City of Witches Chapter 339

The Yesod Count House's mealtime is always shared by two.

Because Countess Lucy never misses dinner with her daughter, no matter how busy she is.

Especially since Diana was forced to go out from morning till evening, the Countess has been skipping appointments and attending meals.

"You worked hard again today, my daughter. Mommy is so proud of you."

The Countess's expression was quite bright.

To be honest, she hadn't expected Diana to meet her expectations so diligently, at least not until she kicked her out.

She thought Diana would just pretend to make an effort and then come home half-heartedly....

To think she successfully went out for a whole week straight.

And on top of that, she's been having various experiences and coming back to share stories.

Now, she could die without regrets.

"There's plenty of lamb chops you love today. Eat a lot! Ohohohoho!"

"......"

However, Diana just stared blankly at the lamb chops the Countess had served her, lost in thought.

The Countess was taken aback by Diana's unusual demeanor.

Diana, who usually slacks off but at least pretends to do something at the mere mention of lamb chops.

Normally, she should have been diligently wielding her knife and fork, devouring the lamb chops....

"What's wrong? Did something happen outside?"

"No, Mother. I'll enjoy it."

"Good, good. I went to Border Town and bought lots of snacks from the Mortal Realm. So, what did you do today?"

As a matter of course, it was report time during the meal.

The time when Diana would tell the Countess about her day, and the Countess would grin with a face so pleased she looked like she could die of happiness.

"I went to a host bar."

The Countess's expression, already prepared to smile, shattered like a plate thrown from a rooftop.

Her hand slipped from the knife she was using to cut the lamb chop, sending the meat scattering across the floor.

"Wh-wh-what bar?"

"A host bar."

"You can't go to places like that! Mommy told you! All men are perverts who are just obsessed with your pretty face and try to pull something! Why did you go there? Are you rebelling against Mommy now?"

An Apprentice Witch must keep her distance from men.

This is also essential to prepare for any unforeseen accidents.

However, Countess Lucy's rote education and constant slander whenever she got the chance didn't come from that general common sense.

It was born from the worry that some scoundrel might take advantage of her Diana, whom she wouldn't even feel pain for if she poked her own eye.

It was something she kept emphasizing over and over because it made her so, so anxious and sad.

Frankly, just imagining a future where Diana, as a Witch, would be rolling around in bed with some man was enough to make her fall into depression.

And the inevitable parting that would come with time, how many tears would it cause to flow from Diana's beautiful eyes....

She didn't want her beloved daughter to experience that sorrow of having to watch someone she loves grow old, age, fall ill, and ultimately depart alone.

Just imagining it makes her heart ache.

"No, I'm not rebelling. I heard there was a male witch there. I wanted to see him once."

"Ah."

At Diana's calm response, the Countess realized she had worried too much, too soon.

Due to Yesod's nature as a business-oriented house, they reacted very swiftly to rumors.

She was already aware that a host bar had opened and that a male witch was working as a host there.

It was worth a visit out of magical curiosity.

"Ahem, Mommy got too excited. Sorry, my daughter."

"It's okay."

"So, what did you do there? How was it seeing him in person?"

"...It was nothing special, really."

The Magic he displayed was indeed nothing much to see.

It was innate magic, but not to the level where one would go out of their way to see it.

She thinks she could win against him in a fight, even as an Apprentice Witch.

If he's just a 'male witch' who has spent a mere one generation, wouldn't that be his limit?

"Is that so? Rumors really aren't to be trusted. Well! What man could ever be good enough for our pretty daughter!"

However, there was something that kept bothering her, preventing her from dismissing it so lightly.

The second game.

A move she hadn't anticipated at all, one that almost cornered Diana.

Was it really intentional?

If so, that would mean he had been analyzing and countering all the Magic Diana had been building up step by step.

"Mother."

"Yes, my daughter?"

"That Witchboard... is she quite good at it?"

The Countess answered Diana's question as if finding it novel.

"Why are you asking about that again?"

"I suddenly became curious."

"Our Diana is so smart, just like her mother, so her skills are amazing! How about taking a bath with Mommy before bed and playing a game together? It's been a while!"

"I'll pass on the bath. Could you describe her skill level a bit more objectively?"

The Countess, disappointed that her joint bath proposal was rejected, answered Diana's question.

"There probably isn't an Apprentice Witch who can match her... If she's at a level to be a match for Mommy, she probably wouldn't lose to most ordinary Witches either."

"Right?"

"Of course~ Our daughter is soooooo smart."

"You haven't... gone easy on her or anything, have you?"

"Only when she was very, very little~ If I did that now, she'd notice right away and get angry."

To be honest, she does go easy on her, just a tiny, tiny bit.

Even though it's a game where an Apprentice Witch and a Witch can compete on equal footing, there's still a gap that comes from the difference in experience.

But even considering that, Diana's skill was excellent.

Moreover, as it's a hobby you can do sitting down, she's something of a veteran in her own right, often reviewing game records alone or doing post-game analysis based on them.

That attack she prepared this morning was also disguised so she wouldn't notice....

For a man to have seen through that....

Is that really possible?

Diana's worries grew deeper and deeper.

The next morning.

Siwoo was lying on a quiet sofa in the host bar, reading a book.

It was none other than the game record of the 'Witchboard' match he had with Diana yesterday.

While not as old as chess, it was a game with a fairly long history, so there were many game records left by famous Witches.

Siwoo's impression after skimming through the records was...

"It's more fun than I thought?"

That's what it was.

How should I put it? It's a game I never even thought about.

