City ​​of Witches 955

Chapter 955 – #205 Let’S Create A Society (6)

#949

1.
My relationship with Periwinkle naturally drifted apart.
It wasn’t that Siwoo was intentionally distancing himself.

With so many busy and hectic things going on, there were no opportunities to meet face-to-face, and conversely, Periwinkle hadn’t contacted Siwoo either.

After that, it became like a former sex partner with whom contact had faded, but the fact that Periwinkle was Siwoo’s benefactor remained unchanged in many ways.

She had saved Sharon and Siwoo when they were attacked by homunculi.
She had provided consulting when Takasho’s host bar was in crisis due to management issues.

She had given sincere advice about complicated romantic relationships, and if it hadn’t been for the clover she gave him before his battle with the Witch of Desire, Siwoo would have lost his life long ago.

Like her nickname, the Witch of Luck, Periwinkle had been a reliable ally and a witch of luck for Siwoo.

He had already declared to his lovers that he wouldn’t add any more girlfriends, so he had no intention of going back to the way things were, but he had been curious about how she was doing.

He never imagined he’d see her face on an electronic billboard.

The homunculi had all disappeared into hibernation, but the existence of witches was still the subject of gossip around the world.
They had already crossed a point of no return.

It was a predetermined course for the contact between witches and humans to increase in this way.

If you asked if that was a positive change, it was hard to agree rashly.

“I have a rough idea of where she might be.”

Anyway, given that she had filmed this commercial, the place she was most likely to be was the magnificent penthouse of Periwinkle Seoul.

The place where he had enjoyed a hot night with her before.

“I’ll go check it out. Could you wait for me downstairs?”
“Okay.”
“Be careful~ If you’re too late, I’ll assume you’re cheating.”

Even if he knew the location, going to the hotel and asking, “Could you call Periwinkle-nim?” wouldn’t get a good response.

It was also uncertain whether the name she used for business was Periwinkle.

He could ask for help from Teacher Sua or Assemblyman Kim Jun-beop, whom he had contacted before, but Siwoo had a much simpler method.

“Bloom.”

It was a wall-crossing through coordinate teleportation.
Siwoo instantly leaped from near the hotel entrance to the luxurious rooftop pool.

“Excuse me! Are you there!”

He thought that Periwinkle-noona’s cool personality would see this kind of surprise visit as a bit of playfulness.
There was a brief rustling, and then Periwinkle popped out from the guest room.

“What? Why are you here?”
“Periwinkle-nim, you look even more beautiful after a long time. I saw you as a model on the billboard and came to see if you were here…?”

One unexpected thing was that Periwinkle’s face, who he thought would welcome any visit, was stiff.

“You should have said something before coming. What’s with this sudden appearance?”

Even though he was like this, Siwoo was someone who could read the room and cater to a witch’s whims.
In that fleeting moment, Siwoo picked up on the deep wariness and shock in Periwinkle’s reaction, which had returned to normal.

“……”

The wariness Periwinkle showed was not at a level that would come up in everyday life.
It was a level of tension comparable to a battle situation.

His body reacted faster than his reason.
Reflexively, he expanded his senses and scanned his surroundings.

In a time that felt long like a stretched-out tape.
He expanded his senses towards the place where Periwinkle’s eyes had flickered after meeting Siwoo.

He sensed a presence on the indoor bar chair where one could enjoy drinks while overlooking the rooftop.
It was the presence of a witch in hiding.

“Did I come at a bad time?”
“You know it. Get out of here quickly. And don’t ever come like this again.”

Since the coordinate teleportation itself had a large magical aftereffect, it seemed she had immediately sensed the intrusion and concealed her presence.
However, Siwoo’s eyes, which read the flow of magic, could not be deceived, even if it was visually observed.

“……”

Even so, Siwoo thought he was mistaken about something.
Because no matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for the person sitting on the chair to be here.

“I’ve already been found out, Periwinkle.”
“Hey! What are you doing, coming out like that!”
“There’s no point in hiding, he’s already noticed.”

Small stature, curly blonde hair that looked like sheep’s wool, and sleepy, half-closed green eyes.
It was Psyche Teagarden, the ‘Witch of Aries,’ whom he had seen only once.

Who was the Witch of Aries?
A 23rd-level old monster who had lived for over a thousand years.

She was a witch who had been nominated as the head of the past Qliphoth but had betrayed them, and yet, she was recognized for her power and was the representative of the current Hexennacht hardliners.

Why was she alone with Periwinkle in Seoul?
Rather than pondering such questions, the alarm bells of his instincts went off first.

Since it was an illegal intrusion, he had asked Dorothy and Rinne to wait for a while, so he only needed to escape a very short distance.

“No way.”

