City ​​of Witches 498

Chapter 498 – #106_Perfume Tycoon (5)

#498

1.
I smelled something like a faint disinfectant as I went through various tests, but it only took about 30 minutes.

I thought I wasn’t too worried.
But now that I’m actually getting a thorough checkup, I’m a little nervous.

Above all, Count Kohab’s expression wasn’t good throughout the examination.
I was already feeling anxious because of the recent anomaly where Amelia’s magic amplification wasn’t occurring.

“Is it over?”
“Yes, as far as I can do. Get dressed.”

Shiwoo put his clothes back on with a bewildered expression.
Count Kohab put a cigarette pipe connected to a water bird to his mouth and lit it.
A long trail of smoke rose from his thin lips.
He closed his eyes, looking troubled, so I asked first.

“Was there a problem?”
“…No. There’s nothing at all.”

After saying that, Count Kohab reluctantly added, as if his pride was hurt.

“There’s no way the sensory link would fail for no reason. It means I haven’t found it.”

At least, from Count Kohab’s perspective, everything was perfectly normal.
The major and minor blood vessels, bones, muscles, and nerve connections were all complete, and the grafting was also neatly done.

He had even perfectly reconstructed the form of the existing magic circuit by estimating it based on the magic circuits throughout the body.
But Kohab had no idea why there was an issue with the sensory link.

“The only thing I can guess is that you lost your arm in the random space.”
“Does it matter where I lost it?”
“That place is an unobserved zone where anything can happen. There might be a subtle error in your spirit body that my examination can’t detect.”
“Then what happens?”

The problem I thought was trivial was starting to feel more serious.
When Shiwoo looked troubled, Count Kohab said firmly.

“I provided the best procedure. The fee I received from Count Jemynai was for the prosthetic arm transplant of your left arm that was lost below the elbow. From here on, it doesn’t seem to be my responsibility.”
“What? I still can’t feel anything.”
“I told you, it’s not my problem. I clearly transplanted it perfectly, assuming there was no major issue with your spirit body. It’s Count Jemynai who didn’t clearly state that.”

Shiwoo suppressed the urge to say, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

I understood what he was saying.
Simply put, he wouldn’t work beyond what he was paid for.

But even karaoke places that take payment upfront provide service, and here I am, about to have my arm crippled, and he’s saying he’ll only deal with the part he was paid for.
As a patient, it was natural to feel dissatisfied.

“I understand. If I were to pay an additional fee, how much would it be?”

But I didn’t know Count Kohab personally, and when I thought about it, what Count Kohab said made sense.
It wasn’t like changing a water purifier filter; I had no intention of ending the arm replacement halfway.
When I expressed my willingness to pay an additional fee, Count Kohab answered casually.

“I don’t need money. I doubt it would even be profitable.”
“……”
“However, I am personally interested in your body.”

Count Kohab’s eyes turned to Shiwoo.
In her eyes, a subtle curiosity flickered like a candle.

“……”
“I’ll look for a solution in exchange for letting me study you.”

Was this her plan from the start?
Shiwoo sighed.

I had a feeling that things were going wrong.
But I never thought such a shallow scheme was lurking.

It was obvious.
In all likelihood, Count Kohab was delaying the situation even though she could treat it.
As she had revealed, it was to study Shiwoo’s body.
I didn’t know exactly what that research meant, but I refused to be a test subject.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“What kind of experiment is it?”
“The spirit body is a perfect body given along with the stigma. Even with the same perfection, there are bound to be various differences between male and female bodies. So, I plan to map the entire body. It’s a necessary process anyway for the sensory link error.”
“……”

Let’s think about it.
Is this really such a bad thing?

Shiwoo’s spirit body is full of mysteries.
Besides magic amplification, there are many things that are still unknown, like a black box.

If I could cooperate with Count Kohab’s experiment and learn about my body, it wouldn’t be entirely bad.
Unlike my slave days, there are more than a few acquaintances who would stand up for me if something happened to Shiwoo.

However, there was a problem.
One of the peculiarities of Shiwoo’s body was the amplification of magic during intercourse, the ability to steal or add stigmas, and the new stigma inheritance method being researched with Count Yesod.

No one could guarantee how much interest a witch would have in these factors.
That’s why I was hiding it from anyone who wasn’t a close confidant.

Shiwoo didn’t know what kind of person Count Kohab was.
She might be satisfied with collecting samples now, but if she learned about these secrets, there was no telling how she might change.
Besides, there was the risk of being tormented by witches from all sides if the truth leaked out.

“…I’ll think about it a bit more and contact you.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”

Count Kohab retreated without any regrets.
Leaving Kohab, who was already immersed in her research again without even saying goodbye, Shiwoo left her workshop.

“Hmm… Should I visit Tarot Town?”

There was something wrong with my spirit body.
If there was a witch who could help, one person came to mind.
The 19th-ranked witch specializing in healing, Yebin Smirna.

