Chapter 436 – Chapter 436 Magic School Shutra (3-47)
“Huh….”
Karin slowly opened her eyes with her moans.
As usual, when she wakes up, she feels as if her mind is hazy, but unlike the waking sensation she feels now, her vision has a different atmosphere than usual.
‘Ah… I can’t see anything.’
Even though it’s normal for something to come into her field of vision no matter how soon she wakes up, a dark veil covers her eyes.
Anxiety began to overtake her, as if she couldn’t see an inch in front of her, and it was just blinding her.
Surprised, Karin began to grasp the situation while trimming her surroundings.
“Female… Where are you?”
“Oh, are you awake?”
“Who!?”
The man’s voice, heard from the pitch-black darkness, brought Karin a sense of alertness that engulfed Karin’s reason.
And the owner of the voice hurriedly grabbed Karin’s arm and tried to talk.
“It is me. Sung Soo-ho.”
“Ah! Phew… I’m sorry. I was surprised to see nothing.”
Karin finally let out a sigh of relief and asked as she fumbled for the arm of Seongsuho that was holding her.
“Where are you? I can’t see ahead….”
“Please wait for a moment.”
Along with Seong Suho’s words, a light that was suddenly intense enough to sting in my eyes began to shine into my pupils.
“Huh….”
“Done.”
With his words, the surroundings began to light up.
However, Karin, who had not seen the light for a while, could only close her eyes tightly to adjust to her light and wait for her eyesight to return to normal.
Not long after that, Karin, who had barely adjusted to the light, opened her eyes and saw Seongsuho, who lit up the light, and she began to feel relieved.
“Here… Ah! Come to think of it, the thieves earlier!?”
“Fortunately, I was able to escape.”
After that, Karin was able to hear an explanation of the situation from Sung Soo-ho.
It was a story that Karin passed out due to the iron ore that fell when the cave collapsed, and Seongsuho was able to escape the place by dragging Karin and using her magic.
“The thieves were definitely buried earlier. So you can rest assured.”
“… I’m sorry.”
“Yes?”
Karin opened her mouth as she showed a sluggish appearance, unable to answer my questions easily.
“I just came… Instead of helping, it only hindered.”
“….”
Karin said she had never shown a downtrodden side in front of a man before.
No, she could affirm that she had never shown anything like it, even in front of her own family.
She had only been with Sung Soo-ho for a few days, but she was depressed as she made a series of mistakes in front of him.
Even as she kept repeating to herself that she shouldn’t show herself like this, her body was shrinking without realizing it.
‘Me… Am I really degrading into a useless person?’
It was Karin who was never satisfied with her abilities and always moved forward.
She, who had lived her whole life, determined to break down even if there was a wall, was frustrated by her wall called Louise, and became lethargic by her existence called Suho Seong.
Far from smashing or jumping over the wall in front of her, at one point she cowered in the shadow of the wall and only looked at it with envy and jealousy.
She was doing what she hated so much.
She was doing so when the prosecution of her was infringing.
Seong Soo-ho shrugged his shoulders as he placed his hand on her shoulder with the hand that did not open the magic circle.
“It’s embarrassing to say that saving my life was an obstruction.”
“… A life?”
“If Lady Karin hadn’t stopped me earlier, I really should have cut off my arm.”
“….”
Karin started to think of what happened earlier after hearing Sung Soo-ho’s words.
The man who said he would cut off his arm for himself.
‘… It seemed sincere.’
Karin doesn’t have the talent to read the other person’s mind, but she does have a knack for figuring out the truth of the other person.
And in her eyes, Sung Soo-ho’s actions were neither bluff nor lies.
She had eyes that were genuinely prepared to cut off her arm.
‘No way… To really buy my favor?’
That was Karin’s conclusion.
From the first time she saw Seongsu-ho, Karin felt that her female color was strong, and she had a strong desire for a woman from him.
She and, crucially, after arriving at Atler, she was able to discern the level of his sexuality.
‘Mother… I think I know why I fell into this man’s arms.’
She kept it secret that Anna thoroughly concealed her relationship with her holy guardian, but it was eventually caught on her Karin’s radar.
‘But I didn’t expect my mother to be so open-minded….’
Her attendant, who knew the truth, was one of Karin’s loyal servants, so she did not have to worry about the fact leaking outside of her.
The reason Karin risked her life and came to Torim Valley was because of the Seongsu Lake.
She wanted to know for sure what kind of person Seong Su-ho was.
