City of Witches Chapter 142

Gehenna's summer resembles a Mediterranean climate.

Not every region is like that, given it's a hidden world pieced together from various areas, but at least Renomond Town, where Siwoo spent most of his time, was that way.

What this means is that during summer, there is abundant sunlight, leading to a prolonged period of high temperatures and dry weather—a 'dry season.'

That's why he had forgotten.

Korean summers are extremely hot and, above all, boast a dreadful humidity akin to being submerged in a fish tank.

And the aftermath continues even after sunset, leading into tropical nights.

"Give me an Africa Rula."

"That's 4,500 won."

Siwoo, smoking in the alley in front of the convenience store after buying cigarettes as usual.

The heat rising from the asphalt baked during the day seems to scorch his back relentlessly.

Even the warmth from the cigarette butt held between his fingertips felt unbearably hot.

"It's hot."

Hot.

So, so hot.

If it's already preventing him from pissing and shitting, couldn't it at least also stop him from sweating?

Grumbling pointlessly, Siwoo placed the cigarette butt in its case and returned to his house, filled with the blessing of air conditioning.

"Phew..."

Thanks to having turned the temperature way down, the heat in his body dissipated instantly, and goosebumps rose all over.

However, even the blessing of science, which could fend off tropical nights, fundamentally couldn't solve Siwoo's worries.

It had already been three months since he returned to Korea.

While tackling one by one the things he hadn't been able to do until now, Siwoo diligently immersed himself in Magic Research without slacking off.

At first, it was incredibly fun.

Organizing his Magnetic Magic, which had grown exponentially while he was unconscious, bit by bit, and the series of tasks of visualizing parts he only knew intuitively into Magic Formulas brought a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

The daily, remarkable improvement in his magical skills was a bonus.

But for the past month or so, it's been...

Not very enjoyable.

Trinity Academy in Gehenna was a treasure trove of knowledge.

Just going to the library, he could read as many books as he wanted, filled with sources of inspiration and magical knowledge.

Whether it was the Twins or Amelia, if he encountered something he didn't know or got stuck, he could seek their advice.

But here is the Mortal Realm.

Even if there are so-called magic books, they're just meaningless occult books or setting collections floating around, and there's no one to give advice.

Scholarship, by its nature, requires foundational knowledge for advancement.

Similarly, even though Siwoo is building his own magical system, it doesn't mean creating something out of nothing.

Like this, he'll just end up circling peripheral issues, like wandering through a maze in thick fog without a lantern, straying from the core.

Ironically, because Siwoo possessed such exceptional magical intuition, he realized this problem was something he could never solve alone.

Since then, Siwoo temporarily set aside his Magic Research.

Instead, he began immersing himself in more decadent things—wastefulness and killing time.

He brought beer into the dark room, lay on the sofa, and resumed watching the movie he had been watching earlier.

In the living room, various miscellaneous items ordered online were piled up, still unpacked.

"........."

The movie's story passing through his brain.

Siwoo began pondering how to break through his current situation.

Taking a break from research for a while to refresh his mindset was good.

But would doing this really help him come up with new ideas?

There are 25 formulas and arrangements whose meanings he cannot understand.

Is it possible to proceed with Magic Research without having the formulas?

But ultimately, all that returns is an insurmountable wall, so Siwoo let out a long sigh.

Connections are severed.

He becomes a ghost.

Cut off from the world.

He could increasingly feel what that meant as time passed.

The mobile phone opened under a forged identity was fortunately still fine.

However, the massive amount of points accumulated on the delivery app disappeared after about a week.

Thinking to cool his head and maybe play some games, he ordered a computer and tried a newly released game. While offline play was fine, his account for online games disappeared not long after.

Although he didn't know the exact criteria, he couldn't help but feel a bit empty each time he confirmed the void left by his severed existence.

There's no one to talk to.

The circumstances don't allow for building deep relationships.

No matter how many good memories are built between people, they all become as if they never happened after a week at most—what's the point?

