City of Witches

༺ Solace (3) ༻

1.

Siwoo felt warmth enveloping his back.

Though much smaller than him, Odile’s embrace was akin to a soft cushion that enveloped him.

The chaotic thoughts that had been bouncing around like a stray ball in his mind began to calm down.

Before long, his mind had found a semblance of order.

“Are you feeling better now?”

With a gentle movement, he distanced himself from Odile.

In turn, the latter also let his shoulders go with the same gentle motion.

Siwoo knew more than anyone that this was merely a temporary solace.

As time passed, memories of Amelia’s contrasting presence would undoubtedly torment him.

Nevertheless, he wiped away the last traces of moisture in his eyes and smiled.

“It feels like it’s been so long since we last saw each other, Ms. Odile.”

“Finally you paid me a greeting.”

Odile let out a laugh, followed by Siwoo’s small chuckle.

For some reason, the tip of her nose reddened.

As if she could burst into tears at any moment.

She let out a sniffle before grasping Siwoo’s wrist and pulled him down onto the sofa.

“Come, sit here.”

“Shouldn’t you be going to bed? It’s late.”

The clock next to the fireplace pointed to 3 am.

A late hour when even the plants were asleep. Despite that, Odile appeared full of energy.

It was at this moment that Siwoo finally realized something that he hadn’t been considering.

“Wait, aren’t we in your villa right now?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you need to return to your mansion?”

“I got permission to stay overnight, so you don’t have to worry, Mr. Assistant.”

Hearing that, Siwoo let out a sigh of relief.

If they stayed here without permission because of him sneaking in at a short notice, things would become messy.

Odile sent him an intense gaze.

“I thought I’d have so much to say when we finally meet again, but now that I see you, it feels like I just saw you yesterday. It’s strange.”

“Really? I swear it feels like it’s been a while since I last saw you.”

“How far do you remember? Do you remember when we used to visit you in your sickbed every week? What about you going to the public bathhouse with us?”

As soon as the word ‘public bathhouse’ came out of her mouth, Siwoo’s whole body froze.

‘Come to think of it, when I was younger, I remembered following the twins all the way to a public bathhouse…’

Perhaps because it was such a vivid and impressive experience, it left a lasting impression in his mind.

Especially when Odile tried to thoroughly wash his rod…

“I remember some things when I was young, but I don’t remember the time when I was bedridden. Thank you for coming to see me every week.”

“You don’t need to mention it! It’s obvious that we’d visit you since you were hurt back then!”

Odile spoke while gently swinging her legs.

There was a slight trace of guilt in her expression that Siwoo noticed, so he tenderly stroked her head.

He didn’t have any ulterior motive in doing so.

Something inside him urged him to do it, so he did.

“…”

Odile, who had been showing a subtle excitement, calmed down as soon as Siwoo began patting her head.

She obediently placed her hands on her knees as a peculiar expression appeared in her face.

Only after he withdrew his hand that she finally opened her mouth again.

“This is the only time I’m letting you pat my head without my permission.”

“I know.”

He found her adorable.

She exuded an innate positive energy that managed to momentarily push aside his gloomy thoughts.

“Anyway, Mr. Assistant, is your eye not healed yet? You’re still wearing that eyepatch.”

“Ah. this…”

Her question made Siwoo hesitate whether to tell her the situation or not.

For some reason, his left eye was acting like a witch’s ‘brand,’ but he didn’t know how it happened and why.

It could absorb the surrounding mana, conversed it and contained his self-essence magic.

To compare to himself in the past, if he wanted to use magic, he had to meticulously count from one to a hundred first back then. But now, he could jump to fifty or seventy if he wanted to.

This was because of the nature of the brand that stored a portion of the formation and deployment, which were two of the three fundamentals of magic, with the other one being transformation.

He only needed to make slight adjustments to the variables in the transformation phase and after that, his magic would manifest.

Not only that, he could also decide on which path he could take, making him unmatched in terms of speed when it came to using magic.

The only problem here was the fact that this case, where a male somehow possessed a brand, was unprecedented.

When he delved into historical records, he occasionally came across cases where witches would develop their own brands, but there were no males being mentioned among those cases.

This meant that the concept of a male possessing a brand would undoubtedly spark great interest among most witches. They’d chase after him to turn him into their research material.

“Sorry, if I asked something unnecessary…”

“No, it’s fine…”

As he contemplated whether to tell Odile about this or not, she ended up apologizing to him first.

