City of Witches Chapter 26

My head crushed against the plate throbs with pain.

This giant, with a head at least one size larger than Siwoo’s, boasted monstrous strength just as he appeared.

No matter how hard I tried to lift my head, I couldn’t move an inch.

“Heh heh…”

“Grrr…”

“You little shit, acting tough.”

Fyodor’s sneering voice pours down from above my head.

I ignore it for now.

The important issue is to figure out why and how this situation occurred.

Solving any problem starts from there.

First, why did this happen?

The most clearly given clue is as follows.

Clue one: Fyodor sneered at Siwoo, calling him a “pretty boy.”

Since most citizens are essential for the convenience of witches, Gehenna’s city laws guarantee the survival and property rights of ordinary citizens.

The only people witches might harm are slaves at most, so the feelings citizens harbor toward witches are limited to awe, fear, or respect.

Much like serfs in feudal times treated nobles or royalty.

But Fyodor’s tone revealed not only contempt for Siwoo but also hatred toward witches.

Clue two: He is a sailor and smuggler on the Naga.

Unlike citizens who spend their entire lives confined within Gehenna, Fyodor, as a smuggler, travels between the Mortal Realm and Gehenna.

Which bird would resent humans more—one that has lived its entire life in a cage, unaware of the open sky, or one that knows the freedom outside the cage?

The answer is obvious.

The foundation of his resentment toward witches likely isn’t much different from that of a slave.

But a more important question remains.

How could this situation have occurred?

As mentioned earlier, Fyodor referred to Siwoo as a “pretty boy” and looked down on him.

But simply looking down on someone and acting on it with violence are two entirely different matters.

If you beat up a witch’s favored pretty boy on a whim, you’d have to bear the full brunt of the consequences.

The most crucial clue here is his statement.

Clue one: “What are you gonna do, be sorry? You won’t be seeing that witch bitch anymore anyway.”

That exact statement.

“Hey, whine like you did earlier.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Ghk! Ghk! Ghk!”

Fyodor grabbed Siwoo by the back of his hair and slammed his forehead into the table several times.

Amid the clamorous noise, food splattered and dishes clattered to the floor.

The skin of his crushed forehead tore, dyeing his vision red.

At this rate, I’ll die.

Even if this man doesn’t intend to kill me, my body won’t hold up.

Realizing this, Siwoo’s hand moved like a flash of light.

This isn’t a situation where he can use the Magic he’s diligently honed.

Siwoo currently has no Magical Power.

Instead, Siwoo grabbed a fork from the table and drove it with all his might into Fyodor’s thigh, who stood beside him.

It was an improvisation born of survival instinct.

“Grah!”

The sharp fork pierced through the thick denim fabric.

Penetrating the soft flesh and muscle beneath required little effort.

The effect was excellent.

The sudden pain caused Fyodor’s hand to release his grip on Siwoo’s hair.

Pushing aside the dizzying vertigo, Siwoo staggered back, creating distance.

“Look at this cheeky little shit.”

Fyodor yanked out the fork trembling in his thigh in one swift motion.

Siwoo thought he’d stabbed with all his might, but the wound itself seemed shallower than expected.

Siwoo grabbed a knife from another table, used for cutting meat.

Given the thick steaks served whole, it wasn’t the crude dinner knife from a family restaurant.

If wielded properly, it could kill a person.

Fyodor, aware of this, didn’t charge immediately.

“What, gonna poke my belly with that?”

Having bought a moment to think, Siwoo needed to take the best means to gather additional information.

Siwoo took a deep breath.

And shouted with the loudest voice of his life.

“Ameliaaaaa!!!!!!”

The sound was so immense that Fyodor furrowed his brow.

And three seconds later.

The first floor of the tavern filled with laughter.

“Puhahahaha!”

“Look at that bastard calling for his master.”

“What a sight, kekekeke.”

Siwoo paid no mind.

Slowly stepping backward, he widened the distance between himself, Fyodor, and the other sailors.

He needed a little more time to assess the situation more accurately.

