Pleasant Daily Life (3)
1.
In the beginning, the Homunculi hunted witches to sustain their existence.
Centuries ago, there wasnt a lack of witches, and their numbers werent scarce, so they could hunt them with ease.
However, over ti, 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 dieval 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 wasnt without consequences.
As their preys number beca 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 thod 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 tropolises, 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 Towns Gate and reached the Han River, Eloa Tiphereths first stop was a Witch Point nearby.
Among those Witch Points, Gwanghwamuns 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 establishnt 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 accomplishnt 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.
Dont mind , everyone.
Tiphereth replied, raising her hand in response to their bows, before heading straight to the branch managers 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 didnt an that all of them shared the sa temperant.
Among them, so found comfort in stability, control and managent.
And Sua Agatha, the branch manager of the Gwanghwamun Branch, belonged to that category.
Even before Tiphereth decided to appoint soone, Sua Agatha had taken the initiative to fill the position despite knowing the troubleso 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.
Its been a while, Ms. Sua. Youre still the sa as always.
Pleased to et you. It has been ten years, hasnt it? Please have a seat, I brought so good tea from Hadong.
Sounds nice.
Sua maintained her calm expression and relaxed deanor.
Clad in an elegant hanbok, her jet-black hair was intricately styled, and her eyes glead with clear, ashen hue, as if she was a painting that had just stepped out of its canvas.
Elegantly pouring so tea into two cups, her movents 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 assus that Your Ladyships 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 resentnt.
She displayed an attitude worthy of a ruler, even in the face of scattered grievances. However, as her long-ti friend, Sua could see through her facade.
Eloas shoulders seed burdened by a tumultuous storm of lancholy and grief.
This subject, too, heard the rumors and imdiately sent mine words to you, Your Ladyship
Im aware. Since your contact was the first one I confird. In any case, I didnt co 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 Eloas covenant spell that allowed the parties involved to locate each others 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.
Shed accept this kind of thing happening if the other party was a criminal exile, but it was a re Homunculus who did this. They didnt have the intelligence to pull off sothing like this.
Hence, she ca 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?
Ill judge it when I see it.
Red Knight.
Upon hearing the na of the notorious Homunculus, Suas finely arched brows furrowed. She rose from her seat.
Moving silently in her socks, she brought a stack of docunts to the desk.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
Tiphereth flicked through the papers and began checking on the missing persons statistics.
All the Homunculis 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 governnt offices.
Thus, they had to rely on separate statistics compiled from each Witch Point to analyze the missing peoples trends and pinpoint the Homunculus hunting ground.
However, she couldnt find anything unusual in the data.
In a bustling city like Seoul, having around a hundred missing people per month wasnt an uncommon occurrence due to its population density.
Did you find anything out of the ordinary, or any suspicious clues? Id assu that, since the Homunculus was on its last breath, theres a huge possibility that it attacked innocent civilians to recover.
Co 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 deford Homunculus.
A Deford Homunculus?
Yes. It possessed over a thousand eyes, but it didnt carry crystals or legacies. Instead, it had the aforentioned strange item with it.
Let see it.
Please follow 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 couldnt 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 sothing How about letting this subject handle this task? Please take this ti to rest your weary body a little.
Hearing that, Eloa paused for a mont before letting out a faint smile.
A sorrowful smile that seed 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, dont 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, theres a huge possibility that shes still alive sowhere, using a life-preservation thod that even I am unaware of.
Indeed. Theres that possibility.
Despite her words, Eloas 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 wasnt any reason for her to, picking a fight with her and ntally torture her with her words.
What if she found out that Sharon was still hunting in that area? Well, there was no doubt that shed take her money away and call her a thieving cat or sothing similar, at least Sharon thought so.
And on top of that
She glanced at Siwoos 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 co to nothing.
That was why, Sharon imdiately thought of sending Siwoo away sowhere first.
But, when she was about to call out to him
Hello, there.
He greeted Della, to her surprise.
And to that greeting, Dellas mouth twisted uglily.
It was the first ti Sharon ever saw her making such an expression.
A mixture of annoyance and other complicated emotions, a face that suggested she didnt know what she should do.
The exact sa expression Sharon would always wear when she bumped into her.
That narcissistic and arrogant Della? The sa bitch whos always full of herself? Making this kind of face?
Tomorrow will be raining money, Im sure.
Hello.
When she heard Della reply to Siwoos greeting curtly, she discreetly pinched her own tight.
THAT arrogant Della responds to a guys greeting before picking a fight with ?
Did she really just ignore ?
Am I dreaming?
Sorry about last ti. Are your wounds okay?
You dont need to worry about that.
Did he just Ask about her wounds?
And she said no need to worry?
Sharon was completely lost.
She didnt know what the hell they were talking about.
Alright, well 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 Siwoos eyes.
A perfectly calm response, as if he was just eting an acquaintance by chance.
Will she really let him off so easily?
But, this is Della were talking about! Shes 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, thats more like it.
Finally, sothing that makes actual sense happens.
Normally, this was the mont where Della would start hurling insults.
But, when she turned around, she only pouted her lips before opening her mouth.
Next ti, Ill win.
She confidently declared, her gaze sharp as if she was facing her sworn enemy.
It wouldnt 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 couldnt just charge forward.
Dont get it wrong, okay? The reason why I didnt co after you imdiately is not because Im 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 ti with three tis 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 seed 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 couldnt utter a word against her and had to run away instead.
Are you okay? If we dont hurry, our reservation will expire.
Huh? Ah, yeah Okay!
Still bewildered, Sharon could only blink as Siwoo guided her into the pasta restaurant.
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