Chapter 357
Chapter 357
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 357
Chapter Title: Home Tutor (7)
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1.
"Kids, I have something I want to talk to you about. Do you have some time?"
As usual, after class had ended.
Sharon spoke to the twins.
"Sure, we have time."
"What is it?"
After traveling together and coming to recognize Sharon as a true rival, and with the assurance that she wouldn't push them aside from the assistant in the future, the twins had settled into a reasonably peaceful relationship with her.
They no longer engaged in pointless power struggles during lessons like they used to.
But the moment they heard Sharon's request for a private talk, Odil and Odet's instincts flashed.
It was the gut feeling that the 'talk' Sharon wanted to have was related to the assistant.
So they looked at her with sparkling tension.
"Shall we move somewhere else?"
As expected, moving to the carriage meant it would be a highly secretive conversation.
She'd thought things had been quiet lately.
But they'd only suspended the fight without a final decision.
"Sis..."
"It's okay, Odet. It'll be fine. I've got you."
Watching Sharon walk ahead, Odet grabbed her sister's hand tightly, looking anxious.
Looking at the progress of the battle for the assistant, Sharon was clearly in the lead.
At least, that's how the twins saw it.
She was someone they admired both physically and mentally in many ways.
Even though they'd heard through the assistant that she wouldn't push them away and that they were precious, they still felt a bit intimidated by Sharon, who had claimed the spot first.
So the moment Odil sat on the carriage sofa, she straightened up with resolve and stared Sharon down.
The voluptuous chest that the twins could never match with one hand.
The refined purity emanating from her poised posture.
The greatest adversary and strongest foe in the twins' apprentice witch history.
She glared at Sharon Evergreen.
"What's this all of a sudden? Calling us out like this."
"I told you, I wanted to talk to you two."
"......"
Unlike the time the twins had summoned her, Sharon was calm.
Even Odet was convinced by her expressionless, statue-like aloofness.
The current Sharon sis was different somehow.
Unlike her previously soft demeanor, she was resolute, with a clear upper hand.
It wasn't the flustered state where she'd flail if the twins blew lightly.
If this were a war negotiation table, Sharon's utter lack of agitation was threatening in itself.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Let's stop fighting among ourselves."
Both Odil and Odet shut their mouths.
Let's stop fighting.
It sounded good at first glance.
But ceasefire agreements weren't always on equal terms.
If Sharon had prepared some decisive move to end the war all this time, the twins would have no choice but to sign a humiliating truce.
"No way! We're not giving up on the assistant!"
"R-right! No matter how much it is you, Sharon sis, you can't just interfere with our love!"
They'd approached it with that mindset from the start.
The assistant wasn't just someone who saved their lives.
He was the person they wanted to be with more than anyone.
The one who made even the most mundane moments four or five times more fun just by sharing them.
They absolutely didn't want to let him go.
"Sharon sis is sneaky! Trying to steal the assistant from us every day..."
"Right! Lying! Seducing him with those wicked boobs!"
"You said love is about being constant!"
"Even if you're closer to the assistant now, it won't last forever!"
The twins poured out their words in a rush.
In truth, they might just have been trying to mask some anxiety.
The anxiety that the 'match' itself might have ended without them knowing.
Sharon's brow furrowed sharply as she listened to the twins.
"Looks like there's some misunderstanding. I didn't call you here to fight."
"Liar!"
"You always started it first!"
Sharon slammed the table while looking at the whining twins in front of her.
Odil and Odet jumped in surprise and fell silent.
In fact, Sharon had been holding back until now too.
But she didn't like maintaining this subtle hostility with the twins forever, so she'd arranged this meeting to get along better going forward.
She wasn't soft enough to let the lie that they started the fight slide calmly.
"You started it first!"
"No we didn't! You..."
"You went to the count first and asked him to keep me away from Siu in exchange for lessons! You think I'm an idiot?"
That's right.
The contract proposed by Count Albireo.
The cruel clause requiring distance from Siu had come from the twins' side.
If anyone was the first aggressor, it was undoubtedly Odil and Odet.
"Acting all fair and square about competing honorably! Who was the one pretending not to know and using dirty tricks?!"
When Sharon finally yelled like a kid in what had turned into a mudslinging fight and looked ahead...
"...?"
"...?"
The twins were tilting their heads in confusion.
In perfectly identical directions and poses.
"What are you talking about?"
"Payment? Dirty tricks?"
They exchanged bewildered glances.
Their eyes seemed to say, 'Did you do it?'
Then they looked back at Sharon.
Still with unresolved questions in their eyes.
"Huh...?"
"Explain."
"We don't get it."
A major misunderstanding between the twins and Sharon.
That they'd used the count to push Sharon out of the race for Siu.
Sharon explained it thoroughly.
"W-we never asked for that!"
