Chapter 846
Chapter 846
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 846
Chapter Title: Sharon's Breakthrough and Amelia's Script
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There was good news and not-so-good news.
Starting with the not-so-good: Amelia and Sharon hadn't found any promising solutions in the archive.
Whether it was the Witch of Silence or the Keter Duke, they were all enigmatic figures shrouded in mystery.
It was only natural that a week's worth of research wouldn't uncover clues to solving Siu's problem.
But there was good news, too.
The paper Siu published in the academic journal was causing a huge stir in the witch community.
As a result, the archive was flooded with visitors, and the name "Shin Siu" was on everyone's lips throughout the city.
These past few days, Siu had been busy entertaining witches who came seeking guidance or paying house calls.
According to Countess Albreo, he was raking in a fortune, too.
People often gave Amelia and Sharon odd looks or struck up conversations with them, given their connection to him.
The acquaintances of celebrities get that kind of attention.
Sharon felt her shoulders lifting with pride amid the stream of good news.
Was it because she'd recently been bluntly denied entry to the archive?
Sharon, who had become a witch despite carrying the "incomplete inheritance"—a kind of disability—knew how ruthless the meritocracy of witch society could be.
Conversely, those whose abilities were recognized received endless favorable treatment.
She felt a smug satisfaction toward the witches who were only now realizing Siu's true worth, along with a swell of pride.
She hadn't known it could feel this happy to see the person she loved more than anyone else acknowledged by others.
But behind the rising ego boost and the sweet pride—like chocolate—lingered a faint bitterness.
Because Sharon had read Siu's paper herself.
"Haa."
Late at night.
Back from the archive, Sharon cooled her head—burning from wisdom exertion—with cold liquor and picked up her pen again.
A paper condensed to just over fifty pages.
That was Sharon's cocoa bean.
"He's really amazing. As expected of Siu."
Sharon knew all about Siu's sorely lacking past.
It wasn't even that long ago—just back when they were living together in Sinchon.
Sharon had taught the basics of magic to Siu, a novice hack witch who wondered, "How do you even use magic?"
It wasn't anything groundbreaking.
She had simply gone over in detail what most apprentices skimmed past during input training, and offered advice on the magic Siu was researching independently.
That research at the time involved weaving together different magnetism spells, so in a way, it wasn't an exaggeration to call it the precursor to this paper.
Yet in a mere two years, Siu had surpassed her.
He'd produced results even his lover—all witches, really—had to acknowledge.
No matter that he'd received a vessel from Keter and gained a unique constitution; that in itself proved his ability, beyond any doubt.
Even if Sharon had acquired powerful magnetism spells like his, she wasn't confident she could wield them with such mastery.
His talent was that singular.
Her week of eight-hour daily sessions deciphering the paper wouldn't have gotten her half as far without the foundation she'd helped build for him.
"Urgh... It's really tough."
In the past, that bitterness would have turned straight into self-loathing or feelings of defeat.
She might have hung her head at the yawning gap between them once more.
"It's not like I can't do it!"
But Sharon now was different.
Siu had said she was the cutest girl in the world!
The one he'd fallen for at first sight!
Even the seemingly unfair gap in talent...
"It's all because I'm too cute. Of course."
She could boldly brush it off like that now.
"......"
Of course, it was half-joking, but it had transformed into tremendous motivation, ambition, and competitive spirit.
She didn't know when her vow to definitely help Siu would bear fruit.
But.
"I'll love him for life, so as long as I manage it within that time..."
Chewing on that resolve, she'd opened the paper again today.
Her first goal: to perfectly prove and apply it without Siu's help.
"Mm, uuum... Hooo..."
But it was hard.
Too hard.
Proving the core thesis demanded high-dimensional reasoning skills.
What annoyed her most was how easy it looked until she actually tried.
"Ah."
Sharon, demonstrating razor-sharp focus as she compiled her hypotheses, let out a shallow sigh.
A flash of insight, like being struck by lightning.
The sensation of a tiny crack forming in what had seemed an impenetrable wall.
A shiver ran through her simultaneously.
The towering spire of wisdom built by Sharon Abergreen, her ancestors, and their ancestors' ancestors collapsed with a roar.
The preconceptions, fixed ideas, and self-imposed limits that had confined her crumbled like eggshells.
And the debris from the collapse formed a single path.
Sharon's magnetism magic was based on Tarba's five elements.
Generations of Evergreens had strived above all for the "addition" of elements.
Using the fifth element, "Akasha," as an addition operator to harmoniously balance the other four equally.
But.
Did it have to be that way?
Equality, harmony, addition.
Sounded great.
But forced fusion inevitably hit ultimate limits.
