Chapter 775 – #163_Seoul And The Witch (2)
#769
1.
A window of time, ranging from a short day to two days, opened up before Siwoo and Elloa would bring Linne back.
The lovers used this time to follow Sharon, their Seoul guide, to Gwanghwamun.
For the twins, Ruelle, Amelia, and Hyunse, it was like being in another world, and they were able to have a great time.
They visited duty-free department stores and bought stacks of books from a huge bookstore.
There was a reason why they headed to a bookstore, of all places.
Gehenna, isolated from the current world, intentionally maintains its own culture.
Within it, the most beneficial form of entertainment is undoubtedly reading.
Moreover, books serve as useful references for magical research, making them to witches what smartphones, YouTube, computers, tablets, and so on are to modern people.
When traveling, it’s only natural to buy books from the region.
Amelia, who especially loves books, even bought an extra travel suitcase just to fill it with books.
As they unpacked the books they had brought, the twins and Ruelle bickered.
“Ugh, how frustrating. You’ve been saying weird things since earlier.”
“Yeah, what’s so pretty about you? That guy asked for our numbers because he liked us, you know?”
“Nonsense. He approached me because he was captivated by my charm, and you two are just small cereals that come with a big cereal box.”
“Sigh…”
Sharon secretly sighed.
Her usually robust spirit felt like her bones were aching.
Today’s tour course included Gwanghwamun Square, a bookstore, a department store, and grocery shopping.
She had anticipated and accepted some level of hardship.
She knew there would be a lot to explain, and that keeping an eye on the twins, who would dash off toward new points of interest at the slightest distraction, would require the agility of a sheepdog.
However, she had no idea that Ruelle’s presence would double the difficulty.
“What? Ruelle, are you done talking?”
“If we’re small cereals, you’re a wooden chopstick that comes with instant ramen.”
“Hmm, that’s not a very apt description. Chopsticks are important. Otherwise, would you eat hot ramen with your hands?”
“I could just use telekinesis to eat it, you know?”
It had been like this all day.
They kept bickering over the silliest things.
When it was just the two of them, the twins would fight amongst themselves, but when an external enemy appeared, they would band together like this, but their aggression would increase.
Adding Ruelle, who was easily provoked and constantly looking for a fight, to the mix made it a complete disaster.
“Sharon, what do you think?”
“Even Sharon thinks the chopsticks are more useless, right?”
“Green hair, you better answer carefully.”
Eventually, the topic of their argument would strangely deviate from the original point, and the fight itself would become the goal.
And Sharon had to act as the judge.
“Ugh… Guys, can you please stop?”
“Sharon looks tired. Should we just decide by majority vote? Whichever side gets the majority wins.”
“Wow, Odette, you’re a genius? That’s democratic and great.”
“How dare you! How dare you discuss democracy in front of me, the monarch of the Nukelavi Dynasty?”
Ruelle flared up.
“Democracy is all the rage these days.”
“Countries that insisted on monarchy all went to ruin.”
The twins sneered.
And when the twins lit a small spark, Ruelle would ignite like a methane hydrate.
“Foolish! That is because foolish monarchs sat on the throne during the succession! But I am an immortal being! A monarchy ruled by a philosopher, eternally, is the most perfect and ideal system!”
Ruelle was a witch, after all.
Her charisma as she declared this with her arms crossed was overflowing with a force that would overwhelm any ordinary person.
Just as she was about to launch into a long speech, Sharon intervened at the right moment.
She had gotten the hang of it, you could say.
“Let’s stop fighting and get ready to eat. We bought pork belly, too.”
If you put something in their mouths, the three of them would quiet down for a bit.
“Oh! Pork belly! That was delicious!”
“Yum! Sounds good!”
While Sharon was keeping the three of them in check.
Amelia, after observing the situation, quickly moved the suitcase full of books to a corner of the room.
“…Whew.”
While Ruelle was choosing books on war history.
While the twins were choosing all sorts of miscellaneous educational books.
And while Sharon was controlling the three people who would disappear if she took her eyes off them for even a moment.
Amelia had stepped away and discovered and stockpiled her secret weapons.
-Whoosh!
Like a drug dealer who had smuggled in a lot of philopon, Amelia carefully opened the suitcase zipper.
All sorts of books, still in their plastic wrapping, were packed tightly into the dark gap.
The books, which had been tucked away in a corner where people rarely went, revealed themselves to Amelia as if by fate.
Could this really be the current world?
It was nearly impossible to find books dealing with such topics in Gehenna.
These were rare and precious books that could only be found in the current world, where free and equal relationships were common.
The titles written on the colorful book covers were as follows:
‘How to Become a Beloved Lover,’ ‘The Art of Conversation,’ ‘Even Flowers Need to Be Tended to Be Beautiful,’ ‘A Guidebook for Dating Beginners,’ and 13 other books.
“With these, I can…”
Amelia was aware of her limitations.
She had lived alone for a very long time since becoming a witch.
She had pushed everything else to the periphery, pursuing only magic.
Among the pieces of life that Amelia had pushed away was interpersonal relationships.
