City of Witches

༺ Selfish Desires (1) ༻

1.

When it came to night markets, there was one thing one just couldn’t leave out.

Food.

Surprisingly, some of the smugglers did open up some food stalls in one of the corners of the contact point.

They were more like street cafes rather than fancy restaurants though.

The chairs and the tables were made of wood, and it was clear how aged they looked. Instead of being served in fancy silver and porcelain plates, the food was served on plastic ones instead.

In Siwoo’s mind, witches were the kind of people who’d want everything to look fancy, so he just couldn’t imagine how they’d ever eat in these stalls.

But contrary to his expectations, there were eight of them sitting there, eating.

“Are those really profitable? Honestly, I can’t see it.”

He whispered to Sharon.

“Well, yeah, because they aren’t really selling the food here.”

“What do you mean?”

After hearing Sharon’s words and looking through the menu, he found out that there wasn’t any fancy food listed there.

Green bean fritters with chickpeas, seasoned with cloves and garlic, stir-fried with olive oil.

Chicken broth boiled with spices, leeks, and various mushrooms.

Salmon pie that was shaped into a fish-shape, with salmon filet, ginger and sage in it.

Simmered cod seasoned with white wine and seed mustard

All those dishes looked so ordinary that the food they served in hotels would look more appealing than them.

“Ah, I see.”

But it didn’t take long for him to notice something.

The ingredients they used were different from this world’s, probably to match with Gehenna’s style.

They were stuck in the Middle Ages, the era when they used to put heavy emphasis on the ingredients’ natural taste more than anything. This was also why they used cloves and vinegar a lot in some of these dishes.

In other words, those weren’t the dishes you’d normally see in the modern world.

“You can say that they’re selling the nostalgia value? As you already know, some of the Exiles used to live in Gehenna at one point, like me, so they could relive those memories with these dishes. And, for those who had always been an Exile since day one, they’d definitely be tempted to try the food from the land they had only been hearing about or something like that.”

“So it’s just like if you were to open a kimchi restaurant in the Middle East or something.”

“Yeah, that’s a good comparison.”

‘Right, there were times when I missed chicken and coke so badly back in Gehenna.’

‘Maybe it was the case too with some of those Exiles. Gehenna isn’t a place they could return to, after all…’

After that, the pair sat down and ordered their food.

“…”

‘I’ve been feeling it for a while, but…they’re staring at me…’

‘They’ve only been glancing at me when we were walking, but as soon as I sat down, they immediately stared at me openly like this.’

‘Well, I guess it’s only natural, huh?’

After he obtained a spirit body, Siwoo’s face became even more handsome than before.

There were even times when he’d admire his face for a moment in front of a mirror.

Not to mention that he wore a rather eye-catching accessory on his face; an eyepatch.

But, the biggest reason of them all was the fact that they already knew who he was.

The witch’s society was small, so any kind of rumors would spread quickly among them.

No matter where they lived, whether it was in remote places or next to witch point itself, they would have heard of the rumors.

Because for the first time in history, a male witch had appeared.

Not only that, the head of the Gemini, Agatha and Tiphereth household, all put him in their protection.

The news spread to them all in a single night.

And now that they saw a man loitering around with a witch in the contact point, there was only one person who’d come to their mind.

“Don’t mind them, they won’t do anything to you.”

Siwoo didn’t exactly mind about them knowing his identity.

But, he did feel burdened because of the gazes. Then again, who wouldn’t when a group of beauties openly stared at them?

Not long after, their food arrived. Siwoo ordered some green bean fritters, something that he hadn’t eaten in a while. As he was about to put some of them in his mouth, a witch suddenly sat next to him.

Her movements were so natural, almost making him think that they had met before.

“Excuse me.”

Her hair and eyes were of the same color; dark blue, just like an ultramarine.

Clinging tightly to her body was a dress that showcased her curves perfectly.

The area under her eyes was painted with a colorful tear-like pattern.

‘Mind-blowingly pretty’ were the first words that came to his mind when he saw her.

“Aren’t you the male witch everyone has been talking about? Can I know your name? Mine is Cybele Periwinkle.”

The witch immediately introduced herself. Her actions were so bold that it was obvious what she was up to.