“Hey, come here already, you fucking bastard. I’ll poke your eyes out with a fork too.”

“……”

Ten seconds, fifteen seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds.

No response from upstairs.

Amelia doesn’t appear.

This confirmed it.

“You guys are truly insane.”

The reason Siwoo won’t see Amelia again.

These sailors are conspiring together, targeting Amelia.

Moreover, they’ve already half-succeeded or fully succeeded.

If they can just eliminate the consequences, they’d treat a witch’s favored slave however they pleased.

He doesn’t know the reason.

He doesn’t know the method.

Even after deducing this, it feels like reasoning utterly devoid of realism.

Amelia is a Witch.

And not just any Witch—Baron Marigold of the 22nd hierarchy.

A Great Witch who could easily toy with even the most advanced modern strategic weapons.

She’s not someone a handful of people like this could handle.

Yet, she gives no response to Siwoo’s cry now.

Meaning, they’ve succeeded in subduing her.

The most likely method is probably,

The wine Larissa brought.

“That’s enough, Fyodor. What are you doing picking on a kid?”

Just as Fyodor was inching closer to Siwoo, a figure appeared to add certainty to Siwoo’s deduction.

The owner of the Blue Snake rendezvous point and a member of the Naga.

Larissa walked in.

“Don’t butt in and step aside. This bastard put a hole in my thigh.”

“You go get ready for departure too. No time for petty games.”

“Larissa, you’ve been cozying up to that brat since earlier…”

Click

Fyodor’s expression stiffened.

Because something had pressed into the cleft of his buttocks.

“Hey, you kidding?”

What Larissa pulled from her bosom was a Tokarev, the kind you’d see in spy movies.

She was aiming it at Fyodor’s buttocks, right at his balls.

“Wanna play marbles with me here? Or shut up and go get ready? You know the Tokarev has no safety, right? If I pull the trigger like this, it’s bang!”

“Hey, hey! Fuck, I get it! Damn slut! Can’t keep your hands off any pretty-faced bastard.”

“Think about my position, stuck rolling with you hairy brutes. This is the first soft, smooth man I’ve seen in ages. And you know we can’t kill him.”

“Who said anything about killing? Just gonna teach him a lesson to behave.”

“Talking back, are you?”"I didn't do it! I didn't! Put that away!"

Fyodor tossed his fork aside with a disgusted expression and led the remaining crew members away.

"Hey! You lot, move it!"

Soon, only Larissa and Siwoo remained on the first floor of the shop.

Larissa's pistol, which had been watching the scene, now pointed at Siwoo's chest.

He used to wonder why people in movies couldn't move even when a tiny gun barrel was pointed at them.

Now he understood—it was because of this oppressive pressure.

Even though it was just that small hole aimed at him, his breath caught in his throat.

"Shin Siwoo, was it?"

"I won't thank you for saving me."

"You could at least say something as lip service. I did it for you earlier."

"You're much scarier than I thought, noona."

At Siwoo's resentful words, Larissa simply grinned.

"There's still something you need to help with. Don't you want to know why this happened?"

"What happened to Lady Amelia?"

"If you're curious, go to the guest room. Stand in front of me. Don't look back. Ah, before that, let's put down that cute knife."

He put down the knife.

Siwoo wasn't a former special forces member or a retired spy.

He had no intention of opposing a pistol with a crude knife.

Come to think of it, in a place like Border Town, people carry pistols for self-defense.

Perhaps due to an overproduction of adrenaline, a slightly absurd thought crossed his mind.

Still aiming the gun, Larissa slowly drew a semicircle and herded Siwoo toward the stairs leading to the lodgings.

"I'm curious about how much you've figured out. Will you tell me? It'll save me the trouble of explaining."

He answered while climbing the stairs.

"The people involved in this are you and the crew members who weren't called earlier. Lady Amelia is currently unconscious. The method is poison or something that causes unconsciousness mixed in the wine."

"Is that all?"

"....The accomplice is probably a witch from outside Gehenna."

