City ​​of Witches 811

Chapter 811 – #169_Ideal World (4)

#805

1.
It was a big festival held once a year in a small town with not much to do.
Thanks to that, the road from the town to the shrine was crowded with people.

Families, couples, and friends dressed up in their best clothes.
As the long, purple sunset slowly faded, everyone was heading towards the shrine with excited steps.

“……”

A glance.

Rinne looked sideways at Papa, who was walking beside her.

He was wearing a hakama, dressed up for the festival.
A manly scar that ran across his face, an eyepatch that covered one eye.
A stylish beard visible under the slanted woven hat.

He looked like a wandering ronin who knew the ways of the world.

In reality, he was also a master of the spear, worthy of the title of the greatest spearman in the world.

“Rinne, it’s dangerous to look away. You have to watch your step.”
“Yes.”

Siwoo gently pressed down on Rinne’s head as he scolded her.
Rinne lowered her head, feeling the affection in his small gesture.

It was safe to say that only Papa was allowed to treat Rinne this way.

Now, Rinne relied on him like this, but their first meeting was far from a good relationship, even as a joke.

Five years ago.
After her master inherited the stigma and died arbitrarily.
Rinne, who was wandering both physically and mentally, met the wandering ronin, Shin Siwoo.

As soon as Rinne met him, a man who had become a witch, she started a fight with him.

At that time, she didn’t care about anything.
She could no longer find a reason to live.

If there was a reason left, she would ask her sword, which she had honed throughout her life, and her martial arts.

If she killed him, she would be able to reach a higher level, and if she died at the hands of a strong person, it would be more than welcome.
With that in mind, she challenged him, who seemed quite strong.

Surprisingly, he defeated Rinne with an overwhelming difference.
Even though she was a young witch, Rinne, who was used to fighting due to the harsh training of the ‘Sword Witch,’ was easily subdued as if she were a child.

His spear was as straight as bamboo, and the tip of the spear showed changes as freely as willow leaves.

Rinne could not respond to his ever-changing movements, and in less than three minutes, she dropped her sword and fell face-first into the mud.

‘Kill me.’

She was prepared for the price of defeat.
Even as muddy water flowed into her open mouth, she felt no resentment or anger, but rather a sense of relief that she had been waiting for.

‘Go back, wash your feet, and go to sleep. Don’t bother me.’

But Siwoo did not take Rinne’s life.
He simply threw those words at her and walked away, leaving her behind in the rain.

‘…….’

She had nothing left, and the one thing she thought she had, ‘strength,’ was completely denied.

The mental shock turned into anger that overturned even her suicidal impulses.
It was a sudden and unexpected shift in direction.
Perhaps it was a cognitive schema that occurred because she needed to explode the emotions that had been building up in her heart.

After that, Rinne followed him around and attacked him.

Day and night, clear days and cloudy days, on trails and at the edge of the village.
She attacked him for three weeks straight, regardless of time or place, and was thrown to the ground every time without winning a single victory.

Each time, he dealt with Rinne with ease.
The result was always the same.

‘Go train more.’

After chasing his back for a month, he would only say those annoying words and turn away indifferently.
The resentment and sadness of not even being able to compete properly had already changed into admiration.

‘Aren’t you hungry?’

A rice ball was handed to Rinne, who was clutching her kicked stomach and groaning.
That was the beginning of their long relationship.

As time passed, Rinne came to regard Siwoo as her father, just as a motherless cat would burrow into the arms of a wolf.
And he took care of Rinne without any conditions, like a family member, like a father.

“What are you thinking about?”
“…The day I first met Papa.”

It was embarrassing, but she couldn’t hide her true feelings from Papa.
Rinne answered with an unlike her mumbling voice, and Siwoo stroked her head again as if he found Rinne cute.

Before they knew it, the sun had completely set.
The long staircase leading to the shrine’s gate, the torii, was surrounded by colorful lights.

Siwoo and Rinne climbed the path, holding hands tightly like a loving father and daughter.

Papa is kind.
Papa is gentle.

If it hadn’t been for that one rice ball he gave her, how terrible would her time have been?

Just being together like this fills her heart with so much joy that her toes feel like they’re floating.
Even the curse of her terrible deficiency fades away.

But at the same time, these feelings make Rinne anxious.

“Wow, they decorated it well.”

Looking around at the lively music and laughter, she realized that she had arrived at the shrine.
The stalls set up by the villagers were quite well-equipped, creating a small festival atmosphere.

“Shall we take a look around first?”
“Yes.”

Even so, it was a small village festival that outsiders wouldn’t bother to visit.
Even if they looked around slowly, it would all be over in about 15 minutes.
As they were wandering aimlessly around the shrine grounds, which were lit by red incandescent lights instead of stone lanterns.

Rinne pondered over a long-standing concern.
Siwoo had done so much for Rinne.

He had filled the void of affection between family members, the desire for paternal or maternal love that she had longed for.
And that was it.
Their relationship was just that of a father and daughter who were not related by blood.

“Rinne.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t just stand there blankly, take this.”

