Chapter 818
Chapter 818
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 818
Chapter Title: The Soul Witch
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"Husband, forget what happened today. No exceptions."
Linne crouched in the room, rubbing her reddened eyes.
Suddenly, she recalled the first time they'd met.
The Sword Ghost, swords gripped in both hands, conjuring a world of black and white behind her back.
A ferocious presence that sent chills crawling across her skin just from facing it.
She'd been genuinely terrified, thinking, 'Ah, I'm done for—I'm going to die right here!'
"……."
"Answer me."
Linne, pouting her lips as she prodded Siu, was already a completely different person from back then.
Even including Amelia—who'd been his bitter rival for five years before they became lovers—wasn't Linne the one with the biggest gap between her past and present selves?
"Yes, I've heard more than enough explanation."
"In the dream's setup, you weren't my real father. I swear."
"Yes, you mentioned that too."
"I just…."
Linne knew it was a lame excuse, but she clamped her mouth shut before she could continue.
No matter that Pandora's box had already been opened, it wasn't about wanting incest.
She just needed someone she could shamelessly cling to and act spoiled around.
He was her lover, sure—but more than that, she craved a relationship that could fulfill both paternal and maternal affection at once.
The man right in front of me is exactly that.
But saying it out loud while stone-cold sober was just too embarrassing.
She just wanted to pretend today never happened.
"…Husband."
"Yes?"
"Does the spot I hit earlier… hurt?"
Linne, who'd fallen silent, glanced at Siu's abdomen to change the subject.
It was the place she'd reflexively punched in her panic when he'd teased her.
"Nah, it's nothing."
"Even so… to lay a hand on you. I'm a failure as a wife."
"What about as a daughter?"
"Husband!!!"
Linne nearly swung another fist at Siu's teasing.
He'd half-expected it, but this was bound to become ammunition for endless teasing down the line.
Siu might seem as mild as watered-down soup most days, but he had a sneaky playful streak.
"Lady Linne."
Siu gently scooped her up into his arms.
Linne nestled against him like a docile kitten, as if she'd never flared up at all.
He stroked her hair, its texture soft under his fingers.
Earlier, he'd teased her just to see her flustered—but this time, his words weren't born from such simple mischief.
"I'm on your side, Lady Linne. So what if it's a selfish desire you're embarrassed to show the world? We're not outsiders to each other."
"……."
Asking her outright like this would only leave her fretting over it forever—it was obvious.
He wanted to resolve it right here and now.
"You don't have to make excuses to me."
"…Husband."
It meant he'd accept her—no matter how ridiculous or embarrassing she got—in her entirety.
A relationship possible only with perfect trust in one another.
Siu was telling her that's what they had.
Realizing his true intent, Linne looked up at him with wide eyes rippling with deep emotion.
"You could call me Papa, you know."
She pinched his arm as if annoyed, yet clearly begging for a kiss.
When she showered him with such overflowing affection, how could he refuse?
The spoiled Linne, calling him Papa.
It was far too adorable to witness just once.
With Linne fully composed, Siu tore out of the dream.
He'd braced for another pull back into the dreamworld, but this time, nothing happened.
Even a homunculus must have realized it was pointless to keep latching onto Siu after its magic had shattered so many times.
Amelia was already awake, vigilantly scanning their surroundings, while Linne slowly rose beside her.
Though a fair bit of time had passed in the dream, barely a minute had elapsed in reality.
Inside the protective barrier that looked like a manifested pig, their lovers still slumbered.
"Heeheehee, hahaha…."
Lurye muttered in her sleep, grinning creepily.
"Mmm… mine… all mine… Mars for the win…."
Sharon smacked her lips, a blissful smile on her face.
"Whew… so itchy~"
Dorothy smirked with slackened lips, just like the others.
"……."
And Master, sleeping soundly without even a sound of breath.
"Oink oink oink."
The pig-shaped homunculus waddled over excitedly the moment Siu stirred, trying to lick his face.
"What the hell—get off me."
"Oink oink oink."
Even as he shooed it away, it beamed and acted all buddy-buddy.
Siu pushed its face back with a bewildered look.
"Lady Linne, Lady Amelia. Everyone okay?"
"Yes."
"No issues."
Both seemed lost in the dream's afterglow, but their bodies appeared fine.
"We should wake the others."
Siu grabbed the Red Branch and started with Lurye.
They couldn't just leave them lying there.
He hadn't spent their wanderings in the dream just sucking on fingers.
Through Siu, Amelia, and Linne, he'd roughly analyzed the magic during their travels.
