City of Witches Chapter 150

Sharon and Siwoo strolled together through the night streets.

They didn’t forget to stop by her rooftop room to pick up a bundle of flyers.

Each holding a stack in one hand, they amiably walked through every nook and cranny of the alleyways, posting them.

“This spot looks good.”

Sharon’s reputation for meticulously posting flyers wasn’t unfounded—she carefully selected each location without cutting corners.

Truthfully, Siwoo’s decision to help Sharon wasn’t solely out of apology.

Of course, he wanted to apologize and had some desire to assist her, but Sharon’s presence was also essential for Siwoo.

First, there was the matter of hunting Homunculi.

Homunculi clearly harm humans.

It’s not just minor harm—they hunt humans to devour them or cause disasters.

Siwoo doesn’t consider himself a hero or superhero capable of saving everyone.

Still, if innocent lives are being lost and he has the power to save them, shouldn’t he at least do what he can?

However, as Sharon mentioned, hunting Homunculi inevitably increases the likelihood of encountering a Witch.

In Sharon’s case, she backed down upon seeing Gemernai’s ring, but there’s no guarantee all Witches would do the same.

In other words, having Sharon by his side during hunts would likely increase his safety.

Moreover, as an Official Witch, he could seek her advice on Magic Research.

Siwoo isn’t broadly knowledgeable about magic knowledge but possesses extreme, specialized knowledge in specific areas.

Magic Research requires shifts in perspective and inspiration, but foundational magic knowledge is also essential.

It’s like needing to prepare building blocks before deciding how to stack them.

Lastly, for Siwoo, whose connections have been severed and who struggles to form meaningful relationships, she could become his only friend.

How lonely and bored had he been during his short time in the Mortal Realm?

Just knowing there was someone by his side who wouldn’t forget him over time provided some comfort.

Of course, even setting aside these calculated motives, he genuinely wanted to help Sharon.

“...Hmm, so you want to follow me around and hunt Homunculi together? And learn magic while you’re at it?”

“Exactly. I’ve hit a roadblock and can’t solve it on my own.”

“Hmm...”

Sharon seemed to ponder for a moment.

“Well... I get that you want to do something, but hunting Homunculi is no joke. You could really die. A careless mindset won’t do.”

“Couldn’t you give me just one chance?”

“I’d feel uneasy if I gave you a chance and you ended up dead. You said you’ve hunted a three-eyed one before, right?”

“Yeah.”

Sharon hummed again, stroking her chin as she fell deep into thought.

If she had intended to simply use Siwoo, she wouldn’t have needed to ponder so seriously.

“Alright, let’s search and hunt together. But on one condition: if I say it’s dangerous, you fall back immediately.”

“Got it.”

“And in exchange for helping with your magic, I’ll take all the profits from the hunts.”

“Fine.”

Siwoo had no intention of recklessly hunting Homunculi.

And he didn’t want to become a burden on Sharon’s generosity, so the conditions were acceptable.

“Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank? It’s a win-win, isn’t it?”

No.

Strictly speaking, it might seem like a plausible Contract, but upon closer inspection, there wasn’t much benefit for Sharon.

She had been hunting Homunculi just fine on her own until now.

Even if Siwoo could use Magic, it was uncertain how much help a beginner like him would be, yet she didn’t probe into his abilities.

Moreover, the condition that Sharon takes all the money from hunts is essentially her teaching him magic.

For Sharon, this only meant losing time, with no real gain.

It wasn’t hard to see that this was a kind consideration disguised as a Contract to help Siwoo, who was struggling to adapt to the Mortal Realm.

Thus, Siwoo decided to express his gratitude in his own way.

“I’ll add a condition too. It doesn’t feel right to only receive.”

“It’s fine, really.”

“I’ll provide late-night snacks after every hunt.”

“La-late-night snacks?”

Sharon, who had been absentmindedly posting flyers on a utility pole, whipped her head around.

Her long, flowing hair swayed.

Her eyes, wide like a startled cat’s, sparkled under the crimson streetlights.

“I eat them often anyway. Having one more person won’t be a burden. Besides, eating alone is boring.”

“Wh-what kind of snacks...?”

“Whatever we feel like eating at the time. Crab like yesterday is fine, or chicken with draft beer. There are plenty of places open late around here anyway.”

“Crab... draft beer... chicken...”

Like Pavlov’s dog hearing a bell, Sharon’s mouth hung slightly open, drool trickling from her lips.

Seeing her preferences so clearly made Siwoo feel proud.

Based on yesterday’s experience, his chosen condition seemed successful.

Sharon hurriedly wiped the drool with her sleeve and belatedly composed herself.

“Well! If you’re offering that much, it’d be rude to refuse, right?”

“Exactly, I’d feel bad otherwise.”

“Let’s finish posting these quickly!”

“Sure, sure.”

Sharon practically bounced around with enthusiasm as she posted the flyers.

How many alleyways had they covered?

Throughout the posting, Sharon repeatedly pulled out the watch hanging around her neck to check the time.

“Why do you keep checking the time? Do you have an appointment?”

“Time?”

At Siwoo’s question, Sharon looked puzzled for a moment before her expression shifted to realization.

“Oops, look at me. I haven’t explained yet. This is the Artifact I use to detect Homunculi.”

Sharon fidgeted with the leash around her neck as if to unfasten it.

As her arms went behind her neck, her ample chest swayed visibly even under her windbreaker.

With a waist that seemed barely a handful, how could she have such a chest...?

It’s a man’s instinct—his eyes just went there on their own. What could he do?