Although the decisive healing was handed over to Keter due to Shiwoo’s fierce resistance in his subconscious, she was a benefactor and an excellent doctor who had healed Shiwoo’s tattered body.

However, there was a reason why I kept putting off visiting her, even though I thought I should go.

“It’s a bit awkward between us…”

Yebin and Shiwoo were not in a relationship that could be called lovers.
They had shared a rather strange first experience, but their subsequent interactions were limited to about two days spent in bed.

That was also after regaining my memories, when I was depressed due to the extreme trouble with Amelia, I was seduced by her and impulsively got intimate.

But quite some time had passed since then, and Shiwoo had several lovers.
And Shiwoo had also started to think a little about responsibility.

Unless Yebin contacted me first, it wasn’t easy for Shiwoo, who already had several lovers, to visit her.

“Still, it’s an important issue…”

There was no guarantee that meeting would automatically lead to a suggestive atmosphere.
The issue with my body was something I had to address.

“Huh?”

While thinking about this and that, I was coming down the stairs without being seen off when someone blocked my path.
It wasn’t a very unexpected person.

Duke Errelim, 24th rank.
Her full name was Blanche Errelim.

Her beautiful black hair reached down to her hips, and her mysterious eyes seemed to mix silver and white.
Her white dress, which barely revealed any skin, clung tightly to her body, revealing her figure, was very alluring.
Other notable features were her tall height, easily over 170 cm, and her voluptuous breasts.

I had only seen her in court, so this was the first time I was seeing her this close.
When I faced her one-on-one, I immediately felt that she was a person with a unique aura.

I bowed politely first.
No matter what, she was a duke, and this was her mansion.

“Greetings, Duke Errelim.”

The queenly force that was felt just by standing still.
Her lack of humanity and dry atmosphere, even more so than Count Kohab, made even her beauty, which could topple a kingdom, fade like a scentless flower.
The duke herself probably didn’t care about that.

In fact, Shiwoo was uncomfortable with her.
I couldn’t feel favorably towards Duke Errelim because my interactions with her hadn’t been pleasant.

Even though it was her duty as a duke, she was the one who had launched the spear of purge at Shiwoo and Amelia, and her cold demeanor in court was also memorable.
Also, she was a particularly rigid traditionalist among the witches, and the leader of them.
In many ways, she was difficult to deal with.

I wanted to go my own way right away, but her mansion was too large to dismiss this coincidental meeting as a coincidence.
I thought she had probably come to see Shiwoo.

“……”

But Duke Errelim just stared at Shiwoo without saying anything.

“If you have no business, may I go?”
“You are the male witch. The one who stopped Baron Merrygold’s rampage.”
“That’s right.”

When I asked, maintaining the most polite tone possible, Duke Errelim slowly opened her mouth.
Duke Errelim placed her hand on her chest and slightly bowed her head.
Her voice was like cool glass.

“On behalf of the witches of Gehenna, I thank you for your dedication.”
“I was just doing what I had to do.”

When I thought about the reason why Amelia had gone berserk, I felt a little guilty because I was also one of the culprits.
I was about to accept the greeting and leave, but she still didn’t seem to move aside.

“May I ask you one thing?”

As if the expression of gratitude was over, Duke Errelim immediately got to the point.

“I want to see your eyes.”
“My eyes…?”
“The eyes behind the eyepatch.”

Shiwoo hesitated for a moment.
Unlike other witches, Shiwoo’s stigma was engraved on his left eye.
Duke Errelim probably wanted to see its appearance.

“It’s not a difficult request…”

Compared to the request to study my body, it wasn’t difficult.
Shiwoo readily took off his eyepatch and opened his eyes.
Then, Duke Errelim stepped closer.

She brought her face so close that it was almost like a kiss, and Shiwoo had to quickly stop breathing.
Shiwoo was easily affected by the scent of high-ranking witches.
I didn’t know what it would be like with the 24th-ranked Duke Errelim, and if I got aroused here, a catastrophe could occur.

“……”

Her glassy eyes stared intently at Shiwoo’s left eye.
Duke Errelim’s expression, which seemed like it would never change even if the world split in two, distorted.
I couldn’t tell exactly what caused the distortion.
It could be shock, admiration for the mysterious, or curiosity about the unknown.

“I, I think that’s enough.”

But when Shiwoo saw her eyes gradually filling with passion, he carefully pushed Duke Errelim away.
Whatever the reason, a chill ran down my spine.
My heart was pounding as if I was in a state of war.

“……”

Duke Errelim murmured softly and then passed by Shiwoo.
There was no reason to grab her, but the atmosphere was not conducive to conversation, so Shiwoo had to listen to her footsteps fading away as she went down the stairs, feeling bewildered.

“…Why not me?”

Shiwoo repeated a part of Duke Errelim’s murmur that he had faintly heard.
Just as I didn’t know what direction her passion was heading, I didn’t know the meaning of her soliloquy either.