City of Witches Chapter 336

“I want to go home….”

Diana Yesod was gloomy.

It had already been a week since she received the punishment from Countess Yesod of leaving in the morning and returning in the evening.

The reason was that her energy, which had been plummeting madly, had finally hit rock bottom.

“Huu….”

Diana was not an unfilial daughter.

If her mother was so worried.

If she was even on the verge of tears, could she, as a daughter, not even meet such a small expectation?

At first, Diana also made her own efforts.

For the first week, she spent her time as diligently as possible, peeking around Taro Town and wandering through Ars Magna Town.

That is, it meant she did not just sit glued to a café drinking only coffee or nap under a sunny tree.

Instead, she filled her time faithfully with walks, watching plays, studying Magic at the library, and so on.

When she returned in the evening for dinner and shared the day’s experiences, the Countess’s face, looking at Diana with a blissful and proud expression, also served as a kind of motivation.

But even that had its limits now.

Diana was not the type to develop interest by forcing herself to do things she didn’t want to do.

Innate energy deficiency.

It was the limit of a born homebody loner type lacking passion and perseverance.

“I want to go home….”

With a sigh she let out deeply, along with a complaint she had repeated who knows how many times today—hundreds if counted weekly—Diana slumped.

“What else should I do to pass the time….”

Yesterday, she wandered around the Taro Town market, looking at the daily necessities of commoners.

The day before yesterday, she watched a boring and tedious play in the theater district.

Speaking of plays, to be honest, all the plays in Gehenna were tedious and uninteresting.

Because they were nothing more than reconstructions of famous scripts passed down for hundreds of years, with no innovative attempts whatsoever.

Diana felt the parasol draped over her shoulder was particularly heavy.

The terrifying truth that she had to loiter outside for a full 6 hours from now weighed heavily on her chest.

If push came to shove, she could also choose a spot out of people’s sight, just nap all day, and then return.

Moreover, Countess Yesod had given her a credit certificate with unlimited usage, in contrast to harshly kicking out her own daughter.

Renting a room and lazing around before returning was also one of the options.

But that would also be something that saddened her mother.

Just as Lucy Yesod loved Diana, Diana also loved her mother.

If she had resolved to meet her mother’s expectations for once, only to return to square one like this….

“Just for today, one day only…? Sigh….”

She steeled her mind, which kept wanting to weaken.

Conflict clung to her like a tail.

Wasn’t there anything interesting to do?

If only there was something stimulating and enticing, it would be great for passing time quickly.

Wandering like that, Diana stepped into Malcut Gallery, which she had decided would be today’s exploration site.

As the largest shopping district in Gehenna, there were many good cafés and various items likely to pique a Witch’s interest.

“Alright….”

To not disappoint her mother.

She would finish having plenty of diverse experiences today and return!

As Diana reaffirmed her bold resolve, her gaze was captured by a splendid café.

Diana generally tried not to sit down.

Because if she carelessly sat in a comfortable place, it was obvious she wouldn’t overcome her own laziness and would just sit glued there all day.

Go into the café and rest deeply.

Or,

Wander around diligently to please her mother.

The internal conflict between the two choices.

But Diana’s rolling crimson gaze was capturing the menu a certain Witch was eating.

“Hmm, shall I just have that?”

Diana sat down and swept her beautiful ash-gray hair behind her ears.

Her ears twitched perkily during the happy sugar-charging time.

Time passed more quickly than expected.

This spot is really good.

She could watch the passing people and Witches, and especially, the ice cream topped with liqueur sorbet was truly exceptional.

It was enough to feel the reward for wandering around and enduring hardship for once.

However, that didn’t mean she didn’t miss home.

Diana’s mentor, Lucy Yesod, was a noble and Witch as if drawn in a painting.

She was a strict Witch who tolerated no actions or disarray that compromised dignity.

Diana, raised under such a mother, also valued etiquette and grace.

As the young lady of the Yesod Count House, even in a secluded café where others’ eyes hardly reached, she couldn’t show a disheveled appearance.

To do that, she had to be careful about her posture even while sitting upright and eating neatly.

That itself was quite a chore and was one of the reasons Diana disliked being outside.

If she were at home, it wouldn’t matter if she walked around stark naked or floated on water like drifting fallen leaves.

Just as Diana was considering giving up for real, the voices of two Witches in conversation reached her from beside her.

“So, have you heard about that?”

“What is it?”

“The story about the male witch.”

“Male witch?”

Perk.

Diana’s nerves were entirely drawn to the seemingly interesting topic.

A male witch.

It had a somewhat strangely odd ring to it, but Diana had also vaguely heard about it.

It was a rumor that a man, of all people, possessed a Brand.

Most Witches who first heard this news dismissed it as a baseless rumor.

Even if not, they didn’t pay much attention.

