City of Witches Chapter 90

Outside Gehenna, in the Mortal Realm, there are countless deranged Witches who prey on young Witches.

Yebin, who already lacked any talent for combat, chose to go into hiding in a place no one would visit immediately after inheriting the Brand.

She left behind all the benefits of civilization and comfortable life she had enjoyed until then.

How utterly boring it was to absorb her Master's teachings over the next ten years.

She was idly fiddling with a smartphone that couldn't catch any signal, in her workshop atop the perpetually dull and desolate frozen tundra, as usual.

Suddenly, a bird arrived and made Yebin a tempting offer in human language.

There was a patient in Gehenna, and it requested she come to conduct a diagnosis and treatment.

The offer was to issue a temporary Gehenna pass and, depending on the results, grant a massive reward and reinstate her citizenship.

That last part was music to her ears.

In Gehenna, she wouldn't have to tremble in fear of wicked Witches appearing at any moment to threaten her life. Moreover, vast amounts of research materials and supplies were concentrated there.

Above all, it meant she could escape this boring place and go to the city!

So, filled with anticipation, she came to Gehenna. But...

The first person she met was an incredibly beautiful blonde woman.

"This is Baroness Amelia Marigold."

Should she say she looked nobly born?

She had a fussy, princess-like air that made Yebin feel intimidated without trying.

Amelia, who just walked ahead without saying a word, made Yebin uncomfortable, so she tried to make conversation.

"My attire is a bit off, isn't it? Actually, it wasn't a problem when I lived in Korea... but where I live, there aren't any real clothes to speak of... haha..."

"It's fine."

"Seeing you so elegantly dressed, Baroness, makes me think I should have stopped by the city... But I did dress up as much as I could."

"No, it's really fine."

However, Amelia's mind was completely preoccupied, and she had no capacity to engage with Yebin's words.

Amelia only vaguely brushed off questions and didn't initiate any conversation with Yebin. Eventually, Yebin gave up on talking and looked around Gehenna with wide eyes.

It took about 30 minutes to return from Border Town to the lodging using a Portal.

Yebin's eyes widened as soon as she saw the lodging.

It was a beautiful mansion, the likes of which were hard to find even in the majestic yet barren Greenland National Park, let alone in Korea.

The sophisticated and antique scenery visible upon opening the door was like a work of art itself, making it hard to hold back her admiration.

"Wow, is this really a house?"

"It's the lodging."

"I've only seen places like this on NetXlix. It's amazing..."

"Net...Xlix?"

"Yes, don't you watch it, Baroness? Oh, maybe the signal doesn't reach here? Well, I have to go to a gas station in the city to download and watch stuff too."

"Signal? Gas station? Download...?"

As incomprehensible words poured out, Amelia, who had just been blinking her eyes, asked about something she had suspected since their first meeting.

Yebin Smirna had said this was her first time in Gehenna.

An Exile, by definition, is a Witch who has been stripped of her Gehenna citizenship and expelled. The price of that crime extends to her descendants.

So then...

"How long has it been since you inherited the Brand?"

She must be the successor of a previously exiled Smirna.

Yebin, who had been distracted by a gorgeous flower vase, answered Amelia's question.

"About ten years."

A feeling of 'oh no'.

In their haste, driven by the thought that they could save Siwoo, the group of Witches had proceeded with the invitation without verifying things precisely.

A young Witch who had only inherited the Brand ten years ago was not part of the plan.

It typically takes an average of ten years to perfectly inherit the knowledge of a Brand, so inviting her was akin to hiring a doctor whose license ink had just dried.

"Before inheriting the Brand from my Master, I attended medical school in Korea. Ten years ago, after inheriting the Brand, I hid in a workshop in the national park to avoid the eyes of other Witches."

Perhaps thinking Amelia's ambiguous reaction was due to insufficient explanation, Yebin added more.

"I see..."

"I heard a lot about Gehenna from my Master and really wanted to visit once. Thanks to you, Baroness, I got to come here like this. More importantly, I'd like to start examining the patient's condition now... Which way is it?"

To summarize, it seemed she originally attended medical school (?) in Korea while living as an Apprentice Witch, then hid in a remote place to avoid nasty Exiles.

After all, killings among Exiles themselves are not uncommon.

Frankly, it was disappointing.

Even if she were an Exile, the previous generation Smirna with accumulated experience would have been more credible.

A doctor with poor skills is more frightening than one with poor character, as they say.

"Follow me."

"Yes."

Anyway, even if the previous generation had come, she planned to have them conduct a preliminary diagnosis first as a test, so there was nothing to lose.

Suppressing her disappointment, Amelia guided Yebin to the room where Siwoo was sleeping.

Yebin quietly opened the door and entered.

Amelia raised her tentacles.

It was to immediately intervene if Yebin tried to inflict even the slightest harm on Siwoo, though the likelihood was low.

Amelia's trust in Exiles was skewed that far towards distrust.

"This is the person?"

"Yes, as you can see, he's human."

"You needn't worry about that."

A man with gauze over his eyes lay on the bed.

Though gaunt and pale, he had quite a good appearance—an East Asian man, no less!

"Is he perhaps Korean?"

"Yes."

Yebin was startled.

Yebin, who had packed her bags and rushed to Gehenna in a day, naturally assumed the patient would be a Witch.

Because the temporary Citizen Card she was issued had the seals of the Jemernai Count Family, the Marigold Baron Family, and the Avenuga Baron Family stamped in the guarantor section.

To begin with, issuing temporary citizenship to an Exile was unprecedented. And if three noble Witch families were going to such lengths to save someone, she naturally thought it would be a young Apprentice Witch.

But what was this?

A Korean, and a man at that.

Seeing a fellow countryman for the first time in ten years, even if he was in a coma, stirred a poignant sense of nostalgia.

