Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Peaceful Evening
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Eloa had prepared a full-course feast with all her might, filling the officetel kitchen table to the brim.
The two of them enjoyed the party to their hearts' content.
It was a time of pure peace—no need to fret over some Public Enemy plotting in the shadows, no worries about a suddenly vanished Homunculus, no anxiety from ominous prophecies.
Especially for Eloa, this kind of mental and physical tranquility was a rare treat after so long. She gladly emptied the glasses Siu handed her, one after another.
After the meal, they moved the drinking session to the living room to escape the cluttered table for round two. They'd grabbed a ton of snacks like cheese and salami from the grocery corner, and now nearly half were gone. There were already five empty whiskey bottles rolling around.
"Hmmm..."
Blessed by the hazy warmth of alcohol, which lightened the burdens on her mind, Eloa leaned back on the sofa with a satisfied smile.
In truth, if she had to judge whether her body felt comfortable or not, it was the latter. The aftermath of that recent contract had left her aching all over.
Her body was covered in bruises from burst capillaries everywhere, and even her usually razor-sharp senses and eyesight had dulled. And... though she couldn't tell anyone, her lower abdomen felt a dull ache from having her flower plucked so vigorously.
"Are you tired, Master?"
"Tired? What are you talking about? On a joyous night like this, you have to keep pouring until you're exhausted enough to collapse."
Her voice was higher and a bit slurred, thanks to being quite drunk. She usually showed no signs of intoxication no matter how much she drank, but now her face was flushed red, like she'd done her makeup. Her eyes even looked half-closed.
"Pour me another glass."
"Your body still isn't fully recovered, and you want more here?"
"No problem. No problem at all."
Well, as a witch, she wouldn't drop dead from acute alcohol poisoning... but Siu wondered if this was okay as he poured anyway. His master had never seemed this cheerful before, so he topped off her wobbling glass. Eloa poured whiskey generously into Siu's glass too, saying, 'You take one as well.' They clinked glasses countless times that night, politely turning their heads before drinking.
-Gulp, gulp.
While Siu sipped lightly and set his glass down, Eloa downed another nearly full whiskey in one go.
That's an on-the-rocks glass...
Is whiskey even meant to be drunk like that?
It was an astonishing sight every time, leaving him speechless.
Eloa wiped her lips with her pajama sleeve and tilted her head side to side. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then cracked them open lazily to look at Siu.
"Siu."
"Yes, Master."
Eloa called his name out of the blue.
But despite his response, she said nothing. She just stared at him quietly before turning her head away.
"Master? Didn't you have something to say?"
"...It's nothing. I just thought it was about time to sleep."
"Then I'll clean up."
As if he'd expected that, Siu stood and gathered the scattered empty bottles. He tidied the messy drinking spread and headed to the bedroom to lay out the bedding.
For the past few days, they'd been sleeping in Siu's room with two beds placed a comfortable distance apart.
Eloa had moved in next to him as a precaution after hearing about his ominous prophecy.
Now that the crisis had passed, there was no real need to share a room anymore.
But they hadn't gotten around to moving the bed, and they'd grown accustomed to it anyway. Eloa followed Siu into the room without a word.
"All set."
"Thank you."
Eloa staggered over and flopped face-first onto the bed.
"Master, that's my bed."
"......"
No response.
She'd passed out just like that.
She looked fine on the outside, but she clearly wasn't.
Then again, she'd suffered more than Siu in the rainwater tunnel, and she'd drunk whiskey like a fish. No wonder she crashed hard.
But he couldn't just leave her like that.
Even if sleeping in his bed was one thing, she'd dived in spread-eagled. It wasn't a posture for good sleep. Her cute little feet stuck out at an angle off the edge, and her face was buried in the blanket. She looked terribly uncomfortable.
"Master, you can't sleep like that. Let me make you more comfortable."
"Hmmm... Mm..."
She just mumbled incoherently; no proper reply.
"No helping it."
Siu meant to straighten her out, fluff her pillow, and tuck her in. But he hesitated the moment his hand was about to touch her.
The memory from that time still lingered vividly in his mind.
The priestly sex in the rainwater tunnel, under the guise of supplying mana.
Eloa had ambushed him with her witch's scent to seduce him, and he'd pounced on her like a beast.
Siu didn't have Eloa's clear sense of it as a taboo between master and disciple, but he couldn't treat her exactly the same as before either.
The woman who always gazed at him with loving eyes had worn a desperate, melting expression, tears welling up.
Her stern voice had turned to sweet moans.
Her fresh scent.
And above all, the hot, tight grip of her inner flesh and the perfect peach of her buttocks.
Especially the last one—he'd nearly gotten hard just seeing peaches in the fruit aisle that evening.
It had been an emergency for conception, but asking him to act casually afterward, like friends who'd hooked up after locking eyes at a party, was impossible for Siu.
That's why he'd kept a subtle distance all evening.
The fact that Eloa, who used to naturally stroke his hair or hug him lightly, was avoiding such gestures only made him more aware.
