City of Witches

༺ Ars Magna Town (2) ༻

1.

Amelia and Siwoo got into the carriage.

It was a two-seat carriage given the fact that it only had two seats and was decorated in such a way that the travelers would have to sit facing one another. Surprisingly, it lacked a coachman, but Siwoo was sure that the horses could guide it to its destination since the carriage belonged to Sophia.

When Amelia said she would give him new clothes, Siwoo thought she would throw him some from the academy’s supply room. But instead of going there, he was unexpectedly going out of the academy at that moment.

The carriage rattled through the main gate of the Academy.

“Where are we going?”

“A tailor’s shop.”

“I see.”

Siwoo was confused because a tailor shop was typically a place that made clothing for women.

Amelia said she was going to give him clothes, but he didn’t expect her to give him a custom dress.

Siwoo, who seriously believed that it might be a new form of harassment, quickly abandoned his delusion that Amelia would get him a custom-made dress.

“……”

“……”

Meanwhile, Siwoo felt the carriage’s interior to be suffocating.

He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that there were only two people in this cramped space or that they had to sit facing each other due to the interior’s design.

Siwoo had been awkward around Amelia ever since the previous incident at the inn.

Siwoo’s awkwardness around Amelia wasn’t caused by a like or dislike for her; rather, it was caused by the ambiguity of his feelings toward her.

Of course, he felt bad for touching Amelia’s chest without her consent, but he was more concerned about something else.

The main cause of confusion was why Amelia’s Autonomous Defense didn’t activate when Siwoo approached her.

Let’s assume that Siwoo’s hatred for Amelia did not reach the level required to trigger Autonomous Defense.

However, didn’t the fact that Amelia’s Autonomous Defense didn’t activate, even after he performed lewd acts on her indicate that her conscience has permitted Siwoo’s presence near her because he had no ill intent towards her? Therefore, he was right to assume that they didn’t have malicious feelings for one another.

But what about Amelia, the epitome of the aristocratic witch? Did she have feelings for a slave? Siwoo’s mind became foggy when he thought about such things.

Siwoo wouldn’t know unless he spoke to her directly about it. But it was unclear how Amelia would respond and how dangerous that response would be when the whole truth was revealed. Therefore, it was ultimately useless.

Siwoo had a difficult time understanding Amelia.

Sophia, who understood her best, said that Amelia was like a child, but he couldn’t understand anything from that statement.

At the end of the day, time was the only thing that could solve his problems so he had no choice but to be patient.

Either he had to complete the magical circle that opened the gate to modern times and escape, or he had to live the rest of his life here and wait to know the truth.

Amelia, who had been watching the passing scenery outside the window silently, cleared her throat.

Seeing Amelia clear her throat, Siwoo broke away from his thoughts as she asked.

“What happened..?”

“Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“Janitor, do you have any health problems?”

When she asked that question, Siwoo wasn’t sure if she was trying to make it obvious that she was worried for him now that he was her exclusive slave.

What about everything he had been through over the last few years? Was she unaware of his suffering, or was she going to pretend it didn’t happen?

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Siwoo found it quite difficult to keep up with her abrupt change of attitude toward him.

“If you have any skin conditions or infectious diseases, kindly let me know ahead of time.”

“There isn’t any.”

Siwoo was aware that some people could be a little unclean, but he couldn’t believe that she was saying that to his face.

It seemed the scene inside Siwoo’s “Sweet Home” had greatly shocked Amelia.

Despite his environment, Siwoo always made sure to take a proper shower with cold water.

Fortunately, his body had never felt itchy or anything like that.

“I see.”

“Yes.”

“……..”

“……..”

The two fell silent once again.

Siwoo had gotten tired of this awkward conversation pattern over the past few days.

Even though he hadn’t eaten anything, he felt like he was going to have an upset stomach from this situation.

Regardless of the awkward atmosphere, the carriage continued to move.

The scenery caught Siwoo’s attention.

“Whoa!”

The sight of a large citadel lined with white and tall buildings was what first caught his eyes.

