Chapter 796
Chapter 796
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 796
Chapter Title: Awkward Morning After
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Sunny rays pouring over heavy eyelids.
Leisurely birdsong echoing lazily.
Today's blanket felt exceptionally fluffy.
These were all harbingers of oversleeping.
Rinne and Eloa, who had spent just over twenty-four hours tangled in bed sharing their love, realized even through their drowsiness that they had slept in.
"Huu-m..."
"Eu-m..."
But neither Eloa nor Rinne were exactly office workers.
There was no need to bolt upright in panic just because they'd noticed their late start in a hazy stupor.
Each claiming one side of Si-woo, they groped outward blindly, like blind newborns seeking a nipple.
"Huuu-m..."
"Haa-m..."
The pleasant feel of soft skin meeting fluffy bare flesh.
A cheek.
Touching a cheek meant Si-woo—her husband—was facing her way in sleep.
"Si-woo, did you sleep well?"
"Husband, good morning."
Savoring that small satisfaction, they opened their eyes and gazed at the figure before them.
And snapped awake, as if doused with cold water.
"Ah..."
"Uh..."
Because their legs were intertwined with each other's, hands resting on each other's cheeks.
It was the perfect pose for lesbian lovers cuddling away their morning in bed.
No wonder the legs had felt too slender for Si-woo's.
No wonder the cheek had seemed too soft and yielding for her husband's.
A trivial slip-up, but one that could have sparked a vicious argument or emotional showdown in the past—a true powder keg.
"......"
"......"
Yet neither Eloa nor Rinne reacted with any real fury.
They simply pulled away from each other in a flash, sat up, and covered their naked forms with the blanket before turning their backs—like childhood friends waking up hungover in a motel room, suddenly stone-cold sober.
"Uh-uh..."
"Eu-m..."
Each let out a long sigh as memories of the night before resurfaced.
They hurriedly slipped into the robes Si-woo had clearly left behind.
Where Si-woo had wandered off to wasn't the pressing issue right now.
Now freed from the throes of that mad threesome, they needed time to soberly reflect on yesterday's debauchery.
So, from last night...
Exactly what had they done?
Flashes of memory—all lurid flesh tones.
They'd competed in caresses through some absurd rivalry.
Exposed every shameful climax to their rival.
And eventually, as if possessed, melded together naturally, bodies entwining.
"Why did I do something like that..."
Why had she?
Competing with her rival seemed fine in theory.
But looking at the outcome, she'd dragged her own disciple into an orgy from her position as master.
Let her rival suck and probe her most intimate places while moaning like a whore.
"......"
Why had she?
She'd planned to elegantly topple Tiferet and force her to kneel, acknowledging her superior status as wife.
How the hell had things spiraled until she was gulping down as much of Tiferet's fluids as her husband's seed?
The belated embarrassment, the replay of their blackest history, and the thick regret rising within them were enough to shelve their mutual animosity for the moment.
Something had possessed them yesterday, no doubt.
Eloa teared up, while Rinne wildly tousled her hair.
"You're up? Terrible timing. I was just bringing breakfast."
Right on cue, Si-woo entered with a tray piled high with a simple meal.
2.
A supposedly enjoyable lunch.
Si-woo eyed his two masters.
As expected, the bedchamber harmony ploy had succeeded... in some respects.
At the very least, they weren't glaring daggers at each other anymore.
And succeeding "in some respects" also meant failing utterly in others.
"......"
"......"
His master picked silently at her toast, while Rinne sipped her tea with a gloomy expression.
Si-woo tried to chime in a few times, only to be met with silence that left even him clamping his mouth shut.
A storm of awkwardness raged.
Sober now, it was hardly surprising.
The two weren't incompatible solely because they shared the "master" label.
They both brimmed with dignity stuffed down tight, like rice packed into onigiri.
In other words, if you ranked who'd be most mortified by yesterday's antics upon waking, these two would vie for first and second place.
"Husband."
Whether the silence had grown too oppressive, Rinne spoke first.
She who'd always met his eyes squarely now stared sternly at empty air.
"So, who won?"
Ah, right. He'd forgotten the original setup.
"W-Well..."
"Nonsense the moment you're clear-headed."
His master sliced through his words like a razor, as if the awkwardness had never been.
