LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 76
“Wh-what are you looking at?!”
As Jinseong burst into a hollow laugh while staring at his chest, Ella misunderstood something and twisted her body to the side, covering her chest with both hands. Then, mixing half embarrassment and half shame, she glared at him.
“How dare you stare at a lady’s chest like that! To harass a young maiden in such a manner!”
She shouted loudly, seemingly enraged.
Instead of responding to her angry words, Jinseong looked at her as if he couldn’t comprehend the situation.
“Did you come under some kind of spell?”
“Huh?”
Ella, who was about to explode in anger, couldn’t help but swallow her rage at Jinseong’s jab about entering under a spell.
“A spell…? Are you saying I was affected by a spell?”
Seeing her slightly anxious face, Jinseong sighed deeply. Then, as if his head was pounding, he brought his hand to his forehead and furrowed his brow, letting out another sigh.
“This is dreadful.”
He snatched the paper Ella was holding and brought it before her.
“First, I need to explain how serious the situation is right now.”
“Yes, yes?”
“The pattern that Frau Winter saw is the human sacrifice pattern of Crom Cruach. It was used during human sacrifice rituals in ancient Celtic culture.”
“What?!”
Jinseong made a sympathetic expression as he met Ella’s gaze.
“To be blunt, Frau Winter has become a target of that wicked shaman, the diviner she felt was strange. You’ve already been marked as a sacrifice for that person, and unless someone helps you, you’ll likely be captured soon and used as a material for human sacrifice.”
“Uh?”
Ella just kept asking for clarification, whether it was because she didn’t understand Jinseong’s explanation or because she didn’t want to. But Jinseong, gripping her cheeks with both hands as if to make sure she was focused, locked eyes with her.
Instinctively, Ella tried to pull away to restore her squished face caught in his grip, but his hands held onto her as tightly as a vice, so her attempt failed.
Staring into Jinseong’s eyes, Ella had no choice but to listen to his firm words.
“Pay attention! Frau Winter! What I’m saying is that you are in danger!”
He locked eyes with her for a long moment.
Only after she stammered out that she understood, did he finally let go.
She pressed her hands to her face, wondering if there were marks from his grip, but Jinseong maintained a serious expression, uninterested in whether she was concerned about her appearance.
“Frau Winter. I want you to take this situation and the danger you’re facing seriously. And all of that understanding needs to happen quickly. For your own safety, the best defense is for you to realize the danger you’re in and come up with a solution.”
He said resolutely, his tone laden with concern.
“You are not someone who should end your life as a sacrifice for such an evil diviner. So please acknowledge that you’re in danger. And let’s find a solution together, for the sake of your sister and your friend Iarin, as well as for yourself.”
Jinseong’s earnest persuasion made Ella nod without even realizing it.
Seeing her nod, he gently leaned toward her and reached out to take her hand that was blankly resting on her face, pulling it down into his grasp.
Ella, startled by the warmth of a man’s hand holding hers, looked up in shock, but quickly bowed her head again under his serious gaze.
“Trust me. Even if I look young, I pride myself on having ample knowledge about magic. I have some understanding of the human sacrifice the diviner is planning, and while I might not be able to completely counter it, I have ways to fend it off, so for now, don’t worry.”
“Uh? Ah, I see….”
“But having me protect you isn’t the fundamental solution. Ultimately, if we don’t find and catch that diviner, all this effort will be in vain. No matter how hard we defend, if we get attacked once, it’ll all be for nothing, won’t it? So….”
Jinseong tightened his grip slightly to convey warmth better.
“Please listen to my explanation carefully.”
Jinseong explained slowly and clearly so that Ella could understand.
“I-I got it. Not completely, but I understand that it’s serious.”
Seeing that she somewhat grasped his explanation, Jinseong spoke with determination.
“We can’t resolve this on our own. We need the help of professionals with powerful abilities. It must be done.”
“That… makes sense?”
“Yes.”
Ella pondered Jinseong’s words for a moment before speaking.
“…What if we ask the school for help?”
After a moment of contemplation, that was her solution.
But Jinseong shook his head.
“That’s not a great idea.”
“Huh? Why not? The Specialization High School for Ability Users has plenty of capable teachers and contracts with security companies. And besides, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t help. There are many well-off families, so they wouldn’t ignore this.”
Ella’s question was only natural.
In any school, asking for help in the event of an incident is commonplace.
But that’s just what happens in an ordinary school.
