City of Witches Chapter 213

After Deneb and the Twins left, the house—already spacious for two—looked twice as big.

“Feels a bit empty.”

“Right, come to think of it, you lived alone here for months.”

“I didn’t exactly live in a great place either, but it must’ve been really lonely.”

Sharon and Siwoo chatted quietly as they prepared and ate dinner.

Today, instead of the kitchen, they were sitting at the living room table watching TV while eating, for a simple reason.

They were monitoring the news in real-time about the tragedy that occurred at the mall.

Just turning on the internet showed search rankings from 1st to 20th all filled with keywords related to the incident.

Siwoo, who had been right in the middle of that horrific accident, wondered, ‘Even if they are Witches, can they really cover up an incident of this scale?’...

Surprisingly, they did.

To be precise, it wasn’t covered up but falsified and manipulated.

The appearance of strange fish that bit people was replaced with a collapse accident caused by toxic gas leaks and explosions.

Even the survivor interviews seemed scripted, with everyone saying similar things, and the footage released under the pretext of securing CCTV from the accident scene showed people peacefully shopping before suddenly collapsing.

The news condemned the construction company’s shoddy work and negligence in safety management due to complacency.

After a breaking news report that arrest warrants had been requested for the facility director, chairman of the exhibition hall, and representatives of the construction company, Siwoo turned off the TV.

“.........”

“Siwoo...”

Seeing Siwoo with his lips tightly sealed, Sharon gently took his hand.

“You did your best. The Countess told us that many survivors escaped safely thanks to you.”

“That’s true. Leaves a bitter taste, though. Probably not something to watch while eating.”

Thanks to that, the meal ended a bit early.

As Sharon gathered the empty dishes and took them to the kitchen, she said,

“Siwoo, I think we’ll just get depressed if we stay home. Want to go get some fresh air together?”

“Fresh air? Where to?”

“Incheon Port.”

“Incheon sounds good. Should we get some grilled clams?”

He did feel a need for a change of atmosphere.

Maybe it was because the Twins’ vitality buff passive effect was gone, but he felt somewhat sluggish.

And there was no need to unnecessarily spread that gloom to Sharon.

“Grilled clams are good, but there’s also a Gehenna smuggler contact point there.”

“Huh? There’s such a thing?”

“Yeah, it’s not always there, but there’s a period every three months or so, around the full moon, when ships arrive and depart. It should be in full swing now? There’s actually quite a lot to see. I haven’t been many times except when absolutely necessary.”

“Is there something for us to go see?”

As he listened to the additional explanation, it seemed such docks existed not just in Incheon Port but all over the world.

She added that while smugglers bringing items from the Mortal Realm into Gehenna was most common, the opposite happened just as often.

“Yeah, for example, most magical crops are cultivated in Latifundium, but Exiles can’t exactly go into Gehenna to live, right? So smugglers bring them out and sell them instead. It’s the same with magical tools or Magical Power.”

“Like a periodic market.”

“Yeah! Something like that.”

Since the contact point in Border Town also handled logistics, transportation, storage, and sales, it seemed the Mortal Realm’s contact points served a similar role.

He remembered being secretly excited back then by Border Town’s uniquely melancholic atmosphere and dystopian fantasy vibe.

He was curious about what the atmosphere at a Mortal Realm contact point would be like.

“Besides, thanks to you, I’ve got a lead on Brand recovery, so I’m preparing to seriously work on the ‘offering’ and research.”

“Alright, let’s head out now then.”

At Siwoo’s words, Sharon paused for a moment.

Then she tapped the floor with her toes a few times before slowly nodding.

She seemed like she was about to say something but stopped.

“Okay! Let’s get ready quickly!”

Since she let it pass without further comment, Siwoo also gathered his things.

They took a taxi straight to Wolmido, Incheon.

After entering a random grilled clam restaurant nearby and eating their fill, they were now walking.

Already in the distance, they could see cranes moving containers and the inner harbor of Incheon Port.

The gentle breeze, now carrying a distinct autumn feel, seemed mixed with a salty sea scent.

“Where are the docks in the Mortal Realm located?”

“You can assume almost all major trade ports have them. Right off, Incheon and Busan have them, Yokohama, Jebel Ali, Port Klang, Los Angeles... That’s about all I know?”

“Surprisingly, none in China.”

“The Chinese Communist Party doesn’t exactly welcome the existence of Witches. So even across that vast land, there are few Witch Points. They offer almost no cooperation regarding Witches.”

It seemed that despite the close agreements between Witches and the upper echelons of various countries, they weren’t on friendly terms with all nations.

“But is that okay? The Witches catch Homunculi for them.”

“Well? Maybe because China’s territory is so vast and its population so large? It seems they’ve decided to let minor incidents caused by Homunculi slide. As you know, Witches aren’t exactly guardians of justice. They demand a lot of things in exchange for protection.”

Sharon’s lecture on Witches and international affairs was quite interesting.

“For the same reason, Witches have almost no influence in third-world countries or developing nations that can’t provide adequate compensation.”

“Even if China has the resources to recover, what about those countries?”

“It’s a vicious cycle. Witches who dislike disturbances would rather hide in remote areas than go to places with poor social infrastructure like Cambodia or Bangladesh.

Few Witches mean the various calamities naturally caused by Homunculi occur more frequently, infrastructure deteriorates further because of that, and then even fewer Witches gather there...

So some countries offer huge sums of money and conditions to invite Witches to their country.