"Still, it's for her comfort."
Siu hesitated, then gently grasped her shoulder.
He was startled by the firm, springy feel of her skin even through the pajamas. And with all that alcohol, she felt much warmer than usual—like when he'd held her close.
"......"
His throat went dry like a thief's, so he swallowed.
The thin pajama bottoms outlined her panty line perfectly, and the ridden-up top revealed a glimpse of bare skin. Her prominent, plump buttocks stood out.
His brain kept veering toward inappropriate thoughts.
"Ugh..."
Feeling self-loathing, Siu grunted and lifted Eloa effortlessly. He laid her out properly, just as planned, and tucked her in neatly.
"She's out of it."
Blame the booze.
Blame that bizarre incident.
Rationalizing it away, Siu flopped onto Eloa's usual bed and closed his eyes.
2.
As Siu's snoring began, there was a rustle from the bed opposite.
"Hoo..."
Eloa, who had been pretending to sleep like the dead, cracked her eyes open. Confirming Siu was fast asleep, she finally let out a long sigh. Her alcohol-tinged breath tickled the back of her hand as she leaned against the headboard.
She and Siu had slept nearly half a day away together yesterday, so the contract's required rest was already covered.
Thus, Eloa had been fully sober from start to finish—she hadn't slept a wink. Not even when Siu lifted and positioned her properly on the bed.
"Why did I do that..."
Eloa pondered the question, directing it at herself.
Why pretend to sleep?
Everything has a cause and effect.
But when multiple causes tangle complexly, pinpointing the true one takes time.
Her mind was a mess.
The nagging feeling that she was muddling something important wouldn't fade.
"......"
Eloa gazed at Siu, sleeping so deeply she could carry him off unnoticed.
Her beloved, proud disciple, Shin Siu—the one who had supported her crumbling self and led her from the shackles of guilt into the light.
Suddenly, her chest stung.
She had committed a sin not long ago.
Without asking his will, she'd seduced him unilaterally and joined bodies.
No—'joined bodies' was too mild. They'd had sex.
The excuse that it was unavoidable didn't hold.
She'd ignored his consent and forced it on him.
By her stubborn, rigid mindset, she should have apologized long ago... but.
"Ugh..."
She couldn't bring herself to speak.
Even knowing the circumstances, even if she'd choose the same again.
Just recalling the shameful state she'd shown Siu then made her face burn so hot she couldn't utter a word.
Meanwhile, Siu seemed intent on burying the incident.
He hadn't brought it up first, and he treated her as normally as ever.
Or was he waiting for her to apologize?
Was he patiently waiting for his foolish master to muster courage, while she mistook it for brushing it off?
All sorts of arrogant thoughts bubbled up.
"Ah..."
Eloa let out a quiet sigh.
At last, she vaguely understood why she'd pretended to sleep.
Since neither had approached the other first, she'd created a situation where he had to touch her body—to test his reaction.
Siu had hesitated briefly but tucked her in properly without any funny business.
Just like when she'd bared her chest before him previously.
It was shallow, and predictably yielded nothing.
In any case.
Even trying to act the dignified master and move past it, that intense memory crashed over her.
Letting it go felt morally wrong, and she feared disappointing Siu.
Eloa sighed so hard the bed might cave in, then rose.
There was Siu, sleeping with the blanket kicked off.
For no reason, she sat on the edge beside him.
The good mattress absorbed her weight without a creak.
"Hee hee..."
Setting aside her tangled feelings, his childlike sleeping face brought a smile naturally.
Like a dog's leg kicking up at a knee pat—an unconditional reflex?
This must be the instinctive affection a master holds for her dear disciple.
"Hmmm..."
Eloa slowly stroked Siu's hair, then her gaze shifted.
Coincidentally, it landed on his rough lips.
The lips that had overlapped hers last time, roughly exchanging breaths with her.
Whether from the alcohol or not, Eloa's heart began pounding.
If what she'd felt looking at Siu earlier was natural affection for her disciple...
What was this?
Her loosely spread thighs clenched tight, the booze heating her body anew.
She really had kissed Siu, presented her rear like a mating bitch, and taken his hot seed inside...
The revived memories coiled around her heart and body like a serpent.
The heat unknowable from mere watching, the oneness of becoming one, the ecstatic bliss of melting under his rough hands.
Eloa's gaze flicked instinctively to Siu's crotch.
Clothed, of course, but the impressive outline asserted itself even through the fabric.
"That thing... inside my body..."
Hot breath leaked from Eloa's slightly parted lips.
Though long past, the sensation etched into her body surged back vividly.
-Slap!
Eloa slapped both her cheeks hard.
What was she thinking?
"How shameful..."
She mustn't think such things.
A master harboring lust for her disciple!
Crossing a forbidden line once didn't make it freely traversable.
The alcohol must have messed with her head.
Eloa shot up and headed to the bathroom.
That night, she spent ages with cold water to quell the inexplicable heat.