City of Witches - Chapter 279: Interlude (1)

1.

As she had stated before, Eloa went all out with her cooking, even whipping out her secret recipe and filling up the dining table in the officetel kitchen.

The two of them thoroughly enjoyed their party.

It was a peaceful time without the need to stress about Criminal Exiles, to worry about missing Homunculi, and to freak out about suspicious and ominous divination.

This was especially so for Eloa, who hadn’t experienced such peace, both mentally and physically, in a long time. When Siwoo handed her a glass of alcohol, she downed it heartily.

After their meal was over, they moved the alcohol to the living room, escaping from the messy dining table, for a second round.

They grabbed a bunch of snacks like cheese and salami that they bought from the grocery store. Before they knew it, almost half of it was gone.

On the floor, there were five bottles of whiskey rolling around.

“Haaah…”

Relieved of her mental burden by the blessing of alcohol, Eloa let out a content smile as she leaned back on the couch.

If she had to say something about the current state of her body at the moment, she’d definitely say that it felt uncomfortable.

Due to the aftermath she had to endure for using all those covenants, her body was sore all over.

There were blue bruises all over her skin, and her usually sharp senses and eyesight were dulled.

Also…this was something she wouldn’t say out loud…her lower abdomen was a little sore due to the vigorous sex she had with Siwoo.

“Tired?”

“Of course not! On such a great day, you gotta keep drinking until you drop before you can say you’re enjoying it!”

Her voice came out louder than usual and it was a little slurred too, probably because she was drunk.

Usually, she was really good at hiding the fact that she was drunk, but her face was flushed red now, as if she was wearing makeup.

Her eyes were also half-closed.

“Another one, please!”

“Aren’t you still not feeling well? You really want more?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!”

Being a witch, she wouldn’t die of alcohol poisoning or anything, but that didn’t stop Siwoo from worrying if it was okay to keep pouring more alcohol into her glass.

But, seeing how unusually cheerful his master was, he couldn’t help but do it anyway.

“Here, have one for yourself too!” She said, pouring some into his glass as well.

With the sound of glasses clinking countless times throughout the night, he politely turned his head and took a sip of his drink.

-Gulp, gulp!

He only took small sips before placing his glass down, but Eloa downed her almost full glass of whiskey in one go.

That’s an on the rocks glass…

Are you even supposed to down whiskey like that?

Even after seeing her doing it several times, he was still dumbfounded.

Suddenly, Eloa wiped her lips with her sleeve and started swaying side to side.

She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then squinted them open to look at Siwoo.

“Siwoo.”

“Yes, Master?”

She called his name out of the blue.

However, even after he replied to him, she remained silent.

Instead, she just stared at him for a moment longer before turning away.

“Master? Were you about to say something?”“…Don’t mind me. It’s time for bed now.”

“Alright, I’ll clean everything up.”

Anticipating what was to come, Siwoo got up and began gathering the empty bottles.

He tidied up the drinks and then went to the bedroom to make their bed.

Recently, they had moved another bed into his room and had been sleeping together like that, putting some distance between them.

Ever since Eloa heard about his ominous divination, she had been sleeping by his side so that they could be prepared for any incident.

But, now the crisis had passed, so there was no need for them to share a room anymore.

The thing was, they hadn’t had the time to move the bed out again. Besides, both of them had grown accustomed to sharing a room, so Eloa just quietly followed Siwoo into the bedroom without a word.

“I’ve tidied everything up.”

“Thank you.”

Eloa staggered before flopping down on the bed.

“Uh, Master? That’s my bed.”

“…”

No response came out from her.

It seemed she had fallen asleep just like that.

Though she seemed okay on the surface, he could tell that it wasn’t the case at all.

She had suffered more than him in that fight, and now that she drank that much whiskey, it wasn’t surprising that she fell asleep like that.

Still, it wasn’t like he could just leave her.

While he didn’t mind if she were to sleep in his bed, she had flopped down onto it, lying flat on her stomach.

