Chapter 362
Chapter 362
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 362
Chapter Title: Outdoor Activity (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Siu's tutoring experience wasn't his first time.
During winter break, right before his early graduation from the science high school, he'd once tutored math to a middle school friend his own age.
What started as a way to earn some pocket money ended much sooner than planned. His friend couldn't grasp calculus, and Siu couldn't grasp why his friend couldn't grasp it. He hadn't been confident he could make him understand, either.
It had been so long ago that he'd completely forgotten about it, but the dusty memory suddenly resurfaced because the student's mother back then had fussed over him and adored him just like Countess Yesod did now.
Whether that friend's mother had the same intentions as the countess now...
Honestly, Siu had no idea.
His friend's mother had always made sure he had snacks, but she hadn't suddenly suggested night fishing, after all.
The two stepped through a portal and headed to the downstream section of the Rabbit River.
As they passed low hills dotted with maple trees here and there, they no longer needed to conjure decorative lights. The starlight—beautiful as if someone had scattered a handful of diamonds across the sky—took their place.
"Wow..."
"Be careful!"
Countess Yesod let out a childlike gasp of admiration as she bounded down the steep hillside.
Watching her navigate such rough terrain without a care made Siu think that Countess Lucy must be a witch, too. In a way, she even seemed more like the daughter...
But her reaction was understandable.
Even Siu, who had visited this spot just that afternoon, couldn't help but marvel at the Rabbit River's transformed nighttime appearance.
"This is a great spot. It's really beautiful."
"You think so?"
She must have felt a bit disappointed inside at Diana's lukewarm response to the location she'd carefully chosen. Seeing the countess excitedly hopping from rock to rock inexplicably filled him with pride.
"I'll set up something simple. Please wait just a moment."
He gathered nearby stones, stacked them up, kindled a fire with twigs he'd picked up while passing through the woods, and set a kettle of water on top.
With the addition of folding camp chairs, it might not be perfect, but it was easily a thousand-point salmon fishing spot. Countess Lucy watched the process from the side with evident fascination.
"Siu, you're so versatile. You even know about places like this, and you set everything up so handily."
"Thank you. I'll have the fishing gear ready in no time."
In truth, he was just clumsily imitating what his friends had done...
But when would someone as noble-looking as Countess Yesod ever have tried this kind of rugged camping?
With the groundwork done, Siu adjusted his fishing rod.
From his brief experience that day, he'd learned the most crucial thing was the weight of the sinker.
Too heavy, and it sank too fast, risking snags on rocks. Too light, and you couldn't hook anything.
"Are all those fish?"
Countess Yesod peered cautiously at the water from a safe distance.
Looking where she pointed, he could see black shadows ceaselessly swimming upstream through the dark currents. Being nocturnal by nature, the salmon seemed far more numerous than during the day.
"Yeah, looks like it."
The countess suddenly turned to face Siu. Her amethyst eyes, just like Diana's, curved into a gentle smile as they met his.
"Siu, you have a verbal tic."
A verbal tic, out of nowhere?
"Pardon?"
"When you state an opinion or thought, instead of ending definitively with 'it is,' you say 'it seems' or 'I think,' like you're just guessing."
"Do I?"
"Yes. During lessons, when reporting on Diana, always like that."
He had no idea what she was getting at, so he stayed quiet.
"If I may venture a guess, it feels like you're implying 'my opinion might be wrong.' I sense a fear of making mistakes."
Thinking about it, she had a point.
With five years as a slave under his belt, and most of the witches he'd dealt with being far above him in status, he'd apparently picked up the habit without realizing.
"You're a countess, far higher in social standing and as a witch."
"Oh? So if you spoke confidently and were wrong, you might offend me?"
"No such implication..."
"Everyone can be wrong or mess up. That's not a fault."
"Well, I..."
"If I seem like some arrogant, stubborn witch to you, then you've got me pegged."
The countess crossed her arms and put on a mock frown.
The reason he knew she wasn't truly angry was the telltale quiver of her lips under the moonlight.
Only then did Siu realize this was the refined, dignified Countess Yesod's idea of a joke.
He'd worried she'd gotten upset over some inscrutable, delicate reason.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
"I'll correct it."
"'I'll correct it.' Literally means setting things right, but it's usually stiff, formal language used in rigid hierarchies to apologize for a mistake and pledge improvement."
The problem was he still couldn't quite pin down her sense of humor.
Teasing? Playful banter? Truth was, the countess still intimidated him. Even the Countess Jemernai, whom he'd known longer, was tough to deal with—what more the Countess Yesod, whom he'd met just four days ago.
"If you keep that tone when I'm pointing something out... I'll assume you see me as some stuffy, close-minded noble."
