Chapter 181: Pleasant Daily Life (3)

༺ Pleasant Daily Life (3) ༻

1.

In the beginning, the Homunculi hunted witches to sustain their existence.

Centuries ago, there wasn't a lack of witches, and their numbers weren't scarce, so they could hunt them with ease.

However, over time, various incidents, suicides, and murders led to a decline in the number of witches.

In contrast, the number of Homunculi had increased rapidly due to them coming out of their hibernation.

To put it shortly, in the medieval era, the ratio of witches to Homunculi was ten to one, while in the modern era, it was reversed dramatically to one to ten. Such disparity wasn't without consequences.

As their prey's number became scarce, they resorted to hunting humans.

Whether it was because this was an option in the first place, or because they were so desperate that they had to devise a method to do so, it was a fact that they had a way to convert humans' 'ties' into mana.

Consequently, they chose to gather in bustling metropolises, where the number of prey were plentiful compared to the countryside or remote territories.

This was why Witch Points were placed within major cities.

Having passed through Border Town's 'Gate' and reached the Han River, Eloa Tiphereth's first stop was a Witch Point nearby.

Among those Witch Points, Gwanghwamun's stood out as the most active hunting ground in the eastern region, comparable to places like Macau, Wudaokou and Shinjuku.

"..."

"...Ah."

As Eloa entered the busy office after taking the elevator, the room fell silent as if it had turned into a library.

Everyone present, whether they were witches or humans, showed their respect with a small bow.

Tiphereth was the founder of the Witch Points, but she had relinquished all her authority fifty years ago.

However, it was undeniable that the establishment of the Witch Points ended up helping the Exiles a lot due to all the information that was shared through the Witch Points' database. Thus, they ended up being the one who appreciated her accomplishment the most compared to the witches of Gehenna.

The way they treated Eloa was as if they were paying their respects to a living legend or a well-known saint.

"Don't mind me, everyone."

Tiphereth replied, raising her hand in response to their bows, before heading straight to the branch manager's office on the top floor.

Most witches were independent and dictatorial.

Assigning witches, known for their selfishness, to predefined roles in positions of power was likely to result in a high degree of dissatisfaction and potential resistance.

However, it didn't mean that all of them shared the same temperament.

Among them, some found comfort in stability, control and management.

And Sua Agatha, the branch manager of the Gwanghwamun Branch, belonged to that category.

Even before Tiphereth decided to appoint someone, Sua Agatha had taken the initiative to fill the position despite knowing the troublesome tasks that it brought with it.

Ascending the stairs, Eloa arrived at the well-maintained top-floor, resembling a grand old mansion or a traditional Japanese Restaurant (Ryoutei).

Instead of Western-style wooden doors, there were rows of windows covered with hanji, traditional Korean paper, and the floor was heated with ondol, a traditional Korean underfloor heating system. Visitors had to take off their shoes before stepping inside.

As Eloa removed her shoes, the windows that blocked her path swung open, revealing a spacious office behind it.

Sua, the branch manager, had set up a tea table in front of a folding screen with a painting of the four historical figures, and was in the middle of making tea.

"It's been a while, Ms. Sua. You're still the same as always."

"Pleased to meet you. It has been ten years, hasn't it? Please have a seat, I brought some good tea from Hadong."

"Sounds nice."

Sua maintained her calm expression and relaxed demeanor.

Clad in an elegant hanbok, her jet-black hair was intricately styled, and her eyes gleamed with clear, ashen hue, as if she was a painting that had just stepped out of its canvas.

Elegantly pouring some tea into two cups, her movements resembled a delicate orchid, or a droplet of morning dew.

Her gaze consisted of compassion, sharpness and wisdom, and she used it to look at Eloa.

"This subject assumes that Your Ladyship's arrival is to inquire about the unfortunate death of the Witch of Aquarius, the one you tirelessly pursued. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"This subject can only imagine the sorrow you must feel."

"There is no room for sorrow. I brought this upon myself, after all."

