City ​​of Witches 213

Chapter 213 – #47_보호(3)

#211

1.
With Deneb and the twins gone, the house, already spacious for two, felt twice as large.

“It feels kind of empty,” I said.
“Yeah, come to think of it, I was living alone in a place like this for months,” Sharon replied.
“I didn’t live in a great place either, but it must have been really boring,” I added.

Sharon and I chatted as we ate dinner. Today, we were eating at the living room table while watching TV instead of the kitchen. The reason was simple: we were keeping up with the real-time news about the tragedy at the shopping mall. Just turning on the internet showed that the top 20 search terms were all related to the incident.

As someone who was in the middle of that horrific accident, I wondered, ‘Even if she’s a witch, can she really cover up an accident of this scale?’

Surprisingly, it was covered up. Or rather, it was falsified and manipulated.

The bizarre fish that had appeared and bitten people was replaced with a story about a gas leak and explosion that caused the building to collapse. The survivors’ interviews all sounded like they were reading from a script, and the footage released as CCTV footage of the scene showed people peacefully shopping before suddenly collapsing.

The news blamed the construction company’s shoddy work and lack of safety awareness. After a breaking news report that arrest warrants had been issued for the facility director, the chairman, and the construction company’s representative, I turned off the TV.

“………”
“Siwoo…”

Sharon gently took my hand as she saw me with my lips pressed tightly together.

“You did your best. The Count told me that many survivors got out safely thanks to you.”
“I know, but it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It’s not something to watch while eating.”

Thanks to that, dinner ended a bit early. Sharon, who was taking the empty dishes to the kitchen, said,

“Siwoo, you’re just going to get depressed if you stay home. How about we go out for some fresh air?”
“Fresh air? Where to?”
“Incheon Port.”
“Incheon’s nice. Should we get some grilled clams?”

I did feel like I needed a change of pace. Maybe it was because the twins’ vitality buff passive effect was gone, but I felt a bit sluggish. I didn’t want to pass that gloom onto Sharon.

“Grilled clams are good, but there’s also a Gehenna smuggler’s rendezvous point there.”
“Huh? There’s one of those?”
“Yeah, it’s not always there. They have a period of about fifteen days every three months when they load and unload. I think it’s that time right now. There’s a lot to see. I haven’t been there much because I only go when I really need to.”
“Is there anything for us to see?”

After hearing more about it, I learned that these kinds of docks existed all over the world, not just in Incheon. Smugglers most often brought items from the current world into Gehenna, but the opposite was also possible, she added.

“Yeah, for example, most magical crops are grown in Latifundium, but the exiles can’t go directly into Gehenna to live. So, the smugglers bring them out and sell them. It’s the same with magic tools and mana elixirs.”
“It’s like a regular market.”
“Yeah! Something like that.”

The rendezvous point in Border Town also served as a place for transporting, storing, and selling goods, so it seemed like the rendezvous points in the current world had a similar function. I remembered being excited by the gloomy atmosphere and dystopian fantasy vibe of Border Town. I was curious what the rendezvous point in the current world would be like.

“And since I’ve got a lead on recovering my stigma thanks to you, I’m going to start preparing for the ‘sacrifice’ and research in earnest.”
“Great, let’s go right now.”

At my words, Sharon paused for a moment. She tapped the floor with her toe and then slowly nodded. It looked like she was about to say something but stopped.

“Okay! Let’s get ready quickly!”

Since she didn’t say anything else, I packed my things.

2.
We took a taxi straight to Wolmido in Incheon.

We went into a random grilled clam restaurant nearby and ate our fill before walking around. I could already see the cranes moving containers and the inner harbor of Incheon Port in the distance. The gentle breeze, which now felt quite autumnal, seemed to carry a salty sea smell.

“Where are the docks in the current world?”
“You can find them at almost all major trading ports. There are some in Incheon and Busan, and also in Yokohama, Jebel Ali, Port Klang, Los Angeles… That’s all I know.”
“Surprisingly, there aren’t any in China.”
“The Chinese Communist Party doesn’t really like the existence of witches. That’s why there are so few location points in that vast land. There’s hardly any cooperation with witches.”

It seemed that even though there was a close agreement between witches and the upper echelons of each country, not all countries were friendly.

“Is that okay? Witches are the ones who catch homunculi.”
“Well? Maybe it’s because China has such a large landmass and population? It seems they’ve decided to just ignore the minor accidents caused by homunculi. As you know, witches aren’t exactly guardians of justice. They demand a lot in exchange for protection.”

Sharon’s lecture on witches and international affairs was quite interesting.

“For the same reason, witches have little influence in third-world countries or developing countries that can’t provide adequate compensation.”
“Even if China has the power to recover, what about those places?”
“It’s a vicious cycle. Witches who dislike disturbances tend to hide in remote areas rather than go to places with poor social infrastructure like Cambodia or Bangladesh.

