Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Possessive Desire
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1.
The charm of a night market never fails to include one standout feature.
Street food.
Surprisingly, even in one corner of the contact point, smugglers were cooking and selling a few dishes.
It wasn't some fancy restaurant—more like a rundown snack bar tucked away in a seedy alley.
The chairs and tables were weathered wood marked by years of use, and instead of fine silverware or porcelain plates, the food was served on plastic utensils.
I'd figured witches, with their taste for the high-end, wouldn't set foot in a shabby street stall like this.
But unexpectedly, they were gathering in groups of eight.
"Does this stuff even sell? Doesn't look like anything special."
Siu whispered to Sharon.
"They're not eating it for the taste."
"What does that mean?"
Even scanning the menu again after hearing Sharon's words, nothing stood out as special.
Green bean fritters seasoned with cloves and garlic, fried in olive oil.
Fungus soup simmered in chicken broth with spices, leeks, and various mushrooms.
Salmon pie shaped like a fish, stuffed with filleted salmon, ginger, and sage.
Cod reduced down with white wine and served with mustard seeds.
Every dish looked downright ordinary—something you'd find mediocre even in a mid-tier hotel back in the modern world.
"Ah."
But Siu caught on quick.
The ingredients used in Gehenna's cuisine differed quite a bit from the modern world.
Maybe it was the medieval food culture carried down through the ages, but they focused on bringing out the natural flavors with cloves, vinegar, and the like from back then.
At any rate, it was a taste hard to come by in the modern world.
"It's like selling nostalgia. Some witches have been exiles from the start, but others like me got chased out midway. Even lifelong exiles get curious about Gehenna cuisine they've only heard about."
"Like a kimchi jjigae joint in the Middle East?"
"Oh, nice analogy."
Fair enough. Siu had desperately missed chicken and cola back when he was stuck in Gehenna.
For some witches, this could be a taste of homeland they could never return to.
Siu and Sharon took a seat and ordered some food.
"......"
Siu had noticed it earlier, but the witches around them were staring hard.
While wandering earlier, it had just been glances. Now that they were seated, the stares were outright blatant.
It was only natural, really.
For one, after becoming an ether body, Siu's face had leveled up several notches.
He'd caught himself grinning satisfactorily at the mirror while washing up more than once or twice.
Plus, he was rocking a rare leather eyepatch getup, which drew eyes right away.
But the bigger reason? Everyone had already guessed who he was.
Witch society was tight-knit, so rumors spread fast.
Witches out in the boonies might not know, but those near Wizpoint had heard the news ages ago.
The first man in history to bear a stigma had appeared.
His status had been vouched for by Jemernai, Agatha, and Tiphereth.
That fact had spread to most witches in the city overnight.
So when a guy showed up strolling around the contact point with a witch, the conclusion was obvious.
"Don't mind them. Witches who come this far won't cause trouble for no reason."
Siu wasn't sweating his identity or anything.
But having a barrage of curious gazes from one beauty after another—even intimidating on their own—made his stomach churn a bit.
As he popped a green bean fritter into his mouth for the first time in ages, someone plopped down right next to him.
It was so casual, he almost thought she was with them.
"Mind if I join?"
Dark navy hair and eyes.
A dress clinging tight, showing off every curve.
Seductive eyes and a beauty mark at the corner.
She was the kind of witch that screamed "ravishing."
"You're that famous male witch everyone's talking about, right? What's your name? I'm Kybele Periwinkle."
The witch who abruptly joined them introduced herself with brazen confidence, her intentions plain as day.
She rubbed her ample chest—rivaling Sharon's—against Siu's arm, whispering in a sultry voice.
"Got some time?"
Ignoring the third wheel entirely, she went straight for Siu, showing her interest loud and clear.
Sharon wasn't about to sit idly by.
She slammed her fork down amid her chickpeas, fuming.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Aw, don't be so stingy. I just wanna chat."
For "just chatting," her hand was already sliding under the table, stroking Siu's thigh with unnervingly natural intimacy.
Discreet yet brazen.
"Truth is, I got curious after hearing the rumors. First time seeing a male ether body."
Siu froze, dazed by the blatant sex appeal that tossed subtlety out the window.
Pressed so close, the witch's signature alluring scent wafted into his nose.
Instantly, his lower half reacted.
The fragrance from Periwinkle's hair was like potent pheromones, igniting lust regardless of will or reason.
"Get off him! Now!"
"Why so mad? I'm just sitting here. Oh?"
Just as flustered Siu crossed his legs to hide his full erection.
Periwinkle glanced at the tent in his pants and smirked.
"What are you two, anyway? Close? Navel-deep?"
"Sorry, but could you back off a bit?"
"Doesn't look like it, with how big it's gotten already."
"What...?"
Sharon froze as if struck, fully grasping what "it's gotten big" meant.
Siu scrambled to explain.
Sure, Periwinkle was stunningly beautiful in that witch way, but Siu wasn't some horndog who pounced on every pretty face.