The walls stood proudly, as if they were carved from ivory, and looked extraordinary, even though they were still a considerable distance away.

There was just one town in Gehenna that was fortified on all sides.

It was neither Lenomond Town nor Tarot Town.

Then, the place they were heading to…

“Ms. Associate Professor, is the carriage going to Ars Magna Town?”

“Yes.”

Siwoo opened his mouth wide in disbelief.

The carriage, which crossed the bridge stretched over the moat, soon entered the gate.

2.

Ars Magna Town.

The name of the town was eight syllables long and was a mouthful. As a result, people frequently abbreviated “Ars Magna Town” to “White Town” because it was easier to say.

That was because the white citadel walls that surrounded the town had all been treated with special alchemy, making them shine with a subtle milky color when it is exposed to light.

The most wealthy village, the most beautiful and important town, and the most central city of Gehenna could all be used to describe the characteristics of Ars Magna Town.

Only noble-titled witches seemed to live in Ars Magna Town.

In other words, White Town was inhabited by 3 dukes, 7 earls, and 32 barons.

However, Ars Magna Town was the most important place in Gehenna due to its central location as well as the existence of various important facilities that played important roles in governing Gehenna.

First of all, the “Central City Hall,” which was Gehenna’s main authority over minor public affairs, was located here. Also next to it was the “Tree of Sephiroth,” an executive body that actually moved Gehenna.

Except for the safe bank in Lenomond Town, these were Gehenna’s only administrative organizations, so there was nothing else to mention.

However, the reason why any wealthy witch would come to White Town was due to the fact that all of the best luxurious facilities could be found there.

There was a social club in White Town called “The First Salon of the Red Roof,” which was an exclusive club open to witches who were rank 15 or above in the witch hierarchy.

Additionally, The Levanah Grand Bath run by Count Yesod was a popular attraction for witches.

A model business that set trends in Gehenna was the Flora Tailor Shop, which was also in White Town.

In this town, there were all of the luxurious and high-class facilities that witches were crazy about. One such facility was the “Gemini Magic Ward Main Store,” where only the best Magic Ward products were sold.

Ordinary citizens couldn’t come and go without permission, even if they were witches, it was a town where witches in the middle of the hierarchy could only feel oppressive feelings and couldn’t make a sound from the moment they stepped inside, so Siwoo, a slave, couldn’t have been here.

Siwoo gasped in amazement as he watched the scenery passing by outside the carriage.

He had never before seen so many witches all at the same time.

It was a small group compared to the large fortress gate, which could fit eight wagons at once, but based on a quick count, it appeared that there were well over 50 witches there.

“Woah…”

Siwoo was so preoccupied with his surroundings that he completely forgot that Amelia was sitting right in front of him.

Only one word could be used to describe the beautiful surroundings of the city of Ars Magna: Mythical.

The town’s structures date from a time when steel and concrete were not commonly used in construction and were thus made using a variety of methods and materials, including Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo styles.

If someone wanted to construct buildings as high up as possible, while being large and orderly, the buildings would roughly resemble the appearance of this town.

As he watched, Siwoo couldn’t believe that such a beautiful city could be built without using any modern building materials.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Siwoo thought the scenery in Lenomond Town was beautiful when he first visited it, but Ars Magna Town was on a whole other level.

If the buildings in Lenomond Town qualified as a level of world cultural heritage, then White Town’s buildings would rank among the most mysterious and intriguing constructions in the world.

Without magic, the people of modern times could never even dream of constructing such a building.

“Is that so?”

In addition to the study of magic, being able to see such a beautiful city was one of Gehenna’s unique advantages.

However, Siwoo was more excited about taking a trip for the first time in a while.

“Ms. Associate Professor, is your mansion in this town?”

“Yes.”

Living in a place like this would be just as good as living in Hannam’s Hill, but all of a sudden he became curious about Amelia’s mansion.

“I’d like to go there.”

“I’ve never been there.”

He got an unexpected answer.

Upon reflection, Siwoo came to the realization that he didn’t really know much about Amelia.

