City of Witches
chapter-319

1.

After the trip was over, it was finally time for Siwoo to achieve his main goal, the reason why he came to Gehenna.

Currently, he was searching through the Trinity Academy’s library.

Normally, outsiders weren’t allowed in, but with the full cooperation of the administrative staff, he got a pass and became able to come and go as he pleased.

To control the Red Branch, he needed comprehension in force field magic.

So, he gathered all the relevant books on the topic he could find.

It didn’t take him long to do so, though.

After all, back when he was a slave, his official duties included the maintenance and management of the library; He knew where every book was like the back of his hand.

“There’s a lot more than I thought…”

Still, even though he only gathered books on force field magic, the amount still piled up on the table.

Not only that, each book was as thick as a phone book and there were over a hundred of them.

Of course, not all of them contained the latest information on the matter.

Those kinds of books would only be found at places like the ‘Secret Library’ in Lenomond Town, or the Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society.

Sometimes, witches would trade those kinds of books among themselves at auctions.

In any case, the Academy’s library was full of old books, and since magic evolved over time, it basically meant that those books were a little outdated.

“But, even if I try to understand the latest one, it isn’t like I can understand anyway… Yeah, this is the better outcome, I guess…”

Then again, since Siwoo knew very little about force field magic, the more recent or advanced knowledge of the matter would only confuse him.

It would be better for him to study books that focused on basic concepts if anything.

According to Branch Managed Sua, he’d need at least ten years of study before he could fully utilize the Red Branch.

He had plenty of time.

There was no need to hurry.

“Hmm… Should I start with this one?”

It had been a long while since he spread a book open like this. As he read through the content, he started taking notes.

Force field magic was different from other types of magic.

To put it simply, the magic he knew was like drawing outlines and gradually adding color, building up to the final result, step by step.

Meanwhile, force field magic was all about ‘completing the whole picture at once’.

Mana was a vague force.

It existed, but at the same time it didn’t. It followed the physical laws, but at the same time, it broke them.

The way ‘force field magic’ worked was to spread those mana to induce specific effects. It mainly focused on how well one could control the mana’s ambiguity and unpredictability.

Ironically, mastering it began with denying the nature of mana itself.

From the start, considering every variable to set up a force field was nearly impossible for humans.

‘Normally, mana follows physical laws according to the caster’s control’.

In this way, a mana user could freely create the desired image within the hectic force field.

This was the first step of force field magic, known as the ‘Imaginary Order’.

However, what happened inside the artificially set force field couldn’t really be called ‘magic’.

It was more like a child’s endless imagination, ignoring all principles and concepts.

The next step was to turn that imagination into a solid concept, following a set of laws and rules.

This step involved declaring what kind of things that couldn’t be done while inside the field and brought it into reality.

Such was the second step, ‘Symbolic Order’.

To go this far, a whole new challenge arrived.

The imagined magic within the Imaginary Order simply couldn’t exist in reality because it went against the world’s laws and principles.

Since that was the case, the conceptualized magic in the Symbolic Order would become warped due to the world’s logic and flaws, making it go against the original imagination.

Finding a balance where one could bring that imagination to the ‘real world’ was the goal of force field magic.

To make the magic follow the laws of the world while still acting according to one’s imagination.

“...Easier said than done.”

With this magic, one couldn’t see the process or predict the result until the magic was complete.

It was like cooking in the dark without tasting the food until it was done.

Siwoo’s success in ‘partially blocking’ the Red Branch’s distortion field was almost a miracle in itself.

There was no other magic that delved this deeply into the realm of senses.

As he struggled alone like that, he noticed that it was already way past lunchtime.

“Well, at least this is better than when I tried to work it out without a single hint or clues…”

His neck was stiff and the road ahead of him seemed extremely long, but at the very least, he was starting to get a grip on things, unlike when he had no data to refer to at all.

And that was enough for the day.

He couldn’t bring the hazardous item to the Academy, so he had left it in the Gemini Mansion’s annex.

His next plan was to go back there, extract the Red Branch’s mana sample, analyze its force field, and apply what he had learned today.

“I probably should visit Takasho first, though…”

Around this time, Sharon and the twins are in the middle of class anyway, no…?

Without hesitation, he used Dimension Shift to travel to Malkuth Gallery in Lenomond Town.

“Ugh…”

Since it was a busy time of the day, the place was more crowded than his last visit.

He hunched his shoulders, trying to avoid any witches’ attention, and quickly entered Takasho’s host club.

“Welcome!”

Immediately, twelve handsome men, six on each side, greeted him with bright smiles.

The sight of different handsome men in neat suits welcoming him was quite cringeworthy to him.

In any case, it seemed like they’d welcome everyone who walked through the door like this.

“Hm? Oh, Mr. Shin Siwoo.”

While he was still taking it all in, he noticed a familiar face.

Paul, the blonde man who had guided him to Takasho during his first visit to the host club.

“Sorry, I’m not a customer… Is Takasho available now? I need to see him.”

