City of Witches Chapter 16

Light stretching as soon as I woke up.

Given how uncomfortable the bedding was, if I didn't properly loosen up my body right after getting up, the whole day would be miserable.

Siwoo leisurely stretched for about 15 minutes.

Thanks to Amelia's summons, it was nice to sleep in for once, but honestly, the thought of going shopping alone with that demanding woman was terrifying.

"Ah, right."

While stretching his back, Siwoo belatedly realized something.

Amelia's attitude yesterday had been so significant that he had completely forgotten.

"I have to go to Taro Town today."

He had made the appointment with Amelia the day before.

Therefore, he couldn't give Odil and Odette any prior notice.

The Twins would probably sneak into the mansion in Taro Town as usual and wait for Siwoo, who wouldn't show up.

"This is a problem..."

Standing up the Twins, who were likely full of anticipation, would be quite difficult to handle afterward.

But he couldn't ask Amelia for understanding and drop by Taro Town either.

"Well, if I explain properly, they'll understand."

He had no choice but to think that and move on.

The only saving grace was that he had become quite close with Odil over the past few days.

Unlike Odette, who acted friendly but maintained a strange distance, Odil treated Siwoo quite decently as a person.

Whether that stemmed from simple curiosity or respect for a human who had achieved a certain level through Magic, no one knew.

Even her verbal threats had become much less frequent lately.

Siwoo put on his clothes and stepped outside the stable.

To explain 'Border Town,' additional explanation about the Witch city of Gehenna is necessary.

As time passed and science advanced, the places where Witches could hide grew increasingly scarce.

They say that as science develops, it pushes out mystery.

In the past, Witches had blended into contemporary society through various professions like prophets, fortune-tellers, magicians, priests, shamans, alchemists, apothecaries, and so on, but they gradually felt their footing narrowing.

Starting around the 14th century, when persecution of the mysterious truly began, Great Witches possessing great Magic began building a city for Witches.

They gathered remote places untouched by humans, forgotten cities lost to time, patching them together like rags to weave a large-scale barrier.

This is the secret story behind the birth of Gehenna, the 'otherworld'—a space that clearly exists in this world yet doesn't, that can be observed yet cannot be observed.

"You're not late this time."

By the splendid fountain.

Amelia stood beside the sparkling, scattering water droplets like a fashion model.

A unique Fragrance scent, unlike any he had ever smelled before, pricked the tip of his nose.

Even with such a strong scent wafting, it wasn't unpleasant at all and suited Amelia extremely well.

Amelia, dressed in a gown as if she were a princess from a fantasy era.

Though she was beautiful in any clothes, today she was especially splendid.

Because she wore a dress adorned with jewels that were clearly not mere cubic zirconia.

She could go to a social ball and dance right now without any flaw.

Siwoo swallowed the words, "Do you dress up that much to go to Border Town?"

Instead, he offered a bit of lip service.

"You look especially noble today."

"Do I?"

According to Takasho, there's no woman who dislikes being called pretty.

Siwoo awkwardly began his attempt at praise.

For some reason, Amelia just glanced at him without saying much.

If it were usual, she would have said something like, "Do I need your recognition to be noble?"

"Yes, especially since you're not wearing that stuffy-looking robe."

He said it with the freshest smile he could muster, but he wondered how it came across.

Contrary to expectations, Amelia's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

According to Siwoo's scouter, that was the expression she made when feeling a displeasure level of 75.

Hitting displeasure 75 in one go.

It was a new record.

"My apologies. I said the heirloom left by the Master looked stuffy."

Ah, right, damn.

Distracted by trying to compliment her, he overlooked a fact he clearly knew.

Before the flustered Siwoo could stammer something, Amelia took the lead.

"Forget it. I didn't dress up to look good for the caretaker. Absolutely not."

As if further conversation wasn't worth it, she swiftly turned her back and headed toward the west school building.

Her neatly braided golden hair swayed left and right like a horse's tail.

Indeed, people shouldn't do things that don't suit them.

Reproaching himself for the grievous mistake, Siwoo quietly followed behind Amelia.

Gehenna is quite spacious because, since its initial creation, land has been gradually gathered and the city expanded.

The exact size isn't known, but it's said to be about the size of Jeju Island.

To get from the Academy located in the center of Gehenna to Border Town at the edge would require a full day's ride by carriage.

To eliminate such hassle, Witches installed Portals for traveling within Gehenna.

It was a Magic device utilizing the 'Gates' in Border Town.

"Hello, Associate Professor Amelia."

"Round-trip tickets to Border Town, for two."

The bespectacled receptionist rose from her seat and bowed in greeting.

She, who served as both a researcher and Portal management receptionist, was a fairly young Witch.

For a Witch, 'young' means she inherited a Brand not long ago and hasn't been a Witch for very long.

Perhaps because of this, the receptionist's attitude was as respectful as a commoner meeting a princess.

After finishing her greeting, the receptionist looked at Siwoo with a puzzled expression.

"Are you going together?"

"Yes."

It was actually unusual.

Among Witches living in upper towns, it was rare for anyone to personally travel all the way to Border Town.

So usually, Siwoo alone paid the fare and went back and forth.

But today, Amelia, who usually stayed holed up in the research building, was accompanying him.

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah...! No! The fare is 2 pounds per person."

Truly Amelia.