Maybe, she thought that his eye couldn’t be healed anymore.

“…”

“…”

Odile was the first one to break the momentary silence.

“Do you want to go upstairs and rest, Mr. Assistant? It’s getting late.”

She got up from the couch and patted her butt.

But, at that moment, her movements halted in hesitation. Instead of going upstairs first like she initially suggested, she fidgeted beside Siwoo instead.

‘What is she doing…?’

This made him tilt his head in confusion.

“Do you want to?”

“No, I’m fine, but aren’t you tired, Mr. Assistant…?”

It seemed like Odile had suddenly changed her mind.

In truth, Siwoo didn’t feel particularly tired.

Maybe because he had fallen asleep earlier because of the alcohol, he felt wide awake at the moment.

“No, I’m not tired…”

“If that’s the case, do you want to go for a night walk with me?”

“A night walk…?”

“I’ve never been to the town at this hour, so I’m curious…”

‘A walk, huh?’

It was obvious that if he went to bed now, he’d be tossing and turning in a bad mood.

Since that was the case, it didn’t seem like a bad idea for him to wander around with her. Walking around under the fresh night air while enjoying each other’s company.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

“Great! I’ll go get ready then!”

“Ah, what about Ms. Odette?”

“She’s sleeping, so let’s not disturb her.”

Odile flashed a wide grin and ran off somewhere in a flash.

Not long after, she returned, wearing a large hooded cloak over her clothes, holding beer bottles in both hands.

“Ta-da! I prepared a box of these to toast with you when you wake up!”

“T-This is…?”

Siwoo’s hands trembled when he held the chilled bottle.

The bottle was all too familiar to him. From its brown color, its logo font, even the aluminum bottle cap.

KASS¹A reference to CASS, a common brand of alcohol in Korea..

“It’s the most famous beer from your hometown, Mr. Assistant, so I figured I took some. There’s more in the carriage, so you can tell me if you want more.”

“Ms. Odile…”

“You don’t need to thank me.”

Siwoo thought that he had already shed enough tears, but he found himself overwhelmed with them again.

Odile, who had thought he’d hug her tightly this time as well, was subtly avoiding him.

But, she had a pleased expression on her face as she saw his reaction to the gift she had prepared.

“Thank you very much.”

“Really, it’s nothing.”

Siwoo trailed behind Odile, who was moving gracefully with a proud stance like a cat and left the villa behind.

2.

It was the first time Siwoo had taken a walk at such a late hour.

In contrast to its usual bustling energy, underneath the night’s dew, the town was deathly quiet.

All the buildings lined up around the road had their lights turned off. Their presence was defined only by their shadows.

Everything was so quiet to the point that it felt like everything would crumble if Odile were to shout her heart out.

“It feels like we’ve stepped into a different world~”

Odile strode briskly while clutching a bottle of beer in one hand.

Siwoo followed leisurely behind, growing increasingly excited over the cheap beer.

In comparison to the draft beer served at the White Whale Bar, this one had an unpleasant taste that was comparable to piss, but that was the charm.

After all, it was a flavor that he had missed so much.

“Is it really that delicious, Mr. Assistant? Honestly, I don’t like it, so you can take mine.”

Odile, bathed in moonlight while walking, as if on a stage, observed Siwoo savoring the beer as if it were holy water. The amusing sight made her giggle.

Considering her preference for exclusively drinking high quality handmade beer, obviously the factory-made with a lot of additives wouldn’t suit her taste.

“Yes. It’s great because I missed this taste. Now, if we have chicken here, it would be perfect!”

“Chicken? You mean that bird?”

“Try soaking the chicken in salt, coating it with batter and frying it in oil. In the modern world, people in various countries eat it.”

“Is that so?”

In that quiet atmosphere, both of them shared stories in whispers.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the fountain square.

There were no stalls, street performers or hawkers trying to attract customers.

Nor were there loud noises of horse hooves and cart wheels as they walked on the bumpy road.

The only thing that was moving in that quiet street was the large fountain at the center of the square, spraying its water.

“It’s pretty.”

“Agree.”

The two of them stood before it, fixating their gazes on the gushing water.

Its gentle sound brought a soothing sensation to their hearts.

Do you want to get closer? We might get splashed, though.”

“Sure.”

Odile took Siwoo’s hand and guided him closer to the fountain.

They could see the coins shining brightly on the bottom of the fountain.

“Did you know? The coins tossed into the fountain are collected by the City Hall to cover the fountain’s maintenance expenses.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard it.”

