City of Witches

1.

“Sis.”

“What is it? If it’s nothing again, then, just shut up, Odette. You’re just making me mad.”

The twins were sitting on table 2, right next to table 1 where Siwoo was working.

Although the whole place was noisy, there was only a simple partition separating them from him, so they could hear the entire conversation that he was having from where they were at.

Because they heard that he was working as a ‘host’, they were curious about what exactly was it that his job was about, so they told him that they wanted to see him doing his job.

And what they were hearing was exactly the same as what Siwoo had told them before.

All he had been doing was to sweet-talk the witches and do things that pleased them.

“Grrrr…”

Odile knew that this was just part of the job.

And she knew that even though he was saying all those sweet words, those witches wouldn’t become his friends or anything.

But, it didn’t mean that she could accept it just like that.

“But Sis, I’m bored! Also, can you believe that Mr. Assistant can say all those words? It feels like he turned into a completely different person!”

On the contrary, Odette didn’t seem to mind it at all.

At first, just like Odile, she had her ears perked up to eavesdrop on all of his conversation, but now she stopped doing that. Instead, she leaned her back against the sofa while leisurely drinking her champagne.

Sometimes, she’d let out a giggle whenever cringe-worthy lines came out of Siwoo’s mouth. In any case, she was way more relaxed than her sister.

“Are you really okay with this? Mr. Assistant is flirting with another woman, you know?”

Odile furrowed her brows and scolded her sister.

To her, Odette was the only one she could rely on to fight against Sharon, who was already way ahead of them.

But, seeing her current attitude, Odile became unsure if she could trust her anymore.

How could she stay relaxed at times like this?!

“Sis, aren’t you taking this way too seriously?”

“What are you on about? Didn’t you hear the things he just said?”

Odile turned the intensity of the music box up before lowering the tone of her voice.

“‘A toast to Ms. Witch’s eyes, a toast to Ms. Witch eyes!’ What the hell was that? I’d rather pour the champagne into the witch’s eyes, hmph.”

Seeing her sister grumbling, Odette just laughed heartily.

“Sis, just think about it.”

“Think about what?”

“Have you ever heard Mr. Assistant say such things to us before?”

“What?”

With that, Odette finally let her sister know the reason behind her relaxed attitude.

“Right, I haven’t…”

After pondering for a while, Odile finally came to an answer.

He never spoke to them like that.

Besides, the reason why Odile was so surprised by this was because Siwoo had never done that in the first place.

“But, what does it matter? Isn’t the situation more urgent if that’s the case? Just think about it, he’s saying things that he had never said to us before to other witches!”

“Goodness, Sis! That just means he doesn’t say those words sincerely at all! They’re all just lip-service, nothing more!”

Hearing Odette’s answer made Odile blinked her eyes.

After she pondered a little more, she finally understood where her sister was coming from.

Even back when he was having a hot time with Sharon…

He never said such things; Things that made her stomach churn in disgust just by hearing them.

Besides, even though it was temporary, this was still a ‘job’ for him.

“It’s a job and this is his workplace! Like, how chefs work in the kitchen or actors acting in a movie!”

“Is that how it is, though?”

“Of course it is! It’s called being a professional, Sis! That witch sitting over there paid him money for him to say those words!”

“Are you trying to say… He’s being sincere when he’s with us, but not when he’s with those witches…?”

“Exactly! We can also take it as we got something that even money can’t buy from him!”

Odette crossed her arms as she let out a snort filled with pride.

Meanwhile, Odile could only see her sister in amazement.

After she gave her words a good thought, she found out that she was completely right.

In other words, instead of feeling jealous over nothing, she shoulda just shrug her shoulders and let it go.

“That’s why, don’t worry about it too much and listen to his words instead. Some of them are really funny, you know?”

“Fine. I guess you’re right this time.”

And so, she decided to do what Odette did, to stay put and listen…

That was when she realized how hard this job was for Siwoo.

Since he had to say things he didn’t mean, all to please those prickly and picky witches.

It gave her the urge to jump into the next table and strangle those witches.

“...For Mr. Assistant to do such a difficult job. Making money isn’t easy, huh?”

“True. He had to say things that he didn’t mean…”

The twins’ gaze fell onto the table.

