# 029. Failing Witch

## 01. Volume 01

### 001. Prologue: Magic is Far Out of Reach

Now, for a quiz. A witch must always focus on the Three Aspects.

Let’s start with the Aspect of Admiration.

Which ATU number is the reference text for the Cinderella witch role?

ATU( 777? )a 0000 1234

Go, lucky number!

Next, the Aspect of Antiquity.

You want to perform a four elements conversion based on the philosopher Aristotle’s formula, but the below diagram does not let you use the shortest conversion method of swapping out the four qualities (dry, wet, hot, and cold) one at a time. Fill in the blank to explain what needs to be replaced with what to provide the correct diagram.

╭ Earth ╮

Wind Fire

╰ Water ╯

Replacing water with ( To ) will work.

othpaste

Teacher, the blank isn’t big enough for it to fit!

Hint: Fire = Dry + Hot and is a processed version of the common prima materia.

Lastly, the Aspect of Amorality.

Which of the following should not be done by the leader of the Black Mass?

1. Perform a deadly curse ceremony

2. Wear a rabbit skull over the head

3. Use a naked woman as an altar

I’m onto you. This is a trick question. They’re all correct, so the right answer is to choose none of them.

Can’t fool me!

Silence reigned.

The girl seated in her chair had turned her head entirely the side. At least she was aware what she had done. She appeared too afraid to look him in the eye.

Sweat poured down her face.

A 17-year-old boy with unnatural blond hair sat across from the trembling girl seated at the same desk in the same room. He knew going easy on her now would be a mistake. When he followed her gaze, he saw the warm sunny sky. He was honestly jealous. …On his side of the desk, he was about ready to crush the parchment answer sheet in his grip.

The boy wore a white long-sleeved sailor uniform with bright lemon yellow slacks. At best, that could have made him look like a sailor. At worst, like he was dressed in wedding colors. But the metal armor on his elbows and knees and the thick boots changed that impression. He wore a thick leather corset around his waist to keep his silhouette slim despite the several-centimeter-thick armor of stacked parchment he wore below the long-sleeved sailor uniform. He also wore a weapon at the hip. …Although in this world of swords and sorcery, it was apparently seen as little more than an illusionist’s wand with some weird extra functions.

“Um.”

“…”

“Teacher, could you not pierce me with that absolute zero glare? It’s terrifying.”

“…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

So she knew what absolute zero was.

If she was familiar with a term like that, why would she submit an answer sheet like this? It felt like a weird kind of talent at this point. The ATU number was pure memorization, so he could understand not knowing that. The Aristotle question required some calculation, so it could be a challenge if that wasn’t your strong suit. But with a multiple choice question, you could at least make a guess even if you didn’t know the answer. Even completely random chance gave you 33% odds of being right with just three choices, so it was definitely worth doing. So why would this extraordinary idiot suspect a nonexistent trick, waste that chance, and then act proud about it? She had sabotaged her own chances! She could at least not confidently proclaim that she can’t be fooled! According to the woman who was practically the founder of witch research, their gatherings weren’t led by people with a donkey or rabbit head and this said “skull” not “mask”, so it should have been obvious since a small animal’s skull isn’t fitting over a human head!!!

He wasn’t mad. Not really.

The boy she called her teacher simply didn’t know where to begin with her.

He was tutoring a 15-year-old girl.

Her name was Viocia Modestlucky.

She had long, fiery red hair and youthful features. Her pale skin was covered by a long dress. The slits on the sides of her skirt (which didn’t suit her at all) and the wide-brimmed hat did have a traditional witch look, but the colors were all wrong. Her outfit was primarily orange with small accents of red and purple. If she was being graded on creepiness, she would earn a perfect 0. They were autumn colors, so they were only Halloween-y in that they looked like a highly decorated pumpkin tart.

“Well, it is what it is, I suppose. To be entirely honest, this is my first time seeing an answer sheet that earns a perfect 0, but nothing is going to change what I’m seeing in front of me here.”

“…Okay.”

“But don’t let this get you down. I still have more advice to give you.”

“Okay!!”

“They’re opening a new café in the neighborhood and I hear they’re looking for part-time waitresses.”

“Wait, wait, no!! I’m not giving up on being a witch! Eek! Don’t you ever advise me to give up, teacher!! You’re supposed to be my tutor!!”

The boy sighed. He was the one who had chosen her as his contractual partner, so no matter how hopeless it might seem, he had to find a way to make it work. He had to start from there. If his student said she didn’t understand something, it was his job as her tutor to take a step back to that point and have her study it until she did understand.

It was possible to study on your own, but people had a tendency to take the path of least resistance when they did. For example, someone who was great at memorization would focus on that and neglect to practice their calculations. It was a tutor’s job to objectively identify those weak points and point them out. They couldn’t just give up after identifying their student’s weaknesses.

“Listen, Viocia. A witch must focus on the Three Aspects. Can you name them for me?”

“Um, teacher? I can’t hear you when you mumble.”

“They are Admiration, Antiquity, and Amorality. 0 points again. You need to at least develop a habit of giving an answer – any answer.”

Yet again.

The boy backed up to the very basics and reexplained everything from there.

“ +1 point. A witch views this single world through three aspects and operates the Three Aspects together to gain great propulsion . Much like a steamship’s propeller. So you must use the Admiration acquired through texts, the Antiquity acquired from ancient rituals, and the Amorality acquired by taking advantage of the twisted view people have of witches. This quiz included all three of those – not just one. Only with all of the Three Aspects can a witch gain the great power needed to fly. Flight means ignoring speed and distance, crossing all forms of terrain, and rejecting every geographic limitation, so it requires a complex process and safety device.”

“Zzz…”

“…”

She was snoring. The blond boy in a sailor uniform bent his multipurpose wooden slide rule and let it slap against his student’s forehead.

“Ow, that hurt!”

“Three seconds.”

When she fell asleep, calling her name wasn’t enough to wake her and a slide rule slap was the only solution he had found, so he really wished she would stop.

He still couldn’t believe she was the granddaughter of the legendary witch who was known as one of the Unlimited and was referred to as the Queen of the Night, the Shadows, and Love. It was said her mind had perfect control over her physical body, but when she drew on her full power, she risked absorbing too much power from the land or air and accidentally turning into a little girl or growing wings and horns. Then again, he had heard Viocia had ignored everyone’s protests and traveled to Temple School City on her own. How much of a screwup did you have to be for such a powerful queen to insist you didn’t stand a chance and should just give up?

(Well, it’s not like the witch entrance exam is easy enough to coast through it on talent two generations down the line. Being the child of a genius always makes things harder. That’s true in academia, the arts, and in sports.)

“Yawwwn. Did I not get enough sleep because I was up so late last night searching for that lost kitty?”

A new revelation.

This extreme disappointment was not yawning because she had pulled an all-nighter studying.

“B-besides, shouldn’t a tutor know how to sound more professional?”

“If it would improve your results in the slightest, I’ll be a consummate professional from here on out. Shall we resume your educational training, madam?”

“I’m sorry, teacher. I couldn’t have been more wrong, so forget what I said.”

“I really think you’d do better waiting tables at a café. That one I mentioned apparently has these cleavage-baring uniforms with miniskirts that are practically sartorial sexual harassment. The chest might be a bit baggy with your flat chest, but there might just be an untapped market for that.”

“Hey, wait! When I said to forget what I said, I didn’t meant the part about not giving up on being a witch! Wahhhh! You’re pressuring me to do that waitress thing so hard you sound like a human trafficker!! Help me, Mephistopheles!!”

“If you want to be a top-rate witch, don’t rely on your tool. Speaking of, has that broom even accepted you as a witch yet?”

The girl groaned.

This large city was full of witches still in training, but she was lagging unusually far behind.

“You didn’t have any money, so you ended up buying a used one marked down repeatedly due to its history of accidents, and not even that broom has accepted you? If you haven’t completed the consecration that links the witch to the tool, can you even really call it yours?”

“Ugh, Mephistopheles is so mean… Besides, you shouldn’t even have to learn all those detailed calculations for magic these days. Your Formula Broom is supposed to do it all for you.”

Maybe so.

But the blond boy clicked his tongue and glanced at the 140cm witchcraft device affixed vertically like a cane or umbrella in a small glass holder attached to the edge of the desk.

That was Formula Broom – Wittenberg.

It possessed the name of the forest and town known as a magic location in the alternate world called Earth.

The broom’s texture was smooth, like porcelain. It was colored a piano-like black with borders of gold and red, making it chic and mature, with a somehow sinister solemnness to it. It didn’t even remotely suit that girl. It was of course not a cleaning implement. From the thick handle to each and every last bristle, it was the world’s greatest witchcraft device designed based on the most perfect witch technology. Did she really not find it concerning she had found it for cheap at a secondhand store?

Yes. To simply use magic, she only had to ask Formula Broom – Wittenberg for help.

There was no magic in this world.

That might sound insulting, but it was the truth.

This fantasy world of swords and sorcery had already been stripped of one of those two things. The history told of in a single long scroll was not a tale composed entirely of peace. Far, far in the past, the inheritance of knowledge had been cut off. In other words, this world’s magic had gone fully extinct at one point in the past.

Why were names like Cinderella and Aristotle known in this world?

The answer was found here. No one in this world could use magic any longer, but the people had grown reliant on magic and had found a way to make it work. They had developed a new system in which they snatched forbidden knowledge from an alternate world called Earth to forcibly activate their own magic.

This was done with the modern version of a witch’s broom: a Formula Broom.

Those horrific founts of wisdom would produce any ancient mystery in response to its user’s will and purpose.

(Kind of like a train or a bus, don’tcha think?)

The boy recalled some words he hadn’t heard in a long while. Even though not enough time had passed for the memories to fade.

Viocia had worked hard to wax her Formula Broom, so it sparkled like a racecar brought out in front of the fans and the press.

(That is, you can know how to use it, but that doesn’t mean you can drive it on your own. That’s perfectly fine for the people who only want to use them, but you can’t turn around and create them to further improve your life. Convenience and ease-of-use are nice, but when you can’t explain what’s actually happening, you can’t step off the well-worn path and invent your own stunts and acrobatics.)

Since the witches in this fantasy world could only wave their wands or brooms around without knowing how the magic worked, it wasn’t uncommon for people to disparaging refer to them with the term s(witch).

…Switch. The usage of English and Latin words may have been a result of taking knowledge from Earth. As a tutor, he couldn’t be the kind of person who had a thick textbook and a long ruler, but couldn’t actually build a rocket. That was nothing more than a slave who took the path of least resistance by just letting their student extract all their knowledge.

However, the analogy in the boy’s head wouldn’t help the girl who was so mentally overloaded she had a bit of smoke rising from her head. Referring to buses and trains would only confuse someone from this world.

So the sailor uniform boy changed the subject instead.

“Look into the distance, Viocia. You need to look.”

There was a symbol there. For those who still wished to be true witches in this magicless world, even if it meant dragging knowledge from another world altogether, it was a symbol of hope. For those who had worked themselves to the bone and still failed to earn a place beyond those gates, it was a symbol of pain.

But this girl was not yet to the point of cursing its name and packing her bags.

“––––––”

She was overwhelmed.

Like she had climbed a precipitous mountain and just seen the breathtaking view from the top.

She viewed it with the admiring eyes of someone faced with great beauty.

(If that’s how it looks to her, she should still be fine, don’tcha think?)

The colors white and black were visible in the distance. They were visible from anywhere at the center of the orderly city made from marble and obsidian. But while everyone should have been able to see the center point, no one could see across the massive lake there. With white diamond dust floating above the water year round, only the shimmering silhouette of a many-towered royal castle could be seen there. But even that wasn’t certain. There was no way to know if what you saw was what someone else saw.

Ultimately, the boy and Viocia may have been seeing entirely different things right now. But it was definitely there. Only the witches who passed the harsh trials and landed across the lake had the honor of knowing what it really looked like.

Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium.

That highly selective school for witches who wielded borrowed power was something everyone knew of, everyone set as their goal, and everyone dreamed of, but it brought only humiliation and failure to more than 99.9999% of girls across the land.

“You have a reason to want to go there, don’tcha?”

“…Yes.”

It was all about that.

This is not the story of Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium.

It was currently late April. Over half the population here had already failed the entrance exam at least once. It was a bizarre city with a massive economy run by the girls who had given up and the girls who were intent on trying again. The boy and Viocia were sitting in a gazebo in a small park in that city. They generally used this gazebo to study when none of the prep school’s study rooms were open.

“As long as you keep that spirit alive, I’ll give you all the help I can,” said the sailor uniform boy – Myousou Yagoro – looking her in the eye once more. The 17-year-old tutor spoke clearly. “I will make sure you pass next spring. Because that was the tutoring contract we signed.”

### 002. Episode 1: The Broom, the Unfortunate Witch, and the Demon Lord

### 1

The stone apartment got too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

It was early in the morning, before all the newspapers had even been delivered, when a loud voice called his name through the apartment window.

“…goro. Myousou Yagorooooo!!!”

“You’re being a public nuisance, don’tcha think!?”

He shouted toward the window, nearly causing the bipedal black cat familiar to fall off of the roof sheathing. He quickly opened the window and rescued the kitty (who moved in a weirdly human way) carrying a waterproof cloth delivery bag. But on the ground below his 2nd-floor window, a gentle young woman with brown skin was smiling up at him.

She owned a nearby used book store, which primarily dealt in grimoires.

“My, my. Yagoro, you were the one who asked me to check in on you if you didn’t respond at this hour because it could mean you had died from overwork or from a botched meditation.”

“…”

Apparently he had been too focused on coming up with quiz questions. This seemed like a lot of fuss for a short nap. The smartphone sitting on the side table displayed the current time. Maybe he should have set an alarm.

He got the feeling the silver-haired, brown-skinned bookseller would continue to call for him if he took too long, so he couldn’t take his time making breakfast. He grabbed some hard bread that kept at room temperature and ate that while tossing his phone and a different manual into an empty water tank where the former was “dismantled”. Once it gained the color, shape, and function of an electric toothbrush in accordance with the paper manual, he washed his face and brushed his teeth. It was fortunate he could use these things without a power source in this world.

He lived in an HEA house. The enclosed water tank contained lots of wooden ants. By tossing in one of the thick handwritten manuals, the ants would rearrange and dig up the colorful dirt they lived in to create any number of home appliances. But if he got too lazy, his room would be full of devices unknown to this world, so he generally only let them eat one manual at a time and he would let the device return to dirt before he left the house.

(I would love to share these inventions with the neighborhood because it’s a lot more convenient than cooking over a wood fire, but a lot of people would make a fuss if I messed with the cultural level. Like the Benandanti.)

He covered his upper body with armor made of bound parchment, wore his male sailor uniform over that, attached extra armor over that, and attached his “weapon” at his hip. He had to wear a tight leather corset around his waist because the parchment armor would give him a noticeable gut if he didn’t.

Then he heard another call from the window.

“Yagorooo!!”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming, shut up!!”

He grabbed his key and rushed out of the room. He ran down the hallway and out of the building to find the used bookseller smiling. She had done so much to help him he should really be more polite with her, but she always got angry when he was overly polite. A cute kind of angry, but still.

“Hee hee. That was quick for someone who only just woke up. How did you get ready so fast?”

Using his home electrical appliances, or HEA. But he couldn’t tell her about that.

She was a gentle young woman of indeterminate age. She had long fluffy silver hair and healthy brown skin and, as evidenced by the broom with a shiny silver handle and gold grapevine decorations she held, she was most likely a self-taught witch . The apron embroidered with a bunny rabbit clashed with the traditional black dress she wore below it. Also, when she wore it, the animal on the chest was rendered nearly unrecognizable. Why? Because a certain part of her anatomy had grown to an extent some might call excessive.

The brown woman, who had a way of raising Yagoro’s blood pressure so early in the morning, smiled gently as she greeted him.

“Good morning, Yagoro.”

“A pleasant morning to you, ma’am.”

“My, my. Are you tired after staying up all night?”

His overly polite greeting didn’t even faze her. She only smiled with a hand on her cheek.

For that matter, he had never seen her even remotely flustered.

“Oh, dear. Yagoro, your knee protector is out of place. It isn’t going to protect you at all like that. Here, I will fix it for you. There, all done.”

She didn’t even give him time to fix it himself. Her chest seemed all the more excessive when looking down at her while she crouched in front of him. Specifically, he couldn’t see her stomach at all. But he wasn’t ungrateful enough to say any of this out loud.

“Hee hee. I see you are still carrying that illusionist’s wand with you. The one that grows when you wave it. Do you put on a show for people on the street corner? You’re a lot more adorable than you look.”

The bookseller poked at the stick he wore at the side of his hip.

He couldn’t tell her it was in fact an extendable baton. This shiny world of swords and sorcery apparently had bandits not just in the fields and caves but in the towns too, but he didn’t feel safe using a bladed weapon to keep them away. And as long as he could draw up a diagram, the local blacksmith did a great job of making whatever he needed. Although when he thought about it, it was very frightening that this fantasy society let him just buy one of those without even having to register it as a weapon.

(It’s honestly strange they can make something like this but can’t make guns. But maybe it’s for the best they haven’t invented those in this world.)

As far as Myousou Yagoro was concerned, it just had to be something sufficiently long and heavy that didn’t include any magical symbols like a sword or knife would .

The young woman slowly straightened her legs to stand back up.

“Are you sure you’re ready to head out for the day? You seem emptyhanded to me.”

“?”

“Hee hee. Today is garbage day, remember? Old parchment day only comes twice a month, so if you miss it, won’t you end up with a lot piled up? Parchment is such a pain because it gets heavy when you have too much of it. And even when it’s preserved, it must have some kind of nutrients because you end up with mold and bugs when you leave it out too long.”

He had completely forgotten.

Not that it was garbage day, but the amount of parchment.

The manuals he used for his HEA house (which he had to keep a secret from the entire world) were all handwritten on parchment using a quill made from a goose or swallow feather, but using so much seemed unusual to anyone who didn’t know that.

“Well, I’ll be fine if I use the backs of fliers.”

“Oh? Yagoro, are you an artist?”

He heard a bleating from the ground near the gentle and very curvy witch.

That was a Sketchgoat, a goat bred in this world to support the parchment-dependent society.

(Just like a fluffy sheep, it lives symbiotically with humans because it can’t survive without periodic shearing. In that sense, you could call it a sacrificial scapegoat, don’tcha think?)

“This goat really seems to like having his outer layer of skin ‘sheared’, doesn’t he? I wonder of it’s like peeling away a sunburn.”

“Hee hee. You were so nervous your first time shearing him with that reed knife. Had you always used storebought parchment instead of supplying your own?”

The bookseller used one hand to lift a pile of parchment tied together with string. With parchment, each piece was thicker than with plant-based paper. Which meant it was heavier too.

“Why don’t you create your own familiar?” asked Yagoro. “To help out with your magic. Or you could buy a cheap used one.”

“A domestic familiar, you mean? Don’t you have to draw out the temporary muscles and fat with an incantation and then create the details using a 3D jigsaw puzzle that takes the place of its skeleton? I prefer real animals because they’re so cute.”

The bookseller looked somewhat troubled while she petted the Sketchgoat to answer its bleats for attention.

The texts from Earth said a demon gave a witch a familiar at her first Sabbath and she could then sell it to or give it away to another witch, but in this world, several witches had to be gathered for an objective and impartial safety check based on a thick manual to ensure it was all right for a witch to go through the puzzle-like familiar construction process in a populated area. Even the trainees still struggling with the entrance exam would know the necessary technique, but you had to go through that ritual if you wanted to use it outside.

Yagoro recalled the black cat delivery worker he had rescued at his window.

“Are they really that creepy? I mean, it’s not like you’re creating an entirely fictional creature. The puzzle is focused on their skeleton and joints, so they’re identical to a real animal from the outside.”

“That you can’t tell them apart is what scares me.”

A massive dragon loudly flapped its wings to fly by in the blue sky overhead. But that wasn’t an artificial familiar. It was a giant monster born from a test tube in Maleficium. Chimaera and kraken fossils had been discovered in older strata, but there were no natural monsters in modern times. There were reports of elf sightings deep in the distant forests, but they had never been officially confirmed. Much like the Japanese wolf.

“Also, Yagoro, did you check your hair? Here, I’ll do it for you.”

“I redyed it recently, so it should still be fine.”

Yagoro teased his bangs with his fingers. The bookseller also viewed his unnatural blond hair.

“My, my. Natural black hair is used as a dye in the most powerful curses, so if you aren’t careful, you could end up bald after being attacked by scissors-wielding madwomen out in the streets at night.”

“I’ll be careful.”

(Madwo men , huh? Now there’s a scary thought. You would have to be mad to attack someone to cut off their hair.)

Misinformation ran rampant even this large city of swords and sorcery. It didn’t help that “boiling pig hair to make it rain” was real magic.

That was one way his life in this world was very much supported by the bookseller. She had saved him many times over with her trivia about living her and with her rare books of useful magic.

After parting ways with her, the tutor boy walked from the stone apartment building to the main street.

He saw white and black.

The tiered city was designed with a chessboard pattern of orderly marble and obsidian. That was the best way to describe Temple School City. The red pieces of metal shaped like giant scales were the elevators that had become quite popular recently. The elevators were little more than a cage with a railing that was suspended by a single thick chain, so they were terrifying to use.

(Their size is hard to judge from a distance, but the scale supports are more than 100m tall. Of course, that height is necessary to rotate well above any of the roofs in this tiered city.)

Overall, the city resembled a diamond-shaped bowl. Or you could call it a reverse pyramid. It made a tiered descent the closer you got to the center. And at the center of the arena-like city was a massive artificial lake with a radius of more than 5km. At the very center of the lake, past the white diamond dust that hovered over the water no matter the temperature, was the dream of all witches – Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium.

Yagoro’s apartment was located in Red District, Block C. His destination, Caraway Cs Preparatory School, was in Green District, Block R. He was near the outer perimeter, which meant at the top tier. But there were a lot of tall buildings, so the buildings looked fairly normal even when viewed from here.

“Good morning, Elen.”

“Good morning, Blancmange. Those commercial Nap Sheep are dangerous. The entire idea is for them to give you a nap , but I slept for 8 hours straight. My head still feels so heavy…”

The various girls around were reciting “Happy Halloween” as an incantation and giving a quick wave of their Formula Brooms before pulling out crepes and donuts so early in the morning. The wave was necessary because the incantation alone would have no effect. Technically speaking, they were mixing a potion that would instantly create a snack. None of the food stands were selling actual food. They instead sold plates carrying parchment recipes held between clear glass panels. The quantity of flower shops were for the witches who frequently used herbs in their ceremonies. There were also shops selling cards and various sizes of crystal ball.

Most of the people on the street were girls between the ages of 15 and 18.

In this world, hopeful witches were thrown to the extremely harsh entrance exam immediately after completing their compulsory education, which covered what would be called elementary and middle school on Earth. Failing the exam was the assumed result, so people ordinarily began working after graduating from their compulsory education. But it was common for girls to try at the entrance exam for around three years, so there were also some sexy young woman who were definitely past 20.

(That said…hmm. I never know where to look.)

One girl wore a vampire costume that amounted to a cloak over her naked body, another wore a prisoner costume of thick chains wrapped around her bare skin, and a third wore a succubus costume of black leather clothing with fake horns and tail. The morning rush hour was flooded with girls in what looked a lot like Halloween costumes. Including a giant pumpkin lantern rolling around nearby.

Yes, Halloween. Needless to say, All Hallows’ Eve and the Celtic festival did not exist in this world. Was this another piece of culture born from the influence of the knowledge taken from Earth? If Yagoro thoughtlessly let people see his HEA house, it could have a similar result.

“Did you hear? A witch singlehandedly bombed some knights-turned-bandits in the great forest. Maleficium graduates really are next level.”

“Hey, you’re absentmindedly lighting a fire in your hand again! Hot! You’re burning my hair!!”

While two girls who looked like sisters were playfully arguing, other girls slapped their cheeks. Each time they did, the look of their face changed. They were literally using magic to instantly change their makeup. Was it a form of transformation magic using ointment or an incantation?

Changing the color or pattern of an object was a classic form of stage magic, most commonly seen with handkerchiefs, but this was different. These differences couldn’t be explained away as simply applying a thin sheet or removing paint from the skin.

“I wish I could pull off a more mature look, but this makeup makes my face so tired. It’s so thick and heavy I doubt my sensitive skin can stand it for a full day.”

“Ha ha ha. A sporty look is more true to who you are and everyone seems to like it better too.”

Magic could be used to do just about anything. It completely changed the options available in everyday life.

But that was only true if you had fully acquired the skills needed to pull off what you wanted.

“I just have to get into Maleficium. Then I’m guaranteed a spot among the super elite witches who even the castle and public agencies rely on. I swear I’m passing the exam this year and earning a life of luxury that even makes the nobility jealous!”

(You would think I wouldn’t need a weapon to walk around town in a fantasy world full of girls showing off so much skin, but you’d be wrong. Not having one brings its own troubles, so everyone displays just enough of a threat to deter anyone else from trying anything. Kind of a heartless world, don’tcha think?)

And…

“Good morning, teacher. What’s with the focused look first thing in the morning? Oh, I know. You’re checking out the girls around here.”

“Good morning, Viocia. But could you not make comments that lead to devastating misunderstandings? Especially when men’s social status is already shrinking year by year because it’s thought we can’t use magic.”

“What, old friends can’t make jokes?”

“We only met a month ago. Not exactly old, don’tcha think?”

Myousou Yagoro sighed and slumped his shoulders when the nearby naked cloak girl glared at him. His flashy male sailor uniform was not his preferred way of dressing. It was as far as he was willing to go to blend into this city of constant partying. Or to be more accurate, it was an outfit the silver-haired, brown-skinned used bookseller had prepared for him when he wasn’t sure what to do. In this flashy world, a thick suit of armor or a tuxedo only looked like someone handing out fliers on the street corner or like a café waiter.

“I’ve been meaning to ask: what’s with the weird wand? Is it an illusionist’s prop?”

He opted not to comment on that one. He couldn’t let anyone know what the extendable baton really was.

All the girls wore such revealing outfits because of how openminded the Aspect of Antiquity was and because the Aspect of Amorality took advantage of the malicious stories invented about witches. But things could have been worse. Without the Aspect of Admiration acting as a brake, the view on the city streets would have been even more shocking.

“Hmm, hm, hmm. Breakfast. Yummy, yummy breakfast☆”

“What are you doing, Viocia?”

“I bought a recipe at that stand, so now the food is just a broom wave away. I’m having a cupcake for breakfast today! Tah dah! Happy Halloween!!”

A puff of colorful smoke burst out and a cake with the color and scent of a banana appeared in her hand. Yagoro’s reflex was to ask if a cake really counted as a meal, but bananas were a standard choice for a quick breakfast. It was a borderline case.

That said, “new and improved” was a standard marketing phrase in this world too, so there was always a new version of the instant recipes to buy.

“Why don’t you visit the more witchy stands selling flower seeds and seedlings? You only ever bother with the dessert magic.”

“Eh heh heh. That’s cause you taught me this magic, teacher!”

It was hard to win when she honestly failed to pick up on the criticism implied by his words.

No matter how great a witch’s mastery of magic, they never suppressed their desires.

It was thought those desires could drive them to reach their goals when consciously controlled.

The ever-disappointing girl put her Formula Broom, which resembled a hero’s sword, on her back. She wore her long dress that looked like a pumpkin tart thanks to its autumn colors of orange, red, and purple. She was a witch who still could not fly without close guidance. Thet fact that she could approach Yagoro in that pointy hat without him noticing showed just how colorful the girls of this city were. And with all the bare skin they showed off, he never knew where he was supposed to look.

This was an incredible city where half the population had previously taken and failed the exam. That created a unique pattern to the flow of foot traffic, so the peak time for the streetside stands was the commute to and from school.

“Try the Rabbit Gardening Service! Miss, miss, are you having trouble with your home garden? Just dump the contents of this cauldron on it and those vegetables will be ready to pick in no time!”

“Witch exams are all about motivation and focus! Do not forget that potion mixing and synthesis can give you a leg up in our competitive society. With this homemade aphrodisiac kit, you can create the circumstances you need to truly ‘fall in love’ with studying and test taking. The key to victory is right here!!”

“Limited time offer! Wouldn’t you like a collection of questions from past Maleficium entrance exams? Study these and you’re guaranteed to pass. When you know what kinds of questions to expect, how can you not rise to the top? Kee hee hee.”

A certain stupid girl was so tempted she literally had a finger in her mouth, so Yagoro decided he had to intervene.

“Viocia.”

“Aweh? But…but, teacher, past exam questions would be so useful. That’s like a treasure!”

“Every single one of the countless prep schools across the city has to be doing everything they can to get their hands on what kinds of questions you’ll find on the exam, don’tcha think? Because if any one school managed it, it would unbalance the entire city’s economy. At the very least, you’re not going to find them for sale on the side of the road.”

Not to mention that no one remembered the questions from their Maleficium entrance exam. The elites who had passed all kept their silence on the subject, but the majority who failed all lost their memories of the exam just like the memory of a dream fades after you wake up.

Witches weren’t the only people hawking their wares on the streetside. There were also plenty of men and plenty of women who had given up on being witches. No one knew better what sales pitches would sound tempting than someone who had attempted that path in life and failed.

So if any of the stands were offering something that sounded too good to be true, it was.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect diet guide. Because once you sold that, you could never sell another one again. Exam study guides work the same way, don’tcha think? There’s no easy way out, so don’t listen to their enticing promises.”

“Uhh.”

He called Viocia’s name again. Had she made that last awkward groan because she had fallen for the diet guide scam before?

(Understandable when the rules for broom-riding witches are the complete opposite from the rules for knights and martial artists. The lighter a witch, the bigger her advantage.)

The face-to-face transactions like that were bad enough, but there were also fliers passed out for correspondence communities where people shared their exam worries or shared the new textbooks that went for sale each week. There were even fliers advertising cheating teams. The entrance exam city was rife with a wide variety of scams.

“Oh, it’s Dorothea.”

The girl hopped up and down, earning her an annoyed look from a water seller carrying water buckets hanging from a long stick balanced over his shoulders, but she ignored that and called out with a smile.

The girl who answered her call had light blonde wavy hair fluffily spread out at shoulder blade length. Every witch had her own way to carry her broom and Dorothea simply held the center of the handle in a hand. In Earth terms, it was a lot like how a salaryman would carry around a folded umbrella like a sheathed sword. (This was actually somewhat dangerous for whoever walked behind her.)

She was dressed as a zombie girl, which meant bandages wrapped around her bare skin. But the glasses girl herself was very cute, so it made her look like a white no-bake cheesecake.

Of course, zombie powder and voodoo were not a natural part of this world.

Her name was Dorothea Rockpool.

The shy bookish girl attended the same prep school as Viocia. Just like Viocia, she had failed the exam once and was 15. When the two girls walked side by side, Dorothea stood a head taller than Viocia and she may have even been about as tall as Myousou Yagoro. In the same way(?), her chest was quite large.

She was shy, but costumes were the norm in this world and she only smiled timidly at her friend.

“Hee hee. G-good morning, Viocia.”

“Huff puff.”

A handshake wasn’t enough for Viocia, so she hugged Dorothea from the front and breathed deep at her chest. The plain but curvy girl was only wearing the bandages on her upper body and they looked dangerously close to unraveling.

“Dorothea, help me eat this banana cupcake!”

“Eh? Ehh? You shouldn’t eat instant food, Viocia. It’s bad for you.”

As her tutor, Yagoro felt like he had to intervene here.

“Viocia, skirt check. Hugging your friend is fine, but her broom caught and lifted your skirt. I swear you’re a miracle worker when it comes to clumsiness.”

“Eh? Y-yikes!?”

Viocia blushed and quickly covered up.

There was a werewolf girl in a fur bikini and a vampire girl in a naked cloak walking nearby, but for some reason having your panties seen was still considered embarrassing (and she was weirdly dedicated to the magical look, so the butt was printed to look like a pumpkin). It made Yagoro wonder why she bothered wearing them at all, but then he recalled a more fundamental issue. He couldn’t let this place confuse him. The naked cloak was obviously the stranger thing here.

Or is naked+1 article of clothing considered the norm here? he wondered.

Then the busty bandages glasses girl noticed his presence.

“ Eh? Oh. G-g-g-good morning, Mr. Tutor. Eep. ”

(Speak up. Why are you so quiet!? Not to mention the tears and the blushing cheeks. What happened to no one here caring how skimpy they’re dressed? Are my eyes the only ones that bother her!?)

Viocia may have sensed something from her suddenly-shy friend.

She looked back and forth between Yagoro and Dorothea.

“Hmph. He’s my teacher. We signed a tutoring contract, so he’s my exclusive tutor! Don’t even think about stealing him away with your big boobs, Dorothea.”

“Try to remember we’re outside on a sunny morning, idiot.”

The failing witch puffed out her cheeks, held her arms behind her back, and tackled Yagoro. While positioned so she would hit him with her flat chest.

“What now? That kind of hurts when you’re so flat, you know?”

“Why would you say that after a pure maiden worked up her courage!?”

Some deep clanking sounds passed them by from behind. They came from a fancy carriage that looked something like a teacup, but wheels were even less suited for this tiered city than horse hooves. The shaking had to be unbearable. Curtains blocked their view of who was inside, but the elderly coachman looked like his back was killing him. That had to be the result of some rich girl showing off her wealth.

That was not the mode of transportation everyone in the city hoped to use.

“Wow!” “Wow!”

Viocia and Dorothea cried out together while looking up into the early morning sky.

A witch on a broom flew by overhead. And she wasn’t alone. Formations of several witches – sometimes more than 10 – flew together, traveling from the perimeter of the diamond-shaped city toward a certain point in the giant lake. Leisurely soaring over the difficult-to-navigate tiered city and passing through the diamond dust covering the lake was a privilege granted only those accepted into Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium.

They were practically legends, but they had their own daily routines and commute times, so the Maleficium witches flying together in the morning had become one of the city’s famous sights. There were even sightseeing tours scheduled to catch it from location with a good view. Even the Halloween costumed exam prep students stopped and looked up despite seeing it every single day. Most watched with a jealousy bordering on a hunger, but even they couldn’t hide the light of admiration in their eyes.

They all wanted to soar through the sky.

And that gave them the motivation they needed to crawl along the ground for now. For the not-insignificant period of time called a year.

“Incredible. I wish I could get those witches’ autographs.”

“I know. W-we live in the same city, eep, but they have a completely different aura.”

Excited Dorothea used her bandages to wipe off her fogged-up glasses.

The Maleficium students slept in the same city as everyone else. And there was an unspoken understanding among the entrance exam students that the Maleficium witches didn’t even seem real. Even though those witches flying above them now had all been entrance exam students at one point.

Pass rates and lists of passed students were the best advertisements for prep schools.

Even the sample images for the instant recipes used silver halide photographs or lithographs, but even if you had photos of the Maleficium students and searched all around the city, you would never find one. Did they disguise themselves, or did they distort other people’s perception? Whatever the case, they used some kind of magical camouflage to avoid causing a scene.

But this was not a cruel distinction that would forever be out of reach.

It was a legend with a very real path to reach it.

So maybe it was only natural for the girls to get so excited.

“H-hey, Viocia. Eep. Do you think we can be witches like that next year?”

“Of course we can, Dorothea. Heh heh☆ Let’s study hard and pass the exam together!”

Myousou Yagoro sighed too quietly for them to hear.

He might just have to give her a talking to later on.

### 2

Green District, Block R.

Quite a few witches studied at Caraway Cs Preparatory School and it had a lot of practical lessons.

The boxy building stood 10 stories tall. It looked as generic as the nearby apartment buildings, but keep in mind that it was only “normal” by the standards of Temple School City, where everything was flashy. Much like a government building or courthouse in America, the front entrance was lined with several decorative columns. Not that anyone in this world would know what an American courthouse looks like.

“It’s weird how the letters in the prep school names change sometimes.”

“That’s because climate change changes the region and climate conditions where the herbs grow on Earth.”

Viocia tilted her head at Yagoro’s answer.

Viocia, Dorothea, and so many other girls gathered in a large garage-like space. That was Cauldron classroom. The layout brought back some old memories for Yagoro. Large work tables were lined up at even intervals to give each team plenty of space to work in. It was a lot like a workshop or cooking classroom. The witches formed teams of three where one created, one used, and one spoke. They would each handle one of the Three Aspects when using Cauldron classroom.

As a witch prep school, all the students were girls, so the atmosphere seemed somehow sweet. In fact…

“(Hey, Viocia. You’re sneaking snacks during class again, aren’tcha!?)”

“(I-I’m studying. I’m experimenting by testing new recipes.)”

Myousou Yagoro was not a student here.

He was only sneaking in to support Viocia’s studies. Since he was only 17, he didn’t stand out too much in the school.

“(I still think they’d get mad at you if they realized you were here, teacher.)”

“(I’m not the only one. There are tutors, fortune tellers, and other outsiders mixed in. While classes are fixed for the year in compulsory education, this is a prep school. I doubt anyone really knows everyone they’re sharing a classroom with.)”

That wasn’t the only reason, though.

There was one crucial difference between a prep school and a normal school.

“Okay, before your practical lesson, I need all of you to totally open up your Formula Brooms. I need you to remember this part. Long ago, men who used magic with their own power were called wizards and women who used magic by borrowing power from nature or others were called witches. Witch powers were, like, really powerful, but they were a real pain in the ass if the witch lost control. Those failures were blown way out of proportion and witches were totally seen as walking disasters at one time.”

Schanze Dwelling.

The instructor standing at the lectern and guiding the students through the interior maintenance work was a woman in her 20s.

“But things totally changed after all knowledge of this world’s magic was lost. That’s why all new magic is based on the knowledge, like, dragged out of another world called Earth. That means it can only be used by borrowing someone else’s power. In other words, the only magic that can for real be used anymore is the female witch magic. But remember – the risk of losing control is totally still there, so you need to be careful. Everyone takes Formula Brooms for granted, but they’re not just super convenient witchcraft devices.”

Her brown skin tone likely wasn’t its natural color. She had thoroughly tanned it all using Sunlight Seals, a type of talisman infused with the power of sunshine. Her long blonde hair was wrapped several times atop her head, giving it a lot of body. Her large chest was covered by a black vest and a leopard-print show-off bra, she wore a scrunchie on her wrist, and her hips were surrounded by a tight ultra-miniskirt. She also wore a necktie, fishnet stockings held up by a garter belt, and bright red stilettos. A blouse was not erroneously omitted from that description – she really wasn’t wearing one. That meant her smooth shoulders and oblong navel were uncovered and what should have been a teacher-like suit ended up making her look more like a casino dealer. Altogether, the gyaru-style instructor had Mont Blanc colors.

“(Ugh, I’ll totally do any job as long as it pays, but I’m a self-taught witch who never graduated from Maleficium, so what the hell am I doing teaching kids how to pass the entrance exam?)”

“We can hear you say that, you know?” whispered Myousou Yagoro.

Yes. Self-taught witches could still use magic even if they hadn’t gotten into Maleficium.

All they needed was a Formula Broom, whether it was bought at a store or inherited as a family heirloom. And once it was hers, she could take it apart and perform some level of maintenance and adjustments.

But Maleficium witches could go a step further and remodel their Formula Broom.

That was a taboo that went beyond simple maintenance, which only ensured it was safe to use, or even minor adjustments, which were used to optimize it and fully harness its original specs. By crossing that line and altering the core, they could draw out power well above the design specs and even change the element and nature of the broom. But the core was considered off limits for good reason. Opening it up created the risk of the broom losing all power.

Only the witches who passed the entrance exam could cross that line.

Would you rely on borrowed power, or would you push that world of magic to new heights?

Getting into Maleficium greatly expanded a witch’s options.

“I totally don’t care as long as I get my money. So pay me please. Anyway, let’s start by reviewing the basics of a witch and her broom. These days, the Formula Broom is totally the standard partner for a witch, but there are old stories of some crazy witches who flew around on a fencepost, a giant mortar, or even a pig.”

This was one clear difference between compulsory education and a prep school. At a prep school, the student paid to be taught how to pass the exam. None of the teachers here were thoughtful educators who cared at all about instilling healthy ways of thinking into their students or teaching them communication skills instead of just cramming the lessons into their minds .

So as long as it didn’t interfere with their pay, the instructors here wouldn’t question or kick out an outsider like Yagoro. Sadly, the teachers at Carraway Cs Preparatory School weren’t going to put themselves at risk to protect their students from trouble.

Whispered voices could be heard in Cauldron classroom, which used the gentle lighting of Moonlight Seals to avoid damaging all the old books and antiques inside. The boy mixed in with them was being observed from a distance.

“(That’s the famous Navigate Exam.)”

“(I hear any student who signs a tutoring contract with that sailor is guaranteed to get into Maleficium.)”

He really wished they would stop spreading those rumors. He only wore the white sailor uniform to fit into a world with naked cloak vampires and bandaged zombie girls walking around. And he had never asked anyone to use that silly nickname.

“(So he’s the Prince Charming who helps you pass the exam, huh?)”

(Wait, a prince now!? I know I'm dressed in white, but since when did I become royalty? And where did the charming come from!?)

Myousou Yagoro shuddered, but…

“(But is it really true? His name isn’t on any of the prep school lists of successful students, so he must be self-taught.)”

“(Forget self-taught – he’s a boy. He can’t be a witch at all, so he can’t be a graduate. It’s all a bluff.)”

He finally laughed at that one.

Blending into the background to support Viocia was no easy task, but it was easier when the other people around thought he was just a liar. Unlike a sports tournament, the entrance exams were a highly anonymous competition. With the exception of referrals and non-academic admissions, a famous name was more of a hindrance than anything.

And the oblivious girl was already resting her head on her desk and pouting her lips.

“Hmph. Who cares about all this boring theoretical stuff. I want to awaken to unmatched magic power and go zooming off into the night sky.”

“Viocia.”

Had she really taken the exam once already?

Yagoro needed to correct this mistake since it made her sound more like a dreaming 5-year-old than anything.

“ As convenient as it would be, the human body does not contain any magic power. All we have is our willpower, so we need the appropriate knowledge to reach into another world and draw out the power we want to wield. That’s a common misconception, so do be careful.”

“Hweh?”

“Witches in particular borrow all their power. That’s subtly different from using or controlling your power. No matter how powerful your results, you will never grow any further if you lose sight of that fact, don’tcha think? So if you don’t want to be one of the witches who dies plummeting from the sky, make sure you never forget that.”

This was a good opportunity, so the blond tutor spoke to Viocia who was passing folded parchment notes (“Stop that!”) with Zombie Girl Dorothea seated at a different work desk.

“Viocia, how do you view your classmates here?”

“Eh? Well, since we ended up in the same class, we might as well help each other study, right? I wish everyone in Carraway Cs could all pass the exam together.”

“No, that’s not going to cut it.” Yagoro bluntly rejected her interpretation. He kept his voice low but his tone was firm. “Prep schools are not like compulsory education. Everyone paid the hefty price for the same basic textbooks, but everyone has different supplementary materials. Some people don’t have the money and others don’t have the time or focus to read all of the books they bought. And whoever doesn’t have that extra help will lose. That’s how the entrance exam works.”

“But that gives the people with lots of time and money an unfair advantage.”

“And you chose to rely on a tutor yourself, right? You have me this year. That’s a special trump card only you have access to. At the very least, I know I’m not helping anyone else study.”

Viocia groaned awkwardly.

But that she felt guilty about it showed she still had the wrong mindset. If he didn’t correct this soon, it would mentally trip her up down the road. This was even more of a threat than if she let the results of each and every practice exam influence her too much.

“With entrance exams, it simply isn’t possible for everyone to pass. You aren’t in the last place group in a marathon. You need to be secretly doing more than everyone else around you to give you the leg up to win.”

The girl still didn’t look convinced.

Yagoro thought her way of thinking was virtuous, but she needed to learn that wasn’t enough to win here.

“You can’t just be first in this prep school when there are countless prep schools across the city. And there are plenty of students who don’t rely on a prep school after their first failure. Not to mention the students aiming to pass the exam on their first try, even if that’s basically unheard of. Viocia, you need to think of this as competing against every last one of them and aiming for the top spot. More than 99.9999% of hopeful witches fail the exam, so getting into Maleficium isn’t going to be a cakewalk, don’tcha think?”

That was where studying came in. Before flight training with her Formula Broom, she needed to perform maintenance in Cauldron classroom which was lined with shop tools. She also needed to learn about the interior structure of the broom, so this killed two birds with one stone for the prep school.

All the students began to work within their teams, filling the room with the buzz of chattering voices.

A surprised voice rang across the entire classroom.

Sadly, it was Yagoro’s dunce focusing on someone in another team altogether.

“Ehh!? D-Dorothea, your Formula Broom can talk!?”

“Eep? Um, yes. M-my Formula Broom – Lyceum can talk. I-I think everyone’s can?”

“I do indeed speak human language. Question: why do you ask, little girl?”

A somewhat awkward but sullen male voice came from Dorothea’s broom. Was it in a bad mood, or was it always like this?

Viocia’s eyes widened and she tapped at the handle of her own Formula Broom. It of course did not respond.

“Uhhh, Mephistopheles…”

She tearfully rubbed her cheek against it, but the broom she had acquired at a concerningly low price still showed no sign of responding. Even though witches who relied too heavily on their tools usually met an unfortunate fate.

Formula Brooms tended to be named after magical locations in the other world called Earth.

Or more accurately, after the people of this world lost their magic, they had used special lights and vibrations to probe different parts of their world to detect alternate terrain on “the other side”. It sounded a lot like nondestructive testing to Yagoro. The distance between this world and Earth could not be measured in meters. There was some uncertainty what exactly “the other side” even meant, but that vagueness had been used to treat it as if it were close by and gather a vast amount of knowledge from it.

So magical knowledge was based on terrain and thus the magical locations of Earth. It may have been a more expansive version of the counseling technique that viewed someone’s miniature garden to assess their psychology. This meant each Formula Broom could access more than just magical knowledge. They could also access people’s “thoughts” and the “atmosphere” of the location itself. However, no one here considered this creepy. The brooms were treasured as the guides who allowed witches to easily search through massive and inscrutable collections of knowledge.

“You’re so lucky, Dorothea.”

“Um, I think yours is more impressive, Viocia. I mean, how do you even, eep, work with a Formula Broom that won’t communicate with you?”

Viocia pouted her lips and booed while poking at the Formula Broom that had its tip held firmly in place by a giant clip attached to a movable arm installed on the work table.

And she spoke a simple phrase.

“ Break the seal. ”

The broom’s thick handle immediately unraveled .

Like a book’s pages or a scroll, but more accurately like a three blade propeller, it unraveled in a spiraling circle. Each individual page was a map of an area on Earth. Tablets covered in orderly squares of symbols, sigils, and letters were included in places. This was the massive and complex guidepost drawn out by a witch viewing her destination. Since she used the map and not the terrain itself, she could customize it by adding various things to it.

And witches flew through the sky by surpassing the boundaries found on the map.

It was a technique – a miracle – that let them freely and instantly fly across the terrain and borders drawn on the map.

It was the insolence to easily soar over the head of the king who ruled an entire kingdom.

Now, a map of the entire United Kingdom, a map of England, a map of London, and a map of Blythe Road were all treated the same. The scale of the map used had no bearing on the strength or level of the magic. Each map did something different and a witch could not wield all forms of magic by using a full world map. Just like a world map that omitted all the details was no help when treasure hunting in a local field.

(The Flying Scroll, huh?)

Myousou Yagoro wondered just how much of their knowledge and concepts they had imported from Earth. The scary part was how some of it had lost its original meaning, like in a game of telephone.

“Admiration, Antiquity, and Amorality,” continued the gyaru-style prep school instructor named Schanze.

She stepped away from the lectern and slowly walked around each team’s work table.

“A witch’s broom is, like, an invisible whirlpool creating all three of the Three Aspects. That rotational power produces some crazy propulsion that totally harms the world as it pushes the broom forward. So generally speaking, a witch’s broom is constantly moving forward. Making it hover in place or move vertically is totally not possible, so watch out for that.”

“( Trick Question Alert: That’s not quite accurate, don’tcha think? Just because it’s hard doesn’t make it impossible. This could be used as a trap on a practice exam, so be careful, Viocia.)”

“Hweh?”

The dunce’s focus had faded before the trap could even affect her.

It was true a witch’s broom almost always continued forward for stability, just like a paper airplane, but there were some witches who excelled at hovering in place like a helicopter or skimming across the surface like a ground-effect craft. But instead of being seen as a rare skill, they were more seen as acrobats or weirdos.

“Hm, hm♪ Mephistopheles is cool, but I bet it would feel great to fly around on a big dragon or griffin.”

“Yeah, that’s not possible.”

She must not have expected a response. Viocia just about jumped out of her skin and was answered by a wink from Schanze while she checked on each of the teams.

“None of the monsters you see nowadays are natural. They’re totally all Maleficium creations that went wild, which means they were super unfriendly and found a way to run off. There’s no way you could tame one of them☆”

And…

“Huh? Um, th-this is supposed to go…what? Eep.”

Yagoro heard the damp voice of someone on the verge of tears.

It was the glasses zombie girl named Dorothea Rockpool. Unlike Viocia, her broom had a ship’s wheel on the end of the handle. She had gotten Formula Broom – Lyceum’s handle opened like a propeller, but she hadn’t reached the point of tuning her map.

“Aristotle’s philosophy tried to, like, explain all things in the world using only four elements. And that totally led to modern witchcraft and alchemy.”

Schanze spoke smoothly while slowly walking around Culdron classroom, but that was all she did. She spoke on and on like a record, but she did not give specific advice for individual students (although she would tease the students who had captured her interest). Prep schools were not compulsory education. In the world of the entrance exam, it was assumed the failures simply hadn’t been paying attention.

Yagoro was a tutor. He had only snuck into the prep school to watch over Viocia’s studies.

But.

(Ugh, fine.)

“The Lyceum was a Greek garden surrounded by castle walls. So is your guide Aristotle?”

“Eep! Eh? Eh?”

“But that alone isn’t what matters. A tool is only a tool. Don’t let the name and the reputation trick you. When you focus your mind using a broom, there’s always a risk of getting confused. Witch flight requires focusing on the Three Aspects to ignore time and distance and soar above the terrain. How are you handling the other two Aspects? That is, the textual Admiration and the Amorality that takes advantage of biased assumptions.”

“Um, uh, C-Cinderella and a crop failure curse.”

“So including Aristotle’s four elements, is the central formula you’re using ‘transformation’? And the animal acting as the core linking the Three Aspects would be a rat. Check through the text again and you should figure out what parts need maintenance, don’tcha think?”

“Wow,” she said like she had just opened a present.

She drew out just the right symbol on her map to link everything together, so she must have solved her problem.

“Th-thank you, eep, Mr. Tutor!”

She innocently bowed, but Yagoro wasn’t so sure what to think.

In fact, he was kicking himself for this.

Why would he help out another student? Helping one of Viocia’s rivals get a better score would only reduce his student’s odds of passing!

### 3

“Your attention please!!!”

Noise exploded in the beautiful woodgrain gym that had sunlight seals hanging from the ceiling for light.

The students’ heads were rattled.

Gyaru-style instructor Schanze immediately realized her mistake, gave the megaphone in her hand a curious look, and made a slight adjustment to her magic.

“Huh, was my voice, like, too loud? Test, test. Is this totally better?”

This magic was used by witch’s working as tour guides in Temple School City and to organize exam takers at the Maleficium entrance exams, so it wasn’t unusual for it to be the first magic a hopeful witch saw someone use. It was a common experience in the harsh journey toward the exam.

“Okay, let’s try that again. Attention please! Especially you single-failures who’ve been working on your brooms since entering the school. This will totally be your first practical test!!”

Shanze Dwelling struck the floor with the Formula Broom she held upside down. The well-polished wooden floor made the gym look nice at least.

But then lines of light ran lengthwise and widthwise through the floor behind her and 2m square panels started to flip up. The panels disappeared into scattering sparkles of light, revealing a large indoor pool with a depth of more than 5m.

This was the Witch’s Chimney, the indoor training ground the witches used to practice their flight.

It was in an entirely different building from Cauldron classroom which was in the structure building. This was in the adjacent practical building. They looked like two seperate stone buildings erected side by side, but they were secretly connected. Without building standards laws, this world could be sloppy about these things. This one room was a vast, tall space, but there were identical-sized rooms both above and below it.

(This place always impresses me.)

A world without smartphones and air conditioning could seem inconvenient, but they had no trouble at all doing things which were impossible on Earth.

On either end of the room, something dropped from the ceiling. They lowered a lot like movable basketball goals, but they were 10m-tall diving boards. Except they weren’t meant to perform a beautiful dive down into the pool.

This space was designed with only straight lines. A lot of people might think of a magical barrier as a circle drawn on the floor, but straight lines were actually preferred when artificially separating a piece of the landscape from the natural world around it.

Schanze gathered the students’ attention.

“Now that you’re totally done learning the basics and studying the interior structure, it’s finally the time you’ve all been waiting for: the practical lesson. I’ll demonstrate first.”

The diving boards stood around 10m tall and they were positioned around 50m apart.

The pool was 5m deep. That must have been to ensure a student survived if she operated her broom wrong and dropped like a rock.

“The pool water is so clean, but I’ve heard that’s because they have Doctor Fish familiars eat all the filth,” said Viocia. “So if I fail this and fall in, they’ll swarm me and everyone will know I keep staying up too late and don’t take good care of my skin.”

“How about you don’t think about the possibility of failure? You should be focusing on how you’ll be flying on your broom, don’tcha think?”

Also, did students in this world not avoid the word “fail” so it wouldn’t jinx their chances of passing their exam? Even though this exam was for witches who used real magic ?

“Formula Brooms generally move forward. Hovering in place or moving vertically isn’t happening. A witch’s broom totally can’t stay in one place because they fly by destroying the night sky ahead of them and quickly repairing it all in their wake.”

10m was about equivalent to three stories, so reaching the top of the diving board meant climbing zig-zagging stairs with a few landings in between.

As the students’ example, Schanze Dwelling spun her broom like a baton. Her Formula Broom had the surprisingly chic coloration and mature wood grain look of a well-polished executive’s desk. The handle had a thick leather belt attached. That was the reins used to control a horse. And unlike a standard model, it had two small blade-like wings at the end.

(Are those canard wings ?)

“Formula Broom – Lake Padarn. Reveal your guide to me. Answer me, Merlin.”

There was no response.

An awkward silence set in, but this must have been normal for the gyaru-style instructor. Schanze didn’t seem to mind and theatrically pouted her lips.

“Oh, is that how it’s gonna be? You won’t answer me until I totally use your real name?”

She lightly kissed and whispered to the tip of the thick broom that shined like a racecar.

But the voice amplifying magic meant everyone below could hear her just fine.

“Pretty please, Myrddin?☆”

A sticky orange light raced across different parts of the broom, forming magic circles, sigils, and spells. This only made it look more like a racecar.

The Formula Broom had activated.

The gyaru-style instructor stood confidently on the end of the diving board and spoke to the poolside below.

“Witches totally use ointments to assist their flight☆”

Schanze removed the cap from a vial and scooped some white cream out with her fingers. She rubbed that into her broom with her palm. Formula Broom – Lake Padarn ticklishly vibrated side to side.

“You can also use it on yourself to, like, protect yourself from the cold, or you can totally use it on your broom like extra fuel to give it an extra speed boost. But just like with paint and spices, it’ll all go to waste if you just throw everything in at once, so you need to learn your own strengths and weaknesses and decide if you want to enhance the former or make up for the latter.”

With a grunt of effort, Schanze Dwelling raised one leg to mount her broom and then kicked off the 10m diving board with no hesitation whatsoever.

She demonstrated witch flight.

However, there was no blast of light, sonic boom, or any other flashy supernatural phenomenon. Overall, it was very quiet.

Floating would be the best word.

Simply put, running across the gym on foot would have been faster.

However.

“A witch’s broom will generally zoom forward if you don’t do anything to stop it,” continued Schanze while she slowly traveled out at the same height as the diving board. She was confident enough to fly and talk at the same time. “So a slow, stable flight is way harder. Now Witch’s Chimney is an indoor training ground, so it isn’t all that big. You need to learn what it feels like to fly slow and steady while way up high. Once you can do that, flying fast will be totally easy for you. How about this?”

She made it look easy, but when the flying instructor pulled on the reins, her Formula Broom aimed almost straight upwards and decelerated further.

Now she was moving slower than walking speed. Hovering and vertical takeoffs and landings weren’t completely impossible, but they definitely weren’t something your average person could do.

She had the assistance of an ointment made from Iceland moss and sandalwood, which increased stability during low-speed flight, but managing such a slow speed without stalling demonstrated just how much knowledge, technique, and willpower she had as a witch.

Myousou Yagoro was reminded of an old term while he looked up at that special maneuver.

( The cobra ?)

After spending more than a minute coasting across the 50m gap, Schanze placed her feet on the other diving board. Self-taught or not, her skill was very real. She had what it took to teach as a prep school instructor.

After winking, blowing a kiss, and raising a leg to dismount the broom, she gave the students their instructions using her magically amplified voice.

“Attention please. Are you ready? It’s finally time for the practical lesson I know you’ve all been waiting for☆”

The witch students in Halloween costumes rushed toward the only stairway. In no time, the line looked like a store with a good sale shortly before opening time. The most excited girls were the single failures and the ones who had transferred from another prep school. They were the ones who had never used Carraway Cs’s practice facility before.

They were free to use their time how they liked. Ultimately, they weren’t even required to listen to their instructor Schanze.

Unlike a normal school, everyone here had already read all of the textbooks and had already failed the entrance exam at least once. They each had trouble with a different area and it was less important for them to listen to the explanations of other areas.

But it was their own responsibility if they stopped paying attention to everything and couldn’t keep up with the lessons. If their grades suffered as a result, the prep school wasn’t going to return their monthly tuition.

The staircase continued on and on. Next to Yagoro, Viocia used the wait time to pout her lips and flip through some small flash cards. Since it involved memorization, she was likely studying Admiration.

“ATU 0500 is the Supernatural Helper’s Name. ATU 1000 is the Anger Competition.”

“You need to memorize more than just the big round numbers, Viocia. Being lazy isn’t going to help you in the long run.”

“Shut up! There are over a thousand of them! It’s too many!”

“It may be memorization, but it’s useful knowledge, don’tcha think? +1 point: To help memorize as many as possible, you can start with ones where the index title is also the title of the story, since those are easier. For example, ATU 0328a is Jack and the Beanstalk and ATU 0510a is Cinderella. And when the index title is only a description, you can use the same tactic as for studying history: just picture the characters or their personalities and you’ll never forget it. ATU 0124 is Blowing Down the House, but it’s easier to remember if you picture the three little pigs.”

“Ehh? But, teacher, some of these flashcards must be wrong. They have the same number meaning different stories.”

“That’s the tricky part. The letters and asterisks at the end are remnants of some older systems of organization. Just remember that the flow of the story differs depending on the record style. Like how ATU 0315 is the Unfaithful Sister and ATU 0315a is the Man-Eating Sister.”

“Why does it have to be so confusing!?”

Viocia held her head in her hands and took a step up the stairs as the line moved, but then she shouted at Yagoro.

“Th-then what about you, teacher!? What’s ATU 0310!?”

“The Girl in the Tower. But it’s easier to remember by the name Rapunzel, don’tcha think?”

“Darn. So if you know them, you don’t even have to think about it?”

“You need to break your habit of finding people who can’t do what you can’t so you don’t feel as bad. That won’t help you with your exam.”

Just like a farmer had to know the names of the seeds they sowed on their land, ATU numbers were the very foundation of the witch world. A witch had to memorize them, but there was also some organization to how the numbers were laid out. Being able to rattle them off wasn’t something to be proud of.

“Grr. The Aspect of Admiration is just a bunch of fancy stories. It’s so childish. I want to be a more mature witch who’s right at home in the shadows of the night!”

“Verily, thou art a fool.”

“Why are you insulting me in old-timey speak!?”

Viocia literally jumped in surprise, but that was the least of her worries.

There were no cheats or shortcuts for studying. No one was stupid enough to skip to page 50 of their textbook just because working all the math problems was a pain.

“You can’t rank any of the Three Aspects above the other two. No witch can fly without learning all three.”

Which meant you had to learn it all from the beginning. As many times as it took.

If you didn’t understand it, you had to go back and relearn it all from the last point you did understand.

“Specifically, the Aspect of Antiquity produces the power, but the extreme mental concentration of using a broom creates a risk of confusion. With the Aspect of Admiration, you use the motif of a text to control that power and apply the brakes. Now, Viocia, what role is provided by the Aspect of Amorality – by the Black Mass that intentionally includes people’s biases and malice against witches?

“1. Applies a weight for stability.

“2. Explosively amplifies the power by intentionally pushing it beyond control.

“3. Purifies the power by passing it through a special filter.”

“???”

“The correct answer is 2.”

Yagoro raised two fingers for the girl who, for some reason, was hesitant to guess at a multiple choice question.

“The Aspect of Amorality is a tricky one to get your head around, so some people end up falling for the baseless discrimination and lies and start worshiping a demon because they believe the power of the Black Mass is real. On the other hand, the Aspect of Admiration is the most simplified, so it’s easy to understand. That’s why it’s so valuable as a brake when you need one right away. You can learn that one just by memorizing the texts, so you don’t have to learn how to apply it or work any complex calculations. To be blunt, only an idiot wouldn’t learn it, don’tcha think?”

The line was slowly moving forward. And upward since they were climbing stairs.

The 10m climb covered three flights of stairs. Some might find that height nerve-wracking, but…

“Wow, we’re really high now! I’m so excited!!”

“Viocia. I get that, so stop swinging your broom around. You’ll knock someone off.”

Yagoro quietly cautioned the girl with the beaming smile.

She was not afraid of heights. If anything, they energized her.

That might seem silly, but it may have been one of the qualities looked for in a witch.

Once they arrived at the top, it was finally time for Viocia and Dorothea to use the prep school’s practice facility for the first time.

Yagoro heard a quiet groan.

Zombie Girl Dorothea shrank down when she saw the diving board. The tearful look behind her glasses said this was more about not wanting to be the center of attention than it was about a fear of heights. She was an extremely rare case among all the prep school students rushing in to practice as much as possible.

“Dorothea, let’s play rock-paper-scissors for it!!”

“Eep!? Eh? Ehh!?”

“Darn, my rock lost. You get to go first, Dorothea.”

“Ehh? Eep. Y-y-y-y-you can go first.”

The nervous girl with slipping glasses had won, but she let her friend go ahead of her. It wasn’t Yagoro’s problem, but could she really come out on top in the exam like this?

Meanwhile, Viocia must have sensed that insisting Dorothea go first would get them nowhere, so she walked out ahead.

“Then I’ll go first. Now to get Mephistopheles ready. I’ll rub that ointment on him.”

“Hey, Viocia, what ointment are you using?”

“What else, teacher? I used black myrobalan and ginger for some extra fuel.”

(Wait. Doesn’t that provide extreme acceleration? Like an afterburner!?)

“Since slow speeds are so unstable, I figured flying will be way easier if I have enough speed. And with that, Viocia Modestlucky is off!”

“No, wai-”

The explosive sound was a lot like an artillery blast.

She had blasted off and stabbed her broom into the ceiling.

The indoor pool was more than 50m long, but the entire structure really did tremble vertically.

What did she think would happen? Had she not given a single thought to the obvious outcome of using so much acceleration in an enclosed space like the Witch’s Chimney indoor training ground?

The gyaru-style instructor looked up at the ceiling from the other diving board and sounded legitimately impressed.

“Wow. We have the deep pool in case someone falls, but we totally didn’t expect anyone to run into the ceiling.”

“Ughhh.”

Woozy Viocia dropped into the pool with her witch’s broom in hand. Unfortunately, there was nothing Yagoro could do for her here. That unnatural toughness was her one strong point.

And seeing such a spectacular failure only made the shy bandage zombie girl more nervous.

“Eep.”

(Yeah, I’m not surprised.)

Dorothea had petrified while holding her Formula Broom in her hands and shrinking down.

Yagoro was a personal tutor, so he didn’t need to help out any of the other students. In fact, increasing another girl’s score would only hurt Viocia’s chances. He knew that, but what about in this case? Maybe he should help when Viocia was the source of the trouble.

“Um, uh, don’tcha think?”

“Eep!? Um, what?”

“Look at it this way: anything you do now will look great by comparison. Takes some of the pressure off, don’tcha think? Or you could touch something cold to forcibly relax that tension.”

Dorothea hesitantly did as he suggested by holding the solid tip of her broom. It appeared to work.

It was probably best not to tell his was based on the Earth knowledge that touching the icy demon of the Black Mass would never be pleasant and would only scatter your focus.

“O-okay.”

Dorothea retied the bandage around her forehead like a headband. Maybe it helped her focus.

The shy glasses and bandages girl uncapped a vial and rubbed the ointment on herself instead of her broom. Yagoro felt like she would scold him if he watched her fingers running along her skin.

He couldn’t know what the exact recipe was, but he detected the scent of a few different herbs.

(The ones I can sense the most clearly are common agrimony and common ash. So is it meant to make her body seem lighter than it is?)

That too was an important factor in flight.

Dorothea mounted her broom and muttered something under her breath. As if in prayer.

“Formula Broom – Lyceum. …P-please answer me, Aristotle.”

A pattern drawn in pale light appeared on the broom. Red, yellow, blue, and green lights raced across it.

She grabbed the round grip that resembled a ship’s wheel and leaned forward. She stared at the other diving board 50m ahead.

She shifted her weight forward.

She was mere seconds away from throwing herself off the diving board and into the air.

“?”

Yagoro noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye.

He turned around to see one of the witch students – a naked cloak vampire – fidgeting with something. The crowd was in the way, but he saw her coat a 30cm wax doll with oil and stick a long needle in it.

The doll was modeled after the victim, it had the victim’s hair or nail inside, and it was given a temporary baptism to create a link with its victim. That way any damage done to the doll would affect its designated target as well.

Curses were another form of witchcraft.

They were just one of the vast amounts of knowledge a witch had to learn when studying for the entrance exam.

However…

(Who is stupid enough to actually use them!? And just to trip up a fellow student!?)

“Oh, no. Schanze!!” shouted the blond boy.

Schanze Dwelling must have noticed what was happening too. On the other diving board, she pulled a parchment talisman from her pocket with a swiftness not usually associated with her gyaru look.

She tightly gripped the talisman that included a willow leaf as a purifying herb of the water element which also carried the power of revenge. And the witch spoke a word of power.

“I’m totally sending that back at you. Mycpeblis!!!”

“Gah!”

The vampire girl doubled over. The curse had been returned to its caster with a last-second exorcism, so the physical damage wouldn’t have actually reached Dorothea.

But she had always been a timid girl.

The unexpected accident caused her to screw up the timing of her jump and her foot slipped below her.

She fell.

“Eep!? Ahh!”

“Dammit!!”

Why should Yagoro have to do this for someone other than Viocia? He didn’t have time to ask himself that. He didn’t even hesitate to kick off the diving board and dive into the deep pool.

He dropped 10m in a flash.

He couldn’t see the great pillar of water he had created. In fact, he had sunk so deep and sharp, he had to swim back up to reach the drowning girl.

The depth was necessary to prevent injury if someone fell, but 5m was too deep to stand on the bottom. This was a literally life-or-death problem for the panicked drowning girl.

(Damn, I should’ve removed my corset and parchment armor before I dived in!)

He thought back to his water landing training when he was in the Force. He had been kicked into a deep pool with an open parachute attached. Not that that knowledge would be much use in this world since he wouldn’t be fighting enemies in a flying weapon here.

Yagoro circled behind Dorothea, whose bandages had partially come undone when she hit the water, and pulled both their heads from the water by more or less pinning her arms behind her back.

“Pwah! Breathe, Dorothea. You’re safe now, so take slow, deep breaths!!”

“Cough, cough, ughh!! Cough!”

Yagoro noticed something while grabbing and pulling up the drowning bandage zombie girl.

She had applied her witch’s ointment to her body and when he breathed in, he mostly detected common agrimony and common ash. He knew the ointment was meant to assist her flight by making her body seem lighter, but…

(Wait. Is that what I think it is?)

Applying an ointment to the body to protect the witch like a flight suit was fine. So was applying it to the broom for additional fuel like an afterburner. Artificially lightening the body was another valid strategy.

How a witch used her ointment was up to her. Just like with paint and spices, you couldn’t just throw everything in at once, so it was important to decide whether you would enhance your strengths or make up for your weaknesses.

But this couldn’t be explained by a single witch using a single ointment.

The girl who had fallen in earlier doggy-paddled over. Her long skirt had spread out to around her in the pool.

“Dorothea, I found your glasses!”

“You idiot, don’t approach a drowning girl from the front! Are you trying to get yourself killed, Viocia!?”

### 4

Myousou Yagoro was not having a good time.

He didn’t have a change of clothes, so he was stuck being soaked. The parchment armor he wore under his clothes felt especially gross. At least he bleached his hair before dying it blond, so getting it wet didn’t matter.

“…”

“What are you doing here?”

Gyaru-style instructor Schanze Dwelling did not sound pleased to see him when he entered the faculty break room. Not too surprising when he was an outsider who wasn’t paying a monthly tuition.

Flight practice wouldn’t normally be called off if a witch in training fell into the pool, but this had involved a wax doll curse, albeit an unsuccessful one. The students were stuck doing self study for the rest of the period.

Dorothea Rockpool was resting in the infirmary.

She had gotten some water in her windpipe, but she would be fine. Physically, anyway. The psychological trauma was outside Yagoro’s area of expertise.

“How is she doing?”

“Hm? Oh, you mean Miss Dorothea Rockpool?”

The gyaru-style instructor thought for a second and must have decided the lip service wasn’t necessary with an outsider. She dropped the “miss” as she continued.

“To be honest, Dorothea is going to have a rough time.”

Yagoro breathed a heavy sigh.

He’d thought as much.

“Her grades totally aren’t bad. She lives on her own, but it’s a stable life and she’s economically capable of focusing on studying for the exam. Of course, that’s led to some pain-in-the-ass envy from the students who have to work part-time while studying. But on the physical side, there’s her size, which totally can’t be overcome with hard work.”

Her ointment was made to make her seem lighter than she was.

That meant the shy glasses girl had feared this and worked to eliminate that weakness.

“Now, that’s totally not worth getting bent out of shape over. If she only wants to be a self-taught witch, anyway.”

Schanze intentionally pushed out her voluptuous chest.

Her obvious curves had a way of drawing the male eye. In other words, she had a nice distribution of subcutaneous fat. And while she couldn’t say so in front of other women, that made her that much heavier. She had not grown in just that one direction. She had also grown tall as if to strike a nice overall balance. The same could be said about the silver-haired, brown-skinned used bookseller who appeared to have a Formula Broom. That was part of who Yagoro had pegged her as a self-taught witch when he first met her.

Schanze Dwelling interrupted his thoughts with a definitive statement.

“ But that changes if she wants to get into Maleficium. ”

“I imagine it would.”

“It’s a totally simple fact that lighter is better for a flying witch. Maleficium is a crazy selective school that rejects more than 99.9999% of hopeful students without batting an eye. It’s worth assuming that a single extra kilogram – no, a single extra gram – could mean the difference between passing and failing. Of course, being light alone isn’t enough to ensure you pass.”

“Earning as many points as possible is the standard rule of entrance exams.”

And those who couldn’t pick up a point within their reach would be failed without mercy.

He understood that.

And yet…

“But this a different issue, don’tcha think?”

“Hm?”

“Dorothea Rockpool isn’t just using a standard ointment. She’s using something else too. Isn’t it your job as an instructor to ensure things like that don’t find their way into the prep school?”

“Maybe if I got paid extra for it.”

Yagoro heard a distant voice calling “teacher!”

Viocia innocently jogged up to him.

That signaled the end of the conversation.

Schanze stood from her seat and left the tutor alone with his student.

“Here’s a towel, teacher. Wow, you still look like a drowned rat.”

“I already told you I don’t have a change of clothes.”

“Oh, right! Hee hee. Then I’ll dry you off with my specialty: the fire magic I just learned.”

“Please notice the contradiction there, Viocia. Before you set me ablaze.”

Viocia’s face lit up with excitement, so he had to put a stop to this before she turned into a little arsonist.

Witch and tutor were both hungry. After all the delays, they couldn’t use the school cafeteria, so they would have to buy some bread at the school store.

“Ugh, I really am worried. What if I keep failing the exam? I don’t want to get a normal job.”

“Don’t worry. We’re paying good money to study here, so we’ll be fine! The teachers all say so. I mean, when there are professional instructors to teach you, studying at home instead of a prep school is basically suicide.”

Yagoro quietly sighed at the conversation he overheard between two girls passing by.

Continuing your education was better than getting a job and a prep school was better than studying at home. Those salary-obsessed adults had done a great job of convincing the girls they were the best option. If the instructors’ claims were to be believed, then the 99.9999% failure rate wouldn’t exist in the first place. Then again, who you trusted and how you chose to study was part of the exam-taking process. Simply taking someone’s claims at face value was just asking for trouble.

The cafeteria and school store were in Carraway Cs’s structure building.

There was quite a crowd there, but coincidence played in their favor. The prep school girls didn’t want to be anywhere near soaking-wet Myousou Yagoro, so the crowd parted in front of them.

“Wow. It’s like I can see your charisma in action, teacher!”

“Can’t say I’m happy about it. Anyway, where’s the usual girl? Dorothea, I mean.”

“She brought her lunch. She makes her own lunch every single day. I wish I could do that☆”

(Makes her own lunch, huh? Is that a sign she avoids eating out because she can’t control how healthy the food is?)

Yagoro’s thoughts turned toward what he had recently learned.

That was another standard concern for witch’s preparing for the exam.

“I think she’ll meet up with us later,” said Viocia.

“I see.”

Viocia had to be boarding somewhere in Temple School City since she had come from her grandmother’s house deep in the woods, but based on her earlier comment, Yagoro had to wonder what her lodging situation was like.

“Red is fire. Yellow is wind. What is blue?”

“Um…water!”

Yagoro gave her a problem while using the metal tongs to grab a product from the shelf. That said, they didn’t have anything like stuffed breads here. It was all instant lists and example lithographs of the finished product held between glass panels. In other words, it was all witch recipes. That meant you could only choose from premade options, but it would all appear with only a wave of a broom.

“Since you can’t use a Formula Broom, I’ll do it for you, teacher! Happy Halloween!”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Yagoro, grabbing the recipe for a sandwich containing hot vegetables seasoned with salt and pepper. He didn’t really need to worry about his diet since a tutor wouldn’t be taking the exam, but he decided chowing down on something unhealthy while Viocia was restricting her diet would form a crack in the trust between them.

“Yay! They have a new product. A dessert sandwich with whipped cream and five kinds of cut fruit. I need to try that!!”

Hitting her head with the borrowed tongs would have been unhygienic, so he kicked her instead. Right in her shin.

“Ow!? A-are you the kind of hotblooded teacher who believes in corporal punishment?”

Oops. He’d fallen into a bad habit he picked up when building up his body in the Force.

Even though that sort of thing had felt out of place for him since he had only wanted to reach outer space at the time.

(Then again, the witch legends from Earth suggest they too used corporal punishment against rulebreakers.)

“I agree it’s a major problem that this world’s culture allows me to do that in a school, but let’s talk about something a little more close to home, Viocia. Are you kidding me?”

“But they say you need sugar to fuel your brain.”

“A favorite excuse of the weak. Salt, fat, vitamins, and minerals are all necessary, don’tcha think?”

“Vita-whats?”

Yagoro coughed. That term must not have existed in this world yet, so he had only confused his student.

“And working your brain isn’t going to drain your nutrients until you grow visibly emaciated. Throw out those convenient girly fantasies and focus on reality.”

“Ugh.”

“Eat that and you will gain weight.”

“Do you have to be so blunt with a girl in a moment of weakness!? I mean…don’t I deserve a treat after all that studying? It’s a necessary investment to keep my motivation up!”

“That way of thinking is the whole problem, don’tcha think? You’re paying good money to attend this prep school. If you want to pass the exam, you need to make yourself enjoy the time you spend studying.”

“Are you saying I should brainwash myself to like studying?”

Sketchy sleep learning using a wind-up phonograph was one thing, but if you could get into Maleficium by stuffing all the necessary knowledge directly into the brain, everyone would be doing it.

“Boo.”

Viocia pouted her lips and then hit a little too close to home.

With the innocence of a 5-year-old.

“Your life must be really boring, teacher. What can you do with magic, anyway?”

“You can pass the exam, don’tcha think?”

That was all Yagoro said while clacking the metal tongs together a few times.

(Yes. There is no easy path to passing the exam.)

That reminded him of something else.

Dorothea Rockpool and the strange scent he had sensed on her skin.

(Which is why shortcuts like that are such a bad idea.)

### 5

Dorothea Rockpool was in the infirmary.

She hated that sterile white room. It reeked of disinfectant. It was an artificial space created by repeatedly driving out all signs of nature for the convenience of the humans.

She tried to throw out that meaningless fantasy.

But she couldn’t.

“Uh,” she groaned as she got up from the bed. The back of her throat hurt. Was that because she had swallowed so much pool water? And that pool water that creeped her out because it was so thoroughly purified by those artificial familiars.

(It’s lunchtime. I need to get my lunch and join Viocia.)

She spent a few minutes feeling around for her glasses. She noticed her ears felt strange and then realized that was the temples of her glasses, meaning she was already wearing them.

She bit her lip.

Was she really this useless?

She had done poorly on the last practice exam. She had just barely remained at Rank C and she still showed room for improvement, but that room for improvement wasn’t nearly enough to reach Maleficium. This wasn’t like getting into an ordinary school, so she had to work even harder. She needed every point she could get. She needed every advantage over the other girls she could get. But she couldn’t even reach the one point right in front of her.

Her weight.

Her height.

Being big was a plus for knights and martial artists, but not so for witches.

Witches flew, so being small and light was best.

“Wh-what…” she muttered, squeezing the edge of the blanket in her hands. “Eep. What am I supposed to do?”

She had known she was growing faster than her peers even back during her compulsory education. When her classmates had said she looked “mature”, she had pushed herself to respond with a modest smile. The way the boys had looked at her had of course bothered her. But when she was growing and growing back then, she hadn’t imagined it would cause so much trouble in the future. Everyone knew you weren’t supposed to discriminate based on physical characteristics, but that didn’t apply in this ruthless competition.

Anyone who couldn’t earn this one point would fail in the very end. She had experienced it already.

(I can’t go to Viocia. Sh-she could never understand how I feel.)

Dorothea was afraid Viocia would innocently say she was jealous of Dorothea.

That friend always had a bright smile on her face and she meant no harm, but her small and slight build was everything Dorothea wished she had. Seeing what was forever out of her reach was painful at times, so Dorothea couldn’t open up to that girl about this.

Which left only one option.

“A-Aristotle.”

Her partner was always there for her.

A witch must always keep her broom with her, so it was leaning against the wall nearby.

“Formula Broom – Lyceum. I-I don’t want to change. Eep. Can I still get into Maleficium?”

She wasn’t expecting a response.

While Formula Brooms could talk, they were not boutique clerks. They didn’t need to smile politely for a young girl.

But she did hear a voice.

And it was undoubtedly speaking to the lonely girl.

“Conclusion: the odds are quite low. Quitting now would honestly be the wise decision.”

“Eh?”

For a moment, she didn’t understand what he meant. She even stopped breathing. She only felt a tingling in the back of her head, which pushed in from the sides of her vision like a sandstorm.

She couldn’t stop it. This was the exact opposite of her faint hope. The Formula Broom’s response was even more cruelly precise than a slide rule.

“This should be obvious based on your practice exam results. You are currently Rank C and the average percentage increase in results is 0.03%. Conclusion: even if you work consistently to improve until the day of the exam, you will not reach the passing line. And your efforts have already reached their upper limit. Odds of a miraculous increase in your results at this point: 0.”

“Stop.”

Which ATU number was this? Right, it was ATU 0709.

The Earth text called Snow White included a magic mirror.

But.

The truths revealed by the mirror were all cruel things that drove its owner to her ruin. If the beautiful stepmother hadn’t had that tool, she never would have gone down the path of evil and would have lived out her life both attractive and happy.

“N-no more!!!”

“If you choose to ignore your physical inadequacies and focus on learning as much as possible, you will need at least 5 more years of studying. Report: you would then have a chance of passing assuming no prominent rivals appeared in the meantime. But, Dorothea, your family said you were only allowed one failure and you agreed to return home if you failed a second time. The conditions you need cannot occur unless you solve that problem.”

That wasn’t possible.

She had needed to cry and beg to get permission to come here and try to become a witch in the first place. It had taken a week before her puffy eyes recovered. Her shopkeeper parents must have given her permission more out of exasperation than anything. They had told her to return and inherit the family store once she had gotten this witch thing out of her system. They said she had to take responsibility as the eldest daughter.

“Eep. Uh, ahh.”

Another year after this one wasn’t an option.

It simply wasn’t possible. She thought and she thought but there was no solution!!

If she tried to convince them, she just knew they would tie a rope around her and drag her back home if they had to.

Then the life she had dreamed of really would be over.

“Ahhhh!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

“Conclusion: your dream cannot come true unless you reduce your weight. Otherwise passing the Maleficium entrance exam is logically impossible.”

He was so mean.

How could he be so mean?

She couldn’t do anything more than she already was. She couldn’t lose any more weight. What could she do when she kept growing taller no matter how much she cut back on her food? It didn’t even have anything to do with the material they were studying. How was that fair!?

Dorothea held her head and screamed, but her Formula Broom did not hold back. The cutting-edge witchcraft device simply accurately and precisely answered the question it was given. Because it was not human.

“Then…”

The tears fell. Her mask was stripped away. She tasted blood from the lip she was biting.

She had not been lazy about making her dream come true. She had studied every single day, she had kept her weight down as much as possible, and she had worked so hard to fight her own growth. In all seriousness, she was pretty sure she had shortened her lifespan doing it. She had even done that one thing. So how was it possible she hadn’t earned a single point from it all!?

So she screamed.

Her face crumbled below the weight of the world’s unfairness.

“Then…wh-wha-what am I supposed to do, Aristotle!!?”

The foolish girl kept making the same mistake.

Hadn’t this all begun when she sought answers from a mere object?

And the witch’s broom answered.

Mercilessly.

“ Suggestion: you need only let me take care of everything. ”

### 6

“Huh? Dorothea’s really late today.”

“She was in the infirmary, so she might not be feeling good, don’tcha think?”

Having a daily routine was important. You couldn’t let yourself get mentally distracted or neglect your physical habits. This was true of bathing and sleeping, but those little things could also influence the overall effectiveness of your studies.

That was when it happened.

Yagoro didn’t think there was any kind of warning.

He heard a dull clang. It was a metallic sound. He looked over to see a change in the closest window. Thick metal bars wrapped in rose vine decorations had dropped down like a guillotine.

They were suddenly shut in.

A deluge of clanging sounds spread from right to left, so it wasn’t just this one window. Every one of the building’s windows was solidly sealed off. Probably the doors as well.

An alarm rang.

The flowers in the vases around the school were all fake. And those fake flowers all opened their mouths to play an announcement.

“Emergency alert. A Voland has been detected on Carraway Cs Preparatory School grounds.”

The female voice was awfully robotic.

This must have been prerecorded on a wax cylinder.

“Repeat: A Voland has been detected on school grounds. The entire building has been locked down to ensure the damage does not spread to the surrounding area. All faculty should follow Countermeasure B and all students should swiftly follow the faculty’s instructions. This is not a drill.”

“Eh?”

Viocia clearly didn’t understand.

She sprang up from her break room chair.

“Ehh!? Um, teacher. What is a Voland? What is happening!?”

“Someone – a witch – has been taken over by her Formula Broom.”

Formula Brooms were not just convenient tools. Everyone had to already know they had minds of their own and could talk.

But because they had a mind of their own, a relationship with them was not guaranteed to remain favorable forever.

They came with a unique problem.

“That’s called a Voland, or Demon Lord. A Formula Broom is only a tool, but by hijacking their master’s body, they obtain physical freedom .”

Humans did not have anything as convenient as magic power.

All they had was their willpower. They used their willpower to absorb fuel from a mindless world and used that to power their magic.

But a Voland could absorb far more power than a human, which let them wield a massive amount of energy. This was not a good thing, however. When a human was placed in that extreme situation with no preparation whatsoever, that power would be triggered by dust, water droplets, and any other miniscule objects in the air around them and their runaway power would harm their body. Much like a supersonic aircraft crashing after sucking in garbage or accreting ice. But in exchange, they briefly gained a maximum firepower far greater than anything even the elites of Maleficium could produce. Even if every studying witch at this prep school banded together, they would all be slaughtered by that self-destructive power.

It would be over in the blink of an eye.

They would quite literally be reduced to a pool of blood.

“Please avoid using the S1 unofficial exit on the practical building’s 1st floor, the S2 shaft exit in the headmaster’s office, the S3 underground steam line exit, or the S4 emergency stairs on the structure building’s rooftop as their safety has yet to be confirmed.”

“Um, unofficial exit? Underground? What??? I’ve never heard of any of that,” said Viocia.

“…”

From the outside, the buildings looked like two similar stone buildings built side by side, but they actually had secret passageways and rooms both underground and below the roof. And the girls who attended the school hadn’t been told about them. Carraway Cs was, after all, an educational institution meant to train witches.

From the sound of this, the people at the top had escaped through the secret exits before having all the doors and windows locked down.

“The trick will be surviving until the Benandanti arrive, don’tcha think?”

“Benan-whatty?”

“Benandanti. When this happens, those monsters fly their brooms in from Maleficium . But we’re toast if we run into the Voland before they arrive.”

The building might as well have been a giant labyrinth with humans and a wild beast released inside.

They had no choice but to run away on their own until the hunter with a giant bow arrived to save them. If they ran into the beast before then, they would have to curse their bad luck and give up.

When a Voland so much as stood there, all human life was less valuable than simple scraps of paper.

The prep school was full of witches with Formula Brooms. And they had all failed the exam at least once before. That meant they were all inexperienced witches who carried dangerous Formula Brooms despite lacking the skill of a true witch. The odds of a Voland appearance were highest in a prep school. Which was why most prep schools had countermeasures in place.

They would not let the Voland cause damage outside the school, even if it meant trapping the inexperienced survivors inside with it.

(An internal “accident” can be covered up, but an “incident” that escapes outside their walls would be a major scandal. God, this is the problem with those salary-obsessed prep schools!!)

Yagoro noticed a familiar back up ahead.

The blonde-haired, brown-skinned gyaru-style instructor didn’t even try to hide that she was running away instead of doing her job.

“Schanze, where do you think you’re going? Don’t you need to guide the students to safety?”

“Totally not my problem.”

Her response was about as blunt as it could get.

She was supposed to be a teacher, but she showed no guilt whatsoever.

“I’m not a noble-minded government-hired teacher working at a normal school. I’m a prep school instructor who gets paid to teach and then goes home. Why should I risk my life to protect the customers now that we’re totally trapped in here with a Voland? Not happening. Or do you know some reason I should bother?”

Apparently the idea that the customer is god didn’t exist in this world. Of course, it was apparently an entertainer who originally said that, so it wasn’t even based on economic logic.

“So the instant I decide I’m not getting paid enough for what I’m being asked to do, I am totally out of here. There’s no way I’m guiding anyone in here. For that matter, all the windows and doors are locked down and there’s a Voland in here. Nowhere is safe.”

Yagoro breathed a heavy sigh.

He roughly brushed a hand through his unnatural blond hair.

“Oh, really? Then why do you bother humoring Viocia when she starts talking about stupid stuff like dragons or griffins during a lecture? It’s not like the student is going to tip you.”

“Gh.”

The gyaru-style instructor’s shoulders shook.

If she couldn’t stick to her indifferent act, he had to lay on the pressure.

“And you immediately took action to protect Dorothea from that wax doll curse in the indoor training ground. That exorcism-style defense magic introduces the risk of you being affected by the curse too if you screw it up, don’tcha think? But you didn’t even hesitate.”

“~ ~ ~”

“It’s true a self-taught witch can choose whatever job she wants. But that means you like it here, so are you really going to throw all that away now, Schanze? It’s not too late.”

Viocia looked up at the tanned blonde gyaru.

With quite a few tears in her eyes.

Schanze tried looking away, but her awkward sweating finally reached its limit.

“Oh, hell! Stop it with the crazy guilt-tripping, you little villain!! I totally want to run off and ensure my own safety, but now I can’t do that no matter how much I want to!!!”

“Do your job, Schanze. If you don’t, I’ll play a sappy music box to really stir up those feelings. Do I need to turn you into the kind of hotblooded teacher who covers her face and cries in front of a student?”

Schanze really did stomp her feet in frustration, but since she stopped herself at the last second, she wasn’t a bad teacher deep down. Someone who was truly rotten to the core wouldn’t have felt any reluctance to leave. Someone who had to work hard to harden their heart could be convinced by the words of someone close to them. And as indifferent and irresponsible as gyarus could seem, they tended to care a lot about bonds and feelings.

“You don’t actually have to fight the Voland. All you need to do is use some kind of magic to blow a hole in a wall or floor to let the trapped students escape. As a self-taught witch without the backing of an educational history, you must have a ton of trump cards hidden away just in case, right? The kind of thing that’s too powerful to let anyone know about.”

“It’s risky no matter what we do in here!”

The prep school instructor looked ready to go with her Formula Broom at the ready, so Yagoro figured he could entrust the rest of the students with her. He would take care of Viocia. He couldn’t allow her to get hurt no matter what happened.

But his pale-faced student was looking all around.

“Um, where’s Dorothea?”

“…”

“The instructors are taking roll, but I don’t see her anywhere. Do you think no one thought to go get her from the infirmary?”

Yagoro slapped his forehead.

He had a pretty good idea who the Voland was now.

“…Teacher?”

Viocia seemed to sense something in his brief silence.

If only she could remain clueless when it came to this.

“Wait, teacher. You aren’t saying what I think you are, are you!? Please tell me you aren’t!”

“It’s Dorothea Rockpool.”

The girl’s voice caught in her throat.

The intensity of her silence told him she too knew it had to be true.

“I-it’ll be okay,” she finally said.

“…”

“Those…Benandanti? Anyway, those elite special forces from Maleficium are coming!! So they’ll have Dorothea saved in no time!”

Lying with a smile would have been the kinder option.

He knew needlessly increasing her worries wouldn’t help their situation.

But Myousou Yagoro still shook his head.

This girl was worried about her friend and he didn’t want to gain her trust with lies.

“The Benandanti are only interested in eliminating the Voland.”

“You mean…?”

“They’ll have redefined the hijacked witch and the ferocious Formula Broom together as Demon Lord Aristotle, don’tcha think? They don’t see their opponent as human anymore, so they won’t hold back. Those monsters don’t care at all what happens to the Voland’s ‘vessel’.”

He didn’t get a chance to say more.

Viocia spun around.

He could easily imagine what she was about to do.

And because he knew…

“Viocia!”

He firmly called out to stop her.

This had to be a crossroads. A major one. So he couldn’t let her choose rashly.

He was a tutor, so he had to present his student with the problem even if it meant becoming a villain.

“Listen. Saving your friend won’t help you pass the exam, don’tcha think? In fact, if you do save Dorothea and she goes back to studying, it could reduce your odds of passing.”

“…”

“Maleficium fails more than 99.9999% of the exam-takers who show up from all over, but you have a reason you want to pass that exam and get in, don’tcha?”

Viocia was silent.

Except for the quiet noise of biting her lip.

“But…but.”

Her voice was frail.

But not for long. She stared straight into Myousou Yagoro’s eyes and gathered all her strength in her voice.

“What does that matter? You helped Dorothea when she needed it too!”

“Kh.”

“You did it when we were working on our brooms in Cauldron classroom and you did it when she was drowning in the pool. You’ve been helping her way more than I have! So why would you suddenly insist on abandoning her now? If I want to pass the exam, I just have to study that much harder. Dorothea’s happiness has nothing to do with my ability !!”

An ordinary prep school instructor or tutor might have slapped their forehead here.

The standard for the entrance exam was to earn every point possible and eliminate every rival possible. Any time or effort spent on anything else was only hurting your chances of passing.

But Myousou Yagoro only clicked his tongue.

“…Fine.”

Why had he chosen her out of all the possible candidates ?

Wasn’t it because she was the kind of person who wouldn’t hesitate to say that here and now, in this situation?

His focus turned to the object at his hip.

That stick would extend to 70cm when he swung it. The baton was only good for direct physical blows.

But now that he had decided to do this, he didn’t think twice about drawing it.

Nor did he need to hide his smile any longer.

“Fine. We’ll do this your way.”

“Teacher!!”

He feigned annoyance and shook off his adorable student when she spread her arms and leaped at him.

Half-measures weren’t enough if he was going to intentionally approach danger.

Myousou Yagoro was a tutor. He needed to ensure Viocia could focus on studying for the exam. When each and every point mattered, he couldn’t let her take a break due to injury.

Finding Demon Lord Aristotle wouldn’t be hard – he only had to follow the tremors. He heard explosive booms that shook the entire building. A Voland wouldn’t rampage all on its own. It had to be fighting or destroying something.

“Is that coming from…the indoor training ground?” meekly asked Viocia.

Then the building’s outer wall was blown through right next to her. Yagoro frantically tackled her to the floor just before pieces of rubble larger than her head flew over into the hallway’s opposite wall, badly damaging it.

A sharp voice called in from outside the wall. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t the ground floor.

(Is that the Benandanti?)

She looked nothing like most people would picture a witch.

A girl of around 18 with her red hair in pigtails wore armor so thick it was easy to forget she was even human. Her armor looked more like a bipedal weapon than anything, but she did not wear an ebony-hilted sword. Instead, she wore an athame, a double-edged knife that witches used to collect plants when walking in the forest. Except this one was so large and thick it looked more like a machete. The thick rope she also wore at her hip would be cut with the athame and then used in conjunction with a spell to immobilize and neutralize a witch.

Was that supposed to be a broom she held in her hand? With the giant hunk of metal on the end, it looked more like a hammer . That highly unique Formula Broom would be what she had used to break through the wall.

Her small face was out of proportion with the armor as a whole. The fully-equipped witch scoffed at Yagoro’s baton.

“Formula Broom – New Forest. Answer me, Gardner, so that I might repay that ugly witch threefold. Before considering morality or personal preferences, we witches must always be beautiful. Carraway Cs Preparatory School has already been placed under our control so we can slay the ugly Voland who cannot even control herself. Everyone in here must obey our instructions and protect your own lives!!”

(You force us to obey you, but our safety is our own responsibility? They never do play fair, do they!?)

More and more thick armored witches entered, until there were more than 10 of them. Every last one of them had an identical Formula Broom – New Forest. And once they were all inside, the pieces of the broken wall were absorbed back into the hole and the wall repaired itself. When witches flew through the night sky, they destroyed the world before them and repaired it in their wake. This was an offensive application of that phenomenon.

At any rate, only the Benandanti, combat specialists, had arrived. The Witch Doctors who acted as combat medics were nowhere to be seen. They really were only thinking of killing their target.

Viocia spoke half in a daze while the armored witches clanked down the hallway.

“I-if they can destroy and fix the wall, they could just let everyone escape.”

“The Benandanti won’t bother with that. They’re only interested in killing the Voland. Those immobilizing ropes are just for show. They’re only there to prevent anyone from calling them inhumane.”

However, this didn’t mean the witches themselves were that cruel. The Benandanti wore special armor called a Hexenturm. While wearing that, the Maleficium witches had their conscience and guilt trapped in an externally imposed mental cage to help them achieve their objective.

(Be beautiful, huh?)

This world also had a time when witches were persecuted.

The lesson they had learned then had created a unique set of values designed to protect them.

They saw their own desires as a tool to adorn and enrichen themselves with and they aggressively made use of that tool.

(Being beautiful comes before morality. Because beautiful witches were more easily accepted by the people and were more likely to survive than old witches. It’s a survival strategy based on past experiences, but did this world never develop the idea of the beautiful witch who leads the king astray?)

Simply put, Maleficium did not allow ugly witches to exist. They refused to let anyone view witches as the frightening old hag who feasted on travelers who happened across her home deep in the mountains. Because they feared any harm to the witch brand would bring them all back to an age of persecution.

Yagoro thought through all this before shaking his head.

Was succumbing to fear and forcing your own values and way of life onto others really so beautiful?

“Anyway, we’re going to go rescue Dorothea, right? Then we can’t let the Benandanti get ahead of us.”

He didn’t hear her eager acknowledgement.

The entire building shook with a far more powerful vertical tremor than before.

“…”

They both looked down the hallway.

The baton in Yagoro’s hand felt so inadequate.

There was nothing. They didn’t hear a thing. There was no counterattack after that initial blast. And the Benandanti had been acting as a group. Even if they had ended their battle, that many people moving around would create a noticeable amount of noise.

What did this mean?

Yagoro walked cautiously down the hallway. Viocia followed with her Formula Broom at the ready. They approached the door to the Witch’s Chimney indoor training ground they had used that morning.

Still no noise.

The boy in the male sailor uniform quietly pushed open the double doors.

Destruction and defeat – that was all he saw.

Thick armor had burst and broken.

It had bent and stabbed into the walls.

A jumble of toys lay on the floor like stuffed animals a child had grown bored of and tossed aside. The Benandanti would have calculatedly eliminated their conscience and guilt before engaging the Voland in battle, but the Voland had still only seen it as a game.

Yes, only one person remained standing inside. She had her slender hand down the neck hole of a thick suit of armor and dragged out the contents.

The human contents.

The defeated girl had her long red hair done up in pigtails and had the look of a strict class president.

But that arrogant Maleficium elite’s limbs were now hanging limply. Continuing her labored breathing was all she could manage. A red liquid dripped from the corner of her lips.

“Ooh ha, ha ha, ha hoo♪”

The culprit had a familiar face. The face of Dorothea Rockpool.

Red. A sharp crimson.

Her eyes shined bright behind her glasses. She now had the slit-like pupils of a snake, like another mind altogether had taken up residence there. Maybe that was the sign of a Voland.

She lazily tossed the unconscious Benandanti aside with one hand and placed that hand on the long rodlike object she was already holding with her other hand. She pulled it into a loving embrace.

That was Formula Broom – Lyceum.

She rubbed her cheek against it in a strangely sensual way. Just watching it gave Yagoro heartburn.

Her nails were frightening. When she turned her small face his way, his legs went weak like he had a wild animal’s horns aimed his way. She didn’t have wings, but when she spread her arms, it felt like the entire world was enveloped in darkness and he thought she was going to crush him to death in her arms. Visually, it was the same adorable girl. Invisibly, something about her had changed.

Viocia managed a trembling voice with her eyes opened wide.

“What…is that?”

“Question: oh, am I a ‘what’ now? Ee hee. Reference: I have simply granted this brat’s wish.”

A crude and vulgar voice spoke while entirely ignoring the red-soaked bandages. Was that the Benandanti’s blood or her own?

The voice was definitely coming from the girl’s mouth, but it was a deep male voice. She was rubbing her cheek against the broom, but the difference was clear. This voice was not coming from the broom. It was being produced by the girl’s tongue and throat.

She wasn’t just lashing out. That couldn’t explain this unseen pressure.

