City of Witches

After the movie watching session, Sharon’s eyes became swollen from all the crying.

She practically used a whole tissue box to wipe her tears and runny nose during the film.

Despite that though, she didn’t look unsightly at all, perhaps due to her naturally stunning beauty.

As he laid out a blanket on the sofa, Siwoo noticed that she was still deeply engulfed by her emotions.

“I’m gonna take a quick nap. How about you?”

“A nap? Haven’t had a good one in a while.”

“What? You don’t sleep?”

“I never had the time to. But I do love sleeping. Today’s a good day, I think I’ll catch some…”

Sleep was pretty much a luxury for the witches, but very few of them would actually skip on it.

At the end of the day, they were still people.

They couldn’t part from the benefits that sleep brought; A break from their constant thoughts and worries.

For young witches who had just become full-fledged witches especially, they LOVED sleep.

In Siwoo’s case, he slept for three to four hours every day.

Noticing the daylight seeping out through the gap in the blackout curtains, he closed said gap.

The sofa in his living room was actually more spacious and comfier than most beds in general. Add a cozy blanket and a pillow, he’d be able to have a good night sleep there.

“I’ll be sleeping in the living room today. You can sleep in my room.”

“Huh? No way! I’ll sleep in the living room!”

“There’s no way I’ll let a guest sleep on the sofa.”

“Why? I’m the one who’s staying over. It’s only natural for me to sleep there!”

Siwoo had already ordered a bed frame and a mattress for her.

He most likely only needed to sleep in the living room for a day or two, so it wasn’t a big deal for him, but Sharon didn’t seem willing to back down.

Without hesitation, Sharon darted in, snuggling into the blanket Siwoo had set out, clutching the pillow tightly, as if calling dibs on the place.

“I’m going to sleep here!”

“In that case, I won’t sleep tonight. I’ll only sleep if you take the bed.”

“No! It’s unfair for you to not sleep just because of me! Well, two can play that game! I won’t sleep either!”

“Seriously, it’s really okay. The sofa is as cozy and comfortable as a bed.”

“Then, all the more reason for me to sleep here!”

He couldn’t comprehend why she was so insistent on sleeping there. As the owner of the house, there was no way Siwoo could let a guest sleep on the sofa, not to mention that the guest was a woman like her.

‘At this rate, both of us might end up staying awake all night.’

At that moment, Sharon made an expression that implied an idea had come to her mind.

“How about we sleep together on the bed? Your bed is spacious enough, no?”

Siwoo rejected that suggestion without any hesitation.

“No, that won’t work.”

“Why not?”

Sharon inquired, leaving Siwoo momentarily speechless.

“Because it’s weird…”

“But why? People in the movies sleep together.”

In the romance movies they watched today, there were many scenes where men and women slept and woke up together on the same bed.

There were also subtle sex scenes mixed in some of them, although they didn’t explicitly show them.

This was the reason why he felt embarrassed watching the movies together with her.

“Uh… That’s because they’re a couple… You know, they love each other and stuff…”

“So, if we’re not a couple, we can’t sleep together in the same bed? I know that in those movies they even have sex while sleeping together, but I know you’re not thinking about that and I’m not doing it either. So, there should be no issues there.”

Siwoo had no ulterior motives when he proposed that she should live together with him.

But, that didn’t mean he didn’t find her attractive.

The reason why he didn’t want to share the same bed with her was because he didn’t want any awkward scenes to occur between the two of them.

“In any case, we can’t sleep in the same bed. Period.”

“Well, then I won’t sleep.”

“I won’t sleep either.”

“…”

“…”

Sharon looked at Siwoo with a face that implied she couldn’t understand his way of thinking, while Siwoo was keeping his mouth shut in embarrassment.

At that moment, their eyes met. In the next second, they both burst into laughter, as if they collectively found what they were doing was ridiculous.

The one who stopped her laugh and apologized first was Sharon.

“Sorry, I know I was being too stubborn, but can I sleep on the sofa tonight? It feels awkward if I sleep on your bed, you know? Besides, my bed will come in a few days anyway, right?”

“Fine, if you say so. I want to make you feel comfortable anyway.”

“As you said, the sofa is really comfy so you don’t need to worry. Anyway, I’ve set the alarm, so, let’s meet in three hours, okay?”

“Sure.”

Eventually, they decided that Siwoo would settle on his bed while Sharon would sleep comfortably on the sofa. Not long after, they both went off to dreamland.

2.

“Alright, it’s time to pay for my meal. ‘Sharon Evergreen’s Magic Classroom,’ starts!”

After filling her stomach with a simple breakfast of waffles and pancakes, Sharon went to Siwoo’s room.