"Hm... What should I do, then?"
"If a witch you're on more casual terms with said what I just did, what would you say?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes, honestly."
Siu thought for a moment before answering.
"Hm... I'd probably ask if the evening drinks had worn off yet. No, I would ask."
He wondered if that was a bit rude.
Unexpectedly, it hit the countess's fancy perfectly.
Lucy laughed until her pale face flushed bright red, then gave Siu a big thumbs-up.
"Much better than I expected! So sharp!"
"Sorry if it came off rude."
"You can be even more casual than that."
The countess laughed heartily for a good while longer before finally composing herself.
Siu, puzzled by her parting words, asked.
"So, why you've been so nice to me, Siu?"
"Yes."
As far as Siu knew, Countess Yesod was an upstanding orthodox witch.
Moreover, most high-ranking witches naturally looked down on him.
He couldn't easily fathom why one like her would act so friendly after just a few days as a tutor.
Her eyes practically screamed she was about to tease him again, but she shook her head as if changing her mind and spoke.
"The salmon Diana caught today. That was actually you, wasn't it?"
"Uh..."
"How'd I know? When Diana has something praiseworthy, she always demands cookies."
"I see."
Diana had been oddly quiet at dinner that evening.
The countess had suspected from that moment.
It was more than enough to arouse suspicion of lying to extend the tutoring contract. He felt a bit awkward.
"I'm sorry. I had no intent to deceive you, Countess."
"I know. If there'd been even a whiff of that, our daughter wouldn't have let it slide. She's sharp as a tack."
After praising Diana as naturally as breathing, she seamlessly shifted to praising Siu.
"Excluding me, you're the first person she's taken to so well. Wonderfully so."
"Is that really 'taking to well'..."
Her urging to be casual had loosened his tongue.
A genuine thought slipped out unbidden.
"Getting her out here is impressive in itself."
"I suppose so..."
The countess's words rang true, backed by Diana's usual demeanor.
Naturally, fishing time followed.
Siu gave the countess a simple explanation of how to fish and demonstrated.
There wouldn't be any special tricks needed, anyway.
The river's condition and sinker weight were the same as that morning.
"That's it."
"Looks fun."
The countess promptly kicked off her shoes and waded into the shallows without minding her dress getting wet.
She cast the float to the water's surface—not too far, not too close, just as Siu had shown.
Yet despite the abundance of salmon, she didn't catch a single one, not even like Diana had. Even after repeating it over ten times.
"Siu, it's harder than I thought."
"Please wait a moment. I'll swap the rod."
As Siu turned to head to the bank, the countess grabbed his sleeve.
"No, you caught them with this one. Probably just a matter of technique."
Her eyes shone brighter than the starlight as she asked.
"Would you teach me in more detail?"
So this was the 'technique' Countess Lucy wanted taught.
"If I may be so bold, is this really necessary?"
"Of course. I've even offered you my back for it."
"You make it hard to argue..."
It somehow felt comical.
Step one: Countess Yesod casts the rod, and Siu stands directly behind her like a shadow.
Step two: It turns into an embrace from behind as they grip the rod together.
Final step three.
"Any problem?"
When gripping together, their hands overlapped.
Of all the awkward moments, this last step troubled Siu the most.
He was starting to get the picture.
Circumstantially, it screamed seduction, but he wasn't fully convinced for two reasons.
First, she was a highborn countess, an orthodox witch, and they'd known each other less than a week.
And second, the most important: from their first meeting, she'd tested his self-control just like Countess Albireo had.
The whole sequence—unbuttoning her shirt to brush bare skin with fingertips, pressing backs together under the guise of sharing mental images, wearing a deeply plunging dress to show off, inducing cringey 90s romance novel antics—might all be part of the tutor test.
He'd finally won Diana over to keep the tutoring gig; jumping to conclusions and failing the countess's test would be unbearably frustrating.
But if it was that, hadn't he already failed spectacularly when he'd scorched a pillar into her butt cleavage?
Thinking back on her behavior during their brief time together, she didn't seem that calculating...
But then again, Countess Albireo—the fellow businesswoman countess—had been a master actress...
His thoughts spiraled, impossible to pin down.
"Come on."
Whether she sensed his turmoil or was feigning ignorance, the countess urged him on innocently.
Siu let out a small sigh and embraced her from behind.
Mindful this time to avoid any illicit parking incidents, he carefully positioned his waist and overlaid his hand on hers.
Compared to her usual imperious air, her hand was small.
He'd felt it before when skin met skin—soft and warm.
"This works. I figured my height would make the posture awkward."
The float sailed out with a whoosh.
One hand on the reel, the other on the rod grip, he leisurely let out line.
The two caught nearly ten salmon that night.