Chapter 358
Chapter 358
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 358
Chapter Title: Home Tutor (8)
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Countess Lucy Yesod was a breed apart from Diana.
She handled mountains of business matters with swift efficiency without ever neglecting her duties as a witch, diving deep into magical research.
She built moderate rapport with fellow witches, enjoyed her hobbies, and whenever she had a spare moment, diligently roamed every corner of Gehenna.
From waking at 6 a.m. until bedding down at 2 a.m.
She was a tireless witch who never stopped moving for even a second.
Recently, she'd even eliminated her regular naps.
All to tutor Shin Siu, Diana's home instructor.
"Will he show up on time again today...?"
The countess rested her chin on her hand, waiting for the knock.
Gehenna's first male witch.
When she first heard the news about him, Lucy felt nothing special.
The word "first" certainly carried an alluring ring.
Unobserved.
Unknown.
Brimming with boundless potential.
But being the first male witch also implied his achievements amounted to a mere "single generation."
She figured it wouldn't help at all with the Yesod family's Nature Magic, honed over thousands of years across generations.
The great witches ranked 20th or higher probably overlooked his "magical value" for similar reasons.
She had thought that way once.
"Hmm, truly impressive..."
The countess gazed down at the neatly stacked papers on the table, lost in thought.
It was a study log summarizing their sessions over the past four days, laid out clear as day.
To the question of whether he held value for magical research, her answer remained unchanged.
"Frankly lacking."
Running experiments on him wouldn't advance Nature Magic one bit.
The Yesod family had already reached such heights.
Separately from that, what caught Countess Lucy's attention was his learning ability itself.
"If it wouldn't be rude, may I ask how long you've been studying?"
"It's been about a month or two since I really got into it."
"A month or two...?"
He'd said through his own mouth that he'd started seriously studying force field magic just a month or two ago.
And not by holing up in secluded training like some witches did, but while helping friends and enjoying some leisure.
At first, she'd half-dismissed it as bragging.
No matter how brilliant his intellect or computational skills, no matter how perfectly he aced the tests.
Everything had its limits.
Even child prodigies hailed as geniuses were mere parlor tricks before veterans with decades of experience.
Over the three days of teaching him, the countess had felt it.
Talent that defied even experience existed.
He devoured the problems she posed at a ferocious pace.
If he got lost, a tiny hint was enough—he'd instantly reorient and charge ahead with terrifying momentum.
He navigated the labyrinth of notoriously complex force field magic, sometimes smashing through walls.
The result was the "addon" for controlling the red branches.
He'd perfectly grasped the force field theories she deemed necessary.
Internalized them, colored them with his own essence.
Watching him sparked a sudden curiosity.
"What kind of force field magic would Siu show me...?"
Nature Magic fused with force field magic was bound to transform.
It would likely yield something quite different from the Yesod family's existing spells.
And in reaching that point, he might even gift her some magical inspiration.
That was the real reason the countess quietly anticipated their private lessons.
"And beyond that..."
"Pardon the intrusion. May I come in?"
"Yes, come on in."
The countess quickly checked her appearance in the mirror on the table and welcomed Siu.
As the door opened, in walked Siu, dressed in an outfit that suited him perfectly.
On the first day, he'd been visibly tense, but now he seemed at ease—his expression brighter these days.
A faint smile touched the countess's face as she watched his.
That was her second reason for looking forward to these sessions.
Having a handsome man nearby was never boring.
How long had it been since she'd felt this ticklish sensation...?
Gazing at him revived emotions she'd long forgotten.
"I've been waiting. How was Diana today?"
"Starting tomorrow, we'll take her outdoors for more intensive practice. It all went surprisingly well."
"Already? You're making quick progress."
"Not sure if you can call it progress, though."
The countess continued the lesson with Siu, who gave a wry smile and took a seat.
Today marked the shift from theory review to practical training.
"I'd say your theoretical foundation is just about complete. What you're aiming for isn't building a pyramid from the ground up—it's using only the necessary blocks to create the 'addon.'"
An hour into the lesson.
Siu showed hesitation for the first time.
"I still can't quite get the feel for it..."
Theory and practice were worlds apart, indeed.
Even Siu, who solved everything with ease, faltered here.
"No need to rush. It's only been four days. You're already doing splendidly."
Force field magic was especially abstract and vague.
The image of the force field visualized in the mind versus the magic formula calculated in reality.
The mismatch between them was the core issue.
Like trying to paint a still life accurately after glimpsing an object rippling beneath the water's surface.
"The hardest part when starting force field magic is bridging theory and practice."
The countess stared straight at Siu's face.
Having walked that path herself once, she understood his struggle.
She even knew the fastest way to overcome it.