That was a Voland.

Demon Lord Aristotle had hijacked the witch’s body to appear in this world.

“She wanted a light body, a small body. She wanted to lose every gram possible and earn every point possible. But that was never possible!! Solution: I have boosted her strength in another way to help earn those points. Gya ha ha! Reiteration: I granted her wish. I flipped everything on its head to grant that witch’s wish. Conclusion: it is right for me to be here. Bwa ha ha! I am the correct answer for this braaaaat !!!”

That was how the Voland had ended up here.

By repeatedly suggesting options more effective than anything allowed by the troubled witch’s values, he had silenced all of her arguments. And by trapping her soul deeper and deeper within, he had free rein of her body.

His arguments were nothing more than weapons designed to bring harm.

The tutor asked a quick question.

“You. What’s your estimated rank ?”

“B. I’m Rank B at least. Kee hee. Speculation: but I bet could reach Rank A if I had time to work at it.”

Yagoro clicked his tongue.

He hadn’t been actively following Dorothea’s grades, but he knew she hadn’t been doing that well. In the national practice exams, earning Rank C was considered pretty good. Which meant she wasn’t good enough.

Formula Broom – Lyceum demanded a high level of academic ability. And the more a witch was lacking there, the greater the risk of her body being hijacked.

All witches used borrowed power and a Formula Broom had a mind of its own, meaning it was not just a convenient tool. If you did not display sufficient academic ability, it would take over before long.

“What did you do to Dorothea?” asked Viocia.

“Denial: nothing yet.”

The serpentine eyes looked almost puzzled.

Then the Voland licked the handle of the broom and formed a crescent moon smile.

“Gya ha ha!! I was just getting to that part!! I finally have a body all my own!! Addition: so it would be a waste to not indulge in every last type of pleasure this body can experience! Are you stupid? I mean alcohol, drugs, ○○○, **** – all of it!! Ah hya ha! Announcement: I’ll run this body into the ground!! I’ll keep at it until the color of its insides have changed and it can no longer move a single finger!!”

“Don’t you dare!! Dorothea isn’t yours to use!!”

“Reply: oh, yes, she is. This brat chose to rely on a Voland. On me!! She forgot a Formula Broom is also a tool, despaired in her lack of academic ability, gave up on thinking for herself, and relied on a blind trust in me! Bwa ha! Ah ha ha!! Conclusion: she sold her soul!!”

“Did Dorothea really choose to do that? Odds are you cut off every avenue of escape to make her think that was her only option, don’tcha think? When there may have been other options left.”

“Question: what are you talking about? Are you stupid? Ee hee, ee hee hee. The stress of pulling so many all-nighters studying while also restricting her diet wore her out to her very core. Conclusion: this body will last longer in my hands and I’ll actually have some fun with it. I!! I am the correct answer! Conclusion: I am the perfect score!! Kee hee hee. You have no right to barge in and criticize her decisions!!”

Maybe not.

But the Voland had failed to notice a fundamental factor.

Humans were capable of never giving up on a dream they truly believed to be impossible and to continue searching for happiness no matter how many times they failed along the way. Everyone could do that to some extent. Humans were not creatures of pure efficiency and optimization.

If they were, tutors who supported those struggling girls wouldn’t exist.

“I won’t…I won’t let some broom have Dorothea!!” said Viocia.

“Ee hee hee. Question: so what? Do you foolishly think you can steal away the Formula Broom and break it? Do you think there is any way of safely stealing this broom from me, Demon Lord Aristotle!? You fool! Gya ha ha!! Judgment: you crack me up! Gee kah kee hee ah ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

“Viocia.”

An obvious path to salvation was in fact the entrance to an inescapable bog. The more extra thoughts in their head, the more they would distribute their power and their already nightmarishly miniscule odds would fall to actual zero. That was why the Benandanti sealed away their own hearts to remain coldly focused on defeating the Voland and nothing else.

“Give back Dorothea.”

“Ee ha ha!! Gya ha ha ha ha ha!! You fool! Do you think she is the victim here? Question: are you aware what this gloomy girl does in secret to deal with her exam stress? Gya ha ha!! Question: are you familiar with tickle diets and bondage diets? Bwa ha. And she tricks herself into thinking it’s not about her own desires by insisting it’s for the exam !! The fool created a body-pillow-sized hot water bottle so she could soak her bed in sweat. Gya ha ha! Report: she even created her own chair that moves back and forth like you’re riding a horse. Hee hee hee!!”

Demon Lord Aristotle held his stomach.

He doubled over in laughter with broom in hand.

While shredding through the sensitive topics even the people they were about tended to avoid thinking about.

“She even ventured out at night to buy a guaranteed weight loss talisman . Hee hee. Question: do you know what that is? Explanation: it’s a parchment talisman made from a filthy mixture of all sorts of ingredients that you paste on your skin. Is she stupid? Question: she was embarrassed by this and didn’t want anyone to know, so where on her body do you think she hid it? Do you want the detailed location on this body with so much skin left exposed by those bandages!? Bwa hya hya hya!!”

“What? But…Dorothea?”

“It’s a common mistake,” spat Yagoro.

Delinquents weren’t the only victims of the back alleys. There was an endless list of entrance exam students pushed to their psychological limits being on preyed on there. Especially in a city where over half the residents had failed the entrance exam in the past.

“It could be candies to improve focus, drinks to keep you alert late at night, or talismans to help you lose weight. No matter how ridiculous it sounds, when a witch tries to take the easy way out, she tends to go for sketchy magic items. Remember when I said there is no perfect diet guide? If someone is making outrageous claims about their product, they’re not interested in running an honest business, don’tcha think?”

Losing weight fast. Guaranteed weight loss.

Those things might sound nice, but they were actually serious curses. Serious enough to obstruct your natural growth or eat away at the very core of your body. Just like someone stranded on a snowy mountain, the threat to her life would have caused uncontrollable hallucinations and the shakes.

Using more than one of the same talisman wouldn’t improve its effects much.

And her body would grow accustomed to it the more she used it.

So even with the recipe in hand, it wouldn’t be enough. She would want a stronger, more dangerous talisman. So she kept returning to the back alley, wearing her body down more each time.

“Bff. Revelation: she said it was for her family. ”

This seemed to come out of nowhere.

But it was not actually a non sequitur.

“The brat apparently has a big family. They’re barely making ends meet with their family store, so she wants to become an elite witch to earn enough money to support them all! Pff. Gya ha ha ha ha!! Is she stupid!? What kind of dumbass is she!? Question: does this brat think she can make a tearjerking story out of resorting to that deadly garbage the second she ran into any trouble!? Ee hee hah!! I only wanted to be support my family. Ridiculous!! Serious question: who in their right mind would rely on a girl who’s weakened her bones and destroyed her stomach with weight loss talismans!? Ah hya ha ha ha!!!”

“Dorothea…”

Viocia knew her friend well.

She knew Dorothea excelled at housework, paid careful attention to what she ate, and always made her own lunch. Why had she learned those skills in the first place?

For her family. For her parents. For her many siblings. All because she wanted to make them happy.

That was how it had all begun, but as her troubles mounted, she had started to view her family as something trying to keep her from her dream.

“How stupid is she?” Demon Lord Aristotle mocked everything about that girl. “Supporting your family and siblings? Don’t make me laugh! Declaration: that doesn’t further your academic field and it doesn’t contribute to the world at large!! Magic is greater and more important than that. Did you think destroying your body like this was a noble self-sacrifice? Rejection: a moron like you doesn’t deserve to use magic! So this is your punishment. Kee hee ha ha ha. Confirmed: this brat gave up!! So everything happening to her now is her just deserts!! Conclusion! I!! I am the correct and perfect answer !!!”

Just then, a quiet voice interrupted.

“…She wasn’t wrong.”

It was the failing witch.

Viocia Modestlucky.

She couldn’t use Formula Broom – Wittenberg, which she had bought for a disconcertingly cheap price.

But that wasn’t going to stop her.

She glared straight at the extraordinary being known as a Voland and gripped her broom tight in her hands.

“I don’t care if you’re Demon Lord Aristotle or whatever else.”

She seemed to be biting out the words.

This was no way to speak to a Voland.

But she couldn’t abandon her friend. A little thing like a Voland wasn’t enough for her to give up.

She might live in a world where abandoning people over the exam was commonplace, but she refused.

“She really was trying so hard.”

This was something only Viocia knew.

The witch entrance exam was a truly cruel world where friendship was meaningless. Everyone said so, but this friend had still studied with her. So Viocia didn’t even hesitate to speak.

“Dorothea studied so much every day, she watched what she ate, and she worked harder than anyone. I won’t let you laugh at that effort and pain just because of some numbers or letters related to the exam. Maybe you’re a Voland who knows everything there is to know about Earth, but I won’t let you deny what she did!!”

Viocia looked up.

She squeezed Formula Broom – Wittenberg in her hands.

And the girl who was still considered a failure roared.

Into the heavens.

“I won’t let anyone deny how Dorothea felt or how she prayed to pass the exam and make her dreams come true!! So give me the power to fight, Mephistopheles!!!”

This was followed by an odd sound.

Myousou Yagoro had grabbed the brim of her hat and tugged it down over her face.

“Gwah, I can’t see!? Uh…”

“Don’t be dumb, Viocia. It isn’t time for that. Like I always say, don’t rely on your tool’s abilities if you want to be a top-rate witch. Do that and Formula Broom – Wittenberg will hijack your body and the rest of us will have to deal with a second monster: Demon Lord Mephistopheles . Then there really would be no fixing this.”

And the Formula Broom was probably aiming for precisely that.

Demon Lord Aristotle had said a witch needed to earn at least Rank B on the practice exam to control him.

But Viocia’s Formula Broom – Wittenberg required far more than that. Even Yagoro’s eyes had bugged out when he first saw it.

Its estimated rank was Rank S 3 .

You didn’t even need that rank to pass the national practice exams designed for Maleficium’s standards.

And not only was its rank so ridiculously high, but it had been sold to her for an unnaturally low price. Even earning a perfect 100 in all subjects would not be anywhere near enough to meet the standards set by that supremely extraordinary device.

It was guaranteed to consume your average witch.

It was such an absurd challenge Yagoro suspected it might be a witch-hunting trap.

A girl who had failed the exam and now attended a prep school had no chance of wielding it. Not to mention that she had yet to complete the consecration that linked human with witchcraft device. That may have been why she hadn’t been consumed yet, but it was best to assume Mephistopheles would not conveniently lend her its power with no strings attached.

At the very least, that wasn’t going to happen in the current situation .

“An exchange of Voland magic wouldn’t save Dorothea Rockpool. Viocia, would you be satisfied if you came to and found you had harmed and spilled the blood of your friend while you were unconscious? Like hell you would. You’re the one who said you wanted to save her. So you shouldn’t give up on that now, don’tcha think?”

The girl gasped.

Had she only now realized how close she had come to beginning a fight to the death with her good friend?

“But…then…?”

But Viocia still wasn’t going to stop.

She was the kind of girl who seriously considered someone else a good friend during the harsh trials of the witch entrance exam, so she would never stop at this point. Even if no one else cared at all about ordinary Dorothea.

“Who else will save Dorothea!? The other students and even the instructors already left. And the Benandanti witches from Maleficium only care about defeating the Voland. I can’t leave Dorothea all alone. Someone has to do it. Someone has to fight to save Dorothea!! And if no one else will stand up, then I have to-”

“ I’ll do it. ”

Myousou Yagoro didn’t hesitate to answer.

He didn’t even let her finish before he declared he would face almost certain death.

“ You’re a student, so you need to focus on the exam. And as your tutor, it’s my job to deal with any trouble that would distract you from your studies. ”

“Eh? Huh?”

“ Simply put, I will save Dorothea Rockpool no matter what. You aren’t the only one. I’m just as pissed at Demon Lord Aristotle as you are. ”

“Weh, ah, ah! Ahhhh, ah, ah!!”

“Oh?” interrupted a voice.

The Voland’s serpentine red eyes glowed as he used the ordinary girl’s body to smirk.

“Assessment: interesting. Even witches can only wield borrowed magic, but you aren’t even a witch. What can a filthy boy do? Oh, I get it. Conclusion: are you going to rely on nonexistent miracles like this brat did!?”

The tutor said nothing.

A shockwave erupted out. It happened the instant he twirled the end of his 70cm baton. The first to attack was Myousou Yagoro, not the Voland. The invisible strike gained color as it absorbed splinters of wood and shards of stone and flew toward Demon Lord Aristotle like a horizontal storm.

The Voland only swept his broom along the floor in front of him as if drawing out a dividing line on the world itself.

The pool’s water swelled up, formed a thick clear wall, and stopped the stony scattershot.

But the Voland’s temple twitched disconcertingly at being forced to make that move.

“I said I was pissed, didn’t I? I’m pissed a mere Voland is standing in the way of my student’s future.”

“Tch! A boy using magic? Question: I’m sure it’s a trick , but what kind of trick are you using?”

“Tossing flint to the west without anyone noticing creates a storm . But that was about as much as I could expect from just the one secret technique. I need to cover all Three Aspects if I want to give it any power. In that case…”

“Demand: shut the hell up!! Are you foolish enough to think I will let you try it again!?”

Scorching orange heat absorbed oxygen with a disturbing roar.

The still-usable wall of water was evaporated in an instant. The Voland controlling the zombie girl had only swept his Formula Broom forward along the floor and then sharply swung it up.

The end of the broom summoned a glob of steel-melting heat that rushed out toward Yagoro. This was a maximization of fire. The glob had some gooiness to it, so it had to be orange-glowing lava.

This was a Voland. It was within his power to transform the crust and rewrite the map.

“Eek!”

Yagoro shove Viocia to one side before leaping to the opposite side.

The air-scorching glob of heat magic passed between the two of them and then melted deep into the thick wall.

It could seem odd to dodge supernatural magic on foot, but Formula Brooms were a technical system based on magic locations in the other world known as Earth. That meant they could not completely ignore all physical limitations. In fact, it was rare that a witch only had to pray in order to accurately curse someone with no regard for time or distance.

“Fire, wind, water, earth.”

Was this the power that had defeated so many elite Benandanti?

“I am Demon Lord Aristotle! I reign as the philosopher who logically explained the world’s composition!! Do not make me laugh, fool! Question: what can you do!? Elements reveal the truth not as one, but altogether. This heat can destroy even the plaster used to create molds filled with molten steel. Gya ha ha! Do not assume you can escape me forever!! Declaration: your very bones will be evaporated until not a speck of your curses remain!!!”

The tutor responded to this by visually scanning his surroundings to see which way he should jump, but then he paused for a moment. His feet slipped. The floor was wet here on the poolside.

He was engulfed.

The lava exploded into scorching light. The blond tutor was unable to resist in the slightest.

Viocia screamed while only able to watch.

No, wait.

“ What can I do ?”

“!?”

The being known as a Voland gasped and turned in surprise toward that casual voice.

The lava was blown away from within and the white and lemon yellow boy brushed the embers off his shoulders.

“Exclamation: what!? Speculation: you aren’t a phony? Then what in the hell did you use!?”

“I didn’t rely on any kind of special miracle, if that’s what you think. I only did what I could.”

He wasn’t injured or burned.

The boy rested the baton on his shoulder and winked with a belligerent smile.

“ Remember, Voland. This is magic. Study hard and you can work out all the answers yourself. ”

Myousou Yagoro was a tutor. He couldn’t lose his student’s trust if he wanted her to pass.

So if he said he would save that girl, he would make sure he did so. 50/50 odds weren’t good enough.

“Go to hell!!”

The red serpentine eyes shined out from the bandage girl’s borrowed body while Demon Lord Aristotle swung his broom. This produced a massive wave capable of bending and crushing a thick metal door and it produced a tornado of vacuum blades capable of slicing and dicing a human even more finely than tomato juice. All of it had to be the most powerful magic available. This was in fact the power that had harmed Dorothea Rockpool’s own body while crushing so many Benandanti at once.

But it didn’t reach the boy.

Dodging side to side shouldn’t have been enough to avoid it.

But the threat presented by the tutor far surpassed that of the Voland.

Yagoro never stopped moving while he twirled the baton in his hand and swung it in a complex pattern. Almost like he was drawing an orderly magic circle in the empty air. He released his magic with more than twice the power of the incoming barrage. After the steel tip had accumulated enough power, a red light surged out and a yellow gale roared. The Voland’s magic was canceled before it was complete and his borrowed face grimaced.

“What did you do? Denial: that stick is no Formula Broom. And a boy wouldn’t be able to use a witch’s broom anyway, so that must be the wrong answer.”

The soles of Yagoro’s shoes squeaked along the floor as he came to a stop.

“Yeah, this is just a steel stick I paid the local blacksmith to make.”

“Steel. So it is metal? Why not use an ordinary wand? The club is a symbol of male authority. Or is this not about direct power? Steel is said to have purifying and exorcising properties when-”

“Wrong.”

“Kh. The weight? No, does it symbolize a percussion instrument? No again!! Extension? Standing upright? Confusion: no, no, and no. Then what is it? What the hell did you just do!?”

“Stop saying what it isn’t and try figuring out what it is. Even an idiot can list out wrong answers, don’tcha think? That doesn’t prove your intelligence. And to be clear, I’m a tutor. Even if she isn’t my student, I’m not going to hit an exam student on the head with this heavy stick.”

Viocia gave him a “but you’ll hit me with your slide rule?” look, but he ignored that.

More importantly…

“Question: how is magic possible without a Formula Broom, and for a male at that?”

“This world’s magic was completely lost once. We only have magic now by using knowledge from Earth, so only the witches who wielded borrowed power survived. The male wizards who used their magic on their own couldn’t recover in the same way. …Or so they say.”

“?”

“But is that really true? Sure, it’s true the extinct male magic never made a full recovery. The ancient priestesses and women of the Black Mass all essentially worshipped someone else to borrow their power. That’s what we now call witchcraft, don’tcha think? But there were alternate styles that allowed even men to use those things.”

The blond boy in the white and lemon yellow sailor uniform rested his club on his shoulder.

“The thing is, as long as you understand each and every spell and magic circle without the help of a Formula Broom, anyone should be able to use witchcraft on their own. It’s a lot like navigating the wide world without using a map or compass, don’tcha think? You don’t need a map to follow landmarks and you don’t need a compass to determine the direction from the density of plant growth.”

The Voland remained motionless for a while.

Even a being of that level required more than three seconds to respond.

“Rejection: do you have any idea how many calculations that would require?”

“Disappointing. That isn’t even worth calling a trick question. The correct answer is it depends on the type of magic.”

“Hey. Confirmation: witchcraft is used by borrowing power from another!!”

“Which is what I did. This truly is witchcraft. I’m not creating some strange magic power for this. Besides, isn’t the entire point of science that it’s reproducible? It’d be pretty pointless if not everyone could get the same result, don’tcha think?”

“Spells, diagrams, math, potions, anatomy, psychology. Question: do you have any idea how much work we do to respond to every request the witches make of us? Hee…hee. Rejection: it’s not possible. You can’t complete so many calculations while managing your own body and responding to the outside world!!”

“Are you sure about that?” muttered Myousou Yagoro under his breath.

This was nothing compared to Earth where every little thing was tied up in regulations and making a safe takeoff and landing required reading a flight manual over a 1000 pages where even how to access the clear plastic cleaning fluid had an entire double-page spread to itself. The grimoires of this world presented new and exciting magic on each and every page, so he never got tired of reading them. The best part about magic was how you could control any miracle as long as you understood the logic behind it.

So he was now the only person in this world who could use magic on his own without relying on a Formula Broom.

With a dull thud, the glasses bandage girl’s back bumped into the wall. Yagoro’s precise movement during the exchange of attacks had driven Demon Lord Aristotle into a corner of the indoor training ground.

(But I’d be wasting my time giving a lengthy explanation of this unfortunate academic theory that shows no sign of catching on.)

He knew a faster method.

“Seeing is believing, right?”

“!!??”

Green light flashed out.

A heavy weight appeared at the end of the club as he swung it horizontally and it detached at the end of the swing. The destruction took the form of a hammer. A hammer was the standard choice for opposing a rampaging witch. So he used the heavy projectile to deliver an accurate blow to the invisible presence occupying the center of the girl’s chest.

“Gh?”

He focused his mind on knocking it out of her. That would swiftly destroy the wicked and noncorporeal being without harming the captured girl’s physical body.

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

… What can you do with magic, anyway?

Yagoro suddenly recalled that question his sulking student had asked it. Demon Lord Aristotle had roared much the same question. So he couldn’t help but smile.

The magic-wielding tutor collapsed the baton between his hands in front of his chest.

And he made a final statement.

“ When someone’s in serious trouble, you can save their life. ”

### 7

It was all over and Dorothea Rockpool was in the infirmary. She had had already woken and sat up in bed to watch the sunset out the window.

Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium – the place everyone dreamed of going – was letting out for the day. Dorothea had an excellent view of all the witches riding their brooms out from the center of the lake to the diamond-shaped city.

She too had dreamed of going there.

She had wanted it so badly she had relied on guaranteed weight loss talismans , had Demon Lord Aristotle hijack her body, and received considerable internal damage. She was taller than average and had a curvy figure. With the Voland gone, all she had left was her damaged and worn-out body.

This can’t be easy for her, thought Myousou Yagoro in the same room.

To be blunt, her odds of getting into Maleficium were slim even if she did continue working toward the challenging entrance exam. The simple academic side was no picnic, but her physical characteristics were something studying alone could not help her with.

If she was going to give up, now might be the best time.

Hanging onto a halfhearted dream would only lead to more pain.

But.

(Yeah, screw that. I can’t agree with that.)

“Hey, Dorothea. There are ointments that make your body seem lighter than it is.”

“I-I’m already using those. Eep. It isn’t enough.”

Just as he thought. He already knew about her common agrimony and common ash ointment.

However…

“ But ointments are a mixture of oil and chemicals. Why not use your own fat as an ingredient ?”

“Eh? Y-you mean…?”

She sounded surprised.

Do not underestimate a tutor. He couldn’t do his job if he didn’t know more about magic than an exam student. And unlike the prep school instructors who shared their texts as a group, he had to do it all on his own.

“For example, you can view yourself as a ‘sinner’ for your inability to lose the weight you want, use that to magically extract your fat, and boil that. You’ll be reducing your own body and creating a lightening ointment. That synergy should help make you a lot lighter, don’tcha think? Of course, the reducing your body part isn’t easy and it’s bad or your health and your looks. It isn’t a pleasant path, but it is one option if you want to continue working toward the exam.”

### 8

After leaving the prep school infirmary, Myousou Yagoro held a hand to his forehead and breathed a heavy sigh.

(What am I doing?)

His job was to get Viocia to pass. Helping Dorothea Rockpool get her grades back up didn’t help there. In fact, if she conquered this problem, she would be a formidable rival. Considering the failure rate for Maleficium’s entrance exam, that would only harm Viocia.

But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

When he saw that girl biting her lip and shrinking down in the infirmary bed, he couldn’t make the clever choice and convince her to drop out. Deep down, he was a tutor who worked to the very end to help students get their grades up. He wasn’t an examiner or grader who coldly failed anyone who didn’t earn a passing mark.

“Teacher,” called a voice.

It was his client Viocia.

Her grades were poor. Winning this battle did nothing to help her pass the exam. All her other rivals were leaning magical lessons from their texts or mixing potions to learn how to use the formulas. And to top it all off, her tutor had chosen to hurt her chances further. The situation wasn’t looking good, but she was smiling.

She spread her arms wide and tackled him without even a hint of doubt in her smile.

“Thanks for saving Dorothea, teacher!!”

…It was probably time he admitted it.

Most likely, Myousou Yagoro only wanted to help her pass so much because she was the kind of person who could say something like that and mean in the midst of the cruel grind of studying for the witch entrance exam.

### Today’s Quiz 1

Yagoro: Now, let’s review today’s lesson before you forget it.

Viocia: Heh heh heh. You went baboom with your magic! The Voland went gyahhh! And you saved Dorothea!! My strongest teacher really is the best!!!

Yagoro: Yeah, sure. But I really want to get home and go to bed. I’m exhausted.

Viocia: Ehh? But what did you even do back then?

Yagoro: That’s the point of the quiz. You can find hints throughout the prep school. Okay, Viocia?

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat Demon Lord Aristotle and rescue Dorothea Rockpool. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Witches focus on the Three (____).

First the Aspect of Antiquity. But this time, I only used the correspondence of (____), wind, water, and earth with red, (____), blue, and green.

Next, the Aspect of (____). I activated the ATU (____) text.

Would it be easier to describe that as Jack and the Beanstalk?

The (____)stalk is a route used by deadly threats such as ogres and demons, so you can prevent their arrival by cutting it down. That’s a magical lesson telling you that, under the right conditions, magic can be forced to malfunction or fail to activate, don’tcha think?

Lastly, the Aspect of Amorality. I used the popular wax doll curse. This lets you remotely damage a target by sticking a thick (____) into a doll made to look like them.

Altogether, I prevented the activation of Demon Lord (____)’s magical attack, which was in truth a function of the four elements, and then launched a counterattack with a wax doll. A (____) curse can harm its target regardless of distance and space, so it can damage a noncorporeal being who exists only as thoughts. And it goes without saying that Dorothea and the Voland are two separate things. By setting a specific (____) before launching the attack, I could make a clear distinction between the two. They occupied the same body, but that method allowed me to defeat only the Voland and purge him from Dorothea’s body.

That’s all. Any questions, Viocia?

### 003. Episode 2: Is Being the Ultra Elite of a Prep School Really so Impressive?

### 1

Report on the crash of the JX-401 SSTO Broom God (30th and Final Report)

- If you would like to view the unredacted version and you meet all the clearance requirements, receive approval signatures from the supervisors of each relevant department and follow the instructions at the cabinet political strategy document archive.

To Ministry of ＊＊＊＊ ,

Ministry of ＊＊＊＊ ,

and ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊ Force Special High Altitude ＊＊＊＊ (classified unit)

Now that the United States has collapsed, we cannot expect any help from them. Selecting a replacement next-generation transport method was no easy task. We began this domestic single-stage-to-orbit project using only domestic contractors despite the foreign projects already underway in India, Brazil, and elsewhere because we wanted to break our country free of its standstill in the space science industry, but there was an ＊＊＊＊ during the final test at Tanegashima on ＊＊ / ＊＊ / ＊＊ . We detected speeds surpassing Mach ＊＊ , but the craft broke apart before ＊＊＊＊ . The craft is thought to have been badly damaged at ＊＊＊＊ and scattered its pieces above ＊＊＊＊ , but no actual wreckage has been discovered in the estimated region of ocean and the recovery operation has been exceedingly difficult. (→Details in a separate report. See the Ministry of ＊＊＊＊ ’s ocean current prediction charts and the Ministry of ＊＊＊＊ ’s recovery operation report)

The pilot ＊＊＊＊ ’s fate remains unknown.

At midnight tonight, the search for the pilot will be called off and that task will be removed from the recovery operation until ordered otherwise.

(Hidden Note: The astronaut who was invited in from outside the Force – that cocky genius kid who skipped straight past most of his schooling – is among the stars now. Which is fine with me. If he wants to be reborn in another world or another dimension, let him have it. But the Broom God was packed full of purely domestic industrial secrets taken from all sorts of domestic companies. I don’t give a damn about that kid’s life – just let us collect as much of that wreckage as possible!)

### 2

Thump, thump, thump, thump, bang, bang, bang!!

Some kind of racket interrupted the night in Temple School City, a tiered city filled with the gentle glow of the huge pumpkin lamps placed on the street corners and on the roofs. But this racket was not roadwork.

“…What are you doing?”

“Oh! Hey, teacher!”

The noisy nuisance ended as soon as the 17-year-old blond boy named Myousou Yagoro called out to it.

Peace and quiet returned to the city built from white marble and black obsidian.

Viocia Modestlucky was a girl with long, fiery red hair and a long dress (with slits on the sides) which looked like a pumpkin tart thanks to its orange, red, and purple coloration. She was riding a bicycle instead of a Formula Broom and she wore a large backpack. That seemed like a terrible choice in a tiered city full of stairs. Was she doing construction on her pelvis using the bike seat?

An accusatory question or two wasn’t going to keep the girl down, so she gave Yagoro a beaming smile.

“Heh heh. I’m working part-time to help out the people of the city! I get instructions by carrier pigeon, go buy the requested item at a shop, and bike it over to the designated location where they pay me!!”

“And why are you doing this?”

Needless to say, this fantasy world had no mobile phones. (It doesn’t, I swear.) But the city’s teenage girls were still starved for information. So if you looked up, the cooing necessities for life as a modern magical girl could be seen lined up on the sidebars of the giant red elevators that resembled scales. Those urban mobile messengers had been domesticated to the point their internal clocks didn’t tell them to head back to their nests at night, but they were apparently smart enough to stay off the roofs where they would fall prey to kitties. Flying witches needed to be cautious of bird strikes.

But Viocia’s response was carefree.

“Because I need to work to afford the prep school tuition.”

“Gh.”

She had a surprisingly good explanation for this one.

Come to think of it, she had come to Temple School City after running away from her grandma’s house deep in the woods. Yagoro had worked with her ever since signing a tutoring contract with her about a month ago, but he was only now learning she couldn’t rely on her parents’ financial support.

(Ugh, that’s another problem to deal with, don’tcha think?)

Securing time for studying was the biggest and most fundamental problem facing exam students. He also couldn’t have her wasting her mental capacity on how to do her job efficiently and where all the shortcuts through the city were. Because the entrance exam was (supposed to be!!) a crucial time in your life when you couldn’t afford to think about anything other than the exam.

“Sigh. If only the prep school would teach me for free like you do. ”

“That’s not going to happen, don’tcha think?”

Yagoro was fine working for free since he had his own objective , but the prep school was a business. And as a private business that didn’t receive support from the kingdom, it would go under if it didn’t receive a monthly tuition from each and every student.

“Hm. What is the Finnish mill that produces endless supplies of pure gold, salt, and food?”

“Eh, we’re doing that here!? Um, uh, well, uh, that would be, ha ha, the Sampo!”

That she could answer even when caught off guard meant she was actually working at her memorization. She didn’t even erroneously assume it had to do with Norse mythology. She was making progress from when she would wouldn’t even answer a multiple choice question. He was also glad to see she wasn’t trying to abuse that knowledge by attempting a reckless grinding challenge with the nearest mill.

“Anyway, I have work to do! See you later, teacher!”

“No, not see me later! You have the prep school’s Bealtaine practice exam this week!!”

“This backpack is apparently stuffed full of marigold and red clover. Those are for stopping bleeding and stopping poison, so it’s probably urgent. Ugh, liquids have to be transported in bottles, so they’re really heavy. If I’m late, I won’t just get a bad rating, the adventurer party in Lakeside’s semi-underground park dungeon will be wiped out!!”

It was harder to stop her when people’s lives were on the line, but she still wasn’t supposed to show this kind of mercy when preparing for the exam. Viocia pedaled off as soon as she saw an opening and thump-thump-thumped her way down the stairs.

Lakeside’s semi-underground park was a legitimate(?) deadly zone . In fact, you could say anything related to Lakeside, the lowest level of the city, was a dungeon you were risking your life to enter. Yagoro’s student had found a fairly dangerous job.

The tutor boy could only speak into the empty air.

“Can’t that brat at least get a job as the one who mixes up the potions in a cauldron?”

### 3

Myousou Yagoro was out at night. He had fallen for a strange cyclist student trap on the way, but he had actually been on his way back home after doing some shopping during the excellent discounts just before closing time.

His home was on the upper level, where land was relatively cheap (which meant it was an inconvenient place to live). If he left his apartment from the front, he would find himself on a main street. If he left out the back, he would be in a labyrinthine squatters district. Once back at that highly convenient apartment, he found the silver-haired used bookseller doing some kind of difficult work.

It was hard to tell since she always wore an apron with an animal printed on it, but Yagoro noted that her black dress seemed unusually nice. It was black with gold embroidery, so it reminded him of an adult chocolate cake that smelled of brandy.

The gentle young woman was lifting a giant bag like Santa Claus and pouring some kind of clear beads into a lockable metal box larger than a bathtub. That was the magic ice used for refrigeration and it was free for anyone living on the block to use.

“Heave ho, heave ho. Nhhh!”

“Whoa, are you alright? Could you use some help?”

“No, no. This kind of daily housework and exercise is important for maintaining your health and beauty.”

Her troubled smile told Yagoro his offer really was an unwanted favor. Trying to be gentlemanly had a way of backfiring with her, so he had trouble figuring her out. He hoped to make a breakthrough soon so he could earn her praise.

He at least knew better than to let her know he found it oddly sexual when a busty young woman groaned in effort.

(Huh. I had noticed the magic ice was always full, but she must intentionally refill it late at night when no one will see. It’s not like there’s a rotation schedule, but she really goes the extra mile.)

The wealth disparity and population density was a lot more obvious at night. When viewed from the upper level, the tiered city clearly had a lot more pumpkin lamps filled with sunlight seals in the shopping district and luxury residential district on the lower level. Of course, they would also have a lower crime rate than up here where there was more darkness.

Some might find this odd since conventional wisdom said the rich gathered at the highest points of a city, but that wasn’t always true. People always wanted to live where life was easier and more convenient.

In other words…

“Oh, I can at least go draw you some water. The wells up here are a lot farther up from the groundwater, so it would be a lot of effort for you to-”

“Yagoro.”

She cut him off. She wanted her exercise and she could be frightening when it came to matters of health and beauty. He felt a chill along his spine, like he had touched a sharp blade with his fingertip. She may have thought it was a divine blessing that she lived on the upper level where getting around was such a pain in the rear.

And if she wasn’t going to let him be a gentleman, he had nothing to do, so he simply said goodbye to the jiggly young woman, and entered the apartment building. From there, he entered his room.

“Damn. My head already looks like pudding,” he groaned into the mirror.

His hair was naturally black, so if he neglected to care for it for too long, the black roots would start to show below the blond, making him look weird. As much as the blond hair gave him a wild look, all the haircare items and washing it required made bath time a chore. Did all those delinquents on Earth really go to all this trouble? Not that that would change how they looked. Glossy black hair was valuable here, so openly walking around with it could get him attacked by masked unlicensed barbers, but it was still a considerable expense.

While lining up a few readymade foods, his mind was focused on exam countermeasures. Coming up with quizzes was easy and, if he let himself, he was confident he could stay up all night making them and enjoy every moment of it, but that was meaningless if Viocia wasn’t in a position where she could absorb the information. That dunce was focused on so many things other than the exam, but he needed her attention directed solely toward studying. His first thought when considering that problem was always to lure her in with food, but he had never managed to come up with a concrete plan based on that.

And on that note…

“She is studying during the night, isn’t she?”

Normally, that would go without saying for an exam student, especially the wounded beast that was a student who had already failed the exam once, but he suddenly realized he had failed to check on that because it seemed too basic an issue. He wanted to believe she was. But his worries grew when he recalled that part-time delivery job. Once he thought about it, he realized he had always helped her study at the prep school or the park gazebo, so he didn’t know where she lived. What was her room like? Was there a lot of noise or drafts keeping her from focusing on her studies?

### 4

And so it was the following day. Night had already fallen.

“(I’ll be going to your place tonight, Viocia.)”

“Ehhh!? You can’t just decide that, you stupid teacher! I-is this like that thing in Macbeth where it seems like good luck at first but it’s actually the beginning of a great tragedy!?”

“Huh, so you have been studying. I’m glad to hear it.”

Myousou Yagoro smiled but only externally.

“ +1 point: Witches’ words are attacks that only gain meaning once their target hears them, so talking about the future all on your own is meaningless. ”

They were in the Honeycomb self-study room of Carraway Cs Preparatory School’s structure building.

“And why would me visiting your home seem like good luck?”

“Bwehablkadfh!? Th-the fall into tragedy has already begun!?”

The large room was split up into small booths by thin partitions and each booth contained a desk and a chair. Everyone fixed their broom vertically to the edge of the desk using a 5cm glass holder, making them look like raised flags. (In the other world of Earth, a broom raised at the doorway was instead a sign the woman was out.) The Honeycomb name likely referred to how all the small booths were arranged. In Rosicrucianism, honeybees symbolized those who pursued wisdom, but that was probably reading too much into it. When it came to the witch entrance exam, thinking you had discovered hidden knowledge was a dangerous thought process, so you had to be careful.

Everyone was studying hard in preparation for the Bealtaine practice exam.

The Bealtaine was only a school event and had nothing to do with the real practice exam, but improving your rank in the prep school let you use more equipment and read more grimoires. That could lead to the prep school itself being the deciding factor in whether or not a witch passed the exam, but it was also true that a high-level grimoire would only go to waste if it was lent out to a clueless student. Cutting down on pointless lines like that was thought to help as many students as possible pass. Unfortunately.

So if you wanted to pass, you had to prove your worth in the prep school to be granted greater rights there.

(That not everyone is treated equal is another way prep schools differ from compulsory education.)

The lights used at night were generally the sunlight seals that had sunshine sealed inside, but the ceiling lights in here used moonlight seals because the students handled old books. The gentler light was a lot less bright, so Yagoro was worried about his student’s eyesight.

(She needs to at least get an average score so she can still use all the basic facilities and equipment. If she scores below average and is stuck with only the spare equipment, there’s no point in paying so much money to go here.)

And it looked like that unfortunate girl’s mind was elsewhere.

She had been so sleepy when it was still bright out, but now she was more alert than she had been all day.

“You can’t spring this on me at the last second! If I don’t clean my room first, where will you even have room to stand?”

“Well, that’s enough right there to know your room is not fit to study in. This is necessary if you’re going to keep using the prep school’s basic equipment. I’m doing it and that’s final, Viocia.”

“Could you not talk about ‘doing it’ right now?”

“And you have no right to act all innocent about this, don’tcha think? When we met a month ago, you’re the one who followed me to figure out where my apartment is.”

“Ugh! S-sometimes girls get curious about things they want to keep secret.”

“I’m only doing what you did and I have an actual legitimate reason for doing it.”

“I refuse! A girl has a right to privacy. You don’t get to see all of my secret places just because you want to!!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everything gets nice and clean. You are in for quite a night, so I hope you’re ready. I’ll even bring a variety of tools.”

“This is happening? It’s really happening? No way! And when you say everything, do you even mean on the inside too!?”

Just then…

“G-give it a rest, you two!! This is a prep school for witches who are serious about getting into Maleficium. It is not a place for, um, perverted tutors who are after their student’s bodies!!”

Someone had a very wrong idea about Yagoro.

They were poking their head in from the next booth over.

Apparently a lewd tutor was only considered a wonderful fantasy when the tutor was female and good looking. Yagoro hung his head, trembled, and bit his lip in silence.

The person who emerged from her booth while blushing bright red was a girl with shoulder-length silver hair and brown skin. But unlike gyaru-style Schanze, that appeared to be her natural skin tone.

She looked around Viocia’s age, so was she 15 or 16? That would mean she was a single failure.

She wore a midriff-baring black jacket, a tight miniskirt, and a large hat. Overall, she looked like a cross between a sky pirate and a soldier. She did have something like medals or unit insignia on her (decently-sized) chest, but Yagoro couldn’t figure out what they were supposed to mean. Her clothing had gold embroidery here and there, so she looked something like a fancy chocolate parfait.

“Also, I can see your underwear,” said the girl.

“Eh? Hnyahhhhhhhhh!?”

Yagoro’s student immediately jumped up from her chair. Her long skirt must have been caught on the back of her chair, leaving everything exposed from behind and she had only just realized. Her clumsiness batting average was nothing short of a miracle considering she wore an ankle-length skirt, even if it did have slits on the sides.

But Viocia looked kind of happy even though this girl was mad at her.

“Huh? Wow, she’s a celebrity.”

“Do you know her?”

“I said she’s a celebrity, didn’t I? She’s Melehe Superlative! She’s Carraway Cs’s strongest witch, she always gets the top spot on the practice exams, and it’s rumored she was awarded Rank A by Maleficium!!”

“Heh heh.” Melehe teased her silver hair with a hand and proudly held her head high.

But…

“Sure, but this isn’t some prestigious school or anything. And there’s no point in lifting any one person up as special when reproducibility is the heart of science, don’tcha think? Now, I don’t know if she’s from some famous family or something, but if she’s at a prep school so late she’s practically spending the night, then she must have still failed the exam. Is being the best of the failures really such a great-”

Yagoro stopped when he noticed everyone in the large self-study rom glaring at him. Quite harshly at that.

He had apparently said something he shouldn’t.

Melehe tried her best to regain control of the conversation.

“I-I intentionally failed last year’s exam. I was awarded Rank A status at the time, but I knew if I spent another year studying, I was guaranteed to get into Maleficium.”

Oh, so hers was a calculated failure.

There were some students who chose to spend another year studying despite already being a lot more clever than the other students. That might mean she was indeed smarter than the others who had actually tried and still failed.

…But it still meant she was a girl who had failed to pass her first time. And if she didn’t realize that, then she wasn’t as smart as she thought she was.

“You know Private Striga, the largest coven in the snowy region which has three whole regiments of witches? I am their key bearer. Simply put, you can think of me as the future commander of the largest witch force out there.”

“If you say so.”

“But this isn’t about me!! This is about your problematic behavior, pervert tutor! Really, why must you do this when I am trying to study for such a crucial exam? The Bealtaine is coming up! I do not have time to be distracted by anything else.”

“Viocia, this girl knows what she’s talking about. Listen to this Rank A Genius and imprint her words on your idiot brain.”

“Ughh.”

“I was speaking to you, pervert.”

Melehe sounded somewhat exasperated.

The prep school’s strongest(?) witch put her hands on her hips before continuing.

“Listen. I don’t know what you hope to accomplish by using the prep school’s lax security to sneak in as a tutor, but if you interrupt our studying, I will throw you out myself!!”

### 5

Teacher, I’m going home now, but you are not invited to my room. And no tailing me to find out where it is.

If I catch you following me, I swear I will kill you!!

“Huh, so that’s where Viocia lives.”

“Leave it to a pervert tutor to ignore the poor girl’s warning and tail her anyway.”

Did she think he was doing this because he wanted to? It was necessary for his job. Viocia had said enough for him to guess her room was a pigsty. And there was more to studying for the exam than attending a prep school. Having a clean and orderly study space at home was one of the most basic strategies.

He would do whatever was necessary to ensure she passed the exam and got into Maleficium. Because that was the tutoring contract the two of them had signed. So he wasn’t going to stop here.

“So, Melehe, why did you follow her too?”

“Because who knows what a pervert like you would do out in the city at night if you aren’t supervised.”

Melehe was flipping through some flashcards while hiding in the shadows near Yagoro. Instead of just memorizing a list herb names, she appeared to be randomly drawing them from a giant collection that linked the different herbs by type and other connections. Even at Rank A, she was still an exam student. He really wished a certain idiot he knew would learn something from her.

Melehe didn’t just have access to the basic equipment. In her position, she would have access to the top-level documents on the Horned God. That didn’t mean Viocia’s fumbling efforts were worthless, however.

The prep school was a prep school.

Scores in practice and during preparation didn’t mean all that much. Whoever won out during the final entrance exam would have the last laugh.

“Come to think of it.”

From what Yagoro had seen at Carraway Cs, Melehe’s Formula Broom was heavily customized. It had curved Y-shaped handlebars, a cushioned seat, and boxy luggage compartments hanging down on either side at the rear. The headlight used both sunlight seals and moonlight seals so she could switch between light intensities at will. She had probably done it all to make the broom easier to use, but the end result looked a lot like an enormous American motorcycle.

“If I remember correctly, your Formula Broom is incredible, but isn’t it hard to carry around? It’s kind of big and heavy, don’tcha think? Is that why you don’t have it with you now?”

“Do not mess with me, pervert. Are you planning to steal it even though it has a girl’s seat? But unfortunately for you, I have it circle overhead when I don’t need it. Why should I carry it around at all times when I can just summon it to me when I need to use it?”

Myousou Yagoro did a double take.

“What?” Melehe stopped flipping her flashcards and looked up at him in legitimate confusion.

“You’re allowed to fly in the city? Without a guide?”

“So what if I am? Any witch can do that if they have the necessary knowledge.”

“But you failed the exam.”

“Do not say that to my face, pervert.”

The girl gave him a harsh look. But he wasn’t her tutor, so he didn’t need to worry about building trust with her.

Surprisingly, Viocia was living in the lower part of the city. Specifically, in the expensive shopping district.

“She lives in a fairly nice place.”

“She’s only renting a room, so the land value doesn’t really matter all that much, don’tcha think?”

But there was another issue.

What was with that Sabbath Party place? The colorful sign lit up for the night included bunny ears, a bottle of booze, and underwear shaped like an upside-down triangle.

A dancer woman stepped out from the entrance, presumably to attract customers. In fact, several did. And they all wore revealing, see-through clothing that was concerning in a number of ways. Their outfits were the kind of thing that made you wonder “who would actually buy that?” when you saw it on a mannequin near the entrance of a women’s underwear shop.

If this was what they were like outside, what went on inside there?

Seeing them was enough for Melehe to jump several centimeters into the air.

“Y-y-y-you pervert!!”

“(I’m beginning to think she’s the real pervert. She’s tied up focusing on her studies for now, but is she actually extremely interested in these “perverted” things?)”

“O-o-o-o-of course not! Don’t you dare speak another word, pervert tutor!!!”

His speculation seemed to have grown to something much bigger in Melehe’s mind because she began strangling him while blushing, but the blond tutor in a sailor uniform remained calm.

“Dancers in skimpy clothing? Is it a witch establishment for exorcism and evil-warding where they listen to their customers’ worries and resolve them with purifying dances? Still, the main draw is probably choosing a girl and a song and watching her do a sexy dance, don’tcha think?”

If they were really only interested in resolving people’s worries with a magical effect, it would be easier to listen to the customer’s story and use certain herbs to whip up a magic recipe for a unique food, cocktail, or smoothie.

“The fact that you could figure all that out at a glance makes me question your life experiences,” grumbled Melehe with a hand on her forehead, but then she appeared to realize something. “Oh, wait. They sell animals in this amoral and decadently lewd shopping district? Is it a pet shop that charges a flat rate? Seeing that cute bunny lit up on the sign is so soothing.”

“That would be a strip club where the girls dance in nothing but an animal ear headband, don’tcha think?”

“Vwahhhhhh!! Ahhhhhhhhhh, ahhhh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

The prep school’s ace(?) doubled over and scratched at her head through her large sky-pirate-ish hat. That she saw that place as the one ray of hope here must have made the shock all the greater.

There were flowers and other plants decorating the fronts of the various clubs, perhaps to celebrate some kind of occasion, but given the type of city this was, they all looked fairly toxic. The giant tropical flowers weren’t so bad, but why the carnivorous plants? They may have been based on some kind of superstition rather than being an ingredient for a witchcraft ritual.

A lot of clubs had a familiar designed to look like a wolf or monitor lizard seated next to the entrance, perhaps to ward off evil. They also looked cute sitting there looking bored, so maybe they also helped attract customers.

Now, Viocia was only renting a room, so she had nothing to do with the club on the first floor. Yagoro noticed the gentle-on-books (but bad for the eyes) light of a moonlight seal coming from the window on the 2nd floor.

Even Viocia had to be working hard to make sure she kept her access to the basic equipment.

It would be sad indeed if she were labeled a failure by the prep school before even getting to the actual entrance exam.

Then again, the noise coming from the club was noticeable even at a distance. That 2nd floor room had to be physically vibrating from it all. Could she really study like that?

(It’s best to have 15 minutes of silence at the start to help you get focused on your studying. Once you’re properly focused like that, it’s a lot harder to get distracted.)

“So a coven, huh?”

“What?”

“You said you’re from Private Striga, right? If you belong to an organization of professional witches, why are you bothering studying here in Temple School City to get into Maleficium? Wouldn’t it be faster to learn magic from the many tutors your coven could provide?”

Private Striga in particular had a strong independent streak. If she knew that was where she would end up anyway, it seemed like she would save herself a lot of effort focusing her education in their unique direction as early as possible.

“I can’t do that.”

“Because you think a Maleficium education can’t be beat?”

Self-taught witches could use a Formula Broom to an extent . But if you wanted to go beyond that extent and customize the broom’s untouchable core, you had to go to Maleficium.

“Private Striga is definitely my home, but that’s why I have to be stronger than all the others. I need to be the kind of leader who can stand at the very front and guide the way. I won’t get there with a sheltered upbringing surrounded by things I like and am good at. Ultimately, I need to surpass even daddy and mom.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought for an exam student.”

But that was a child’s dream. She had to have some accepting parents if they agreed to that plan and even let her strategically fail the exam once.

He was afraid he had clawed at her self-esteem, which could be even more sensitive than a scab, but Melehe sounded happy.

“Heh. Of course I did. My mom stands at the very top of the 13-branching tree, she wields Formula Broom – Greek Theatre, and she’s earned the highest score in Private Striga’s history. It’s said she has already reached the level of a one-woman army.”

“Greek Theatre?”

“That’s right. And mine is Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus. Heh heh.”

Would that mean the mother’s guide was Dionysus and the daughter’s was Zagreus? No, if the category was defined more broadly, it could be Orpheus. Either way, the fact that Melehe had so thoroughly customized the broom that tied her to her mother was probably a sign of how much she loved and looked up to the woman.

As a teenager, she probably thought she was keeping it hidden, but it couldn’t have been more obvious.

Not to mention the proudly snorted “heh heh”.

(Hm. Would the Orpheus connection mean she’s a vegetarian?)

But did that group even allow women to join? He wasn’t certain, but the process of magic knowledge spreading to this world could have caused some changes like in a game of telephone.

Of course, Melehe was only interested in the Formula Broom and learning any magic she could use right away. She wasn’t trying to join the Earth-born Orphism religion so she could reach a fulfilling afterlife.

“Her name is Viocia, right? Couldn’t you ask her much the same thing? Maleficium fails more than 99.9999% of the people who gather from all over to take the entrance exam. It should be obvious you can’t pass if you aren’t wholly committed.”

“Hm, I guess there’s no reason to hide it.”

“?”

“She wants her grandmother to get better.”

Their surroundings were as noisy as ever, but Melehe fell silent.

So Yagoro continued.

“The doctor said she’s just old and nothing can be done about it and the old woman herself accepted that answer. But Viocia refused to let that go unchallenged. She wants to create a brand new potion to heal her sick grandmother who lives deep in the forest. That’s why she wants to learn magic and work on the potion in the best possible environment: Maleficium. That really is all there is to it for her. Her magic knowledge is almost entirely self-taught, so she’s missed a lot of the basics. In fact, her mother isn’t even a witch. Both her parents are ordinary people. They apparently wanted to keep her as far away from magic as possible.”

“…”

“I’m not trying to convince you to go easy on her. The entrance exam is a competition. Your reasons for wanting into Maleficium won’t decide who passes and who fails. Worrying about your rivals’ sob stories will only hurt your chances.”

“…I know that.”

Melehe sounded sulky.

She flipped through her flash cards, but she also asked a question through pouted lips.

“But you decided to help her because of that, didn’t you?”

“That’s a privilege granted only to an outsider who isn’t interested in passing the exam.”

### 6

After scoping out the area, it was nearly dawn.

Yagoro had learned the noisy partying in that club continued well into the early morning. The silhouette in the window was facing the desk, but she couldn’t study properly without getting used to the noise or coming up with another solution.

Melehe had faithfully stayed with him the entire time and she was looking sleepy. But she associated her yawns with a failure in her flash card memorization and redoubled her efforts there. It was honestly impressive.

“Do you think you can help her with that noise?”

“The club is only on the 1st floor, so the higher the floor, the more the building itself will block out the noise. Even something as simple as studying up on the roof would make a marked difference, don’tcha think?”

“I see. Yawwwn.”

Viocia’s room was apparently a mess since she couldn’t clean up, so that would kill two birds with one stone. She would need another solution for rainy days, though.

“Are you alright, Melehe? The Bealtaine is today. I know it’s not the official practice exam, but a bad performance still means restrictions on the prep school equipment and facilities you can use.”

“Mind your own business.”

The brown sky pirate girl suppressed another yawn and waved a hand toward the lightening night sky.

“Hey, elevator. Over here!”

“Wah!?”

A red metal beam resembling a giant’s scales gave a roar. The rotating scales passed above the stone buildings to come this way. The “elevator car” supported by a thick chain lowered onto the circle drawn on the street. Melehe boarded it and vanished into the gray sky.

“I had no idea anyone actually used those dangling thrill rides.”

He heard a new voice from overhead.

“Ha ha ha. Shy as ever, I see, milady. You could just tell him you’re relieved to find he is an honest tutor who cares about his student. C’mon, do it☆”

“Never speak again, Orpheus.”

Instead of riding the elevator somewhere, she must have joined her Formula Broom up in the air so she could ride it away. At the edge of the elevator car attached to the slowly rotating scales, a witch on a broom took flight into the near-dawn sky.

Myousou Yagoro had to get going too. He couldn’t afford to oversleep and force his student to wait on him. He had to get back to his apartment and take a nap.

The dark blue sky began to shine as dawn approached. The pumpkin lamps automatically switched off as the sunlight arrived. The unique chill of early morning caused him to straighten his spine while simply walking through the city.

“Huh?”

Someone called out to him. A girl of about his age with red pigtails emerged from a narrow side street. Her lovely but extremely fit body was contained in a maid outfit with a long skirt. Much like a track suit on Earth, that was considered a normal thing to wear when you were cleaning and didn’t want to get your regular clothes dirty. This city of swords and sorcery could be incredible at times.

“Wait, that sailor uniform and blond hair. Is that you, Yagoro!?”

Myousou Yagoro’s response to the surprised Benandanti elite was quite simple: he held his left index finger to his lips. Even a child would understand that gesture and the pigtails girl immediately fell silent.

“Don’t tell anyone about this, Nancy. I don’t want to bring any trouble to your peaceful life.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Nancy raised her hands in mock surrender and Yagoro asked her a question.

“So what are you doing out this early?”

“Hunting a Grade 7 Riot Hydra spotted at Lakeside. That isn’t a job for the Benandanti, but it is one of the monsters that escaped from our school.”

It was scary how casual she was about taking on a monster that would normally require a small group of knights to deal with.

Or did this just prove how abnormal that Voland had been?

Now, passing by a Benandanti on the street wasn’t exactly rare. Maleficium students did live in this city just like everyone else, after all. But they camouflaged themselves with disguises and anti-recognition spells so they could blend into the crowd and no one would notice they were there.

“Also, I suppose I should apologize. Yagoro…sorry about before.”

The boy tilted his head, unsure what she meant, so she childishly pouted her lips and continued.

“I’m a member of the Benandanti who protect this city under White Magic’s management, right? But we more or less left you all to die the other day.”

“Oh, that? I really don’t think you need to worry about it. Your personal conscience and guilt are trapped in an external mental cage when you wear the Hexenturm.”

“True, but still…” The girl’s voice trailed off.

Myousou Yagoro was impressed that yet another girl he knew had such a troublesome personality.

“So how many is it this year? I can’t believe you’re still doing this,” she said.

“I’m going to keep at it until I get some kind of result.”

“Hee hee. As one of the girls you helped pass the exam, I’m not sure if I should be happy or upset. Because I never did live up to your expectations.”

It all came down to that. You could make as many complicated relationships as there were people out there. Not everything could be placed in simple categories like friendship or love.

The maid outfit girl gave one final warning as she left.

“But I don’t think President Ulrike is going to let you have your way. No matter what.”

The air temperature seemed to plummet.

No one could defeat her. Not even Myousou Yagoro.

Everyone in White Magic (Maleficium’s student council) was a monster, but none as much as that ultimate witch who possessed nothing but the most destructive forms of magic imaginable. She had completely destroyed the being thought to break all the limits when it came to destruction and, no matter how great her power, she could never bring happiness to anyone. Yagoro understood how fearsome she was down to the very core of his being.

Wise Fencing.

Why had they needed to invent a term for magical swordplay in a world of swords and sorcery? Because a brand new category was necessary to properly describe that president who had mastered both of those categories.

“Remember what the president always says: you must not touch the edge of the world . Even I can tell what you’re doing will violate that. So you shouldn’t be out alone on the border between day and night. You know all too well the abnormal things the witch seated in White Magic’s throne is capable of, don’t you? Don’t blame me if you wind up with a knife buried in your back.”

It was hard to tell if Nancy was joking or not.

But she had always had trouble making jokes, so she was probably serious.

“Also! You need to return the grimoires and otherworld maps you borrowed. Don’t tell them I told you, but the Glenstrae have their eye on you.”

“Oh, is that all? I should be fine until their head librarian sends her highlander unit after me, don’tcha think?”

“That’s a bad habit,” sighed Nancy before leaving.

(I should get home too.)

“Huff, puff.”

Or so he thought until he spotted another familiar face.

But this was not the wonderful homemaker of a president heading out with a one-shot-kill icepick and an apron to keep the blood off of her clothes.

“Pant, gasp. Huff, puff.”

“Dorothea?”

Dorothea Rockpool, the zombie girl with white bandages wrapped around her curvy body, was running this way. She looked calm for someone running, so she probably wasn’t attempting a desperate flight from some kind of threat. So did she have a habit of going for an early morning jog? He had thought she was more the indoors type, so this came as a surprise. Especially in this tiered city of stairs that was the bane of movers and bicycle delivery workers who made use of carrier pigeons.

She apparently placed her head bandage over the temples of her glasses to keep them from slipping out of place when she jogged. Clever.

(But since those bandages don’t leave much to the imagination, I never know where to look.)

When he called out to the girl whose bandages looked dangerously close to coming undone, she came to a stop. She smiled at him while wiping the seat from her brow with a light-colored towel.

“Oh, Mr. Tutor. G-good morning. ”

“Good morning. Oh, now I get it. Damn, is it morning already?”

“?”

The no-bake cheesecake bandage girl tilted her blonde head in confusion. A cow familiar used its legs – which were more suited to all the stairs than wheels – to lazily walk past them with plenty of newspapers and milk bottles loaded on its back. It was already time for the morning deliveries.

“It is important to keep up your health so you don’t get sick, but can you really afford to give up study time for this?”

“Ha ha. This towel h-has herb names and ATU numbers sewn into it. Eep. That may not actually help much, though.”

She wiped off her fogged-up glasses and smiled. Yagoro really wished his dunce of a student could learn a thing or two from Dorothea. Was she focused on the Bealtaine right now? And how useful it was to have study materials sewn into the towel didn’t really matter . The simple act of sewing them into the towel associated that knowledge with a special event, which would help it stick in her mind. Dorothea’s efforts would remain in her memory as part of that event.

“Do you always use this course?”

“I don’t really have a course in mind. I-if I decide to jog a long distance in advance, I lose my nerve, so instead I focus on running to the next elevator pillar I can see and then keep doing that as long as I can.”

So like how a small child on the way to the dentist or a lesson they didn’t want to do would kick a rock down the road from streetlight to streetlight?

“I can still focus on the exam race thanks to you, b-but I still want to do something about how weak I am. And I don’t mean academically or physically. If I was stronger on the inside – eep – I don’t think I would have relied on that back-alley recipe.”

It would be crass to say anything here.

Exam students needed to study as much as possible even if it meant tying themselves to their desks, but that wasn’t the only problem they faced. They were all fighting their worries about the future to some extent. Everyone had to find their own way to conquer those fears. These early morning jogs were Dorothea’s strategy and that gave her a vision of victory in her mind. If jogging was a calculated part of her daily routine, then Yagoro had no right to stop her.

Some might call it irresponsible, but he knew what Dorothea needed to hear most right now.

“Keep at it.”

“Hee hee. Should you really be saying that when you’re Viocia’s tutor?”

Yagoro smiled bitterly after they parted ways.

She was right. But he had no real intention of taking back his words at this point.

After walking up all the stairs back to his inconvenient top-level apartment, he saw the aproned bookseller doing something in front of the building first thing in the morning. Much like with the magic ice, she was carrying a bunch of the firewood that was stockpiled as shared materials for the neighborhood. Was she also exercising for her health and beauty? She tended to be upset when he took a job from her in an attempt at being a gentleman, so he simply greeted her and walked on past.

“Now, now, Yagoro. When you see a lady with her hands full, a man is supposed to take the burden from her without even needing to ask☆”

“…”

The silver-haired young woman was even smiling. The mystery of how to act around her continued to grow. Maybe it wasn’t a set ideology or rule and he had to determine what kind of mood she was in that day.

Firewood was an important fuel in this world where electricity was not yet commonplace. It was used in the kitchen, the bath, the heater, and so much more. Sunlight seals only provided light, so they couldn’t heat a frying pan and Myousou Yagoro was the only person in the world who could use a microwave oven or air conditioner.

“By the way, the children in the squatters district wanted to see you,” she said.

“I see.”

“That district is less developed so you can find a lot more greenery growing there than anywhere else around here. It’s the only place in this city of white and black stone you can get firewood. Those children have found a good business to run. And it’s cheaper than buying fuel from outside the city because there are no transport or security costs.”

You could say his tutor’s nature had gotten the better of him. He had simply given some advice to the neighborhood kids who seemed to have intentionally chosen a harder life by living back behind the apartment. Of course, getting them to listen to the advice had required a bit of brawling with some brats who had a learned mistrust of other people and were armed with rusty blades.

“Those children have calmed down a lot since you arrived. They even smile happily now.”

“I hope you’re right.”

The young woman smiled and made a suggestion after he finished helping her.

“To thank you for helping, I will bring you a little something later on. Hee hee. I was already planning to cook a vegetable stew tonight, so making a little more won’t be much trouble.”

“Ugh.”

“Yagoro?”

The jiggly young woman looked legitimately puzzled.

If it was a vegetable stew, then the vegetables were the main ingredient, not beef or chicken. This was the fly in the ointment with a young woman who was picky about health and beauty. A 17-year-old boy’s body demanded thick bacon, sausage, or something equally greasy that would immediately fill the stomach.

After parting ways with the bookseller, his pleasant exhaustion had grown to actual drowsiness. He decided a shower could wait until he next woke. Right now, he collapsed into bed to make use of that drowsiness.

### 7

“Ehh? Viocia, wh-why did you leave so many of the question blank? Eep. You can’t get any points on the Bealtaine unless you actually write something down.”

“If I leave it up to luck like that, I just know my test will be posted on the hallway bulletin board to show off my ‘funny’ answer. With only my name covered up for privacy.”

“Stop being weirdly hesitant about answering test questions and actually study so you can avoid that kind of embarrassment. Now, you should have known Cernunnos would be on the Aspect of Antiquity section of the Bealtaine. Why did you focus all your studying on flight magic, and ultra-high speed flight at that?”

Dorothea, Viocia, and Melehe were arguing in the self-study room one night.

The Bealtaine was meant to check how well each student understood the material and to give the students practice assessing their own work. So once the test was over, they were allowed to discuss it with each other.

Now, Carraway Cs Prep School’s self-study room was always open, but the students could not stay there forever. They had to rent time there using free tickets they were issued. If they were allowed to stay there all day long, some would curl up on the floor below the desk and sleep there.

Gyaru-style Instructor Schanze – who looked like a Mont Blanc in her vest, tight skirt, and leopard print show-off bra – gave the girls a sidelong look. As the broom instructor, she wouldn’t normally be here for this, but overseeing the test was considered a boring job and she had apparently secretly gotten another instructor to pay her to do the job for them. When even the instructors were filling in for each other, you had to wonder how sound the prep school’s business model really was.

Of course, the gyaru-style instructor’s thoughts were on something else entirely. She whispered with Myousou Yagoro in an empty booth.

“I see Dorothea is totally back. What even happened between her and her Formula Broom?”

“With Aristotle, you mean? He’s back inside the broom. I may have threatened to mess with the inside of the broom so it would read in a different geographic location if he pissed me off again.”

“I see. Well, if a real monster like you is totally keeping an eye on things, that broom shouldn’t cause any more trouble for a while.”

Schanze had a “that explains it” look on her face.

The girls’ peaceful conversation continued while she watched.

“By the way, Viocia, based on which questions you left blank, it looks to me like you didn’t study the Black Mass much at all.”

“I-it is true the Aspect of Amorality has a lot of frightening things in it, so I don’t like reading about it much either. Eep. L-like offering a part of your clothing to a demon or using blood as an ingredient.”

“Ugh. I hate gross things.”

“Well, deal with it. The textbooks are nothing but knowledge, right? Besides, there’s a lot more to the Aspect of Amorality than that. Like creating curses by letting tools go to waste. That’s the logic behind monsters making homes out of abandoned churches.”

“H-how about we focus on the Aspect of Admiration for a change of pace? Eep. ATU 0123 is the Wolf and the Young Goats.”

“Gyahhhhh! A story about young goats carelessly opening the door and being eaten by the wolf disguised as their mother is plenty gross!!”

“Anyway, your practice exam results are always going to be catastrophic if you don’t study the Aspect of Amorality. And you, uh, must have a reason you want to get into Maleficium, right?”

“Hmm? Melehe, have you gotten nicer recently?”

“I am not nice and I am not harmless!! Do not mock the fearsome future leader of Private Striga!”

The gyaru-style instructor gave an arbitrary nod and got down to business.

“I’ve totally finished questioning Dorothea after what happened.”

“Questioning her about what?”

“ The guaranteed weight loss talisman. Or more accurately, the crazy recipe for it.”

That was another issue regarding Dorothea.

How to mix herbs to produce different effects was one thing a witch had to know for the entrance exam, but dangerous recipes were a different matter. In this city full of witches who had failed the exam, there would always be idiots trying to get rich quick at the cost of someone else’s future.

Schanze Dwelling crossed her lithe legs as she continued.

“Yellow District, Block X.”

“Sassafras Cfa Prep School, huh?”

Myousou Yagoro instinctually lowered a hand to his hip. He rubbed the grip of the collapsed baton to ensure it was there.

“They have a super bad reputation , don’t they?” said the gyaru-style instructor with a bewitching laugh.

There was a wide variety of prep schools in Temple School City. With its focus on the instructor’s salaries, some might think Carraway Cs was a waste of time.

But one thing was for sure: it was better than Sassafras Cfa.

“Sabotaging your rivals is assumed. That totally criminal prep school doesn’t even try to raise successful students of its own. Instead, they search out students that look like they could totally get into Maleficium and then threatens them into transferring. And even with that, I’ve heard rumors they falsify their pass rate each year. And any investigative reporters or internal whistleblowers have a way of disappearing. They probably end up thrown into Lakeside’s semi-underground park where they’re eaten .”

“That’s one of the most deadly areas in the city, isn’t it? It started out as an overgrown dungeon no one had bothered looking after, but after witches started using it as a dumping ground for giant gargoyles, mandragoras with deadly screams, and other things they can’t look after themselves, it’s turned into a real den of monsters.”

“There are even adventurer parties who bring along a dog and try to have it uproot the mandragoras from a safe distance. Really, anything in Lakeside is totally like that. You can’t even trust the length of a meter or the mass of a kilogram there. The rich all want to live on the convenient lower levels, but Block Y and Block Z at the very bottom totally aren’t an option, are they?”

At any rate, if students from that school were involved in Dorothea’s case, this was more serious than Yagoro had thought.

She might not be their only victim.

He had to assume this “attack” was targeted at the entire school. How far had the corruption spread through Carraway Cs? They had used a guaranteed weight loss talisman. It was possible students worn down in body and mind had been so worried about the exam they leapt at the easy solution presented to them and now effectively worked for the culprits. If so, letting this problem fester could bring unnecessary danger to Viocia.

But…

“ That’s totally not the biggest problem. Are you familiar with the Arena?”

“You mean the public exercise facility at the bottom of the city, bordering Lakeside? And the Arena isn’t its official name.”

“Right. Basically, it’s a free facility for anyone to use when their prep school’s indoor training ground is too crowded.”

“Are you saying these dangerous people have turned it into their base?”

“It’s in Block Z, at the very bottom, remember? And people like that have a way of appearing at tourist attractions, shopping districts, and anywhere else you find a lot of people. But that means the recipe sellers will have corrupted more than just Carraway Cs. We haven’t heard of it anywhere else because every school totally has to keep up appearances, but shouldn’t we assume several schools have already been affected?”

This was more than a direct clash between two schools.

The infamous Sassafras Cfa Prep School had put all the city’s prep schools in danger.

Like they had spun a spiderweb that captured and devoured people’s lives.

“…”

If Yagoro was going to make a move, what should he consider his goal?

Did he only want to remove the rot from Carraway Cs? Would he drive the recipe sellers out of the Arena? Or would he oppose infamous Sassafras Cfa as a whole? His objective was simply to help Viocia with her entrance exam. The weight loss talisman incident was a major threat, but dragging his student into a lengthy battle was the last thing he wanted when the entire point was to eliminate any unnecessary noise from her surroundings.

“To be honest, I’m amazed you’ve managed to just barely keep your right to use the basic equipment this long.”

“Incredible. It looks like the things you studied – eep – were exactly what ended up on the practice exam.”

“That was the pervert tutor’s doing, I’ll bet.”

“Heh heh. Now, before we continue, a special weapon to help keep me focused: a chocolate bar.”

“ I-I will be confiscating that. ”

“Ahhhh!! Dorotheaaaaa!”

“Do you have any idea how much work it is for a witch to keep in shape? And sugar would only make you sleepy.”

“You don’t understand, Melehe! I need it! It’s that effect where two things that come in contact will continue to affect each other even from really far away. And wasting food is bad luck!!”

“The fundamental law of curses does not apply to this, you stupid failure!”

Melehe raised her fist but started fidgeting and couldn’t bring herself to swing it back down. This was probably because she had learned Viocia’s reason for wanting into Maleficium.

Myousou Yagoro sighed softly while watching those girls from a distance.

If he wanted a simple answer, he knew where to find one.

(I know exactly what Viocia would say to do .)

### 8

“Huff, puff.”

The girl focused on keeping a set rhythm when jogging. She moved from the upper levels of the diamond-shaped city to the lower levels. She didn’t worry about her speed. She took each step as if it would help expel the negative energy from the core of her body.

Zombie Girl Dorothea Rockpool had finished the Bealtaine practice exam.

Her self-assessment was even better than she had expected. It was far from perfect, but she had aced the ATU number memorization part, putting her above even Melehe, who always scored Rank A. It may have helped that she was a bookish girl through and through.

Finding something she was good at gave her the courage she needed to keep going. It helped her believe that all her efforts hadn’t been in vain.

“Phew.”

It was still dark out. She stopped her running feet in the predawn city and pushed her slipping glasses back into place. She looked up on a whim.

There was a massive lake in the center of the city. She saw a large circular building bordering the Lakeside area. That was the Arena. Unlike the standard prep school training grounds, this was a witch sporting facility that anyone was free to use.

Before, she had frequently visited there with Formula Broom – Lyceum.

Toward the end, she had begun relying on something else entirely.

“––––”

She shook her head to drive out the unpleasant memory. She didn’t need any quick tricks or cheats to skip over the usual process. Even if it wasn’t visible yet, she wanted to gradually improve herself the right way.

This time, she would take her own step forward.

“O-okay.”

The zombie girl slapped her cheeks and turned away from the Arena. She had reached the end of her jogging route. Now she had to jog back the way she had come. She didn’t need to focus on a distant goal right away. She set a smaller goal for herself: the next large elevator pillar painted red so flying witches wouldn’t run into it.

All while she believed these small things would eventually add up to passing the exam.

“Ohh?”

Someone grinned while watching her from behind.

And they weren’t alone. Three girls were watching Dorothea Rockpool in amusement from a corner of the Arena’s gate.

“So Dorothea’s working hard to get back into studying for the exam. What a waste of time. Peh heh heh.”

“And after she cried, begged, and hopped so desperately to buy those recipes from us. Can you believe this, Lampans?”

“Who do you think you’re kidding? We all know you’re planning to drag her back in. Aren’t you, Arbamini, Holibre?”

Red, blue, green.

The girls all wore puffy round miniskirts, white short-sleeve blouses, suspenders, and colored leggings – each girl wearing her own color. They all wore an identical sash diagonally down from one shoulder. The yellow and black stripes were the stereotypical warning colors of venomous creatures.

A waitress uniform that emphasized the chest may have been the closest comparison.

But their sweet macaron-like miniskirts were polka dotted instead of a plain color. That looked fancy at first, but it was actually another threatening pattern used by venomous animals.

They were the wicked aces who ruled over the other 300 girls at the infamous Sassafras Cfa Prep School.

They embodied a distorted view of preparing for the entrance exam where they specialized in sabotaging their rivals rather than increasing their own scores.

Some muffled groaning came from nearby.

All three of them had parchment talismans pasted all over their broom handles.

The talismans said “do not disturb” on the front. Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans were holding a strategy meeting. They didn’t need any unwanted advice from their Formula Brooms.

“Of course we are, Lampans. Carraway Cs has strict defenses, so it’s hard to get at them. We went to all the trouble of giving ourselves a pawn there, so we need Dorothea to cause some more trouble in their walls.”

“Does the naïve fool really think she can just back out after choosing for herself to get involved? Know what I mean, Arbamini, Lampans? We’re the ones that decide when she isn’t useful anymore. And that’s when we throw her out.”

“Then let’s get it over with, Holibre. That weight loss talisman is powerful, so no matter how stoic she pretends to be, she can’t escape its allure. She’ll crumble the instant we give her more.”

The talisman’s effects couldn’t be stacked, so there was no point in having multiple. And the body would build up a resistance to its effects, so the one recipe wouldn’t be enough for the addicts and they would seek out an even more powerful recipe and be willing to pay a lot for it. “New and improved” was not just used to advertise food. It was a useful phrase for these shadier products as well.

But these three didn’t actually do all that much. They simply made some minor adjustments to the default recipe and sold the addicts that. It only had to get around the body’s resistance. And it was none of their concern what happened to the addicts’ health as more and more new stimuli and reactions were introduced to their bodies.

The addicts knew it was unhealthy going in, so they didn’t question it when their health deteriorated.

“I mean, why should we care what Dorothea wants? If we surround her, we don’t even need all our arms to pin down all her limbs. How about we apply the parchment talisman to her by force? Using a sturdy glue, of course.”

“Sounds great. How about we also give her a chastity belt she can’t remove herself. That way we know the talisman’s staying in place until it takes effect.”

“Hee hee. But then she couldn’t get it off even if it caused an overreaction. You two are so mean. Don’t blame me if that dumb witch foams at the mouth and dies.”

It was unclear what she was so embarrassed about, but heading out alone at around dawn when there weren’t many people out yet was like asking to be attacked. As long as they were on the lookout for the delivery familiars who always followed the same course, there was plenty of room to kill someone.

“Okay, let’s go get this job over with.”

“Right? Let’s do it, let’s do it. It’s not like we have to pass the exam this year or anything.”

“Yes, getting into Maleficium is only the beginning. Hee hee. Our school life after passing will go much smoother if we intentionally fail a couple of times to spend a year or two earning some money.”

Arbamini had her red hair in a braid that resembled a fried shrimp, Holibre wore glasses and had her blue hair in twintails, and Lampans had her green hair in a ponytail. The poisonous macaron trio in waitress outfits had their target in sight.

They walked out from the Arena’s gate as one.

Or they would have…

“Don’t even think about it.”

The witch wore a black jacket, a short skirt, and a large hat. She looked like a cross between a sky pirate and a soldier. Her chocolate parfait look was adorned with medals and rank insignia on her chest.

With her shoulder-length silver hair and brown skin, Melehe stood in those girls’ path.

So she could push back their violent malice on her own.

“Wow, would you look at that. It’s the ace of Carraway Cs. She’s supposed to be their strongest witch, right?”

“Right. So won’t we get a reward if we beat her up and drag her back to our school? They pay for girls who look like they could get into Maleficium.”

“She’d make a fuss if we just abducted her. You brought your handheld silver halide, right? Then let’s ensure her silence by taking some compromising photos first. Hee hee.”

They laughed.

And laughed.

“Hey, did either of you bring the bear trap? Where’s that thick chain?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll do you a favor and put a bag over your head first. It wouldn’t be much of a threat if we’d already ruined you . Being seen stuck on the ground and unable to fly is enough for a witch to kill herself, after all.”

“Let’s do it with her submerged up to her shoulders in that filthy river in the squatters district. She looks like the proud type, so if we leave her there a while, she’ll have the tears and snot running down her face . One photo of that and we’ll have the perfect bargaining chip.”

It took the full use of all Melehe’s facial muscles to avoid reacting to the sensation she felt pushing in like dark ripples. If someone didn’t do what these girls wanted, they would teach that person a lesson. Melehe now understood just how thin of ice that timid girl had been walking on.

“You were the ones spreading around those guaranteed weight loss talismans , weren’t you?”

Melehe wanted to pass the entrance exam to meet her mother’s approval and to take an important step toward being a powerful leader for the Private Striga coven she so loved. If her rivals were cheating, it would call into question her own accomplishment.

Melehe was not enough of a philanthropist to protect the weak.

She knew ensuring a proper study environment was part of the battle toward passing the exam. Maleficium failed more than 99.9999% of those who took the exam, so there was no chance of a convenient dream where everyone passed.

If you weren’t strong enough, you would be failed without a second thought. She could not even give Viocia special treatment just because the girl wanted to help her grandmother. Dorothea had to have a serious motivation too since she had worked to get back on her feet after running into trouble. And of course, that alone wasn’t enough to pass.

But Melehe had seen Dorothea’s strength during the Bealtaine. Melehe always kept a rank of A in the official practice exams, but Dorothea had surpassed her on the ATU number memorization.

Melehe could not deny the girl’s ability.

She could tell the girl had worked herself to the bone until she produced real results.

Everyone was gritting their teeth and working hard in this “war”, but there were others who didn’t do any work, didn’t bother trying to earn points, and focused only on sabotaging others to take the easy way out.

The exam was meant to be a battle against oneself. It was wrong to have people’s futures taken from them because they were sabotaged and never had a chance to prove their strength. And to make matters worse, these girls had mentioned a monetary reward as an added bonus.

Melehe knew someone who had realized her mistake and worked to get back on her feet. Her progress may be slow, but she was moving forward now. Her efforts were bearing real fruit. How could Melehe stand by and let someone break that student’s spirit again and mock her for it?

“I hope you don’t expect me to just surrender.”

The trio simply sneered in response. Apparently even witches had failed to find a medicine to cure a fool.

“What are you saying we did? There’s nothing wrong with writing up a recipe and selling it. Your gloomy glasses friend is the one who believed it and actually made the thing.”

“Right? Seems to me you should be directing that righteous fury at Dorotha over there. Go on, get her instead☆”

“Hee hee. Be nice, you two. If you take her righteousness from her, she’s got nothing left. Push her any further and she’ll probably fall apart all on her own.”

A dull thud rang out.

A Formula Broom had been circling up in the dawn sky but now it dropped like a blade from the heavens, its tip striking the stone pavement hard. Before the broom could fall over, the silver-haired girl grabbed the long handle. She twirled it in her hand like a baton.

Melehe glared straight back at the trio and gave a proclamation.

“Answer me, Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus.”

“Of course.”

“I know exactly how you feel, Orpheus. So don’t bother holding back. You are a performer who puts your tastes above the rules of the world, after all. …Please help me fight. If you have a heart, I know you’re as pissed at these three as I am!”

“That goes without saying, milady. I will demonstrate that anger can be used to fuel the creative process.”

The three girls gave belligerent smiles and licked their lips while adjusting their grips on their brooms.

“Ha ha☆ How stupid are you!? Now you’re the one who picked a fight with us. What luck! Now we’re officially the victims no matter what we do to you!”

“Right? So let’s gang up on her and beat the crap out of her!”

“Dorothea doesn’t even matter as long as we have a pawn to get us deep inside Carraway Cs. Let’s make an addict out of her. She’ll be begging us for a way to forget all about reality before we’re done with her.”

Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans raised their malicious voices as one.

They exchanged dark grins and revealed even their brooms were identical.

“Formula Broom – Glamis!! Answer us, you three witches, you bubbles of the earth!! Draw out the great triangle and deceive Macbeth!!!”

The low sound of air being compressed erupted in triplicate.

It was one against three.

Multiple figures shook free of gravity and tore sharply through the air. An aerial witch battle had begun.

### 9

A witch’s broom – a Formula Broom – generally always moved forward. That meant it didn’t easily hover in place or move vertically.

When not using the breakaway method, which meant stepping out into the air from an elevated location, taking off from the ground required distance. Short takeoff and landing was the mainstream method for modern witches, but that still began with low-altitude flight skimming just off the ground and required nearly 500m for a stable takeoff.

Thus, the witches facing each other immediately passed each other by in their ultra-low-altitude flight.

After picking up enough speed, both sides gained altitude while performing a large U-turn. They just barely avoided the red-painted elevator pillars and the thick chains while they prepared to pass each other again but much higher this time.

However, they were not preparing for a harsh exchange of attacks.

A small scratch ran across Melehe’s right cheek.

(Did they lay out invisible wires or some other kind of trap during our first pass?)

They wouldn’t have had time to extend wires between all the various protrusions and support pillars. If they had, Melehe would have been decapitated. So had they each thrown out a few of the coiled wires designed to be dropped from above to tangle up a carriage’s wheels and its horse’s legs? Melehe’s cheek had been struck by one of the ultra-thin curved wires forming a coil thicker than a washtub.

Witches were familiar with weaponizing flight techniques. The big circular wires were cheap and easily acquired, they could be folded down like an accordion, and they could unilaterally attack a powerful warhorse’s legs, a carriage’s wheels, or a warship’s rudder from the sky.

“Are you kidding me? You dare use a wire to harm my skin when I work with Orpheus, the master of the lyre, ancestor of the modern harp!?”

The red, blue, and green wicked girls of Sassafras Cfa Prep School had a special way of flying. They held their Formula Brooms backwards so the brush end was out front. That looked tricky at first, but it was actually one of the official riding styles.

Furthermore, four sharp metal plates resembling a mantis’s arms extended out from the sides of the brush. They were angled outwards, creating something like the end of a trumpet. Those extra wire cutters were used to slice through any unseen barriers set up in the air, thus ensuring their safety. The focus on avoiding traps showed they understood the threat of their own traps better than anyone.

“Gya ha, ah ha ha!! Holibre, Lampans. Hee hee. Let’s go with the usual rules!”

“Right? Each bone of hers we break is 1 point and whoever earns the most points wins!”

“Arbamini, Holibre, we’re here to invite her to our school, so don’t kill her. Anything short of that’s fine, though. Hee hee. Now, what should I have you buy me after I win?”

Of course, no one could manage an adaptation without first mastering the basics. If this trio could fly like that, they had to have decent flight skills. They could have used those skills to create so many smiles, or to protect those smiles.

But they didn’t.

They only used their witchcraft skills to make others suffer.

(What is wrong with them!?)

“The lyrist can even open the path to the underworld with his music. Not even the god of the dead can alter his decisions.”

Melehe felt intense anger, but she accurately recited the incantation under her breath and used her empty left hand to create different whistle-like openings. As long as you trusted your Formula Broom and kept it under control, you only had to tell it what you wanted to do and it would search for the knowledge to make that a reality and guide your body through the necessary actions. She was flying using the instructions of the tool she held in her hand. She had no way of knowing, but that method would make the residents of Earth think of a certain term: fly-by-light.

“So even if his flesh and blood are split apart and discarded, his pace will not slow. Orpheus, control all flowing paths – be they water, river, or sea!!”

A roar and a glowing light came from Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus’s handle.

It was a single linked mass.

Far below, the stone pavement split and water burst out, ignoring gravity to swell up after Melehe. It formed a massive spear that took aim at the trio approaching her from head on.

They were on course to collide above the Arena.

But just before that happened, Arbamini, with the red braided fried shrimp, gave a roar.

While laughing in amusement.

“Ah ha ha! Gate, door, metal bars!! Shut tight and swallow your sacrifice whole!!”

“Tch!?”

Melehe heard something like blades slicing through the air.

That was exactly what this was. A perfect sphere of space above the Arena was cut away.

A lot of the water was left outside the field, but a volume greater than a bathtub remained within the giant sphere and obeyed Melehe.

The field itself had a diameter of 100m and its center point was about 200m above the ground. That meant the lowest point of the spherical barrier was located 150m above the ground.

Melehe wanted to avoid crashing into that invisible wall. She immediately figured out that “rule” and made minute adjustments to the nose of her broom to travel along the wall of the spherical barrier so closely the soles of her shoes just barely touched it.

She slid along it like a sled.

In the blink of an eye, Melehe and the witch trio had each circled the interior of the sphere at least 5 times.

That was the kind of speed they were using here. They were in a world that far surpassed sound.

(Is that barrier not coming from their Formula Brooms? Is it part of the Arena itself?)

Melehe held one hand up to her ear to better gather sound and heard some men cheering up at them from the ground.

“They’re at it again! We’ve got another witch fight!!”

“Okay, everyone, who’re you betting on!? It’s not a real day at the Arena without some gambling!!”

“It’s one against three. What kind of gamble is it when they’re ganging up on her like that!?”

Did those wicked witches use this mood to further their ends as well?

This wasn’t their first time doing this. There must have been students secretly biting their lips in frustration after having their wings broken by these three.

It would be best to assume no one would be reporting this to the Benandanti.

(Curse those gamblers and drunks. Of course, if someone did release a carrier pigeon to report this, I might just run into it!)

When they passed by each other yet again, some voices suddenly reached Melehe’s ears.

“(Everything’s ready. Guess what? We’ll be smashing every one of your bones, so I hope you’re prepared.)”

“Kh.”

“(Right? Kee hee hee. The witches who led Macbeth astray play music to cast magic on the air.)”

It took a split second for them to pass by, but a mass of compressed sound – and the words contained within – remained in Melehe’s ears like those three were breathing into her ear.

Then all three of them spoke as one while mimicking stirring a cauldron with their empty left hands.

“Welcome, you slow, slow fool. A turtle would be faster than you, human.”

Melehe suddenly pitched forward and her breath caught. It took her a few seconds to realize her Formula Broom had drastically lost speed. That alone could have been fatal when moving faster than sound.

But she didn’t die.

That one phrase had robbed her of so much speed. The trio were still at their top speed, so they seemed to melt into streaks of red, blue, and green.

Their distorted supersonic voices reached her again.

(Spears of sound!? And these aren’t just shockwaves. It’s their witch words that really matter. These carry some kind of curse!)

“Welcome back, you fat, fat fool. Your weight puts iron to shame, fatty.”

Her speed dropped further.

“Do not worry, mi…ady. Do not…anic and lose…ontrol!!”

“Orpheus!?”

Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus was trembling in a disconcerting way. The broom she was entrusting with her life was having trouble securing enough centrifugal force to continue rotating around the inside of the large sphere. The fear of dying from a fall crawled up from her toes to her chest. Her broom was malfunctioning like someone had opened it up and dumped sand or sugar inside.

“Hee ha ha!! One more! Just one more!!”

“Right? The three witches who led Macbeth astray only need to speak thrice to complete their curse. By linking the three points, we create a single current. There’s no escaping now, you brat!!”

“Sigh, fine. If she dies, we can go apologize to our instructor. Inviting in a good student only gets you a special bonus – it isn’t required or anything.”

Just once more.

All alone, Melehe gulped. If they completed their curse, she couldn’t remain airborne. If she fell from this height and they deactivated the spherical barrier surrounding them, she might really fall to her death.

(They aren’t each supplying all Three Aspects of Admiration, Antiquity, and Amorality.)

She shook her head to drive out her timidity.

She wouldn’t fall for their tricks.

She would never turn this around if she let fear rule her mind. If she intended to be a true witch, she needed to use knowledge to stop her trembling and work to analyze the threat she faced.

(I thought they were quick to put that magic together, so are they forming a single large piece of magic between the three of them? Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans. They each focus on one of the Aspects!!)

Red, blue, and green.

Those streaks of color were hard to follow with the naked eye, but they were intertwining and approaching Melehe. True to the basics of aerial combat, they intended to move in from behind.

The three curse-bearing sound spears rushed in toward her.

“Welcome back, you foolish, foolish fool. Now fall from the heavens like the fool you-!!??”

They never finished.

The trio stopped prematurely because they had lost sight of their target.

That said, Melehe could not use magic to turn herself invisible or to teleport. What she really did might seem trivial by comparison.

Inside the 100m sphere, her Formula Broom suddenly ascended straight up, completely ignoring the curvature of the field.

Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans continued their supersonic flight, but that was why they couldn’t process what had happened fast enough just by viewing the scene ahead of them. They had to have mostly been operating based on their mental predictions of what would happen. So a single action outside their predictions was enough for them to overlook something crucial.

They failed to notice Melehe’s 3m ascent.

The tricolored lights shot by directly below Melehe.

“A vertical…takeoff!?”

“ No one ever said it was impossible, did they? ”

Melehe Superlative had put a lot of effort into polishing her vertical takeoff technique. She could already do it on her own, but she still didn’t understand the process well enough to teach the members of Private Striga. If she could verbalize the parts she did by feel and turned it into a technique she could actually convey to someone else, she was sure it would greatly enhance the entire coven’s strength.

(Reproducibility is the heart of science, huh? That pervert tutor does know how to hit you where it hurts, in that inconsiderate way of his.)

So this was a symbol of her future pride – something she intended to one day teach to everyone in Private Striga. She didn’t have time to use it for any kind of misdeed.

Soldier Melehe focused on one of the 13 Multiples: save the weak.

She would not let these wicked witches rejoice in sullying someone’s attempt at getting a new start in life.

(I won’t have a second chance at this. I need to turn this around right now!!)

Melehe gripped her Formula Broom tight.

It was now her turn to move in behind the tricolored witches who had carelessly surpassed her.

“Their great triangle is dangerous, but it all falls apart if I can take out just one of them! Witches can’t use any significant magic without using all Three Aspects!!”

Still riding her broom, Melehe held out her open palm. The barrier had cut away most of it, but she still had more than 500L of water on the inside. By controlling it and changing its shape, she could launch a water spear.

She aimed at one of them – it didn’t matter which. She arbitrarily chose Arbamini’s red back.

“Tch!!”

“Arbamini!!”

The blue and green joined her and their three lights danced wildly about. A lot like shuffling paper cups with a ball below one.

Melehe launched the water spear regardless.

The instant it pierced the red, all three colors vanished into nothingness.

Melehe’s eyes widened.

(It wasn’t just one of the three.)

“ All three were decoys !?”

“Ha ha! The witches who led Macbeth astray vanish after their dance! Without warning!!”

The colorful lights flew in a large circle to the opposite side of the 100m diameter. From Melehe’s perspective, the colorful malice was clinging to the domed ceiling using the powerful centrifugal force. After recovering as if drawing out a massive rainbow, the three witches approached the brown girl again.

This time, their third curse really was coming.

“Welcome back, you foolish, foolish fool. Now fall from the heavens like the fool you are!!!”

Melehe’s strength faded.

Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus ceased to function.

Melehe felt like an icy hand was clutching her spine. That hand was the fear of death.

She was thrown out into the empty air at more than 150m up.

She wouldn’t even have to fall all the way to the ground.

She would die the instant she struck the thick barrier.

### 10

Just before death reached Melehe…

“Hhhnyahhhh!”

She heard a strange noise.

No, that was someone’s voice.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Destruction followed.

What was destroyed? The spherical barrier located above the Arena.

A single hole formed in the massive barrier and the entire thing popped like a soap bubble. Something had pierced through it from below. Whatever had been launched from the ground had mercilessly torn through the thick barrier and caught Melehe’s jacket just as gravity started to pull her down.

It was Viocia.

The two of them circled around in the air until Viocia somehow managed to get her Formula Broom stable again. Melehe’s broom remained entirely silent and refused to move.

“Sigh, the open sky feels great. If only all this wasn’t going on.”

The trio did not respond with a silly question.

First, red Arbamini raised her voice.

“Wha-!? It might be safe now, but this started out as an unofficial arena where the strongest witches fought the giant creatures made at Maleficium. How powerful is that girl to break through one of its barriers!?”

Melehe also stared wide-eyed at the girl she was holding onto.

She gave her a quintessential look of disbelief.

Dorothea wasn’t the only one to outdo Melehe on a part of the Bealtaine practice exam. On the ultra-high speed portion of the flight section, Viocia had outdone even the Rank A genius girl.

“How did you manage that extreme acceleration? Don’t tell me you could pass the airless ultra-high-altitude barrier and reach the far side of the starry sky!?”

“What are you talking about?”

Viocia herself was the most confused.

Melehe’s eyes widened again.

“(Who is this girl and who is her tutor?)”

Viocia only tilted her head.

“ More importantly , Melehe, you’re safe now. Help has arrived!”

“Hey? You really think your brute force power will be any help? You’re just an extra bonus for us. Have fun falling after we break all the bones in your body!!”

“I…”

Viocia didn’t hesitate to respond while both supporting Melehe and operating her broom.

“I never said it was just me. And you need to stop making fun of my teacher!!”

Boom!!!

“!?”

The color silver shined bright.

If not for the particles in the air, Arbamini would have been hit before she even noticed. The mass of wind was a lot like a giant wrecking ball.

Arbamini swung her body to dodge at the last second and gripped her broom all the tighter while scanning her surroundings with her eyes.

The afterimage was still burned into her retinas.

“What!?”

“Magic, right!? And more’s coming. Dodge, Arbamini!!”

### 11

Myousou Yagoro twirled his 70cm baton and rested it on his shoulder.

“So Macbeth’s witches whip up the wind in the reverse direction of the sailors’ map to stop the ship. That includes the wind and the water element. A direct hit from that sticky blow would have knocked them unconscious.

“Not that I expected to hit supersonic witches so easily, sighed Yagoro. Especially when it was an impromptu bit of magic that didn’t even include all Three Aspects.

“But that’s fine.”

The scared trio took a few seconds before they burned with intense humiliation and rage. If they rushed his way, he could easily win. His biggest fear was if they kept their cool and continued hunting Melehe.

(Dammit, Viocia. You didn’t have to steal my line like that, don’tcha think? I’m risking my life when it really isn’t my fight, after all.)

That said, it had been odd for Melehe to barge into the Arena without any hints to guide her there. She must have overheard Yagoro and Schanze’s conversation. And he was willing to pretend that gave him a justification for helping her out.

Also, the tutor boy had finally risen to the same height as the witches. However, he was not tearing through the air at supersonic speed on a Formula Broom.

He was using one of the cutting-edge elevators that looked like giant red scales and rotated up above the buildings. That meant he was on one of the narrow elevator cars dangling below them. Quick movements and evasion would be difficult from there. He had to use the advantages of the fixed position to overwhelm the supersonic witches.

“Bring it on.”

Yagoro swung his collapsible baton while constructing a strategy in his head.

Multiple lights melted together at once. Popping the spherical barrier had released all the witches into the open sky. When the red, blue, and green lights gathered, they skillfully avoided the giant dragons and griffins flying through the dawn sky and wove their flightpaths together to draw a large circle around Yagoro’s position. The radius of this circle was less than 200m.

At that speed and distance, stopping their spellcasting fingertips to destroy their magic wasn’t an option.

“Ha. On the ground, you could’ve at least used the buildings and terrain to shield you, but you were stupid enough to come up into the sky for us.”

It was probably the green light that was actually speaking. That would be the witch named Lampans.

“What, is this the famous tutor? I’ve heard some stories about Navigate Exam, but I also know your name isn’t found on any of the prep school lists of successful students. That means you don’t know jack about Maleficium! You’re just some bluffing boy!!”

“Was the spherical barrier meant to be a distorted version of the Sphere of Sensation? No, I don’t need to figure that out. Since it was broken from the outside, its identity doesn’t affect the battle.”

He wasn’t listening. The unnatural blond boy’s thoughts were elsewhere.

(I would estimate their speed at between Mach 1 and 3.)

This wasn’t a simple competition of speed. The most frightening thing about witches was their ability to turn as sharply as a bicycle or motorcycle while moving at those speeds. Yagoro imagined their general specs based on some of his old knowledge. In a pure dogfight, the witches would have an edge on the latest ramjet engine fighters.

But this was a good thing, actually. If the witches charged at him, they would reach him in no time, but their magic used their voices. That wasn’t a major problem for them when they were pursuing a fleeing supersonic opponent while surrounded by a barrier, but when their opponent was stationary, they would pass him by before their voice spears could have their effect. Generally speaking, witches always moved forward. There were exceptions like Melehe who could hover or take off vertically, but that trio were forced to fly in a large circle.

That gave him a chance.

Had the long-sleeve sailor uniform boy’s casual behavior wounded their pride? The three lights gathered together and directed their prophecy toward the center of their giant circle.

“We’ll shred you to pieces!!!”

“ As if you could !”

That simple statement was all it took.

The entire sky seemed to freeze over.

“Your Macbeth witches spell is certainly powerful. It has the extraordinary effect of burdening people with the destiny of whatever fictional role or position you give them!”

If they called you their lord, you really would become that. Whether you wanted it or not.

“But that’s a verbal curse. It doesn’t work if there’s no one there to hear it, don’tcha think!? So you have no way of damaging this elevator that would fall the instant you cut the chain!!”

“!?”

“Your only other option is to get me to hear your voice so I can make the elevator malfunction myself, don’tcha think? Which is why you went to all that touching effort to see if your voice was reaching me.”

“Oh,” said Melehe, her mouth falling open of its own accord.

They had been fighting at supersonic speed. It had been unusual for their voices to reach her at all. So Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans had constantly exchanged provocative comments while watching their opponent’s face. That way they could monitor in real time if their distorted voices were reaching that opponent using the compressed bundles of sound.

The blond tutor boy roared from atop the giant scales.

“But that’s exceedingly easy to interrupt!”

“Welcome back, you foolish, foolish fool. You stagger more than a drunk, foolish human!”

“That isn’t going to work! The world of magic isn’t simple enough for you to brute force your way through it!!”

Nothing happened.

The only thing reaching Yagoro was how rattled the red, blue, and green lights were.

“It doesn’t matter what you say! No matter how I did it, this was over from the moment I reached the same height as you. And now I have a prophecy for you: you’re the ones who will be falling to the ground!!”

“Welcome back, foolish, foolish scarecrow. You are more unsteady on your feet than a tightrope walker, foolish scarecrow!!”

“You’re fine with ending this quick, I hope? You have no way of dodging this!!”

He ignored them and pointed his baton at them.

They were nowhere near within his reach, but the three streaks of light still showed clear signs of panic.

“Welcome back, silly, silly doll. You will fall from-!?”

“ I’m sick of your brute forcing. This is magic. If you’d kept up with your studying, you’d know the answer !!”

He verbally cut them off, but he was actually more cautious of their actions than anyone else.

Their magic took affect when it was heard, not when it was spoken.

Even if each individual sound had a large quantity of language data compressed into it, sound was still sound.

Their large circle put them less than 200m away and the speed of sound was approximately 331m/s. That meant a lag of just over 0.6 seconds for their sound to reach him, which just barely gave him enough time to react after seeing a change in the streaks of light.

He was safe as long as their voices did not reach his ears. Just like speaking commands to a demon or whistling from a keyhole, the intention was not enough. And stopping it didn’t require anything as precise as the antiphase. For example, there was the masking effect. When a low and a high sound were produced simultaneously, the high sound would be drowned out. That could even confuse pilots during midair refueling or acrobatic flying because the sound of the other craft’s engine would seem to suddenly vanish.

What mattered was that their voices could not reach him but his voice could reach them.

(Outdoors, an unamplified voice generally can’t travel 200m. If not for that, I wouldn’t use this cramped elevator.)

