My Head Throbs, Crushed Against The Plate.
This giant, a head taller than Siwoo, boasted monstrous strength, just as he appeared.
No matter how hard I try to lift my head, I can’t budge.
“Hehehe…”
“Keeeheee…”
“You little punk, acting all tough.”
Fyodor’s sneers pour down from above.
I ignore him for now.
The important issue is to figure out why and how this situation happened.
The solution to all problems starts there.
First, why did this happen?
The most solid clues are as follows:
Clue one: Fyodor sneered at Siwoo, calling him a “male pet.”
Since most citizens are essential for the convenience of witches, Gehenna’s city laws guarantee the survival and property rights of ordinary citizens.
The people harmed by witches are at most slaves, so the feelings citizens have towards witches are at most awe, fear, or respect.
It’s like how serfs in the feudal era treated nobles or royalty.
However, Fyodor’s tone revealed hatred not only for Siwoo but also for witches.
Clue two: He is a sailor and smuggler from the Naga.
Unlike citizens who are trapped in Gehenna their entire lives, Fyodor, as a smuggler, travels between the mortal realm and Gehenna.
Which would resent humans more, a bird that has lived its whole life in a cage without knowing the sky, or a bird that knows the freedom outside the cage?
It goes without saying.
The root of his resentment towards witches would be no different from that of a slave.
But a more important question remains.
How could this situation have happened?
As mentioned earlier, Fyodor scorned Siwoo, calling him a “male pet.”
However, simply despising someone and acting on it with violence are two completely different things.
If he were to beat a male pet favored by a witch, he would have to bear the consequences.
The most crucial clue here is his statement.
Clue one: “Sorry, but you won’t be seeing that witch again.”
This statement right here.
“Hey, whine like you did before.”
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”
Fyodor grabbed Siwoo by the back of his head and slammed his forehead onto the table repeatedly.
With loud noises, food splattered and dishes tumbled.
The skin on my crushed forehead tore, and my vision turned red.
At this rate, I’ll die.
Even if this man doesn’t really intend to kill me, my body won’t be able to withstand it.
Realizing this, Siwoo’s hand moved like a flash of light.
It’s not a situation where I can use the magic I’ve worked so hard to hone.
Siwoo doesn’t have any magic power right now.
Instead, Siwoo grabbed a fork from the table and forcefully stabbed it into Fyodor’s thigh.
It was an improvisation born from the instinct to survive.
“Krah!”
The sharp fork pierced through the thick denim fabric.
Penetrating the soft flesh and muscle underneath didn’t require much effort.
The effect was excellent.
The sudden pain made Fyodor’s hand release my hair.
Dizzy, I staggered back, creating some distance.
“Look at this sly little bastard.”
Fyodor quickly pulled out the fork, which was still quivering in his thigh.
I thought I stabbed him with all my might, but the wound itself seems shallower than I expected.
Siwoo grabbed a knife from another table, a knife used for cutting meat.
Since they serve whole, thick steaks, it’s not a flimsy dining knife from a family restaurant.
If stabbed properly, it could kill a person.
Knowing this, Fyodor didn’t rush in right away.
“What are you going to do with that, stab your belly?”
I’ve bought myself some time to think, so I need to take the best course of action to gather more information.
Siwoo took a breath.
And with the loudest voice he’s ever used in his life, he shouted.
“Ameliaaaaaa!!!!!!”
The sound was so loud that Fyodor frowned.
And three seconds later.
The first floor of the tavern was filled with laughter.
“Puhahahaha!”
“Look at that bastard looking for his master.”
“It’s a sight to behold, kekekekek.”
Siwoo didn’t care.
He slowly backed away, creating distance from Fyodor and the other sailors.
He needed a little time to assess the situation more accurately.
“Hey, come here, you little shit. I’ll poke your eyes out with a fork too.”
“…….”
10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds.
There’s no response from upstairs.
Amelia doesn’t appear.
That confirms it.
“You guys are really crazy.”
The reason why Siwoo can’t see Amelia again.
These sailors are all conspiring together to target Amelia.
Moreover, they’ve either half-succeeded or completely succeeded.
If they can be sure of eliminating the aftermath, they can treat a slave favored by a witch however they want.
I don’t know the reason.
I don’t know the method.
Even after making this deduction, I think it’s a deduction that’s too detached from reality.
Amelia is a witch.
And a Marigold Baron of the 22nd rank.
She’s a great witch who can easily toy with even the most advanced modern strategic weapons.
There’s no way she could be taken down by this small group of people.
Yet, she doesn’t respond to Siwoo’s shout.
That means they succeeded in subduing Amelia.
Perhaps the most likely method is,
The wine that Larissa brought.
“That’s enough, Fyodor. What are you doing to a kid?”
Just as Fyodor was slowly approaching Siwoo, a figure appeared to confirm Siwoo’s deduction.
The owner of the Blue Serpent contact point and a member of the Naga.
Larissa walked in.
“Don’t interfere and get out of here. This bastard put a hole in my thigh.”
“You go get ready for departure. We don’t have time for your silly games.”
“Larissa, you’ve been protecting this kid since earlier…”
-Click
Fyodor’s face hardened.
Something had dug into the crevice of his buttocks.
“Hey, this is a joke, right?”
What Larisa pulled from her bosom was a Tokarev, something straight out of a spy movie.
She was aiming it between Fyodor’s buttocks, at his balls.
“You wanna play marbles here? Or are you gonna shut up and go get ready? You know the Tokarev doesn’t have a safety, right? If I pull this trigger, bang! That’s it.”
“Alright, alright! Damn it! You’re such a slut! You can’t help yourself when you see a pretty boy.”
