City of Witches Chapter 365

“Ugh!”

As expected, not everything went smoothly.

There were three experiments.

Checking the shielding method.

Securing a sample when releasing a more intense Distortion Field from external impact.

Controlling the Distortion Field when unwinding the shielding Ribbon to expose about 5% of the spear.

The first succeeded easily, but from the second onward, I hit a wall.

Even with just the level of impact from striking a tuning fork, the Red Branch went wild inside the Ribbon.

It was the same when only a small part of the spearhead was exposed.

The surface of the magical power, which was said to have such low reactivity, buzzed and splattered countless droplets.

In the end, after a brief experiment, I had to repeatedly immerse it deeply in the magical power.

“This really isn’t going as I’d like.”

“Is that so?”

The Countess, who had been quietly watching, stepped into the tub.

Without giving me a chance to stop her, she wrapped her arms around me from behind, as if embracing me, and together, just as I had once taught her fishing techniques, she held the Red Branch from behind.

“It’s quite cold, isn’t it?”

Even as I looked at her with surprised eyes, she only smiled leisurely.

“Now, shall we try again? I’ll help you.”

The soft sensation against my back.

The Countess’s warm body temperature, in perfect contrast to the magical power.

At the same time, I felt the barrier field she conjured enveloping my body.

“Don’t rush too much. Try pulling it out.”

“Understood.”

The Red Branch pulled out of the magical power.

It vibrated with a buzz, as if still resonating from its earlier rampage, but the Countess didn’t even blink as she finished controlling the Distortion Field.

“It’s because you handle it roughly. Like gently caressing it…”

“Like this?”

“That’s right… well done… You need to handle it delicately until you get used to it.”

The Countess was entirely supporting me.

If the Distortion Field was a chaotic, spiky line, she pointed out the parts that needed smoothing.

Immediately, I applied Computation to press down on those parts.

Even I, who could visually see the flow of magic power after removing the eyepatch, found it difficult to pinpoint exactly where the trouble arose.

Yet Countess Lucy solved it purely through intuition.

It was a glimpse into the level of mastery possessed by a 22nd hierarchy Witch proficient in Barrier Magic.

“Is this the feeling?”

“That’s right, just like that. You already look proficient.”

“…….”

“Now, as if starting from the beginning… slowly…”

“…….”

I was drawn in.

The focus that began with the Countess’s guidance.

Neither the biting cold water nor the comforting warmth of the Countess embracing me from behind registered.

Using the Countess’s voice as a navigator, my concentration reached its peak.

Suppressing the wildly dancing red waves, repeating Computation after Computation until my brain felt hot.

Even my breath stopped as I thought of only one goal.

The Countess glanced at Siwoo’s expression.

“…….”

For about the past five minutes, he had been in a State of No-Self.

The frequency of his responses to advice had decreased, and now it seemed he was pouring all his abilities into controlling the barrier field.

A terrifying level of concentration.

This wasn’t just mimicking some genius.

He was fully internalizing even the smallest assistance and blazing a new trail once again.

Considering the time he had spent studying Magic, his growth speed was incomprehensible.

If he had been born a woman, walked the proper path of an Apprentice Witch, and inherited a Brand, how fast would he have grown?

In her long life, she had never once felt lacking in talent, but this man made all talents except his own seem faded.

Perhaps even the rumored talent of Duke Keter.

The thought even crossed her mind—how absurd—that the ability of the one who single-handedly pioneered the realm of the 30th hierarchy might not be equal to Siwoo’s…

Meanwhile.

“…….”

The tub was filled only with the faint buzzing of the Red Branch, the sloshing of the magical power, and the breathing of the two.

“Mr. Siwoo?”

Countess Lucy called out softly to Siwoo.

It seemed that from the middle, he had become completely absorbed, to the point where he couldn’t even hear the sounds around him.

She called out once more to confirm.

“…….”

Still no response.

He was completely trapped in his own world.

Hugging Siwoo’s broad back and fiddling with the spear, the Countess licked her lips.

It was an unconscious act because her throat felt dry.

She had noticed it earlier, but this back was incredibly sturdy.

Moreover, it was so warm that she couldn’t feel the sub-zero cooling water at all.

“Let me help you a little more.”

The Countess pulled Siwoo a little closer.

The man’s buttocks pressed against her lower abdomen.

They were distinctly different from a woman’s.

And these buttocks were remarkably firm!

They were tightly packed with muscle all the way through—well-defined, muscular.

“Ahem, ahem…”

The Countess cleared her throat unnecessarily and spoke.

“Now I’m going to let go. Would you like to try it alone, Mr. Siwoo?”

Of course, no answer came.

The Countess released the Red Branch they had been holding together and subtly placed her hands on his waist and abs.

They were firm.

And they were well-defined, like a ridged washboard.

“How can this be…”

The sturdy latissimus dorsi visible from the front, the masculine biceps and forearm muscles perfect for resting her chin on, the posterior deltoids…

And finally, the gluteus maximus distinctly felt below the abdomen…

The Countess busily explored his physique, pressing her cheek against his back.