A Witch’s innate magic is something created over several or dozens of generations.

It might be somewhat special that a man created it, but its level was obvious without even looking.

Moreover, the actual hot potato himself had gone out to the Mortal Realm, so the Witches who had seen him in person could be counted on one hand.

Naturally, interest died down, and Diana also didn’t pay much attention.

But shortly after, the situation changed completely.

For the first time in Gehenna, an official pass and Citizen Card were issued to a male.

And there were as many as three who provided Public Attestation for him.

Sua Agatha, head of the Gwanghwamun branch of Witch Point.

Count Gemernai, an influential noble of Gehenna.

Duke Tiferet, revered as a public enemy hunter.

Each one was no ordinary celebrity.

If such influential Witches showed interest and provided Public Attestation, wouldn’t anything be proven to have value? It planted such a question.

Along with that, various rumors clung like a snowball.

They say it’s the ultimate anti-Great Witch weapon created by Count Gemernai.

Without support from that level of wealth, a male witch would be impossible.

No, they say he’s Duke Tiferet’s secret lover.

Someone saw them renting the same room at an inn in Border Town.No, I heard he's an experimental subject personally overseen by Duke Keter.

There's also talk that Keter personally took him on as a disciple.

No, no, no.

A procession of speculative "no's" followed.

Diana didn't know what to believe or how far, but the important point was that she was now deeply interested in the conversation of the witches at the next table.

"Really? He possesses Magnetic Magic? And at least above the 10th Hierarchy?"

"That's what I heard~ My friend met him recently too."

"Where can you meet him?"

"Hey~ a host bar opened at the far end of the Malcut Gallery, and apparently he works there."

A host bar?

What's a host bar?

Not waiting for the bewildered Diana, the conversation continued.

"I heard if you order drinks and use the bar, you get a chance to meet him face-to-face for 15 minutes per person. Should we go?"

"Sounds intriguing."

"Anyway, they say it only costs a few gold coins, so let's go. Where else would we get such an opportunity? They said reservations are piling up, so we have to meet him quickly, quickly."

"Let's go right now."

The witches chatting got up from their seats.

Diana also hurriedly, yet without losing her dignity, finished off the remaining ice cream.

"A male witch..."

There have been a few men in history who wielded Magic.

It's surprising that there were as many as three despicable frauds who claimed to have created Magnetic Magic.

Though their lies were exposed before undergoing rigorous scrutiny, and they paid the price.

But if the rumors are true.

If he is the first male witch.

Just meeting him might be worthwhile.

They say there's a horse with horns on its forehead, something considered only a mythical creature, and it's near this gallery too—no reason not to go see it.

"Hmm..."

Diana furrowed her brow.

It wasn't due to annoyance.

The moment she thought of the existence of that witch whose face she didn't even know, an inexplicable sense of rejection prickled in her chest.

To summarize the source of that rejection in one sentence:

A man using Magic?

Magic is a sacred and noble domain.

Diana understands its beauty and profound mysteries.

She has glimpsed, at least in part, that the deeper one delves into the study of Magic, the more profound and vast the unknown unfolds.

And a man is doing that?

Her mother always said so.

At her bedside before sleep.

'All men are deficient and foolish creatures, so don't even let them come near you! The moment they open their mouths, they'll lie and try to trick you!'

During meals together.

'All men are wolves! They'll only look at my daughter's pretty face and think about taking advantage! You're just too pretty and lovely, you know!'

While bathing together.

'Good men can exist in the world! But the moment they approach you, they won't be good men anymore! If any man talks to you, tell Mommy!'

Besides that, she incessantly chattered about how marriage should be with another witch, not a loved one, and how men are inferior beings who can't even handle Magic.

Even though Diana had heard that her mother, in her youth, had a proper human male lover.

Anyway, due to that biased education, Diana believed until she was eleven that men turned into wolves at night and ate women.

And even at an age where she could understand that such education stemmed from her mother's worry for her daughter, a latent prejudice remained.

That such sinister, rotten men wield sacred Magic...

It violates the stereotypes ingrained over many years.

Therefore, Diana could not inwardly acknowledge the existence of a male witch.

She didn't want to acknowledge it.

She knows such discriminatory thoughts are bad, so she just doesn't express them outwardly.

That's why it feels all the more unsettling.

"I'll know once I check it out."

Though Diana has reached the pinnacle of laziness, she possesses the most basic quality required of an apprentice witch.

The curiosity to raise questions and attempt to verify them.

Without that, no matter how overflowing her talent, Diana couldn't have moved her succession preparation forward by three years.

Diana left the café and promptly knocked on the host bar's Gate.

Author's Note (Afterword)

Taking a break tomorrow and the day afterㅠㅠ I'll also post a notice once it's confirmed!

Readers, have a happy holiday too.