Chapter 105 : Chapter 105

Chapter 105 - A Disciple's Way of Loving His Teacher

The attire she had worn after a long time as the Forest Witch.

A cloak-like robe with fresh branches climbing it like vines.

A wide-brimmed hat that seemed like it would block all of the noon sun.

Under that hat, her wavy, dark green hair fell to her waist.

“It’s been a while since I’ve gone out.”

The Forest Witch moved her hand and slightly lifted the brim.

“To think so many people are here to welcome me. Should I be happy?”

Her slightly drooping eyes, with their somber green irises, reflected the scene.

The Cursed Knights, who aimed their long spears with a formation so unified one might suspect they were a single body.

Behind them, the sorcerers who had completed the joint curse.

The family's Elders, one riding an undead skeleton, the other a phantom; two of her future senior colleagues.

The latter figures, as the ones in charge on-site, spoke first.

“Forest Witch. Why have you crossed the Pantheon's barrier?”

A boy with an appearance that could almost be mistaken for a neighborhood kid.

Nevertheless, the reason one could tell he was an Elder was thanks to his mount.

A wyrm, said to play in the clouds instead of the sea, was his spirit.

Since he couldn't physically ride a ghost, he had changed his lower body into a spiritual form to fly here.

It was, naturally, a difficult art.

Unless one was an Elder.

The Forest Witch answered the boyish Elder.

“The Elder position. I heard one was vacant.”

A bombshell declaration.

At least, it was for those present here.

The Cursed Knights, as well as the family-affiliated sorcerers, all flinched.

Their eyes all moved in unison to the two Elders.

But they too were just as surprised by the answer.

“…An Elder?”

The Land General Manager who had spread the rumor was in the Execution Department.

Elder Graham, who had heard the story from the Fourth Son, was on official business.

For various reasons, the Forest Witch's application for the Elder position had become a secret.

Even until she herself arrived at her prospective workplace.

“Either arrest me. Or let me in. Just do one thing quickly, will you? Coming all the way here. It’s a leg-tiring affair.”

A bizarre situation where the interviewee was rushing the interviewers.

The two interviewers just looked at each other's faces before finally giving an answer.

“We will arrest you. If you resist, we will consider it as you making an enemy of Millesdusk.”

The boyish Elder gestured downwards.

Jeolgeureok─

Thick chains on which curses were chaotically inscribed.

The knights, holding the restraints instead of spears, cautiously approached the Forest Witch.

Even so, they did not let their guard down.

The sorcerers behind them were forming hand seals to strengthen the curses.

The knights were also divided into a restraining team and a guarding team.

“Do not be afraid and proceed with the restraint. Even the Forest Witch cannot run wild in front of the two of us.”

I could see that they were systematic, as befitting a great family, but I didn't understand the words of the one-armed Elder standing next to the boyish Elder.

“Delusion is a freedom.”

“…What did you say.”

“Maybe I should have lived my life showing off my strength a bit more.”

She muttered from under her hat.

It was a mumble to herself, her mouth hidden by the brim, unheard by anyone.

“Tie me up. If you’re that scared, I’ll tie myself up and.”

The Cursed Knights' steps became bold.

They lifted the chains, wrapped them around the Forest Witch, and connected them.

They were chains heavily imbued with curses that severely lowered magic movement and hindered its cohesion.

“An interesting toy.”

But the 2nd Great Witch saw it as just that.

“Son. Where should I go?”

She asked one of the knights, but he was silent.

The answer came from above her head.

“Naturally, being transferred to the Execution Department comes first. Behave yourself.”

“…The Execution Department.”

As the witch’s calm voice dried up, the one-armed Elder snorted.

“You, the culprit behind the destruction of Hojeopgung, are already a sinner here. So I hope you won’t run your mouth. If you do, you might fall into Mugan.”

“……”

The Forest Witch said nothing.

Good. Fear us.

Our Elders. This Millesdusk.

The one above felt a sense of satisfaction from a small victory.

Instead, the one below felt a sense of ease.

‘Just as the President said, I’m going to the Execution Department first. I just need to follow them.’

A bear-like man who had been lost in the forest, staring blankly at a fire.