Eloa calmly spoke, as if brushing away any futile resentment.

She displayed an attitude worthy of a ruler, even in the face of scattered grievances. However, as her long-time friend, Sua could see through her facade.

Eloa's shoulders seemed burdened by a tumultuous storm of melancholy and grief.

"This subject, too, heard the rumors and immediately sent mine words to you, Your Ladyship..."

"I'm aware. Since your contact was the first one I confirmed. In any case, I didn't come here to dwell on the things that had already happened."

"What is your purpose then?"

"The Knight I pursued fled to this place. I need help to pinpoint its exact location."

"Are you perhaps talking about the Red Knight?"

Sua displayed an unusual expression of surprise.

She looked at Eloa, who calmly nodded in response.

"Your Ladyship, did you not employ a 'covenant' on it?"

Sua inquired. What she was trying to ask was a specific clause within Eloa's covenant spell that allowed the parties involved to locate each other's positions.

Using that covenant, she had no trouble tracking down the Homunculi she had once laid her eyes on.

"I did, but it suddenly disappeared. As if it had vanished into thin air."

However, during her brief visit to Gehenna.

Her covenant was unexpectedly severed.

She'd accept this kind of thing happening if the other party was a criminal exile, but it was a mere Homunculus who did this. They didn't have the intelligence to pull off something like this.

Hence, she came to seek the aid of the Witch Point.

"I see..."

"Can you check the statistics on missing people?"

"The most recent update was three months ago... Is that okay?"

"I'll judge it when I see it."

'Red Knight.'

Upon hearing the name of the notorious Homunculus, Sua's finely arched brows furrowed. She rose from her seat.

Moving silently in her socks, she brought a stack of documents to the desk.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you."

Tiphereth flicked through the papers and began checking on the missing persons' statistics.

All the Homunculi's victims would have their very existence erased from the modern world, so it was nearly impossible to find their data using standard statistics from insurance companies or government offices.

Thus, they had to rely on separate statistics compiled from each Witch Point to analyze the missing people's trends and pinpoint the Homunculus' hunting ground.

However, she couldn't find anything unusual in the data.

In a bustling city like Seoul, having around a hundred missing people per month wasn't an uncommon occurrence due to its population density.

"Did you find anything out of the ordinary, or any suspicious clues? I'd assume that, since the Homunculus was on its last breath, there's a huge possibility that it attacked innocent civilians to recover."

"Come to think of it, today, there was a witch who exchanged a large amount of crystals. She submitted a rather suspicious item. According to the words of the analysis room, she obtained it after subduing a deformed Homunculus."

"A... Deformed Homunculus...?"

"Yes. It possessed over a thousand eyes, but it didn't carry crystals or legacies. Instead, it had the aforementioned strange item with it."

"Let me see it."

"Please follow me then, Your Ladyship."

As the two stood up side by side, Sua briefly glanced at Eloa before taking her to the analysis room.

Eloa, temporarily set aside all her magic research, had been dedicating herself to revenge and ensuring the prevention of tragedy that befell her to happen to anyone else.

Sua couldn't fathom how she persevered, especially after losing half of her purpose, so she was curious about what the Duchess currently felt.

"Your Ladyship, if this subject may suggest something... How about letting this subject handle this task? Please take this time to rest your weary body a little."

Hearing that, Eloa paused for a moment before letting out a faint smile.

A sorrowful smile that seemed as if she was about to burst into tears just by a gentle touch.

"I appreciate your concern, Ms. Sua. Once this task is over, I did plan to take a short break. But, you know that once you have hooked a fish, you have to dirty your own hands to reel it in, don't you?"

"Apologies for stepping out of line."

"No need to apologize. Well, I still find it hard to believe that wicked witch would die so easily. Knowing her, cunning and relentless as she is, there's a huge possibility that she's still alive somewhere, using a life-preservation method that even I am unaware of."

"Indeed. There's that possibility."

