Chapter 355
Chapter 355
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 355
Chapter Title: Home Tutor (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Right after the match was decided.
A cold silence settled over the table.
“……”
Diana didn’t throw a tantrum.
She didn’t say a word, either.
She simply stared at the settled game board with her characteristic dazed gaze.
Siu finally realized his mistake.
Had he provoked her too much?
Should he have pulled off a narrow, precarious win to avoid trampling her pride?
There hadn’t really been any other choice.
Regardless of how serious Diana had been, losing the game would’ve meant getting fired come morning.
And since this was a hard-won victory eked out while gently prodding her ego, the odds of that were even higher.
But there were many ways to win a game.
What Siu had done was no different from taking hits until he was on the brink of death, then unleashing a full combo in the final stretch to utterly demolish her.
Diana clearly took great pride in this game, so he might’ve gone beyond scratching her pride and outright shattered it.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, Lady Diana.”
“You’re not new to this game, are you?”
Diana’s voice was small and low.
Her face, frozen in shock just moments ago, was now a mask of blank expression.
It made her inner emotions impossible to read.
What should he say here?
Be honest with “Lady Diana, you’re the first one who taught me”?
Or fib a little with “Sorry for deceiving you” to salvage some of her dignity?
“Well…”
“Sigh…”
Diana let out a deep sigh.
Then she pressed the reset button on the Wizboard, initializing the game.
What would her verdict be?
They’d promised unconditional voluntary resignation if he lost, but winning didn’t guarantee he’d keep his tutor position.
A whim or burst of irritation from Diana could turn this sweet tutor gig into a fleeting dream.
As he waited tensely, Diana abruptly stood.
“Whatever. What does it matter?”
She shuffled across the floor in her slippers and placed a hand on the bedroom doorknob.
“I’m really going to sleep now, so clean up and get out yourself.”
Diana slammed the door shut and barricaded herself in her room.
This was bad.
The plan had gone seriously off the rails.
It would’ve been better to stage a grueling, razor-thin victory.
“Haa…”
He sighed and smacked his lips.
With a reaction like that, there was no point in saying anything more… or so he thought.
The firmly shut bedroom door cracked open just a sliver.
Half of Diana’s face peeked out, her expression far from pleased.
“Tomorrow… I’ll nap first.”
She said her piece and swiftly shut the door again.
Siu blinked in momentary confusion before realizing it was a rematch challenge, thick with embarrassment.
In other words, he’d overcome the threat of termination after just one day.
2.
The time Diana retreated to her room: 2 p.m.
His promised private lesson with Countess Yesod was at 10 p.m., so Siu ended up waiting quite a while before finally meeting her.
He could’ve easily teleported back to rest if he’d wanted, but saw no need.
The Levana Grand Bathhouse brimmed with amusements and sights beyond just the baths, more than enough to fill the hours with leisurely exploration.
A greenhouse displaying vibrant magical crops.
A museum exhibiting masterpieces by renowned artists whose single works fetched fortunes in the mortal world.
The architecture alone was stunning, and with attractions like these, time flew by unnoticed.
“I’ve arrived as promised.”
“Come in.”
And so, on a moonlit night with a full white moon hanging in the sky.
Siu made his way to Countess Yesod’s private study, as previously directed.
After knocking, he opened the door to a pleasant fragrance.
Sweet like ripe fruit, yet soft like cream.
At the central table sat Countess Lucy, sleeves rolled up to keep ink from her cuffs.
Her attire was elegantly swan-like, fit for an immediate ball.
In the room bathed in romantic, flickering candlelight, she set down her quill with a graceful wave of her hand.
“The outfit I gave you suits you perfectly, doesn’t it?”
“Thank you.”
Grace emanated from her seated posture, her speech, every gesture—one of Countess Lucy’s defining traits.
Highborn by nature, perhaps?
No matter his efforts, Siu could never match that effortless nobility.
“I’ve been waiting.”
“Sorry. The area was so beautiful, I couldn’t resist touring it.”
“Oh? That’s music to my ears. Staying at the countess’s estate must’ve raised your standards.”
“They each have their own charm. I’m quite taken with this place too.”
“Is that so?”
The countess flashed a warm smile and rose from her seat.
Countess Lucy rounded the table.
Seeing her outfit, Siu barely concealed his surprise.
He’d assumed neat attire, but one side of the form-fitting dress featured a bold slit.
Daring enough to nearly reveal her panties, it fully exposed her pale thighs.
Instinct drew his eyes there before he quickly reined them in.
Even in pure white garb, her skin gleamed impossibly fair.
Amusing thought, but he nipped any stray notions in the bud.
“Sit comfortably.”
“Yes.”
As Siu settled on the sofa before the table, the countess thudded several thick tomes atop it and asked,
“How’s my daughter been?”
“As I’ve felt before, she’s incredibly bright and brimming with talent.”