“Now’s your last chance for a tearful apology, Lampans!!”

“How about you go to hell, you- gah!?”

“Lampans!?”

One of the three streaks of light grew distorted and unraveled. The green light – ponytailed Lampans – entered a spin and rapidly lost speed. She was no longer conscious. Like this, she really would crash down into the ground, but the blue light – Holibre, just barely managed to catch her.

“What’s this? Are you sure you have time to worry about her, Holibre?”

“She’s my frie- geeyahhh!!!?”

Holibre’s body jerked upwards. She had the face of someone who took an electric shock to the heart. At this point, even someone without much knowledge of magic could tell some kind of invisible power was at play. Something was attacking the three witches and it had torn through the sky to pierce that girl’s young body.

Blue Holibre stalled out while still holding onto unconscious Lampans. She wasn’t falling straight down, but she would crash eventually. But the final member of the trio – crimson Arbamini – did not go to retrieve the other two. She may have thought this curse was triggered by physical contact.

“If so, you’re wrong , Arbamini!”

She didn’t respond.

The red light raced away from the falling two, but she hadn’t abandoned them. Even at this distance, Yagoro could tell she was muttering something under her breath.

Which meant she had slowed down enough to be followed by the naked eye. The trio of witches each commanded one of the Three Aspects, so with even one out of the fight, their magic fell apart.

But at the same time…

“This isn’t over yet. I’m still magically linked with Holibre and Lampans. If I send my willpower to them through that invisible line, they should wake up. And then they can use their brooms to recover before they crash!!”

“But can they do all that in time, Arbamini? If not, your friends will go splat against the stone pavement!”

(No response, huh? In that case, I need to change tack too.)

For the first time, the tutor was aware of some faint worry within him.

Still dangling from the giant scales by a single chain, he lifted a leg. He pulled off something pasted to the sole of his shoe. This was not just a scrap of parchment. It was a talisman with an actual meaning.

“Cursed items don’t have to be anything special. Food, ritual tools, and other ordinary objects can become cursed if you mistreat them. Just like supposedly holy temples and churches can become dens of monsters once they’re abandoned.”

This was a piece of magic he had prepared in advance.

The blond boy held the cursed talisman between his fingers and held his arm out horizontally.

The curse didn’t have to be strong. Not if it was only a targeting tracker used to ensure an attack reached its target.

“Take this!! You have 180 seconds!! Attach it to Arbamini and this is all over!!”

Something sharply passed Yagoro by from behind.

The instant he let go, Viocia caught the impure parchment with perfect precision.

### 12

Viocia and Melehe held onto the same broom as they flew. Ordinarily, they couldn’t hope to win an aerial battle with that kind of extra weight, but Viocia still managed to swing her broom around and used an unbelievable amount of power to catch up to red glowing Arbamini.

Melehe realized they could actually win this.

They had the greater speed. And while the fleeing enemy was constantly changing course, she never caused them to overshoot her. Arbamini wasn’t even using any obstruction magic. That meant they would catch up sooner or later.

Melehe whispered to the other girl sharing the broom with her.

“Keep pouring on that absurd power. I’ll show you how to make the subtle course corrections. Move your body left or right based on how you feel me shifting my weight. You focus on catching up to Arbamini!”

“…”

“What?”

Viocia was acting strange, so Melehe frantically called out to her.

“Your broom is Formula Broom – Wittenberg, right? We need its ridiculous acceleration to catch up to Arbamini!!”

“B-but…”

Viocia’s voice was trembling in hesitation.

“If we attach this talisman to her, teacher’s curse will get her! She’s the last of that witch trio. If she’s knocked out too, all three of them will hit the ground!!”

“…”

“But teacher never lies to me. So if he says he’ll do it, he really will do it !”

Melehe’s eyes widened.

That boy had said they had 180 seconds.

That wasn’t much time. She didn’t know what he was going to do, but whatever curse Navigate Exam launched would be guided this way by the parchment talisman. It was guaranteed to be a powerful curse since it had already knocked out Holibre and Lampans so easily.

“30 seconds left,” said Melehe through clenched teeth.

Viocia still wasn’t moving, so Melehe snatched the talisman away from her.

“10 seconds to go!! The curse is coming!!”

Arbamini was doing her best to get away. Her mocking attitude was nowhere to be found. And seeing the witch for who she was, Viocia realized she had to be powerful. She wasn’t running away for herself. She had suppressed her anger and rationally chosen to run away so she could collect her two defeated friends.

The countdown reached zero.

Something massive blocked Viocia and Melehe’s view.

But this wasn’t Myousou Yagoro’s curse.

A giant pillar appeared between Viocia and Arbamini. And a huge wall. And a huge window. Altogether, it was a stone school building. It was twisted, distorted, and nothing like its original form, but the 10km structure that jutted diagonally up to this height was definitely a school building. Even a dragon flying through the sky had to quickly twist out of the way.

Arbamini disappeared beyond the wall.

Viocia and Melehe couldn’t pursue her any further.

A witch’s Formula Broom would continue forward on its own.

A head-on collision with that would mean death.

Melehe immediately reached her arms around Viocia in front of her on the broom and grabbed the broom handle tight.

“Stop!!”

The two of them came to a rapid stop. Melehe had forcibly shifted the direction of thrust like she did for a vertical takeoff, causing the Formula Broom to stop in place. They were less than 5m away from the white stone wall.

The tutor must have known the enemy had gotten away. The talisman remained in Melehe’s hand, but the long-range curse still hadn’t hit her.

Several dull cracking and creaking sounds rang out.

“Wah!!”

Melehe immediately launched the broom straight up.

The school building was not just a straight line in front of them. It was spreading out to the left and right. From above, it looked like a massive mesh folding fan. The different parts collided and tore each other part as they complexly intertwined.

And Viocia pouted her lips.

“Uhh, Mephistopheles. You always ignore me, so why did you actually listen to Melehe?”

“We would have crashed into the wall if it hadn’t. …Come to think of it, I did that in the heat of the moment, but why could I control it when I haven’t gone through the consecration process for it? That was extremely risky.”

“No, it’s incredible. You really are the prep school’s ace. You didn’t even need to try to control a Rank S 3 broom☆”

“Habwahbh!? N-now you tell me! Were you trying to kill me with that crazy estimated rank!?”

“I hope that Arbamini girl is okay.”

“You make my head hurt… But she’s probably fine. The school emerged behind her, so she wouldn’t have been at risk of crashing into it. And look.”

Melehe pointed down at two lights traveling along the streets of what looked like a miniature city from this height. The blue and green lights were probably on their way to join the third light.

They must have been done for the day.

Melehe frowned while using her vertical takeoff magic to hover in place.

“But what’s with that school?”

The massive structure had emerged diagonally.

The Arena was built at the center of the city, in the dangerous Lakeside area.

That could only mean one thing. Viocia followed Melehe’s gaze.

There was only one place it could have come from.

“From the lake. So is that a Maleficium building?”

### 13

On the giant red elevator, Myousou Yagoro sighed while also looking into the distance. He couldn’t have predicted this accident.

For unconscious Holibre and Lampans, he had knocked them toward the lake so that the diamond dust in the air could slow them enough to safely land in the water, but it hadn’t ended as planned.

This signaled more than an exam run by a single prep school.

“If the site has emerged, it can’t be long now.”

He viewed the school building that had emerged diagonally and spread out chaotically in every direction.

“It’s time for the official practice exam run by Maleficium itself.”

### Today’s Test 2

Viocia: Um, teacher, I’m kind of panicking right now. Is this really the time?

Yagoro: Shut up. The entrance exam is the most important thing in the world. You can’t get into Maleficium with that attitude. Now, a quiz! You can find all the hints in the prep school .

Melehe: I’m here too. Are you sure I should be hearing this?

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat the Sassafras Cfa Preparatory School aces – Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

We will only be focusing on what I did against the Sassafras Cfa trio. Let’s look at it piece by piece.

The Aspect of Antiquity was the mandragora. You die if you hear its (____) when it is uprooted, but you can remain safe by tying a rope to a dog and uprooting it that way. Simply put, you can avoid the danger using (____). That said, I was stuck in a fixed location, so I had to use a different method to avoid hearing the sounds and voices even at a short distance. For example, I could drown out the trio’s higher voices by shouting a lower sound, don’tcha think?

Mandragoras can also be used to attack. The symbol of (____) caused by hearing a scream is too good not to use.

The Aspect of (____) was ATU (____). In other words, the Wolf and the Young Goats. That is the story of some (____) opening the door for and being eaten by a wolf pretending to be their (____).

You can use that to make magic that knocks someone out if they answer your call. Viocia, note that I didn’t use your names when I called out to you. I simply told you to “take this”.

I did panic a bit when Arbamini ignored my call toward the end. I didn’t want to take their lives.

The Aspect of Amorality was a curse made by intentionally (____) a tool. That’s a standard of the Black Mass. And I used it for targeting support based on the fundamental law of (____) that says two things will continue to affect each other even at a distance once they come into (____).

The end. Any questions, Viocia. And Melehe since you’re here too?

### 004. Episode 3: The Official Practice Exam Begins

### 1

It was the second time he had been blown to bits.

Ultra-destructive President Ulrike had exasperatedly told him it wasn’t possible. “I don’t know if you were reincarnated or leaped between worlds, but why not treat this second chance at life with more care?” The witch of ice and cold, who made a fortune having her people run around the city selling ice told, him much the same thing: “You can’t do that.”

They were right.

But it was possible he had wanted to fail.

After all, he had known too much success. He had always been able to do things no one else could, but that had earned him a lot of grudges. That fateful day, he only should have flown out into space, but something was off kilter and he ended up crossing the barrier between worlds. So could he make use of that spectacular failure somehow?

He had met someone during his near-death experience. She looked like a priestess with blonde hair and blue eyes, but she didn’t seem to be from Greek or Celtic mythology. She was more like something out of a picture book, but he couldn’t figure out her identity even after studying up so much on witches. He simply had the impression she was an unbound goddess who toyed with freedom.

She had appeared from the center of the circular spring and spoken to him in exasperation: “I was the one who coordinated your trip, so I kind of need you to be happy in that world. If you overturn my decision and satisfy yourself with purely human actions, it could call into question the righteousness of the gods.”

It reminded him of ATU 0729, the story with the gold axe and the silver axe. The honest woodcutter was satisfied with just the iron axe, but the goddess or spirit was pleased and gave him the gold or silver axe. Without that, he never would have been a target of his neighbors’ jealousy. So was this really a happy story for the unselfish man living a simple life? And happiness was supposed to be defined by the recipient, not the giver.

The bewitching but unguarded goddess also said, “Isn’t knowing a bit of magic good enough? Especially when you can be perfectly happy without any magic at all. Surely you’ve noticed by now that the kings and nobles who truly run that world are all old men who can’t use magic. Maleficium is only working so hard to preserve their individuality because…interfered…and stop…from continuing the…”

He woke up to see how battered his body was and to learn which world he had ended up in this time.

On the verge of death, Myousou Yagoro clenched his bloody fist and grasped at the blue sky. Slowly. Very slowly.

That method hadn’t worked.

He needed to fundamentally rethink his plan.

### 2

Viocia and Melehe didn’t know what was happening, but they decided to fly down to the ground for now. Not to mention it was unusual for two witches to be using a single Formula Broom. They didn’t want to suddenly lose balance and reach the ground in a less controlled fashion.

Melehe took control of the broom since she could handle a vertical landing. They gently descended toward the city.

“You’re such an idiot,” sulkily grumbled Melehe while guiding their descent (nervously now that she knew about the Rank S 3 ).

The chocolate parfait of a sky pirate girl pouted her lips.

“The entrance exam is a competition. Anyone who shows concern for their competitors will be the first to fail the exam. So what are you doing pretending at having friends in a prep school?”

Viocia grinned despite being insulted by the person she had just saved.

“Heh heh heh☆”

“What?”

“You say that, but you saved me. By applying the brakes when I was about to hit that wall.”

“O-only because I would have been a stain on the wall along with you if I hadn’t helped!!”

“And you were so angry for Dorothea you picked a fight with those three witches all on your own.”

“~ ~ ~!?”

“Viociaaaaa,” called a voice down on the ground.

It was the glasses bandage zombie girl named Dorothea Rockpool.

“I forbid you from telling her.”

“Ehh? Why would you do that?”

“Please don’t tell her! I-it’s embarrassing!!”

Once the two witches were on the ground, they found the city abuzz with energy for so early in the morning. More than half the city’s people were exam students, so any major action by the summon restricted magic school was going to bring the city to life.

The bandage girl (who looked on the verge of unraveling in places) ran over through the crowd.

“Huff, puff. I-it’s incredible. Did you see it, Viocia? Eep. Everyone’s saying that might be the site for the official practice exam.”

“Did you say official practice exam!?”

“It’s the Source Building . It’s apparently a Maleficium building they don’t use anymore and it sometimes goes wild and produces labyrinths all on its own. The card fortune tellers were really excited. Eep. They said the big practice exam might happen in there. I-I didn’t expect a surprise event like this at all.”

“Uhh.” Viocia gripped her broom in her hands and suddenly shrunk down.

It was hard to believe this was the same girl who had been so eager to rescue her friend she blasted her way through a thick magical barrier.

“Don’t let it overwhelm you,” snorted Melehe Superlative. “You, um, have a reason you need to get into Maleficium, don’t you? Then don’t get scared just because of some practice exam in the…Source Building, was it? In fact, you need to see this as a chance to improve your standing in the ranks.”

“Huhh? Ah ha ha. Oh, did teacher tell you about that, Melehe?”

Melehe fell silent, Dorothea looked confused, and Viocia didn’t seem to mind that her secret was out. She even laughed bashfully.

“You’re so nice, Melehe. I’m glad you’re worried for my grandma when you haven’t even met her.”

“Well, she has a…difficult condition, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah. The doctor said modern medical technology has no way to cure it.”

That bombshell caused Melehe’s and even Dorothea’s eyes to widen. Did Viocia not have any problem bringing it up because she was so determined to cure it herself?

But there was more to it than that:

“Yeah, lower back pain is a real problem, huh?”

“Back pain!?”

“Apparently there’s no way to heal it right away.” Viocia sighed while smiling bitterly. “The doctor said it’s a really troublesome disease called Hexenschuss. And just like the common cold and athlete’s foot, he said you’d go down in history if you could create a medicine that fully cured it and kept it from coming back. So if it doesn’t exist, I have to work hard to make it myself! I need to help grandma feel better!!”

Viocia again gripped her Formula Broom, but with great motivation this time.

Meanwhile, another girl was hanging her head and trembling. Nearby, the white no-bake cheesecake of a bandage zombie girl had her hands uncertainly wandering in the air.

(Th-)

The prep school’s strongest witch’s thoughts were not on Viocia.

(Th-th-th-)

### 3

“That boyyyyy!!!”

Myousou Yagoro looked uncertain how to respond to her loud and angry yelling and finger pointing. He had only just reached the ground from the giant red-painted elevator, so what was this about?

“Hey, Melehe? Maybe you’ve forgotten because you got a little too worked up dealing with those Sassafras Cfa witches, but this is when they deliver the newspapers. You’ll wake people up if you yell this early.”

“You’re not talking your way out of this one! I won’t be satisfied until I’ve at punched you at least once! The doctor said she’s just old and nothing can be done about it!? And it turns out it’s just some lower back pain!? You tricked me!!”

In all seriousness, severe back pain could apparently be so bad it sapped the will to live, but maybe it was hard for a 15-year-old girl to imagine what that felt like.

And…

“Oh? Yagoro, you aren’t usually out and about this early. My, my. But I did see you out yesterday morning too. Have you put your nocturnal days behind you and taken up a more healthy lifestyle?”

“Bookseller.”

Hearing his name, the blond boy turned around and saw a smiling young woman in a witch’s dress and an apron printed with an animal picture. She ran the used book store he frequented. Every time he saw how her extremely ample chest distorted the apron’s rabbit face, he couldn’t help but want to be reborn as an apron in his next life.

“Hee hee. I just hope this new habit has some staying power.”

“Actually, I’m not sure I want to do this every morning. If anything, that sounds like the opposite of healthy.”

“?”

The young woman gave him a childlike look of confusion. The mismatch was honestly cute.

And for some reason, Melehe Superlative had been completely left behind by the conversation. In fact, she had petrified with mouth gaping. What was with her? Yagoro waved his hand in front of her face and got no reaction.

“M-”

Then the long-sleeve sailor uniform boy realized something.

This girl and the smiling mystery woman had two traits in common: silver hair and brown skin.

“Mom!?”

“Hello, Melehe. Sigh, I have raised quite the tomboy of a daughter, haven’t I?”

That was not at all what Yagoro had expected. Oh, so she isn’t just some gentle young woman. Yagoro found himself staring into the middle distance. This was apparently the witch said to have partially broken through the upper limits .

While the apron drew a lot of attention, she was wearing a chic black dress below it. She did have a lot in common with Melehe, just more mature. If Melehe was a flashy chocolate parfait, then the bookseller’s hat and dress made her look like a luxury chocolate cake decorated with alcohol and gold flakes.

Still pale-faced, shaking, and half clinging to Yagoro, Melehe questioned her mother.

“Why? Wh-wh-what are you doing here, mom!?”

“Well, I was just so worried about my 15-year-old daughter living on her own for the first time.”

“Have you been watching me!? How much have you seen!?”

“Hmm? To be honest, I spent several years before you arrived regularly visiting the city to prepare a place for myself here, so I saw everything, starting with when you first arrived and looked around half in tears because you didn’t know how to read your parchment map.”

”Ahhhhhhh!! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

The girl’s pride and privacy were utterly destroyed. Not just broken in two but smashed into tiny pieces. The embarrassment and shock must have been too much for her because the usually proud and elite girl held her head through her sky pirate hat and curled up on the ground.

Then her still-tremulous voice slipped into Yagoro’s ear.

“Did you think you were untouched by this, pervert? You’re one of her victims too. Now I finally understand why you wear that sailor uniform. If mom gave you that, there is only one place she could have gotten it from.”

The tutor felt a chill run down his spine.

No, it couldn’t be. Nothing that horrific could actually be true, could it?

“My, my. You really do look just like he did when he singlehandedly conquered the icy ocean☆ Hee hee. It reminds me of the wedding we held on his prized ship.”

“Gwahhhhh!! You mean this is used? It’s soaked with some stranger’s sweat!?”

Yagoro crumbled to the ground. That wife was a little bit too powerful.

But this meant that was definitely a witch’s broom the bookseller was carrying. When Yagoro studied it more carefully (despite his continuing dizziness), it spoke with the voice of a refined middle-aged man.

“Sir Myousou Yagoro, I thank you for all the help you provide the lady. I am Formula Broom – Greek Theatre. If you wish to know anything about that secret rites of Dionysus, you need only ask.”

The unnatural blond-haired boy was secretly impressed.

Apparently that wife really was a witch as well.

“I have tried to help tone down my Dionysus by eliminating his flaws, but I just can’t seem to fix his alcoholism. It never ends well when I carelessly polish his handle with sterilizing ethanol or brandy.”

“(You are not one to talk when it comes to alcoholism. You are far worse than me. Just since you arrived in this city, you got so drunk you began wielding the power of the maenads to near-instantly destroy a loan shark targeting the city’s students.)”

“Dionysus☆”

She silenced the broom. With a single smiling word. Wasn’t it said the best witches did not deny their desires and instead controlled them as a powerful means of driving them toward their goals?

The bookseller placed a hand on her cheek and sighed in a perfectly gentle way.

“Anyway, Melehe, I can’t help but notice you are still going the route of a jack of all trades. Didn’t I teach you the rest of that phrase is ‘master of none’?”

“Gh… Is that any way to speak to your own daughter when she can hold her own in any field?”

“Isn’t the excessive customization of your broom a sign that your soul is crying out for something you excel at? Maybe you weren’t conscious of it, though.”

Apparently the woman wouldn’t let up even after smashing your pride into tiny bits. A completely unprovoked punch to the nose would have been preferable.

Meanwhile, the bookseller’s gaze strayed upwards. Toward the bizarre structure that had appeared in a corner of the city, spreading out from the lake in a fanlike shape.

“So it’s already beginning for this year.”

“Do you remember what problems are on it?”

“”Oh, dear. I might have created this perfect figure by eating as much as I want and exercising, but 20 years ago, I was watching every gram I ate to keep my weight down so I could attend that school☆”

### 4

Carraway Cs Prep School was filled with a flurry of excitement.

The salary-focused prep school was showing an unusual amount of motivation, but only because, even though this wasn’t the actual entrance exam, a student earning a good rank on the practice exam was still excellent material for advertisements. Melehe and her Rank A were already treated like a school mascot by the faculty.

In the nearly empty cafeteria, Myousou Yagoro threw out a surprise question for the little witch in an orange, red, and purple pumpkin tart of a dress.

“You need to study the Three Aspects some more. Viocia, what is ATU 0709?”

“Uhh…Snow White! The one with the deadly apple!!”

“Good. That’s right. +1 point: The stepmother and the daughter were both beautiful, but the magical moral of the story is that unseen inward ugliness can still influence people’s lives. Even if you don’t use a mirror, telling your own fortune can confuse you or lead to self-destruction, so be careful. The same applies to the Kokkuri-san and automatic writing. Really, it’s not so much about what methods you use – it’s what you’re using the magic for. It comes down to the morality and purpose within your own heart. The uglier your heart, the worse it turns out for you, so it’s important to be a good person day to day.”

She seemed to have improved some from when she only memorized the round numbers.

“I know the details of the practice exam now.”

“Even so, why hold our planning meeting in the empty cafeteria? I pay a monthly tuition, so why can’t we just use the school’s lesson rooms?”

Because they gained nothing from letting the other students hear this.

“First, the location.”

“The Source Building. Apparently even big dragons are too scared to get close. The story is a student spent too many nights there studying and died of overwork, so her grudge continues to remake the school into a labyrinth. Yikes.”

“Why don’t you question why it is you know so much background information on a place you only just saw for the first time?”

Technically speaking, that was not a school building. Yagoro sighed.

“ This time, it’s the old meal center. That’s the true identity of what all of you keep calling the Source Building. But it’s been abandoned, so no one uses it anymore. That’s probably where the practice exam will be held, don’tcha think?”

“Meal center? Ohhh, they had one of those back when I was at a normal school!”

“Once they began a system where anyone could set up shop and sell lunches to the students, the centralized meal center went out of business.”

“Phew. So it’s not some deadly school building. And if that urban legend was fake, then there’s nothing to worry abou-”

“(Of course, there is that rumor that a worker fell into a giant bubbling cooking pot around when it went out of business.)”

“Gyahhhh!? Of course there’s a story! And a terrifying one too!!”

That was enough of the history and rumors.

“As you’ve probably figured out, the building can grow on its own, creating a massive labyrinth. At its core, it’s a largescale kitchen, so it has lots of knives, pots, and ovens. The point is, you should expect it to be a lot more dangerous than if it had started out as a normal school building. There’s no telling what might come alive and attack you.”

“U-ugh. And what am I supposed to do in that place?”

“That’s the real question.”

Yagoro leaned in close to whisper to Viocia.

“(Maleficium is a ‘summon’ restricted magic school. That tells you what kind of power they’re looking for.)”

“Hweh? T-teacher?”

“(But since the practice exam is being held in a dangerous labyrinthine school, it seems unlikely they’re going to quiz you on Earth trivia, don’tcha think? Maybe they’ll ask you to investigate the pattern of the monster appearances or prevent a specific tool from transforming into one, but your task will probably be related to the monsters. I would focus my studying there.)”

“Y-you’re moving too fast. This is a sacred prep school dedicated to helping us pass the exam. It’s not the place for- gasp! I just realized there’s no one else around! D-did you plan this, teacher?”

“(The old meal center didn’t appear in a natural way, so it isn’t going to stick around for long. I don’t know the actual limit, but the practice exam will probably begin within three days, don’tcha think?)”

“D-does your first time always catch you by surprise like this? Grandma, I’m about to become an adult here in Temple School City! W-w-well, here goes nothing: nhh.”

When he grabbed the brim of his student’s hat and tugged it down, Viocia (who was inexplicably tense, squeezing her eyes shut, and lifting her chin a bit) came back to her senses.

“Armgwa?! Huh, teacher?”

“I finally noticed we were having two entirely different conversations. To further our mutual understanding, could you explain what kind of conversation you thought we were having?”

Viocia blushed bright and waved her hands wildly before finally crossing her arms to form a big X in front of her face. The pose meant “I’ll do anything you ask, just don’t make me answer that”.

And if she would do anything he asked, there was only one thing to ask as her tutor.

“Make the most of the official practice exam.”

“Hweh?”

“Specifically, improve your rank by one letter. You don’t need to reach the passing point right away. It’s much more realistic and important to gradually climb to that point over the course of the year. This is your first step on that path. If you can make progress here, then you’ll have even more opportunities in the future, don’tcha think?”

### 5

“Celtic magic is known for its many human sacrifice rituals. One of those rituals is the wicker man. Which of the following does not apply to that?

“1. People were stuffed inside a giant doll.

“2. Fire was used.

“3. A lot of people were killed.

“4. The people were killed before they were burned.”

“Um, uhh, 1, 2, 3, and 4.”

“Have you given up on thinking entirely, Viocia? The answer is 4.”

“Why is it always these scary topics about human sacrifice and killing?”

“ Trick question warning: But the punishment the criminals hated most was being denied the honor of being sacrificed. ”

Her tutor was trying to help her study, but Viocia was covering her ears while they left Carraway Cs Prep School. The change to the city was noticeable no matter where you were.

“So the entire building turned into a labyrinth just because it was abandoned by all the students?” Viocia said curiously as she craned her neck up. “It’s always there beyond the year-round diamond dust, but everyone sees it with a different shape. What even is Maleficium?”

“…”

“Bwagh!?”

After her thoughtful comment, Viocia tripped on absolutely nothing and fell flat on her face. She must have stepped on the hem of her long skirt. A skirt which did an astounding job of pulling all the way up as she fell. What is even happening here? wondered Myousou Yagoro, staring into the distance. Did she earn some divine punishment for trying to be something she’s not?

“Hey, your underwear.”

“Ahhhh! Teacher saw my more mature underwear!?”

Shut up, Miss Pumpkin Print Butt.

The official practice exam was approaching. Temple School City had countless prep schools and not all exam students used the prep schools. Then there were the untold number of girls outside the city who wanted to get into Maleficium.

Viocia took a suspiciously-sourced extra edition newspaper from a bipedal puppy familiar.

“Wow. They have a bunch of stands doing balloon yoyos and goldfish catching and stuff. It’s like a festival, Dorothea!”

“U-um. Eep. I don’t like crowds. ”

Bandage zombie girl Dorothea had shrunk down. This had always been a big city, but the population density seemed to have tripled in a single day and it showed no sign of stopping. The inns were full up, so the challengers who had traveled here from a long way away were stuck renting rooms in rundown hotels that were partially on their way to being brothels already. Everyone was desperate to find somewhere to stay so they could avoid sleeping out on the streets.

(I see. Does Viocia rent a room in the shopping district because she arrived during one of these busy seasons?)

Real estate had its busy times and its lulls. If you arrive from afar for the entrance exam, failed, and only then decided to find a place to stay while you studied for next year, you might end up in that situation. Because everyone in those same disappointing circumstances would be searching for a room to start their new life at the same time.

Then Yagoro spotted a boy of around 10 wearing a filthy t-shirt in the crowd. He appeared to be looking for a pickpocketing victim, so Yagoro approached the squatters district resident and handed him a sandwich he had bought at a stand (that was targeting nonwitches who couldn’t create food from a recipe with the Happy Halloween spell).

Viocia and Dorothea had gone on ahead and didn’t notice. A pro(?) would know how devastating an opening that was.

(Stop it, Raynold. I’ll buy you food if you need it.)”

“(Geh, you!? B-but I’m not hungry. And I only go after bad people’s wallets. I saw her charging people ridiculous prices for hand puppets she claimed were talismans for passing the exam!)”

The little brat puffed out his cheeks in protest, but Yagoro only rubbed his head and left. The kid may have been right, but no game was as addictive as “noble crimes”. That was something to watch out for. You would find yourself having trouble getting along with anyone before long.

Then he noticed someone who wasn’t engaging in conversation openly or in secret. Melehe walked alongside the blond boy.

“What’s with you?”

“Something caught my attention while I was thinking back on our talk with my mom.”

She gave him a searching look.

Yagoro should have always had the upper hand, but he felt an electric tension run along his spine.

“Navigate Exam is the near-legendary tutor who enters prep schools without permission and guarantees the girl he chooses will pass the exam and get into Maleficium.”

Uh, oh, thought Yagoro.

He could tell where this was headed. There was no escaping this unscathed anymore. What mattered was how deep she managed to dig. He couldn’t let these thoughts show on his face.

“ Wouldn’t that mean you yourself have gotten into Maleficium ?”

Time froze.

A thick, invisible wall separated them from Viocia and Dorothea’s cheerful conversation not far ahead.

“You shouldn’t have known what my mom was talking about when you were looking up at the building the practice exam will be held in,” continued Melehe. Like she was investigating the contents of a box, one at a time. “Anyone who doesn’t pass Maleficium’s entrance exam will forget what was on the exam. Just like memories of last night’s dream fade away. Learning mom graduated Maleficium was a surprise, but it’s at least an explicable surprise. I understand how she could recognize the practice exam: ‘So it’s already beginning for this year.’ But not so with you, pervert tutor.”

“And? It’s not like we couldn’t hold a conversation about it. She generally meets us at our level and explains everything for us.”

“Maybe, but remember what you asked her? ‘Do you remember what problems are on it?’ You wouldn’t think to ask that unless you had something in your head to compare her comment to. If you didn’t recognize what was there in front of you, you would only wonder what she was talking about. I know I did.”

Melehe stared intently at Yagoro.

“Do you think I didn’t overhear your conversation with Schanze? You said you would mess with the inside of the broom so it would read in a different geographic location if Aristotle pissed you off again. But that means you would be accessing the core. Something only Maleficium students can do .”

“If you’re that curious, you could always go and check all the prep school lists of students who passed the exam, don’tcha think? You won’t find me on any of them.”

“That’s my point.”

She didn’t hesitate.

She had the tone of someone who was already convinced.

“' Are you an unprecedented genius who was entirely self-taught but still managed to pass the exam on your first try – something that’s never been done before ?”

This accusation held great meaning. Since anyone who didn’t pass the exam would forget what was on it, not even the greatest prep school could collect past exam questions. That was why a prep school’s rank was determined by its number of successful students. But that changed if someone from Maleficium helped them. This tutor was the only one who could gather the necessary knowledge. Knowing all the past trends would make it a lot easier for him to choose what his student should study.

“That still leaves the question of what a boy who can’t become a witch was doing attending Maleficium, but it does explain the current situation. And thanks to our battle against the Sassafras Cfa trio, I know you can ignore the rules of this world and use magic without a Formula Broom.”

Yagoro briefly fell silent. And he reached a conclusion.

This is fine.

She’s still only scratched the surface. She hasn’t noticed how much deeper this goes.

“Sometimes you do run across miracles like this in Temple School City,” she said.

“How about asking your mom for help? She seems to be a Maleficium graduate.”

Melehe waved her hand dismissively. Maybe getting her mother’s help would reflect poorly on her when it came time for her to lead Private Striga.

All that aside, they had left the prep school to visit Viocia’s room.

“You were so reluctant to let me see your room before. What changed?”

“You followed me against my wishes, is what happened. And now that you know, there’s no point in hiding it.”

He knew better than to let that dunce know he had only asked to visit today because he was afraid she would get caught up in the festive mood of stands and street performers if he didn’t see her home.

“Eep. Wow.”

And come to think of it, Dorothea was the only one who didn’t know already. The place wasn’t running since it was still daytime, but she seemed overwhelmed by the sketchy business in front of her.

“Y-you rent a room here, eep, Viocia?”

“Yup! And since you’re here, come on in.”

Viocia grabbed Dorothea’s hand and marched in.

The place actually seemed more dimly lit during the day. The dancer inside widened her eyes in slight surprise. She apparently didn’t wear the skimpy, see-through costume all the time, so she was wearing a cardigan and holding a feather duster, giving her more of a homemaker vibe.

“Oh, my. We don’t often get a lot of young girls here. You really shouldn’t walk in the front door like that. You don’t want people getting the wrong idea, do you?”

“Ah ha ha. Sabbath Party is nothing like that.” Viocia cut in with a smile. “It’s a cheerful witch business where the customers come in looking glum and leave with smiles. Olivia here helps me come up with mnemonics for memorizing things, Strena the bodyguard accompanies me to the flea markets on her days off and helps me haggle for reference materials, and Mr. Kevin’s late-night cooking is the best. They’re all great, teacher. They can do so much I can’t!”

“I see. I would imagine so.”

“Heh heh☆ You have my word it’s 100% true.”

The dancer with the feather duster smiled bitterly. She may not have been used to this kind of praise. The reserved young woman (who had somehow ended up working at a place like this) whispered to the girl.

“Hey, Viocia. Inviting your friends over is fine and all, but are you really going to let them see your room as-is?”

“Geh!? You’re right, Olivia. I forgot to tidy up!!”

Hurried footsteps clambered up the steep stairs to the 2nd floor. The tumultuous sounds thundering down from the ceiling were enough to know this was going to take a while.

And once Viocia was upstairs, something new happened.

“E-excuse me.”

Melehe hesitantly raised a hand. That bundle of confidence had suddenly grown timid.

“Um, I need to apologize. I seem to have misjudged you based on my ignorant biases. I assumed this was a l-lewd place.”

Olivia the dancer looked puzzled at first. Then she used a quick twist of her hips to send her short, nearly-see-through skirt aflutter.

“Oh, we are very lewd here.”

“Wahhhhhh!!??”

Swimsuit-like Halloween costumes were the norm in this world, so what had Melehe seen? She blushed bright and just about fell backwards, so Dorothea had to support her from behind.

Olivia placed a hand over her mouth and giggled, but once she met Yagoro’s gaze, she bowed. Deeply. It was a surprisingly proper bow.

“That girl has told us so much about you. Please continue to look after her for us, teacher.”

“That is my job as her tutor, don’tcha think?”

He meant that as a serious response, but it earned him a casual kick to the shin from Melehe. She must have wanted something with a more romantic mood. But why would Viocia’s landlord go to this much effort for her?

“We are all self-taught witches here,” explained Olivia. “Since you know so much about the exam, you must know what kind of city this is. Sabbath Party is a gathering place for those who gave up after failing the exam one too many times but also couldn’t bring themselves to leave the city.”

Was that why they had accepted Viocia? They knew the anxiety and hardship of having freshly failed the exam, so they couldn’t turn away a girl who needed a room because her home was too far away to attend a prep school from.

There were those who felt resentment and jealousy when they saw someone with what they had already lost. There were others who would sabotage those people and mock them. These girls had only just been on the receiving end of that sort of abuse at the hands of the infamous Sassafras Cfa Prep School.

But Olivia and everyone else who worked here were different. Yagoro felt he could trust his students’ assessment that these were great people.

“That girl is yet another witch living in this city of failures. And she already knows the bitter flavor of that failure.”

“Yeah…”

“But she doesn’t need to taste that bitterness again. So please, teacher, help her. I want to see her smiling from the joy she finds in the dream that remained unfulfilled for us.”

“I swear I will. Like I said, that is my job as her tutor, don’tcha think?”

### 6

“Come on in, everyone.”

Viocia’s room was small. The bed, desk, and closet took up about half the space. But it was still a very feminine room. For example, the desk by the window had a three-sided mirror on top, so it doubled as a dressing table. A space larger than a cutting board at one edge of the desk was covered with thick cloth and a charcoal iron sat on top of that. It may have been an old one Sabbath Party had given her. It was looking like the dancers here really doted on her.

A sweet scent hung in the air, so did she have a habit of snacking while she studied?

The small room felt very clean and refreshing, but…

“Viocia. Eep. Wh-why is your closet door bulging like that?”

“Yeah, make sure you don’t touch that. Ha ha ha. It’ll explode if you open it now, so seriously leave it alone!!”

Was that her idea of tidying up?

While the tutor didn’t need anything more than a few pairs of street clothes, indoor clothes, and sleepwear, he doubted that small closet was enough to hold all of a teenage girl’s clothing. She appeared to have a few small wooden boxes under her bed as well.

“M-my underwear is in there, so stop paying attention to it. Bad teacher.”

“The pervert tutor strikes again.”

He had accidentally stepped on a landmine there. A girl’s room was full of dangers.

With Melehe and Dorothea here too, he doubted there would be time to really focus on studying, but since he was actually in her room now, he decided to give her some advice on how to best arrange the room for studying.

With the noise from Sabbath Party, she would have a hard time studying for long periods in her room at night. But there were other options.

“Viocia, keep your flashcards next to your bed. You need to build a habit of learning one of them as soon as you get up in the morning.”

“Ehh? Teacher, if that really worked, then what was the point of all the studying I’ve done?”

“If you learn one a day, that’s more than 300 learned in a year.”

“Uh, when you put it like that…”

“That’s more than a full set of flashcards. It’s still spring and you want to start that as soon as possible, don’tcha think? With the exam, anything you can get basically for free outside of your studying hours can give you an edge. And for memorization, you can attach notes to anything you use a lot, like the iron or the water pitcher. By combining the knowledge with those memories, you can preserve the term in your memory. Make them about the size of a sticky note…no, forget that. (They don’t have those in this world yet, do they?) Make them about the size of your thumb. The long lists of herbs and Black Mass info is made to be looked up in a chart, so they aren’t really designed for memorization. By having to write them down with limited space, you have to figure out how to abbreviate them, which will help you remember them.”

“Hmm. So could I get Olivia to give me some old ribbon and cut that up?”

That would work great. Those dancers would have rolls of the stuff and it was good that she came up with the solution herself instead of regurgitating an answer someone else gave her. Although this way of thinking was more in line with Crowley’s idea of linking book knowledge with actual experiences to learn it on a physical level than it was with Gardner’s idea of writing your own book to organize the contents of your mind.

To take that a step further, simply creating a cheat sheet could be seen as a way of studying through experience. But that method wasn’t recommended since other people could get the wrong idea and you would have to fight your own temptation afterwards.

“For the calculation problems that don’t use memorization…you can associate them with a relaxing and time-consuming activity. For example, you could practice palmistry or write out weather control equations on the mirror while you take a bath, don’tcha think?”

The witch entrance exam didn’t require some fancy legendary weapon. That was plain enough from the fact that witch’s preferred to model their weapons after the everyday broom. Dedicating every part of your everyday life toward the exam was the standard path to success.

“That said, you should always only use one study method per category, like herbs, incantations, or potion recipes. That way you know what kind of memory to draw on for that category of knowledge, so you don’t have to worry about it getting all jumbled up in your head.”

“Does that really work, teacher?”

“Try it out for a few days and you’ll find out for yourself, don’tcha think? And if you have too much to learn and have to use the same study method for different categories, you can organize the categories by ribbon color or something like that. It’s only a second best plan, but that way you can organize the knowledge a lot like organizing your writing implements and other odds and ends in smaller boxes within the same drawer. Even if it’s a compromise, you need it to work as well as it can.”

Melehe held a hand to her forehead.

“Why would you tell her this when we’re here? That isn’t going to give her an edge.”

“Oops.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” innocently said Dorothea while toying with the bandages wrapped around her.

### 7

It arrived sooner than expected.

Late at night, right at midnight, a great boom echoed across the entirety of the city. Everyone living there looked up into the night sky to see Maleficium’s old meal center towering over them.

Unlike when Demon Lord Aristotle appeared in Carraway Cs Prep School, this covered the entire city instead of just one building. Maleficium’s Jongleurs had activated a wide-area siren.

(Not long now.)

Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium would be holding an official practice exam.

Myousou Yagoro only had time to quickly wash his face, brush his hair, toss parchment plans into his HEA house’s vending-machine-sized tank to have a quill-sized electric toothbrush made from the dirt within, and brush his teeth with that. He tossed on his usual long-sleeve sailor uniform and made his way to Carraway Cs Prep School, where he found a lot of students had already gathered. The prep school’s structure building was the best place they had to work on their Formula Brooms, so that wasn’t surprising.

Everyone was on edge.

No one took an optimistic view. The girls gathered here had all failed the exam once already. This was their first official practice exam in their year at the prep school. The results here would greatly change how the rest of that year played out for them. Life could be cruel. They all already knew that, if they didn’t dedicate themselves enough, they could find themselves mercilessly forced onto an unwanted path in life.

“Ugh. Good morning, teacher…”

“An exam student is supposed to dedicate every moment of her life to studying, so it deeply bothers me that you sound like you just woke up, but right now we need to focus on your final preparations. We’re going to open up your Formula Broom, okay?”

“Yes! Time to break the seal !!”

Bandage zombie girl Dorothea and sky pirate girl Melehe were busy performing their own maintenance at another work desk. They opened the broom handle like a three blade propeller to check the descriptions within and made sure to tune up the personalized map of Earth.

The witches and Formula Brooms conversed while completing their final preparations.

“Heh heh. A more aggressive forward-leaning position would be better. I guess I would say it would enhance my mood by half a tempo. You can sense the feelings flowing from me, can’t you, Melehe?”

“I don’t understand anything you’re saying. You musicians and you’re ‘feelings’…”

Meanwhile…

“…”

“Um, uh, eep, uh.” Dorothea was clearly troubled.

She wasn’t Yagoro’s student, but he couldn’t stand to just watch so he intervened.

“If you need any help, Dorothea, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll lend you a helping hand…or fist.”

“”Th-there is no trouble here! The work is going smoothly!! Request: stay far away from me!!”

The only broom that didn’t reply no matter how hard its witch tried was Viocia’s. She pouted her lips, but this was unavoidable.

They were at separate work desks, but the girls were chatting with each other.

“Um, do we take flight from the window instead of the chimney? Eep.”

“Yes!! Although for the Black Mass, the witch would reach the roof from the chimney so her family wouldn’t see her. Okay, now for the ointment. Ooh, I know! I’ll go with the safe choice! I’ll use Thunberg's geranium and heal-all for extra stability at high speeds!!”

“Uh. Eep.”

While Viocia excitedly cared for her broom, Dorothe hid behind the girl and tearfully rubbed ointment onto her own body. The ointment meant to reduce her apparent weight must have still wounded her pride, but had she noticed that she was using less and less of that ointment made from common agrimony, common ash, and her own fat? Her jogging didn’t seem like much, but it appeared to be gradually showing results.

“Melehe, your ointment is turmeric and wolfberry…so an instant speed boost?”

“Vertical takeoffs are convenient, but they’re unstable until you start to accelerate.”

“Your broom was having trouble thanks to that trio, right? Did you get it fixed in time?”

“Yes, I did.” The silver-haired girl didn’t look his way while she twirled a crow feather quill in her hand. “As its name would suggest, Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus is a witchcraft device focused on Orpheus, but its greatest feature it’s the flexibility provided by its many optional parts. I’ve given it handlebars, gauges, adjustable lights, a seat, and luggage holders. And I’ve given all of that a distributed parallel damage suspension system made from the pure gold needed to make the trip to the afterlife. Thanks to that, the damage didn’t reach the Three Aspects structure. Once I got the cushioning rebalanced, it was back to its original specs in no time.”

(Oh, no. She’s never going to stop talking about this once she gets started, don’tcha think?)

He should have realized from the moment he saw all the extra parts on her broom. Melehe was obsessed with customization and she liked to talk. Just like Earth’s dekotora drivers.

Up at the lectern, gyaru-style Schanze Dwelling clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention. She spoke to them all with her tanned skin, blonde hair, dealer-style vest and tight skirt, leopard print show-off bra, and wrist scrunchie making her look like a Mont Blanc.

“Okay, listen up, everyone!! We totally just received an official announcement from Maleficium. The super cool official practice exam will begin at their second signal today. For the practice exam, you need to enter the old meal center on your own, avoiding all the dangers wandering around in there, and collect four numbers distributed randomly around the place. That’s totally all there is to it☆”

(Dangers, huh? So it’s like a test of courage in an abandoned building. I thought it would have something to do with monsters, but this sounds worse than I thought. They’re not going to ensure the monsters are at a level the students can defeat on their own. In quantity or quality.)

The prep schools were not compulsory education, so some girls diligently listened to the instructor while others continued their work. And Schanze wasn’t going to repeat herself either. The students could be seen as disrespectful, but unlike the boring classes of compulsory education, they could be greedy when it came to getting a leg up on the competition.

“The inside of that building is totally a labyrinth, so you can never know what objects inside will turn into a monster and attack you. There could also be false rumors and misinformation coming from the other students. You can try to take the easy way out and ask someone else for the numbers if you want, but keep in mind that you’ll only be throwing away your own future if you screw that up and end up with bogus numbers. You can diligently search them all out, you can gather a few and estimate what the rest must be, or you can rely on your network of friends. From here on, it’s totally up to you. Good luck!!”

Even in the same prep school, all of the students were rivals.

And this was the official practice exam. Girls from every prep school and from all over the land would be flying to that old meal center in ruthless competition. They would be spreading as much misinformation as they could, so you couldn’t expect to find the answers through cooperation.

The broom maintenance didn’t last forever.

Repeating the process over and over when it wasn’t necessary could actually wear out the parts or cause a malfunction.

“Ugh. I need something to keep me busy.”

“Viocia. While this is a practice exam, there are no safety measures inside that old meal center. The things wandering the building will truly be trying to take your life. You can’t defeat them all and you’ll end up having to escape most of them with low-altitude flight. Obviously you need to avoid running into walls, but just remember what you always do and be careful.”

“What I always do? You mean nap and scribble in my notes?”

Maybe expecting basic exam-taking knowledge from her had been a mistake.

With nothing left to do, the future witches gathered by the windows with Formula Brooms in hand. Silver-haired Melehe gripped her broom tight and bandage zombie girl Dorothea retied the white bandage around her forehead like a headband. Maybe it helped her focus.

They were all waiting for the next booming siren.

Yagoro wasn’t as restless as Viocia, but he did wonder if a long wait or a short one was easier here.

Then the time came.

The artificial boom of the siren shook the entire city of marble and obsidian.

Every window opened at once.

And not just at Carraway Cs. At every prep school across Temple School City.

The old meal center jutted out diagonally from the central lake to lean over the city in a kilometers-long fan shape, so it wasn’t a place one simply walked to.

The witches mounted their brooms and jumped from the windows. Confident Melehe and even timid Dorothea stared directly at their destination and flew up into the night sky.

There was nothing left for a tutor to do.

“Viocia!!”

“I know, teacher! I’m off!!”

### 8

How long had it been?

Myousou Yagoro stared up into the night sky from the window of Carraway Cs Prep School’s structure building.

He could see an occasional flash of light from the windows of the old meal center, forming a towering diagonal fan shape up above. The witches searching the interior were probably using magic.

“How long are you going to stay by the window? This is going to be a long night. I mean, they’re supposed to collect four numbers? Even if they can totally fly at supersonic speed, finding just four numbers in that giant labyrinth has to be hell. That’s like clam digging over a space of 10km or more.”

“Now this is a surprise, don’tcha think, Schanze? You don’t normally wait for your students to return.”

“Don’t be stupid. Prep school instructors are totally required to be rescue personnel in case of emergency.”

Which meant she was paid for this part. And as long as she was getting paid, it was just like Schanze to actually obey that responsibility no matter how dangerous it got.

“And this is only a practice exam. The real exam is so much worse , isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

What was going on in there? There had to be a lot of things wandering that abandoned building and the students could try to sabotage each other as well. Their task was to collect four numbers. There would be baseless misinformation going around and some girls might try writing fake numbers on the wall.

Their lives were at risk.

Even if the witch responsible only saw it as a harmless bit of sabotage, it could lead to a serious injury.

“So it has finally begun,” said an old man with a bald head and bushy white beard who had appeared at some point.

Even Yagoro had failed to notice his arrival.

He wore the thick robe that was seen as a symbol of the educated class in this world, but he was a man. It seemed strange for a man to be headmaster of a witch school, but this was a prep school. Running one of those required business acumen more than magical knowledge and skills.

Plus, everyone was focused out the window at the moment.

“I so wish I could do this for her,” said Yagoro.

“Same. Assuming they would totally pay me extra of course☆”

### 9

Myousou Yagoro’s wish was granted in an unexpected fashion.

But that didn’t mean he was happy about it.

Boooooom!!!!

One corner of the old meal center exploded from within, spewing flames and rubble into the air.

The building had been sticking diagonally out over the entire city and now it had exploded. Stones larger than people’s heads and shards of glass poured down onto the city.

Screams echoed up from the ground, but they didn’t sound all that terrified. Most likely, everyone was watching from inside the buildings. This was not the shopping district, which was busy even at night.

Something had gone wrong.

Not even Maleficium would cause damage to the ordinary city like this. This was clearly an unplanned accident of some sort. The blond boy’s hands squeezed the windowsill tight, but the explosion had occurred far overhead. He couldn’t just walk there. Which meant…

“Schanze!!”

“Yes, yes. I’m being paid for this, so I’ll totally fly up and take a look around.”

The gyaru-style instructor mounted her Formula Broom at the window.

Yagoro took a seat behind her.

Despite the gyaru-style look, she noticeably blushed.

“Hey, wait! Don’t just grab me around the waist like that!”

“Hurry.”

“This totally isn’t happening. You can’t just do this. Do I need to throw you off in midair? If you’re going to hold me close and whisper a command in my ear, you’d better be paying me.”

“This big hair is in the way. I can’t get it out of my face. But whatever – just hurry it up. If you don’t, you’re the one the practice exam officials will be upset with, Schanze. And this is the official practice exam, so Carraway Cs’s headmaster can’t sweep it under the rug if you screw it up. Look, the old man’s already gone off to hide somewhere. Useless coward.”

“~ ~ ~!? Vwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

She leaped from the window.

A self-taught witch was someone who fought against society with her own skill instead of authority or academic history. Schanze complained, but her flying was steady.

“I would really prefer not to have a boy riding me.”

Merlin or Myrddin or whoever was a complainer too.

“Omens and jinxes really bother him. Maybe because he does prophecy?” said Schanze while demonstrating perfect flying form to reach the roof of the diagonal old meal center.

She used the large roof as a runway to have enough space to decelerate and land.

Once both of them had their feet on the ground, Yagoro drew the baton from his hip and swung it to extend it to around 70cm.

“Is the practice exam still on?”

“We haven’t received a carrier pigeon saying its canceled, so I’d say yes? But if there are any girls who have lost the will to fight and we don’t collect them, they’ll be totally devoured by the monsters wandering the place.”

That meant the Benandanti and the Witch Doctors wouldn’t be mobilized. For one thing, Maleficium was only renting out the test site. They couldn’t give anyone extra help before they had a chance to complete the practice exam, so intervening could render the entire practice exam invalid. Had they decided to let the students deal with it themselves?

Measuring from the lake at the very bottom of the bowl-shaped city, they were at least 300m up. That was about equivalent to a 100 story building.

But that was easy to forget with how solid the place was under their feet.

When they slipped into a hallway through a window, they found something unusual right away.

The place had been called labyrinthine and that was an accurate description. The structure was strange. Silver countertops jutted out from the walls and ceilings. Water supplies that should have been behind two layers of door for sanitation reasons, witchy herb gardens, and even an outdoor parking lot for carriages were all in the same place. The floor numbers on the wall had become corrupted text. Thoughtlessly climbing the stairs could easily send you to a strange space that wasn’t the 2nd or the 3rd floor.

The bizarre scene was overwhelming, but something else caught their attention more.

“The cleaning supplies locker, don’tcha think?”

“Totally.”

Instead of the locker door, Schanze crouched down and stabbed her obsidian-handled athame into the floor. The knife’s moonlight shadow flickered unnaturally. The gyaru-style instructor sprinkled various dried herbs around to pursue the shadow and trap it back in a single shape.

The invisible distortion surrounding the locker vanished.

Someone was curled up inside. Neither of them recognized the girl. She only muttered to herself and didn’t react when they opened the thin door. Her entire body was so tense they could tell just by looking at her.

“Formu…– The Scandinav…help….Antecessor…”

Something solid but light clattered out onto the floor: a dream catcher and a Be Silent Spell Bottle. Both talismans would preemptively capture invisible malice and curses, such as bad dreams or rumors, preventing them from reaching the owner. However, they weren’t capable of stopping the evil god, sorcerer, or other threat creating the malice.

(Did she think this would shelter her? She probably knew she was using them wrong, but she didn’t have any other choice. Purifying them with fire or water or lighting some exorcising incense would have worked better, don’tcha think?)

“Look how hard she’s clenching her teeth. She did everything she could.”

The gyaru-style instructor thumbed off the lid of some smelling salts. The vial of course contained a witch’s potion, so it would even work on cursed sleep or possession.

“But she tried too many things at once. Just keeping the seal in place must have totally worn her down mentally.”

“Which tells us something in here scared her so bad she overprotected herself to the point of collapsing.”

This was the old meal center, which meant it contained an industrial kitchen larger than a theatre. When they looked around some more, they found students in more than just the locker. More were hiding in the locker room, the shower stalls, and even the large silver refrigerators that were ordinarily packed with magic ice.

None of them were responsive.

In the moonlight, they all looked deathly pale.

Seeing all the witch students curled up with empty eyes, Schanze Dwelling, who lived life as she pleased as a self-taught witch, put a hand on her hip and sighed in mild exasperation.

“If they were this scared, they totally could have flown out the window. Or is there something here that causes their Formula Brooms to malfunction?”

“They probably just didn’t want to give up on the practice exam, don’tcha think?”

The entrance exam created a unique set of values and mental state in these girls who hoped to be witches. Yagoro had seen enough of that already with Demon King Aristotle and the trio from Sassafras Cfa.

But the overly tense girls were still alive. Yagoro decided to leave them for the other prep school instructors who had since arrived, so he looked deeper into the darkness.

This had all begun with a massive explosion, but what had exploded?

(They ended up like this when they hid and sealed themselves away, so I hope there weren’t any girls who failed to escape at all .)

A deep tremor ran through the building. And before he could gasp, another one.

This was no accident. Something had to be fighting. It could be two of the wandering monsters attacking each other, but if any of the witches in training were involved, he couldn’t just ignore it.

“This is totally going to mean more glass and rubble pouring down on the city.”

The meal center had been used to prepare food for more than a thousand people, so it was quite large. The pots lining the wall were large enough to bathe in. And the interior extended chaotically in every direction, forming a labyrinth.

Yet the place still felt claustrophobic.

Yagoro felt a pressure, like invisible walls were slowly closing in on him.

“Hyah?”

He grabbed Schanze’s slender hand and ducked below a nearby countertop.

With another tremor, the cold hard floor of marble and obsidian sank down a few centimeters.

Thanks to a foot.

Something unbelievably heavy had stepped right next to them as it walked past. The scraping sound they heard did not come from the floor or the walls. The thing’s head was scraping against the ceiling.

The giant stood more than 4m tall. A distorted three-legged body swung side to side as it walked. The moonlight entering through the broken windows reflected with a dull silver luster.

“(What…is that?)”

“(Sh.)”

The blond boy borrowed Schanze’s athame and silently stuck it out from below the countertop. He used the blade as a mirror to get a look at the monster.

He got a close-up look at the stout hunk of metal in profile. An unpleasantly biological mouth with thick lips and teeth was opening and closing. Was that white steam audibly shooting from the joints?

(But…three legs? What is this a distorted version of? If it had 5 legs, it would be a Buer. If it had a single snake or fish tail below its waist, it could be an echidna, a mermaid, or any number of other things. If the third leg is supposed to be a tail, maybe it could be following the standard image of a demon?)

They could only wait for it to pass, but Schanze proved she really was a witch by analyzing the monster just like the blond boy.

“(It’s totally not a toaster or an oven. Could it be a dishwasher that uses steam to clean the plates?)”

A kitchen item.

Witch hunt torture implements were generally tools like ladders, wheels, or smithing furnaces, but execution and sacrificing implements were a different story. For example, in the Earth country of Japan, criminals were once boiled to death. They could also be cooked in a pot instead of burned in flames so they would suffer more before they died and the corpse would be salted. In Europe, the victim would be suspended in a hanging cage until they starved to death.

A map was pasted on the underside of the countertop. Was that part of the building’s distortion? It wasn’t any help now that the place was a labyrinth, but it did contain some curious information. It was divided into colored sections.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… 6? This is part of a school, but it guess it isn’t divided into seven territories ruled by the bosses of the seven school mysteries. …No, wait. Is it a total of seven if you count the outside of the building?)

At 4m tall, that metal monstrosity could swallow a human whole. It was a cell of death filled with steam of more than 100 degrees. It was best not to imagine what would happen to you if it chased you down and caught you.

After confirming the giant had lumbered into a different room with so much hot steam trapped inside, Schanze breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was too close.”

(You idiot!!)

Yagoro didn’t have time to caution her. Schanze had carelessly stuck her long broom out from below the countertop.

A short distance away, that thing came to a stop and turned around.

It didn’t have eyes or a nose, so it shouldn’t have been possible to know which way it was facing, but they could still tell it had turned toward them. They could feel the pressure of its “gaze”.

The three-legged monster had locked onto them.

“Eek.”

Yagoro heard a straining sound.

Schanze Dwelling tightly gripped the reins attached to her broom handle.

“Eek, ee, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!?”

And she flew away without a second thought.

Leaving behind Yagoro and an unknown number of students.

The straight hallway continued for more than 500m, so an indoor takeoff was in fact possible.

“Ho ho. You are so despicably cute, Schanze. Nothing looks better on a strong-willed gyaru than tears of humiliation.”

“Shut the hell up, you old geezer!! I totally wish I’d left you on the floor and run away! There’s even an Aspect of Amorality legend saying that Isobel Gowdie placed her broom in her bed when she went to the Witch’s Sabbath so her family wouldn’t suspect! I don’t get paid extra for it and there’s no way I could win a direct fight with that thing anyway!!”

“Yeah, you made the right choice here, Schanze,” said a third voice.

Silence followed.

Schanze glanced to the right while pouring with sweat aboard her broom.

Myousou Yagoro was casually running alongside her.

“Here’s your athame, by the way. A witch shouldn’t abandon the tools of her trade like that. Besides, you- what?”

“You have to ask!? How are you keeping up with a Formula Broom totally moving at full speed!? How many Mach numbers do you think we’re moving? And you’re doing it on foot!!”

Even if the labyrinth was dozens of kilometers long, it was still an indoor space. Catching up to a flying witch on foot wasn’t completely impossible.

(But no matter how much I master witchcraft, flying is the one thing I can’t seem to do. Almost like there’s something stopping me.)

“ATU 0510a – Cinderella. One night of the multiday ball, the bell rings to signal the end, but the prince and all his men failed to capture the departing girl.”

You couldn’t explore the labyrinthine old meal center if you couldn’t manage this much. The structure was a mess, so there were trash chutes fallen on their sides and even areas where you had to pass through an oven taller than a person or a freezer room covered in white frost. So just like passing your hand swiftly through a candle’s flame, you had to pass through too quickly for the heat to reach you, or you would die.

“Also, Schanze, you did a good job.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

The gyaru-style instructor gave him a suspicious look, but he was serious. When she had fled, he had sensed another presence nearby. Most likely, it belonged to a student trembling behind cover. They couldn’t allow the steam-filled three-legged dishwasher(?) to reach the girl, so shouting and fleeing in a different direction had been a lucky shot for Schanze as a prep school instructor.

Couldn’t her broom do prophecy? Maybe it had stimulated a 6th sense in her or something.

(But in that case…)

“Schanze, we should turn left up ahead, don’tcha think?”

“Kyahhh!?”

Schanze screamed when Yagoro suddenly pushed the tip of her broom to the side. She veered into a large room off of the straight hallway and just barely managed to stop before crashing into the wall. Formula Brooms really were extraordinary to turn as sharply as a bicycle while moving at supersonic speed.

“…!! –––––!?”

Schanze was just about ready to yell at him, but she held her breath when a rumbling reached them from the hallway. The sound of escaping steam was unexpectedly close by. Yes, they could not continue playing tag forever. Now that they had drawn the three-legged thing away, they had to lose it.

If they stayed in one place, it would just search all the rooms for them, so Yagoro wordlessly beckoned Schanze over and led the way. The labyrinthine structure meant the hallway wasn’t the only way to get around.

“(Totally what is this place?)”

Schanze nestled up against Yagoro and clutched his coat like a scared girl during a test of courage. She was so nervous because of what she saw behind the thick glass.

Beakers, flasks, and colorful liquids. Some kind of cold lab equipment lay before them. They were no longer functional, but those looked like book-friendly moonlight seals in the ceiling lights.

“(Did Maleficium’s old meal center do herbs and alchemy too?)”

Visiting there wouldn’t help them, so Yagoro walked on past making his own guess.

None of it looked all that suspicious. The scrolls stuffing the shelves were probably full of nutrition information. There were a few large cloth bags on the floor and he opened one to find it was full of parchment cards.

“Was this for quality control and testing out new menu items?”

Even if it was a general meal center, they must have wanted to give the students what they wanted if at all possible. The parchment cards all contained food requests. The purpose of a general meal center was to help the students stay healthy no matter their financial situation. The place was creepy and abandoned now, but it must have once been full of people passionate about their jobs.

“Are these recipes?”

Schanze made sure not to step on the parchment littering the floor.

Yagoro glanced through the scrawled-out text.

“Let’s see. ‘Mix the juice of boiled dog tongue with the wolf claws and wait for it to cool.’ ”

“Don’t look so disgusted. Those are totally just alternate names for herbs.”

The sailor uniform boy did a double take toward the gyaru-style instructor.

Schanze seemed confused by his shock.

“This is a surprise. Didn’t expect someone who dresses like that to know how to cook. I assumed you relied on bike deliveries or instant witch recipes.”

“What about me made you think any of that?”

With witchcraft, it was common for texts to be encoded using strange symbolism based on similarities in color or shape. But even that was better than the cryptic symbolism found in alchemy artwork.

While the three-legged monster was searching the various labs, Yagoro and Schanze emerged into the hallway and moved deeper inside. That thing didn’t seem likely to pursue them now.

“H-hey, Yagoro. Could you defeat that thing with your magic?”

“That’s a meaningless question, don’tcha think? Would our situation change any if I destroyed that countertop there with my fist?”

The aim of the practice exam was to find four numbers. That meant no one was ever intended to defeat that monster. The students were meant to either hide from it or escape with the speed of their broom. Trying to fight would get you killed if you lost, but it would only wear you down even if you won.

“If your anxiety is getting to be too much, why not reduce your brain’s processing power with a quiz? Okay, Schanze, what is ATU 0510a? Hint: glass slippers.”

“Why would I know? I’m a self-taught witch who totally doesn’t have to worry about Maleficium’s entrance exam.”

He was pretty sure you didn’t even need to be a witch to know that one and he had given the answer himself earlier, but maybe the story was only seen as a specialist magic text in this world.

At any rate, he wanted to investigate the site of the explosion.

Until they ran into any obvious enemies or traps, they decided to keep a slow, careful pace. With the locations of enemy and ally unknown, they could end up guiding an extraordinary monster to a student who was trembling in hiding after escaping with high-speed flight.

They silently walked down the dark hallway. They frequently spotted strange monsters. A lot of them used blades or flames. And each of them was just as powerful as the three-legged one, if not more so. Even when they didn’t see it for themselves, they could hear them slithering up above the ceiling. They did not engage. Without a solid plan that let them create a united front, clashing with every monster they encountered would only wear them down until they were killed.

“Huh? Is that what I think it is?”

They found one of the numbers. A piece of parchment was attached to the bottom of a large mixer, which was a metal cylinder the size of an Earth metal drum combined with a rotating blade powered by a foot pump. **8*. The parchment even provide which digit it was.

That said, they had no way of knowing if this one was legitimate. An unkind student could have left it here. And placing it location on the bottom of a giant mixer felt malicious.

They continued walking a while more.

Thanks to the extreme tension, each step seemed to physically wear down their stamina.

They spotted some kind of lump in the hallway up ahead.

As they approached, they found it to be someone collapsed while holding a Formula Broom.

(Is that…?)

“Are you totally serious? Melehe Superlative?”

Things had to be bad. That girl prided herself in her future position as leader of the Private Striga coven, so falling to the floor like this had to be humiliating for her. Even if she hadn’t reached the peak of her skill yet.

For once, frightened Schanze actually ran out ahead of Yagoro.

That was a mistake. She shouldn’t have strayed from the survival strategy that had brought them this far.

Orange light flashed out. It broke through the wall to her side and swelled out in a massive explosion.

“Goh!?”

“Schanze!!”

She was thrown to the opposite wall.

Had she…protected the collapsed Melehe from the blast? Was doing the job she had signed up for something self-taught witch Schanze prided herself in?

“Teacher!!”

Yagoro recognized that voice. The destroyed wall led to a large room. Everything inside was scorched black and the outer wall had been knocked down, allowing the night wind in. Was this the site of the explosion? But it wasn’t large enough to fly around on a broom. Viocia held her Formula Broom in her hands like a sword and looked his way. Was that Dorothea trembling next to her? Dorothea had her forehead bandage tied extra tight, probably to keep her glasses from slipping and to help her focus on controlling her broom.

Then there was the giant.

Something blatantly inhuman boasted incredible deadly power.

Orange embers danced through the air.

Something large enough to scrape its head on the large room’s ceiling was facing the girls. The bipedal giant resembled a bronze bull. It must have had a furnace inside because its bronze body glowed orange.

(The Horned God? I know it’s a bull, but that doesn’t narrow it down much. If it’s a goddess with cow horns, it would be Isis, but its body looks masculine. For a male god associated with bulls, it could be Dionysus, I guess.)

But he was wrong.

“Watch out! It doesn’t use fire to attack. Melehe said it’s actually a pressure cooker, so its breath is dangerous because it crushes you with its pressure, not because of the heat!!”

“ +1 point: if this is a deadly bronze pot, then the symbol it acquired in the distorted labyrinth is probably Moloch. ”

Moloch.

That was originally an agriculture god worshiped by the Semitic Phoenicians. But in contrast to the gentle image of an agriculture god, his demand in exchange for a good harvest was the regular use of ritualized human sacrifice where children under the age of 6 were thrown into a bronze statue heated by flames. For this reason, the Old Testament depicted him as the pinnacle of brutality and one of the greatest forms of evil. For better or for worse, he was a being of immense power.

But since this was another world entirely, the information and circumstances found in the Earth mythologies could be ignored. Yagoro decided this would work as a tentative definition for the monster: a killer pot that started out as a kitchen tool and now moved autonomously to capture its targets and cook them inside its cronze form until none of their flesh or bones remained.

The students were never meant to stand up to something like this.

The best option was to never be found. The second best was to escape. The worst was to try to fight it.

(Wasn’t there a rumor a worker fell into a large pot before the place shut down?)

Rumors were only rumors. For one, a pressure cooker had to be locked shut to seal the interior before it could be used, so you couldn’t accidentally fall in. But where there was smoke, there was fire. He decided to assume there was a kernel of truth to the rumor.

And now the thing had been transformed by the abandoned building’s conversion into a labyrinth.

However, there was one silver lining here. Since the practice exam task was to collect the four numbers, defeating Moloch and ensuring the injured students’ safety would not count as intervening.

(I don’t actually gain anything from fighting it, but I don’t think it’s going to just let us go.)

“Viocia, do your best to not provoke it while you move slowly along the wall and leave the room. Dorothea, can you walk?”

“ Eh? Oh, um, uh. I-I think so.”

“Melehe and Schanze are collapsed out in the hallway. You two gather them up and escape to safety.”

“Wh-what about you, teacher!?”

“Schanze said she didn’t receive a notice of cancelation via carrier pigeon, so the practice exam is still on. So don’t think about anything else. Focusing on the exam is your job, don’tcha think?”

Yagoro took a step past the broken wall. He walked toward the monster when he didn’t even have a Formula Broom.

He stared down the 4m statue of scorching bronze at close range.

He twirled his 40cm baton and gripped it tight.

“So I’ll clean up all the other trivialities while you do that.”

### 10

A massive tremor ran through the building. Standing more than 4m tall, the red-hot bronze statue’s head scraped against the ceiling as it turned to face Yagoro.

Embers flew from its mouth.

It didn’t just have powerful jaws. Its entire torso opened up like a pair of double doors. And it would do more than just bite its victims and trap them inside its belly. The color red expanded explosively the instant it contacted oxygen and was released into the outside world.

Instead of a pot used to cook flesh and bone, this may have been more like a furnace used to melt metal for smithing. It went without saying what would happen to any living creature that came into contact with that.

A single hit would mean instant death. Yagoro kept that in mind as he nonchalantly checked the condition of the floor with the soles of his shoes to ensure he could dodge to the side quick if necessary.

And he produced a result that was plain as day.

He only gave a quick wave of his baton. That was enough for great roaring flames to burst forth.

A low tremor followed.

But this time, it wasn’t to advance. The giant bronze bull staggered backwards.

The pure flames pushed back an invisible explosion.

“Moloch, your greatest attack is all the energy contained within you and the pressure it creates. You possess enough destructive power to engulf everything with your explosions and shockwaves, but that simplicity makes composing a countermeasure a lot easier.”

With the wall and the window broken, the room was a lot like a horizontal chimney.

“I just need a greater force.” Yagoro gave a belligerent grin, squeezed his baton, and raised his voice to a shout. “A force far stronger than yours!! You can’t scare me as long as I can repel your attacks with that force!!”

He was answered by an explosion. And not just one. Moloch produced tremor after tremor, creating cracks in the ceiling, but he still failed to destroy Yagoro. Because an even thicker shockwave wall obliterated the invisible pressure producing the explosions.

The flames died and sputtered like a steam engine.

The bronze giant charged in but only passed right by Yagoro.

The bronze weapon tore apart the smoke and air filling the room and plowed through like a solid mass.

The boy turned around and swung his baton sideways to launch a giant ball of flames into Moloch’s back. The bronze statue roared, launched a flamethrower in the wrong direction, and tried to correct its misguided course.

The tutor’s fire was different from fire created with simple petroleum or explosives. It burned the copper in the bronze, but it didn’t shine blue in a flame reaction.

He had produced magic that burned the ugliness of the target’s past deeds.

“ You see, Moloch, this is magic. Study enough and you can find the answer. ”

Moloch breathed fire, grabbed every target within reach, and threw them into its internal furnace. It had even been targeting Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe here. The ugliness of its deeds were a fearsome fuel that struck the bronze statue with the greatest possible force. Enough that its metal would eventually melt, destroying the monster.

But while waving his baton to manipulate the scarlet flames, Yagoro creased his brow.

Something wasn’t right.

(This thing…?)

“Teacher!!”

The girl’s cry stayed the tutor’s hand.

Their powers were about equal. Stopping could have let Moloch’s explosion crush him with twice the force. The slightest opening could have allowed an ultra-heavyweight tackle.

But none of that happened.

A low tremor shook the room. That was the sound of scorched Moloch falling to its knees. Its orange glow was gone and the embers in its mouth were fading fast.

“It can still move. You aren’t going to find any numbers in here, don’tcha think? So stay away from it, Viocia.”

“Y-you don’t have to kill him now. You don’t have to go that far. Ms. Schanze has been carried away and Melehe is awake and back on her feet!”

So she considered it killing. This was a killer pot that captured people and cooked them with great temperature and pressure. It was unclear if it was even technically alive.

(Ignoring her and delivering the finishing blow would be easier and it would keep that idiot safe.)

“Uh, uhhh.”

“Okay, okay. Don’t cry, Viocia! I’m here to protect you, not to destroy Moloch!! So I’ll take the option that doesn’t make my student cry, don’tcha think? Did I risk my life here for nothing!?”

“Heh heh☆ Really? Now we can be friends with Moloch!”

The scariest part was that none of that had been an act. The tears and the immediate joy were both heartfelt.

She had said Melehe was back on her feet, but what had become of Schanze? Yagoro was curious about that, so the two of them turned around and left the exploded room.

The heavy creaking of metal came from behind them.

“Viocia!!”

Yagoro immediately tackled the girl to the floor to protect her, but her attention was somewhere else entirely. Her surprised eyes watched as Moloch resumed moving.

“Something isn’t right. This isn’t like before. He was scary at first, but he didn’t force himself to stand up even if it meant destroying himself. Something’s happening inside him!”

The ceiling swelled out.

It burst and crumbled away to reveal a trio of girls.

They wore red, blue, and green waitress outfits with puffy miniskirts and suspenders.

“Sassafras Cfa,” muttered Yagoro.

(They’re guiding Moloch with some kind of magic, aren’t they?)

Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans were all smirking.

“Hee hee. It’s not like we hold a grudge or anything.”

“Right? We knew all the prep schools would be here for the official practice exam, so we knew exactly what to do. We’ve already given up on this year’s entrance exam.”

“We need to earn plenty of money so we can live a worthwhile life once we do get into Maleficium. And we get paid for finding likely candidates and threatening them into increasing our prep school’s pass rate. Or if that doesn’t work, we can crush them to get rid of another rival. Simple, right?”

Moloch couldn’t move.

He was trembling, almost like he was struggling against something.

Meanwhile…

“Right? If this thing isn’t going to help us, I won’t be satisfied until I’ve blown off some steam punishing it.”

“My, my. What might this be? Something came out of it.”

It was a piece of parchment. Something had been scrawled onto on it, perhaps by Moloch’s red-hot fingertip. Moloch had changed shape and function by the area’s labyrinthine transformation, but this may have depicted some inner part of him he would not let be altered.

For example, in the Earth legend of the Minotaur, the queen hid in a fake cow.

In Egyptian mythology, Isis wore cow horns.

So Moloch’s bull-like appearance wasn’t what truly mattered – what he was on the inside was.

In that case, it didn’t matter if he wasn’t strictly alive. Just like a love letter someone had worked up the courage to write, this wasn’t something a third party should reveal without permission.

Arbamini lightly waved the parchment in her hand.

It was written in human language, which meant he had a mind just like humans did.

But she still read out the text burned into the parchment.

Ruthlessly.

“ ‘I want to eat tasty food with everyone again.’ Ah ha ha!!”

This was a defunct meal center.

This monster had likely started out as a pressure cooker the size of a bath and capable of containing a human.

Moloch had indeed been a fearsome being. He was a deadly pot that would cook people’s flesh and bones away with his great heat and pressure. He was undoubtedly one of the monsters wandering the practice exam site’s halls.

But what was his original purpose?

What had he been used for before being so cruelly abandoned?

Witch cauldrons sometimes manipulated the weather and sometimes cooked food for great numbers.

That had to be all he was meant to be.

People could be so irresponsible. They would make a cooker in the shape of a doll to delight the people eating the food it cooked, but once the limbs and head started to crack, they would find it creepy and stop using it. Moloch might be an extreme form of that.

This killer pot was rumored to have caused a gruesome accident where a worker fell inside when the facility was on the verge of shutting down.

But was that really true?

Pressure cooker lids had to be locked to use them, so there was no way for someone to accidentally fall in when it was in use.

“This is so stupid. Why should we care? Stop sobbing and get to work, you killer pot. C’mon, we’ve got you under our control!”

“Right? Because you ate it. Doesn’t matter if it was a trap or a trick. You still ate the fruit we left for you!”

(Eating the food of the underworld binds you. Is this based on Persephone and the pomegranate from Greek mythology?)

The other world of Earth told of a rule where someone who temporarily fell into the underworld by mistake would belong to the underworld and lose their right to leave if they ate the food there.

Moloch was a large pot that trapped his targets inside the red-hot bronze statue and killed them with his heat. He would test strange objects or enemies by biting them. A trap that activated by eating it was about the worst possible thing for him.

Green Lampans chuckled and tossed over what she held in her hand.

“Was one not enough? Then here’s your seconds. Open your mouth, you oversized trashcan!!”

Something splatted wetly against Moloch. It was a rotten fruit. How humiliating did that have to be for a cooking tool that needed to remain clean?

“You can have it. There’s plenty more where that came from. Pff, ah ha ha! You’re bound by strict rules here. Don’t think you can escape with vague feelings or emotions!!”

Yes, rules were rules.

After unwittingly eating one, Moloch’s rejection and resistance would be gradually torn down. He roared. The abandoned space shook with the resentment of the hunk of metal that no one would treat like a cooking tool.

What little pride he had left was defiled and sealed away.

A loud creaking rang out. The pomegranate’s smashed flesh and seeds may have fallen into a joint. But still Moloch could not resist. Embers spilled from his battered face and he was forced against his will to rampage as a killer pot.

“Pff. Tasty food? Face the truth. You were thrown out. No one wants you! Bwa ha ha!! Act like the monster you are and focus on killing people!!”

“Right? Talk about an unwanted favor. I’d puke if I had to eat food boiling away in this gross garbage can. Gya ha ha. Eating that’d be torture!”

“Hee hee. You mustn’t spill garbage everywhere. If you aren’t kind to the environment, the so-called experts won’t be happy with you. Hee hee. Someone shove that rotting garbage in the garbage can where it belongs.”

“No, wait…” said Viocia.

That she tried to stop them may have meant she had already guessed what was about to happen.

An earsplitting metallic creaking filled the space.

Eerily and disconcertingly.

It was like the wail of a being who couldn’t speak.

“Wait!! Don’t bully Moloch!!”

“Why shouldn’t we? What’s wrong with destroying a monster?”

Something audibly broke.

Forcing the metal joint to operate with the foreign object caught within caused the bipedal bronze bull to shatter on the inside and collapse.

Yes, he was a monster who suddenly attacked them in the old meal center.

Yes, he was a lifeless piece of metal.

But that bronze bull had still wordlessly told them he didn’t want to fight any more and had tried his best to resist.

He kept breaking, but he didn’t know how to make his dream come true and ended up wandering the halls all alone.

It happened far too easily.

Bending sounds came from the bipedal bull.

The door on his torso bent terribly. His right leg broke off at the base, he lost balance, and the impact of the fall broke off his arm. His two-horned head was bent at an odd angle.

If he were human, he would be beyond saving.

“Ahhhhh!! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!?”

Viocia’s tears and shouts did nothing to change the reality before her eyes.

The cruelly destroyed piece of metal lay unmoving on the floor.

I want to eat tasty food with everyone again.

That cooking tool had helped make the students’ food for so long.

And his feelings had simply been trampled on.

“Ee hee ha ha ha!! Pathetic. This piece of junk fell apart before it could even kill anyone!!”

“Right? We actually beat one of the bosses. Too bad we don’t get extra credit for that.”

“Pff. Stop it, you two. She’s already crying, so you don’t have to rub it in.”

Viocia had lost even ordinary anger.

She was slumped on the floor and not even Dorothea or Melehe could find anything to say to her.

Myousou Yagoro calmly focused on his thoughts in that hellish scene that echoed with mocking laughter.

Feeling sorrow was fine. That was an extremely human emotion. But the very real threat was not gone. So she didn’t have time to spend on the utterly destroyed Moloch. If he didn’t rebuke his student, snap her out of it even it meant slapping her, and drag her to her feet, she would be killed.

That course of action would not be wrong.

But was it really the right thing to do?

“…yet.”

That question led the boy to his answer.

He didn’t care one whit if it was inefficient or unrealistic.

What kind of tutor did he want to be?

That line of thinking produced only one answer. So he was through hesitating.

He would say it out loud and make it a reality with his willpower.

“ This isn’t over yet!! Viocia, it’s too soon to give up on Moloch !!!”

### Today’s Quiz 3

Yagoro: Okay, I need to give you a quiz before you forget everything!!

Viocia: …!!??

Dorothea: Um, uh, tutor? Viocia? Eep. I-I’m really not sure what to say when you interrupt all this for a quiz.

Melehe: We have to get through this to make any progress. Um, the hints can all be found in the prep school ?

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat Moloch, the deadly bronze pot. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Do you see how this works now? Then in standard witch fashion, let’s start with the Three (___).

For the Aspect of Antiquity, I used the Celtic (___). That’s a (___) where a large number of people are sacrificed using fire. I started by using that to obtain deadly force.

For the Aspect of Admiration, I used ATU (___), Snow White. The magical lesson there is that the stepmother and daughter are both beautiful but their (___) ugliness make all the difference. So of course, the (___) the target’s heart, the greater the damage.

If Moloch desired to capture and kill everyone he could get his hands on, the spell would have produced the (___) power of (___) and entirely melted him, but that didn’t happen. That would mean Moloch’s heart wasn’t that ugly, don’tcha think?

Lastly, the Aspect of (___) was a chimney. When a witch leaves for the Black Mass, she would reach (___) through the chimney. With the wall and window destroyed and with smoke flowing through the entire space, I treated the room as a safe chimney to distance myself from the danger of Moloch’s tackle.

The end. Any questions, you three?

### 005. Episode 4: Save a Definite Friend

### 1

“Eh?”

It began with a confused voice.

Viocia was still slumped down on the floor, not looking his way. She had gone limp as she simply stared at the utterly destroyed Moloch.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Myousou Yagoro refused to accept this ending. For one thing, he was a witch tutor. He had traveled all the way to a world full of magic, so why should he have to give up here?

That spring, he had seen a girl standing in shock after seeing her failure on the exam result board.

But instead of crying or lashing out when faced with that harsh reality, that lonely girl bit her lip, suppressed the tears, and chose to face the next gloomy year head on.

That was when he decided to choose her.

Yagoro had his own objective.

But more than that, he knew he couldn’t bear for that girl, who had something he didn’t, to be worn down by reality before she managed to get back on her feet.

“Hee ha ha!! Why are you getting all worked up over that scrap heap? Moloch’s completely broken and you still think you can ‘save’ the thing? Don’t make me laugh!!!”

“That’s it, don’tcha think?”

Arbamini cackled, but the blond boy snapped his fingers.

He couldn’t avert his eyes. They could never escape this crisis if they shut out crucial information just because it was painful to hear.

In fact, he needed to thank that witch for her wickedness and cackling. It was time to turn this around in a single blow.

It was time to prove that anything was possible with witchcraft.

“Moloch is broken . He’s a bipedal bronze statue, so you can smash up his body as much as you want – he won’t die . Now, which parts are broken? If we open him up, determine the source of the problem, and fix or replace the broken parts, he’ll be as good as new!!”

“S-so what?”

“R-right? In case you forgot, Moloch’s under our control because it ate the pomegranate seeds.”

“Hee hee. Fixing it will only give us another pawn, so that’s fine by us. We’ll make that ugly thing kill itself hundreds or even thousands of times if you make us!!”

“Again, that’s it, don’tcha think?”

The trio looked taken aback by his repeated response.

This time, they had no idea what he could be getting at.

“Anyone who eats the fruit of the underworld is bound to the world of the dead and can no longer leave. You’re right about that. But that only applies to ordinary humans like us. ” Yagoro grinned. “But like I said, Moloch is a bipedal bronze statue . You say he ate a special fruit? But what does ‘eat’ even mean? If you put something in a box or pot, would you call that eating? Metal Moloch doesn’t eat in the sense of absorbing nutrients through a stomach and intestines!! No bronze statue can do that!!!”

Being different from others wasn’t necessarily a negative thing.

If you accepted it as part of what makes you unique, it could open new paths for you.

In this case, bronze Moloch could be saved when an ordinary person would have died.

That was undeniable.

Those differences were a blessing that should be greeted with applause and utilized to their fullest!!

“Don’t give up.”

Which meant hope was not yet lost. They could still repel this tragedy.

A single thin thread of light remained.

If they replaced his broken parts and removed the pomegranate caught in his joints, they really could save him this time.

“Didn’t you want to be his friend, Viocia!?”

Checking on every little thing was a pain.

He didn’t need to question it. He could make the call himself at this point.

A tutor’s job was to supply his student with all the necessary knowledge. He knew that. But before even that, he had sworn to himself he would show his student the way when she was unsure of herself!!

“It doesn’t matter if he’s alive or not or even if he never was alive. He still believed he had something inside him he couldn’t bear to have insulted, didn’t he, Viocia!? So don’t let it end here. Who do you think you are giving up on a friend’s possibilities like this? You decided you wanted to be his friend, so don’t give up on that just because it’s a little harder than you thought!!”

Someone audibly gnashed their teeth.

It was Arbamini in the red waitress uniform.

“That thing’s fine if he’s broken cause its bronze? The pomegranate curse wasn’t perfect? S-saying it doesn’t make it true.”

“The magic I teach my students isn’t so cheap. I didn’t teach you witchcraft so you could give up on something. I mean, didn’t you come to Temple School City to learn how to make the impossible possible ? Isn’t that why you want to go to Maleficium!? Then use all the power you have. Viocia, what kind of witch do you want to be? Do you want to learn the kind of fashionable and clever magic that lets you skillfully avoid dealing with anything hard, abandon people in need to die, and live a happy life all on your own!? Like hell you do!!!”

A dull thud rang out.

That was the response Yagoro was waiting for.

Viocia still had her head lowered, but she worked her trembling legs to stand back up. She pressed the end of her Formula Broom against the floor to prop herself up like a cane.

And she raised her head.

When she was looking at what truly needed protecting, the girl stopped being a dunce.

“Teacher. If that’s true – if we can still save Moloch – then I’m through hesitating. In fact, I’ll do this even if you tell me not to.”

“You think you can beat us? Don’t be stupid, you failing witch!! You won’t even earn any real points on this practice exam after spending all this time dealing with Moloch. You talk big for a failure who isn’t on our list of people to sabotage or recruit!!” shouted Arbamini, red in the face, but Yagoro simply shook his head.

That wasn’t how witchcraft worked.

People didn’t have any convenient magic power inside them. All they had was their willpower. So no one was born a genius at witchcraft and no one was granted all the necessary abilities by a goddess. There was no easy mode for the witch entrance exam, allowing you to pass on your first try.

Furthermore, witchcraft was not so cheap that it could be wielded based only on exam scores.

What you needed was…

(The right situation.)

That wasn’t limited to magic. For example, how many people who passed a proficiency test in gardening or mental arithmetic could hold onto those skills forever? Wouldn’t a lot of people only remember it long enough to get through the special “situation” that was the test?

A professional always kept themselves in an appropriate situation and made sure to complete daily training to continually hone their skills.

And on a more emotional side, there were people whose skills could be temporarily heightened by the right situation. Like someone who could only play a video game at a certain level when trying to help out their struggling friend.

There was nothing wrong with being average.

Not as long as you ha the strong willpower to attempt the exam despite not having the skill.

Viocia’s broom demanded an estimated rank of S 3 .

So what?

Don’t arrogantly assume witchcraft can truly be analyzed as nothing more than arithmetic. Magic gives people dreams, so it isn’t that simple.

When she said she could still save Dorothea, she was relying on the fact that her tutor was there to help if she failed. But that wasn’t an option here. Which created an extreme “situation” where she had to act now or lose this friend forever.

Witches did not reject the desires that could instead drive them.

In a situation where you wanted to obtain something no matter what, harnessing that desire transformed it into the greatest fuel.

Not everyone who wanted to be a top-level witch had been an extraordinary genius from birth.

But everyone had moments when they could push past their standard specs and become a genius.

The girl could pull it off if she had the willpower.

(Now if only she could maintain this kind of focus.)

“Moloch, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone trample on your wish. I won’t let anyone laugh at you. I won’t let them make fun of you. …And please, my broom, lend me the strength I need to keep my word.”

Someone moved past Myousou Yagoro. It was Melehe Superlative who had gotten back up despite her injuries.

She was joined by another girl who was trembling but had never let go of her Formula Broom. Dorothea Rockpool. The two stood side by side and exchanged a quick fist bump. This had nothing to do with the entrance exam. Pouring their heart and soul into this wouldn’t earn them even one extra point. But it was written plain on their faces that they didn’t care.

In fact, the same thing may have been written on Yagoro’s face.

Viocia raised her head and her voice.

They refused to leave her alone when she was willing to say this with no hesitation whatsoever.

They were all with her.

“Formula Broom – Wittenberg!! Help me with my task!!!”

The pitch black broom roared and golden light slipped across the surface of its handle.

Even mysterious Mephistopheles, who had kept his silence until now, had responded.

Protect that feeling. Maybe he isn’t human and maybe he isn’t alive.

But, witch, save your suffering friend using awesome magic that is linked to all things.

### 2

The room was lined with metal tanks that may have been larger than carriages.

The place may have originally been meant to cook enough stew or porridge at once to feed hundreds of people.

The room was even larger than a tennis court. The broken ceiling gave it vertical space as well, but it would still be difficult to fly around on brooms.

For a normal witch, anyway.

The chocolate parfait of a sky pirate girl shot straight up without even an approach run. One of the techniques she had mastered in order to teach the witches of Private Striga was a vertical takeoff that lacked the usual approach run.

“Grab on!!”

She reached out a hand and grabbed someone’s hand, taking Dorothe and Viocia in with a chain of linked hands. Then she pushed her broom forward and accelerated. As seen with taking off from the diving board, no approach run was necessary when already in midair, even if they were just barely off the ground.

Viocia and Dorothea got their brooms flying too. Formula Brooms could instantly break the sound barrier but still turn as sharply as a bicycle.

“Convert the seven notes to nine and intoxicate the world here, Orpheus!!”

“Will do, milady. Yes, there is no greater music than helping those in need. And a clear goal is a wonderful thing!”

Melehe created whistle-like spaces with her left hand’s fingers and shouted when the water pump burst. The water that sprayed forth defied gravity as it formed several spears and shot out toward Arbamini specifically.

Blue Holibre and green Lampans intervened.

“Stay put, Arbamini! Holibre and I will intercept them! Don’t let her provoke you into flying!!”

“Right? Do they really think they can beat us when it comes to attack magic? This thoughtlessly launched attack isn’t a threat. We’ll blow away those water spears and send it back at her!!”

But that wasn’t the real attack.

Another voice rang out.

“Th-the Aspect of Amorality gathers wind power in the knots of the thread and releases it when the knots are untied. Eep. The first, a pleasant breeze. The second, a powerful gust. The third, a raging storm!!”

When no-bake cheesecake bandage zombie girl Dorothea touched her bandages, her willpower reached the stagnant air. A massive invisible sphere targeted Holibre who had stepped out front from a different angle.

Dorothea made it sound simple, but her storm summoning had required using the same magic three times. A normal witch would have gone dizzy from attempting it, but not her.

A student’s exam struggles, whatever form they took, became her power.

That included the dieting, jogging, and memorization Dorothea had kept up on her own.

A sulking voice spoke up. Coming from Formula Broom – Lyceum.

“Tch. Quit that stupid trembling. Adjusted assessment: you’re not half bad when you put your mind to it.”

At first, Dorothea’s eyes widened in surprise, but then she smiled a little. And she gripped her broom all the tighter.

Meanwhile, things were still happening.

“Fall back, Holibre!! Arbamini, are you ready yet!?”

“Almost…there!!”

Red, blue, and green. The trio in colorful waitress uniforms began to show concern in their voices. And someone else made a move against them.

The creaking of bronze shook the room.

“Moloch!? Don’t force yourself! I’ll help you, so please don’t break!!” shouted pumpkin tart witch Viocia by gathering strength in her gut.

Nevertheless, the fallen and crumbled bronze statue opened its torso wide. A beam shot out from the floor. The flames, heat, and shockwave expanded quick. Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans all tried to escape in different directions, but they were all engulfed by the massive explosion full of orange embers.

Dust hung in the air.

Small pieces of the ceiling poured down. Any flight at all risked crashing in these conditions, so Viocia’s trio landed on the floor.

Dorothea nervously fidgeted with her broom.

“Th-they aren’t…fighting back? Eep.”

“Those three create one big magic spell between the three of them,” said Viocia. “So if one of them is knocked out, they can’t use their magic!”

“No, don’t let your guard down!” shouted Yagoro.

A deep rumble tore through the air.

Everything was blown out from within. Jagged metal and large rocks scattered about, so Viocia’s group quickly ducked. The rubble would have hit them otherwise.

“That wasn’t very nice. If we didn’t have a trick up our sleeve, we’d’ve been badly hurt.”

The trio emerged like nothing had happened. Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans raised their Formula Brooms, pressed the ends together, and laughed as one.

Something crawled.

The fried shrimp braid, the twintails, and the ponytail swayed side to side with the movement of their bodies. Come to think of it, didn’t a witch’s long hair hold a special meaning in the Black Mass of the Aspect of Amorality?

Melehe gripped her broom with eyes wide.

“You’re kidding. All that and they aren’t even scratched!?”

With a tearing sound, the trio removed some kind of talisman that had been pasted to the handles of their brooms.

Then the three brooms spoke one after another.

“The first proclamation of the formless one: Nothing need concern you save for the Aspect of Adoration.”

“The second proclamation of the formless one: None of woman born shall harm you.”

“The third proclamation of the formless one: You shall never be vanquished until the old meal center to the hill outside of town shall come against you.”

“Ah ha ha. Made it, made it, we actually made it.”

A crescent-moon smile split across Arbamani’s face.

“Nothing can hurt us now. Which means you can’t possibly win!! We can take our time making you suffer before you die!!!”

(That was the witches that led Macbeth astray? That’s an alteration of the prophecies spoken through the apparitions’ voices, don’tcha think!?)

This was a guaranteed victory curse that made the target invulnerable through the combination of multiple conditions. But in the play, they had been truthful statements that were used to gain Macbeth’s trust and then lead him to his doom. Casting that one yourself was about as reckless as it got.

The next voice sounded out of place here.

“Right? Lampans, lend me your ointment.”

“Really? Here, Holibre. What kind of girl doesn’t have her ointment with her at all times?”

Yagoro detected a faint scent.

(That ointment contains scopolia, borage, and some other ingredients. As a witch ointment, that would be a thorough acceleration boost, but as big as this place is, we’re still indoors. They really don’t give any thought to the burden they place on their bodies, do they? Are they willing to crash full-speed into the wall!?)

Melehe shot more water spears every which way, but the trio didn’t even try to dodge them. Just by standing in place, the pressurized water weapons turned to spray and vanished. They all hit, but the trio wasn’t damaged. They didn’t even flinch or bat an eye.

“Direct attacks aren’t going to work!! We need to overturn the fundamental magic structure!”

“Oh, you fancy-schmancy prep school ace. Do you really think we’ll give you the chance?”

Arbamini laughed and twirled her Formula Broom in one hand.

Even Viocia readied her broom in response. She may have thought a powerful magic attack of light or darkness was coming. But she still wasn’t thinking about this on the right level.

The enemy had created a situation where they would never be vanquished or harmed no matter what.

“Viocia, Melehe, Dorothea. Can the three of you drag bronze Moloch away if you work together?”

“Teacher?”

“You expect us to retreat before they’ve even attacked? You don’t think much of our skill, do you?”

“ Trick question warning: They can’t be harmed no matter what , which puts this on another level altogether!! ”

Arbamini laughed and then spoke.

“Now, Formula Broom – Glamis.”

That curse eliminated all forms of bodily damage.

So no matter how risky the trick, that trio didn’t need to hesitate.

Which was why they gave no concern for the danger it presented to them.

“Witches who led Demon Lord Macbeth astray! Take control of my body!!”

A thick, massive explosion instantly changed the flow of battle.

### 3

The location itself audibly strained from the pressure. The several layers of dust cloud obscured the view, but there had to be cracks running through the floor and walls.

There was nothing Viocia could have done. Dorothea’s legs had frozen in fear and Melehe had to have been caught in the blast before she could work out a concrete countermeasure.

The trio’s invulnerability had only been the setup for accepting in a Voland and wielding its power with no risk to themselves.

Recall when Dorothea was manipulated by Demon Lord Aristotle. The prep school’s instructors and even Maleficium’s Benandanti had been powerless to defeat that monster.

The same thing was happening here, but what if a monster had found a way to retain control of her body?

So Viocia’s group had something else to thank for their survival.

“Was that you, Moloch!?” shouted Viocia, unable to get up and covered in soot and dust.

The bronze joints screamed in protest.

They were broken and falling apart.

But the joints remained connected by something like countless threads, they forced themselves to move, and Moloch – who had been feared by so many students as a killer pot – crawled forward to guard the fallen girls.

But this defense was far from perfect.

That giant was nearly a scrap heap already and he was unsteady. So unsteady he looked ready to collapse at any moment.

“Kee hee hee, kee hee, ee hee hee.”

Arbamini, with the red fried shrimp braid, slowly approached. Her vertical serpentine pupils glowed crimson, but something was different than when it was Dorothea.

It likely helped that Holibre and Lampans were magically supporting her.

Arbamini cackled with unhinged laughter, but she was still herself.

The human had taken control of the Voland.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!! Who should I beat to a pulp first? I can wield even the most powerful magic without worrying about dying. A Voland? Power run wild!? So what!? Ah ha ha, none of it can hurt me. I’ll wield all this power and crush you all with no risk to me!!”

She had negated the magical risk. She had transformed the Voland’s uncontrollable power into a tool for her own violence.

Melehe kept her cool the best.

“We need to fall back for now.”

“But…but. Oh, I know. Teacher will do something about this.”

“We might could manage, but Dorothea is too terrified to last long! Not to mention Moloch who is bearing the burden for all our shortcomings!!”

The “snap!!” of breaking metal rang out.

It came from directly in front of them. Arbamini had arrived at the bronze heap that had been Moloch and mercilessly jabbed her slender arm into his body, which should have contained a scorching furnace.

She stirred up his insides and dragged them out.

She now held a red-hot metal pipe. Probably something like a bellows that efficiently delivered air to a fire. She held it in her bare hand, but she didn’t look remotely bothered.

It was Viocia who covered her face with her hands and screamed.

The panic of his initial defeat came rushing back.

“Ahhh, Moloch!?”

“Hmph, that’s not what I wanted. Outta the way, trashcan pot.”

Orange light swept through horizontally. Dorothea and Melehe both tackled Viocia to the ground as the giant bronze mass was blasted to the wall.

Melehe bit her lip until it bled, but she still kept calm and arrived at the optimal decision.

“Run away!!!”

Her vertical takeoff allowed her to take flight without an ultra-low-altitude approach run.

Melehe and Dorothea took flight at the same moment. Viocia was still being dragged along by the sky pirate girl. She kept looking back, shouting Moloch’s name.

(Kh!! But it has to be done!)

Melehe clenched her teeth. Flying so close to the floor caused the air compressed by her flight to push up from below, so keeping her balance was a challenge. And having a ceiling overhead made it all feel so different from normal. She felt like she was constantly flying below a bridge.

And…

“Melehe, o-over here! Eep. Hold my hand!!”

Ordinarily timid Dorothea spoke with strength in her voice. As soon as Melehe obeyed, her Formula Broom obtained a firm stability.

“What did you do?”

“W-well, I’m no good at flying fast and high. Eep. I’m better suited for the ground than the sky. Maybe because I do so much jogging?”

She had this backwards. This wasn’t about what she was “no good” at. This was a strength she had developed for herself.

Formula Brooms were meant to soar high in the sky. The ease with which Dorothea had mastered low-altitude flight was an overwhelming “weapon” in her arsenal.

“But, um. Eep. I-it’s so different when the three of us are together.”

“Yes. Even if one of us is just weighting me down back there.”

“Those three realized this a lot faster than w-we did. Eep. They must be smart, so why?”

Dorothea may have been asking why they only seemed capable of using their talents to hurt people.

During their high-speed escape, Melehe and Dorothea held an impromptu strategy meeting.

“We’re in serious trouble if they have complete control of Macbeth’s witches and the apparitions’ prophecies. That curse generally makes its target undefeatable no matter what.”