What stopped Siwoo’s attempt was a flock of sheep that had appeared out of nowhere.

However, their appearance was bizarre, to say the least, to be simply called sheep.
Their bodies were round like balls due to their puffed-up fur, and they had thin legs.

But these sheep had no eyes, ears, or noses.
Only a large mouth filled with densely packed teeth was gaping open.

By the time he realized their existence, their teeth were already embedded not only in Siwoo’s neck but also in the arms and legs of his manifested armor.

The sense of crisis that his body would be torn to shreds if he moved even slightly sent a chill down his spine.

“You should have told me if you had a guest like this, Periwinkle.”

With a languid yawn, she held a staff with a rounded end in her hand.
The brass bell hanging from the end of the staff rang clearly, ‘Ting.’

“Stop, Psyche. He’s a close younger brother of mine.”
“So what are you going to do? This is a serious matter.”
“Haa… Why did he have to come now of all times!”

Periwinkle was huffing and puffing with a very annoyed expression.

He calmly assessed the situation.

Psyche seemed to think she had completely subdued Siwoo, but if he was prepared to give up an arm, he could break free.
And Siwoo had that kind of resolve.

The more important point to consider now was what kind of relationship Periwinkle, who was clearly a citizen of Gehenna, had with the Witch of Aries, the leader of the hardliners.

“Let him go, Psyche.”
“You’re serious enough that I don’t need to ask if you’re serious. Foolish.”
“The secret will be kept.”
“Psyche Teagarden doesn’t trust others. I’m not a fool who trusts a man I’ve seen for the second time in my life.”

Second time?
Surely, during his first meeting with Psyche, Siwoo had disguised himself with the necklace Lydia had given him.
Mentioning ‘second time’ here meant that she had already seen through Siwoo’s disguise during their first encounter.

“Then give way for my sake.”
“……”

Psyche clicked her tongue and withdrew the flock of sheep.
He stroked his intact limbs and felt the damp sweat on his back.

“What on earth is going on?”

2.
He sent a message to Rinne and Dorothy saying that he would be a little late.
At Periwinkle’s request, he didn’t mention anything about Psyche.

Periwinkle took out some liquor from the bar and poured it into three glasses, while Psyche was munching on the chocolates that were set out as snacks with a frightening intensity.

“Why today of all days?”
“I tend to be a bit unlucky. More importantly, what’s going on here?”

First of all, Periwinkle had stood up for Siwoo, so he was just staying quiet, but it wasn’t something he could just gloss over.
Psyche casually took even the chocolate that was meant for Siwoo and answered nonchalantly.

“Periwinkle and I are friends. The atmosphere around us has been ominous lately, so I came to get my fortune told.”
“That’s right.”

It was possible that a Gehenna witch could be friends with a public figure.

But if that friend was a leader of Hexennacht, the story was different.
They could be accused of being collaborators, and that was the same for Psyche’s position.

If Siwoo were to reveal this information to the outside, both of them would immediately be in trouble.

That was why Psyche had tried to eliminate Siwoo, the witness.

But Periwinkle didn’t want that outcome.

Siwoo also didn’t want Periwinkle, who had saved his life several times, to be in trouble.
But if she was a spy collaborating with Hexennacht, it would be difficult to turn a blind eye.

Therefore, he remained in this place to reach a compromise.

“I’ll tell you exactly. I’m a spy.”
“……?”
“Being nominated as the head of the past Qliphoth was also at the request of Duke Keter. Being the face of the hardliners now is also an act for gathering information.”

“Wait, Psyche. Is it okay to say that much?”
“If I can’t kill him, it’s better to convince him to keep his mouth shut.”

It felt like something big had just been said.
It was such a huge matter that his thoughts were scattered.

“What did you say?”
“This fact is only known to Duke Keter, Duke Erelim, me, Periwinkle, and now you. It’s that serious. Originally, it would be better to kill you and wipe out the evidence.”

The representative of the hardliners, who currently held power in Hexennacht, was a Gehenna operative.

This alone was a huge strategic advantage.
It meant that they had complete information on the core leadership of the enemy.

“Is there any evidence?”
“Where would there be such a thing in a top-secret mission, you idiot.”

Could he just believe what she was saying?

“You attended the Almak Club as Lydia’s partner before, right? I knew your identity but didn’t reveal it. At the time, both the hardliners and the moderates were desperate to get their hands on you. If I had wanted to act as a hardliner, it would have been enough to expose your identity and display your corpse in the square.”

That was true.

If Psyche had really noticed Siwoo’s existence early on, there would have been no reason for her to ask about how to grow taller.
Just revealing his disguise on the spot would have been enough to achieve what she wanted as a ‘hardliner.’

“…Okay, I understand for now.”

If necessary, he could go and ask Duke Erelim.