1.
After the incident in Seoul had been resolved.
Siwoo sent a message through Eloa to the Gemini Household that heâd be visiting Gehenna soon.
He heard that Sharon, who was in a coma due to the Drowned Witch, had already recovered, so he wanted to see her face.
Of course he was also looking forward to the twins who had been itching to meet their dear Mr. Assistant.
He also planned to visit Takasho, who was surely drowning in his loneliness without his friend by his side.
And lastlyâŠhe had a few things he wanted to talk about with AmeliaâŠ
Though, there was an unexpected situation that he had to deal with, so his coming back to Gehenna was delayed for a little bit.
âUgh⊠This is really a problemâŠâ
On the desk in front of him was the âRed Branchâ.
Around it, magic papers with extremely complex magic formulas written on it, were scattered around.
Recently, he had been putting all his efforts into controlling the Red Branch.
His body had turned into a spirit body, so he didnât need to worry about dying of old age or anything, he also had become the first male witch.
But, he didnât know what would happen to himself in the future, especially when his lifespan far exceeded that of a human.
Even if he were to not indulge in his sense of justice, he still needed to prepare himself for the future. Just like a young man who was making preparations for his retirement one day.
âUgh⊠Does this even make any sense?â
Generally speaking, artifacts referred to an object that contained magic inside.
For example, the music box that was able to play the Song of Silence, or the Janissary that the twins carried for self-defense.
Meanwhile, a stronger artifact that contained magic on the level of self-essence magic or could be used as a catalyst for a ritual, just like Sharonâs staff or the Red Branch, was called Mystic Code.
To add more to the differences between the two, artifacts, even though they were rare, were still able to be mass reproduced given enough resources. Meanwhile Mystic Codes were pretty much the equivalent of a unique or a legendary item.
Like they had always said, nothing in this world was free.
Though he managed to obtain such a good item, Siwoo still couldnât even touch it after a long time.
âI donât even know where to start with this thingâŠâ
Siwoo let out a sigh as he stared at the Red Branch that had been rolled up in his black ribbon, increasing its thickness to the level of a tree trunk instead of a branch.
The reason why his coming back to Gehenna was delayed was exactly because of this Red Branch.
Even though he had wrapped it thoroughly with the ribbons, its strong distortion field was still able to mess with the teleporterâs coordinates.
He didnât want to imagine what kind of disaster that would come up if he were to go to Gehenna like this, so he gave up on going and stayed back home to analyze the situation properly.
âI wish I could use this guyâŠâ
In short, the Red Branch was constantly emitting a distortion field, as if it was a nuclear rod.
He could use Maidenâs Loom, make adjustments to the ribbon so that he could somehow make the Red Branch âcarryableâ but that was just a temporary solution.
Because, though the process was rather slow, the distortion field was corroding the ribbons, little by little.
That was why, even if he were to layer it up with a bunch of ribbons, he still needed to replace the ribbons at some point. Besides, there was a possibility that the distortion would leak through the ribbons.
Now, if he were to be able to master this thing, heâd be able to solve everything in an instant. Also, it would tremendously help his âretirement planâ.
That was why he willingly struggled to find out how to control the spearâŠ
But of course, it wasnât as easy as it sounded.
No matter how much he could see and observe the flow of mana, his knowledge about magic wasnât up to par for the task.
Since the distortion field was on the level of self-essence magic, the difficulty of researching it was already sky high to begin with.
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And so, he was feeling the kind of frustration that one would feel if they were to acquire a unique item, but was way off from the level requirements to use it.
âHow is it? Still not good?â
At that moment, the door creaked open and Eloa stepped inside.
Her ponytail, with a prettier shade of pink than the blooming cherry blossom in spring, shook from side to side.
In her hand was a tray with coffee and some fruits.
âThank you, Master. Also, this is a lot harder than I previously thought.â
Siwoo got up, took the tray from her hand, then sat back down on the sofa.
As he was busy occupying himself with his research, just like what was happening right now, Eloa was the one whoâd carry some snacks for him to eat.
Eloa let out a warm smile as she looked at all the papers Siwoo had scribbled on.
âI wish I could help you, I really do. But anyway, why donât you move your body around. Being stuck here all day long will get you stuck in the rut, donât you think?â
She was an excellent witch, there was no doubt about that.
The problem here was that her expertise was in Physical Magic and Red Branchâs magic didnât utilize any elements from her magic.
Also, if she were to actually try to do her research on the Red Branch, there was no way that Siwoo would be able to understand since sheâd be basing her research on her own self-essence magic instead of his.
âNo, youâve already helped me a ton, Master. For now, can I skip on training for a while? I really want to go back to Gehenna as soon as possible.â
Siwoo let out a bitter smile as he expressed his rejection to Eloaâs offer.
While sparring with her would be beneficial for him, and heâd get some fun out of it, itâd leave him completely spent.
For now, he wanted to spend all his stamina on this research of his.
âGehenna should have better quality materials and tools for research, so, Iâll change the way I weave the ribbons so that itâll be enough for us to cross the portal with this thing.â
âHow long do you think itâll take?â
âTwo or three days should be enough.â
Eloa raised one of her eyebrows in surprise.
His words clearly implied that he was already able to make a barrier to isolate the distortion field within a week of his research.
But instead of feeling proud of it, he complained instead.
For him to not be able to find joy in that achievement actually made her feel a little bit sad.