“B-but isn’t Macbeth a tragedy? There must be a loophole.”

“Either of you born through caesarian section?”

“Oh, right. Eep. That’s how the story goes.”

“Born from an egg or created in a test tube would work too. They can’t be vanquished by anyone ‘of woman born’, so they can’t defeat someone who was removed from her mother in a special way. So if none of us meet the condition set up in Macbeth, we can’t defeat that trio!!”

Sounds of destruction followed after them. The trio were invulnerable thanks to the witch prophecies, so unlike Melehe’s group, they didn’t need to make any minute course corrections while flying. They would occasionally bump into the walls or ceiling and sometimes break right through those things to take a straighter line in pursuit.

“Ah ha ha!! Run faster. Fly faster. A single hit from us and you’ll be in a real tragic state!!”

Several sounds of bending metal rang out.

A tremor ran through Viocia’s back just before some things flew rapidly after the fleeing group. They were a smashed-up three-legged dishwasher and a food carrying cart, ripped open from within. Each of them was a monster that had driven so many students to abandon the will to fight, but they also had to be items that had wandered the abandoned old meal center while carrying as many feelings as Moloch.

Mocking laughter stabbed into them from behind. From disturbingly close. Instead of standing still and working her violence, Arbamini had mounted her broom to pursue them while grabbing and throwing everything within reach. Ordinarily, her arm would have been torn off the instant it made contact.

“Ah ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“How…how can she do this?”

Viocia was dazed. She didn’t seem fully aware of the reality before her eyes.

Was that a fragment of bronze she was squeezing in her hand?

“Moloch is a big pot and he only wanted to feed everyone tasty food. The others are probably also only walking around the abandoned building looking for a place for themselves. So how can she laugh like that while she destroys them?”

“Viocia!!” shouted Melehe. “This violence will continue until we stop that trio. So are you only going to freeze up because you ‘can’t believe it’? All you’re doing is abandoning Moloch and withdrawing into yourself!!”

Viocia gasped and raised her head. She squeezed her Formula Broom tight once more. They were already at speed, so she only had to drift away from Melehe to take flight.

She had decided for herself to save Moloch, so she couldn’t give up on him now.

“Where can we make a U-turn!? We can’t leave him like this!!”

“We need to do something about the Macbeth witch magic first.”

“Th-there’s a big, multilevel room over there. Eep! Fly clockwise around it and we can return the way we came!!”

“Ugh!! This dunce of a witch is a pain even after she’s recovered!!”

Melehe complained, but she still followed after Viocia. They circled around the vast, cylindrical space and made their way back down the long, straight hallway.

“What now?” asked Melehe. “They’re monsters who can use the power of a Voland with no risk to themselves!”

“There must be something we can do!!” insisted Viocia. “We use witchcraft, which is so tricky you need to pass such a hard exam to learn more about it. There’s no way you can use a supernatural power so convenient it really makes you invulnerable, so there must be some kind of loophole we can use. The only reason we haven’t found it yet is because we don’t have all the information. So we need to keep at it until we have that information!”

Arbamini came into view down the hallway. As did Holibre and Lampans. They were riding their brooms straight toward Viocia’s group. Arbamini was out front and she had her arms spread as if in welcome.

That was when it happened.

Just before Viocia’s group crashed into them, Arbamini was struck by a powerful blow from the side, tossing her from the hallway into a side room.

Lots of crashing and exploding came from that room.

Something was happening to Arbamini’s trio. Something the Voland-transformed wicked girl hadn’t expected.

“Was that…teacher?”

### 4

Viocia’s group weren’t the only ones who were pissed.

He couldn’t bear to see Moloch disrespected any longer. And if that spell had overpowered even a Voland, he couldn’t let it be used against his student and her friends. No matter what.

“Give it a rest.”

“?”

“You damn brats!!!”

Myousou Yagoro threw everything he had into a blow from the side.

The metal pipe dragged out of Moloch, and later discarded, had stabbed into the wall, so he grabbed that in his hands and swung it toward Arbamini’s head with all his might.

He directly attacked Arbamini.

When she flew, she collided with Holibre and Lampans, taking them with her.

He had forcibly struck a witch from the side during her high-speed flight. As long as he didn’t care about the damage to his own body, that was a surefire way of causing considerable damage.

In this case, the trio broke through the outer wall and then through the window of another part of the building running parallel to this one.

“That worked well enough. Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans need to form a triangle regardless of distance, so the last thing they want is to move independently and have someone attack them separately.”

He couldn’t fly like a witch, so attacking them had taken quite a detour.

But he had finally managed a counterattack.

Yagoro felt the powerful chill of the metal pipe in his hands.

(Thanks, Moloch, for lending me the strength I needed to help Viocia and her friends after you risked everything to protect them.)

“…Ugh…”

He grimaced and then the world seemed to tilt at an angle for him.

He had physically contacted a witch flying at speed. He had been holding the pipe in both hands, but the damage to his dominant hand had been serious. Something felt disconcertingly off in his right wrist and shoulder.

But he wasn’t done yet.

His body was slumped diagonally, but he used the bent pipe to prop himself up.

It didn’t matter how much of a detour it took. He was the one who had pushed his student to save Moloch, so he couldn’t afford to slip into pleasant unconsciousness now. Plus, he couldn’t let that trio get away with treating the bronze statue that way either. Even if it wouldn’t help with the practice exam and even if it wouldn’t improve his student’s score.

If she lost her desires, her hopes, and her dreams, passing the exam would lose all meaning.

He would make his way around to the other part of the building even if it meant limping or crawling there.

The battle wasn’t over yet.

### 5

“Teacher!!”

“Idiot, you need to eliminate the threat first! Even if we can fight these witches, we can’t protect your unflying tutor while we do it!!”

Viocia reflexively tried to go help Yagoro, so Melehe had to stop her.

“B-but. Eep. How exactly do we fight them?”

“If we can’t defeat them because of that invulnerability spell, we need to find a way around it! Maybe that means getting their feet caught in quicksand and maybe it means paralyzing them – I don’t know!!”

Their brooms let them fly around the cluster of buildings that continued to branch out complexly like a tree growing in fast-forward. These girls could easily beat the tutor to the large room he had knocked that trio to.

Viocia and Dorothea got Melehe’s help landing on the floor.

They heard a clanking sound.

The room was probably used to wash dishes and kitchen tools. The window was broken, the interior was smashed up, and Arbamini was embedded in the opposite wall, holding…something other than her Formula Broom. Pieces of the crumbling wall spilled to the floor along with a crystal flask containing a smashed-up wooden doll.

If they didn’t end this here, they couldn’t save their friend Moloch.

So they had to end it here.

The tutor had said he would teach Viocia how to make the impossible possible. He had told her they could still save Moloch and she shouldn’t give up on her friend so easily. Her grandma had told her not to go to too much trouble and her parents had been strongly opposed to it. When she told strangers she wanted to be a witch, they had all laughed at her. But her tutor had believed in her this whole time, so she knew she had to live up to his belief in her.

And she wasn’t alone.

Melehe and Dorothea also faced their enemy with brooms in hand.

Arbamini had destroyed several washtubs after crashing into the dishwashing room and now she was curled up by a broken wall, holding her nose and muttering to herself. Red blood dripped between her fingers.

She didn’t seem to be thinking about anything other than the tutor who had directly harmed her.

In a way, it was the purest possible reaction, which only made it more terrifying.

“Th-thad baftard. Who…who does he think is he is hitting a girl in the face!?”

Her red serpentine eyes wandered in search of a target.

Viocia realized something while she faced the girl who had taken in a Voland and remained in control.

Yes, something wasn’t adding up.

“Wait… The apparition’s prophecy was supposed to make her invulnerable, so why is she holding a bloody nose???”

“!?”

Yagoro must have figured something out.

He had already made the impossible possible.

And that wasn’t a special move only he could pull off. Anyone here could do it too.

Yes, that was right. Why had he attacked with a piece of Moloch instead of using that weird-shaped stick he always used?

“ ‘None of woman born shall harm you’,” muttered Melehe. “In the play, the loophole was that Macduff was born by caesarean section, so he didn’t count as ‘of woman born’.”

“Oh,” gasped Dorothea. “ And Moloch is a cooking tool made from bronze, so he didn’t have a mother at all. So you don’t even need the caesarean section. Eep. The loophole for her invulnerability was right there!”

And in this case, Arbamini and her glowing red snake eyes weren’t what mattered.

“Holibre and Lampans,” pointed out Melehe.

“!?”

“The three of you can draw on such great power by having each of you handle one of the Three Aspects. An invulnerability curse capable of containing a rampaging Voland isn’t your average spell. So you two are the keys here, not Arbamini herself. If we remove your support, Arbamini will be powerless to stop the Voland’s rampage!!”

The blue and green witches quickly readied their Formula Brooms, but it was too late.

They were only just starting to fight, but Viocia had already started.

“The Aspect of Admiration. ATU 0500, the Supernatural Helper’s Name. The imp can wield the greatest power as long as no one can guess his long name of Rumpelstiltskin.”

“That girl… Does she think she knows how our Three Aspects setup works?”

“Right? She can’t do anything. They don’t even know our family names !!”

All witchcraft followed some form of logic. Usually regarding the Three Aspects. Macbeth’s witches weren’t enough. And as powerful as the Three Aspects were, they also provided a broad, shallow weak point to target.

Viocia Modestlucky was no longer a failing witch. Not in this situation.

She wouldn’t end this as an ignorant failure.

Because her tutor had taught her so much!!

“The Aspect of Antiquity! Faust was a tragic magician who had failed miserably at alchemy, but his life would never have gotten so bad if he hadn’t made a wicked deal with a demon. …That means the one thing all Three Aspects have in common with Macbeth’s prophecy is phony immortality. They’re all illusions created by pushing death away with a complex combination of conditions. So if we can take all of those away, you’re powerless!!”

Knowing how it worked wasn’t enough. Viocia had to put together her own Three Aspects magic to fight back.

The prophecy of Macbeth’s witches had already been defeated by the discovery that they could use pieces of bull-like Moloch since he was not “of woman born”. …For Viocia’s Aspect of Immorality, she decided to use the one that stole power away by making noise. For the Aspect of Admiration, she had a text in mind already. And for the Aspect of Antiquity, she chose Isis’s sistrum. That musical instrument kept the entire world in motion, which meant its sound could break free of a deadlocked situation.

Would that work?

Had she overlooked anything in her chosen countermeasure?

Viocia, Melehe, and Dorothea suppressed their nerves and raised their voices as one.

“ATU 0510a, Cinderella!! The bell signaling the ball’s end negates any and all magic, revealing the spellcaster’s original form!!!”

Viocia slammed a bronze piece of Moloch against the wall, producing a dull metallic clang.

That was all.

There was no massive explosion. No light flashed out and no noise boomed forth.

The silence felt strange.

“Bff.”

“Arbamini!!”

“Hey, Arbamini!?”

Arbamini doubled over.

She tried to calm her breathing but couldn’t.

“You used Cinderella’s bell? And church bells already have the legend of robbing a witch’s broom the power to fly. That’s a near-fatal blow for any magic that dresses you up to make you look more impressive.”

Arbamini honestly admitted its effectiveness, but she also slowly straightened up from her doubled-over position.

The serpentine red eyes shined and the Voland was still smirking.

They had failed to stop her.

“But did you forget? The official practice exam began after midnight , which means you can’t use the end-of-ball bell that rings at the end of the day!!”

Something exploded.

The one attack blasted Melehe to the wall behind her. It didn’t matter that she was Carraway Cs’s ace with a practice exam rank of A. Dorothea paled now that their trump card was gone. Something flew in from a different direction and struck the girl, knocking her to the floor. Her glasses came off and skittered across the floor.

“Melehe!! And Dorothea too!?”

Viocia was the only one left, but it wasn’t over yet.

The entire place exploded. The usually-necessary approaching run didn’t matter. She couldn’t see anything, not even an afterimage. She assumed Voland-ized Arbamini was flying around, but she was wrong.

“Ah ha ha. Pass it here!!”

“Right? You gonna try using a Voland too, Lampans?”

“Pass me the control. We’ll be here all day if it’s up to you two.”

Macbeth’s witches passed between Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans. More accurately, they traded out who played the role with the red serpentine eyes. Witness reports of the Witch’s Sabbath mentioned a dance between the Voland and the witch using a broom. The tearing wind that was stirred up with a short delay revealed the great spiral being drawn around the poor victim.

She was beyond saving.

And since she couldn’t cover for the other two at the same time, she couldn’t ensure her friends’ lives either.

They were using some kind of projectile.

Since these were Macbeth’s witches, they may have been launching cauldron-boiled poison from their palms. But no matter what it was made of, simply being struck by a boiling liquid at ultra-high speed could be fatal.

Witches ruled the skies by flying at supersonic speed while remaining as maneuverable as a bicycle.

But that meant Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans were capable of attacking with sufficient speed to bring down that kind of witch.

Masses of scorching death attacked from multiple directions at once.

But Viocia still didn’t give up. She worked her brains like never before.

Raising a shield of the ointment that protected her body during supersonic flight would be meaningless. They were just too destructive. Any attempt at stopping their attacks head on would be easily breached.

So…

(I need to throw off their aim! Lead them astray!!)

“It’s not…too late!!”

Viocia scattered wax dolls smaller than chess pieces to create around a dozen phantom copies of herself.

She wasn’t aware, but her idea was more like the Earth concept of a flare than chaff.

It was a miracle she had managed to come up with this idea and act on it in such a short time. Her tutor was stingy with praise, but he might have rubbed her head for this one.

It was instantly neutralized.

But not by revealing which one was real. The dozen phantoms were shot through simultaneously, rendering them pointless.

“Ah ha ha!!” laughed the trio. “Got any other tricks up your sleeve to try and save your life!?”

Viocia really was the only one left.

And it was obvious she had been left for last to fill her with even greater fear.

She had refused to give up before, but now her throat dried up.

(Te-)

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shouted for help she knew wasn’t coming.

“ Teacher !!”

“Oh, pipe down. You don’t need to ask every single time !”

It really happened.

She received a response.

It didn’t matter how much damage he would take.

Myousou Yagoro actually thought he was lucky. If Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans had split up and attacked all three students at once, he really would have been out of options.

But they had chosen to focus on Viocia alone.

So if he protected her, he could prevent any of them from being lost. For that, he was willing to offer them his battered and slanted body.

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

### 6

He always felt like he had been too successful.

It kept happening. He had been lifted up as a genius boy, but he had known that had earned him grudges from so many people. He should have only taken a one-man trip into space, but something must have gone wrong and he ended up here instead.

Was this Earth’s afterlife, or had he somehow been sent somewhere else altogether? Either way, he thought he might not have a place on Earth anymore since he was considered dead there. Someone was obviously hindering his attempts to return, but it was possible that was only someone taking pity on him after seeing him attempting the impossible.

He had no proof of any of it, but the possibility still made him tremble with fear.

But that fear was overpowered by his worry for the people he had left on Earth.

His mother. His sister.

The last thing he wanted to do was leave them hanging. Over and over, he had regretted leaving behind so many questions about his fate. If he had definitively died, they wouldn’t have hesitated to get a new start on life.

So he wanted to provide closure.

He wasn’t trying to return to Earth. Because there was something blocking the way between the two worlds. But he might be able to send a message. After all, Formula Brooms managed to sneak Earth knowledge past the goddess’s watchful eye and store it here. But what kind of message could he send? If he told them to stop waiting for him, wouldn’t that only make them more impatient for his return?

He never did find an answer there.

But if his current situation really was an abnormality, then couldn’t he break free of that halfway position by dying for real in this world? The end result would be no different from if he had died in that accident back at Earth. Then his family could start on a new life.

He pondered that idea.

He could see his life flashing before his eyes.

Meeting a glorious end while protecting his student seemed like a good use of this unnatural continuation of his life. The idea sorely tempted him.

He stood on the precipice of death.

He could sense it so clearly.

“But this isn’t over yet.”

“!?” “!?” “!?”

He rejected it.

He clenched his teeth and shook free of the deceptively sweet resignation.

If he evaded the attack with a sidestep, he would be putting his student at risk. Dedicating part of his willpower to defense magic would only hurt his chances.

He took the attack straight to the center of his back while covering for his student.

The high-pressure shot of poison felt as heavy as a bowling ball. The cracking of pressure damage came from his torso.

The sweet release of death rushed in.

But he still refused to take that easy way out.

Yagoro stood and faced the harsh reality once more.

He thought only of offense. He needed to eliminate the threat as soon as possible to save those future witches.

He knew he couldn’t return home and sending a message wouldn’t help. He was doomed to forever worry and trouble his loved ones.

But that was why he had to do this.

If he was going to repay those people for worrying about him, he had to find happiness in this world. He was only an empty shell or the dregs of his former self, but that girl seriously believed he could give her a future, so he couldn’t abandon his tutoring job before it was complete.

Which meant he couldn’t die yet.

He refused to die here.

“Lampans, pass the Voland my way.”

The witch trio weaved their midair courses together and then one of them shot out ahead.

The red waitress uniform meant the Voland was in Arbamini right now.

“Quit trying to act tough. You’re wearing some kind of armor below that sailor uniform, aren’t you?”

She was right. But armor made by combining parchment like a book wouldn’t even come close to protecting him here.

A line of red blood dripped from the corner of Yagoro’s mouth.

“But that’s all you have. You stopped the burns? Maybe, but it still hurt you. Macbeth’s witches can make all sorts of potions, so we have an intimate knowledge of how the human body works. You can’t even stay on your feet much longer, can you? …This next one will finish it. Because we’ll hit you with a rapid barrage.”

Yagoro smiled a little at the icy voice that contrasted the previous mockery.

Apparently Arbamini was finally taking this seriously.

Now, could he put the magic together quick enough? Viocia still had her broom. With that…

“Viocia…”

“Teacher?”

“Listen, you three weren’t wrong. ATU 0510a, Cinderella, was the right choice, so don’t beat yourself up over that. You just didn’t quite land on the right way to use it.”

He was a tutor, so he had to teach her this.

Drawing on all your knowledge and wielding magic to protect a friend had not been a failure or a mistake. It was a praiseworthy act that only a good witch was capable of.

The trio scoffed.

They had reduced themselves to ugly, despicable witches who could do nothing else.

“How stupid are you? You’re her tutor? If you’d only thrown out your silly feelings, you could’ve played dead and maybe survived this.”

“Right? Now, pass it here. I’ll finish them off, so could you give me the Voland?”

“Nope. It’s scarier for them if they don’t know who the finishing blow is coming from.”

Light blossomed wildly. It seemed at first like they had used invisibility magic, but they were only moving too fast to be seen by the naked eye. The trio soared and looped through the air. They spiraled around the pair like part of the Witch’s Sabbath dance. Both Dorothea and Melehe had failed to avoid that surefire dance.

What did he have to work with? What could he construct with it? The tutor boy knew the answers. So he forced his limp and bloody hand to move and grasp the baton that had fallen nearby. He planted his feet solidly on the floor littered with glass shards.

He couldn’t move anymore, so Viocia propped him up. He would protect that student no matter what might happen. He poured all his focus onto that situation.

He would not deny his desires. Myousou Yagoro moved his bloody lips to speak with his willpower behind the words.

“ATU 0510a, Cinderella…”

“Ah ha ha!! Weren’t you listening!? You can’t use the ball-ending bell anymore!!!”

A trio of distorted voices danced around him.

They surrounded him, weaved together, and then charged him at the same moment.

He could ignore all that.

“ +1 point. We don’t need the ending bell. We need the (___) ”

“?”

Viocia gulped in that moment.

The glass shards underfoot were so hot he could feel the heat through the soles of his shoes.

Yagoro twirled his baton and roared one last thing.

“I activate the (glass slipper)!! After the ball is over, the bullying stepmother and stepsisters tried to lie about their importance but had their selfishness revealed by that one item!!”

That was all. The illusionary power vanished, the trio lost control in midair, and they all crashed into the wall or the floor.

### 7

Let’s work together so we can all pass.

Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans once had a friend they could smile and say that with. They would always gather in the same place to study. They would quiz each other on memorization questions. When they didn’t have enough money, they would buy a single textbook and share it until it was falling apart.

One day, they made a great find in a flea market. The wooden talisman was about the size of a playing card, but Arbamini noticed how unusually smooth the reverse side was. The surface had been covered by a thin layer of wax and an incantation was sealed within using the same concept as a phonograph. The discovery had excited them all. It resembled known incantations, but something about it sounded different. They speculated the gaps of the challenging musical scale had been filled in to reduce the difficulty. And if that was truly possible, it was bound to be useful in their practical lessons.

The practice exam was approaching. Everyone was desperate to earn even one more point.

They had all discovered the talisman together.

But it had only taken an instant for one of them to steal it away.

She had smiled as she walked all over Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans, taken it away from them, used it to confidently attempt he Maleficium entrance exam, and vanished to heights beyond their reach. All that trio had left afterwards were the deep physical wounds and the humiliation.

The exam results were everything.

No one had listened to their pleas.

They had effectively been exiled to the worst of the prep schools, where the students and even the instructors told them it was their fault for letting a phony friendship blind them like that.

That set them on their current path.

Doing the right thing no longer mattered to them. They had just one goal left in mind: become even stronger than the stolen talisman, pass the rigorous exam, and make that bitch pay once they arrived in Maleficium.

### 8

At first, only a quiet crackling was heard.

Then the pile of rubble was blown away by a tremendous force from the inside. A pair of glowing red snake eyes emerged.

“Oh, oh…”

Arbamini roared while slanted diagonally. She seemed to be threatening her opponent with bloody teeth bared, but she also seemed to be protecting the other two lying within the rubble. Either way, that was not the face of an undefeated elite. Her entire body radiated the pressure of an animal afraid of feeling more pain.

“Oaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

A thought floated up in Yagoro’s mind. They were supposed to be Macbeth’s witches. Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans always acted as a trio, but he realized something was missing there.

Where was traitor Macbeth himself?

“Was there a fourth ?”

“Aspect of Admiration: ATU 0500. The imp Rumpelstiltskin demands my child’s life in exchange for helping with a difficult task. Aspect of Antiquity: Faust. That is the name of the man who met a mysterious and tragic death after carelessly making a deal with an unknown being. Aspect of Amorality: the witches who lead Macbeth astray. That trio of bewitching shades lures him to certain doom with sweet-sounding prophecies.”

Yagoro couldn’t help but smile a little when he saw a broom moving through empty air as if stirring an invisible cauldron and heard an unsteady incantation mixed with blood.

She was following the basic form. Even Demon King Aristotle, who fancied himself a wise man, had forgotten about the Three Aspects and attempted a brute force attack when he was pushed too far.

“The Three Aspects rotate to propel us toward a single goal. This ritual of death cares not if it used for good or evil.”

The fallen prep school ace glared at Yagoro.

Her breathing was shallow and she couldn’t hold her shoulders at the same height, but still…

“This is our power.”

The witch bared her bloodstained teeth and let a low, low voice spill forth.

Arbamini’s oxygen-deprived face was slanted as she thrust her broom handle toward him and roared.

“Macbeth’s witches bring about absolute ruin!! To life, to status, and to the will to fight! This is who we are. This is the source of our power!! Have you ever cursed someone as strongly as thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssssss!!?”

Her resentment was like a solid shockwave.

Maybe Melehe and Dorothea were lucky they were unconscious on the floor. Yagoro could feel Viocia squeezing him tighter as she helped support his body that seemed as limp as a broken doll.

With a shattering sound, the colors red and black burst from the handle of Arbamini’s Formula Broom. Several magic circles larger than umbrellas were drawn out in the air, covering the space around her, and a pitch black power swelled out beyond the limit. Once it passed a certain point, the tip of her broom would launch the resentment and dark magic with more force than an arrow loosed from a drawn bowstring. It would be like a sudden downpour directed at Yagoro.

But a small smile was his only reaction.

He had gone through so much, but it was true he had never cursed anyone with such pure intensity.

“ATU 0510a, Cinderella…”

“Kh.”

He held his 70cm baton out as if in response.

While reaching his other hand around the nearby girl’s hip and pulling her close.

He released his final trump card.

“I activate the wedding. After passing the trial of the glass slipper, the pure maiden is wed to the prince, bringing her great blessings and happiness!! Listen up, wicked and malicious family, no matter how powerful your onslaught, you can never surpass and outdo this pure one!”

A torrent swallowed up and eliminated the approaching darkness with even greater force.

Something invisible scraped at the air, blazing orange. It looked a lot like a sugar sculpture, but it was in fact melted glass that shot from the tip of the baton. It burned away the incoming dark magic and rushed toward Arbamini.

“I trust your Voland strength to keep you alive in the 1400+ melting point of glass!!”

“!?”

A tremendous explosion and deafening roar fought for supremacy while the tutor boy distinctly saw a grimace on Arbamini’s face past the remnants of the darkness.

Did she envy him his ability to keep his morals and continue to worry about others while on the verge of death?

(If so, you’ve got it all wrong, don’tcha think?)

Yagoro had his own objective. On that day too early to call spring, he had reached out a helping hand to a girl who looked lost in front of the posted list of people who had passed the exam. At first, he hadn’t done so out of kindness.

(At the very least, I’m not as strong as you three who found a way to prevent any infighting because you didn’t want to walk the same path as the fourth .)

“Hey, Arbamini.”

They all wanted to pass together.

Accomplishing that by sabotaging everyone else to lower the passing line was absurd, but the tutor boy thought their solid friendship was something that surpassed logic and was worthy of respect.

And because they had something respectable that he did not, he wanted them to enter a beautiful and friendly rivalry with Viocia.

He wanted them all to compete against each other so they could all improve.

But that meant thoroughly tearing down their ugly wickedness here.

Do not deny your desires.

If he wanted to call himself Viocia’s tutor, he needed to trust in himself and do what was in her best interest.

And that meant changing that trio’s “situation” before they traveled any further toward the darkness!!

“ This is magic. Study enough and you can find the answer !!!”

Did his words reach them even as they were drowned out by the cacophony of destruction?

The muddy orange stream burned away the deadly power and slammed the Voland-tamer girl into the wall.

### Today’s Quiz 4

Viocia: Teacher…

Yagoro: I know lot has happened, but you need to learn what you can from that trio.

Viocia: Maybe, but we’re still in the middle of the official practice exam. And this is actually the second quiz you’ve given me during it.

Yagoro: I wasn’t asking for complaints. Now, this time the hints were scattered around the old meal center. And not just in this area. You should return to where I first entered the building too.

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat Arbamini and her powerful attack magic. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

First, the Aspect of Admiration. Needless to say, I used ATU (___)a – in other words, Cinderella. Specifically, the part that happens after the (___) fits perfectly on Cinderella’s foot. The wicked women have no role after that. But the spellcaster is an almighty and untouchable figure in this story, so I had to make sure I didn’t draw on that part. The key was to have the trio correspond with (___).

Next, the Aspect of Amorality. I referenced the story of Isobel Gowdie. When leaving for the (___), she placed her (___) in her (___) so her (___) wouldn’t suspect she was gone. But you have to be careful with this story because she used her broom to avoid or repel danger, not to fly.

Lastly, the Aspect of (___). I used a dreamcatcher. The Be Silent Spell Bottle would have worked too. A dreamcatcher is an (___) you hang by the window to catch bad dreams. If it can easily stop formless malice and (___), it can physically defend against them, don’tcha think?

The end. Any questions, Viocia?

### 006. Epilogue: Those Witches Still Haven’t Mastered Their Brooms

The results of the official practice exam had been announced.

It was all anyone was talking about at Carraway Cs Preparatory School, and probably every other prep school too. It might as well have been a special event for Temple School City.

The old meal center that had loomed over a section of the city had already withdrawn and disappeared.

“Heh.”

Melehe Superlative’s results went without saying. She didn’t see the need to announce that she had achieved Rank A. From here on, she was facing a battle against herself to see if she could keep that performance up as she flew toward the top.

So she showed no interest in the parchment results sheet.

“About Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans. …I hear you let them go.”

“Dealing with them isn’t a tutor’s job.”

“Even though they might attack again?”

Myousou Yagoro seriously doubted they would. Those three had lost everything when their friend betrayed them. But during this official practice exam, they had seen other witches feel real anger and selflessly fight for the sake of their friends. Even if their wicked designs bore fruit, they now knew they wouldn’t obtain anything like that.

“You’re still worrying over the fourth girl, aren’t you?”

“Uh…”

“(But I’ve never heard of anyone other than me getting into Maleficium on the first try.)”

“Eh?” Melehe turned back toward him in surprise.

Yagoro whispered to the girl he had shared some of his secrets with.

“(That means she may have had an advantage, but it wasn’t enough for her to pass, don’tcha think?)”

“Ha…ha ha ha. Sigh.”

That just showed how challenging the entrance exam was. Talent wasn’t enough to pass and no simple stopgap measure would work. No one who neglected their daily studies could win. And considering that the fourth had felt a need to improve herself in that way, it wasn’t hard to guess what her unenhanced abilities were like.

As for the dunce girl…

“Hooray! I went up a rank. Look, look, Dorothea. I’m Rank E!! It’s like a dream come true!! I achieved my goal. I’m on fire. I finally broke free of Rank F!”

“ I-I didn’t even know there was a Rank F. Eep. ”

Viocia must not have been able to make out Dorothea’s quiet voice because she only blinked in confusion.

Now, the practice exam had tasked the students with searching out four numbers hidden within the labyrinthine old meal center. Rank E was probably for anyone who managed to find a single number, no matter how long it took. Still, she had done well considering most of the witches had frozen up with fear.

Dorothea was now feeling thoroughly foolish for worrying so much about being stuck at Rank C that she relied on a sketchy guaranteed weight loss talisman , but that was a separate issue.

“So you just barely squeaked by, huh? What crucial period of time does a witch divide into 8 sections? Do you know the answer, Viocia?”

“A year! And I’ll continue working for the rest of this one!!”

Yes, they were still at the start of the year. She was only at Rank E now, but if she went up at least a rank with each practice exam, she could reach Rank A or higher by the time the real entrance exam came along. Of course, this was a matter of the mind, which meant there wouldn’t be such a simple correlation between the time spent and her academic ability, but that was still Yagoro’s hope.

Formula Broom – Wittenberg.

That broom had the abnormal estimated rank of S 3 , but it had answered Viocia’s call. He knew she had the potential. Even if her efforts were often misguided and wasted, he wouldn’t let anyone say she ever neglected to work toward her goal on a daily basis.

It didn’t matter that she was below average now. It was a tutor’s job to make sure she passed in the end.

Although she didn’t seem to be thinking quite so long-term at the moment.

In fact, she had traded her quill and parchment for a wrench and screwdriver.

“Heh heh heh☆ All done! Well, Moloch? Can you see my hand?”

When Viocia smiled and waved a hand, a bronze bull provide a slow, metallic groan.

“Um, Viocia?” Dorothea nervously interrupted. “Eep. A-are you really going to take him back to your room?”

“If I’m going to be a witch, I need my own potion-mixing cauldron!”

“ +1 point. Well, he is apparently a giant industrial pressure cooker. ”

The building had gone back to wherever it came from, but Viocia had dragged Moloch and the others outside before that. And since Moloch seemed to prefer to go with Viocia than remain in the defunct building, Yagoro hadn’t stopped her.

“Now to fix the rest of them too. I’ve gotta have the complete set!”

“Ah…ah ha ha.”

A witch used magic to bring people together. A witch reached out a helping hand to anyone in need.

A witch was someone anyone could go to for advice.

In that sense, maybe Viocia was already an excellent witch.

The girl didn’t hesitate to speak with a beaming smile on her face.

“Teacher, teach me all about herbs. I need to use Moloch as soon as possible!”

### 007. Afterword

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

The theme this time is witchcraft! Although I went with the term Maleficium instead. When writing a battle story, it takes a lot of courage to introduce flight. Once one person can fly, then everyone has to fly. I had been hesitant to introduce it before because I was afraid of that kind of power inflation, but then I realized I could turn the idea on its head by creating an entire world of only people who can fly. Then I threw in all my ideas for that. After that, I asked myself who are the cutest kind of people who can fly and decided the answer was witches on their brooms. The next best idea would maybe be succubi? Harpies and sirens are also winged girls, but strangely they don’t seem as cute to me. Why is that???

When I was thinking about what my idea of a witch was, I came up with all sorts of things, from adorable texts to disturbing rituals. But if these ideas came to mind right away, I figured they all had to be correct and I decided it would be fun to have a world that combines all those things.

And so this story is about witchcraft. It is a purely borrowed power gained by praying to another being and joining with them, so I made it so humans have a life and lifeforce but they can’t directly convert that into magic power.

The magicians in my other series call on power from within them or from the void to place it inside a talisman and consume it or fuse with a being known as a god to reach that being’s level or at least control them from the human side. But whether they are priestesses of an ancient god or a participant in the Black Mass, the witches of this book serve a higher being and borrow their power. Thus, gaining too much power to control is baked into the setting.

But isn’t it strange that you don’t see anyone serving a higher being in all the fairy tale stories? I thought maybe a monotheistic culture didn’t want the kind old woman who helps out the lonely heroine to be a servant of (a being known as) a demon in stories meant for small children, but you don’t see the wicked witches serving a higher being either. Hmm, there must be more to this…

To enjoy this on a deeper level, it might be fun to find all the differences between this book and Index. Or you could imagine what the “other world” of Earth must be like based on the reports mentioning things like the United States collapsing.

Since there is a witchcraft system based on a goddess with three aspects, I combined that idea with the idea of a three phase motor and wondered if the witches could use that to fly. I quite like that the Formula Broom handles open up like a three blade propeller when unsealed. I initially pictured it like opening up a passenger plane’s giant engine, but I knew it would be better if it fit the Three Aspects idea!

The story is set in the gray life of a once-failed student. I started with the ideas of a prep school and a tutor, added in the swords and sorcery fantasy and the Halloween costumes, and then made it pop more by increasing the girl content. I wanted to write a strange place that was nothing like an ordinary school and does nothing to promote a healthy mindset. I wanted to depict the greedy and somehow inspiring side of exam students who have failed once already and thus pursue their goal all the harder. That mindset where they’re willing to die if it will let them do well on the upcoming practice exam. This is the result of everything I did to create something new by combining witch flight techniques with the overheated mindset only found during entrance exam season. I hope you enjoyed it.

Once the entrance exams are over, you realize they weren’t really all that big a deal. This book is only a piece of entertainment. The world is a big place, so don’t push yourself too hard!

I give my thanks to my illustrator Aroa-san and my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Hamamura-san, and Matsuura-san. I was picturing another world full of Halloween witches, but that must have required giving each and every person in the crowd their own individual look. Thanks so much!

And I give my thanks to the readers. Brooms, cauldrons, transformations, hats – what first comes to mind when you think of witches? I hope this world of witches rather than magicians worked to expand the horizons of your imagination.

And this time I also need to give my thanks to the Golden Dawn Magic Compendium 3: The Flying Scroll – Secrets of Advanced Magic. (Francis King Volume, Translated by Eguchi Koretaka, Supervising Editor: Akiba Tsutomu, Published by Kokusho Kankokai).

I will end this here.

From fairy tale to horror, what kind of witches do all of you like?

-Kamachi Kazuma

### 008. Appendix: Quiz Answers

### Prologue Quiz

Now, for a quiz. A witch must always focus on the Three Aspects.

Let’s start with the Aspect of Admiration.

Which ATU number is the reference text for the Cinderella witch role?

ATU( 0510 )a

Next, the Aspect of Antiquity.

You want to perform a four elements conversion based on the philosopher Aristotle’s formula, but the below diagram does not let you use the shortest conversion method of swapping out the four qualities (dry, wet, hot, and cold) one at a time. Fill in the blank to explain what needs to be replaced with what to provide the correct diagram.

╭ Earth ╮

Wind - Fire

╰ Water ╯

Replacing water with ( wind ) will work.

Hint: Fire = Dry + Hot and is a processed version of the common prima materia.

Lastly, the Aspect of Amorality.

Which of the following should not be done by the leader of the Black Mass?

1. Perform a deadly curse ceremony

② . Wear a rabbit skull over the head

3. Use a naked woman as an altar

Viocia: This is my current skill! It’s my baseline!

Yagoro: A perfect 0 is kind of impressive. It was weirdly thrilling writing that score down.

Viocia: But there are tons of different kinds of witches.

### First Quiz

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat Demon Lord Aristotle and rescue Dorothea Rockpool. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Witches focus on the Three ( Aspects ).

First the Aspect of Antiquity. But this time, I only used the correspondence of ( fire ), wind, water, and earth with red, ( yellow ), blue, and green.

Next, the Aspect of ( Admiration ). I activated the ATU ( 0328a ) text.

Would it be easier to describe that as Jack and the Beanstalk?

The ( bean )stalk is a route used by deadly threats such as ogres and demons, so you can prevent their arrival by cutting it down. That’s a magical lesson that, under the right conditions, magic can be forced to malfunction or fail to activate, don’tcha think?

Lastly, the Aspect of Amorality. I used the popular wax doll curse. This lets you remotely damage a target by sticking a thick ( needle ) into a doll made to look like them.

Altogether, I prevented the activation of Demon Lord ( Aristotle )’s magical attack, which was in truth a function of the four elements, and then launched a counterattack with a wax doll. A ( wax doll ) curse can harm its target regardless of distance and space, so it can damage a noncorporeal being who exists only as thoughts. And it goes without saying that Dorothea and the Voland are two separate things. By setting a specific ( target ) before launching the attack, I could make a clear distinction between the two. They occupied the same body, but that method allowed me to defeat only the Voland and purge him from Dorothea’s body.

The end. Any questions, Viocia?

Yagoro: This should be easier to understand if you start with the wax doll and focus on the idea of a curse, don’tcha think?

Viocia: Uhh… But it’s so weird how you can link the idea of a curse with a story.

Yagoro: You’re looking at it wrong. Old stories weren’t always meant for children. The original stories and legends are a treasure trove of magical knowledge.

Viocia: But why do you include the Black Mass which was made up to persecute witches?

Yagoro: If you’re smart enough to find the truths hidden in distorted witness accounts, there’s a lot to learn from them. And it’s also possible to take advantage of the malicious ideas someone spreads about you.

### Second Quiz

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat the Sassafras Cfa Preparatory School aces – Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

We will only be focusing on what I did against the Sassafras Cfa trio. Let’s look at it piece by piece.

The Aspect of Antiquity was the mandragora. You die if you hear its ( scream ) when it is uprooted, but you can remain safe by tying a rope to a dog and uprooting it that way. Simply put, you can avoid the danger using ( distance ). That said, I was stuck in a fixed location, so I had to use a different method to avoid hearing the sounds and voices even at a short distance. For example, I could drown out the trio’s higher voices by shouting a lower sound, don’tcha think?

Mandragoras can also be used to attack. The symbol of ( death ) caused by hearing a scream is too good not to use.

The Aspect of ( Admiration ) was ATU ( 0123 ). In other words the Wolf and the Young Goats. That is the story of the ( young goats ) opening the door for and being eaten by a wolf pretending to be their ( mother ).

You can use that to make magic that knocks someone out if they answer your call. Viocia, note that I didn’t use your names when I called out to you. I simply told you to “take this”.

I did panic a bit when Arbamini ignored my call toward the end. I didn’t want to take their lives.

The Aspect of Amorality was a curse made by intentionally ( mistreating ) a tool. That’s a standard of the Black Mass. And I used it for targeting support based on the fundamental law of ( curses ) that says two things will continue to affect each other even at a distance once they come into ( contact ).

The end. Any questions, Viocia. And Melehe too since you’re here?

Yagoro: This one was all about voice and prophecy magic. As long as you have the mandragora, you can fight back.

Melehe: So distance was all you needed. It’s so simple once you know the trick.

Yagoro: Witches tend to use tricks like that. Facing them head on is just playing into their hand, don’tcha think?

### Third Quiz

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat Moloch, the deadly bronze pot. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Do you see how this works now? Then in standard witch fashion, let’s start with the Three ( Aspects ).

For the Aspect of Antiquity, I used the Celtic ( wicker man ). That’s a ( human sacrifice ritual ) where a large number of people are sacrificed using fire. I started by using that to obtain deadly force.

For the Aspect of Admiration, I used ATU ( 0709 ), Snow White. The magical lesson there is that the stepmother and daughter are both beautiful but their ( inner ) ugliness made all the difference. So of course, the ( uglier ) the target’s heart, the greater the damage.

If Moloch desired to capture and kill everyone he could get his hands on, the spell would have produced the ( maximum ) power of ( fire ) and entirely melted him, but that didn’t happen. That would mean Moloch’s heart wasn’t that ugly, don’tcha think?

Lastly, the Aspect of ( Amorality ) was a chimney. When a witch leaves for the Black Mass, she would reach ( the roof ) through the chimney. With the wall and window destroyed and with smoke flowing through the entire space, I treated the room as a safe chimney to distance myself from the danger of Moloch’s tackle.

The end. Any questions, you three?

Viocia: Molooooch!?

Yagoro: Ignoring this nuisance, I started my idea with those two from the Snow White story.

Dorothea: B-but, tutor, a bronze statue isn’t a living thing. Eep. Were you really certain you could defeat him in a direct fight?

Yagoro: Of course. That he’s a bronze statue was the main point, don’tcha think? We’re not talking about the legendary metal orichalcum here. I know the exact hardness and melting point of bronze, so it wasn’t hard to come up with a countermeasure.

### Fourth Quiz

Question: Fill in the blanks to explain what magical methods the human Myousou Yagoro used to defeat Arbamini and her powerful attack magic. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

First, the Aspect of Admiration. Needless to say, I used ATU ( 0510 )a – in other words, Cinderella. Specifically, the part that happens after the ( glass slipper ) fits perfectly on Cinderella’s foot. The wicked women have no role after that. But the spellcaster is an almighty and untouchable figure in this story, so I had to make sure I didn’t draw on that part. The key was to have the trio correspond with ( the stepmother and stepsisters ).

Next, the Aspect of Amorality. I referenced the story of Isobel Gowdie. When leaving for the ( Witch’s Sabbath ), she placed her ( broom ) in her ( bed ) so her ( family ) wouldn’t suspect she was gone. But you have to be careful with this story because she used her broom to avoid or repel danger, not to fly.

Lastly, the Aspect of ( Antiquity ). I used a dreamcatcher. The Be Silent Spell Bottle would have worked too. A dreamcatcher is an ( amulet ) you hang by the window to catch bad dreams. If it can easily stop formless malice and ( curses ), it can physically defend against them, don’tcha think?

The end. Any questions, Viocia?

Viocia: Th-there was a logic to what you did?

Yagoro: Don’t expect to find any kind of “special attack” in witchcraft. You just need to remember that you can learn any magic if you study enough, don’tcha think?

Viocia: Come to think of it, Arba thought it was an impossible curse at the very end!

Yagoro: You’ve got a nickname for her already? Fine. That is your greatest strength, after all.

### 009. Prologue: Still Nowhere Close to Maleficium

Are you used to these quizzes yet? As usual, make sure you focus on the Three Aspects.

But instead of directly testing your knowledge, this time I kept in mind what kind of questions you’ll need to answer on an actual test. So pay careful attention to the phrasing of the questions.

Let’s start with the Aspect of Admiration.

ATU 0709 is Snow White and ATU 0709a is a derivative of it. Explain how ATU 0709a differs.

It’s a story about fire and ash.

The witch is the enemy.

The nine companions are the same.

The prince needs to kiss her.

( It becomes the story known as The Little Sister of Nine Brothers and the prince saves the girl after she steps on a poisoned claw and dies. )

It isn’t the apple.

Next, the Aspect of Amorality.

Witches are said to transform into a variety of different animals. These are mostly harmless animals like rabbits and dragonflies, but just one is extremely dangerous. Which of the following is it?

1. Crow

2. Cat

③ . Wolf

Hint: Dangerous means this animal is a threat to human life.

Isn’t this because it got confused with the werewolf legends?

Lastly, the Aspect of Antiquity.

Crystal is an all-purpose mineral. The witch ceremony known as programming specializes a crystal for a single use by sealing your own will inside. What benefit does this provide?

Giving it a specific ( role ) in advance allows for ( time reduction ).

Increases the magic’s strength. And destructive force. No, that’s not it. Magic isn’t always an attack…

She had it right.

She’d solved the problems like normal.

Myousou Yagoro, a tutor boy with his hair dyed an unnatural blond, was impressed (while hiding this fact from the girl in front of him). See, she could do it if she tried. He had spent all night coming up with this quiz like he was solving a simple puzzle and this proved his skills as a tutor hadn’t dulled. In the world of the entrance exam, there were no geniuses blessed by some strange goddess, but daily work would pay off eventually. It was such a lovely story. He just knew he would have sweet dreams tonight.

He nodded in a gazebo build in a small park tucked into a corner of Temple School City, a chessboard of a city made from white marble and black obsidian.

There was only one problem.

“So Dorothea can actually solve the quiz questions when she puts her mind to it.”

“Oh, um, s-sorry. Eep.”

Dorothea Rockpool, the busty glasses student who had solved the problems, tearfully shrank down for some reason.

Viocia Modestlucky, the redhead girl seated on the bench next to her, laughed as if she had done nothing wrong.

Yagoro was only supposed to be the tutor for the Halloween witch Viocia who was dressed in the orange and purple colors of a pumpkin tart. Bandage zombie girl Dorothea, who more had the colors of a rare cheesecake, was only his student’s friend from prep school.

Bandages over her bare skin was apparently the plain glasses girl’s idea of casual clothing. Yagoro still wasn’t used to how this world accepted flashy Halloween costumes as normal. Reverse bunny costumes? You could find them walking around outside like it was normal as long as they wore an apron to cover up in front. And not one of the girls here found it strange.

…Now, Yagoro really didn’t want to mention Viocia’s answer sheet. If he had to sum it up in a word, he would choose “awe-inspiring”. Most likely, a five-year-old scribbling on the back of a flier with a crayon would show greater signs of intelligence. You might be able to use this for psychoanalysis.

Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium.

More than 99.9999% of witches failed the entrance exam each year. These girls had known that and had even been presented with their own failure once already, but they still hadn’t given up on their dreams.

“Hee hee. So this is the kind of quiz you’re always giving Viocia. I’d only heard about them from her before, but – eep – they seem very useful.”

Student Dorothea smiled and clutched her graded answer sheet to her ample chest with both hands. Yagoro was just about moved to tears by this, but at the same time, he had to wonder why he never received this kind of appreciation from his actual student.

This was a learning experience for him as well.

Wearing a lemon yellow sailor uniform with the bare minimum of armor, he stated his conclusion.

“This means it’s not my fault. I had been so afraid that all my struggles this far – all those godawful results – were my failing as a teacher, but now I know it wasn’t my fault at all!! Viocia! We’ve just objectively proven that you’re an idiot!!!”

Afraid he had been hurting Viocia’s chances with inept tutoring, Yagoro had gotten Dorothea to take this quiz even though she wasn’t his student.

Although he had discovered an even more horrific truth in the end.

The (proven) ultimate idiot pouted her lips and complained.

“Ehh? You’re just going easy on Dorothea, teacher. Super easy even. I mean, none of these were calculation problems. You basically gave her a perfect score on a silver platter by giving her all memorization problems, which we both know she’s great at!”

“Mh.”

“Um. As a merchant’s daughter, being good at memorization and – eep – no good at calculations is really embarrassing. ”

Viocia (quiz score: 0) was acting like she would have gotten a perfect score with calculation problems and now Dorothea was shrinking down again, but there really wasn’t much of a division between the two types of problems. There were people who tried to divide up people’s minds between ‘liberal arts types’ and ‘STEM types’ or whatever else, but you could never solve a tricky calculation problem without first memorizing all the many formulas. It all came down to memorization in the end and the only real difference was the form of the problem and the form of the answer. Did you see a blank on a list of historical dates and remember what went there, or did you see a complex equation and remember how to solve it?

So that wasn’t why Yagoro was groaning.

He was a professional tutor and he hadn’t meant to make this quiz any easier than normal.

But while Viocia hadn’t actually solved any of the problems, that was mostly because she had seen trick questions where there weren’t any and overthought everything. Which meant she had probably expected this to be a “Dorothea hard” quiz. That meant Yagoro’s next task was to help Viocia focus on the actual problem she was being asked to solve. He had to figure out some way to help this girl who could only fully concentrate on something when she was cleaning her room, found an old book, and got lost in reading it!

(Damn. I can’t figure out if praise helps her or hurts her.)

Well, at least she showed possibility for improvement.

“C’mon, Viocia. Eep. I-if you rest your head on the desk, it’ll leave a mark on your cheek.”

“Dorothea, you’ve started acting a lot like the women who work downstairs of my room.”

Dorothea had said she was the oldest sibling of a large family, so maybe she found it calming to help out a small child. …Except Viocia was the same age as her.

Knowledge was fair, so it didn’t take special talent to make use of it. Just like viewing a piece of trick art, anyone could obtain and use it as long as something helped them change their “situation” enough to understand how to use it. It should go without saying that knowledge was not made to trick people.

It was just that ordinary people couldn’t bear the pain needed to remake themselves for the knowledge.

With enough effort, people could even become astronauts. This boy knew that to be true because he had done it himself. You just needed the courage to throw out the life you had lived and spend what time you had left suffering through the painful studying. It all came down to finding a reason within yourself to pursue that dream and sticking with it until you had achieved it.

These girls should have already gathered their resolve form the moment they decided they would truly work to get into a witch school as challenging as Maleficium.

It began when they had chosen to pick up their Formula Broom and strive to be an elite witch.

“Phew. It sure is hot today. I wish we could go to the shopping district instead of sitting around in this gazebo. I’d love a big pile of shaved ice with plenty of condensed milk and syrup. I’d even stick a long, skinny cracker in the end.”

…Or had she?

Yagoro was a little worried about that now. After these students had failed once, weren’t they supposed to be like cornered and wounded animals who couldn’t think about anything other than the entrance exam!?

“It is already mid-March. Eep.”

“At least we can look forward to the second half of March!”

I see, thought Yagoro, realizing what this was about.

He stared into the middle distance.

Was that one of the reasons (which were as numerous as the stars in the sky) why that idiot couldn’t focus on her studies?

“The summer solstice,” said Viocia impolitely loosening the big ribbon at the chest of her dress.

With a huge smile on her face.

“Not only is it one of the eight yearly witch ceremonies, but it’s also a festival. And several prep schools are joining together to have big field trip for it! An overnight one!! Yippee!!”

“Ugh. And we’re supposed to bring a swimsuit for the ablution lesson. What am I supposed to do? Eep. I-it seems wrong to need a swimsuit when we’re going deep into the woods.”

“Don’t be silly, Dorothea. During the day we’ll be swimming our hearts out and during the night we’ll be enjoying some glorious camping food in the forest! It’s perfect! I can’t wait to cleanse all the stress I’ve build up slaving away at my desk for so long!!!”

If Viocia could show that much enthusiasm all the time, her tutor would probably be under a lot less stress himself, but he knew better than to expect that. He recognized this from the other world of Earth. On the days the school was open during summer break, his little sister had excitedly braved the blazing sun to go to school just because they had a pool there.

Summer swimming events carried a power great enough to obliterate any focus on their studies.

Although he doubted Viocia could do much serious swimming in a spring hidden deep in the tranquil forest.

(Where was Carraway Cs going for their trip again? It’s so hard to keep track when my student goes to a different prep school each year.)

That said, the summer solstice trip was a Carraway Cs Prep School event which Viocia paid a fairly high tuition (which she worked part-time to afford) to attend. So as an outsider and her tutor, Yagoro had no real right to stop her.

But with that in mind, he still had something to say here.

“Viocia.”

“Huh!? I-I don’t like that dark smile, teacher. It gives me a really bad feeling… But there’s nothing to worry about. Not even Mr. Perfect Teacher can take the summer solstice trip from me!”

“You’re right, I can’t. ...By the way, Viocia, did you know students with especially bad grades aren’t allowed on this trip you’re so looking forward to and have to stay behind taking supplementary lessons? A sensible practice since an idiot who hasn’t even grasped the basics won’t get anything out of the extracurricular lessons on the trip.”

She petrified.

Viocia petrified so hard Dorothea grew seriously flustered next to her.

At least she was an idiot who knew she was an idiot.

That meant she was just barely holding onto the bare minimum of what an exam student needed.

“And speaking of the trip, do you have money set aside for that? I know you’ve been barely scraping by working for the standard tuition.”

“Eek!? Y-you mean I’ll be the only one who can’t go on the trip because I don’t have enough money? But that would give all the other girls a huge advantage over me!”

“Figure out the money issue on your own.”

He was calling himself her tutor without actually asking for any payment.

There was no way he could help her out any more on that front.

“I will help you with your studies, though. Now, if you don’t want to stay behind at the school all on your own, then get studying. The trip begins on June 20, so…oh, that’s not much time, is it, Viocia? I’d better up the pace to three parchment notebooks worth of lessons a week. The sky isn’t a realm of pure dreams – it’s just another natural phenomenon. If you study the rules it follows, you can control it!”

“Gwahhhhhhhhhhhh!! I-I can tell you set me up here, but I can’t find any way to escape!?”

“You should really be accustomed to outdoor flight by the time of the summer solstice. That means you can’t just get by on extreme acceleration. You need to expand the variety of flight patterns you can use. If you stick with plain flight, you’ll have a hard time standing out from the crowd during the exam. So before summer truly begins, you need to master your own form of witch flight and pull out ahead of your rivals!!!”

“Why are you more worked up than me when it’s my exaaaaaam!?”

Carraway Cs Prep School had dangled the perfect carrot in front of her.

Yagoro would make sure Workhorse Viocia raced down that muddy path like her life depended on it.

### 010. Episode 1: The Witch and Monetary Alchemy

### Part 1

In this world, the men who used magic with their own power were known as wizards and the women who used magic by borrowing others’ power were known as witches.

But this world’s magic had fully died out.

However, the people could not forget the benefits magic brought them, so they sought that lost knowledge from another world called Earth. In the end, only women carrying cutting edge witch brooms called Formula Brooms could use magic in this world.

That is the history and the mythology of this world.

### Part 2

“Phew.”

“My, my. Is something bothering you, Yagoro?”

In a dimly-lit restaurant with the perfect ambiance, the silver-haired, brown-skinned young woman seated across the table from Myousou Yagoro placed a hand on her cheek and smiled. She was the used bookseller who was always helping him out in some way or another.

As for the food, she liked to accurately understand and analyze other people’s preferences, so she had a bad habit of getting cutely upset if he showed some restraint and followed her lead. So when their tastes were completely different, everything went a lot smoother if he just came out and said so.

Now, her large breasts were resting a bit on the round table, so she could be described well by the sound effect “jiggle-boing!”

When the busty apron woman had invited him out to eat for the first time in a while, Yagoro had checked the contents of his wallet and visited the shopping district with her, where she had been eating nothing but grass, plants, and vegetables. The seasoning was all mild to place a focus on the charm, or juiciness, of the ingredients. And to be clear, this was dinner. When a 17-year-old boy’s stomach wanted a salty and fatty feast of 100% beef hamburger steak or a thick pork steak! There wasn’t anything wrong with veggies, but weren’t they meant to be placed alongside the meat? Also, how in the world had her bustiness grown quite so busty if all she ate was grass, plants, and vegetables!?

Maybe it’s divine punishment, thought Yagoro.

This woman was in fact the mother of Viocia’s friend Melehe Superlative.

But based on the adult face palely illuminated by the classy candle in a clear glass holder, he still wanted to call her Melehe’s sister.

Another voice spoke from the same table.

“What’s your problem, Myousou? This is a 5-star restaurant, you know? Does your childish palate not understand the luxurious flavor of original recipes made with only organic vegetables?”

“That reminds me, Sorbeddy. Why are you even here?”

“I was the one who found this restaurant. And here I thought I was doing you a favor by sharing the happiness with everyone.”

A small girl who appeared to be only about 12 laughed with an aged sort of cunning.

Her name was Sorbeddy Icing.

She was a witch with a command over the cold and ice and she ran around Temple School City selling ice, making her the most successful businesswoman there. Electric-powered refrigerators had not been invented in this world, so she provided an unbeatable service. She was probably the greatest of the self-taught witches who were unaffiliated with Maleficium and she was undoubtedly one of the so-called Limit Breakers.

She had her pale blue hair done up in a braid and she wore a bluish-white mini dress resembling a camisole and pumps with extremely pointed heels. Her witch’s hat was tilted back on her head, but the brim jutted sharply out in six points, a lot like a snow crystal. Altogether, she had a blue Hawaii soda float vibe. And with some rather risque parts of the outfit made see-through, it seemed like a dangerous outfit to walk through the shopping district or squatter’s district at night. …Of course, the danger there would be to any reckless drunks who tried anything and received a very harsh lesson in return from the strongest ice witch.

“Two real Limit Breakers at one table? I swear the world must be coming to an end.”

“Keh. Don’t act like you aren’t extraordinary yourself, Myousou,” spat the ice witch with a smirk.

To be clear, the word “smile” didn’t do the expression justice.

“Are you in a bad mood, Sorbeddy?”

“She doesn’t like this large exchange that’s opened up lately. That modern alchemy one. Apparently she isn’t the only witch making a killing in this city.”

Yagoro couldn’t believe she was afraid of competition when she had already amassed a great mountain of gold and silver coins, but immaturely opposing any new upstarts may have helped polish the sharp nose for money the rich depended on.

Another legend, the mysterious fluffy bookseller, placed a hand on her cheek and changed the subject.

“So are you still too young for this kind of restaurant, Yagoro?”

“If possible, I’d prefer you invited me to a paradise of greasy meat next time. Oink, oink.”

“My, you mustn’t eat that stuff, Yagoro. Consuming fava beans and animal carcasses is damaging to your soul.”

He didn’t know the details, but this witch of unclear age had taken a step into the realm of the Limit Breakers and appeared to have a unique set of values. Yagoro was fine with spending money on high-quality meat and fresh fish, but he couldn’t stand seeing his wallet emptying out for nothing but grass, plants, and vegetables. Health-focused? Brand-name crops? The world of wealthy adults was full of mysteries.

Based on her Formula Broom, she was apparently the Dionysus type, not the Orpheus type, so he would have expected her to be spending night after night chugging strong drinks and partying.

Formula Broom – Greek Theatre spoke with a refined male voice while leaning against the wall.

“Sir Myousou Yagoro. Are you sure you want to see this wife when she is drunk? This bloody priestess lets the alcohol take over, runs across the fiery battlefield half-naked, and tears barehanded through human and wild beast alike, discarding their corpses with a laugh before-”

“Dionysus☆”

She silenced the broom with a smile.

There were apparently still plenty of dangerous secrets yet to be uncovered.

“But why did you invite me out to eat out of the blue? There’s no point in listening to this weirdo brag about the quality of the food when she didn’t actually make it herself and your own vegetable dishes are pretty good. Are you trying the food to figure out a new recipe of your own?”

“I am giving back to the local community.”

“Oh, I see.”

“What do you mean ‘this weirdo’!?” protested the ice witch who tended to get heated quite easily, but Yagoro ignored her.

The chefs were probably a different matter, but the waitresses and bodyguards moving silently through the candlelit restaurant were all pretty young – mostly younger even than Yagoro. They were probably part-timers.

They didn’t all have the business talent to get rich by magically making ice.

The witchcraft exam students were in the gap between education and employment, so they tended to be in a fairly weak position.

The bookseller placed a hand on her cheek with a different nuance from before.

“I do have a daughter of my own busy studying for the entrance exam. So I was looking for a way to support the exam students who could use some money.”

Not only was she extremely powerful, but that mother had a caring heart as well.

But that didn’t change the fact that Yagoro’s wallet was emptying out and each new dish only tasted like plant juices. He wished she could have used more of that caring heart when choosing the restaurant.

### Part 3

The following day, Myousou Yagoro was walking through Temple School City in the early morning, moving out of the way of the witch exam students dressed in revealing Halloween costumes and the kids from the squatter’s district dressed in rags. Going anywhere was a pain in a city full of so many stairs, but the children were full of energy this morning.

Yagoro had developed a habit of reaching for the top of his head while in crowded areas. Even though he couldn’t actually tell if his hair was still dyed blond by touch.

(Why do they think human black hair is a dye for the most powerful curses? You would think the existence of real magic would keep people from being superstitious, but nope.)

The exam students were not the only people in Temple School City. There were plenty of people trying to make money off of the prospective witches, including prep school teachers. Yagoro was one of those. He walked by the street stalls hawking their wares so early in the morning and passed by a woman who was probably an instructor at a flight gym or training ground. She looked like a shortcake in her pointy white hat and wedding dress. The extreme slit up the right side of the dress gave glimpses of a white garter belt. Was that unique to this Halloween costume world? He didn’t know where she taught, but he occasionally saw her at the usual used bookstore . Her curvy and sexy body lines told him she was probably a self-taught witch. Although that same assumption had failed miserably with the bookseller.

The tutor boy arrived at Carraway Cs prep school.

He entered the structure building’s Cauldron classroom and sat casually next to his student Viocia. The gyaru-style instructor Schanze Dwelling appeared very motivated this morning.

“Three months!!”

With her voluminous blonde hair, tanned skin, black leather vest, and tight skirt, Schanze had a Mont Blanc look. She raised her voice from the very first word once her students had gathered.

“It has now totally been three months since you arrived at this prep school after your first failure! It’s time you moved on from the Witch’s Chimney indoor training ground and began flying in the open sky. I’ll be guiding you, so the restriction over flying above the city will be totally lifted!! This only applies to our lesson time, but you can now fly high in the sky!!!”

The girls’ cheers shook the lecture room, which resembled a large garage.

The difference between a compulsory education teacher and a prep school instructor became evident here. There was an element of entertainment here – a skilled instructor made sure to research how to grab the students’ attention. Stimulating the students’ desires and self-importance like this would be a challenge for the straitlaced government workers who taught compulsory education.

And so everyone made their way to the roof of the neighboring practical building.

While Schanze led the way up the stairs, Viocia was swinging Formula Broom – Wittenberg around in her hands. She was extremely excited.

“It’s happening, it’s actually happening. Our classes finally sound like something a flying witch would actually take!”

“Hmph. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve flown above the city,” chimed in Melehe Superlative.

She was a girl with silver hair and dark skin. The talented girl had earned Rank A on an official practice exam and she wore miniskirt outfit that looked like a mix between a black military uniform and a sky pirate’s outfit, giving her a chocolate parfait look.

Tall Dorothea shrank down as she spoke.

“But if they’re letting us fly outside, it means we’ll be doing something we couldn’t in the indoor training ground, doesn’t it? Wh-what could that be? Eep. ”

“Anything’s fine as long it’s useful for the exam.”

All was normal here. Melehe was extremely eager and greedy while Dorothea tended to be passive and cautious in all things. By adding in the (needlessly cheerful) life of the party that was Viocia, they struck a nice balance. Of course, they were rivals when it came to the exam, so Yagoro did wish he saw more cutthroat competition between them.

Once they arrived on the practical building’s rooftop, the view opened up.

A mass of wind struck them from head on.

“Wah!”

“Viocia, your skirt!”

Dorothea frantically held down Viocia’s long skirt from behind.

They could see several giant red-painted elevators shaped like scales.

Temple School City was a diamond-shaped city given a chessboard coloration by all the marble and obsidian. The sectors were arranged in tiers like a reverse pyramid and there was a massive circular lake in the center. Past the pure white diamond dust hovering over the lake, the silhouette of Maleficium was visible at the center of the lake.

“Okay, we’ve arrived. And be careful.”

Schanze stood tall and tapped the flat rooftop with the end of her Formula Broom’s handle. She dressed gaudily, but she could take on the teacher’s role when lives were on the line.

“You will now totally be playing a game called Elbow.”

“What’s that, teacher?”

The idiot’s ability to immediately raise her hand and ask the question was one of the few advantages she had.

Schanze nodded toward Viocia and explained.

“After accelerating to full speed along a set distance, you totally make a 180-degree turn around a fixed corner☆ Whoever’s turn radius is shortest will totally be the winner. So it comes down to who can fly fastest and turn sharpest.”

Something slipped out from Schanze’s shoulder.

It looked like a skinny squid measuring 30cm long, but it was actually her domestic familiar. It floated around like gravity didn’t affect it and then stopped directly above the park. Its tube-like belly(?) faintly glowed from within, making it visible even from a distance.

Familiars were generally artificial. First, the witch would picture the completed form as they put together the skeleton like a jigsaw puzzle. Then magically-summoned artificial muscle and fat were attached to give it shape. The completed familiar would obey its witch’s commands and assist with a variety of jobs: physical labor like construction or cargo transportation and intellectual work like calculations and paperwork.

“That right there is totally your target buoy. After accelerating for 5000m, you need to totally turn around the fixed buoy as sharp as you can. You’ll totally be scored on speed and turning radius.”

As simple as it sounded, setting up the course was a challenge with so many prep schools.

Dragons and griffons the size of Earth bombers were flying leisurely through the sky above, but those were lifeforms created in Maleficium that had escaped and turned wild. Natural monsters were rare these days. And at their altitude, they were unlikely to affect the witches’ game.

“Okay, Viocia, what’s the most important thing in this totally cool game?”

“Overwhelming speed! I’ll blow past everyone else with my super acceleration!!”

“Idiot, then you won’t be able to complete the turn and fly off in the wrong direction.”

That was all Melehe had to say with a snort that gave it a nuance of exasperation more than contempt.

The sky pirate girl looked to Schanze.

“This isn’t like compulsory education. If we have a plan already, can we start flying?”

“If you totally want to☆”

Melehe snapped her fingers and something dropped from the sky like lightning, stabbing sharply into the rooftop. That was Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus, her broom. The thick seat had luggage carriers on either side, handlebars that spread out in a wide Y-shape, and plenty more custom parts reminiscent of a large American motorcycle. That was proof that she had already flown the sky enough times to test all those things out through trial and error.

“Orpheus, did you hear all that?”

“Yes, we have been tasked with a solo drive, which is your specialty, Melehe.”

Melehe didn’t bother jumping from the edge of the roof. She floated up on the spot. That vertical takeoff was a challenging move that only an elite like her could pull off.

“Let’s do this, Orpheus!!”

Her powerful acceleration compressed the wind.

And it didn’t end there. After approaching dangerously close to the squid familiar glowing faintly in the distance, she cut a sharp clockwise curve. Her speed didn’t grab hold of her and throw her off course. After turning, she immediately resumed her powerful acceleration.

(Accelerate, decelerate, and accelerate again, hm?)

This reminded Yagoro of the real aircraft exercises he had done with the Force back on Earth. The key to aircraft maneuverability was to accelerate on the straightaways and rapidly decelerate before turning. That way your turn wouldn’t swing wide and you could keep your turn tight. ...Of course, in actual dogfights, you had to focus on the more biological issues or the enemy would be on your tail in no time, so there weren’t many chances to stick to the basics like that.

Schanze whistled.

“Whew. Did our very first attempt totally bring her turning radius down to less than 3m?”

Formula Brooms were extraordinary vehicles that allowed for bicycle-level maneuverability at supersonic speed, but Melehe’s record was still quite something.

A disastrous first attempt would have made the rest nervous, but too successful a first attempt had the same result. Regardless, any witch who would waste such a valuable opportunity for practice because of nerves would never pass the entrance exam.

And Tutor Myousou Yagoro was of course a pro at making sure Viocia would pass.

(Now, then.)

“Viocia.”

“H-hweh? Don’t talk to me, teacher. I’m trying to focus!”

So did she actually have the guts to volunteer to go immediately after such an impressive model answer? That, at least, was praiseworthy. As a tutor, he only had to make sure his student’s motivation gave her a real chance of success.

“You haven’t applied your ointment set yet, have you? Do you have one based on long pepper and turmeric?”

“For additional fuel? That’s one you rub on the broom.”

Now, using special chemicals to fly was not just a witch thing. For example, in the other world of Earth, there were specialized supersonic combat psychotropic drugs developed to increase military pilots’ focus and reaction speed during missions. (Although the Force Yagoro had spent time with had chosen not to develop them.) But the supply of these drugs would be cut off once the pilots retired, so they were doomed to a tragic elderly life plagued with withdrawal symptoms.

Also…

“Lend me your ear. I’ll tell you how you can beat Melehe.”

“?”

“You need to…”

### Part 4

(That should be good enough.)

Melehe Superlative felt confident as she rode her highly customized broom.

Since she could manage vertical takeoffs, she had no difficulty coming to a stop in midair to take a break.

Prep schools were not like compulsory education. All the students in a class would not have equal abilities. The ones who had what it took would advance and the ones who didn’t would be left behind. She had just demonstrated what it meant to be an exam student.

Even the other girls at her prep school were her rivals.

She had to draw on every bit of skill she had and develop it further. She had no intention of making friends here.

“Eep.”

Due to her personality, Dorothea Rockpool had completely frozen up.

But the entrance exam was a fierce competition.

Anyone attempting to get into Maleficium had to assume the odds of failure were greater than 99.9999%. If they let themselves freeze up because of what someone else did, they had no chance.

“That was mean, Melehe,” said Melehe’s broom.

“If a barrier of this size is enough for her to give up, then she would probably be happier doing something else in life.”

But if anyone was still willing to challenge her, they could bring it on.

She brushed back her shoulder-length silver hair…just in time for Viocia Modestlucky to curve around the squid buoy with an unthinkable speed and angle.

“Huhhhh!?”

She easily blew past the results of the Rank A genius.

What was that?

A 3m turning radius didn’t even come close. In fact, she didn’t even make a clockwise turn. She had taken a ridiculous curve a lot like metal balls rolling through a clear glass tube.

Had she taken a vertical turn?

Schanze spoke to Myousou Yagoro, sounding like she had thrown in the towel on this one.

“Hey, did you manage to measure that one? You totally have to measure that turning radius in centimeters, don’t you?”

“It was at least less than 140cm, don’tcha think?”

The tutor chuckled and stuck his tongue out with his head turned so the Mont Blanc gyaru-style instructor couldn’t see.

Melehe managed to read his lips.

That pervert tutor had interfered yet again.

“(That maneuver is known as the slice turn . You twist the craft around to 135 degrees and, once it’s nearly upside down, you perform a loop directed diagonally downwards. The knowledge I picked up with the Force comes in handy from time to time.)”

Although that technique had been entirely meaningless for him since he had been headed for space.

Needless to say, a special maneuver that incorporated gravitational acceleration would turn more sharply than simply decelerating and turning. Without a practical benefit, a tricky maneuver like that wouldn’t have stuck around so long.

Viocia was carefree as could be when she returned. She couldn’t stop in midair, so she flew in a wide circle around the practical building instead.

“Ahh, this feels great. Flying in the open sky is so freeing!”

“Eep. Viociaaaaa!”

“You’re up next, Dorothea! Front and back, side to side, up and down – whichever axis you turn on the world looks completely different. I’ve found another three numbers to go with the Three Aspects of witchcraft. I bet I could do so many cool things if I combined these in different ways. Flying straight and slowing down just gives you the one thing. It’s so boring and uncreative!!”

“K-khh…”

The silver-haired girl bit her lip, hung her head, and shook.

She was the “boring and uncreative” one.

Orpheus, her supposed partner, was having trouble suppressing laughter.

Tearful and red in the face, Melehe Superlative shouted at Viocia.

”You’re on!!!”

### Part 5

Boom!!

Eeeee!

Kapowwwww!!!

Motivated by Melehe and Viocia, more and more hopeful witches kicked off from the edge of the building rooftop and flew toward the squid buoy 5000m away. The distinctive sounds of bursting, whistling, and rapid compression of air sounded on top of each other several times over. Even Dorothea was raring to go. Unable to bear waiting in line, oftentimes five or six witches at once were attempting the round the buoy at sharp angles. Afterwards, they would land directly on the main street, assess their results, and try again. They made repeated attempts over a short span of time.

Which had an inevitable result.

During lunchtime…

“Blehh…”

“C’mon, Viocia, eat this salmon and onion sandwich. Get your head off the table and eat. You worked hard to pay your tuition, so you don’t want to sit out this afternoon, do you?”

Witchcraft was not powered by anything as convenient as “magic power”. All humans had was willpower, so they had to borrow power from another world and manipulate that. However, it went without saying what happens to a human body after repeatedly performing strenuous exercise without a break.

(Hm, maybe I egged them on a little too much.)

The witches were all dead tired. It was strange indeed to see a bunch of growing teenagers in the cafeteria without any of them ordering anything. Yagoro had only been trying to use Viocia’s rivalry as a motivator to get her to study, but he did feel a little guilty now.

But the lunch break only lasted so long. If they didn’t eat anything, none of them would be having a good time during their afternoon lectures.

A naked cloak vampire girl and cat ears maid had enough energy left for their empty stomachs to overpower their exhaustion and they were whispering to each other.

“Ugh. The cafeteria’s raised its prices again.”

“That’s how many times now and it’s only June? How are we supposed to focus on studying like this?”

“If it was just one day, fine, but it adds up day after day.”

“What am I going to do? Maybe I should start borrowing more money this month,” said the cat ears maid, gently holding a keychain-like doll between her hands.

“Ugh,” groaned Viocia, her head down on the table. “Higher prices is a real problem. The XL hamburger steak plate and the extra-thick chicken steak bowl were the one thing I could look forward to in my brutal days of endless studying, but now I won’t be able to afford them.”

“You nee to focus more on keeping a witch’s figure. Being short and light gives you an edge.”

Was this why Melehe and Dorothea had stopped eating lunch with her lately even though they were generally good friends? Sadly, the entrance exams were both a competition with others and a battle against yourself. Those two would gain nothing by letting their friend’s endless desire drag them down too. Not to mention that a witch was supposed to know how to control her desires!

Then Yagoro heard something moving outside the first-floor cafeteria window.

Curious, he opened the window to look out.

“Raynold, what are you doing here?”

“Geh, mister!?”

A boy of about 10 in a filthy shirt jumped directly below the window. He lived in the squatter’s district adjacent to Yagoro’s apartment.

Next to him was a girl in a dress covered in patches and so filthy its original color was no longer discernible. She was like a crepe fallen in the sand or like Cinderella before she met the fairy godmother. Her short skirt was frayed and torn in places, but she appeared to be wearing shorts below. Her wavy blonde hair was tied back and she wore a pointy hat and a thin summer cloak that gave her a bit of a witchy look. If she actually took a bath, she would probably have the lovely face of a doll.

She carried a homemade notebook made from tying fliers together with string and she had tears in her eyes.

“Th-th-they noticed us.”

“Shut up, Roslynica. It’s okay if he knows. He’s one of us!”

Apparently Yagoro had been made a member without his knowledge, but what were these brats doing hanging around this prep school?

Then Viocia reacted with surprise.

“Huh? What’s Roslynica doing here?”

“H-h-hello.”

“Friend of yours, Viocia?”

“Heh heh. I need money for the field trip. That’s how I met her.”

“?”

Was she taking on more day labor jobs or roadside subquests? Viocia could make friends with anyone in the city – even a carriage horse waiting for customers – so the extent of her acquaintances was always a bit of a mystery.

Raynold pouted his lips and spoke as if giving in.

“Roslynica is going to Maleficium one day.”

“Wait, I haven’t decided for sure yet!”

“She’s definitely going!! She’s really smart and the grownups were even saying she might be the first person from the squatter’s district to get in!”

“I see…”

Ordinarily, girls graduated from their compulsory education and then attempted the Maleficium entrance exam, but it was possible to skip that first step if they already had the necessary knowledge. Maleficium believed in acquiring people with definite skills over requiring a silly diploma that only meant you knew how to toe the line. Otherwise, Yagoro could never have gotten in after suddenly appearing in this world one day with no credentials to his name.

“But we don’t have the money to send Roslynica to a real cram school or prep school, right? And if you live in the squatter’s district, they won’t hire you for any of the ordinary jobs. So we thought if we hung around outside the window someone might throw out some balled-up quizzes or something. By gathering up enough problems and combining them, we’d have our own textbook or workbook.”

The blond tutor glared over at Viocia who was suddenly very busy looking the other way and whistling nonchalantly.

And sweating profusely.

What had she been doing with the quizzes he stayed up all night writing? Even if she got the problems wrong – no, especially if she got them wrong – they were a valuable resource to hang onto. A quiz did not end once it was taken. They were a means of identifying your problem areas so you could set up the next hurdle to clear and focus your studies there!!

“That’s it. I’m confiscating all the sweet things from your lunch.”

“Please no, teacher! Even a whack from your slide rule would be better than that!!!”

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” Roslynica began panicking even though she wasn’t the one being scolded.

Anyway, finding a way to get something for free and clinging to that was an essential skill for surviving in the squatter’s district. Salary-focused Schanze probably wouldn’t be thrilled with these kids’ methods, but it wasn’t a real problem for Yagoro since he was an outsider anyway. And as a tutor, he didn’t want to discourage someone who was self-motivated to study.

“But we might just get by thanks to you, mister.” Raynold smiled bashfully. “I mean, everyone thought we were just a drain on the city but you taught us how to sell firewood and give something back! Heh heh. So we’re all saving up our money little by little in a moneybox. One day the money we save up will be enough to help Roslynica take the entrance exam!!”

Raynold sounded delighted even though this didn’t benefit him in any way.

Was he just happy he was participating in the city economy and helping someone grow?

“We’re always telling her to focus on studying, but she keeps sneaking away and working.”

“I-I can’t let the rest of you do all the work… And I can flip through my notes while I sell firewood.”

It sounded like her motivation was on the level of Ninomiya Kinjirou, the original distracted walker. Yagoro really wished a certain idiot would learn a thing or two from that desire to absorb knowledge at all times.

The tutor boy sighed.

“Okay, Viocia. This calls for a quiz. Let’s see who can answer first – you or Roslynica here.”

“Eh? This does not call for a quiz, teacher.”

“Question: What is ATU 0333?”

“You’re not even listening to me, are you!? Um, 0333 is, uh…the 300s are the old magic stories with supernatural enemies, so-”

“Um, it’s Little Red Riding Hood.”

Viocia petrified when the much younger girl immediately gave the correct answer.

Yagoro winked.

“Then what’s the magical lesson found in the wolf symbol?”

“W-wait, let me answer tha-”

“When the prey is in the wolf’s spell, they will believe even the most brazen lie. But once the hunter reveals the lie, the wolf’s belly is split open and the captured and eaten people can be retrieved unharmed.”

“Correct. Which means ill-gotten gains will not remain yours for long. Good job, Roslynica.”

“Noo,” tearfully groaned Viocia.

As young as Roslynica was, she had apparently obtained even more knowledge than an exam student who had been studying for an entire year. As for the dunce girl, Yagoro would have to make sure this lesson stuck later on.

Yagoro handed a few sandwiches out through the window, earning him a delighted grin from Raynold in his filthy shirt.

“Heh heh. Of course, it helps that Miss Rayon sometimes teaches her some witchcraft.”

“?”

Yagoro didn’t recognize that name.

“But that witch lady has other work to do,” said Roslynica. “She’s always so busy working with all those numbers, so I can’t bother her too much.”

“She’s a real classy witch. Ahem, ‘It’s wrong that being dirt poor can keep people out of the entrance exam. If you wanna take that path, then come to me for help.’ ”

“Th-that doesn’t sound like her at all. Miss Rayon sounds a lot nicer and more polite!”

Apparently Yagoro wasn’t the only one looking after those kids during the day. It sounded like this woman was well-liked by the cautious squatter’s district children. Did ‘working with all those numbers’ mean she did some kind of accounting work? Witches were familiar with calculations thanks to their potion mixing and encryption building, so they were sometimes hired to do accounting work. Ordinary people apparently found accounting just as baffling as magic.

“See, told you Roslynica was smart! I bet she really can get into Maleficium. And it’s not just us saying it – even the grownups say she could be the first person from the squatter’s district to get in!”

“B-but we don’t have that kind of money.”

“Don’t worry! We’ll save up money bit by bit selling firewood, gathering trash, and so on. It’ll all go in that moneybox. You won’t actually be trying for the entrance exam until you’re 15, so we’ve got five whole years to save up. So you stop worrying so much and focus on becoming the best witch out there. Ah ha ha!!”

Roslynica still fidgeted nervously, but she didn’t have a response to that.

If someone from the squatter’s district really did get into Maleficium, it would be a Cinderella story straight out of a children’s storybook.

### Part 6

Evening had fallen.

Myousou Yagoro spotted Viocia, Melehe, and Dorothea gathered in a corner of the cafeteria doing something. While there was a ticket system in place to rent out time in the lecture rooms and self-study room, quite a few exam students used little spaces like that to get their studying done.

“Where did I go wrong in today’s divination class? Oh, no. If I don’t do better, teacher’s evil scheme will keep me from going on the field trip!”

“ I don’t think he has a say in that part. Eep. B-but if you’re having trouble, just keep working at it. You need to get this under control before you convince yourself you’re just bad at it.”

“Then what kind of divination should I do? I know! Financial fortune. Please, all-powerful cards, I want to earn a mountain of coins so I can go on the field trip, so do you have a good money-making plan for me?”

“C’mon, Viocia. Try to remember the actual method of using cards for divination. Eep.”

Dorothea could have just let her idiot rival continue full speed down that mistaken path, but her strange need to take care of others made another appearance. That may have come from being the oldest sibling of a large family.

“A black card means yes and a red one means no. Go!!”

Viocia drew the 8 of hearts.

The very red card meant no.

“Nooo!! D-does that mean I can’t go on the field trip!?”

“You can’t expect much accuracy from a failure’s divination, so you probably don’t have much to worry about.” Melehe averted her eyes and sighed as she made a comment that was equal parts comforting and insulting. “Besides, there are several fundamentally different ways to use playing cards for divination. You can have the cards correspond to the tarot minor arcana or you can have the 13 types, four suits, and jokers correspond to a 365 day calendar. Either way, you need to establish a foundation of logic first or you have nothing to divine.”

“ (+1 point: You don’t want to be a phony necromancer who pops her joints in time with the questioner’s questions to mimic a rapping sound or poltergeist, but when performing divination for yourself, make sure you don’t grow overly self-focused or enter a trance. Always make sure to do this in a group so you can keep an eye on each other.) ”

The tutor stared into the distance and muttered under his breath.

The prep school had a daytime group and a nighttime group, so there were a lot of students in the cafeteria during the evening. And not just because it was mealtime. The exam students were all in different financial situations, so a lot of them simply didn’t have the spare money to eat out in the city.

(To be honest, the price of books is one of the major problems, don’tcha think? The lithographs are only disposable things used to create sample photos and there’s no real printing technology in this world, so they all have to be handwritten, which unavoidably brings up the price.)

Since this world did have Sketchgoats whose skin could be removed repeatedly, the price of parchment wasn’t all that high. That allowed for fliers to be passed out on the street.

“Gweh! The cafeteria really has upped its prices.”

“Is it true that the most cost-effective method is to buy the cheapest bread roll they have at the school store and then order a side of onion soup at the cafeteria? The roll is supposed to get a lot bigger as it soaks up the soup.”

Yagoro left the cafeteria with a glance toward the moving efforts of a succubus girl wearing fake wings and a tail and a yuki onna in an oiran-style kimono that left her pale shoulders bare. The students who lived on their own tended to find they had more than just their studies to worry about.

(The actual cheapest option is to grab some unsold side dishes from a food stand outside.)

When the students were making an attempt on their own, it could actually hurt their motivation if their tutor interrupted to correct them. So Yagoro decided to leave Viocia be for now and join in once she had discovered her own problem areas.

He walked through the tiered city on his own today.

A bipedal kangaroo familiar held a leather megaphone and called out to passersby while reaching a hand(?) into its pouch and passing out parchment fliers.

It spoke with an artificial feminine voice.

“The Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank is a reliable ally for all exam students. If you need money for your schooling, your daily necessities, or anything else, we offer several different types of loan. So please come down to the Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank! Our exchange is run by Accounting Witch Rayon Risoniphimil.”

The occasional squatter’s district kids he saw approaching and taking a flier probably weren’t interested in a loan – they only wanted to tie the fliers together to create a notebook. It was sad. That would be how the little witch-in-training named Roslynica had gotten her notebook. Since the familiar only acted out the simple command of “pass out fliers”, it must not have been able to determine a target demographic.

And…

“Whoa, whoa, oh, no- yikes!?”

“?”

A witch who had been handing out fliers alongside the familiar tumbled to the ground. She was a tall young woman with short hair dyed green, yet something about her reminded Yagoro of Viocia.

(The super clumsy part of her.)

“O

She was sprawled out on the ground with her fliers scattered across the road.

The kangaroo familiar could only perform simple tasks, yet this young woman was more of a klutz. And within the large category of “klutz”, she belonged to the smaller category of “busty and gentle klutz”.

The squatter’s district children swarmed around.

“Fliers!”

“Yes, I can finally make a drawing notebook!”

“Miss Rayon, we’ll take all these fliers, which means you’re done with your job for the day. So will you play with us now?”

“Wait, please just one flier per person,” tearfully pleaded the young woman, but the children showed no mercy as they tugged on her arms and clothing.

Miss Rayon.

Yagoro recalled what Raynold and Roslynica had said. So was this the person who used her spare time to teach the back alley children about witchcraft?

Instead of entering his apartment on the top level of Temple School City, Yagoro entered the narrow street next to it.

That brought him to the squatter’s district.

After a failed redevelopment project, the area had been left to rot, so countless unauthorized additions had been made and a lot of greenery had encroached from the flower beds and roadside trees that had been made for the redevelopment. Rent and land rights meant nothing to the dangerous armed residents who had illegally taken over the uncompleted buildings and the district around them. Exam students who lived ordinary lives were advised to stay far away from there.

“Teacher.”

A middle-aged man spoke to Yagoro while sharpening a long metal pole into a blade by scraping it against an old stone wall. His head was shaved, he wore an eyepatch, and he was both scarred and muscular. The bandit look would cause an ordinary person to jump and flee, but he was just another neighbor to Yagoro.

“You here to take a look at thing again?”

“Ha ha.”

“You don’t need to laugh it off. I dunno what’s in there, but everyone’s got their issues that rational thinking can’t solve. Especially anyone who winds up in the squatter’s district. There’s nothing but secrets and checkered pasts here.”

Maybe so.

Yagoro may have found the squatter’s district comfortable enough to visit fairly regularly because he fit in well there.

“I saw Raynold earlier. And a girl called Roslynica.”

“Oh, the smart little girl? Even when us adults all work together we still can’t beat her at chess or reversi. I dunno where she came from, but she reminds me a lot of you. Lotta brains in that one.”

Unlike Raynold, it sounded like Roslynica hadn’t been born into the squatter’s district. That was curious, but it wasn’t something he needed to dig into.

“I hear she wants to get into Maleficium.”

“If she uses those brains and keeps on studying, I doubt she’ll wind up in the worst parts of this city. And having a dream is a great way of keeping yourself from taking the wrong path in life.”

The middle-aged man framed it like that, but he sounded proud. Almost like her accomplishments were his own. It was true the people here were working together to save what little money they could. Most people had more or less forgotten the squatter’s district even existed, so it would probably feel great for its residents if someone from there got into that elite school.

Board games like chess and reversi didn’t really fit in here. When it came to games, the rough-and-tumble squatter’s district was more into betting on fights and darts. The people here weren’t just supporting Roslynica, they were gradually changing themselves.

“Hey, teacher. Can a girl like Roslynica really get into a place at the very top like Maleficium?”

“Anyone can if they do the necessary work.”

Yagoro said goodbye and then made his way deeper in.

He arrived at an open space at the base of a giant tree.

The squatter’s district was mostly half-crumbled stone buildings, so the thing half-fused with green moss here really stood out.

It was a metal container.

Just like his baton, Yagoro had asked his usual blacksmith to create the extra-large box.

It was was still affected by rust, but the lock attached to thick chains was doing its job. Yagoro had locked it himself, but not even he was sure if the day would come when it was once more unlocked.

He had needed to seal way his crashed craft .

He couldn’t allow any cultural contamination in this fantasy world.

The squatter’s district had been convenient for his needs. The ordinary citizens and even the Maleficium witches rarely delved so deep into this dangerous level.

And with all that in mind, Yagoro shook his head.

(That’s all an excuse.)

He pressed his forehead against the container buried in green, rested his weight on it, and then leaned his back against it.

Then he let his hips slide down to the ground.

(If I was really afraid of contamination, I would destroy it to erase it from this world, not just seal it away. I still can’t bring myself to fully let it go, don’tcha think?)

Still seated on the ground, he looked up into the sky.

The burning red of the sunset formed an endless expanse there.

It wasn’t that he still wanted to return to Earth.

Or so he wanted to believe.

“Yeah…”

But.

A much more simple concept was hidden behind all those grand and complex ideas.

There was one thing not even a tutor who had mastered witchcraft could do.

Simply put…

“I wish I could soar through the sky like I used to.”

### Part 7

The perimeter of Temple School City was an inconvenient place to live, so a variety of facilities were gathered there.

The lawless squatter’s district.

The gates leading outside and the guard stations.

The trading posts and exchanges for merchants who wanted a location near the gates.

In front of one large boxy exchange was a large road where small children wearing rags for clothing were making chalk drawings, tossing a ball around, and otherwise turning it into their playground.

“Pant, pant. Sorry I’m late, Roslynica.”

“Miss Rayon!”

Little Roslynica’s face lit up. The fear she usually felt around others was gone. She spread her arms and hugged Rayon Risoniphimil around the hips.

Technically speaking, Rayon was not a prep school instructor or a tutor.

This was not a job for her. But she still found time for young Roslynica.

“Are you ready to learn more witchcraft?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Did you bring your usual tool?”

“I did,” said Roslynica, holding out a rolled-up sleeping bag. The pair of ears at the top of the storage bag made it look a bit like a dog mascot.

“It works best with something you always have with you – especially something you need to live your life. Have you remembered everything I taught you?”

“Yes!!”

“Then let’s start with a review of last time. When you hold the sleeping bag tight, what do you imbue it with?”

“Heh heh. My willpower!”

Roslynica smiled happily at the head rub she received and she squeezed her eyes shut while hugging the sleeping bag like it was a pillow.

She focused her mind.

“Please, lend me your power.”

“Keep going.”

“…”

“Be careful. Keep your focus steady but strong. You need to let your willpower seep deep inside the sleeping bag to its very core.”

10 seconds.

30 seconds.

It wasn’t more than a minute.

“That should be enough.”

At Rayon’s prompting, Roslynica hesitantly opened her eyes and relaxed her arms around the sleeping bag.

The sleeping bag was no more than a tool, yet she felt a stirring within it.

“Wow, wow!!”

“This might not seem like much.” The witch woman rubbed Roslynica’s head. “But once you learn to control your desires and more accurately send your willpower into objects, it will work for you. This is witchcraft. No expensive antiques or grimoires are necessary. Magic can be done with everyday objects – it is a system anyone can use that brings happiness to all.

“That should be enough for today,” said Rayon. “Roslynica, do you have your focus doll?”

“I-it’s right here.”

“Then let’s trade it for this new one. This is a witchcraft tool that boosts your focus and makes you love studying. The witch entrance exam begins with making mental adjustments like this.”

“But can you really keep giving me things like this?”

“It is wrong for a lack of money to lock you out of certain paths in life. As a witch, I am happy just knowing I am correcting a wrong in this world.”

“…”

### Part 8

The boy leaned back against the container door and stared up into the unreachable sky until it grew dark out.

He couldn’t let anyone see him like this. Viocia would have already left the prep school and returned to her room. And Yagoro needed to get back to his apartment and make a quiz for tomorrow.

He knew he had sat a nearly impossible goal for himself.

Still, he tore himself away from the container and stood up, ran his palm along the mossy metal door just once more, and then quietly left.

He was walking through the labyrinthine streets of the squatter’s district without any giant pumpkin lamps to light the way when he heard an exasperated voice.

“You sure are careless.”

It came from a delinquent girl wearing a red waitress uniform. She had a macaron look to her, but the toxic polka dot pattern and diagonal yellow and black sash made it clear this was a poisoned macaron.

Arbamini.

She was one of the three aces from Sassafras Cfa Prep School, famous (infamous?) for all its terrible delinquents. She had once clashed quite spectacularly with his student Viocia.

(Formula Broom – Glamis. She uses the witches that deceived Macbeth.)

Macbeth was a play by the world-famous playwright Shakespeare, but there were suspicions the depiction of the witches had been an addition by a later author. Since it was such a famous play it had unintentionally helped create the idea of the “wicked witch” leading to the witch hunts, the idea that a third party had wholly or partly added in that part was a chilling thought. Choosing someone like that as her partner showed this girl really was a true delinquent.

(That aside.)

Yagoro was honestly impressed. Even Temple School City’s patrol had decided for themselves that the squatter’s district was too dangerous and lawless for them to even visit.

And yet…

“You know how to sneak into the closed-off squatter’s district?”

“And you’re being really careless wandering around here without any kind of bodyguard. Or are you just that confident in your skills, Mr. Tutor?”

There were certainly some dangerous beasts out there, but there was one thing Arbamini couldn’t see from her perspective. Her very presence was proof that this city had a criminal underground targeting the exam students. The ability to detect those crimes in advance and nip them in the bud was crucial, so he wished he could borrow her nose for these things.

And.

He was grateful for Arbamini’s trio as powerful rivals who Viocia would (possibly) work hard to outdo.

“ Is something fishy going on in the city again ?”

“ What, you hadn’t noticed ?”

She made the question sound like a snort of laughter.

Still, it was a huge step forward that she was actually holding a conversation with him instead of snapping at him. He had to keep in mind that she had spoken to him and was giving him intel on a possible crime unprompted. Even if she was mocking him as she did it.

“So she’s masking her true feelings with the bad girl act…”

“Are you trying to piss me off? I swear, everything in the world just wants to piss me off lately, but you’re the worst in that regard. If you’re that confident in your strength, then how about a rematch? I have been studying invisible curses instead of powerful attack magic, so I was hoping to try them out.”

“I get that a lot of factors outside your control pushed you to be a delinquent, but you should really stop focusing so much on magic used for fighting. Trick Question Warning: We’re not talking about the Celtic sword Fragarach which, when drawn, would automatically take flight, cut down the enemy, and return to the wielder’s hand. ”

For some reason, Arbamini blinked twice.

When the delinquent girl did speak, she sounded impressed.

“I guess you really are a top-rate tutor. Thanks for the great inspiration.”

“Wait. You really shouldn’t try to create revenge magic based on Fragarach! It’s a bad idea!!”

“Because then you’d have to defeat me again? Don’t assume you know everything I can do just cause you beat me once. I only need a single second to obliterate a tutor like you.”

“Huh?”

Yagoro looked puzzled as Arbamini took action.

She lazily reached her hands down to her short skirt and lifted it.

“There, now I can say you sexually harassed me.”

“Why would you jump straight to a self-destructive attack like that!?”

### Part 9

Trouble wasn’t brewing. It had already arrived.

Yagoro felt like he had received a gift with a bomb inside, but Arbamini had warned him nonetheless. He decided to keep that in mind.

He again set out for the squatter’s district exit.

He was walking through the labyrinthine streets created by all the unnecessary extensions when something fell from above. It was a notebook made from tying fliers together with string.

“Hm?”

“Ah!”

He looked up to see a bridge between two short buildings. It was little more than a skinny metal beam, making it only slightly better than a ladder.

The girl crossing the bridge wore a dress and shorts that were so tattered she looked like Cinderella before the fairy godmother. She also wore a witch hat and a thin summer cloak. After noticing the tutor looking up at her, she held down the hem of her short and tattered skirt. She was apparently old enough to worry about such things.

She was the little witch in training named Roslynica.

“Here, Roslynica. This study notebook is important to you, isn’t it?”

“Yes…”

She hopped down from the metal beam bridge.

As damaged as her clothing was, it gave her a witchy and a girly look. Everyone in the squatter’s district must have gathered cloth from all over to mend it.

She would be growing quickly at her age and the squatter’s district didn’t have much in the way of resources. Unisex pants would be more convenient since they could be reused by another child once she grew out of them, but they had still made her a skirt.

Was that another sign of how much the district expected of her?

But the witch in training didn’t seem to be in the mood to chat as she accepted the homemade notebook from Yagoro. She seemed somewhat restless. The people of the squatter’s district were apparently selling firewood, collecting trash, and otherwise working here and there to make what little money they could, so maybe this had to do with that.

“Sorry. A first-come-first-serve job?”

“Um. Yes, but if I don’t get the work first, everyone else tries to do the work for me, leaving me to rest on my own.”

…It sounded like Raynold was turning into a real gentleman.

But it didn’t sound like it was just the one kid. The entire district was supporting Roslynica. Yagoro was reminded of the old-fashioned craftsmen who had worked together to build a cutting-edge lunar rover. Success stories like this one could be found here and there on Earth as well.

“Why not just accept their kindness? I’m sure they’d prefer it that way.”

“B-but Maleficium is a really difficult school, isn’t it? I know they all say I can get in, but I feel so bad seeing them work so much to save up the money…”

“I doubt they’re the type to hold it against you if you don’t get in.”

“It’s not that. I-I just have to do this the right way.”

He watched her run off, clutching her flier notebook to her chest.

And he muttered to himself.

Come to think of it, she appeared to be lacking something necessary to become a witch.

“I wonder…”

### Part 10

The small girl in a tattered dress and witch hat – Roslynica – ran through Temple School City’s night using the illumination of the large pumpkin lamps filled with sunlight seals.

She was not on her way to sell firewood or gather trash.

She was headed to a large boxy building in Red District, Block A.

“Roslynica.”

“!”

She jumped and turned around to find a familiar face. It was Viocia, a prep school witch.

Not another helper searching for last-minute jobs.

“You were right, Roslynica! The Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank is even better than I imagined. I can’t believe they let you borrow ten times as much as your security deposit. It’s like alchemy. Now I can go on the field trip with everyone else!”

“Oh, no! This way!!”

“?”

This meant Viocia was involved now, so Roslynica grabbed her hand and pulled her along with her.

Little Roslynica had introduced Viocia because she trusted Miss Rayon to take care of everything.

The Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank was an exchange that provided loans for exam students. The upper levels of Temple School City could be dangerous, but the merchants also had their bases there since the city entrances were there. The danger there was similar to the danger at a harbor during the night and the lawless squatter’s district was quite close by.

Business hours had passed, so the exchange’s windows were all dark.

This might not seem like a place a 10-year-old girl would go, but the squatter’s district children had been creating notebooks and drawing pads out of fliers they gathered off the streets. It was entirely possible they could have seen an advertisement there.

Viocia still looked confused.

“Where are we going?”

“I just hope I’m wrong…”

They walked into the impressive boxy building. No, they snuck inside.

Perhaps none of this would have happened if she didn’t have these sketchy skills picked up in the squatter’s district.

The exchange was run by Accounting Witch Rayon Risoniphimil.

She seemed like a kind and pretty adult woman. She was a beautiful witch. Her job was to put together and manage loans for exam students, but she had also found the time to look after Roslynica.

“Don’t worry. Our Spanish Fly exists to financially support any and all exam students. We will not reject you just because you are from the squatter’s district. In fact, you are the kind of person we should be working the hardest to support. I can run the numbers myself to determine your ability to pay, so don’t you worry about a thing.”

Rayon was also a skilled witch.

She could determine what problems afflicted a person and put together the appropriate spell or potion to resolve it. It hadn’t bothered her that Roslynica couldn’t pay anything. It was a bit of a mystery how that friendly helper was making any money out of this.