Hearing that, Larissa exclaimed with exaggerated surprise.

"Impressive! Like Sherlock Holmes! I didn't think you'd notice the involvement of a witch."

Thinking about it, it wasn't a difficult deduction.

Everyone, including Siwoo and Larissa, shared that wine.

But only Amelia was affected.

It was likely poison that reacted to the magic power within the body.

If it was a trap that even Amelia fell for without noticing, the method could only be high-level Magic.

Moreover, unless they were idiots who thought they could cause such a commotion against a witch and get away with it, they must have countermeasures or backing.

"An 'Exile,' right?"

"That's also correct."

Larissa clapped her hands as she answered.

Not all witches reside within Gehenna.

Surprisingly, witches like Amelia or the Twins who live inside Gehenna make up at most about half of the total.

The other half have settled in the Mortal Realm, and they fall into two precise categories.

One consists of witches who stay in the Mortal Realm by choice because they find it more comfortable than Gehenna, or due to personal circumstances or business.

The other consists of witches who violated unwritten laws, had their citizenship revoked, and cannot enter Gehenna—Exiles.

The specific reasons vary, but among them are those who committed atrocities such as:

Harming another witch's apprentice witch.

Forcing excessively reckless Magic experiments, causing too many casualties.

Or.

"You plan to steal the Brand, right?"

Plunderers who kill other witches to steal their Brands and raise their Magic Hierarchy.

"Correct! I thought you were just a pretty face, but you're sharp. Smart too. It's the third room on the right. Open it."

Siwoo opened the guest room door and entered.

Amelia was there.

She had collapsed face-down on the floor, exactly as if she had been about to lie down on the bed.

Forgetting even that Larissa was pointing a gun at him from behind, he hurriedly ran to her and checked her condition.

"Stop! If you touch her, I'll shoot right away."

Larissa stopped Siwoo with a sharp voice.

"At least let me check her condition!"

"Do it without touching her."

Siwoo glared at Larissa once and placed his finger under Amelia's nose.

Despite how spiteful she had been, seeing her collapsed like that made him worry first.

"Breathing..."

At least she was breathing.

But she didn't seem like she would wake up if shaken.

Her breathing was faint and long, as if she had fallen into a coma.

"You almost made me shoot by suddenly rushing over. I don't want to kill you. Be careful from now on."

He calmly reassessed the situation.

In fact, there was no reason for Larissa not to shoot Siwoo in this situation.

It would be cleaner to eliminate the only witness, Siwoo, rather than having pursuit attached as soon as they left Border Town's Gate.

"Why aren't you shooting?"

"Are you dissatisfied with that too?"

Larissa shrugged her shoulders as if amazed by Siwoo's continued glare and continued.

"It's sympathy. You were also dragged here against your will and are living deprived of freedom. Everything is as you think. Me, Fyodor, and some crew members made a Contract with a witch outside Gehenna.

We received an offer to provide a place to live in the Mortal Realm if we kidnap a suitable witch for them."

Larissa lowered her pistol.

Of course, she maintained a distance from which she could shoot at any moment if Siwoo rushed at her.

"We've been waiting for an opportunity for a long time, and luckily we got a harvest tonight. Of all times, a witch noble who came with just one slave appeared while we had borrowed the shop."

No wonder their movements were so seamless.

Amelia was like a butterfly that had entered a carnivorous plant with its mouth open.

"Actually, life here isn't so bad. I'm quite well-off, and Border Town is abundant enough to obtain most things one desires."

Siwoo asked.

"Then why do something so dangerous?"

There couldn't be no risk in kidnapping a witch.

If they failed or were caught midway, everyone involved would surely die.

Larissa answered.

Somehow, it was a lonely answer.

"Even if you have a thousand pounds of gold coins in Gehenna... you can't buy freedom."

A Word from the Author (Author's Note)

Thank you for visiting again today.

The indicators for Witch City are sailing very smoothly.

Please continue to recommend and comment!

I'll work hard!