City of Witches Chapter 6

"Do you know how that cake was made?"

Amelia's long eyelashes slowly fluttered.

Beneath them, her beautiful sapphire-blue eyes seemed to reveal every hidden thought.

"Surely not poison...?"

Wrong answer.

Amelia made a slightly incredulous expression, as if she hadn't expected such a foolish reply.

"Manager, if I had resolved to kill you, I could do so right here, right now."

"W-well, that's true."

After all, Amelia, who holds a title and isn't just any ordinary Witch, would have no need to go through the bother of poisoning.

Amelia had enough money to compensate for killing Siwoo.

Then, why did she bring that up?

"Then why ask such a question suddenly..."

"Manager Shin Siwoo, you'll soon be in your sixth year, correct?"

"That's right."

"A city hall-affiliated slave is reassigned elsewhere after six years of service at one institution."

Siwoo was still bewildered.

Because that was a fact he already knew, even without Amelia saying it.

But without further explanation, she brought up something else.

She seemed to enjoy speaking in circles, so he let it be.

"The place that makes this cake is a bakery in Taro Town called 'Kipuis.'"

Amelia continued her explanation in an even tone.

"Since Gehenna's creation in 1338, Kipuis has been making this cake for seven centuries. Passing it down through generations, inheriting the recipe."

He knew.

For centuries, over several generations, those pitiful beings forced to live confined only within this narrow world.

"For sweeter chocolate, for fluffier cream. They have lived to offer all of that to us Witches."

In Gehenna, citizens who were not Witches were nothing more than cogs in a machine living for the convenience of Witches.

"That is what a Witch is."

With those words, Amelia arrogantly lifted her chin.

She was stating.

That Witches are beings to be revered, that the residents of Gehenna exist to revere Witches.

She asserts this privilege as a given, without even a furrowed brow.

An extremely authoritarian and aristocratic way of thinking.

"Do you now understand a little of what I'm trying to say?"

Amelia gently stroked Siwoo's tightly furrowed forehead with her fingertip.

Understand?

He had known from the start.

That's why he hated this city and the Witches who rule over it.

Despite knowing the famous adage that staying silent means you're halfway there, he couldn't help but say something.

"I understand. Were you trying to say that you Witches are incredibly arrogant, dogmatic, and selfish? Or, do you want to hear me grovel more?"

His voice involuntarily rose.

He couldn't agree with her words, her way of thinking, any of it.

Amelia calmly watched Siwoo seething and venting his frustration.

"You're not listening to my advice at all."

"Advice? Do Witches call that advice?"

"Of course, do you think I'm saying this for some petty boast?"

"It sounds like nothing else to me."

Could there be any meaning in her words other than 'Witches are special beings, so you, a slave, must follow my words'?

Amelia placed a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, her gaze had turned very irritable.

"How foolish..."

Tsking her tongue, Amelia let out a deep sigh.

She hesitated for a moment with a contemplative look, then reluctantly continued.

"I don't know how it sounds to you, but I have been showing leniency towards you, Manager."

"...Leniency?"

That was leniency?

"Go back. I'll let the punishment for missing the promised time end here. Return to your normal duties starting tomorrow."

"...Understood."

Siwoo gathered his cleaning tools and turned his back to Amelia, heading for the door to leave.

"Manager Shin Siwoo."

A tone calmer than before stopped Siwoo in his tracks.

The words that followed from Amelia were utterly perplexing.

"If you act at your next assignment as you do at Trinity Academy..."

Though whispered softly, they reached him clearly.

"...you might die."

Without a reply, Siwoo closed the door and left.

On the way back, trudging along with a bucket.

His mind was a mess.

As Amelia said, in a year, Siwoo and Takasho would be assigned to different workplaces.

What was surprising was that Amelia knew that fact.

The assignment schedule of Siwoo, considered less valuable than most Academy supplies.

And that absurd kindness and advice that didn't sound like advice at all.

A moment ago, with blood rushing to his head, he thought Amelia was just being spiteful.

Or that she was trying to scare him into obeying her orders.

But, that final line he heard as he opened the door to leave.

That was clearly a word of concern.

It might just be a misunderstanding, but it was definitely a different atmosphere from the usual Amelia.

"...I must be going crazy."

It seemed he had become overly conscious of Amelia, likely because he took Takasho's words too much to heart.

There's no way Amelia, of all people, brimming with a sense of privilege, would care about the well-being of a mere slave.

If she were truly that worried, she could just make him her personal slave.

Siwoo sorted out his thoughts.

"She really is a bitch."

The sky had cleared up without him noticing.

As Siwoo dragged his heavy footsteps towards the dormitory, he coincidentally ran into Takasho.

He was making a drained expression, his nape covered in kiss marks.

"Bro, you still on overtime?"

"She made me clean the research building for being three minutes late."

Takasho, who had been listless, perked up immediately upon hearing 'research building.'

It seemed to be quite an interesting topic.

"No way, the workshop? Just the two of you?"

"Yeah, about that, I wanted to ask you something."

"Did you do it?"

Siwoo smacked the back of Takasho's head.

Then he spilled everything that happened in the research building.

"Hmm..."

"Why are you pretending to be serious? It doesn't suit you."

"No, it's not that."

Takasho's expression became extremely serious the moment he heard.

Given Takasho's boastful history with women, Siwoo thought he might be of help, but...

Seeing him cross his arms and stroke his chin, Siwoo immediately regretted bringing it up.