A man as solid as the earth, with an inside as hot as the lava flowing deep below.

It seemed he couldn't handle the boiling heat himself and went to a strange place.

‘Since you looked after Hexa’s land in the Great Forest. I’ll consider myself indebted to you as well. I’m saving you out of that debt.’

Because she remembered the debt, she allowed her arms to be bound.

But the interviewers above didn't know she had allowed herself to be bound.

So, they treated it as a disturbance that ended ordinarily.

They spoke quietly among themselves.

The one who opened the floodgates was the one-armed Elder whose mouth was itching.

“Hey, Salace. Isn't this enough to report to the Second and Third Daughters? We stopped the Forest Witch’s invasion, after all.”

“…Exaggeration is not a good habit, Senior Kalsbach.”

“It’s not an exaggeration. We sent the Forest Witch, who was about to run wild, to the Execution Department with the right amount of carrot and stick.”

“Go and tell the Young Daughters yourself. Leave my name out of it.”

“Heh heh.”

The one-armed Elder Kalsbach stroked his chin with his remaining arm.

“More importantly, the Forest Witch’s sudden application for the Elder position. What do you think?”

“She could be looking for a way to live, or she could have come to find a place to die. It depends on her own capabilities.”

It was a publicly known fact that the Forest Witch had destroyed Hojeopgung.

If she had continued to hide herself in that state, she wouldn't have had to die.

But she suddenly came to the Pantheon and declared she would become an Elder.

“The way I see it, it looks like a place to die.”

The one-armed man’s chin, which he stroked despite having no beard, protruded due to that habit.

The Elder, with an appearance more witch-like than the witch, continued.

“Since there are quite a few Elders who hold favor with the Fourth Son, couldn't we team up with them and crush the Forest Witch?”

“True. Even if the Forest Witch really becomes an Elder, she has no standing within the family.”

“Right. Millesdusk is not a forest. If that's the case.”

The one-armed Elder's arm pointed to the witch below.

“How about we take that witch to the Young Daughters?”

“…Are you serious?”

“It wouldn’t be bad. The name value of the 2nd Great Witch is incredible, isn't it? Seeing as she even destroyed Hojeopgung, it won't be a complete empty fame.”

“The Forest Witch probably didn't come in without any thought, but… if we rashly reveal that we support the Young Daughters.”

“Right. We’d be openly revealing an act that goes against neutrality. So we also have to make a judgment.”

Or make it so they have no choice but to make the desired judgment.

“When the Fourth Son's blade is at her throat, will she be able to resist taking the hand we offer?”

***

Peeeeong─!!

The ever-growing explosion. The roar. The power.

The Youngest Son flew through the air for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Sent flying by the shock, blood splattered and flesh flew.

It was an even more unpleasant sight to think that it was mine.

The clean clothes that Lubosch had laundered and the Head Maid had given me became rags in an instant.

Piiii─

My ears were ringing, and my head was fuzzy along with them.

My dark purple hair was stiff with the smell of burning.

My once-pale skin was covered in soot here and there.

And then, I felt like I understood something.

“How long are you going to roll around like that! Is this your bed?”

“……”

I could tell that she was angry.

I had floated hundreds of times and rolled hundreds of times.

My ego was erased, and only a single situation remained.

Explosion.

The only thoughts left in my head were derivatives of it.

The heat from the explosion.

The pain, soreness, and blinding light that followed.

The scene that had filled my vision several times seemed to be in front of me whether I opened or closed my eyes.

It was literally engraved in my mind.

[Now.]

A voice from my forearm echoed in my head.

My hand had been raised at some point.

My own voice became the trigger.

Chiiik─

Like dust in the air or fireflies.

The red granules gathered in clusters and glowed.

What I had been seeing in front of me was now in front of my opponent.

The result was no different.

Kwaaaaaang─!!

But the finishing touch was different.

“26 hours.”

The Teacher-nim walked out, waving away the black smoke with her hand.

Far from being blown away, she was perfectly fine.

Why are you fine?

“……”

“A learning speed that really makes me want to take you as my disciple─”

Kwaaaaaang─!!

The roar of an explosion cut her off.

And with that, I uncovered the different finishing touch.