Siwoo cleared his throat and averted his gaze. Sharon tilted her head, looking clueless, then placed the object she’d been checking on her palm.

Siwoo stared intently at Sharon’s palm.

The object, which he’d assumed was a small pocket watch, was different from his expectations.

Instead of hour, minute, and second hands, it had a needle-like pointer with one end painted red, resembling a compass."Homunculi all wear Hidden Boundaries around their bodies, right? This compass detects the subtle spatial distortions that occur then. It can detect anomalies within a 150-meter radius in advance."

"Can I take a closer look?"

"Be my guest. But be careful with it. I paid 12,597,800 won for this expensive thing at the Incheon Port contact point."

"Got it."

Siwoo carefully took the compass from her.

It wasn't very large, about the size of a wristwatch.

Beneath the glass-covered space, a rotating dial indicated directions, and in the center, a needle was slowly spinning round and round.

The material was probably silver.

Looking at the back, the black and white bird, the symbol of the Zemnarai family, was engraved.

As expected, this seemed to be the Twins' possession too.

"Fascinating."

"Right? But how did you find the Homunculus? You didn't have any detection device."

"I just saw it with my eyes."

"What?"

Sharon looked at Siwoo with startled eyes.

She didn't seem this surprised when she found out he used Magic.

Is this really that surprising?

"I have a Brand in my left eye. I don't know if it's because of that, but I can see the flow of magic power. Even from outside the Hidden Boundary, Homunculi look like distorted shadows."

"........."

Since they were going to be in a partnership going forward, he casually revealed a trade secret.

But Sharon just gaped without any particular reaction.

"Is it that surprising?"

"Ah, no... If I had met you just 10 years earlier... Thinking I could've saved 12,597,800 won makes my heart ache..."

"You paid over 10 million won and even got the 7,800 won change?"

"The bad guys said they had no change and didn't give any back."

"Anyway, if we had met 10 years ago, I would've just been an ordinary student."

"Yeah, I just realized that too, so my heart hurts a little less now."

Pointless conversation.

A person who remembers Siwoo's existence without forgetting.

For some reason, this made Siwoo so happy that the corners of his mouth lifted.

He realized he had missed people during this time.

"Hey."

Suddenly, Sharon's face pushed right in front of him.

Even this close, her face didn't completely fill his vision.

Her curious pupils, full of curiosity, blinked wide.

It was completely out of the blue, making him wonder if she was going to kiss him or something.

"Yes?"

Flustered by Sharon's sudden approach, Siwoo reflexively used polite speech.

Ignoring Siwoo's reaction, Sharon tapped his eyepatch.

"Can I take a close look at your eye just once?"

"That much is fine..."

It's not like showing it to someone wears it out, and such a request isn't difficult.

Siwoo slightly removed his eyepatch.

A golden pupil, completely different from his black right eye, was revealed.

Siwoo had also examined it carefully in front of a mirror once; his newly acquired eye had a quite unique appearance.

The vitreous body and pupil had no particular Singularity.

However, golden fractals spreading out from the center of the pupil, like branches, were taking the place of the iris.

Unlike the official Brand engraved on a Witch's lower abdomen, which clearly showed the Hierarchy to the naked eye, this was a peculiar form of Brand, ambiguous to count or distinguish.

"Wow..."

Sharon stuck so close their noses were almost touching, staring intently into Siwoo's eye.

As if fascinated, Sharon pursed her lips into a circle and blinked.

In her pupils, he could see his own reflection looking somewhat flustered.

"Really fascinating. I've never seen a Brand in this form before. How could this happen?"

Actually, Sharon's magical curiosity didn't bother Siwoo that much.

To be precise, he didn't have the leisure for it.

Sharon seemed almost unaware, but from Siwoo's perspective, their faces were excessively close.

Being this close, just breathing naturally carried her body scent to him.

One strange thing about Witches is that each of them has a pleasant fragrance emanating from their body.

Sharon, living in a shabby rooftop room, was no exception.

What should this scent be called...

Should it be described as a mix of fresh citrus with the sweet, benzoin-like scent of vanilla?

Anyway, it's a fragrance so good you'd want to keep smelling it.

The problem was what came next.

"What? Uncomfortable?"

"It's nothing. Are we done now?"

"Yeah, I think I've seen enough."

After smelling the body scent emanating from her crown and hair for a few seconds, an erection suddenly began.

It didn't feel like he was experiencing some enormous sexual desire, but it was already fully angry inside his underwear.

If he hadn't been wearing jeans, it might have been a bit awkward.

"Anyway, thanks for showing me. Let's go attach the rest."

"Ah, yeah."

Siwoo was about to return Sharon's compass after fixing his eyepatch but paused.

"What?"

"No, the needle is pointing in one direction."

The needle, which had been spinning round and round as if it had just arrived at the North Pole, was now pointing precisely in a certain direction.

Seeing this, Sharon swung her arm once, and her body briefly glowed like a transforming magical girl.

When the light faded, Sharon was already dressed in a perfect Witch's uniform.

A pointed hat, Wand, robe, a dress with a short hem, a petticoat decorated with layers of frills like pompoms, and riding boots.

She finished transforming in that brief moment.

It didn't just seem like a magical girl; it felt like she was the magical girl herself.

"Great, perfect. As your senior, I'll show you what Homunculus hunting is all about."

Sharon, having changed clothes in an instant, ran with Siwoo in the direction the compass pointed.

Author's Note (Author's Afterword)

Woke up to find many things had happened

Seems like things were resolved well, so I should focus on my own skin troubles