City ​​of Witches 696

Chapter 696 – #140_Agony And Choice (2)

#696

1.
In Japan, there is a fishing method that has been passed down through long tradition and history.

It’s called ‘Ukai,’ where a torch is hung on the bow of a houseboat, and cormorants with strings tied around their necks are used to catch sweetfish that are drawn to the light.

The sweetfish caught this way are treated as superior goods because they are not damaged like those caught with nets, and they were presented to the lord.
Although I can’t recall the taste at all now after so much time has passed, it used to be a favorite side dish for Rinne.

It might seem like a complicated, cumbersome, and therefore old-fashioned custom, but when compared to Rinne’s situation, it was a fishing method that even felt comical.

The cormorants cannot swallow large sweetfish because of the string around their necks.
The large fish caught in their throats are forcibly regurgitated and end up in the hands of the owner who handles the cormorants.

Thus, only the sweetfish that can be swallowed through the string are allowed, and the cormorants desperately churn the cold, dark surface of the water several times to fill their hunger with tiny fish.

For a long time, Rinne was a cormorant.

The abundance and peace she should have enjoyed were caught by the string around her neck and had to be regurgitated, and she could only enjoy the joy of a small sweetfish by pushing herself to the limit.

However, she had no complaints about it.

It is a common belief that behavior patterns are usually byproducts of values, but that relationship doesn’t always hold true in a forward direction.
Long-repeated actions and habits, conversely, affect values.

Just as the cormorants, exploited by the fishermen, dive into the water to swallow small sweetfish, Rinne also accepted her life.

Both cormorants and humans are, after all, creatures of adaptation.

“……”

Rinne was sitting blankly in her room, letting a whole day pass by meaninglessly.

Normally, she would have been practicing her sword dance alone, meditating, or sparring with her disciples.
But now, only complex agony filled her head like a fog.

Being a creature of adaptation doesn’t always mean adapting to adverse conditions.

Once you experience a higher level of reward, even once, the rewards below that level become mundane.
Trying to maintain the status quo while feeling this reverse sense of experience can also be seen as a form of adaptation.

Let’s take an easy example.

Just one day.
If a cormorant that had feasted on plump sweetfish with its neck string removed were to wear the string again.

Could it be satisfied with the small sense of fullness it feels when swallowing small sweetfish, as before?

The feeling Rinne experienced after waking up from a blissful one-night dream was similar.
The experience of just one night made the days of deprivation she had been accustomed to for hundreds of years feel strange and uncomfortable.

At first, she tried to manage that discomfort by growing hostility towards her disciple, who had been humiliating her with shallow tricks.
She also tried to calm her wavering heart with meditation, as usual.

But gradually, she became restless.

“……”

It wasn’t just pleasure that was agitating Rinne.

If it were just pleasure, she could have cut it off by exerting the patience to cut off her own tongue.
What Rinne was thinking about now was the other feelings she had felt while being held in his arms.

She had always lived in a loneliness that no one could understand.
The solitude of floating alone in an empty universe was something that would never be resolved.

But the sense of unity when their heartbeats rose together and they became one.
The warmth of his murderous intent that seemed to envelop her loneliness when she woke up filled the void.

It was as warm and cozy as the sunlight that whispered in her ear when she took a nap as a child.
So much so that she unconsciously wanted to be held in his arms again, defenseless.

“Shin Siwoo.”

Rinne could be happy just by keeping him by her side.
She could continue to feel these kinds of emotions.
She could settle down without having to struggle to become stronger by pushing herself.

As these elements were added, the values that she had taken as the basis of her life began to shake to their roots.

But there was a huge problem here.

Shin Siwoo is nominally Rinne’s disciple.

As you can see from the fact that she slept with him to extract his magic amplification, Rinne doesn’t care much about the taboo of teacher-student relationships.
In the first place, they aren’t really in a relationship of apprentice witch and witch, are they?

Although she doesn’t exactly welcome the spread of scandalous rumors to the outside world.

However, it was a completely different matter to be whimpering like a bitch in heat in front of her disciple, let alone showing the dignity of a teacher.
If she were to experience that kind of pleasure, Rinne would again show him her broken self, which she couldn’t control.
No matter how much she wanted the honey water he gave her, she didn’t want that.

“Ah.”

And so, a flash of lightning struck Rinne’s mind as she pondered over and over again.

That’s right.
She hadn’t been aware of it until now, but if you think about it, this is a man-woman problem.
Naturally, it is right to approach it from the point of view of dealing with male-female relationships.

If the problem is Rinne’s prestige being trampled on in the process of having a relationship with him, there is a good way to solve it at once.

“Marriage….”

That is, to expel him and hold a formal wedding ceremony.

Rinne was born and educated as the daughter of a lord who once held sway.
Considering that period was the end of the Edo shogunate, Rinne’s sense of domesticity was truly old-fashioned.

