City of Witches

༺ Debt-Ridden Witch (5) ༻

1.

Sharon and Siwoo strolled through the streets together at night.

They stopped by at the witch’s rooftop apartment to get a stack of flyers.

Together, they distributed them in every corner of the alleyways.

“This spot looks good.”

That was when Siwoo realized that her claim of being an expert regarding the matter of flyers distribution was correct. She carefully selected places to stick them in, leaving no spot untouched.

And, his decision to help her went beyond a mere apology.

While he did want to apologize and assist her, he also realized that her presence was important to him.

Both of them were on a mission to hunt down the Homunculi; clear threats to humans.

Those monsters didn’t only cause harm, they also hunted, devoured humans and whimsically caused natural disasters.

He didn’t think of himself as a hero who could save everyone.

But, since he was capable of saving innocent lives, he believed that he should do it

However, as Sharon had pointed out, in their pursuit of the Homunculi, it was an inevitability that they’d encounter other witches as well.

While Sharon easily accepted Siwoo after seeing the Gemini Household’s ring, not every witch would do the same.

Therefore, having her by his side during the hunt would help in ensuring his safety.

Additionally, since she was an official witch, she could give him advice on his magic research.

After all, Siwoo was only good at certain parts of magic while his general magic knowledge was severely lacking.

While it was important to be creative and inspired when one was doing magic research, it was even more important to know the basics of everything first.

It was like building lego, one needed to have the blocks ready before creating something out of it.

And, the final reason why her presence was important was because she was the only person whom he could consider a true friend. He had lost all of his meaningful connections in this world and he couldn’t form new ones due to his fate and this world being severed.

Before he met her, he experienced extreme loneliness and boredom due to him having no one to confide in.

Now that he knew she would always be by his side and that she wouldn’t forget him even as time passed, Siwoo felt a sense of comfort.

That was why he wanted to genuinely help her, without any hidden motives, even putting his calculative nature aside while doing so.

“…Hmm, so you want to team up with me to hunt the Homunculi while learning magic along the way?”

“Yes. I’m kinda in a rut, you see? I can’t solve it on my own…”

“Hmm…”

Sharon took a moment to consider.

“Well, I understand your feelings, but hunting the Homunculi isn’t a joking matter. It’s a dangerous one and you could die from it from a moment of carelessness.”

“Can’t you give me a chance?”

“I don’t know… What if I give you a chance and you end up getting hurt instead? I don’t want that… But, you did say that you hunted a three-eyed one once…”

“Yes, I did.”

That made her seem hesitant again, as she gently touched her lips while thinking about the situation.

If she had intended to use him for her own gain, she wouldn’t need to think so seriously about the matter.

“Alright, let’s do it. Under one condition. If I say it’s dangerous, you’ll have to immediately back off, okay?”

“Alright.”

“And, in exchange for helping you study magic, I’ll take all the profits from the crystals.”

“Sure.”

Siwoo had no intention of forcing his way to subdue the Homunculi that he couldn’t handle.

He also didn’t want to owe anything to her, so the conditions she set up were fair and acceptable for him.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. It’s a win-win for both of us, no?”

‘No.’

Strictly speaking, while it seemed like a perfectly reasonable contractual relationship, upon closer inspection, one would realize that Sharon didn’t gain much from it.

She had been hunting by herself until now.

While he could use magic, it was uncertain how much help he would be, due to his status as a beginner. She didn’t inquire about his skills either.

On top of that, she said she’d take the money he earned from hunting in exchange for teaching him magic.

Taking away her time to help him out essentially didn’t give her any benefits.

But, she still chose to be kind and considerate, using the contract as an excuse to help him adapt to the modern world.

And so, he decided that he’d express his gratitude in his own way too.

“I have a condition too. Won’t it be unfair if you’re the only one who has them?”

“Sure, sure, what is it?”

“After each day, I’ll buy you a late-night snack.”

“L-Late night snack?”

Sharon, who was casually putting up the flyers on a lamppost, quickly turned her head when she heard Siwoo’s suggestion.

Her long hair swayed as she did so.

Like a startled cat, her eyes widened in surprise and sparkled under the red lights.

“I have a habit of eating a bunch of late-night snacks at once, so it won’t be a burden to me if I were to add another person’s portion. Besides, eating alone gets boring.”

“W-What kind of late-night snack…?”

“Whatever you feel like eating, I guess. Crabs like yesterday, or beer with chicken, anything. There are a lot of stores around here that stay open until late at night anyway.”

“Crabs… Beer… Chicken…”

Sharon opened her mouth slightly with drools coming out of it, like Pavlov’s dog reacting to a bell.

Seeing this reaction made Siwoo happy.

He chose the condition based on their experience yesterday, and it seemed like it was successful.

Sharon quickly wiped her mouth to clean her drool and tried to regain her composure.

“Well! Since you said it, I can’t just refuse now, can I?”

“Yeah, I would be disappointed if you do.”

“Then, let’s finish putting these flyers up quickly!”

“Okay, okay.”

She ran around energetically while putting up the flyers.

It made him wonder how many streets could she cover at once until that energy lasted.

While she was doing it, she took out the watch hanging around her neck several times.

“Why do you keep checking on the time? Do you have an appointment or something?”

“The time?”

Sharon seemed puzzled when she heard his question, but a second later, her eyes widened, as if she had realized something.

“Ah, right. I haven’t explained it yet, have I? This is an artifact that helps me detect those Homunculi.”

She fiddled with her necklace, as if trying to take it off.

