City ​​of Witches 326

Chapter 326 – #72_I’Ll Designate You(2)

#324

1.
Count Jemerinai loves alcohol.

The world of alcohol made by fermenting grains or fruits.
Perhaps it’s because the vastness that awaits when one begins to pursue its depths is similar to magic.

The different melodies and tunes that are heard the moment it touches the lips.
The aromas of cloves, butter balls, oak barrels, and subtle cherries that unfold the moment the eyes are closed.
The different scents that have been huddled in the darkness for decades and finally achieved harmony bring a cutting-edge and three-dimensional thrill.

The Count, who had been enjoying the scent and taste in every corner of his mouth, swallowed the liquor.

“Haa~ As expected, alcohol is the best after work.”
“Sis, where did you get this brandy?”
“The Lucky Witch brought it. There was a magical crop that was originally going to be auctioned at the ‘Red Roof Salon.’ She said she wanted to pre-purchase it.”

The magical crops produced at the Latifundium under Count Jemerinai are generally placed on display at the Malcuth Gallery and Jemerinai Magic Tool Shop after the refining process is complete.

However, rare crops produced through limited and experimental cultivation are sometimes put up for auction at the ‘First Red Roof Salon.’
For example, like the ‘Red Root Geranium’ that Periwinkle pre-purchased this time.

“That’s good. There’s no chance of things going wrong with a deal with that person.”
“They’re paying twice the expected price, so there’s no reason not to sell.”

Anyway, gathering like this and raising a glass after work was one of the twin Counts’ enjoyable times.
Usually, they would talk about the businesses they were in charge of or about the twins, but today there was one particularly novel topic.

“By the way, sis, did you hear? They say a host bar has opened in the Malcuth Gallery? And it’s exclusively for witches.”
“Really?”

It was novel, but it wasn’t enough to pique Count Albireo’s interest.
Rather, it was such an unexpected story that she wondered, ‘Has Deneb ever been interested in something like that?’

“But Shin Siwoo is working there.”
“Eh….”

Albireo opened her mouth without any grace.
As someone who frequently travels to the mortal realm, Albireo naturally knew what a host bar was.
Isn’t it a place where rich women drink while fondling the buttocks of male hosts?

“Wha, what is it? Why? Is he protesting that he’s short on money?”

Albireo already knew Siwoo’s spending habits.
That’s why she even gave him a credit certificate that could be used without limit, right?

Suddenly, work?
And that too, entertaining witches and pouring them drinks?
It was an absurd situation.

“Isn’t it fun?”
“Fun? Is that something to think about so lightly? You’re the one who stepped up to connect the twins with Shin Siwoo.”

Deneb chuckled at her sister’s expected reaction and brought the glass to her nose to enjoy the aroma.

“I was surprised too, so I looked into it. It seems the madam there is a friend of Shin Siwoo’s from the past. It seems she’s helping out because sales were a bit sluggish before. From what I see, it seems quite wholesome.”
“Then you should have said that first. You startled me for no reason.”
“You look cute when you’re surprised, sis. By the way, wouldn’t the twins get a little jealous if they found out?”

Deneb, who had successfully startled Albireo, wore a triumphant smile.
At that moment.

“Assistant!”
“At a host bar?”
““He’s working there?””

The door burst open without warning.
There was no one else who could enter the Count’s office so rudely.
Jemerinai’s adorable little birds.

Odile and Odette.
The twins, who had come to the office to say goodnight before going to bed, had overheard the Count’s conversation.

“No wonder we haven’t seen him lately!”
“I can’t believe he got a job!”

Odile’s eyes widened as if she had solved a locked-room murder case.
Odette chimed in from the side.

“Odile, Odette.”

When Deneb called the twins’ names in a low voice, the twins quickly left the office.

-Knock knock

““Master, may we come in?””
“Yes, you may.”

The twins were very well-mannered today as well.
As soon as the greetings were over, Odile and Odette ran over and stood next to their master.

“Master, is it true that the assistant got a job at a place called a host bar?”
“And what is a host bar?”
“……”

Albireo and Deneb both knew that the twins were obsessed with the assistant.
Whether it was a budding, immature love, or the beginning of an eternal love.
As long as they didn’t cross the line, Deneb was planning to support them with a parent’s heart.
It was only natural that she was at a loss for words in front of the twins, who were tilting their heads with innocent faces.

“Well, um, how should I put it… It’s a place where people drink alcohol.”
“You have to be precise, Deneb.”
“Then you explain it, sis!”

Albireo, who had been watching her embarrassed younger sister, smiled and said to the twins, partly to return the favor of being teased by Deneb.

“It’s a fun place where you drink with male hosts.”
“Hosts?”
“What’s a host?”
“Sis!”

Albireo, who was making mischievous remarks like a father teasing his young children, and Deneb, who was slapping his hand to punish him.
Of course, the task of explaining fell entirely to Deneb.

“So… it’s a role where you pour drinks for the people drinking next to you, talk to them, and sometimes act cute.”

The twins were greatly shocked by their little master’s refined explanation.
According to the context of the conversation they had overheard, the assistant had gotten a job as a host at a host bar and was serving witches.
And not just Sharon, but an unspecified number of them!