Their gazes clashed sharply... or rather, they stared in different directions.
"Scared of a fair judgment?"
"Rinne, you surrendered with your own mouth. Backing out now?"
Indeed.
Rinne had gone after Eloa first, followed by Eloa turning the tables on Rinne.
Eloa never uttered "surrender" or "defeat," but Rinne hadn't endured the torment and screamed her submission.
That was what Eloa was pointing out.
"Hmph, sophistry."
"Whatever you say next, you'll just cobble together more sophistry."
"We clashed several times after. You're claiming total victory from one win in a multi-round bout."
Eloa meant Rinne's tap-out ended it.
Rinne argued it was just one ruling amid many rounds.
"Hold on."
Si-woo drew their attention amid the chaos.
"It's not easy to say who had the edge."
"We know your indecisiveness."
"We want to hear who was even slightly better."
After some thought, Si-woo answered.
He'd pondered it constantly, even if they'd forgotten the original intent.
"Eloa-nim, Rinne-nim—both of you are far too good for someone like me."
They fell silent, listening intently as if awaiting a verdict.
"How could I rank you? From now on, I'll become a man worthy of holding you both at once, without shame. A man broad enough that you never need to fight or worry."
It sounded like a brush-off, but his sincerity seemed to land.
His master's furrowed brow eased, as did Rinne's displeased glare.
"You're already a good man. You've been from the start."
"You're too good for me, husband."
At his frank words, the pair opted for a brief truce—classic over-loving masters of their disciple.
3.
And so the masters' showdown wrapped up in a heartwarming draw.
In the time left, Si-woo headed to the clinic in Tarot Town where Ye-bin was staying.
Not wanting to show up empty-handed after putting it off, he'd grabbed housewarming gifts from the town first.
A box of instant ramen and a fruit basket, that sort of thing.
"Evan-de."
This timing was all wrong.
Ye-bin's clinic in Tarot Town was swarming with people now that she was back.
With free treatments funded by the Gehenna city budget, everyone who'd been waiting their turn had flooded in.
"Excuse me, just a moment."
A line snaking out the door.
Voices praising "Saintess" Ye-bin as they weaved through with apologies.
By now, every citizen knew Si-woo's face, so they bowed and parted for him.
Gehenna's first male witch was a heavyweight even most witches couldn't trifle with.
"Grandpa, I'll prepare your meds—come back in two days? It's healing well, might itch a bit, but absolutely no scratching, and wash it every other day, okay?"
"Aigo, Saintess. Always so thankful—truly, always."
"Hey, I'm no saintess! What saintess? Oh? Si-woo-ssi!"
Ye-bin, blushing at the old man's praise, lit up the moment she spotted Si-woo.
"Sorry to drop by when you're swamped."
"You're welcome anytime! Mind waiting a bit?"
"Sure. Let me help out."
No intentions of special treatment just for being famous.
With this crowd, no exam till they cleared it—so he rolled up his sleeves and assisted Ye-bin.
Three hours later.
Having dispatched the horde in a flash, Ye-bin offered tea with a refreshed smile.
"I've been cashing in favors from you since Hexennacht."
"Straight to work. Aren't you tired?"
"Tired? I love this job. It's so rewarding."
"You're amazing."
Her face beamed with genuine pride.
The smile of one who takes pride in their work, contributes to the world through their own efforts, and sweats for it.
How wonderful was that?
"......"
A torrent of thoughts.
Ever since becoming a witch, Si-woo had never known financial want, living in luxury.
But that wasn't his own achievement.
Just leaning on the Gemernai Count Family's wealth.
And that was hardly all.
How had he lived until now?
Too busy surviving one incident after another to accomplish anything on his own power—always subtly relying on help.
But now he truly realized.
Si-woo had more lovers than he deserved.
A man drowning in such excess happiness couldn't keep lounging in skirts, sucking honey forever.
Watching Ye-bin's charity work solidified his vow: become a man who could shoulder them all.
One no one could whisper about—"What makes that guy think he can have so many?"
A goddamn awesome guy.
"Here for a checkup, right? Just finished tuning the machine."
"Yeah, please."
Si-woo placed his left arm—the one where sensation still wouldn't sync properly even after swapping to the prosthetic—onto the board Ye-bin had prepared.