Chapter
City of Witches Chapter 337
A week had already passed since I became the promotional ambassador for Gehenna's host bar, Rose Glass.
There hadn't been any particularly special events.
At most, Sharon came to visit, and the Twins occasionally dropped by to show their faces.
In a way, it also meant that Takasho's host bar business was growing smoothly.
The absence of trouble meant they had successfully secured regular customers without any major issues.
Indeed, from the very first day, sales had been drawing a gradually upward graph, and there were plenty of business cards from witches who expressed their intention to return.
"Time flies already."
About an hour before opening time.
Siwoo, dressed in a suit, leaned against the sofa in the break room and smoothed his hair.
This slicked-back hairstyle, which once felt ridiculous, had become somewhat familiar by now.
Just as he was about to leisurely pass the time with a cigarette.
Looking out the window, he saw a witch arguing with the doorman, Paul.
Her ash-gray hair, which fell to her waist, was tied at the end, and she wore a dissatisfied expression with her chin raised.
"An apprentice witch."
Her youthful appearance made it easy to guess she was more of an apprentice than a full-fledged witch.
And judging by that convertible, which probably cost as much as a decent mid-size sedan, she seemed to be the daughter of a fairly distinguished witch.
She wasn't speaking loudly, so none of the conversation could be heard.
Shortly after, Paul bowed his head repeatedly and entered the host bar.
Not long after, the break room door swung open.
"Brother Siwoo. Please help me."
Paul, pitifully drenched in cold sweat, wore an exasperated expression as he pleaded with Siwoo.
"She insists on meeting you, even though we haven't started business yet. I tried explaining that it would be unfair due to overlapping reservations, but she just wouldn't understand... All she keeps repeating is, 'It's even better if it's before opening time. I'll pay however much it takes, so bring out the male witch.'"
"I can roughly guess. Who is it?"
"Um, she says she's Apprentice Witch Diana Yesod, of Count Yesod..."
"Yesod?"
Oh my, a big shot.
No wonder Paul, who usually managed to send disgruntled witches away smoothly, was flustered and asking for help.
Count Yesod, one of Gehenna's Seven Counts.
If she's his apprentice witch, she must be quite a significant figure even among the customers who've visited so far.
Countless witches had stopped by the host bar until now, but Great Witches or nobles hadn't shown up.
Perhaps it was a matter of pride for the madams, akin to ignoring a department store sale? That was his guess.
After all, standing in line at such a crowded place just to meet someone for 15 minutes wouldn't be appealing.
"What can we do? We'll have to meet her. Show her in."
"Is that alright?"
"I'm already entertaining all day; what's one more person?"
"Yes! Thank you!"
Paul's face brightened, and he hurried back downstairs.
Siwoo also gave his attire a final adjustment and walked over to the table.
It was a calculated move, in its own way.
From observing Takasho manage the host bar, he'd realized that 'entertaining witches' was merely the starting point of this business.
What mattered more was connections.
The connections formed while entertaining witches and securing regulars held limitless potential, incomparable to mere gold coins.
They could generate profits in entirely unexpected ways or gather information circulating only among witches to establish new investment plans.
In that sense, an apprentice witch of a Count was an excellent customer.
If they could secure her as a new regular, she would be incomparably more helpful to Takasho than other witches.
"But that's secondary."
What was actually more important was that this apprentice witch was none other than from the 'Yesod family'.
Yesod's innate magic was none other than magic utilizing barrier fields.
In fact, most of the materials Siwoo had referenced in the library were based on Count Yesod's papers.
If he could use this opportunity to become friendly with the apprentice witch, wouldn't he be able to get help with interpreting the Red Branch?
That was the biggest ulterior motive mixed in.
After all, it would mean getting feedback from the top authority in the field.
"Welcome, and thank you for visiting. I'm Shin Siwoo, who will be attending to Witch Diana Yesod."
Siwoo greeted Diana with a professional smile.
Up close, she had a very unique aura.
