City ​​of Witches 641

Chapter 641 – #129_City Of Night (4)

#641
1.
“Not bad. Sword Witch.”

Was using informal speech a bad idea?
The thought struck me belatedly.
The cliché villain line seemed good, but I got too caught up in the moment.

To make excuses, this performance was a full ad-lib with no script.
Both my mind and preparation were lacking.

But what’s done is done.
Rinne perceives Siwoo as a ‘man witch who hides a dark ambition and seeks strength.’
If I were to falter here and switch to formal speech, my character would collapse.

“So, is that why you brought me here?”

Just be natural, be natural.
I repeated that to myself and asked the question subtly.

Then, I sharpened my senses to not miss even the smallest clue.
Figuring out why she brought me here is the top priority.
It’s a chance to get important information, and depending on her answer, I’ll have to set my future plans.

However.

“……”

Rinne didn’t say anything.
She just stared.
With a terrifyingly blank expression, she was looking at me without blinking.

Did I fail?
Or was using informal speech a bad idea?
I almost swallowed involuntarily.
I desperately held back, fixing my gaze, worried that moving my Adam’s apple would make me look even more suspicious.

“Strange.”

Her rose-tinted lips parted.

“It’s definitely strange.”

After the suspicion was repeated twice, I concluded.

I was caught.
It’s not like being caught would immediately screw me over, but my plan to subtly close the distance had failed.
I should have just used formal speech.
It seems that using informal speech was the root of the awkwardness, and it pains me.

“To think that was your natural way of speaking. Your expression and atmosphere are an excellent mask.”

That’s what I thought when the twist happened.

I couldn’t believe it.
Was that just now an expression of admiration?
Yes, she blinked a little less.
But the fact that an expression where even her eyebrows didn’t move was a sign of surprise was even more surprising.

“A, a perfect way to lower one’s guard.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously probed the atmosphere.
In a situation with little information, it’s not good to speak first.

She stared at me with the same expression for a long time, and in the end, she didn’t answer the question of ‘why she brought me here.’

“Come to the training grounds by dawn tomorrow. Do not leave the confines of Hyangwol Pavilion.”

She only said that, then turned her gaze and drew her sword again.
I didn’t get any useful information or communication, but for now, I’ll be satisfied with surviving in the lion’s den.

Today isn’t the only day.

2.
As I stepped out of the training grounds, I saw Yebin at the end of the hallway, looking worried.
She gestured for me to come quickly, and as I approached, she asked in a small voice.

“How was it? What happened? Nothing bad, right?”
“Yes, unfortunately, I didn’t get any useful information.”
“Haa…”

She sighed softly, bringing her hands together in front of her chest.
Maybe it was because she got over her sigh, but my eyes went to her chest.

I often thought of the hot nights I spent with her, and seeing her in person, I thought, ‘Right, she was always this big.’
I also remembered that she was secretly a masochist, but I put that aside for now.

I’m not that relaxed.

“Let’s go to my workshop first.”

Yebin gently grabbed my sleeve and headed towards the inner quarters.

“Is it okay to walk around like this?”
“Was there anything specific said?”
“No, just not to leave Hyangwol Pavilion… Hyangwol Pavilion is this mansion, right?”
“Yes, it’s usually fine to move around freely as long as you don’t go outside the walls, so it’ll be okay.”

They don’t restrict the use of magic, and they guarantee free movement within the mansion…
It’s the most freedom I’ve had in any confinement situation so far.

Of course, that didn’t mean I had a concrete plan to escape right now.

“Here it is. Please wait a moment.”

She asked for my understanding and went into the room first.
After a while of rustling noises, the door opened again.
Yebin said, avoiding my eyes as if making an excuse.

“I didn’t clean up…”
“My room is probably dirtier.”

I joked appropriately and stepped into the workshop.

This is quite a bizarre sight.
A large room created by raising the partitions and combining about three rooms into one.

Inside, pouches that reeked of herbal medicine were hanging from the ceiling, and at the same time, transparent flasks and beakers that you’d see in a laboratory were lined up on the table.
It was a bizarre collaboration of Eastern and Western cultures.

It wasn’t a lie that she hadn’t cleaned up, as there were piles of junk that were clearly shoved into the corner in a hurry.
The bedding was also left as it was, giving it a messy feel.

“I usually live cleaner than this.”
“Haha…”

Yebin scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
The familiar comfort I had felt before relaxed my body and mind, which had been tense due to all the incidents.
Is this the power of someone from the same country?

“By the way, does the Sword Witch know that we’ve met before?”
“No, I didn’t specifically say anything… but she’ll probably realize it soon, right?”

I also wanted to have a relaxed conversation.
But I didn’t know how much time I’d have to chat leisurely while avoiding the owner’s eyes.
It was time to share as much information as possible.

Yebin readily agreed to that point.

“I… I was caught while going out to get medicine in the mortal realm. I’ve been detained here for a few months.”

Yebin, who had been here for a long time and had a lot of information, spoke first.