I shouldn’t be doing this.

Even as she thought she shouldn’t, she couldn’t stop.

Clinging to him like a cicada stuck to an old tree, an utterly unhealthy thought flashed through the Countess’s mind.

If he was so deeply absorbed that he wouldn’t notice even if she touched his body like this…

That firm thing she had felt for the first time.

Wouldn’t he also not notice if she touched that?

The Countess agonized, feeling her saliva gulp down.

What am I doing, what am I doing?

Groping a man’s body without him even noticing.

It was clearly molestation.

Moreover, while touching the muscles of his upper body might be one thing, caressing that weighty cobra was absurd.

Then, the Countess came up with a plausible excuse.

“Mr. Siwoo.”

“…….”

“Your pants seem to have slipped down a bit… Let me pull them up for you.”

The pants, heavy with absorbed magical power, had slipped down slightly.

Using the pretext of pulling them up, she would touch it just a little, ever so slightly.

While pulling up the waistband of his pants and tightening the belt again.

The Countess’s hand crept underwater and subtly caressed Siwoo’s robust male symbol.

“Ah…”

The enormity she had felt before was no illusion.Despite not putting any strength into it, such a monumental presence.

Feeling as if her legs might give way, the Countess reluctantly withdrew her hand.

"Haa..."

Perhaps because she had secretly hoped for a reaction.

Watching him, completely absorbed in controlling the Distortion Field without even noticing her touch, the Countess let out a long sigh.

What Diana discovered as she headed to the grand bath to soothe her troubled heart was...

Shin Siwoo and her mother, likely moving to a different location together for 'tutoring.'

Though they were quite a distance away, she could only see them engaged in a hushed conversation. Her mother walked slightly ahead with a seemingly joyful smile.

And Shin Siwoo followed a little behind.

"...I won't care anymore."

Contrary to the words she blurted out, like a sudden surge of dissatisfaction and defiance, Diana's gaze was fixed on the two.

But she didn't want to think in detail about what the two might do or what kind of time they would spend together.

She just decided she would float idly in the pool and laze around.

Having resolved this, Diana felt an ominous premonition.

"Come to think of it, that direction..."

The place accessible from the opposite corridor was the dining hall, and then her mother's private bath.

Since her mother originally didn't eat lunch, there was no reason for her to go to the dining hall. Through a very simple process of elimination, the conclusion was that their destination was the private bath.

"Ugh..."

Ignore it.

Ignore it.

Diana, who had been trying hard to move her feet, soon began spinning in place.

Could what she read in that book yesterday really be true?

Would it be okay to check it out just once?

She was curious about the circumstances under which the amorous acts between men and women, which she had only read about in texts, took place.

It was a curiosity engraved in her instincts, overriding her discomfort and aversion.

"Ah, I don't know..."

Diana hurried her steps towards the Countess's private bath.

Her heart pounded harder than when she had secretly entered the hidden library.

With the mindset of a spy, she lifted the red velvet curtain covering the bath entrance a moment later and stepped in.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.

The worst-case scenario was getting caught peeping.

Seeing with her own eyes would be the most certain, but the private bath was very small.

Once she passed through this door in front of her, there was virtually nowhere to hide.

Therefore, Diana held her breath and quietly listened to the sounds coming from inside the bath.

Her mother's voice, which had been murmuring since earlier, reached her ears.

"Here, let me help you. Shall we try again?"

A sweet tone resonating inside the bathtub.

Others might not know, but Diana could tell.

It was somewhat different from the gentle voice of her mother she had always heard.

Somehow, it seemed breathy, as if sighing in admiration, and dreamy, as if immersed in a dream.

"Don't be too hasty. Take it out slowly."

Take it out? What?

Diana swallowed hard and strained her ears.

"It's because you're handling it roughly. Like gently caressing..."

"Like this?"

"That's right... good job... You need to handle it delicately until you get used to it."

Diana felt a tingling sensation as if electrocuted.

Now it was certain.

Not as explicit as in the novels she'd seen, but a very suggestive conversation.

Right now, her mother and Shin Siwoo were engaging in lewd acts inside.

Gently caressing it delicately.

What?

Diana combined the content of her early education with the conversation between the two.

Taking something out, then gently caressing and handling it delicately.

Her mother's chest?

Or perhaps Shin Siwoo's... that?

"Is this the feeling?"

"That's right, just like that. You already seem proficient..."

"......"

"Now, with the feeling of starting over from the beginning... slowly..."

"......"

Listening to her mother's voice, which grew gradually softer as if mixed with sighs of pleasure, Diana mustered her last bit of courage.

She lifted the curtain just a tiny bit and peeked inside.

And then she saw.

Siwoo, inside the bathtub, with his clothes off.

And her mother, embracing him from behind.

Her mother wasn't undressed, but judging from that posture and the position of her hands...

It was likely the posture of caressing an erect male member from behind with her hand.

Diana could no longer withstand the stimulation and, holding her breath tightly, left the bath.

A word from the author (afterword)

Might be a little past 12.