Seongsuho said while holding Karin’s arm.
“Let’s get out of here. There is nothing good about being in a place like this for a long time.”
“Yes.”
Karin smiled at the warmth that came from his arms and she started following him.
Karin smiled bitterly as she looked at his reliable back.
‘I’m glad you want me…. However… My body doesn’t belong to me.’
Karin said she regretted her existence endlessly behind the man who saved her and she started following him.
***
Not long after she set out like that, she was able to find a place where human warmth remained.
Tables and chairs, sizzling lanterns, beds, and various food items were gathered like a warehouse.
Karin began to be wary as she saw signs of people.
“Where is this?”
“It’s probably where the guys who broke down the mine earlier live.”
“The thieves?”
“Yes.”
The tunnel was assumed to be a place made by thieves in case a large number of intruders occurred.
And such a place will always need maintenance.
This was because it could collapse when there were no intruders, and conversely, when intruders came, it could not collapse due to poor management.
“I’ve probably managed the cave by staying here for several days and taking turns.”
“It is surprisingly systematic. On the topic of thieves….”
“If it’s just a half-assed thief, there’s a good chance that if there were guys who even learned magic, they’d value efficiency.”
“But….”
Karin nodded her head as she listened to me, and I started looking around after she finished speaking.
“Fortunately, it seems that they have already abandoned this place and run away. Fortunately, we don’t know the geography of the cave. Let’s procure food here.”
“Yes.”
Karin replied calmly and she started looking around with me.
Karin, who looked around like that, began to admire her.
“That’s really great. It’s only a place that shifts at best, but to pile up such good quality food….”
As Karin said, the food they had piled up was of the highest quality.
The valley and the caves inside contain the coldness of ice.
It seemed like it was a good environment for storing groceries.
And among them, there were items that were so great that they caught Karin’s eyes.
“My God, this….”
“… ?”
Karin exclaimed as she lifted the bottle filled with the purple liquid.
“It is the wine that is given to the royal family in the northern region.”
“Five… Will it be expensive?”
“It is not an expensive concept. You cannot sell this.”
Karin carefully lifted the wine as if she were worshiping a pot and began to explain.
There are mountain grapes that grow only in the barren north, and it was said that the wine was aged for 30 years using the grapes.
Northern mountain grapes are not rare, but the point was that they were aged for 30 years.
“Usually, for about 10 years, they often come to Atler and sell them, but those that have been aged for more than 30 years are presented as gifts to the royal family every year. What is marked here is that guarantee of quality.”
“Ah… So, I guess the thieves here thought this was just wine for sale? I saw that it was piled up here….”
“Yes… I heard it was stolen last year… I think it might be this thing.”
As if reminiscent of a scene from The Lion King, Karin lifted the wine and began to examine it carefully.
Looking at Karin like that, I started asking questions.
“Then you must have given up looking for that wine already?”
“Yes… That’s why I heard that His Majesty was very sorry.”
“I am surprised. Even though it was such an important item, the fact that the subjugation party was not sent….”
“There are more thieves in the northern region than I thought. Unless the Viscount is kidnapped like this time, it is impossible to specifically point to the thief.”
Catching a thief is important, but it shouldn’t be just an excuse to lose one wine.
In other words, he wouldn’t have the energy to go after all the bandits to find a bottle of wine.
“Originally, I was going to save the Viscount in the form of a prisoner exchange using gold coins. I never thought the dean would step out like that.”
Originally, I was going to spend the money, but when the dean stepped in, the plan went awry.
But ironically, because of the wrong plan, it was easy to subdue the thieves.
“And… I’m so glad you joined. If it hadn’t been for you, by now I and the soldiers would have become prisoners of war and a nuisance.”
“It’s just a result.”
Karin smiled and she told me.
“But I and the soldiers saw the process. You, the process and the result, everything was perfect. Don’t be humble about that part.”
Haha….”
I smiled awkwardly at her excessive praise and started to notice the wine she was holding.
“I have a question for you.”
“Yes, please.”
“That wine….”
I laughed awkwardly as I scratched my head.
“I’m assuming you don’t have any more, so it’s okay to drink, right?”
I never cared much about alcohol in my life. And I never drank.
All I ever did was drink for the purpose of improving my relationship with women, purely on duty.
So, since I didn’t put a lot of meaning into alcohol, the concept of expensive alcohol didn’t really touch me.
But the word 30 years shook my mind.
I didn’t wonder if it tasted good.
