City of Witches

༺ Debt-Ridden Witch (3) ༻

1.

The small desk was crammed full just by placing two King Crabs on it.

Their rich and savory aroma, with their shells and carapace cut for easy meat picking, was enough to fill up the cramped room.

“T-This taste! A-Amazing—!”

“I won’t eat your share, you can take your time.”

“Mmm!”

With a fork in one hand and a crab leg in the other, Sharon enthusiastically scraped the crab meat.

Despite her trying to maintain a composed appearance, her eating pace betrayed herself spectacularly. She looked so eager to eat, as if trying to gulp everything down in one bite.

“I haven’t had something like this in ages…”

Bits of the crab meat were still dangling on her lips, but that didn’t bother her.

Siwoo didn’t have the heart to point it out either. Seeing her like this reminded him of the time when he first returned to Gehenna, after all.

Her puffy cheeks, sparkling eyes and curling lips made her look cute though.

“What do you usually eat?”

“Hm? Just leftovers, usually.”

“Ah…”

Her answer was a little surprising.

Many witches considered sleeping unnecessary, so they wouldn’t go out of their way to sleep.

But, he had never seen any of them who’d willingly skip meals. Though, they wouldn’t go as far as eating scraps just so that they could eat.

Eating was considered as one of the witches’ greatest pleasures, despite them not needing the nutrition they could get from their food.

Yet the witch in front of him casually admitted that she ate scraps just to get by…

At that moment, he realized that she didn’t even own a fridge.

‘How difficult must her life have been?’

“I set a special day when I could eat normal food, but I often skip it.”

As she kept on eating, savoring every bite that entered her mouth, her face beamed. She even started to share things with Siwoo without being asked.

And so, he found out that she had a monthly food budget of less than 200,000 won. The rest of her money was used to pay off her debts.

“Do you know the store near the history museum? The nuggets they sell are really good! I’ll treat you there as a thank you next time, okay?”

Siwoo was no stranger to nuggets as he had literally indulged in them during his previous visits to various restaurants.

What she was referring to was a well-known chicken nugget store that was even featured on TV. The prices ranged from 3,000 won for small portions, 6,000 won for medium ones and 10,000 won for large servings.

They also held a weekly special for less than 10,000 won…

Feeling disheartened after all the shocking reveals, Siwoo quietly set down the crab leg he was holding.

‘Should I treat her to a bunch of food?’

That question suddenly popped into mind.

He remembered that she mentioned something similar during their first encounter on the rooftop.

“By the way, do you make money by hunting those Homunculi?”

“Hm? Ah, yes.”

“How? Does it have something to do with the Witch Point thing that you mentioned before?”

Siwoo still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

He knew that Homunculus could drop part of the Witch of Creation’s legacies.

However, she didn’t seem to find anything through the last one’s corpse except for a single crystal.

In his eyes, that crystal was no different from a glass bead.

“Oh, right. You did say that you don’t know anything about it, huh?”

“Yes.”

Sharon put down the crab she was eating and wiped her mouth with a tissue.

Then, she started to explain.

“There are two main ways to make money by hunting the Homunculi. You probably have already guessed one of them. Getting and selling the valuables left by the Witch of Creation. It’s an easy and fast way to make a lot of money and I’m also aiming for that.”

“Yes. What about the other way?”

“The other way is… Just hand these crystals over to the Witch Point.”

Sharon took out the crystal she had kept in her pocket and showed it to Siwoo.

“You could tell the Homunculus’ strength by the amount of mana it had while it was alive. This crystal is its core, its heart, the thing that gives it life and allows it to move.”

“This Śarīra¹A little bit hard to explain. In Buddhism, this is a relic. Generally, it’s in the form of jewels or crystals that are left behind by a person after a cremation.-like thing?”

“It’s similar to those, isn’t it? Anyway, the Witch Point branch in Gwanghwamun weighs it and charges 10,000 won for every 0.1g of it. This one in particular would probably sell at around 1.3 million won.”

“Do they have magical properties or something?”

When he examined the bead-like thing, he couldn’t see through anything. Hell, he couldn’t even tell what material it was made of.

Not only that it looked plain and without a charm, it also didn’t seem capable of storing mana.

“It does have some, but it’s mostly useless. There are more affordable and better materials than it, such as glass, quartz of actual crystals.”

