The Witch Is My Sucker
The chicken stew restaurant where I’d gone with Sylvia. I called out cheerfully to the owner.
“Ma’am! Five servings of chicken stew, please!”
“Five servings?”
“Yeah. You haven’t been eating much lately, have you?”
“How did you know exactly what I was thinking?”
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. Serina looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh. What’s so funny…?
“Serina. Do you know what happens if you laugh right after being all depressed?”
“What happens?”
“Hair grows on your butt.”
“Hair? I already have some there.”
“Huh…? R-really? It’s not like… super bushy, is it…?”
“Idiot. Of course not.”
My heart nearly stopped. For a brief moment, I pictured a bushy-tailed Serina… and immediately decided not to think about it anymore.
On the way out after eating, Serina trotted after me the moment I opened the door and slipped her arm through mine. It was automatic at this point—no words needed. She yanked my shoulder hard toward her body, pressing it firmly against her chest. The heavy, soft weight was unmistakable.
“W-wait, Serina.”
“Why?”
“Let’s walk a little slower.”
“Why?”
“Ah… the weather’s nice, isn’t it? Just… take it easy for a bit…”
“Okay. But Allen, why are you walking so weirdly?”
“Uh… my stomach’s full. It’s hard to walk when you’re stuffed, you know?”
“Is that it? You’re sticking your butt way out when you walk, though.”
“It’s because I’m full…”
“Hey, Allen.”
“What now?”
“Why do you have your hand shoved in your pocket?”
“Ahaha… I was just checking how much money we have left.”
“I see.”
Something had been off down below for a while now. Was it the chicken stew? I felt strangely energized. It was so heavy it felt like it might burst through my pants. This feeling was unfamiliar. Think about Melo. Think about Melo running… Melo dashing across a green meadow… Then Serina appeared on top of that meadow… Serina’s breasts… Breasts?
I shook my head violently.
“Allen. What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Allen, look over there.”
The witch pointed with her finger. A large crowd had gathered in the market square. Everyone was watching something intently.
“What is it?”
“Let’s go see.”
Serina dragged me along. We pushed through the crowd and found people placing bets on something. Looking closer, there were three bowls, and the game was to guess which one hid a small wooden piece.
“Allen, what is that?”
“Ah. That’s called gambling. You bet money and try to find where the wooden piece is hidden.”
“Gambling?”
“Yeah. If you find it, they give you double what you bet.”
“Really? Then it’s easy to make money, right?”
“Only if you actually find it. But it’s not easy.”
“Why not?”
“Because those guys are professionals. They make their living off this.”
“I want to try it too.”
“Hmm… just one round, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And if you lose, we stop right away?!”
“I got it.”
She took a hundred jeon from me. Lately I’d come into a lot of money and had been spending it freely, so a hundred jeon felt like pocket change. But it was still enough to buy a young goat. After all my overspending, I barely had five thousand jeon left. In the gambling world, five thousand jeon could vanish in the blink of an eye. That was how easily you could lose a fortune.
“If I bet a hundred jeon, I get two hundred back, right?”
“That’s right.”
The witch waited for her turn, then placed her hundred-jeon bet. The game began.
Pick, pick! Pick any one! The easiest way in the world to put in money and take out more!
The gambler swirled the ceramic bowls with flashy movements. Serina stared with wide eyes, watching every shift.
Look away and lose your money. Look too hard and you’ll lose your house. Pick, pick!
Clack. The gambler stopped the wildly mixed bowls.
“I just pick one?”
Yes, ma'am! Pick any one you like!
Serina chose the bowl on the far left. My heart pounded with anticipation. She was a witch, after all. Her eyesight had to be just as sharp as her reflexes.
Let’s check!
The gambler slowly lifted the bowl.
“Oh my!” Serina shouted before it was even fully revealed. Did she miss?
It's a miss?!
“What? For real?” I checked after the gambler spoke. Sure enough, the bowl was empty. From that moment on, Serina became completely fired up.
“Allen, give me two hundred jeon.”
“Two hundred? That’s too much. Just do a hundred.”
“Come on. Just give me two hundred.”
“Ugh… two hundred is a lot…”
I grumbled but pulled out two hundred jeon anyway. This much should be fine, right?
“One more time. I’m betting two hundred this round.”
Oh my, the beautiful lady is betting two hundred jeon! Lady Luck must be smiling on you. Here we go!
The gambler gave a faint smile. The glimpse of his canine teeth made me uneasy.
