City of Witches
chapter-309

1.

-Bzzz!

On the sandy beach, a BBQ grill, fueled with hot charcoal was set up.

A thick piece of pork belly with the 2.5 cm honeycomb, the golden ratio, was placed on top of it.

The twins brought a whole icebox to this beach and it was filled with pork, not a single veal or lamb was there.

Around 5 kg worth of pork was there.

Given that some of the ingredients such as ssamjang were difficult to find in Gehenna, and they had those with them, it was clear that this BBQ party was quite a lavish one for Gehenna’s standard.

“Gulp…”

“Gulp…”

“Gulp…”

Odile, Odette, and Sharon sat side by side at the table, holding their forks and knives firmly in their hands.

Their eyes shone brightly, locking on the meat that Siwoo was grilling, refusing to let it out of their sights even for a moment.

Like they said, good food makes good relationships.

There was a reason why they held important events like a meeting while eating.

Sharon and the twins, who had been engaging in a subtle war of nerves, were now waiting for their food amicably together.

The serious atmosphere from earlier was broken by the raging Sharon and the four of them enjoyed their pleasant and relaxing time on the beach together afterwards.

They made sand castles of enormous sizes with magic.

Held a swimming competition where some of them ended up drinking salty water because of it.

After they were done with all that, they were all starving. Not wanting to break this cheerful atmosphere of their long-awaited reunion, Siwoo rounded them up for the BBQ.

And so, the main event of their vacation, the BBQ party, with the sunset in the verdant horizon as the background, began.

-Bzzz!

Both the twins, who’d start teasing Sharon the moment they found the chance to, and Sharon, who’d argue loudly against them, went quiet as they listened to the sizzling sound of the BBQ. To them at that moment, that sound probably sounded more beautiful than even the most beautiful orchestra.

“Gulp…”

When the sweet smell of the sizzling meat entered her nose, drool dropped down the corner of Odette’s slightly opened mouth.

“This should be enough, right?”

“Yeah, I think you can stop grilling that one, Mr. Assistant. It’s perfect already!”

“They said that meat is best when eaten medium rare!”

While listening to the twins’ urging, Siwoo put the steaming pork belly onto the cutting board and sliced it.

Maybe it was because there were three beautiful girls watching him…

Or maybe because this was the meat that he grilled on his own…

Whatever the reason was, even though he had a little bit of trouble controlling the heat as he grilled the meat, it still looked extremely pleasing to the eye.

“Wow, it does look perfect.”

Its surface was golden and crispy.

The unique aroma of the pork, combined with the smell of the herb was mouth-watering to say the least.

It was so well grilled to the point that when the knife touched its surface and was pressed down, it made a crispy sound.

As the knife made its way down, the juice that came out of the meat moistened the cutting board up.

The white and oily cut meat was enticing to look at.

After he put the meat on a plate, he placed the plate on the table.

“Here it is!”

“Woah…”

“It looks so good!”

The twins clapped their hands as they cheered.

Meanwhile, Sharon wrapped the meat with the lettuce she had with her and put it in Siwoo’s mouth.

“You’ve worked hard, Siwoo. You deserve the first bite.”

“T-Thank you.”

The twins, who had started eating the pork belly due to their impatience because of the long wait, suddenly grew stiff after watching the scene.

They made the same expression as a politician who got eliminated from the election.

Unlike them, who were busy stuffing their mouths, the first thing that Sharon did was to take care of Siwoo.

Her considerate gesture came out so naturally.

This was something that the twins, who grew pampered by the people around them, lacked.

Of course they didn’t stay still. They immediately munched the meat in their mouths and wrapped pieces of their meat in lettuce.

Though, compared to Sharon, who had lived in Korea for ten years, they were clumsier, to say the least.

They placed the lettuce on their plates, put a bunch of meat on it at once, then folded the lettuce like origami. When they found out that the lettuce couldn’t hold all that meat at once, they added another layer of lettuce, turning it into a makeshift sandwich instead of a ssam.

