CHAPTER 361: CHAPTER 361: TWISTING HER SENSE OF VALUE

~ Support & Read 10 Advanced Chapters on my Patreon

After a week of sleepless nights, carving runes while avoiding the True Magic User’s gaze, Touko’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point.

She had already invested nearly half her fortune, and had even, through her connection with Haru, purchased a large number of sub-divine tools that could restrain spirits from the Holy Church.

She had used them all, finally inscribing the entire surface of the cave with a super-large-scale formula, enough to imprison the main body of a Heroic Spirit.

"Seal!!!"

Without further ado, the moment the ritual was complete, Touko immediately activated the formula, then spun around and fled the cave.

She didn’t want to face the counterattack of a True Magic User head-on. Having the resolve to die didn’t mean she wouldn’t run.

Tens of thousands of runes, under the guidance of twelve sub-divine artifacts representing the zodiac, illuminated the entire slope with a golden glow. The once-snow-covered slope was instantly transformed into a golden rice paddy.

An invisible ripple spread out, followed by a piercing shriek. It was the cry of the cave being transformed into another world.

After the storm had subsided, Touko, who had already run to the foot of the mountain, her face grew even more grave. From now on, she could only leave it to fate.

"A pointless act—" A cold voice suddenly sounded in Touko’s ear.

The sudden male voice made Touko’s pupils constrict. She quickly activated the self-destruct formula inscribed on her body.

Having already left the range of the spirit-imprisoning formula, her first instinct was to destroy her current body and return to her main body, to escape the True Magic User’s pursuit.

The next second, the contract floating in her mind trembled slightly. Her gaze turned strange. She slowly turned her head and looked at the impassive ’Haru’ beside her.

The tremor of the contract and Haru’s face immediately confirmed his identity. She heaved a sigh of relief.

"You came for the Fifth Magic, didn’t you?" Though her mood had relaxed, Touko’s nerves were still tense.

Touko wouldn’t believe that Haru, who she’d had a one-night stand with, was here to protect her.

In the magical desert of the Far East—Misaki City, the only thing that could attract the attention of a True Magic User was the Aozaki family’s inherited Fifth Magic.

His impassive expression vanished. Haru’s consciousness was now in this divine spirit clone. He said with a light chuckle, "That’s right. That’s why I imprisoned the old True Magic User."

"Imprisoned? Wait, you’ve already imprisoned that old bastard!!!" Touko’s eyes widened. She quickly turned her head to look at the sealing formula that had isolated the cave, her lip twitching.

"That’s why I said you were doing something pointless," Haru said with a shrug, his tone flat.

Thump—!

Touko’s legs gave out, and she knelt on the ground, looking at the large-scale formula on the mountaintop, which, just a few minutes ago, she had been so proud of. Even though her personality leaned towards the rationality of a magus, she was on the verge of a breakdown.

"My money!!"

A desperate cry echoed.

Touko pounded the ground, sobbing.

To imprison the old True Magic User, she had not only used up her own fortune, but also a large part of the money she’d gotten from selling herself to Haru.

And now, Haru was telling her that the old True Magic User had already been imprisoned by him. How could she not cry?

You know, to enhance the effect of the magic, she had used those materials as disposable items!!!!

If all the materials were converted into money, she had just burned through the net worth of a Ma Huateng.

"It’s okay, you can always make more money. Really," Haru said, crouching down, a schadenfreude expression on his face, and gently stroked Touko’s head.

"Hah~ hah~ hah!!!" After a long moment, Touko’s breathing evened out, and she forced herself to calm down.

Having lost a large amount of precious materials, the thought of having to deal with Aoko Aozaki and Alice Kuonji, the guardians of the ley line, made her heart clench.

With the money she’d had before, she could have killed ten of them. But now, she had to face the two with caution. Touko, who had recently gotten used to having a large amount of capital, suddenly felt a lack of confidence.

After a moment’s hesitation, Touko said, her lips trembling, "Give me some more materials."

"Oh?" Haru raised an eyebrow, looking at Touko with surprise.

"This time, I’ll do whatever you want."

————

’I kind of feel like I just bought Touko off.’ The thought popped into Haru’s head, back in the Tohno mansion, a strange expression on his face.

He hadn’t refused Touko Aozaki’s offer, of course, just postponed it. The one present was his divine spirit clone, and he had no interest in letting his clone cuckold him. So, the payment would have to wait.

"Haru, this mana recovery potion... I’ve never heard of many of these ingredients," a soft, faintly puzzled female voice sounded in his ear.

Haru pushed the thoughts from his mind and turned his gaze to Alice Kuonji beside him, her pale, delicate profile like that of a doll.

They were now in a situation where they were sharing the same chair. Though the study chair was rather large, it wasn’t quite big enough for two.

So, Alice was currently sitting in Haru’s lap, her feet dangling off the ground, her back resting against his chest, like a couple in the throes of love, or perhaps, a father and daughter.

Haru’s arms were wrapped around her slender, graceful waist, as if trying to pull her into him.

As he reached out, Haru gently rested his head on Alice’s shoulder, his gaze fixed on the book in her hands. "Those are all specialized terms for certain ingredients used by witches. It would be a hassle to translate them into something you’d understand!"

As Haru spoke, his warm breath caressed Alice’s smooth, porcelain-like cheek, making the witch, who was already flustered from sitting in his lap, even more so.

From the slight movements of the young woman in his arms, Haru keenly sensed Alice’s shyness. He immediately grasped her wrist and pulled it towards the desk before them.

A faint aura of the Root suddenly emanated. Under the intervention of the ’Law,’ a variety of ingredients for making magic potions and experimental equipment appeared before Alice.

"This is..." The sudden appearance of the ingredients made Alice startle. She immediately stopped moving, her attention focused on the ingredients on the desk.

"Instead of reading, why don’t we just try an experiment?" Haru pressed his cheek against the young woman’s delicate profile, holding her wrist, and pressing her soft, boneless hand onto the ingredients.

"Mm." Alice nodded slightly, pulled up her wide sleeves, revealing her pale, delicate wrists, and, with slow—yet exceptionally steady, movements, she picked up the ingredients and began the experiment of concocting a magic potion.

Support & Read 10 Advanced Chapters

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)