he let out a sigh of relief.
A soft texture.
Amelia always carried herself with such haughty stiffness, but all that touched his hand was her small shoulder.
A fragile, gentle warmth filled his palm.
It felt warm.
"See?"
"You make it sound so easy. What if you were wrong? I'd be dead."
Larissa let out a casual laugh.
"Haha, you're such a pure, good-hearted guy. I can tell just from your eyes. Someone like you trying to harm the witch you've served? No way."
A confident smile followed, assured her hunch was right.
"It's a sweet deal, right? You hand the witch over to us, and we free you from slavery. No losers here. Now, pick her up."
At Larissa's urging, Siwoo slipped his hands under Amelia's knees and back, carefully lifting her.
Even limp and oblivious in sleep, she felt remarkably light.
The escape he'd longed for and prepared for was right there within reach.
He wouldn't have to dirty his own hands by killing the detestable Amelia.
Just hand her over, and everything would be resolved.
But.
"No one's at a loss, you say?"
Something nagged at him.
"What about Amelia?"
"That witch is just paying for her crimes. The arrogant one becomes the sacrifice."
"You know a witch stripped of her Stigma dies, right?"
Larissa furrowed her brow, as if the question was absurdly naive.
"And that makes this wrong? If anything's wrong, it's this city itself. You know that! You've been enslaved, stripped of your freedom! I'm just taking it back!"
The pistol was still trained on Siwoo.
Defy her further, and who knew what might happen.
On the other hand, there was an easy way out of this dire pinch.
Just accept Larissa's deal.
Sell out Amelia, erase her from his mind forever, and claim the rights he deserved.
"........."
Siwoo resented Amelia.
But had some affection built up over time despite it all?
He didn't see her as some villain who deserved death.
"...Don't do this."
Larissa's expression twisted at Siwoo's resolute stance.
"Be reasonable. What's the point of digging in your heels here? What do you even gain?"
Reasonable.
What a fine word.
If he'd been reasonable like Takasho from the start, he might have enjoyed a more leisurely life as a slave.
If he'd submitted to Amelia's petty vendettas, he wouldn't have gotten so entangled with her.
And if he'd submitted to the system, Siwoo never would have researched magic.
Now, all that remained was convincing Larissa.
"Gaining freedom by selling someone else's life is wrong. I can't join you."
Larissa bit her lip hard, her mouth trembling.
It wasn't humiliation from her rare kindness being rejected.
Unless someone was rotten to the core, they'd know this was wrong.
Siwoo read her hesitation and pressed on.
Something in her words had been bothering him since earlier.
"Besides, this is way too risky. The witch promising freedom in exchange for handing over other witches—she's an exile, right?"
And one who'd stoop to this would be an especially vile exile witch.
Could they trust her to keep her word?
"This isn't just dangerous for me—it's a bad deal for your sister and the crew too. The risks are too high..."
"So? I know that much."
Larissa couldn't be unaware of what Siwoo had just realized.
"I don't want to shoot you. Move her, now. If you're that scared of exiles, we'll just go without her."
As the standoff dragged on, commotion erupted from the stairs.
Fedor led three crewmen up.
"Hey, how's it going?"
"........."
Larissa shook her head side to side.
Fedor's thick lips curled into a sneer.
"Told you to leave it to some nearby citizen. Why bother with this hassle? Timmy! Go grab anyone!"
One man dashed back down the stairs, while Fedor lumbered toward Siwoo.
"Can't sell out your precious witch lady, huh? How touching."
Siwoo retreated, clutching Amelia.
But the inn room was cramped.
After a few steps, his back hit the wall.
Right beside his head, the lamp's flame flickered.
"How should I smash you?"
As Fedor grinned cruelly, Larissa intervened from behind.
"Tie him up after we're done. No reason to torment him."
"What kinda stupid talk is that? Who knows what this bastard might pull from behind. Anyway, let's have some fun first."
Fedor was now close enough to touch, his breath reeking disgustingly.
Siwoo could sense all manner of lecherous malice in the man's bloodshot eyes as they roved over Amelia.
"Hey, kid. Strip this bitch. Can't fuck her, but I gotta see what a witch's pussy looks like at least."
Fedor couldn't touch Amelia because of Autonomous Defense, but Siwoo could.
So he planned to make Siwoo undress her.
Siwoo glanced sideways at the lamp right by his head.
Lucky break.
In the man's perverse desires, he'd found a thread to escape this mess.
"Know the difference between an oil lamp and a mana lamp?"
"What the hell are you babbling about?"
Siwoo steadied Amelia with one arm.
Then he reached for the base of the lantern hanging on the wall beside his head.
"The magic used for lighting all over Gehenna is 'Decorative Flame.' A 1st hierarchy elemental alchemy spell that dims the flame's heat while making the light brighter."
Lamps holding these flames were usually glass.
If it were real fire inside, heat should radiate through.
But the lamp Siwoo touched gave off no heat at all.
"No warmth, so it's a Decorative Flame lamp."
"This punk's lost it 'cause his time's up?"
Siwoo twisted the lamp open and reached inside.
Mana lamps looked identical to oil lamps on the outside.
But their fuel was fundamentally different.
"The oil in mana lamps has a bit of alchemically mixed Mana Essence blended in."
"And? So what?"
Crude mana, full of impurities and useless for experiments, but plenty for simple interference with existing spells.
"Ignite."
Siwoo forcibly activated the Mana Essence in the oil.
The 'Decorative Flame' in his palm began shaking wildly.
Whoosh!
He analyzed and unraveled its structure.
Disabled the safeties, overclocked the flames, and gathered them in his palm.
The fiercely burning tongues of fire coiled around him like serpents.
Complete control rested in his hand.
Nothing difficult about it.
Just a mere 1st hierarchy spell.
"Wh-what the hell?"
"How's a slave using magic...!"
Larissa, Fedor, and the nameless crewman stared in shock.
The flames dancing in his hand surged once more.
Not ordinary fire.
The mana-interfered Decorative Flame writhed like a living thing, forming a wall that separated Siwoo from the crew.
"Fall back!"
But not all problems were solved.
The amount of Mana Essence in this oil was pitifully small.
Fine for softly lighting a room for a month, but this intense blaze would last maybe 30 seconds.
So he'd created an imposing-looking firewall to sap their will and block their view.
In truth, the flames were only around 70 degrees.
Not thick either—if they pushed, they could cross it.
A pure bluff.
"What are you waiting for? Shoot him, Larissa!"
To the ignorant, though, the hellfire-like blaze was terrifying.
"I-I had nothing to do with this!"
One crewman had already bolted.
But Fedor and Larissa were different.
They knew what fate awaited if they failed to capture the witch and lost even her slave.
"What if you hit the witch?"
"We're dead anyway if we let her go, you crazy bitch!"
As Fedor tried to snatch the pistol and Larissa blocked him, Siwoo found his next move.
To cast another spell, he needed to replenish mana while the bluff held.
Amelia's lessons proved useful now.
Men, unlike women, couldn't store mana.
But unlike women, they could generate a tiny amount.
Through sexual arousal or ejaculation.
Even that trickle was far more than the droplet in this lamp.
New mana could manifest another spell.
Siwoo looked down.
There, rising and falling gently with her colorful breaths, was Amelia's modest chest.
Without hesitation, Siwoo hiked up Amelia's dress.