“Mr. Assistant, say aah~”

“We made this for you!”

The ssam they made was bigger than their fists.

When he saw the huge thing being pressed against his nose, he let out a bitter smile.

“Don’t you think those are a little too big?”

“No, don’t worry! They might seem big, but you can eat them in one bite!”

“Right! It isn’t as impossible as it looks!”

He couldn’t tell if they were joking or not, but what he knew was he could feel cold sweat running down his back.

Eventually, he gave in, opened his mouth, and took a bite out of their ssam, one after another. Even when he went back to grill more meat, he was still munching on the meat.

As they downed the alcohol they brought, at the pork and mushrooms that they grilled, the sun was already set.

Night finally fell on the beach, and with booze in their hands, the atmosphere turned even more cheerful than before, as if a small festival was going on.

“One, two, three! One, two, three!”

“Two, two, three! Two, two, three!”

“Odette, stop stepping on my feet!”

“You’re the one who needs to stop pulling me so hard, Sis!”

The twins came forward to show off their talents, dancing a waltz while holding each others’ hands.

In the beginning, it felt like the sandy beach had become a ballroom, even though they were clearly dancing in the open. But, perhaps because Odette was drunk, she kept on stumbling, turning the dance into a rather weird dance.

Seeing their cute performance, Siwoo and Sharon laughed until their faces turned red.

“Now, take a look at this bottle. It’s closed tightly, right? I’ll open it without touching it.”

Meanwhile, Siwoo showed off his talent, a party trick that anyone in the Modern World could do. The twins were impressed by it, though.

“Oh, wow!”

“Is this magic…? Without using magic…?!”

“Mr. Assistant! Teach me, teach me! How did you do it?”

The twins covered their mouths in shock before clinging to Siwoo, begging him to teach them his trick.

Of course, the secret of the magic trick is part of the fun and Siwoo knew it, so he tried his best to not reveal the secret to them, but in the end, he told them anyway.

The twins’ curiosity was too strong, he couldn’t beat him even when he tried.

“It’s my turn now. I can’t sing that well, so don't make fun of me, okay?!”

Up next was Sharon, who livened up the mood by singing a great song.

Using a spoon as her mic, her appearance as she sang next to the crackling bonfire made her seem like an illustrious fairy.

After they were done showing off their talents, the cheerful atmosphere died down a little.

It was understandable, the girls had been spending a long time playing around, both in the water and on the beach, and they also drank a lot afterwards, so they’d need time to catch their breaths.

And so, they decided to move to the villa and enjoy the night scenery from the living room while drinking leisurely.

Well, the fact that the bugs outside started bugging them was also part of the reason why they moved inside.

“I’m going outside for a smoke. Take care of those two, okay? Don’t let them cause any troubles when I’m gone.”

Siwoo left them and went outside.

The slightly cold breeze tickled his cheeks as he felt the heat in his head cooled down.

“That was fun.”

It had been a while since he had lived a life where he didn’t need to worry about anything.

And now, he got to enjoy a nice picnic in a gorgeous resort that he would have never dreamed of setting foot on before.

Together with the twins, whose cuteness could probably take over the world, and Sharon, who could fulfill the role of a good wife for him and a wise mother to those two.

If only Master was here, I bet it'd be more fun…

I want to see her in a swimsuit…

Man, it would be nice if moments like this could last forever.

It’s probably too much to ask, huh?

In fact, the reason why he could have this much fun with Sharon and the twins was because he refused to clear up this ambiguous relationship between them.

If he were to choose between them…

It was doubtful that he could experience such a fun time, and he knew that clearly.

“Haa…”

Of course, the amazing customs of old nobles, the good old polygamy was an option that he could take.

The problem was that, even if he tried to be optimistic and was completely sure that he could make all three of them happy…

“Am I even worthy of them?”

…This question would still haunt him.

Let’s forget about that question and imagine what would happen for a bit…

Sharon said that she’d be fine with it as long as he’d never abandon her.

But, what about the twins?