It definitely wasn’t the ideal sleeping position.

Her cute feet were awkwardly sticking out of the bed and she was pressing her nose against the blanket. Just looking at it made him feel uncomfortable.

“Are you going to sleep like that, Master? Try to get a more comfortable position first.”

“Nng…um…”

She mumbled in response, but he couldn’t even tell what she was trying to say.

“Can’t be helped then.”

Siwoo tried to gently adjust her position, giving her a pillow and covering her with a blanket. However, when he reached out to touch her, he hesitated.

In truth, Siwoo still vividly remembered that time.

Their sex back inside the waterway tunnel, under the guise of supplying mana.

Eloa had provocatively let him catch a whiff of the scent of her body and Siwoo had promptly pounced on her.

Their lovemaking session was intense, as if they were a pair of beasts.

Though Siwoo didn’t have the clear understanding of the matter like Eloa, who regarded sexual intercourse between master and disciple as a taboo, he still couldn’t treat her the same way anymore.

He remembered her usual gentle gaze, which was replaced by a longing, melting expression as tears welled up her eyes back then.

Her usually stern voice turned into sweet moans.

The fresh scent of her body.

And most of all, her hot and meaty, perfectly shaped, peach-like buttocks that he got to squeeze tightly with his hands.

The last one especially, left such a deep impression that when he looked at peaches in the fruit aisle that evening, he almost got a boner.

Even though it was a desperate act due to the circumstances, it was simply impossible to make him act cool and casual like a casanova who’d pick up girls at a drinking party and have a one-night stand with that girl regularly.

That was why he kept a certain distance during their drinking session today.

The fact that Eloa, who’d normally stroke his hair or give him a light hug, was refraining from doing so, was another reason why he was feeling particularly self-conscious.

“Whatever. I still need to do what I need to do…”

He hesitated before gently touching her shoulder.

The softness of her skin, which could be felt even through her pajamas, surprised him.

Maybe it was because of the alcohol that she gulped down, but she felt warmer than usual.

Just like back then, when he held her in his arms.

“…”

His throat felt parched, as if he was caught doing something sneaky.

Eloa’s thin pants revealed the outline of her panties. Her perky buttocks stood out, along with the bare skin that was peeking through the raised pajama top.

It felt like his brain was processing things strangely.

“Ugh…”

Siwoo lifted Eloa, feeling a pang of self-reproach.

After lifting her up lightly, he laid her down properly on the bed and carefully covered her with the blanket.

“I swear, something isn’t right with me.”

Maybe I’m actually drunk.

Or it’s just one of those weird things that has been happening recently.

Trying to rationalize himself that way, Siwoo plopped down on the bed Eloa had been using and fell asleep.

2.

As Siwoo started to snore, rustles came from the opposite bed.

“Phew…”

Eloa, who had pretended to be sound asleep, opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh after confirming that Siwoo was fast asleep.

Leaning against the backrest, she could feel the alcohol on her breath tickling her hand.

Since she had already slept for nearly half a day with Siwoo yesterday, she had actually fulfilled the sleeping portion of the price of her covenant.

So, from the start to finish, she had been awake.

But then, Siwoo lifted her and positioned her properly on the bed.

“Why did I do that…?”

Currently, she was trapped in self-doubt.

That question was directed towards herself, not at anyone else.

Why did I pretend to sleep?

She never did anything without a reason.

But, sometimes, it took time to figure that reason out, especially when things were complicated like this.

Add the fact that her thoughts were all over the place, making it hard for her to focus.

But there was this feeling that she had missed something important and she couldn’t shake it off.

“…”

Eloa glanced at Siwoo, who was fast asleep to the point that he probably wouldn’t notice if she were to move him elsewhere.

Shin Siwoo. Her dear disciple that she was proud of, the one who had supported her when she was about to fall into the abyss, the one who guided her to the light.

Unexpectedly, her heart ached.

Not long ago, she had committed a sin.

