City of Witches

1.

Closed for business.

“Thank you for everything, Siwoo hyung!”

“We owe you a lot!”

“No no, it’s all because you guys worked so hard.”

Today marked the end of Siwoo’s career as the host club’s promotional ambassador.

For the occasion, the Rose Glass’ staff members were holding a small party. Siwoo drank with the hosts for a while before approaching Takasho for a chat.

“Siwoo! My brother in both spirit and body! Thank you for your hard work!”

“So, how’s everything? Did you get to secure some regulars?”

“Of course! Actually, at this rate, we might be able to open up a second club soon! I won’t do that though! Being greedy isn’t good, after all.”

This was the first time Siwoo had witnessed how scary the word of mouths from the witches were.

Thanks to Periwinkle’s review, Takasho managed to improve the host club’s service’s quality and with Siwoo drawing the attention of the witches, it was safe to say that for the next three months, the club wouldn’t need to worry about getting customers anymore since everything was completely booked.

The witches didn’t even mind if Siwoo was no longer working here.

Takasho stood up from his seat and shook Siwoo’s hands while smiling.

The moment Siwoo grabbed his hand back, they embraced each other while patting each other on the back.

“I know I’ve said this enough times already, but… Thank you… Without you, I don’t know if I could go this far… That’s why…”

Takasho then took off the watch on his wrist.

Siwoo didn’t need to double check, it was obvious that this watch was a luxury item.

“Oh, c’mon, keep that, why are you even giving me something like this?”

“It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for me. Just take it with you already!”

“I don’t need it, just keep it!”

“Please! My friend! Take it!”

Siwoo tried to reject it, but Takasho just shoved the watch into his grip.

Then, he grabbed Siwoo’s shoulder and showed him his bright smile.

“If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, please come to me. I swear, I’ll help you in any ways I can.”

“…Fine, appreciate the thoughts, dude. Alright, let’s continue our party.”

Takasho’s words made Siwoo feel like he was in a youth movie or something and he felt a little ticklish and awkward because of it.

In any case, at least this outcome could relieve him of one of his worries.

“Oh, right, recently, Ms. Periwinkle introduced me to a new alcohol dealer, so I’ll be going to the Modern World soon.”

“Huh? You’re going to the Modern World?”

Gehenna was the City of Witches.

For the sake of keeping the unique atmosphere of the place and satisfying those conservative witches’ demands, they strictly limited their interactions with the Modern World.

Even those smugglers who regularly supplied goods from the Modern World to Gehenna were prohibited to leave Border Town.

And yet, Takasho said that he’d be going to the Modern World…

“I have a temporary pass from Countess Adonai. Well, I figured it’ll be easier for me to just go there and take care of this myself since I have a contract with Adonai’s Trading Company anyway. I’ll be going to Europe though, so I won’t have the time to visit my home country. Guess this is how the life of a successful businessman goes, huh?”

“Take care of yourself and come back quickly. Don’t just run away later, okay?”

“Of course. I won’t just leave this place behind, you know?”

-Knock, knock

They were drinking while having some idle talk when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

After that, Paul—who had got along well with Siwoo by now—entered the room.

“Takasho hyung, a witch is looking for you.”

“At this hour? Where is she?”

“I’m right here.”

Before Paul could say anything, emerald green hair entered Siwoo’s and Takasho’s view.

Though this witch wasn’t that tall, she had such a great proportion that anyone would mistake her for being a tall woman.

The aloof atmosphere she gave off—similar to that of a stray cat—and her mint-colored eyes only served to strengthen that image.

This witch was none other than Sharon Evergreen.

Wearing a pretty dress that was pressing against her chest, she bowed her head towards Takasho.

“Hello. I’ve heard a lot about you from Siwoo. My name is Sharon Evergreen.”

“Sharon? What are you doing here?”

“Well, you’ve told me about him a lot, no? I just wanted to meet him, since he’s your best friend and all… Also, the last time I came here, he wasn’t here…”

For a moment there, Takasho was frozen stiff, surprised by her presence, but it didn’t take long for him to showcase his skill and give her a proper welcome.