Sharon said with certainty.

‘Then, why the hell would anyone spend 1.3 million won on this useless thing?’

“It’ll take a long time to explain everything… Can we talk after I finish my meal? I want to finish it while it’s still warm.”

“Ah, of course, enjoy your meal. Oh yeah, do you drink?”

“Are you talking about alcohol? Of course I do! I love it!”

On the outside, she seemed like someone who’d walk down the hallway with a cold and arrogant face. Yet, the mention of alcohol made her turn giddy like this.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Her determination and spirit made it hard for him to empathize or pity her.

“Alright, if you have a favorite drink, let me know. I’ll buy it for you.”

“Wait, let’s go together. This is my house, you know? How can I let you go alone?”

“I mean, I’m going out to smoke anyway.”

“If you say so… Give me dark beer. I don’t care which brand.”

“Okay.”

Siwoo excused himself and left Sharon alone at the table.

When he came back with the beer, he noticed that she had already placed another crab on the table.

So, he sat down in front of her, pretending to eat.

He didn’t want her to feel uneasy if he were to just sit there idly.

In a mere two hours, the huge King Crab disappeared from the table.

On the other side of the table was Sharon, smiling giddily while wiggling her body around.

She looked so happy that it could warm the hearts of everyone who was watching her.

‘It feels like I’m feeding a hungry stray dog…’

Of course, Siwoo kept that thought to himself.

“Thanks to you, I had a great meal! It’s been a decade since I had something so expensive!”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I didn’t eat everything by myself, right?”

“No, of course you didn’t. Also, I love eating with people who have a healthy appetite like you.”

After that, they enjoyed some pudding as dessert before continuing their conversation.

Well, it was less of a conversation and more of Sharon using her extensive experience about this world and giving him a lecture about it.

“Alright, where were we?”

“Ah, we were talking about why would anyone buy the Homunculus’ crystal at the Witch Point.”

“Right, it’s that thing… Okay, first thing first, I’ll explain what the Witch Points are.”

Sharon took out her phone.

It looked like a model that was out at least five years ago.

The same model that was distributed for free before Siwoo got taken to Gehenna.

She navigated through the map on her phone, arriving at a building near Gwanghwamun Square.

“This is the Witch Point, to be exact, it’s the Seoul branch. The place was established around a hundred years ago by Duchess Tiphereth, a renowned witch, as a forward base for hunting Homunculus as long as carrying out public tasks. It’s a kind of community where Exiles could gather.

As you can see, like me, a lot of Exiles aren’t exactly as wicked as they are hyped to be… Actually, there’s one bitch who fits that description perfectly… Anyway, a Witch Point is a spot where Exiles gather to exchange information and goods.”

“Duchess Tiphereth?”

Sharon continued with her explanation.

From what she heard, the organization was created around the world by Duchess Tiphereth. At the time, she was filled with both anger and sadness as her apprentice lost her life to a certain renowned criminal.

It was rumored that she was still wandering around this world, trying to hunt both Homunculi and criminals.

The name Witch Point was derived from the term ‘watch point,’ which referred to a surveillance base. Well, at least that was what Sharon guessed.

“I see…”

He tried to summarize everything that Sharon had told him.

While Homunculi were a massive threat to ‘humans,’ as they had no way to fight back, it wasn’t necessarily the case for ‘witches.’

The witches wouldn’t go out of their way to hunt the one-eyed Homunculi. Those weren’t even considered as a threat to them, and not to mention that a successful hunt wouldn’t give them anything, so they tended to leave those ones be.

But, the Duchess was different. Due to her having suffered through the pain of loss herself, she set up the organization to prevent more victims.

“So, she offered those rewards as encouragement?”

“Yes, well, she used to do so, at least.”

“Huh? Did she stop?”

“I mean, when people bring in those crystals from all over the world, no matter how rich you are, you’ll eventually run out of money, won’t you? Her entire fortune disappeared in a mere ten years, you know?”

Hearing that made Siwoo curious what kind of rewards the Duchess even gave out.

“Nowadays, the noble witches have established connections with the higher-ups from various countries, both in politics and business. Those higher-ups are very cautious when it comes to dealing with those Homunculi that normal humans can’t handle.

