Chapter 681
Chapter 681
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 681
Chapter Title: Turning Point (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There is one absolute rule in games.
As long as there is a winner, there must also be a loser.
How fierce and grueling that process was doesn't matter.
Lodge was the winner, and Si-woo was the loser.
There were no more pieces left to turn the tide.
Even after giving it his all, he had no choice but to accept the result.
"...What do you want?"
He wasn't overly worried.
The game had started as nothing more than a casual bet.
There were natural limits to what Lodge could demand from Si-woo, and she couldn't force anything outrageous.
Even if Lodge pushed for excessive demands by some slim chance, he could just flip the board and refuse.
In that case, she'd throw a fit, and rescuing Manya and Malisha would require a detour, but...
What could he do?
Nominally, Si-woo was Rinne's disciple.
Lodge beamed from ear to ear as she reset the position board.
"That was insanely fun, but such a shame. If you'd gone first, you would've won."
Surprisingly, Lodge tossed Si-woo some honest praise.
He knew it wasn't mere victor's leisure.
It was exactly as Lodge said.
Just like chess or go, all turn-based games without separate balance measures favor the first player.
The position board was no exception.
Thanks to its three-dimensional board structure and the wildcard of "runes," the advantage wasn't as overwhelming as in other board games, but statistically, the first player held a 0.2% edge in win rate.
If Si-woo had seized first move and entered the loop, it would've been Lodge running out of mana first.
Then, they'd have followed the exact same sequence as Si-woo's final defeat.
In the end, her razor-thin victory was powered by that first-move advantage.
"My request is this. Make it two requests for me."
"That's not allowed."
"Why? You said you'd grant a request."
"This isn't elementary school. Do it right."
"I'm serious about the bet."
She wasn't being serious, cackling away, but it still made Si-woo subtly uneasy.
No matter what, imagining what this unpredictable woman might request was its own quiet stress.
Especially if it was something like joining in on tormenting the witches trapped inside—then his rare day off would turn into wasted time.
"Alright, I've seriously decided."
Si-woo swallowed hard.
"Play another round with me tomorrow. Okay?"
Lodge's actual demand was far less troubling than he'd feared.
No, it was so lenient it was almost suspicious.
Normally, wouldn't someone just suggest something like this without tying it to a bet?
"...Is that really it?"
"It's the first time I've had a game this fun. Besides, snagging the pot with a shady win goes against my pride."
A strategy to lure out a mark, maybe?
In fact, she'd even sandbagged during the game to goad him into pulling the "bet" card.
Perhaps she was handing him an easy out now, eyeing a bigger haul next time.
He'd even considered that far, but concluded it was paranoia.
The last game had been too close to call.
There was no guarantee Lodge would win the next one either.
She seemed genuinely only interested in one more pure round.
A bizarre witch, unpredictable in her own way, just like Rinne—but different.
"Well, works for me."
There was no downside for Si-woo.
Coming out even on a game he'd lost regardless of first or second move was a win.
And being able to target Manya and Malisha again as prizes? Another win.
"Wanna review it?"
"Too late for that."
"Fair enough."
One game had eaten up nearly eight hours, leaving no time or stamina for a second.
He'd never realized before just how feverish the mind could get from a game.
Lodge saw him off all the way from the playroom to the mansion entrance.
She must've really taken a shine to Si-woo—fondness practically dripped from her grinning lips.
Si-woo, for his part, didn't like her one bit.
The clashes on the position board hadn't been enough to soften her utterly vile first impression.
If a psycho who got off on torturing a mother-daughter duo suddenly felt approachable just because she was good at games, that would be the real warped standard.
"I had a great day."
"Ah. Forgot."
The sigh from Lodge came right as Si-woo turned to leave.
Was her cranky personality finally rearing its head, trying to change the demand now?
"Oh yeah, I've got prior commitments tomorrow and the day after. Guess we meet in three days?"
His brain, razor-sharp during the position board, always went a bit off-kilter back in reality.
No big deal, though.
"Doesn't matter to me."
"Cool. I'll send a letter—match your schedule to it."
And that was truly it.
With a wave goodbye to the waving Lodge, he headed for Fragrant Moon Pavilion.
2.
Lodge's mansion and Fragrant Moon Pavilion were genuinely close.
Less than five minutes after starting a leisurely stroll, he'd stepped into the bamboo grove leading there.
"Haa..."
The closer he got, the heavier his steps felt.
And for good reason.
