Chapter 606
Chapter 606
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 606
Chapter Title: Deneb's Melancholy
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Three days had passed since returning to Gehenna.
"Whoa, my legs are still shaking..."
He'd passed out on the first night, so that one had gone peacefully, but starting the next day, the situation flipped completely.
Intimate date times with Sharon, Amelia, and his master, taking turns.
And after that, passionate nights of lovemaking.
After three months apart, they'd all built up a ton of pent-up desire that he had to satisfy single-handedly...
Even Si-woo, with his spirit body and near-perfect physical condition, truly felt what it meant to have his energy sucked dry.
Just this morning, after breakfast, his master had shyly approached, and they'd spent some time together.
Of course, setting aside the stamina issue, it had been an embarrassingly blissful stretch of happiness.
The thought "Is it really okay to be this happy?" still popped into his head unbidden now and then.
Each one was a peerless beauty with her own unique charm, a woman who could bring down nations—and they all had eyes only for Si-woo.
To live up to that love, he felt compelled to work even harder.
"Solo harem king Si-woo. You've made it."
"What have you been muttering to yourself about?"
"Nothing at all."
"What a silly man."
Anyway, with their reunion passions thoroughly sated, he couldn't just linger in bliss forever, no matter how happy it was.
There were problems left to solve.
He headed first to the Yesod Count family estate, bringing Lurye along.
"Si-woo, it's been a while."
The Yesod Count, who had been forewarned, greeted him gracefully by lifting the hem of her dress ever so slightly.
Just like the Gemernai Count, she embodied the very word "noblewoman" with her elegant poise.
That said, while the Gemernai side evoked northern European nobility where sleet fell half the year, the Yesod Count gave off a more vibrant southern noble vibe.
He wasn't a history buff, so he couldn't pinpoint the accuracy—just the general impression.
"Hello, Countess. I hope you've been well?"
"I've been well ever since I heard you'd returned safely."
"I'm sorry for worrying you. I heard you funded the search."
"Hehe, of course I did. We need you around to keep imprinting my world's cutest and most lovable little angel, don't we?"
Surprisingly, despite the reunion, Lucy Yesod remained composed.
Si-woo had half-expected her to throw herself into his arms like Little Mother-in-law might.
Then again, his safety had been all but confirmed a month ago, and it'd been three days since his return to Gehenna before he'd come calling.
She'd probably sorted through her emotions by now.
"I'm sorry I couldn't visit sooner. It's just..."
"You were busy with your girlfriends, right? Saying it like that makes me feel like your actual affair partner, hehe."
"Ugh..."
Lucy Countess had poked right at his sore spot.
Truth be told, her position was a bit peculiar.
They'd definitely consummated their relationship and agreed to ongoing research with that in mind, but she felt less like a lover and more like... well, as she put it, an affair partner.
She seemed content with that role herself, so he hadn't voiced any complaints, but the pangs of conscience were unavoidable.
The countess approached with clicking heels and whispered softly into his ear.
"Oh my, Si-woo. No need for that look. This is a secret, but that kind of treatment secretly sets me aflame."
The prim demeanor from moments ago vanished, replaced by a sultry voice dripping into his ear like honey.
Just her voice alone could make his nearly spent manhood twitch.
It was a seductress's technique through and through.
"Whoa... still got it..."
"Still irresistible, right?"
And yet, this vixen turned into the lewd countess who cried "I'm gonna cum!" repeatedly in bed, squirting like a fountain.
Embarrassing as it was, recalling that gap after so long made his guilt fade as arousal stirred.
"Anyway, we'll talk more later. Hello? I'm Lucy Yesod. And you must be the Witch of the Deep Sea?"
"Hmmm."
Lurye had been staring blankly at the two of them before jabbing Si-woo with a poke.
"That's right. Allow me to introduce her: the ancient witch who inspired dread from times immemorial, worshipped as the mother of the seas, the legitimate successor to Shalite Nukelabi. She who rules the ocean depths, queen of the unparalleled Nukelabi Dynasty beneath the heavens. She who watches over all people and sinks any who oppose her without mercy—Lurye Nukelabi."
This was the grandiose introduction he'd made her memorize, under the theory that hearing it from someone else's mouth raised one's stature even higher.
Lurye lifted her chin with 100% satisfaction, her lips curling smugly.
He'd done it because she'd insisted, but he was curious about the countess's reaction.
How would the Yesod Count respond to Lurye's goofiness, which had even left Al bireo stunned?
"My, what a romantic witch you are. Modern young witches lack that romance, you know?"
Perhaps because she dabbled in novel-writing as a hobby, she accepted it with astonishing naturalness.
It was the first such reception Lurye had gotten since arriving in Gehenna, so of course she was thrilled.
"Oh ho, romance, you say... Lucy Yesod, was it? A witch who knows her stuff. You're nothing like the Gehenna hicks I've met so far."
