Chapter 372
Chapter 372
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 372
Chapter Title: Hero (3)
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1.
Ever since he started tutoring Diana and giving Yesod private lessons,
Siu had cut out all sleeping time.
He was swamped studying the Distortion Field Control Formula—which advanced at a different pace every single day—and sparring with his master.
Late into the night.
Alone in his lab, he was compiling everything he'd learned so far.
Under the desk lamp, cigarette in one hand and pen in the other, he formalized the new theories he'd picked up.
Inspiration and sudden ideas were volatile; if you didn't jot them down right away, they sank into your subconscious as vague, lumpy masses.
Now that he was a spirit body, lung cancer wasn't even a concern.
Money was plentiful enough to burn.
He piled his ashtray high with butts—like cocktail shrimp on a platter—and carved out at least six hours a day for solo research.
The silence, blending with the night dew, suited him perfectly.
A visitor arrived.
The twins were already wandering dreamland by now.
His master—who occasionally joined him for late-night drinks—strangely avoided epic benders these days.
She tried not to show it, but her master was so hopeless at subtlety that it was all too obvious...
He didn't pry into the reason and just kept things normal.
Which meant only one person would drop by at this hour.
"Knock knock."
Her hair was such a deep green it looked black in the shadows.
Her mysterious cyan eyes felt refreshing just to gaze into.
A witch with a fragile waistline that didn't match her wide, fertile hips and bountiful chest.
Sharon Evergreen stood there, hands clasped behind her back, leaning in slightly.
They'd seen each other just the day before last, but after today's big incident, it felt like ages.
"Hey."
"Yeah, missed you, Siu."
For some reason, Sharon always reminded him of a housecat—or maybe a stray.
She'd wander into the lab without any real purpose, chat idly with him, and leave.
He reached out to greet her, and like she'd been waiting, she rubbed her cheek against his palm.
Her cool first impression shattered in an instant as she closed her eyes and acted all cute.
See?
Doesn't she look just like an affectionate kitty?
"Hmm, cigarette smell."
She sniffed his palm curiously, then climbed up his arm before burying her nose right in the collar of his shirt and inhaling deeply.
"I usually hate cigarette smoke, but somehow when it's mixed with your scent... it just feels good."
"You're saying embarrassing stuff again."
"What can I do? It's true."
Siu spread his arms wide, letting her sniff her fill for a good while.
To borrow her words, it was a ritual to recharge her Siu power gauge.
"Haa... Fully charged today too!"
Sharon plopped down on the desk with a blissful smile.
"How'd the lessons go? Diana being stubborn again?"
Siu was busy enough, but so was Sharon.
Ever since overcoming the imperfect succession, she'd inherited Nature Magic and needed time to fine-tune it.
Even with the same Stigma, differences in body size and mental imagery required adjustments.
Put simply, it was like breaking in hand-me-down clothes.
That's why apprentice witches went into seclusion for five to ten years minimum after receiving their Stigma.
And Sharon was handling the twins' elemental lessons on top of it all—of course she was busy.
Which explained why she hadn't heard about the chain of events in Border Town today.
Truth be told, if it had been even a little dangerous, he wouldn't have mentioned it to her at all.
"What? A homunculus with seventeen eyes?"
"No biggie. I beat it like a dog, and it surrendered."
"No injuries, right?"
"Of course not."
He hadn't wanted to worry her, and since it had ended so anticlimactically, it was fine.
He recounted the tale from today, lacing it with a touch of bragging.
"So I just went at it with my spear, beating it like a mangy mutt."
"Whoa... whoa... Really? What happened next?"
Sharon's reactions were pure gold, as always.
Her eyes went wide as saucers, sparkling while Siu described the scene.
Just like a kid listening to grandma's fairy tales.
Men are programmed to melt under a woman's praise, after all.
Even the usually unflappable Siu puffed up a bit.
"Anyway, that's what went down."
"You did great, but there's still stuff I gotta scold you for."
Sharon furrowed her brows like she was mad, hands on her hips.
"Sure, you were amazing, but jumping into fights like that? What if you got hurt?"
"Even if the opponent was tough, it was Border Town. The local witches would've jumped in to help."
"Oh, talking back now, are we?"
Sharon reached out and pinched his cheek.
The mood hadn't been all that serious anyway, so they both ended up laughing naturally.
Once the laughter died down, Sharon scooted her butt closer and asked,
"So, did you score anything good?"
"Ah, this. Wanna see?"
The real haul from the homunculus hunt had been pretty meager.
Just the crystal lodged in Jack's arm after he reverted to human form—no Legacy, disappointingly.