First, her entire outfit was white.
From the frilly dress to the gloves, shoes, and even the tights that reached above her knees, everything boasted a pure white color.
Her long ash-gray hair, not dry and ashy but with a clean, glossy sheen.
Her scarlet-red eyes, contrasting with the overall color scheme, gave a strong impression.
But this was merely her appearance; it had no direct connection to her demeanor.
Rather, her drowsy gaze, as if she might yawn at any moment, and the slightly downturned corners of her eyes.
The detached feeling, seeming devoid of motivation, didn't suit the typical apprentice witch at all.
Why, even the Twins had those sparkling eyes full of wonder at everything in the world?
In comparison, this one seemed like she was on her Nth playthrough of life.
"Nice to meet you."
Diana ignored Siwoo's offered hand and sat down.
This happened quite often, so Siwoo naturally took a seat as well.
However, since the other party was an apprentice witch, he didn't sit right next to her but took the seat opposite.
"It's an honor to meet the apprentice witch of the Yesod family. What brings you here today?"
Up to this point, Siwoo didn't think dealing with Diana would be difficult.
The only apprentice witches Siwoo had dealt with so far were Odil and Odette.
They were stubborn, but they definitely had a more naive side compared to full witches.
Besides, wasn't Siwoo no longer a slave now?
He thought it would be relatively easy to handle.
"I heard you can use Magic?"
But as soon as those pretty lips parted and the stereotypical line of stubborn, prideful witches came out, he had to readjust his mindset.
And that gaze.
The eyes that seemed to scrutinize him thoroughly, full of suspicion yet refusing to acknowledge his existence, made it impossible to stay completely at ease.
"For now, that's correct."
"Anyway, a promise is a promise, so I'll order a drink first. Bring me the most expensive one here."
The most expensive drink?
It would be a mistake to think of this place as an ordinary bar.
Since there were plenty of premium liquors prepared for witches, the most expensive drink at Rose Glass was something so exorbitantly priced it made your eyes pop out, with no consideration for value.“At our host bar, we have prepared various drinks to suit the tastes of Witches. How about looking through the catalog and choosing a drink that appeals to you?”
But bluntly saying, ‘Our drinks are expensive. Do you think you can afford them?’ would be a low move.
Even if she’s an Apprentice Witch, she is still a Witch from a Countess’s family.
There’s absolutely no need to scratch her pride.
“It’s fine, I’ll have the most expensive one. I promised the gatekeeper earlier.”
With that, Diana placed a thin metallic card on the table with a clink.
It was a credit certificate, the same kind Siwoo had.
He swiftly wrote the drink name and price on the receipt and showed it to her.
“Then, this is the amount. Does the drink suit your taste?”
“It’s good.”
She hadn’t ordered the most expensive one without any consideration.
While Gemernai and Yesod were also known as wealthy families, drinks with Gehenna’s tariffs and host bar premiums were priced in the billions.
Therefore, the drink he showed Diana was from the top class of the mid-tier line.
He didn’t want rumors to spread that Rose Glass was swindling Apprentice Witches.
Even though he wondered if this might still be too expensive, Diana nodded readily.
“Understood. This product includes a champagne tower event, so please wait a moment.”
“No, it’s fine. I came here to talk with you, after all. Sit here.”
“As you wish.”
A customer with a clear purpose.
A customer who came thinking, ‘A male witch? Unbelievable. I need to see it with my own eyes and verify it!’
Having dealt with such customers many times before, he could roughly predict how things would unfold from here.
“So far, there have been three frauds who boasted about completing innate magic in Gehenna.”
Surprisingly, this was also an episode he had heard from other Witches.
“I see. I probably wouldn’t have believed it either if it were just someone else’s rumor. I was fortunate.”
“I only believe what I see with my own eyes.”
“Shall I demonstrate some Magic?”
“Go ahead.”
A high-handed atmosphere that, despite the polite speech, felt anything but respectful.
