City of Witches

1.

The two members of the Yesod Household always ate dinner together.

No matter how busy Countess Lucy was, she’d always spare some time to eat with her daughter.

Especially now when she was forcing Diana to stay outside all day long; She had been rescheduling her appointments just so that she could eat together with her.

“You have done a great job today too, Sweetie. Mommy’s so proud of you.”

The Countess said so with a bright expression on her face.

In fact, she never expected Diana to obediently do what she told her.

She thought that her daughter would only idle around outside and come back when it was time to come home.

Not to mention that she’d be doing this for a whole week straight.

Also, every single day, her dear daughter would experience a lot of things outside and recounted all her experience to her.

I’ll have no regrets even if I were to pass on now…

“We’re having lamb chops today, your favorite, Sweetie! Eat a lot! Ohoho!”

“...”

But, even though the Countess had offered Diana her favorite meal, she was only staring at it blankly, as if lost in thought.

This unusual reaction from her turned the Countess’ expression into that of a bewilderment.

Normally, her dear daughter would come running the moment she heard the ‘L’ in lamb chops.

She’d earnestly move her knife and fork just to eat the lamb chops despite her tendencies to avoid doing something that would even slightly inconvenience her.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen outside?”

“No, nothing happened, Mom. Let’s eat.”

“Alright, alright! Earlier today, I went to the Border Town to buy a lot of snacks from the Modern World! Anyway, what were you up to today, Sweetie?”

The Countess asked that question, marking the start of her dear daughter’s daily report.

Preparing to hear what her daughter was about to say, a giddy smile appeared on her face.

“Today, I went to a host club.”

But, hearing those words come out of her mouth, that smile instantly crumbled down.

She unknowingly put too much force into the knife she was using to cut the lamb chops and that knife helplessly slipped out of her hand before falling down to the floor.

“W-W-W-What club…?”

“Host club.”

“No, Sweetie! You can’t go to a place like that! Mommy won’t allow it! Didn’t mommy tell you that all men are just perverts who’d only approach you for your pretty face?! Why did you go to that place anyway? Is this the start of your rebellious phase?! Oh, my heart…!”

Apprentice witches had to stay away from men.

This was common knowledge to witches as it was a way to prevent unsavory accidents.

However, Countess Lucy’s speech, or rather, indoctrination about men, clearly wasn’t in line with what was considered as common sense for the witches.

‘There’s no way that I’ll let those bastards take the apple of my eyes away!’

This was something that Countess Lucy told herself over and over.

Because, with how much she doted on her dear daughter, it wouldn’t be strange if she were to fall into depression just from thinking that Diana would bed another man later in the future.

Especially when she imagined how much tears her dear daughter would shed the moment she had to separate with the man that she came to fall in love with…

But then again, she just didn’t want Diana to experience the pain and sorrow of watching her loved one grow old, sick and die…

Just imagining that scenario already made her heart ache.

“No, of course not, I’m not in my rebellious phase or anything. I just heard about a male witch working at that place, so I went there to take a look.”

“Oh.”

Though, Diana’s calm reaction made the Countess realize that she had overreacted a little.

As a businesswoman, the Countess reacted very quickly to the ongoing rumors.

That was why even before Diana told her about it, she already knew that there was a newly opened host club in Gehenna and the rumored male witch was working there.

And she knew that it was worth visiting him, even if it was just out of curiosity.

“Sorry, Mommy overreacted a little. I’m sorry, Sweetie…”

“It’s fine.”

“So, what did you do in the host club? How did you feel after seeing him in person?”

“...Well, I didn’t feel anything special.”

She reenacted how the magic he had shown wasn’t anything special.

Although he indeed possessed a self-essence magic, it wasn’t to the level that it was worth giving him a visit to see it.

She stated that even if she were an apprentice witch, if she were to engage in a battle with him, she’d win against him effortlessly.

Then again, he was the first generation of his witch’s line, so this much was to be expected.

“Is that so? You can’t really trust the rumors after all, hm? Then again, no man in this world is worthy to catch my dear daughter’s eyes!”

But even so, there was still something that bothered Diana so much that she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The thing that happened during their second Witch Board game.