Despite her words, Eloa's tone sounded like she was giving up, so Sua just nodded before entering the analysis room together with her.

2.

Sharon found herself cursing her fate once again.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Just when she thought she had safely escaped the dangerous Witch Point where Della frequently stopped by, fate played a twisted joke on her, and their paths unknowingly crossed on the streets.

Her heart raced with unease.

She was afraid of Della.

Despite losing her hunting ground in such a one-sided fight, she ignored it and went to hunt there again.

And from that hunt, she managed to nail billions of won.

Della always persistently approached her even when there wasn't any reason for her to, picking a fight with her and mentally torture her with her words.

What if she found out that Sharon was still hunting in that area? Well, there was no doubt that she'd take her money away and call her a thieving cat or something similar, at least Sharon thought so.

And on top of that...

She glanced at Siwoo's face.

He boasted that he had defeated Della for her sake, and she played along, pretending not to know the truth.

But, since they ended up bumping into each other like this, both his lie and her pretense to believe him would come to nothing.

That was why, Sharon immediately thought of sending Siwoo away somewhere first.

But, when she was about to call out to him...

"Hello, there."

He greeted Della, to her surprise.

And to that greeting, Della's mouth twisted uglily.

It was the first time Sharon ever saw her making such an expression.

A mixture of annoyance and other complicated emotions, a face that suggested she didn't know what she should do.

The exact same expression Sharon would always wear when she bumped into her.

'That narcissistic and arrogant Della? The same bitch who's always full of herself? Making this kind of face?'

'Tomorrow will be raining money, I'm sure.'

"...Hello."

When she heard Della reply to Siwoo's greeting curtly, she discreetly pinched her own tight.

'THAT arrogant Della responds to a guy's greeting before picking a fight with me?'

'Did she really just ignore me?'

'Am I dreaming?'

"Sorry about last time. Are your wounds okay?"

"...You don't need to worry about that."

'Did he just... Ask about her wounds...?'

'And she said no need to worry...?'

Sharon was completely lost.

She didn't know what the hell they were talking about.

"Alright, we'll go on ahead then."

"Um? Uh...?"

Siwoo gave Della a casual nod before walking past her.

Since they were walking with linked arms, Sharon, who had been standing around stiffly, found herself half-dragged by him.

There was no hint of fear or worry in Siwoo's eyes.

A perfectly calm response, as if he was just meeting an acquaintance by chance.

'Will she really let him off so easily?'

'But, this is Della we're talking about! She's as persistent as a mosquito! Why would she let him off?!'

Sharon felt utterly bewildered, unable to understand what was going on.

"Hey."

'There you go, that's more like it.'

'Finally, something that makes actual sense happens.'

Normally, this was the moment where Della would start hurling insults.

But, when she turned around, she only pouted her lips before opening her mouth.

"Next time, I'll win."

She confidently declared, her gaze sharp as if she was facing her sworn enemy.

It wouldn't surprise Sharon if she were to suddenly pounce on them right there and then.

But, there was a hint of resignation in her gesture, as if she knew deep down that she couldn't just charge forward.

"Don't get it wrong, okay? The reason why I didn't come after you immediately is not because I'm afraid, but because of our contract, got it?"

"Uh... Sure...?"

Siwoo blurred his words, finding it difficult to respond to her heated declaration.

Thanks to that, it made it sound like he gave an ambiguous or sarcastic reply, depending on how one looked at it.

The normal Della would definitely give them a hard time with three times the intensity compared to usual when she heard that kind of reply, but...

She only glared at him with fiery eyes before turning her body around gracefully like a model and went on her own way.

The view of her back seemed oddly familiar to Sharon.

It was as if she was seeing at her own back when she bottled up her dissatisfaction with Della, but she couldn't utter a word against her and had to run away instead.

"Are you okay? If we don't hurry, our reservation will expire."

"Huh...? Ah, yeah... Okay!"

Still bewildered, Sharon could only blink as Siwoo guided her into the pasta restaurant.