Siwoo himself followed suit after he was done cleaning up.

When he got there, he found her snooping around, exploring his room with curious glances.

“Hm, now that I think about it, it’s my first time entering a man’s room.”

“Really? But, isn’t it also the first time you’re entering a man’s house? You didn’t say anything earlier, why now?”

“I didn’t think much of it until now, but because those movies gave meaning to these kinds of situations, it’s starting to weigh on my mind a little…”

Seeing her awkward smile, Siwoo was convinced that her words were true, she indeed felt something after watching those movies.

But, her feelings didn’t go as far as caring about any ambiguous emotions he might feel toward her.

After all, if she cared, she wouldn’t suggest they sleep together in the same bed, or at least, she’d change into a less revealing outfit.

“Wow, you really are dedicated to your research.”

“Placing it like this makes it easier for me to see and understand.”

“Still, seeing it like that, it looks more… Professional…?”

Siwoo used a cockboard that filled one side of the wall to visually represent the interconnected relationship between each clue and knowledge he had, similar to how detective unravel the mysteries they stumbled upon.

Similarly, on the white board, he transcribed the approximate form of the magic circle he was researching into mathematical expressions.

According to his estimation, he could only interpret about half of the magic inside the Ain.

“Can I take a look?”

“Of course, I was about to ask you to look at it.”

“Okay. Since I’m going to ask about the parts I don’t understand, can you explain it to me from the side?”

Sharon carefully examined the magic circle that he had organized and compared it to the magic formula attached on the corkboard.

Before everything, she wanted to determine Siwoo’s magic proficiencies in specific fields. Only then could she provide any targeted advice.

After spending a considerable amount of time reviewing both Siwoo’s explanations and studies of the magic formula, she nodded her head.

“I think I understand it a little. The situation, I meant.”

“Really?”

Hearing those words, Siwoo’s face lit up with a hint of excitement.

Recently, his research had hit a wall.

He found himself in a situation where he lacked both reference materials and teachers to guide him, making it seemingly impossible for him to overcome the hurdle he was facing.

“Yeah. Well, could you sit down here first?”

Sharon invited Siwoo to sit next to her.

Then, she started to carefully explain and organize the information on his research as she went along.

“You’re aware that there are four major branches of magic, right?”

“Yes.”

Elemental, Alchemy, Magic Words and Barriers.

There were as many types of self-essence magic as there were witches, so it was impossible to fit everything into the four categories, but over 90% of their self-essence magic could roughly be categorized into those four branches.

Sharon started her explanation with the Elemental Magic.

Like its name suggested, this branch of magic mostly focused on using the elements of fire, water, earth and wind in harmony to use a variety of magic that were used in both Eastern and Western cultures.

Due to its ancient roots, dating back to the prehistoric times, most deeply rooted and traditional witches practice this branch of magic, forming the largest group in terms of numbers.

In Gehenna, the society where elemental witches gathered was called the ‘Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society.’

Amelia Marigold, as a user of ‘Particle Magic,’ a magic formed by merging wind and water elements, was also a practitioner of this branch.

After she was done explaining Elemental magic, Sharon proceeded to introduce the Alchemy.

Unlike Elemental Magic, this branch of magic didn’t solely rely on the wielder’s mana to manipulate the unknown. Instead, it actively utilized various tools and catalysts.

Alchemy encompassed rather diverse fields, starting from potion making, artifacts crafting to magical device creation through the principles of magical engineering. Its versatility rivaled that of the Elemental Magic, attracting a huge number of witches who chose to specialize in it.

To bring those witches together, the ‘Emerald Tablet’ was formed. By combining their self-essence magic that belonged to the Elemental branch and Alchemy, those witches formed 90% of the Gehenna population, according to the statistic.

Next, Sharon proceeded to explain the concept of ‘Magic Words.’

For this branch in particular, the number of its practitioners were significantly low. It was to the extent that it became challenging to classify it as a separate branch.

‘Magic Words’ fell under the broader category of ‘Chanting,’ an action that a witch could use to utilize words and materialize their imagination and thoughts into reality.

The concept of using ‘words’ as the core power of magic had sparked various opinions that labeled it as a convoluted form of magic to systemize and structure. As a result, most of its practitioners shifted toward Elemental Magic, which they found more practical and easier to manage.

Currently, Countess Gemini was the only well-versed practitioner of this branch.

And lastly, there was the ‘Barrier Magic.’

While its practitioners were as scarce as the Magic Words, unlike Magic Words, Barrier Magic was widely considered as practical and valuable magic.

People would argue to not recognize Magic Words as a major branch, but that wasn’t the case with Barrier Magic.