"Master did something unnecessary!"
"R-really?"
Sharon had felt some doubt seeing the twins' reaction.
Of course, Odil and Odet were pranksters always looking to mess with her, but they weren't the type to lie so brazenly.
Sharon had just assumed it was their doing because Count Albireo had laid the contract's terms on the table.
Suddenly, she felt embarrassed.
Wasn't she the one fuming alone, treating the twins like mortal enemies?
"S-sorry... I totally thought you two did it..."
"Master did something unnecessary. We can win the assistant with our skills alone."
"Right! Victory like that has no value!"
"We'll make sure to grill Master about it!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Having jumped up in anger, the twins sat back down.
"Seems there was a misunderstanding until now."
"We always planned to compete fairly with you, Sharon sis."
"I guess I jumped to conclusions too..."
The knot unraveled.
For Sharon, it turned out her assumption of the twins' outrageous scheming was wrong, so no need to stay mad.
For the twins, realizing Sharon's provocations were self-defense after being preemptively attacked meant they weren't angry like before.
"Ahem."
"So that's how it was."
"Yeah... guess it was a misunderstanding."
All three felt awkwardly sheepish somehow.
2.
It had been three whole days since becoming Diana's home tutor.
If asked if he'd done anything special in that time, his answer would be pretty lame—nothing much.
"Hmm..."
Endless repetitions of Wizboard games.
Diana would come out of her bedroom for about four or five games a day to play against Siu.
Of course, he went all out each time.
After the接待 game had already been exposed once, half-assing it would surely make Diana furious.
"I lost again."
"You just had bad luck."
Diana's demeanor as she quietly placed her stones was a bit different from before.
Previously, she'd bare her teeth like she'd been slapped after just one loss, but after the first day, she humbly accepted defeat.
The problem was not knowing if this was a good or bad development.
Siu's mission from the count was to somehow draw Diana into outdoor activities.
They might overlook sitting in her room playing board games in the early tutoring phase, but if the contract went awry, he could be fired as tutor anytime.
He wanted to avoid that at all costs.
Count Yesod's lectures and support guaranteed growth incomparable to struggling alone.
Anyway.
He'd planned to use her demanding rematches in frustration as bait for some outdoor hunt or whatever...
But she'd become enlightened instead, leaving no hook to pull her out.
"......"
Diana stared blankly at the Wizboard.
Normally, she'd say 'one more game' or 'I'm done resting now, good work' and head back to her room.
This long silence was a first.
"...You."
"Yes, miss."
"Um..."
Diana, who always grumbled but boldly stated her demands.
She fiddled with her gloves unnecessarily, glancing at Siu with eyes just like her mother's.
"Th-that... ahem... it's nothing much. Can I... um, ask one thing?"
"Of course, go ahead."
Even after Siu's permission, Diana avoided his gaze for a long while before shyly pointing at the Wizboard.
"Wh-why did you place this one here? Can you tell me? The move on the 172nd turn..."
It was just that short question, but she spoke so haltingly and softly that it took over 30 seconds.
Her pale cheeks, which always seemed pallid, were visibly flushed hot.
This had been an incredibly difficult decision for Diana.
Basically, her image of Siu hadn't changed much.
A male witch whose magic wasn't that great, but insanely good at games.
They'd played 20 full games so far, and Diana hadn't beaten him once.
She'd studied and practiced alone, but results were repeated defeats.
At this point, she wanted to know the secret.
But asking for feedback from someone she'd subtly dismissed all this time was quite embarrassing.
So Diana had agonized for three days and finally opened her mouth today.
"I-it was just curiosity..."
And then she clammed up again.
That one move had dramatically shifted the board.
It was the move that made Diana sense her defeat.
Asking a worthy opponent for the core secret of her play was enough to shame Diana, a dedicated gamer.
It was a brazen request, after all.
"Tell me. You're my tutor, right? You have to teach me something."
Diana squeezed her eyes shut, steeling herself shamelessly.
No reaction. She peeked open her eyes to see Siu with a faint smile.
Diana glared back, challenging him to a staring contest.
Averting her eyes now would give away everything.
"I can tell you."
"Then hurry..."
"But I have my position too. How about a deal instead?"
"A deal?"
"As you know, I'm learning magic from the count in exchange for hanging out with you like this."
"Right."
"One day, after a game, I'll explain my move. The next day, you do some outdoor activity, even if brief. How's that?"
It was a breathtaking proposal for Diana.
Outdoor activity.
Truth be told, that was her mother's goal in hiring this man.
But thinking about actually going out made her tired already.
Still, she didn't agonize long.
Diana acknowledged Siu to some extent.
At least regarding Wizboard, he was someone full of things to learn.
"Two hours a day. No more than that."
"Perfect."
And so, a small contract was struck between Siu and Diana.