Chapter 622 – #126_Night In The Desert (2)
#622
1.
My teacher returned not too late, but not too early either.
It was around the time the sun had completely set and bonfires began to spew black smoke across the sandy plains.
“This is troublesome.”
She shook her head, brushing away the fine sand that had gotten into her hair, having already stored the contract sword she had taken out in case of an emergency back into the space beyond.
“What happened?”
“It seems the information leaked to more places than I thought. The other witches gathered here are also after the labyrinth demon.”
As she said, there were at least 40 witches gathered at the campsite.
The only other time I had seen this many witches in the mortal realm was when I went to the Incheon Port contact point in the past.
And that was bad news for Siwoo, who was trying to monopolize the hunting of the homunculus.
The presence of that many witches inevitably meant there would be competition.
“Does this happen often?”
“What do you mean?”
“When the appearance of a homunculus is predicted in advance, and witches flock to it like this.”
“Hmm, it doesn’t happen that often, but it’s not rare either. Every time the oracle of the prophecy institution is interpreted, it’s an event that happens about once every ten years. It’s a guaranteed opportunity to subjugate a homunculus that’s hard to find normally.”
If that was the case, then the witch who had given the information to Takasho was rather loose-lipped.
Or perhaps the information itself wasn’t that high-grade.
“How does it usually go in these situations?”
At Siwoo’s question, Eloa pointed outside the window.
There was a blank space in the middle, as if there was an invisible line.
“Do you see? They’re divided into two groups.”
At first glance, it seemed like they were just lighting fires or setting up tents here and there, but upon closer inspection, the 40 or so witches seemed to be camping in two separate camps.
“One side is affiliated with the Location Point or the witches of Gehenna, and the other side is the exiles. Generally, the witch who catches it first takes everything. There are often fights over it, though.”
“Are there no achievements to be gained?”
“No, if they saw me, they would have run away.”
“Ah.”
That alone was a clear explanation, but she added a few more words.
Unless they were working together as a group, witches tended to avoid places where other witches gathered.
Not to mention the witches of Gehenna or the Location Point, even the exiles didn’t trust them.
“So, what are we going to do?”
“……”
Anyway, I could get a rough picture.
It would be more like an artifact battle than a duo raid with my teacher.
If I was unlucky, I could come all this way for nothing.
But turning back now would be a waste of all the trouble I had gone through to get here.
Moreover, it might be difficult to find such an opportunity again.
It wasn’t like homunculi popped up whenever you wanted to catch them.
And if it was a named mob, it would surely drop some decent loot.
“I’ll give it a shot.”
“Alright. Then let’s move the car.”
2.
Since Siwoo and Eloa were affiliated with Gehenna, they naturally parked the car on the outskirts of the camp.
Witches were staring blankly at the fire, or lying down and smoking cigarettes.
Just by looking at their behavior, they seemed like refugees fleeing from war, but they all had good looks, which created a rather bizarre dissonance.
I could feel the gazes of the witches, who had been killing time, all turning towards us at once.
The immediate murmuring reached Siwoo’s ears even from quite a distance.
“What? Isn’t that Shin Siwoo?”
“Who’s Shin Siwoo?”
“Don’t you know that male witch? He’s famous these days.”
“Is that him?”
The black ribbon-wrapped spear over his left eye patch.
Siwoo, who was said to possess magic comparable to a great witch despite being a mere man, was treated like a legendary Pokémon among witches.
Some were even sighing.
“Let’s pack up. If it’s the Tiferet Duke, we’re out of luck….”
“Those damn contact point bastards said it was rare information!”
“I wasted my plane ticket.”
And there were also these absurd remarks.
“Wow…. Crazy…. He’s so handsome. I could live for 100 years just by looking at his face….”
“Ask him to sleep with you.”
“Are you crazy? Can’t you see the Tiferet Duke next to him? She’s his teacher.”
“An apprentice witch?”
“Not exactly, but there’s something going on. They came all the way here alone.”
“Oh my…. They’re lovers.”
Perhaps because I had stayed in Gehenna for so long, or perhaps because of my background, these whispers had mostly died down.
I still got hit on or received glances, but that was about it.
“They’re making a fuss.”
It had been a while since I had received such a fervent reaction, so I felt a little embarrassed.
My teacher next to me also seemed very embarrassed, fidgeting around.
“It seems they think we’re lovers.”
To be more precise, it seemed she only remembered the last part.
Her hand, which was brushing against my sleeve, was fidgeting, wondering whether to hold my hand or not.
“Maybe we should have just stayed there, I think we came for nothing?”
“It’s better to be as close as possible to the expected appearance area. As soon as it appears, it will open a labyrinth, so it’s advantageous to be as close as possible, wouldn’t you say?”
“That’s true, but….”
Still, it seemed my teacher’s fame was much higher in the mortal realm than in Gehenna.
There were witches who came to greet her or to see Siwoo, but it wasn’t like I was an idol being swarmed by sasaeng fans.
