City of Witches Chapter 1

The autumn rain was cold.

No matter how much time passed, he never got used to the droplets splashing and trickling down his skin, or the chill that clung to his salt-stained blue work clothes.

“Fucking heavy. Shit.”

Shin Siwoo, who had been shoveling out a pile of mud clogging the drain with a crude shovel, spat out a low curse.

Those without the courage or strength to defy the system could only voice their invisible rebellion in such small whispers.

The rain-soaked raincoat pressing down on his back gave off the same musty smell as the ponchos from his military service days.

As he scooped out the clumps of mud that had fused with fallen leaves and blocked the drain, the stagnant water began to drain away. The massive drainage ditch, over 20 meters in a straight line, collected all the rainwater flowing from Trinity Academy's Magic library.

Thanks to that, he ended up looking like he'd been rolling around in a mud pit.

When he set down the shovel and straightened his back, a cracking sound echoed.

The only saving grace was that this marked the end of his morning shift.

After this, he could hole up in his tiny room until two in the afternoon, chewing on dry bread and catching about two hours of sleep.

For Siwoo, who had to work over 12 hours a day, this nap was a godsend.

Thinking he should first deal with this damn raincoat, Siwoo crawled out of the drainage ditch.

Feet came into view.

Pretty, small feet.

“Caretaker. Could you work a bit more neatly?”

Caretaker.

The cadets, professors, or researchers of this Academy all called Siwoo 'Caretaker.'

It was a convenient title without a surname or given name, but surprisingly, this was an incredibly humane treatment.

Using an honorific for a slave belonging to the Central City Hall, no different from livestock!

Depending on which institution they were assigned to, slaves were typically addressed as 'hey,' 'you,' 'over there,' or 'slave.'

“Yes, yes. My apologies.”

After offering an insincere apology, he barely managed to crawl up from the waist-high drainage ditch, and the woman stepped back slightly as if he were filthy.

By now, this reaction was nothing special.

“What can I do for you?”

“There's a class today on the interaction between male bodily fluids and magic power. Change your clothes and wait in front of the second lecture hall by noon.”

After five years of slave life, one naturally becomes quick-witted. In fact, when she, an Associate Professor, personally came to this filthy place, Siwoo had felt a sense of unease.

And as always, ominous premonitions tend to come true.

“Even if I wash up and just change clothes, it'll be noon...”

“And so?”

Siwoo looked at the Associate Professor with resentful eyes.

Her luscious blonde hair was tied up neatly with a hairband, and her lips, which exuded a bewitching aura, were pursed as if displeased.

At first glance, she looked extremely annoyed, but Siwoo knew.

He knew that a sadistic delight was seeping into her eyes, which shone like blue sapphires.

“Surely you don't have any complaints, do you?”

Associate Professor 'Amelia Marigold,' who immediately overturned his attire right after his grueling labor, was a Witch obsessed with tormenting Siwoo.

One fact not to be mistaken here.

Calling Amelia a Witch wasn't because she had an exceptionally hysterical and despicable personality.

It was because the seemingly lovely young lady, who looked barely twenty, was literally a 'Witch.'

That is to say, a real Witch who had inherited the Witch's Brand from the previous 'Marigold' and lived for decades.

“No, ma'am. I'll prepare right away.”

Siwoo hastily bowed his head in apology.

In this city, Witches were a special class.

So much so that a slave like Siwoo could be killed simply for saying or doing something displeasing, and no one would question it.

“Wait a moment.”

Amelia, raising her long eyelashes from under her umbrella, called Siwoo to a halt.

A bewitching aura, perfect proportions and the pinnacle of beauty as if crafted by a god with utmost care.

Judging solely by that doll-like appearance, it was impossible to think of her as a vicious Witch.

After a brief pause, Amelia parted her lips.

“Has your mind still not changed? Five years should be enough time to renew your resolve.”

Her voice feigned its usual businesslike tone, but a very slight hesitation could be detected.

It was also an invisible, subtle gesture of temptation.

Siwoo's expression went blank for a moment.

He had slowly discerned the implication hidden behind her words.

At that moment, Siwoo felt fragments of emotions that should not remain.

Pride and stubbornness.

“Nothing's changed. Time is short, so I'll be on my way.”

Siwoo roughly pulled the shovel stuck in the mountain of mud and turned away coldly.

Amelia's eyes narrowed again in the heavy rain uncharacteristic of autumn.

“That fucking bitch.”

For the first time in a long while, anger surged to the top of his head. His heart, which had remained calm even when she nitpicked over the results of his hard work, was now pounding noisily.

No wonder she had been persistently tormenting him all this time; Amelia still remembered that incident.

That's how all those Witch types are.

Despite possessing ageless, immortal bodies and wielding the mysterious power of Magic, enjoying all sorts of privileges, they hold grudges over the most trivial matters and persistently seek revenge.

Siwoo hated Witches. And among them, Amelia especially!

While he couldn't even curse out loud for fear of being overheard, a rough hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

Followed by a sly voice.

“Whoa, brother, why so gloomy?”

“Who's your brother, you slant-eyed bastard.”

“Your tongue's especially sharp today. If something bad happened, spill it.”

