City of Witches Chapter 29

With the intervention of a Witch, and a Baroness at that—Avene—the situation was swiftly resolved.

Despite the late hour, the passage to the Gate was sealed off in less than ten minutes.

The security guards who had rushed in took away all the sailors from the Naga who had been involved in the incident.

Larissa seemed to try to say something as she was being dragged away, but the situation was too chaotic to hear her.

A major incident had passed.

However, Siwoo’s night was not yet over.

He still had to explain everything to Sophia.

Of course, even though it was an unavoidable situation, he omitted the part about sucking Amelia’s nipple.

Even if Sophia understood and let it slide, Siwoo himself was too embarrassed.

And if Amelia were to find out, the aftermath would be terrifying.

"Hmm... I see."

Since the room had been left in disarray due to the earlier commotion, they had moved to another guest room.

Sitting side by side on the bed where Amelia was laid down, Sophia slowly nodded as she listened to Siwoo’s report.

"You’re quite strange, Caretaker. In that situation, most people would think of running away first."

"No."

"I’m praising you. You can honestly be happy about it."

Was this something to be happy about? After a brief moment of contemplation, Siwoo asked what he had been curious about.

"Um, it might be a bit late to ask, but is it okay not to personally interrogate the mastermind behind this?"

The mastermind behind this was an Exile, a Witch.

In fact, the sailors from the Naga, including Larissa, were all small fry.

"Amelia drank alcohol and fell asleep, right? An Exile skilled enough in alchemy to make Amelia fall asleep is obvious. It must be the 'Witch of Aquarius.' It’s not something you need to worry about."

Well, Siwoo had no way to interfere with a Witch in the Mortal Realm anyway.

After all, Siwoo couldn’t even leave Gehenna right now.

"And you don’t need to worry too much about Amelia. She’ll have a bit of a headache tomorrow morning, but that’s it. If it had been poison potent enough to harm her body, her Autonomous Defense would have taken care of it."

"I see."

That was a relief in itself.

No matter how much he disliked Amelia, if her condition had been worse, he would have felt unnecessarily uneasy.

"Anyway, we should finish the conversation we were having earlier, right? I cherish and love Amelia like a sister. For protecting Amelia with your life and ingenuity, I want to reward you."

Sophia stretched out her arm and gently stroked Siwoo’s head.

He hadn’t meant to look, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the maternal symbol, which seemed large enough to rival half a melon, swaying in the process.

"What do you want?"

A sweet voice.

Even though she was just speaking softly, a Sensual Aura that seemed to be seducing a man with all her Combat Power made Siwoo feel a bit flustered.

"...Could you let me leave here?"

"Hmm, you spoke boldly, but I’m sorry? That’s a difficult request."

He had asked just in case, but it was refused.

Even though someone like Sophia or Amelia could easily send Siwoo outside.

"It’s only natural for you to ask for that, but I want you to stay with Amelia a little longer."

Rather than citing city ordinances, this inexplicable additional explanation left him slightly puzzled.

"Then, could you make it as if today’s events never happened?"

Sophia’s reaction was amusing.

Her mouth and eyes widened, and she seemed even more surprised than when Siwoo had asked her not to kill Larissa.

"Caretaker, you saved a Witch’s life. You’ve earned citizenship at the very least."

"I would be grateful if you could make it as if nothing happened without asking any questions."

Witches are well-versed in Magic.

Even if Sophia wasn’t paying close attention, if she dug a little deeper, she would discover that the magic power capacity in the lamp wasn’t enough to use the Skyboard.

Then, where did this slave get his magic power from?

If she dug deeper like this, there was no telling how much she could uncover.

In such cases, burying it was the best option.

After all, once he became Amelia’s assistant and gained access to higher-quality Magic materials, the completion of the Magic Circle would be accelerated.

That is, if Sophia accepted this proposal.

"Alright, you want the kidnapping incident itself to be treated as if it never happened? Including the fact that you used Magic?"

"Yes."

"You probably have your reasons, but does that include not prying into them?"

"I would appreciate it."

Despite it being a rather unreasonable request, Sophia readily nodded.

It seemed he had scored more points with her than he thought.

"Then I’ll have to come up with a suitable lie for why the sailors were taken away. Alright, I’ll do it."

"Thank you very much."

Siwoo let out a sigh of relief.

It had been an eventful day.

Now that the incident was resolved, he felt like he could collapse and fall asleep right away.

If he hadn’t witnessed the terrifying sight of Sophia turning Fyodor into a mackerel, he would have relaxed and collapsed from exhaustion.

But when is this woman leaving?

"?"

Meeting his gaze, Sophia tilted her head with an innocent expression, showing no intention of getting up from the bed.

"Do you still have something to say?"

"No."

But he swallowed the words asking why she was staring so intently.

Being around gentle Witches like Amelia and the Twins, he kept forgetting—Witches are not beings a slave can make demands of.

"You’re handsome, have a good personality, and you pass."

Sophia’s tongue flicked out to lick her own lips.

Come to think of it, Sophia had been inviting Takasho to her place on holidays lately.

The pieces of the current situation were slowly coming together.

"Can I make a request of you too?"

"You only need to give the command."

Siwoo bowed his head.

He considered kneeling on the floor, but it didn’t seem necessary, so he held back.

"Take good care of Amelia. She may grumble on the outside, but she’s a good kid."