But now was not the time to be immersed in that feeling.

Only by perfectly restoring this patient could Yebin achieve her escape from Greenland + entry into Gehenna."You've probably heard the general situation. He suffered severe brain damage through his left eye. There are wounds left by magic power clawing through it, making it impossible to regenerate the eyeball. We've slowed his biological clock to the extreme just to prevent further deterioration."

"May I examine him directly?"

"Of course."

Amelia nodded with difficulty in response to Yebin's question.

Yebin removed her floral-patterned sweater, lightening her attire.

Leaving only a thin cotton t-shirt underneath, she recited an incantation to perfectly eliminate surrounding bacteria and contaminants.

"Then, I'll take a look."

"Please be careful."

Amelia, tightly clasping her hands in tension.

Though Yebin had self-taught romance through dramas, even that was enough to get a rough sense of what this felt like.

This man was probably something like a lover favored by Baron Marigold.

The circumstantial evidence was clear in many ways.

Anyway, upon removing the gauze, a roughly gouged-out eye socket appeared.

Since adhered blood or pus-like substances had been removed, the damaged gray brain was clearly visible through the punctured skull.

Even at a glance, it was an abnormal condition.

Well, that's why that formidable Witch summoned an Exile from Gehenna, where many great Witches reside.

Yebin had confidence in her own skills.

Without even flinching at the horrific wound, she created tentacles from her fingertips.

The wriggling tentacles of magic power extending from her fingertips into Siwoo's eye socket.

Yebin's tentacles, which could examine the wound while exerting minimal influence on the patient's body, boasted precision surpassing any modern equipment.

"........"

Amelia was somewhat surprised because her eyes were filled with a serious light, devoid of the frivolity often seen in young Witches.

Unlike the unreliable first impression, she displayed intense concentration as if she were a different person the moment she began the diagnosis.

The diagnosis itself didn't take long.

After examining the condition of his entire body, focusing on the frontal lobe for about 30 minutes, Yebin carefully retracted her tentacles.

"How is he?"

Amelia, who wanted to ask Yebin immediately but held back, fearing she might disturb her.

The biggest concern was that Yebin's expression after finishing the diagnosis wasn't good.

"Could you give me a moment alone? It's my first time conducting an examination with someone else present..."

Leave the room?

In a situation where it's unknown what this newly met Witch might do to Siwoo?

Anxiety and unease, even for Amelia, caused her to lose her composure.

Amelia pressed Yebin with an urgent voice.

"What's his condition?"

"I can't say for certain since the precise mapping isn't complete, but it's serious... The frontal lobe is completely destroyed, beyond what can be addressed with 'healing.' The magic circuits throughout his body are shorted. The nervous system structure is also damaged..."

"I know that, is there anything more detailed?"

Amelia looked unstable, as if tears hadn't formed yet but she would break down and burst into tears at the slightest touch.

Yebin awkwardly avoided her gaze.

"It seems like using the regeneration technique Master was researching might somehow work... But I need to examine more closely. I need to grasp the bigger picture..."

Seeing Yebin's troubled expression, Amelia finally composed herself.

After all, she had just arrived here.

We've waited three months, can't we wait a little longer?

For now, let's trust Smirna.

Judging by her skill in handling tentacles, she's as proficient as any decent Witch.

Amelia took a step back.

"Sorry for rushing you. Would it be okay if I waited outside the room?"

"Yes, I'd appreciate that."

"........"

But leaving him alone with the Exile in the room was unsettling.

Didn't Siwoo end up like this because Amelia left him and ran away?

Despite being completely unrelated situations, recalling that night's events made it hard for Amelia to lift her feet.

"Please... take good care of him."

Amelia politely clasped her hands and bowed toward Yebin.

This was all she could do for Siwoo now.

"Please... save him..."

"P-please don't do this, Baron."

Yebin was startled by Amelia bowing her head at a 90-degree angle and responded.

Yebin had heard plenty of complaints from Master about how arrogant and haughty noble Witches were.

Even though she knew some of it was exaggeration mixed with jealousy and inferiority complex, her image of nobles wasn't very good.

After all, in Korea where she was born and raised, the class system was quite outdated and unfair.

But who would have thought a Baron would bow her head for a mere slave?

Suddenly, the sense of responsibility felt twice as heavy.

Leaving the room with a heavy-hearted Yebin behind, Amelia leaned against the door.

Her legs giving way, she slid down and felt tears flowing like a bursting dam.

Even though she thought she had accepted it as time passed.

Was it because she saw a thread-like hope in the overwhelming darkness?

Or because she read ominous signs from Yebin's stiff expression?

Her heart trembled as if it were the day she almost lost him for the first time.

If all these threads of hope were to disappear.

If Siwoo were to depart to a place from which he could never return, just like the day she lost Master.

Could she endure that pain of loss once more?

Especially if it were due to sins created by her own two hands, could she withstand it?

Afraid that any sound might leak out and cause disturbance, Amelia covered her mouth, swallowed her sobs, and shook her head.

No need to grieve already.

Think positive thoughts, think happy and joyful thoughts.

Things to do together when he wakes up.

Explain and apologize for the suffering caused by Amelia.

He'll surely be angry.

He might even scold and shout like he sometimes still does in her dreams.

But that's okay.

Even if he never forgives her, it's okay.

Everything else is a secondary issue.

But if by chance he forgives her, what should she do next?

Let's go to the Mortal Realm with Siwoo.

Hold hands and travel together to the hometown he so longed to visit.

Then, let's say it clearly.

"Stay with me... from now on..."

Like that.

Yebin's examination continued for over five hours, and Amelia waited like a stone statue for her to emerge.

It was a long, long wait.

Author's Note (Afterword)

Amelia... let's cry a little more...