Right, at best, he'd need to become an Exile existing in the Mortal Realm to build plausible human relationships.

Of course, there's no guarantee that such an Exile would be favorably disposed toward Siwoo.

"Interesting."

Even if it's the price for his life, isn't it a bit too much?

Siwoo smiled bitterly and turned up the speaker volume even more.

The loud sound of punk rock somewhat alleviated the silence in the house.

"Delivery food is getting boring too..."

Somehow, at first, he was so, so happy that he tried eating this and that, but food from restaurants has a sort of... common taste, should he say?

Eventually, his five meals a day reduced to three, and he only ordered food from verified, well-regarded places.

During that time, he discovered one truth:

Hanwoo beef, crustaceans, and tuna are delicious no matter when, how much, or how often he eats them.

While enjoying the modern man's pastime, keeping time with the loud beat and drum sounds, a noise pierced Siwoo's ears.

-Bang bang bang bang!

-...Hello...! Over...!

Siwoo turned off the speaker.

As the noise that was making his ears ring disappeared, the voice became clearer.

It was a woman's voice and the sound of someone banging on the door as if to break it.

Perhaps because he hadn't heard or responded for quite a while, both carried emotion.

-Bang bang bang bang!

"Hey! Open the door!"

What is it? Noise complaint?

Siwoo has a music box.

It not only prevents Magic power from radiating outward when using Magic but also reduces his presence in the surroundings just by possessing it.

"Ah."

And then Siwoo realized.

That the spring of the music box, which needs to be wound once every 24 hours, had completely unwound.

Basically, the Brand suppresses and conceals the emission of stored Magic power, so except when going out or using Magic, it's fine not to use it.

In that complacency, he momentarily forgot to wind the spring and inadvertently caused noise pollution.

Still, Siwoo didn't lower his guard.

"Bloom."

He created particles of dark shadow.

Refining them, he formed a long spear.

An uninvited guest in the dead of night isn't necessarily guaranteed to be a neighbor.There wasn't exactly any evidence to definitively assert that the woman knocking on the door right now wasn't an Exile.

In fact, just looking at Yebin, not all Exiles are evil.

Fundamentally, the 'Edict of Exile' implicates even later-generation Witches, so there are many Witches living outside who haven't actually committed any wrongdoing themselves... but.

"Being careful can't hurt."

Siwoo cautiously opened the door.

The woman, who had been gritting her teeth and knocking until he opened it, immediately began firing off complaints like a machine gun the moment the door opened.

"Hey, do you know what time it is? I'm already dying from pulling all-nighters for exams, and I can't concentrate..."

She had a bob cut, sweatpants under a university jacket—a comfortable style that looked like she'd just thrown it on at home.

The woman, who had been frowning, abruptly stopped mid-complaint upon seeing Siwoo's face.

Fortunately, it seemed this safe house hadn't been discovered by an Exile.

I know this might sound a bit rude, but Witches are fundamentally exceptionally good-looking.

Even that wicked Ea was undeniably beautiful.

Of course, the young woman next door in front of him was also quite pretty, but it was hard to see her as a Witch.

Given how long he'd been observing her.

It was fairly certain.

Siwoo relaxed and let the Spear of Shadow dissipate.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize the sound was leaking outside. I'll be more careful from now on."

The woman, who had been staring intently at Siwoo's face for a while, blinked a few times and then spoke.

"Well, that can happen... Please be careful from now on."

"Okay."

Now that the conversation seemed over, it was about time to go back inside, but she was just standing there awkwardly, making it impossible to close the door.

"When did you move in?"

Suddenly?

Siwoo answered, though puzzled.

"I think it's been about a month or so."

"Ah, I see. I had no idea. That's strange. I live in apartment 4, the one in front. Same floor."

The woman, who had been speaking in a volume more like muttering to herself, suddenly gave him her address.

As Siwoo stood bewildered, wondering what this was about, she threw out another question at an equally abrupt moment.

"Is that like a fashion item? It's cool."

"Ah, this? Yeah, sort of."

The woman pointed at Siwoo's eyepatch with her hand.