With just a slightly irritable tone, she rendered another Witch speechless.

Amelia reached out and placed four clinking gold coins into the receptionist's hand.

"You can go down to the fourth staircase."

Without looking back, Amelia walked ahead; only Siwoo bowed in greeting and followed her down.

This Portal thing had a quite interesting structure.

The stone staircase, which looked like a passageway leading down to a wine cellar, stretched underground, and about halfway down, water shimmered.

Of course, it wasn't ordinary water but very diluted Magical Power, so it glowed faintly as if bioluminescent plankton lived within.It's a strange water that doesn't hinder breathing when submerged and doesn't wet clothes.

Watching Amelia's back, already fully submerged up to her head, he slowly walks forward.

Descending like a V-shaped staircase, there's almost immediately an ascending staircase—that staircase becomes the Portal connecting to Border Town.

With a slightly dizzying vertigo, Siwoo stepped into Border Town.

Amelia looked at Siwoo, who was retching from Portal sickness, with a pitiful gaze.

Perhaps because he's only ridden it about three times, he simply can't get used to this sensation.

"Manager, you might as well vomit and come back."

"Ah, no... I'm fine now."

Amelia flicked away the Magical Power droplets rolling on her clothes with a pop and continued up the stairs.

Compared to the Academy's platform, which at least maintained some semblance of decorum, Border Town's platform was utterly shabby.

"Wow..."

The moment they exited the platform, which looked like a half-collapsed temple, Siwoo couldn't hold back his admiration.

Border Town, a terraced canyon facing a harbor.

Moss-covered cliffs form massive layers, providing a place for people to live.

The atmosphere, filled with smog and sea fog, blocks sunlight, so Border Town's weather is always cloudy or drizzling.

The work raincoat Siwoo so detests is essential here.

Since the Portal platform was located at the highest point in Border Town, Siwoo could overlook the entire landscape.

The cliffs shaped like a horseshoe embracing the harbor and the people building and living on them were spectacular, but what overwhelmed Siwoo the most was the massive circle, 2 kilometers in diameter, over the sea.

By another name, the 'Gate.'

Inside it, ships of various smugglers, large and small, were transporting goods.

Some ships carried items airlifted from the modern world, others carried slaves captured like Siwoo.

And yet others would be loaded with various food supplies to be distributed to the town's citizens.

After all, the crops produced in Gehenna alone couldn't sustain self-sufficiency.

That's right.

The meaning of Border Town is 'boundary.'

It was the town connecting the hidden world, Gehenna, and the modern era.

"But, Associate Professor, what did you come to buy today?"

Watching the people scurrying like ants in the distant harbor, Siwoo asked.

"Cigarettes, and Fragrance."

It was less than he expected.

If it was just that, sending Siwoo alone would have been sufficient.

Surely she didn't bring him along under the pretense of a date.

"We need to go to the Blue Snake contact point, so follow me."

"Yes."

The moment Amelia started walking, Siwoo covered her with the large umbrella he had brought.

Of course, it wasn't the cozy appearance of a sweet couple sharing an umbrella closely.

Siwoo had to hold it up solely for Amelia, getting completely drenched himself.

"Come to think of it, Associate Professor."

For someone like her, there's no need to follow the winding path along the cliff.

She could use Magic to jump down and land right in the middle of the harbor.

Or she could use flight Magic.

"If you go ahead first, I'll run and catch up shortly."

It was actually a suggestion made because he wanted to be separated from this terrifying lady even for a moment.

It shouldn't have been a difficult thing to say, but Amelia made a momentarily blank expression.

Wondering if he'd made another mistake, he quickly added,

"Won't the lovely dress you're wearing get wet from the rain?"

"........"

Yet, Amelia only wore an expression of seeming to understand but not quite, giving no answer.

Having been tossed around by her for over five years in terms of time, seeing such an expression from her was a first.

As cold sweat trickled down his spine, Amelia let out a light sigh.

"Haa..."

"I'm sorry."

He didn't know what for.

But he felt apologetic anyway.

"Stop begging for forgiveness. It's annoying."

"Yes."

Siwoo tightly closed his mouth, covered Amelia with the umbrella, and followed behind her.

There were almost no people in the highlands, but as they descended to about the middle tier, quite a few people appeared.

A rugged, muscular man wearing burlap sacks instead of a raincoat.

A gaunt young man who, if he only held an AK rifle, you wouldn't doubt he was a pirate right then and there.

An old woman who looked somewhat sinister.

Perhaps because people lived without sunlight, they all looked gloomy and sinister.

Honestly, wandering Border Town, which perfectly fit the term dystopian fantasy, in the body of a slave was a somewhat frightening experience.

So when Siwoo came alone, he finished his errands with the fastest possible pace and returned.

Without any time to look around at this and that.

But at least now, he had no worries.

When our Professor Amelia Marigold passed by like a lantern, everyone bowed their heads and averted their eyes—there was no bodyguard more reliable than this.

"Manager."

At Amelia's chilly voice, Siwoo turned around and was startled.

While he was briefly distracted looking around, droplets gathered at the umbrella's tip were dripping plop plop onto Amelia's crown.

Siwoo tensed, wondering what scolding would come this time.

"Hold the umbrella straight."

Fortunately, today's Amelia was strangely lenient.

Having evaporated the moisture with Magic, she let it pass without further complaint.