“Yes, this is a talisman. I call it a focus doll☆ It is a witchcraft device that boosts your focus and artificially makes you love studying. Witches use things like this to tune their bodies and minds toward studying for the entrance exam. It isn’t fair for you to be deprived of this tool just because you don’t have the money.”

It had scared Roslynica how much she was being given, but that woman had always smiled sweetly at the nervous girl.

Rayon had always said the same thing even though no one could be certain that Roslynica would really get into Maleficium.

“Having a Spanish Fly user get into Maleficium would do wonders for our reputation. So you see – we do get something out of this. You have no reason at all to feel bad about the financial support we provide. Please just focus on the entrance exam.”

But…

“…”

Something had occurred to Roslynica.

That kind teacher would lend money to anyone and had given her focus dolls for free. But young Roslynica’s life in the squatter’s district had led her to doubt her own benefactor.

Money was important.

So would anyone really just give it away like this?

“Please let these be silly, shameful doubts. Please let me find out it was nothing so I can hate the ugly part of me that made me do this.”

“What are you talking about?”

She couldn’t answer the question that had occurred to her.

In the dark hallway just one door was cracked open.

Rayon and a woman – seemingly a secretary – were conversing inside.

Roslynica held her breath.

She hesitated to call out to Rayon like she usually did.

“I just checked on the group of 5-time failures. It’s probably about time we called it quits there.”

“Yawwwn… That goody-goody act is exhausting. My shoulders are killing me. Is the commemorative exam ready to go?”

“Was it really necessary for your character to be clumsy too? All the data is right here.”

“People’s memories are so easy to manipulate. If we push them to see it as an ‘all’s well that ends well’ situation that boosted their experience, we don’t have to worry about anyone suing us.”

“Some of those morons even tearfully thank you and help you pack up. Even though they still have all that debt to pay off.”

“The trick is to keep the interest something they can actually pay. Don’t get too greedy.”

“I understand. The Benandanti have been on the prowl around here lately.”

“Just be smart about it. There are plenty of ways to drain a sucker’s wallet without putting yourself at risk.”

“…”

Roslynica didn’t have the courage to knock on or open the door.

Even bigger Viocia had chosen to hold her breath and remain as still as possible.

This was bad.

They weren’t supposed to have heard that. The two of them had silently reached that mutual understanding in the shadowy hallway. They still didn’t know the details, but trouble was brewing here.

(What do I do?)

Roslynica bit her lip, but she couldn’t turn back time.

For one thing, how had Roslynica arrived at the exchange in the first place?

(I took all the moneybox money everyone saved up and deposited it here at Spanish Fly. I thought if I could keep that safe here and borrow even more money based on it, I could more quickly pay for the exam preparations so the others wouldn’t have to work for me anymore.)

“(Wh-what do we do? I know! I’ll contact teacher and get him to help us.)”

“(N-no, not yet!)”

The two of them had crept away from the door, but they couldn’t bring themselves to leave the exchange.

Roslynica doubted sneaking in again would be so easy.

So it had to be now. Even if they would go to a grownup for help, she needed to learn more now.

The exchange was a large place. They peeked inside another room and Viocia pulled a moonlight seal from her hat to dimly illuminate the room, revealing a large set of scales, gold ingots, a special loupe, and tons of diamonds. There were safes of all sizes. There were even gold coins on the table, their serial numbers smashed flat with a hammer to prevent tracking.

They had to keep a lot of money on hand in order to loan it out to exam students in need.

But something about this smelled fishy.

“(Wow, look at all that money,)” said Viocia.

“(But this isn’t the heart of the secret.)”

Roslynica knew she wasn’t going to find what she was looking for searching at random.

Not that she knew what it was she was looking for.

Hiding in the shadows, she squeezed the rolled-up sleeping bag against her chest. Gently but firmly. It was made of thick cloth coated in wax for some level of waterproofing and the storage bag had dog-like ears at the top. In the squatter’s district where a roof over your head was far from guaranteed, it was as crucial a necessity as a frying pan or a washboard.

Roslynica poured her willpower into it and muttered under her breath.

“It works best with something you always have with you – especially something you need to live your life.”

Yes, Rayon Risoniphimil had kindly taught her what to do.

“Please, lend me strength.”

When she relaxed her arms, the cylindrical sleeping bag squirmed on its own. The movement was weak, but the rolled-up sleeping bag’s ears definitely pointed in a single direction. Like a doll moving its little hand.

“Th-that way.”

“Hm? What kind of magic was that?” Roslynica and Viocia went that way.

There were a lot of doors, but they found some kind of library right away.

The two of them crept into the dusty library. All four of the small room’s walls were covered by bookcases.

An especially thick dictionary stood out from the rest of the books.

Little Roslynica picked it up without thinking and it opened on its own to a creased page. Her finger and eyes followed an entry there.

“Commemorative Exam: An entrance exam taken with no intent to pass. Obtaining the experience of attempting a difficult school’s exam can grow a person even if they do not pass.”

“…”

No.

Roslynica and the rest of the hopeful witches who had relied on Spanish Fly for exam prep funding weren’t attempting the Maleficium exam just for fun. Others might see it as a silly dream with no chance of success, but the students themselves were serious as could be.

But.

Being an exam student was a painful, grueling experience. Again and again they would try and fail and they would be presented with numerical results that seemed to quantify their failure as a human being. Once they were truly worn down in body and soul, the day might come that they succumbed to the internal whisper telling them to just give up. Like an exhausted mountain climber choosing a courageous withdrawal.

What if Spanish Fly had incorporated the psychological release of “giving up” into the gears of their exploitative business model?

“Oh, no. This is really, really bad.”

“Roslynica, there’s something over here.”

A few small memos were pasted to a piece of parchment on a reading desk in the center of the library. They looked like meaningless numbers at first, but a closer look showed they indicated bookcases, books, and page numbers.

(This one would be…)

“ATU 0709a. The Snow White type story that uses a poisoned claw in place of the apple.”

The focus doll was a 5cm doll, about the size of a keychain. Roslynica had one herself.

“This is Brunhild of Norse mythology who sleeps surrounded by flames and this is the witch’s curse that started a storm to stop a ship?”

“So the Three Aspects have a common theme of stagnation and binding?” asked Viocia.

They were apparently talismans periodically given to the exam students who had taken out student loans, but these would do nothing to help those students. Quite the opposite, in fact. They created magical stagnation and binding. If the students studied and studied without achieving any change at all, their academic ability would never ever grow.

The Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank claimed to financially support exam students, so why would they use a trick like that?

“Kh.”

She let it go.

The keychain glinted in the light as it rolled along the floor. Specifically, the sharply pointed clasp, which almost looked like a bird of prey’s deadly talons.

Without the dog ears sleeping bag as her magical companion, she might have fled in fear before investigating it all.

The answer was there.

One of the thick grimoires had a folded piece of parchment held between its pages. She read what it said.

Chronological Loan Solicitation Plan

1st Failure

Solicitation Period: They will be highly skeptical so soon after taking out the loan. Be very cautious while expanding their debt.

2nd Failure

Inertial Period: Blindly following the status quo will become routine for them. They question things the least during this period, so pressure them to take as many additional loans as possible here.

3rd Failure

Inertial Period: Generally the same as above, but be careful as this varies a lot between individuals.

4th Failure

Fatigue Period: They begin to question the status quo at this point, so prepare the commemorative exam.

5th Failure

Selling Period: Fully shift over to the commemorative exam here. Quash their doubts with emotion. Their debt will be too large for them to even pay off the interest at this point, so push them toward some form of forced labor.

*Failed exam students tend to return for another loan after each consecutive failure, which just means more profits for us. Be very careful to hide this fact from them when introducing them to our different loan plans.

“What...is this?” said Viocia.

“Uh.”

Roslynica felt her vision darkening from the corners of her eyes. It took her several seconds to realize this was simply due to tears, not her vision narrowing from anemia.

What conclusion did this add up to?

Spanish Fly was never interested in helping exam students. In fact, they made more money if the students repeatedly failed, so they were using curses to surreptitiously hinder the students’ academic progress!?

(What do I do? What do I do?)

She had given Spanish Fly the moneybox containing all the money gathered by the squatter’s district. And now that money was gone forever? She couldn’t bear to think about that. But she also couldn’t think of any way of fighting back against the great machine she had been caught within.

“W-well, this should be enough to go to teacher with. We need to get out of- gyah!?”

Viocia shouted so loud Roslynica literally jumped.

She looked over to see Viocia sprawled out on the floor. Viocia had apparently backed up in the darkness, slipped on one of the parchments littering the floor, tumbled backwards, and hit her head.

“Hey, Viocia. Viocia!”

Roslynica shouted in her ear and even slapped her cheek, but Viocia showed no sign of waking.

She was out cold.

Roslynica tugged on her arm, but she was too little to move the bigger girl.

Miss Rayon was a grownup, so Roslynica needed another grownup to stand up to her.

Who could she go to? Raynold was always helping her out, but he was still a child. As strong as he was, she couldn’t ask him to fight a grownup. Plus, this exchange was staffed by real witches.

(Oh, I know. That’s it.)

What about Myousou Yagoro?

Her thoughts were a mess, but she still managed to think of him. He was friends with everyone in the squatter’s district and he was a tutor who knew a lot about the witch entrance exam. If she went to him with this paper, he might be really mad at her, but he might still help her. Was there a window anywhere? Little Roslynica couldn’t move unconscious Viocia, but she couldn’t just leave her on the floor either. If she could use her sleeping bag magic to warn that teacher of the danger like using a carrier pigeon-

“!?”

She heard a creaking.

From the library’s only door. Roslynica nervously turned around and found a pair of eyes staring into her own.

It was Rayon Risoniphimil.

The tall woman with the short green hair was a grownup witch with a broom. She had seemed like a living image of success before.

Now, she looked more like a threat capable of using real magic.

“You let it go.”

“Ah...ah.”

“You let your focus doll go. Hee hee. I can tell because it’s made to let me know. It stagnates the ignorant child’s academic ability while also sending out a warning if the child begins to doubt us and lets it go. Such a lovely witchcraft device that helps me in two ways at once.”

Rayon gave a quick glance at the documents scattered across the library.

That was all.

“Now, the usual solution would be to silence the both of you by chucking you off a random building rooftop. Making it look like a tragic accident during some unauthorized and unsupervised flight training.”

“…”

Roslynica couldn’t find any words.

This didn’t seem like the woman she had known.

Rayon looked down at the rolled-up sleeping bag in Roslynica’s hands.

“Tch. I forgot you don’t have a broom. Making it look like an accident is going to take a bit more doing.”

“Um.”

“God, how did you ever think some filthy brat who can’t even buy a Formula Broom could get into Maleficium?”

A sneer gradually filled the words that stabbed straight into the young girl’s chest.

That was true enough.

It was never going to be easy for a child in the squatter’s district.

But with enough of the proper knowledge, she could use witchcraft. After all, her sleeping bag really had moved a little when she poured her willpower into it hard enough.

“B-but...I can still use magic without a Formula Br-”

Roslynica’s shaky voice was cut off by Rayon Risoniphimil smashing the sleeping bag below her heel. Roslynica’s breath caught in her throat when she saw her partner twisted and distorted, but that wasn’t the main point.

When the wicked witch removed her foot, something changed.

Roslynica had not recited an incantation or imbued it with her willpower, but the sleeping bag still moved.

Because…

“ Squash a bundle of cloth hard enough and it’ll try to return to its original shape when you let it go. ”

“...Ah.”

Was that why she had been advised to squeeze the rolled-up sleeping bag when she concentrated?

It wasn’t witchcraft at all?

“It was all a con – a lie! Ee hee hee. We need to bait the hook somehow to get you idiots to bite. You don’t need money to pass the exam? You don’t need the equipment if you have the knowledge? I can’t believe you bought that hogwash! Ah ha ha ha!! It costs money to pass the exam. If you can’t pay for the best gear and lessons, you don’t even have a one-in-a-million chance of passing!!!”

Roslynica felt sense of dissociation, like a gentle tug on the back of the head.

She was met with only mocking laughter.

She couldn’t even make herself move. Which was why she couldn’t stop Rayon from saying what she said next.

Rayon’s lips formed the word “besides”.

“ Besides, you’re a boy !!!”

That was the clincher.

This world’s magic had fully died out once. But the people couldn’t forget the convenience of magic, so they sought out magic from the world of Earth, leaving only witches, who borrowed power from others, capable of using magic.

So…

That meant…

Self-loathing bore down on Roslynica.

Because of the part of her that was instantly glad that Viocia was unconscious.

“How can a boy become a witch? How can a boy become a witch!? How can a boy become a witch!!?? Ah ha ha ha ha! How stupid are you!? It was never going to happen!!”

Roslynica hadn’t been born in the squatter’s district. She had arrived from elsewhere.

Which meant no on there really knew if she was a boy or a girl.

When she had first arrived there, they had assumed she was a girl based on her appearance and she had just never corrected them. She had never thought of herself as particularly smart, but after winning a few games against everyone in the squatter’s district, they had started saying she could become a witch.

One day, she had found the rest of her family gone.

One day, she had found herself in the squatter’s district.

The people there had assumed she was a girl.

The people there had assumed she could become a witch.

She had felt pushed into this life against her will.

But.

She had decided it was for the best if it would lead her to a future she had never thought possible.

There was always that nagging part deep down telling her it would never work, but she still believed it would amount to something eventually if she kept working at it hard enough.

And yet.

And yet…

“Was it the weight of their expectations that kept you from telling them? But that’s not my problem!! Really, you’re the same as me: human trash who tricks people out of their hard-earned money!!!”

Rayon took a booming step into the library.

The floor physically bent and the bookcases creaked despite being screwed into place. Rayon Risoniphimil’s beautiful form grew distorted and bloated. Her unchanged skeleton strained under the weight of the muscle and fat endlessly expanding inside her as her entire body grew until her head nearly touched the ceiling.

She looked like filthy cotton candy that had been left out in the sun until its surface melted.

“Formula Broom – Bastille.”

With the deep metallic sounds of a spring loaded device operating, the broom handle clutched in her fattened palm spread out near the tip, fanning out into five pieces. This clearly wasn’t designed for flight. Greed, heavy bombardment, load bearing assistance – this Formula Broom had been thoroughly customized as a grounded cannon.

This witchcraft device had grown and grown as it absorbed the blood, sweat, and tears of the exam students who had come running in need of money.

“This is a witch! This is true witchcraft!! Gee hee hee hee hee. Now, Cagliostro, it’s time to replace this broken gear. You can handle the cleanup like always!!”

“I-is that all you think of the children who rely on you?”

“Hmm? At best, you’re the worms used to catch fish. Bwah hah!! You’re just ugly live bait raised in a box so you can be skewered on the hook and tossed into the water!!”

She had said they would be thrown from a building rooftop to disguise their deaths as accidents during unauthorized and unsupervised flight training.

But what about Roslynica who didn’t have a Formula Broom?

Would it be disguised as a crash with both of them on a single broom?

Or would it be disguised as an accident with a carriage on the road?

She was surrounded by walls and bookcases on all sides. There was no other exit, so she had no way out. She also couldn’t just leave unconscious Viocia behind and the older girl was too heavy to drag with her. She was stuck. Someone with no chance of becoming a witch squeezed her sleeping bag tight with tears filling her eyes.

She knew it had all been lies.

But it was the only option left to her.

“Please, witchcraft. Lend me strength…”

“Are you stupid!? I already told you I made all that up!!!”

The mocking roar approached the small girl like a thick, invisible wall.

She squeezed her eyes shut with tears spilling from them.

And a moment later, a deafening impact burst out.

Rayon Risoniphimil, who had grown to the point her head reached the ceiling, was knocked from her feet, crashed through the nearby bookcase and wall, and rolled all the way out into the hallway. Something incredible had just happened, but Roslynica obviously wasn’t capable of this.

Then who or what had done it?

Her cylindrical rolled-up sleeping bag had stretched out on its own and knocked the witch away?

“Bwuh?”

Rayon held a hand to her face as blood flowed from her nose.

She forgot to get back on her feet as she shouted with a face twisted more by confusion than anger.

“What the hell just happened? That wasn’t witchcraft. That sleeping bag was some bullshit I thought up – it was just a cheap trick!!”

A footstep sounded, but it didn’t come from Roslynica or Rayon.

Someone else stood beyond the broken wall.

“ How stupid are you? Hey, crooked moneylender, this is magic. You would know the answer if you’d actually studied. ”

The tutor extended his baton with a sharp swing.

The counterattack had begun.

### Part 11

Several sets of footsteps surrounded Myousou Yagoro.

Rayon Risoniphimil was not alone. They were all girls in their late teens. Their eyes all carried a somehow empty heat, so were these her co-conspirators at the Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank, or were they her victims who still wanted so desperately to believe they at least were still safe?

It didn’t really matter.

For her Three Aspects, the enemy had chosen ATU 0709, Snow White, for the Aspect of Admiration.

For the Aspect of Amorality, she had chosen a witch’s animal transformation. For the Aspect of Antiquity, she had probably chosen the giants found in Greek and Norse mythologies. Those powerful beings had strength equal to the gods and a social order, but they weren’t bound by the rules of good and justice. They were powerful beings who became known as evil.

By combining those things…

(If I had to guess, it only kicks in after her true nature is revealed, it lets her transform into any living thing, and it lets her grow into a being with power rivaling the gods but without the bonds of duty or morality.)

When her ugly nature was decisively revealed, her full-power silencing mode would automatically activate.

That was how her magic worked.

In a direct battle, that giant’s fist would mercilessly break through the outer wall of a temple guarded by a thick magical barrier. A hit from that would turn a human into red and black spray splattered across the wall or floor.

“Kee hee hee. Don’t make me laugh. Whatever trick you have up your sleeve, a shining star like me can never lose.”

Rayon cackled fiercely, her clothing straining from within thanks to her muscle and fat swelling out past the limit.

And she was calling herself beautiful.

“Designing a crime that will never be discovered is a waste of time. It’s safer and more perfect to prepare strong enough ‘insurance’ that you can recover even if it’s discovered. Behold this unblemished saint!! I am shining bright from all the mercy and love flowing out from me!!!”

None of that mattered.

No matter what Three Aspects this wicked witch had prepared while choosing to dirty her own hands, the way she had tormented Roslynica told Yagoro exactly how he was going to deal with her.

(I know I pressured her using her field trip as bait, but I need to physically rake Viocia over the coals for falling for this scam so easily. But using math to lay a trap for someone as young as Roslynica just isn’t playing fair. …I guess I can call this helping out my neighbors.)

“Spanish Fly?” he spat.

And he actually took a casual step toward all the witches carrying Formula Brooms.

He gathered their attention to divert it away from Roslynica and the idiot.

“That’s the extremely dangerous magical aphrodisiac that became so famous its legends gained a life of their own. A good name for a crooked moneylender trying to lure in unsuspecting victims, don’tcha think?”

“Kill him!!!”

Black fire rushed in toward Yagoro. At the same time, an invisible vacuum blade flew toward him from diagonally behind him on the left – the blind spot his dominant hand would have the hardest time reaching.

But there was no concern on his face.

The air rapidly compressed and something swept quickly through the air like it was kicking off the walls and ceiling. The black fire was split, the vacuum blade was deflected, and the mystery object stopped in midair as if guarding Yagoro’s back. Once stopped, it was revealed to be Roslynica’s rolled-up dog ears sleeping bag.

The wicked witch’s desire and willpower had caused her body to grow until she could barely control it anymore.

And that hideously evil woman sounded shaken.

“What...is that?”

“That question is meaningless.”

“But that was a phony tool I created for her! It only moved because any rolled-up sleeping bag does that if you squeeze it.”

“I said that’s meaningless. In this ‘situation’, any attempt to reach the truth by asking questions is going to work against you, don’tcha think?”

It didn’t end with the rolled-up sleeping bag.

As Yagoro swung the tip of his baton like a conductor, a clear change came over the library. The heavy tables and chairs floated up on their own. The bookcases left on the walls tore themselves free of their screws and “walked” forward by shaking their wooden bodies side to side like gelatin or custard.

It was like something out of a fairy tale.

A little thing like superior numbers or power could be easily overturned with witchcraft.

“Ah.”

Who had that noise come from?

A moment later, the air compressed and the massive blunt weapons rushed toward the wicked witches. The bookcases, tables, and even a taxidermied deer head crashed into them like rampaging horses. The puppet girls could barely protect themselves even with their Formula Brooms at the ready, so they were thrown into the air one after another. They weren’t even allowed a single counterattack.

Before long, only one of them remained.

Only overgrown Rayon Risoniphimil.

“Ha...ha ha…”

“Speaking the truth is meaningless too.”

“You can move objects by sealing your willpower inside them? Are you saying this is the true version of Roslynica’s magic? And that you worked out the necessary logic to master it yourself!?”

“I could give you the correct answer here, but it wouldn’t help you avoid this tragedy.”

“Formula Broom – Bastille...kah kah kah. Cagliostro!! Forget about me. Turn me into a Voland if you like, just make sure you take him down with me-”

The heavy bookcases and tables surrounded Rayon like a giant stone circle. Even with her expanded muscle and fat, she would not escape unharmed if they rushed at her from all sides.

And Yagoro wasn’t going to let this end peacefully.

She had to pay the price for reaping the benefits of dooming so many exam students to a hell of endless debt.

With a twirl of his baton, Myousou Yagoro made an icy pronouncement.

“Give up. No one can escape the big, bad wolf’s fangs. ”

A moment later, the massive jaws snapped shut and something was noisily crushed between the many teeth.

### Part 12

Heavy metallic clanking sounds echoed through the building.

The armored witches who had finally arrived on the scene – Maleficium’s Benandanti who handled witch-related crimes, including Volands – were rushing all through the exchange. However, it mostly looked like they were inspecting the scene as cleanup work. The documents Roslynica had found were more than enough to bring down the Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank.

However…

(I swear, this is like a talent of yours. Are you the canary in the coal mine for crimes in this city?)

“Wake up already, Viocia. C’mon!”

“Gwoh!? O-ow, did you just hit me, teacher?”

“Would you prefer I left you here unconscious?”

Then someone called loudly for the boy with unnatural blond hair.

“Yagoro.”

It was Nancy, who commanded this Benandanti unit.

The redheaded pigtails girl in thick Hexenturm armor stomped over to him and jabbed a finger right in front of his nose.

Her armor’s specs may still have been effecting her because she spoke a bit more forcefully than normal.

“What is the meaning of this? If you are going to cause a scene, you could at least give us advance warning! It’s less confusing that way!!”

“Sure, sure.”

“Don’t brush me off like that. If I’m not convinced you’ve learned your lesson, I can always drag you to the student guidance room and give you a few days in there to cool your head.”

“Yes, ma’am. I greatly appreciate your assistance in restoring order. ...And you have some nerve saying this when you were the first to come running after I sent my report by carrier pigeon, my sweet little student .”

“Cough, cough!! I do not need any blatantly malicious opinions out of you, fool!! Guarding the people of Temple School City is our duty as the beautiful witches!!” shouted Nancy, her face bright red.

Her thick Hexenturm was supposed to trap the wearer’s goodness and conscience in an external mental cage so they could focus on exterminating the ugly witches, but Yagoro was starting to suspect it actually enhanced their emotions in a way that turned them into a twisted sort of tsundere. He wondered if he had found a strange sort of loophole there.

“Ahem. That is enough of that pointless conversation. Yagoro, where is the victim you said you rescued?”

“Over there.”

### Part 13

Roslynica seemed to have shrunk.

She withered under the repeated questions from the witches in thick armor.

“(Good grief. Is this another problem with sealing away their goodness and conscience for their job? If you want to play at being keepers of the peace, the least you could do is learn how to interact with children.)”

“Mh. Do you have a problem with the highly efficient methods we Benandanti utilize to-”

“Outta the way, workaholic. What are you, an incompetent career police detective?”

“A...what?”

This wasn’t working, so Yagoro approached from behind, shoved Nancy (who was ordinarily quite nice) and the others aside, and tried speaking to the girl himself. Working as a teacher had taught him the right attitude to take with children.

“Are you hurt, Roslynica?

“N-no, I’m...fine.”

“I see. Then how about we get out of here?”

That was all the tutor boy said.

The threat was gone. Rayon Risoniphimil wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble. If Yagoro used the evidence Roslynica had found to get the Benandanti to act, the Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank would be history. The victims could even get their money back.

But Roslynica still felt like she had a gaping hole in the center of her chest.

None of this changed the fact that she couldn’t use any real magic.

She had been taught the harsh lesson that the most she could hope for was to be protected by others.

“…”

Her dream was over.

She had caused trouble for so many people and she had taken away all the money the squatter’s district people had gathered for her. She didn’t have a Formula Broom and – worse – she was a boy. She wasn’t like Viocia who had a broom. Only the witches who borrowed their power could use magic in this world, so getting into Maleficium seemed truly impossible.

The walls had been torn down and the world was opened up around her. But no matter how hard she tried, she could never become a witch like those Benandanti who swept up all forms of misfortune and tragedy with their brooms.

Head hanging, little Roslynica bit her lip hard.

But then something occurred to her.

(Wait…)

“Um, what about you?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, only girls can become witches in this world, right? And you’re supposed to need a Formula Broom to use magic. But then...what did you just do? You used real witchcraft even though you don’t have a broom...even though you’re a boy!”

Roslynica raised her voice in utter bafflement.

In response, Viocia looked confused and armored Nancy held a hand to her forehead. Myousou Yagoro was already on his way out and he didn’t even turn back.

But that boy did respond in a casual, nonchalant way.

He spoke the words that were like salvation itself to the little witch in training.

“ None of that means I can’t use magic. ”

### Part 14

Melehe Superlative stood on a flat building rooftop far across the city that night.

The silver-haired, brown-skinned prep school ace sighed in exasperation while using a small collapsible telescope in true sky pirate fashion.

“Honestly, that pervert is supposed to be Viocia’s tutor, so why does he keep giving her more rivals?”

“Heh heh. You say that, but I notice you were all ready to rush in at a moment’s notice, my cute Melehe.”

“Shut up,” said Melehe, blushing and lightly punching the Formula Broom floating next to her.

Someone else was smiling sweetly on her other side.

The beautiful woman wore a dress like a fancy chocolate cake along with an apron and a hat.

She ran a small used bookstore, but she was also the powerful supreme commander of Private Striga, the largest coven in the region of ice and snow.

The name Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank had sounded familiar to her and she had finally recalled it was the crooked money lending service she had once destroyed in mere seconds when she got drunk and let the maenads take over. As supreme commander, she had planned to personally take care of this remnant that had escaped her, but…

“Tch. Looks like I’m not needed. And I was really hoping to go all out and get some real exercise for once.”

“Mom, you’re one of the Limit Breakers and you boast the highest score in the history of the coven, so if you went ‘all out’, they would have to redraw the maps around here, so please don’t.”

Melehe held a hand to her forehead to try and stave off a headache.

She wished Formula Broom – Greek Theatre would keep a tighter leash on her mother, but apparently the woman had that broom under her complete control.

A dry rustling sound came from Melehe.

“What’s this, Melehe? Why do you have so many part-time job fliers? Short on money?”

“No, I’m fine there…”

“Heh heh,” laughed Melehe’s broom. “You insist at length everyone at the prep school is no more than a rival for you to defeat, but it takes a caring friend to collect help wanted ads from across the city, Melehe.”

“The young lady tries to hide it, but her kindness has always been plain to see,” added her mother’s broom.

“Do I need to snap both of you over my knee?”

Her mother laughed.

But not to make fun. She looked proud of what her daughter was doing.

And then…

The supreme commander, who was also a Maleficium graduate, placed a hand on her cheek and narrowed her eyes like she was staring at something bright.

“Yagoro was so cool, wasn’t he?”

“I-in what world? He’s nothing special…”

“I’m so glad you are in this city, Melehe. Having family around really is the best way to keep your self-control. Without you, I might have already devoured him myself☆”

“Bfff!?”

### Today’s Quiz

Yagoro: Okay, it’s time for a quiz that’ll help you with the exam!

Viocia: Umm, how am I supposed to know about things that happened while I was unconscious?

Yagoro: You could not be more of a nuisance. You can find all the hints in things I said to others or myself.

Question: How did Myousou Yagoro control the sleeping bag and furniture and what magical method did he use to defeat Wicked Witch Rayon? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

1. The Aspect of Admiration was (______).

2. The Aspect of Amorality was (__________).

3. The Aspect of Antiquity was (______).

→Now explain how those Three Aspects were handled.

Hint: Consider how he used Rayon’s scam magic against her.

Important: It all begins with ATU0333.

Out of all the stories, this especially focused on the scene where the (___) disguised himself as the grandmother, lay in the bed, and tricked Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood was skeptical and asked several questions, but none of the answers led to any change in the situation. That is a magical lesson that even blatant (___) have absolute power over the people under your spell .

For the poltergeist, it’s probably easier to imagine (_____) in which someone creates their own rapping noises to match what (______) asks about, don’tcha think?

The control aspect was enhanced using the Celtic symbol of (______) that, when drawn, would automatically (_____), cut down the enemy, and return to (____).

The sleeping bag magic that Rayon taught Roslynica was fake. But so what? A lie that can never be found out carries special power and the battle began when the room’s inanimate objects began to move on their own . By creating that “situation”, even magic created by con artist can demonstrate real power.

That’s all. Any questions, Viocia?

### 011. Episode 2: Summer Solstice

### Part 1

July 20 was a cloudless, sunny day.

Viocia Modestlucky hopped out of bed precisely on time.

“Good morning!”

This was an unusual amount of energy for the usual sleepy-head. Before even washing her face, the redhead girl wearing a frilly, sheer negligee (that the young dancers working at the establishment downstairs had forcibly made her wear) slapped the full-to-bursting backpack next to her.

“Everything’s already packed! I’m all ready to go on a wonderful field trip today!!”

She had nearly been unable to even go on the field trip, but she had worked hard at various part-time jobs. She was so glad she had just barely earned enough to afford the trip. (Although her tutor was at his wits’ end about how much energy his student was dedicating to something other than her studies.)

(I only barely got a good enough score on the latest prep school test, though.)

Now.

She could get dressed and do her hair in her room, but washing her face required going downstairs where the well was. She used the narrow, steep stairs to reach the ground floor where she ran into Olivia and the other dancers. Those adults were all unsteady on their feet because they worked throughout the night and they were only now closing up shop after finally finishing their work. Although for some of them, it may have simply been the significant amount of alcohol they had ingested.

“Good morning, good morning! What beautiful weather we’re having!!”

“Ugh. Guh mo’ing. Is idh thadh dhime aweady?

Olivia always did everything flawlessly, so this side of her could only be seen early in the morning. In a way, it was more impressive that she managed to check through the income for the night in that state. Strena, the bodyguard, didn’t bother hiding her yawn as she snacked on some leftover ham and fries. Her long blonde ponytail wasn’t a fashion statement – it was a practical choice she used to strangle any drunks who took things too far and drag them outside. When the last order approached, the dancers would casually pressure the customers to order a lot of food so plenty would be leftover for them to eat after closing time, but that was top secret.

A cow-like groan came from the kitchen.

“Moloch!”

Viocia waved and the bipedal bronze bull waved back in greeting. He had originally been an unbeatable boss who randomly attacked the exam students walking around the official practice exam dungeon, but Viocia had collected him and taken him here.

“Mr. Kevin, Moloch is a witch cauldron, so don’t keep him in the kitchen all the time.”

“Yeah, but he’s so useful. We can cook and serve spare ribs now and Moloch loves it when we use him as a pressure cooker.”

“Ugh, but I want to make jam from concentrated recovery herbs.”

“Ham and fried chicken tastes so much better when you make it in a pressure cooker. Hah hah hah! People’ll be a lot happier if we make a bunch of Kevintucky Fried Chicken! Right, Moloch!?”

“Moo, moooo!” bellowed Moloch while the dishwasher and serving wagon (which had been given bodies of their own) shook and rattled in enjoyment. The kitchen had become something of a den of living monsters.

And when they all seemed so happy, Viocia couldn’t argue too much.

After Kevin the cook gave Viocia an extremely simple breakfast of toast loaded up with cooked vegetables and a fried egg, Olivia the dancer spoke to her while rubbing her eyes.

“Your field trip starts today, right? Are you going to be on time?”

“Yeah! After eating this, I’ll wash my face and head out!!”

### Part 2

Vast green plains spread out outside Temple School City. The view was clear all the way to the horizon. The hilly and flat parts of the terrain could be seen by the stone-paved road winding across the plains. Some areas had been cultivated to grow wheat or vegetables, but there were no satellite cities.

All of those people lived in an isolated area of land.

(Of course, this environment is why the squatter’s district is such a crucial supply of firewood inside Temple School City.)

The entrance exam had created a fairly unique environment.

The city was a lot like a tourist destination, which required an influx of outsiders to function.

They had a reason for making such leisurely observations. They had no other choice.

“Pant, gasp, eep. U-uhh.”

“Why...do we have to walk this long road...when we have Formula Brooms?”

“The rules outside the city are different. Most places, failed students aren’t allowed to fly around at top speed.”

Yagoro maintained an even pace while thinking back on his basic training for the Force, but Melehe and Dorothea’s legs were already unsteady with all the heavy camping gear on their backs threatening to crush them. Maybe their urban lifestyle had been short on exercise, or maybe they had spent too many late nights studying at their desks.

Schanze alone used reins to ride her canard wing broom at an altitude of 2m.

“Okay, everyone. Totally focus on the rhythm of your breathing and walking. And don’t forget to pump your arms too. With enough willpower, a cool witch totally won’t feel tired at all.”

“Gasp, pant. Easy for her to say when she’s flying slowly along with her broom…”

Sweaty Melehe complained, but she had to know that flying a Formula Broom at a snail’s pace like that was actually harder than flying them at the speed of sound. Her argument wasn’t very convincing. And Dorothea, the caring big sister of a large family, supported Melehe from the side.

“Hm? Teacher, you don’t have very much luggage,” noted Viocia.

“True.”

(I do have have a shaver I made in my HEA house and my hair dye since I don’t want to end up looking like a custard, but is it safe to use it in the river? I don’t want to harm the sacred natural environment.)

The summer solstice field trip wasn’t just a Carraway Cs thing. It was a joint event they held with a few other prep schools, so there were quite a few witches in training walking along. Watching a swarm of hundreds of zombies shambling along brought the term “death march” to Yagoro’s mind.

Schanze was acting as one of the guides and she formed a megaphone with her hands.

“Totally stop there, everyone. It’s time for a break.”

“Eep. Phew, a-are we finally there?”

“We totally aren’t making a good enough pace to arrive by lunchtime.”

“… Eep …”

Sweaty Dorothea nearly collapsed backwards, so Yagoro had to rush in and catch her.

Viocia sat down in the grass and pulled out a leather water bottle.

“Whew. Looks like everyone’s worn out.”

“Exam students don’t have any idle time to waste, Viocia, so you need to take this time to study. What’s the effect of anise hyssop, wolfberry, and guarana?”

“No fair! You can’t expect me to learn now! Do you even know what a field trip is, teacher!?”

“The answer is stamina recovery. 0 points. …And I believe a field trip is a 24-hour-a-day exam-studying paradise with no escape.”

After a break, they walked another two hours. By the time the sun reached its peak overhead, the scenery finally began to change.

The horizon vanished as a group of trees rose into view in the distance.

That was known as the Dazzling Forest.

The instant Yagoro stepped inside, the temperature seemed to jump more than 5 degrees. The entire forest seemed to function like a greenhouse on Earth. The plant growth was odd as well. Instead of pointy pine conifers that would have made good Christmas trees, the forest was primarily palm trees with plenty of plants and flowers colored bright reds, blues, and yellows. This forest was supposed to be north of Temple School City, yet it was filled with tropical flora.

The soil underfoot was different as well.

Instead of the dark soil usually found in forests, the ground was covered by the fine sand found at the beach. Unnaturally transparent rivers of all sizes were visible snaking through the forest, but it wasn’t uncommon to see mangroves supported by rivers no deeper than 30cm.

(With this weird heat and strange sand, there might be a volcano around here, don’tcha think?)

Regardless, they were still only at the forest’s entrance.

The students started putting down their heavy luggage and taking a break now that they had arrived, but the gyaru-style instructor spoke up in an unnecessarily saccharine way that (probably intentionally) rubbed the girls the wrong way.

“We’re still totally nowhere near the campsite. Unless you want to collapse here and sleep on the ground without a tent, then keep on marching, everyone☆”

The stone pavement vanished within the forest, so the path was a lot bumpier. Rocks and roots jutted up and the ground itself wasn’t always flat, including plenty of steep slopes. Walking on the bumpy ground of fine sand was a lot like walking through a strange desert covered thickly in trees.

The experience was quite different from marching through the deep forest as part of Yagoro’s training with the Force.

“Be careful, Dorothea.”

“Eh? O-okay.”

His short warning only earned a confused tilt of the head from Dorothea.

The exam students had no set uniform. They all chose their own clothing, which ended up being a lot like Halloween costumes, so one was dressed like a French doll and another like a dragon girl. The one thing in common were the bare midriffs and so much more exposed skin. They were on their way to a somewhat maintained campsite, but those outfits were not the best for walking through a forest of knife-like underbrush and pointy tree branches.

“I said be careful. I mean your bandages.”

“Eh, eh? Eeeek!?”

Yagoro had simply informed the oblivious glasses girl that one of her bandages was starting to come undone after catching on a small branch. Her many curves may have created a lot of gaps between the cloth and her skin for things to catch on.

“Mh. No looking, teacher!”

“You pervy tutor!”

For some reason, Viocia leaped at him and Melehe jabbed the end of her broom against his head. With his vision covered, he heard a rustling of cloth that suggested Dorothea was retying her bandages.

Only once Dorothea sighed in relief did Viocia remove her hand from over Yagoro’s eyes.

Viocia immediately moved on ahead. Like she was in a hurry.

“Hop, hop, hop. I can cross this river by jumping from rock to rock!”

Even an elite like Melehe was all sweaty and out of breath.

“H-how in the world – huff – do you have so much energy left? Puff.”

“Hm? Maybe because I used to go visit my grandma in the forest every day?”

That grandmother was one of the Limit Breakers and had been known as the Queen of the Night, the Shadows, and Love. If Viocia had spent her childhood playing in a final dungeon of a forest known for being nearly impossible to navigate, then this fairly well maintained forest path to the campsite probably did seem like nothing to her.

And in addition to being unfazed by the forest journey, Viocia was unusually excited.

It seemed like more than just eagerness to visit a new playground.

“I’ve heard elves still live in the Dazzling Forest!”

“You must be kidding. Finding an elf would be a big enough discovery for your name to go down in history. You would have a crowd of reporters approaching you on a daily basis and even the Maleficium witches would be begging you to teach them your exploration methods.”

“Ehh? But, Melehe, it’s important to dream big!”

“The last alleged sighting was more than 30 years ago and that came from the Elf Preservation Society who are all volunteers who swear elves still exist. They didn’t even have a silver halide picture or lithograph. Elves are long since extinct.”

Melehe snorted derisively at Viocia’s non-argument.

Dorothea tried to intervene with a gentle smile, proving again she was the big sister of a large family.

Elves here are seen a lot like the Japanese wolf, noted Yagoro. No one here would know what he meant by that, though.

### Part 3

“We’ve totally arrived☆”

The forest had many different faces – some areas were filled with thick trees and others were covered mostly by undergrowth. Schanze had guided them to a flat area near a clear river. There were some tropical-ish trees here, but the ground was half fine sand and half rock, meaning almost no undergrowth and it was dry too. If they moved the larger rocks out of the way, they would have plenty of space to pitch their tents.

(Now, this is where it really begins.)

There was no point in taking the trip if they were only going to take it easy.

Yagoro wanted to ensure E-rank Viocia reached the D-rank on the next official practice exam. How much she could learn during the summer solstice field trip would play a big role there.

Besides, witches borrowed a lot of power from nature, such as herbs and the arrangement of the stars. Camping out deep in the woods was the perfect opportunity for a Maleficium entrance exam student to gather knowledge and experience. In a way, there was more to learn here than from a library with all its shelves packed full of grimoires.

“Gyahhhhhh!! Agyahhhhhhh!”

“Oh, no. M-Melehe is freaking out after seeing a bug with lots of legs. Eep.”

“Ah ha ha ha ha!! Spiders are good bugs, so you don’t have to be scared of them.”

“Did you see all the bright colors on that one!? And it was the size of my hand!”

Myousou Yagoro held a despairing hand to his forehead and Schanze smiled bitterly at him.

“The students totally want a break from their studies, so you can’t expect them to start quietly observing their surroundings right away.”

Fortunately, the field trip was several days long.

The things they directly observed in the forest were of course important, but the real test was their ability to view things in such a way that they could see the magical techniques and knowledge hidden in the ordinary scenery. The very shape of Temple School City was filled with wisdom. It could provide more knowledge than any parchment textbook.

“I ate my biscuit before we even reached the forest, teacher. What am I supposed to do now?”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“Um, uh, teacher, I don’t like the look of that dark smile!”

“Heh heh heh heh. I made sure to prepare plenty of quizzes for downtime like this, so don’t you worry. Oh, I’m so glad to have such a studious student, Viociaaaaa!!”

“Gyahhh! Why did I have to open my dumb mouth!? And there’s no way to escape on the field trip!!!”

Going easy on her now would only hurt her in the long run.

“Okay, a question: ATU 0124 is usually known as the Three Little Pigs, but that’s the name of the most well-known story, not the official genre name. So what is the correct name for ATU 0124?”

“Ugh. Why would you give another name first just to confuse me, teacher? That’s mean.”

“Exam questions aren’t just about testing your knowledge. The way they present the question or have you answer will often include tricks or traps to influence your thinking, don’tcha think? Hint: it’s Blow the (___) Down.”

“Oh, I know! Blow the (Pig) Down!”

“It’s (House), idiot. +1 point: Three is an important number in witchcraft. There are cases where taking the same action thrice gives it a different effect. For example, the three little pigs gradually reduced the big bad wolf’s effectiveness by repeatedly defending their houses of straw, sticks, and brick. By the time they arrived at the brick house, the wolf had dropped to the position of jobber. It can seem pointless and like a lot of work, but preparations are important, don’tcha think?”

“Huh, so brick is best then?”

“In the standard version of the story. It was a house of iron in the original, but I feel like that house would rust and cause the ground to sink below it.”

Now, what were they waiting for at the moment?

Schanze made a loud announcement.

“Okay, listen up, everyone! Setting up camp is totally the focus for today. That means getting your tents up so you have a place to sleep tonight. The Goddess’s Spring is totally deeper in the woods, but it’s already the afternoon. It’d be totally dark out before we got there if we tried today, so we’ll try for that tomorrow morning instead☆”

An oiran-style kimono yuki onna, a fur bikini werewolf girl, and a Hasshaku-sama enhancing her height with thick soles on her shoes whispered to each other while watching excited Schanze.

“Are the rumors true? If we dunk our Formula Broom in the Goddess’s Spring, does it enhance some of its stats?”

“But trying out modernized enhancements sounds kind of scary.”

“But, but. I don’t want to be the only one who doesn’t do it.”

They may have been so suspicious because they were too exhausted to look at it any other way. The instructors had probably chosen to make the first day almost entirely free because they had known the girls would be so exhausted.

(A goddess, huh?)

Myousou Yagoro thought on that while making sure no one else noticed.

What goddess was this supposed to be exactly?

If this had anything to do with the goddess hanging around at the midpoint between worlds – in the gap between life and death – then this was worth some personal investigation separate from the entrance exam.

They had eaten lunch before entering the Dazzling Forest.

They could wait to pitch their tents until sundown.

So what would the hopeful witches prioritize? They naturally came to the same conclusion.

Namely…

### Part 4

“Yahoo!! Nature is beckoning with this clear water that makes even the summer heat attractive. There’s only one thing to do: swim!!”

Viocia had changed into a red and orange two-piece swimsuit with lots of frilly decorations and she threw herself into the river. She had chosen not to remove her big hat.

Yes, she was wearing a swimsuit.

A world of swords and sorcery wouldn’t have synthetic materials, but natural rubber was available and people sold cloth and leather that was waterproofed with oil or wax. Of course, there were no standards, so the quality varied drastically.

(This river is linked directly to the so-called Goddess’s Spring, so wasn’t this supposed to be a chance for the students to experience a pure ablution?)

“Stop leering, pervy tutor.”

Melehe, who wore a black bikini and held her sky pirate hat down with a hand so it wouldn’t fall in the water, glared cautiously over at Yagoro.

If she didn’t want to be seen like that, why had she chosen such a revealing swimsuit?

“ Um, uh, h-how embarrassing. ”

Dorothea was fidgeting bashfully, but she was wearing an ordinary white swimsuit.

“Viocia, eep, if you leave your clothes so close to the river, they’ll be washed away.”

“Ehh? They’re fine where they are!”

“No, they aren’t. You need to move them over here and add some kind of spice to keep animals away.”

Dorothea crouched down and placed own a bundle of cloth about he size of an eye drop bottle like it was a talisman. Her large chest tended to gather a lot of attention, but her butt was quite nice too. She had become a Voland because her body kept growing too much and that growth was especially brutal in certain areas.

But Dorothea seemed more embarrassed by this swimsuit which hid her chest behind decorative cloth than she was with her more revealing bandages outfit. Yagoro sensed a cultural disconnect there.

Melehe put her hands on her hips and gave him a look of deadly ice.

“A witch’s ordinary clothing and swimsuit are not the same thing, pervert. The ablutions are an important ritual, so we have to purify our bodies beforehand. But controlling our desires can act as a trigger to achieve our goal, right? We don’t want to actually eliminate our desires, so bathing with a swimsuit on provides a masking effect to preserve the desires we don’t want to lose.”

“Oh, really? And in your case…”

Yagoro brought a hand to his chin and began analyzing.

First, he focused on her black bikini.

“The black indicates the night, the truth, and...no, in this case, it might symbolize protection. So you are seeking something you want to protect.”

“Um?”

Melehe flinched, but Yagoro focused his gaze on another point.

He stared at the black top covering her shapely chest.

“But the chemical used to tan the waterproof leather includes mountain ash. That herb symbolizes protection of the home.”

Yagoro held each symbol in his head as his gaze dropped from her chest to her brown belly.

He checked her bikini bottom held up by side ties.

“The bikini strings are braided. Hair-related magic symbolizes control, so…”

His gaze rose past her navel and up to her chest again.

Then some confusion formed on his face.

“Hm? What does that mean? Combined, those symbols would mean you want to be pampered by your mother ??? She is admittedly the supreme commander of a giant coven, but what is it you want to gain even it means controlling your mother’s love?”

“Stop staring at my swimsuit and analyzing my desires, you pervert!!”

Melehe tearfully blushed, grabbed a river rock the size of a grapefruit, and took a throwing pose, so Yagoro made a quick getaway.

The girls began playing in the river.

They mostly splashed water on each other, but then Viocia found a tropical coconut. It was too hard as-is, so she wrapped a thick towel around it to turn it into a ball. Once they had a toy about the same size as a volleyball, the level of violence rapidly increased. They came up with an original game halfway between beach volleyball and dodgeball and adjusted the rules whenever they found a flaw.

Dorothea’s big sister switch had been activated, so she was diligently working to help in any way she could.

“Eep. Viocia, if you move around too much in a two-piece swimsuit, it will slip out of place, so you need to be careful.”

“Ugh. Dorothea, this pareo is so heavy now that it’s wet.”

“No, you can’t remove it.”

What, so was that originally part of Dorothea’s swimsuit?

Each group was doing their own thing, so one group was chasing after small fish and some girls had lined up river rocks to separate out a portion of the river water as a small pool.

Viocia held the coconut ball between her hands and her still undeveloped chest and turned to Yagoro.

“Aren’t you going to join us, teacher?”

“I’m not here to have fun.”

“Then I’ll have to have so much fun you’ll be jealous enough to come join us. Okay, Dorothea! Attack!!”

A small “eep” followed.

Dorothea failed to catch the coconut ball and fell back into the shallow river.

First, time seemed to freeze for Melehe. Next, Viocia tilted her head and followed Melehe’s gaze. Finally, Dorothea realized the other two were staring at her and lowered her gaze to look at her own body.

It had turned see-through.

Her pale skin tone was completely showing through the chest of her white swimsuit.

The big sister of a large family enjoyed looking after others, but that apparently meant paying less attention to herself.

“~ ~ ~!!!???”

### Part 5

Evening had arrived.

“Eep…”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Dorothea? Why are you trembling like that?”

“ Oh, no. The area below my navel...and between my legs...feels really hot and even hurts? Oh, I put that bag of spices on my clothes to keep animals away, so m-maybe some of the spicy stuff got on them and then got in somewhere it shouldn’t be. Ahhh, it stings so bad! ”

“Go over to the river and deal with that immediately! I’ll do everything I can to keep the pervert away!!”

Yagoro heard some splashing in the distance, but he did his best to ignore it.

Together with the instructors from the other schools, Schanze formed a megaphone with her hands and shouted.

“Okay, everyone! It’s totally time to split into your groups and set up your tents!!”

If the groups didn’t gather and set up their tents before it got dark, they wouldn’t have anywhere to sleep that night.

“I am getting a tent up, I am getting a tent up, I am getting a tent up, I am securing a safe space – a holy ground – for human beings where no bugs can get in,” muttered Melehe, a dark look in her eyes as she was removed from the comfort zone she had built up from urban living.

Dorothea (with new bandages wrapped around her) spread out a thick cloth waterproofed with wax.

“First, we need to figure out where to put our tent. Eep.”

“To measure the best spot witchcraft-wise, we would have to wait until the stars come out. I say we focus on the river current and the positions of the hills instead.”

Melehe began staring at the parchment map she had spread out on the ground in the forest. Of course, the existence of that map was proof this was a safe and maintained campsite.

Viocia set a cup of water on the ground to check the angle of the water’s surface.

“Ohhh, it’s completely level. The ground here is flat and has no roots, so it won’t be too uncomfortable. Just move the stones and level out the ground and it’ll be perfect!”

“You really do come alive in the forest, don’t you? Eek!?”

Melehe shrieked and jumped when she discovered some creepy-crawlies on the underside of a large rock.

She continued forcefully but tearfully.

“We will be safe in the tent, won’t we? It’ll be hell if any bugs get in through the gaps. All our attempts to seal the tent up will only keep them from getting back out.”

“Heh heh. So you’d only feel safe in the house of brick, Melehe?”

“Oh, shut up. This isn’t about that ‘third time’s the charm’ story in ATU 0124.”

“?”

Viocia’s head tilt suggested she still had some training left to do. ATU 0124 was Blow the House Down and Viocia herself had identified its most famous story as the Three Little Pigs.

Melehe precisely measured out the directions and terrain and laid out a square sheet of leather to act as a floor.

Viocia created small holes in the ground around the perimeter and stuck a thin pole much like a fishing rod into each one. And with some help from Dorothea, she brought together the tips to create a dome-shaped frame.

Lastly, all three placed the waterproof cloth tent over the top and tied it in place with string.

However…

“Uh, oh! Wait, wait, the frame isn’t coming together right. Viocia, you measured the lengths and dug the holes so the poles would all come together at the top, didn’t you!?”

“Wah!? Th-the wind is picking up the floor sheet!”

“If I tie this here...huh? Eep. Th-there’s a gap between the tent and the ground.”

Untested theories were notoriously unreliable.

A hellish struggle awaited them.

Determining directions, choosing terrain, adjusting the frame’s angle, placing the poles in the ground in order, tying the strings with the appropriate knot – did they realize how much of this physical labor doubled as witch studying?

“Done! Our team’s tent is up!! …Huh?”

When Viocia was done focusing on her task, she took a look around and saw Dorothea and Melehe collapsed on the sandy ground. The tent work had been preceded by a long walk and playing in the river. They had all (except for the idiot) worn themselves out more than they had realized. Looking further away, a fair number of teams hadn’t even managed to get their tents together before collapsing among those big pieces of cloth.

(Teacher should be fine, though.)

“Hey, listen up. This is totally the night patrol guide.”

“Why would I need that? Hold on! Keeping these hundreds of students from sneaking out to have fun during the night is a job for you prep school instructors! I’m just a normal tutor, so I’m sleeping! What, am I being conscripted!?”

But Myousou Yagoro was called away by Schanze Dwelling.

(Since I can still move, I need to do the work.)

And so Viocia was off.

“Hm, hm, hmm♪”

Viocia walked through the forest, collecting dried twigs for firewood.

While camping, they would be cooking over a campfire instead of using recipes to make instant food, so they would need fuel for that fire.

Since the others were so inexplicably exhausted, Viocia knew she had to do the work or there wouldn’t be anything to eat once she was hungry.

Then she noticed something gold and shiny swaying deeper in the woods.

Was it long hair?

And were those long ears twitching along with it?

“Could that be...a legendary elf!?”

### Part 6

Melehe Superlative gave her an icy look.

“There is no way you saw an elf alive in the modern day. Even their fossils are rare.”

“But, but I saw her with my own eyes!!”

“You were alone and all you did was see it? No more? You didn’t capture it and you didn’t get a silver halide photo?”

“Uhh…”

“That’s what I thought. It’s possible you did see something that looks a lot like an elf, but remember – this is the campsite where the last alleged elf sighting happened. Some tourists with too much time on their hands probably dressed up as one for a photo shoot.”

“Urrrrgh!!”

Argued into a corner, Viocia tearfully glared over at Yagoro, but he only covered his face with his hands. With a sketchy story like that, what kind of help could he give her?

“Eep. Anyway, Viocia, is that all the firewood you got? W-we need to cook our own food, so we need to be ready soon.”

“You just brushed it off with an ‘anyway’, which tells me you don’t believe me either, Dorothea. But I swear I really did see a legendary elf!!”

Viocia protested, but she joined Dorothea in preparing the campfire spot. Her empty stomach may have gotten the better of her.

They had eaten lunch during a break before entering the Dazzling Forest, but dinner was a different story.

“You must only start a fire in specific, prepared locations. You could start a wildfire otherwise.”

An old man who appeared to be an instructor at another prep school cautioned all the students in a wizened voice.

Instead of instant food made with witch recipes, they would be cooking over an actual fire.

Dorothea usually cooked for herself, so she wanted to adjust this makeshift stove to her liking.

“Will this work? Eep.”

“Don’t worry too much about stacking the rocks just right. You can fill any gaps in with sand, don’tcha think?”

This was all a learning experience, but Yagoro helped with the initial heavy lifting. After gathering stones from the riverside and arranging them in three sides of a square, they placed a metal grill on top. Then they only had to arrange dried plants and twigs below and ignite them.

Striking the flint and metal together reminded Yagoro of the metal matches he had been issues in the Force. Not that he had ever had a chance to use them.

“Ohh, it’s burning, it’s burning!” exclaimed Viocia.

“We’re not here for the campfire. The point is to cook some dinner. Cough.”

“Sausages! And thick bacon!!” said Viocia as she snatched up more and more food for her own plate. “Munch, munch. Melehe, do you like the healthier chicken?”

“I want my internal environment to lean toward the wind element. As for you, pork is the fire element, so you should use sweet basil or cumin. Star anise is a water element herb!”

Her mother seemed to be a vegetarian, but Melehe didn’t appear to take it that far.

“Dorothea, you’re only eating the vegetables? You’re so grown up.”

“ ”Ugh. I-I would really rather fill up on meat too. ”

Maybe it was to stick to the water element, but Dorothea was munching on grilled apples flavored with chamomile. No one had asked her to, but she would occasionally add more wood to the fire or blow into the fire to adjust the heat level. The big sister’s efforts were going unrewarded, but at least she appeared to enjoy looking after the fire.

“Oh, can’t forget this. Heh heh☆”

“Hm? Viocia, eep, why are you filling up a new plate with meat?”

“Okay, I need to write a note. ‘To the elf: eat this if you’re hungry.’ ”

“Are you still fixated on that? That mysterious species went extinct ages ago. And even if they were still around, who knows if they would even understand our language.”

Viocia ignored Melehe’s exasperated comment and placed the plate and parchment note on a stone a short distance from the campsite.

In addition to the meat and vegetables, they had long, narrow loaves of bread. Were they baguettes? The bread was fairly hard, but thick pieces could be sliced off and grilled, or the whole loaf could be slit lengthwise so meat could be placed inside a lot like with a hot dog.

Yagoro was a little saddened by the bread because he saw white rice as the perfect companion for meat.

### Part 7

However, all Myousou Yagoro could do was help out with the cooking.

He was not a prep school student – he was a tutor who had tagged along. Which meant he was not paying the tuition. The camping gear and food had been paid for by the hopeful witches, so he would have felt wrong eating that food.

So instead he slipped away from the group and prepared a fishing rod.

For some reason, Schanze approached him.

“What do you want?”

“You totally know that already, don’t you? I’m not paying a tuition either. I know the instructors aren’t supposed to have to pay, but I’d still feel bad eating their food.”

Salary-focused prep school instructors could be particular about these things.

“Are you using the water mirror?”

“That’s right.”

There were ways to determine the location of fish without a sonar-based fishfinder.

One magical method of searching out villains, such as someone who stole a personal item, was to complete a special process and then peer into a vessel full of water. To get back at the thief, you could stick a blade into the water to cut their face, marking them.

Although this sort of thing reminded Yagoro more of an old urban legend about searching for a marriage partner.

(If possible, I want Viocia’s group to move past using the camping gear they brought outside the forest. That would give them a situation where they can borrow the wisdom of nature itself.)

“Ohh, that’s a really cool fish reading you’re getting. Hm? But it’s moving weird. Like it’s totally used to dealing with people. I guess that’s what you get with a popular campsite. Oh, wow, that fish totally just escaped from the hook!”

“Then this calls for a bit more intervention.”

Yagoro grabbed a flat rock with his other hand and gave it a sharp toss. The rock skipped across the water’s surface, scaring the fish into a sudden change of direction that brought it right toward the hook.

The tutor boy held the rod firm and tugged hard.

“There’s one.”

“Hee hee☆ Looks like I totally won’t go hungry tonight!”

“Now, Schanze, did you do anything at all to help? You just got through nobly saying you couldn’t eat the students’ food, but now you’re going to take my food!!”

### Part 8

Night had fallen.

Each group’s tent was up, so they could rest easy as the gentle darkness settled in.

“Wow. The summer solstice is supposed to be the longest day of the year, but once it gets dark, it gets dark fast. Eep.”

“You say that, but it’s only 8 PM. For exam students, the night is only just beginning.”

“Wow, Melehe. Eep. Y-you can tell the time without a clock?”

“Using the moon and stars. They don’t move through the night sky at random, you know?”

After Dorothea took that advice to heart (so easily it actually made Melehe jealous) and began trying it herself, she saw an orange light flashing in the distant sky. It reminded her of an oddly-colored firefly.

“?”

And with dinner over…

“Oh, neat. Your textbooks are completely different from ours!”

A short distance away, Viocia was speaking with some other girl.

She was already making friends with a student from another prep school.

“Dorothea, Melehe! This is Ileana from Costus Af Prep School. Eh heh heh. At their school, they use automatic writing to figure out their weaknesses and focus their studying there!”

“Oh?”

“She also goes to Aurora Swan Flight Sports Gym to increase her Formula Broom skills. She’s amazing!”

The Ileana girl was dressed like a white ghost, which meant she wore a large sheet over her head. That was as much a symbol of witch parties as an orange pumpkin. The front of the sheet wasn’t kept closed well, providing glimpses of her bare skin below. It looked like she only wore some large stickers below the sheet.

Those weren’t the only two engaged in some cultural and informational exchange. When Melehe took another look around, she noticed quite a few sunlight seal lanterns shining outside the tents.

“Melehe Superlative? So you’re Carraway Cs’s ace?”

“Wait, are you the Ileana I sometimes see on the official practice exam rankings?”

She sensed an unexpected connection here.

Before long, parchments describing different study methods arrived from somewhere. People were apparently writing whatever advice they could think of and passing them around.

Dorothea’s eyes widened behind her glasses.

“This is a mnemonic for memorizing what power you get when you burn different types of wood. Apple, birch, elder...huh, neat. I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

With a dry slap, Yagoro – who had approached without them noticing – knocked the parchment from Dorothea’s hands.

“Eep!”

“What is wrong with you, pervy tutor!?”

Melehe snapped at him in a hurry, but he ignored her.

“Elder, or elderberry, shouldn’t be on there.”

“Eh?”

“ Trick question warning: Elderberry is a special plant. Burning it is forbidden. ”

“Um, eeep, th-then…”

“It’s just a mistake. That’s the problem with secondhand or who-knows-how-many-hand information, don’tcha think? The answer can get warped without anyone trying to deceive anyone.”

### Part 9

The field trip looked lively enough, but all the students here were rivals.

And it wasn’t always a good idea to trust those rivals.

That may have been why the girls entered their tents relatively early. Of course, each tent still had a dim light within, so it didn’t look like many of them had actually gone to sleep. They were using moonlight seals, which glowed with the pale light of the moonlight sealed within. Inside the tents, the rivals were fighting their physical drowsiness and exhaustion to stay up studying.

Needless to say, the tutor boy couldn’t enter the tent. That was Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe’s space.

Viocia rummaged around inside her overstuffed backpack as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Worrywart Dorothea whispered to her.

“Viocia, eep, are you looking for something?”

“Tah dah! I smuggled in some snacks. And I know it’s only a cupcake, but this is for you, Dorothea.”

“Eh?”

“Hooray!! Happy birthday, Dorothea!!!”

“ Um, uh, oh. ”

Viocia celebrated loudly, but the birthday girl herself mumbled under her breath. The eyes behind her glasses said she really wanted to say something.

Melehe kept her eyes somewhere else entirely.

“(Yeah, getting a year older isn’t exactly something to celebrate for an exam student. Sigh, I need to redouble my efforts to make sure I get into Maleficium this year!!)”

### Part 10

As the night wore on, not a single tent still contained the glow of a moonlight seal. For a professional(?) student, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to stay up all night studying, but none of their stamina had lasted after enjoying the great outdoors so much during the day. While they all slept like logs in their tents, Myousou Yagoro got to work all on his own, but then he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eyes.

It was Schanze Dwelling.

“So you noticed?”

“A number of things.”

As one of the lead instructors for the trip, it was that witch’s job to ensure the students were safe. Even as a salary-focused self-taught witch – or maybe because of it – she intended to do the job she had been given.

Without producing any light in the dark forest, those two used only the moonlight to sneak away from the campsite. After walking a short way along the river, they noticed something odd.

“…”

The plate Viocia had left on a rock was missing.

“You aren’t going to suggest that a supposedly-extinct elf totally took the food, are you? There are plenty of cool wild animals that will readily steal any food you leave out.”

“I’d agree if it was just the meat on the plate that was missing.” Yagoro spoke cautiously. “But with the plate and the parchment note gone too, it doesn’t feel like the work of an animal. And they aren’t lying on the ground anywhere around here either. And look over there.”

Yagoro crouched and pointed at a spot not far away, so Schanze quietly extended the end of her Formula Broom in that direction.

“Hey, don’t use me to test for dan- owww!!!”

Metal jaws snapped shut with a violent “clang!!”

That was a bear trap.

And it was installed with quite a powerful spring. If a human had stepped in it, they likely would have suffered a complex fracture in the leg.

“I see.”

This trap was more than just noisemaker or paint meant to deter intruders. Sharp shards of glass were attached to the end of a tightly bent tree branch. If the thin pot hanging by a rope were to fall to the ground, it would scatter honey and rotten fat so they would splatter across the victim and draw in all the violent animals with excellent noses. Seeing all that, there were likely unseen pitfalls as well. And those pitfalls would likely be the kind with sharpened sticks at the bottom.

Yagoro turned around.

They were less than 150m from the campsite where the students were sleeping peacefully in their tents. It made no sense for all this to be so near a well-maintained campsite. And with one trap specifically designed to draw wild animals to the victim, these clearly weren’t simply meant to keep animals away or for hunting.

There was only one other possibility.

“We can’t rely on the assumption that this is a safe campsite anymore.”

“So has something totally dangerous moved in here?”

The forest’s trees rustled in the night wind.

The Dazzling Forest’s darkness was still too deep to see through.

### Today’s Quiz 2

There is no quiz for today.

Aren’t you glad, Viocia!? And the rest too!?

Viocia: …

Yagoro: What’s wrong, Viocia? I thought you would be weeping with joy at being spared a quiz.

Viocia: There’s more to this. It’s like a death sentence written in a cheerful font… I know you would never be this nice, so there must be something even worse lying in wait for me later on!!

Melehe: You’re probably overthinking this. What proof do you have that the pervert is plotting something?

Dorothea: What proof do you have that he isn’t? Eep.

Melehe: That won’t work on me. I know proving a negative is called the devil’s proof.

Viocia: The devil is here? And you have proof!? Are we in danger!?

Melehe: Look, now she’s overreacting, so just give up already!!

Dorothea: But, eep, w-would the tutor really do this without a good reason?

Viocia: …

Dorothea: …

Melehe: …

Yagoro: Ahem.

Yagoro: Now, this has proven, much to my surprise, that Melehe has the worst crisis management skills of the three of you. You’re skilled, but you let your assumptions restrict your thinking too much. You really are easily outwitted for a supposed elite.

Melehe: Just explain yourself already!!!

### 012. Episode 3: The Consuming Witch

### Part 1

Required Specs for the JX-401 SSTO Broom God: Version 3.51

User Name: Sent to:

- This document is meant to succinctly share the valuable opinions of the relevant departments with the relevant universities and companies. You have already agreed to participate in this matter. We wish to rapidly complete a realistic plan that meets all the demands necessary to realize purely domestic space development infrastructure.

Crew: 1 (although more could fit in the cargo space)

Max Speed: Greater than Mach 9 (standard atmospheric flight), greater than Mach 30 (in vacuum and extra-atmospheric flight).

Max Altitude: More than 400km. Must be able to leave the atmosphere and enter low orbit unassisted.

Primary Propulsion System: JF-23 aviation fuel + oxygen ram jet engine x2 (standard atmospheric flight), X-5 liquid fuel + oxidant rocket engine (in vacuum and extra-atmospheric flight).

Primary Power Source: Large capacity lithium ion battery + storage alloy hydrogen oxygen fuel battery.

Max Continued Flight Without Resupply: more than an hour (standard atmospheric flight), 48 hours (in vacuum and extra-atmospheric flight using non-propulsion position stabilization).

Max Capacity: 25 tons (excluding fuel and oxidant).

Equipped Weaponry: None (for clearing debris, it is equipped with multipurpose joints x4 capable of instant attaching/detaching of chemical oxygen iodine laser, air-to-air missiles, Gatling gun, etc. But to remain in compliance with the Borderless Space Peace Treaty, avoid referring to these as ‘combat’ or ‘military’ weaponry).

Safety Level for Crew and Cargo: Level S as per global standard. Including the cargo space capable of carrying extra crew.

Procured Budget: 30 billion yen per craft. Do not exceed this under any circumstances.

(Hidden Note by Sending User: This again? The cargo space is too large for the size of the craft as a whole. I know this is unavoidable given our initial objective of constructing a purely domestic next-gen transport method that can open up the space development industry that has shut down since the collapse of the United States, but if we increase the inertial burden that far, we can’t fully eliminate the risk of it breaking apart mid-flight. Also, the manufacturing costs will change considerably depending on the markets for the different materials and how many are being manufactured! You imbeciles!!)

### Part 2

“Teacher!! Good morn- oh, you’re already up.”

“Yes, good morning. You really are in your element in the forest, aren’t you?

Myousou Yagoro was folding up (his own) blanket when Viocia arrived, quite cheerful for the morning.

“Hm, hm♪ Not even you can stand up to me out in nature, teacher.”

“Then should I summon a great storm to use the terror of nature to get your field trip canceled? By untying the three knots in a string one by one, by digging a hole in the ground and filling it with water, or by striking the water’s surface with my staff? There are innumerable ways to bend the stormy weather to an individual’s will.”

“Eeek!” Viocia ducked down and held her witch’s hand down with her hands. “Don’t scare me like that first thing in the morning, teacher. Besides, it’s such a nice morning, but Dorothea and Melehe are both still asleep in the tent and won’t play with me.”

Viocia had already secured her breakfast, so she pouted her lips while holding a simple hot dog made by sticking a wiener and lettuce in a skinny baguette. She had perhaps too much energy.

But it was unusual for Melehe, the prep school’s strongest witch who could easily accomplish most anything, to be too sleepy to leave her sleeping bag. Yagoro had difficulty imagining it. Perhaps she had gotten too accustomed to urban life while busy studying for the exam.

Yagoro took another look around and found the witch students were eating thick-cut bread covered with handmade pickles, sauerkraut, and other sour picked vegetables, and with a generous helping of melted cheese on top.

“ Ugh, I-I at least need to wash my face in the river. Eep. ”

“Dorothea, stop being a sleepy zombie and wrap yourself up in those bandages! They’re all loose!”

The girls were sluggish from aching muscles and spending the night in a tent, so they were in no mood to enjoy the greasy barbecue (other than Viocia the forest master).

After eating a simple breakfast, they left the bulkier luggage like their tents at the camp site, and set out for the Goddess’s Spring deep within the Dazzling Forest.

Schanze waved her hand up at the front.

“I totally need you all to follow after me. Before we left, you signed a waiver saying we aren’t liable if you get separated from the group and end up lost in the forest, so try not to get yourselves killed out here.”

“Damn. Witches can fly, so what are we doing crawling along the ground like this? And I can do a vertical takeoff, so I don’t even need the 500m runway.”

“The trees here totally form a tunnel overhead, so if you try to fly through the deep forest, you’ll run into some cool birds and die. Worse, the branches could tear all the flesh from your bones, or you could even totally get decapitated☆”

“ Oh. Eep. ”

Dorothea hadn’t even said anything, yet she was the one who shrunk down in fear.

Flying quickly wasn’t always a good thing. Bird strikes during high-speed flight were a major problem for witches.

After trudging through the humid forest for two hours, struggling past tree roots, large rocks, and flowing streams, they finally noticed a change in the natural scenery around them.

They saw white.

And straight lines.

They were half buried in the tropical greenery, but there were white marble rectangles visible on the ground. That had once been stone pavement. Looking further back, the ruins of pillars and walls could be seen here and there. The density of artificial structures gradually grew until they finally saw a temple even larger than a compulsory education school.

Viocia looked up at the white temple.

“Wow.”

“This is totally the starting point of the Dazzling Forest, which is bigger than an entire kingdom. It’s also the source of water for rivers all over the place. And the cool water source built into the center of the Water Temple is known as the Goddess’s Spring.”

How long had it been since this was built?

There were collapsed pillars and crumbled stone walls here and there. It was unclear if they had even originally been white. There was no clear distinction between the inside and outside, so the tree roots had gotten in everywhere and little squirrels ran around at their feet. Schanze didn’t lead them along the shortest route because she was carefully choosing a path that would avoid precarious ceilings that could collapse at any time.

Once inside the building, it seemed to take another half hour before they arrived at the deepest point.

They reached an area with a notably different atmosphere.

“This is totally it – the Goddess’s Spring,” said Schanze.

### Part 3

It was a round spring measuring 10m across.

At the center, it appeared to be more than a meter deep, but the white stone bottom had a tiered design. The outermost area along the edge didn’t even seem to be 50cm deep.

Although the water was so perfectly clear staring at it would probably throw off your sense of distance.

(So a circular spring and a goddess who excels at breaking the rules, huh?)

With the stone monuments taller than people surrounding the spring, it looked a lot like a strange round table. Several artificially straight grooves allowed the exceptionally clear water to flow out from the round spring in the center and outside the Water Temple itself.

“Eep. So that’s the G-Goddess’s Spring that evolves Formula Brooms.”

“…”

Melehe was being unusually quiet.

The gyaru-style instructor twirled her broom around and used it to point at one person in the group.

“Okay, let’s totally start with you, Viocia Modestlucky.”

“Eh!? W-with me!?”

A Formula Broom was a valuable item for a hopeful witch. Even if this place was supposed to increase their broom’s specs without messing with the core, it was only natural to be nervous once it came time to actually face the Goddess’s Spring. But with multiple prep school’s participating, there were hundreds of witches here and once the sun began to set, they had to walk back to the campsite. There was no time for delays.

The instructor must have decided it would be best to get things started without too much thought.

And it was a lot like Viocia to step forward even as she groaned.

“Okay, Mephistopheles. I’ve decided to do this, so let’s get you powered up. I just have to dump you in the spring! And then swish you around at the bottom…”

“Viocia, do you remember the incantation?”

“Oh.”

Viocia must not have had the incantation memorized yet, so Big Sis Dorothea (who was actually the same age) whispered it to her. And as the dunce counted on her fingers while having her memory refreshed, she managed to get the words out.

“ATU 0729. Ghh. The ritual of the spring in which a gold axe, silver axe, and iron axe are traded for each other. Aquae Sulis – the bath of prayers and reversals which, despite being a hot spring of healing, can also be used for lead curse tablets. And, um, the Black Mass – the intentional defilement of a holy ritual to alter the nature of the summoned power. Uh, I submerge this witchcraft device in the waters here and pray for a bright and glorious transformation!!”

Her loud cry echoed from the Goddess’s Spring and out to the Water Temple and the tropical forest.

This was technically classified as the Water Spirit and the Gold Axe, so make sure not to get confused.

Then they waited.

There was no light or sound.

Viocia Modestlucky tilted her head.

“Huh? The spring didn’t glow and no goddess emerged from the water.”

“It probably rejected you cause your heart is too impure,” suggested Melehe.

But what did this failure mean?

It wasn’t that difficult an incantation. Yagoro and Schanze had both been observing Viocia’s lips and fingers, but while she had been nervous, she hadn’t made any clear mistakes.

Schanze looked puzzled after watching it all from a step away.

“That’s totally weird. Everyone’s big sis Dorothea, can I borrow your cool Formula Broom?”

“Um, yes.”

Schanze took her student’s broom, crouched down, and slowly submerged it into the pure water just like Viocia had.

The instructor then recited the same incantation but with much more familiarity.

“ATU 0729 – the ritual of the spring in which a gold axe, silver axe, and iron axe are traded for each other. Aquae Sulis – the bath of prayers and reversals which, despite being a hot spring of healing, can also be used for lead curse tablets. And the Black Mass – the intentional defilement of a holy ritual to alter the nature of the summoned power. I submerge this witchcraft device in the waters here and pray for a bright and glorious transformation.”

But…

“Welp, the Goddess’s Spring totally isn’t working.”

“Wait, we hoof it all the way out here and the ruins are broken!?”

“ Wh-what do we do now? Eep. ”

“Hmm, there could totally be something wrong with the facility as a whole.”

“Why are you all so mean!? You just assumed I did something wrong when it was me!!”

Taller Dorothea hugged teary-eyed Viocia from behind and soothed her.

The instructors of the different prep schools began a private meeting. Sensing trouble, anxiety spread through the Halloween-costumed girls too.

Yagoro sighed softly.

Then he pointed at a point in the white marble ruins around the Goddess’s Spring.

“Schanze.”

“What do you want, outsider tut- oh, my.”

Schanze reflexively pouted her lips and began complaining, but she was still a prep school instructor. She immediately realized what he was trying to say.

They were inside the Water Temple, which was deep in the forest yet rivaled a school in size.

And at the very middle, eight massive stones were arranged around the Goddess’s Spring.

One of the tall stone monuments was missing.

“Totally hmm.”

Schanze crouched at the edge of the water. Yagoro remained standing and observed from behind her.

She peered down into the exceptionally clear water, but there was no sign of broken stones at the bottom. So instead of a piece of the ruins crumbling with age, it had completely vanished.

And an enormous stone monument wasn’t going to sprout legs and walk off on its own.

The Dazzling Forest was vast enough to engulf a small kingdom, but it was also becoming a tourist destination and was dotted with several campsites.

That meant anyone could have gotten in here.

And while they had kept it a secret to avoid scaring the students, there had been some traps, including a dreadfully powerful bear trap, set up in the forest.

Yagoro nodded.

And Schanze spoke carefully while crouched next to the spring.

“Could someone have totally stolen that humongous thing?”

### Part 4

“Ugh, I’m so bored.”

Viocia pouted her lips.

Even she could sense the air of heavy stagnation hanging over the place. She had come all the way to the Goddess’s Spring, but Formula Broom – Wittenberg hadn’t changed.

“But this summer solstice trip is meaningless if the students can’t complete their broom modernization.”

“That’s a problem now of course, but what about next year? Will we have to do the modernization somewhere other than the Dazzling Forest?”

Twin sisters, an old woman with a staff, and other prep school instructors were gathered a short distance away discussing the matter.

“If it was stolen, why hasn’t the management guild done anything about it?”

“If they knew about it, I doubt they would be totally ignoring it like this.”

Simply put, the students had nothing to do.

While Viocia was seated on some crumbling stone steps and kicking her legs, Myousou Yagoro suddenly approached her.

“Goddesses are often depicted in threes. Norse mythology includes Urdr, Verdandi, and Skuld as the goddesses of fate. Greek mythology has Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos who manipulate the thread of fate. But… Trick Question Warning: Clotho of the present first spins the thread and Atropos of the future finally cuts the thread with scissors, so don’t get the order wrong. Then, also from Greek mythology, what are the three Erinyes sisters called and what are they the goddesses of?”

“Nooo! Why would you make me study in this heavy dead time!? Are you a monster!?”

“Don’t be stupid. The greatest enemy of the exam student is idle time. You can use that time to study or to rest, but how efficiently you fill up these small bits and pieces of time will give you an edge over your rivals. ...Anyway, the Erinyes are the goddesses of vengeance and they are called Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera. Now memorize that!!”

“I choose to rest. You said that was an option!”

“You’re so full of energy in the forest I find it hard to believe you need a five-minute nap.”

Viocia covered her ears and ran away.

The Water Temple had partially crumbled, but it was still a huge structure the size of a large theatre. It had a lot of small rooms whose purpose had long been forgotten. Viocia finally escaped her tutor’s educational assault, but she noticed something glittering out of the corner of her eye.

The glittering came from beyond the tropical trees visible past a crumbling stone wall.

Beyond a thicket of red, blue, and yellow plants and flowers, long golden hair swayed along with…

“Long, pointy ears? I-is that a legendary elf!?”

### Part 5

Dorothea suddenly noticed something.

She took a look around and then nervously tugged on Melehe’s sleeve.

“Um, hey, Melehe?” said the caring big sister. “Eep. Uh, do you know where Viocia went?”

“What, is she not here?” The sky pirate girl held a hand to her forehead. “You’re kidding. Don’t tell me she went off on her own because she was bored and then got lost. Ugh, did she forget we had to sign a waiver saying the school isn’t responsible if we get lost in the forest!?”

But if Viocia had left the group, where would she have gone?

They could only think of one possibility.

“Do you think – eep – she went to look for a l-legendary elf?”

“If so, was she planning to wander the forest forever? Elves went extinct ages ago!”

“But what do you think she mistook for an elf yesterday? Eep.”

Dorothea was all ready to rush out from the Water Temple and into the forest, so Melehe grabbed her wrist. Dorothea stopped in surprise while the sky pirate girl pulled out a vial and gave a single spray onto each of her wrists.

“This is perfume. People can’t smell it, but canine familiars will be able to track the scent. With so many witches, someone – probably one of the instructors – is bound to have one.”

“Eep. So in place of bread crumbs?”

“Right. Whatever ATU 0327a, Hansel and Gretel, might say, if you actually dropped bread crumbs in the forest, birds and animals would eat them all in no time. We don’t want to get lost ourselves when we’re trying to find Viocia.”

Melehe must not have wanted to spray any more perfume, so she rubbed her wrists on Dorothea’s neck and armpits instead. It tickled, but the bandage zombie girl endured it with only some minor trembling.

Once the girls were done sharing the scent, it was time to begin their search.

“Wh-where should we look? Eep.”

“Wherever she went, we know Viocia started in this Water Temple. That gives us a fixed starting point. So to start with, we walk the perimeter. Dorothea, you keep an eye out for bent underbrush and broken branches. I’ll look for footprints on the ground!”

“Okay. Eep. Got it!”

Glasses girl Dorothea renewed her resolve and stared into the distance while reaching a finger to her chest.

She pulled a clear stone on a thin chain from her cleavage. It was a dowsing pendulum.

Melehe stared into the middle distance.

“Oh, I see. So you’re one of those people with a hidden pocket . Just like my mom.”

“?”

### Part 6

“This way? Or this way? No, I need to cross this river!”

Viocia ignored how wet her shoes and the bottom of her skirt got as she crossed a stream not even 30cm deep. Deep in the forest, following footprints was a fundamental skill of tracking. And crossing rivers to cut off your footprints and scent was the standard countermeasure.

When she was little, Viocia had truly played hide-and-seek with wild rabbits and foxes in her grandma’s forest (which everyone kept saying was on the level of a final dungeon), so this didn’t even register as trickery for her.

“Hm, hm♪ The wet footprints continue straight…oh, there they are.”

She glimpsed a golden glitter between the trees.

It was that long hair.

Melehe kept saying it was impossible, but there was definitely someone there.

(Let’s see…is that a girl?)

“Hm, I’d know for sure if I could see the long ears again…but I can’t see them.”

From the glimpses she had gotten, it looked like the girl had straight blonde hair long enough to reach her ankles. And she had a braid worn up to decorate her head.

Was the rustling sound due to her parting the foliage with a ceramic-smooth white and silver staff? It had a cross-like shape.

Either way, Viocia got the feeling the girl would flee if she suddenly spoke to her.

Viocia decided to keep her distance and follow her a while longer.

The girl up ahead seemed to be headed somewhere in particular, but she also wasn’t taking a direct route there. She would wander this way and that. She would stop to smell a hibiscus along the way, reach out a finger to let a bright blue butterfly land on it and observe it, or kick a thick tree trunk with the sole of her shoe and gather up the toxically red fruits that fell.

(She’s taking a lot of detours.)

Viocia knew what it was like.

She was jealous that this girl could go where she liked without getting scolded like Viocia did on the way to and from prep school.

Whoever this girl was, she munched on one of the red fruits as she walked.

She was alive.

So, at the very least, she wasn’t an immaterial illusion or a ghost.

“Ugh, I can’t see her ears through all the branches and thickets. I so want to be sure of that.”

Just as Viocia spoke to herself, the elf came to a stop.

Viocia was afraid she was going to turn around, but she didn’t.

She stayed put and looked down to her hand.

She unfolded a piece of parchment there.

“Is that…?”

That was the parchment note Viocia had placed next to the plate of meat last night.

(Did she actually read it?)

The wind changed direction.

Upwind and downwind swapped. Now Viocia’s scent could blow towards the other girl.

The flowing blonde hair came to a complete stop. The carefree detours stopped there.

The failing witch frowned at the subtle change.

(Hm? Did she notice I’m following her?)

When Viocia took another step forward, the girl up ahead gathered strength in her legs and…

“She tripped!?”

She had apparently caught her foot on a tree root.

Viocia shouted out loud on reflex and the girl up ahead scrambled to her feet and vanished into the thickets. It was cute. However, Viocia wasn’t all that worried. Just like when playing hide-and-seek with the wild rabbits and foxes in her grandma’s forest, anyone who was panicked and trying to make up for a mistake wouldn’t attempt any complex diversions or detours.

After walking a bit more…

“Oh?”

She saw a strange color beyond the reds, blues, and yellows of the tropical foliage.

White.

A small house was built from cold stone. And a short building was attached to the 2-story house like dropped ice cream melting on the ground.

(Is that the elf’s house?)

“No, it isn’t.”

The scale was different, but it looked familiar to Viocia. It reminded her of her grandma’s house.

That was a living space combined with a lab for high-level alchemy.

It was the kind of hideout preferred by witches who had withdrawn from the world.

“There are two chimneys. That means they don’t want the smoke to mix. They must have two stoves for different purposes.”

If Dorothea were here, she may have noticed that the orange light flickering in the night sky came from the sparks produced when the smoke did mix.

Viocia silently approached and peeked inside the window to the lab attached to the side of the 2-story house. To eliminate as much outside influence as possible, the glass had two layers to insulate against heat even in the sweltering Dazzling Forest. The hand pump, stove, and other equipment inside made it look a lot like a kitchen, but instead of a kitchen counter, there was a wooden table with glass lab equipment lined up on it: flasks, beakers, test tubes, lamps, condensers, scales, etc. It was unlikely someone was using those to cook food.

It was all kept immaculately clean, but thoughtlessly ingesting anything in there would be very bad for your health.

The air was filled with the scent of the bleach used to make white leather.

The room visible through the window had a shelf of vials full of dangerous dried herbs that could cause hallucinations or even death. The pot on the stove wasn’t meant for cooking. It was finely tuned for a different purpose.

If this was a witch’s hideout, who had that elf been?

Did she live with the witch, or was she the witch?

“Huh? There’s something there.”

Viocia spotted something unusual leaning against the wall in the back of the lab.

It was a large stone monument taller than she was.

(I saw those at the Goddess’s Spring too. But one of them was missing. Then did whoever lives here steal it and that’s why the spring isn’t working?)

If so, this was a big deal.

Maybe she should turn around right away and call for Myousou Yagoro or Schanze Dwelling.

But her legs wouldn’t move.

Because she heard a voice.

“?”

(Is that whoever lives here?)

She didn’t know their name or what they looked like. If she was going to tell people about this place, the more she knew, the better. Viocia moved along the wall, following the voice from the lab to the house. She crouched and pressed against the wall directly below a window.

And she peeked inside.

She saw what looked like a living room located directly off of the entranceway. She saw a sofa and a low table. She also noticed a well-polished crystal ball and various kinds of cards. Those were fortune-telling tools.

There was also a plate with some bread crumbs on it.

And…

“Freynir, you’re back?”

“I am, Lady Elinalva.”

“And no one saw you while you were out?”

“ I do not know what you mean by that. ”

“Sigh, did you actually think you could fool me like that?” Seeing the expressionless girl trembling, the old woman called Elinalva breathed an exasperated sigh. “You’re a terrible liar. Maybe that’s what happens when you’ve never had a chance to talk with many people. …That aside, should I simply view this as a problem, or should I see it as an unasked-for opportunity?”

Based on the conversation, the two knew each other.

They probably lived together.

Their relationship was unclear, but the girl may have been even younger than Viocia. She wore what looked like loose, white priest’s robes, but she also wore thick leather boots that nearly reached her thighs. The combination was odd, but it was probably necessary for walking through the forest.

Also, the girl’s ears were sharply pointed.

She was an elf.

This wasn’t a fossil in Temple School City’s museum and it wasn’t a picture based on what one was thought to have looked like. She had snow white skin and golden hair that glittered in the light. She was very much alive and standing right there.

Viocia gave a snort of excitement while crouched below the window.

(There she is! A real elf! Now Melehe can’t call me a liar! Oh, but I didn’t bring a camera, so I can’t bring back a photo as proof!!)

“Hey.”

“Hyah!?”

She jumped.

She thought her heart would stop.

Unable to stand up, Viocia scooted back on her rear with her Formula Broom clutched between her hands. The old woman named Elinalva sighed in exasperation while looking down at her from the window.

“Sigh, are you just not very bright? Hiding below the window doesn’t do much good when that big hat sticks up so far. At least this saves me the trouble of going out to find you.”

“Lady Elinalva.”

“We might be able to use her for the other approach. The odds aren’t good, though,” plainly stated the old woman before the elf girl could stop her.

(Huh?)

Something was happening here.

Viocia finally felt a cold sensation sinking into her gut.

(I know she lives with the elf, but why is this old witch hiding so deep in the woods?)

A Maleficium graduate would find a glorious world awaiting her. And even self-taught witches like Schanze could choose whatever job they wanted. Viocia’s grandma had a house deep in a forest, but that was just the trees in her yard growing into a great forest over a long, long time.

What if that wasn’t what happened here? What if this woman was truly hiding here?

What if there was some disadvantage for her if she didn’t hide? For example, what if she was doing something unspeakable she had to keep hidden from the world?

The next thing Viocia knew, the old woman had vanished from the window.

Then she heard the front door creaking.

Old Elinalva exited with the elf girl by her side.

Elinalva held a Formula Broom in her hands, practically dragging it along the ground as she walked. But a sharp piece of metal was attached to the end. It was the kind of large pitchfork used to carry hay, but just like the broom, there were legends of witches carrying them as they danced at their gatherings.

“Since you followed her all the way here, I assume you’re interested in elves.”

“I-I am.”

“I am too. It would be such a shame to let them go extinct. So I, Elinalva Longhouse, must find a way for elves to prosper once more.”

This almost sounded like an actual conversation.

They shared the topic of elves and their values surrounding them.

But…

“So I decided to create an extinct elf in this forest where so many of their fossils slumber. But I didn’t have the skill. The only option left was to rely on luck and search out one of that legendary race in a forest the size of a small kingdom. Although to be fair, I did tweak my luck a bit by ‘borrowing’ one of the monuments that control the direction of the waters flowing from the Water Temple. There is more to witchcraft than flying on a broom and directly causing supernatural phenomena.”

She didn’t sound particularly proud.

Her tone was dry.

They could speak, but something between them wasn’t clicking.

A somehow flat voice came endlessly from the old woman’s wrinkly mouth.

“But that was the most I could do. My results tapered off after only finding one exceedingly rare elf, but a single individual cannot reproduce and thus it still ends after just one generation. But having her marry a human would only reduce the purity of her blood. That could only produce half-elves, which is no different from the race of elves going extinct by my own hand. It needs to be elves – pure elves. There numbers need to be increased until they can endure the drastic changes occurring around them.”

“Um.”

“The Aspect of Admiration: ATU 0327a, Hansel and Gretel. No matter how many bread crumbs they tore off and dropped to leave a trail, the bread itself never ran out. The Aspect of Antiquity: Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir. The goats who pull Norse thunder god Thor’s chariot are always resurrected no matter how many times they are killed and eaten. The Aspect of Amorality: the wicked witch boils babies in a cauldron to create a special ointment.”

The old woman talked on and on more to herself than Viocia. She may have even forgotten Viocia was there.

Viocia was overwhelmed by it all.

But she still managed to open her mouth to ask about a solid question that she couldn’t find an answer for.

“B-but how do you m-make more elves?”

“By cutting her up.”

“…?”

“ By slicing her apart over and over again, separating the right half from the left or the top half from the bottom. As long as I change Freynir’s situation so new flesh and bone will emerge from the cut, the end result is one more elf. And the process can be repeated indefinitely. That this method can only create female elves is a problem, but it will at least prevent a single mistake meaning the immediate extinction of the species .”

Viocia hadn’t misheard.

But this meant she didn’t understand the root of the old woman’s thoughts at all.

What had she just said?

And why hadn’t Freynir reacted at all to hearing it?

“Th-that’s crazy!”

“Witchcraft is a fantastical solution to real problems, isn’t it?”

“But painful doesn’t even begin to describe it! If you did that, Freynir wouldn’t just cry and scream!”

“ Why should her feelings stand in the way of the prosperity of her species ?”

“…”

She said it in the tone of voice used to tell a child they needed to wash their hands before mealtime.

“Freynir is currently the last one. An unfortunate accident could occur at any moment, making elves truly extinct. Increasing their numbers is the only way to avoid that tragedy. I have no intention of treating her like a precious flower and simply waiting for her to age and die.”

What the old woman was saying may have been correct.

But was it anything more than correct?

“Freynir!” shouted Viocia, but the elf girl only tilted her head.

She may not have understood what the old woman was saying.

She may not have known that becoming the foundation of prosperity meant to be sliced apart while still alive.

(Does she think it’s some kind of metaphor? But one look in that old woman’s eyes should tell you it isn’t!)

She wasn’t just a name or a symbol.

She was a girl who had read Viocia’s letter and held onto it instead of throwing it out.

She had a mind the same as Viocia.

Viocia was certain of it.

She couldn’t just leave the girl here.

No matter what.

“You will be used to try a different approach.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is said elves are the beautiful version of the beings that naturally crawled out of a dead giant’s remains. The giants are the enemies of the gods, which makes them the opposite of what is right. …Since you have barged into our little world here, that would be the perfect role for you, don’t you think?”

“…”

“Creating more elves by slicing up Freynir can only ever create female elves. And since that method will become unusable once I die, there must be male elves for them to maintain a prosperous village on their own, right? You – or more accurately, your remains left to decompose out in the open – will be used as an experiment to that end.”

Viocia wanted to look away, but her neck muscles tensed unnaturally.

This was all the more painful for her because she was close enough to her grandma that she had decided to get into Maleficium to create a potion to cure her grandma.

So it was all the more painful to see this old woman who had become such a hideously distorted person by failing to control her desire and choosing to reject what was right.

“W-wait, Lady Elinalva. This person has done nothing wrong!”

“Right and wrong are irrelevant when it comes to elf preservation,” spat the old woman, frowning just a bit. “And based on the lack of a tremor in your voice, those was your honest feelings. Even so, I will do anything to bring prosperity back to the elves. Even if you cry and reject it.”

“…”

“Formula Broom – Reykjaholt. Answer me, Snorri.”

The old woman approached while dragging along the Formula Broom that was half broom and half pitchfork.

While preparing magic that could smash a human body to pieces.

“I will run as many tests as necessary. I will repeat the process as often as it takes. I will increase the scale as far as I must. Freynir Nineworlds is just one living fossil and that is not enough. I will bear any sin or wicked karma if it will save the elves from extinction.”

### Part 7

They never could have made it alone.

But the two girls managed to arrive in the nick of time.

“Eep, Viocia!”

“Don’t you dare steal all the glory for yourself, failing witch!!”

Dorothea and Melehe rushed out from the trees. They sharply changed positions to spread out and cover Viocia and Freynir.

Melehe held her Formula Broom in one hand and sharply pointed at the old woman with her empty hand.

“We heard everything you said from in the forest. Self-taught witch Elinalva, I will admit it must have taken some skill to search out a supposedly-extinct elf.”

“Right you are. I am the discoverer of this elf, so I must hold some rights over her, such as naming rights.”

Discoverer.

Did she see it like finding an animal in the woods and taking it in as a pet ? And as the owner, she could decide how the elf lived? That was a horribly selfish human-centric view, but that wasn’t what Melehe was trying to say.

“Freynir, was it? It’s true she may be the last of the elves.”

“Yes, exactly my point! She is truly the last one. If more are not made by any means necessary, then these pure elves really will go extinct!!”

“But she’s an elf. If the legends are true, don’t they live for more than ten thousand years ? Whatever the case, she has an exceptionally long lifespan.”

Old Elinalva stopped speaking when she heard Melehe.

And the pointing sky pirate girl kept going.

“Ten thousand years is a long time. She could outlive the entire human race. She might look like the last one to us, but she only has to meet one person over the course of ten thousand years to get married, so she has no reason to rush. So you happened to discover the final female elf and now you have to chop her to pieces to make more? And you have to kill humans and let them rot to maybe create a male elf? Go to hell. None of that is necessary.”

None of the supposed problems were an issue for the elf girl herself.

What was the pressing reason to ignore her own wishes and chop her up to immediately make more?

The answer was obvious.

“You’re an ugly old witch. Which means, unlike my mom, you age normally. You’re a second-rate witch who couldn’t become one of the Limit Breakers who can ignore their natural lifespan.”

“…Wha-?”

“ That is why you want to make more elves right this instant . You want to see the elves prosper in your lifetime. But that has nothing at all to do with the fate of elves as a whole. It’s just your personal desire to see it. Don’t mess with Freynir’s life and future for something like that!”

This was a rejection of personal virtue.

A revelation of a lowly sin.

By arguing down their opponent with impeccable logic, anyone could claim the justice ruling the scene.

That was why a real witch would not act based on anything so vague . A basis that shifted from time to time, place to place, and situation to situation – and could even overturn reality at times – was far too risky.

“Unless we reach Limit Breaker status, the fate of an elf with a lifespan of more than ten thousand years is something none of us can ever see. And we know from personal experience that Limit Breakers are not just a fantasy. So if you do want to see the future of the elves, you don’t need to chop up Freynir – you need to start training yourself up as an observer. You abandoned your own dream from the moment you avoided looking at that and stopped improving yourself as a witch!!”

There was no logical rebuttal or even an emotional outburst.

Elinalva said nothing.

The old witch trembled with nothing at all left.

Witch battles started before the actual encounter began. Witches used their willpower to affect the outside world, borrow great power, and control magic, so psychological warfare could influence the battle more than it might seem.

And just then…

“Eep. W-wait, Melehe. This isn’t over yet.”

“Eh?”

But make no mistake.

Witches did not reject their own desire. They believed that, if those desires could be controlled, they made for a powerful motivator toward achieving one’s goals.

If they could be controlled.

Why was that qualifier necessary?

What happened to a witch who failed to control her desire?

“Ohhh…” groaned the old woman, her empty hand over her face.

It was a low, low moan.

But it didn’t end there. A pair of red lights glowed from between her fingers. Those were slit-like snake eyes. They had a color never seen in humans.

Viocia instantly mimicked her teacher.

Because she believed this is what Myousou Yagoro would have done.

“Freynir! Get behind me!!”

“?”

Viocia moved to protect the elf girl.

So she was a moment too late to nip the threat in the bud.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Something exploded.

A thick tremor shook the air, large leaves scattered from the nearby tropical trees, and colorful birds took flight.

Elinalva had become a Voland.

A witch became a Voland when she was unable to keep up with the skill and education demanded by her cutting-edge witch’s broom, so her body was hijacked by the Formula Broom with a mind of its own. Had Elinalva been so mentally shaken her ability dropped to that level?

“Hee hee. I suppose I should be thanking you, young ladies.”

Wickedness swirled through the air.

This was unlike before. The old woman was enveloped by an unseen destructive desire powerful enough to cause her body to break down.

The situation was worse than they could have imagined. The world’s darkness was truly bottomless.

“This despair! This resignation!! This failure!!! I have finally been freed. I am Formula Broom – Reykjaholt, aka Demon Lord Snorri !! You poor old woman, I have one final gift for you since you did become my sacrifice. I will kill all of these people to make your greatest wish come true!!!”

### Part 8

She was now a Voland.

If that was true, then Viocia’s group did not stand a chance.

“Your nine strings charm the nereids of the sea, the dryads of the trees, the muses of music, and all the many nymphs. Your human fingers control nature. Water, gather here. Form a twisted spear, Orpheus!!”

“Eep. Filling a hole in the ground with water or striking the water’s surface with a staff will create a great storm!!”

Melehe and Dorothea cried out together.

The water spear sent straight toward Demon Lord Snorri was a feint. Behind that, it supplied Dorothea with some of its water. This summoned wind magic which provided a blow as if from a wrecking ball.

Of course, neither of them thought this was enough to defeat a Voland.

Those were true monsters that not even Maleficium’s Benandanti could defeat.

The mangrove trees bent quite far as lots of fine sand flew into the air.

Melehe didn’t hesitate.

“Fall back! We need to get out of here for now!!”

They all turned 180 degrees and ran.

If they could at least save Freynir, the elf survivor, from the wicked witch’s clutches, that was the right choice. They had no real reason to risk serious injury settling things with Demon Lord Snorri.

However, they couldn’t just run in a straight line. They zigged and zagged and used the curtain of trees to its fullest and Melehe readied her Formula Broom.

Because…

“I don’t even need the 500m short-range runway. My broom can handle a direct vertical takeoff. No matter how powerful Demon Lord Snorri is, we can escape at our top speed as long as we get up above the forest’s trees.”