The pig's magnetic magic was a form of mental parasitic spell.
The pig activated it only once.
After that, it sustained via the victim's mana.
All Siu had to do was interfere once with Dispellin to sever the mana flow.
The pig's barrier could be brute-forced anyway.
"Hm?"
Lurye's grinning eyes snapped wide open.
She blinked in confusion, looking around.
"You're awake?"
She quickly grasped the situation, her face draining to pale blue.
"Where is my carrier strike group?"
"Doesn't exist yet."
"And the Nukelabi Dynasty that conquered the world?"
"……."
Siu gave a wry smile.
He could guess what dream she'd had.
"Huhu… it's… just a dream? This can't be… my millennial dynasty… it can't end like this…."
Lurye deflated, big teardrops like chicken tears streaming down her face.
She'd been deeply immersed in that dream.
The next one to wake was obvious.
Dorothy was better at soothing Lurye than he was.
"Mmm… honey? Is it time to head to work already?"
"Yeah, time to clock in."
Dorothy, who'd dozed off with a content smile, seemed to catch on immediately upon waking.
She glanced around briefly before letting out a hollow laugh.
"Uuuuugh…! What a fun ride."
She stretched languidly, yawning.
Unlike the others, she seemed least hung up on it.
Curiosity got the better of him.
"What'd you dream about?"
"Not telling~ A woman needs her mysterious secrets to stay alluring, right?"
She flashed a bittersweet, enigmatic smile before spotting Lurye bawling and heading over to comfort her.
Lurye clung to Dorothy the instant she saw her.
"Dorothy… Dorothyyy…."
"There there, my queen~ Come here."
"Sob… this is too cruel… my dream, my kingdom, my fleet…."
"You'll wrinkle that pretty face. Here, blow your nose."
Lurye blew her nose into the handkerchief Dorothy offered with a resounding honk.
They were always such a close aunt-niece duo.
Next up: Sharon.
Sharon burst into tears rivaling Lurye's the moment she woke.
She'd dreamed of building a massive conglomerate and splurging wildly.
"So it was all just a dream? Not some precog vision of the future?"
"…Nah, but who knows what tomorrow brings."
"Sob… hng… then I should've blown even more cash… waaah, so unfair…!"
Sharon pounded the ground face-down, too distraught to even sit up—a picture of misery.
Siu patted her back consolingly before wrapping it up.
Finally, it was time to wake Master.
His heart felt heavier than with the others.
Having spent so long with Eloa, he could roughly guess what dream she might be having.
It would've been nice to let her enjoy sweet times inside like with Amelia….
But he couldn't leave her like this.
He knew the pig and its magic weren't dangerous right now—but there were no guarantees it'd stay that way.
As he moved to dispel with the Red Branch—
A shrill screech rang out as the spear tip bounced off.
Pinkish mana sparks surged straight at Siu.
"Ugh!"
It wasn't terribly fast, so he dodged by turning his head—but a few strands of hair were sliced off.
The sharp edge that grazed his temple sheared through larch branches like falling leaves.
"Siu!"
"Husband!"
His lovers rushed over in alarm, sensing the mana surge amid the chaos.
A translucent ring inscribed with ancient runes spun around Eloa's body.
It was Eloa's Autonomous Defense at its maximum level.
Though he'd never seen it activate against him like this.
"Why's Autonomous Defense…?"
Master still had her eyes closed, the defense still active.
Everyone's faces turned grave in an instant.
Siu, who could infer more details, furrowed his brow even deeper.
For someone, a sweet dream must be pure bliss they never wanted to wake from.
And he knew how much pain and fragility lay beneath Master's seemingly flawless exterior.
"Let's beat some answers out of that pig first."
"Oink?"
He had a rough idea of how the homunculus's magnetic magic worked, but severing the spell's source might snap Master awake.
If they lucked into a Gnosis egg, they could extract her even safer.
Just then, as the homunculus glowed in sensed peril—
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
A third party's voice rang out alongside the snap of a broken twig.
"A foolish choice."
Emerging from the dim thicket was a woman whose outfit screamed "witch!" to anyone who saw her.
Not some modern Hexennacht reinterpretation of a Gehenna witch, but full-on archaic witch garb.
Wild, ankle-length black curls.
Eyeshadow tattooed like a permanent mark under her eyes, amplifying her eerie vibe.
Rude as it was, it was a shame to waste such a striking ethereal beauty on that getup.
"Who are you?"
"The person you've been looking for. Nice to meet you—I'm Gretel Nephthys."
The Soul Witch replied in a deeply melancholic tone and offered a handshake.