"From what I see, this is 100%."

"What is?"

"Associate Professor Amelia has fallen for Academy Manager Shin Siwoo."

"That's what you say every day."Takasho grabbed Siwoo's shoulder.

The frustration he felt was transmitted perfectly through the grip.

"No, up until now it was half a joke, you know? I thought, no matter what, how could a Witch like a slave? But this is really certain. Amelia is head over heels for you."

"Talking nonsense about other people's business."

"Hah, you're a frustrating friend till the end. Listen up."

Takasho, who had just been calling out to Amelia, whispered into Siwoo's ear.

"You should keep this to yourself? You know I have a Witch who's fond of me?"

"Chief Professor Sophia?"

"Yeah, I heard it from Sophi recently too. Even if not as much as me, you're quite good-looking, right?"

He'd never thought about that.

"You know some Witches call you to their bedroom first if they think you're a bit handsome? But do you know why none of the twelve Trinity professors have sent you a single love call?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Rumors have already spread among the professors. That Associate Professor Amelia has her eye on you."

Come to think of it, the only Witch who hovered around Siwoo's side trying to talk to him was Amelia.

He just thought it was because she didn't want to mix words with a lowly caretaker.

Was that not it?

"But doesn't that have little significance?"

"That's not it! Only you, me, and Amelia know that Amelia proposed night service to you."

"So what about it?"

"How obvious do you think Amelia must have been for the other Witches to notice and back off on their own?"

However, Siwoo, who had suffered much at Amelia's hands, couldn't empathize with Takasho's excited delusions.

At best, the feeling he could muster was that the interpretation is better than the dream, or something like that.

"You don't get it? They say Amelia has never taken anyone to her bedroom until now."

"What?"

"I subtly probed a professor today. They say Amelia is a shy, orthodox Witch who knows nothing but Magic. She doesn't go to Velvet brothels, and at Levana Grand Bathhouse, she washes alone and leaves. Still don't get it? Really? Even after I've told you this much?"

Takasho pounded his chest as if dying of envy.

"I get called here and there, but strictly speaking, I'm just an obedient little bell. At best, a pet. But you're different, you know? Among Witches teeming with carnivorous women, Amelia is a pure-hearted deer!"

"Even if Amelia is a deer as you say, she'd be a deer that tears and eats human flesh, right?"

"No! Originally, people with pretty faces have kind hearts too."

Takasho, half-sobbing, placed a hand on Siwoo's shoulder.

"I'm jealous, Shin Siwoo, I'm insanely jealous of you... If things go well, you might even get to hear lines like 'Your Magic is first-class but your view is third-class, oops!' while getting mating press stamped on you by Professor Amelia."

"I think your brain is third-class."

Takasho vividly acted out the situation, even imitating Amelia's voice.

Siwoo was startled.

If this blasphemous conversation were overheard by someone, it wouldn't end with just overtime work.

"If it goes well, put in a good word for me too. I won't even hope to return to Japan, so even if not a slave, get me second-class citizenship somehow. Future pillar husband!"

Takasho, excited as if it were his own business, hit Siwoo's back and headed towards his own quarters.

"...I'll take about half of that with a grain of salt."

That Amelia likes him, who is nothing but a mere slave?

Even for a happiness Circuit running at full power, there's a limit.

Just hearing it like that made it plausible, but when he recalled Amelia's past actions and image, it didn't match at all, which was also true.

He pondered deeply.

Amelia in unrequited love.

An image of himself, preserved in formalin for some reason, only his cock standing erect, came to mind.

Siwoo shuddered.

It's rather scary.

Then, from far away, Takasho, who had been heading to his quarters, came staggering back.

"Ah, I almost forgot. I'm going to 'Taro Town' tomorrow. You're coming too, right?"

Come to think of it, tomorrow is Sunday.

Namely, a day with only morning duties, the almost only personal time given to caretakers.

The supplied daily necessities were very, very cheap, so purchasing private goods was essential.

'Renomond Town,' where the Academy is located, is an upper town where many high-ranking Witches gather, so daily necessities are expensive and luxurious.

A caretaker's salary could never handle those prices, so shopping had to be done in Taro Town, where prices are relatively low.

The problem was that it took at least half a day to walk from Renomond Town to Taro Town.

If it weren't for Takasho, who received Sophia's affection in abundance.

"I happened to have things to buy. Thanks, as always."

"Why are you being so embarrassingly polite? I have to show good treatment in advance to get some crumbs too."

Fortunately, thanks to Takasho, who gets called to Chief Professor Sophia's mansion every weekend, they could get a carriage ride to Taro Town.

It was just the time when he was running out of battle magic paper for drawing Magic Circles.

"But why do you keep going to Taro Town to buy things? You're not actually going to a brothel, are you?"

"There are only men there."

"What are you talking about? They say many Witches enjoy lesbian snails?"

Takasho is a good friend, but still, the fact that Siwoo can use Magic must remain a secret.

He didn't know where watching eyes and listening ears might be.

Still, at the moment of escape, he plans to take him along.

...Though Takasho might stay behind on his own.

"Anyway, I'll be counting on you tomorrow too."

"Come to the fountain by 1 PM, like usual."

"Got it."

Siwoo, having roughly dodged the conversation, returned to his quarters, holding his head throbbing with fatigue.

Author's Note (Author's Afterword)

Please spread the word a lot!