“No, don’t!!”

For some reason, failing witch Viocia grabbed at A-rank Melehe’s arm. Strongly.

At some point, all the sounds of wild birds crying and flapping their wings had vanished from the area.

Melehe was bewildered, but Viocia threw a stick as high as she could manage. It flew up above the tunnel of trees overhead.

It sounded more like vaporization than sizzling. After a flash of light, the branch vanished.

Dorothea’s shoulders shrank down.

“Eep!?”

“All of the birds that took flight earlier were killed. But the bunnies and crabs running around are fine. I think that means we’re done for if we thoughtlessly go up above the trees!”

“Witches cannot fly in Lady Elinalva’s territory.”

Something passed by overhead at extreme speed. The student witches couldn’t tell any more than that.

Freynir the elf spoke softly.

“There’s this zappy stuff in the ground created by the bedrock rubbing together and it makes compasses work, but if it’s thrown into disarray, it creates a special ‘wave’ and the reflections of that wave can be used to accurately determine the location of flying objects. The trees block it in the forest, but in the open air, an object moving up to Mach 9 can be shot down with 100% accuracy.”

“That means we can’t escape even with a Formula Broom.”

If they had to flee through the deep forest on foot, escape would be considerably more difficult.

Melehe ground her teeth together.

But just then, some light flashed.

An orange beam of heat attacked them from dead ahead. It was probably molten stone.

“!?”

Melehe immediately used water magic on a nearby river to construct a massive shield, but it ruptured before fully stopping the attack. The high temperature had triggered explosive boiling.

“I’m a bad match for this.”

The lava was thousands of degrees Celsius, but there was no sign of a wildfire starting. Even in a forest so thick with trees. The molten rock drew out serpentine S-shapes as it tore through the air, weaving between obstacles and accurately pursuing Viocia’s group.

“Eep. Bread crumbs are used to reach your destination in the deep forest and heated stone or brick is used to burn human flesh. This really is Hansel and Gretel!”

Zigzagging didn’t seem like it would be enough to avoid this, but trying to block it with magic alone would also just get them killed.

“Dorothea and the elf, this way! Viocia, hurry!!”

Melehe grabbed Viocia’s hands and leaped behind a large mossy boulder.

The four of them huddled together.

“We’ll never be able to stop every single attack. Elinalva – no, should I call her Demon Lord Snorri now? Regardless, she isn’t just staying put and firing projectiles. If we take too long, the Voland will walk right up to us.”

Just then, they heard a disconcerting sizzling sound. From right next to them. Demon Lord Snorri’s heat magic had pierced into the other side of the boulder they were using as a shield.

Melehe did her best to suppress her breathing and grinned.

“We need to move from cover to cover. Whether we’re putting as much distance between us and her as possible or we’re trying to circle around for a counterattack, we just need to ensure she loses sight of-”

The prep school ace never finished her sentence.

Because a sharp scattershot burst from only a few centimeters in front of her.

From the surface of the boulder.

Their shield had bared its fangs against them?

The heat magic piercing into the boulder had exploded, the shockwave had propagated through the boulder, and the rear side of the shield had burst where the girls were gathered. Were Viocia and the others even aware that thin and sharp blades of rock had been launched at them from extreme close range?

“Kah!”

“Melehe!!”

Viocia heard the sound of someone coughing up blood.

Melehe collapsed onto her side atop the fine white sand and convulsed unnaturally. It was clear she had taken more damage than the other girls huddled behind the shield.

Melehe Superlative had used her own body to protect the other three.

As the prep school’s ace, she had noticed what was happening before the others, giving her the chance to act.

“Ee hee hee.”

Laughter echoed from the depths of the forest.

No, there was a rustling coming from the thicket. Demon Lord Snorri was approaching from the front. Showing no caution regarding the girls.

“Ee hee, ha ha ha. Ah hah hah ha ha ha ha ha ha hah hah!! What’s wrong, little witches, aren’t you going to fight back? If not, you will all be killed and I will take the elf girl anyway!”

Acquiring Freynir wasn’t even his goal.

Demon Lord Snorri and Wicked Witch Elinalva were completely different people.

So Viocia and the others didn’t understand why he was still fixated on the elf. Perhaps it was all just a game for someone who didn’t care one way or the other.

“Wait!”

Someone grabbed at him from the side.

Freynir Nineworlds – probably the only elf remaining in the Dazzling Forest. The slender girl dropped the staff she was carrying and clung to the old woman’s hips.

She forgot all else and shouted.

“Don’t kill them! Killing them has nothing to do with your goal of bringing prosperity back to the elves!!”

Elinalva wanted to prevent the extinction of the elves and see them prosper once more, no matter what that required, so she couldn’t be violent with the only only surviving elf. That was Freynir’s reasoning and she was probably correct. Or maybe she was counting on the fondness that would have formed during the significant time they had spent together.

But it wasn’t going to work.

That might have worked with Elinalva, but it was meaningless with Demon Lord Snorri.

“ Shut the hell up. ”

That was all.

He rejected her plea, tore her off of him, and looked down at her with irritation in his eyes.

Then a dull impact rang out.

Followed by more. Many more.

“Uhh….”

“Are you gonna fight or not? If you wanna stop me, then you’ll have to kill this old hag.”

During this horrific display, Viocia found she could only hold onto Melehe’s limp form and watch the tragedy play out.

It wasn’t an issue of winning or losing.

Freynir didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Viocia only saw Elinalva as a scary old woman, but Freynir had lived with her and had to care deeply for her. Even if she was a dangerous person who intended to slice Freynir apart once the time was right.

Yet the Voland occupying her body attacked her so readily.

The elf girl’s skin and hair were covered in sand. She held her hands to her gut as if hiding something, so was she holding something there?

For example, the insignificant note Viocia had left with the plate of food?

“If you’re gonna be a nuisance, I’ll just havta break your arms and legs and tie them into knots. Is that what you want?”

Viocia and the other witches couldn’t do anything. Neither could Freynir the elf.

They could not defeat this Voland.

The situation was tumbling toward destruction beyond anything even Elinalva had wanted.

“Or how bout I tie all four of you together? Tie your hands together into one big, happy circle! Then you can cry and scream and bicker to your heart’s content without ever being separated again. Gya ha ha ha ha ha!!”

He would probably do it.

He wasn’t bound by any of this world’s rules or morals.

He would delight in any fleeting entertainment he thought up, even if it would devastate his host’s body. In fact, it would be unusual if he didn’t try out the destructive ideas that came to mind.

“Ah, ah…”

“Well, elfie!? Aren’t you gonna go crying to your Granny Elinalva who you betrayed and fled from? Of course, even if that old hag did want to stop me, she couldn’t take back control of a single damn finger!!!”

His palm rushed in.

From Freynir’s position down on the ground, it looked like a massive suspended ceiling. No one could escape that. The poor victim would simply be crushed, her bones shattered.

So.

When that palm stopped just before reaching her, it wasn’t Viocia or Freynir’s doing.

A steel baton had done it.

“?”

Just as the Voland questioned it, a massive explosion erupted.

It blasted Demon Lord Snorri straight back for several meters. The mangrove trees along that path could be heard breaking.

So who had caused this miracle?

“Sigh.”

His sigh was filled with exasperation.

He had unnatural blond hair and wore a boy’s sailor uniform and slacks. With just a bit of armor and a corset.

He held a special collapsible metal baton.

His other hand pet a large canine familiar he had likely borrowed from one of the prep schools and the tutor boy spoke with annoyance in his voice.

“What are you doing, Viocia?”

### Part 9

Myousou Yagoro faced the Voland-ized old woman.

With one hand, the Voland dragged along a Formula Broom that was half broom and half pitchfork.

(The orange serpent is a self-forging fragment that forms its own core when it explodes. Sending the shockwave through the obstacle to cause a sharp rupture on the other side of the shield uses the same principle as a high-explosive squash head. But the weapon attacking anything in the air is more like a surface-to-air laser weapon that uses the EM waves from the telluric current to locate enemy craft.)

Yagoro used terminology from his time in the Force to assess the risk.

These kinds of things sometimes made him wonder if this world was being corrupted by knowledge from Earth or if Earth had actually been influenced by this world behind the scenes of history. But those fantasies were essentially meaningless. Unlike the butterfly dream, both worlds really did exist in this case.

Something began to squirm.

It was Demon Lord Snorri.

“I am Demon Lord Snorri.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“I am Voland! An actual Voland!! You’d better not think you can anger me and get away with it!!”

“Oh, shut up. You’re pretty annoying, don’tcha think? Here’s something you might be interested in: this isn’t the first time I’ve hunted down a mere Voland .”

They swung their baton and Formula Broom at the same moment and powerful magic clashed.

Demon Lord Snorri used the molten stone from Hansel and Gretel.

But in return, Yagoro used…

“Hm? What…did you do?”

“What do you think?”

“I didn’t…see anything? I don’t see anything! What the hell!? This lava is as real as it gets. I heated it up past 2000 degrees before launching it at you to cook up your flesh and blood. So…what is this? How are you holding it back with some invisible thing with no shape or mass? That isn’t even witchcraft !!”

“You’re already screwed. My preparations are already complete and the ring surrounding you has already closed.”

Yagoro spoke in a singsong voice.

He twirled his baton around to rest it on his shoulder before continuing.

“ Hey, Voland, this is magic. If you’d done your homework, you’d know the answer .”

He wasn’t even blocking it anymore.

Yagoro took sharp steps to the right and left, nimbly dodging the orange serpents roasting the air while he sharply approached Demon Lord Snorri.

The Voland’s attacks were powerful, but that required him to plant his feet firmly on the ground to support his body when he launched those attacks. Which meant he was forced to stay in one place for just a moment.

Fearfully thinking his opponent would fight back before approaching actually created an opening.

He foolishly allowed Yagoro to approach.

“Kh!?”

He immediately moved back.

But Yagoro stepped firmly forward with thrice the speed.

“I have just one thing to say to you.”

“Go to-”

“This is revenge for beating up my student.”

The tutor boy didn’t wait for a rebuttal.

He swung his baton all at once.

He felt the dull impact in his wrist.

As powerful as the Voland was, his host was still an old woman. And the Formula Broom that combined a broom with a pitchfork was not designed for defense.

“Gah...kah. Are you kidding me, you bastard?”

“What, out of tricks already? Remind me why I’m supposed to take you seriously, second-rate?”

“Gahhhh!!”

Molten rock spread out all over the place.

But it didn’t matter.

Yagoro dodged it with three sharp steps and then spun the tip of his baton.

The throat borrowed from the old woman went dry.

“Is that it?” said the collection of wisdom. “Is that what you’ve done!?”

“ Does that knowledge help you in any way ?”

A powerful mass of wind burst out and slammed into Demon Lord Snorri at close range, blowing him away.

### Part 10

The battle was over.

Wicked Witch Elinalva – no, Demon Lord Snorri lay collapsed and unmoving on the ground. This far from Temple School City, the Benandanti couldn’t arrive right away. For the time being, he would have to be restrained somehow – maybe tying him up with rope and trapping him in a cave – but the danger had passed for now.

“W-will Melehe be alright?”

“Mixing medicinal herbs is a key witch skill. I’ll tell you what you need, so go pick some herbs. Marigold or heal-all would be perfect for stopping her bleeding, but I’m not sure you’ll find them among all this tropical foliage… +1 point: start by checking for some aloe, especially aloe vera, Viocia. I’ll do the healing.”

“Okay!”

“And, Dorothea, do you have any extra bandages? I’d like to use them for their usual purpose.”

They were going to be busy for a while yet.

But there was one thing the failing witch wanted to say, so she came to a stop.

“You’re going to be okay now, Freyni-”

Viocia trailed off while turned around.

The abused elf girl was staring own at the wicked old woman lying collapsed on the ground.

The look on her face was not what Viocia had expected.

She looked like a small child who had been taken to an amusement park for a day of fun and was then abandoned by her parents.

Elinalva Longhouse had been a cruel and wicked witch, but she had been the one person to find and accept the elf girl who had lived alone deep in the forest for so long. Yagoro and Viocia may have seen this as rescuing her, but she had to feel the same shock and despair as having her sole connection to the outside world severed.

Her back looked so small.

Freynir Nineworlds spoke in a beautiful voice without the tremor of a lie or falsehood.

“And now I’m all alone again.”

### Part 11

“ATU 0729 – the ritual of the spring in which a gold axe, silver axe, and iron axe are traded for each other. Aquae Sulis – the bath of prayers and reversals which, despite being a hot spring of healing, can also be used for lead curse tablets. And the Black Mass – the intentional defilement of a holy ritual to alter the nature of the summoned power. I submerge this witchcraft device in the waters here and pray for a bright and glorious transformation.”

The students’ voices filled the Goddess’s Spring over and over.

The missing monument had been returned to its rightful position and the spring was functioning once more.

Visually, the brooms weren’t given any new parts and their color didn’t change.

But their presence was different.

Everyone could tell.

No one had told her to, but Dorothea knew exactly what to say as she pulled her broom up from the bottom of the spring.

“F-Formula Broom – Lyceum bisA.”

“Tch, only my specs improved. If my witch doesn’t improve herself too, this is all meaningless.”

The broom complained but hadn’t opposed the customization itself, so he just sounded more and more like a tsundere. If he really had given up on her, he would hijack her body and turn her into a Voland.

Meanwhile, another pair got along quite well.

Melehe held her wet broom with a confident smile. Her Formula Broom was heavily customized, a lot like an American motorcycle, so she had had some trouble dunking the whole thing into the spring.

“Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus bisMR…I guess would be your name?”

“A top rate performer does not let her instrument’s brand name intimidate her out of tuning it to her needs. The best musicians pay careful attention to their instrument and the stage on which they perform, Melehe.”

Most of the Formula Brooms had been improved in the F or A direction. There was the occasional B, E, and R as well. But MR – that is, multirole – was fairly rare. Did that make it a good match for Melehe who could handle vertical take offs and landings?

While watching the celebrating or awed students from a distance, Yagoro winked and spoke to the gyaru-style instructor next to him.

“You’re all about cost-effectiveness and saving money, Schanze, so I thought for sure you’d sneak your broom in there to get it customized too.”

“Totally shut up. If a self-taught witch gets that lazy with her cool financial reasoning, it’s the beginning of the end for her. This field trip was carefully calculated out for the students, so an instructor like me totally can’t accept the leftovers.”

Schanze smiled fearlessly while sounding a lot like a freelance mercenary.

Yagoro realized the witch who held a lucrative control over the ice market by running around town selling ice was also very earnest when it came to money.

“The standard model has its own advantages. A self-taught witch can’t rely on her old classmates and has to do everything herself, so it can be a problem if she specializes too far in one direction☆”

That made sense.

The self-taught witches who had chosen for themselves to not go to Maleficium had their own way of thinking.

(There’s also the Benandanti who recruit members by handing out standardized brooms to students who’ve lost their own brooms in the intense competition after arriving at Maleficium. And I think the used book seller is still using a standard model without advancing to a bis model.)

Getting into Maleficium and graduating without ever improving her broom was yet another sign of how extraordinary that bookseller was.

Flying witches entrusted their lives with their brooms, so they took good care of them. Unlike Yagoro who couldn’t fly no matter how far he advanced his magic because something kept interfering.

“…”

And.

“Huhh?”

Viocia alone tilted her head.

She dunked her Formula Broom in the Goddess’s Spring over and over.

“What’s going on? My broom isn’t changing.”

This time, it couldn’t be a malfunction or problem with the Water Temple as a whole.

Schanze smiled bitterly.

“Hm. That’s a used broom you bought, right? The previous owner totally could have made some cool adjustments to reject any further customization.”

“Ehh!?”

That was the problem with used products. You could get them at extreme discounts, but the principle of caveat emptor always applied.

“But that also means it’s totally already been customized in some way. Plus, as long as you get into Maleficium, you can modify the core all you want. If that adjustment is annoying you, you can totally remove it.”

Viocia groaned, her shoulders drooping.

All that effort and she had nothing to show for it. A restriction that could only be removed after getting into Maleficium wouldn’t help her with the extremely challenging entrance exam.

But despite this disappointing result, Viocia didn’t seem all that bothered.

Perhaps she had obtained something even more important.

“Um, I don’t think this is all bad.' If the previous owners have customized it so much you don’t need to customize it yourself, it sounds to me like you got a bargain .”

“It hurts more when it’s so obvious you’re lying. But I appreciate the thought.”

Someone new had joined the group.

She wasn’t even human.

Sine Dorothea was closest to Viocia, she decided to speak up on everyone else’s behalf.

“Um, Viocia? Wh-what are we going to do about her? Eep.”

The girl who everyone had thought was as extinct as the Japanese wolf fidgeted nervously at all the attention.

She was the elf named Freynir.

Viocia hugged her like a precious treasure with a big smile on her face.

“Heh heh. I’m going take her to live with me!!”

### Today’s Qui- Monster Quiz from Hell💀

Yagoro: Okay, I have an actual quiz for all of you losers.

Viocia: …!?

Melehe: I-I can’t argue this time?

Dorothea: Eep.

Yagoro: You earn respect after you can solve these cases on your own. For now, you’re in the same boat as the dunce. The hints have been scattered all over the Dazzling Forest, so you should go back pretty far.

Viocia: I knew it was coming!! First he goes easy on us and then he hits us with true hell!!

Question: How and with what magical method did Myousou Yagoro defeat Demon Lord Snorri and rescue all the girls including Freynir? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

The Aspect of Admiration was ATU (____).

The Three Little Pigs is the name most people know, but that isn’t the official name. Watch out for trick questions.

The important part is that the wolf was finally defeated after three stages: the (_______), the house of wood, and the house of brick. Three is an important number in witchcraft, so focus on it whenever you encounter it.

☆Hint: Focus on the number 3!

The rest is easy. The Aspect of Antiquity was (_____), the trio of vengeance gods from (____) mythology.

The Aspect of (_____) was the witch ceremony in which a (_______) is created by untying three (____).

The witches could not win and Freynir the elf could not win. But my addition activated the principle of (______) the charm, giving me the role of the brick house, which acted as a curse to weaken Demon Lord (____). With that, the cruel wolf is reduced to a simple (____).

This can be used as many times as you want as long as you don’t die. In the world of witches, defeat isn’t always meaningless . If you can lose in a way that sets up a later victory, it’s actually a valuable investment, don’tcha think?

That’s all. Viocia, and the rest of you too, any questions?

### 013. Episode 4: A New Dawn in Aerial Combat

### Part 1

A circular spring overflowed with water at body temperature.

The spring was located in a stone temple and a single goddess stood in the center.

She had long golden hair and pale skin. She looked just like a teenage girl. She wore a loose, white priestess robe, but it was wet with the spring water and clung to her skin in a way that gave it an indecent look. Of course, she was a supreme being, so no one else would ever be allowed to see this.

The goddess looked up into a starry sky that could never be found in reality.

Each of those stars was an independent world and the shooting stars passing sharply between them were all the souls of living beings.

She observed the glowing lives passing endlessly from world to world and determined whether or not they would be allowed to arrive in a certain world. That was an important job for her. And no one was allowed to protest her decisions. Whether it was carefully planned out or a mere whim, only she could determine the destinations of those stars.

Needless to say, she was god .

“Now. That should be enough sorting for today.”

The goddess lowered her gaze.

The water’s surface rippled below her feet. A world ruled by swords and sorcery spread out there.

There were a few beings there who interested her, but she was focused on one more than any other.

“Myousou Yagoro.”

It was unusual for a goddess to even remember a human’s name.

So this showed just how much she valued him.

“This is partially my responsibility for failing to notice when I gave permission, but what should I do about this stranger? This would be fine if he would only bring interesting changes to that world, but he could instead cause it all to fall apart.”

That boy had not yet realized the meaning of him passing between worlds by accident.

Even though everything he had learned of witchcraft should have told him that there was no such thing as a miracle with no logic or rules supporting it. Perhaps he had trouble taking an objective view when it came to himself.

(Class 1 L-FS – Strange Picking.)

That was the one term the goddess was hesitant to even speak aloud.

Maybe a goddess’s words held greater value, so she feared speaking its name would give it meaning.

That was a power even the goddess who managed the entire world did not possess.

No talent or inborn nature was necessary to create a special situation. You just had to make it work. You just had to convince yourself it was true. Parallel worlds, a reverse side of the world, a two-dimensional world – it could be anything. Myousou Yagoro must not become aware of that power. If he did, it was all over. So he couldn’t even be allowed to realize the desire or will were within him.

(Besides, that accident wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to live a peaceful life of 100 years on that blue planet before his dead soul came under my management. That was the best option.)

At that point, the goddess childishly pouted her lips.

How dare a mere human escape the grasp of the goddess who controlled all of fate?

Some divine punishment was in order☆

(I swear it came out of nowhere. If I had at least known the accident was coming, I could have set things up so it would all follow the most cost-effective path .)

With that spelled out, the goddess only smiled gently and whispered to herself.

These were the words of a supreme being with the power to supersede all things.

“Now, how can I make use of this situation?”

### Part 2

“C’mon, Viocia, your hair’s a mess.”

“Ugh…”

“Look after your lips too. Hee hee. And the fingernails are surprisingly noticeable, so you need to care for them too.”

“That’s enough, all of you! I’m going to be late for prep school!!”

It was early morning.

Viocia Modestlucky had gone downstairs to wash her face before heading out to her prep school when the older dancers started toying with her. If she wasn’t careful, she would end up their dress-up doll. They wouldn’t stop calling her cute, but coming from those sexy young women showing off so much skin, it only left short and uncurvy Viocia’s pride in tatters.

Their leader Olivia was sleepy after finally finishing her work, but she clapped her hands to make the dancers scatter. And the woman who only felt drowsy when she heard the rooster crowing mumbled to Viocia.

“Yawwwn… About to head out for prep school? Kevin has a breakfast for you in the kitchen. We’re having the weekly floor cleaning done today, so the wax scent would ruin your appetite if you came back here.”

“Okay,” said Viocia with a nod and Dancer Olivia laughed and narrowed her eyes.

“Study hard so you can live up to your teacher’s expectations, Viocia. He agreed to be your tutor because he believes you can pass the entrance exam.”

“I know. I have him and I have Carraway Cs on your recommendation, so I’ll be fine!”

“None of us could do it, so we can’t look our instructors in the eye. Or him. So you need to keep working to make sure you don’t turn out like we did.”

“Mh! Stop talking like you’re a failure!!”

Viocia hated when Olivia did that, but she knew Olivia would only smile sadly no matter what she tried to say.

Dejected, Viocia made her way to the kitchen in the back and found a few breakfasts on the silver countertop. All of the dancers had worked through the night, but around half were eating and half had gone straight to bed.

Chef Kevin pointed at a seat with a big brush-like thing used to scoop up pasta.

“Viocia, you don’t have much time, right? If you don’t want those drunks to start trying to feed you their food, leave a two-chair-wide gap between you.”

“Oh, did you make soup pasta for breakfast today?”

“Here you go. If you want more, I can just add more noodles, so don’t drink all the soup.”

“Thanks!”

This was the food prepared for the employees after closing time, so it wasn’t considered rude to start eating before everyone had arrived. The pasta was already in Viocia’s bowl of soup, so waiting would only let them get soggy.

The refreshing soup pasta contained a lot of seafood and vegetables, so it was meant for the young women suffering from both alcohol and exhaustion. Viocia had seen in a witch potion reference book that clam broth was good for someone weakened by alcohol.

“There’s an extra chair. Did someone new join the breakfast group?”

“That seat is mine.”

“Huh? You’re leaving this early, Freynir?”

Viocia’s eyes widened when she noticed her new housemate was wearing her street clothes this early in the morning. The elf herself watched expressionlessly as Kevin plopped some noodles into a bowl of soup.

Then Moloch, who usually spent all her time in the kitchen, approached Viocia.

The giant macho bronze statue held something out to her.

It was a small cloth package.

“Moloch, can you make box lunches on your own now!?”

“Moo!” she roared.

This was a homemade lunch, not an instant witch recipe.

### Part 3

After eating breakfast, Viocia and Freynir left the building.

They found themselves in a tiered city colored white and black.

“What are your plans, Freynir?”

“I’m passing out fliers.”

The long-eared elf showed off a stack of parchment.

“I said I wanted some way to thank Lady Olivia for giving me a place to live, so she gave me this job. I pass out fliers during the day and gather customers at night.”

“Hm.”

Incidentally, the supposedly-extinct elf wasn’t wearing a disguise or covering up her long ears in any way, but it hadn’t caused a commotion yet. In a world where costumes were the norm, Temple School City actually had quite a few exam students who liked to dress up as elves .

“You still carry that staff around? It makes sense in the forest or mountains, but do you need a walking stick in the city?”

“Staff?”

“Why do you look confused?”

“Because this is a crossbow.”

Viocia frantically tried to confiscate the weapon and accidentally triggered it. With an unpleasant “thunk!”, a dangerous looking thing stabbed deep into the sign displaying an especially expensive nightlife ad right out in front of the building. At 15cm, the arrow made of wood and sharp stone was extremely short compared to the launching device.

So were the horizontal protrusions at the end of the “staff” not in fact there to make it a cross symbol?

Viocia looked up at the fearsome object.

“Strena is going to yell at me again. Ugh.”

But if that was a weapon, why had she thrown away her staff(?) and grabbed at the wicked witch back in the Dazzling Forest?

Well, it did make sense she wouldn’t want to aim something like this at the old woman who had discovered her and become the only person she knew.

“Yell at you… Come to think of it, I got yelled at for some reason when I offered to help them inside the shop.”

Viocia was on her way to Carraway Cs Prep School, so she parted ways with Freynir who was on her way to the nearby main street.

“Hm, hm♪”

The orange and purple pumpkin tart of a witch passed by a bear cub who appeared to be a garbage collector.

“Damn, another job taken by those familiars. Them and their stupid mass-production. If we can’t gather trash or wash windows, how are we supposed to make any money!?”

“W-wait for me!”

“Roslynica, we’ll do the work, so you stay home and study to be a witch!!”

Artificial familiars like the koalas handing out fliers or the weaving spiders were certainly convenient, but that wasn’t always a good thing. Or so Yagoro had said before. Viocia hadn’t entirely understood his explanation of why.

(Hm, I don’t see why an easier life could be a bad thing.)

Freynir was apparently passing out fliers and gathering customers, so did this mean she had to compete with those artificial rivals too?

Viocia found something like a stuffed animal collapsed face up on the side of the road.

It was a black cat familiar that worked a delivery job.

“Oh, no! I think he’s in trouble!”

She had never had a chance to ask his name, but there was only one black cat who specialized in deliveries in this area. She picked up the unmoving familiar and held him in her hands as she visited a nearby business.

“Mister, I found him collapsed on the side of the road.”

“You did? Thanks for bringing him here.”

The middle-aged man in the business looked surprised.

He roughly grabbed the black cat familiar in a hand.

“I’m glad we didn’t lose the package. We don’t make familiars here, so I don’t know how they work… He has been collapsing a lot lately, so maybe it’s time to buy a new one.”

“Could I try to fix him​?”

“I use him for work, so I’m not sure letting a student work on him’s the best idea. Then again, you go to a prep school, right? Then maybe it’ll be fine?”

The delivery business was particular about time, so there were several weight-powered clocks on the walls. Each and every one provided the time with absolute precision.

Viocia screamed when she saw them.

### Part 4

After some studying in their desks, it was time for broom practice.

That was standard for Carraway Cs Prep School. Do it the other way around and the exhausted witches would fall asleep at their desks and waste their chance to study.

Myousou Yagoro sighed softly.

Exam students tended to grow careless after a big event like the field trip.

“And there’s even an official practice exam coming up. If she was the only one who keeps studying hard now, she could easily pull out ahead of her rivals.”

“Just relax.”

He was in the prep school’s quiet hallway.

Gyaru-style instructor Schanze and tutor Yagoro had left the lecture hall to speak in the deserted hallway. Today’s lecture was on psychoanalyzing a broom-riding witch. With no right or wrong answers, the tutor had no advice to give.

The instructor at the lectern was Antoi Nosecone.

She was a boyish woman who specialized in meditation and mental focus.

“Pride, greed, lust, gluttony, wrath, envy, and sloth. Each of the seven deadly sins has an associated archenemy, so pay attention. This is very convenient for making a test, so there is a good chance it will show up on a practice exam. For example, pride is Lucifer and gluttony is Beelzebub.”

“ Trick question warning: different scholars assign different archenemies to the sins, so watch out. For example, Beelzebub can be either gluttony or envy and gluttony is sometimes given to Moloch.”

“Moloch!?”

The instructor at the lectern must have explained the same thing because the failing witch reacted.

“The hierarchy of archenemies isn’t fixed either. Satan or Lucifer are usually at the top, but there is also a common method that places Beelzebub at the top. And if you see Beelzebub referred to as Belzebuth, you should probably suspect you’re dealing with a 19th century method, don’tcha think?”

“Sigh. You know Viocia can’t hear you if you say all this out here, right?”

Schanze sighed in exasperation while leaning against the wall.

And the beautiful blonde woman with brown skin gently took Yagoro’s right arm.

She took him into her arm and leaned sideways against him.

“Hey…”

“Hee hee. Nervous? If one of those kids focused on their desk totally looks up for whatever reason, they could see everything.”

She rubbed the side of her head against his chest and tried to get a listen at his heartbeat, but then her small smile turned to puzzlement.

“Hold on. Why isn’t your heart racing even a little bit!?”

“Um, a clear mind provides great control over the body?”

In truth, he was simply wearing parchment armor below his sailor uniform.

Schanze pouted her lips and lightly stomped on his foot.

But then the self-taught witch whispered to him.

“( If we totally stay this close, we don’t have to worry about anyone overhearing, right? )”

The mood changed.

“…”

“You’ve totally noticed, haven’t you?”

Schanze’s smile now had a belligerent air.

She looked like a mercenary who had sniffed out a coming battle.

“You got in a fight with an old witch during the summer solstice field trip, right? Elinalva Longhouse. But her magic was way too cool to be something a single witch came up with.”

“You can tell?”

“I’m totally a self-taught witch too☆” Schanze was confident. “Which means I too have to do everything on my own without an alma mater to support me. And I assure you that was totally not something Elinalva could have set up on her own. It’s not an issue of talent or smarts – no individual could do that. You need multiple people. There is just no way she could have put together that kind of magic without someone else’s help.”

“The Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank was the same.” Yagoro didn’t sound happy about it. “Their case was centered on money because that’s a value everyone shares. They wanted power, but no one took an interest in their self-made mythology, so they swapped that out for a love of money. That wasn’t a system a failed witch could build on her own.”

“So there was totally someone else behind it?”

“Since we still haven’t discovered who that was, ending those cases individually isn’t good enough, don’tcha think? Someone we still haven’t identified was at the top.”

A heavy air set in.

But the usual mood of studying continued in the lecture hall, like there was a barrier between them.

“As you can see, while the seven deadly sins sound frightening, they are really just a classification of things anyone with a human heart experiences. So unless you are a saint who has achieved enlightenment and eliminated your desires, we all have those seven traits within ourselves. Plus, a witch wouldn’t be able to fly if we fully eliminated the desires we control to motivate us. Thus, the deadly sins can be used as a personality test to map out our minds.”

The personality test was written on the parchments that had been handed out ahead of time. The test was made up of several simple multiple-choice questions.

The prep school instructor toyed with a piece of parchment.

She would be calling on each of them individually, but there were no thick soundproof walls in the way. The things she said could be heard outside.

“Let’s see, Melehe Superlative. No surprises here. Strong in gluttony, lust, wrath, and envy, but weak in greed. Very few weaknesses here.”

“Heh heh.”

“But you are truly weak in pride, so watch out for that. Maybe the talented have their own problems.”

The “truly” modifier indicated a level higher and “greatly” indicated a level higher than that.

The distribution was endlessly variable and it created each individual mind just like a perfume or cooking. So there were no right answers and no one was perfect enough to be strong in all seven. That would be like an emotionless robot who had no interests, hobbies, or preferences.

“Dorothea Rockpool. You are strong in pride, greed, and gluttony, but weak in sloth and lust. Hm, this says you secretly have no resistance to lust whatsoever.”

“ Eep. ”

The busty glasses girl shrank down with a look that said that was not what she wanted to hear.

“Viocia Modestlucky. Now this is impressive. Strong in wrath and lust and weak in sloth, pride, and envy. And greatly weak in gluttony. You have a lot of weaknesses.”

“Heh heh heh,” laughed Viocia. It wasn’t clear if she really understood what had just been said.

After giving everyone advice, the instructor returned to the lectern.

“Most people think of Formula Brooms and ointments as the primary factors in a witch’s flight, but her mental condition can have a great influence as well. However, self-counseling can be dangerous, so always do this with your friends or with an instructor. Okay, that’s enough boring copying down notes from the blackboard. It’s time to have some fun practicing!”

### Part 5

“Listen up, everyone. For today’s practical lesson, you’ll totally be doing the Drop Marker☆”

Schanze gathered the students’ attention with ease.

Her gentle, practiced motions were reminiscent of an amusement park instructor on Earth.

They were up on the flat roof of the structure building.

“Drop Marker is totally what it sounds like: it’s a cool game where a flying witch drops a sandbag called a marker onto targets on the ground, competing to be the most accurate. Targets 1-3 have been set up in parks across the city, so check your maps. You can zigzag if you want, but the shortest path should totally be obvious. …This city is shaped like a reverse pyramid, but you totally can’t cross the central lake since Maleficium is there, right?”

Schanze then twirled her broom in her hand.

The end of the broom caught a melon-sized object at her feet, lifting it up to face height.

“This is totally one of the markers. It’s a sandbag weighing a kilogram. Tie them to your hips with ribbon and then totally untie the ribbon when you want to drop it. Each of you gets three markers, so you can only drop one per park. If you miss the target or if a rival’s marker hits yours and knocks it away, you don’t get a redo. So be careful.”

(Ugh, this reminds me too much of bomber flight training.)

Melehe frowned after listening to the rules.

“Wait, we can knock other people’s markers away?”

“Um, eep, b-but that means dropping your marker later gives you an advantage in what is supposed to be a contest of speed.”

“Okay, okay☆ It sounds like those of you who aren’t idiots have totally caught on.”

Viocia tended to not think about the rules when she first heard them and learn what they meant in practice, so she was left tilting her head here.

“So I also need to tell you about the blocks. That would be these bags. You will each totally have nine of them.”

Schanze poked at a different bag with her broom.

It may have been full of cotton or sawdust. It appeared to be a lot lighter than the sandbag.

“Dropping these won’t earn you any points. They’re entirely meant to block your rivals. If they accidentally hit one of these with a marker and knock it away, the area occupied by the block will be worth negative points, so totally be careful.”

Did they use ribbons to trigger the drop as a reference to the garters used for the witch silencing ritual based on the unnatural strangling deaths of the prisoners John Stuart and John Reed in their cells? But explaining all that at once would only overwhelm Viocia. Lunch was up next, so Yagoro made a mental note to pass on that knowledge while they ate.

Each of the three targets was worth a maximum of 25 points.

The acceleration bonus was worth another 25 points, for a total of 100 points.

“This requires a lot more distance and time than the Elbow we did before, so we’d totally run out of class time if you each did it one at a time. Life is never easy, is it?☆ That’s why it’ll work like a race with ten of you going at once. So now you all totally need to draw lots!”

The result had three girls exchange a glance while lined up on the edge of the roof acting as the start line.

“Ready?”

“ Eep. ”

“Hmph.”

It was unusual for Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe to all be competing together like this. Yagoro hoped this would teach Viocia that the other students here were her rivals.

“Okay, totally on your marks, get set…”

Schanze Dwelling flicked a coin up with her thumb.

The instant it audibly hit the rooftop at her feet…

The girls at the start line shot out into empty air.

Melehe had hoped to pour on the speed right away and gain an early lead, but her face tensed a bit. Viocia was right there alongside her.

“Tch!!”

“Ah ha ha! No one can beat my super acceleration!”

Dorothea was not with them. The bandage zombie girl had a bisA Formula Broom, meaning it was specialized for ground attack. Her top speed in aerial combat was a step behind the other two.

“Heh heh. What now? I was only just upgraded to the rare, all-purpose bisMR type, so you have no excuse for letting an unmodified standard model keep up with you, my cute Melehe.”

“Shut up! Whose side are you on!?”

But Melehe didn’t have time for tearful yelling. Viocia wasn’t her only rival.

The open sky was clear in all directions, but with everyone aiming for the same target, there was a best line they could take.

Whoever flew fastest could take that line and drop their marker in the best spot, but that speed would of course make aiming the drop more difficult. However, slowing down and aiming for a less optimal line wouldn’t result in a great score even if they took their time.

So in this case, which was the better option?

“See you later.”

The thoughtless idiot used her “super acceleration” to move out ahead.

Melehe was goaded into speeding up to.

Things were getting unnecessarily competitive.

“So does it come down to a test of speed regardless!?”

They had a single objective.

Viocia and Melehe pursued each other, their paths intertwining, as they fought for the shortest route toward a small park in Temple School City.

“I see it. That’s the first target.”

“You must have good eyes, wild girl!!”

A neon yellow sheet was laid out in the center of the park. It had be more than 10m across, but it looked like a speck from up in the sky.

The sheet had stump-like concentric rings drawn on it, like an archery target.

Viocia reached a hand to the side of her hip.

It was too late to untie the ribbon and let the sandbag drop once they were directly above the park. The two of them were still tearing through the air at supersonic speed. If they didn’t act well before reaching the park, the curving path of the dropping sandbag would not reach the center of the target.

(I have the best line. That means I get the first shot at the best drop course!)

“The first target is mine!” exclaimed Viocia.

If she looked back after dropping the sandbag, she would be gone before she could see where it landed, so she circled the park with the first target to see her result.

It landed right in centermost circle, worth the full 25 points.

“I did-”

Immediately, another sandbag dropped.

It slid in from the side and hit Viocia’s, knocking it out of the 25-point circle.

“Nooo!?”

“Heh heh. Don’t forget we can tactically knock another marker away.”

The game might best be compared to the Earth game of curling. This was why Drop Marker was more than just a competition of speed.

With the ability to knock other markers away, going later was actually an advantage.

They did each have nine blocks to prevent that, but Viocia had been entirely focused on her super acceleration and had failed to use any.

“The first target goes to me.”

“Tch. But the second target will be mine!”

With a sound of splitting air, Viocia suddenly vanished.

No, she had sharply lifted the tip of her broom to rapidly decelerate with a cobra maneuver and then twisted herself around and pointed herself diagonally down in a slice turn. She had sharply changed direction toward the second target.

She had pulled off two challenging maneuvers back to back.

That was not something you were meant to do on a whim while pouting your lips. Most likely, Viocia hadn’t even noticed her increased skill that let her shake free of people’s eyes and expectations.

“That stupid acceleration freak. She’s always a natural at this kind of thing!!”

“Heh heh. Not often you’re jealous of someone’s skill other than your mother, Melehe.”

That girl couldn’t be underestimated just because she alone had come away from the Goddess’s Spring without a bis broom.

She had used only her own skill to obtain a unique flight style no one else could accomplish.

Did this mean the one thing she lacked was the imagination to come up with better ideas?

Melehe realized this wasn’t Viocia’s accomplishment alone. Her teacher had given her the confidence to go for it without fearing failure. And her efforts had earned her a new technique.

“Argh!!”

Melehe, who had her hands full executing a single maneuver, grew red in the face and pursued the dunce who had gone off ahead like it was nothing.

Viocia was already preparing for the next drop.

“Heh heh. I can turn this misfortune into fortune. I still have plenty of blocks left, so I’ll scatter them all around!”

As announced, she scattered six blocks at once, creating a wall within the concentric rings.

That made it look nearly impossible to aim for the concentric rings at all, much less the centermost 25-point ring. But…

“Whoops.”

“!? Melehe is flying higher!?”

Instead of flying straight ahead while dropping the heavy sandbag, it was better to alter the path of the sandbag by lifting the tip of the broom a bit before releasing it.

And by giving the sandbag a path that dropped straight down from above, it could fly over the block formation and land inside. Without sliding or rolling.

For the second target, Viocia got in the 15 point ring (because she was so focused on dropping her blocks she neglected to aim her actual marker very well) and Melehe got in the 20 point ring.

It might sound like Melehe had the advantage after winning the first target too, but they could earn a maximum of 25 points from the acceleration bonus. It was still unknown what their final scores would be.

“I’ll settle this with the third target!!” shouted Melehe.

“Yeah. And this time I swear I’ll beat you!” responded Viocia.

The park with the third target was all the way on the other side of the giant lake in the center of the city, but they couldn’t fly the direct route there.

Only top-rate witches who had passed the entrance exam could reach Maleficium protected by its pure white diamond dust. If an unauthorized novice attempted it, they would ice over and end up crashing into the lake.

“…”

Viocia and Melehe briefly fell silent as they stared at the massive dark structure towering up beyond the white screen. Maleficium was their goal. Although the two of them may have been seeing completely different shapes.

The next moment, they both resumed soaring through the air at top speed.

Viocia had the superior top speed.

So she flew high to take straight lines through the open blue sky, but Melehe took a different tack.

In Drop Marker, flying lower increased accuracy because it shortened the distance needed for the marker to fall, but flying too low increased the risk of colliding with the city’s many buildings.

At the same time, flying as high as Viocia hurt their chances because the drop distance was so long.

Taking the optimal altitude for yourself was part of the strategy.

Melehe chose the airspace with only pointy bell towers and scales elevators to avoid. She could weave her way in between them easily enough.

She wasn’t far from the third target now.

(I can’t match Viocia’s top speed, so I need to earn 25 points for this final target. It might be pushing it, but I need to make a rapid descent to get as small a drop distance as-)

“Whoa!?”

Her thoughts were interrupted and she uttered a panicked cry unbefitting of the prep school’s ace.

Far below her, something cut through the city at high speed.

The witch flying below the stone overpasses with great speed and accuracy was Dorothea Rockpool.

Her altitude was 100cm.

The tiered city was full of ups and downs, but she zoomed through the park’s fancy gate at supersonic speed and released her sandbag from so close it was impossible to miss, accurately taking the 25 point ring. She also arranged some blocks to prevent anyone else from knocking her marker out of the ring.

Several glowing squid familiars flew through the sky drawing out specific signs in red and blue light. When Viocia read the light signals, she spoke up half in awe and half in exasperation.

“Let’s see. First…place…is… Wow! Dorothea got 25 points from all three targets. And she even avoided all the blocks.”

“Kh!!”

“And with her acceleration bonus added to those 75 points, she got a total of 92 points. She was first place by a lot.”

Top speed wasn’t everything in Drop Marker. Coming in later and earning 25 points from each target was more than enough to aim for the top.

Dorothea Rockpool’s BisA broom was specialized for ground attack, giving her an overwhelming advantage.

As Dorothea ascended to the same altitude as the others, she was speaking with her broom, which had a ship’s helm attached.

“Statement: this was entirely due to your Formula Broom’s specs. A true witch doesn’t rely on her tools. Warning: you know what’ll happen if you get overconfident and neglect your studies, don’t you?”

“Right. Eep. I-I’ll try my best to keep up with you!”

In truth, Dorothea was far behind Viocia and Melehe in the other games like Elbow which were purely aerial. If she was fully reliant on her broom’s specialization for ground attacks, she would never be able to overcome that wall.

And if she really wanted to get into Maleficium, avoiding something because it wasn’t your strong suit wasn’t an option.

Discovering the next hurdle you had to clear was another necessary skill for exam students.

“Heh heh. She kept her modesty even after coming in first and she’s even eagerly searching out her next task. She didn’t just beat your score – she’s surpassed you as a human too, Melehe.”

“Why is my own broom attacking me?”

Schanze was watching from the structure building’s roof using binoculars made from wooden tubes and crystal, but she was a little disturbed.

“I’m not sure even I could beat her.”

### Part 6

“Phew.”

After school, Myousou Yagoro was investigating something on his own.

The pale glow of moonlight seals created a quiet space seemingly cut off from the flow of time.

This was the usual used bookstore run by the easygoing bookseller.

“(The Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank used student loans, but they were more like a type of religion that used a love of money to earn people’s worship as a charismatic leader. And while Elinalva ran her research all on her own in the Dazzling Forest, she viewed the legendary elves like gods and hoped to obtain ‘divine appreciation’ by bringing them back to prosperity.)”

Religion did exist in the world of witches.

In fact, witchcraft borrowed power from supernatural beings, so it was actually easier for things to take a religious turn.

That was why he had been looking into that, but…

“(The point in common is a false god created by human hands.)”

The bookseller called gently over to him while assessing a purchase at the accounting counter.

“Couldn’t you have gone to Maleficium’s West End Library for this?”

“If I was only interested in the quantity of books, sure. But they have a lot of gaps in the available knowledge.”

It also meant a lot to be able to look into dangerous topics without gathering any attention from the Benandanti or White Magic. …And with his number of overdue books numbering in the dozens, any encounter with the Glenstrae librarians would end up with him being chased all over the school.

“That aside, why not take a break? You have been muttering under your breath while you read.”

“…”

Was he starting to look unhinged?

He had really been speaking into a digital recorder the size of a jump rope grip which was sitting on the table.

…If he had made an even more convenient smartphone at his HEA house, he could have photographed all the parchment pages, but he would feel guilty doing that when he owed the bookseller so much.

A sweet scent wafted over. The bookseller had brought him herbal tea and ginger cookies. He wasn’t sure that was the best idea in a used bookshop full of rare old books, but his policy was to accept any gift he was given. And it was quite good too.

“You could just turn this place into a book cafe.”

“My, my. I couldn’t run that on my own. And I don’t have any employees.”

She apparently had over 300 herbal tea blends, but they mostly used cold-resistant mountain plants. According to her daughter Melehe, she was the supreme commander of the largest coven of the snowy region.

She ran the shop all on her own. That made it an extremely inconvenient store that was unpredictably open or closed based on whether or not she had an errand to run, but Yagoro wasn’t the only customer.

“Miss Flamberg, I have finished my assessment. I will have to mark down the price for the damage and dirt. Now, how much these go for will change based on rarity and current trends, but will this be sufficient?”

“Yes. In fact, thank you for attaching prices for me.”

“Hee hee. It was nothing. Texts on Demonology: the Black Mass and other Heretical Rituals is a Class 1 Taboo and quite rare, so a private copy of the original pre-revision version will naturally fetch a decent price. Perhaps I should place it in the ultra-rare bookcase behind the counter.”

Yagoro would love to get his hands on that for research. They apparently had similar tastes. He and Miss Flamberg were not direct acquaintances, but he may have purchased some of her collection through this shop.

The witch herself wore a white outfit resembling a wedding dress, but the neck and wrists were accented with thick red belts. The coloration made her look like a strawberry shortcake. There was a bold slit up the right side of her long skirt, giving an equally bold glimpse of a white garter belt. Since the entire skirt spread roundly out on the floor, it could have looked like a wheel of cheese with a slice removed.

The woman with short blonde hair looked to Yagoro, bowed, and left the used bookstore.

After watching her leave from the counter, the bookseller placed a hand on her cheek.

She looked somehow worried.

“I appreciate her adding to the store’s lineup, but she shows up every once in a while to sell me rare books. Does she need money for something?”

“Must be capital for the real estate business. Buy up a ton of empty houses now and you can make a killing off of the exam students flooding into the city starting in the summer.”

Someone emerged.

The person searching the tall bookcases with a ladder was Sorbeddy, who was even more lovely than a snowflake.

“Nee hee hee. It is late June after all. The first dropouts will be heading home to go crying to their parents soon. Those are the ones who left home to live here, but found they couldn’t work part-time, do their housework, and keep up with their studies all at the same time.”

The ice witch, who was one of the Limit Breakers and one of the greatest self-taught witches, grinned and looked down at Yagoro. She rudely sat on the top of the tall ladder, an extremely risque choice given the short skirt of her already sheer camisole dress.

Her broom was leaning against the bottom of the ladder.

Formula Broom – River Seine bis9FE.

The front of the long handle had four thin wings of transparent silk lace and the end had a large crystal ball reminiscent of compound eyes. Overall, it looked a lot like a dragonfly. It could dart through the air on paths different from an ordinary witch, flying circles around an enemy or coming to a stop and hovering.

She was a specialist in using various kinds of disturbance magic to obstruct her enemies in aerial combat, so she could overcome the downside of single-handedly facing multiple midair foes. Yagoro had heard this was the result of repeatedly modifying her broom so the mercenary witch could take the full reward for bringing down her enemies.

He was pretty sure her broom’s guide was a goddess called Sequana.

(The Celtic water god.)

Yagoro knew he was reading too much into it, but he couldn’t help but react to the word “goddess”.

“White. A pure white goddess,” he muttered, drawing on his memories of the vision he’d seen during his near-death experience.

Was there something to this?

No, it didn’t seem familiar.

In fact, a white goddess was such a popular symbol it didn’t narrow things down much.

Norse, Greek, Celtic, and even Slavic and the Kalevala. He doubted he would find anything pursuing that lead alone. And white clothing reminded him of the woman who had just left. Miss Flamberg, was it? She wore a white wedding dress. She wore that all the time, so this world’s costumed partiers were something else. It was no use. His linking of thoughts with images was leading him astray.

Yagoro wasn’t even sure the goddess he had seen was from this world and maybe her ridiculous outfit wasn’t enough of a clue to lead anywhere useful. It was possible that was simply her personal tastes, the current fashion, or the only thing she had to wear at the time.

And…

“My, my. This troublesome boy is staring into the distance and calling for a white goddess… Did you like Miss Flamberg’s wedding dress, Yagoro? Are you into the lacy see-through look?”

“Eh? Wait, I wasn’t fantasizing about-”

“My.” “Oh, really?” “I see.”

“Um, why do I feel like you’re all against me?”

And why was the Sequana broom joining in? And with apparent fascination? Did the goddess of the Seine enjoy this sort of talk?

The ice witch grinned and began to tease Yagoro.

“Myousou, if you have time to dabble in fantasies about a woman who has already left, you must not have much else going on in your life.”

“Why do people with nothing better to do pour so much effort into causing trouble for others?”

He had assumed she was here to search for rare books, but apparently not.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

“They’re having a flea market nearby.”

“Have they?”

Unlike in compulsory education, there were no official textbooks for the exam students. What reference material you chose would greatly affect the difficulty of the exam. A flea market could easily become a battlefield for the students because it offered a chance to purchase rare books with the limited contents of their wallet.

But they had to be careful because there were also shitty money lovers there looking for someone to scam.

“I buy up plenty of dirt cheap books that have a history but aren’t very useful and then sell them to new money who don’t know how to judge their value. Heh heh heh. I’m about to make a killing yet again!!”

“Calm down,” said the bookseller with a hand on her cheek and a smile on her lips. The good-natured mama had no problem with this plan because it let her sell a pile of cheap, unsold books to this greedy idiot.

“God, you’re greedy. You’re already rich, so why don’t you just enjoy the slow life now?”

“My, my. Her wealth is far from secure, Yagoro. The way I hear it, all the money she earned selling ice to the entire city vanished after one night at a high-rate casino.”

“Well, ice has a very stable demand, but that also means her sales aren’t ever going way up. With a set population, there’s a set number of freezers out there.”

“Shut up and do some honest work, worm!”

“Hm? Why is Sorbeddy mad at me for that?”

“Yagoro, you should already know she is very emotionally unstable even when she isn’t on her period.”

“Don’t you mean she’s just a terrible person?” added Sequana.

No, he didn’t already know that. And he was hesitant to comment on this dark exchange between the women. Meanwhile, Sorbeddy herself was left trembling with even her broom attacking her.

“Gh, kh… Screw that casino! Just you watch, you petty bourgeois! I’ll add some real estate business onto my ice selling and be back to my luxurious lifestyle by the end of the year!!”

### Part 7

It was the liminal time when evening was shifting into night.

It was the last bit of free time before Sabbath Party needed to get serious about gathering customers.

“I roll two die and get…9! Tah,dah! I enter the punishment club!!”

“My turn. I do alchemy practice. I get as much money as I roll with my dice.”

“Ugh!! B-but now it’s my turn. Let’s see if I can clear the abandoned school building dungeon. If I roll an odd number, I get injured in the dungeon…gah!?”

“6. If I am already an adult, I have a child and all other players have to give me one gold as a baby gift.”

“Nooo.”

Viocia collapsed limply to the floor from her seated position, so Freynir, the supposed winner, grew flustered (with no change of expression).

A knock came at the door.

Dancer Olivia entered with a silver tray in her hands.

“I brought some iced tea and snacks. What are you doing, Viocia?”

“Heh heh. We’re taking a short break to play the game of school life!”

Think of it like a detailed board game based on life at Maleficium. The parchment game board was pasted to the top of a wooden board that folded in three. It was pretty big when unfolded.

Freynir tilted her head in a sexy(?) sitting position on the floor with her legs below her but swept to the side.

“For your information, landlady, this ‘short break’ has lasted two hours at this point.”

“Bff!? Don’t tell her that!”

Viocia moved quickly to cover the elf’s mouth, but Olivia didn’t get after her.

Viocia may have seen this as taking it easy instead of doing her work, but the game of school life was technically classified as educational material. The brooms and carriages used as game pieces, the dice, the cards, the money, the gems, and all the other little items were secretly packed full of witchcraft knowledge and techniques.

Olivia knew this quite well since this was a version she and Strena had bought when they were students.

A somewhat sad smile appeared on Olivia’s face, but she hid it.

Adults who had forgotten how to achieve their dreams learned a lot of tricks like that.

“There’s a flea market on Sunday,” said Viocia. “I hope I make some great finds there.”

“Hm? Lady Viocia, aren’t you already looking for something in particular?”

“Heh heh. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences! Moloch wants it now that she’s learned to cook.”

“I roll 11. A shooting star full of gems lands nearby and I have a chance at becoming a millionaire.”

“What!? …M-money isn’t everything at school.”

“But is this really what life at Maleficium is like? Didn’t some outside worker who knows nothing about the school make it?” asked Freynir.

Olivia shrugged.

“I never got in, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Don’t worry,” said Viocia, staring at the board. With a perfectly natural smile. “I’ll get in and then I can find out for you!”

“Yes. I hope to hear all about it.”

### Part 8

“Heh heh. It’s finally Sunday!!”

“Pick up the pace or we’re leaving you behind. We’re headed to a battlefield crowded with rival witches!”

“Eep. Th-this could be my only chance to afford grimoires or witchcraft devices.”

Liberty Ceridwen, the wandering realm.

That was the name of a flea market held in Temple School City where witches and others could bring in whatever goods they wanted and sell them. Rare grimoires and other great finds could be hidden there, so it became a colorful cauldron boiling with forbidden knowledge and rumors.

“What, is the pervy teacher supposed to be our chaperon?”

“Jacked-up prices, phony goods…the list goes on. I can’t let you three enter that devilish land on your own.”

“ And it isn’t just him .”

Melehe glanced to the side.

The woman must have accompanied Viocia from the shop where she rented a room, so Viocia shrugged.

“Strena wanted to come with us after hearing where we were going.”

“Hmph.”

Strena put a hand on her hip and gave Yagoro an appraising look.

She was the bouncer at Sabbath Party where Viocia rented a room.

She was the same age as Olivia, so probably her early 20s. She had a long blonde ponytail and light skin, but she radiated a rough, dangerous air. She wore light armor and a miniskirt, but her right arm jutted out from her collar, prioritizing movement of the arm over defense.

The weapon she wore at her hip appeared to be a bastard sword, but a broom tip had been added to the pommel. The kind of small broom used to get at little gaps in a room or dust small objects. When held normally, she could cut down her enemy. When held in reverse, she could use recovery magic.

She never considered flying with it. Her broom was exclusively used to defeat her enemies from the ground.

“Is that based on the Dagda’s club, which could even resurrect the dead when held in reverse? Maybe it can’t accomplish that much, but it does allow attack and recovery. An opponent who can heal herself while she fights would be trouble, don’tcha think?”

“Are you trying to get to know me better?” The ponytail miniskirt knight gave a snort of exasperation. “You can handle Viocia’s studies if you want, but I can’t trust you when it comes to protection. Olivia seems to like you, but I don’t think so highly of you.”

“Heh heh. ‘So highly’? That means you think a little bit highly of him, doesn’t- ow!?”

Viocia cut in with a smile before Yagoro could say anything, so the bouncer rubbed her fists against her temples.

“Tch. Unlike Olivia and the others, I don’t trust teachers as a whole. And changing the title to tutor or instructor doesn’t help any.”

It was sounding like this belligerent fighter was half here out of concern for Viocia and half here in the hopes of running into trouble at the flea market where haggling was common, leading to a lot of arguments.

The flea market was in Block U, at the bottom of Blue District.

Open spaces larger than a sporting stadium were unusual in the city, but this was an event space rented out for various events like circuses and card game tournaments.

Yagoro’s group passed through the wooden gate decorated with pumpkins and bats to enter Liberty Ceridwen.

And as soon as they did…

“We have deeply discounted Formula Brooms here! We can’t tell you why they’re being discounted, but these are some great prices!!”

“If you need a witch’s textbook on ATU 0333, Red Riding Hood, you won’t find a better deal anywhere else! With the classics, you often feel like you know the story but have a poor grasp of the details. For example, the hunter rescues the girl and her grandmother by splitting open the wolf’s belly, but did he use a hunting knife, a kitchen knife, or scissors? You can find the answer right in here!”

“Hee hee hee. How about a lead panel that casts a deadly curse on each of its owners? Control can be a challenge, but one look at the records of mysterious deaths proves the power of the curse.”

They were hit by a flood of noises and voices.

The booths had clearly-defined spaces, but the sellers had brought in tall shelves and bookcases that blocked the view and gave the place a labyrinthine look.

“This atmosphere. Eep. Now I’m really nervous,” whispered Dorothea Rockpool to herself.

She was the opposite of Viocia who thrived in the crowded atmosphere of a festival or amusement park.

But wasn’t Dorothea the oldest sister of a large merchant family?

A wide variety of wares had its downsides. Viocia and the others only had so much money to spend, so without a plan, they could end up buying junk they didn’t need. The prices for the same products differed between sellers, but hesitating to buy what you wanted would give another buyer a chance to beat you to it.

“Viocia. Eep. Do you know what you want?”

“A whole bunch of stuff, but I most want this! The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences!!”

The dunce witch read off her memo and Melehe frowned.

“That’s a pretty well-known rare book. I wouldn’t be surprised if Maleficium has a copy securely stored in their library. I doubt you’re just going to find a copy here.”

The book contained a list of over a thousand different herbs and provided their correspondences to the four elements and to letters of the alphabet. It was a special class of taboo book. It was very famous, but it was a privately printed book and only 50 copies were ever made. Its value was at the point where it was best donated to a public library so its knowledge could be shared with everyone.

“Heh heh. Moloch said she wanted it. She can use it to boost her girl power and increase her repertoire of recipes!”

“Yeah, sure,” said Melehe with a hand on her forehead.

Yagoro decided to direct the conversation her way.

“Do you know what you want, Melehe?”

“I’m not dreaming quite as big as her. I’m hoping to find an original copy of some of the books we use to make sure their information is accurate.”

That made sense. In a world without a mass printing technology, most books were copies handwritten by familiars. So even if a text had the same name as the original, it could have errors.

“Eep. Th-this place is so crowded… Oh, I know. Viocia, let’s hold hands.”

“What, do you think I’ll get lost the second you take your eyes off me?”

Viocia didn’t know what booth would be selling her herb encyclopedia, so she had to search through them all. That meant they stuck with Melehe’s plan and checked the grimoire booths.

“They have Horns and Harvest, the Forest Goddess, and the Little People. Yes, I’ll be buying this one too.”

“Um, you can’t just buy them at the asking price, Melehe. Eep.”

“?”

“The spine is faded and the pages are stained, so there’s room to haggle. Eep.”

Dorothea was better at things like this because she had been forced to be frugal as the oldest daughter of a large family while Melehe was an elite who had grown up with plenty of money.

And…

“Geh… Why do you have to show up and ruin a good day at the flea market?”

Someone was not happy to see them.

It was Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans, the aces of the infamous Sassafras Cfa Prep School.

“Are you after that book too? The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences?”

“Hey, how could a failing witch like you even use a rare book like that?”

They were being insulting already, but Melehe actually showed interest.

“Huh, so it isn’t just Viocia being dumb? If you’re here for the Encyclopedia too, could the rumor about it being sold here be real!?”

“Arbamini. And Holibre. The non-idiot of their group is putting two-and-two together. We need to leave before we give away anything else.”

The wicked trio vanished into the crowd.

Dorothea watched them go.

“Wait, does that mean the rumor was real? Eep.”

“If so, there’s no time to spare. A super rare book like that will come in handy studying for the exam, so we need to get our hands on it!!”

Melehe was highly motivated now, but Viocia was looking elsewhere.

She had a distinct goal here – the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences – but she had already gotten distracted by another booth.

“What are these photos?”

“You have a good eye, miss. These are silver halide photos of creatures found outside of the city. This here is a vouivre and this is a mermaid!!”

“Wow,” said Viocia while Melehe slapped a hand to her forehead.

These “creatures” were all experimental animals created in Maleficium, or their offspring, just like the giant dragon flying by overhead right this instant. With the elf as an example, the possibility of them being real was technically possible, but natural creatures were very nearly unthinkable.

(Well, from the Cottingley Fairies to Nessie, Bigfoot, and the Little Grays, supposed photos of monsters is a major genre of the occult.)

“What’s this round purple creature?”

“That is a Dracae. They live in rivers and some of them look just like beautiful girls.”

“Hwuh? But that doesn’t sound scary at all.”

“Even if I tell you they are horrific creatures that abduct human girls walking on the riverside and subject them to seven years of forced labor? And any human who violates the rules, which are not explained to them, are punished by having an eye gouged out?”

“Gwehhhh,” groaned Viocia, trembling.

…Now, mysterious creatures were not the only things that abducted another species and put them to work. This was found in the natural world as well. For example, the polyergus samurai ant would take the pupae of other, harmless ants and bring them back to their colony as slaves.

“How about it? These are valuable photos. Buy them up and make an album from them and you’ll have a special illustrated encyclopedia all your own. This is your only chance to get a leg up on everyone else!”

“Um, uhh!!”

Someone grabbed Viocia’s hand from the side.

It was the delinquent girl Arbamini.

She had once gotten burned at a flea market, so she couldn’t just watch this.

“Come on, you failing witch!! Aren’t you here to buy the Encyclopedia!? Don’t waste your limited money on this garbage!”

“Wah!”

The force of Arbamini’s pull sent them both tumbling into another booth.

Sorbeddy Icing’s booth.

She had bought up old but worthless books at all the used bookstores she could find in the hopes of selling them for quite a bit more at the flea market.

Her broom spoke in a blunt, low female voice while leaning against the bookcase next to her.

“Myousou Yagoro. Watch out for a round purple garment with the scent of my river upon it.”

“?”

Did that mean anything or not?

While Viocia was distracted by that, one of the Limit Breakers spoke to her.

“Welcome, witch student. See any grimoires you like?”

“Oh! Th-this book…”

“As you touched it first, the right of purchase falls with you. So will you buy it?”

“Tch!!” Melehe and Arbamini clicked their tongues simultaneously.

Viocia stared intently at the thick tome clutched between her hands.

“I’ll buy it… I’ll buy it!”

“Hee hee hee! Thank you, thank you. I never imagined I could make so much money off these garbage books I bought for dirt-cheap prices. The good life awaits me now!!”

If she really had just ripped off Viocia, did she actually think Bouncer Strena would sit by and let it happen?

Myousou Yagoro sighed softly.

“(Hey, Sorbeddy, did you actually check the name of the book? That’s the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences. I don’t know it got mixed in with those other books, but it’s an ultra-rare book worth as much as a jewelry box of the same size.)”

The ice witch appeared to have frozen, but it was too late.

Viocia had already paid, so the book was hers.

### Part 9

“The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences. I’m pretty sure I saw this at my grandma’s house too, but I left and it would taken too long to head all the way back there.”

“Wha-!? You mean you have two copies of this world-famous rare book!? The book said to be a favorite of the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love at the top of the Limit Breakers? At this point, I just know it has to be useful for the entrance exam.”

Yagoro had wondered how a dunce like Viocia knew the title of that rare book, but this explained it.

With the item she wanted in Viocia’s hands, they were taking a break. While Viocia had bought it, she was letting Melehe and Dorothea read it and take notes on parchment. In a fantasy world where book copying was common, the idea of digital shoplifting was not frowned upon.

That aside, it was time for lunch.

The flea market had become a vast labyrinth of shelves and bookcases, but there were occasional empty spaces with no sellers. They decided to lay out a cloth in one of those and eat their food.

“Huhh? You have a packed lunch too, Viocia?”

“Heh heh. Moloch learned to cook!”

Viocia’s basket contained grilled chicken and vegetable sandwiches. The main dish in Dorothea’s lunchbox was a big water bottle full of a vegetable-filled consomme soup she poured into a bowl.

“Dorothea, I’ll trade you a sandwich for something!”

“Eep. Th-then how about a bowl of soup?”

Melehe and Strena went with the standard(?) instant food. They waved their brooms and pulled out tomato pasta and a shrimp pilaf.

Yagoro used one hand to eat a tuna and potato crepe he had bought at a food stand nearby.

“Witches can also be called spellcasters who create something from something,” he said.

“?”

“Whether it’s herbs or animal bones, humans must sacrifice something to create what they need. So it makes a lot of sense for Moloch, a symbol of sacrifice, to be cooking, don’tcha think? It can be easy to forget with ingredients processed into cubes or a paste, but the food you eat and the herbs used to heal your wounds are all made from other plants and animals. The skill of a witch is seen in how much they can increase the conversion rate from 1-to-1. And make sure you thank the things used to create what you consume.”

### Part 10

With the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences successfully acquired, they could have just left, but Melehe said she wanted to keep at it a while longer.

“I want a few grimoires myself. We did find that rare book just sitting around. Some other big find could be hidden around here somewhere!”

“Eep. I-is it really a good idea to go in without a plan?”

“I have a plan! I know what I’m doing!”

And this time, Viocia decided to tag along with Melehe and Dorothea. But Viocia was no longer looking for anything in particular, so she got distracted just about every step of the way.

One booth was lined with herbs in small pots.

One seller had a collection a maps from the other world of Earth.

In one booth, round chicks and hamsters were separated out into boxes and staring up at the girl with their round little eyes. They were packed in fairly tight and making a racket.

“Buy me. Please buy me.”

“I’ll work so hard for you.”

They were being bought and sold here, but the artificial familiars were extremely nonchalant about it. They may not have cared who their owner was.

“Th-they’re so cute!”

“ +1 point: If you don’t want to create your own familiar, you can also buy one or be gifted one .”

“But I don’t have any money. Because I bought the Encyclopedia!!”

The student experienced a tearful goodbye.

And the next thing they knew, Melehe was unsteady on her feet up ahead. She had bought grimoires with a quantity over quality policy, so the two tote bags she had brought folded up were now full to bursting.

“Urrrrgh. H-how am I supposed to carry all this home? Agh.”

“Melehe. Eep. They have an emergency delivery station over there! You should get the black cat familiar to do it. You’re going to dislocate your shoulders!!”

There hadn’t been a line before, but lunchtime was over and the afternoon had begun. The other buyers in the area were starting to think about heading home, so they had realized how useful the delivery service was and had rushed there.

“Qu-quit staring, you perv, and prove you’re a man by carrying one of these bags.”

“Sorry. I’m all for taking a ladies first policy, but not when she demands it herself.”

Melehe had bought that mountain of books, so it was up to her to deal with them, but Dorothea couldn’t help herself and ended up carrying half of them as the girls approached the delivery station reception counter. The oldest daughter of a big family was in full big sister mode here.

Viocia’s eyes widened when she noticed what looked like bipedal stuffed animals moving around the emergency delivery station.

“Wait, I think I’ve seen that black cat familiar before. Did they actually fix him?”

A white figure passed by the girls.

### Part 11

Slowly but surely, the saturation level was surpassed.

Or you could call it the last straw.

She had used the Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank and elf-obsessed old Elinalva to try and do things in secret.

The Spanish Fly Indulgence Bank had been a small-time villain, but given time to grow, they could have expanded their illicit financial reach until they were taking over prep schools and could steal research funding from people working for Maleficium. Then they could have driven Temple School City as a whole to financial ruin, preventing the city administration and Maleficium itself from functioning.

Elinalva had been discovered too soon for someone off in the Dazzling Forest so far from Temple School City. If word of an elf being discovered had been allowed to spread more widely and the Benandanti moved in to deal with her, the whole thing could have been presented as the elites trying to steal credit from an independent researcher. That would have pitted Maleficium against the self-taught witches in a cold war that split the land in two.

But neither plan had come to fruition.

She had stayed hidden this far to protect herself, but her pursuers were going to find her before long.

At this rate, she would fail to accomplish anything before Maleficium’s counterattack began.

That would save no one.

Not a single one.

So.

She decided it was time she took direct action.

To save the innocent.

### Part 12

They suddenly covered the sky above Temple School City.

A dull “thud!!” rang out as something fell from the sky and crashed into the ground.

That something was Melehe’s broom that she kept in standby circling in the sky above.

“Wait, what happened, Orpheus!?”

“Melehe, w-watch out…overhead.”

A heavy wind blew in.

It almost felt like a massive wall swinging through.

No matter how skilled the Benandanti were, they couldn’t evade something when there was no physical gap. Taking a direct hit, they lost control in the sky and dropped to the surface like shooting stars.

“Watch out!” shouted Strena.

In the moment she was shoved out of the way, Viocia did not yet know what kind of danger she was in. She fell on her rear and blinked twice before her mind finally caught up with the reality before her.

The heavily-armored form of a Benandanti was right in front of her.

And Strena was collapsed face down, half-crushed by the fallen armor.

As a bouncer, she had prioritized guarding her allies over defeating the enemy.

In that sense, she had completed her job brilliantly.

“Strena!!”

“Tch. Run, Viocia. Hurry, and take your friends. Cough.”

Strena stopped talking.

Unable to do anything else, Viocia just stood there. If no one did anything, it looked like she might stay that way forever.

So Melehe shouted to her from right in front of her.

“Viocia, help me! Together, we can carry Strena!! Dorothea, you grab my broom over there!!”

Viocia nodded and took Strena’s arms.

Some things fluttered through the air, no longer under their master’s control.

They were a purple orbs about the size of fish roe, but something was curled up in the center of the translucent membranes.

Naked girls.

(Are those…?)

“I saw those at the photo booth. Aren’t these those Dracae girls?”

“Technically, they’re probably familiars borrowing their form and function. Real Dracae would be as big as you and me.”

Moving unsteadily while supporting someone’s weight, Melehe calmly observed the overhead threat.

“It looks like they tackle things instead of using projectiles. I think they’re designed to hit the enemy with a bird strike.”

“Eep. D-don’t the Dracae have a scary legend about gouging out the eye of girls who violate the rules? If that applies to the flying witches, it could be used as a means of attack.”

“But a bird strike?” asked Viocia.

“?”

“That’s an accident when a bird hits a flying witch’s broom, right? If such a small Dracae hits a witch hard enough to bring her down, won’t the Dracae go down with her?”

“ Do you really think whoever’s mass-produced these familiars cares ?”

The purple overhead made another move.

Another of the scrambled Benandanti witches had been knocked from the sky. Even the giant dragons and griffins who ordinarily circled leisurely in the sky had descended to low altitude to avoid getting hurt.

It was possible one of the armored shooting stars could crash into Viocia’s group on the ground.

“We need to – eep – get under a roof!”

Then Viocia realized something and looked to the side.

“Where did teacher go?”

“Sorry, but we don’t have time to check! Strena is injured, so we need to get her to safety!!”

Whatever they might do about this, they couldn’t just leave Strena when she was injured and unconscious. Viocia and Melehe carried her to a nearby building.

The door was tightly locked and it didn’t open no matter how hard they knocked.

“Eeeek! I couldn’t possibly unlock the door. Please forgive me. Forgive me.”

“Hey! If you’re going to abandon us out here, I’ll just break your door down with a water spear!!”

“Viocia! Over there!”

Dorothea pointed at something she had spotted.

Viocia looked to see one of the empty houses that dotted the city.

Once inside, Melehe groaned.

“Ugh!?”

The stark, unfurnished room had large barrels covering the entire floor space. Those did not belong in a residential space and she felt dizzy. She had read a newspaper article about people growing hallucinogenic herbs in houses, so was this an example of that?

But these were not potted plants.

Melehe looked inside to see a few small purple orbs at the bottom of the barrel.

Those were Dracae familiars that had failed to take flight for whatever reason.

(I was wondering where all those Dracae came from, but I guess I have my answer. But how many empty houses across the city were they in!?)

“Eep! Wh-what do we do now?”

“If this house will act as a shelter, we could stay in here and wait for help to arrive, but I doubt it’s so sturdy.”

“That’s right,” said Viocia. “And we have to find a way to save the Dracae.”

Silence fell.

Melehe and Dorothea were truly rendered speechless.

“They hurt your friend Strena here!” said Melehe.

“So?”

Viocia glared back.

Straight back.

“I’ll fight if it would make Strena happy. But what good is fighting for your own hatred? That’s what my grandma would say. And teacher isn’t the strongest because he’s just strong . We can’t just strike our enemy down as evil and call it a day!!”

She wasn’t just saying that.

They were in danger and her friend had been hurt, but she could choose that path.

This wasn’t a matter of good or evil that could be so easily shaken by the circumstances. She was a witch who chose to live beautifully based on her own actions.

It may have only lasted a moment, but that “situation” enhanced Viocia.

“I mean, it makes no sense that they can only attack by tackling supersonic witches. Billions of Dracae would have to be crushed to take out all of us… Besides, what do those familiars gain by taking us out? That only matters to the witches – the Dracae themselves don’t get anything even if they succeed. So it’s wrong for them to be forced to give up their lives for that!”

“Y’know, artificial familiars technically aren’t alive.”

“ That doesn’t matter .”

She didn’t even hesitate.

Dorothea giggled at how on brand this was for Viocia.

Wasn’t this failing witch the one who fought back against Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans to protect an artificial being like Moloch during the official practice exam? She might be a failure and a dunce most of the time, but she was a witch-in-training who could improve herself in these “situations” where she wielded superhuman power to face some great cruelty.

And when Melehe carelessly gasped at Viocia’s immediate response, she had as good as accepted it.

It wasn’t logical.

But Viocia was absolutely in the right here.

This wasn’t the Dracae’s fault.

And so Viocia wanted to rescue them from being meaninglessly crushed.

…The prep school ace could not arrive at a more beautifully arranged answer.

It was in that moment that she lost.

And it was a beautiful witch’s duty to wield her full strength as a loser when she lost.

“Argh!! Well, to help the Dracae and everyone else, we need to resolve the trouble covering the city as soon as possible. We can’t ignore injured Strena either. Is that okay with you!?”

“Eep. Yes, I-I’ll help too.”

All three of them nodded.

They took a look outside and saw an unnatural purple covering the sky.

“Is that all Dracae?” said Melehe in a daze.

This went beyond what a witch’s skill could handle. With a sandstorm of them up there, it was impossible to fly without hitting them.

“How many billions of them are up there? Trying to count them is as silly as trying to count the grains of sand in a sandstorm. Anyway, even if they’re as small as fish roe on their own, it’s unrealistic to expect to win against that many of them in the air.”

White smoke burst in a few places across the unnatural purple sky.

Almost like the midday fireworks signaling the beginning of a major event. But…

“Maleficium must be trying something too…but it looks like disseminating thought-reflecting crystal powder and gold foil isn’t accomplishing much. Cutting off the witch’s will to silence the familiars isn’t working!”

Melehe was smart enough to tell what was being attempted here, which may have been why she clenched her teeth in frustration.

“But these Dracae? Eep.” Dorothea sounded nervous. “We can’t get the city functioning again without defeating them.”

“We can’t let the Dracae be used up like this and I’m worried about Strena too. We need to call a doctor!” insisted Viocia.

“There’s no way a single person can manage billions of familiars at once,” said Melehe. “And even if she could, a single witch’s will can’t reach every last part of a city this big!”

“But there really are that many Dracae out there. How do you explain it!?”

“There must be a trick to it,” said Melehe, climbing the narrow stairs in the empty house.

She climbed up onto the roof, aware of the danger. Fortunately, the Dracae didn’t appear to be attacking anything at this height. At the very least, she had a 360-degree view for now.

“Yes, just as I suspected.”

“What is it, Melehe?”

“I can see a few smaller groups of Dracae separate from the ones covering the sky. I’m guessing the trick is there. Those groups were separated from the rest to protect something important.”

Viocia leaned forward and looked out into the distance.

“There’s a staff…or something sticking into the road. No, is that a spear?”

“I see. It must be a lance.”

“Eep?”

“The lance used by the Norse god Odin. But that isn’t Gungnir. It’s the magically-imbued divine lance that, if thrown toward the enemy army at the beginning of a battle, ensures the victory of the allied army!”

If Myousou Yagoro were here, he might have compared this to a front line antenna base that expanded the communication range in which drone weapons could fly.

“But you said there are ‘a few’ of these smaller groups. Eep. Then could there be more than the one lance?”

“From here, I can see 1, 2…5 of them. I can’t see the other side of the lake because of the diamond dust protecting Maleficium, but if the same distribution holds, there are probably 10 in all!”

Those lances were tools used to amplify a witch’s will so it could reach the Dracae from a greater distance.

Destroying the lances one at a time, would reduce the compatible area for the familiars, removing their freedom of movement.

Destroying them all would prevent the witch from commanding the Dracae from wherever she was in the city, freeing the Dracae from her. The artificial Dracae were neither good nor evil, so without a powerful command, they wouldn’t attack anyone. That would reclaim control of Temple School City’s skies.

“Eep. B-but there’s no guarantee the Dracae won’t attack us on the ground. Since they have groups stationed around the lances, they might just attack us if they sense danger there.”

“…”

Melehe couldn’t deny that possibility either. They had too little data. The Dracae weren’t attacking them up on the roof here, but altitude might not be the only condition. Using magic on the surface or approaching within a certain distance of a lance could also trigger a deadly attack.

So.

Glasses bandage girl Dorothea glanced over at Viocia, who was biting her lip out of concern for still-unconscious Strena and sorrow for all the Dracae having their lives thrown away.

Dorothea was the oldest daughter of a large family. Her family wasn’t exactly wealthy.

She understood how the real world worked.

She was used to seeing small children give up on something or go without something they really wanted.

But even so…

(Now isn’t the time to give up. Viocia isn’t asking for the impossible and she isn’t wrong. So there’s no reason to disappoint her here!!)

The glasses bandage girl gave a small nod.

What could she do? What was a beautiful witch? She asked these questions of herself.

And she used her will to acquire the appropriate “situation”.

“Eep. Then I’ll act as a diversion.”

“Dorothea?”

“It isn’t the Dracae’s fault they’re being ordered to die, so we have to do something for them, right? We also need to get Strena to a doctor. But the flying Dracae would catch up with either of you if you tried to run on foot as a diversion. Only I can fly close enough to the ground to distract the Dracae without hitting them. And if the legend about gouging out eyes is accurate, even the people on the ground could be at risk.”

“Hey, wait- damn!!”

Melehe reached out, but she was a step too slow.

Dorothea jumped from the rooftop and then used her Formula Broom to take off with extreme speed. After the girl was zooming away at low altitude, Viocia and Melehe could no longer keep up.

They sensed a shift in the purple mass overhead.

“What do we do about this?” asked Melehe

“We just have to break all the lances stuck in the ground,” said Viocia. “So we’ll have to run out and find them on foot. We can’t let the Dracae dirty their hands because someone made them and Dorothea can’t last as a diversion forever. So we need to do it before that happens!!”

### Part 13

The change came suddenly.

Something crashed into the ground like a shooting star.

It was a Benandanti witch in thick armor.

This was how Yagoro had gotten separated from Viocia and the others. Instead of rushing to Strena after she was hit, he had gone to the Benandanti witch who had fallen from the sky.

Even though he was Viocia’s tutor right now.

“Nancy!!”

“Ha ha… This kind of thing keeps happening to me.”

When he propped her up in his arms, the girl with red pigtails smiled weakly up at him.

He doubted the Hexenturm armor, which trapped her personal goodness and conscience in an external cage, was functioning. It had been thoroughly destroyed. Which meant she must have taken considerable damage as well.

Not even Maleficium students were invincible. A mistake on their part could always prove fatal.

Purple filled the sky above.

(There’s that many ramming familiars up there? And they’re swarm controlled!?)

The millions, if not billions, of Dracae were not moving erratically.

A closer inspection showed the Dracae at the same altitude were all forming evenly-spaced grids. And these grids were stacked on top of each other.

Yagoro was reminded of a simple homemade diorama made by cutting out pieces of cardboard along contour lines and stacking them on top of each other.

The roe-like Dracae first created an evenly-spaced 2D shape and then stacked those shapes to create a silhouette much like a cumulonimbus cloud.

(Is it like a 3D map for drones? So instead of a 2D map, these symbols present the risk of collision to show flying objects where to avoid? No.)

“This is simpler than that. It’s based on a free-moving sandstorm.”

Witches would get lost in there even with the magical map that was a Formula Broom. This created an airspace of death and doom that robbed witches of their guidance, weakening them until they came to a stop and crashed.

Crashing into the supersonic witches acted as a bird strike attack which harmed the witch and triggered a malfunction in the Formula Broom. The multi-layer structure created by the Dracae could be seen like countless suspended ceilings blocking up the sky to bring down the flying witches.

(So this wasn’t even an issue of Nancy’s skill.)

In the Dazzling Forest, Elinalva had used magic much like an anti-air laser, but this threat was even greater. Against the swarm control capable of releasing millions or billions of familiars at once, placing a few anti-air weapons on the ground wasn’t going to accomplish much of anything.

Then Yagoro remembered Sorbeddy. Or rather, what her dragonfly-like broom, Formula Broom – River Seine bis9FE, had said: “Myousou Yagoro. Watch out for a round purple garment with the scent of my river upon it.”

(That explains it. Sequana protects the River Seine and the Dracae are said to have a large city at the bottom of a French river.)

His former student spoke through bloody lips.

“Yagoro. …Watch out for that woman.”

“What woman?”

“ Wedding Exam . I looked into her and she is very bad news. Yagoro, she has helped several girls pass Maleficium’s entrance exam, just like you have.”

Was that the identity of the false god?

But before he could ask more, he raised his head.

She was right there.

### Part 14

There was no point in Viocia and Melehe challenging the millions or billions of Dracae to an aerial battle.

But if they destroyed the ten lances stabbed into different parts of Temple School City, they could stop the commands being sent to the Dracae.

However, that wasn’t enough to rest easy.

The Dracae covering the sky hadn’t attacked anyone on the ground yet, but the defeated Benandanti were crashing into the ground in their thick armor. A hit from one of them was still a threat to Viocia and Melehe as they ran along the ground.

“Viocia, watch out above. An elevator’s collapsing!!”

“!?”

Had the Dracae slammed into it as a group to bend the metal pillar?

Viocia somehow managed to escape from below the giant scales elevator as it fell, crushing a nearby house in the process.

She couldn’t afford to be taken out here.

If Viocia and Melehe didn’t find and eliminate the lances controlling all those Dracae, Dorothea would be hurt while acting as a diversion for them. Injured Strena was still lying in that empty house and, while the Dracae were artificial familiars, they would destroy themselves by the millions or billions if this was allowed to continue.

Viocia couldn’t let that happen. She had to stop the tragic domino effect here.

“This way, Viocia! Get down!!”

The rules changed again. The Dracae swarm attacked them while they ran along the ground. And the Dracae suddenly scattered only a few meters over Viocia and Melehe’s heads. The roe-sized purple orbs lost sight of their targets and floated aimlessly around.

“Yikes! Th-they stopped attacking?”

“I drew out a big obstruction magic circle on the ground. That should stop any familiars that fight in automatic mode because they’ll read in the dangerous 2D symbol when they try to scan the terrain!”

Anyway, they couldn’t stop here.

Viocia and Melehe forced themselves to keep running through the panicked Temple School City.

“Where’s that first lance?”

“Found it!! It’s over there!!”

Something was stabbed into the stone pavement.

It was a silver lance measuring more than 2m long.

“ATU 0328a, Jack and the Beanstalk. The boy’s axe mercilessly cuts through the massive beanstalk which is compared to Yggdrasil!!”

Melehe gripped her customized broom and recited an incantation.

Magic power broke the lance at the middle of its shaft.

One down.

But only one.

### Part 15

Myousou Yagoro raised his head while picking up his the limp form of his injured former student Nancy.

The villain she had used her last ounce of strength to warn him about was already there.

Someone stood a short distance away. Their gazes collided head on.

He recognized her.

She was the one who irregularly sold a large number of rare books to the used bookstore.

(Which would suggest her job requires an intimate knowledge of witchcraft. Such as an excellent educator.)

According to the ice witch, she had likely gotten into the real estate business by buying up empty homes all across the city.

(And all those Dracae emerged from empty houses!!)

“It was you?”

“I never formally introduced myself, did I, Navigate Exam? The Benandanti were apparently already keeping an eye on me, so there is no point in hiding my identity any longer.”

“The false god was you!?”

“I am Wedding Exam – Flamberg Wyrd. I move workplaces from time to time, but I am currently an instructor at the Aurora Swan Flight Sports Gym. Of course, I will be abandoning this appearance and name soon.”

She was a woman with short blonde hair.

Her slight frame was contained in a wedding dress and a witch hat of the same color. However, the unnatural red glimpsed at her neck and wrists may have been the glint of thick leather belts. She was like an anthropomorphized version of a strong but unwanted marriage.

The white with a touch of red gave her the coloration of a shortcake.

Wedding Exam.

That instructor was a specialist who boosted a hopeful witch’s chances from outside the prep school system, but in a different way from Myousou Yagoro.

The boy glared at her and didn’t hesitate to draw his collapsible baton.

Flamberg’s bewitching lips whispered in response.

She carried an extremely twisted Formula Broom. Its pair of main wings were so short they looked like part had been sharply cut away and the four wings of the tail assembly were partially hidden in the end of the broom. In addition to those transparently thin wings, there was a crystal ball at the tip of the broom. The overall silhouette was reminiscent of a surface-to-air missile. It was designed for just one thing: pursuing and killing the witch it targeted.

She spoke faithfully to that cutting-edge witchcraft device.

“Formula Broom – Loudun MTD. I request accurate instruction, my sweet, beloved Belzebuth.”

Yagoro froze.

She had already used several meaningful words.

Belzebuth was well-known as the Lord of the Flies and an archenemy counted among the seven deadly sins. And the French name of Belzebuth in particular was seen as a title of evil. In some eras and regions, he was a supreme being said to possess and rule over all witches.

Furthermore, in Goethe’s Faust, Beelzebub was the archenemy above Mephistopheles.

That was dangerous enough on its own, but the MTD at the end was the clincher.

Yagoro was furious over what happened to his former student, but this sent a chill down his spine.

(MTD – mobility test device. The broom’s safety and the witch’s physical limitations are set aside to push past the tolerance limits and make sharp, high-speed turns that are nearly suicidal? You only ever see those in Maleficium’s labs. I can understand grabbing one if you had no other choice, but does she seriously use one on a regular basis!?)

“Prepare yourself.”

“I already have.”

“To be clear, I would prefer not to do this. You are not my original target. Would you be at all willing to stand back and keep your life?”

He gave a snort of laughter.

She had his priorities all wrong.

“A tutor is entrusted with their student’s life and future. That’s what our teaching contracts entail. Did you really think I would give up just because the going gets tough or that I would abandon my students on the front line to ensure my own safety!?”

“Oh?”

Flamberg laughed.

And spoke quite clearly.

“Then I was right. I am the same in that way, Navigate Exam.”

“?”

And a moment later…

“ATU 0709, Snow White.”

Molten metal rushed in from dead ahead.

“Kh.”

“By marrying the prince, Snow White gained great political power, arrested her cruel step-mother, and had her wear red-hot (____) and dance until she died.”

He dodged aside while holding Nancy, but it didn’t end there.

(Dammit.)

“(Iron slippers)!!”

“The idea may have come from the Spanish boot used during the witch hunts. ATU 0328a, Jack and the Beanstalk. The boy stole someone’s treasure and then used an axe to cut down the beanstalk, sending the owner plummeting to his death. ATU 0510a, Cinderella. The villainous sisters chopped off part of their foot to fit in the glass slipper.”

( This isn’t just one story. She’s using multiple stories and focusing on the horrific elements that have been eliminated from the kid’s versions !!)

He ducked to dodge the axe spinning toward him and pulled his foot back to avoid the bear trap that suddenly snapped shut from the empty ground.

Or he thought he had dodged them.

It all happened so fast.

He used his back to protect Nancy in his arms and dull pain spread across it.

(Gah!?)

He could defend with magic, but Flamberg’s cycle was too fast. If he focused solely on defense, he wouldn’t have a chance to fight back and his situation would only deteriorate.

If that happened, his former student and his current student would be swallowed up by this tragedy.

“Your technique is solid and your skill isn’t bad.”

Yagoro asked a quiet question while burning with rage.

“Then why did you stoop to these misdeeds? An instructor at a famous flight sports gym shouldn’t be hurting for money.”

“Whether or not these are ‘misdeeds’ is a matter of perspective.”

The white dress woman laughed lightly.

Wedding Exam.

That other teacher with definite skill asked a question.

“Navigate Exam, you too have sent several girls to Maleficium in the past, haven’t you? You taught them how to study and they passed the entrance exam.”

“?”

“ But can you look me in the eye and tell me this brought happiness to those girls ?”

A deep darkness lurked within the woman’s eyes.

This was the opposite of the red serpent’s eyes of someone who had been hijacked by a Voland. They contained an endlessly black and murky darkness.

That was the ultimate form of human hatred.

“Passing that exam brought my students only one thing: death. Sure, it was always announced as an accident during flight training, but it happened inside Maleficium so who knows what actually happened. …Was it truly only an accident, or is some greater conspiracy at work? Either way, by helping those girls achieve their dream, I stole their future from them.”

“…”

“It should have been obvious, really. No one is going to live a happy, peaceful life attending that extraordinarily abnormal school . I did that to them. I measured their happiness based on one-sided values and irresponsibly sent them to their deaths just because they wanted to go. If I had known what would happen, I never would have allowed any of my adorable students to get into Maleficium.”

So…

Because of that…

“I made a choice.”

“Wait, don’t tell me…”

“I will not allow anyone else to get into Maleficium – not one more. All those girls with their mistaken dreams will find a much safer happiness beyond failure and resignation. Yes, yes. You see it all the time here in Temple School City. People give up on getting into Maleficium, open a shop for themselves, and live good lives. The smile on their faces as they manage to survive into adulthood is the one and only correct answer – they are the proof that I am correct.”

(Wait…)

Yagoro didn’t know how long Flamberg had been working as an instructor at the flight sports gym.

But what if…?

(Those who fail the exam open their own shops? This isn’t new. If she’s been doing this long enough, it’s possible she’s the reason the dancer Olivia and the bouncer Strena failed their exams!!)

That was beyond the pale.

It was irredeemable.

People’s lives were their own. Some people did find a life for themselves past their failure at the exam and they might have found their own happiness and fulfillment there. Yagoro wasn’t about to deny that.

But that was only if they had given it everything they had and then accepted the result.

What if they weren’t allowed to give it their all?

What if the teacher they had trusted above all else had given up on them and worked behind their back to ensure they failed? There was no happiness found there!!

That was a profanity.

It was the last thing a teacher could do to the students who trusted in them!!!

“If you can’t trust in your student’s future…”

The tutor boy gently lowered Nancy to the round and clenched his teeth.

His sense of pain had long since vanished.

“You have no right to call yourself a teacherrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!”

### Part 16

Dorothea rode her broom skimming just off the ground of Temple School City at supersonic speed.

Flying so low had very different rules from flying in the open sky. The scenery was so close it seemed to melt into flowing lines and the air compressed against the ground lifted the Formula Broom in an unsteady way. That was called the ground effect. So she couldn’t just observe directly ahead. If she didn’t pay attention to the small ups and downs of the ground too, she couldn’t predict the fluctuation of the compressed air and she would be thrown around. This was especially important in a city with so many stairs.

Windows shattered whenever she passed through, but she couldn’t worry about that right now.

The Dracae swarm was definitely pursuing her.

She had made sure they would because she was buying time for Viocia and Melehe to make their move.

“Observation: you really drew the short straw this time. Annoyance: aren’t people with special abilities supposed to have an easier time of it as they ensure a safe position for the exam?”

“Yes, sorry, Aristotle. Eep. B-but if we can buy time like this, Viocia and Melehe will find some way of fixing this.”

“Statement: my complaint is with your gloomy thinking that keeps you from giving yourself that kind of advantageous position!! Question: were you always neglecting your own needs while raising all your younger siblings!?”

Just then…

“Wah! Wah!! Wah!?”

“They’re only attacking the witches. Roslynica, don’t let go of my hand! This way!!”

“Oh… Wait, Lady Moloch. Those children will be crushed by the crowd of adults, so grab them! But gently so they won’t get hurt!!”

“Moo!!”

The view around Dorothea suddenly changed.

A change far out ahead would arrive in a split second for a supersonic witch.

Just before a collision, she yanked her Formula Broom’s helm to the right.

“Tch. Are you stupid!?”

“Eep!?”

She lost control and crashed right into a purple group approaching from a different direction.

That was the Dracae.

(Th-they’re this close to the ground!?)

That one color filled her vision all at once. Her sense of direction was thrown off and she crashed her broom into a building.

That already crumbling building was a privately-owned store for magical goods.

She crashed into a pile of dried herbs out front – likely one of the store’s products – but this collision happened during supersonic flight. That alone wasn’t enough to save her life. And the split-second she had wasn’t enough to think up the Three Aspects needed for defense magic.

Someone had helped her.

Her face lit up and she turned toward her partner.

“Thanks – eep – Aristot-”

She heard a strange noise.

The red, yellow, blue, and green lines of light running along Formula Broom – Lyceum slowly flashed before vanishing.

Something was definitely wrong.

“…ksh, ksshh…”

“Aristotle!?”

“Dammit. Assessment: I screwed up. One of those damn Dracae got into my core and damaged it. I can’t fly…like this.”

“No.”

A great swelling surrounded them.

The purple Dracae continued to spread across Temple School City’s sky. Dorothea had been hit while skimming just off the ground. No one could say how long until the people inside the labyrinthine city were attacked.

“Assessment: it was lucky we crashed into a magic shop. Observation: Dorothea, I see a few brand new Formula Brooms lying on the floor over there…”

“Eh?”

“Advice: throw me out and complete the consecration with another Formula Broom. That will save you and allow you to fly again.”

Dorothea froze up for around three seconds.

Her mind had gone entirely blank.

“Wait.”

“Supplement: don’t worry. Reminder: I am the Formula Broom who once became a Voland and hijacked your body. Assurance: no one will think you wanton for trading brooms in the middle of studying for the exam.”

“Eep. Wait!! Y-you’re malfunctioning, but where are you damaged? If I can unseal you , open the broom, and check the map inside…”

“I said my core was damaged, didn’t I, you fool? Ksh. Confirmation: this isn’t about the bis or the MTD. Only someone from Maleficium can directly mess with this part.”

Why?

Why didn’t I pass last year? thought Dorothea, biting her lip.

If she had, she could have unsealed Formula Broom – Lyceum and repaired the damage!!

It all came down to her own inadequacy.

She had crashed while flying and it was her lack of knowledge and skill preventing her from repairing the core.

It was all on her.

And yet…

“Advice: go.”

“Eep. No…”

“There’s nothing you can do here. Leave me and consecrate yourself with another broom – any broom. Ksh. Conclusion: do that and you can fly again.”

“This isn’t about that!! Eep, I can’t leave you behind!!!”

“Question: then will you stay here and be crushed to death by the Dracae?”

Dorothea’s voice caught in her throat.

The fear of a very real death rose up to the surface.

“Are you stupid? Reminder: weren’t you going to push past all your rivals and get into Maleficium this year? Ksh. Then don’t get hung up over a mere tool. Focus on surviving and returning to the entrance exam competition.”

“No.”

Even so, Dorothea raised her voice with tears spilling from her eyes.

She spoke clearly.

“I can’t do that!! I can never abandon you to continue onward on my own!”

“…”

“Then I give up. Who cares about the exam? Doing that wouldn’t make my parents or my siblings happy. And I couldn’t look Viocia, Melehe, or the tutor in the eye!! …I’d rather go back home with you than do that. Sob, sniff. I’ll go back home and inherit the store if I have to!!!”

Crying and screaming weren’t going to change reality.

Myousou Yagoro wasn’t here, nor was Viocia Modestlucky.

The Dracae must have sensed something.

The purple swarm in the sky moved slowly and began dropping toward the city. The massive suspended ceiling made from a multi-layer grid was definitely dropping toward Dorothea.

She could no longer use witchcraft.

Nor could she fly to safety.

Dorothea Rockpool could only look up at the falling ceiling of doom when something happened.

A pure white pillar of light dropped from heaven to earth, burning right through the purple ceiling.

She still had a chance.

This wasn’t over yet.

They might not be right here, but Myousou Yagoro and Viocia Modestlucky were fighting too.

### Part 17

Shortly before that, Myousou Yagoro took immediate action in front of Flamberg, who was behind it all.

(ATU 0333, Red Riding Hood. The ferocious wolf that devoured the girl was no match for the rational hunter using modern technology. The Norse Fenrir had his jaws split open by Odin’s child and witches suspected to be werewolves were put to trial. That’s all Three Aspects – so the predator has no future here!!)

A loud “pop!!” of air sounded.

This had not come from Yagoro’s instantly-constructed magic.

Flamberg had suddenly disappeared from the confused flea market where long lines of sight were rare.

(A ski jump takeoff!?)

Runways were normally kept flat, but there were a few exceptions. For example, on Earth, old aircraft carriers without steam or electromagnetic catapults would use an upwards-curving slope similar to a ski jump or a skateboard ramp. That allowed aircraft to take off using the extreme short distance of the ship’s deck.

In this case, Flamberg had used a diagonally-collapsed scales elevator and a crushed house’s roof.

Still, using a collection of rubble instead of a well-maintained flight facility showed she really was a top-rate instructor.

The millions or billions of Dracae were under her control. That meant she alone could fly safely through them without crashing.

This was over if she managed that.

No one would be able to touch her while she used magic based on the horrific side of stories in order to torment and kill people.

So…

“ATU 0124, Blow the House Down.”

“Kh.”

“The three little pigs had their houses destroyed one after another, but they were quick to escape and the fearsome wolf couldn’t stop them from running to their brothers’ houses!!”

An explosive boom sounded.

No one should have been able to pursue Flamberg while she flew safely through the 3D grid of Dracae. Her prey down on the ground should have been unilaterally attacked.

But that didn’t matter to Yagoro

He would not let Flamberg hide among the Dracae.

It was like the flow of time had stopped.

He jumped from the flying rubble of houses and the support pillars of scales elevators in the process of falling, he even broke the bonds of gravity to run straight up the side of a pillar, and he finally set his sights on a giant creature flying low to the ground to avoid the Dracae.

But he couldn’t reach it.

It was too far away.

So he clenched his teeth and shouted.