[…The shock from the explosion passed right through her body. Tsk.]

Enad’s voice grumbled as if he had lost steam.

But I had to pay the price for my small act of defiance.

Kong─!

“Ugh….”

Unlike the cute sound, it was an incredibly painful flick on the head.

“Are you launching an explosion curse at your teacher?”

My fuzzy mind cleared up completely.

“I didn’t have the leisure to worry about direction or target.”

“I’ll believe you. It is a difficult curse, and the path you have to walk ahead is even more difficult. The generous me will have to endure it.”

I had mastered the explosion curse.

I could tell by my crimson eyes, which were sore from the light of the explosion.

[You have mastered the Curse 「Explosion」.]

It was a short sentence.

It didn't need to be long.

No matter how much was explained about it, it would change according to the user's taste.

Just like how Red Bone became the material for the bomb.

“From now on, I just need to connect the Skeleton Soldier and the explosion curse, I presume.”

“It doesn't necessarily have to be a Skeleton Soldier, but if that’s what you’re best at, then do that. Do you know how to connect them?”

“You’ll have to teach me.”

“What. You were acting like you knew everything.”

I did, in fact, know.

But I didn't want to let go of such a sorcerer so easily.

You're my teacher.

Stay by my side.

Watch over me from my side.

The perspectives of a player and a human who was a sorcerer to the core were different.

And she wasn't just any sorcerer.

She was a monster who had firmly held her position from the current Family Head's childhood until now.

“Please teach me. How do you connect a curse and a sorcery?”

“Hmm.”

Ransis scratched the back of her head.

Her eyes darted here and there.

It was clearly the look of someone searching for an excuse to leave.

A senior who was about to dust off her hands and get up, feeling like she had done her job.

In fact, the reason she had watched over me this far was thanks to the Family Head’s order.

“I’ll write down the theory and leave, so you can figure it out yourself. From the looks of it, you seem like you can do well on your own.”

“Five minutes.”

“What?”

“I will let you touch the Butler for five minutes.”

A silence without the person in question followed for a moment.

“…Ten minutes.”

The Youngest Son extended his hand.

“Let’s make a deal.”

“You snake-like bastard.”

In Millesdusk, where the family symbol was a hydra, there was no higher compliment.

Her mouth cursed, but her body was honest.

“If you’re lying, it won’t end with just a flick on the head.”

“Of course.”

Teacher Ransis shook my hand.

“So how do you do it?”

“As family sorcery usually is. It’s something that only a Millesdusk bloodkin can do. Make something.”

Dalgeurak─!

As soon as she finished speaking, a Skeleton Soldier appeared.

Its grand frame looked bulky even though it was just bones.

It was still just a Skeleton Soldier, but it wasn't completely useless.

“A Skeleton Soldier. There's an opinion that it's the best for training Exploding Bone. Of course, it's only to the extent of training, but within that training—”

“It breaks easily, so I become careful about the intensity, and even if it breaks and fragments fly, I won't die.”

“……”

Ransis's words stopped.

“What is it?”

“No, I was just thinking that it would be convenient to be a teacher if I had a disciple like you.”

“Shall I launch another explosion curse at you?”

“That's enough, punk. Anyway, the key to Exploding Bone is the glowing particles you always saw before the explosion. The magic dust.”

The Youngest Son also knew why.

‘Because I have to coat the exterior of the Skeleton Soldier with that dust without leaving any gaps.’

Then, it would be a moving bomb.

The completion of Exploding Bone, a bomb that the caster could detonate at will.

“But here, the weakness of the Skeleton Soldier comes into play again. Want to guess this one too, Mr. Know-it-all?”

“If the dust is applied slowly and carefully, the Skeleton Soldier cannot withstand it and will either explode or melt in the middle.”

“Ding, ding, ding. Correct.”

But.

“My Skeleton Soldier is different.”

“What is? The color?”

The color was a given.

But besides that.

“My magic power that created the Skeleton Soldier, and the Skeleton Soldier created by it, are different.”

A system window appeared in the Youngest Son's eyes.

[──「Strong Bone」──]

Beyond it, the sneering expression of the teacher.

“You’re ridiculous. What’s so different, Young Master?”

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