Since Runes are placed randomly, there are many variables, and compared to other board games played on a two-dimensional plane, the game board itself has a three-dimensional shape, so the number of possible situations is enormous.

To compare it to familiar games, it feels like you have to connect stones like in Gomoku to complete Magic, fight with that completed Magic like in chess, and in the process, you have to play territory-grabbing like in Go?

It requires complex computation and thinking skills, and on top of that, psychological warfare is added, so it can't possibly be boring.So as soon as work ended, I stopped by a bookstore at a nearby gallery and bought a collection of game records.

There were things resembling game strategy guides about basic opening moves or standard strategies, but after skimming through them a few times, I lost interest and put them aside.

Because strange terms kept popping up all over the place.

After that, I spent the whole night alone reading game records, observing the overall flow of the game.

As I focused, I forgot the passage of time, and before I knew it, the sun had risen.

• Bang bang bang!

A time when nothing was prepared yet.

7 AM.

Knocking sounds were already heard.

I went to the front door and opened it to find the expected guest standing there in a demure posture, as if drawn in a picture.

"I'm here again."

"Good morning, Lady Diana. You've come early."

Siwoo greeted her politely with the etiquette he had become accustomed to and ushered Diana inside.

There was still quite some time until opening for business, but it didn't matter.

Siwoo was quite competitive by nature.

He was prepared to redeem yesterday's humiliation.

Well, whether it would be possible or not, he'd have to try and see.

"I'll order drinks today too. Since I came early, three bottles of the same as yesterday. Okay?"

"One bottle would be enough. We have plenty of time anyway."

As soon as she sat down, she set up the Witchboard.

Since she had fully charged her Magical Power yesterday, she could probably play games all day today.

Suddenly, a curious question arose, and he asked.

"But does the Countess know you frequent a place like this? It's not really my place to say, but... for an Apprentice Witch to set foot here..."

"She knows. It's fine. Please hurry and prepare."

"Yes."

Diana also seemed oddly fired up with a competitive spirit.

That appearance felt cute and also strangely reminded him of the Twins, making her feel familiar.

Diana, with the game set up, naturally offered a handicap.

She didn't know how much she had waited for this moment since last night.

After all, she had come straight here as soon as she finished breakfast, without stopping anywhere else.

"I'll give you a nine-stone handicap again today. You go first."

As if it were natural, she offered a nine-stone handicap.

Even if yesterday's result was unexpected, ultimately, she was the one who seized victory even after giving a nine-point handicap, so from Diana's perspective, it was an extremely reasonable penalty.

"Ah, it's fine today. I did some studying on my own yesterday."

But what was the reply that came back?

A bold answer saying she didn't need the handicap.

Diana had to struggle to manage her expression, which was about to contort.

It seems his spirits rose because it was somewhat close yesterday.

In this Witchboard where life and death hang on each move, what is he saying after losing even with that much of a handicap?

Because he studied for a day, he doesn't need it?

She was so taken aback by that arrogance that it was pitiful.

"...Alright."

But here, getting red-faced and explaining each point would be rather unbecoming.

If she showed an overwhelming difference in skill, the opponent would naturally realize his place.

Diana resolved to kick the opponent standing on the peak of foolishness down into the valley of despair.

Thus began the first game.

Diana and Siwoo alternately captured Magical Power sources.

Diana, following standard strategy perfectly, captured three, each two spaces apart.

Siwoo, as before, clustered three tightly together.

"......"

As soon as she confirmed that, Diana, who had been restless.

It wasn't that she was anxiously fretting out of unease.

It was just so absurd and ridiculous that she couldn't possibly let it pass without saying something.

After a long deliberation, Diana bluntly threw out a remark.

Naturally, it didn't sound pleasant.

"You said you studied."

"Yes, I looked at game records all day."

"And in those records, did they play like this?"

"No, I think this suits my style better."

A new kind of patience test?

Of course, that style of Magical Power source placement also exists.

But that is closer to a surprise strategy that exploits a weakness, like the strategy he used yesterday.

It's a strategy with clear limitations: it loses steam by the mid-game, and in the late game, it's essentially impossible to win in a head-on fight.

Is he trying to use it again because the strategy he tried to win by luck yesterday seemed to work?

Diana felt her insides boiling.

On top of his very existence being irritating, he does nothing but things she dislikes from start to finish.

Even the easygoing Diana could no longer tolerate it.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you."

In her heart, she wanted to thoroughly crush him from the early to late game, but first, it was time to solidify defense and secure Runes.

Diana's stable opening moves, with a hot heart but a cool, settled head.

On the other hand, Siwoo's opening moves were incredibly ambiguous.

Moves that scattered pieces here and there instead of concentrating power in one place.

It was hard to even guess what he was aiming for.

As expected, a waste of time.

The opponent was nothing but a narcissist, drunk on the fame of being the first male Witch, full of superficial vanity.

Naturally, yesterday's game must have been a fluke too.

Let's quickly end this boring game and go watch a play instead.

Having reached that conclusion, Diana tried to complete her Magic through stable moves as usual.

And then.

"......"

A single move was placed among Siwoo's haphazardly scattered opening stones.

As if it had been waiting for it from the beginning, it pierced through the triangular pyramid-shaped Magical Power battery Diana had been constructing.

With just one move, it broke the stabilization device and pierced the Circuit connecting Magic power from the Magical Power source.

What Siwoo had prepared was a Magic Formula arranged in a straight line to block the very occurrence of Magic at its source.

Something that could only be used if one understood the principle and structure of that specific Magic.

It was a Dispel Pin.

Author's Note (Afterword)

Diana also needs to commission an illustration...

I'm pondering who would be good for it.