âI really thought youâre completely stuck, that's why youâve been looking all frustrated. So you did find a way, after all. As expected of my disciple.â
âUgh, please stop that.â
Enjoying the reaction he gave off when she praised him, Eloa let out a warm smile as her precious disciple scratched his head shyly.
Even if it was just a small thing, it brought her satisfaction to see her disciple grow.
But, what brought her even more satisfaction was when she got to tease him and watch him get flustered.
This was the perfect distance between the two of them, at least according to Eloa.
A harmonious relationship filled with trust in each other.
As she thought so, she placed an apple inside Siwooâs mouth with a fork.
2.
While Siwoo was contemplating on how to cross over the portal to Gehenna while bringing the Red BranchâŠ
Sharon was pacing back and forth in front of the twinsâ study room.
She was trying to ease her mind by walking around on the red carpet that was enhanced by magic to prevent noises from outside the room to enter the study room during the twinsâ study session.
âHaahâŠâ
Last night, Sharon had met up with Albireo to accept her contract offer.
An easy scene to describe for sure, but it was a decision she chose to take after putting a lot of thoughts into it.
Her wish was that if she were to meet with Siwoo again, she wanted to be a lover who could stand toe-to-toe with him.
She wanted to change, from Sharon whoâd always received something, to Sharon whoâd always give something.
The problem here was, she really had thought that she was mentally prepared for thisâŠ
But, now that she arrived in front of the door, she could feel her stomach churn.
âItâll be fineâŠitâll all be okayâŠâ
Thinking that she had been circling around like a puppy long enough, Sharon took a deep breath and opened the door to the study.
The first thing she saw afterward was a fireplace that occupied one side of the room and a window that overlooked a pretty-looking garden.
Then, a pair of desks, sitting side by side across another desk that was placed near a blackboard came to her view.
Sitting at those desks were the two identical-looking young ladies.
Their unrealistically shiny black hair and their half-bonnet instantly caught Sharonâs eyes the moment they came to her view.
Holding various teaching materials in her hand, Sharon pretended to be calm in front of the twins.
The moment she entered the classroom, her gut feelings that things wouldnât go so well were immediately proven right.
â...â
â...â
The terrifying silence was real, it wasnât just something she imagined.
It wasnât like this was the first time that they met each other.
Back when the twins visited the Modern World with Countess Deneb, they watched various movies while eating some snacks together.
At that time, she was treating those two like her own cute little sisters.
The twins, too, were treating her like their older sister.
ButâŠ
Now, it was different.
â...â
â...â
Unknowingly, Sharon held her breath.
The twins were staring at her with calm, yet cold eyes.
Those eyes, prettier than even the prettiest jewels, were clearly locked into Sharon, as they followed her movements from the moment she opened the door to the moment she arrived at her table.
This was the exact same treatment they had given her back when they first found out that she was living together with Siwoo.
Vigilance.
Suspicions.
Along with those two, mischief and dissatisfaction were also mixed in their gazes.
Then again, this kind of treatment was something she had expected ever since Countess Albireo stated her intention to intervene in her heirâs love life.
If love was war, then Sharon was pretty much the twinsâ âenemyâ right now.
Although the Countess didnât say it herself, there was a huge chance that the reason why she intervened in this war was because the twins had asked for her intervention themselves. Æreewebηoveâ.com
But, she had nothing to be scared of anymore.
After all, the twins were just apprentice witches.
Meanwhile, Sharon had already reached the 20th rank after she completed her inheritance.
Besides, despite their status as rivals or enemies in love or whatever, class was still class.
She decided that sheâd need to take the initiative to make sure that the twins knew their places in her class.
âHello, my name is Sharon Evergreen. From today onwards, Iâll be in charge of teaching you the Elements Basics and the Applications of Elemental Magic.â
However, despite her bold determination and chilly exterior, she was a weak-hearted person.
Even now, her heart was pounding wildly and she couldnât stop it from doing so.
âHello, Iâm glad you seem well.â
âHello, itâs nice to see that youâre healthy.â
The twins greeted Sharon with a perfect manner, as if they had planned this out beforehand.
Their current attitude was completely different from the friendly pairs they were back in the Modern World.
The subtle change in attitude immediately drew a sense of distance between them three.
It made Sharon feel a little bit sad since she genuinely thought of them as close friends.
But, Sharon didnât show it on her face as she grabbed the chalk and immediately started the class.
Before entering the class, she had already planned out what it was that she would be teaching them and what kind of preparation that sheâd need to make.
For apprentice witches, the most important thing in magic study was to strengthen the basics.
Depending how far their mastery of the basics was, the speed of their understanding of magic when they inherited their brands from their masters would vary, that was why the basics were the most important thing.
âWeâll be dividing the materials into twelve and weâll be covering everything for a year. Each week, Iâll give you assignments based on what youâve learned for the day. Every month, I will hold an exam to see the depths of your understanding of the monthâs materials.â
âYes.â
âYes.â
Instead of giving her a chance to continue the conversation, the twins only gave out short answers.
âAny questions?â
The twins exchanged their glances.
Without saying anything, they nodded to each other.
âNo.â
âI donât have any.â
â...Alright, letâs begin from the first chapter.â
Sharon said, referring to the textbook and wrote down an elemental magic formula on the blackboard.
First and foremost, she wanted to test the twinsâ skills.
âMiss Odile, would you please solve this problem for me?â
âYes.â
Odile sat up from her seat and walked toward the board.
The tense atmosphere, just like a negotiation table for a ceasefire, continued throughout the class.
/genesisforsaken