Although he was aware of crucial survival factors such as what she despised, the timing of her anger, her facial expressions when she was being rude, and how to properly gauge her anger levels, he didn’t really know anything about Amelia’s favorite things, her happy moments, her past, etc.

He suddenly became curious and asked.

It had been a while since they had a conversation without interruption, so Siwoo felt a little happy.

Perhaps it was because he saw something so beautiful and new that he felt a little more relaxed, and the conversation flowed smoothly.

“Why?”

“Because before I became a witch, my teacher and I lived in a hut in the forest.”

“Forest? What city was it in?”

“It wasn’t in any town, it was just a beautiful forest filled with tall fir trees.”

Not all places in Gehenna were cities where people lived.

Among them were agricultural land, pasture land, or forests that had not yet been developed.

One of the places where Amelia lived was probably one of them.

“Now, it’s not as beautiful as it used to be.”

Siwoo couldn’t help but notice a tinge of loneliness in her demeanor as she said that.

When Siwoo was about to say something, Amelia took the lead.

“We have reached our destination, please get off.”

The carriage with no coachman came to a stop in front of an impressive structure.

The name written on the signboard was ‘Flora Tailor Shop’.

The building resembled a five-story church.

Covered with both excitement and anxiety about having to get new clothes from a tailor shop, Siwoo moved toward the building.

3.

When Amelia knocked on the door a couple of times with a door hook, the iron door, which was 5 meters tall, opened by itself.

The tailor shop Siwoo thought was a five-story building from the outside was actually a single-story building.

It just had a very high ceiling, like a Gothic chapel.

Additionally, there was a cabinet with colorful clothes affixed on it that extended from one side of the wall, all the way up to the high ceiling.

A red carpet laid all over the floor.

After looking around, Siwoo then turned his gaze to the interior structure of the tailor’s shop.

Even though it resembled a hotel lobby, he didn’t think it was an easy place for making tailored dresses.

Then a woman walked out of a corner.

She was wearing a dress with one leg boldly exposed and a long smoking pipe between her lips. Her hair was swept over one eye to cover it, which only added to her already alluring appearance.

She was puffing out her pipe instead of being frightened when she saw Amelia, perhaps this woman was a witch, as well.

“That’s a dress I made 10 years ago, at the time, snowflakes were the source of inspiration for making that dress. I think the one who bought it was Sophia…You’re the Marigold, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

The intent of her words weren’t clear, but one thing for certain was that she had no intentions of making friends with Amelia. Her manner didn’t seem to be consistent with how she would treat clients.

“True beauty is something that doesn’t change over time. It’s been a while since I made that dress, but it didn’t get rustic at all, did it?”

Flora’s demeanor left Siwoo at a loss for words, even Amelia was baffled by it.

Siwoo was meeting with another witch who smoked.

Flora didn’t wait for an answer to her earlier question, probably because she didn’t even expect one, and instead started to introduce herself to them.

“I’m sorry for being late in introducing myself. I’m sure you already knew, but I’ll say it anyway, I am Flora Arabesque, the Witch of the Threads. By the way, the cloth you are wearing is also something I made.”

“I came here to place an order for a custom suit.”

“Suit? Where are you going to wear it? In Modern times? Gehenna?”

“Oh, It’s here.”

As if she had just remembered it, Flora cut the conversation short in the middle.

“All right, so the Turkish mohair wool has just so happened to arrive. For you, I’ll knit some gorgeous clothes that I want to make.”

Siwoo had previously had a suit tailored for him.

It was necessary for Siwoo to have a suit in order to attend places such as academic conferences when he lived in modern times.

But at that time, they spent nearly two hours asking Siwoo what he wanted, and the production alone took more than 15 days.

But the witch in front of him didn’t even measure anything.

Amelia used her fingertips to point at Siwoo, who was perplexed by Flora’s superior skill and speed.

“Not for me, the suit you’ll make is for this man.”

Flora frowned as she turned to look at Siwoo as Amelia pointed her finger at him.