Home/The Reason I Was Reincarnated as a Witch in a Novel/ch 8

Chapter 008

Lindsay stopped laughing and showed Lionel how to use the chopsticks.

"Lionel, hold one chopstick between your thumb and middle finger, and move the other one with your index finger and thumb. Like this... What's wrong, why did you drop it...?"

Mid-explanation, Lionel dropped the chopsticks he had been holding properly. Lindsay, looking displeased, picked them up, cleaned them with a washing spell, and handed them back.

Taking the chopsticks and gripping them correctly, Lionel opened his mouth shyly.

"You called me by my name for the first time."

Lindsay's eyes widened. Come to think of it, she had never once called Lionel by his name.

Seeing this fox-like man get happy over just one mention of his name made her feel solemn. Since they had signed a slave contract, she resolved to call him by name more often, then gestured toward the rice bowl.

"I'll call you often from now on, so just eat. It's getting cold."

"I'll look forward to it."

Watching Lionel smile with crinkled eyes, Lindsay thought he truly was like a fox. But seeing him enjoy the food she had made, she felt a strange sense of pride.

The soy-marinated meat and onions entered Lionel's mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he let out a murmur of admiration.

"Delicious. What's this dish called?"

"Bulgogi rice bowl."

"Which country's cuisine is it? I've never tasted anything like this."

"Of course you haven't. I developed it myself."

Well, technically, I just recreated Korean food that doesn't exist in this world.

When her past-life memories returned, what she missed most wasn't family or friends. She wanted to eat Korean food.

Every time she prepared a meal, Lindsay made various attempts to recreate the spicy, robust flavors of Korean cuisine. In doing so, she succeeded in recreating fifty Korean dishes using the spices and ingredients available in this world.

"This milk—it's goat milk, but where did you get it? It tastes better than what's sold in the market."

"It's a secret."

Though it didn't exist here, Lindsay owned a farm. Before coming to the capital of the Roman Empire, she had lived at a 'home' that had a farm raising various animals and a herb garden growing rare medicinal plants. Though she couldn't visit every day, whenever she made time to go, she would return with produce from the farm and garden. The goat milk was one of them.

Lionel didn't press further and asked other questions instead. From why she had opened a potion shop to how she had settled in the capital, he pried into every detail, sometimes irritating Lindsay.

With such trivial chatter back and forth, lunchtime came to an end.

Lindsay patted her full belly and cleared away the used dishes. Then she gestured toward Lionel, who had taken his place in front of the baskets.

"Lionel, come here."

Let's absorb some mana.

Lindsay grabbed Lionel's hand without hesitation as he approached. He didn't flinch at the sudden contact—instead, he squeezed her hand back and tilted his head.

"I'm going to absorb your corrupted mana now. Of course you already know this, but don't try to absorb mine. Corrupted mana only makes things worse, right?"

Out of the blue, Lindsay launched into an explanation about mana absorption. It was basic knowledge for anyone who handled mana.

Another's mana is uncontrollable, and if handled recklessly, it can run wild. For ordinary mages, absorption alone is no easy feat—but Lionel was no ordinary mage...

"I have a special constitution that prevents mana from running wild even when I absorb others'. The reason I'm telling you this is so you don't try it recklessly on anyone else."

Alright. I've explained enough, so now I can absorb his mana. Ah, one more thing.

Lindsay lightly patted the back of Lionel's hand.

"You might feel something strange during the absorption. But you have to stay still."

She didn't know exactly what that feeling was. According to the novel, every time the heroine absorbed his mana through contact, Lionel experienced an unbearable sensation. What was so unbearable? An itch? Or...

Lindsay shook her head, shaking off the fantasy. She had entertained some lewd thoughts, but the novel was all-ages. What she had imagined must not happen.

"Yes. I'll be good and listen."

Lionel nodded, smiling radiantly.

That bastard sure has a pretty smile.

Feeling her eyes clear, Lindsay questioned the heroine's choice in the novel. Why had the heroine rejected Lionel and chosen her childhood friend instead?

Sure, the childhood friend was the empire's greatest duke, but still—how could she beat that face? The author must have favored the male lead. She cast a pitying look at the man before her.

"I'm starting the absorption now."

Lindsay closed her eyes and focused on the delicate hand resting obediently in hers.

Starting from the fingertips, moving through the arm and shoulder, she felt the faint traces of corrupted mana just beside his heart. Barely a day since she had cleared it, and already it was this bad...

Now she understood why he had brought a contract and asked her to absorb his mana daily.

Lindsay picked out only the corrupted mana among the vast sea of magic and absorbed it. The corrupted mana moved without resistance, following her will, flowing through her hand. She immediately "converted" the incoming corrupted mana into her own.

After forming their bodies from laurel fruits and emerging, witches undergo a growth period after one year. If they pass through it safely, the young witch's body matures, and a unique ability awakens.

Lindsay's unique ability was to "convert" external mana into her own. That was why she could absorb corrupted mana without any ill effects.

"Hah..."

Immersed in absorbing and converting the mana, Lindsay opened her eyes at an ambiguous sound coming from in front of her. A moan that belonged in an adult film—what was that?

And then, faced with the scene before her, she was struck dumb as if she'd swallowed honey.

"..."

Lionel, his pale cheeks flushed red, had his eyes half-lidded and his mouth slightly open.

The sight was far from innocent—rather, it bordered on sensual. Lindsay didn't know what to do and tried to subtly let go of his hand. But Lionel suddenly tightened his grip.

"Hah... Is this... the strange feeling you mentioned, Lindsay?"

"Hey, your state is weird..."

"It feels good... Lindsay. More. Give me more."

"Give you more of what?! There's no corrupted mana left!"

Get a grip, will you?!

Lindsay sent a mild electric current through him with magic. Along with the faint smell of scorching, Lionel's dazed eyes regained their clarity.

Coming to his senses, Lionel naturally smiled with his eyes and played dumb.

"Sorry about that. I just got excited."

Ex...cited?

Lindsay looked up at the cat lying belly-down on top of the cat tower to confirm she had heard correctly. The cat swished its tail and meowed.

[It seems the process of the corrupted mana being expelled stimulated his sensory organs, meow.]

No explanation needed! I may have fantasized a little, but I never thought that "strange feeling" would actually be excitement or pleasure!

Lindsay desperately averted her gaze from Lionel's lower half. A hot flush crept across her face. Turning her burning cheeks away, she chanted a spell resonating with the barrier.

<GET OUT!>

Among the magical formulas composing the house's barrier, the banishment spell activated.

Banished to the front of the shop with its boxwood signboard, Lionel bent over and burst into laughter. After laughing to his heart's content, he wiped the tears at the corners of his eyes and recalled the witch's face he had seen just before being expelled.

"How cute."

The sight of her desperately trying to hide her flushed face stirred his heart. Lionel carried a light smile at the corner of his mouth as he rose from the dirt floor. Dust scattered from his cloak as it swept across the ground.

He gazed intently at the letters carved into the solid wooden signboard.

He rolled the name 'Monahan' around in his mouth. Lindsay's surname, which rolled softly off his tongue, felt complete only when pronounced together with her given name. Complete. Complete...

To achieve a complete relationship with Lindsay, he needed information about witches. The lavender eyes, once soft with warmth, were now deeply stained with the hue of the setting sun.

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