He shouted to the colossal creature the size of a bomber, which was officially designated an Immortal by Maleficium and had been given the highest ranking of Grade 15.

“ To me !! Hanako !!!”

He forcibly pressed the soles of his shoes against its thick tail.

To repeat, Yagoro’s jump alone could never have reached it. Instead, the massive dragon had swung a tail as thick as a bridge toward him.

The dragons and griffins flying in Temple School City’s sky were in fact lifeforms created in Maleficium which then escaped and went wild. Which meant it was possible for the students and teachers to be acquainted with them.

The tutor boy ran up from the tail to the back and toward the enormous head.

“Thanks, Hanako. If you don’t want to get hurt, you and Tarou should keep your heads down until this is all over. Don’t get caught by that Dracae swarm!”

Loving Hana-chan responded to his advice by trying to nuzzle up against him, so he quickly righted his balance and then jumped from the dragon’s head into empty space.

Something sliced sharply through the air.

He matched its speed to board Flamberg’s flying broom.

She was now within range of his baton.

But the instructor didn’t seem particularly concerned.

She aimed her broom straight up and began a rapid ascent. The scale of the scenery changed.

“Now you can’t escape.”

“…”

“Interfere and you will either be crushed by the Dracae or unable to hold on and plummet to your doom. Take your pick, Navigate Exam.”

He should have been out of options.

Without a Formula Broom, flying was the one thing Yagoro couldn’t do.

However…

“Ha ha. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“?”

“See, no matter how much I master witchcraft, there’s one field where I always fail, like there’s something sabotaging me. When I rode on the back of Schanze’s broom during the last official practice exam, I had to be pretty careful. Flight time and max speed are both factors. But if I’m not careful and just let it happen, this is what happens .”

### Part 18

And.

In some unspecified location, the goddess snapped her fingers in annoyance.

“Sigh. Divine punishment time☆”

### Part 19

A white pillar of light with no connection to the weather conditions dropped straight down from the sky and pierced the two of them.

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!?”

“Kh…ha ha ha ha ha!!”

Flamberg screamed, lost control of her broom, and fell out into the open air, but Yagoro put up with the pain and laughed despite being right up there with her.

(Was Myrddin so unhappy about me joining Schanze on her broom because he was subconsciously afraid of this happening? Her broom is supposed to be prophetic.)

He could not fly.

No matter what he tried, he simply could not fly, like something was sabotaging him.

But making good use of such a blatantly negative situation was a sign of growth. He felt like praising himself for finding something in this world he wanted to protect this badly.

He could no longer return to his original home of Earth.

So the least he could do was become someone his mother and sister would be proud of while in this world.

Yagoro collided with an anti-bird net laid out in the sky, but it couldn’t support his weight and he broke through, slamming into the ground below. But that ground didn’t feel like marble or obsidian.

He detected the unpleasant scent of filthy, stagnant water.

The bending ground below him was a floating bridge made of rotting wood.

And as soon as he realized that, he heard a sticky sound and the rippling water around him changed to rainbow colors.

(The Ghastly Fishing Hole. That means I’m in a lakeside deadly zone where legend says your life is over if you carelessly catch what lurks in the waters!)

The only thing for him to stand on was the 1m-wide floating bridge made of thin wooden panels.

One step to the side and he would have fallen into the water. And likely never surfaced again. He seriously doubted the massive silhouette swimming below the bridge was a fish. This was something else entirely. If a human caught a clear glimpse of that thing, their psyche would collapse.

Flamberg lay on the same bridge.

But she hadn’t been slowed by a net on the way down, so she had slammed full force into the bridge.

Their gazes collided.

Yagoro readied his baton and Flamberg readied her broom before they clashed head on.

### Part 20

They had finally dealt with the first one.

Melehe groaned after seeing the broken edge of the lance.

“The Aspect of Antiquity is Odin’s lance, but would the Aspect of Admiration be ATU 0310, the Maiden in the Tower – that is, Rapunzel? I see. A single hair is weak, but a bundle of hairs has great strength. That symbolism was used to control the entire group of Dracae. Maybe the Aspect of Amorality is the coven in which witches work together in a group?”

The first lance was destroyed.

But nine still remained.

“If these are scattered all across the city, it’ll take all day to run around finding them on foot. And Dorothea will eventually be taken out by the Dracae!”

“…”

Viocia fell silent for a bit.

Then she straddled her Formula Broom.

“Wait! Fly up and the Dracae will get you!”

“I know that.”

Viocia wasn’t looking up.

Her gaze was directed dead ahead.

At the surface level.

“But Dorothea is flying at super low altitude. That means it isn’t just theoretically possible. We know people really can fly at only 100cm off the ground.”

“!?”

Melehe couldn’t find anything else to say.

Flying at supersonic speed through a densely populated city crammed full of buildings would end with her crashing into the very first wall and dying instantly. That could be even more dangerous than flying up among the Dracae.

“Dorothea was already great at ground effect flight skimming just off the ground and her broom is a bisA specialized for that. Plus, this city is full of stairs. There’s no way you can pull it off with a standard model broom that wasn’t even modified at the Goddess’s Spring!”

“But I can’t force Dorothea to do it all herself.”

Still, Viocia did not hesitate.

Her decisiveness was born of not being all that bright.

And miraculously, a main street was open right before her eyes like a long, straight runway.

“I’ll take the same risk as her. Because she believed we could do anything!!”

### Part 21

Yagoro and Flamberg rushed toward each other, baton and broom crashed together, and then they even slammed foreheads together.

They stomped on each other’s feet, grabbed at hair, and bit at the backs of hands.

Red splattered out.

Their sense of pain had long since vanished.

Their gazes collided and Yagoro understood that Flamberg was thinking the exact same thing as him

I want to win even if it means fighting dirty.

This is the one person I absolutely refuse to lose to.

(Heh. You never know what life has in store for you, don’tcha think? I thought the Force’s martial arts training was meaningless for an astronaut, but it does come in handy at times!!)

Flamberg’s lips moved as they locked weapons at extreme close range.

But she was not reciting an incantation.

“Falling through that net wouldn’t have negated the damage of the fall, so how can you get back up? How!?”

Myousou Yagoro grinned, giving a clear view of his bloody teeth.

“This isn’t my first time falling. My pain is my own. If clenching my teeth and enduring the pain will save my student, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“…”

“Don’t underestimate a tutoring contract. It might only be a small part of a long life, but they’ve entrusted me with their precious time. I said it’s a contract, remember? Did you really think I’d break it over a little thing like preserving my own life?”

Flamberg’s knee sank into the center of Yagoro’s gut.

Just as the breath left him, she poured more strength into her broom and swept the tutor boy down onto the bridge.

“But it is all meaningless.”

The instructor used her other hand’s index finger to point at the sky filled with unnatural purple.

“Billions of Dracae fill the sky. I have taken all freedom away from Temple School City. Maleficium exists at the center of the vast lake and it can only be reached with a witch’s broom. The labyrinthine city is one thing, but anything flying even directly on the lake’s surface will be detected and attacked.”

“So no matter what revolutionary theories and inventions Maleficium comes up with, none of it can ever leave the school?”

“Nor can they receive supplies like food and fuel. What exam student will want to starve to death on an isolated island? And even if some of them are suicidal, who can slip past the Dracae to reach Maleficium? Their foolish dreams end here. The 99.9999% failure rate is a thing of the past. This will save 100% of those girls.”

Maybe so.

If the Dracae could really blockade the sky and prevent anyone from using their brooms.

“ But is that really true ?”

“?”

Something crumbled away.

An unnatural gap appeared in the purple sky. First just the one, but then more and more appeared until the entire Dracae swarm vanished.

“The Dracae…?”

“I knew I could believe in her,” said a voice.

It came from Yagoro who could no longer get up under his own power.

“The kid I taught can solve this Dracae problem without my help. She’ll realize she only needs to destroy all the lances. And because I believed in her, I left the core of the problem with her. I wasn’t even worried.”

“…”

“What, did you think this was a battle between Navigate Exam and Wedding Exam?”

This was why he had put himself in harm’s way.

To ensure Flamberg wouldn’t target Viocia and her friends. It was a tutor’s job to give them the support they needed to solve the problem.

In other words…

“This is the city of girls who were blocked by the wall of 99.9999% failure but still couldn’t give up on their dreams. I’m not the star of the show who saves Temple School City from its crisis. That should’ve been obvious.”

“Kh!?”

Wedding Exam displayed concern she hadn’t before.

But instead of her own plans being foiled, she may have been more afraid for the hopeful witches gaining the knowledge and skills needed to reach Maleficium.

“You couldn’t trust in your student’s strength, so you never could have imagined this happening.”

Unflappable Flamberg’s face now crumpled up like a child on the verge of tears.

“I achieved this victory with them by actually trusting my student to the end.”

If this was such a shock to her – if she was still capable of envying another teacher’s relationship with their student – then she might still carry the possibility of taking a second shot at being a teacher.

“Then.” Flamberg Wyrd bit her lip hard and glared at him with bloodshot eyes. “That victory of yours only lasts until I regain control of the familiars. I will once more pierce the lances into the enemy base of Temple School City, imbue them with the appropriate curse, and reclaim my army of Dracae! That will be enough to shatter those girls’ mistaken dreams and save every last one of them!!”

“You dumbass.”

Yagoro still couldn’t get up, but he once more grabbed his baton in a bloody hand.

He could still fight.

He put together the Three Aspects in his head.

Simply defeating her wasn’t enough.

As a tutor, his job was to save his student.

So…

“Trust isn’t a one-way street. When someone trusts in you, you’ve gotta live up to that trust!!”

“You think you are a match for me when you are so badly injured you cannot even stand up? My magic focuses on all the horrific passages from the ATU stories, so crushing and eliminating a single person is a simple task for-”

Flamberg stopped speaking and wobbled to the side.

Her couldn’t even hold her shoulders straight.

She had, after all, been hit by a divine strike and crashed. Even if she cushioned the impact of the fall with defense magic, she had to be torn up on the inside. Since Yagoro had in fact collapsed and could no longer move, it was a miracle the instructor was still on her feet.

Still, she could probably do it.

Her hands were shaking, her tongue refused to cooperate, and she couldn’t use any real magic, but she would settle this even if it meant clawing and biting her target.

There was no happiness at Maleficium, so she would protect the girls’ smiles by ensuring they failed the exam. That was her only objective as she defiled herself and chose to leave the humane path.

(But that won’t work. You can’t let your own feelings influence you to the point you judge things based only on right and wrong.)

So.

Myousou Yagoro grabbed his baton.

(Don’t become a wicked witch. If you could have kept to that basic principle, you never would have mistakenly thought you had to defile yourself to do the right thing.)

But instead of the grip, he held it tight at the middle.

And he rotated his wrist as if bring it down on its side.

“?”

Flamberg Wyrd had become the wolf, but she hadn’t noticed that was the symbol of the bow built into the gauntlet. That is, the crossbow.

So he was ever-so-slightly faster.

“ATU 0333, Red Riding Hood.”

This was likely the true final attack.

He used his battered body to draw the nonexistent bow before reciting an incantation.

“I call on the hunter! If the wolf is defeated by human hands, then even the greatest tragedy can be stopped and the devoured girl and grandmother can be saved entirely unscathed !!”

Something invisible shot through the air.

The impact soared toward her head.

Like a beast shot between the eyes, Witch Flamberg dropped straight down.

### Part 22

Silence fell for a while.

The Ghastly Fishing Hole was one of the lakeside deadly zones . Myousou Yagoro sat on the simple floating bridge there.

The Sunday blue sky had returned overhead and the purple was nowhere to be found.

He wished he could stay here forever, but he knew that wasn’t an option.

(Ugh. If I stay here too long, my student might enter this dangerous deadly zone to search for me.)

Just then, the silence was broken.

“Why did you use such a roundabout Three Aspects?”

The speaker was Wedding Exam Flamberg Wyrd.

She still lay motionless on the bridge, only her lips moving.

“If you only needed to kill me to stop this, there were plenty of shorter and simpler methods available.”

She seemed to be criticizing him for not doing that.

Even though she knew death wouldn’t let her see her students again.

Flamberg was the worst, but no matter how badly cornered she was, she had continued to fight as a witch without taking the easy way out and becoming a Voland.

She had displayed human strength.

As twisted as she had become, she was an educator who had dedicated herself to a heartfelt desire for the exam students to be happy.

She was a true and undeniable teacher.

Yagoro was willing to grant her that much.

“Heh.” Yagoro let out a quiet laugh. “ Hey, Flamberg. This is magic. If you’d done your homework, you’d know the answer .”

“?”

So covered in blood, he didn’t have it in him to explain it all.

But he did have one thing to say.

“First of all, killing you wasn’t my goal. That should be enough of a hint for you to figure it out, teacher. Also, there are people out there who will risk their lives to protect my student for nothing in return. I wouldn’t just leave one of them to die, don’tcha think?”

### Part 23

“Dorothea!”

“Pant, gasp. Viocia… A-are you alright?”

Glasses bandage zombie girl Dorothea was leaning back against the crumbling wall of a house. Her bandages were no longer just for show – they were soaked with red blood, showing just how much danger she had been in while giving Viocia and Melehe time to act.

Dorothea was still clutching her Formula Broom.

The broom had lost its bright colors and looked so dull now, which made her bite her lip.

Viocia’s first instinct was to hug Dorothea from the front. Feeling the large chest and the warmth told her Dorothea really was there. No matter how fleeting her presence might seem.

A short distance away, Melehe sighed with a hand on her hip. But she showed no inclination toward interfering.

Just then, a pale light began to glow. It came from Dorothea. The small specks of light danced all around and the wounds on the shy literary girl silently vanished.

“Whoa.”

“Wow, teacher must have done something,” baselessly suggested Viocia with a smile.

Then, like a receding wave, the purple covering Temple School City was swept away. But not really. In truth, each of the roe-sized specks was vanishing as its artificial body broke down.

Viocia looked up into the sky and shouted.

“Dracae!!”

“The artificial familiars have left their owner and completed their role. As seen from the records of a witch’s animals being executed along with her at the witch trials, familiars can die too. This was always their fate.”

“No…”

Melehe’s calm explanation left Viocia dumbfounded.

She had been so eager to end this as quickly as possible to minimize how many of them threw their lives away on those bird strikes, and this was the result?

One of the purple specks floated down nearby.

The roe-like outer film burst open and the small girl within opened her eyes a bit.

She was neither good nor evil.

The Dracae had only attacked Temple School City because the witch who owned them had ordered them to.

The Dracae tilted her head curiously before hesitantly reaching out a pair of delicate hands. Those hands gently squeezed the tip of Viocia’s index finger.

“Don’t…”

There was no danger, yet that was the word that left Viocia’s mouth.

Perhaps some part of her already knew how this was going to end.

“Please wait, Dracae!!”

She could have sworn the Dracae smiled.

The very next moment, the Dracae’s body burst and disappeared.

As easily as a soap bubble popping.

Only a faint warmth lingered at the tip of Viocia’s finger.

She was normally so cheerful, but no words left her mouth now.

“…”

Melehe Superlative, protector of Temple School City, shut her eyes and whispered.

“Their artificial bodies may disappear, but their mind will return to somewhere. They must be happy they were freed from committing such senseless destruction.”

### Part 24

With that, the incident had ended for the time being.

The Benandanti in thick armor took the lead in clearing away the rubble. The Witch Doctors treated the wounded in white medical tents and the Officers set up collapsible kitchen counters and stoves and got to work cooking.

Red pigtail Nancy spotted a woman being carried to one of the tents by stretcher.

It was Strena.

“Kh… Are you alright? Let me help you.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s nothing, really. You’re the one I hit after stalling out in the air, right?”

“I may have given up on the entrance exam, but I am older than you. I should be helping you.”

Nancy had no response to that, so silence fell.

While waiting for her turn to be treated, Strena viewed the damaged city around her.

Nancy sighed and tried speaking again.

“It was a close one, but it looks like Yagoro managed to put a stop to it.”

“Tch. I still don’t trust that athletic intellectual. If he had a trump card, he should’ve used it before it got this bad.”

Strena’s words were critical, but they in part acknowledged what the boy was capable of.

She didn’t doubt he could have solved a problem on this scale.

Not far away, a sexy apron witch wearing a dress with the colors of a luxurious chocolate cake was pulling along a little girl(?) wearing a sheer camisole dress with the colors of a blue Hawaii soda float. The smaller of the two was tearfully angry.

“Dammit, you can’t just cancel the flea market, leaving me with a ton of unsold books! Yagoro, you really are nothing but bad luck!”

“My, my. If you still had that many books left over by the afternoon, I doubt you would have sold them all anyway. It’s not fair to blame him for that.”

No matter what might happen, life in Temple School City would not stop.

It was a special city where so many new and repeat exam students crashed into a solid wall and struggled until the majority of them gave up, but it was one of the best places for people to learn how to find and foster hope.

### Part 25

It was Sunday evening.

Viocia Modestlucky had returned to the shop where she rented a room.

Freynir existed as she was coming in.

“It’s time to work. I have to head out and gather customers. I have to make sure everyone knows we’re open for business even after everything that happened.”

“Hi…”

“Hm? You sound tired.”

The girl answered with only an ambiguous smile.

Once inside, she went to the kitchen where bronze Moloch was helping Kevin.

That was her artificial friend.

Viocia held a book out toward Moloch.

“Here you go. This is the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences you were looking for.”

Moloch’s celebration caused quite a commotion. The entire building’s floor shook and Kevin yelled at them.

Viocia Modestlucky, hopeful witch, had a single question.

She still felt so inadequate and thought back to the artificial Dracae she had failed to save.

So she asked her question with a smile on the verge of tears.

‘Moloch, are you happy here?”

“Moo☆”

### Part 26

Myousou Yagoro was badly beaten up.

But he still had a job left to do.

“Hey. Melehe told me more or less what happened.”

A broom with a ship’s helm attached was leaning against a crumbling building wall.

Dorothea was not here. Her glasses were close by, so she may have been washing her face in a nearby well.

To do something about her tear-stained face.

Yagoro put on a weary smile and got started.

“You critically damaged your internal structure protecting Dorothea, right? Honestly, Aristotle, you both love going out of your way to get yourselves hurt, don’tcha think?”

“Ksh…”

This was what remained of the broom that had fought to the end to protect Viocia, Melehe…and his own rider Dorothea.

“Demand: tell that to that idiot. Ksh, I told her not to worry about me and consecrate herself with another broom so she could continue with the exam.”

It was true only people with a connection to Maleficium could mess with the core of a Formula Broom. Ordinarily, Dorothea should give up on Formula Broom – Lyceum bisA and either find another broom or give up on the exam altogether and head home.

But.

“Tell me: is the Dracae still stuck inside you?”

“?”

“Maybe it’s just one of them, but there’s still an active Dracae inside you. And it miraculously worked its way in deep enough to damage your core.”

“Hey…?”

“Then if I can get the Dracae out of you and heal your wound, I can kill two birds with one stone.”

“Ksshh. Wait, what do – kssshhh – you think-”

“ Oh, shut up already. Unseal. ”

Myousou Yagoro had been to Maleficium, so he was all they needed to save them both.

### Today’s Quiz 4

Viocia: …Teacher.

Yagoro: Sigh. So I hear you had a lot on your plate this time too, Viocia.

Viocia: Did we do the right thing? I mean, the Dracae were only doing what the witch told them to do.

Yagoro: (Hm, what should I do about this? I could just tell her I managed to save one of the Dracae, but I also don’t want to reveal my past to her during a quiz.)

Viocia: Teacher, are you hiding something?

Yagoro: Ahem. For now, you need to review. All the hints can be found on the Sunday of the flea market.

Question: How and with what magical methods did Myousou Yagoro defeat Wicked Witch Flamberg? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

01. The initial concept was the Aspect of Admiration – ATU (____), Red Riding Hood.

02. I used the part where the hunter slays the wolf and rescues Red Riding Hood and the grandmother from the wolf’s (____).

03. I wanted a legend where attack and (_____) were two sides of the same coin.

04. The Aspect of Antiquity was the (____)’s club.

05. When used normally, that weapon can defeat the enemy army, but when held upside down, it can (_____) dead allies.

06. The Aspect of (______) was the creation of something from something .

07. That is the symbolism behind healing people’s wounds by (_______) plants or animals and creating potions out of them.

08. In this case, Flamberg and her ferocious attacks made her the (_____).

09. Because Dorothea and Strena were injured in the battle, they had been (____) by the wolf.

10. When the (_____) defeated the wolf, they were rescued with all of their damage erased .

Note: Simply defeating her wouldn’t have been enough. I also needed to rescue Dorothea and Strena, don’tcha think?

That’s all. Any questions, Viocia?

### 014. Epilogue: Various Stairways

July had begun.

Sorbeddy Icing hadn’t done much business at the flea market and was left with lots of stock leftover.

“Please, Myousou, buy every book in this box☆”

“Why would I want a pile of unsold trash!?”

To escape the god of poverty hounding him, Yagoro fled to Carraway Cs Prep School’s structure building where a minor event was underway first thing in the morning.

The results of the official practice exam held at the end of June were in.

The practice exam had been a 24-hour written test. That meant the students had been tied to their desks, fighting their drowsiness and weariness as they continued writing out the correct answers. When to eat and nap was part of the strategy for that test of stamina, but there was no need for a Formula Broom.

“Oh, I went up a rank. I finally made it to D!”

“Hee hee. That’s wonderful, Viocia.”

Viocia hopped excitedly and Dorothea smiled. The glasses bandage girl had remained at C rank. With the practice exam results, it was easy to move up from the lower ranks but that got a lot harder as you moved up.

“…”

Melehe watched them both, uncertain how to react.

She was still A rank.

But in Melehe’s case, it would be very difficult to climb the ranks any further and leave behind her rivals. When you were already at the top, it became a defensive battle. And that battle truly began once the others started catching up.

As the big sister of a large family, Dorothea could celebrate her friend’s accomplishment even though it meant a close rival was approaching her position. Melehe must have been jealous of that ability. Because the witch way of life and witch values were based on beauty.

“Feeling better now, Viocia?”

“Yeah. If I’d been able to repair familiars back then, I might have been able to save those Dracae. I can’t just sit around. There’s no way to get better other than studying!”

“I see.”

“Teacher, why are you grinning like that?”

“No reason. I definitely wasn’t thinking about sharing the trivia that familiars aren’t just made and used – they can be gifted and sold as well. Anyway, if you can use this feeling to motivate yourself, then it’s a win for you, don’tcha think?”

Black.

Pitch black.

That was the color within Summon Restricted Magic School Maleficium’s massive lecture hall. All of the windows were covered by thick, light-blocking curtains, creating an artificial darkness similar to a movie theater.

This was the Court Theatre.

It was a weekly meeting at which the leaders of every committee and club were allowed to attend.

The decisions made here were considered to be the will of Maleficium’s student body.

“The mastermind Flamberg Wyrd has been arrested and all of the Divine Lances determining the Dracae control areas have been destroyed. That resolves the Dracae incident which used group control of familiars to claim air superiority.”

The speaker standing from one of the chairs filling the audience section was Benandanti Nancy. Only leaders were allowed in those seats, but even they were only considered the audience. Maleficium was simply on too great a scale.

“I must also report that this incident was not resolved exclusively by the Benandanti. We had assistance from the citizenry. Considerable assistance.”

“Oh?” The leader of the Channelers grinned in a teasing way. “Did you think you could avoid being censured as a wicked witch if you freely admitted to your failings?”

“I did nothing wrong. I simply decided keeping secrets would be the first step toward misdeeds.”

The Channeler fell silent.

She must have realized she had been baited into making just that argument.

The conflict between committees and clubs was nothing new. The committees served all equally at the command of the charismatic White Magic, giving them a socialist disposition, whereas the clubs promoted their own interests first and foremost and sought an expansion of individual liberty, giving them a capitalist disposition.

“The Dracae problem was resolved in the end, so pursuing this any further would be a waste of time.”

“That’s the problem with you noncombatant Witch Doctors. You don’t even have the strength to correct people’s misbehavior.”

“Shut up, Jongleur. If you’re only going to spread valueless information, I fail to see why you need to exist at all.”

“Raise your hand if you’re losing and need a boost! The Maidens are here to cheer for you all☆”

Nancy sighed.

This happened every single time, but the focus was slipping from the topic at hand to attempting to trip each other up.

And it was always the same person who brought things back on topic.

“Can’t we leave the final decision with her?” asked Benandanti Nancy, mildly annoyed that she had to. She turned to look at one person individually. “Isn’t that right, President Ulrike?”

That was enough to silence the fruitless bickering.

Even though the girl in question hadn’t spoken a word.

Someone else had simply mentioned her name.

While the right and left sides of the vast audience – the clubs and the committees – glared at each other from their factions that looked like a parted sea, the president sat in a leather chair up on a dais and merely listened to the conversation.

She was President Ulrike.

Of all of White Magic’s members, only she held a public position capable of bringing her opinions directly to Natural Magic and Ritual Magic, allowing her to influence the policies used to manage Maleficium as a whole. So all the school’s clubs and committees curried her favor in an attempt to get their opinions to the teachers and management.

White Magic – the student council. Ritual Magic – the board of faculty. Natural Magic – the board of directors.

Maleficium was run by those three groups, but White Magic actually had the greatest authority.

And Ulrike opened her mouth.

“Nancy.”

“Y-yes!?”

“Wicked Witch Flamberg thought our 99.9999% failure rate was too low and wished to increase it to a perfect 100%, ensuring that no one at all could pass the entrance exam, correct?”

“Y-yes. What about it?”

“In that case, she didn’t intend an indiscriminate attack on all exam students – she intended to locate those with a high probability of passing and mark them as priority targets. By her standards, that would save those innocent girls.”

“Well, there was an A rank girl at Liberty Ceridwen,” noted Nancy, but President Ulrike saw things differently.

“(She may have been after a different girl,)” she whispered.

“?”

“Anyway, I thank you all for your valuable opinions. That will be all.”

“But, president, you still haven’t determined a punishment for the foolish and ugly Benandanti who have failed so many times in a-”

“ I said that will be all. ”

The president girl repeated herself with a smile.

Like a receding wave, everyone pulled away from and gave pitying looks to the Channeler who had carelessly gotten greedy. How much of a failure had that one statement been?

Ulrike smoothly continued.

“Some of your opinions I am sure will receive agreement from Ritual Magic and Natural Magic right away. Others will be more difficult. That concludes this week’s Esbat. Now, everyone, may your next week be even more kind and beautiful than the last.”

The sunlight seals in the ceiling light fixtures emitted bright sunshine.

By then, only Ulrike remained.

Almost like the rest of the people had been swept away along with the darkness.

The president sat in her leather chair, not at all surprised to find herself alone.

She smiled thinly in the Court Theatre lined with empty seats, rolled her long, long hair around a lithe finger, and mentally reviewed everything that had been said.

Her hair was black, just like a certain boy’s natural hair.

She possessed that rare quality said to be a dye used in the greatest curse.

But that wasn’t all.

She held a broom with an estimated rank of S 3 .

That extraordinary witch’s broom was suspected to in fact be a trap for the witch trials.

It was not a bis, nor an MTD.

It was still a standard model with no additions because it had been so flawless to begin with that any modifications would only ruin its perfect balance.

In other words…

“No one must come in contact with the edge of the world. Don’t you agree, Formula Broom – Wittenberg ?”

Meanwhile, Myousou Yagoro was faced with an unprecedented crisis.

He was in that shop only open at night.

And instead of on the 2nd floor where Viocia rented a room, he was down on the first floor.

In the sweet and bewitching shop itself.

Dancer Olivia bowed deeply to him.

“Teacher, I hear you did not just protect Viocia and her friends but also defeated that immoral instructor and settled an old debt we we weren’t even aware of. As a representative of everyone working at Sabbath Party, I express our utmost appreciation. Thank you so much.”

“Y-you’re welcome…”

“Now, then. You have the entire place to yourself tonight. And I am willing to offer services which aren’t normally available here. Hee hee. So what are you into personally? Don’t be shy – you can tell me anything.”

This was a problem.

A big problem.

Why were the rules so lax in this fantasy world? He could just enter an establishment like this. This was (truly) his first time entering one during business hours, and Viocia had to be studying just one floor above right now. Assuming she hadn’t given in to the drowsiness and passed out at her desk. Even with a scantily-clad dancer in front of him, he just couldn’t do it. If any guy could give into his desires in a situation like this, he couldn’t be human!!

Then Olivia released a bewitching giggle and leaned toward him while seated next to him on the sofa. She had the look of a cat toying with its captured prey.

“Or, teacher, is there a girl you’re interested in? If your heart already belongs to someone, then our services might make things awkward.”

“Um, what are you talking a-”

All of a sudden, Olivia stripped off her top. As casually as removing a T-shirt with both hands.

The sound effect?

Fwoosh and then boing.

“Alright, let’s have sex.”

“No!! This is all moving too fast!”

“Oh, dear. You don’t look too happy about having a willing girl right in front of you, teacher. Is that because a certain someone is so close by?”

“…”

“Hee hee. Who did you just picture in your head? C’mon, you can tell me☆”

### 015. Afterword

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Failing Witch now has a second volume, making it a series! Are you familiar with the Three Aspects system of magic yet? With the field trip and the flea market, I focused on events outside the prep school this time. And instead of having Yagoro and the three girls together as a single party, I split them up so the battles would play out differently from the first volume. I wanted to show the strength of the bonds that connect them even when they’re apart.

In volume 2, it’s important that Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe’s flying has advanced even further than in volume one thanks to the modernization of their Formula Brooms at the Goddess’s Spring. …By the way, did you know that the original version of the story with the gold axe and silver axe has the god Hermes appear from the spring, not a goddess or female spirit? I really did go “ehhhh!?” in surprise when I found out.

Also, while Viocia and the others could barely handle flying on a broom at all in volume 1, now they’re using special maneuvers and attempting games like Elbow and Drop Marker that aren’t just about speed. As an author, how to adjust the balance for the famous dunce Viocia was an extreme challenge and I ended up where I did after a lot of trial and error, but what did you think? I hope she’s made progress since volume 1 but still feels like the same person.

Specializing in a single direction can also mean doing poorly in every other field. How will Viocia and the others use their newfound traits to attempt the exam? I hope you will continue to watch over their growth.

Also, this one had a ton of polite speech! I realized in volume 1 the only polite heroines were the mystery mama and the unmotivated gyaru-style instructor, which was really just being polite as an act. That must have broken something inside me, making me explode. Everyone speaks politely now! You should have seen a ton of variations on polite speech in volume 2!!

For the enemy boss, I introduced a fairly nasty one in episode 1 of volume 1, but this time it was a serious battle between teachers. That’s a subtly different structure from the 3-against-3 student battle in volume 1. Both of them care about their students, which is exactly why they can never get along. I wanted to use their conflict to dig into the nature of the protagonist and what it means to be a teacher. Convincing someone to give up can be a kindness too. You all may have had experienced that somewhere in your lives. Or had it said to you. And when it happened, did you still find yourself wanting someone who would give you encouragement? This is Dengeki Bunko, so the protagonist has to be the one shouting the nice-sounding answers. Will you chase your dreams or give up? I feel like that holds great meaning in the special environment of entrance exams. I hope you enjoyed seeing the strongest tutor in another world risking his life to follow through on the things he says. And the only kind of fictional teacher who can rival that tutor’s charm has to be a young woman!! Why not try imagining how that wedding dress teacher must have taught her students before she ended up this way.

This battle wasn’t simply solved by Yagoro as the strongest one there. Instead he used the failure of the girls’ earlier attempt as part of his magic to try and help them improve. I hope you saw his tutor side showing through in the way he made sure to boost his student’s confidence and strength like that.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Aroa-san and my editors Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. Drawing the illustrations must have been a lot of work with even more events crammed into this one than in volume 1. Thank you again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. Yagoro, Carraway Cs Prep School, Sassafras Cfa Prep School’s delinquent girls, the Squatter’s District, Sabbath Party, the Maleficium witches, the Limit Breakers, Tarou and Hanako, and the goddess. A wide variety of groups have already appeared, but which ones have tugged on your heartstrings? Nothing would delight me more than for you to have found a favorite among them. Thank you!

I will end this here.

Well? Who did you just picture in your head!? Well, well!?

-Kamachi Kazuma

### 016. Appendix: Quiz Answers

### Prologue Quiz

Are you used to these quizzes yet? As usual, make sure you focus on the Three Aspects.

But instead of directly testing your knowledge, this time I kept in mind what kind of questions you’ll need to answer on an actual test. So pay careful attention to the phrasing of the questions.

Let’s start with the Aspect of Admiration.

ATU 0709 is Snow White and ATU 0709a is a derivative of it. Explain how ATU 0709a differs.

( It becomes the story known as The Little Sister of Nine Brothers and the prince saves the girl after she steps on a poisoned claw and dies. )

Next, the Aspect of Amorality.

Witches are said to transform into a variety of different animals. These are mostly harmless animals like rabbits and dragonflies, but just one is extremely dangerous. Which of the following is it?

1. Crow

2. Cat

③ . Wolf

Hint: Dangerous means this animal is a threat to human life.

Lastly, the Aspect of Antiquity.

Crystal is an all-purpose mineral. The witch ceremony known as programming specializes a crystal for a single use by sealing your own will inside. What benefit does this provide?

Giving it a specific ( role ) in advance allows for ( time reduction ).

Yagoro: Dorothea provided us with our answers this time. A round of applause, everyone!

Dorothea: Y-you’re embarrassing me. Eep.

### Today’s Quiz 1

Question: How did Myousou Yagoro control the sleeping bag and furniture and what magical method did he use to defeat Wicked Witch Rayon? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

1. The Aspect of Admiration was (Red Riding Hood).

2. The Aspect of Amorality was (a poltergeist).

3. The Aspect of Antiquity was (Fragarach).

→Now explain who those Three Aspects were handled.

Hint: Consider how he used Rayon’s scam magic against her.

Important: It all begins with ATU0333.

Out of all the stories, this especially focused on the scene where the (wolf) disguised himself as the grandmother lay in the bed and tricked Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood was skeptical and asked several questions, but none of the wolf’s answers led to any change in the situation. That is a magical lesson that even blatant (lies) have absolute power over the people under your spell .

For the poltergeist, it’s probably easier to imagine (necromancy) in which someone creates their own rapping noises to match what (the questioner) asks about, don’tcha think?

The control aspect was enhanced using the Celtic symbol of the (magic sword) that, when drawn, would automatically (take flight), cut down the enemy, and return to (the wielder).

The sleeping bag magic that Rayon taught Roslynica was fake. But so what? A lie that can never be found it carries special power and the battle began when the room’s inanimate objects began to move on their own . By creating that “situation”, Even magic created by con artist can demonstrate real power.

That’s all. Any questions, Viocia?

Yagoro: Winning with brute force wouldn’t have been a good reward for Roslynica, so I had to get creative.

Viocia: What? It’s so weird that lies can be a magical lesson…

Yagoro: Witchcraft is a mixture of truth and lies. You have to consider how to use each piece of knowledge.

### Today’s Quiz 2

Yagoro: …

Yagoro: We skipped this one, so there are no answers to give.

Melehe: That’s perfect. Since we have extra space, you need to let us air out our daily frustrations.

Viocia: Hear, hear!

Dorothea: Um, eep, I-I don’t have any complaints about him.

Viocia: You tell him, Dorothea!!

Melehe: Viocia, you agreed without even listening to what she said, didn’t you? Whose side are you on!?

Yagoro: There’s no point in arguing with her. She’s the kind of person who would instantly befriend a tiger that had escaped from the circus.

Melehe: Don’t give me that pitying look, pervy tutor. Just you wait. We’ll have our verbal revenge prepared for you next time.

Dorothea: Eh? Do I have to be a part of it?

Melehe: …

Yagoro: If Viocia and Dorothea aren’t interested in your revenge, democracy is going to work against you here, don’tcha think?

Melehe: Says the tutor who lords it over us as like a dictator!! Stand up, proletariat! We must reclaim the freedom of the exam students from the clutches of this tyrannical idiot!

Viocia: I don’t know what half that means, so how about we try out a new snack recipe?

Dorothea: You can’t, Viocia. Eep. Those instant recipes are bad for you.

Yagoro: Okay, okay. How long are you students planning to hang around here? Do you like my company, or something?

Melehe: Are you stupid!? Are you stupid!?

Viocia: That’s so important she said it twice, teacher.

Dorothea: Eep. Was Melehe’s response there the correct answer?

### Today’s Qui- Monster Test from Hell💀

Question: How and with what magical method did Myousou Yagoro defeat Demon Lord Snorri and rescue all the girls including Freynir? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

The Aspect of Admiration was ATU (0124).

The Three Little Pigs is the name most people know, but that isn’t the official name. Watch out for trick questions.

The important part is that the wolf was finally defeated after three stages: the (house of straw), the house of wood, and the house of brick. Three is an important number in witchcraft, so focus on it whenever you encounter it.

☆Hint: Focus on the number 3!

The rest is easy. The Aspect of Antiquity was (Erinyes), the trio of vengeance gods from (Greek) mythology.

The Aspect of (Amorality) was the witch ceremony in which a (great storm) is created by untying three (knots).

The witches could not win and Freynir the elf could not win. By my addition activated the principle of (third time’s) the charm, giving me the role of the brick house, which acted as a curse to weaken Demon Lord (Snorri). With that, the cruel wolf is reduced to a simple (jobber).

This can be used as many times as you want as long as you don’t die. In the world of witches, defeat isn’t always meaningless . If you can lose in a way that sets up a later victory, it’s actually a valuable investment, don’tcha think?

That’s all. Viocia, and the rest of you too, any questions?

Viocia: Sob

Yagoro: If you’ve learned your lesson, then stop trying to solve everything on your own.

Dorothea: Hee hee. B-but, tutor, you always seem to come running whenever Viocia is in trouble.

Viocia: (Smile!!)

Yagoro: Hey, don’t encourage her. She had better not make a habit of getting into trouble because of this!

### Today’s Quiz 4

Question: How and with what magical methods did Myousou Yagoro defeat Wicked Witch Flamberg? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

01. The initial concept was the Aspect of Admiration – ATU (0333), Red Riding Hood.

02. I used the part where the hunter slays the wolf and rescues Red Riding Hood and the grandmother from the wolf’s (belly).

03. I wanted a legend where attack and (recovery) were two sides of the same coin.

04. The Aspect of Antiquity was the (Dagda)’s club.

05. When used normally, that weapon can defeat the enemy army, but when held upside down, it can (resurrect) dead allies.

06. The Aspect of (Amorality) was the creation of something from something .

07. That is the symbolism behind healing people’s wounds by (sacrificing) plants or animals and creating potions out of them.

08. In this case, Flamberg and her ferocious attacks made her the (wolf).

09. Because Dorothea and Strena were injured in the battle, they had been (eaten) by the wolf.

10. When the (hunter) defeated the wolf, they were rescued with all of their damage erased .

Note: Simply defeating her wouldn’t have been enough. I also needed to rescue Dorothea and Strena, don’tcha think?

That’s all. Any questions, Viocia?

Viocia: You mean you didn’t just defeat Flamberg!?

Yagoro: Well, it would have left a bad taste in my mouth if I hadn’t helped Dorothea and Strena (and Flamberg, and the Dracae, and Aristotle), don’tcha think?

Viocia: So this is witchcraft. There’s more to it than fighting and breaking stuff.

Yagoro: Fighting is just one method of solving problems. What good is being the strongest? You can’t solve everything by winning fights . Lose sight of that and you can become a wicked witch obsessed with power, dont’cha think, Viocia?

### 017. Prologue: The Grader and the Graded

Summer is really getting started now.

Your prep school should be giving you a general exam soon, but that means you will stumble and come to a halt if you neglect the fundamentals. It’s a tutor’s job to give you some help where you’re lacking, so this quiz will help teach you the importance of the fundamentals.

Let’s start with the Aspect of Admiration.

ATU ( 0782 ), Midas and the Donkey Ears. Or would you know it better as the King Has Donkey Ears? This story has more than one magical lesson: “words can bring disaster” and one other. What is that other lesson?

( The donkey is seen as a foolish animal, so the king’s secret getting out would damage his authority )

Your actions can have unexpected results. Do not anger god.

How to cast a gag curse. …There isn’t just one other lesson here.

Next, the Aspect of Antiquity.

Witchcraft divides the year into 8 periods. What is the most common reason for this?

The year is viewed as a large ( wheel ) and the 8 periods indicate the changing of the ( seasons ) and the days of the ( festivals ).

Those are usually the days of big tests at prep schools

Finally, the Aspect of Amorality.

The Formula Broom is the most well known magic tool, but there are plenty more. Such as the staff. It is mostly a long stick just like a broom, but what is the difference between a staff and a broom at the Witch’s Sabbath?

The staff is a symbol of ( male ) authority.

A witch only carries one when attempting a theatrical ceremony and playing the role of the ( horned ) male god.

I see how it is. You’re trying to get me to talk about penises, aren’t you, you pervy tutor?

They were in Temple School City. Specifically, in a park gazebo.

Even that city of witches had cicadas. Their cries weren’t any different from those in the other world of Earth. The gazebo did have a small roof, but that wasn’t enough to forget about the heat.

It was summer.

Midsummer.

But the elite student didn’t seem to care. Despite the heat, she wore a black hat, black jacket, and black miniskirt, giving her a chocolate parfait look. Melehe Superlative sharply tapped her quiz with a finger and glared icily at Tutor Myousou Yagoro.

“I get that these quizzes are meant to teach us how the practice exams work. Those always cruelly phrase the questions in misleading ways. But I don’t see such clear intention or planning in this, pervy tutor. You can’t give a question that has multiple answers like that.”

“Um, uh.”

“Listen. Students like us are supposed to use tests to reassess our skills, identify the next hurdle we need to clear, and repeat the process to climb ever higher. We have the Lughnasadh practice exam coming up. We can’t afford to be wasting even a second on these badly-formed questions that lead us to false assumptions!”

“…”

The silver-haired, brown-skinned sky pirate girl had her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed out in maximum fury mode, so a clearly troubled Yagoro sought assistance.

“Ugh. Can’t we wait until evening to study…”

This came from the girl in a large witch hat and a dress with pumpkin tart colors. The bold slit in her long skirt did not suit her at all.

Halloween Witch Viocia Modestlucky had succumbed to the heat, her upper body collapsing onto the table like cheese melted on toast. Hard to believe her grandmother was the legendary Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love who was said to have truly mastered witchcraft.

“Eep. Sorry, but I don’t want to die…”

Bandage Zombie Girl Dorothea Rockpool was still sitting upright, but she averted her eyes. The idiot was one thing, but a rejection from the diligent glasses girl proved just how hopeless his situation was.

Help was not forthcoming

“Um… It seems to me I don’t really need your approval when you aren’t even my stu-”

“Don’t run from the task at hand.”

She shot down his protest.

And she had a point, so he couldn’t even argue.

“Since you don’t seem to understand, I’ll explain it for you, perv. I’m not upset with you and your pervy failings. I’m actually trying to help you, so you should really thank me. You see, perv, being aware of your failings is a wonderful thing. Because once you overcome them, you can upgrade yourself!”

“…”

“A tutor is supposed to convey knowledge to his student and reach a greater understanding of that student to find the best way of teaching them. This is a positive cycle – a perfect win-win situation. Heh heh! But you are doing such a poor job I can’t stand to sit by and watch. So I, Melehe Superlative – the next leader of Private Striga, the greatest coven in the northern icy region – have no choice but to help you upgrade yourself!!!”

“…………………………………………………………”

“Umm.” That hesitant interruption did not come from Myousou Yagoro.

Dorothea raised her hand a little.

“Hm? What do you want, Dorothea? Did you have a question about what you’re studying?”

“No, um, eep. It’s about the tutor…”

The elite student frowned at Dorothea’s apologetic tone. This was odd. No one should be looking that way at the beautiful bearer of an A rank in the official practice exam.

Only after looking straight ahead again did she realize the truth.

The pervy tutor had become a log.

No, that bastard had left a log in his place while he ran away!!

“!? D-damn, that pervy tutor. Has that tree absorbed saltwater? He used the combination of purifying water and plant matter to make an impromptu talisman to divert the probability of negative events away from him!? Why must he use such high-level skills on such pointless things!?”

Melehe pounded her hands against the gazebo table.

“Ugh,” sleepily groaned Viocia, who was still collapsed on said table. Her consciousness level had gone completely dark.

### 018. Episode 1: The Boundary Between A and B

### Part 1

One summer evening, a carrier pigeon arrived at Myousou Yagoro’s apartment to deliver a message in place of a mobile device.

It was a request for assistance from the used book seller (a gentle young woman with silver hair, brown skin, and enormous boobs) who was always helping him one way or another.

He readied himself for some kind of heavy lifting and made his way to the used bookstore.

“Your shoulders are stiff?”

“Yes, that’s right. Parchment is so heavy when bound together, so this was inevitable with all the books I have to carrying in and out.”

The young woman at the counter of the dimly-lit store was massaging her own shoulders. Now, she was also Melehe’s mother, so he had to handle her with the utmost care.

She wore an apron over a black dress resembling a fancy chocolate cake made with brandy and gold leaf. She claimed her shoulders were stiff, but…

(She expects me to believe moving her merchandise around is the only reason for that? Yeah, right.)

“Yagoro?”

“Nothing,” he hurriedly assured her. He did owe her a lot, so he couldn’t tell her his eyes had been drawn down toward her huge boobs.

He did know the perfect tool for this.

And his HEA house could create any electronic device as long as he had the manual.

More specifically, he could feed a hand-drawn manual to the wooden ants in his aquarium and they would dig out the colorful soil to give it the proper form and function. The fact that the electronics didn’t even need a power source was especially useful.

So he could create a health product designed for stiff shoulders, but it would be an item that did not exist in this world. Which meant he couldn’t let her see it.

And so…

“Oh? You want to blindfold me?”

“Eye strain can apparently play a role in stiff shoulders. And heating them with a damp wet towel should help too.”

“Hee hee. You’re so knowledgeable. I knew you were the right person to go to for help.”

The cheerful woman didn’t find anything suspicious about having her eyes covered by a towel and a thin string.

In other words, his pursuit of the best possible option had led to this.

He was alone in a dark room with a married woman. The mother was seated in a chair and blindfolded while he held a mystery electronic – a nice long massager.

(How did I end up in this situation!?)

He had set it up, but he still shuddered.

And he couldn’t delay any longer. He switched on he massager and pressed its rapidly-vibrating tip against her right shoulder.

Gently.

“Ahn, hh.”

He very nearly dropped the massager.

Her nasal breath was far too suggestive.

The blindfolded woman shrank down in her chair.

“Um, wait, what was that? I thought you were going to give me a massa- ahn!”

“That’s what I’m doing, so stop making inappropriate noises!”

“What is that buzzing sound? Do you have a giant bug back there?”

Seeing the usually perfect woman twitching and attempting a blindfold quiz was kind of amusing.

Not even that bookseller mama could have known what this object was. And no one could keep their cool when presented with the unknown in a situation like this. Yes, this was her first time. Which wasn’t making this sound any more appropriate, was it!?

And.

Someone stood at the used bookstore’s entrance. The book seller had put the “on break” sign out front, but someone had come in regardless.

It was her daughter, Melehe Superlative.

“Pant, pant. Yagoro? You can go at it rougher if you want. Or are you intentionally making me wait to see how I react?”

Blindfolded and unaware of her daughter’s approach, the woman kept on talking.

From the daughter’s perspective, this would look like a very different kind of “break”.

“What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

### Part 2

“…”

Myousou Yagoro got out of bed in his stone apartment.

He ached.

All of his joints protested as he moved.

Yesterday had not been a good day. Frankly, he was amazed he was still alive.

(I’m honestly afraid to go to the cram school.)

But he couldn’t abandon his student for his own convenience. A single wasted day could do critical damage to an exam student’s chances.

He decided to count himself lucky he could even take the time to agonize over it in bed. When he was staying in the Force dormitory, he had been thrown in the detention barracks if he ever failed to get up at the set time each day.

He heard the squeaking of glass being rubbed.

Something like a fish egg was fluttering around inside a clear eye drop vial. That orb contained a naked girl. She was a Dracae familiar he had retrieved previously. He didn’t have any work for her to do, which left her in a position similar to a tropical fish, but she appeared to be rubbing her purple orb against the inside of the eye drop vial to communicate with him: Shape up.

Yagoro steeled himself and walked outside. It was still morning, but the summer sun was already blazing. The cicada cries sounded a little withered.

A giant dragon was soaring gently through the sky. Apparently Hanako had enough energy to bathe in the midsummer sun instead of resting in the shade.

“Extra, extra! We have the latest on King Michael’s bastard son!! You don’t want to miss out on this!”

“This is the same model of hat Lord Brian wore to the general council.”

“Is it true those old men on the Senate are taking vacations on the sly?”

Temple School City’s offerings were a mixed bag as usual…and some sketchy rumors were making the rounds. Seeing how misinformation ran rampant in this world of swords and sorcery made Yagoro realize the internet wasn’t to blame for that after all. The blame lay with human nature, not that tool used to spread it.

“You can only meet the right person once. Can you really dedicate your entire life to someone you met by chance? Come to us and we can make sure you are matched with your soulmate!”

Yagoro listened to all the hawking and shouting as he entered Carraway Cs Prep School.

“Good morning, teacher!”

“Yes, good morning. …But I’m not really supposed to be here, so don’t greet me quite so loudly.”

“?” Viocia tilted her head. Tacit understandings could be frightening things, but no one seemed to care about his presence anymore.

And…

“Our prep school will totally be doing the Lughnasadh practice exam soon.”

Gyaru-style instructor Schanze Dwelling was raring to go first thing in the morning.

The Mont-Blanc-looking gyaru leaned forward from her lectern to accentuate her point.

“Instead of a practical exam using your brooms, this is totally a written exam. That means you’ll totally be sitting in a desk struggling against the answer sheet in front of you.”

This exam was exclusive to this one prep school, but you couldn’t take it lightly.

After all, the midsummer was a crucial period. A big official practice exam run by Maleficium was coming up. The Lughnasadh run by Carraway Cs wasn’t just the lead-in to that; these officially-approved prep school exams could be applied to the results of your official practice exam.

That meant the results here could greatly influence the witch’s final rank of A, B, C, D, etc.

(It’s weird that this system is known outside of Maleficium. I doubt your average fortune teller could see through that barrier, so Maleficium must have intentionally left a tiny hole open to let them through.)

“How does this kind of information get out?” asked Viocia with a thoughtful look.

Yagoro’s eyebrows rose, but…

“They’re targeting all the subjects I’m worst at… Th-this must be the conspiracy of a secret society!!”

“Never mind. The idiot’s still an idiot. Maybe I’m the real idiot for thinking otherwise even for a moment.”

That aside, it was a written exam.

Whether that meant fill-in-the-blank or solving calculations, the students would have to accurately remember the terms and formulas.

That meant memorization would play a big role.

While memorization sounded simple enough, there were actually several ways to organize one’s memory.

There was the repetition method where you reviewed flash cards over and over.

There was the redundancy method where you write the material by hand and spoke it aloud to stimulate multiple senses.

But it went beyond just those two. Witches used witchy methods to cram all that information into their heads. Alchemic potions, witch’s brews, and self-hypnosis to name a few. Some students would even rely on destructive methods like summoning a demon from a magic circle to receive its wisdom, or cutting their arm with a razor whenever they made a mistake on a problem set or quiz. So as unexciting as a written exam might sound, you could never let your guard down.

“Ugh. I can’t do the thing where you swallow a scrap of paper with the material written on it. There’s so much to learn my stomach would burst. Oh! B-but if I write each term on a bite-sized pancake with chocolate sauce, then I can eat it all. And donuts! And cupcakes too! That way teacher will have to praise me for eating all that stuff!! It’s the perfect idea!! I must be a genius!!!”

“You’d end up overeating just before the exam and wind up in the clinic, so don’t even think about it, Viocia. +1 point: the initial idea that eating scraps of paper will help you learn is completely baseless. ”

Yagoro sighed in exasperation, but Viocia’s idea summed up the situation well.

The idea that “I need to do this to help me study” was a dangerously tempting one for the girls preparing for their exams.

Yes.

There was no one single correct study method even for the witches who could fly loops through sky aboard a Formula Broom.

### Part 3

“Bwuh. I-I’m so tired…”

Viocia collapsed onto her desk.

Having to study without flying on her broom seemed to take a lot out of her.

“Sigh… My right hand is shaking. If only it would move on its own and answer the exam questions for me.”

“You won’t learn anything yourself if you rely on the Kokkuri-san or a planchette. You might as well use a self-flying broom.”

“Ugh.”

“Also, all of this falls under the genre of (__________).”

“How am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me!?”

“(Automatic writing), you idiot! That will almost certainly be on the exam, so you need to know it!!”

The other nearby students reacted to this more than Viocia herself.

Yagoro feared he was being corrupted by the idiot because the mere fact that the girl with the omnidirectional curiosity antenna was still at her desk writing in her parchment notebook felt like considerable growth on her part.

“Anyway, I made it through today! Which means it’s lunch time! Let’s go, Dorothea!”

Flying witches had to look after their weight, so even Viocia’s friends Dorothea and Melehe wouldn’t join her in the cafeteria. But lately Viocia’s lunches were handmade by Moloch (the bronze bull), so they had been eating together more often. This showed a minor improvement on Viocia’s gluttonous cafeteria diet which had been hard to watch for anyone watching what they ate.

“Eep. Wh-where should we eat today, Viocia?”

“Since the weather’s so nice, I say we go outside! Like by the fountain!!”

“The fountain might help keep us cool in this sun.”

Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe.

They had never officially agreed to it, but those three tended to stick together.

“Um, eep, study, study. ATU 0782 is the King Has Donkey Ears.”

“That’s Midas and the Donkey Ears. Learning it by the wrong name will hurt you later on.”

Melehe corrected Dorothea before Yagoro could do so.

The sky pirate girl continued lecturing the busty glasses girl who looked like a rare cheesecake thanks to her white bandages.

“It has a number of magical lessons, but the most common is that you need to watch what you say. Because when the barber shouts about the donkey ears, it will eventually reach the king’s ears somehow.”

“We’re here!”

They arrived at a circular stone-paved plaza. Lots of benches were set up on the perimeter, but the edge of the circular fountain in the center was more popular place to sit. There were a lot of girls their age here. Students were far from the only people in Temple School City, but lunchtime was the perfect time to target student customers, so no one else was going to be taking a break now. The adults working in their shops tended to take their lunch breaks at 2 or 3, so more the time for an afternoon tea.

“Oh, wow! Dorothea, you brought the same thing for lunch as me!!”

“Hee hee. But the ingredients are different. Eep. Yours is seafood, but mine is grilled chicken and boiled egg whites.”

The lunchboxes sitting on Viocia and Dorothea’s laps contained sandwiches. Melehe had a health bar made from walnuts, a few other nuts, and dried fruit held together by honey. She was munching on one end like a rodent. It didn’t appear to be an instant food. Apparently she had found the most efficient way to get her food so she could spend as much time as possible studying. Was that A Rank even human?

Yagoro, meanwhile, was poking a wooden fork into the lobster noodles he had bought at a nearby food stall. (It came in a boxy waterproof parchment container that made it look something like American Chinese takeout.)

“A study group?” said Viocia without warning.

She had apparently been listening in on the girls from another prep school chatting nearby. Come to think of it, she was the kind of idiot who would see what the person at the next table was eating in the cafeteria and go order some for herself.

“Apparently it’s a way for students to get together and study in their private time instead of just relying on prep school time! That sounds like fun! You can pass around your reference books and play word games to remember the names of different herbs.”

“What do I gain from studying with you two?”

“Gyahhh!?” screamed Viocia at the sudden rejection.

For a student, creating an environment where studying was fun instead of a chore could be an extremely powerful trump card. But Melehe had the self-control to stay focused for long periods of time as she studied, so it may not have meant much for her.

“U-um, Viocia? Eep. If you want, we can have our own study grou-”

“No, Dorothea. Showing mercy is a bad idea for an exam student. The time you have is how many tickets you have to act. If you waste your limited tickets helping that low-scoring idiot just because you feel sorry for her, you’ll be the one who ends up in tears.”

Viocia began trembling when even the tutor nixed the idea.

Yagoro was only Viocia’s tutor. He appreciated the offer to assist Viocia, but he couldn’t take responsibility if that derailed Dorothea or Melehe’s efforts.

Their current ranks in the official Maleficium practice exams were D for Viocia, C for Dorothea, and A for Melehe. If they could find a way to help all three of them improve, Yagoro would rejoice, but with their skill levels so varied, Viocia would end up being pulled up by the other two without giving them anything in return. That was hardly fair when it came to preparing for the anything-goes witch entrance exam.

Melehe sighed quietly and casually pointed to the side.

“Now, if you were on her level, I might be interested. Hi, Chloe.”

“Chloe? Who?”

“C-Chloe Sharprain!? Eep, she’s another monster with an A Rank on the official practice exam, Viocia!!”

Amazed, Dorothea held a hand to her mouth and shouted. It was just like her to show more admiration than fear.

Apparently the elite had an elite friend.

“Hm?” Chloe herself turned casually around in a puzzled way. She was a tall girl, but she had kept her body fat down enough to look more slender than anything. Despite the heat, she wore mourning clothes. But the inclusion of small skull and spider accessories suggested it was meant to be a necromancer outfit. With the occasional glimpses of pale skin, the outfit gave her a coffee jelly in milk look.

“Oh, Melehe? Are you here for lunch too?”

“I’m studying the influence that sunspots and the path of the sun have on astrology. Using actual observations.”

“Ah ha ha. What a Melehe thing to say.”

The carefree way Chloe laughed clashed with the vibe of her mourning clothes.

She embodied the confidence of those A Rank girls who seemed to live in another world.

The lunchbox on Chloe’s lap contained broiled salmon fillets wrapped in a hand-sized leafy vegetable similar to lettuce. It reminded Yagoro of the Korean lettuce offered at some yakiniku places back on Earth, but what was that actually called? He couldn’t remember the vegetable’s name, but it looked like Chloe was the type to eliminate all red meat and carbs from her diet.

Restricting your diet was easy enough, but the stress of coming up with enough variety to keep things interesting could lead to a rebound. As a tutor, he thought she was doing a good job in that sense.

Was Dorothea viewing her with such admiration because Chloe had overcome the idea that smaller was better for broom-riding witches and had achieved an A Rank through hard work and self-control? The occasional nodding suggested Dorothea was soaking up some kind of knowledge from observing Chloe’s lunch.

“U-um. Chloe, do you do study groups with Melehe? Eep.”

“Not a chance.”

Melehe answered for Chloe.

It wasn’t clear what kind of friendship those two had, but they seemed to know each other fairly well.

“Chloe’s even more of a lone wolf than I am. She looks all friendly and smiley, but she refuses to team up with or get along with anyone. I mean, she got her A Rank by studying at home instead of going to a prep school.”

“She’s not human,” muttered a trembling Viocia.

As long as they passed the exam in the end, it didn’t matter what path a student took, so why was the idiot letting that girl scare her before she’d proven she really had what it took?

Chloe smiled and poured something from her leather water bottle into a wooden cup. The drink was a reddish-orange, so it was probably a homemade health drink made by crushing up carrots and few other vegetables.

“Oh, right. I’ll be seeing you at Carraway’s Lughnasadh exam, Melehe.”

“?”

“I study at home without visiting a prep school, but the results of an officially-recognized prep school exam can be applied to your official practice exam. I don’t really care which one, but I will be taking an exam at a prep school.”

### Part 4

School was out for the day. Yagoro was wasting time staring at the locked container he kept in the squatter’s district behind his apartment. He simply couldn’t convince himself to give up the crashed craft.

Then he had a sudden idea and walked back to Carraway Cs.

It was evening by the time he arrived.

Preparations for the Lughnasadh exam had already begun.

“Uhhh.”

Mont Blanc gyaru instructor Schanze Dwelling raised her arms and stretched as if forcing the exhaustion out of her weary body.

“Tired?” asked Yagoro with a sigh.

“Of course I am. I mean, there’s clairvoyance, telepathy, mind-reading…argh, and prophetic dreams too. With a written test for cool witches, you totally have to have a countermeasure for anything and everything.”

Prophecies – in dreams or otherwise – seemed like such a vague concept, but they were no laughing matter in a world of witches. For example, the Norse god Odin died along with the nine worlds because he couldn’t overturn the prophecy of a human priestess’s spirit.

“In addition to cheating by peeking at someone else’s answers, they can totally also try to trip each other up.”

“You mean like a Black Mass death curse where they stick a needle in a wax doll?”

“That’s totally not funny.”

In truth, these exams were not just a challenge for the students. It was also a trial for the instructors who had to manage the exam site. The students wanted to do well so badly they would do anything for even one more point. Cheating ran rampant with ordinary exams, so just imagine how much worse it was with an exam for witches who could use magic.

In other words…

“Cheating methods totally go in and out of style. So, Yagoro, have you been paying attention to the rumors around town?”

“I’m not a Carraway instructor. Don’t count on me to come up with a defense plan.”

Yagoro was exasperated, but he still drew on the knowledge he had.

She had a point.

“The current trend would be remote magic, don’tcha think? They set up an environment letting them use communication magic and then a group with plenty of documents and textbooks provides support to the exam-taker from outside the exam site.”

“…”

Another method was using their cauldron to mix up a camouflaged ink that was invisible except when viewed through a glass ruler and then use that to write the terms and formulas on their writing implements or their own skin…but even then there was a limit to how much information could be smuggled into the exam site. A few pages’ worth would be the absolute limit.

But with remote magic, they only needed a small tool providing communication magic to receive an endless supply of data. If the assistance group hid in a public library, they could provide support with the knowledge in more than 100 thousand books. The exam taker wouldn’t even need to take suspicious actions like peeking inside her cloth pen case or pulling back her sleeve to check her wrist, so the examiners keeping an eye on the site would have a hard time noticing.

The entire idea was fundamentally flawed.

No matter how careful the method, cheating would not lead to a bright future.

Nevertheless, baseless guarantees of success abounded.

The cheaters would be convinced they would get a perfect score this time and that they wouldn’t be caught.

“There are some pretty sketchy fliers mixed in with the ordinary ones being passed out on the streets. Things like ‘join a study group that will guarantee you get into Maleficium’ or ‘if we work together, we can pass the exam for sure’.”

With the entrance exam, there was no such thing as a “guarantee” or “for sure”. It was best to be suspicious of any advertisement using phrases like that.

Only someone like Navigate Exam Myousou Yagoro was allowed those promises.

Yagoro realized Schanze was staring at him for some reason.

“I totally hate to even consider it, Yagoro, but is cheating the secret to your 100% success rate getting students into-”

“If you’re going to doubt my honesty and my ability, I’m going to go home and stop giving you any assistance at all, you damn instructor.”

When the overworked witch wept, shouted, and clung to him, Yagoro annoyedly pushed her away (squishing her face in an unsightly way).

“You said they were totally advertising a study group that connects exam students and guarantees they can pass the exam?”

“Yeah.”

The idea gave him a headache too.

Maleficium’s entrance exam wasn’t easy enough for that to work. And even if they did pass that way, their lack of knowledge could easily get them killed in the dangerous magic experiments and flight that would follow.

Schanze Dwelling continued the serious talk with the shape of her face still distorted.

“To me, that totally sounds like a matching service for a cheating team. ”

### Part 5

The Lughnasadh practice exam had arrived.

The exam was only run by Carraway Cs, but the results here could influence the students’ results on the next official practice exam.

The summer was a major crossroads.

The students naturally took it more seriously than normal.

“Ugh. I got so worked up playing herb-memorization word games with Freynir I didn’t get any sleep. Yawwwn…”

“You’re the only one that careless, idiot.”

Yagoro was amazed the freeloading elf had stuck with it all night long (presumably remaining expressionless the entire time). As the idiot’s tutor, he felt a need to get her a gift later on.

Lots of desks were evenly arranged across the exam site. Each one of those would be the battlefield for one of the girls. Their Formula Brooms could draw information from the other world of Earth, but they had to leave those with the instructors. The witches had to rely on their own knowledge for these fully written exams. After seeing Viocia off to her desk, there really was nothing Yagoro could do for her.

Dorothea, Melehe, and the rest of the Carraway Cs students were here, but there were also a fair number of girls he didn’t recognize. Those would be the ones who studied at home or with a tutor. Chloe, the mourning clothes girl who was chatting with a few other girls, noticed Yagoro’s eyes on her. For some reason, she cheerfully blew him a kiss.

“Okay, totally listen up, everyone!!”

Gyaru instructor Schanze raised her voice from the lectern.

That was enough to gather the attention of everyone there. This was intentional on her part, of course.

Unlike with strict compulsory education, part of being a prep school instructor was being an entertainer.

“The Lughnasadh exam is about to begin. You will have 90 minutes for each section. There will be 4 section: Admiration, Antiquity, Amorality, and lastly a General section that covers all three aspects. You will receive a 15-minute break after each section and 30 minutes for lunch. But if you leave the room during a section of the exam for totally any reason, you will not be allowed back in until the next section begins. …Have you used the restroom? You haven’t forgotten your pencil box? Don’t forget that your ability to focus, your preparations, and your health management are all totally part of the exam. Including the short breaks, this will be a 420-minute relay race. Time management will be key. If you’re courageous, you can finish your best subject quick and use the rest of that section’s allotted time to sleep at your desk to prepare you for a subject you’re worse at. Everyone, please totally pace yourselves and make sure you don’t regret this day. Now, take your seats! Place your exam ticket on the top right of your desk!!”

It was so frustrating.

But Yagoro really couldn’t find anything more for him to do.

Had the Force drill sergeants felt like this?

Since he wasn’t an official prep school instructor, he couldn’t work as an examiner. After a final wave to Viocia, he left the large exam room to wait in the hallway.

From here on, she had to fight on her own.

### Part 6

The first section of the exam was Admiration.

That subject was all about extracting magical lessons from old folklore and children’s stories and then applying them to real witchcraft. The subject naturally required a lot of literary knowledge.

In other words, it was all about memorization and reading comprehension.

(What’s the magical lesson of Red Riding Hood? Don’t go out alone, don’t trust people even if they claim to be family, modern technology can conquer the age of beasts – there are a lot of them.)

Melehe Superlative thought quietly to herself while facing her answer sheet.

In literature, there wasn’t always a single answer. The trick was to identify the specific answer the problem was asking for.

In this case, it was asking for the magical lesson needed to create a talisman to ward off evil, so the part where the hunter slayed the wolf was the correct choice.

After easily passing that problem, the Rank A elite frowned a bit.

(Dammit, that pervy tutor’s quiz actually helped.)

“?”

Instructor Antoi was walking by as an examiner and gave Melehe a puzzled look.

Melehe moved on to the next problem.

Working through the long list of written problems was a lot like self-hypnosis. Each time she solved one of the difficult problems, her fully-activated mind actually seemed to empty out. She unintentionally ended up facing her own inner self. Which was why she became conscious of an oddity her subconscious had picked up on.

Something wasn’t right.

Not about the exam questions. This was a memory from shortly before the Lughnasadh exam began.

(That’s right.)

Chloe, the mourning clothes girl who was chatting with a few other girls, noticed Yagoro’s eyes on her. For some reason, she cheerfully blew him a kiss.

Melehe had seen that same scene from within the exam room.

The blown kiss wasn’t the problem. …Well, it actually did bother her a lot for some reason, but that wasn’t the main issue here.

( She was chatting with a few other girls ?)

Chloe was supposed to be even more of a lone wolf than Melehe.

She might give you a friendly smile, but she didn’t actually befriend or get to know anyone. Out on the streets, Melehe would have written it off as Chloe being polite or providing lip service, but what exam student had the time to spare on that sort of excess just before a written exam?

(Don’t tell me…)

Chloe studied on her own rather than relying on a prep school or tutor.

Nevertheless, that mysterious elite had managed to outdo her rivals and earn an A Rank on the official practice exam.

But now she had friends? A secret connection with others?

(Don’t tell me.)

“ Teacher. ”

An odd voice filled the silent exam site.

It acted as the beginning of an accusation.

However, this accusation came from Chloe Sharprain herself.

She was pointing directly to her side.

At the next desk over.

Where Dorothea Rockpool sat.

“ She is cheating. ”

### Part 7

“Eh? Eh?”

The confused voice came from Dorothea.

Her feelings had been one-sided, but the A Rank elite she so admired had just accused her out of the blue. It was so unreasonable she felt confused more than angry.

It was a baseless accusation.

Chloe feigned ignorance.

Why didn’t Dorothea react with anger or hatred?

And not immediately arguing back was a definite mistake on her part.

The prep school instructors acting as examiners took swift action.

“Miss Dorothea Rockpool. Please come here.”

Someone’s chair rattled as they stood up.

It was Viocia Modestlucky.

“Wait a second!! D-Dorothea would never do something as dishonest as cheat!”

(You idiot. Making a loud emotional argument with no evidence will only confuse things further!!)

Melehe bristled more than Viocia did.

That was such a dangerous move.

And Examiner Antoi Nosecone did indeed raise her voice.

“Everyone in your seats!! Take your seats immediately! If you stand up without permission, we will assume you are peeking at another student’s exam. If you speak without permission, we will assume you are providing another student with an answer. You have been warned, so take your seats!!”

No one left their seats and no one dared speak a word.

Still, the mood was chaotic. Except for the one girl who was smirking.

Chloe Sharprain.

After this, it was possible Viocia would be thrown out of the exam along with Dorothea. Any Carraway Cs witch knew those two were friends. Viocia was correct, but without any way of backing up her claim, she could be seen as covering for an accomplice.

They needed to remain calm.

Melehe was mildly disgusted with herself for finding it so easy to remain calm here, but still.

(She must have some magic that can instantly detect if someone suspects her.)

For the time being, Melehe could only speculate.

She didn’t know have any evidence and she didn’t know what Three Aspects Chloe’s witchcraft used.

Something only inside the exam room probably wouldn’t be enough.

(And she needs a response when she detects suspicion. It looks like she makes a random cheating accusation to sow confusion. If someone then claims to suspect her, it sounds like another baseless accusation thrown into the mess. That way any accusations against her will be drowned out!!)

If this was allowed to continue, Dorothea would likely be asked to leave the room. Having to abandon one of the exam’s four sections early would be devastating. And if she was not cleared of the cheating accusation, she would end up with a 0.

The summer was a major crossroads.

This kind of trouble could leave her in an unrecoverable position.

(…)

However. For some reason, Myousou Yagoro’s voice replayed in the back of Melehe’s mind.

“Showing mercy is a bad idea for an exam student. The time you have is how many tickets you have to act. If you waste your limited tickets helping that low-scoring idiot just because you feel sorry for her, you’ll be the one who ends up in tears.”

Yes.

Just as Dorothea had a reason to pass the exam, Melehe Superlative had a reason she needed to overcome the exam and reach Maleficium. Why should she stand up for her friend here?

What did that have to do with the entrance exam competition?

She couldn’t take the Lughnasadh exam lightly.

Her results here could be applied to the later official practice exam, so it would directly affect her results there.

She had to focus on her exam.

She had to.

“Teacher,” she said.

Everyone focused on Melehe Superlative.

(Argh!?)

“I warned you unauthorized talking would be seen as passing answers to another student.”

“I am done. I have completed all the problems, so may I use the rest of the exam time as I see fit?”

She doubted she would find any evidence of cheating in the exam room itself.

Chloe was an A Rank elite. Whatever system supported her strength, it wouldn’t be so easily discovered.

So…

(If I really want to protect Dorothea right away, I need to investigate outside this room!!)

Instructor Antoi glared down at Melehe.

She was usually such a kind prep school instructor, but now she had the icy eyes of an examiner.

“You are not allowed to leave the exam room during the exam period for any reason.”

“You said leaving only mean you weren’t allowed in until the next section, right? I will turn in this answer sheet as is. Then there’s no problem, is there?”

“Are you sure that is wise? Once you make the decision, it cannot be undone.”

“This noisy room is a terrible place to take an exam. Studying outside would be more useful than staying in here.”

“Miss Melehe Superlative’s answer sheet will be immediately collected at her request and she will leave the room.”

Melehe didn’t wait to be shown the way – she immediately walked out into the hallway.

And a moment after crossing the boundary between exam room and hallway, she dramatically held her head in her hands. Along with her big hat.

“What is wrong with me!?”

Of course this wasn’t wise. She really had fully filled in the Admiration answer sheet, but any exam student would want to use any leftover time to review her answers over and over again. Especially with the literary problems that could have multiple answers. The immediately obvious answer wasn’t always the correct one there. But she had just thrown out her chance to check over all that. So she could help someone else.

Her shoulders drooped in a deep sigh and then she slapped her cheeks.

Don’t underestimate a Rank A.

(Whatever the case, the die has been cast!! I decided to do this, so I’m not going to waste this chance!)

She snatched up her broom from all the Formula Brooms lined up in the hallway.

Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus bisMR.

Her partner was so heavily customized its original shape was hard to make out.

“I need your help, Orpheus! Right away!!”

“Your burning righteousness tells me I shouldn’t ask what happened to the exam. So what would you have me do, Melehe?”

### Part 8

Chloe Sharprain, the self-taught Rank A ace was in fact a habitual cheater. And whenever suspicion fell on her, she would make a false accusation against someone else to sow confusion and sidestep the suspicion placed on her.

This time, she had chosen Dorothea Rockpool.

And Viocia Modestlucky had received some suspicion for standing up for her friend.

It didn’t matter if they were found innocent.

Everyone had studied themselves half to death for the entrance exam. Melehe couldn’t let those two’s efforts be trampled underfoot to keep some damn cheater safe!

“The more I hear about this, the more it pisses me off, but do you know where Chloe’s friends will be? If we do not track them down fast, Dorothea and Viocia will be in trouble.”

“We weren’t allowed to bring our Formula Brooms or even a single talisman into the exam room. I don’t know what she used to hide the magic she uses to communicate with her cheating team, but they can’t be far away. They must be inside this building!!”

The rest was simple.

What room in Carraway Cs Prep School’s structure building had a large supply of reference material and books?

“The library!!”

Melehe kicked open the door and stormed in.

The room full of exam-takers was being strictly managed, but that had drawn personnel away from other parts of the prep school. And with exam-takers from outside the prep school invited in and extra examiners brought in to bolster security, there were a lot of outsiders in Carraway Cs today.

Any witch prep school would want as many texts as possible. The library was a large space rising through three floors of the boxy building.

To protect the old books, thick light-blocking curtains kept the room dark.

Several pairs of eyes shined in that darkness.

That would be the cheating team remotely supporting the cheater from outside the exam room.

Melehe sharply raised Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus.

“Orpheu-”

“Wait, Melehe!! Dodge now!!!”

Her partner sounded exceptionally panicked.

Something exploded.

Melehe was tossed through the air. A devastating impact pierced through her slender body, like she had been hit by a large carriage drawn by four horses. Unable to prepare for the landing, she crashed through a few wooden bookcases.

“Gahh!?”

She had thought the eyes shining in the darkness belonged to the cheating team.

She hadn’t been wrong exactly.

But a great form moved slowly in the darkness. Something massive looked down at her. But instead of a group of wicked witches who had abandoned their pure and beautiful lifestyle, it was something under their control. The many eyes were all blinking across a single great body.

Part crocodile. Part whale. Part sea snake. Those and other marine creatures were mixed together to create a giant, unidentifiable silhouette. Nature would never produce a creature like this.

“Hee hee. Hee hee. Hee hee ha ha.”

Cloyingly sweet and alluring laughter floated upon the air.

It was just as sweet as the silver-haired girl’s mother’s laughter.

But this came from a girl around Melehe’s own age.

She wore a white dress with toxic red decorations, making her look like an unhealthy sandwich oozing with sweet jam.

“Did you fail to make the overwhelming preparations needed to exact justice? You should have known we would have an offensive means of escape just in case. Honestly, and we even had the Leviathan active and waiting from the start.”

“…Khah…”

Leviathan.

Active.

“But, really, I’m thankful. I went to a lot of trouble preparing this strongest of guard dogs – hee hee ah ha ha – so it would have been a waste to have to disassemble the Three Aspects without ever once using it.”

Rank A Melehe had been taken out in a single attack, albeit a surprise one.

She couldn’t think of many possibilities there.

“It…bh…can’t be…”

“Oh, but it is. I have already joined the ranks of the Limit Breakers. The name is Brewery Establish and I ordinarily draw out the Seven Deadly Sins lurking within people☆”

Melehe could tell because she knew one quite well and not just as a legend.

“Then you’re a true monster that’s surpassed the limits of humankind!!” said Orpheus. “What is a living legend like that doing running a cheating team matching service in a corner of Temple School City like a common thief!?”

“Because it’s the most beneficial option.”

“…?”

“We act as a group to help students cheat so we can send them to Maleficium. This creates Maleficium students with a compromising secret that we, and only we, know. Hee hee, ah ha ha ha ha!! Doesn’t that seem like the fastest way to get what I want? I don’t even have to enter Maleficium myself. I’ve kept this part from Chloe, but the spell I have cast on her does more than just let me control her right hand remotely. All I need to do is whisper from a remote location and they become puppets under my complete control !!!”

“How…dare you!” shouted Melehe.

“Even the scope of your villainy knows no bounds, you greedy wicked witch!?” added Orpheus.

She had to be stopped.

If Brewery Establish was allowed to continue, she would further corrupt the entire system of the witch entrance exams. That would end badly for the serious students like Viocia and Dorothea, but it would also end badly for students like Chloe who had sold their souls and chosen to reach for illicit activities like cheating. Brewery alone would swallow up all the happiness for herself.

Melehe understood that.

But she was still collapsed helpless on the floor, her feet only trembling unnaturally.

The initial attack had done far too much damage.

(No matter how sweetly rotten and drowning in greed she is, her strategy is horrifyingly correct. She won’t let me turn this into a close-quarters or ranged battle!!)

“Kh!!”

“I only need to win. That is the correct choice here☆”

The witch grinned.

And with that grin, a sweet sense radiated from her entire body.

“I don’t need to fight and I don’t need to worry about defeating you – I only need to win. I only humored you because it would have been a waste to activate the Leviathan and then never once use it. That’s all it was. …Now, then. Time to scratch that itch. Leviathan, show me the full power I designed you for.”

A dull roar burst forth.

Melehe’s breath caught.

Her head lost all sense of ordinary gravity.

Her limbs refused to move and she couldn’t even get up from the floor. All she could do was open her eyes wide as she watched that moment.

The roar sounded like Melehe Superlative’s slender body being thoroughly smashed to a pulp.

Except it wasn’t.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Eh?”

Did that confused voice come from Melehe’s mouth or Brewery’s?

Perhaps it was both.

Neither side of the conflict understood what had happened.

Because…

That roar was the sound of the enormous Leviathan being smashed to pieces by a single attack and then vanishing.

“What…the…?”

The first to recover was Brewery. She really was at a higher level than Melehe.

But even so…

“What could have done that!? That was the result of bringing the Leviathan, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, into the physical world at ultra-high purity. How could it be destroyed so…so easily!?”

“Are you stupid?” responded a voice.

Someone else had arrived in the library at some point.

Neither Melehe nor Brewery had noticed this newcomer’s arrival.

“A monster made by mixing and matching animals is a simple enough idea. Trick Question Warning: the end result is impossible from a biological perspective. You might as well be giving your monster a ton of different vulnerabilities. You don’t need some great power to defeat that Leviathan. Take advantage of the anatomical contradictions and it’ll collapse all on its own.”

Something spun in the shadows. It was a collapsible baton.

“I really don’t care if you’re a Limit Breaker or if you have some plan to take over Maleficium with your cheating spell. This isn’t about that. …Did you really think I’d just let you leave after you messed with my student?”

A boy stood there.

He was a tutor.

And…

“ Hey, backstage witch. This is magic. If you’d done your homework, you’d know the answer. ”

A great mass of air blew in from behind Myousou Yagoro. No, that wasn’t air. It was a visualized version of the more fundamental concept of willpower.

It was a hunk of metal. A rounded piece of armor. A turret with several cannons lined up side by side. It had a bridge, a deck, a blister, a propeller, and an anchor. But none of these accomplished their intended purposes. Like dough being kneaded and balled up, it had been crumpled up and forcibly given the shape of a giant marine creature.

In other words…

“The…”

Brewery’s voice trembled as she looked up at it.

Even though she was a Limit Breaker.

“ The…Leviathan ?”

“Correct.”

The earlier one was no comparison.

The library was three stories tall, but this overwhelming colossus threatened to break through its ceiling. The archenemy summoned by Brewery would have quite literally been overshadowed by it.

That may have been why Brewery Establish refused to accept it was real.

The despair on her face said she knew what awaited her if she did accept it.

“Th-this is impossible. The Leviathan is a symbol of envy and the greatest marine creature. Its role is to die and fill the people’s bellies when the time of judgment arrives. It can’t possibly be some inedible hunk of metal!!”

“Witchcraft is pretty lenient when it comes to swapping out symbols. Just like you can use tarot cards designed ages ago to divine when you should buy a new smartphone or tablet.”

“?”

Oops. He mentioned some electronics that didn’t yet exist in this world.

“Different people see different things in the exact same scenery. The same applies to the field of mental meditation, don’tcha think? So as long as the symbols aren’t wrong, they can be freely swapped out. If you don’t have the lime juice to make the cocktail you want, you can get pretty close by adding some lemon juice instead.”

“It can’t be…”

“Still, this one may not have been entirely fair. I did base my Leviathan on marine weapons from Earth.”

Yagoro slightly tightened his grip on the baton.

He spun it around and pointed its tip out ahead of him.

“ I invented a superweapon that doesn’t exist even on Earth. It’s a combination of a crocodile, whale, and sea snake, right? Just so you know, this thing’s attack can easily end the age of gunpowder. Ah ha ha. But this world doesn’t even have gunpowder yet, so we’re skipping two steps here, don’tcha think? Anyway, you damn witch, don’t assume a plain, unmodified Leviathan of flesh and bone can withstand this.”

### Part 9

An explosive boom was compressed.

A beam of light didn’t even begin to describe it.

### Part 10

The incident was over.

As the real cheater, Chloe Sharprain had her practice exam confiscated. Yagoro agreed the summer was a major crossroads. But at the same time, this was only a practice exam. Passing this year’s real entrance exam would be a lot harder for her now and she might even have trouble recovering in time for next year. But if she turned over a new leaf now, she could take the first crucial step. The tutor believed she could do it.

Brewery Establish, the real mastermind, had been arrested by the Benandanti. There was no going easy on her. Only Maleficium could restrain a Limit Breaker.

And.

The Lughnasadh practice exam ended on time. The results here could be applied to the upcoming official practice exam. And that official one would also be a written exam.

Melehe Superlative held her result in her hand.

It was written plainly: B Rank.

All sound seemed to fade from her ears.

That genius girl had always managed to maintain an A Rank, but now she had stalled.

Turning in that one section early and pursuing the cheating case had hurt her after all. And it was all careless mistakes she would have caught had she not been satisfied with just filling in all the answers and actually reviewed her answers.

She had done the right thing.

She had fought to save her friends. She would never say that was wrong.

But…

She had been warned from the beginning. An exam student’s time was how many tickets they had to act. It was a limited resource. So what happened if she focused her precious time on something other than studying? Melehe had made her choice and this was the result.

She understood that, but even so…

“Oh, wow! Dorothea, you went up a rank from C. You actually got a B!!”

“Heh…eh heh heh.”

“Damn, and I worked so hard. But I did make it to C Rank, so I’ll just have to catch up to you on the next practice exam!!”

“Eep. Let’s work at it together, Viocia.”

Those two’s celebrations seemed to be coming from another world altogether.

Melehe was supposedly isolated from them, but their voices still reached her.

Both of them were smiling.

“I’m so relieved I’m feeling hungry all of a sudden. Like I just remembered I need to eat!”

“Are you going to the cafeteria, Viocia? Eep.”

“Yes, because Moloch was a sleepyhead this morning. Melehe, you join us! You taught us the most cost-effective order is the Vivid Health Salad plus a single boiled egg, so we need you with us!!”

“…up.”

“?”

“Shut the hell up, both of you!! You’re relieved? You need me? What’s so fun about bragging all day long!?”

It was like lightning had struck nearby.

Only silence remained.

Viocia and Dorothea weren’t the only ones shocked by it. All the hopeful witches in the room were staring at Melehe. Like a crack had run through the invisible air.

Melehe couldn’t bear the silence any longer.

She bit her lip and ran from the room.

### Part 11

Melehe Superlative stood up on the practical building roof.

Everything was dyed by the setting sun.

When Myousou Yagoro joined her, she wasn’t able to compose herself.

“Melehe.”

She turned around at the sound of the door opening, her face crumpled up.

“You did the right thing by fighting Brewery. You were a perfectly beautiful witch.”

But that didn’t mean it would help her on the harsh exam.

Melehe had to understand that better than anyone.

He felt a gentle impact.

Maybe she didn’t want him to see her face, but she had leaped into his chest.

Her large hat had fallen to her feet.

Her shouts were distorted by her tears.

This was a girl who had lost everything.

“I’m the worst.”

Her trembling voice made it through the sobs as she buried her face in the tutor’s chest.

“It isn’t because I dropped a rank. I can always work harder and regain that rank!! B-but it scared me to find one of them had caught up to me… I’ve been calling them my friends, but deep down I was looking down on them! That’s why it shocked me so badly!! Ahhhhh!!”

Yagoro said nothing.

Maybe so. But that was what it meant to be an exam student. They might attend the same prep school and they might look like good friends, but they were all rivals. It would have been weird if she didn’t feel anything at all to see the grades around her rising. Of course she panicked when someone caught up to her.

Being yelled at wouldn’t change her lowered rank.

She knew that. And yet…

She couldn’t help it.

“You can turn it all around.”

Yagoro patted the sobbing girl’s head.

And he spoke to her.

She was not his student. He knew that, but he did it anyway.

“You’ve already said what it is you need to do, Melehe.”

### Part 12

Back to square one.

Several figures raced through Temple School City as if tearing through the shadows of the night.

They were back to square one.

An explosion roared in the distance. From an aerial bombing. A hideout for wicked witches was directly blown away within the city. Several witches zoomed by overhead. Those were the Benandanti of Maleficium. They would immediately detect and pursue anyone who took flight now. But that was all they could do. As long as the figures in the city’s labyrinth of narrow alleys stayed there, they would remain unseen.

Chloe Sharprain, the test subject for their remote cheating plan, had failed. Brewery Establish, the Limit Breaker who had directly supported the girl from a distance, had also been defeated. The incident may have seemed resolved, but it was not.

This was a group crime in which several witches indirectly supported a single exam student.

And those witch es had in fact been in Carraway Cs’s library.

Those several witch es had slipped away while Brewery Establish was being dealt with.

They could find another student to act as their sacrificial pawn. And there were so many self-taught witches stewing in the city it wouldn’t be hard to find one willing to take the risk of providing direct support. So the wicked witches’ scheme was not ended. Not until they had cheated someone through the entrance exam and used their remote control magic to shred Maleficium from within.

Or so they thought.

“My, my.”

They heard something from the shadows.

Their shoes skidded along the ground as they came to a rapid stop. With the moon hidden behind the clouds, they couldn’t see this newcomer’s face.

“Neither the stars nor the moon are out. You really shouldn’t be out and about on a night as dark as tonight. Especially in a dangerous back alley far from the shine of the sunlight seals within the pumpkin streetlights.”

Whoever this was, she wasn’t with the Maleficium Benandanti. They wouldn’t act alone like this.

If this mystery enemy was alone, they only had to silence her by smashing her bones and shredding her blood vessels. The witches readied their Formula Brooms.

The lone figure kept her calm.

“This isn’t a fight you can win through brute force. Did you learn nothing from your failure?” she said with a smile. “Maenads.”

Silently, the shadowy figure grew more than 20 extra arms.

No, that wasn’t accurate.

Countless figures who had been waiting behind her spread out to the sides. They were all dark shadows with a solid form. The unidentified shadows had no eyes or mouths and only the claws on their fingers glowed a deep red. They raced through the dark night, using their bare hands to rip and tear through human and beast alike, paving a path of death and slaughter across the land. This witch’s magic gave that legend a concrete form.

The clouds cleared away.

The great moon swept away the shadows.

The gentle bookseller spoke with a smile on her face.

Only her eyes betrayed her identity as the commander of Private Striga, greatest coven in the north.

“I hear you had a run-in with my oh-so-adorable daughter.”

### Today’s Quiz 1

Melehe: Sniff. Why are you teaching me instead of Viocia?

Yagoro: (That is honestly a really good question.)

Yagoro: Would you prefer I motivated you by coldly pushing you away? It’s what you deserve, you former genius. Welcome to the ranks of the ordinary. You can find all the hints in my lines. Not that they’ll be any help to you.

Melehe: Just you watch!! I will get back my A Rank!!

Question: Reveal the magical cheating method used by Wicked Witch Chloe (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Today’s quiz is a bit different from usual. Because the way I defeated Brewery was so simple it wouldn’t really help with the exam.

The Aspect of Admiration was ATU (____), Midas and the Donkey Ears.

The Aspect of Amorality was (______________).

The Aspect of Antiquity was (_________________) from Norse mythology.

Hint: Where did Chloe receive the illicit information from? And what pathway did she use?

When the (_____) shouted about the donkey ears, his voice is guaranteed to travel through time and space until it eventually reaches the (____). That was the main foundation of the remote cheating.

Chloe had given up control of her (_________) to Brewery. They had to make sure it was in Chloe’s handwriting, but it was actually Brewery who was writing the answers on the answer sheet.

When the top god (_____) was in trouble, he descended to the underworld and asked for advice, but he was actually speaking with the spirit of a human (_________). That means it is possible for a human to provide information that surpasses even that of a (____).

☆Important note! While giving up control of her right hand, Chloe gained the nature of a king. When she accused Dorothea of cheating, people were weirdly willing to accept her baseless accusation because it is insolent to doubt the words of a (____).

That’s all. Any questions, Melehe?

### 019. Episode 2: Maleficium Trial Class

### Part 1

“Summer is the season for events.”

One night, Viocia Modestlucky put her hands on her hips and made this announcement in all seriousness.

She was in her small room, located up above a late night establishment filled with drinks, snacks, and dancers.

As a witch’s bar, it offered mythical drinks like nectar, yu gao, and soma, but those likely weren’t the actual drinks that granted immortality to gods and humans. They were only cocktails given the name. There were also “immortality-granting” fruits with grand names like ambrosia and golden apple, but those were only ordinary fruits.

“The most important one is the Maleficium Trial Class. While the world is enjoying its summer break, Maleficium is planning!!”

The freeloading witch’s words received an expressionless reply from the freeloading elf Freynir.

“A float around your hips, snorkel goggles on your forehead, and a bug-catching net and cage on your shoulders. And the backpack, water bottle, lunchbox, and more scattered across the floor. Lady Viocia, where are you planning to go and what are you planning to do there?”

“Ugh!!”

Viocia didn’t really know herself.

She just knew it sounded fun and so she got ahead of herself.

The deep “moo” coming from below meant bronze statue (and giant pressure cooker) Moloch was at work in the kitchen tonight. She sounded somehow happy.

Seated on the floor, Freynir tilted her head with no noticeable emotion in her eyes.

“How can they have a trial? I thought no one knew what that school was like until they passed the exam. That doesn’t fit with exam students getting a chance to try it out for a day.”

“Hm. I don’t know how exactly it works, but we aren’t going to Maleficium. The students there will be crossing the lake to visit the city.”

“Oh.”

“And I heard Maleficium’s student council president will be coming! How could I not be excited!? Swing swing!!”

“Hm? Are you planning to catch that president in your bug-catching net?”

### Part 2

“Huff, puff.”

Early in the morning, before Temple School City had gotten started for the day, a glasses girl wrapped in bandages was out in the city for her daily jog. This liminal time between late night and early morning was the least crowded time of day in the heavily populated city.

She carried Formula Broom – Lyceum bisA.

She was used to running with that long broom that had a ship’s wheel attached.

(ATU 0407 is the Girl Who Became a Flower.)

Dorothea no longer needed her flashcards. She could list off the ATUs in her head.

She was great at memorization like that.

As a merchant’s daughter, she would honestly have preferred some talent when it came to math.

(ATU 0408 is the Three Oranges. ATU 0409 is the Girl who was Turned into a Wolf. ATU 0410 is Sleeping Beauty. A fairy who was not invited to the princess’s birthday party cursed the princess to eternal sleep, but the princess was woken by a dispelling kiss. It tells us that if we master witchcraft, then even life and death are no more than statuses. Eep. And we can manipulate them at will.)

She had repeated all this countless times already.

But there were unexpected pitfalls there. Even the immortal Norse god of light Baldr was killed by a spear made from the one sapling he had overlooked, so it was always worth rechecking these things to what seemed like excess.

“Phew.”

Temple School City existed for exam students like her. Or so she had thought until recently. But when she ran through the city like this, she discovered so many other kinds of people lived here and had their own routines. Even now, a woman was receiving a newspaper from a bovine familiar out on an early morning delivery run, Dorothea passed by a cafe starting up its morning services in time with the late night businesses closing, and a guard trudged sleepily through the last patrol before his shift ended.

A city could not run with only witches living there.

Now, Dorothea’s goal was to get into Maleficium. She had no intention of giving up on the entrance exam and taking a different path just because there were so many options out there. If she only wanted a job, she could have taken over the family business.

But seeing so many kinds of experts in their own different fields made her wonder something.

She wanted to go to Maleficium and become an elite witch.

But what kind of witch did she want to be? What did she want to specialize in?

Running alone put her in an introspective mood, so she lost herself in thoughts like that.

“Watch out. Something is approaching from behind.”

“?”

Which made her slow to react.

Even with her partner broom’s warning, the glasses bandage girl only looked over dumbly.

“Huff puff.”

She heard some heavy breathing.

Someone had come up alongside her.

The witch was dressed something like a red waitress.

That was Arbamini, an ace from the infamous Sassafras Cfa Prep School.

Dorothea was surprised.

Not at her bad luck to run into that girl when the streets were so deserted, but at the fact that the famous delinquent was jogging in silence.

She ended up speaking without thinking.

“Eep. Um…uh, why?”

It was the obvious question.

But Arbamini pouted her lips a little as she answered.

“Oh, shut up. Am I causing anyone any trouble by going back to the basics and building up some strength?”

Dorothea was a bit taken aback.

But then she smiled.

She didn’t know the whole story, but apparently something was beginning to change among that infamous trio. And she could guess it was contact with that extraordinary tutor that had done it.

“You can’t beat me. Eep.”

“Hm? Hey, wait! I wasn’t challenging you to a race!”

“Ready, go.”

“Kh. Are you trying to piss me off!? Fine, if you insist, I’ll use these gorgeous legs of mine to trample on your pride and leave you in tears!!!”

### Part 3

Something noisily tore through the air.

Then came the tremor and shockwave of a heavy object breaking.

It came from a small empty lot back behind the used bookstore. A stone house had stood empty there for so long it had collapsed and the white marble and black obsidian rubble had been cleared away to temporarily create a free space there.

Something would eventually be built there as the city changed, but for now it had become a witch training ground (without the landowner knowing).

Wooden boxes and barrels had been stacked up to create a mock battlefield, but those were not artificial animal familiars running around.

They were shadowy figures.

The ultimate mama had activated her Maenads.

Melehe’s task was to swiftly strike them all down with water spears as they fled.

“I’ve fallen to B Rank, but that’s still just barely enough for my broom’s recommended rank. It also helps that I’ve had it long enough to know how to use it!”

“Do not joke about these things. I wouldn’t dare use your body to become a Voland, Melehe.”

However, the fleeing Maenads were not just targets.

They were also the trump cards of Private Striga’s commander. This was no safe target practice. A moment’s inattention and she would be hunted down instead. It really did only take a moment.

The bookseller clapped her hands together in front of her very large chest.

“Okay, keep on firing. Bang, bang, bang, bang☆ Melehe, in a real battle you’ll be riddled with holes if you keep stopping to aim.”

“I…know that!!”

“You can’t just predict the enemy’s movements. You have to focus on your own movement too. You stop to aim from a subconscious desire to simplify the calculations by reducing your own movement vector to 0. Once you learn to calculate both points at the same time, your habit of stopping will go away on its own. And in the air you can’t use cover to wait out the enemy attack, so you need to learn how to shift your own movement in order to intentionally confuse the enemy’s targeting calculations so their attack magic misses you. But anyway, keep at it, Melehe. Ah.”

“Gwahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Crimson light exploded right next to her.

“Gwah!” shouted Formula Broom – Mount Parnassus bisMR, which she had reflexively used as a shield.

Even Melehe Superlative fell down onto her rear.

But this wasn’t her fault.

The Maenads were not a magic to be used in a city. They were an ultra-offensive wartime magic meant to be activated as a group to swiftly and accurately cut off a broom-riding enemy witch’s escape to either side while the pursuing witch shot her down.

Melehe was out of breath.

And sweating profusely.

“Pant, nor-, gasp, normally, you make practice targets by attaching head-sized parchment balloons to wolf or rat familiars. Pant, ugh.”

“I just don’t like those artificial familiars.”

Simply surviving a special lesson using those monstrous things was deserving of praise.

But…

(Maybe for a normal person, but not when I want to get into Maleficium. Just your “average genius” isn’t enough for that school!)

Then she realized what her mother was doing while she worked so hard at this training.

“Hey, mom!! I know dealing with a trainee can be boring, but why are you drinking in the middle of the day!? And straight from the bottle!?”

“This is unfermented wine.”

Did that mean it was ordinary grape juice?

“It’s a familiar drink for witches. And it tastes good to boot. Although you do need to ignore that it symbolizes ‘dead blood’ in necromancy ceremonies. That is because it acts as a twisted parody of the red wine used in the holy mass.”

The woman was smiling.

As if that Limit Breaker was worried at all by the myths of another world.

Still seated on the ground, Melehe worked to calm her breathing with some success. And she wiped the sweat from her brow.

The ultimate mama and coven commander elegantly placed a hand on her cheek and spoke.

“This seemed to come out of nowhere to me. It seems like just yesterday your adolescent pride wouldn’t let you come to your mother for help.”

“Oh, shut up. I’m well past the point of being able to worry about pride.”

She had fallen to Rank B.

That was a fact.

But she wasn’t about to give up on the witch entrance exam. The summer was a major crossroads, but she wasn’t interested in a consolation prize. If she was seriously planning to get into Maleficium, she had to get back on her feet in the short time before summer came to an end. And she had to do it herself.

She would reclaim her A Rank.

She would do whatever it took. She was in no position to set aside options just because they were embarrassing or shameful.

She was no elite.

An exam student was no more than an exam student. She had failed the entrance exam last time just like everyone else.

(Damn. Could a Maleficium witch get through this training without breaking a sweat?)

“…”

She had said some awful things to Viocia and Dorothea.

She had been unstable after falling down to B Rank, but that was no excuse. She was the one who had chosen to turn her test in early. And if she had filled in the answers correctly the first time, she could have held onto her A Rank while also dealing with that incident.

She understood she was holding herself to an unrealistic standard.

But it wasn’t completely impossible. It was a standard that could be reached with sufficient skill. If only she had had a bit more skill back then.

Melehe slapped her cheeks.

She wouldn’t let anyone see her in such a shameful position again.

It was one thing for her actions to embarrass herself, but never again would she let her actions harm those around her too.

