City of Witches

༺ White Knight (2) ༻

1.

The typhoon that had been hitting Seoul all night had finally ended.

Though there were still faint sounds of thunder in the distance and light rain still fell from the sky, both were nothing compared to the torrential downpour yesterday.

“Woah…the modern world sure is something…”

“So big…and tall…”

Odile and Odette stepped out of the taxi, staring up at the towering skyscrapers in awe.

“Just because it’s tall doesn’t mean it’s great. Since ancient times, architecture has always been a form of art. You can’t measure its worth by its height alone.”

Odile began to criticize the building, adopting a serious expression as if she was a real and proper critic.

“Yeah, that’s true. Well, to me this tall bu…bu…?”

“Building.”

“Right, thank you, Mr. Assistant. To me this building is just a bunch of structures piled on top of each other without any regard for beauty. Seven out of ten.”

Odette also followed her sister’s lead, crossing her arms while expressing her thoughts about the towering building.

She and Siwoo had decided to keep their late-night stroll a secret, so the former had reverted to calling the latter by his old title, ‘Mr. Assistant’.

All the buildings in Gehenna, especially those in Lenomond Town or Ars Magna Town, were all beautiful.

Compared to those buildings, the skyscrapers, built with functionality and efficiency in mind, just like Odette had stated, paled in comparison. Then again, they weren’t supposed to be judged aesthetically to begin with.

“You two made good points, but it’s time to go inside.”

“Okay! I can’t wait to see what have you planned for us, Mr. Assistant!”

“Me too!”

The twins were dressed very nicely.

They were wearing loose-fitting sweatshirts with rabbit prints on them, tennis skirts and white sneakers.

Deneb had actually prepared suitable modern attires for them, erasing Siwoo’s worries in that regard.

They would look good in whatever attire they wear, but seeing them wearing such casual clothes felt refreshing to Siwoo.

The twins looked like models, ones that he felt strongly familiar with.

With this level of beauty, they could easily become influencers by simply posting a few pictures of themselves on social media.

“But, Mr. Assistant, is it really alright to be out and about in this getup? The skirt feels a bit too short…”

“You’re wearing shorts underneath, aren’t you? It should be fine.”

“Still, my knees are completely visible…”

Odette had been quite concerned about her outfit for a while now though.

After all, the twins had always worn elegant flowing dresses. Wearing something like a tennis skirt, something that revealed their legs to a considerable extent, was a little unconventional for them.

“It’s fine, trust me. Let’s go.”

They had been wandering in front of the building for around ten minutes already.

Although Siwoo wanted to go inside, the twins always got distracted every few seconds and kept tugging on his arms.

Just like this time.

“Mr. Assistant, hear me out!”

“Yes, yes…”

“Look over there!”

Odile pointed with her eyes, quickly glancing at a woman passing by them.

She was dressed in tight leggings and a top tee.

“Do you see that lady flaunting her body like that?”

“Yes.”

“Does she work at a brothel or something?”

“Uh, no?”

“Then, why is she dressed like that?”

Odette chimed in, adding her thoughts.

“In the modern world, if women are confident about their bodies, they’d proudly showcase them for the world to see. That level of exposure is apparently socially acceptable.”

“But, isn’t that just like wearing underwear? You can see her cleavage and everything…”

“I’ll explain later, just follow me for now. We’ll take a look around.”

Siwoo held their hands, half-dragging them along.

He had expected the twins to be curious about everything, but he didn’t expect them to be this curious.

With every step they took, they’d whisper a question to him. Thanks to that, it took over three hours for them to reach their destination.

The aquarium.

Siwoo pondered whether to take them to an amusement park or here. Though he was sure that they’d enjoy either, he ultimately decided that they might prefer the latter given the rainy weather.

With limited entry times and capacities, Siwoo purchased tickets and then settled into a cafe to wait. As he sat down, he let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…”

Everything turned out to be more tiring than he expected.

‘How did the Countess manage to care for them all this time…?’

His admiration toward the Countess rose up.

If it weren’t for the music box, their walk would have been a hundred times more difficult.

Without it, the twins’ beauty would attract a lot of attention.

They hadn’t started yet, but Siwoo had felt worn out already.

While he was resting, the twins were holding vibrating bells, examining them with serious expressions.

Odile noticed his fatigue and approached him.

“Why do you look so tired, Mr. Assistant?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Do you want me to pat you?”

After saying those words, Odile began caressing his head.

Her comforting gesture made a smile blossom on his face. He felt rejuvenated, as if all his energy was being restored.

“You two are really something. Even in a new environment like this, you are still able to act like usual.”

“Because you are right by our side, Mr. Assistant!”

“Yes, and I actually enjoy the modern world! The air might not be the best, but since Mr. Assistant is here, I could have a good time!”

“Right? I want to inherit the brand quicker now!”

‘And be with Mr. Assistant sooner…’

At the moment, they couldn’t come to the modern world freely.

Only after they inherited the Gemini’s brand officially would they be able to do so.

‘However, inheriting the brand means Countess Albireo and Deneb would disappear.’

‘Did they just shrug this matter off?’

‘The Countess are supposed to be their masters— no, mothers…’

“Uh, I’m not sure if it’s okay to ask this kind of question, but…”

“What is it?”

“When you inherit your brands, the Countess would…disappear…right…?”

Siwoo cautiously posed his question.

Surprisingly, the twins’ reactions were quite nonchalant.

“Yes. It’ll be sad, but we just have to accept it.”

“You’re handling this more calmly than I expected…”

“Losing our masters will be sad, but by inheriting their brands, we’ve earned the right to continue her legacy. That’s something to be proud of, and I’m sure Masters would want us to feel that way too.”