“So, they made contracts with the witches. Every country worldwide would support the witches with funds for hunting the Homunculi.”

“That’s where my taxes went, huh…?”

With this exchange, the Exiles were more than pleased to earn money through those useless crystals.

Meanwhile, the government was able to use their money to resolve the otherwise unsolvable problem.

In this way, those two groups, who originally had no business with each other, managed to form a peculiar symbiotic relationship in the modern world.

“Then, why do you even work as a part-timer? Why can’t you just focus on hunting those Homunculi?”

She could earn around 1.3 million won for a single Homunculus. That was roughly equal to 144 hours of payment if he were to compare it to the minimum wage.

“You idiot, I need to replenish my mana at some point! Also, it isn’t like those guys would just show up everywhere like a random encounter in RPGs! I still need a steady income!”

“Makes sense…”

Even the reason for that was pitiable,

“Anyway, we had a really good meal today! Since your place and my workplace are close, if you ever have any questions, feel free to come and ask! You can come and hang out if you’re bored too!”

“I’ll do that.”

Since it was getting late, he slowly got up to leave.

Sharon had also finished cleaning up and stood up.

“You don’t have to see me off.”

“No, I also have things to do outside.”

Saying that, she opened her wardrobe and took out a thick stack of flyers.

Siwoo’s mouth was agape for a moment, unable to express his complex emotions.

“You’re doing that too?”

“I mean, witches don’t need sleep anyway, right? Besides, they said that if I carefully pasted them everywhere, I could earn 100 won for each of them. It’s another way to make some pocket money.”

Siwoo set off into the night with Sharon again, this time, she was wearing a snapback cap and sneakers.

Once again, he realized how amazing of a person she was.

Normal people would get discouraged and end up giving up on everything if they were riddled with that much debt.

Her state was so dire to the point that Siwoo wouldn’t dare to criticize her if she were to use magic to earn more money.

But, she didn’t do that. She was so determined to earn money without resorting to dirty methods.

Seeing the determined and hardworking female matriarch, Siwoo couldn’t help but feel a jitter in his heart.

“While I’m posting these flyers, I can also look for the Homunculi and hunt them if I actually find them. It’s practically killing two birds with one stone!”

“You are so optimistic.”

“I’ve been told that many times.”

Sharon grinned as she tore off the tape in her hand and stuck one of the flyers on the wall.

Siwoo knew what he was about to say was rude, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying it anymore.

He had felt the urge ever since he went out to smoke.

“Can I help you with something?”

“No, you don’t need to, this is something I need to do on my own.”

“I’m not talking about the flyers… Can I help you repay your debt?”

“Do you have any good ideas to make more money?”

She perked up her ears in curiosity, ready to listen to what he was about to say.

If Siwoo were to bother looking it up, he should be able to find various ways to make money, but the same couldn’t be said for Sharon.

The thing was that he didn’t need to do that as he had received a large amount of money from Countess Gemini.

In truth, he was still unsure if it was morally right for him to give that money to Sharon. After all, unlike her, he didn’t get his money through hard work.

“No, but… I do have plenty of spare money… I can help you pay off the interest—”

He quickly realized that his offer was inappropriate.

Sharon’s happy face suddenly stiffened.

She clutched the bundle of flyers and gave him a very unpleasant look.

Her lips trembled, but she ultimately didn’t say anything.

Siwoo immediately regretted saying such thoughtless words.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you angry…”

“Yes. I am angry. Very much so. Don’t you ever ask something like that again.”

“I’m really sorry…”

From his perspective, he was doing something good; He just wanted to help her, after all. But, he didn’t take the other person’s perspective into consideration.

To her, it probably felt like he was pitying her, thus hurting her pride and making her angry.

This was completely his fault for making such a hasty proposal.

However, Sharon didn’t give him the tongue-lashing he expected.

Instead, she patted his shoulders and spoke calmly to him.

“It’s okay, everyone makes mistakes. Anyway, I have to go now, see you next time.”

She easily forgave his rudeness as she waved her hand and disappeared into the alley to put up more flyers.

“Haa…”

As he watched her receding figure, a pang of regret appeared in his heart.

Footnotes:

• 1A little bit hard to explain. In Buddhism, this is a relic. Generally, it’s in the form of jewels or crystals that are left behind by a person after a cremation.