A candy apple on a stick was given to Rinne, who was standing hesitantly.
It wasn’t just an apple, it was a ringo ame, an apple coated in melted sugar.
It was a must-have snack for a matsuri.

“……”
“We came all this way, shouldn’t we enjoy it more?”

It was the same Papa as always.
But his actions, as if he hadn’t noticed Rinne’s worries at all, seemed annoying today.

“Oh, this looks fun too.”

Siwoo led Rinne, who was nibbling on the ringo ame little by little, to the goldfish scooping game.
This game of scooping goldfish in a shallow tank with a paper net was also an indispensable event at a matsuri.

“Come on, sweetfish scooping is only 500 yen per try! If you bring the sweetfish you catch to the next stall, they’ll cook it for you!”
“Hmm, it’s a bit different from the goldfish scooping I know.”
“……”

Instead of goldfish, sweetfish were swimming in the tank.
Looking to the side, there was indeed a stall grilling sweetfish over charcoal.

“Do you want to try, Rinne?”
“How many should I catch?”
“Let’s catch as much as we can eat.”
“How many do you want to eat, Papa?”
“Hmm? About two if we’re going to have it with beer?”

Rinne, who had rolled up the sleeves of her yukata, stepped forward with a paper net.
Like a cormorant catching sweetfish with great skill, she quickly snatched five sweetfish.

Siwoo, who had gotten some snacks, was very pleased and praised Rinne enthusiastically,
and it was a given that Rinne’s cheeks turned red from the enthusiastic praise.

2.
As mentioned earlier, this small town’s matsuri was a small-scale event without a parade, so the only thing to enjoy after sweetfish scooping was shooting.

Still, it had a proper main event that couldn’t be missed.
It was a fireworks display that shot fireworks into the summer night sky.

The Toho Shrine was a prime spot to watch the fireworks from a high altitude.
Therefore, it was obvious that people who had been resting or those who were not particularly interested in the stalls would flock there.

Rinne had finished her preliminary survey three days ago.

“Where are you going?”
“Papa, this way is better.”

She had made her way through the trees and bushes to the edge of a gentle cliff overlooking the river.

She had considered where it was quiet, where she could avoid the attention of others, and yet still secure a great view.

The lights of the shrine behind them were gradually turning off.
The people who had been laughing and talking were also holding their breath for a moment, waiting for the spectacle that was about to unfold.

Her heart was pounding as if it was broken.
The concern that Rinne had always had.

It was that Siwoo really only thought of Rinne as his daughter.
If a catalyst was needed to change their current relationship, it would surely be Rinne’s courage.

It was a blessing that he cherished Rinne, who was not related to him by blood, like family.
It was also true that Rinne was saved by Siwoo’s attitude.

But at some point, she was plagued by the desire to take one step further in this relationship.
Such impulses were always accompanied by anxiety.

Rinne liked Papa, who took care of her.
She liked Papa, who she could always be spoiled by and rely on.

If the result of Rinne trying to cross the line on her own was an awkward distance, it would be sad.
If her confession, which she had squeezed out with courage, was dismissed as just a childish whim, she wouldn’t be able to hold back her tears.

She was terrified of how her desire to have both Siwoo and Papa would be seen by him.

“Papa.”

Rinne barely managed to overcome her shrinking breath and opened her mouth.

“Yes?”

She had vowed to say it today, but hesitation was still coming.
More hesitation.

She could be happy without doing anything.
Maybe it would be okay to spend a little more time like this?

“It’s nothing….”

Just as Rinne quietly lowered her head and tried to promise herself for next time.

-Bang! Pop pop pop!

With cheers, the fireworks lit up the dark surroundings.
The beautiful fireworks cut off the thread of hesitation.

“Oh, it’s pretty.”
“Papa.”

Rinne reached out her arms to Siwoo.
Instead of hugging him, thinking she was asking for a hug as usual, she grabbed his cheeks tightly.
So that he could never escape.

“I love you deeply in my heart.”

Their lips gently overlapped.

Not a family kiss on the cheek or forehead before going to bed, but a lover’s kiss where they put their tongues in and mixed their sweet saliva.

The sound of fireworks echoed in their ears, and the colorful fireworks flickered on their cheeks.

It was a kiss that was as long as an eternity and as short as a moment.

Relief, regret, lingering feelings, joy, sweetness, bitterness, excitement, fear.
A complex and subtle aftertaste, like a mixture of different paints, remained on her tongue.

“You….”

She could see Papa with a surprised expression on his face.
She shouldn’t have done it.

“…I’m sorry….”

She should have been satisfied with what she was given and stayed put.
She tried to act like nothing was wrong, but just as Rinne, whose legs had given out, was about to collapse with tears,

“Hoo…?!”

This time, Papa kissed her.
A kiss that was more intense and full of hot passion than the one Rinne had given.

Rinne, whose body had stiffened, naturally entrusted herself to his touch.

In the dark forest where the sound of insects had faded into the fireworks.
In the midst of the secret fire play between father and daughter, Rinne shed tears of happiness.