This was one inconvenient thing that Siwoo found in Gehenna.

If this was the Modern World, he could have just texted or called Takasho to check.

Because it seemed like they were in the middle of business hours, there was a good chance that he might have come at the wrong time.

If that was really the case though, he was prepared to wait until business hours ended.

It wasn’t like he had any other plans anyway.

“Sure, no problem. He’s actually in his office right now.”

But, contrary to his expectations, Paul readily invited him inside.

As he walked through the main entrance and the inner door, he saw the inside of the bar, decorated like a salon.

The place didn’t look messy, even the wooden crates that were lying around before were neatly organized.

It looked clean and organized, with the dim light, the atmosphere around the room was romantic, even though it was still afternoon. He had to admit that they did a good job setting the place up.

There was one thing that really caught his attention though…

Paul noticed Siwoo’s puzzled look and spoke up with a wry smile.

“Yeah, there’s no customers here…”

Exactly.

The reason why Siwoo was looking around with a puzzled look was because there wasn’t a single customer in sight in this large host club, even though there were twelve people waiting at the entrance.

Currently, it was 3 pm.

Not the expected time for a host club to be bustling with customers.

But, that would only apply for regular host clubs. This was Gehenna. The main customers of this host club were the witches.

Most witches didn’t have regular jobs, hell, they didn’t even adhere to strict schedules.

Lovely afternoons like this was a golden time for cafes and bars, the witches would flock to those places to hang out.

Yet, there wasn’t a single one of them sitting around here. This place was completely empty.

“Did something happen? Why is it so empty today?”

“Honestly, it’s pretty much always like this. It’s been over a month since we first opened, but…”

“What?”

Those words surprised him.

The last time he saw Takasho, he thought that everything was going smoothly for his dear friend.

He thought that with Takasho’s skills and adaptability, he had made a successful business on his own.

But, after getting the details, it turned out that he had borrowed money from Countess Adonai and was struggling to make a profit.

It’s a new place, yet it’s in this state for over a month?

“Can you tell me more?”

Siwoo realized that this was a serious matter.

It wasn’t just about the business’ succeeding or failing anymore, as Takasho’s life was on the line.

Why didn’t he come to me and ask for my help?

Hearing his question, Paul hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully.

“Honestly, we’re all grateful to Takasho hyung. Technically, we’re public slaves, but he rescued us from wasting our lives… He even taught us a thing or two himself… And, well, despite everything else, at least we have warm meals, shelter, and some degree of freedom…”

“Yeah, I’m following you.”

“But… The problem is, the club isn’t making any money. Rather, we’re losing more money every week. Without customers, we can’t sell anything, but we still have to pay for operating costs and stuff. We also have to pay for our weekly alcohol purchases, the bills already piling up…

“At the moment, we’re doing odd jobs at the arcade at night, basically without pay, just to tighten our belts… But, I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up…”

Siwoo looked around the bar again.

From the liquor, furniture, even the carpet…

Everything here looked luxurious, probably because they were aiming to target witches as their customers.

From the way it looked, even if all the employees pooled all their earnings from the side jobs, they still wouldn’t be able to afford one of the paintings inside this room.

“Hey, Siwoo, you’re here?”

Having been informed of Siwoo’s arrival, Takasho came out with a bright smile while waving.

But, seeing Siwoo’s serious expression, his smile quickly faded.

He let out a sigh as he walked down the stairs.

“Paul, you bastard, you told this guy useless things, didn’t you?”

“Sorry, Hyung… You said that he’s close to the witches, right…? You know, we can always go back to our old jobs if the club goes under, but you…”

“Enough, you brat. Go back to work.”

Takasho patted the back of Paul’s head, as he was looking at him worriedly with tears in his eyes.

With a bitter look, he stroked his beard and looked at Siwoo.

“Haah… I didn’t wanna show you this fucked up situation…”

“Was it true?”

“What is?”

“That the business is in a bad spot right now?”

After pondering for a while, he plopped down on the couch and confessed.

He lit a cigarette, puffing on it as if he had just inhaled something bitter.

“...Psh…huff…”

He smoked in silence, staring at Siwoo, who was standing across from him, until he finished the cigarette down to the filter. Then, he scratched his head before opening his mouth.

“Look, things aren’t great right now. I wouldn’t say it’s a disaster, but it’s definitely tough. Like, really tough.”

Even for the closest of friends, it wasn’t easy to openly talk about their struggles.

And on top of that, having to talk about it while putting on a brave face made it even harder.

“I thought it’s because the business is still in its early days, so I have been trying to figure things out on my own…”

“...”

“But things don’t always go as planned…”

Takasho laughed it off like it was nothing, but it only made Siwoo’s unease grow even more.

They had shared five years of ups and downs together.

Naturally, he wanted things to go well for his friend.

“What exactly is the problem? Maybe I can help…”

“Why don’t we move to a different place first? The kids might overhear us here.”

“Sure.”

Siwoo followed Takasho, who was still rocking the fancy suit, into his office.