He stood up from his seat and returned her bow.

“Hello! I’ve heard a lot about you from him too! He always tried to make me jealous since he kept on bragging about his pretty girlfriend every single time. Jeez, seeing you in person just makes me want to kill him out of jealousy now.”

“Huh? Girlfriend…?”

Hearing that word, Sharon’s ears perked up.

With a happy smile, she sat down.

“If you don’t mind, can I join you two?”

“Oh, that’ll a little difficult, we’re in the middle of talking about something that’s a little…”

“Huh?”

“You see, Siwoo here is asking me for advice about where he should hold the wedding and how many kids he wants to have.”

“Huh?? R-Really??”

With Takasho leading the conversation, the drinking party between those three started.

2.

“That’s how he ended up catching a whole deer back then.”

“Is that true, Siwoo?”

“Yeah, but do we really need to keep talking about this?”

“C’mon, can’t you see how happy Ms. Evergreen is?”

As their conversation grew deeper, Takasho eventually revealed the things that Siwoo used to do in the past.

Meanwhile, Sharon was completely absorbed in it as she clung to Siwoo happily.

“Anyway, back then, I just knew that this guy was a big idiot. I mean, just think about it, if you are in that kind of situation, then you’d just give up already instead of hurting yourself unnecessarily, but not with this guy. If he thinks that he’s right, he’d just charge head on without a care in the world. What a guy, right? Truly a man among men.”

Siwoo knew that Takasho was doing this to hype him up, but the problem here was, he had been going on and on about this for a while now. That was why Siwoo felt more embarrassed than happy.

“Didn’t you say you owe me something? Stop it already…”

“But why~? I want to hear more of Mr. Takasho’s story!”

“Please don’t call me Mr. Takasho, Ms. Evergreen! I don’t deserve the honorifics, just call me Takasho.”

“You sure? Okay, but only if you drop the Ms. Evergreen thing and call me Sharon instead! A friend of Siwoo is also my friend!”

“If you say so, sure! Here’s another glass!”

Before they knew it, perhaps two or three hours had passed.

At first, the table was only filled with alcohol, but now there were remains of instant ramen and snacks all over it.

“Anyway, it’s an honor to have a chat and drink with you, Sharon.”

“Likewise! You’re an even better person than what I heard from Siwoo. I got to listen to all kinds of stories, thank you for that~”

“He lied about a lot of stuff, don’t trust everything he said.”

If all of Takasho’s story about him were true, he’d be a Buddha or a Messiah.

While Siwoo appreciated his friend’s intention to hype him up in front of his girl, it was still too much.

“Anyway, I had fun today too. Sorry for taking up too much of your time, dude. Alright, let’s go back now.”

“Okay! We’ll come again next time!”

“See you two around!”

After saying their goodbyes to Takasho, Siwoo and Sharon stepped into the Malkuth Gallery.

The night’s air felt pretty humid, as if the rain was going to fall soon.

It wasn’t a strange thing, since it was that time of the year already; the winter was about to come.

Siwoo and Sharon walked side by side, with the latter clinging into the former’s arm.

She looked so comfortable, as if she was hugging a soft pillow or something.

“It’s been a while since we walked together like this, hasn’t it?”

“Mhm. Back home, we used to do this almost every day.”

“Well, you’ve been busy, so it can’t be helped.”

“Sorry, I promise I’ll make up for it.”

Come to think of it, it really has been a while since we spent our time together like this…

Even before I worked in the host club, I’ve only been hanging out with the twins most of the time…

Siwoo took a glance at Sharon’s side.

Her high nose and thin lips entered his vision.

She looked like a fairy one would see in dreams as she looked straight ahead, as if thinking about something.

Siwoo hugged her waist tightly, bringing her closer to him and a smile immediately bloomed on her face as she looked up to meet his gaze.

“Siwoo.”

“Yea?”

“…You’ve done it with Odile and Odette too, right…?”

Hearing her sudden question, Siwoo’s legs felt like they had turned into jelly.