If anything, he was panicking over the sudden bodily reaction—like a spark hitting dry hay, his lust had ignited out of nowhere.
He didn't want weird misunderstandings with Sharon or Periwinkle.
"G-Guys just... get hard sometimes without thinking about it."
"Skip the excuses—wanna come to my hotel tonight? I'm good at all sorts of things. Way better than that greenhorn witch over there, I promise."
It was intoxicating.
No spells, no potions.
A fierce impulse spread through his mind.
"Thanks, but no thanks."
Only after Siu mustered desperate restraint and firmly refused did Periwinkle pout like a deflated balloon and pull away.
Then she turned to Sharon, still too shocked to speak.
"Gotta hog him all to yourself like that? We could have fun as a trio. Come on, join us."
"Absolutely not."
She probably thought Siu's refusal was just him minding Sharon.
In witch logic, men were playthings at their feet, after all.
Reality was different, but seeing Sharon's lips clamped shut, she gave up and handed over a business card instead.
At least she wasn't some monster like Della.
"I only give this to special people. Call me whenever."
The mood turned painfully awkward after Periwinkle left.
Sharon set her fork down with a sharp clack, her voice stiff.
They hadn't even finished half their meal.
"Let's go."
Siu had nothing to say, so he quietly gauged Sharon's mood.
Damn it, the vibe had been fine until then.
Why'd he have to pop a full boner out of nowhere...
Thinking back, something was off about that reaction.
It felt unnatural—like someone had been expertly stroking him by hand.
Lust he didn't even have surged up, hitting him with intense urges.
Ashamed with no face left to show Sharon, Siu hung his head like a criminal and followed her out.
For the record, Sharon didn't utter a single word the whole taxi ride back to Seoul.
2.
"I'm gonna work on magic research. Go rest."
"Sharon, wait, it's not—"
Sharon shut the door with a bang before Siu could finish, locking it.
His eyes fell on the bed where they'd spent the night—and early morning—in passion just yesterday.
It gnawed at him; he sighed deeply enough to cave the earth and slumped onto the bed.
"Haa..."
She was mad.
It hurt.
Depressing, sad, resentful.
To be precise, Siu and Sharon weren't officially dating.
And Sharon didn't think she had any right to monopolize or restrain him.
What had she even done for him? What could she do?
Even if there was something small, it paled against all he'd given her.
Playing girlfriend in that situation would just be shameless.
But even knowing that rationally, deep down she might've wanted to keep him all to herself.
That explained snapping at another witch flirting with him—and still feeling sour seeing him seemingly fall for it.
Hell, if it'd been casual fun, fine.
But with that flustered look... and his dick getting hard...
"We did it just last night..."
Sharon grumbled petulantly.
This wasn't the Joseon era; sleeping together didn't seal a relationship.
Besides, last night was her one-sided pursuit.
And she'd scored that insane gift of partial stigma inheritance activation in the process.
She had no ground to demand "Take responsibility forever!" This was purely emotional.
Until now, she'd naturally stayed by his side under the "friends" label.
No reason for anxiety, no thought he'd suddenly leave.
But things had changed.
Siu being the first man with a stigma wasn't just Sharon's secret anymore—tons of witches knew.
Vouched by three grand witches, no less.
Handsome looks, rare male witch status, solid backing. Triple threat.
Plus immortality—the ultimate perk.
He'd become the ultimate witch husband material, nonexistent in human history.
Most witches avoided deep ties with men because they aged and died eventually.
Today it was just Periwinkle approaching, but more would come, driven by curiosity and interest.
What could Sharon do to hold him?
Her only edge? Knowing him a bit earlier.
She was a mid-to-upper 17th hierarchy witch, a mere indebted exile.
Meanwhile, Periwinkle—the one throwing looks at him—was a 20th hierarchy grand witch running hotels worldwide.
Not even an exile; a Gehenna citizen wandering the modern world by choice.
Dark fantasies bubbled up in Sharon's mind.
"Siu! Siuuu!"
Sharon was running. The scene: a space station.
A rocket with engines igniting held Siu and Periwinkle aboard.
"Siu... Ah, aaack!"
Her foot caught, she tumbled hard, debt documents spilling everywhere.
"Siu! Don't go! Siuuu...!"
"Haha, Sharon! Living with you was a blast until now! But I'm Periwinkle's husband now! She's even teaching me magic! Honeymoon's at the international space station—round trip's 60 billion, and unlike some freeloader, she's covering it all!"
"Sorry, Evergreen girl. But he's too good to share with a debt-dodging rice worm who can't pay up! Stay away from Siu from now on! Ohohoho!"
"Ahahaha!"
"Ohohoho!"
The fantasy ended with their echoing laughter.
Sudden inferiority complex.
Fear of losing Siu like this.
Self-mockery for feeling that way after just taking from him.
Sharon felt tears prickling her eyes.