༺ The Darkness that Ca from the East (1) ༻
1.
As planned, they bought all the clothes they picked out.
Next thing on their to-do list was grocery shopping at the departnt store’s food corner.
Eloa turned out to be surprisingly good at cooking. After their training, she’d sotis invite Siwoo over to cook him a al.
Today too, she planned to do that, as a thanks for buying her clothes.
“Hmm…hmm~”
Eloa humd a tune while sporting a flowy shirt dress, her heels clicked at tis.
Beside her, Siwoo, who was pushing the shopping card, was trying hard to contain his laughter.
Normally, she would act reserved.
She’d kept her feelings to herself, though he didn’t know if it was because she wasn’t good at expressing it, or if it was because of her warrior’s upbringing to not reveal their emotions easily.
Most of the ti, she never even expressed her likes or dislikes.
Seeing her in such a good mood was a clear sign that this shopping trip was a huge success.
As Eloa strolled excitedly through the grocery aisle, she suddenly realized sothing before throwing Siwoo a subtle glance.
Then, she stopped humming.
It was because she noticed his calm expression, with a teasing gentle smile on his lips.
“Why are you looking at like that? Stop grinning like a fool.”
He’d love to tell her that it was because he thought that she was cute, just like a cheerful puppy, playing on a sunny day, but he didn’t want to make the atmosphere awkward.
And so, he decided to praise her outfit instead.
“Those clothes suit you well, the shoes look nice on you too.”
The first half of his sentence was sothing that he said repeatedly when they were shopping for her clothes, but even so, she still responded in the sa way when she heard her complints.
Feeling skeptical of his words, going ‘Really?’ in her head, but still letting out a cheerful smile anyway.
“I don’t know about that. It’s my first ti wearing heels like these…though it does make feel a little taller. Do you think they stand out too much?”
“They all go well together.”
“…No, they don’t.”
“Really, they suit you well.”
“Stop teasing .”
Usually, she’d just nod along whenever Siwoo threw her complints during their training, but it seed like all the complints on her appearance and her clothes made her feel embarrassed as she almost always replied with ‘Stop teasing ’.
Siwoo thought that it was adorable for her to react that way and it made him want to keep on complinting her.
“Oh, I just rembered sothing.”
“What is it?”
“Thank you for buying these nice clothes. It’s the first ti I’ve ever shopped for clothes at a departnt store.”
“Well, technically, I didn’t use my own money to buy them. Besides, I’ve received many things from you, Master, no need to thank , really.”
Hearing his modest answer, Eloa quickly barraged him with facts.
“Countess Gemini isn’t only an outstanding witch, but also a skilled businesswoman. For soone like her, no matter how much money they have, they won’t spend their money thoughtlessly. The Countess provided you with financial support, that ans you’re soone worthy of receiving it, not out of favor, pity or anything like that.”
“Uh…”
Now he understood what Eloa had been feeling whenever he complinted her clothes.
A mixed feeling between unease and embarrassnt.
So, the reason why he could enjoy such luxury in the modern world was because he quite literally sacrificed his life when he confronted Ea Sadallik.
He still didn’t understand how the fuck did he have the balls to confront soone as fearso as Ea when he couldn’t even cast a single combat spell, but…
Never once did he think that his action was sothing extraordinary.
He always thought that anyone else would make a similar choice in his position.
“Take so pride in yourself.”
Eloa playfully nudged his back before walking ahead.
After filling the cart with enough groceries and paying for them, the pair got in the car.
It was the supercar he received from Periwinkle.
Truth to be told, until he actually drove it, he thought that he’d just park it sowhere in the lot and he’d hardly ever drive it.
He wasn’t that into cars to begin with and driving this thing would draw so much attention because compared to Ferraris or Lamborghinis, this kind of car was rare to be found in Seoul.
But once he grabbed the steering wheel and hit the road, he beca addicted to it.
Its smooth, yet powerful exhaust sound and the feeling of being one in the car captivated him.
This well-crafted machine felt like it was alive.
Siwoo smoothly exited the underground parking lot.
anwhile, Eloa sat in the passenger seat, checking over her clothes.
Observing her cheerful deanor, he realized that this was the perfect ti to tell her what he had heard from Periwinkle.
Because the matter didn’t only concern his own safety, but a plethora of other matters as well.
“Master, I have sothing to tell you.”
“Why so dramatic? Just tell what you have in mind.”
Leaning back against the seat, Eloa held back a smile that kept trying to show.
But, a single word turned her expression stiff.
“Do you happen to know anything about a witch called Periwinkle, Master?”
The mont he ntioned ‘Periwinkle’…
She instinctively turned to look out the window.
Periwinkle?
Why would he bring her up all of a sudden?
Thanks to her enjoying herself all throughout the shopping session, she completely forgot that she has spent the past two days watching what essentially was VR porn.
She watched him and Periwinkle having sex for 36 hours straight and she experienced the unabashed arousal it brought her.
The embarrassing incident that she couldn’t possibly tell anyone about overwheld her mind.
She couldn’t help but wonder if he actually found out about her peeping them for more than a day.
O-Or maybe he’s trying to gauge my reaction?
“I-I-I don’t know! Really! I don’t know anything!”
Her face turned pale as she blurted out that response.
Noticing her panicked response, Siwoo stared at her, puzzled.
If he wasn’t holding onto the steering wheel at the mont, he might have noticed her ears turning red as they peeked through her hair.