She had seduced him without consent and offered her body to him.

Well, ‘offering her body’ was a mild way to put it.

In short, they had sex.

Though she had done it because there was no other option back then, she still couldn’t justify it like that.

It was the fact that she forced him to have sex with her, disregarding his consent completely.

Given her stubborn and old-fashioned mindset, she would have apologized long ago, but…

“I…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Even if she could go back in time, chances were she’d still make the same choice.

Thinking back on the shameful display she had put on in front of Siwoo was enough to make her face burn with embarrassment, leaving her speechless.

On the contrary, Siwoo’s intent on brushing the whole thing under the rug was clear, as he had been pretending that their sex never happened.

Not only did he not initiate a conversation about it, he was also treating Eloa as if nothing had happened in the first place.

Is he waiting for me to apologize first?

Or maybe he’s hoping that his incompetent master gathers the courage to address it instead of just ignoring it and acting as if nothing happened?

But those were quite the audacious thoughts, there was no way that he’d think like that and Eloa knew that.

“Haa…”

Eloa let out a soft sigh.

After all that, she finally understood why she pretended to be asleep.

Since Siwoo didn’t make a move on her and neither did she, she wanted to see his reaction, to force him into a situation where he couldn’t keep his hands off her.

In fact, he hesitated for a moment there, but he eventually let her lie down without doing anything strange.

Just like the time she had bared her chest in front of him.

Though, the attempt failed and it felt like she was getting nowhere.

Anyway, speaking of getting nowhere…

She attempted to play it cool and act like a dignified master, brushing everything off as insignificant, but the memories flooded back nonetheless.

But letting it go just like that felt morally wrong for her. She was afraid that it would disappoint Siwoo.

Thinking that she should probably switch off the light now, Eloa sighed and rose from the bed.

At that moment, she saw Siwoo, who had kicked off the blanket, sleeping.

She got up quietly and settled beside him.

The mattress felt so comfy that she sank in without even a wobble.

“Hehe…”

Despite her mixed feelings, she couldn’t resist smiling at his peaceful sleeping face which had the innocence of a child.

It was like a reflex, just like when your leg kicks up if someone were to tap on your knee.

Maybe this was what could be considered as a natural affection a master had for their beloved disciple.

“Hmm…”

Eloa slowly stroked Siwoo’s hair before turning her gaze away.

Coincidentally, his rough lips caught the end of her gaze.

The same lips that had passionately intertwined with hers last time as they exchanged their breath in a heated moment.

Maybe it was due to the alcohol, but her heart started pounding loudly.

If before that was a natural emotion to feel as a master looking at her disciple…

Then what exactly was the emotion that she was feeling right now?

As her loosely spread thighs involuntarily tightened, the alcohol made her body feel hot.

Indeed, she had kissed him, pushed her butt onto him like a beast, and gulped his hot essence just like that…

The memories stirred within Eloa, wrapping around her heart and body like a snake.

Heat that couldn’t be perceived by just observing, the feeling of becoming one with him, the ecstatic pleasure, as if she was melting away, surrendering everything to his rough touch…

Her gaze shifted to his groin.

A natural course of action, considering the direction that her thoughts went.

Though he was fully dressed, the imposing outline of his manhood boldly asserted its presence.

“That thing…went inside my body…”

Unconsciously, hot breaths escaped through her slightly parted lips.

Even though quite some time had passed, she could feel the intense sensation in her body, as if it was being imprinted on it.

-Slap!

She slapped her cheeks hard, snapping herself out of her thoughts.

What am I thinking?!

“So disgraceful…”

I must never, ever think of something like that!

What kind of master harbors lustful thoughts towards her own disciple?!

Just because we crossed that line once doesn’t mean it’s okay to keep going down that path!

This is the alcohol’s fault isn’t it? Being drunk made me lose my mind.

Eloa got up swiftly and headed to the bathroom.

That night, she took a long, cold shower to douse the strange heat that had ignited within her.

***

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