Chapter 458

The night that wasn’t short has passed, welcoming the day.

A bright time that chases away the cold that lingered through the night and spreads warm heat across the world.

As the sun rose, people began to hustle and bustle for their own various reasons.

Some got up to do hard work, others to study at school, and some to meet others.

Amidst these busy people, four figures stood out.

Two beautiful women dressed in body-hugging slit dresses, a still youthful girl who looked like a high school student, and a cute girl who appeared to be in elementary school.

They stood in front of a building, flaunting their distinct charms that could catch the passing people’s eyes.

But do people know?

These seemingly beautiful women carry thorns as powerful as their beauty.

It’s known that these four women are part of a witch group notorious in Europe not just for their beauty, but for their eccentric personalities.

“Ugh. Why are there so many cars…. It’s a small place, yet everyone drives around like they’re Americans with their fancy cars…. Wouldn’t it be sufficient to just take public transport? Maybe they’re flaunting their wealth by driving around in cars, I wonder how this country is going to develop like this….”

Especially among them was someone whose ‘eccentricity’ knew no bounds.

Though she looked beautifully young, she was notorious across Europe for her horrible temper and was even called a Great Witch—Odilia A Reich.

With her lips stuck out in discontent, her high heels clicked against the ground as if expressing, “I’m so angry and dissatisfied!” She stood stubbornly in place, refusing to enter despite a door with an unlocked latch right in front of her…

Odilia’s disciple, Agnes, couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Master…. The traffic jam was because you insisted on redoing your makeup several times because you didn’t like it…. If it weren’t for that, we could have come leisurely without hitting rush hour….”

“What? Are you saying it’s my fault?”

“Well, yeah….”

“No, Ness, when a woman is doing her makeup, she might make mistakes, and if she doesn’t like it, she can erase it. How can you say such blunt, clueless things like a German man?”

“….”

“And besides, I didn’t say anything wrong. It’s not like this is a big city like New York where the traffic is a mess during rush hour. This cramped little country, even if it is the capital, shouldn’t be so jam-packed. Honestly, in any other country, I wouldn’t have said this, but this is just too much.”

“….”

Agnes, watching Odilia pour out her complaints without taking a break, sighed softly and moved next to her.

With a swift motion, she naturally linked arms with Odilia, making Odilia look at her with a puzzled eye, as if to say, ‘Why are you suddenly linking arms?’ and she smiled slyly. Then, tightening her body, she began to lead Odilia towards the door.

“Huh, wait?”

“Come on, Master. Let’s go quickly.”

“Just a minute. Ness….”

Odilia called out in surprise as Agnes strongly dragged her along, her high heels scraping against the ground, but Agnes paid no heed and continued pulling Odilia. In fact, every time Odilia protested, it only seemed to make Agnes pull tighter.

“Wait, hold on. My heels are getting dragged. Just a moment….”

Especially since they were right in front of the door.

The ground was flat, paved with stones, with no stairs or curbs to worry about tripping over.

“Don’t worry. Just relax and leave yourself to me; I’ll take care of everything.”

“No, you….”

Agnes was a disciple who knew how to show respect to her master.

So she took care of Odilia gently, ensuring that she would face no injuries or scrapes, even using her familiar spirit to lightly lift the hem of Odilia’s dress to keep it from dragging on the ground.

Such a commendable sight, wasn’t it?

“Hey, sis! We should go too!”

“…Yeah. Let’s do that.”

Thus, the women who were drawing the attention of passersby stepped inside the building.

With a mix of excitement and nerves.

But as soon as they entered the building, any trace of those feelings vanished upon seeing the bleak scene.

“Oh dear, is this building not working out…?”

There were no shops.

The spacious area that seemed like it could accommodate quite a few shops was completely empty, with dust covering the floor and a rancid smell in the air, along with an A4 paper that simply stated “For Rent.”

Agnes tilted her head at the sight of the empty building.

Had Lee Yang-hoon not been attentive, or was Park Jinseong simply not interested in such things? Maybe people were avoiding the building because it was owned by a shaman…. thoughts raced in and out of her mind before she decided it was not her place to meddle and brushed them aside.

Ding-

She led Odilia into the elevator on the first floor and placed her inside, finally releasing her arm. Then, as she caught the eye of Odilia, who was looking at her in disbelief, she broke into a grin.

“It’s because you kept hesitating, Master. You’re not mad, are you?”

“…Sigh.”

Odilia felt her irritation with Agnes, who had forcefully pulled her along, beginning to dissolve upon witnessing her cute expression.

In the end, she could only let out a big sigh instead of expressing her anger.

With a smooth gesture, Agnes linked arms again and leaned her head against Odilia’s shoulder, making Odilia’s reprimanding words get stuck in her throat.

Ultimately, she could only say one brief comment about not behaving so unladylike in public and patted Agnes’s head, as if to humor a child who always gets into trouble.

Ding-

And just like that, they reached the top floor.

The top of the desolate building.

Where Park Jinseong was staying.

And so, the four women stepped out of the elevator….

“…Well… they really do resemble each other….”

As soon as they got out, Odilia couldn’t help but mutter those words involuntarily.

But can this truly be called a view?

The somewhat thrilling expectation and tension she had felt upon entering Park Jinseong’s place completely vanished.

“Oh dear, does this building not suit him…?”

The design and decor felt like an affront to good taste.

‘No, wait, it’s not an affront….’

While it wasn’t drastically terrible, it definitely wasn’t good either.

‘What on earth can I even call this…?’

Lee Yang-hoon had the typical nouveau riche taste.

He seemed quite interested in things like interior design and aesthetics, yet lacking the proper knowledge made the result laughable.

But what about Park Jinseong?

Could it be that he had completely lost all aesthetic sensibility?

It looked like a place where one could live, yet there was no proper wallpaper, and the floor wasn’t laid out with linoleum or marble either. Yes, some parts had been coated to avoid dust, but the mixed presence of coated and uncoated areas made one question, ‘What is going on here?’

Moreover, the spaces were supposed to have purpose, yet Park Jinseong’s place had none.

An inexplicable pile of strange items stacked up in a spot where a refrigerator was supposed to be, and right next to a bed that looked like it was carved from stone were old, battered items claiming, ‘This is a warehouse.’

There was a hanger near the desk and a supermarket-style ice cream freezer right next to it….

‘Oh snap….’

Even more surprising was the fact that it didn’t seem like everything was just randomly placed.

It appeared to have some sort of quirky order to it, or perhaps it looked like it was arranged according to Park Jinseong’s pattern of movement, or from afar, different items seemed to form a pattern of connected vertices…

It was undoubtedly peculiar.

‘Really unique….’

The horrific shock produced by Lee Yang-hoon’s vanity and ignorance.

The mixed practicalities and undefined chaos of Park Jinseong’s decor.

The two interiors differed in style and outcome, but….

They managed to deliver quite the mental shock to the Great Witch, each in their own way, making Odilia conclude that they were essentially similar.