“Huh? Wait, is that a gold coin?”

“A gold coin?”

According to Siwoo’s calculation, a single gold coin would be worth around 800,000 Won.

This was after considering the living cost in Gehenna, where essential times were significantly cheaper than luxury goods. In other words, it was a large sum of money.

‘And there’s a guy crazy enough to throw it into the fountain?’

‘Maybe this is a tradition in Gehenna? I mean, there were a lot of merchants around during the day…’

While pondering over these thoughts, Siwoo leaned forward to look at the fountain. Suddenly, Odile pushed him from behind.

It seemed like this was the reason why she called out to him.

“!”

“Aah!”

Caught off guard, he instinctively grabbed onto Odile’s cloak, causing both of them to tumble into the fountain together.

-Splash!

The sound of splashing water filled the air.

Since the water only reached their waists, there was no risk of them drowning. Nevertheless, they were completely drenched because they fell into the water in a rather dramatic manner.

Instead of getting angry, Siwoo just burst into laughter.

He never thought that she’d just push him into the fountain like that.

“What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Why are your reflexes so impressive, Mr. Assistant?! I never thought you’d choose to double suicide with me!”

“I just grabbed you because I was scared.”

“Anyway!”

Odile, who looked like a wet squirrel, wasn’t hiding her frustration as she shook her head like a puppy.

Then, that annoyed expression turned into a smile.

“I’ve always wanted to take a dip every time I see this fountain. An opportunity like this when there’s nobody around is rare!”

“And why did you push me?”

“Because you looked gloomy! I figured I’d take you with me!”

However, there was something that Odile had miscalculated.

Since this fountain took its water from underground, its temperature was unexpectedly cold.

To make matters worse, the air was cold tonight despite it being spring.

“Why is it so cold? I’m freezing!”

“Come on up, I’ll give you a hand. Don’t let go of my hand.”

Since there was no ladder or anything, it seemed difficult for Odile to climb up alone.

Well, it was natural since the fountain wasn’t designed for people to swim inside.

“Before that, wait a moment.”

Stopping Siwoo, who was trying to help her get out, Odile approached him.

“Do you remember our agreement, Mr. Assistant?”

“Agreement?”

“Yes. You know, the thing we did when we handed you the music box over?”

“Ah.”

Because he had just recovered all his memories not too long ago, he was able to remember it clearly despite a significant amount of time passed.

It was the moment when Odile barged into his room and made an agreement with him:

One, to go to the Spirit Mountain together.

Two, to prove if she could feel pleasure if he were to touch her anus.

And third…

“You agreed to teach me about love.”

‘Love.’

For Siwoo, who had experienced a lot of things today, hearing those words made him feel disgusted.

He cried out in his heart, ‘If this is love, then I don’t need it!’ Sometimes, he even entertained the idea of remaining single for the rest of his life.

Odile drew her face closer.

The distance between them was so close that he could clearly see her large irises and the vibrant purple shade of her eyes.

“After you went into a coma, I read some books and found that people who fall in love tend to do stupid things. So, I thought, maybe if I were to imitate them, I would understand what love is.”

“Stupid things?”

“Yes. For example, something like this.”

Odile slowly approached him, pulling him by the collar and locked her lips with him.

A moment before their lips touched, Siwoo thought that he should resist her advances.

After all, his emotions hadn’t fully settled yet.

However, the moment her tongue slipped between his lips…

A certain feeling surged from inside him…

The perplexing whirlwind of emotions gave way to a soothing warmth, causing him to embrace Odile tightly and passionately intertwine their tongues.

“Phew!”

The kiss itself didn’t last long.

Because Odile pulled away quickly after feeling his enthusiastic response.

She gazed at him with quivering eyes and a gentle smile formed at the corner of her lips.

Eventually, she shyly covered her mouth while letting out a soft chuckle.

At that moment, Siwoo felt that her image overlapped with Amelia. A guilty feeling rose due to him knowing how disrespectful it was to Odile for thinking about another woman in this situation.

Unaware of his feeling of guilt, Odile just smile brightly and said,

“Falling in the fountain, then sharing a kiss while we both are wet. Isn’t this stupid enough?”

Hearing those words, the lingering image of Amelia faded.

Replaced by Odile’s bright smile.

Only then did Siwoo manage to return her smile.

“Yes. It’s stupid alright.”

Footnotes:

• 1A reference to CASS, a common brand of alcohol in Korea.