City ​​of Witches 1013

Chapter 1013 – #243_Scouting Is Hard

#1007

1.
Two weeks have passed since the start of the multi-level partnership solicitation.

The recruitment began with Latiola, who introduced me to other heads of societies, who in turn introduced me to even more.

This method of solicitation, where introductions lead to more introductions, has various advantages.

Instead of knocking on random doors, I could essentially do door-to-door sales with a business card that read, “Recommended by a trustworthy person.”

By cross-analyzing the list of ‘societies with less influence from Castle’ that I got from Baron Moirety, I was able to find suitable targets.

As a result, I successfully formed partnership agreements with four strong societies: Forget-Me-Not Garden, May Tea Party, Shureliom Small Society, and the Water-Colored Monastery.

Below is a brief description of each society.

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Society Name: May Tea Party
Year of Establishment: 1881
Symbol: A small teal teacup on a white magic circle background

Head of Society: Witch of the Pentagram, Schlepfly Ishtar (22nd Rank)
Number of Members: 71 (including 3 Great Witches besides the head)
Research Fields: Magic circles, mystic semiotics, structuralist magic

Main Businesses: Sale of research materials, proxy interpretation of codes, construction using magic circles

Main Events: Annual magic circle interpretation competition, quarterly historical magic symposium
Asset Scale: 400,000 Gehenna Pounds

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Society Name: Shureliom Small Society
Year of Establishment: 1725
Symbol: A fairy

Head of Society: Spirit Witch, Mercedes Aisha (21st Rank)
Number of Members: 52 (including 2 Great Witches besides the head)
Research Fields: Fairy studies, ancient incantations

Main Businesses: Sale of research materials, collection and sale of fairy dust

Main Events: Annual fairy collection in remote areas of the present world
Asset Scale: 220,000 Gehenna Pounds

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Society Name: Water-Colored Monastery
Year of Establishment: 1698
Symbol: A six-colored cross

Head of Society: Witch of Faith, Arin Tiandra (20th Rank)
Number of Members: 18 (including 1 Great Witch besides the head)
Research Fields: Symbolic magic, realization of religious imagery

Main Businesses: Production and sale of high-end lace lingerie for women

Main Events: X
Asset Scale: 50,000 Gehenna Pounds

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It’s not enough to be a lie, but as you can see, they are all solid, strong societies.
Siwoo’s desperate efforts to persuade these societies were truly tearful.

Siwoo recalled the meeting he had with Schlepfly, the head of the ‘May Tea Party,’ last time.

‘I think it’s a good deal. Castle’s checks don’t have much impact on our society either. But what should I believe? I can’t trust you yet.’

After visiting her during tea time for three consecutive days, going through various solicitations and adjustments of opinions, Head Schlepfly kept backing out at the last stage.
From Siwoo’s perspective, it was infuriating.

-Thud!

There, Siwoo chose one action.
He opened his white shirt so forcefully that the buttons popped off, revealing his firm, bare chest.

‘W-what are you doing…?’

In front of Schlepfly, who was blushing and flustered by the sudden exposure, Siwoo spoke confidently.

‘I understand your suspicion. But there are no ulterior motives. Our Hesed Society hides nothing.’
‘But not to this extent…’

‘That’s how sincere I am.’
‘…I-I believe you. So, please cover that up!’

Schlepfly glanced back and forth between Siwoo’s face and chest, and finally signed the partnership agreement.

Looking back, I wonder what I was thinking.

“I wasn’t in my right mind.”

It seems the stress was considerable.
But the results are certain.

Following the establishment of the partnerships, we succeeded in opening a total of two additional departments and supporting 10 professors.

Despite Castle’s frosty checks, we’ve achieved these results, so it can be said that we’ve taken another step closer to the success of the Hesed Society.

“This is no fun… It’s so boring… I miss Odile and Odette…”

So, what am I doing now?
I’m sharing the pain with Luelle amidst the piles of papers in the office.

“Just a little more, and you’ll be done.”
“Can’t I cancel my promise to be the head of the department? I never imagined there would be so much to handle.”

Luelle mumbled like a steamed bun, her chin resting on the table.

Well, Luelle is naturally lively and avoids static work.
I know that her giving this much help is an enormous sacrifice, so I gently massaged her shoulders.

“We’re almost done. We only have about 10% left. And once the semester officially starts, you won’t be this busy.”
“…You’re busier than I am, yet you don’t complain.”
“I started this mess, who else can I blame?”

As you can see, the work we’re doing now is organizing the content of Luelle’s ‘Wave Magic’ lectures.
We can’t do the entire 7-year course at once, so it’s just a one-year course roadmap.