This was something that he had been wanting to tell her about.

Since he had already told the twins that he wouldn’t distance himself from them, he decided that he’d do the same with Sharon as well, but…

To be hit by the topic so suddenly from a blindspot like this didn’t make him feel good at all.

There really was a clear difference between admitting into something first and admitting because one was being questioned about it.

Before he realized it, he had stopped walking.

Sharon’s eyes—which were directed at Siwoo’s—were trembling heavily.

“Yeah… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hide it… I was about to tell you about it soon, though…”

“No, no! I’m not scolding you or anything! I just want to know if it’s true or not.”

Sharon averted her gaze.

Siwoo could roughly tell what was going on in her mind.

A man laying his hand on an apprentice witch was a taboo in the witch’s society and this case wasn’t an exception.

Laying his hand on both twin sisters was also considered a taboo generally.

There was also the matter of him sleeping with other girls even though he already had Sharon, which was also a taboo.

Of course the threesome with the twins could also be considered as another taboo.

But…

“Sharon, can you listen to—”

“Can I speak first?”

The atmosphere was strange.

There was this weird tension among them, but Sharon was strangely calm.

But, Siwoo didn’t know if her calmness stemmed from disillusion, contempt, or something else.

That was one thing that he couldn’t figure out.

“Siwoo, you…are very important to me… I can say that you’re the most important thing in my life…even more than magic… I want to tell you that…”

As she said that, she moved her gaze to look him straight in the eyes.

“That’s why… When I found out that you’ve been sleeping with someone other than me… That you’ve been showing the same expressions you’ve been showing me to others… I was upset…and jealous…really, really jealous…”

“…Sharon…”

Then, she drew her lips closer to his.

She pulled him by the collar and kissed him.

When they parted after that kiss, a blooming smile appeared on Sharon’s face.

“But, if this is what makes you happy, so be it. At the end of the day, your happiness is the only thing that I want. So, please, don’t feel too concerned about me anymore, okay?”

“Wait, I tried to settle things properly with the others too, but—”

“What did I just say? You don’t need to do that! Don’t feel too concerned about me. Got it? Anyway, ugh, I hate this kind of atmosphere. It made me feel like we’re in some kind of a cheap drama or something… Well, I actually tried to imitate that one drama I watched before, but ugh… Can’t say I like it…”

Sharon let go of her arms, waving everything off as if it was a joke and walked on.

“Hm?”

But of course Siwoo wouldn’t just let her go as he immediately grabbed her wrist.

She immediately looked back, startled.

“It’s the same for me.”

“W-What?”

“Sorry for not telling you this sooner, but… You’re also important to me.”

Sharon, who was staring at him blankly, considerably brightened up after he said those words.

Her expression made it look as if she had received all the goods in the world.

“Mm! I know!”

It was currently late at night.

There was no one around.

The shops and the streets that were bustling during the day were pretty much deserted, leaving only the two of them in this Gallery.

Holding Sharon’s slender wrist, Siwoo brought her face closer to his, starting another kiss.

This time, deeper and longer.

The tip of her tongue—which he hadn’t tasted for a long time—felt a little bitter, maybe due to the alcohol they consumed earlier.

Sharon didn’t refuse his kiss and instead held on to his waist tightly.

After they parted, Sharon looked up at Siwoo with wide eyes. It was because she had felt something hard pressing on her lower stomach.

Both of them had gone through a lot of things together.

To the point that they could understand what the other person was thinking just by looking at their eyes.

“Really? Here? But what if someone…?”

“There’s no way I could endure until we get home… Uh… That alley over there, nobody should notice it if we do it there.”

In truth, Siwoo could just teleport them back home.

And Sharon knew this.

That was why, for him to make such a suggestion…

“W-Well, I-I heard that a thrilling adventure every once in a while could make a relationship stronger… Of course, if you don’t want it, I won’t force you to…”

It went without saying that Sharon didn’t even think of refusing his offer.

That night, it was said that the stray cats in the Malkuth Gallery were a little bit rowdier than usual, and they didn’t stop making noises until the night was over.