Chapter 142 – #31_City Life (2)
#140
1.
Summer in Gehenna is similar to a Mediterranean climate.
Since it’s an otherworld pieced together from various regions, not everywhere is like that, but at least Lenormand Town, where Siwoo mainly spent his time, was.
What this means is that in summer, there’s a lot of sunshine, leading to a hot and dry ‘dry season.’
That’s why I had forgotten.
Korean summers are incredibly hot, and above all, they boast a terrible humidity as if you’re stuck in an aquarium.
The aftermath of that is that even after the sun goes down, it continues with tropical nights.
“Give me an Africa Rula.”
“That’ll be 4,500 won.”
Siwoo, buying cigarettes as usual and smoking in the alley in front of the convenience store.
The heat rising from the asphalt, heated during the day, feels like it’s roasting his back.
Even the heat from the cigarette butt in his hand was unbearably hot.
“It’s hot.”
It’s hot.
So, so hot.
If you’re not going to make me pee or poop, couldn’t you at least make me not sweat?
Siwoo grumbled to himself, put the cigarette butt in the case, and returned to his home, blessed with air conditioning.
“Phew…”
Thanks to the temperature being lowered, the heat in his body quickly subsided, and goosebumps rose.
However, even the blessing of science that avoids tropical nights couldn’t fundamentally solve Siwoo’s worries.
It’s been three months since he returned to Korea.
While tackling the things he couldn’t do until now one by one, Siwoo didn’t slack off and immersed himself in magical research.
At first, it was so much fun.
The series of tasks, such as organizing his self-magic that had grown exponentially while he was unconscious, and shaping the parts he only knew by intuition into magical formulas, brought a sense of fulfilling satisfaction.
His daily, remarkable improvement in magic skills was a bonus.
But for the past month, it’s been, well, not very enjoyable.
Gehenna’s Trinity Academy was a treasure trove of knowledge.
If you went to the library, you could read countless books filled with sources of inspiration and magical knowledge.
If he had any questions or got stuck, whether it was the twins or Amelia, he could ask for advice.
But this is the modern world.
The only magic books around are meaningless occult books or setting collections, and there’s no one to give advice.
In any field of study, foundational knowledge is essential for progress.
Similarly, even if Siwoo were to establish his own unique magic system, it wouldn’t mean creating something from nothing.
At this rate, he would only be circling around issues that were off the mark, like wandering through a maze without a lantern in thick fog.
Ironically, Siwoo, with his exceptionally keen magical intuition, realized that this was a problem he could never solve alone.
Since then, Siwoo had temporarily put aside his magical research.
Instead, he began to immerse himself in more indulgent activities, wasting time and money.
He took out a beer in the dark room, lay down on the sofa, and started watching the movie he had been watching earlier.
In the living room, various miscellaneous items he had ordered by delivery were piled up, unorganized.
“………”
The movie’s story passed through his brain.
Siwoo began to contemplate how to break through his current situation.
It’s good to take a break from research for a change of pace.
But could he really come up with new ideas by doing this?
There are 25 formulas and arrangements that he can’t understand.
Is it possible to conduct magical research without formulas?
But in the end, all that came back was a frustrating wall, and Siwoo sighed deeply.
2.
The connection is severed.
He becomes a ghost.
He’s cut out from the world.
As time went on, he could increasingly feel what that meant.
The phone he had opened under a fake name was thankfully fine.
However, the points that had accumulated massively on the delivery app disappeared after about a week.
Thinking he might play a game to clear his head, he ordered a computer and tried a new game, but while offline was fine, his online game accounts disappeared after a while.
He didn’t know the exact criteria, but every time he confirmed his cut-off absence, he couldn’t help but feel a little empty.
There’s no one to talk to.
There’s no opportunity to build deep relationships.
No matter how many good memories they made with each other, what’s the point if it all disappears after a week at most?
Yeah, at best, he’d have to be an exile in the present world to build a decent human relationship.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that the exile would be friendly to Siwoo.
“Interesting.”
Even if it’s the price of his life, isn’t it too much?
Siwoo chuckled bitterly and turned up the volume of the speakers even more.
The loud punk rock sound somewhat lessened the silence in the house.
“I’m getting tired of delivery food too…”
Well, at first, he was so happy that he ate everything, but the food from restaurants all had a common taste, so to speak.
Eventually, he went from eating five meals a day to three, and he only ordered food from verified good restaurants.
Then he learned one truth.
Korean beef, crustaceans, and tuna are delicious no matter how much or how often you eat them.
As Siwoo enjoyed the modern man’s pleasures, keeping time with the loud beat and drum sounds, a noise pierced his ears.
-Knock knock knock knock!
-…Hey…! I’m… here…!
Siwoo turned off the speakers.
As the noise that had been making his ears ring disappeared, he could hear the voice more clearly.
It was a woman’s voice and the sound of someone pounding on the door.
Perhaps because he hadn’t heard it for quite a while and hadn’t reacted, both were filled with emotion.
-Knock knock knock knock!
“Hey! Open the door!”
What is it? Is it noise?
Siwoo has a music box.
It not only prevents magic power from being released when he uses magic, but it also reduces the presence of those around him just by carrying it.
“Ah.”
And Siwoo realized.
The music box, which had to be wound up once every 24 hours, was completely unwound.
Basically, the seal suppresses and conceals the release of stored magic power, so in fact, it’s not necessary to use it except when going out or using magic.