So, why is Siwoo involved here?

It’s to prepare the basic curriculum for the Hesed Society.

The Hesed Society’s magic university is divided into a 1-year basic course, a 2-year intermediate course, and a 4-year advanced course.
Among these, the basic course is a preparatory course for the upper-level courses, a higher-level version of the apprentice witch class.

Siwoo decided to serve as the head of this ‘Basic Department’ and open a lecture as a professor.

There are two reasons for this.

First, unless there are special circumstances, witches below the rank of Great Witch must take the classes in this basic department.
That means they can interact with many witches and build connections.

The next reason is the necessity for Siwoo to take on this role, and the reason why he and Luelle are racking their brains in this place…

It’s for the ‘standardization’ of the basic department’s classes.

The Hesed Society’s classes are aimed at many witches.
Also, the purpose of the basic department is to prepare students to follow the classes in various departments.

However, if you go to the intermediate level or higher, the ‘nature magic color’ of the witch will inevitably be mixed in.

For example, it’s like a Spanish professor giving a good lecture in English but suddenly using Spanish academic terms.

If the student knows Spanish, there’s no problem, but if not, they won’t understand.

That’s why standardization, a kind of language patch, is essential.

Anyone who has taken Siwoo’s lecture should be able to understand any intermediate-level department class immediately.
Also, Siwoo has experience in collecting various nature magics and has a history of drawing out common traits and leading them to a higher level.

Therefore, he is reviewing the curriculum of all professors, seeking advice on parts he doesn’t understand, and preparing a ‘standardized curriculum for the basic department.’

That’s why he’s organizing the teaching materials he received from his lovers and the witches he recruited this time.
The large office is filled with piles of documents.

“Shall we take a break and start again?”
“If the national scholar of the Nukelavi Dynasty is doing this without complaint, can the queen make a fuss?”

“Oh, you’re so admirable.”
“Take your hand off the queen’s head!”

Luelle, who sometimes acts like a twin, has admirable qualities when you look closely.

“Head of the Society, you have a guest.”

At that moment, I received a message that a guest had arrived.
It turned out to be the head of the Water-Colored Monastery, ‘Witch of Faith,’ who had signed a partnership agreement.

After asking for Luelle’s understanding, I headed to the reception room to greet her.

It might seem strange to have a monastery in a city of witches, but religion has long been intertwined with the mysteries of humanity.
It has both given and received influence, and even Dorothy uses absolute power that embodies the ‘power of angels.’

As such, the Water-Colored Monastery was a society that exuded a religious, especially Christian, atmosphere.

It was shocking that their main source of income was high-end lace lingerie favored by witches, but it turned out that historically, crafts made in monasteries or convents were considered luxury goods.

“Have you been well? Sister Shin Siwoo.”
“…I’m a man, for starters.”

“I apologize. The expression ‘sister’ is just a habit.”
“It’s okay. So, what brings you here?”

The one who greeted Siwoo with a kind smile, like a clergyman, was, in her own words, Mother Superior Arin Tiandra.

Her face looked even smaller due to her curly bangs and the veil included in her nun’s habit.
She was wearing a nun’s habit that looked stuffy, not a modified one with a cool side slit like Dorothy’s, but a rather old-fashioned one.

“I have given much thought to the proposal you gave me the other day, Brother.”
“Yes.”

I was very nervous.
The other day, I had proposed a partnership and the dispatch of a professor.

She had been less enthusiastic than the other three societies, so I was worried.
I was also worried that she might suddenly change her mind.

“You said you were acquainted with the ‘Witch of the Path,’ Brother.”
“Yes? That’s right.”

I was dumbfounded by the sudden mention of Dorothy.

“Could you arrange a meeting for me, Brother? In return, I will dispatch one additional person to the professorship and extend the partnership agreement.”

Dorothy is currently confined to the Gwanghwamun branch under the guarantee of Tiferet’s status.
Siwoo could easily arrange a meeting.
But why is her story suddenly coming up? Arin’s answer was simple.

“The Witch of the Path is considered the best when it comes to magic related to religious symbols. If I could have a meeting with her, there would be nothing more joyful.”
“Were you acquainted before?”
“We were together on a pilgrimage to the holy land 100 years ago. Although she bears the dishonorable burden of being a public enemy, she was a very faithful person.”
“……”

I paused for a moment because the words Dorothy and faithfulness didn’t easily connect.

“I understand. I’ll send a message.”
“Thank you, Brother. May God’s grace be with you.”

But it worked out well.
We were short on personnel anyway, and if I could just arrange a meeting, they would sign a contract with good conditions.

It had already been over a month since I had seen Dorothy and Linne, so I thought it was a good thing.