Chapter 714
Chapter 714
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 714
Chapter Title: Brísingamen and the Hidden Risks
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After the first event of the secret auction—a brutal fight—concluded, a brief auction kicked off.
Amidst items fetching prices far steeper than anything Si-woo had witnessed at his earlier auction.
Si-woo and Lydia relocated to the dressing room adjoining the bedroom.
Lydia, who had suddenly dropped that terrifying line about whether he'd ever wanted to become a woman.
Gender transitions happened frequently even in the modern world with medical tech, and magic made it all the more feasible.
Si-woo had braced for the worst—his dick dropping off outright—but what Lydia handed him was a necklace.
"Put this on."
"What is it?"
"Brísingamen. The necklace I got from hunting homunculi back in the day."
The necklace, studded with massive gems fit for a queen, carried a hefty weight.
A queen wearing this all day would surely have massively developed neck and trapezius muscles.
Anyway, anyone could tell it was women's jewelry.
Feeling uneasy, Si-woo shot her a suspicious look, and Lydia explained.
"That bet was half in jest. As you are, you'd draw way too much attention."
"This artifact, true to its name, floods the wearer with irresistible charm and femininity. Even a man wearing it would look like a nation-toppling beauty from the outside."
Si-woo cautiously asked the most crucial question.
"...So my dick's fine?"
"Yep, it'll be exactly the same for you. It's just the outward appearance that changes."
In short, a disguise artifact.
Milder than chopping off his dick and shooting hormones, so Si-woo obediently slipped it around his neck.
"How's it look?"
In front of the ornate full-length mirror.
Lydia peeked out from beside it, lips pressed tight to stifle laughter as she asked.
She looked like she'd collapse in hysterics if poked in the ribs.
"Feels kinda creepy."
Si-woo frowned at his reflection and said.
The girl in the mirror—black hair swaying gracefully—wore the same frosty expression.
A sharp nose, plump lips.
Ample breasts and a slender, alluring figure to boot.
If not for the insane height, she'd be the picture of natural beauty.
But when he looked down at his actual body with his own eyes, nothing had changed.
His dick was right there, and the ripped gymnast muscles too.
So Brísingamen was like a VR avatar overlaying reality.
The kind of artifact netkama worldwide—and creepy old dudes dreaming of legal women's baths—would bankrupt themselves for.
"Your voice sounds pretty too."
"It changes the voice?"
"To me, it's this super low, calm feminine tone. Though at that height, you'd be the tallest witch in history?"
Lydia finally lost it and burst into giggles.
She doubled over, laughing till tears streamed, then handed him various clothes.
White pants, black shirt and red vest, ankle-high hunting boots.
He'd seen Odil and Odet in similar outfits.
Fox-hunting gear for nobles on horseback.
Thankfully, no frilly dresses—it passed for men's wear too.
As Si-woo changed, Lydia briefed him on Hexennacht's power dynamics.
Her summary was spot-on.
The rift between moderates and hardliners.
His position amid it all and why it mattered.
Even why she was hiding him.
She nailed every key point, so he grasped his situation perfectly without extra questions.
"In simple terms, you've become the Golden Snitch. Seen Harry Potter?"
Si-woo was shocked in two ways.
First, being dragged into Hexennacht as a male witch was headache enough, but now unwillingly a political key player.
Second, a faction here wanted no war with Gehenna.
"So Magnus and I... "
"Call me big sis Lydia, not bro."
"...our interests align."
"Exactly. Better you're in my shadow than under that schemer Linne."
Unwarranted favors warrant suspicion.
Doubly so from strangers owing him nothing.
Her explanation sketched the big picture, easing his mind a bit.
"So what's the plan going forward?"
"Best case: ship you back to Gehenna before the hardliners turn you into a ragdoll. I've talked with Duke Erelim—hand you over, push a peace treaty."
"Duke Erelim?"
A random name out of nowhere.
No connection to him whatsoever.
"Not Duke Tiferet?"
"Duke Tiferet negotiating with us? Your 'mentor'—you really don't know her? She's scary. Dead serious."
Gehenna pushing peace was weird enough; trading for Si-woo's handover weirder still.
