City ​​of Witches 330

Chapter 330 – #72_I’Ll Designate You(6)

#328

1.
“Sister.”
“What is it, Odette? If it’s something pointless, don’t bother. My stomach’s churning.”

The twins were guided to table number 2, right next to table number 1.
Although the whole place was a bit noisy, the twins could hear Siwoo’s voice as he entertained various witches, as there was only a simple partition between them.

At first, when they heard the term ‘entertainer,’ they wondered what he did, so they asked to observe.
They were curious about what their assistant did.

And what they saw was just as they had heard.
He was flattering the witches and sweet-talking them with words that were clearly sugar-coated.

“Ughhhhhh…”

She knew it was just a job.
She knew that those cheesy lines and polite tone were all for her friend.
Still, Odile didn’t like it one bit.

“But I’m bored? And when did the assistant become such a smooth talker? He’s like a completely different person.”

In contrast, Odette didn’t seem to mind much.
At first, she had been listening intently to the conversations, but soon she was comfortably lounging on the sofa, sipping champagne.
She even giggled at the cheesy lines, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Aren’t you bothered at all? That the assistant is being all lovey-dovey with other women?”

Odile glared at her innocent younger sister, her eyes blazing.
Odette was her only ally in overtaking Sharon, who was far ahead.
Suddenly, she felt incredibly unreliable.
How could she be so carefree?

“Come on, sister, you’re taking it too seriously.”
“What’s so serious about it? Didn’t you hear him just now?”

Odile turned on an music box to prevent the sound from carrying to the next table, and lowered her voice to a whisper.

“A toast to the witch’s eyes, a toast to her eyes! Ugh! I want to pour champagne right into her eyes!”

Odette burst into laughter at Odile’s fuming.

“Sister, look.”
“Look at what? I’m already looking.”
“Have you ever heard the assistant talk so cheesily?”
“So what.”

Odette shared the secret to her relaxed attitude with her sister, who was on the verge of exploding.

“Never, right?”

Odile pondered Odette’s words.
No, she hadn’t.
In the first place, Odile was surprised by the fact that the assistant was saying such embarrassing things.

“What’s that supposed to mean? It means he’s saying things to other witches that he doesn’t say to us.”
“Oh, sister. If you think about it the other way around, it means that there’s not even a tiny bit of sincerity in it. Not even a ti~ny bit.”

Odile blinked at Odette’s words.
Now that she thought about it, it made sense.

In any romantic atmosphere, even when he was having a passionate time with Sharon.
The assistant had never said such cheesy things that made her stomach churn.

Even though it was temporary, this was his ‘workplace.’

“It’s like a chef using a knife in the kitchen! Or like an actor acting in a movie.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s right? You have to see it as a kind of professional ethic. The witch sitting there must have paid money.”
“In other words… it means that the assistant shows us his true self when he’s with us…?”
“Exactly. It means that we’re receiving something that can’t be bought with money.”

Odette crossed her arms and let out a smug chuckle.
Odile was impressed.
Now that she listened, Odette’s words seemed to be right.
Instead of feeling jealous or envious, she even felt a little proud.

“So, sister, don’t worry too much. And listen to what the assistant is saying. It’s really funny.”
“You’re right, I think you’re right this time.”

And so, just like Odette, she watched the assistant’s work from a relaxed, bystander’s point of view…
And it was no ordinary job.
He had to say things he didn’t mean, and he had to smile even in front of picky witches without saying anything unpleasant.
From then on, she had to restrain herself from jumping out at the rude witches who were being disrespectful to the assistant.

“…The assistant is having a hard time. Earning money is a difficult thing.”
“To have to say things you don’t mean like that…”

The twins’ gaze fell on the table.
There was a leather pouch they used as a wallet.
The gold coins they had brought to buy the assistant’s time were bulging inside.

“Hmm…”

The twins had never worked because they were short on money.
Because it was only natural.
From the time they woke up in the morning until they went to bed, everyone catered to their needs without the twins having to lift a finger.
That’s why, when they did something for the assistant, they almost always, always, mostly borrowed the power of the Geminai family.

“I feel like I’m thinking the same thing as you, sister.”
“Really? Then shall we move now?”
“Let’s do it!”

Odile and Odette, who had made eye contact, quietly got up from their seats.

2.
“My tongue’s going to get worn out.”

Siwoo, who had diligently finished his work for the day, felt a crushing fatigue wash over him.
It felt almost like he was playing defense.
No wonder people in the service industry get mental illnesses and take medication.

“You worked hard today, buddy.”
“I feel like my soul is being chipped away. How did you do this for years?”
“Because I really like pussy. What about you?”
“…I like it too.”

He was so exhausted that he didn’t even have the energy to respond properly to Takasho’s nonsense.

“Is that so? This is a side note, but at first I thought you were allergic to pussy. Or gay.”
“Stop talking nonsense. How was the sales today?”
“Of course it was good. We have Shin Siwoo, the ace of our shop. Some of the other guys got personal designations too, so we’re cruising along.”

Siwoo struggled to get up.
It was time to meet the twins as promised.
He had said he would be late, but they might be fast asleep by this time.

“That’s good. I have an appointment today, so I’m going. Keep up the good work.”
“Ah! Siwoo. I forgot something.”
“What is it?”
“The Geminai apprentice witch ladies who stopped by for lunch today. They told me to give this to you.”

In Takasho’s hand was a note.
When he unfolded it, it was the address of the twins’ outpost in Border Town.
‘Please come this way,’ was written in round, bubbly handwriting.

Come to think of it, he was so out of it that he didn’t even say hello properly.