But in its place, he'd salvaged the item Jack had used in his crime.
A headband adorned with frills.
According to Diana, the moment you put it on, you couldn't wield any mana—and you couldn't disobey orders from a specific person (likely the artifact's owner).
"An artifact? What's it do?"
"Puts it on you, and you can't disobey commands. Mana use blocked too."
"Oh?"
It looked so pretty, like it was made for a woman.
Sure enough, Sharon examined the headband with keen interest, turning it this way and that.
"Wanna try it? Think it'd suit me?"
"Nothing wouldn't suit you."
Artifacts came in grades.
Things like Dagon's flute or the Red Branch radiated danger and complexity at a glance.
But from Siu's inspection, this headband was more like Orgel—something you could mass-produce with enough time and cash.
"It's trying to mess with my autonomous defense."
"Think it'll break through?"
"Not a chance."
"Figured as much."
That was why Sharon spoke so calmly about it.
To put it in perspective, for a witch over Hierarchy 15, this headband was about as threatening as a pair of fluffy SM handcuffs— the kind lined with fur so they wouldn't chafe your wrists.
He'd tested it himself, and even without autonomous defense, Siu brushed off the interference easily.
Sharon tilted her head thoughtfully for a moment, then piped up like something had just occurred to her.
"Hey, Siu, you know the Harvest Festival's coming up soon?"
"Already?"
The Harvest Festival.
A grand event held every year from the third Monday in December for three days straight—Gehenna's version of Thanksgiving, basically.
While the mortal world celebrated around October or November, Gehenna held theirs long after the winter barley sowing wrapped up.
The reason? Simple.
These days witches dwarfed them in raw power, but historically, they'd clashed with religious groups—especially Christian sects.
Early on, Gehenna had banned citizens' religious observances outright.
But Gehenna's first settlers were medieval folk who saw even diseases as divine punishment.
Their daily lives and mindsets were deeply intertwined with religion.
Unseen resentment bubbled up under witch rule, and realizing suppression alone wouldn't cut it, the witches promised religious freedom to those wandering medieval souls.
But with no churches or priests, faith couldn't survive on oral tradition alone.
Plus, with miracle-wielding witches right in front of them, intact faith would've been the real anomaly.
Less than a generation later, the religious faded away naturally, leaving their annual Christmas as a lavish festival rebranded the Harvest Festival.
Siu had celebrated five of them in Gehenna.
Come festival time, a massive fir tree went up in Border Town's square next to the clock tower.
Citizens might not know Christmas tree origins, but they'd bring candelabras and ornaments one by one to decorate it, light huge bonfires, link arms, and dance to rowdy music.
Women hauled out heaping platters from home kitchens, filling the streets with warm food aromas wherever you went, while famously tasty beer flowed unlimited on the town hall's dime.
Word was, in places like Lenormont Town or Ars Magna Town, fancy balls popped up everywhere, drawing even the reclusive witches out to enjoy the festivities.
It had been one of the few joys during his slave days.
"Yeah, less than three weeks left. Wanna spend it together?"
It was like asking to spend Christmas together.
No reason for Siu to say no.
"Sounds good to me."
"Can Odil and Odet come too?"
He'd actually planned to ask if she hadn't brought it up, but it still surprised him inwardly.
"You sure that's okay?"
Sharon liked Siu. The twins liked Siu.
Unable to pick one side, it had turned into a trio of lovers—and he'd gotten a rough okay from both the twins and Sharon...
Still, he couldn't help worrying about rivalry creeping in, yet here she was, the one suggesting to bring the twins along.
"Why wouldn't it be? We can all get along nice and cozy."
If she had a sharper personality, would she have handled this better?
Siu felt grateful toward Sharon for rolling up her sleeves and handling the coordination he should've managed— all without fanfare or making a big deal of it.
"Ah, looks like it worked."
Before he could even say thanks, Sharon changed the subject.
She tapped the headband now perched on her own head.
She tried taking it off solo, but struggled like she was doing pantomime, grunting futilely without budging it.
"Released my autonomous defense."
"Huh?"
Sharon beamed and sidled up to him slyly.
"Feels super weird. Like I'm a little kid again—mana won't budge at all."
"......"
To a witch, autonomous defense was their last lifeline.
And Sharon had disabled hers so casually, right in front of him.
Proof of just how much she trusted him.
"Guess I'm stuck obeying whatever Siu says now~"
One big difference between the old Sharon and this one?
She'd developed a naughty streak.
The power to command her freely...
How was anyone supposed to resist that?
Siu scooped Sharon up and headed straight for the sofa.