Ch. 235 - The Witch (3)

Chapter 235: The Witch (3)

Weekend. 

Hong Bi-Yeon, who had returned to the Frost Cliff Palace in the capital of Adolevit, Tehalan, headed straight for the special information facility. 

This place could only be accessed by the direct descendants of the royal family. It strictly prohibited the leakage of internal information. Even royals could be severely punished if caught. 

"... Greetings, Princess."

The special information facility was managed by mages who wore robes. 

While their combat abilities were weak, they could manipulate very high-level barriers. Even a Class 8 mage would find it difficult to break through. 

However, a Class 9 mage could, but such beings were not considered in the security measures.

"Please sign the confidentiality agreement."

The agreement promised the confidentiality of information and materials within the royal palace. 

Having seen it a few times before, Hong Bi-Yeon skimmed through it and signed.

Creak!

The shield mage silently moved aside and struck their staffs on the ground. 

A steel door opened, revealing a space hidden in darkness.

Clack!

As she stepped inside, her footsteps echoed loudly.

Whoosh!

She scattered flames into the air, igniting the fire pits and quickly brightening the interior. 

The warehouse was quite spacious. It stored various documents, boxes, magical books, and objects, none of which interested Hong Bi-Yeon.

Walking deeper into the warehouse, she stopped in front of a small room labeled [Top Secret]. 

This room, too, was surrounded by a special barrier, but it did not concern Hong Bi-Yeon. 

Without hesitation, she forcefully opened the door and stepped inside.

The room appeared to have few documents, but each one could be fatal to Adolevit if exposed. She carefully but quickly sifted through the documents, like a farmer harvesting fruit.

After a while, she finally found what she was looking for.

[Morfran Mountain. The Dark Magic Corruption of Grand Duke Isaac Morph...]

Without any formal title, the document began with a blunt sentence. 

It was obviously a report from Hong Si-Hwa Adolevit. She was known for writing her reports like diaries, and her unique style was acknowledged by the queen. All her reports were written this way for the past ten years.

Rustle!

As she turned the pages, Hong Si-Hwa’s diary-like report was revealed. 

Hong Bi-Yeon frowned while reading it. The report was filled with unrelated content.

'Does she really think this is a diary...?'

It contained trivial details about meals, orders given, and conversations held. No wonder the document was thick.

Suddenly, a sentence caught Hong Bi-Yeon’s eye.

[I just wanted to live.]

[Anyone would. If you are born with Adolevit’s curse, fighting to survive is inevitable. I will kill my siblings to survive.]

[And probably, my children as well.]

[They likely will.]

It was full of signs that the owner was swayed by useless emotions. 

At the time, Princess Hong Si-Hwa must have been suffering from depression. 

This appeared strange to Hong Bi-Yeon, who knew Hong Si-Hwa as a sociopath who ruthlessly slashed others down for her own gain.

Someone like her was swayed by emotions?

From the beginning, something was off. 

Nonetheless, Hong Bi-Yeon silently continued to turn the pages.

[I threatened Grand Duke Isaac Morph.]

[I had no choice. The eternal flame burning in our hearts might be quelled by White Tiger Fire Spirit. The probability is... 0.01%.]

[It’s worth trying.]

The report detailed the events that occurred at the time. Even contents that could have been hidden were all meticulously documented by Hong Si-Hwa.

'White Tiger Fire Spirit?'

She had certainly heard of it before. It was said to be a legendary beast sealed by the Twelve morph mages long ago. And it was then managed by the Morph Family.

'No way.'

Hong Bi-Yeon shook her head, but Hong Si-Hwa’s diary confirmed her suspicion.

[The ancestors said.]

[The flame of Adolevit is more intense than any fire, capable of burning everything.]

[White Tiger Fire Spirit’s flame too...]

She kept turning the pages. 

Though she did not want to see any more trivial details, Hong Si-Hwa’s diary kept catching her eye.

The document was filled with all sorts of flowery, depressive language, making it seem like the author was on the verge of death. 

'How could this be?'

The past had been manipulated. 

In truth, Hong Si-Hwa had not set out to deal with the corrupted Isaac Morph, but rather to forcefully release the seal of the White Tiger Fire Spirit and subdue it. She did this even by pressuring Grand Duke Isaac Morph. 

Was that really necessary? 

Such questions were pointless. To Hong Si-Hwa, if something had even the slightest value to her, she would take the gamble, even against a god. 

[It hurts.]

[The agony feels like my heart is burning...]

[Tomorrow, we finally set out.]

[I will survive.]

The report ended there. Though there were many pages left. 

'What’s going on?'

Hong Bi-yeon hurriedly turned the pages. She flipped and flipped until she finally reached the last page.

[... I failed.]

The last page was filled with crooked, smudged, and clumsily written words. 

For the first time, Hong Bi-Yeon could see the vulnerabilities of Princess Hong Si-Hwa from ten years ago.

[The White Tiger Fire Spirit awakened, but we couldn’t handle it, and the allied forces were annihilated.]

"What…?"

Did they fail the subjugation? 

If the allied forces were annihilated, there must have been a disaster in the area. 

What happened?

[Grand Duke Isaac Morph accepted the power of the Dark Mage.]

[To confront the White Tiger Fire Spirit.]