When he pulled off a completely unexpected move that almost drove her into a corner.

Did he really aim for that from the beginning?

If that was the case, that meant he had been responding to all my movements while building his own way to counterattack at the same time…

“Mom.”

“Yes, Sweetie?”

“Do you think I’m good at Witch Board?”

It was a question that the Countess never expected to hear, but she responded to it nonetheless.

“Why do you ask that?”

“Just curious, I guess…”

“Well, of course you’re good at it! You’re almost as good as Mommy, that means your skills are extraordinary! Say, what if we take a bath together after this, then play a round or two before bed?”

“I already took a bath. Mom, can you describe my skill level in a more objective way?”

Feeling disappointed that her offer to take a bath together was rejected by her daughter, the Countess proceeded to answer the question.

“Among the apprentice witches, there’s no one who can compare to you. I already told you that you’re almost as good as me, that means you’ll be able to beat most witches in Gehenna.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! My sweetie baby is smart, after all!”

“You sure that isn’t because you’ve been holding back when you’re going against me, Mom?”

“I used to when you were younger. But, if I were to do that, you'd notice it right away and get mad at me, no?”

Actually, that was a lie. She was in fact, holding back a little against her.

Even though Witch Board was a game where witches and apprentice witches could compete on equal terms, there was still a big gap in experience that couldn’t be closed easily.

But, even considering that, Diana’s skill was extraordinary.

In addition, since she could play the game while sitting down, she had been putting in hours of practice on the game.

The attack she had set up earlier today was the fruit of that practice. Normally, no one would be able to notice that since the pattern was well-hidden.

And yet, the male witch saw through it…

Does that even make sense…?

As the night went on, Diana’s contemplation only grew deeper.

2.

The next morning…

Inside the quiet host club, Siwoo was lying down on a sofa, reading a book silently.

As for what book it was, it was none other than a book filled Witch Board’s notation, the game that he played with Diana just the other day.

Although it wasn’t as popular as chess, it was still a game with a long history. It wasn’t hard for him to look through the notations that famous witches of old had left behind.

And the conclusion that he came to after reading through various notations was…

“Huh, this seems more fun than I thought…”

That.

To say the least, the game felt fresh and new to him.

Since the runes were placed randomly across the board, there were many variables that needed to be included. Compared to all the board games he was familiar with, this particular one had a three-dimensional board instead of two, that alone already changed things up quite a bit.

The game itself needed one to connect pieces like reversi, all while having to predict one’s opponent’s moves like chess and go.

Not only did one need to deal with complex computing and thinking skills, but they also had to engage in psychological warfare while they were at it.

In fact, as soon as his shift was finished the other day, he immediately went to a nearby bookstore to buy a collection of notations.

He also bought a guidebook for the game, with standard strategies and stuff in it, but he got bored after a few minutes of reading it.

Because the book was filled with strange technical terms.

After that, he spent the whole night reading through the notations while observing the flow of the game.

Since he was so absorbed in it, he didn’t even notice that hours had passed since then and the sun had risen.

-Bang, bang, bang!

Of course, it went without saying that the club wasn’t open at this hour.

It was still seven in the morning, after all.

Yet, someone was already knocking on the door.

So, he went outside to look who it was, and as expected, the same girl from yesterday was standing there awkwardly.

“As promised, I came.”

“Good morning, Ms. Diana. You’re early today.”

Siwoo politely greeted Diana with the tone of speech that he had grown accustomed to and guided her inside.

Of course, it was still way too early for him to serve anyone, but it wasn’t a big deal for him.

To begin with, he had a very strong competitive spirit.

He was more than happy to be presented with an opportunity to make up for the humiliation he had suffered yesterday.

Well, there was no guarantee that he’d be able to do it, but still…

“I’ll order some drinks today too. Three bottles of the same alcohol as yesterday, is that enough?”

“One bottle is enough. Also, we have plenty of time.”

As soon as they sat down, they set up the game board.

Since he had fully charged his mana yesterday, he was ready to play the game all day long today.

But, before that, he had a question that he wanted to ask.