“Really, I don’t know anything! I’m not lying, I swear!”
“I didn’t think you were lying, though…”
He found her response sounded a little suspicious, but he dismissed it promptly because it wasn’t a big deal.
“The other day when I left the house, I had a chance to chat with her privately. According to her divination, she said that I’d soon be in danger. Chances are…um…I’m going to die…?”
He ntioned that he had already resolved the issue halfway though, while leaving out the part where the divination said that he’d lose an arm and die.
Because he knew how badly his words could affect her, considering her past experience.
That was why he tried to bring up the topic cautiously, but her reaction was overwhelmingly intense.
She quickly turned to Siwoo, the panic in her gaze was clear.
“…What did you just say…?”
Her eyes shook and there was a palpable tension in the air.
Noticing how her breath had grown erratic, as if her trauma was triggered, Siwoo quickly added more details.
“W-Well! Thanks to her kindness, I got so help from her! She gave a talisman that could save my life no matter what kind of danger I was in!”
“Elaborate.”
A murderous aura erupted from her, an aura so intense that it made his skin tingle.
It showed him how fierce she could be and how she’d kill anyone who’d threaten his life.
This reminded him of the first ti he t her, how she thrusted her fist into his chest.
He figured that it would be better to calm her down first before continuing the conversation.
“It’ll all be okay! The matter isn’t as serious as you think, you don’t need to worry too much!”
“How can you say that?! The Witch of Fortune is a witch who is proficient in astrology! Her divinations hardly ever miss!”
Though she claid to not know Periwinkle, this reaction of hers seed to suggest otherwise.
“If sothing bad happens again…and I-I lose you…I-I…don’t know…”
She started to tear up and her voice turned shaky, as if she had already imagined the worst.
It was Siwoo’s turn to panic now as he pulled the car to the side of the road.
“Who could it be…? Why is this even happening? Do you have any idea why your life could be in danger…?”
Eloa grabbed his sleeve, clinging on tightly to it.
He tried to soothe her, laying out his thoughts calmly.
“Ms. Periwinkle said that she will be leaving Korea for a while, she said that she saw a future where even herself would get caught in danger in a month. Considering what the Cowardly Witch did recently, chances are she’s going to cause trouble again soon and I might get caught up in it…”
“Did she really say that?”
“Yes and I agreed with her.”
After the recent attack by the Cowardly Witch, there was a power gap not only in Seoul but all across Korea.
Witches who felt the urgency from the consecutive incidents decided to either return to Gehenna or flee abroad.
Branch Manager Sua tried reaching out for support from other Witch Point branches and Gehenna, but their responses were mostly lukewarm.
Because witches never had any obligations to save people.
Their only goal was to advance their self-essence magic to a higher level.
Moreover, most of them exerted efforts not for adventures but for their own safety.
For a witch, death wasn’t rely the end of an individual’s life, but an extinction of an entire ‘lineage’. That was why they always hesitated to get involved in events that seed futile and risky.
“This is why I told you not to worry too much.”
Siwoo pulled out two four-leaf clovers from his cigarette case.
One was light green and the other was pink.
These were the things that Periwinkle had given him, claiming that they could save his life.
“She ntioned that even if my fate leads to my death, I’ll be able to get away from it once.”
Only then did Eloa’s tense expression eased, albeit only slightly. There was a glimr of relief amidst her previously desperate deanor.
The Witch of Fortune was quite famous among witches. Even Eloa herself had heard a few tis about how useful her clovers were.
“I’m sorry, I overreacted…”
“No, Master, I was the one who brought the topic up all of a sudden.”
“So, what are you planning to do?”
“That… I don’t know that yet…”
Siwoo had already suspected that so incident would occur due to the Cowardly Witch.
However, he couldn’t decide what to do because he didn’t want to leave Sharon behind and flee.
Should I just stick around and face whatever fate waits?
But, considering that even a grand witch like Periwinkle could lose her life, wouldn’t it be better to just take Sharon and flee instead?
Such thoughts crossed his mind.
“Run away.”
Eloa said decisively, as if telling him that there was nothing for him to think about.
“Go to Gehenna and don’t co back until things settle down. It’ll be safer to stay there than here.”
“But, the Branch Manager said it would take ti to discuss things about letting Sharon into Gehenna…”
“I’ll help speed things up.”
To grant special permissions for Exiles, they’d need to go through an extrely strict process of review.
With the administrative tasks in Gehenna moving at a snail’s pace, going through the official channels would take quite a long while.
However, if a big shot like the Duchess Tiphereth herself used her na and authority to push things through, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t pull off.
Though she had lost her wealth and influence, and her title was rely a symbolic one, she was still one of the three Duchesses of Gehenna.
“Really? You can do that?”
Siwoo let out a sigh of relief.
If she succeeded, his burden would at least lessen a little.
Above all, he was glad that Sharon, who was still unconscious, could get away from the place where the storm would strike.
“I’ll get it done within two days. You and Ms. Evergreen will—”
Eloa was about to suggest he go to Gehenna, but sothing clicked in her mind.
“…”
“Master?”
Puzzled by her montary silence, Siwoo looked at Eloa.
Eloa clutched onto his sleeve desperately.
“While Ms. Evergreen seeks refuge in Gehenna, you…”
She grasped his hand tightly, as if refusing to let go.
“…Don’t go anywhere, stay by my side.”
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