"Huh?"

However, what Sophia said was something Siwoo had never expected.

He thought she might ask him to serve her at night or something.

"How could a mere slave like me possibly..."

"It’s not because you dislike her for being a mean Witch who only torments you?"

"No."

"Still, you must have been so frustrated. That’s why I’m even more grateful. Thank you for not hating Amelia."

Suddenly, she said something like she understood, and Siwoo bowed his head deeply.

It wasn’t a situation where he needed to show his feelings.

And there was still a possibility it was a leading question."Lonely, desolate, and awkward. It's all because you lack experience. It's not that she dislikes you."

"Who... are you talking about?"

"Amelia."

No way.

Even though he hadn't spoken aloud, it seemed to have been conveyed through the atmosphere.

Sophia covered her mouth and let out a small laugh.

"Just look at today—she collapsed after having one wrong drink at the inn. She tries to act strict, but she's actually very clumsy and doesn't know how to treat others."

Sophia's defense of Amelia, which he thought would continue, abruptly stopped.

"But if I say too much, it won't be fun. I'll save it for future enjoyment."

"I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand what you're saying. Still, I will do my best to serve Lady Amelia faithfully."

Siwoo attempted to leave the room after giving the model answer.

"Manager Shin Siwoo."

Just as he grabbed the doorknob, intending to catch a short nap, Sophia called him back.

"Today's choice was wise."

"I only did what I had to do."

"No, not that. The thing after that."

Sophia's amber eyes, shimmering like candlelight in the dim room, held a somewhat frightening quality.

It seemed to starkly show that she was not human.

"If you had handed Amelia over and left for the Mortal Realm, you would have died."

A chill ran down Siwoo's spine at Sophia's bleak voice, which was always so composed.

"'The Witch of Aquarius' is famous for grinding humans into experimental materials. She probably would have bottled up the sailors along with Amelia when she received her."

Ironically, Siwoo had ended up saving the sailors of the Naga ship.

"Even if that weren't the case, do you think I would have forgiven you for selling Amelia out?"

Sophia grinned at Siwoo, who had unknowingly bypassed two death flags and was now stiff as a board.

"Anyway, go and rest now. I've kept you too long."

After bidding farewell, Siwoo entered the adjacent room with a troubled heart.

Since all the rooms were empty after the sailors from the Naga ship, who were supposed to stay today, were taken away, he could choose any room he wanted.

It must be around 4 o'clock?

The key was when Amelia would wake up, but it was certain he wouldn't get much sleep.

However, even after laying his head on the pillow and closing his eyes, sleep wouldn't come.

Part of it was because his heart wouldn't calm down after navigating such dangerous situations, but what truly lingered in his mind was a very trivial issue.

Namely, why Amelia's Autonomous Defense hadn't activated against Siwoo.

Judging by the fact that it only manifests at or above the 15th Hierarchy, Autonomous Defense is an extremely high-level Magic.

It detoxifies most poisons as soon as they enter the body, and even if one steps on a landmine, not a single fold of clothing is disturbed.

But that's not all.

The special thing about Autonomous Defense lies in the flexibility of its activation conditions.

Unlike physical impacts, it can activate by sensing formless 'malice,' or it can withhold activation by determining that 'there is no malice.'

Siwoo dislikes and resents Amelia.

He thinks she's pretty but annoying, rigid, and suffocating.

Isn't that enough ill will?

Why didn't it activate?

The questions didn't stop there.

Thinking back, Siwoo had clearly undressed Amelia while she was asleep.

And it was driven by feelings rooted in sexual desire.

He even suckled at her breasts.

But even then, Autonomous Defense didn't activate.

"Why?"

This confused Siwoo the most.

The flexibility of Autonomous Defense isn't solely regulated by others' emotions.

Its activation conditions adjust according to the mental state of the Brand's owner.

Even if there is no malice, if the owner doesn't want it, Autonomous Defense will activate.

The saying "Don't disturb a sleeping Witch" exists for a reason.

"Does that mean..."

That Amelia didn't feel much displeasure or rejection toward Siwoo suckling her breasts?

How could that be?

He couldn't make sense of it.

As Siwoo tossed and turned, the door creaked open.

Startled, Siwoo sat up.

It seemed his mental state was unstable after a day of flirting with death.

The one who opened the door was Sophia, holding a lamp.

"Head Professor, what brings you here?"

He quickly rose from the bed.

Sophia entered the room with a gentle smile.

"I thought about it and realized I haven't compensated you enough."

"Not at all. I'm grateful just for you quietly covering up this incident."

"That may be, but this is a personal gift I want to give you."

Sophia's long, slender fingers, like a crow's, untied the string of her pitch-black robe.

Then, she slightly parted the collar to reveal.

Illuminated by the faint glow of the magic lamp was the symbol of maternal love unique to women.

Namely, breasts.

"You did this and that with Amelia, so isn't it frustrating as a man to just sleep?"

Siwoo stared blankly at her breasts, mouth agape, before suddenly realizing.

Wait.

Did this and that with Amelia?

"I'll make you comfortable."

Sophia had known.

That the notoriously wasteful Skyboard couldn't be activated with just the magic power inside a lamp.

"Take it all out and sleep comfortably."

Sophia habitually licked her lips.

Author's Note (Afterword)

Thank you for reading again today!

I'll take a break tomorrow...!