She gently rubbed her bosom, which was comparable to Sharon’s in volume, against Siwoo’s arm, as she whispered her words in a seductive voice.

“So, are you free right now?”

She did all that while completely disregarding Sharon’s presence.

And of course, our resident witch didn’t take this provocation lightly.

Sharon dropped the fork she had been using to tear up the chickpeas and immediately went ham on the other witch.

“You! What are you doing?!”

“Calm down, calm down, I’m just here to talk~”

As she said that, the witch slipped her hand onto Siwoo’s thigh, stroking it.

A bold move, but it was also one that people wouldn’t normally notice.

“After hearing all those rumors, my interests were piqued. This is the first time I’ve seen a male possessing a spirit body.”

On the receiving end of all these sensual acts, Siwoo could only sit there dumbfoundedly.

Because of how close their bodies were to each other, Periwinkle’s unique scent permeated through the air, intruding on his defenseless nostrils.

Almost immediately, his lower body reacted.

It was as if her scent was created to invoke a man’s libido, like a strong pheromone, regardless of Siwoo’s own wills and thoughts, he felt a strong feeling of arousal.

“Get away from him! Right now!”

“Why are you so angry? I’m just sitting next to him…hm?”

Out of embarrassment, Siwoo crossed his legs to hide his erection.

And when he made a move like that, it was obvious that Periwinkle would notice it. She took a glance at his crotch before letting out a playful smirk.

“So, what kind of relationship do you two have? Are you two close? Like, childhood friends or something?”

“Sorry, but can you not cling too close to me…?”

“But, you’ve already grown so big?”

“H-Huh…?”

When she heard those words, Sharon’s entire body froze.

Because she clearly understood what Periwinkle meant by ‘grown so big’.

Immediately, Siwoo racked his brain, trying to make up an excuse.

Firstly, it was obvious that as a witch, Periwinkle was stunningly attractive, so, it wasn’t like he was a horndog who’d lusted after every woman he came across.

If he was, he wouldn’t feel so embarrassed after realizing how his body reacted to this physical stimulation.

He didn’t want to create misunderstandings between the two witches.

“Y-You know, it just happens sometimes… I-I didn’t even realize it happened until you mentioned it…”

“Hm… Let’s do this! Why don’t you follow me to my hotel to take care of it? I’m quite confident in my skills, you know? At least I won’t be any worse than the young witch over there~”

Her words drew him in.

She hadn’t used any magic, potion, or anything like that.

But, a strong impulse spread through his mind, as if he was under the effect of a love potion.

“Thank you, but no thanks.”

Only after Siwoo desperately tried to hold his urge and gave her a resolute refusal did Periwinkle give up trying to convince him with her body.

Then, she turned her gaze to Sharon, who was still dumbstruck, unable to say anything.

“Don’t worry, I have no intention to monopolize you, sweetie. You can bring her with us too. What do you think?”

“Hell no.”

Maybe because it was his consideration toward Sharon that made him refuse that offer.

This sort of thing was normal among witches, as they didn’t see men as anything more than play toys.

After hearing his refusal, and Sharon’s reaction, as she kept her mouth shut without saying anything, Periwinkle completely gave up her advances and handed Siwoo her business card instead.

At the very least she wasn’t a ruthless witch, unlike Della.

“I don’t hand this card to just anyone. If you need me for something, or if you change your mind, feel free to contact me, okay?”

After the witch left, the atmosphere around the pair turned awkward.

Suddenly, Sharon slammed her fork on the table, creating a loud ‘bang!’.

She hadn’t even finished her meal yet.

“Let’s go home.”

Siwoo said nothing, only silently stared at her.

‘I didn’t expect she’d react this way…’

‘No, why the fuck did I get a boner back then?’

Even after he gave it some thinking, he still found it strange.

His body wouldn’t normally react like that, at least not in public.

It gave off the same reaction as when Sharon was rubbing his dick directly with her hands.

As if all the sexual desires he never thought he had was dragged out from the depths of his heart.

He didn’t have the heart to look at Sharon in the eyes after all that, so when they started walking, he only silently walked behind her with her head dropped down.

For your information, Sharon’s silent treatment toward him persisted throughout the taxi ride to Seoul and more.

2.

“I’m going to continue my research. You go get some rest.”