This was Gehenna, the City of Witches.

Among the witches, there was a trend of misandry since men couldn’t inherit nor develop a brand on their own.

That was why there were an overwhelming number of lesbians and bisexuals among them.

However, it wasn’t the case with the twins. The Gemini Household was a conservative household and as sheltered young heirs of such a household, they didn’t follow the other witches’ trends.

This was a fact that Siwoo was painfully aware of, because, as much to his dismay, they viewed the traditional brand inheritance system of the witches as something completely normal.

With such a background, there was no way that they’d just agree with him if he were to say something along the lines of ‘Why don’t we just have a foursome?’.

Sharon, the first witch who acted as his equal, the one single person who had shared so many hardships with him…

And the twins, while it was him who had saved their lives, it was them who had showered him with the kindness that this world of witches had never granted him ever since he first came here.

All of them were precious to him.

“Haa…”

At times like this, I envy Takasho…

If this is him, he’ll definitely get a clear answer for this situation…

Thick cigarette smoke came out of his mouth, one after another.

“...!”

At that moment.

Siwoo felt a chill running down his spine.

This feeling wasn’t something he could explain with words.

Rather, it was something that he could feel clearly in the atmosphere.

An overwhelming amount of mana that made him feel like he was thrown into the deep ocean where not a single ray of light could pass through. The peer pressure crushed him from all sides.

A presence without hostility or malice, yet his sense of danger screamed at him just by standing near it.

Siwoo carefully turned his head around.

There stood a woman.

She was wearing plain-looking witch clothes that showed barely any of her skin, just like a priest’s robe.

Her white hair was as white as snow, but if one were to trace it down to its tip, they could see a myriad of colors mixed together, as if the colors were dyed there.

Beneath her lush eyelashes, her majestic golden eyes stared at him.

Her mysterious eyes seemed to be looking at the ‘present’, but he felt like she was looking at something that had happened in the ‘past’, and something that would happen in the ‘future’ at the same time.

Needless to say, she was beautiful.

But, her beauty transcended that of the beauty that a woman could possess.

It was as if he was seeing the galaxy that made the Earth feel like dust in comparison, the kind of beauty that left him in awe and aware of how insignificant he truly was.

Siwoo instinctively knew who this person was.

She was the oldest witch, the one who reached the pinnacle of a witch’s existence.

The sole being who had reached the 30th rank of the witch’s hierarchy, Duchess Keter herself.

It could only be her, not anyone else.

Because it was only her who had such an overwhelming presence that made him feel like she could completely erase his existence just by sighing.

“It’s been a long time, Shin Siwoo.”

“...”

He didn’t even dare to blink.

Let alone to breathe.

Now he realized why those self-centered and arrogant witches would worship this woman in front of her.

“Did you like the gift ‘I’ gave you?”

Keter approached him slowly.

Just that small gesture made the space tremble and time felt like it was breaking apart.

Even though she was standing a distance away, he could already smell the scent of her body.

It roused his urge, driving his instinct crazy to the point that it overwhelmed his reasons and made it feel like his head was about to explode.

The only reason why he hadn’t pounced on her yet was because his instinct was screaming for him not to do it out of fear.

“Two before and another two afterwards?”

“...”

“This is not enough. ‘I’ even gave you ‘My’ ‘bowl’.”

Keter reached out her slender hand and traced over Siwoo’s eyepatch.

Her touch was soft and he could feel warmth in it.

But, his fear of her still remained.

The only way for him to control himself amidst her strong scent and this fear that afflicted his heart was for him to do nothing.

“Need ‘I’ interfere more?”

She smiled before taking a step back.

Her golden eyes shone, like the light of dawn.

————!

The darkness that hung at the edge of his vision fell apart.

A blinding white light began to emerge from the fragmented night sky in his vision.

“Be in awe.”

As Keter willed it.

His world was destroyed.

And recreated again.

Facing the blinding white darkness, Siwoo’s consciousness was broken into pieces before it got reconstructed again