Since there are few witches, the various disasters that homunculi naturally cause happen more often, and the infrastructure becomes even worse, which means witches don’t gather there…

So, some countries offer huge sums of money and conditions to invite witches to their countries. You could call it scouting? Countries that can’t even afford that hire them as mercenaries for a set period, but of course, that’s incredibly expensive.”

I was learning facts that I would never have known if I had lived as a modern human. I also realized that even if witches weren’t visible, they were deeply embedded in the current world. Listening to it all, it made me think that people were all the same no matter where they lived.

“Have you ever been scouted?”
“To do that, I’d have to chase away the public enemies that sometimes sneak in. It’s a bit too much for a 17th-tier witch, so I passed. The risk is too high.”

Indeed, even though she wasn’t a combat-type witch, even 19th-tier Yebin had to be careful. Sharon had to be even more cautious.

As we talked about this and that, I suddenly became curious about something.

“Come to think of it, what do the public enemies even do? They’re ostracized in Gehenna, ostracized among the exiles, and can’t use any of the services provided by the location points. Wouldn’t they just wither and die if they were that isolated?”

The proportion of public enemies was said to be extremely small compared to the total number of witches. How did they survive in a situation where so many witches had influence all over the world? I had heard that many public enemies were still causing trouble and conflicts all over the world.

“As I’ve said before, witches aren’t exactly righteous. They catch homunculi because they get paid, and they earn money because they need it for their magic research.
The public enemies who have survived so far are generally very dangerous. Most of them are great witches or on the verge of becoming great witches.
Honestly, except for Duke Tiferet, not many witches would try to fight them first. It’s only natural since witches with plenty of money don’t even bother with homunculus hunting.”

So, it seemed that even witches who did small jobs for pocket money wouldn’t touch boss raids that could cost them their lives. The risk would be very, very high for the high return.

“And public enemies have their own ways of making money. They run large-scale drug cartels in South America, or drug plants, or industrialized refining facilities.
There’s a reason why the beginning of chemistry is said to be alchemy, right? Of course, there are also public enemies who just run normal businesses and have a lot of money.”
“Wait, didn’t you say that Duke Keter would step in if they caused too much trouble in the current world?”

Sharon shrugged at my words.

“Duke Keter is… how should I put it? Completely neutral? Even if I were to start a human trafficking organization, I think he would just leave me alone as long as my identity as a witch wasn’t revealed and magic wasn’t being misused.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. But historically, the only time the Duke has directly intervened to eliminate a witch was when that witch had disturbed the current world with ‘magic’ and almost exposed the existence of witches.

I guess he wouldn’t move unless a public enemy running a cartel in Mexico somehow bought a strategic nuclear submarine and launched a nuke at Mexico City. The public enemies know that, so they’re careful not to cross the line while doing their thing.”

I was able to learn some behind-the-scenes stories that weren’t written in any history books through Sharon. In short, the reason why public enemies weren’t being eliminated and were living in the current world could be summarized as follows:

First, despite their name, most witches didn’t bother fighting public enemies.
Second, they already had enough capital.
Third, Duke Keter would tolerate their actions as long as they didn’t cross the line.
Right?

Anyway, as we chatted and walked, there were fewer and fewer buildings around us. The vehicles passing on the wide road were mostly trucks carrying large containers rather than regular cars. After passing through a tollgate-like area and entering the pier, I saw more containers stacked in the yard than I had ever seen in my life.

Bizarre-looking yard tractors were lifting and moving heavy-looking containers, and there were dozens of large warehouses lined up on the vast flat ground.

The most impressive thing was the container cranes that were at least tens of meters tall, lifting and lowering cargo stacked on tall ships like a claw machine. I wondered if it was okay for a regular person to be here.

“This way.”

Sharon grabbed my clothes and pulled me toward the area where the large warehouses were gathered. To be honest, I was worried that people in work clothes would stop us and ask, ‘What brings you here?’ as soon as we entered the port. Fortunately, the music box’s effect seemed to be working. No one paid any attention to Sharon and me.

As we squeezed through the narrow gaps between the container walls and walked further inside, the number of people gradually decreased. Before I knew it, the loud sounds of the machinery and the roaring engines of the tractors had disappeared.

Suddenly, a single warehouse stood alone in front of us. It might sound a bit silly, but I felt like I had been bewitched.

“I thought it was too obvious, but there was a method to it.”
“Since all kinds of logistics gather here, the port has to be used anyway, but they can’t build a rendezvous point where everyone can see it.
As far as I know, they used the earth veins, water veins, and containers to create a formation.
You can only get here by turning corners at the right time and in the right order.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Right?”

That was probably why there was no one guarding the warehouse entrance. Sharon and I opened the side door of the warehouse and stepped into the smuggler’s rendezvous point (ver. current world).

Oh my god…
This fan art of a darkened Amelia was provided by Primitive-nim.
Wow, this has its own vibe.
Especially the shameless outfit that emphasizes her belly button has captured my heart.
Thank you so much for the beautiful fan art!!!
I will treasure it in my gallery!!!!