Chapter 337 – #74_The Lazy Witch (2)
#335
1.
It had been a week since I became the promotional ambassador for Rose Glass, Gehenna’s host bar.
There weren’t any particularly special events.
At most, Sharon came to visit, and the twins would occasionally show their faces.
In other words, Takasho’s host bar business was growing smoothly.
The lack of trouble meant that they were successfully securing regular customers without any major issues.
In fact, from the first day, sales had been steadily increasing, and there were plenty of business cards from witches who expressed their intention to return.
“I’m already feeling drained.”
About an hour before opening time.
Siwoo, dressed in a suit, leaned back on the sofa in the break room and smoothed his hair.
Even this slicked-back hairstyle, which had seemed ridiculous, was now somewhat familiar.
Just as he was about to relax with a cigarette, he looked out the window and saw a witch arguing with the doorman, Paul.
She had ash-gray hair that reached her waist, tied at the end, and a dissatisfied expression with her chin raised.
“A novice witch.”
Her youthful appearance made it easy to guess.
And judging by the parasol that probably cost as much as a decent mid-sized sedan, she was likely the daughter of a rather prominent witch.
The conversation was inaudible, as they weren’t speaking loudly.
A little while later, Paul came inside, bowing his head.
It wasn’t long before the break room door burst open.
“Siwoo, please help me.”
Poor Paul, sweating profusely, looked distressed as he pleaded with Siwoo.
“The bar hasn’t even opened yet, but she insists on meeting you. I explained that it would be unfair since we have reservations, but she wouldn’t listen. She just kept repeating, ‘It’s even better if it’s before opening hours. I’ll pay whatever it takes, so bring me the male witch.’”
“I can guess what’s going on. Who is it?”
“It’s… the novice witch Diana Yesod, from Count Yesod’s family.”
“Yesod?”
Oh boy, a big shot.
It was understandable that Paul, who had been good at turning away disgruntled witches, would be so flustered and ask for help.
Count Yesod was one of Gehenna’s seven counts.
His novice witch was probably a bigger deal than any of the customers they had seen so far.
Countless witches had visited the host bar, but none of the great witches or nobles had come.
Was it something like the pride of ladies who wouldn’t even glance at department store sales? I was guessing.
It wouldn’t be appealing to stand in line for just 15 minutes in a place so crowded with people.
“What can I do? I’ll have to meet her. Bring her in.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m already entertaining all day, what’s one more?”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Paul’s face brightened as he ran back downstairs.
Siwoo also straightened his clothes one last time and walked to the table.
It was a calculated move.
From watching Takasho manage the host bar, I realized that ‘entertaining witches’ was just the beginning of the business.
What was more important was networking.
The connections made while entertaining witches and securing regular customers had limitless potential that couldn’t be compared to mere gold coins.
They could generate revenue in unexpected ways, or gather information circulating among witches to establish new investment plans.
In that sense, a count’s novice witch was an excellent customer.
If they could secure her as a regular, she would be more helpful to Takasho than any other witch.
“That’s secondary.”
Actually, what was more important was that the novice witch who came this time was from the ‘Yesod family.’
Yesod’s self-generating magic was none other than magic that utilized fields.
In fact, most of the materials Siwoo had referenced in the library were based on Count Yesod’s papers.
If he could use this opportunity to become friendly with the novice witch, wouldn’t it help with the interpretation of the Red Branch?
That was the biggest selfish reason.
It would be like getting feedback from the top authority in the field.
“Welcome, thank you for visiting. I’m Shin Siwoo, and I’ll be your host, Diana Yesod.”
Siwoo greeted Diana with a business smile.
Up close, she had a very unique aura.
First of all, she was dressed entirely in white.
From her frilly dress to her gloves, shoes, and even the tights that came up to her knees, everything was pure white.
Her ash-gray hair wasn’t dull but had a clean sheen.
Her crimson eyes, contrasting with the overall color scheme, gave a strong impression.
But this was just her appearance; it had no direct connection to her aura.
Her languid gaze, as if she might yawn at any moment, and her slightly downturned eyes gave off a detached feeling that didn’t fit a typical novice witch at all.
Why, even the twins had sparkling eyes that showed they were curious about everything in the world?
In comparison, this one seemed like she was on her Nth life.
“Nice to meet you.”
Diana ignored Siwoo’s hand, which was trying to escort her, and sat down.
This happened quite often, so Siwoo naturally sat with her.
However, since she was a novice witch, he didn’t sit right next to her but across from her.
“It’s an honor to meet a novice witch from the Yesod family. What brings you here?”
Up to this point, Siwoo didn’t think it would be difficult to deal with Diana.
The only novice witches Siwoo had dealt with so far were Odile and Odette.
They were stubborn, but they were definitely more naive than witches.
Besides, Siwoo was no longer a slave, was he?
He thought it would be relatively easy to handle.
“I heard you can use magic?”
But as soon as those pretty lips opened and uttered the typical lines of stubborn and proud witches, he had to change his mindset.
And that look in her eyes.
The way she scrutinized him, full of suspicion yet seemingly refusing to acknowledge his existence, made it impossible to relax.
“That’s correct, for now.”
