Chapter 235: The Witch (3)


    Weekend.


    Hong Bi-Yeon, who had returned to the Frost Cliff Pce in the capital of Adolveit, Tehn, headed straight for the special information facility.


    This ce could only be essed 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 theirbat abilities were weak, they could manipte very high-level barriers. Even a ss 8 mage would find it difficult to break through.


    However, a ss 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 pce.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.


    ck!


    As she stepped inside, her footsteps echoed loudly.


    Whoosh!


    She scattered mes 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 roombeled [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 Adolveit 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 unrted content.


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">''Does she really think this is a diary...?''</em>


    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 Adolveit’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 shed others down for her own gain.


    Someone like her was swayed by emotions?


    From the beginning, something was off.


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


    [I threatened Grand Duke Isaac Morph.]


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


    [It’s worth trying.]


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


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">''White Demon Fox Fire Spirit?''</em>


    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.


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">''No way.''</em>


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


    [The ancestors said.]


    [The me of Adolveit is more intense than any fire, capable of burning everything.]


    [White Demon Fox Fire Spirit’s me 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, depressivenguage, making it seem like the author was on the verge of death.


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">''How could this be?''</em>


    The past had been manipted.


    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 Demon Fox 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.


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">''What’s going on?''</em>


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


    [... I failed.]


    Thest 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 Demon Fox Fire Spirit awakened, but we couldn’t handle it, and the allied forces were annihted.]


    "What…?"


    Did they fail the subjugation?


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


    What happened?


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


    [To confront the White Demon Fox 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 me.


    "Hah."


    What an absurd story.


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


    [... I remember nothing after that.]


    [When I woke up again, both the White Demon Fox 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 andrge wheel, and a pir 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 iprehensible content about a wheel and left the identity of the man unknown.


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


    How many such beings existed in this world?


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


    A silver staff...


    Such staff were toomon to be a clue.


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


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


    Hong Bi-Yeon put Hong Si-hwa’s diary back in its ce 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 n 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.<hr aria-orientation="horizontal" ss="chakra-divider css-mb99j7">


    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 Mayuseong 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.


    Mayuseong, 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 ce I found?”


    When Eisel pulled out a few flyers, Baek Yu-Seol and Mayuseong’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 Mayuseong’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 intoughter and snatched the flier from her.


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


    “Yeah. I like it too.”


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


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">‘This isn’t what I wanted...’</em>


    Eventually, they decided to head to the restaurant suggested by Eisel. Baek Yu-Seol and Mayuseong 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 quiteplicated, 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?”


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">‘Why is it here?’</em>


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


    <em ss="chakra-text css-0">‘Does the restaurant really move around?’</em>


    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 Mayuseong hadn’t noticed it yet, so it was best to hurry past it.