[I couldn’t stop it.]

If he didn't, everyone would truly be in danger. 

Although the disaster stemmed from her, Hong Si-Hwa could do nothing, and someone else took all the blame.

"Hah."

What an absurd story.

Hong Bi-Yeon turned the page. There, at last, was the final page.

[... I remember nothing after that.]

[When I woke up again, both the White Tiger Fire Spirit and the rampaging Grand Duke Isaac Morph had fallen.]

[And in front of them stood a mysterious man.]

[He was a strange and mysterious man.]

[He wore a mask and held a silver staff.]

"What’s this..."

In the end, it wasn't Hong Si-Hwa or Isaac who resolved the incident but a mysterious man? 

What an unbelievable conclusion.

[My memory of that time is hazy. In the sky, there seemed to be a beautiful and large wheel, and a pillar of light shone from above. The man closed Grand Duke Isaac Morph’s eyes and disappeared like an illusion.]

With that, the sentence ended. 

The report concluded with incomprehensible content about a wheel and left the identity of the man unknown.

A mage who could subdue both the White Tiger Fire Spirit and Grand Duke Isaac Morph. 

How many such beings existed in this world? 

At least a Class 9 mage... Or perhaps even higher.

A silver staff... 

Such staff were too common to be a clue. 

The mysterious wheel seemed like a better hint. Some mages used special summons to fight with their magic.

A Class 9 mage who possessed a wheel. Such a person wouldn’t be common in the world and wouldn’t reveal themselves easily.

Hong Bi-Yeon put Hong Si-Hwa’s diary back in its place and sighed.

"... I think I understand why Eisel is looking for this."

Somehow, Eisel must have uncovered some truth about the incident at Morfran Mountain.

Even so, it was impossible to share all this information with her.

She couldn’t escape punishment if she exposed a top-secret document.

But...

She didn’t plan to keep this secret from Eisel forever.

In fact, she had a strong desire to let Eisel know.

For her sake?

Absolutely not.

Hong Bi-Yeon didn’t consider herself a warm-hearted person.

It was just... for the destruction of Hong Si-Hwa.

That was all.

---

The streets of Arcanium were crowded with students on the weekend.

Teenagers roamed the streets, unfazed by the scorching summer sun. Some of them were looking for the 'Witch’s Restaurant.'

“We should also do some club activities.”

In the bright... No, in the maddeningly hot sunlight, Baek Yu-Seol spoke with tired eyes while Ma Yu-Seong cheerfully pulled out some flyers.

“I found some great restaurants.”

“Oh?”

“How about this? It's a restaurant famous for its ‘Special Revolver Fire Shot’ dish.”

“What kind of absurd food is that?”

Is it even food?

“It’s said to be extremely spicy. It’s a trend.”

“Pass.”

“Then how about ‘Let’s Monkey Dance’? They say the taste feels like a monkey dancing on your head.”

“Wow. That sounds delicious.”

“Shall we go there?”

“Pass.”

Eisel, who was quietly watching, had an incredulous expression.

Ma Yu-Seong, who chose such suspicious menus, and Baek Yu-Seol, who listened seriously. They were both far from ordinary.

“Sigh... I think we should just go to a normal restaurant. How about the place I found?”

When Eisel pulled out a few flyers, Baek Yu-Seol and Ma Yu-Seong’s gazes followed. She had indeed found restaurants known for their normal dishes, with most of them featuring cheese.

“You’re quite the cheese enthusiast.”

“What do you mean? It’s just that... They’re famous and supposed to be delicious...”

“Pizza spaghetti sounds good.”

At Ma Yu-Seong’s words, Eisel almost nodded vigorously but barely managed to restrain herself and responded.

“I’ve heard it’s really good too. I think it wouldn’t be bad to try it... maybe...”

Pfft. 

Baek Yu-Seol burst into laughter and snatched the flier from her.

“Let’s go there then. I like pizza spaghetti too.”

“Yeah, I like it too.”

When Ma Yu-Seong and Baek Yu-Seol both agreed, Eisel felt a bit embarrassed and her ears turned red. 

‘This isn’t what I wanted...’

Eventually, they decided to head to the restaurant suggested by Eisel. Baek Yu-Seol and Ma Yu-Seong led the way, and Eisel followed behind, feeling self-conscious. 

Somehow, it seemed they had ended up choosing the food she wanted.

“This way.”

The alleys of Arcanium are known to be quite complicated, but Baek Yu-Seol, who seemed to have a built-in navigation system in his head, never got lost.

Given his good memory and intelligence, it was not surprising, but it was still fascinating to watch.

Following Baek Yu-Seol, Eisel suddenly noticed something.

[Witch’s Restaurant]

The orange-lit sign was unmistakably the Witch’s Restaurant.

“...Huh?”

‘Why is it here?’

Last time, it was on the completely opposite side of the academic district.

‘Does the restaurant really move around?’

If so, she was quite lucky.

While other students struggled to find it even once, she had found it twice.

Submitting a club activity report about the Witch’s Restaurant seemed like a good idea... But something about the Witch’s Restaurant made her uneasy, so she averted her gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Let’s go quickly.”

Fortunately, Baek Yu-Seol and Ma Yu-Seong hadn’t noticed it yet, so it was best to hurry past it.

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