To even get permission to visit Lodge's place, he'd resorted to half tantrum, half begging.
He'd trotted out a plausible excuse about expanding his network, sure—but at the same time, he'd thrown in the utterly shameless line about wanting to "sample" Malisha and Manya.
Looking back, it was a miracle Rinne had allowed it.
He wasn't completely in the dark as to why.
Back when he'd first been captured, it had been nonstop beatings day in, day out—but after spending time with Rinne, he'd picked up on something.
"She's surprisingly lenient."
Rinne placed more weight on the master-disciple bond than expected, treating Si-woo with remarkable indulgence.
Just being her provisional disciple unlocked all sorts of conveniences.
Consider this.
Even if she wanted surveillance on him, she'd gifted him an enormous sum in Alice.
She eyed his delinquent act with pursed lips, but accommodated most of his whims anyway.
At first, he'd chalked it up to her viewing his very existence as a "tool for growth."
But even accounting for that, Rinne's attitude toward him was exceptional.
Comparing it to Yebin—who'd been locked up for months—made it crystal clear.
The way she pushed her body to amplify his mana or beat him till his bones cracked in every spar was unusual, sure—but in the end, no matter how eccentric her reputation, even Rinne might not fully escape witch society's master-disciple norms.
Just a hypothesis, mind you.
"Already here."
Lost in his musings, he'd reached the entrance to Fragrant Moon Pavilion without realizing.
He hurried his steps toward Rinne's room to offer his return greeting.
This time, picturing just how icy her glare would be even sparked a bit of anticipation.
It felt almost like chasing a new personal record.
"I'm back, Master."
Her shadow through the white paper door told him she was seated properly inside.
Rinne didn't so much as twitch at his greeting.
"......"
After that fiasco he'd pulled on the way out, had her affection plummeted to rock bottom?
Not even her usual reply to his greeting came.
"I'll withdraw."
The moment Si-woo—who'd waited ages for a response—turned to go,
Rinne's reply finally came.
"Go to the tearoom."
"Pardon?"
"Wait in the tearoom."
He hadn't misheard.
The shock in his reflexive question stemmed from the fact that the tearoom's purpose for the two of them had always been fixed.
After the day's sparring schedule ended, a quick bath in the hot springs, then entry to the tearoom.
One cup of matcha courtesy of Rinne, followed by sex.
They'd only ever had tea there twice.
In other words, Rinne sending Si-woo to the tearoom at this hour naturally implied what came next.
"...Yes."
He calmed his bewildered mind and headed to the tearoom.
The faint daze of surprise shifted to tension the moment his foot hit the first stepping stone along the path.
"What's going on?"
Rinne had clearly witnessed Si-woo tangled up with Dorothy yesterday.
She'd even overheard Dorothy mooing like a cow and Si-woo wildly riding her.
Rinne's doll-like impassivity hid a subtle embarrassment—it was already confirmed.
A performance like yesterday's should've given her pause, maybe even snuffed out her drive entirely.
Hadn't she shot him that "don't even talk to me" look just this morning during morning greetings?
Overcoming that displeasure in a mere few hours? Hard to buy.
"...Something's up."
Seated in the tearoom with the door shut, a mold-like unease began to creep in.
So what, then?
What had changed?
The most logical guess: Rinne had pierced the secret he'd guarded so fiercely.
In other words, she'd realized mana amplification happened just from vaginal sex—no need to satisfy tastes.
Maybe he'd been seeing Rinne too sporadically.
Lodge Aluzo—with "unprotected" and "careless" practically tattooed on her cheeks—had brainpower beyond words; why wouldn't Rinne?
He stifled a sigh and straightened his posture.
He could sense Rinne's footsteps following close behind.
-Click
"Drink."
Three small vials were placed beside Si-woo, who sat facing the entrance.
The strangely pink-tinged potion was almost certainly Yebin's homemade aphrodisiac.
Rinne's hand drifted to her waist.
No tea served. No other words.
The blatant purpose in her actions struck Si-woo as ironclad proof.
The ribbon-like sash came undone with ease, her robes slipping right off.
Revealed beneath the soft moonlight and lamplight: Rinne's bare form.
Now complete with pantyhose.
"......"
Pantyhose, of all things.
20-denier black ones, sheer enough to faintly show her skin.
On Rinne, whom he'd never seen in anything but traditional Japanese attire.
Si-woo recited it silently, without a word.
She didn't catch on.
"Prepare yourself."
That's right.
Rinne hadn't caught on at all.