Witch Taming System-Chapter 73: Proposal [2]

What kind of fucked up situation was this, where they didn’t even bother asking for his opinion?

"Uhm, excuse me... Don’t I get a say here...?"

"No, you don’t, Assistant Lancel."

"No, you don’t, Lancel!"

They spoke in perfect unison.

Right there and then, Lancel felt a strong urge to use Chains of Dominion, but he quickly held himself back.

The two witches stood side by side, both staring at him with the same determined look. Their quick, synchronized rejection left no room for argument.

But these witches had made a mistake. They must have thought Lancel would be completely open to the idea simply because it meant sleeping with two beautiful witches.

But this was Lancel.

He was tired of being dragged around by witches.

"So on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I’ll have all rights to Lancel—"

"What?! That leaves me with only two weekdays! And Saturdays are impossible for me!"

"Saturday is impossible for me as well."

As the two of them started bickering over the schedule, Lancel finally cut in.

"Ahem. Let’s have this. Why don’t I just spend time with whoever is free?"

"Inefficient."

"Mei is right. What if you end up spending time with other witches as well?!"

"What the hell do you two even think of me...?"

The two witches kept arguing as if he wasn’t even there, their voices overlapping while they tried to claim their days with him.

At that moment, a brilliant idea struck Lancel.

"Then what about this," he said. "You two are aware of my status in the city, right?"

"As a research asset? What about it?"

"Actually, I want to revoke that status as soon as possible. I’ve already consulted with Countess Gretelle about it. She’s my backup plan once Faust’s ownership of me ends—"

"Countess Gretelle?"

"Don’t tell me, Lancel..."

Both witches now stared at him with eyes that could only be described as murderous.

"N-No... I didn’t sleep with her," Lancel said quickly. "Things just happened, and I became acquainted with the Countess!"

"Should we lock him up, Ishtar?"

"I think there’s no other solution..."

"Hey, listen to me!"

The two witches finally turned their full attention back to him.

"So what exactly are you trying to say, Assistant Lancel?" Mei asked.

"Help me revoke it. You two are from a Duchy Family, aren’t you?"

"Ah, I don’t think that’s possible..." Mei replied.

"Why not?" Lancel asked.

Ishtar sighed and began to explain. "As apprentice witches, we only have limited authority from our families. We can’t call ourselves Duchesses until we become full-fledged witches and fully inherit our masters’ positions."

"Is that so...?"

"And I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you why we can’t consult our masters to help you out, either."

"No, I get it."

Their masters were practically their respective mothers.

What would a mother think if their daughter suddenly came asking for help to revoke the research asset status of some man who appeared out of nowhere?

Even if they tried to lie and say he was their savior or someone they owed a great debt to, a Duchess-level witch would immediately grow suspicious.

After all, neither Ishtar nor Mei had ever been in a relationship with a man before, not even a friendly one.

Especially Mei, who had always been emotionally distant, and Ishtar, who was only known for indulging in romantic novels.

The situation was simply too risky. Any story they tried to spin would fall apart the moment their mothers started digging deeper.

In the end, despite all their bickering, the two witches decided to respect Lancel’s wishes. He would spend time with whichever one of them was free whenever he could.

* * *

In the following days, Lancel ended up spending quite a lot of time with the two apprentice witches.

───────────

➤ Ishtar Prelati

[Bond Level : 2]

∎ Bond Progress : 18% / 100%

[Contract Bonus]

∎ Magic Resistance +12%

────────────

────────────

➤ Mei la Blanc

[Bond Level: 2]

∎ Bond Progress: 33% / 100%

[Contract Bonus]

∎ Curse Resistance +12%

────────────

His bond with both of them was progressing steadily. Now that Ishtar knew about Lancel’s situation, she started joining Mei in helping him practice magic.

Thanks to that, Lancel now had three people guiding him, which made his progress much faster.

He was genuinely thankful that both Ishtar and Mei turned out to be reasonable witches.

It made him wonder why Angelica was the only insane bitch in this city and why she hadn’t been exiled yet.

In any case, the three of them decided to use Mei’s mansion as their regular meeting spot.

Unlike Ishtar, who still lived with her family, Mei had been sent off to live independently, so her place offered them the privacy and space they needed without any interruptions.

"I said don’t try to lift everything at once."

"I’m trying... It’s hard to single things out."

Telekinesis was considered basic for witches, but that didn’t mean it was easy.

If there was only one object in the room, it was simple. There was nothing else to confuse your focus. You think of it, you lift it. That was it.

But the moment there were multiple objects, it changed.

A witch could, in theory, lift everything at once through sheer output. But that meant spreading their focus thin across everything, which made the control sloppy and the lifting force weaker.

Meanwhile, focusing on one or two objects made it much stronger and more stable.

But the problem was choosing what to focus on in the first place. With too many things in sight, the mind couldn’t lock onto a single target cleanly.

Of course, Lancel could try to ignore everything else and force it.

But that would be a mistake. Skipping the basics was never the answer.

"I know the process varies for everyone," Mei said. "But watch closely, okay?"

"...Yeah."

At that, Mei raised her hand.

The living room around them wasn’t exactly simple.

There were three royal couches arranged around a wide table, a tall candelabra standing near the corner, shelves lined with books, smaller ornaments scattered around, and even heavier pieces like carved stands and thick wooden fixtures.

Everything varied. Some items were light enough to be moved with ease, while others were heavy enough that even moving them slightly would require proper control.

But that was the point.

With that, the objects in the room began to stir.

———!

Mei was the first to rise. After that, the lightest objects followed. One by one, only those responded to her control. She picked them out cleanly, like she already knew what she wanted to move.

Lancel watched closely.

When he tried the same thing, it didn’t work as easily. Even the lighter objects resisted him due to the heavier ones in the room dragging his focus, making it hard to isolate anything properly.

But Mei made it look simple.

She hovered there, casual, as the lighter objects floated around her. From above, she looked down at Lancel.

"So, do you notice something?"

"You’re attaching mana onto the objects...?"

"Yeah. That’s my method." Mei nodded. "Ishtar, on the other hand, doesn’t need to do that. But you might be able to use what I’m doing."

"I’ll give it a try."

"By the way," Ishtar suddenly spoke up from the couch, casually eating a slice of cake. "What does Archmistress Faust think of all this?"