City of Witches

“Hmm…”

Facing each other, Siwoo and the twins laid out the draft for the magic circle onto a box.

Odil and Odette had only intended to humor Siwoo.

The twins regarded Siwoo’s claims of 70% completion of the magic circle as mere delusions from a naïve fledgling in the ways of magic. Siwoo himself had confessed that his magic circle would require one more year before being able to open a new ‘gate’.

After seeing the mess which was Siwoo’s magic, they would simply give him some appropriate advice to acquire a favor from him and utilize it to have him bring them out into Tarot Town and do a myriad of things.

“Mr.Assistant, what’s this weird-looking drawing for?”

“Oh, that? It’s used to calculate the effective range for the mana to travel when moving from the deployment stage into the transition stage.”

“How?”

“You can’t think of it as a linear equation in one-dimensional plane, it is after all a real-world application. Instead of overloading the equation with mana, which would be illogical. You should consider the fact that we are working in a three-dimensional plane, where the rotational angle of an object can affect the deployment speed of a spell.”

“Aha~”

Siwoo whipped out a pen and started to sketch a simple design onto the paper.

Odil’s mind wandered as she absentmindedly watched as Siwoo explained his theories and calculations to Odette.

He had cleverly utilized ‘Dispel Pin’ to dispel Odil’s barrier.

Though, it’d only work within the confines of the pins that Siwoo had to have placed down beforehand.

With all that being said, it still defied logic that a slave of all people, one who had never gone through any formal education in the ways of magic, would be able to create this monstrosity of a magic circle based off his calculations.

“Why are these runes placed in this order? Wouldn’t placing them in the bridge form be more efficient for noise reduction?”

“Using that method would reduce the mana output in half. To strengthen the stability in this area of the circle, you must maximize your mana efficiency. It’s the same principle as how when designing a paper plane, one needs to maximize the amount of air molecules that can act on its wings by increasing its surface area thereby ensuring a smooth glide path.”

The twins would often get a quick response whenever they brought up a question.

That, too, with reasonable logic.

“That bit there looks a little out of place. The magical resistance in that part of the circle is wrong, isn’t it?”

“Oh! You can just ignore part, it was purposely made with a lower resistance for the mana to be able to flow to ground in the event of a backflow, minimizing the damage to the circle.”

“That’s how it works?”

Siwoo wasn’t casting magic conventionally and had followed a path of magic that no one had ever seen or tried before.

The way his magic worked was truly absurd and was akin to a building built by kids, created by utilizing cutting-edge modern technology.

“But that doesn’t mean that this circle you’ve drawn up doesn’t have its problems. The trickiest issue in this is the ever-changing variable. Because it’s independent from the rest of the circle, it may become too volatile.”

“The issue would be that there is a possibility that Mr.Assistant Siwoo will not be able to control the circle unless its variable has been determined beforehand.”

“Is that so?”

Nevertheless, they were still apprentice witches.

The twins, who were learning magic since they could even read, were able to easily see the flaws in Siwoo’s magic circle.

“Come here and look at this part. You expected the magic load to be 11.26, right? If you did that, the magic output would only convert to 0.33…”

It was not until when the sun came down from the sky did the three of them finish their discussion.

2.

From then on, Siwoo’s daily life didn’t experience much change.

Fortunately, the twins continued to be friendly towards Siwoo.

They didn’t appear to be planning to snitch on Siwoo and used neither coercion nor accusations to keep him in check.

On the contrary, they showed up the next day to assist Siwoo with his problems.

“And… that’s the last of it!”

Placing the last book, which had been strewn across the library, onto the shelf, Siwoo descended from the ladder.

He had to visit Tarot Town again tomorrow to return his ‘favor’ with the twins.

He figured that as long as he set his mind on it, he’d be able to enjoy himself in the moment.

Although promiscuous activities were off limits, it was nothing to Siwoo. It wasn’t every day that he’d get to sleep with women of their caliber after all.