"Don't hold back... hmm..."
The problem was whether she should.
Long ago, after losing her beloved partner first, the countess threw herself into magic and business.
Rather than agonize over an inevitable farewell, she focused on making her remaining life joyful.
What good was collapsing in tears?
She simply carried the precious memories close.
Yet she'd reserved a corner of her heart as a memorial, keeping no other man near.
She completed papers that rocked the academic world.
She raised infant Diana into an exemplary apprentice witch, as if to prove a point.
She felt she'd honored her loyalty.
Her life of charging ahead without looking back neared its end.
A faint loneliness surfaced.
Already knowing what it meant to be loved, the countess quelled her desires by writing sensual novels alone.
For over a decade.
So, just a little.
Indulging a bit of greed—would that hurt?
As long as it was just satisfying a tiny selfish whim.
"Siu."
2.
Countess Lucy Yesod explained that materializing a force field was inherently quite difficult.
"Then how should I do it?"
"There's a good method: sharing the mental landscape."
"Ah."
He'd experienced it before.
When Sharon first taught him elemental magic, they'd interlaced fingers and gazed at her mental view.
Afterward, his handling of elemental magic improved by leaps and bounds—no need to elaborate.
"Shall we stand up, then?"
"Pardon? Do we need to stand?"
"Yes, stay still."
All it took was holding hands, so why stand...?
Puzzled but compliant, Siu watched as the countess undid his shirt buttons one by one.
Just like their first meeting, the front parted in an instant.
Cool air slipped through the gaping shirt.
"Countess?"
"It's fine. I'm not up to anything nefarious."
A bit flustered, he glanced at her face—no change.
Utterly businesslike.
This was part of magic study.
No rule said mental sharing had to follow the same method every time.
"Come over here for a moment?"
With all buttons undone, she positioned him by the sofa.
Then, like an elegant swan, she glided forward and circled behind him.
Siu barely suppressed a gasp.
He hadn't noticed facing her upon entry, but Countess Yesod's dress was a boldly open-back style, fully exposed.
Not some sheer tease—this was provocative, where a slight slip of the straps might reveal her hip cleft.
Her neatly updone hair revealed a slender nape, flowing into a flawless back and waist of perfect proportions.
The clinging skirt hem accentuated feminine hips.
Even with such exposure, her rear view seemed hardly vulgar—thanks to the mature beauty she wore so naturally.
It was like beholding a work of art.
"For mental sharing, close physical contact is key."
Unbutton his shirt front and press against her snowy bare back...?
The implication was obvious.
Hug her from behind.
"Embarrassed? It's for magic."
She glanced over her shoulder at his hesitation.
Sudden aside, it felt burdensome.
Late night, alone, skin-to-skin, back hug.
Didn't those words chain together like shady sausages?
"...If contact's needed, wouldn't holding hands suffice?"
So he asked.
He didn't want to lunge in recklessly and cause trouble.
Not that he entirely dismissed the idea she might be seducing him like other witches.
"...This is how we do it in my family."
"Ah..."
Her matter-of-fact reply dissolved his last doubts.
As he pondered whether to proceed, she drove the wedge.
"Planning to embarrass me? It was a rare gesture of kindness."
"Of course not."
He snapped to.
This wasn't a host bar.
Countess Yesod wasn't some reckless witch fixated on his uniqueness demanding bedfellows.
She was among the witch elite.
Above just seven counts.
Suspecting her of luring physical contact under the pretext of sharing her mental landscape was pure overthinking.
Apparently, all the harassment had warped him into such delusions.
"Then, pardon me."
"My, you could say 'thank you' instead."
Stiffly, he spread his arms and embraced her.
She wore heels, so their height difference was half a head.
To avoid inhaling her hair's scent, he breathed through his mouth and drew her close gently.
"Ah..."
In the cool air, her body through the open shirt felt astonishingly warm.
Skin softer than mink.
Slightly elevated body heat, the distinct throb against his chest.
Siu, rigid in the erotic setup, had his arms gently pulled forward by the countess.
"Need to press closer."
"Eek!"
His body, with just their chests ambiguously touching, molded fully to her back.
His forearms clearly felt the maternal swell—no bra in doubt.
Another issue arose: women's bodies had flexible curves front to back, unlike men's.
With his abdomen flush to her back, his member parked right in her hip cleft.
"......"
Siu's normally prominent package, now pressed against soft, yielding flesh—she'd notice.
"My..."
He heard it clearly.
Her startled exclamation.
"S-Sorry."
As he hastily pulled back his hips to escape her.
Lucy's hands gripped his wrists tighter.
"It's fine. Focus now."
In the end, he awkwardly compromised by shifting his hips back just enough and received the countess's mental landscape.