“Right? I’ve met plenty of apprentice witches, but none as clever and adorable as our Diana.”
“Y-Yes, I agree.”
“So, how’d today’s lesson go? Did Diana behave?”
Catching the countess’s eyes sparkle as she eagerly praised Diana, Siu nodded agreeably before cautiously speaking up.
“There’s something I should mention about that.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Truth be told, I only managed about two hours as her tutor today. Just one game of Wizboard…”
Lucy leaned in attentively, then waved it off with a laugh.
“It’s fine. Diana’s terribly stubborn, you know. Wizboard on the first day? That’s impressive.”
“Really?”
“Embarrassing as it is to admit, even I—after raising and teaching her for over twenty years—sometimes find her challenging.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Hehe, no need to thank me for that. Anyway…”
At last, the private lessons with the countess he’d awaited.
Once Diana playtime wrapped, two hours daily on Force Field Magic.
Learning new magic was rewarding in itself—he brimmed with anticipation.
“Before we dive in, let me calmly outline our goals moving forward.”
“Yes.”
The countess placed a sheet of paper on the table.
Ink still fresh, as if just penned.
“Siu’s aim is to control the Yesod Field ‘Red Branch,’ correct?”
“Yes.”
“Starting Force Field Magic from scratch to reach that level? Ten years wouldn’t suffice. So we’ll addon it to existing Nature Magic— that’s our research path.”
“Ah, got it.”
Like blending various elemental magics into Shadow’s laws for tougher armor, same principle for distortion fields.
Less versatile than inventing new Nature Magic, sure, but the massive time savings made it promising.
“Of course, even remodeling existing Nature Magic requires solid basics. These two-hour sessions will cover Force Field fundamentals. Shall we start with this book?”
She indicated the tome she’d placed on the desk earlier.
Phonebook-thick and hefty, she presented it to Siu.
The cover read Introduction to Force Field Magic.
“This is my revision of the Yesod family’s handed-down primer for teaching apprentice witches the basics. Diana studied from it too. Take it.”
“You’re sure it’s okay to give away something so valuable?”
“Of course. Diana was always hiding my books as a child, so I prepared ten copies. The content’s nothing special anyway.”
“I’m truly grateful.”
Siu rustled through the gifted book.
Impressively thick.
Already hefty enough to double as a weapon via its edges, the text was minuscule— sesame-seed small.
Believable as a condensation of two or three major textbooks.
“A bit much, right? Usually takes apprentice witches three years to master. But get this: our Diana finished it in six months. Incredible, no?”
“Incredible.”
Daughter-brags popped up like sesame seeds amid the primer’s text, and Siu chimed in enthusiastically.
As he’d sensed before, she was a total doting mom.
“By the way, Shin Siu.”
“Yes, Countess?”
“Succeeding at distortion field shielding means you’ve studied Force Field Magic somewhat, yes?”
“Yes. Though ‘studied’ just means flipping through a few books in Trinity Academy’s library.”
“Before the main lesson, let’s gauge your level. It’ll save time.”
“Please do.”
“One moment.”
The countess took up her pen and swiftly jotted problems.
From basics testing grasp of core concepts and orthodoxy to simple applications—ten problems total.
Well-balanced difficulty.
“Care to solve them?”
He skimmed them first.
No matter how abstract Force Field concepts seemed, they rooted in magic formulas.
Calculation problems, ultimately.
Siu took the pen and methodically worked through them.
Essay on abstracting and conceptualizing magic formulas.
Given a formula in the imaginary and symbolic realms: calculate valid potentials and those naturally lost in real-world manifestation.
Magic formula required to manifest the given equation in reality.
He breezed through to the last, then smacked his lips.
The first three were trivial.
But the setter had prodded his weak spots keenly.
“I believe I’ve solved everything solvable.”
“……”
A sidelong glance revealed Countess Yesod blinking as she pored over the sheet.
Long minutes passed, her eyes glued to the answers.
“Countess?”
“If it’s not rude… mind sharing how long you’ve studied?”
“Seriously started… about one or two months ago.”
“One or two months…?”
Her face creased in deep thought as she reclaimed the book from Siu.
As he gaped blankly, Countess Lucy Yesod explained.
“This seems unnecessary now.”
“Pardon…?”
“No need to read it. You already know it all.”
Those ten problems weren’t solvable by a true one-to-two-month novice.
She hadn’t sought the ‘right’ answers—only the solving process.
Magic had no absolutes, especially abstract Force Field Magic.
Yet he’d boldly penned valid solutions for all ten.
Some gaps, some logical jumps.
But an approach even Lucy Yesod hadn’t attempted:
Quantifying the unmeasurable Force Field for measurement.
To Lucy Yesod, his answers already soared beyond the primer’s scope.
“Far better than I expected. You, Siu.”
“R-Really?”
Grinning sheepishly, he scratched his nape—the first male witch in history.
Name: Shin Siu.
Her curiosity piqued just a bit more.