Isn’t the virtue of a married woman to always walk two steps behind her husband, to be modest in her behavior, and to devote herself to her husband?

It’s embarrassing to say it one by one, so it’s not mentioned, but obedience to her husband wouldn’t be limited to just when the sun is up.
Even if she were forced to indulge her husband’s lewd tastes in bed, it would be the right behavior and mindset to respond willingly with a smile.

In other words, if she were to marry him, there would be no need to struggle to show the prestige and dignity of a teacher.

Even if she were to make panting noises like a female and make clumsy moans, there would be no need to be ashamed because it would be her husband’s request.
Because that is the ideal wife.

It wasn’t difficult to see, even with a little thought, that this line of thinking was full of logical leaps.

In the first place, if everything became easier just by changing the relationship setting from ‘teacher and disciple’ to ‘husband and wife,’ why would human relationships be said to be difficult?

Rinne was also aware of it inwardly, but she was just turning a blind eye and ignoring it.
Because she had a more urgent goal.

“Then….”

She could immediately call Shin Siwoo and propose to hold a wedding ceremony.
She wouldn’t allow any refusal.

But that would be suppressing Shin Siwoo with the authority of a teacher, not the devotion of a wife.

She had only shown him a strict side until now, so she had to show him a different side.
How she buttons the first button will determine the future of their married life.

Rinne ended her deliberation that had lasted for more than half a day and got up from her seat.

2.
What are the advantages that a bride-to-be can show to her groom?

Talent in singing and dancing?
Mastery of scholarship?
Of course, the above two are also important, but proficiency in all aspects of housework.
Among them, serving good food is the best.

Therefore, Rinne decided to serve Shin Siwoo a meal before she told him everything.

But there is a problem here.
Rinne has never cooked in her life.

Before she was an apprentice witch, her family’s loyal servants took care of her from the moment she woke up until the moment she fell asleep.
After she became an apprentice witch, she stopped eating at the instruction of her teacher that she didn’t need to eat, and after she became a witch, she didn’t feel the need to cook because she couldn’t taste anything.

Therefore, the person she chose was the apothecary shop in Dignity Town, where she had visited before to buy Siwoo’s stamina tonic.
The owner is the Witch of Freedom.

If it was her, she would already be aware of her relationship with Siwoo, so there would be no reason for unnecessary noise to leak out, and she would have plenty of food ingredients that are beneficial to spirits.

Above all, she remembered hearing good reviews about her food from Rosie Alu, who had a wide network of contacts.

“Witch of Freedom. I have business.”
“Sorry, I just finished business.”

On the other hand, the appearance of Rinne was comparable to a small-scale apocalypse for the Witch of Freedom, who was leisurely enjoying alcohol with marijuana and cocaine as snacks.
The Witch of Freedom, who was openly showing her dislike and trying to lock the door.

“I will pay handsomely.”

Rinne dropped a heavy pouch in front of her.

“Can’t you just go? I really hate it….”

The Witch of Freedom opened the pouch with an expression as if she were checking a bomb, and her expression brightened.
That’s because 24K gold bars with the serial numbers erased were stacked on top of each other, emitting a brilliant light.

If you add up the total weight, it seems to be at least 1kg.
Converted to US dollars, it’s about $60,000.

It may not be a large amount for a wealthy witch, but it was an amount that anyone would be happy to receive as free money.

The opponent was the Sword Witch, who was notorious even among the public.
Since she couldn’t be forced to leave anyway, the Witch of Freedom opened her mouth with the intention of making some pocket money.

“Okay, what’s your request?”

The Witch of Freedom, who hadn’t put the gold bars in the safe yet in order to return them depending on the answer, was dumbfounded when she heard the details of the ‘request.’

She was expressing it in roundabout ways, but to summarize, it was simple.

“So, you want me to make good food for a man?”
“I heard you’re good at cooking.”
“I am, but….”
“Of course, if you don’t keep it a secret, you’ll die.”

Amid the threats that didn’t even register properly, the Witch of Freedom looked at Rinne.

Even if it wasn’t for Rinne’s clothes, she was a woman like a Japanese sword.
She had also never heard rumors of her having a handsome lover and engaging in debauchery.

With that visual and personality, just having such a taste would be enough to cause gossip.

But the other day, she bought a lot of stamina tonic ingredients with a male witch, and now she’s asking for a good meal for a man?
It seems that she has completely fallen for that handsome male witch.

It was hard to believe even after seeing it with her own eyes.
It was even harder to ask Rinne, who was glaring at her with her eyes wide open.

“How long will it take?”
“Since I received something, I have to put in some effort…. 4 hours to buy the ingredients, and about 8 hours to cook?”
“Ingredients?”
“This is an apothecary shop. Fresh ingredients like eel have to be bought separately.”

What power would a permanent resident of Hexennacht have?
She just had to quietly cook, keep the secret, and make some pocket money.

The Witch of Freedom left Rinne in the store and headed to the rendezvous point with light steps.