“Think about my position, having to roll around with you hairy beasts. It’s been ages since I’ve seen a fresh-faced guy. And you know I can’t kill him.”
“Who said anything about killing? We’re just gonna teach him a lesson so he’ll be obedient.”
“Was that backtalk?”
“No! No! Put that thing away!”
Fyodor, looking disgusted, threw down his fork and led the remaining sailors away.
“Hey! You guys move it too!”
Soon, only Larisa and Siwoo were left on the first floor of the shop.
Larisa, who had been watching them, now pointed her gun at Siwoo’s chest.
In movies, they always show how people freeze when a tiny gun is pointed at them.
It was because of this pressure.
Just the fact that that tiny hole was pointing this way made it hard to breathe.
“Shin Siwoo, was it?”
“I won’t thank you for saving me.”
“You could at least give me some lip service. I did it for you earlier.”
“You’re a lot scarier than I thought, noona.”
Larisa just grinned at Siwoo’s resentful words.
“There’s still something you need to help me with. Don’t you want to know why this happened?”
“What happened to Amelia?”
“If you’re curious, go to the guest room. Stand in front of me. Don’t turn around, no matter what. Oh, and put down that cute knife before that.”
He put down the knife.
Siwoo wasn’t a former special forces soldier or a retired spy.
He had no intention of fighting a gun with a crude knife.
Come to think of it, people in Border Town carried guns for self-defense.
Perhaps it was the overproduction of adrenaline, but a slightly odd thought crossed his mind.
Still aiming the gun, Larisa slowly moved in a semicircle, pushing Siwoo towards the stairs leading to the lodgings.
“I’m curious how much you’ve figured out. Can you tell me? It’ll save me the trouble of explaining.”
He answered as he climbed the stairs.
“The people involved in this are the sailors who weren’t called, including you. Amelia is currently unconscious. The method was poison in the wine or something that makes you lose consciousness.”
“Is that all?”
“…The conspirator is probably a witch from outside Gehenna.”
Hearing that, Larisa exclaimed in a fuss.
“Amazing! You’re like Sherlock Holmes! I didn’t think you’d realize that a witch was involved.”
Come to think of it, it wasn’t a difficult deduction.
Everyone, including Siwoo and Larisa, had shared the wine.
But only Amelia was affected.
It was probably a poison that reacted to the magic power within the body.
If Amelia had fallen into a trap without realizing it, the method must have been high-level magic.
Moreover, if they weren’t fools who thought they could cause such a commotion against a witch and get away with it, they would naturally have countermeasures or backing.
“Are they ‘Exiles’?”
“That’s also correct.”
Larisa clapped her hands and answered.
Not all witches reside within Gehenna.
Surprisingly, the proportion of witches living in Gehenna, like Amelia or the twins, is at most about half of the total.
The other half live in the modern world, and they fall into two categories.
One is witches who choose to stay in the modern world because it’s more comfortable than Gehenna, or for other personal reasons or business.
The other is witches who have broken the rules and had their citizenship revoked, making them unable to enter Gehenna, i.e., Exiles.
While the specific reasons vary, some have committed the following atrocities:
Those who harmed other witches’ apprentices.
Those who caused excessive casualties by recklessly conducting dangerous magical experiments.
Or.
“So, you’re planning to steal the mark.”
A plunderer who killed another witch and stole her mark to ascend the magical hierarchy.
“Correct! I thought you were just a pretty face, but you’re quick on the uptake. Smart too. Open the third room on the right.”
Shiwoo opened the handle of the guest room and entered.
There was Amelia.
She was collapsed on the floor, having fallen as if she was about to lie down on the bed.
Forgetting that Larisa was pointing a gun at his back, he rushed to her and checked her condition.
“Stop! If you even touch her, I’ll shoot.”
Larisa stopped Shiwoo with a sharp voice.
“Let me at least check her condition!”
“Do it without touching her.”
Shiwoo glared at Larisa once and put his finger under Amelia’s nose.
She was so annoying, but seeing her collapsed like that made him worry.
“Hoo…”
At least she’s breathing.
But she didn’t seem to be in a state to be woken up by shaking.
Her breathing was shallow and long, as if she had fallen into a coma.
“You suddenly ran out, I almost shot you. I don’t want to kill you. Be careful from now on.”
She calmly re-evaluated the situation.
In fact, there was no reason not to shoot Shiwoo in this situation.
It would be cleaner to kill him rather than letting the only witness live, only to be tracked down as soon as he left Border Town.
“Why aren’t you shooting me?”
“Are you complaining about that too?”
Larisa shrugged as if she was dumbfounded by Shiwoo’s gaze, who kept glaring at her, and continued.
“It’s a case of shared misfortune. You were also arbitrarily captured and are living without freedom. Everything is as you think. Me, Pyotr, and some other sailors made a deal with a witch outside of Gehenna.
We were offered a place to live in the mortal world if we kidnapped a suitable witch and gave her to them.”
Larisa lowered her gun.
Of course, she maintained a distance where she could shoot at any moment if Shiwoo tried to rush her.
“We’ve been waiting for an opportunity for a long time, and luckily, we got a harvest tonight? It just so happened that a witch noble came with only one slave while we were renting the shop.”
No wonder their movements were so coordinated.
Amelia was like a butterfly that had entered a carnivorous plant with its mouth open.
“Actually, life here isn’t so bad. I’m quite wealthy, and I’m rich enough to get most of what I want in Border Town.”
Shiwoo asked.
“But why are you doing such a dangerous thing?”
There was no way there wouldn’t be a risk in kidnapping a witch.
If they failed or were caught midway, those who participated in this would surely die.
Larisa answered.
It was a rather lonely answer.
“Even with a thousand gold pounds in Gehenna. You can’t buy freedom.”