“And this is the sales you made today.”
“Ah, the liquor money?”
“Keep it. I was supposed to give it to you yesterday, but I was too out of it.”

In a host bar, a portion of the sales from the liquor ordered by a customer for a host goes to the host.
There were many customers who ordered liquor when they were with Siwoo, and some of the crumbs fell to him.
When he opened the pouch, there were gold coins.
They were truly dazzling.
The clinking sound was nice too.

At this point, it was almost too much to call it crumbs.
The gold coins that Siwoo would have to save up for a whole year to make were in double digits.

It was all for Takasho’s benefit.
Besides, Siwoo was already receiving a huge reward from the Geminai Count, so he didn’t really need the money.

“Can I get this in liquor instead? I want to buy some gifts.”

He was thinking of bringing liquor for the twins, who had come all the way but couldn’t play properly and had been waiting for a long time.
Both Odile and Odette liked liquor very much.
But it didn’t feel right to buy gifts with the Geminai Count’s money.
It was better to buy them with the money he had earned today.

Siwoo was happy that he could give the gifts with a clear conscience, and Takasho was happy that he could sell more liquor even after closing.
He thought it was a win-win situation for everyone.

“Gifts? Ah, is that appointment a date with the O sisters?”
“Something like that.”

Takasho clapped his hands and exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, I thought apprentice witches were flowers that I had to admire from afar. I’m feeling a sense of generational change. Okay! How can I take money from a friend? I’ll give you the best liquor, so take it.”

If this was just a regular bar, he would have taken it, but this was a high-end bar for witches.
The best liquor was worth an astronomical amount.

“You keep the money, and just give me this much. And you don’t have to take my settlement money anymore. I’ll use this liquor money instead.”

In the end, he received the cheapest liquor from the top lineup (which was still worth thousands of Gehenna’s market price) and insisted on handing over the gold coins.
Siwoo, who was holding the beautifully packaged liquor in his arms, teleported to the outpost in Tarot Town using a coordinate transfer.

3.
It was late at night.
Tarot Town, where the day starts and ends relatively early.
As such, the area around the outpost was deserted.

But this quiet scenery wasn’t unfamiliar.
Rather, it felt like déjà vu.

When Siwoo was living like a bum, drunk on liquor, he had taken a night walk on this street with Odile.
Also, it was in this Tarot Town that he had gotten entangled with the Odile and Odette sisters after falling into a trap, so it was a place where the memories with the twins were quite deeply embedded.

Compared to the low and somewhat shabby surrounding buildings, the five-story outpost was gleaming.
If the Geminai mansion was more like a tree house based on a wide plot of land, this was more like a town house.

-Knock knock

“Are you asleep?”

The fact that the twins were here at this time meant that they had either been allowed to stay out or had snuck out.
It was probably too late.

Siwoo was thinking of wrapping up the twins and returning to the mansion if they were asleep.
Just as he grabbed the doorknob to knock again.
The door made of walnut wood opened smoothly.

“I’m too late… Huh?”

It was a scene that hadn’t changed from his memory.
The gold-plated candlesticks and the candles dancing on them.
The marble floor that made it seem like you could see your panties under your skirt if you weren’t wearing shorts, and the stairs to the right of the entrance.
In the strangely familiar and nostalgic scenery, there was something truly out of place.

“Welcome back? Assistant? No, Master.”
“Welcome back, Master.”

The twins were standing side by side on the left and right sides of the entrance hallway, bowing politely.
Up to that point, there was nothing too strange.

This was the twins’ outpost, after all.
But they were wearing maid outfits.
And their titles were strange.

Instead of the half-bonnets they usually wore, they were wearing headbands.
Aprons were wrapped around their voluminous skirts.
It wasn’t a distorted maid outfit that stimulated sexual fantasies, but an outfit that was full of life, as if they could go to work right away.
Nevertheless, it was truly elegant because Odile and Odette were noble ladies.

“What is this?”
“What else~ The assistant must have been tired all day. We’re going to serve you with the utmost respect. You can be grateful.”
“Sister, Master, Master.”
“Ah, that’s right, Master.”

Odile, who was smiling shyly and declaring it as if it were natural.
And Odette, who was correcting her sister’s mistake.

“That’s right, you worked hard all day today.”

A smile bloomed on Siwoo’s face as he stood still.
More than anything, the sight of the twins wearing ill-fitting clothes and awkwardly calling him Master was so cute.

“What, what? Why are you laughing? Is it weird?”
“Did we do something wrong?”

This feeling that warmed his heart.
This feeling that made the fatigue he had felt all day disappear.

He was truly grateful.
He never knew that it would be so joyful to have someone think of him and care for him like this.
He was so touched that he felt like he was going to cry.

“Great! I was tired, so this is perfect. You both look really good.”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“Yes.”

Siwoo hugged the twins tightly and even showed them the liquor he had brought as a gift.

“I even bought some good liquor to drink with you two today. Thank you.”
“Hmph, I knew this assistant would like it! Pecha said that maid outfits are a man’s fantasy.”
“Sister, Master, Master.”
“Ah, that’s right. Master.”

Odile, who had been awkwardly watching Siwoo, became smug when she seemed to have succeeded.
She felt like she had grown a little taller, as if she had unknowingly lifted her heels.

“Anyway! Today, relax while receiving the utmost hospitality that we have prepared!”
“Yes! I understand. Then shall we set up the table? I brought some snacks too.”
“No, come this way. What we’ve prepared isn’t just this.”

He wondered what other surprise they had prepared.
Siwoo, who had forgotten the fatigue he had accumulated throughout the day, was led into the mansion by the twins.