Witch Taming System-Chapter 12: Brat Correction [1]

"Over here, Assistant Lancel."

"Right."

When Ishtar beckoned him over, Lancel followed her toward the corner of the corridor. He had barely taken two steps closer before she suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward.

Their lips met.

"Mmph?!"

The sudden kiss completely caught him off guard.

"Open ywour mwouth," she murmured against his lips.

Lancel instinctively tried to pull back, but Ishtar did not give him the chance. Her tongue slipped past his lips and slid into his mouth, quickly finding his own.

The kiss deepened before he could even process what was happening. The only thing he could register in his mind was the sensation of her warm and wet tongue brushing against his own.

"...!"

Then something cold suddenly slipped between their tongues.

Before he could react, Ishtar pulled away. She lifted his chin with her fingers and looked down at him with a mischievous smile.

Whatever she had slipped into his mouth slid down his throat before he even realized what it was.

"Cough! Cough! What the hell was that?! No, what the fuck are you doing?!"

Lancel doubled over slightly, coughing as the cold sensation slid down his throat. His chest burned from the sudden shock, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, glaring at her.

Ishtar only giggled.

"Their lips met in the quiet of the room. The ice cube passed between them, melting slowly as their breaths intertwined~"

Ishtar clasped her hands together and let out a dreamy sigh.

"Thanks, Assistant Lancel. I’ve always wanted to try that. But there were barely any suitable men around to test it on."

"...What?"

Ishtar tilted her head.

"You see, I used to love reading novels when I was younger. Stories, romances, all that kind of thing."

She looked oddly nostalgic for a moment.

"It always made me a little sad that scenes like that only existed in books."

Lancel rubbed his face.

"So your solution was to ambush me in a hallway?!"

Ishtar smiled brightly.

"I thought it was pretty faithful to the scene."

"Listen here. You can’t just—"

"As thanks for your cooperation, here’s a little reward."

The next moment, Ishtar lifted the hem of her skirt high enough to bare herself completely

"...."

No panties.

The skin was completely smooth and shaved clean. The soft pink of her pussy was fully exposed for a long second, presented to him on a silver platter without a trace of shame.

"Hehe~"

She dropped the skirt back into place as though nothing unusual had happened, spun on her heel like a ballerina, and started skipping away with her hands clasped behind her back.

"See you next week, Assistant Lancel!"

"...."

Lancel could only stare dumbfounded.

* * *

Faust knew about Lancel’s trauma when it came to Angelica. That was precisely why she limited these conversations to one hour each night.

It was the only time he could speak about it without completely shutting down.

"She’d strip me naked," Lancel said. "Then she’d give me some kind of stimulant that forced an erection."

"...."

"And after that... she’d just keep going. She wouldn’t stop until I was completely spent."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Lancel looked down at his hands.

"No, we didn’t do it directly," he said. "Angelica was actually conservative when it came to sex. Everything she did was for research. All for the purpose of studying a man’s semen in detail."

Tools were used. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Anything that could force a reaction out of his body. Potions, stimulants, strange enchanted instruments designed for extraction.

Now, though, Lancel understood something he had not realized back then.

His semen held traces of mana. No, not just a trace of it.

A thick concentration.

Angelica had known that all along. And she had kept it to herself the entire time.

"If the sample quality dropped, she’d change the stimulant. If the output was lower than expected, she’d adjust the method."

The conversation continued for some time. By the time it finally ended, Faust updated her analysis once again.

Yet one thought refused to leave her mind.

"Might Angelica have known all along that you were capable of wielding mana?"

Lancel looked up.

It was not an unreasonable theory.

Angelica had studied him for an entire year. Every part of his body had been examined in detail, dissected through observation if not literally. If there was anything unusual about him, she would have been the first to notice.

In fact, it would almost be stranger if she hadn’t known.

"If she truly studied you as thoroughly as you described," Faust said, "then discovering traces of mana would have been inevitable."

Lancel frowned. "But she never mentioned anything like that."

That, in itself, was the troubling part.

"I’ll confront her in the next meeting."

The next Erudition Society gathering.

Because Angelica was a member of the society as well.

* * *

Lancel walked through the streets of Riviere.

After spending so long confined indoors, first in Angelica’s basement and then mostly within Faust’s house, the open air felt refreshing. Even the ordinary noise of the city felt comforting.

Riviere was known as a city dominated by witches, but it was not a place inhabited by women alone. Male tourists were a common sight. Their presence was actually expected.

Though most of them came for one of two reasons.

Some sought the company of witches, drawn by the city’s infamous reputation. Others came for trading purposes. Magical supplies, rare potions, enchanted materials, and many things produced by witches could not be found anywhere else in the world.

Seeing a man walking through the streets was not unusual at all.

A year ago, Lancel had been one of those visitors.

Back then, he had arrived as an adventurer, searching for treatment for his broken arm and hoping to purchase a few potions for his next job.

He still remembered the excitement of that day.

Unfortunately, he also remembered how it ended.

In any case, Faust had given him a small allowance before he left.

Her instructions were simple.

——Treat yourself to something nice. Buy a new set of clothes, or enjoy a decent meal for once.

At first, Lancel had been hesitant to wander around the city alone. Angelica could appear anywhere. Any street corner could suddenly turn into another nightmare.

But Faust had assured him otherwise.

His identity as government property was protection enough.

If Angelica tried to reclaim him by force, it would not simply be a personal dispute anymore. It would become a legal violation that touched the surprisingly rigid laws of Riviere.

Even witches had boundaries they could not cross.

Still, the thought lingered in his mind.

Earlier, he had asked Faust how she had managed to take him from Angelica so boldly. Angelica was not someone most witches would casually oppose.

Faust had only shrugged.

She admitted that she had no idea Lancel had already been registered as a research asset at the time.

If she had known, she probably would not have interfered at all.

That realization was... a little depressing to think about.

Anyways, Lancel stepped into a clothing shop. A shop attendant immediately approached him.

"Welcome, sir. Are you here to try the new travel line?"

"...Travel line?"

"Yes, sir," the attendant said. "Lightweight fabrics enchanted for durability. Many adventurers prefer them."

"...."

That word made Lancel pause.

Adventurer.

He had not heard himself described that way in a long time.

"I’m just looking," Lancel said.

"Of course."

The attendant stepped aside and gestured toward the racks.

"If you need help with sizes, feel free to call me."

Lancel nodded and began browsing the clothing on display.

The designs were clearly shaped by witch aesthetics. Back in Emadestrin, he had never seen anything quite like this.

Well... maybe there had been some imitations.

Lancel slid along the rack of trousers and continued browsing through the selection. As he pushed a few pairs aside to get a better look, a small gap opened between the hanging clothes.

Through that gap, a face suddenly appeared.

"Boo."

"Ah!"

Lancel nearly jumped.

"Hello, Assistant Lancel. Fancy meeting you here."

It was Ishtar.