Who knew how far they would go this time? They might even show him their boobs this time around!

He felt a little uneasy at that thought.

– Click clack

Loud clicking noises alerted Siwoo of a presence approaching the room. Siwoo quickly tidied himself up, he wouldn’t want to be nagged at for being too dirty after all.

Just as how herbivores can sense the presence of a predator, Siwoo instinctively knew the identity of the person advancing toward the room.

“Janitor.”

It was Amelia, a mix of a devil and man-eating deer in flesh.

Sweeping her disheveled hair aside, Amelia approached Siwoo.

Siwoo could smell a pleasant aroma emanating from Amelia, smelling both sweet and salty at the same time.

A beautiful blue dress clung from her body, showing off her perfectly rounded shoulders that paired well with her chiseled collarbones.

Siwoo didn’t know where to look as his eyes were drawn to Amelia’s collarbones, which were perfectly accentuated by her dress.

“What’s the matter?”

Siwoo bowed his head politely.

He felt all the more uncomfortable as he remembered Amelia’s request.

“I’ll need a companion when I head to ‘Border Town’ tomorrow.”

“Do you mean to say that you want me to help you carry your bags?”

“Yes.”

Amelia did like him, right?

Looking into Amelia’s cold eyes, Siwoo couldn’t help but doubt Takasho’s words.

If she did legitimately have feelings for Siwoo, wouldn’t she at least smile at him with warmth, just as Odette does?

“I’ll be leaving early in the morning. Be at my research building by 9 o’clock, got it?”

“All right.”

Siwoo suddenly felt the urge to check up on his suspicions.

As Takasho mentioned, if Amelia truly had feelings for him. Wouldn’t she overlook his transgression?

“By the way, Miss Amelia.”

Amelia raised her eyebrow, creasing her forehead in the process.

For reference, she would only do that when she was curious about something.

“Did you come this far just to talk to me about this?”

There was quite a distance between the research building and the library.

It questioned her actions and poked at the fact that she wouldn’t have been able to ignore taking the time to travel to a location where it would be unusual for two people to meet in private.

“If you have any business with me, just send someone over and I’ll meet you on my own. Is it really necessary for an Associate Professor like yourself to travel all the way here?”

Siwoo intended for the statement to reflect his respect for Amelia and show her that he could be relied upon.

“I’ll handle my own issues, you handle yours.”

Amelia responded flatly.

Siwoo realized that there was nothing for him to be worried about.

Amelia seemed to collect herself before continuing.

“Oh, by the way. There’s something I would like to warn you about.”

“Yeah? Go ahead.”

“Have you recently had a private chat with any of the apprentice witches?”

Caught off guard by the question, Siwoo shook his head to conceal his surprise.

The twins had visited his quarters recently and had shared a brief conversation with him in the hallway.

“What do you mean by ‘private chat’?”

“I mean, have you done things that went beyond the boundaries of a slave-witch relationship?”

More conversations than necessary were already being exchanged.

Hell, they had even discussed the intricacies of the magic circle and locked their lips together in the past four days.

Did I get caught?

Where did she see us chatting with each other?

Was the academy too big of a risk factor to continue his studies?

“No.”

He denied the accusations for the time being.

Siwoo had no idea how much Amelia knew about his involvement with the twins, Siwoo’s life would be over in an instant as soon as she catches wind of what they’d done.

Amelia turned to face Siwoo.

Siwoo was at a loss.

He could feel her stare bore into him as if she could read the depths of his soul and uncover the secrets that lay in his mind.

“Janitor….”

Amelia paused.

“Don’t you hate witches?”

Amelia, who was often referred to as an ‘ice goddess’, remained stoic. Her face revealed neither her thoughts nor her emotions.

Only Siwoo would have noticed that she was slightly rattled.

She had taken a moment before questioning him.

“That’s… I don’t.”

Of course, he hated them.

Who wouldn’t dislike a bunch of crazy fucking bitches, who’s only obsession was magic?

“Is that so?”