The only person in this Academy who would grab his shoulder without hesitation while he was this filthy all over was Mimaya Takasho, a Japanese man from Hokkaido.

“Where the hell have you been until now?”

“The sturdy six-story, seven-story pagoda of a Hokkaido man knows no distinction between morning and night.”

Takasho made a lewd expression and wiggled his pinky finger. In short, while Siwoo was struggling in the rain all morning, Takasho had been rolling around in some researcher's or professor's bed.

Siwoo and Takasho had many similarities.

Both were captured from Earth and brought to this damned Witch city 'Gehenna,' both were slaves belonging to the City Hall, both were male, and even the same age—28.

On the other hand, their differences were stark.While Siwoo had been enduring five years of stubborn and miserable slave labor, Takasho had been securing various conveniences by offering sexual favors to several Witches within the Academy.

Siwoo's face flushed with anger once again.

The deep frustration he had felt toward Amelia earlier intensified upon seeing Takasho.

"Do you have no shame? Whose fault is it that we ended up like this, and you want to roll around in the same bed?"

"Yeah, I've always dreamed of being a kept man. Besides, all the women here are the top beauties in the city! Compared to being stuck between the thighs of those old ladies back then, this is a success story. Why don't you stop being so stubborn and crawl a little? I hear if you just let go of that worthless pride, you can reach paradise."

Takasho grinned so widely his gums showed.

What a needlessly cheerful bastard.

Modern people captured and brought to the Witch city, Gehenna, all become slaves.

At this point, slave duties are divided into two categories: 'public slaves' belonging to the city hall, and privately owned 'personal slaves.'

Among these classifications, the public slaves, who are treated somewhat more humanely, are those who each possess at least one advantage.

Like Takasho, who has a decent face, or like Siwo, who is believed to have exceptional abilities that can contribute to public duties.

Though it's said this way, neither Siwo nor Takasho knows the exact criteria.

The only clear fact is that Takasho is realizing his self-worth in this distant land by leveraging his experience working at a host bar.

"Associate Professor Amelia is interested in you, right? From the way she acts, she's clearly a teenage girl at heart. I can subtly bring it up for you. You should butter her up properly and make something of yourself. Besides, once a strict woman like that melts, she becomes devoted."

Siwo shoved Takasho away as he clung close, whispering in his ear.

"No, fuck off."

"Mr. Siwo, the upright youth. In Korea, your attitude might be seen as that of a noble scholar, but in Japan, they call that stubbornness."

"I said no! Why are you so persistent today?"

"Hey, isn't it a bit much to refuse when I'm just trying to lighten the mood?"

True to his former host background, Takasho seemed to have picked up on why Amelia particularly tormented Siwo.

Come to think of it, Siwo had simply forgotten over the long passage of time, but he remembered refusing to attend to Amelia at night when he was first assigned to the Academy.

Back then, he was too ignorant of the ways of the world and too flustered, so he refused...

Who would have thought she'd hold a grudge and make life difficult for him? Now that he knew, he felt even more determined to stand firm on principle, if only out of spite.

Could it be called pride, clinging to that last shred of dignity even while knowing it's futile?

"I'm busy, don't block the way."

"Again? You just finished work, didn't you? Being a scholar is tough."

Though it was annoying how Takasho poked fun while pretending to console him, Takasho was a good friend.

Siwo had received a lot of help from Takasho, who was in a much more comfortable situation, and even without that, he was the only one Siwo could confide in.

If two years of military service together can make someone a close friend, then a friend who's shared five years of slave labor needs no explanation.

"What's the matter? Assistant work?"

"Assistant work, my ass..."

Unlike Siwo, who was fed up, Takasho made an intrigued expression.

"Is it... that class?"

"Yeah, that class."

While Siwo slumped his shoulders in dejection, Takasho looked puzzled and asked again.

"But why are you so depressed about it? I'd love it."

"Of course a guy like you would."

"You have no idea how much comfort seeing fresh, young apprentice witches brings to my life."

"Just a word of caution—you know messing with apprentice witches means losing your head, right?"

If he did something like that, his head would fly off without any metaphor needed.

Given that he's already buried in the woods, he probably wouldn't reach for such a taboo, would he?

Seeing Siwo half-terrified, Takasho laughed heartily and replied.

"Sometimes just looking at flowers can make you happy. Anyway, so about that, can't I go instead?"

"I genuinely wish you could. But it's Associate Professor Amelia's summons, so there's no way around it."

"You're really buying yourself hardship."

Takasho clicked his tongue sympathetically.

From the perspective of a guy who's been crazy about women since birth, it might seem like a complaint from someone who's already full.

But for Siwo, who possessed a perfectly normal sense of sexual modesty, it was a more grueling time than any other labor.

"Well, I should get going too. You seem busy as well. Catch you later."

Takasho patted Siwo on the back to cheer him up and disappeared down the hallway.

To borrow his expression, it was probably because another designated guest was waiting.

Time was running short.

It looked tight even to wash up and change clothes. If he arbitrarily ignored the time specified by Associate Professor Amelia, there was no telling what nitpicking and scolding he'd get.

After quickly changing into his lab coat, he needed to be waiting at the designated spot five minutes early.

A long sigh escaped him.

"This fucking city."

He had nothing else to say.