“Anyway, a promise is a promise, so let’s order drinks first. Bring me the most expensive one you have here.”
The most expensive drink?
It would be a problem if she thought this was a regular bar.
There were plenty of high-end drinks prepared for witches, and the most expensive drink at Rose Glass was outrageously overpriced.
“Our host bar has a variety of drinks to suit the tastes of our witches. How about looking at the catalog and choosing a drink you like?”
But it would be a bad move to say, ‘Our drinks are expensive. Can you afford it?’ right away.
Even if she was a novice witch, she was still a witch from a count’s family.
There was no need to scratch her pride.
“No, just bring me the most expensive one. I made a promise with the doorman out there.”
Diana placed a thin metal card on the table with a click.
It was a credit certificate that Siwoo also had.
He quickly wrote down the name and price of the drink on the receipt and showed it to her.
“Well, this is about it. Do you like the drink?”
“It’s fine.”
She didn’t order the most expensive one without thinking.
While the Jemena and Yesod families were known to be wealthy, the drinks with Gehenna’s tariffs and the host bar premium cost hundreds of millions.
Therefore, the drink he showed Diana was in the top tier of the mid-range line.
He didn’t want rumors spreading that Rose Glass was ripping off novice witches.
He wondered if this was too expensive, but Diana nodded readily.
“Understood. This item includes a champagne tower event, so please wait a moment.”
“No, that’s okay. I came here because I wanted to talk to you. Sit here.”
“As you wish.”
She was a customer with a clear purpose.
A customer who came with the thought, ‘A male witch? I can’t believe it. I have to see it and verify it with my own eyes!’
Having dealt with this many times, he could roughly predict what would happen next.
“So far, there have been three con artists in Gehenna who bragged about completing self-generating magic.”
Surprisingly, this was also an episode he had heard from other witches.
“I see. I wouldn’t have believed it either if it were just a rumor. I was just lucky.”
“I only believe what I see.”
“Would you like me to demonstrate my magic?”
“Do it.”
Her tone was polite, but the atmosphere was overbearing.
It was clear that Count Yesod had done a good job educating his child.
She was still just a novice witch, but she was already showing such witch-like behavior.
But Siwoo’s business smile never faltered.
He swallowed a bitter laugh and, as always, conjured a black shadow in his hand.
“Bloom.”
The black particles rippled.
The darkness, as if it would absorb all the surrounding light, surged in his grasp.
Perhaps it was because of her deep double eyelids or her slightly cute downturned eyes.
Diana’s eyes, which had seemed sleepy, widened slightly.
“……”
“Feel free to examine it.”
The law of shadows was the raw material for most of the magic Siwoo used.
Armor, weapons, and ribbons were all made using these shadow particles.
Nevertheless, the reason Siwoo could easily show it off in front of other witches was that he had already finished modifying the shadows.
When making armor or weapons, he used shadows that had been recombined using the elemental magic he learned from Sharon.
When weaving ribbons, he used a separate self-generating magic called the Maiden’s Loom to weave them into threads.
Therefore, the magic Siwoo demonstrated was the original form he had obtained from the ‘Gnosis Egg,’ and it wasn’t particularly high-level.
Of course, most witches were surprised that a man could use magic at all.
“……”
Diana carefully examined the shadow rippling on Siwoo’s hand.
It was clearly different from common magic.
It was definitely self-generating magic.
She had never heard of or seen magic in this form before.
But somehow.
It was so pathetic, as if it would blow away with a puff of air.
-Snap!
Diana generated a field in her hand.
It was a thin, disc-shaped magic circle that served as a touchstone for observing various types of magic.
She touched the shadow with her fingertip and spread it out, making it easy to classify.
A hook-shaped micro magic circle.
Its characteristic was that it stuck to other magic and interfered with its deployment.
It had a clear weakness: it couldn’t resist overwhelming magical power.
She managed to grasp it in an instant.
Is that all…?
Diana felt a sense of disappointment and, at the same time, a secret sense of smugness.
She was disappointed that the magic she had bothered to come all this way to see was self-generating magic that Diana could probably imitate with a little practice.
She felt a sense of satisfaction that the magic of a self-proclaimed male witch was as pathetic as she had expected.
It meant that Diana’s hypothesis was correct, wasn’t it?
“Interesting. I can see that it’s quite decent. It’s definitely self-generating magic.”
But the man was smiling smugly, as if he was proud of showing off that level of magic.
It was impressive that he had achieved that much in just one generation, but she felt like she wanted to teach him a lesson.
She couldn’t deny that it was a bad intention, but it was a very rare surge of motivation for Diana.
Had she become a little more diligent lately, after being forced to go outside?
Diana opened her mouth with self-praise.
“But you can’t judge the level with just this.”
“Please, feel free to command me. According to our agreement, the next 40 minutes are for you, Diana.”
Forty minutes was enough.
Even though Diana was still a novice witch, she was confident that she could handle a hastily made male witch.
Of course, she had no intention of doing anything uncivilized like fighting with magic.
It was overwhelmingly annoying, of course.
There was a very good way to determine whose magical talent was superior while sitting down.
“Then, do you have a position board?”
It was a game using magic.