On there was a leather pouch that they used as a makeshift wallet.

Inside the pouch was a bunch of gold coins that they brought to buy their Mr. Assistant’s time.

“Hmm…”

In their lives, the twins never had to work on anything for money.

Such a lifestyle became natural to them.

Everyone would take care of them, from the time they first woke up in the morning until the time they went to bed, while they never had to lift a finger to do anything.

And that was probably why whenever they tried to do something for their Mr. Assistant, they always ended up relying on the Gemini Household’s power.

“It seems like we’re thinking of the same thing.”

“Are we? Then, why don’t we start now?”

“Sure!”

The twins then made eye contact before slowly standing up.

2.

“I swear my tongue is going limp.”

Siwoo, who had finished serving his last customer for the day, could feel the steaming fatigue hit his body.

He genuinely felt like he was a defense attorney, trying to talk his way out for hours to reduce his client’s sentence.

Now he understood how important medications were for service workers’ mental health.

“You did a good job as always, my friend.”

“I feel like my soul is leaving my body. How many years have you been doing this shit again? Why the hell did you even…?”

“Because I love pussy, of course. Don’t you?”

“...Of course I do, but still.”

He was too tired to muster up a proper retort for Takasho’s nonsensical answer.

“Really? You know, during the early years I’ve met you, I really thought that you’re allergic to pussy or something. Or you’re gay.”

“Shut the fuck up. What about the business? Did we make a good amount?”

“Of course we did, the great Shin Siwoo is helping us out, after all. A few other kids also got chosen, so everything’s going really well.”

After that exchange, Siwoo stood up.

As promised, it was time for him to meet up with the twins again.

He did tell them that he’d stop by rather late, so there was a chance that they would be sleeping already by now, though.

“Good. Anyway, I have another appointment tonight, so I'll be leaving. Good work.”

“Ah, Siwoo, wait, I forgot about something.”

“What?”

“The Gemini’s apprentice witches told me to hand this to you.”

Takasho handed him a note.

So, he opened it and saw the address of the twins’ hideout in Border Town was written there.

There was also a big ‘Come here’ written on the note.

Come to think of it, I was so busy that I didn’t even get to say goodbye to them properly before they left…

“Also, this is your pay for today.”

“Is this the money from the alcohol?”

“Yeah. I shoulda gave you the money yesterday too, but things were so hectic that I forgot. So, here it is.”

At the host club, the hosts would get a portion of the money for the alcohol they served.

During his shift, his customers ordered a bunch of alcohol to the point that Takasho had to use a bean bag to store his money.

When he opened the bag, he could see that there was a bunch of money inside.

The glitter of the gold coins was dazzling in his eyes.

Its jitter as it shook was like music in his ears.

At this point, even the bean bag’s status was elevated.

Because the amount of gold coin inside was just enormous, as it was comparable to a whole year worth of a normal job’s salary.

Though, he didn’t really do all this for the money, but for Takasho.

If it was just money, then, the money that Countess Gemini had given him would be enough.

“Why don’t you give me a bottle or two instead of this. I can use those as presents.”

He planned to buy a drink or two for the twins anyway as an apology for them as they surely had been waiting for him for a long time now.

The twins loved alcohol.

While he could always buy them some anytime he wished, buying them alcohol with Countess Gemini’s money didn’t really sit right with him.

He’d rather buy them with the money he earned today instead.

It was a win-win situation here, as Siwoo didn’t need to go far away to get some good alcohol, while Takasho got to sell some more bottles.

“Present? Ah, for your date with those twins?”

“Yeah.”

Hearing that, Takasho clapped in admiration.

“Ah, apprentice witches! The blooming flowers that one could only observe from afar! To see them from up close is surely something that no other person could experience! There’s no way I’d just take my money’s friend like that! I’ll give you the best bottle I have in stock!”

If this was another kind of club, Siwoo wouldn’t be so courteous and would just take him up on the offer, but this was a club to serve the witches.

The best alcohol in stock meant that the alcohol was priced at billions of won a bottle.

“Just give me a decent one and take the money! I’ll pay for the alcohol!”

In the end, he received the cheapest alcohol among the high-quality selections (it still cost at least hundred thousands, following Gehenna’s market price) and handed over his gold coin.