Pick, pick! Sell your sheep, sell your cow, it’s all fun and games! Guess right and trade your wooden shack for a brick house~
Clack. The moment the bowls stopped, Serina quickly pointed at the middle one.
“The witch picks the center!”
“The witch?” The gambler asked in confusion. Everyone around us turned to stare at Serina. I quickly corrected her.
“Ah! I meant the beauty! I misspoke!”
Hahaha, what a cheerful person! Alright, let’s check~!
Another miss. She’d gotten it wrong twice in a row.
“Damn… Allen, give me another two hundred.”
“Let’s stop, witch. You’ve already spent three hundred jeon.”
“Hurry up.”
“This is really the last time, right? That’s five hundred jeon total. That’s a whole pig you’re throwing away.”
“Just shut up. You’re annoying me. Hand it over already.”
Serina was completely worked up. Her nostrils were flaring. If I didn’t give her the money, who knew what she’d do.
“This is seriously the last time.”
“Yeah, yeah. Hurry.”
She took the two hundred jeon. The result was obvious. She didn’t get it right once.
“Let’s go for real now.”
“Haa… haa… Last five hundred jeon.”
“…Serina.”
“I’m serious.”
“…Serinaaa…”
“Oppa, please. This is Serina’s final round.”
When she got desperate, she started using the cute act she’d learned from Maria. It was actually kind of adorable this time. Fine. Just this once, maybe she’d win.
“Alright. Really the last time.”
“I’m going to win this one.”
Serina clenched her fists and stepped up again, full of determination.
“Five hundred jeon.”
Oh my! The beautiful lady has deep pockets and a big heart! If you play with five bowls, we pay triple. You’re sticking with three, right?
“Triple?” The witch’s eyes went wide. She turned to me, apparently unable to do the math.
“That would be fifteen hundred jeon.”
“Oh. Then let’s do the five-bowl version.”
Excellent choice! As expected, a beauty has great taste! Pick, pick! Sell the house, sell the cow, even sell your children—it’s all fun and games! Guess right and you can buy a mansion~
Of course, using five bowls made the odds of winning almost zero. I knew that, but Serina clearly wasn’t going to listen, so I let it go. Still, if she was watching with both eyes wide open and still couldn’t get it right, I was starting to suspect the guy was cheating.
The gambler slipped the wooden piece under one bowl and began mixing all five. With five bowls, the movement was even more chaotic. Serina didn’t even blink, determined not to miss a thing.
Clack. The moment the gambler stopped the bowls, the witch let out a low chuckle.
“Hehehe.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“It’s too easy.”
This time she got it right. There was no way a witch would fall for the same trick four times. Full of confidence, she called out the fourth bowl. Tension filled the air as the gambler lifted it.
Miss!
“What?”
Aww, so close! I really thought you had it that time. It was just a hair off.
“That’s impossible.”
She couldn’t accept reality. It was the first time I’d ever seen Serina’s hands shake. Worried things might get dangerous if we stayed, I quickly pulled the witch out of the crowd.
“It’s a lie… I saw it clearly.”
“Serina, accept it. That’s just how gambling works.”
“Something’s wrong here.”
“Just forget about it.”
“I-I’m going to kill him. I can’t let this go.”
“Kill him for what? You’re the one who chose to gamble.”
“Allen, aren’t you angry? That bastard tricked me. This is a challenge against me.”
“Aigoo. Just let it go, Serina.”
“Whose side are you even on, Allen?”
“There are no sides here.”
“You’re defending that con artist right now.”
“No… I’m not defending him.”
“Whatever. Don’t talk to me.”
“Ah… why are you like this again?”
“Just shut up. Go hold hands with that guy and touch his ass instead.”
She was seriously pissed. The witch walked off without linking arms with me. I was already heartbroken about the lost money, and now we were in a cold war. Damn it. I should never have given her the money.
I was trying to soothe her when armed knights suddenly approached. They blocked Serina’s path. What was going on? Worried she might cause a scene, I hurried over.
Are you Lady Serina and Lord Allen?
“Yes, why?”
The Lord has urgently ordered us to bring both of you to him.
“Lucas did?”
Yes. He said it was urgent and specifically asked that both of you come together.
“Did something happen? Things have looked busy since yesterday.”
I’ll explain later. There are too many eyes here.
“Ah… alright then.”
I had no idea what was going on, but the heavy atmosphere made it impossible to refuse. I followed the knights. Serina still had cold eyes. Even when our gazes met, she was icy. Ugh. This is fucking awful. What the hell did I do wrong? The whole way to Lucas, I cursed Serina out thoroughly inside my head.