“Odette is right. That’s the reason why we witches exist in the first place.”

Even with the additional explanation that he received, Siwoo still couldn’t wrap his head around this concept.

In the first place, both of them had different perspectives. Siwoo was approaching this from his perspective as a modern day human, while the twins had been taught about this ever since they were children as a resident of Gehenna.

It was similar to how they were unable to understand why modern women walked around the streets with their gym clothes.

“I see, I understand.”

Since that was the case, Siwoo decided to not dwell over the issue.

Because it wasn’t like they’d be inheriting their brands anytime soon.

At that moment, a certain someone slipped into his mind.

In fact, he had been hesitating to ask about her since yesterday.

He decided to bring the topic up subtly, without making it too obvious.

“Ah, by the way, how’s Associate Professor Amelia doing?”

There was a reason why he always refrained from thinking about her.

Because as soon as he brought up her name, a bitter taste lingered in his mouth.

“You don’t know, Mr. Assistant? Since you’ve recovered, Ms. Professor changed.”

“Huh?”

“Because of personal circumstances, Senior Professor Avenega took over the subject the Associate Professor used to teach.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Me too.”

Siwoo fell silent.

‘Since it’s been so long, she must have read the letter I left by now, right…?’

“Eek!”

At that moment, the twins’ short scream broke Siwoo’s train of thought.

The bells vibrated, indicating that their drinks were ready.

Seeing the scene, the twins widened their eyes as they eagerly observed the bells.

“I-Is this an artifact or something?”

“No. Anyway, it’s time, so let’s go.”

Seeing their adorable reaction, Siwoo let out a smile as he led the two of them to the aquarium.

2.

““Wow…””

The twins were awestruck as if they entered a different world. They looked around excitedly.

Their large eyes widened, and both of them had their mouths agape.

What had stolen their attention was a large tank with swarms of jellyfish swimming gracefully inside.

Soft neon lights lit the tank up, giving off a mysterious vibe.

They leaned closer, their cheeks almost touching, engrossed in observing those jellyfish.

“Look at them, those girls are so cute!”

“Are they models? Should we ask if we can take their pictures?”

“The guy next to them is handsome too…”

Even with the music box, it still wasn’t enough to completely mask their presences.

Siwoo felt a bit embarrassed because people thought that he was their guardian, but at the very least there weren’t that many people in this place because it was currently a weekday.

“W-What are these…?”

“Those are jellyfish.”

“It seems like they’re wearing a dress…I wonder how it would feel to touch them…?”

“They must feel squishy!”

Both of them spoke with a hint of fascination in their voices.

Considering that this aquarium was the largest one in Seoul, it contained various marine lives and even rare insects, so their fascination was understandable.

This was the perfect place for Siwoo to show the twins the wonders of the modern world, as these things were impossible to see in Gehenna.

The thing that the aquarium had to offer would definitely satisfy the twins’ curiosity.

“C’mon let’s go to the next area. There’s a section where they showcase rare fish from the Amazon.”

“Can’t we stay a little bit longer? They’re so pretty…”

“I want to keep looking at them…wait, can I buy some of them later? How much do they cost?”

“Uh, I don’t think they’re selling…also, there are even cooler things up there.”

He gently pushed their backs as the twins wandered between the jellyfish tanks, urging them to move on as they had completely lost track of time already.

While the jellyfish was interesting enough, there were still many more things to see, at least according to the pamphlet.

At their current pace, they might have to spend the whole day at the aquarium.

Then again, Siwoo didn’t really mind. Because as long as the twins were happy, he would be happy as well.

Next the group visited where they showcased the fish from Amazon.

Seeing a huge fish that seemed like it was at least one meter, close to two meters long, the twins didn’t hide their excitement.

“Wow, I’ve never seen such a big fish before!”

“Mr. Assistant, can we buy one through an auction? I want to take one home!”

“From the size, I don’t think you can call it a fish anymore…also, I doubt they’re selling this one either…”

“Mr. Assistant, in front of our household’s assets, there’s no such thing as ‘not for sale’!”

“When I become the Countess, I’ll definitely buy this aquarium!”

“Huh, that actually doesn’t sound too bad.”

Siwoo couldn’t help but smile and applaud the twins for their ambitious aspirations.

This brought back memories of the past when he followed them on a picnic to the Latifundium.

During that time, he was the one who was awestruck, while the twins were guiding him through everything. It was an eye-opening experience for him.

As they crossed the bridge overlooking the Amazon aquarium, they came across a big tunnel.

Not just any tunnel, but an underwater one, giving off the sensation of walking inside a giant aquarium.

In the midst of the blue light, fish and sharks gracefully swam around. They could also see various creatures such as stingrays, floating around here and there.

““…””

The sheer grandeur of the place made all three of them speechless.

They stood at the entrance of the tunnel that resembled a blue sea dungeon, unable to take a single step. The twins clung onto each other tightly.

“T-Those scary looking things…they’re sharks, right?”

“Let’s see…yeah, they’re gray reef sharks.”

“T-Turtles are this big? B-But, the one Pecha brought was the size of a palm…”

“Ah, that one’s a green sea turtle.”

Gigantic stingrays passed over their heads, sharks glided by with their sharp teeth exposed, thousands of silver anchovies swam in harmony, and slow-moving turtles paddled with their mouths open.

Finally mustering up the courage, the twins explored the tunnel with excited steps while Siwoo casually followed behind them.

They spent quite a long time in the aquarium and left the place with two sets of pajamas that they got from the souvenir shop as mementos.