It was clear that Countess Yesod had done an excellent job with her child’s education.
To show such a Witch-like demeanor while still being just an Apprentice Witch.
But Siwoo’s business smile never faltered.
Swallowing a bitter laugh internally, he conjured a black shadow in his palm as he always did.
“Bloom.”
Undulating black particles.
A darkness so deep it seemed to absorb all surrounding light swirled within his grasp.
Whether it was due to her pronounced double eyelids or her subtly cute, downturned eye corners.
Diana’s eyes, which somehow looked sleepy, widened slightly.
“…….”
“You may examine it closely.”
The law of shadows was the raw material for most of the Magic Siwoo wielded.
After all, armor, armaments, and Ribbons were all crafted using these shadow particles.
Nevertheless, the reason Siwoo could so easily display it before another Witch was that the refinement of the shadow was already complete.
When creating armor or armaments, he used shadows recombined through Elemental Magic he learned from Sharon.
When weaving Ribbons, he utilized a separate innate magic called Maiden’s Loom to spin it into thread form and weave it.
Therefore, the Magic Siwoo demonstrated was the original form obtained from the ‘Gnosis’s Egg’ and a rather low-level version at that.
Of course, most Witches were simply astonished that a man could use Magic at all.
“…….”
Diana carefully observed the shadow undulating on Siwoo’s hand.
Magic that clearly followed a different trajectory from common magic.
It was definitely innate magic.
She had never heard of, nor seen, magic of this form.
But somehow.
This shabbiness that looked like it would fly away if you blew on it.
-Pat!
Diana conjured a barrier field in her hand.
It was a thin, disc-shaped Magic Circle that served as a touchstone for observing various types of magic.
Dabbing the shadow with her fingertip and spreading it, she could classify it without much difficulty.
A microscopic Magic Circle in the form of a hook.
Its characteristic was latching onto other magic to hinder its deployment.
Even its clear weakness of being unable to offer significant resistance against overwhelming magic power.
She succeeded in understanding it in an instant.
Just this much…
Diana felt disappointment and, simultaneously, a secret sense of smugness.
Disappointment that the magic she had bothered to come all this way to verify was an innate magic that even Diana felt she could mimic with a little practice.
A sense of gratification that, as expected, it was quite shabby magic for someone claiming to be a male witch.
Didn’t it mean the hypothesis Diana had set up was correct?
“Interesting. I can see it’s a fairly decent level. It really is innate magic, that’s correct.”
But the man was smiling smugly, looking quite proud of himself for conjuring that level of magic.
If that’s the extent of his achievement in just one generation, it might be impressive, but she felt a slight urge to put him in his place.
She couldn’t deny it was a bad impulse, but for Diana, it was a very rare surge of motivation.
Had she become a bit more diligent lately, being forced to roam outside?
With self-praise, Diana opened her mouth.
“But with just this, it’s impossible to gauge the level.”
“Just give the order. As promised, the next 40 minutes are for you, Lady Diana.”
40 minutes was just right.
Even though Diana was still an Apprentice Witch, she was confident she could handle a hastily made male witch.
Of course, she had no intention of doing something uncultured like fighting using magic.
Naturally, because it would be overwhelmingly bothersome.
There was a very good method to determine, right from their seats, whose magical aptitude was superior.
“Then, do you have a Witchboard?”
It was a game utilizing magic.
Author’s Note (Author’s Afterword)
I’m back from a good rest.
I’m sure I posted a notice, but somehow it seems to have disappeared. ㄷ
I did post a hiatus notice, right?
Anyway, I thoroughly relaxed at a pension with an ocean view.
I drank, ate raw fish, ate meat, and even though the waves weren’t great, I went surfing and scuba diving.
I love traveling, camping, and going out to have fun.
It was tough not being able to travel or go swimming due to the pandemic situation.
I think I vented all my pent-up frustrations refreshingly. My really stifled feelings have all been released.
Having rested deeply, I’ll continue to write diligently from now on.
Thank you!