So, after all that awkwardness, it was probably thanks to this cool eyepatch.

Since it wasn't a cheap item like the ones given out at hospitals for eye infections, but a black eyepatch decorated with luxurious leather, it certainly seemed to catch the eye.

"Anyway... thanks for agreeing to keep it down."

"No, it was my carelessness."

Just as he was about to finally close the door, she hastily spoke up again.

"Do you go to a university around here?"

"No, I'm just unemployed."

"Ah... I see... Well, if we run into each other in the elevator later, let's say hi sometimes."

"Sure."

"Okay, then... have a good night."

"Yes, good night."

She had been almost furious enough to tear the door off its hinges earlier, but as she left, she bowed her head in a polite farewell and walked away like a gentle lamb.

"What the?"

What a strange woman.

Siwoo closed the door, turned on the music box, and cranked up the music again.

He pondered the recent encounter.

'Let's say hi if we run into each other in the elevator...'

It was an even more indefinite promise than 'let's grab a meal sometime when we're free,' since she'd probably forget this little incident in a few days anyway.

"What are the Twins up to?"

He thought of Odil and Odette, the Apprentice Witches of the House of Gemernai, with whom he maintained the best relationship.

Since Witches of Gehenna rarely send Apprentice Witches to the Mortal Realm, they were probably studying hard right now to come meet Siwoo.

If that takes roughly 5 years, it means he has to keep up this lifestyle for about 4 years and 9 months more.

"Hmm... maybe I should travel?"

Among the forged passports Albireo left behind, there was a business card tucked in.

It was said to be the direct VIP contact for an airline owned by the Zemnarai family.

A single call here could arrange a private jet rental and even book nearby hotels according to his schedule.

The young and rich life, enjoyed with someone else's money.

Compared to his slave-like past, it was an incomparable luxury, yet why did it feel so stifling?

Traveling around the world, something he once romanticized, didn't seem like a bad idea.

Staring blankly at the card, Siwoo muttered.

"Just how rich are they, anyway?"

Credit card companies, airlines...

The benefits Siwoo received stopped here, but this wasn't all.

Upon searching for the parent company, he found it was a massive conglomerate involved in seemingly profitable sectors like finance, insurance, steel, various natural resources, and the oil industry, and was even diversifying into fields like aerospace, automation, and specialty chemicals.

When he learned its market capitalization was 505 trillion, ranking 12th in the world, he was utterly astonished.

He thought they were only rich in Gehenna, but they turned out to be unimaginably wealthy in the Mortal Realm.

The entire corporation couldn't possibly be solely owned by the Gemernai, but it was still slightly dizzying.

"Anyway..."

His life was no longer one where he had to strive hard.

Even if he diligently studied mathematics (and even that wasn't going well for some reason), he couldn't make a name for himself, nor did he need to work hard due to lack of money.

At most, there was Magic Research, but even that had seen no progress lately.

His life had become one where he just needed to suck on the warm nipple of the Zemnarai family.

How should he describe this?

It wasn't unpleasant, but... ennui?

"When your head's complicated, you should eat."

Siwoo shook his head vigorously.

Eating something delicious would surely make his worries disappear.

That day, he went to a nearby sashimi restaurant and brought back a whole live fish, sliced for sashimi.

Author's Note (Author's Afterword)

Long time no see! Thanks to those who sponsored!

• Thank you for the sponsorship, Byeolmyeong-nim!

Haven't figured out the plans for the Twins' con yet!

• Thank you for the 50 coins, Feria-nim!

Amelia will smile someday... someday...

• Thank you for the 100 coins, Legohaksalja-nim

You have a day or two left... If you send me your account, I'll cover the Lego costs.

• Thank you for the sponsorship, YorHa9s-nim

Yeah, even if you hit Challenger in LoL, it resets in a week lol.

• Thank you for the 50 coins, Ditteudeut-nim

• Thank you for the mindless 100-coin sponsorship, ghksskc-nimI'm mindlessly happy that you like the development of the story.

-