In the process, her chest swayed. Its voluminous shape revealed itself beneath the windbreaker as she moved her arms behind her neck.

Siwoo couldn’t help but be drawn toward her big chest and her slim waist that he could hold with one hand.

It wasn’t like he was meant to do it though, as it was an instinctual reaction that every healthy male would have.

He let out an awkward cough while averting his gaze. Meanwhile, Sharon innocently raised the item that she had now grasped on her palm.

And so, Siwoo turned his gaze toward the item.

All this time, he thought that it was a tiny watch, but it turned out to be something else entirely.

It was shaped the same and it also had a needle-like thing inside, just like a watch. Except that there was only one of them, instead of two. It had two ends, with one end painted red, making it resemble a compass more than a watch.

“Homunculi always walk around with an Interdimensional Barrier around their bodies. This compass is able to detect the subtle distortions that occur in the space when they are present within 150 meters of radius.”

“Can I take a closer look?”

“Sure. But, be careful, it’s expensive. I got it for 12,579,800 won at the Incheon Port.”

“Yes, yes.”

He carefully took the compass from Sharon’s hand.

It was relatively small, its size was comparable to a wristwatch.

Beneath the glass cover, there was a rotating disc that showed the direction. In the center, the hand was moving slowly in a circular motion.

The compass was likely made of silver.

On its back, he noticed a black and white bird emblem; the emblem of the Gemini Household.

‘I knew it, this was the twins’…’

“Interesting.”

“Right? But, how did you find the Homunculi so far if you don’t even own a tracker?”

“I used my eyes.”

“Huh?”

Sharon looked at him with a surprised look

She didn’t look as surprised as she was now when she found out that he could use magic.

‘Is it really that surprising?’

“So, my brand is on my left eye. I don’t know if it’s because of that, but my left eye can see the flow of mana. Even from outside the barrier, I could see those Homunculi. They look like a distorted shadow.”

“…”

Since they were going to be partners in the future, he decided to share a little bit of his trade secret.

But, she only stood there with her mouth hanging open.

“Is it really that surprising?”

“N-No, but… If I had met you ten years earlier… I could have saved 12,597,800 won… I can’t… My heart hurts when I think about it…”

“You paid over 10 million won and they didn’t even spare you to pay the 7,800 won?”

“Not only that, they didn’t even give me change! They said they didn’t have any!”

“In any case, if we met ten years ago, I’d still be a normal student.”

“Right. Now that you said that, my heart hurts less.”

Such a meaningless conversation.

Having someone who’d never forget his existence.

Both things made him happy, to the point that he curled his lips up.

He realized how badly he missed someone else’s presence in his life.

“Hey.”

Before he realized it, Sharon brought her face closer to his.

But, she didn’t bring it close enough to completely obstruct his vision.

Her wide eyes were filled with curiosity.

His impulsive thought told him to kiss her right there and then.

“Yes?”

Her sudden action surprised him, making him unsure how to react.

But, she ignored his reaction as she playfully poked his eyepatch.

“Can I take a look at your eyes? Just once?”

“…Just that?”

Siwoo had no problem with that since it was a simple request.

He then revealed his golden pupil to her.

Prior to this, he had closely observed his left eye in the mirror, so he knew that it had a rather unique appearance.

While the cornea and pupil didn’t have any noteworthy features…

The iris had a golden pattern that resembled extending tree branches.

While the pattern served as his brand, unlike official witches’ brand that could be used to tell their ranks, its shape was too peculiar to serve that purpose.

“Hmm…”

Sharon leaned in so close that their noses almost touched. She stared intently into his eyes.

In curiosity, she puckered her lips and blinked her eyes.

Siwoo saw a reflection of his slightly embarrassed expression in her eyes.

“Amazing. This is my first time seeing this kind of brand. How did it turn out like this?”

Siwoo wasn’t really worried about her curiosity.

Rather, there was no time for him to worry.

She didn’t seem to be aware of it, but their faces were way too close to each other. At least, that was what Siwoo thought.

Since they were that close, Siwoo could naturally smell her body scent just by breathing normally.

One thing about witches that he found out was the fact that each of them emitted unique fragrances from their bodies.

And Sharon, despite her living in such a shabby rooftop room, was no exception.

‘This scent… What kind is it…?’

‘A mixture of tangerine and vanilla benzoin…? It’s sweet…’

In any case, her scent was so good that he wanted to keep smelling it.

Except, there was a problem.

“What’s wrong? Am I bothering you?”

“No… Are you finished?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen enough.”

After smelling the scent for a few seconds, he felt a rush of both excitement and arousal.

His pants became uncomfortably tight, even though he wasn’t feeling an intense desire for sex.

If he hadn’t been wearing jeans… He might have revealed something embarrassing…

“Anyway, thanks for showing me. Let’s put up the rest of these flyers!”

“O-Okay…”

As he tried to adjust his eyepatch and returned Sharon’s compass, his body froze.

“What’s wrong?”

“The needle… It’s pointing in one direction…”

The needle that had been spinning around was now pointing in a specific direction.

As soon as she saw this, Sharon waved her arm. In the next second, her body briefly shone, similar to what happened when a magical girl was transforming.

When the light faded, she was dressed up in her witch outfit.

Pointed hat, wand, robe, short-hemmed dress adorned with layered frills and thigh-high boots.

She swapped her casual clothes for them in an instant.

Now, rather than calling her cosplaying a magical girl, she looked even more real than a magical girl.

“Alright, let’s go. As your senior, I’ll show you what hunting Homunculus is all about!”

After saying that, both of them ran toward the direction the compass was pointing to.