“By the way, does the Countess know that you’re visiting this kind of place, Ms. Diana…? I know that I shouldn’t say this as someone who’s working here, but, I don’t think this is an appropriate place for an apprentice witch to visit…”

“She knows, don’t worry. Just set up the board quickly.”

“Alright.”

And just like him, Diana also possessed a strong competitive spirit.

Seeing her being all fired up like this reminded him of the twins somehow.

3.

After they finished setting up the game, Diana felt like crying out loud in satisfaction.

She had been waiting for this moment since last night.

That was why, as soon as she finished her breakfast, she immediately went straight to the club.

“I’ll concede another nine turns this time as well. Go, start your turn.”

She stated that she’d be conceding nine turns, as if it was a given.

Even though she ended up being surprised by yesterday's match's outcome, this was still a reasonable handicap. Because in the end, even though she had conceded nine turns, she was the one who ended up winning.

“Ah, you don’t need to do that anymore. I’ve studied about the game all night.”

But, for some reason, he said that to her.

He boldly proclaimed that he didn’t need any kind of handicap against her.

Diana struggled to control her expression that was slowly becoming distorted.

I see, he let the fluke from yesterday go over his head, huh?

In this game, where every single move could decide whether you’ll win or not… I willingly gave him nine turns as a handicap, yet he said he doesn’t need it?

He became this arrogant only after a single night of studying?

What a detestable and arrogant guy…

“...Fine.”

But she knew that lashing out at him for his attitude would be distasteful of her.

So, she decided that she’d teach him a lesson by showing him how wide the gap between their skills was.

She made a vow to herself that she’d teach this fool in front of him the true meaning of despair.

With that, their game started.

Diana and Siwoo both took turns to place their mana orbs.

She followed a standard move, placing her three orbs a few spaces apart.

Meanwhile, Siwoo used the same strategy as the other day, clumping his three orbs together.

“...”

The moment she saw this, Diana could feel her expression twitched.

Of course, she wasn’t worried about the possibility of her losing or anything.

She just found what he was doing so ridiculous that she was having trouble trying to keep her mouth shut.

In the end, she decided to give him a piece of her mind after much deliberation.

Of course, she wasn’t trying to be nice about it at all.

“I thought you said you studied the game.”

“Yes. I’ve been reading various notations all night long.”

“Were there any notations with this kind of opening?”

“No. I just think this opening suits me better.”

Is he trying to thin my patience or what?

Of course, Diana knew that such an opening did exist.

But such an opening would only be used as a surprise strategy, similar to what he had done yesterday.

The strategy had a major flaw that it wouldn’t be able to put on much momentum mid-game and it would be virtually impossible to win if the game were to be dragged out to late-game.

Does he think that the fact that he almost got me yesterday meant that this flawed strategy would work on me again?

Diana could feel her blood boil.

Even though his very existence had already made her mad, he doubled down on that and did things that made her even more mad.

No matter how lenient her attitude toward everything was, her patience had started to run thin.

“You’ll regret it.”

She thought about overwhelming him with force from the very start, but in the end, she decided to just fortify her defense and take it slow.

Even though the bottom of her stomach was boiling, her head was cold and she was still able to make rational decisions.

Meanwhile, Siwoo was making one strange move after another.

Rather than focusing his play in one place, he spread it all over the board.

It was hard for Diana to guess what it was that he was trying to do.

No, I shouldn’t mind him.

He’s just an insufferable narcissist who’s drowning in his futile fame of being the first male witch.

Yesterday’s game was also a fluke anyway.

I’ll end this stupid game quickly and go to watch a play or something.

After she decided to do that, Diana continued to dish out her moves to complete her magic cannon.

And then…

“...”

Siwoo made a move that fully utilized all of his randomly placed runes.

The move successfully penetrated through the pyramid-shaped fortress that Diana had been building, as if it was his goal from the very beginning.

With just one move, he destabilized her formation and destroyed the connection between her mana orbs and the rest of her runes.

It seemed like Siwoo had been preparing to do this all along, to destroy her connections in one go.

This was the kind of move that could only be utilized by someone who completely understood the principles and structures of the magic in question.

Dispel Pin.