As a result of such a long time passing, she had developed many negative traits, such as a sharp tone that rejected others’ approaches, a lack of facial expressions, and an instinctive aversion to human relationships.
It was like a body odor, something that couldn’t be easily changed just because you wanted to let it go.
Without even being conscious of it, she would put up a wall against others.
Just look at Sharon and Ruelle, they got along so well with the twins, didn’t they?
Compared to them, Amelia wasn’t blending in very well.
Even Siwoo was still being considerate of her.
This was her secret weapon to overcome such a handicap.
It was a conceptualization of information that would have originally required countless trials and errors, refined by an author who had already experienced it.
It would definitely be helpful in getting closer to Siwoo.
Moreover, Amelia’s secret weapon wasn’t just that.
-Whoosh!
When she opened the suitcase zipper a little further, other books that had been hidden in the deepest part were revealed.
‘Sex, and the Kama Sutra,’ ‘An Easy Guide to SM,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ ‘The Reason Why You Had to Throw Away the Sheets Last Night,’ and 15 other books.
Unlike the former, these books were full of rather explicit content.
Some of them even had very suggestive book covers that were eye-catching.
She didn’t know how red her face had gotten when she secretly took these to the counter to pay for them.
Nevertheless, the reason why Amelia had braved her embarrassment was.
It was to truly meet Siwoo at eye level, like Sharon and other lovers.
If she lacked experience, if she lacked the know-how, she could just use the books she had carefully collected as a stepping stone to meet his gaze!
These books, filled with the wisdom of the ancients, would surely transform Amelia into a brand new Amelia.
Amelia closed the bag again and even changed the combination of the suitcase lock.
“…I’ll be a little greedy this time.”
This was, after all, a war of love.
It would be foolish to share a game-changer that she had discovered after so long.
Didn’t Sharon also not hide from Amelia that she engaged in such activities with her partner at night?
Amelia hid the books, deliberately ignoring her pangs of conscience.
“Amelia! Can you help me prepare dinner?”
“Yes, I’m coming.”
She headed to the kitchen to help Sharon prepare dinner.
2.
After Shin Siwoo’s escape, Hexennacht was in a state of constant turmoil.
The betrayal of the Sword Witch and the Path Witch, both 22nd-tier Great Witches who would have been strong forces in wartime.
The witches of Gehenna had not only invaded Hexennacht but had also set up traps outside.
In other words, it was like being preemptively attacked during a cold war.
Gehenna issued a statement saying that the incident was unrelated to the will of the entire city, but they did not take any other significant measures.
This response gave strength and justification to the voices of the hardliners, and it also created rifts in the moderate faction, which had been united by common interests.
Hexennacht was seething like an angry swarm of wasps whose nest had been attacked, and stories of bloody revenge were slowly leaking out.
“In order to take responsibility for this incident, the Solidus Trading Company’s board of directors has removed Lydia Magnus, the Gold Witch, from her position as representative. The position will be delegated to ‘Psyche Tigarden, the Aries Witch.’”
Given that it had been revealed that Lydia Magnus, the head of the Solidus Trading Company, was involved in the series of events, she could not avoid being held accountable.
Although there was no concrete evidence, various circumstances suggested that Lydia had been in contact with Gehenna for her own personal gain, and that she had been aware of Linne’s betrayal but had concealed it.
“……”
Lydia bit her lip in humiliation.
Any other witch would have lost her life, but Lydia had the power and authority she had accumulated over the years.
If that hadn’t been the case, she would have died without even being able to talk about preferential treatment.
But that didn’t make her resentment disappear.
“Munch, munch.”
Her fierce gaze of hatred turned to Psyche, who was calmly eating chocolate.
She should never have trusted her in the first place.
Even if she hadn’t known that she would so easily reverse their cooperative relationship, she had been wary enough.
However, she had stabbed her in the vital spot at the most opportune moment with the most appropriate information.
In the end, Psyche was reaping the sweetest fruit of Lydia’s hard work.
And no one believed that the old witch, who was known for having fought the most battles in history, would willingly remain within the confines of the moderate faction.
Because of the recent preemptive attack, the ‘moderate faction’ of Hexennacht had become nominal.
Even the achievements of the existing moderate faction now made them want a powerful and aggressive leader.
“Do I just say one thing?”
Psyche, who had taken over the position from the board of directors’ facilitator, stood on the platform, licking chocolate from her lips.
“First, I’ll praise your keen insight in electing me, Psyche Tigarden, as your representative. I know what you want.”
“……”
“You’ve been bored for too long, haven’t you?”
Amid the gazes of evaluation that poured down without any response or goodwill, Psyche continued calmly.
“Now, let’s all surprise the world. Let’s reclaim the glory that witches should have rightfully enjoyed. Let’s make witches great again.”
She had tried to raise the tension, but the reaction to the stale slogan was rather lukewarm.
Psyche, seemingly unconcerned, spoke again.
“Now, everyone, stand up. Let’s show the world who the masters are. Let the war games begin.”
wtf MAGA witches