“Yup.”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence lingered.

There was no way for Siwoo to know the reason behind her questions and how she managed to discover the relationship between the three.

“If you’re satisfied with your questions, would it be okay for me to finish organizing the rest of the room?”

It was unusual for Amelia, a witch who only ever spoke about business, to stand before him silently.

“Wait.”

Amelia stopped Siwoo, who was desperately trying to escape from her gaze, in his tracks.

“Yes?”

“…..Uhh…..”

Siwoo doubted his ears, was the very witch that was headstrong and sharp-witted struggling to get her words out?

The term ‘gallows humor’ crossed Siwoo’s mind as he wondered if Amelia had been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease for the sudden personality shift.

“Uh…?”

Amelia’s lips twitched as she struggled to get the words out.

Her hesitant figure caused the impatient man’s mental health to suffer under a lot of pressure.

“Huff… You know what? It’s nothing. Don’t be late, unless you want to clean the research building all over again.”

Amelia’s figure disappeared into a gust of wind. Almost as if she hadn’t been standing in front of Siwoo for the past few minutes.

”Is there even anything left to clean?”

Siwoo could only stare at the closed frame of the door in a daze.

3.

Walking through a corridor, Amelia was quickly stopped.

“Amelia! So… how was it? Did you manage to convince him to go on a date with you?”

“Avenega, I’ve told you this before… It isn’t a date.”

Colorful and bright purple hair coupled with a pair of black eyes.

Contrasting Amelia’s young appearance, Avenega emanated the aura of a mature lady.

Sophia Avenega, Trinity Academy’s chief professor, was Amelia’s only friend

Despite the relationship being one-sided.

“If I may, Amelia, whenever you are in an irritable mood, you seem to call me by my witch’s title.”

“That’s a false statement.”

“It especially happens whenever I correctly predict your actions.”

“You’ve never accurately predicted any of my actions, Professor Sophia.”

Amelia brushed off Sophia’s words, clearly annoyed by her interactions.

“What did you invite him to this time? Don’t tell me you repeated what you did the last time and personally call him into your lab?”

Amelia gave Sophia a tired look and said, ‘Honestly, that’s too much.’

“Honestly, you’re too much… I wouldn’t call that a date. Heck, it wasn’t even flirting. I simply taught him basic manners. Did that answer your question?”

“Alright~ Professor.”

Amelia tried to quicken her pace to shake off the clingy witch. Sadly, there was a large disparity in the lengths of their strides.

Sophia, being much bigger as compared to Amelia, was able to quickly catch up to her in a few steps.

“Come on… How long are you going to ignore me? Have you guys even had a proper conversation with each other?”

“What’s a ‘conversation’ between a slave and a witch? That just sounds like something a vulgar witch would say. Does one lose their dignity after sleeping around with slaves every night?”

Although she was known for being harsh, Sophia never minded it.

In the first place, if Sophia truly minded the way she spoke, she would’ve never wanted to become friends with Amelia in the first place.

“You know, for a witch, 5 years might not be a long time, but it’s quite the opposite for a slave. It’s because of that sharp tongue of yours and the fact that you constantly torment him that Siwoo hates you.”

“Didn’t he say that he didn’t?”

Sophia raised her hands in surrender upon hearing Amelia’s raised voice.

After over 60 years of friendship, the answer to why she still acted like a child remained a mystery.

Amelia’s biggest flaw was her lack of honesty.

“I’ll swoop in and steal him away if you keep sabotaging yourself.”

“Do as you please.”

“Oh yes! If you’re headed to Border Town, do you need me to lend you, my villa?”

”I won’t be needing it.”

“Do you own any sexy lingerie, Amelia? You must know that every lady has to own at least a pair of black laced underwear.”

”Quit saying such vulgar stuff.”

Sophia trailed Amelia as she attempted to outwalk Sophia.

The conversation carried on for a long time.

Siwoo had no idea that the greatest annoyance to Amelia was none other than Sophia.