As I was told as soon as I woke up, Hexennacht is a city of outlaws.
The number of exiles and outlaws combined is in the four digits, and about 1% of them are great witches.

Also, the number of residents is currently increasing, and most of them have set up temporary workshops in the city for immediate safety rather than moving their workshops completely.

I only saw it once while being captured, but it seems that entry is only possible through a ‘door.’

“A door? Isn’t that Keter Duke’s magic?”
“Yes, but it’s probably just an imitation. It’s certain that this city is an imperfect pocket dimension.”

Yebin paused for a moment, then pointed to the sky visible through the window and said.

“It’s always night in this city. And it’s always around early winter.”
“No wonder it’s cold…”

That one sentence was enough.

It was because of my little aunt’s teachings.
No matter how many great witches gathered, it would have been difficult to create a pocket dimension like Gehenna, which perfectly implemented the four seasons, day and night, and even the weather.

So, they must have lowered the difficulty of creation by setting a limited time zone like ‘winter’ and ‘night,’ like a fishbowl.
The weather probably wouldn’t change either.

With this short Q&A, I already got important information about escaping.

I had previously researched dimensional magic to escape Gehenna.
After I got citizenship, I temporarily froze it because I would be fined for illegal entry and exit if I used it, but I partially succeeded recently by summoning the Red Branch to Akula.

I also remember the feeling at that time.

If it’s a pocket dimension with a weaker barrier than Gehenna, wouldn’t it be possible to find a way to escape through dimensional teleportation?

“That’s a relief, at least.”
“Huh?”
“No, please continue. Can you tell me about the Sword Witch too?”
“The Sword Witch is…”

The explanation that followed was about Rinne.

She was truly a witch as I had seen her so far.
If other outlaws would do anything for magic, she was a witch who would put ‘strength’ in place of ‘magic.’

Then, the reason why she brought me here is somewhat explained.
She must have thought of me as someone who pursues the same ideals as her, calling me a ‘kindred.’

Furthermore, seeing that the meeting place is the training grounds early tomorrow morning, she’s probably going to be my sparring partner.

There are few witches who use close combat, and even fewer who have honed their martial arts.
Considering that the most effective way to improve swordsmanship is through sparring with another martial artist, this hypothesis is further confirmed.

“And, she’s a very taciturn person. I’ve hardly ever talked to her, and honestly, she’s a bit scary.”
“How does she usually spend her time?”
“Most of her time is spent in the training grounds, and the rest is in the tea room, but I don’t know what she does because I’ve never seen it myself.”
“How often does she go out, and for how long?”
“It’s quite irregular. Sometimes she’s away from home for 2-3 days, and sometimes she comes back in 2 hours.”

In summary, even Yebin has had almost no personal contact with her.

Additionally, even though she speaks scarily, she doesn’t harm anyone right away.
I also learned that she doesn’t sleep or eat.

Finally, there was the matter of this ‘Hyangwol Pavilion (向月楼),’ which sounds like a high-end Chinese restaurant.

“There are no servants at all?”
“Yes, Hexennacht isn’t a city with a system like Gehenna yet. It seems that they haven’t brought in any humans yet, except for dock labor and magic experiments.”
“That leaves a lot of free time.”
“Yes, the same witch has only visited the mansion about twice now.”

The three factors of freely guaranteed personal time, escape magic, and loose surveillance.
The situation is much better than I had imagined when I was assuming the worst.

It was even to the point where I had a slightly arrogant idea that I might get other gains besides the goal of escaping.

It was obvious that this city would become a hotbed of trouble.
Information about Hexennacht, which has stricter entry and exit procedures than Gehenna, is something you can’t get without infiltrating directly.
In a way, it was a valuable opportunity that could be of great help to my teacher.

Anyway, I mixed the information I got from Yebin with the few pieces of information I learned myself and told her about my ‘current character setting’ and precautions.

The reason why the Sword Witch brought me here.
How I plan to act accordingly.
And the most important thing.

“The magic amplification during intercourse must not be discovered.”

Yebin’s eyes widened for a moment, then she nodded her head like a squirrel.

If the fact that I’m a male witch has research value, then the magic amplification and charging function is an intuitive ability that doesn’t require separate research.

It could potentially make my already dangerous position even worse, so I planned to hide that at all costs.
As I was deep in thought, Yebin was staring at my profile.

“What is it?”
“No, it’s just… you’re a bit amazing.”
“Huh?”
“Actually, when I was first captured, I was in complete panic… I just cried for almost a week and couldn’t do anything. But you, Siwoo, you’re kind of a pillar of support.”
“It’s not really like that.”

As expected, it was the kind of compliment that made the listener more embarrassed.

It’s not like I’m amazing like Yebin said.
It’s just the ‘what’s the worst that can happen’ mindset I got from always struggling.

The conversation started out rushed, but there was plenty of time left until dawn tomorrow.
Yebin and I had a simple chat about how we had been doing, soothing the anxiety that was spreading like fog.

Thus, my entry into Hexennacht, which had been filled with hope, was shattered in front of the harsh reality the next day.

The Sword Witch was a crazy bitch.