With the beautifully packaged bottle in his hand, Siwoo used Dimension Shift to go to the twins’ hideout in Border Town.

3.

It was a silent night.

In Tarot Town, since the citizens’ day started relatively quickly, it ended just as quickly.

That was why the area around the hideout was extremely quiet.

Still, such a quiet atmosphere of the town wasn’t something unfamiliar to Siwoo.

If anything, it made him feel nostalgic.

It brought him back to the time when he indulged himself in alcohol after the whole scuffle with Amelia and Odile brought him for a night walk.

Also, it was because he fell for the twins’ trap that his deep relationship with the twins began. It could be said that this place was filled with his memories with the twins.

He arrived at the five-story hideout that clearly stood out compared to the shabby buildings surrounding it.

Of course, compared to the Gemini Mansion, the building was nothing.

-Knock, knock!

“Are you two sleeping already?”

The fact that the twins invited him to go all the way here meant that they snuck out of the mansion again.

Hopefully I’m not late…

Well, if they already went to sleep, I’ll bring them back to the mansion.

When he reached the door to knock on it again…

It was slowly opened from inside.

“So I wasn’t late— Huh?”

The place didn’t seem different from what he remembered.

Candlesticks, decorated with gold leaves, each holding candles with swaying fire on it.

The light from the flames was reflected on the marble floor below; If one were to wear a skirt without underwear, it would definitely be reflected off there.

So far, those were familiar things to him, but there was one thing that wasn’t so.

“Welcome back, Mr. Assistant— No! Master!”

“Welcome back, Master!”

And that thing was the twins, standing on both sides of the entrance, politely bowing their heads.

Well, if it was only up to that point, it wasn’t really anything strange, but…

Considering that this place was their hideout…

The fact that they were wearing maid outfits was nothing short of strange.

And there was also the way they referred to him.

Instead of the usual half-bonnet, they were wearing maid headbands.

On top of their frilly skirts, they were wearing cute-looking aprons.

The outfit wasn’t the lewd ones that people normally used to stimulate other people’s sexual desire, but the ones that were practical and suited for actual housework.

Yet, even though they were clearly wearing what one might call a servant’s outfit, their atmosphere was still filled with dignity, probably because of their upbringing as noble ladies.

“What is this?”

“Well, since you must have had a hard time serving those witches earlier today, Mr. Assistant, we figured that we should be serving you to help you relax! You can say your thanks to us now!”

“Sis, it’s ‘Master’.”

“Oh, right. Master!”

Odile answered him with a shy smile, her tone made it sound like it was obvious.

Meanwhile, Odette casually corrected the mistake in her answer.

“Anyway, you worked hard today, Master.”

Siwoo was dumbstruck, standing still in front of them, but a soft smile appeared on his face.

He found the twins cute for wearing clothes that were clearly not their size.

“W-What? Why are you smiling like that?”

“Is there something strange? Did we make a mistake?”

The sight warmed his heart.

All the fatigue that he felt from working all day long disappeared.

And he felt thankful for them.

He never thought that it would give him such joy to have someone cared for him like this.

It made tears almost come out of his eyes.

“Nothing, I’m just tired, but everything is well. Also, those outfits suit you two.”

“Huh?”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Siwoo then hugged the twins tightly and even showed them the alcohol he brought them as gifts.

“I got some good alcohol for tonight. Thank you for waiting for me.”

“Heh, I knew that you’ll love it Mr. Assistant! Pecha said that men would dream of seeing women in maid outfits!”

“Sis, it’s Master.”

“Ah, right, Master!”

Though it was clear that she was a little shy about all this, Odile still had her nose hung up high since she managed to get the desired reaction out of Siwoo.

Siwoo felt that she had grown a little taller, but then realized that it was because she was tiptoeing and she didn’t realize that.

“Anyway! You should relax for now and enjoy the snacks we’ve brought for you!”

“Yes! Let’s come in and get them! We’ve prepared a bunch of snacks for you!”

“Of course, snacks aren’t the only things we prepared!”

They got something else for me?

At this point, Siwoo had already forgotten about his fatigue. Accompanied by the twins, he entered the hideout.