In the Specialization High School for Ability Users, which teems with people of wealth and power, such help can’t just be assumed.
And it’s only natural that parents would prioritize the ‘safety’ of their children above all else.
Ella believed that if she said there was danger, that she was being targeted by a diviner, someone would definitely be sent to protect her.
That was simply common sense.
She might have been right in her thinking.
Whether it was a wizard, a warrior, or even a criminal.
Even if she was being targeted by an assassin, the school would surely do everything possible to protect her.
And that protection would likely be successful.
But the entity targeting her this time was not a rational being.
Each individual possesses different forms and strengths of abilities, and she was dealing with a shaman treated as a phenomenon.
Using magic, particularly methods that fall under black magic, there were countless ways to kill her even if she hid in a bunker fortified with powerful spells.
After all, Jinseong had often taken on assassination requests during his mercenary days before his rewind, so he understood better than anyone how easy it was to take down a target.
“The problem is that we are dealing with a shaman. If they keep cursing from a hidden place, it won’t matter how strong a warrior or how talented a wizard is.”
“But we could at least use protective charms or magic….”
“That might work. If we use divine objects or artifacts, we should be able to fend it off. Unless the school is foolish, they’d surely have several of those items. But how long will that last?”
He looked at her with an expressionless face.
“Most things can be blocked. But if a mad shaman who’s going around performing human sacrifices is determined to keep cursing, how long can we hold that off? Divine objects and artifacts aren’t things that can be used indefinitely.”
“Then….”
“What if they waited a long time, watching you, and then attacked at a moment when you’re unguarded or when the item you’re using isn’t effective? Or without wasting time, what happens if they decide to perform a black magic ritual at a high cost? I can guarantee that the moment even a bit of their magic takes effect, there will be dark clouds looming over Frau Winter’s life.”
Jinseong calmly stated this.
As if it were fact, as if it were something she needed to recognize.
Ella quietly reflected on the school she had traveled abroad to attend.
‘Is there even a shaman at our school?’
No.
‘What about the security company…?’
No.
Seeing her lost in thought, Jinseong sighed.
“I don’t understand why you’re hesitating, Frau Winter. You should just call your mentor and ask for help. Why choose an uncertain method that puts you in danger instead of such an easy solution?”
“…My mentor? I can’t reach them right now, and others are reachable but….”
Ella hesitated slightly.
“Did you have a fight? Or is it just awkward? Frau Winter, this isn’t the time to be nitpicky. Unless they’re a sworn enemy, it’s a situation that calls for help. Your life is on the line. You could become a target for human sacrifice!”
“No… I mean, well.”
Ella, hearing Jinseong’s scolding, finally took out her smartphone.
After much contemplation, she made the call.
After a few rings, a curt voice answered.
[ What do you want? ]
It was the voice of a young woman.
But it sounded filled with irritation.
“It’s the Great Witch. It’s me, Ella….”
[ Yeah. I know. Do you see me as a fool who can’t even use a smartphone? I can read at least your name. ]
“I wanted to contact my mentor….”
[ Tch. You want to contact your mentor, who’s enjoying a long vacation away from that burden of a brat like you? You were singing about wanting to expand your horizons in Russia, and now you’re tired of it? Are you going to whine about it? That’s always been your style—wanting to focus on something for a moment but quickly shifting your attention to something else, begging me to intervene shortly after. ]
The voice was far from friendly, even if it was a mere formality.
[ You’ve been abroad, so I expected you would grow a bit. But here you are, not holding on for long and calling me. Is this the kind of disappointment I get after sending you off at great expense? I’ve said it many times: you might just be the one blemish among my students, or perhaps a mistake. ]
“Well….”
[ Tsk tsk tsk. If you have any shame, you’d apologize and hang up, but what’s this other thing you want? ]
“I….”
[ No need to say it. It’s all about money, right? I’ll send you what you need, but don’t even think about contacting me. I might be okay with you coming back after whatever time, but before then, I don’t want to think about you. ]
Jinseong grimaced at the violent words coming from the smartphone.
‘Hah, what a tangled web of fate. Who would have thought I’d end up connected to the circumstances of that person I killed in a carnival?’
Surprisingly, that voice was one he recognized well.
One of those who had horrified him when he was just an upstart, getting in the way by refusing to pay up and forcing him to handle things in an unofficial manner.
Jinseong approached the flustered Ella and snatched the smartphone from her.
Then, smiling brightly, he said.