"Indeed. I hope we get along if I ever need to impose in the future."
"Of course. I won't forget the respect you've shown me."
"Yes, yes. Then, if you would follow this attendant?"
"Very well. Si-woo, behave yourself and wait quietly."
"Yes, have a good time."
Lurye strode off with an emotional salute, following the attendant.
"I already felt bad for not helping with the search, but now you're aiding her treatment too. Thank you."
Bringing Lurye to the Yesod estate wasn't for nothing.
It was to accelerate healing the core of her damaged mana circuits.
Of course, per Dorothy's words, it would heal naturally—but that would take considerable time.
And lingering aftereffects couldn't be entirely ruled out.
Before diving into full fundraising for the ordeal ahead, he planned to at least see Lurye fully recovered, so he'd accepted the Yesod Count's help.
Specifically, medicinal bath therapy.
One of Revana Grand Bathhouse's signature treatments: sourcing herbs from Ratipundium, the top producer of magical crops, alchemizing them into bath salts, and dissolving them generously into the hot springs.
The catch? Even members needed separate payment for this service, and it cost a fortune Si-woo couldn't dream of affording.
With three sessions a day, each equivalent to sinking a luxury limousine, it was a price that would make even most witches balk.
Fortunately, the Yesod Count had readily agreed to assist upon hearing the situation.
This had to be the power of connections.
"If it's for you, Si-woo, of course I'd help. And the Witch of the Deep Sea is a noble worth cultivating ties with anyway. More importantly..."
For a split second, he caught her licking her lips.
Her pumpkin-hued eyes, gleaming like she'd dismissed an "intruder" as Lurye left, hadn't been a trick of the light.
She approached lightly on her toes and naturally wrapped her arms around his waist.
"You're so naughty, Si-woo. How do you make a woman worry like this?"
Not content with that, she rubbed her cheek against his chest, nuzzling affectionately.
Whatever composure she'd mustered earlier had clearly been only because Lurye was there.
Her embrace was as fierce as Deneb's, if not more so.
"Do disasters have to strike every three months, or you get bored?"
"No, nothing like that."
"Hehe, the follies of youth. I caused plenty of trouble in my day too."
"You, Countess?"
The warm, powdery scent wafting from her skin.
The Yesod matron teasing him with a mischievous smile.
"Oh yes, back when my blood was boiling. I'd pick fights with any witch who looked even a bit strong."
Totally unexpected.
The Yesod Count, who had always seemed the epitome of ladylike refinement, had that kind of past?
Curiosity piqued, he asked.
"What about the Gemernai Countess back then?"
"Both of them were terrifying. Oh, not gossiping, mind you. It's all over a century old."
"I know. They're your in-laws, so I was curious."
The Yesod Count touched a finger to her chin, pondering briefly.
Reliving old memories after so long seemed to fill her with nostalgic fondness.
"Hmm... personally speaking, they were like wild fillies off the reins. Smashing up rival businesses together, bulldozing insanely risky mergers and acquisitions, challenging any witch in Gehenna to an instant duel if things didn't go their way. Oh? You're not as shocked as I thought?"
Si-woo gave a wry smile.
"Well, I had a rough idea. They're both pretty scary."
Little Mother-in-law had softened up lately, but Big Mother-in-law was still intimidating as ever.
"Is that so? They've mellowed out tremendously now. Sometimes I wonder how the Gemernai Countess puts up with the things you do, Si-woo."
"Don't say that. It's scary."
"Isn't half of it self-inflicted? You're doing naughty things with me too."
"Naughty? It's for research purposes."
Even as he spoke, the words pricked his conscience, and the Yesod Count covered her mouth, laughing.
She had every right, recalling the things they'd done together.
"Well then... enough chit-chat, Si-woo?"
The Lucy matron slyly tugged his arm closer.
Slipping his arm between her breasts with such natural grace—it was one of those techniques that thrilled him every time.
Unlike her refined appearance, she had stronger masochistic tendencies than anyone he'd met, which meshed uncannily well with Si-woo.
Not so much physical compatibility, but because they both knew exactly what the other craved—no worrying if she was forcing herself through something she hated.
With his other lovers, role-play required careful calibration to avoid going too far.
Hell, he'd nearly seriously hurt Lurye once.
"We're doing something bad again today, right?"
The Yesod Count provoked him, teasing his sense of taboo and conquest ever so gently.
Not stopping there, she pressed her head close to his lips.
"Will you indulge? My... scent."
"Pardon? If I do..."
He'd been about to warn her that it might make him lose control and ravish her fiercely.
But then he realized it was pointless.
A woman as sharp as her wouldn't forget something that crucial.
Truly, the countess was captivating in every way.
Si-woo boldly embraced her shoulders and savored her scent.
All the while, someone watched from afar.
"...Si-woo."
Deneb Gemernai, who had secretly tailed him.