Siwoo, who had taken off his eye patch, confirmed that that wasn’t the only reason.
Their ranks weren’t very high.
The fact that Siwoo could even discern their ranks with his magic eye meant they were all below the level of a great witch.
On average, it seemed they were around rank 18.
“It’s been a while. Duke Tiferet, and Mr. Shin Siwoo.”
Among them, I saw a familiar face.
Hair as red as a blazing flame and deep ruby-colored eyes.
The only great witch in this camp, Baroness Della Redcliffe.
Just as experience changes people, witches also change.
The venomous, villainous young lady feeling I had felt when I first saw her was gone.
She wasn’t wearing her trademark red dress, but rather plain clothes, considering it was the desert, and her feet were covered in sturdy work boots instead of heels.
Nevertheless, her elegance was still there, and she had a noble dignity as she lightly lifted her skirt to greet us.
“I would like to thank you once again for stopping my friend’s rampage. And I would like to express my deepest gratitude once again for your consideration in allowing us to hold a peaceful funeral.”
After saying that, Della turned to her truck and asked.
“It’s nothing special, but would you two like to join me for dinner?”
“Of course, I’d be happy to.”
Eloa nodded willingly and lightly patted Della’s shoulder with affection and comfort.
The Paola Sochitl incident.
It was one of the incidents that Siwoo couldn’t forget.
Perhaps it was one of the most difficult incidents I had ever been involved in.
Even my teacher had been battered and had to recuperate for several months.
The incident ended with Della, who had donated all her assets to the Location Point, receiving Paola’s body and holding a funeral.
The side profile of Della, who was staring blankly at her friend’s remains without even being able to cry, had given Siwoo a lot to think about.
“I’ve been hearing a lot about you lately. I heard you’ve been subjugating homunculi?”
“It’s nothing that would be worth mentioning to Duke Tiferet.”
And Della, whom I met again, had changed so much that I wondered, ‘Is she the same person?’
First of all, the arrogant and greedy tendencies that she couldn’t shake off even when she spoke politely were nowhere to be seen.
To make an analogy, it was like the kind and strong eyes of a nurse who had volunteered for the front lines where bombs were raining down.
The experience of losing her beloved friend seemed to have given her a lot to think about as well.
“Would you mind waiting a moment?”
A bonfire covered with boards to prevent sandstorms.
Della placed an iron pan on the bonfire, which had been transformed into a small stove, and skillfully cooked bacon and eggs.
Next to it, a sooty teapot was hanging, steaming.
The way she flipped the fried eggs was so skillful that it was clear she had done it more than once or twice.
As the savory smell of food melted the desolate air of the night desert,
Della took out some barley bread and made a sandwich by placing the bacon and eggs she had cooked with butter on top.
The drink that accompanied it was a mixture of brandy and black tea in a ratio of 1 to 9.
“I don’t know if it will suit your taste, Duke.”
“Of course, it’s a wonderful feast.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
It was nothing compared to the luxurious meals I always ate at the mansion, but perhaps because of the location, it felt like a feast.
I had eaten a simple meal before boarding the light aircraft, but I had only confirmed that Central Asian food didn’t suit my taste.
The spices were too strong, and above all, the gamey smell coming from the meat was no joke.
“Did you come here to subjugate it?”
While Della and Eloa were talking, Siwoo was somewhat of an outsider.
I heard that she had been wandering the mortal realm and subjugating homunculi since Sochitl’s death.
It was an atonement for her friend whom she was too late to save.
“Yes, I was originally planning to just deal with the labyrinth demon and leave….”
Della, like the other witches gathered here, had come after receiving the oracle.
But what greeted her was about 30 witches and more witches who were arriving after hearing the news.
“I was originally going to just go back. There’s no need for so many people to gather.”
“That’s true.”
“But as you can see, there’s a division between the exiles and the Gehenna witches. I stayed to maintain the balance.”
Unlike Siwoo, who was pondering what it meant to maintain the balance, Eloa quickly grasped the situation.
“Is there a great witch on the other side?”
“Yes, the Mercury Witch.”
As you could tell from the separate camps, the exiles and the Gehenna witches didn’t get along very well.
From the perspective of a Gehenna witch, the exiles were potential criminals, and from the perspective of an exile, the Gehenna witches were annoying snobs.
If Della were to leave in this situation, only the great witch would remain on the other side, which would mean that the balance of power had been broken.
If the balance of power was broken, an accident could occur where one side would attack the other.
In the middle of the desert, where there was no proper monitoring system, there was a high possibility that emotional conflicts would lead to the use of force.
Therefore, Della was staying in this place and acting as a balancing force.
This was also a selfless act that was unimaginable if you thought of the previous Della.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“I was just here.”
Della, who humbly lowered her gaze as she answered, made a request.
“I’m sorry to ask this, but could you possibly talk to the Mercury Witch? For the sake of minimum safety.”
Eloa, who had been smiling kindly at Della’s completely changed appearance,
willingly granted Della’s request.