“Sharon, it’s not what you think…”

Unfortunately, Sharon refused to listen to Siwoo’s excuse and slammed the door to her room on his face.

And so, she went back to the bed where he spent a hot and passionate night with her.

But, knowing that fact only made her feel uncomfortable, so she curled his body up on the bed.

“Haah…”

She was angry for some reason.

And terribly upset.

A little bit of sadness and depression also mixed in.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t like they were in an official relationship or anything.

And she genuinely thought that she had no right to selfishly monopolize him or restrain him from doing anything.

Because it wasn’t like she had done something for him all this while.

Well, she might have done a few things, but those were still nothing compared to what he had done for her.

That was why it was simply shameless of her to try and pretend as if she was his girlfriend.

However, even though she could accept those ideas in her mind, deep in her heart, she wished to keep Siwoo to herself.

That was the reason why she was angry when she saw that witch started to seduce him and he seemed to be falling for that seduction as well.

‘If he just brushed it off calmly, I wouldn’t act like this!’

‘But, his face looked so red back then! And not to mention…down there…’

“…Even though you just did it with me yesterday…”

She muttered bitterly.

This wasn’t the Joseon Era, where having sex meant that you loved each other.

Besides, the reason why they did that yesterday in the first place was because she pushed herself onto him one-sidedly.

And even so, she was the one who benefitted from it the most as she was able to call out to the previously unresponsive parts of her brand.

She really wasn’t in the position to demand him to take responsibility for having a sex with her.

Until now, she had been hiding behind the word ‘friend’ and used it to stick to him as close as she could.

There was no reason for her to be this anxious, and she couldn’t imagine him suddenly leaving her side.

But, as time passed, things also started to change.

Now, she wasn’t the only one who knew that he was the first male witch in the world.

Three great witches even vouched for his identity and placed him under their protection.

He was the only male witch in this world, he was so handsome that it was unreal, and his backing was incredibly strong.

And most importantly, unlike other males, he wouldn’t die of old age.

Just like that, he became the most sought after male among the witches, as he was the first male who could accompany them for their entire lifetime.

In the first place, the reason why witches didn’t form deep relationships with males was because they were afraid that their beloved would age and die, but they wouldn’t experience such a loss with him as their partner.

Today, Periwinkle was the only one who dared to approach him, but it was obvious that more of them would come to him in the future.

And so, came the question; Could she protect him from those witches?

The only advantage she had over them was the fact that she got to know him earlier than them.

She herself was only a decently powerful witch of the 17th rank. She was also in a huge debt and an Exile.

Compared to the witch that seduced him just now, Periwinkle, she was nothing. Not only was Periwinkle a grand witch, someone who had reached the 20th rank, she was also a rich witch who owned several five-star hotels all over the modern world.

And most importantly, she wasn’t an Exile. She was a legitimate citizen of Gehenna who was only coming out here to have fun.

Then, she started to imagine something.

‘Siwoo!’

In her thoughts, she was running.

Her destination was a space station.

There was a rocket inside, where Siwoo and Periwinkle were sitting in, waiting, as the rocket was about to take off.

‘Siwoo! A-Ah!’

But, she tripped herself and the documents in her hand, where the details of her debt was written, fell onto the ground.

‘Siwoo! Don’t leave me…!’

‘Haha! It was nice living with you, Sharon! Really, I’ve enjoyed everything we did, but now I am the husband of the Noble Periwinkle! She taught me magic better than you did! Also, we’re going to the International Space Station for our honeymoon! Just for the trip alone she already spent 60 billion won, but that’s still way better than someone who could only sell her body to me, isn’t it?’

‘Sorry, Evergreen, but you should already know that this man deserves someone better than a bug who can’t even pay her own debt. I hope that you’ll know your place from now on and stop coming near him again. Ohohoho!’

‘Ahahaha!’

‘Ohohoho!’

Her imagination ended like that, filled with Siwoo’s and Periwinkle’s high-pitched laughters.

Suddenly, a sense of possessiveness came to her heart.

She began to feel anxious toward the possibility that Siwoo might be taken away by someone.

But at the same time, she reprimanded herself, telling herself that it was wrong to feel this way when all this while, she had never given anything to him.

And that feeling pricked her heart, to the point that her eyes started to tear up.