Even Siu's brilliantly structured paper admitted limits in perfectly combining different magnetism spells.
Siu hadn't tried to take everything.
He'd boldly discarded what needed discarding.
Instead of stubbornly maximizing numbers with "addition," he'd taken slightly smaller numbers but used "squaring."
Isn't 100 squared much bigger than 100 plus 100?
"Master was wrong."
Finally.
The direction of magnetism magic itself—which she'd never once doubted and blindly followed—collapsed.
The moment she transcended her predecessors' teachings, "magnetism magic" was reborn as magic on an even higher plane.
Like a composer struck by demonic inspiration in a dream, Sharon gripped her pen.
Lost in a trance, the nib danced across the paper without pause, scratching relentlessly.
2.
There's a reason for "row when the tide comes in," but even so, he needed a day to rest.
Questions from witches with various magnetism spells, from diverse perspectives.
He needed to organize the insights gained from them.
With a guest-repelling plaque up for the day, Siu finished sorting things out and headed to Amelia's shop.
It was about time for her to be back from the archive.
Still, this sat uneasy with him.
Amelia and Sharon were diligently researching the archive for his sake, while he was off doing high-paying part-time gigs.
They wouldn't complain, but he had a conscience.
"They should be contacting me by now, right?"
He'd expected the archive side to make contact by this point, but nothing.
In any case, Merigold Perfumery in Malkuth Gallery was still lit up late into the night.
-Ding-a-ling
Amelia looked up at the cheerful door chime.
"Siu."
Her face lit up instantly.
Amelia, usually as expressionless as Linne, defaulted to a soft smile around Siu.
"Busy?"
"No, I just finished today's perfumery work."
"Good timing. Oh, right—a little gift."
"A gift? Should I close my eyes?"
Siu strode to the blending counter doubling as the checkout and pulled out his prepared present.
Nothing fancy—a bouquet.
Half apology, half gratitude; he'd picked it up on the way.
"It's so pretty. Thank you, Siu."
Amelia spent half her days buried in flowers, but the bouquet from Siu meant something special.
She beamed, flashing her teeth, and gently buried her nose in the fragrant blooms.
Picture-perfect.
"Wow... In front of real flowers, the bouquet I brought is nothing."
Amelia tilted her head at Siu's teasing, then laughed with a playful wave, as if to say, "What're you on about, Siu?"
Going around the counter, he wrapped an arm around her waist. She set the bouquet on the table for a moment and gave him a light kiss.
"Siu, you dressed up today?"
"Ah, you remember this outfit? I've been wearing it almost daily lately."
"That's not just it... You look even more handsome than usual."
He'd actually stopped by Takashone for a neat haircut and styling.
The bouquet had ulterior motives, too.
Since returning, he'd been intimate with his other lovers once each, but timing with Amelia kept missing.
For some reason, she seemed to subtly avoid being alone with him.
He figured she might be too shy to bring it up first after so long.
"Ahem, Lady Amelia. What're your plans after this?"
Amelia's body tensed slightly at Siu's loaded question.
Stroking her hair and averting her gaze—that was her tell for shyness.
Siu sometimes felt awkwardly embarrassed during intimate moments with her, too.
Once things got going, it vanished, but maybe because their time as lovers was far shorter than not...
"Siu, I have a gift for you, too."
Amelia opened a drawer in the blending counter and pulled out a thick stack of papers.
At first, he thought it was his paper—right thickness and all.
But seeing Amelia's handwriting on the cover, he realized it was off.
"What's... this?"
Siu blinked.
After a deep breath, Amelia continued with an incredibly proud expression.
Probably the same look she'd had giving the bouquet.
"Just like the title says. A roleplay script. You love roleplay, right? So I referenced all sorts of texts and wrote up several scenarios you'd like."
"......"
"We've been doing it in pretty formulaic ways so far. Relying on improv means we both get caught off guard sometimes, don't we?"
"......"
"But with a script laying out the big setup, detailed flow, intensity level, safewords to prevent mishaps, props, and more—it'll make for way more satisfying roleplay."
Was that why their schedules kept clashing lately—preparing this?
Their roleplays usually riffed off dramatic reunion sex...
But scripting it out like this? Was that right?
A prime example of good intentions gone astray.
"Wow, I love it."
"I'm glad."
But he couldn't voice his inner thoughts to Amelia, who looked at him expectantly like "Good job, right?"
"It's getting late, so maybe reference it next time... How about tonight just as is?"
"...Huh?"
Her face fell like the sky was collapsing—she must've put tons of effort in.
Siu hurriedly backpedaled.
"No, let's use it right now."
"Yes!"
Amelia beamed.