Most likely culprits: Yesod and Gemernai Counts, or his master cutting a deal.
Captured as he was, no way to confirm.
"Anyway, if it goes smooth, huge win for me. Wanna tally 'em up?"
Assuming she truly aimed to avert war, the upsides were:
"Blocks war, boosts your political clout in Hexennacht as moderate leader. Indirect check on hardliners as bonus."
"Mmm, smart girl Si-soon."
Lydia nodded, pleased.
Her spilling it all so smoothly? Obvious motive.
This was persuasion.
Show aligned interests, so behave—no funny ideas.
"Good thing. I like quick learners."
Seemed all neat and tidy, but no.
Staying under Linne meant getting Dorothy's inquiry spell, plugging in variables, completing the dimension shift.
Hellish afterward, but independent escape viable.
Would Lydia keep her word? Unknown.
And handover to Duke Erelim? Fishy.
Even if she did, abandoning Ye-bin, Alice, Manya, Malisha—no change there, Logi's death tangled everything.
No regrets on that call, but now he had to eye variables at the right moment.
"How exactly? When to Duke Erelim?"
"Method's secret. Timing? Four or five days maybe?"
Just four or five days.
Tighter than expected.
Even Si-woo wasn't naive enough to beg Lydia rescue everyone else too.
Could backfire as leverage later.
Wait—what about Linne?
He nearly asked, then swallowed it.
A sudden realization from the unasked question.
Lydia seemed to bare all, but no.
Not a peep on risks she faced.
Was this truly Solidus Guild's—or all moderates'—plan?
Unknown.
Unknowable.
But her focus solely on his risks screamed it.
Recap her listed gains from the deal.
Assume they're only possible if "the Erelim deal stays secret."
Si-woo killed Logi.
To Hexennacht, undermining the city's foundational "neutral ground" ideology—a capital crime demanding punishment.
Exiles and criminals clustered here trusting the city's safety guarantee.
Extradition treaties snag on politics and international law—yet Hexennacht trades politically with Gehenna?
For an execution-worthy rule-breaker?
By the moderate leader, unilaterally, amid factional deadlock?
Rational inference kicks in.
Her plan likely sparks backlash even within moderates.
Historically, dove policies get slammed as treason or cowardice by hawks.
Lydia's move? Wide open to collaborationist charges.
She needs Si-woo's handover to Erelim under wraps for sweet fruit sans thorns.
Expose it? She swallows fruit and thorns.
Thus, concealing him and the Erelim pact vital for her too.
Dig deeper.
Who takes heat for suddenly vanished criminal Shin Si-woo?
Linne.
His nominal master and owner—prime suspect regardless of her say.
By Si-woo's lights, her circle was tiny—no defenders.
Si-woo marveled anew at Lydia's airtight scheming.
Dump all thorny risks on Linne, pocket the fruit herself.
Whatever its start, pure calculation.
This inference? Potential "variable"—her weakness.
If she hid it deliberately, best play dumb innocent.
"Alright, necklace off for now. No witches coming to the bedroom anytime soon anyway."
Si-woo had no desire to stay top-tier cutie, so he removed it, setting it back.
But Lydia's vibe was off.
"Come closer?"
She sat delicately on the bed where he'd lain moments ago.
Flashing meaningful smiles his way.
Her bed, no extra bedding brought—was that foreshadowing?
"I'm big on premarital chastity, though."
Same reason as with Linne—sex-fueled mana amp getting spotted bad news.
Bald-faced lie, eyes unblinking, but...
"While you're here, you're mine. My call, right? Normally no men in the boudoir... but passing up a taste of male witch? No way."
Dead set, no quitting at words—he figured.
Si-woo shed vest and shirt buttons, approaching Lydia.
"Fine by me."
Not his first mana rodeo; time to leverage Linne experience.
Learned: bold frontal assault hides truth better than dodges.
He plopped on bed edge; Lydia tugged his ear, whispering sugary sweet.
"Be good for sis, and I'll send you home."
Flooded with seductive temptation, Si-woo vowed.
To dick-fuck Lydia senseless, turn her into a cum-drunk bitch not knowing where it landed.