Due to such complacency, he had forgotten to wind it up for a moment and unintentionally caused noise pollution.
Still, Siwoo didn’t let his guard down.
“Bloom.”
He created particles of dark shadows.
He refined them into a long spear.
There’s no guarantee that the uninvited guest at night is a neighbor.
There’s no evidence to say that the woman knocking on the door right now isn’t an exile, is there?
In fact, just looking at Yebin, not all exiles are evil.
Basically, the ‘Exile Decree’ is even passed down to later witches, so there are many witches who live outside who haven’t done anything wrong themselves….but.
“It doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
Siwoo carefully opened the door.
The woman, who had been gritting her teeth and pounding on the door until he opened it, began to spew out complaints like a machine gun as soon as the door opened.
“Hey, do you know what time it is? I’m already dying from staying up all night studying for exams, and I can’t concentrate…”
She had a bob haircut, wore a track suit over her college jacket, and had a casual style as if she had just thrown something on at home.
The woman, who had been frowning, stopped talking abruptly when she saw Siwoo’s face.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like this safe house had been discovered by an exile.
I know this is a bit rude to say, but witches are basically very beautiful.
Even the evil Eia was undeniably beautiful.
Of course, the neighbor girl in front of him was pretty, but it was hard to see her as a witch.
He’s spent so much time with them.
He’s pretty sure.
Siwoo relaxed and scattered the shadow spear.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know the sound would leak out. I’ll be careful in the future.”
The woman, who had been staring at Siwoo’s face for a long time, blinked a few times and then opened her mouth.
“It could happen, but… please be careful in the future.”
“Okay.”
Now that the conversation was over, it seemed like it was time to go back, but she was standing there awkwardly, so he couldn’t close the door.
“When did you move in?”
Suddenly?
Siwoo was puzzled but answered.
“I think it’s been about three months.”
“Ah, I see. I didn’t know at all. That’s strange. I live in number 4 across the hall. Same floor.”
The woman, who had been talking to herself in a low voice, suddenly told him her address.
Siwoo, bewildered as to what she was trying to do, was asked another question at an unexpected time.
“Is that like a fashion item? It’s cool.”
“Ah, this? Yeah, it is.”
The woman pointed to Siwoo’s eye patch with her hand.
It seemed like it was thanks to this cool eye patch that she had been so hesitant.
It wasn’t a flimsy thing given out at the hospital for eye infections, but a black eye patch decorated with luxurious leather, so it certainly caught the eye.
“Anyway… thank you for being quiet.”
“No, it was my carelessness.”
He was about to close the door when the woman hurriedly spoke again.
“Are you going to college around here?”
“No, I’m just unemployed.”
“Ah… I see…. If we run into each other in the elevator, let’s say hi sometimes.”
“Sure.”
“Okay, then… goodbye.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
She had been so angry that she almost tore the door off, but when she left, she bowed her head and said goodbye like a gentle lamb.
“What was that?”
He’d seen all sorts of strange women.
Siwoo closed the door, turned on the music box, and turned the music back up.
He pondered the encounter he had just had.
Let’s say hi if we run into each other in the elevator…
It’s a more vague statement than ‘let’s have a meal sometime’ since he’ll forget this whole thing in a few days anyway.
“I wonder what the twins are up to.”
He thought of Odile and Odette, the apprentice witches of the Gemini family, with whom he maintained the best relationship.
The witches of Gehenna rarely send apprentice witches to the present world, so wouldn’t they be studying hard to come see Siwoo by now?
If that takes about 5 years, it means he has to live this life for another 4 years and 9 months or so.
“Hmm… should I go on a trip?”
There was a business card tucked into the fake passport that Albireo had given him.
It said it was the direct contact for the VIP of the airline owned by the Gemini family.
If he made a call here, he could rent a private jet and they would book nearby hotels according to his schedule.
A young and rich life enjoyed with someone else’s money.
Considering his days as a slave, it was an incomparable luxury, but why did it feel like there was a lump in his chest?
It wouldn’t be bad to go on a world tour, which he had once dreamed of.
Siwoo, staring blankly at the card, muttered.
“By the way, how rich are they?”
A card company and an airline.
The benefits Siwoo received were only up to this point, but that wasn’t all.
When he searched for the parent company, he was surprised to find that it was a huge corporation involved in finance, insurance, steel, various natural resources, and the oil industry, as well as diversifying into fields such as aerospace, automatic control, and special chemicals.
He was so surprised when he found out that its market capitalization was 505 trillion won, making it the 12th largest in the world.
He thought they were only rich in Gehenna, but they were so wealthy in the present world that he couldn’t even grasp it.
The entire corporation couldn’t possibly be solely owned by Gemini, but he was a little dazed.
“Anyway….”
His life no longer required him to try hard.
Even if he diligently studied mathematics (which, for some reason, he wasn’t doing well), he couldn’t make a name for himself, and he didn’t have to work hard because he was short on money.
At best, it was the end of his magic research, and even that wasn’t progressing these days.
He had become someone who could just suck on the warm teat of the Gemini family.
How should he express this?
It’s not that he dislikes it… but is it ennui?
“When your head is complicated, you have to eat.”
Siwoo shook his head.
If he ate something delicious, his worries would disappear again.
That day, he went to a nearby seafood restaurant and had a whole live fish sliced into sashimi.