Many witches knew how to use the ‘Interdimensional Barrier,’ mainly because Duchess Keter made it easily accessible to every witch by restructuring and popularizing it, but very few actually tried to explore this branch of magic deeply.

That was the reason why, even in Gehenna, only Duchess Keter and Countess Yesod, who specialized in ‘Force Field Magic,’ remained as witches possessing the self-essence magic of this branch.

“First of all, I want to let you know how amazed I am. Seriously, you’re really talented.”

“M-Me? Talented?”

“Yes. It’s to the extent that I’m actually jealous of you.”

After taking a closer look into his research, Sharon had to admit that Siwoo’s achievements were incredibly impressive.

The content of his research was so detailed and complex to the point that she almost didn’t believe him when he told her that he had only been doing this for a few years.

He had built a path to his own success using a method that nobody had ever thought of at a breathtaking speed.

But, of course, it wasn’t perfect. His self-essence magic was especially so.

While he managed to achieve this astonishing result by utilizing the minimum resources he had, his basics were clearly lacking in Sharon’s eyes.

“Your self-essence magic combines two major branches, that’s for sure.

“Although I’m not entirely sure, you mentioned a Dimension Shift Spell or something, right? Unfortunately, I can’t assist you with that. You’d have to delve into an independent research on the Barrier Magic for that.

“However, what I can help you with is the Law of Shadows. It falls under the Elemental Magic after all.”

As Sharon waved her hand, her body started glowing brightly.

She started the magical girl transformation sequence again.

Fully dressed in a witch’s attire, she spoke while holding her staff in one hand.

“My self-essence magic is based on the application of Tattva’s five elements, which is a well-known elemental system. How far is your knowledge about elements?”

“Not that far. I mostly only studied magic related to spaces. My Law of Shadows came from the knowledge I got from an Egg of Gnosis.”

“Then, from today onwards, I’ll teach you everything I know.”

Sharon extended her hand towards Siwoo.

The gesture puzzled him, he was unsure how to respond to it.

“What are you doing? Just take it.”

“Your hand?”

“Yeah. I’m about to show you the world as I see it. I need physical touch to share my senses with you.”

Reluctantly, he took her hand.

As both of them had no idea on how to hold hands properly, their grips on each other’s hands were a little awkward.

“Not like that, hold it properly.”

The awkwardness didn’t last long though, as Sharon took the initiative to correct the position by intertwining her hand firmly with his.

“Ah…”

“Woah…”

They let out a sigh filled with surprise at the same time.

Siwoo was amazed by her delicate and tender fingers, while Sharon was surprised by the unexpectedly robust and thick palm of Siwoo.

Once again, Sharon broke the awkward silence, albeit, she was wearing a rather bashful smile.

“I really just wanted to teach you magic, but this feels strange… Guess this is the result of me watching too many romance movies…”

“We should watch a war movie next time.”

“Anyway, can you get a little closer?”

“Like this?”

“Yes. Perfect.”

Standing face to face, their hands clasped together, resembling dance partners in a waltz.

With a subtle smile aimed at the slightly embarrassed Siwoo, Sharon closed her eyes.

“Now close your eyes and focus your senses on the touch of my hand.”

“Got it.”

“Don’t answer me. Just relax your thoughts and imagine… That we’re completely connected…”

Sharon held Siwoo’s hand firmly.

He felt the mana emanating from her hand as it intertwined with his skin.

It was an odd sensation, something that couldn’t be felt by just holding hands normally.

Siwoo felt as if their senses were connected. He could hear her heartbeat, feel her breath as if it was his own.

Just as Siwoo began to immerse himself in the sensation, Sharon abruptly broke the connection.

It was really an abrupt move from her, made him feel like she just yanked him out of the water.

Then, with a puzzled expression, Sharon spoke.

“Ah, sorry… I was surprised because your heart was pounding so fast. Do you feel uncomfortable with something?”

Hearing that, Siwoo placed his hand on his chest.

That was when he realized that her words were correct; his heart was indeed beating at a rapid pace.

At that moment, he also realized that she felt the same things that he did when they were connected.

This realization made him feel a little embarrassed.

“N-No, it’s just…”

Looking at him being all flustered, a mischievous smile appeared on Sharon’s lips.

It was a smile that implied she had figured him out completely.

“You really were nervous, huh? It’s fine, it’s not that scary. Come on, take a deep breath.”

“Haah…”

“Good. Okay, let’s give it another shot.”

It took nearly thirty minutes for Siwoo to finally be able to see the world that Sharon wanted to let him see.

That day, he continued to learn about Elemental Magic until Sharon’s shift at the convenience store started.