I was just curious about the uniqueness.
“Hmm….”
Karin, who had heard my words, had an expression that was not very pleased.
No matter how safe it was from bandits, it was not a situation to drink and relax.
However, it was also a problem to secretly take it with you.
This wine was so precious that it was presented to the royal family, and even if it was stolen, the royal family would be illegally possessed.
Still, Karin smiled as she slowly put the wine on the table.
“10 years old and… The difference between 30 years old. I can’t resist that temptation either.”
Haha….”
“More than anything….”
“… ?”
Karin tilted her head and smiled.
“I don’t think I would be comfortable with rejecting the offer of the person who saved me.”
In other words, it meant that the other person looked after me because it was me.
She made up her mind and started getting ready to drink with me.
But as Karin looked at the tableware scattered around her, she began to frown.
“I have a cup, but… It’s too dirty.”
As Karin said, the tableware they were using was not properly washed.
Even the clean cup was covered with dust that had accumulated iron ore rust.
Drinking wine dedicated to the royal family from such a dirty cup?
It was an unacceptable combination.
But who am I?
“Leave it to me.”
“… ?”
I said that and started to create a blue magic circle.
The basis of water magic is to draw moisture from the surroundings.
And the amount of moisture drawn in that way was at a level that could easily wash dishes.
The water in between the rusted iron came together to form a sphere the size of a bowling ball.
So I put my glass in the floating water and started to wash it.
Karin started looking at my water sphere with her curious eyes.
“That’s amazing.”
“It’s not difficult because it’s more basic magic than I thought.”
“Are you kidding someone who doesn’t know the basics?”
Haha….”
Karin was looking at me with a jealous smile.
He probably knew that he shouldn’t be serious here, but on the other hand, it seemed that he couldn’t help but be jealous.
I finished washing with an awkward smile, and put the clean tableware on the table.
“It smells a lot of rust because it’s an iron ore mine, but… The taste won’t change, will it?”
“I am also tasting this wine for the first time… I can’t be sure.”
So Karin and I poured wine into our glasses and began to drink slowly, savoring it.
I closed my eyes and began to feel the scent of wine blooming in my nose.
‘Um… The scent….’
[How is it?]
‘… Is it just wine?’
I really don’t know.
How is it different from the wines you drank before?
But unlike me, Karin was smiling happily as she smelled her scent with her eyes closed.
“Great. This scent… It’s a scent that you would never feel in a 10-year-old mountain.”
“That… Yes. I think so.”
Sorry, I really don’t know a thing.
Will the taste be different?
Karin sniffed all her incense and she held out her glass to me as she smiled at me with the light reflecting off the lantern.
“Thank you very much. Thanks to you… I also drink this precious drink.”
“It’s an honor for me to be able to drink like this with Lady Karin.”
“Whoops… I’m pretty sure I’m not the first to say that.”
Haha….”
Visor….
As I hurriedly passed it, I bumped the glass I was holding into Karin’s handed glass, and the sound of the glass began to resonate as I bounced the iron ore in the cave.
Then the two of us began to savor the wine slowly, bringing it to our lips.
“Hmm….”
“Well….”
And I thought.
‘… I do not know.’
[….]
I really don’t know. It’s just wine. Whether it was 1-year-old, 10-year-old, or 30-year-old, my nose and mouth told me nothing but the information that it was just wine.
In comparison, Karin looked different.
He didn’t overdo it to the point of shedding tears, but he looked like he was moved just by taking a sip.
After a few tens of seconds, the wine began to flow into her body with the movement of her slender white neck.
Karin, who was silent for a while, looked at me and apologized only after all the wine was gone in her mouth.
“I’m sorry. It tasted better than I thought, so I was distracted without even realizing it.”
“No. I’m glad you like the wine.”
“Whoops….”
Karin smiled and placed her wine glass on the table and she slowly began to roll her wine glass.
The wine in the wine glass began to spin and spin, and the small sea of wine inside Karin’s wine glass began to shake violently as if it had met a storm.
Karin, who was shaking her glass like that, stopped her hand, and she lifted the glass and held it up to her.
“I have a question for you.”
I raised her glass in line with her and slowly bumped it against hers.
Visor….
“Yes, please.”
The sound of clinking glasses could be heard throughout the cave, and with the sound of the glasses ringing as the background sound, Karin spoke to her unexpectedly.
“Is it just your satisfaction that has captivated my mother? Or is it because of your grudge against Louis?”