Like scouting, I guess? Countries that can’t even afford that sometimes hire them for fixed periods like mercenaries, and of course, that’s insanely expensive too.”

As someone who had lived as a modern person, he was learning these facts bit by bit.

And he could also see that Witches, though inconspicuous, were deeply embedded in the Mortal Realm.

Listening to it all, he sometimes thought that people’s lives were essentially the same everywhere.

“Have you ever been scouted?”

“To do that, you’d have to chase out the public enemies that occasionally crawl in. At the 17th Hierarchy, it felt a bit burdensome, so I passed. The risk is too high.”Though she may not be combat-oriented, even Yebin of the 19th Hierarchy had to be cautious in this situation.

Sharon must have needed to be even more careful.

As we chatted about this and that, a sudden question arose.

"Come to think of it, what on earth do public enemies even do for a living? They're shunned in Gehenna, ostracized among the Exiles, and can't use any of the services provided by Witch Point. If you're that isolated, wouldn't you just wither away and die?"

The proportion of public enemies is said to be extremely small compared to the total number of Witches.

In a situation where the influence of so many Witches extends to every corner of the world, how do public enemies survive?

From what I've heard, it seems many public enemies are still running rampant and causing conflicts all over the world.

"As I said before, Witches aren't particularly righteous. They hunt Homunculi because they're paid to do it, and they earn money because they need it for Magic Research.

The public enemies who have survived until now are generally extremely dangerous.

Most are either Great Witches or teetering on the edge of being one.

Frankly, aside from Duke Tiferet, there aren't many Witches who actively seek a fight. It's only natural, since Witches with ample funds don't even bother looking at Homunculus hunts in the first place."

So, it seemed that even a Witch who hunts minor mobs for pocket money wouldn't touch a life-or-death boss raid.

Because the risk would be extremely high, commensurate with the potential return.

"And public enemies have their own ways of making money. Running large-scale drug cartels in South America, drug plants, industrialized refining facilities, things like that.

There's a saying that the origin of chemistry is alchemy, right? Of course, there are also public enemies who run legitimate businesses and have obscene amounts of money."

"But wait, didn't you say Duke Keter would step in if they caused that much trouble in the Mortal Realm?"

At Siwoo's words, Sharon shrugged her shoulders.

"Duke Keter is... well, should I say perfectly neutral? Even if I worked hard to build a human trafficking organization, as long as my identity as a Witch wasn't exposed and Magic wasn't misused, he'd probably just leave me alone."

"Why on earth?"

"I don't know either. But historically, the only times a Duke has directly intervened and eliminated a Witch was when that Witch disrupted the Mortal Realm with 'Magic' and almost exposed the existence of Witches.

I guess a public enemy running a cartel in Mexico would have to somehow procure a strategic nuclear submarine and launch a nuke at Mexico City for him to move. The public enemies know that too, so they cautiously watch their step and do their thing without crossing the line."

Through Sharon, I could also organize behind-the-scenes stories not written in any history book.

In short, the reasons public enemies survive in the Mortal Realm without being subjugated can be summarized as follows:

First, despite the name 'public enemy,' most Witches don't particularly want to fight them.

Second, they already possess sufficient capital.

Third, Duke Keter tolerates their actions as long as they don't cross the line.

Something like that, I guess?

Anyway, as we walked along, chatting idly, the surrounding buildings gradually disappeared.

The vehicles passing on the wide, large road were mostly large trucks carrying containers rather than ordinary passenger cars.

Passing through something like a tollgate and entering the dock, I saw containers piled up in the yard, seemingly more than I'd ever seen in my life.

Bizarre-looking yard tractors lifted and moved heavy-looking containers with ease, while on the vast flatland, dozens of wide warehouses stood lined up in a row.

The most impressive sight was the container crane, easily several dozen meters tall, lifting and placing cargo stacked on tall ships like a claw machine.

I wondered if it was okay for a regular person like me to be here.

"This way."

Sharon, tugging at Siwoo's clothes as he looked around in wonder, headed towards the area where the large warehouses were clustered.

To be honest, the moment we entered deep into the port, I was worried that people in work clothes might stop us and ask, 'What brings you here?'

Fortunately, the music box's effect seemed reliable.

No one paid any attention to Sharon or Siwoo.

Squeezing through the narrow gaps between container walls and gradually walking inward, the people had disappeared as if by a lie.

Before I knew it, the loud sounds of moving machinery and the roaring engines of tractors were no longer audible.

Suddenly, a single warehouse stood towering before us.

This might sound a bit silly, but it felt like I was under a Witch's spell.

"I thought it was just out in the open. So there was a method after all?"

"Since it's a place where all sorts of logistics converge, we have to share the port anyway, but we can't build a meeting point where everyone can see it.

From what I know, they deployed a formation using Ley Lines, Water Veins, and containers.

You can only get here by turning corners at the exact timing and in the exact order."

"That's amazing."

"Right?"

Perhaps because of that, there was no one guarding the warehouse entrance either.

Siwoo and Sharon opened the side door of the warehouse side by side and stepped into the smugglers' meeting point (ver. Mortal Realm).

==========

Goodness...

This is fan art of a corrupted Amelia, provided by Primitive-nim.

Wow, this has its own atmosphere too.

Especially the shameless outfit that accentuates the navel has captured my heart.

Thank you for such beautiful fan art!!!

I will enshrine it respectfully in the Gallery!!!!