“Th-this can’t be.”
“This happened while we looked away for a moment….”
“Anyway, it’s too late, so go in and sleep.”

While quickly ending this difficult conversation, Deneb was also giving a warning to the bewildered twins, just in case.

“I’m just saying this in case, but you absolutely can’t go there. Our good twins? Okay?”
“Yes, little master.”
“Good night.”

Odile and Odette bowed and finished their goodnight greetings.
On the way back to their room, their steps were almost like sleepwalkers.
Even after entering their room, their heads were still in a mess.

“Odette, it’s an emergency.”
“I know, sis.”

They had been wondering where he had been and what he had been doing for two days after returning from the trip.
He didn’t even come to meals.
They had even secretly gone to look for him at night, but he wasn’t there, so they couldn’t even show him the ‘Ultimate Assistant-Falling-Head-Over-Heels Operation’ that Odile and Odette had created together.

They had even gone to the annex, wondering if he might be doing something with Sharon, but he wasn’t there either.
They were even thinking of interrupting in the middle of things because they couldn’t let Sharon steal the assistant away.
They never imagined he would have gotten a job in Lenomond Town.

“Odette, now that I think about it, isn’t this actually an opportunity for a comeback?”
“Why?”
“Getting a job at a bar and serving drinks means he’s getting paid, right?”
“I guess so?”

Odile suddenly stood up.
She stepped onto a chair and took something down from the fireplace.
A bird-shaped bottle made of porcelain.
It looked a bit unique, but it was the piggy bank where the twins had been diligently saving their allowance.

“Odette, let’s break this.”
“Ah! Good idea, sis!”

Odette, who had finally understood her sister’s deep meaning, couldn’t hide her admiration.
Odile and Odette laid out a white sheet and threw the porcelain onto it, breaking it.

-Clang!
-Clatter!

The allowance of the Jemerinai family, who had a lot of money and a lot of pride, was beyond common sense.
Countless gold coins that had been collected for almost five years glittered among the broken pieces of the bottle.

“Hehehe.”
“Turning a crisis into an opportunity, we’ll buy all of the assistant’s time.”
“Okay!”

2.
Duke Tiferet loves alcohol.

When she was sad, she tilted the bottle to soothe her sorrow, and when she was happy, she filled her glass to share her joy.
Therefore, the glass contains the bitter sorrows of life, and sometimes a sip of a smile that allows one to move forward from those sorrows.
And sometimes, it also contains the tragedy of having to turn away from love.

The reason why the alcohol that soothes her empty stomach tonight feels particularly bitter is probably because it contains the pain of having to deny the feelings she realized too late.

“……”

After erasing all memories of the affair from Siwoo’s mind.
Eloa suffered from extreme aftereffects.
She never imagined that it would be this painful, both mentally and physically.

The contract she had forcibly taken out and used made her already overworked body ache.
Her body was feverish, and her limbs ached as if she had the flu and was coughing.
The most painful thing was that every time she felt the pain, she felt the remnants of the memories that had been cut away.

Because she had been holding onto the bottle except when she was sleeping, empty bottles piled up in Eloa’s room at an alarming rate.

“Hoo….”

Eloa, who was enduring a throbbing headache while letting out a sigh mixed with the strong smell of alcohol.
Had Siwoo still not returned from his trip?

She had said that she would only treat him as a disciple, but now that she hadn’t seen his face for a long time, she missed him.
Of course, it wasn’t because of the bond between master and disciple, but because of the desperate longing that had once made her abandon even the natural order.

She drank to forget that feeling.
And after getting drunk, the longing became even more vivid, so she drank again.

“Now I don’t know what’s what….”

She had become unable to know.

It’s not that there’s nothing she has to do.
There was still one more person to whom Eloa had to confess her sins.
It was her beloved disciple’s lover, Sharon Evergreen.

Just because she had erased the memories didn’t mean that her past mistakes had disappeared.
Even if Siwoo didn’t remember, Eloa’s sin of secretly sleeping with someone else’s lover did not disappear.
The fact that Eloa was suffering was also not an excuse.
Now she had to go to Sharon and tell her the truth, but….

“……”

Eloa got up.
She forced her reluctant steps and headed to the annex where Sharon Evergreen was staying.

-Knock knock

She grabbed the doorknob and knocked on the door.
It was a late night when even the plants were asleep, but Evergreen was also a witch.
Soon after, she heard footsteps and the door opened.

“Duke Tiferet? What brings you here?”
“I apologize for the late hour.”

Eloa felt a pang of guilt because Sharon’s complexion was dark as she was wearing a nightgown.
It seemed as if she already knew about the affair with Siwoo and was criticizing her for it.

“I’d like to share a drink with you, would that be alright?”
“Of course, please come in.”

In fact, there was almost no contact between the two in the mortal realm either.

The main reason was that they had met for the first time when Eloa had misunderstood and left Siwoo in a terrible state, and that Sharon, who had been caught in her centaur form, had been avoiding her.

Why would such a Duke propose a late-night drinking session?
Sharon was puzzled, but she obediently let Eloa into her house.