(The Maleficium Trial Class is coming up soon. I need to be back to my usual self by then.)

She pushed aside her exhaustion and shouted from her gut.

“One more round!! Let’s do this, Orpheus!!”

### Part 4

“…”

Myousou Yagoro’s mouth formed a small triangle.

He was in a cafe somewhere.

A girl in a maid outfit, which she wore as generic work clothes, sat across the table from him with her arms crossed in a display of displeasure. The angry girl didn’t seem aware that the intensity of that display was also lifting up her boobs, but Yagoro couldn’t mention it since he knew she would bite his head off if he did.

That was Nancy, a Maleficium student and Benandanti member.

“Yagoro.”

“…Yes?”

“It’s nearly time for the Maleficium Trial Class.”

“Um, and what does that have to do with-”

“You need to help with the work and actually participate in this school event. Because you are a Maleficium student!!”

“(Shh! Shh!! Not so loud!!)”

Yagoro hurriedly leaned forward and pressed a finger against Miss Talkative’s lips.

Information regarding Maleficium was thoroughly restricted. Failed exam students would forget the contents of last year’s exam the same as people “forgot the dream they had last night” and no one would recognize a Maleficium teacher or student when passing them by in the streets of Temple School City. Nevertheless, Yagoro felt instinctual fear run down his spine when she yelled it so loudly.

“ Trick Question Warning: Just because invisibility magic exists does not mean you can strip off all your clothes and walk around like normal. ”

Nancy’s eyes widened with his finger on her soft lips.

And after a few seconds…

“Bft, bfh, Yag- bh, Yagoro, what in the hall are you- bff!?”

“What’s wrong, Nancy!? Are you ill!?”

Yagoro circled around the table and tried to hold her in his arms, but that only made her struggle more. He was worried about her, so he stayed by her side.

They were seated at a table, so being on the same side made for a terribly unnatural conversation.

“(D-do you have to sit so close, teacher?) Ahem!! Anyway! We will be holding a mock battle with the exam students that day. I-it is, in effect, a demonstration of the Maleficium students’ overwhelming skill.”

“That’s not very nice.”

“But we do not have enough (_______). You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“You don’t have enough (bunny girls)?”

“(Agressors), you stupid teacher!!”

He had gulped and responded with as much gravitas as he could muster, but apparently the maid hadn’t liked his answer.

Didn’t she know he could only joke around like this with students who had actually passed their entrance exam and had time for it?

“This is a major event and the President will even be participating, but Maleficium always has to dedicate a lot of personnel to research and experimentation and to dealing with crime and disasters. That’s why we need skilled student helpers who are not in a club or on a committee.”

“Hey. Isn’t the Maleficium Trial Class meant for exam students? I’m trying to hide my affiliation from my current student, so I can’t have her see me helping out at a Maleficium event.”

“Hmph.”

With a clunk, maid outfit Nancy tossed something onto the table.

“ +1 point… Isn’t that what you always say?”

It was a smooth white mask with no eyes or mouth.

“…Are you serious?”

“That will cover up your face. The rest is up to you. If you watch your mannerisms, breathing, gait, and other habits, your student won’t recognize you. This is hardly an absurd request. You can accomplish it all with witchcraft easily enough.”

As always, this was easier said than done.

Still, it was possible if he applied the techniques used in theatrical ceremonies that let you vanish into a role.

“Sigh.”

Regardless, he didn’t see what he got out of this as a tutor. Nancy must have known this, which was why she was being so pushy about his “voluntary” participation. She had mentioned the Student Council President participating and he was pretty sure that monster could single-handedly defeat thousands or even tens of thousands of exam students.

He saw no reason to do this.

So he decided to refuse.

But…

“(I-I worked so hard to get into Maleficium, so, um, it would be nice if I could enjoy at least one school event with you.)”

“Ugh.”

Maid Nancy gave him the puppy dog eyes.

Damp with tears.

(Good grief.)

With a stranger, he may have refused. But unfortunately, she was a former student who had taken on the entrance exam with him at her side.

He couldn’t just say no.

Viocia, Dorothea, Melehe.

Picturing those girls in his head made him frown, but he sighed and grabbed the smooth white mask.

Aggressor.

That was a word he had often heard while with the Force. It hadn’t been relevant to him since he was training to be an astronaut, but thanks to his high level of skill, he had been pressured into the role on more than a few occasions.

In other words…

“We play the fictional enemy in the mock battle. In order to drive a fear of Maleficium into their young hearts.”

### Part 5

The day had arrived.

Myousou Yagoro awoke from one of the power naps he had learned to take in the Force.

Out the window, he could see evening shifting into night.

“Now, then.”

He used his HEA house to create an electric toothbrush and completed the bare minimum of grooming. He stuck a butter roll in his mouth, gently shook a mug full of hot milk, equipped his parchment armor under his clothes, and attached his collapsible baton at his hip.

He grabbed the white mask and then left his stone apartment.

The mock battle was being held at the lakeside, so he began descending the long, long stairway there.

The laws of physics had only a loose grip on that deadly region , so it could distort into just about anything. That trait was apparently being used to recreate a portion of the Maleficium school building out here.

The exam students and Maleficium students would be engaging in a mock battle within.

“…”

Lately, Yagoro had been spending a lot of time in the squatter’s district back behind his apartment. He seemed to be subconsciously trying to calm himself down with detailed work. He wasn’t sure how effective that really was, but he had still borrowed the space. He wanted to bring a gift for Raynold and Roslynica later on.

He was going to the Maleficium Trial Class.

To play the role of an aggressor.

He felt bad going up against Viocia and the others without letting them know first, but at the same time this felt like a good opportunity to measure their strength. Summer was a major crossroads. How well those three could keep up with him would alter his policy going forward.

(It’ll be fine.)

He was walking to the battlefield where he would be sending his students to hell, but he took a positive view.

With no guarantee it really would be fine.

(I’ve done what I can. Dorothea and Melehe are both Rank B. And even Viocia managed to scramble up to Rank C. She’s making steady progress. All three are well in range of reaching the A Rank they’ll need to pass the exam. They still have six months. That’s a full half of a year. And who knows, they may do more than just keep up with me today. Knowing those three, they might even find a way to injure me here, don’tcha think?)

He wouldn’t go easy on them.

He couldn’t measure their strength properly if he did.

So if they showed an opening, he wouldn’t hesitate to crush them. But if they had been putting in the daily work, he was certain they could overcome this challenge.

And just as he was thinking this…

Something grew out from his side.

A thumb-thick rapier had stabbed into his back and out from his side.

“Agh!?”

He didn’t understand.

But he didn’t have time for confusion.

The clock was still ticking.

What he wanted most was information. The sword in his side kept him from twisting around, but he managed to view the scene behind him in the reflection of a nearby window.

He saw long black hair and pale skin reminiscent of an icy moon witch. Her curvy body was contained in a chic navy blue blazer, but the light pink apron worn over that clashed with the rest of her appearance. However, that apron was meant to keep her victim’s blood off her clothing, not for use in the kitchen.

The clashing colors were like a strange health food that had made no effort to provide an appealing taste or appearance.

And she held a broom in her hand.

A rapier had been sharply drawn from the sheath bolted alongside the broom handle and that rapier was currently piercing Yagoro’s side.

“That was too easy, Yagoro.”

She had used Wise Fencing.

And.

That could only mean…

“President…Ulrike!?”

Why?

What was going on?

This was no time for that discussion.

Student Council President Ulrike only provided a few fragmentary comments, but he could analyze them later. For now, he just had to memorize them and think up a way to survive.

“Class 1 L-FS – Strange Picking. A power so much more horrifying than the boy who carries it. You would be beneath my notice if not for that power that could easily steal control of this world away from me.”

“?”

“Oh? Yagoro, were you unaware of your own talent? Letting something that powerful go to waste is just plain laughable.”

She chuckled.

Her tone had gone so icy this no longer sounded like a game.

“Class 1 C-FS - Enemy Debug: activate. …It’s time you learned that you are not the one the goddess loves, Yagoro.”

“What are you even talking about!? Leave me alone!!” spat Yagoro as he took action.

First, he suddenly threw himself forward. He couldn’t move to the either side with the rapier sticking into his back. He had to get it out of him, no matter how much that widened the wound.

(!!!)

His bleeding increased.

He felt dizzy.

Still, he grimaced, quickly put distance between them, and turned to face his enemy.

She wore an apron stained red.

Witches had their origins in everyday household items like brooms and cauldrons, but her bloody smile was far too sinister for this combination.

Her sweet lips spoke.

“ Formula Broom – Wittenberg. Complete your function, Goethe.”

A freezing chill fell upon Yagoro’s body.

Even the pain from his wounded side seemed to fade away.

Why had she used that name?

No, that wasn’t it. The bigger question was why that dunce Viocia used an extraordinary broom with an estimated rank of S 3 .

“But if I were to go all out, you wouldn’t even have a chance to resist. So I will give up the options of ‘cutting’, ‘sweeping’, and ‘slashing’. I will limit myself to only ‘stabbing’. Does that give you some small hope?”

He wouldn’t dignify her nonsense with a response. Instead, he was working his mind to rapidly put together the Three Aspects for some witchcraft.

(Underestimate me at your peril!!)

An explosion erupted out.

But the flames only managed to suck in oxygen.

He heard a voice from behind.

“Minus 1 point.”

“!?”

He felt scorching heat. He twisted around to keep it from hitting the center of his back, but his left shoulder was still stabbed. She kept her word about only stabbing. With a horizontal slash, she could have sliced him through even with his evasive action.

“I can directly manipulate space, so you’ll have to use more brains than that.”

Yagoro had offered his own hair – the ultimate cursed dye – as sacrifice to create a deadly blast, but by then the President hadn’t been there anymore. It had only taken her an instant. Even though they were more than 10m apart.

If she had teleported her clothing and rapier along with her, they would usually end up embedded in her body, but she must have used her sense of touch to keep a perfect grasp of their position in relation to her skin.

“Are you underestimating what I mean by ‘space’, Yagoro? I have complete control over it in the physical and geometric senses, both at close range and remotely. I truly do rule over space itself in every meaning of the word!”

In every meaning of the word.

Did that include how the moon changed size depending on the angle used to look up at it? If so, her control over “space” would include physical, mathematical, and even philosophical aspects.

But something else caught Yagoro’s attention more than that.

“Remotely?

That was a physical term. Close range could be thought of like a domino effect. A phenomenon caused by A would influence nearby things until ultimately having an influence on distant B. Heating a bath and electricity traveling along a wire would both count as close range effects. A remote effect would be for A to instantly influence B no matter how much distance or space separated them.

The physics of the other world of Earth could explain the Coulomb force and universal gravitation with close range effects. Most seemingly remote effects had other explanations.

But was that not the case when it came to magic?

If she really could accomplish that, then using her rapier to stab someone from a distance would be possible.

And if she had mastered that…

“ Is that how you know? ”

“Hee hee. No one must reach the farthest reaches of this world.”

Black-haired President Ulrike laughed.

The witch who now had everything didn’t seem interested in sharing what she had seen at the ends of her studies. But Myousou Yagoro had obtained the possibility of violating that taboo. Apparently that was all it took.

Yes, that was all it took for her to execute him, take his life, and remove him from Maleficium.

Precisely 2cm were cut from the bottom of the President’s black hair. It scattered in the air and turned to sparkles just before reaching the ground.

She had sacrificed her black hair, the ultimate cursed dye.

Her bewitching lips uttered a single phrase.

“ Thousand needles. ”

The space all around Yagoro tore open, revealing countless blade tips. There was no gap between them, much less room to dodge. He was unable to do anything at all as they stabbed into him from all directions.

### Part 6

The battle was over.

A bloody mass collapsed to the ground.

Ulrike was surprised to see he could still move in his condition. It didn’t amount to any more than his arms and legs shaking, but he had to be gathering every last ounce of strength to do it.

“You could have pretended to be dead, you know?”

The President twirled her rapier once to fling the blood from the blade.

After checking to make sure it was still plenty sharp, she directed the point toward the redness collapsed on the ground.

“Not that you could have fooled me with an act.”

Just then, something interrupted from the side.

She looked to be at most 10 years old. The Halloweeny witch had fiery red hair, pale skin, and a childlike body contained in an orange dress and a large hat .

Some might have likened her appearance to a pumpkin tart.

The President was confused.

The mystery little girl winked with a generic practice broom resting on her shoulder. And she spoke with her flat chest puffed out in excessive confidence.

“Well, he will die if I let this continue, so no witch with a beautiful heart could just sit by and watch. More than that, I do owe this tutor some small debt.”

President Ulrike looked more exasperated than anything.

She twirled her rapier and made a precise jab.

Yes, precise.

She had complete control over space, both physically and geometrically, so the apparent distance between them was irrelevant.

“I am considered especially powerful even for a Maleficium witch. I hold the top position of Student Council President. I have no idea who you are, but what do you think you can accomplish as no more than a self-taught witch who couldn’t even pass the entrance exam?”

In response, the little girl grinned.

She held her plain broom upside down and tapped the handle against the ground.

“Oh, great tree that supports the three domains and the nine worlds. You are the structure that rises to the heavens, piercing even the clouds. Oh, world tree, this lowly witch beseeches thee.”

“?”

That was all she did.

The little girl smiled as she continued.

“I ask that thee be felled and fall upon us, Yggdrasil.”

### Part 7

Craaaaash!!!

Something massive just collapsed and split the land in two ?

### Part 8

What do you think you can accomplish?

That was the last thing anyone should say to her.

That was why it fell.

That was the only reason that witch had come this far.

It was like an executioner’s axe slicing through the planet itself. The world dented, the land split, and water flooded out from the crushed lake. The reverse-pyramid of Temple School City was sliced in half, pieces collapsing away while the lakeside was submerged by great waves.

A massive weapon had been swung down without mercy.

The celestial body was compressed.

And the mystery little girl walked carefree through it all.

Through the destroyed world.

Yagoro’s limp form was caught on the end of the plain broom resting on her small shoulder. But the complete lack of weight in her movements made it look like he was only a balloon.

“Tch. The fantasy ended up being smaller than I’d expected. Did the idea that wood floats in water give the wrong idea that a tree would be light? Well, it did at least distract her.”

Even after the absolute disaster she had caused, the little witch seemed dissatisfied.

Yagoro forgot all about the fact that she had saved him and began some wide-eyed shouting.

“Wha-, but, cough, what have you done to the city!?”

“Kah kah kah. It’s only an illusion. It won’t last more than a few minutes,” she said dismissively. “Did you think witchcraft was nothing but using a broom to shoot fireballs from your hand? I can’t speak for anyone else, but one of my favorite witch strategies is to create a sense of ‘ who knows what that monster might do next ’.”

Yagoro was the one being lectured this time.

Who was this mystery little girl who had appeared out of nowhere?

She placed a small hand on her flat chest and told him.

“Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky.”

That was definitely what she said.

That name was a taboo. Part of it was shared by someone he knew quite well, but that was the name of a legendary witch who had taken witchcraft to its limits and beyond. This was someone he had assumed he would never directly interact with.

“Some call me the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love. …I hear you have been most helpful to my granddaughter Viocia , Sir Tutor☆”

### Today’s Quiz 2

Tedaura: Now that I’ve saved your life, I can’t have you dying on me, Sir Tutor. You’re soaked with blood, so I guess I should heal you with witchcraft.

Yagoro: Bfh, cough!! Cough, gurgle!?

Tedaura: Hm? It’s hard to understand you through all that blood you’re coughing up.

Tedaura: Witches can find the mystical in familiar everyday objects like cauldrons and brooms – no grand legendary items necessary. We’ll use anything we can. You can find the hints in the discussions held by my granddaughter and the other exam students.

Question☆ Save Sir Tutor by explaining the magical method Tedaura, Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love, can use to treat his critical wounds! (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

- Nectar

- Yu Gao

- Soma

As you can see, the Aspect of Antiquity is (_______).

Hint! A lot of myths depict fruits that provide immortality, but because fermented drinks can be made with (___), you can remember the two categories as a set!

The Aspect of Amorality is unfermented (___). That acts as a (______) tool because it is a twisted parody of the wine used in mass.

With that, we have set up everything needed to manipulate a (___) in life or in death. All that remains is to link these symbols to the Aspect of (________)!

ATU (____), aka Sleeping Beauty. The princess is put to sleep by the (____) of a fairy who was not invited to her (________) and she is (_____) by a dispelling kiss. This means that life and death are no more than statuses and a witch can manipulate them as long as she follows the appropriate ceremony.

That’s all☆

Okay, Sir Tutor. If you have no complaints, then could you get up now?

It’s about time we began our counterattack.

### 020. Episode 3: Beyond the Entrance Exam Competition

### Part 1

Examination of data from the ＊＊＊＊＊＊ Force’s ＊＊＊＊ Base using the Special ＊＊＊＊ .

Sent to Ministry of ＊＊＊＊ ＊＊＊＊ Division ＊＊＊＊ Exception ＊＊＊＊ Department.

Pilot: ＊＊＊＊＊＊ . Craft Used: F- ＊＊ J.

(Used Flanker E2 paint job to act as an aggressor based on ＊＊＊＊ .)

The opposing unit was the ＊＊ Air Force ＊＊ th Wing ＊＊＊ th Squadron, known for having an SSS evaluation. They were flying F- ＊＊ Cs, F ＊＊ Js and DJs, and F- ＊ As. For details, see attached file. Not counting training squadrons and acrobatic squadrons, that ace squadron is effectively the best in the country in actual combat.

Max Speed: 2509km/h

Max Burden on Pilot: 9G

Continuous Flight Time: 30m and 00s

(He effectively continued flying until the training was completed.)

Chaff and Flare Usage Count: 0

Artificial Kills During Training: 38 AAMs, 12 AA guns

Death-to-Kill Ratio: 1:50

Hits: 0

(This includes AAMs and AA guns.)

(He was effectively shot down 0 times during training. He was ordered to land after the training period had ended. That landing was counted as a single death because the death-to-kill ratio cannot be calculated with a death count of 0.)

(Hidden Note)

We had summoned that ace squadron (which includes stealth fighter pilots) to take that genius boy down a peg, but he did better than we could have imagined. He far surpassed the supposed limits of a non-stealth craft. It feels like a waste to let him be a civilian astronaut. I know he was invited in from outside, but is it at all possible to keep him in the Force? We don’t need to leave any records of it. We just need a way…

### Part 2

“That should do the trick.”

Her skill was downright frightening.

Yagoro himself couldn’t explain how he was alive after losing so much blood. That small witch had to know his body more intimately than he did at this point.

Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky.

Yagoro had known she was Viocia’s grandmother, but it still felt surreal to see her standing in front of him. She was like a living legend.

Besides, didn’t she live in a distant forest that was as dangerous as a final dungeon?

“What…why…how?”

“All things have signs before they happen. Events only seem so uncanny because ordinary people cannot see the signs. But if you had viewed the stars with more care, I think you could have seen this coming, Sir Tutor.”

So had she chosen to leave isolation and travel here because some form of divination told her of some coming danger to her granddaughter?

That seemed far too precise and specific, but there was no use in questioning a living legend.

It all happened so suddenly.

“Hm, but it had to be part of the Wittenberg series, didn’t it?” she said.

“Kh.”

He hadn’t explained anything to her yet, but Tedaura still made a somewhat exasperated comment.

Series? Where did she get that information?

This was something not even Yagoro was familiar with.

“Those are the eight brooms my former rival created so long ago. They were made based on the overly forceful idea that increasing the overall stats of the tool could make up for the witch’s own inferior power.”

For a legend like Tedaura, apparently the great secrets of the world were no more than talk of a childhood friend. And based on what she had said, Yagoro got the strong sense that this rival was a living legend in their own right.

Feeling somewhat exasperated himself, Yagoro asked a question.

“Are you saying there are eight brooms with that dangerous S 3 rating?”

“There are different ways one could try to surpass me, right? I imagine the number was meant to correspond to the eight seasons in a year and then to draw out a variety of reactions from me by hitting my solid defenses with metal.” The little girl chuckled in an elderly sort of way. “Oh, and Mephistopheles was apparently made to cover all forms of skill, so he will answer even the most challenging question and place the answer in his wielder’s head. Makes me wonder how my granddaughter is doing.”

Yagoro stared into the middle distance, but that legend had become very real for him.

Yes.

The Student Council President had a Formula Broom – Wittenberg.

As did Viocia Modestlucky.

“Wh-what are you going to do now?”

“That President says she can control space both physically and geometrically, but she must define the coordinates based on her own senses. That is her weakness. Otherwise, she could have remotely pierced space to give you a mortal wound without appearing before you. So if you can physically hide your location, she cannot- ugh!?”

Tedaura stopped mid-sentence.

What had happened? Had the President remotely sent a curse her way?

That was Yagoro’s first guess.

The seemingly untouchable and unbeatable Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love froze in an unnatural forward-leaning posture. No, she wasn’t completely frozen; she was trembling.

The 10-year-old (looking) little girl had tears in her eyes.

“M-my back… Oof, my bad back is acting up again. I can’t move…”

Yagoro could tell part of him seriously wanted to abandon her and run away.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this the reason why her granddaughter Viocia wanted to get into Maleficium?

### Part 3

Going home wasn’t an option.

Maleficium’s Student Council President could easily access a student’s registered address.

(But why is she even attacking me?)

1. He had run up against Maleficium or White Magic’s interests in some way.

2. The President had been involved in some of the cases he had resolved in the past.

3. Someone outside Maleficium had hired her and it wasn’t personal to Ulrike.

Coming up with a few possible explanations wasn’t going to tell him the answer.

It scared him that he couldn’t see President Ulrike’s angle.

Because that meant he couldn’t predict her next action.

But…

“4. No one must reach the ends of this world.”

He had only been brainstorming ideas, but that one caught his attention.

The President made a habit of saying that line, but could that really be the reason?

He wasn’t certain.

Staying safe had to take priority. He and Tedaura had arrived in the shopping distract at night.

He knew it would be a lot of trouble, but there weren’t that many people he could rely on.

He just had to hope that the President wouldn’t have Viocia’s personal information since she hadn’t gotten into Maleficium yet.

(Formula Broom – Wittenberg.)

With that strange point in common, he couldn’t be 100% certain of that, though.

“Argh, my back. A-and I would be completely untouchable if not for this.”

That one line dragged Yagoro back from the realm of thought.

The world’s greatest witch – in name and fact – had been reduced to this.

After seeing it for himself, he could kind of understand where Viocia was coming from.

This was Viocia’s grandmother, but she looked like a young girl of only 10. But instead of a case of de-aging taken too far, this was apparently the result of her trying to do something about her bad back. And given the current situation, Yagoro was skeptical it had worked very well.

“B-b-but, Sir Tutor, how far are you planning to make me walk?”

“?”

Oh, right.

He had forgotten this would be Tedaura’s first time seeing where her granddaughter lived.

“Wh-what is this gaudy building? What kind of establishment are you taking me to?”

“If you don’t like it, we can go somewhere else. But it’ll be a long walk to the used bookseller’s place.”

“Wait, wait, I was only kidding, this is fine! If this is where my granddaughter is staying, it must be safe, so please no more walking! All the stairs in this city are hell on my back!!”

He took the tearful little (but actually old) girl around to the back entrance of a sketchy-looking bar so they could sneak in…earning him some experience points in things he couldn’t let the Benandanti see him doing.

Viocia must not have left for the Maleficium Trial Class yet.

It was a close call, but he just barely managed to run into her.

She held a hand to her mouth, eyes wide, and shouted.

“Teacher, are you saying my grandma visited you and got her back blown out!?”

“That is not what that phrase means!!”

Olivia the dancer sighed and intervened.

Apparently she was on break.

Tedaura was obviously in need of assistance, but unlike the idiot, the capable young woman’s sharp eyes noticed the dark red splotches here and there on Yagoro’s clothing.

But the fact that she didn’t immediately mention it showed she was truly capable indeed.

Olivia knew how to set her priorities.

“If that really is a bad back, this is no laughing matter. Strena, could you bring me some aloe and nettle? There should be some in the pantry. If you can’t find it, ask Kevin in the kitchen. I can throw together a quick witchcraft compress.”

“Wow, you must know a lot about this, Olivia,” said Viocia.

“It only relieves the symptoms, so it does nothing about the underlying problem. With a job like this, a lot of us end up with hip pain pretty young.”

Dancer Olivia gave a demonstrative wiggle of her hips in her gaudy midriff-baring outfit.

For now, Yagoro guided Tedaura to her granddaughter’s room on the 2nd floor.

“Ah, agh, aghhhhh!”

Simply climbing the narrow, steep stairway had her twitching in pain, but they couldn’t leave her on the 1st floor full of dancers. A wrinkly old lady would be one thing, but her little girl appearance would lead to some terrible misunderstandings.

The Limit Breakers were said to have conquered the concept of a lifespan, which reminded Yagoro of the supposedly immortal Baldr from Norse mythology, but this real example suggested it had its pros and its cons.

But while Baldr could be resurrected if all life around the world were to weep for him, there wasn’t much help available for this old little girl.

Bodyguard Strena poked her head in through the door.

“I have the ingredients and tools, Olivia.”

“Thanks.”

Olivia had clearly done this more than a few times before. She made the necessary medicine by crushing some aloe and a few other herbs and mixed that with some vegetable shortening made from nuts. She was quick and precise. She would smile self-deprecatingly when talking about how she had given up on the witch entrance exam, but the skills she used in everyday life had been honed to a level that impressed even a Maleficium student like Yagoro.

But…

“Ehh? A compress? But that’s so old-fashioned,” complained Tedaura.

“Olivia, can you heat some water in the kettle? I want to use that in place of moxibustion,” said Yagoro.

“Wait, wait, I’d die!! Heat my bad back with the bottom of a kettle and it’ll explode with pain and I’ll die! Okay, bring on the compress!!”

“ x…I see. But there is a trick question here…x ”

“Yes, of course! A cold compress is needed for back pain!!”

Placing the compress over her clothing wouldn’t do any good, so the little girl(?) lay face down on her granddaughter’s bed and bared her back. Also, why did she have to be wearing a dress? That made it hard to remove. Or rather, what should only have meant revealing her lower back instead meant essentially stripping the dress off, leaving her nearly naked.

Yagoro sensed her glancing back at him.

The next thing he knew, the idiot’s grandmother looked like she was asking him to apply some suntan lotion.

Tedaura lay face down in only her underwear, kicking her little feet.

“Heh heh. Since you’re here, I might as well ask you to do the honors, Sir Tutor. Oh, dear, but I just realized I’m down to my underwear. Is this perhaps a little too stimulating for a strapping young lad like you?”

“(Would Olivia be mad at me if I seriously attempted a (________) on this old little girl with a bad back?)”

“I can hear every word you are muttering to yourself. (Boston crab). Anyway, is that the only thing in this wide world holding you back? I’m kind of ready and waiting here, you know? And I did save your life, if you’ve already forgotten.”

She told him to do it, so Yagoro applied the rectangular compress to Tedaura’s lower back – which meant just above her white kiddie panties.

She jumped a bit when he did.

Then her extremely juvenile body slowly relaxed.

“Oh, ohh, yesss, mwohhhhh. That’s it, that’s it, that’s it. Ahh, i-it’s soaking iiiiiiin.”

“Are you serious? If I close my eyes, this just sounds like an old woman getting into a hot spring.”

“Of course it does, Sir Tutor. Heh heh heh. But there’s no need to be embarrassed. I know you’re actually into this. Those ordinary little girls just aren’t enough to satisfy you anymore, are they?”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say, don’tcha think? And the way you keep dragging back up topics we’ve finished discussing is enough to know you really are an old lady through and through.”

“How can you look at this naked little girl brimming with youthful vigor and pretend it reminds you of your old relatives?”

That aside, Olivia’s skill was real.

Tedaura was already sounding more like her usual self.

The homemade compress appeared to have some effect. Skills built up through repetition in everyday life were on another level.

The living legend spoke with a quiet but dignified voice while lying face down (with her witch’s dress removed to give access to her back).

“You know what this means, don’t you, Sir Tutor?”

“?”

“I could crush that Student Council President in mere seconds if I had access to my full strength, but I currently cannot move. Since I have been rendered useless, you will have to deal with this instead.”

“I know knowledge and skills aren’t genetic, but I’m starting to wonder if my student’s tendency toward idiocy and uselessness is inherited.”

### Part 4

Viocia knocked but received no response.

“Grandmaaa?”

She peeked inside the room (which was actually her own) and heard the gentle breathing of sleep. Tedaura appeared to be the type to sleep on her stomach with the pillow in her arms. She was still in only her underwear and without the covers over her.

She was the reason Viocia Modestlucky wanted to attend Maleficium.

Viocia wanted to fully heal her grandma’s bad back.

She wanted to create a new potion for that.

(What Olivia did was really cool, but it looks like not even that compress could fully heal her.)

Only she could help her beloved grandma.

“Ugh,” she groaned quietly.

Tedaura did not wake.

Viocia approached the bed, reached toward that young(-looking) lower back, and found the compress was room temperature. Was that right? Had its effectiveness run out?

“Um, these are the spare compresses, right?”

There were a few different types on the bedside table.

Since these were not products sold in stores, they weren’t labeled. Some had a red line and others had a blue line, which had to indicate two different types, but only Olivia would know what that meant.

“Hm.”

There were a few different compresses there, so Viocia picked one of each up and pressed her finger into the underside.

The red line one was a hot compress and the blue line one was a cold compress.

Red or blue? Viocia tilted her head.

(They both look the same to me, but Olivia wouldn’t have separated them unless it mattered.)

“I’ve heard old people will soothe their pain with moxibustion. And grandma loves the sauna and hot tea. So the red line one must be right! I need to heat her back!”

And an hour later…

“Gnyahhhhhhh!!!”

“?”

The very instant after Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky woke from her nap, she turned into a sea cucumber wriggling on the bed (with only a pair of panties to hide her body).

The living legend had true tears in her eyes.

“Wh-what happened wile I was asleep? Ahh, I-I can’t even roll over.”

Had the true idiot not been listening?

Swelling should not be heated.

### Part 5

The following morning, when the sunrise and the rooster cries were arriving through the windows, Sabbath Party was finally beginning to close up. Yagoro had stayed the night and even gotten help with Tedaura’s back. He couldn’t think of anything he could do to help out beyond some cleaning.

“My, my. If you’d told me you would be helping out, I would have asked for some more specialized help in the locker room or shower room.”

Even if they looked perfect, Olivia and the other dancers were intoxicated from drinking so much alcohol during the night. Working to support oneself was never easy. Yagoro decided to pretend he hadn’t heard that comment. The alcohol was to blame.

But while working with a mop in hand, he did ask a question.

“What’s that?”

A grass sickle blade was soaking in a wash basin full of a white liquid. That didn’t seem like something necessary for cleaning.

Olivia readily answered (while fairly unsteady on her feet).

“A talishman againsht curshes.”

“??? Why do you need that? +1 point. Heating a sickle in fire and cooling it in milk is a dairy farmer’s talisman, don’tcha think? ”

“Jusht in cashe. With sho much deshire gathering here, there are timesh when we want shomethign like thish. Hic.”

He had a feeling they might have some sulfur or soot mixed in with the milk. The talismans that caught on with ordinary people were generally a way of following a set ceremony to tune people’s wills toward a desired goal.

…Also, the mention of milk nearly brought his gaze down toward the dancer’s cleavage, but he gathered all his willpower to stop himself. He owed her a lot for Tedaura’s back, providing a hideout, and more, so he couldn’t do anything so rude.

“Oh, too bad. Ushually a bit of jiggling ish enough to draw any guy’sh eyes down to them. Controlling the audiensh’sh attention ish a part of my job, sho I need to keep training.”

(That was on purpose?)

Before too long, Yagoro was just about done cleaning.

“Yagoro.”

It was still too soon to start working on the morning cooking, but Nancy (who wore a maid uniform like it was a track suit) arrived at Sabbath Party.

She seemed to have some business with Yagoro, but she looked puzzled when she noticed the mop in his hand.

“Do you not even know how to clean? Using a dirty mop will only spread the filth around. Give that here. I can’t stand to watch this kind of ineptitude. Ugh, and were you just soaking it in the bucket without wringing it out? You’ve got the floor all wet! Fine, I’ll just redo it all myself!!”

“What are you, my mother-in-law?”

Yagoro stared into the middle distance.

Of course, the maid hadn’t come here to clean.

She was a Maleficium student. More than that, she was with the Benandanti who kept order among the witches. But…

“If Navigate Exam and the President start fighting, this city’s beautiful peace will crumble into ugliness. I’ll give you what information I have, so end this whole mess ASAP.”

Nancy pouted as she said this and some clanking sounds came from her.

Specifically, it came from the maid’s long skirt.

The cause was wooden ants, different colors of dirt divided into glass vials, and a glass tank divided up by panels.

In other words, it was an HEA house capable of creating any electronic.

Yagoro sighed in exasperation.

“You actually took that from my apartment? It isn’t just the Benandanti pursuing me on the President’s orders, right?”

“Hey, you asked me to do it,” coldly said Nancy with a snort.

Although the coldness was only skin deep.

… Maleficium’s clubs and committees were constantly competing to hold more power. If it was discovered Nancy had done this, she would be in a tight spot, but she had still done it.

(This gives me a lot more options.)

“I took this too.”

Nancy also pulled out the eye drop bottle containing the small Dracae familiar. Whether or not she would be any use in his current situation, he would have felt bad if she was left behind and withered away.

Yagoro tried to soothe the Dracae who was upset over being forgotten, and then snuck the small eye drop bottle into his pocket while Nancy continued speaking.

“The Channelers, the Glenstrae, and most of the others after you are trying to earn points with the President, but there is one elite group in the mix.”

“The Sorcerers?”

“No, the Earth Mothers. …They are powerful. They’ve already sent in their Grade 4 and Grade 3 knights and that’s only what I’ve been able to confirm. They might have given authorization for even more than hat.”

Yagoro slapped his forehead.

The Earth Mothers were White Magic’s field combat unit. That was bad news indeed. He felt bad after having Nancy go to so much risk to give him this inside information, but anyone who knew how Maleficium worked would want to raise the white flag at this point.

So what had happened to the locked container he had in the squatter’s district?

…It would be a real shame if that had been confiscated.

But.

On the other hand…

“It’s been a full night and they still haven’t attacked. That means all their efforts haven’t been enough to locate us. I must have slipped away from Ulrike for the time being.”

“I wouldn’t relax if I were you, Yagoro. I managed to find you and I’m with Maleficium. There’s no way the President at the very top can’t track you down.”

That was a good point.

And after the dancers here sheltered him for nothing in return, he couldn’t get them caught up in his fight.

Dunce #2 – aka Tedaura – was stuck in bed thanks to her bad back and both Bronze Moloch and Elf Freynir were living here. Bringing harm to people he had supposedly already saved was out of the question. Not to mention Viocia.

“What are you going to do now, Yagoro?” asked Nancy.

She was his former student. They had spent a full year together, so she was asking this question while knowing full well what kind of person he was.

(I can’t keep this hidden forever. At best, it’ll come to light in a few more days.)

He was at an overwhelming disadvantage.

But that didn’t mean he could fortify himself inside a bar to which he owed so much.

Myousou Yagoro made up his mind.

If he didn’t want to be ungrateful, he had only one option.

“I have to make my move before Ulrike makes hers.”

### Part 6

This would mean a battle against President Ulrike.

That was easier said than done. Yagoro had already lost badly once. But he couldn’t get any help from Tedaura the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love because her bad back had incapacitated her.

He couldn’t involve Viocia, Olivia, or any other “ordinary” witch in this.

He would be dealing with that monstrous President. He would also have a hard time getting any more help from Nancy. …Although the problem there was how he was fairly certain she really would give up her position in Maleficium to help him if he begged her to.

So…

“Hey, Myousou. I hear you’re picking a fight with Maleficium. Why would you keep that from me? You know I’m the first person you should tell about any coming conflicts.”

“My, my. I hope you aren’t planning to use this information to feed your gambling addiction, Sorbeddy.”

Sorbeddy Icing.

And the mysterious used bookseller.

Two monstrous Limit Breakers had arrived at Sabbath Party. He needed someone on that level if he was going to trust them with his back here. Especially with the bookseller since she was also a Maleficium graduate.

Yagoro sighed in exasperation when he saw the two of them.

“Are you sure no one was following you, Sorbeddy?”

“Ee hee hee☆ Have you forgotten I’m the ice witch who runs the city’s ice business and reaps the lucrative benefits? No one has a better secret transportation network in this city. And as a self-taught witch, I don’t have to report anything to those arrogant Maleficium witches, so not even Ulrike at the top can track me.”

“She isn’t secretly working in the smuggling business, is she?”

The little(-looking) girl wore a sheer blue camisole dress that left little to the imagination, giving her a blue Hawaii ice cream float look. The way she put things, he didn’t feel all that comfortable about her providing help.

The bookseller sighed softly.

“Well, if she is operating on her business instincts instead of her terrible gambling addiction, then at the very least accepting her help won’t be suicide.”

“Hey! Do you want to take this outside, you unsatisfied cowtits wife?”

“It seems to me you are the one who crossed the line first☆”

Yagoro’s mouth formed a small triangle. He had hoped this temporary team would be a little less temporary than immediately devolving into a battle between Limit Breakers.

Regardless, it sounded like Sorbeddy would provide as much help as he liked as long as he gave her lucrative information regarding the upcoming conflict. He didn’t know – and didn’t want to know – how she planned to monetize this crisis, but he knew the money-lover would find a way.

Which meant…

“What about you?” he asked the bookseller. “I know I sent you that carrier pigeon, but you don’t have to help if you don’t have enough reason to risk your life.”

“Maleficium is my old school and my daughter Melehe’s goal. Ulrike, was it? If this President is trying to take control of the school and turn it into a place far too dangerous to send my daughter, then I must correct her immediately, don’t you think?”

Apparently she wouldn’t even consider the ordinary but hopeless option of keeping her daughter safe by forcing her to give up on her dream of attending Maleficium.

Viocia and Freynir’s voices could be heard coming from the kitchen.

They were apparently giving each other practice questions over breakfast.

“Um, ATU 0425c is Sleeping Beauty, so…”

“Moo!!”

“No. 0425c is Beauty and the Beast.”

“Ugh, the Beauty Series is so hard to keep straight. They all get hugged and kissed.”

“You need to remember the magical lesson along with them. Beauty and the Beast is the story of the woman dispelling the prince’s curse with the power of ordinary love. That’s completely different from the prince showing up out of nowhere and solving everything with a kiss.”

“Gwah! Freynir, you’re sounding more like teacher every day!”

The bookseller smiled gently as she listened in.

She must have mentally categorized them the same as her daughter.

Yet when she did speak, her voice was ice cold.

“We needn’t bother Melehe and her friends with this. They need to focus on studying for their exam. They needn’t even know about Maleficium’s dark truths. It is our job as the adults to deal with this before they are even aware of it.”

“Now we’re talking. You know this means all-out war against Maleficium’s Student Council President, right? You really are scariest when you let your mama side out☆”

Sorbeddy chuckled.

The team now contained Navigate Exam Myousou Yagoro, the Limit Breaker bookseller, and Limit Breaker Sorbeddy Icing.

Between the clubs, the committees, and White Magic itself, President Ulrike had as many people as she could want, but they didn’t need to compare numbers. Each of them was on another level entirely.

“Ohh, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.”

Then an odd voice reached them.

Someone hobbled into the room that was kept dark even in the morning. The small figure was Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky, the living legend who was also known as the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love.

“Getting a plan together?”

Still seated, the bookseller and Sorbeddy both looked back and then froze. Yagoro couldn’t blame them. He had thought his heart would stop the first time he met her too.

Tedaura herself tapped her lower back with a fist (while still looking just like a little girl) and winked before making one thing clear.

“You can see what state I’m in. Don’t expect any help from me in the fight.”

“…”

“But I will lend you my brains, lost chicks. It might be full of holes, but you have a basic strategy in mind, I assume? Let me see it. My millennia of wisdom can fill in those holes.”

Yagoro shrugged.

It was the tutor’s turn to be taught.

So the boy with the unnatural blond hair unrolled a large sheet of parchment on the table like it was a tablecloth. It had lots of memos and clippings pasted to it. Tedaura scanned through it curiously…and then froze.

If this plan could get that reaction out of the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love, did it maybe stand a chance against the President?

“Wh-what in the world is this?” asked Tedaura as she read through the different clippings.

### Part 7

Yagoro’s team had only two or three days.

He doubted they had even a second to spare.

### Part 8

It was late at night.

But this area had more bars than restaurants, so it may have been even busier than during the day. While the signs shined bright in the night, a group flew sharply through the pitch black sky above.

They were Maleficium’s Earth Mothers.

White Magic’s combat unit.

Nancy had mentioned their Grade 4 and Grade 3 members were taking part, but in fact the Grade 0 knights, ranked above even Grade 1, were out on the front line as well.

Dark figures stood atop rooftops all over the street.

President Ulrike held her long black hair down against the night breeze and spoke from one roof.

With a smile on her lips.

“Sabbath Party, hm? You have an interesting taste in hideouts, Yagoro.”

She was answered by the Earth Mother committee head who was down on one knee nearby.

“Indeed. I assumed he would be hiding out in the squatter’s district, so we may be over-prepared for this. Such a large unit isn’t necessary to bomb a single building from the air.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘overkill’ against that monster who can use witchcraft even as a boy. Make sure to use every last witch at your disposal.”

“Understood.”

They showed no hesitation.

Even though this cruel choice would kill other, unrelated people, not just Myousou Yagoro.

This went beyond magically sealing away their personal goodness and conscience. The President’s words were just that absolute. It wasn’t just a case of obeying her being the prudent course of action. They held something akin to religious faith in her.

“E-excuse me, but are we really bombing that building?”

It was Nancy who spoke up to question their actions.

This was unnatural. Even she knew it. But if she didn’t say anything, that bar would be blown to smithereens in mere seconds. It really would happen.

She felt like they would easily detect the parchment talisman she had between herself and her thick Hexenturm, preventing it from sealing away her personal goodness and conscience.

She was also simply curious.

Why was President Ulrike taking this so far?

And why had she launched the initial surprise attack on Myousou Yagoro?

“This area is bustling with people even late into the night. There are customers inside Sabbath Party, as well as drunks and workers out on the street. Even a precision bombing will mean some civilian casualties. Both from the explosion itself and from the stone and glass shards blasted outwards!!”

Ulrike twisted her lips into a cruel grin.

“Not to worry. I have Enemy Debug.”

“?”

“C-FS-…not that I expect you to know what that means. What matters is that no one will question it if I steal things, attack people, or even strip off my clothes in public. That is the special power I received as the only one in this world granted the goddess’s love. …Yes, even if I kill people, I will be forgiven as a matter of course. Most likely, this was originally meant to allow the hero to earn money and experience points by defeating their enemies .”

Nancy had no idea what any of that meant.

Still, it didn’t seem like complete nonsense. She sensed some kind of vast logic hidden below the surface.

But this wasn’t about being forgiven or not. The victims would be ordinary people who had not trained in witchcraft.

“Direct any complaints toward Myousou Yagoro. If he hadn’t chosen to hide here, we wouldn’t have had to make this painful decision.”

“But!!”

“Oh? If I didn’t know better, I would think you had some kind of problem with us bombing Sabbath Party, Nancy.”

The Benandanti’s shoulders shook hard.

She didn’t care about the club and committee members staring at her.

It was President Ulrike.

Looking back into that confidently smiling girl’s eyes was tens of thousands of times more difficult and terrifying.

“This is necessary.”

“?”

“It is a meaningful act. You passed the entrance exam with Navigate Exam’s assistance, meaning you spent an entire year with him, Nancy, but you still haven’t noticed just how horrific a threat Myousou Yagoro is ?”

What?

What could she possibly mean?

Sure, he was an extraordinary person. He was a male witch. And he wielded magic with his own willpower instead of a Formula Broom. Anyone who knew that about him would view him as an oddity. But why did this bother Ulrike so much when she already ruled at the top? Why did it scare her so? Ulrike’s spatial control was far more deadly than anything Yagoro could do and her political and institutional power dwarfed his. Could she be afraid he would bring an end to the female-focused age of witches?

If so, she was mistaken.

Nancy knew that monster had no interest in political or institutional power. In fact, he might not be all that interested in this world itself.

He continued to support different girls while sending them to Maleficium, but what was it he wanted in the end ? Nancy was his former student, but she wasn’t sure on that point.

“If you can’t see it, then you don’t have what it takes.”

“President…”

There was no summary execution.

Only a pitying look.

Mistaken. Could that term refer to both Ulrike and Nancy? That question roiled in the redheaded Benandanti’s chest.

“If you knew the truth, you couldn’t take this in-between position. Watch from there, Nancy. Myousou Yagoro will try to slither out of this. And when you see how he does it, you too will understand just how horrific a monster he is.”

(I can’t stop it.)

Ulrike had extraordinary power in combat.

She also stood at the top both politically and institutionally.

And she was reaching for a truth Nancy knew nothing about.

(I’m sorry, Yagoro, but I don’t think I can change what President Ulrike is planning!!)

“Two short days.”

The President chuckled and stroked a fingertip along her broom’s handle.

And she drew the slim, sharp rapier from the sheath fixed along that handle.

“Even the help of a legend like Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky only extended your life by 48 hours. Is this your limit, Myousou Yagoro? How tragically short. And no matter what you try here, I will prevail in the end and kill you.”

After speaking so softly on the rooftop, Ulrike glanced to the side.

To the building across the large tiered street.

Someone stood on that rooftop.

The curvy witch had brown skin and long silver hair. As Student Council President, Ulrike had access to the list of past graduates. That was the commander of Private Striga, the most powerful coven in the northern icy region. She was the priestess of death and blood who specialized in Greek mythology with a particular focus on the Cult of Dionysus.

“Good evening, President. I’m afraid I graduated too soon to meet you.”

She simultaneously had the look of a used bookseller and of a powerful coven leader.

But who was it who had said she was most frightening as a mother?

“A lovely night, isn’t it? Have you read the stars? They tell me even you can die satisfied tonight.”

The club and committee members prepared for battle around Ulrike. Had they not even noticed her until now? If so, all of their budgets would be slashed for next year.

“You are barely worth my attention,” summed up Ulrike.

She was not underestimating the woman. She had compared the accurate data on both of them and spat out the result.

The one who sat in the throne of Maleficium Student Council President couldn’t be threatened by a mere Limit Breaker.

“So where have you hidden Myousou Yagoro while using this obvious Limit Breaker as a diversion? Really, it doesn’t matter when I already have his Achilles’ heel in my sights. Wherever he hides and whatever he’s planning, that sensitive soul will come running the instant I start bombing Sabbath Party, won’t he?”

The busty witch didn’t dignify the President’s question with a response.

Instead, she smiled icily while her voice remained gentle.

“Maenads.”

The bookseller suddenly grew more than 20 arms. No, dark shadows emerged from behind her. Those bloody priestesses all possessed fearsome deadly power and would shred anyone they ran across – enemy or ally.

Ulrike gave a snort of laughter.

“Overwhelming me with numbers? Is that your idea of the ultimate attack? How boring. I don’t even need to raise a finger myself. I can simply send in all the club and committee members.”

The silver-haired witch continued smiling without responding.

As if to say she saw no value in speaking.

And the approaching clash never occurred.

Something grew up out of the rooftop.

The slender shadow hand latched onto Ulrike’s right ankle.

“?”

She shouldn’t have questioned it.

With her dangerous Wise Fencing skills, she should have severed space or torn down quantum theory in the local area to cut away the arm before even trying to think about it.

It goes without saying that shadows have no substance to them. So who had said they could only emerge from the coven leader’s back?

Thanks to this, the smiling bookseller was just one second faster.

“Have a nice flight☆”

The shadow arm swung her around.

Spun her around.

And after building up sufficient centrifugal force, it threw her in the opposite direction of the tiered city…that is, it threw her toward the vast lake in the center.

Over and over, water exploded from the lake as she skipped along its surface like a flat rock on the river.

### Part 9

“President!!”

“President Ulrike!?”

Everyone else sprang into action.

The Maleficium forces glared at the irreverent witch who had launched a preemptive strike on Ulrike who they held a nearly religious faith in and rushed…toward the lake instead of the woman.

They had been drawn away by Ulrike.

Left alone, the bookseller placed her empty hand elegantly on her cheek.

(Phew. That’s phase 1 complete.)

“It would seem Yagoro’s gambles can pay off. Unlike Sorbeddy’s.”

Yes.

The first phase of Myousou Yagoro’s plan was to shift the battle away from the shopping district where Sabbath Party was located.

Any attempt to repel Maleficium’s army by force would lead to a hail of weapon’s fire that could get innocents hurt. But there was one loophole they could take advantage of.

“We just have to get in a preemptive attack on their charismatic leader before they can get started. That will make her supporters freak out, don’tcha think? I bet they’ll all focus on protecting and assisting their all-important master over attacking some boring target. No matter what it takes.”

Meanwhile, the Maleficium club and committee heads were riding brooms and soaring toward the dark lake.

“Where is President Ulrike!?”

“Don’t lose sight of the dark lake below you! We can’t rely on the city lights here!!”

They knew the President wouldn’t drown and die right away after falling in the water, but none of the club or committee heads could have guessed what they found.

They saw land.

Even though the massive circular lake was a designated anti-air region that acted as a boundary to protect Maleficium.

“What is that?”

A small island less than 200m across had appeared on the lake surface.

It wasn’t found on any maps and the Maleficium students had never seen it before. After all, even the lakeside was considered a deadly zone where reality itself was easily distorted. Anything could happen on this meager chunk of land floating in the lake.

And they found her.

The witch unit made up of club and committee members flew directly above the small island before shifting into a large curve to circle the island.

“President!!”

“President Ulrike would never be defeated by an ugly surprise attack like that.”

She wasn’t physically harmed.

But her pride was badly wounded. Worse than ever before.

Really, the biggest concern here was that the President might blow up Temple School City in a fit of rage.

The Earth Master leader tore through the night sky, controlling her broom with countless strings, and called out to another nearby flight group.

“Witch Doctors! Prepare a tranquilizer – one powerful enough to keep the President asleep – before we collect her. Use henbane or scopolia if you have to – just get it in her before she notices what we’re up to!!”

“Ugh, why do we have to get stuck with this job!? U-um, you actually expect us to trick President Ulrike of all people!?”

“Just do it! Now isn’t the time to worry about toxicity. Her willpower isn’t so weak that a simple drug will put her to sleep, but it should dull her mind some. If you don’t do it, at least half of the city will be destroyed!!”

The witches held this discussion up in the sky.

But they were mistaken about one thing.

Their enemy here was not President Ulrike.

“?”

They heard a sound like cracks running through thin glass.

One of the witches muttered to herself while watching white frost cover her hands and broom handle.

“Diamond…dust?”

Every Maleficium student knew that no unauthorized person could approach the enormous school at the center of the vast lake. It was all wrapped in a veil of pure white diamond dust, hiding the school’s true form, and any witch who did carelessly approach would be coated in ice, broom and all, sending them plummeting down into the lake.

However…

“Wh-what is the diamond dust doing this far out? We’re well outside its active ra-”

“Ee hee hee☆ Really, you should be asking why you thought a toy like diamond dust could do anything against me.”

“!?”

“I am Ice Witch Sorbeddy Icing. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?☆ Now, eat this! Your own anti-air defenses will bring you down!!”

Could the Maleficium elites even hear that mocking laughter?

With a disturbing freezing sound, the witches instantly froze over like frost on trees, robbing them of their ability to fly. One by one, they dropped toward the lake below.

Sorbeddy was a special witch who was most powerful in one-against-many battles. Of course, she had created that specialization intentionally so she could earn the greatest score in a single battle and keep all the reward to herself.

Maleficium was guarded by the thick diamond dust and the vast lake, but Sorbeddy may have been able to single-handedly freeze the entire lake and walk across.

“Over here!”

The used bookseller arrived a bit later on her broom.

Sorbeddy waved back while hovering on her dragonfly-like broom.

“My, my. I see you got them good.”

“Sure did.”

“So even you can win a bet if Yagoro does the calculations. Unlike when you run the numbers yourself.”

“Maybe I should drag him along next time I hit the casino. With him on a rope leash.”

The bookseller’s teasing had sent this in an odd direction. The tutor was in trouble.

Attempting to fight Maleficium’s army in an ordinary fashion would only get you crushed by their superior numbers, but there was one trick they could use in Temple School City.

This was part of Yagoro’s plan:

“If we can activate the anti-air system built by other Maleficium witches, we can bring down all those flying elites.”

“So we’ve finally got her where we want her.”

“But this is the Student Council President we’re talking about. We have essentially finished the warm-up exercise and the real fight is about to begin.”

The bookseller and Sorbeddy flew across the night sky along intertwining paths before landing on the small island. A normal witch would have needed 500m to land on, so landing on that island was exceptional in and of itself.

Something was squirming nearby.

Ulrike was already starting to get up on the 200m land.

Her long, long black hair defied gravity to float up around her head.

That was an ingredient for the most powerful curse.

“Did you…really think you had lured me into a trap, foolish Limit Breakers? It’s none of my concern if you decide to rush to your deaths after going to such great lengths to conquer your own lifespans. I will use everything: stabbing, cutting, sweeping, and slashing. I will show you just how deadly my rapier can be when combined with magic to fully control space both physically and geometrically!!”

That was no bluff.

It was simply the truth.

The President who reigned at the top of Maleficium likely could forcibly snatch victory away from two Limit Breakers.

However…

“My, my. Have you already forgotten, President Ulrike?”

“Forgotten what?”

“How you arrived on this small island in the first place.”

Like a skipping stone.

The memory brought a flash of fiery rage to the President’s mind, but then she realized this wasn’t just cheap provocation meant to reduce her effectiveness through anger. It was crucial information she needed to examine more closely.

With sufficient speed and the right angle, it was possible to send a human body skipping across the water.

“Tch!!”

She quickly turned around.

An impact struck her.

Had he used Cinderella, or the Three Little Pigs? Either way, Myousou Yagoro had run across the lake with his legs breaking the sound barrier and he launched a soaring kick right into Ulrike’s cheekbone.

### Part 10

Myousou Yagoro landed on that small island and took a slow breath.

(That’s the second stage done. The bookseller helped me move the battle away from Sabbath Party and the city as a whole and now Sorbeddy’s magic took out the general army. This finally sets the stage for me to fight all out with the President.)

That only left the third stage.

He only had to directly silence the Student Council President.

The giant dragon named Hanako (who Yagoro had actually created in a Maleficium class before she escaped) could not pick up his scent this close to Maleficium. And she would only be shot down if she did try to rescue him, so he was glad she wouldn’t be showing up.

Several large, dark silhouettes lurked beyond the veil of white diamond dust. Were those the Leviathan he had seen used before and the multi-headed Hydra? The silhouette that looked like a fusion of a naked girl and several different monsters may have been a Scylla. If any of those mythical monsters caught her by surprise, even a Limit Breaker could lose her life.

Of course, unlike the giant creatures such as Tarou and Hanako, these weren’t actually real.

On this small uncharted island past even the deadly lakeside, any kind of nonphysical phenomenon could show itself.

But Yagoro couldn’t let that distract him. A much more dangerous monster stood before him.

Student Council President Ulrike.

It didn’t matter that he had cleanly hit her with a supersonic soaring kick.

She could still move.

“Tch. You really are a monster.”

She was just that extraordinary. He didn’t know how she had done it, but this meant that even a close-range shotgun blast to the head wouldn’t kill her. She was more durable than a zombie in a movie.

And “didn’t know how she had done it” wasn’t enough to survive.

He could not win this witch battle without revealing her tricks and putting a stop to them.

She gently stroked her cheek with her fingertips.

“Myousou Yagoro. Are you aware why you must die?”

“Are you mad I managed to fight back? Surely you aren’t that petty when you let yourself do whatever the hell you want.”

He swung his collapsible baton to extend it.

He twirled it in his hand and pointed it at her.

“You picked this fight with me. I won’t let you get anyone else involved. I will beat you down until you’re satisfied, Ulrike. As much as it takes.”

He had an enemy and two allies here.

Both sides moved at once.

The bookseller grew several more arms while Sorbeddy produced several thick hunks of ice from a distance.

“Who would like to die first?”

The President must have consciously switched modes because her calm had returned.

She reached for the sheath fixed alongside her broom’s handle.

And she sharply drew the weapon within.

She twirled the grip in her hand, drawing out a large circle with the rapier’s tip.

“Distance has no meaning. I am the witch who controls space both physically and geometrically. As long as I know their position, I can hit any target no matter how far away.”

There wasn’t even any sound.

A horizontal line suddenly ran across Sorbeddy’s neck before her head and body slid in opposite directions.

She would have died instantly had that not been an illusion created by light bending due to the extreme temperature difference between one position and another.

“Ee hee hee!! That was informative. Now we know your precious magic uses your ordinary eyes and ears for targeting!!”

Hunks of ice were launched Ulrike’s way, but she easily bisected them with her rapier. Each one was the size of a crane’s wrecking ball, but she did not break a sweat.

“Spatial awe. Tremble in fear of the ‘gap’ I have created, fools.”

Sorbeddy had already explained her stance.

It didn’t matter if her attacks failed.

If she could learn something from that failure, she was willing to invest any amount in it.

“So you control space, do you? Will you be messing with time too before long? Ee hee hee. But did you think you were the only one who could control the all-consuming black holes – those mysterious shadows that interfere with astronomical observations?”

“You already told me you are an ice witch. Wait…you don’t mean…?”

“Figured it out? Just like cooling the air creates drops of liquid air, all things (with a few exceptions) will reduce in volume when cooled. And while this world appears to be expanding endlessly, it will eventually lose all the heat gained from the big bang and cool off. …Now, what do you think you get when you take the concept of ‘ice’ to its absolute limit? Cooling is one way of creating any and all elements. I can easily provide a mere black hole by compressing a portion of the world into a single point. Ulrike, was it? I doubt you’re enough of a fool to still think you have exclusive use of this toy after that explanation!!”

The world audibly strained.

It wasn’t clear just how much Sorbeddy Icing could accomplish with her magic, but space as a whole was crying out in protest as both witches gave it simultaneous commands.

And the silver-haired witch wasn’t so inexperienced she would overlook an opening like this.

A momentary opening was plenty.

“Go get her, Maenads!!”

Several dark figures spread out to either side from behind the bookseller. More than 10 of them in all. Their claws were sharp enough to tear right through a castle wall and they rushed at Ulrike from a dozen different angles at once.

Their long claws would shred any life they encountered – even a wolf or a bear.

Ulrike was still in a state of confusion, so she couldn’t fully react to the priestess shadows rushing in from so many different directions.

“!?”

But they didn’t reach her.

That opening should have been decisive.

Yet for some reason the first attack of sharp swinging claws passed right by the President’s face.

The other shadows rushed in from their different angles, but they all failed to injure her.

Something was clearly off.

Their sense of depth was out of whack.

“This single centimeter is an eternal labyrinth with no exit. It can look so close or it can look so far. The distance will be misjudged without illusion and all who set foot inside will wander, lose all sense of direction, and veer off course.”

“Move, bookseller!! With a monster like her, it won’t end with a failed attack!!!”

“Kh.”

The silver-haired woman audibly gasped.

It happened the briefest of moments before Yagoro could intervene.

“If you hoped to trap me, you should have prepared at least a thousand of those shadows.”

Around 2 centimeters of long black hair were offered up as sacrifice.

Then another 2 centimeters.

And another 2.

“A hundred attacks, a thousand strikes, and ten thousand wounds. Enjoy this storm of blades!!”

It was like a silver-shining typhoon or hurricane formed around the President. Space split open, revealing countless rapiers that instantly pierced, sliced, and pinned down all of the dark shadows.

Ulrike had already arrived right in front of the bookseller.

The distance made no sense.

Maybe she had split apart space to teleport and maybe she had twisted the geometric meaning of that space to adjust the apparent distance or size.

The moon and the night sky? (Was it related to how bluer objects were more distant!?)

“Checkmate.”

It pierced right through.

With a sharp flash of the rapier, it stabbed right through the center of the bookseller’s chest.

The sexy silhouette unraveled.

It was in fact a decoy made of dark shadows.

Except…

“I saw that coming☆”

A dull sound rang out. The bookseller had circled around to Ulrike’s back left, the hardest spot for the right-handed witch to counterattack against, but Ulrike had accurately struck the side of her head with a roundhouse kick that sent her short skirt fluttering up.

She had already announced that distance was meaningless, so it didn’t matter whether or not her leg was actually long enough to reach.

This time, the bookseller was knocked to the ground.

“Moving a piece after checkmate will only get your king taken, you know?”

“Tch!! An attacker shouldn’t get taken out when we still have our tank, imbecile!!” shouted Sorbeddy as she adjusted her grip on her dragonfly-like Formula Broom.

She moved to prevent a follow-up attack against the unconscious bookseller.

Frigid white was compressed.

Something exploded.

Sorbeddy screamed.

“Gah!?”

Before she could construct her magic, it was sliced through right in front of her. The white explosion resembling liquid nitrogen hit her at close range, sending her rolling away.

“No number of straight lines can ever be exactly equal to the circumference of a circle. Which means no one can accurately measure my distance from them.”

The monster slowly approached.

She still held her sharp rapier and witch’s broom.

Silence fell.

Only one witch remained standing.

Silently, the white veil of diamond dust pulled back like a receding wave.

Sorbeddy had hijacked control of it and forced it this far out, so with her taken out, it was returning to its usual defensive line.

Even Yagoro gasped.

Two Limit Breakers had attacked at once, but they hadn’t even lasted 60 seconds.

The President turned toward him and grinned.

The two witches lay unmoving at Ulrike’s feet – the used bookseller on the right and Sorbeddy on the left.

“You monster…”

“Any more tricks up your sleeve, Yagoro?”

This wasn’t just about losing the great firepower of those Limit Breakers.

Another factor was much more frightening.

“No matter how powerful you might be, I know your one greatest flaw: you can’t fly. Which means with your Limit Breakers out of the fight, all I have to do is fly up and bomb you from the sky!!”

The air roared as it was compressed.

It didn’t matter that the island was only 200m across. With the extreme acceleration provided by Formula Broom – Wittenberg, Ulrike could even take off from the water.

After launching herself straight up, she began circling and took aim at the small island. Like this, he would be slowly worn down and killed.

But something odd happened then.

Myousou Yagoro did not rely on his collapsible baton. Even though that was supposedly the source of all his magic since he didn’t use a Formula Broom. He collected a thick tube from the ground and rested it on his shoulder.

“Hey, President Monster. An HEA house is a convenient item that lets me create any electronic as long as I create the plans first.”

“?”

“Which means I could also make precision devices if I set my mind to it, don’tcha think? And that includes Force equipment, like a portable short-range SAM that was redesigned by my country based on an American missile.”

An explosive soared into the night sky.

It drew out a long, white trail of smoke.

This was definite cultural contamination. It shouldn’t have existed here. Nevertheless, here it was.

Because she might choose to bomb Viocia and Sabbath Party too.

The President looked more furious about the technological contamination than about the attack on her. She yanked her Formula Broom around into a sharp turn, but the image recognition was in effect. The proximity fuse would trigger first.

It exploded.

The thick shockwave sent countless tiny metal balls rushing out like a solid wall.

The noise reached Yagoro after a short delay. The slight undergrowth on the small island shook and small waves formed on the lake’s surface.

Like lightning, there was a discrepancy between light and sound here.

However…

“Is that all?”

Something sharply broke through the cloud of filthy smoke.

The flying figure remained intact.

She wasn’t entirely unscathed, however. She had a small cut on her cheek.

Injuring President Ulrike even slightly was a historic achievement, but that was cold comfort given the circumstances.

If he couldn’t bring her down, it would be his turn to be shot up.

“Is that all you have, Myousou Yagoro!!!? I don’t care how many tricks you have as you sneak past the goddess of interworld reincarnation and contaminate this world! You can never defeat me… This world exists for meeeeeee !!”

Left on land, Myousou Yagoro looked up at the President in the night sky while he tossed aside the empty short-range SAM launch tube. What it meant to introduce that to this world was of secondary importance.

It hadn’t worked.

But he didn’t feel a shred of the fear and despair that should have followed.

“Hey, Ulrike.”

“?”

“I managed to create a short-range SAM, which is like the basic, most simple version. If I can do that, did it not occur to you I might be able to make more complicated versions?”

Yagoro grinned just before the President saw what he meant as she soured in the night sky on her broom.

There were 200…no, more than 300 of them.

Surface-to-air missiles launched from all over the city.

The President briefly froze at the sheer number of them.

Now that she had dodged one, was he trying to increase the number in stages until he had cut off her escape? Even if their initial speed remained the same, adjusting the launch angle or their flight course could change their relative arrival times. He was confident that one would eventually hit her and shoot her down, even if it was the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or even 10th wave!!

“The portable short-range SAM was more like a disposable talisman. It’s better than nothing, but it’s firing range is only around 4500m. Unlike the secret weapons seen in action movies, the real ones will only give a low-flying attack helicopter a scare and that’s if you’re lucky. You can’t use them to fight against a real fighter or bomber that can easily fly at more than 10 thousand meters straight up.”

“Yagoro…”

“But fixed-position mid-range SAMs have a range of 45km and long-range SAMs can reach as far as 150km. They can chase you down even if you’re flying over 15 thousand meters up where there isn’t much oxygen. As long as I write the plans out correctly, they don’t even need a phased array radar or a supercomputer. Not even a monster like you can laugh this one off, don’tcha think?”

“Myousou Yagoroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!?”

Ulrike roared and began shooting the missiles down with magic, but she clicked her tongue and began dodging them instead when more and more kept flying in. She looked like she had just seen black bass clogging up a clear river. She used repeated S-like curves, loop-the-loops, and many other maneuvers to confuse even those precision guided weapons, driving them off course.

But not even that was enough to escape them all.

There were just too many. Witches could ignore the atmospheric pressure, the cold, air friction, and inertia, but even they would rapidly run out of options if they were forced to repeatedly dodge missiles flying at them from all directions. Then the process repeated, removing more and more cards from her deck. She occasionally directed her rapier toward the source of the missiles in the city, but that was when air-defense Gatling guns would draw out lines of light in the sky or antiaircraft guns would light up the night sky with midair explosions. She doubted any of those would hit her, but they were enough to give her a scare until she was used to them.

She charged straight into the storm of explosions. She would eventually reach her limit and the missiles would catch up.

“But not yet!!”

(I still have the diamond dust cloud protecting Maleficium. With that ice witch defeated, I once more have control over it. Even with hundreds of those missiles after me, a single command can bring them all down!!)

No response.

The anti-air diamond dust would not activate.

“Wha-?”

Down below, Sorbeddy Icing was still collapsed on the ground but one of her hands had grasped her Formula Broom.

The money-lover grinned.

There wasn’t even time to say anything.

Countless surface-to-air missiles rushed toward the midair President and then detonated.

They shot her down.

### Part 11

Myousou Yagoro slowly breathed a sigh. He once more reached for his collapsible baton.

He had managed to bring Ulrike back down to the small island. But that didn’t end this. To defeat the top witch, he needed magic.

“O-ohh.”

A dark shape squirmed.

It was made up of long, long black hair.

In this world, that was a dye used in the greatest curses.

“Ohhhhhh…ohhhhhhhh!”

Not even a supersonic flying kick had been enough to kill that President. It wasn’t apparent how many of the surface-to-air missiles had hit her and struck her with their explosive blast and metal balls, but she was still capable of moving. Even if it meant screwing with this world’s culture.

She seemed immortal.

But there was no such thing as an incomprehensible darkness in witch battles.

If you figured out how it worked, there was always a solution.

“You have complete control over space, both physically and geometrically.”

“…”

“So whenever external damage reaches your physical body, you have magic capable of bending space to divert most of it away or shifting yourself to the sides or back to forcibly ‘weaken’ the attack. I can see how a point-blank explosion wouldn’t be enough to kill you.”

However.

One thing was obvious from seeing how weakly Ulrike’s legs were shaking beneath her.

“All that does is ‘weaken’ it by some amount. Even if it’s based on an icosahedron, you’ll still take as much as 5%, meaning you can’t fully negate the attack. That makes it simple – almost too simple, don’tcha think? By overwhelming you with both quality and quantity, I can wear your stamina down to zero and then I win.”

She wasn’t immortal.

Her power wasn’t endless.

As long as he knew there was a goal at the end of the long journey, Yagoro had no reason at all to give up. Making a show of having endless power had been Ulrike’s greatest strategy, but he had stripped that away from her.

“Y-you…”

She held a rapier in her right hand and a witch’s broom in her left.

She was unsteady on her feet as she stood up, but she managed to get an odd statement out.

“You’re…the real monster. I’m nothing more than a fake…but you…you’re the original…”

“?”

“You weren’t aware? Did you think it was really just luck that kept you alive so long? You’ve survived two crashes in the past. And this year alone, you took Voland Arbamini’s attacks to protect your student Viocia during the spring official practice exam and then you took the goddess’s punishment at the flea market to bring yourself and Instructor Flamberg down. …Did you really think nothing more than luck allowed you to survive the serious injuries earned by your reckless behavior?”

Yagoro drew a blank.

He was in the middle of a witchcraft battle, but he had found something he couldn’t explain.

That was bad.

“Class 1 L-FS – Strange Picking,” she announced.

Yagoro wasn’t familiar with the term.

He could hear the President’s tooth-grinding resentment even from a distance.

“If not for that loathsome power, you and your absurd abilities never would have wandered into this world. This is my world. Myousou Yagoro, I was told your arrival here was a complete accident not found on the goddess’s schedule. I was granted the goddess’s love along with Class 1 C-FS – Enemy Debug!! …This was supposed to be my chance to redo my life after my time in my original oppressive, unrewarding world. So why did you have to wander your way in here too!!?”

He knew nothing about Ulrike’s life.

Or her past life.

But he got the sense that she came from a world different from his own Earth.

How many different worlds did that damn goddess manage?

“I don’t care.”

“Kh.”

“I don’t care where we came from or why the goddess made her mistake. That’s her business. None of it matters to Viocia or the rest of the city’s people who were born in this world the normal way. …Don’t force all this onto them. Absurd abilities? The goddess’s love? To hell with that stuff, Ulrike. We’re nothing more than outsiders intruding on their world. Dying and being reborn somewhere doesn’t give you the right to do whatever you want there. Stop using your own misfortune as an excuse to be a nuisance to this world’s rightful owners!!!”

Yagoro extended his baton with a horizontal swing and walked straight toward her.

He didn’t use any tricks.

Ulrike still flinched, because she knew it all.

Two flashes of light sharply intersected.

After stopping the attack with her rapier on reflex, the President would have learned two things.

First, a magic light shined from the tip of Yagoro’s baton.

Second, this was no longer a unilateral slaughter. Now she was on the defensive!!

(Yet again I need to thank the Force’s punishing drill sergeant for teaching me so much I never thought an astronaut would need to know!!)

The two lights clashed a few more times.

It was a good attempt for an ad lib.

The President took aim with a spatial grid and altered the movement distance to make Yagoro’s baton miss.

They glared at each other with weapons locked together and Ulrike roared at him.

“Nothing you do can keep me from winning in the end!! Yagoro, what good is this stick against a rapier!? And if I need to, I can fill this space with thousands or millions of blades and shred you!”

“But you can’t artificially multiply your blade without altering space remotely.”

“Kh.”

“Which means keeping you from using this one little rapier makes all the difference!!”

They were close enough to have their weapons locked together, so they were literally right in front of each other. Yagoro pushed back her rapier with his baton and sent out a kick.

But lifting his foot from the ground messed with his balance.

The President grimaced at the dull blow and pushed back. Overpowered, Yagoro felt the sharp blade pierce his shoulder. He nearly had his ear taken off, but he forcibly twisted his head out of the way.

“Did you panic and choose poorly, fool!?”

That was when she must have noticed it.

Her blade had stopped at the unnatural blonde boy’s collarbone. Her tremendous magic power failed to bisect him diagonally. And he had kicked her on the side of the hip.

Hitting her in the pelvis and the spine.

Even with the support of the Formula Broom in her left hand, it was her own willpower that allowed her to use magic. Her focus had wavered from the unexpected pain, so she failed to construct her magic even with knowledge from Earth pouring in. An extreme example of this problem was Tedaura who was so powerful yet was immobilized by her bad back.

This was a one-time failure.

But no matter how extraordinary the President was, shoving the rapier into Yagoro wasn’t enough to produce its magic cutting edge!!

“Just give up already… This world wasn’t meant for you! Your every attempt will ultimately fail!!”

“It’s over, Ulrike! I won’t let you lay a finger on my student!!”

Something unbelievable happened.

Ulrike’s face crumpled. She had her skill as the Student Council President, her political and institutional power, and a unique ability directly gifted to her by the goddess, yet there was an unmistakable look of envy on her face.

That was the look of someone seeing someone who had something they did not.

It must have been a common expression for her before she was reborn in this world.

The black-haired girl even bit her lip.

“Hey, President.”

Light shined.

A bright light flooded out from the collapsible baton.

That was an exorcising attack meant to carve the impure heart out of a wicked witch who had succumbed to greed.

With her rapier in his shoulder, she could no longer stop his baton.

“ This is magic. If you’d done your homework, you’d know the answer !!”

The point-blank blast exploded out.

A fearsome shock shot through her body, obliterating her willpower, and knocking her out.

### Part 12

Myousou Yagoro took a deep breath and then wobbled on his feet.

That had been an intense few minutes.

It went beyond the shoulder wound. Even with Tedaura’s witchcraft treatment, he still hadn’t recovered from his earlier rapier wounds.

The used bookseller and Sorbeddy were both still on the ground.

As was President Ulrike.

Nevertheless, it was over.

Gentle weariness tempted him down into a sitting position where he wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up into the starry sky.

And…

“Yagoro. You don’t think this is over, do you?”

“!?”

“Oh, don’t worry. The goddess didn’t give me the ability to power up and take on a second and third form. I can’t even get back on my feet. This is the end for Student Council President Ulrike.”

Yes.

This long, long night was finally over.

There couldn’t be anything more…could there?

“No one must reach the ends of the world.”

The President gave him a dry smile from the ground.

“But don’t let me stop you. It’s you who will suffer if you learn the truth of the world, Yagoro.”

“?”

“And I think we’re past the point of worrying about the ends of the world. With my defeat, you must now face a new challenge.”

“What…are you talking about?”

“Answering that will be your first task.”

It didn’t seem like she was lying.

This world had been designed specifically for President Ulrike. Then Yagoro had wandered in by mistake and started messing everything up. And that had finally passed a crucial point.

So the President, who possessed a special ability, had attacked Yagoro, who had an equally special ability, to put an end to that.

Her reasons for fighting were selfish to the end, but that was why she wouldn’t hold anything back in preserving the stability of the world that was given to her.

That could only mean one thing: this world had been flawed to begin with. If nothing was done, Ulrike’s endless party in this world would be canceled – no, the world itself could even be confiscated from her.

Myousou Yagoro of course had no idea what this could be about.

And he was a Maleficium student.

(No, wait. That must mean…)

“You act like you know everything, but you are only a student, Yagoro. You don’t know what awaits after graduating from Maleficium, do you?”

“…”

That was indeed unknown territory for him.

There were still some blanks left.

The President was still unable to get up, her long, long black hair spread out upon the small island.

“Focus on what feels twisted.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Unlike the past, only female witches can use magic in this world. Nevertheless, the aristocracy that controls the political world remains a patriarchy steeped in the spirit of chivalry. Which means there is no room for magic-wielding women there. And yet the political world continues to turn. That means magic is not needed to control this world. ”

Something rose from the depths of his mind.

He recalled so many voices he had heard in the crowds. It was a mishmash of information that he would normally forget as no more than background noise.

“Extra, extra! We have the latest on King Michael’s bastard son!! You don’t want to miss out on this!”

“This is the same model of hat Lord Brian wore to the general council.”

“Is it true those old men on the Senate are taking vacations on the sly?”

Sure enough.

Had he even once heard of a princess or queen mentioned in talk of politics?

“The ideal world for us witches is Maleficium. That is as high as it goes. We might graduate and work in any number of other fields, but we will never reach the top of any of them. The patriarchy resents us for our great skill and vast knowledge, so they use a number of social factors to simply extract labor from us… In the end, working ourselves to the bone to overcome the harsh entrance exam and entering Maleficium will not bring us witches a happy life.”

“Don’t tell me…”

Instructor Flamberg Wyrd had once asked if it was really right to help girls pass the exam and send them off to Maleficium. She had asked if that would really bring them happiness.

“The aristocracy spends so much public money to try and worm their way into the management of Maleficium because they hope to undermine the school’s efforts and produce inferior witches. If Maleficium carelessly accepts those public funds, it will really and truly mean the end of the age of witches.”

That would be why she held the position of Maleficium’s Student Council President.

She chose to remain there, refusing to graduate.

The world at large was ruled not by the wisdom to use magic, but by the foolishness to reject magic.

“Don’t act like you aren’t a part of this. You are both a tutor and a Maleficium student. This is your problem too.”

“So what? My students are my focus.”

“It’s the same either way if she comes to Temple School City.”

“She who?”

“You made too much of a scene, Myousou Yagoro. My original plan was to end this in a single swift surprise attack, but I failed to prevent the scale from growing. So she will be coming. Whenever a witch rises too far and crosses a certain line, she is labeled a threat to the patriarchal establishment and an assassin is sent to eliminate the problem. That traitorous witch is dispatched whenever the patriarchy of royals, bureaucrats, clergy, and artisans demands it.”

Another threat stood in their way even after graduating from Maleficium.

A traitorous witch.

Ignorance was fatal in a magical battle.

But Melehe’s mother, the bookseller, was a Maleficium graduate and also the leader of Private Striga, the largest coven in the icy north.

Had even she suffered some kind of setback which led to her giving up on something and settling for her current position?

Moreover, was that true even of Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky, the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love?

Yagoro couldn’t come up with a theory that seemed to fit well, but Ulrike shut her eyes while lying on the ground.

She could accept this, but she could not watch it.

It was a lot like someone looking away just before receiving a shot.

Without reopening her eyes, she spoke in a singsong way.

“Siren Carriers, the largest coven of the southern islands. Acrobat Valkyrie, the greatest coven of the western mountains.”

“?”

“You haven’t heard of them? Those witches were already destroyed by her . She did it alone and did it so easily it sounds like a bad joke.”

Yagoro felt a chill in his gut.

This meant he couldn’t even rely on the bookseller mama’s other identity. The coming enemy was like a massive shark who could devour tens of thousands of witches led by a Limit Breaker as if they were a school of small fish.

If she was dispatched, it was over.

Any witch would be killed instantly. Even the Limit Breakers who had conquered their own lifespan.

She allowed no exceptions.

President Ulrike had tried to fortify Maleficium’s defenses for her own happiness , but it hadn’t been enough. She had the power to fully control space both physically and geometrically, yet the option of going on the offensive wasn’t available to her.

Ideally, they would have gone unnoticed.

But.

Yagoro heard something.

A single footstep.

But why? It didn’t make sense. They were on a tiny uncharted island out beyond even the deadly lakeside. The bookseller and Sorbeddy were still incapacitated from their battle with the President and Ulrike hadn’t gotten back up yet. So why would he be hearing a footstep?

“Who’s that?” asked Yagoro without really thinking. “Wait…are you the one Ulrike was talking about?”

The newcomer immediately responded. A name flowing from her bewitching lips.

### Part 13

“Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary.”

### Part 14

Yagoro lost consciousness.

No, his consciousness was swept away.

But he hadn’t taken any kind of magic attack from the mystery woman. He wasn’t sure why he was so certain, but he knew he would have been pulverized were that the case.

Someone had flown in from the side and snatched him away just beforehand.

“Vi…ocia?”

“Are you alright, teacher!?”

Formula Broom – Wittenberg.

He heard the voice of the student riding that broom. Only then did his mind realign with the real scene around him. It finally caught up. Did that mean she had charged in with her usual super acceleration? Anyone other than him would have been killed instantly.

“I-I’m glad you aren’t hurt, tutor. Eep. But I thought you were fighting the Student Council President?”

“Hm. If that woman was enough to bring my mom down, we really need to stay focused for this one.”

Dorothea Rockpool.

And Melehe Superlative.

“How did you know where we were?”

“You can thank Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans for that one. Those villains told us how to find you, perv!”

…Apparently Sorbeddy wasn’t the only source of intel and travel routes in the city. Yagoro stared into the middle distance for a bit. He had forgotten to account for that. It made sense those three would know tons of loopholes undetectable by the (officially anyway) good guys of Maleficium.

That allowed Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe to reach him without the President noticing. And once they learned the truth, they came rushing to his aid.

He really wished they could have just focused on their studies without learning the ugly truth about the adults and Maleficium, but it was too late for that.

Yagoro recalled the woman he had seen.

She was tall with long silver hair and pale skin. She had worn a jacket with a necktie, a tight skirt, stockings, and high-heel boots. Her glasses gave her an intellectual look, but her beret and armband made it clear she belonged to a government agency. She also wore a few medals at her chest.

Black, beige, and red. The subdued colors of her outfit’s design reminded him of fancy chocolates or cookies decorated with a ribbon.

That was Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary.

An assassin for the aristocracy.

A traitorous witch.

He couldn’t say anything for sure, but he had occasionally met people with that same look in their eyes when he was with the Force back on Earth.

His instincts whispered a term to him.

( Bureaucrat. )

Did she plan to go around crushing everyone involved in this incident, starting from the top?

Viocia looked back over her shoulder.

But she wasn’t looking at Yagoro seated behind her on the broom.

She was looking further back.

With terror in her eyes.

“Teacher, something’s coming. Something’s approaching fast!!!”

### Today’s Quiz 3

Viocia: Teacher!!

Yagoro: …Not yet. A crisis is no reason to panic. Start by reviewing what you know. Your knowledge should lead you to a solution. The hints are all found in that late-night bar.

Question: What magical method did Myousou Yagoro use to deliver the finishing blow to the superior Student Council President Ulrike? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Willpower allows a witch to use witchcraft.

That is what matters most. By directing your full willpower in a single direction, it can transform into tremendous attack power.

Note: In this case, the magic interfered with the witch’s mind to shred her will to use magic, thus preventing the curse.

Didn’t Ulrike seem awfully cooperative after her defeat? That was the result of her hostility being artificially removed. Now let’s discuss the actual method.

The Aspect of (______) was a curse reversal.

This can be done with everyday objects. There is even a method where a fire-heated (________) is soaked in milk to cool and then mixed with sulfur and soot. Most any (_____) spread among ordinary people is a ceremony meant to direct their (_____) toward a single goal.

The Aspect of Antiquity was the Norse god of light (____).

But this isn’t about how to kill that (_______) god. It relates to the story after his death. It was said his death would be overturned and he would be (_______) if all life in the world wept for him. That shows just how meaningful it is for people to bring their wills together and wish for something.

The Aspect of Admiration was ATU (____)c, Beauty and the Beast.

There are a lot of stories where the pure (_____) known as love is used to break a (____).

That’s all. Any questions, Viocia?

### 021. Episode 4: I Don’t Need the World

### Part 1

A bureaucrat.

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary.

Now that the assassin was on the scene, there was only one thing for her to do. The government worker with the icy glasses didn’t look like the type to explain her objective and plan to her target.

When she killed, she did so silently.

Simply by arriving, she might as well have been saying, “I will now kill you.” If you didn’t want to die, you had to fight back.

…That was also the only way to escape this absurd situation where the girls working toward Maleficium would ultimately have their dreams crushed even if they did get into the school.

She came from behind.

She pursued on a broom. The aerial combat broom had diamond-shaped wings spreading out wide from the handle. That forced her to sit near the front. The broom’s odd shape may have made it look like a giant shield if she held it while down on the ground.

(A diamond wing design with a Pelikan tail? I’ve only ever seen that design on a certain stealth fighter!)

“Formula Broom – Mount Brocken bis25JAS.”

A whispering voice slipped past the sonic boom.

That broom had been modified more than 20 times.

And the result was a monster that could handle air combat, ground attacks, and reconnaissance.

Even the physical laws regarding sound and vibrations were ignored to allow her willpower to calmly seep into the surrounding world.

“Provide precise enough control to combine with the Adelaide unit, Faust.”

A chill ran down Yagoro’s spine.

He chose to trust his instincts.

“Watch out, Viocia.”

“Hwehh? F-for what? I don’t even know who that woman is.”

“Watch out for her too, but that isn’t what I meant!! Trick question warning: flying with me for long means the goddess’s divine punishment is coming!!! ”

White lightning crashed straight down from heaven.

The attack completely ignored the distribution of rain clouds and atmospheric pressure.

If Viocia Modestlucky couldn’t handle such extraordinary acceleration, it would have pierced right through her, bringing them down. Just like it had happened with Instructor Flamberg Wyrd.

Apparently missing once wasn’t enough for the goddess to give up.

White lightning continued to strike, with only a few seconds between each. If even one hit, they would be shot down, but Yagoro and Viocia had more than their own safety to consider.

Myousou Yagoro couldn’t fly.

“Don’t fly over the city, Viocia! Dodge the divine punishment there and it’ll hit the people or homes below, don’tcha think!?”

“Got it, teacher! I’ll stay over the lake!!”

Viocia used a hand to signal Dorothea and Melehe before making a sharp turn.

Yagoro had used all the cards in his deck against President Ulrike.

He hadn’t expected an even greater threat. He didn’t have a single strategy or plan left. Not even a single anti-air weapon system camouflaged throughout the city.

But if he screwed this up, he couldn’t save Viocia and her friends.

They would have their lives taken by this assassin as a reward for having saved him.

(To hell with that.)

The boy clenched his teeth.

(You have guts targeting a student in front of her tutor, Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary. I’ll find a way to pull this off with what I have on hand!!)

Besides, escaping her would not be enough to save his life. A professional assassin would make another attempt after failing and she wouldn’t stop until her target was dead. That was what it meant to be a professional. If he wanted to survive, he would have to defeat her and end this once and for all.

“You choose how to shift your weight,” said Yagoro. “I’ll hold onto you from behind and lean whichever way you do. As long as I focus on your spine and shoulder blades I shouldn’t make any mistakes.”

“Wah, wah!” shouted Viocia in sudden remembrance.

Even in their predicament, the idiot had time to blush bright.

“H-hic? H-hold onto me? Teacher, you can’t grab me by the hips!!”

“Then where do you suggest I hold on while we fly tandem!?”

At this height, Yagoro would really prefer not to be thrown off the broom by their speed.

So he held on tight.

“Besides, Viocia, you picked me up! Then again, I wouldn’t want to burden someone who isn’t my student, so it’s good I’m not on Dorothea or Melehe’s broom.”

Dorothea and Melehe pouted their lips without uttering a word.

“…”

“Why isn’t anyone saying anything?

Apparently the two single-riders were displeased with the arrangement. Even though it meant they didn’t have to give thought to a passenger as they flew.

But now wasn’t the time for adolescence.

The beret and glasses woman expressionlessly observed them from close range.

She was only a few meters away. It was like an acrobatic flight. But they had no agreed-upon flight plan, nor did they know what the other was thinking. The beret and glasses woman predicted Viocia’s rapid movements, brought her broom in as close as possible, and accurately kept her distance with them.

That alone was enough to judge her skill.

It was hopeless.

Super acceleration alone wasn’t enough. Adelaide didn’t have Viocia’s level of power output, but she read the winds and used everything in the surrounding environment to stay close, preventing them from escaping!

Witchcraft was mostly reliant on brooms, but how accurately the witch operated the tool with her fingertips and speech could mean all the difference. The accumulation of little speed gains added up.

The assassin was clearly the one in control.

“Kh. Don’t ignore me with your unguarded ass right there in front of me!! Orpheus!!!”

From behind, Melehe sharply launched water spears.

The beret and glasses woman didn’t swerve hard to the side.

She matched her speed to Viocia’s while twisting her broom as if creating a vortex to pull Viocia in.

She made a barrel roll.

She used the minimum movement to throw off her pursuer and easily dodged at least 8 water spears.

If Yagoro hadn’t used his baton to construct some defense magic, Viocia’s broom would have been shot down instead.

“!”

“Don’t hold back, Melehe, Dorothea! I’ll stop any friendly fire, so just attack!”

One way or another, they had to end this tonight.

If President Ulrike had been telling the truth, that assassin had already destroyed the greatest western and southern covens for being a threat to the aristocratic patriarchy. On her own. If Yagoro chose to flee and go into hiding while waiting for a chance to strike back, she might just begin a strategic bombing of Temple School City.

### Part 2

Air combat was all about technique.

Which meant Adelaide had the advantage from beginning to end.

“Kh!!”

As bright beams of light curved sharply in from behind, Viocia twisted her broom around to just barely dodge them. But she did more than just dodge. Formula Broom – Lyceum bisA was specialized for ground attacks, so Dorothea couldn’t handle the flashy acrobatics and ended up with guided magic targeting her. Viocia got that magic to target her instead before sharply evading it.

The lights were actually projectiles of about 15cm.

Or were those sharp wooden spindles used for weaving? Once Yagoro realized that, the trailing light looked a lot like magic threads.

“ATU 0410 is (__________).”

“Um!? (Sleeping Beauty)!!”

Viocia managed to keep up with Yagoro.

She was an idiot, but she was the kind of idiot who would actually study. Little by little, her knowledge was growing.

“The spindle is a weapon imbued with the fairy’s curse, don’tcha think? The king tried to remove all spindles around the kingdom, but in a nightmarish oversight, one of them was missed and a prick of a single finger was enough bring eternal sleep. The spindle is the carrier of a deadly curse.”

Eternal sleep was another word for death.

It was Melehe who gasped.

“That cold-blooded woman isn’t just trying to rob her enemy witches of their willpower. Suggestion, meditation, trances, role-building for a theatrical ceremony – she’s honed those techniques to externally mess with people’s minds to the point she can supply a psychological shock powerful enough to bring her victory without having to physically harm them.”

“Eep. Wh-what does that mean?”

“It means she can directly manipulate the life or soul that provides the source of the human mind!! That’s how she plays her role as an assassin – which makes her lethally bad news!”

A curse.

If it so much as grazed them, they would die.

“If you understand the threat, why not stop this silly resistance?”

A voice soaked through the frigid night.

Even though they shouldn’t have been able to hear it over the supersonic wind.

Was her will directly traveling through space?

“It’s no use. My attack is a lethal curse. If it even pricks your skin, it will take your life. There is no escaping it no matter where in this world you run.”

Letting her continue targeting them from behind would be a bad idea. Melehe gave a hand signal and then Viocia shot straight up while Melehe shot straight down. If the beret glasses woman went after either of them, the other would have a chance to get on Adelaide’s tail.

But Dorothea, who had followed Melehe down, gave a shout.

Her broom was specialized for ground attack.

“Wait, Melehe!! Eep, watch out for the water!!”

“Whoa!!”

Just before crashing, Melehe yanked the front of her broom up and managed to skim just above the dark water’s surface.

With everything dark at night, there was no obvious horizon to guide them. The lake had taken on the dark color of the sky, painting it pitch black. The witches were flying through the night wind at supersonic speed with no altimeter or direction indicator and with only their naked eyes to rely on, so even a slight optical illusion could send them crashing right into the water.

Meanwhile.

The assassin took an upward turn to chase after Viocia. And with Melehe and Dorothea delayed, they couldn’t come to her assistance right away.

(Even my defense magic will only stop a few shots!!)

Just one attack hitting would mean death.

Nevertheless, Viocia clenched her teeth and focused on more than just her own life.

“If your magic is this powerful, why are you using your witchcraft as an assassin!?”

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary gave a mechanical response.

“To bring about a better world.”

…By supporting the incompetent aristocrats of the patriarchy that rejected all witches and magic? They had to dislike her as well, so how could she believe that?

Even to a boy like Yagoro it made no sense.

That aside, her broom handling was flawless. She didn’t lose any speed. In fact, she used the shaking of her own body to gain speed and accurately close in on them. Like a nasty tailgater, she was behind them yet was in complete control.

Even with her extreme acceleration, Viocia’s reactionary movements were losing her too much speed.

“ Trick question warning: Viocia, you can’t shake her with broom handling alone. ”

“You can’t know that for-”

“I can know! Make a wide turn on my signal. I’ll dazzle her with a flash of light!!”

They were too slow.

Which gave the beret and glasses woman a chance to summon a pale light into her palm.

They had to be in the perfect spot for her to hit, but the cursed spindle did not take flight.

Something got in the way before it could.

A water spear flew in from the side.

Melehe and Dorothea had finally caught back up.

The assassin stopped pursuing her target and took a sharp turn. While she was focused on evasion, Viocia managed to regroup with her friends. Now all three of them pursued their target from behind.

“It’s three against one,” shouted Melehe. “We have far more chances to attack! Don’t think you can stay in control forever!!”

A solid snapping sound rang out.

It came from the assassin’s broom out front. The large diamond wings on either side of the broom handle suddenly separated and flew backwards.

It happened in an instant.

Yagoro was reminded of a multi-stage rocket’s booster. Would the lighter weight give her greater maneuverability?

No.

(Wait. Did only half the big diamond shapes separate?)

Her broom’s wings had formed a large diamond shapes on either side of the handle. By splitting half of them away, they became broad isosceles triangles.

“Viocia… Be on alert. You too, Dorothea and Melehe!”

“For what, teacher?”

“Adelaide didn’t just abandon her wings. They’re flying on their own now. They’re autonomous flying wing drones with a broad isosceles triangle silhouette !!”

There was one on either side. And because Viocia and the others had overlooked them at first, the drones had positioned themselves on the witches’ tails.

In a dogfight, that position allowed them to attack whenever they wanted.

(Dammit!!!)

Yagoro twisted around backwards and readied his baton.

It was too late.

Something exploded at close range.

### Part 3

Yagoro gasped.

But the broom hadn’t broken apart below him and it hadn’t crash full-speed into the lake.

He was in a temple of white stone. The night sky spread out overhead, but he didn’t recognize the constellations. Not from Earth and not from the world of swords and sorcery he had arrived in.

He took a look around.

(Where am I?)

“Sigh. So you’ve finally wormed your way in here, Yagoro?”

He heard an exasperated voice.

It was the goddess.

She stood at the center of a circular spring with her long blonde hair and wet priestess garb clinging to her pale skin.

““Class 1 L-FS – Strange Picking. …That mysterious ability doesn’t come from me, so I thought it was some dangerous human mutation. At first, anyway.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I am talking about the insolent human-born ability that someone smuggled past me.”

“I don’t care about that!! Where’s Viocia? What happened to Dorothea and Melehe!?”

The goddess shrugged.

Was she impressed or exasperated with Yagoro’s ability to say he didn’t care about this?

“They are still alive. You see, time is currently frozen.”

“…?”

Time was frozen?

The Student Council President had controlled space, so based on the theory of relativity, maybe it was possible to directly influence time too.

“Oh, this isn’t based on all that human logic. I’ll be blunt, Yagoro, you’re visiting the goddess’s bath because you are on the verge of death.”

“How can you call yourself a goddess when you keep getting in my way and trying to kill me with your divine punishment? You’re more like a god of death who deals in human souls, don’tcha think?”

“There’s no real rule saying the god of death can’t also be a goddess. There are plenty of examples from a variety of cultures. Like Persephone, Izanami, Nirrti, Ammit, and Neman☆”

Had Yagoro let his unconscious assumptions about male and female gods color his view there? Regardless, he was a little annoyed at having her use this accusation of divine harassment to distract from the threat she posed in constantly trying to shoot him down.

The goddess, who used accurate accusations as a weapon, titled her head.

“Also, I would say you’re better off under my management than someone else’s.”

“Oh, really?”

“I’m certainly better than a god of destruction who lives for nothing but destruction itself, or a god pestilence who spreads deadly disease while insisting that microbes killing their host is a peaceful and proper way of life.”

She had a point there.

And his agreement further irritated him.

The goddess was at least moving her pieces on the board to “create a better world” based on human standards. That was cold comfort for Yagoro who was being manipulated as one of those pieces, though.

“Were you the one who sent the President here?”

“I was.”

“And did you give her whatever that ability was that she was babbling on about?”

“I was☆”

“What about me winding up here?”

“ That was an accident .”

She sharply denied that one with a smile.

She seemed quite insistent that he did not belong.

“What do you want from me?”

“To defeat Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary to correct that world.”

“…And you can’t do that yourself?”

“If I were to directly intervene, it would change the world too much. But if you’re fine with the planet being covered with giant frogs or chameleons instead of humans, I guess I could do it.”

Yagoro’s mouth formed a small triangle.

How could she say this after all that divine punishment she had sent his way? That seemed like direct intervention to him. Dangerously direct.

“With an ordinary witch who will die in around 100 years, I could just let her do as she likes. But she is a Limit Breaker, meaning she has conquered her ordinary lifespan. Letting that extraordinary assassin continue on like this is the same as letting her control that entire world until it has been altered beyond repair.”

“Let’s see if I have this right: you, as a god, refuse to have even a single world leave your control. But you’re just too powerful, so if you were to punish her, it would alter the world itself beyond repair. So instead you tossed a decently-powerful human in there to have her eliminate the assassin?”

“Correct. 100 points☆”

“But even after you set President Ulrike up with some kind of special ability, she still couldn’t defeat that woman?”

“120 points. Yagoro, you do not belong in that world. Your Strange Picking power lets you force open the dimensional boundary, but that was not something I gave you. Accepting your help is risky, but I don’t have any other choice. No one asked you to wind up in that world, but since it happened, I decided to make some last minute adjustments to coordinate your ‘journey’. Because you are my last hope.”

…That would be why he wasn’t allowed to leave that world until he had achieved the goal she had for him.

His arrival from Earth had been a complete accident, but the goddess preventing him from returning had been completely intentional.

“Sounds like a bad joke to me.”

“But you have no other choice,” replied the goddess. With a smile. “Or are you really willing to go back home alone and abandon Viocia Modestlucky, Dorothea Rockpool, and Melehe Superlative?”

“…”

“Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary is a true believer in the vested interests of the outdated, inflexible patriarchy that insists on crushing any witch with sufficient power. As long as that traitorous witch remains, those girls can only rise so far even if they do pass the entrance exam. They have no future after graduation.”

“I see you know how to motivate your human pawns, scummy goddess.”

“Oh? Would you have preferred a more direct approach?”

The goddess standing in the center of the spring clasped her hands in front of her damp chest.

And she gave him an upturned look with tears welling.

“Please, hero. I will grant you as many ultimate forbidden skills as you desire, so will you please save the world that I carelessly let leave my control?☆”

“Goose bumps.”

The goddess froze in her pose of entreaty.

That must have hurt her feelings.

### Part 4

He suddenly woke.

Yagoro’s head drooped before jerking back up. He nearly slipped right off the broom handle but somehow managed to stay on.

Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe didn’t seem to have noticed.

Nor had the assassin.

“Viocia, what’s the situation!?”

“We can’t lose her with speed alone. Now Adelaide is on our tail along with those flying triangles!!”

So the situation could hardly be worse.

A merciless attack flew in.

The beret and glasses woman didn’t simply hold her palm out to launch her cursed spindle magic.

It was much worse.

Light flew in from behind. No, the two isosceles triangle drones were also launching sharp spindles. The magic itself was the same as the beret and glasses woman used, but the quantity was much greater.

They launched more than 5 thousand at once.

Between the two of them, 10 thousand glowing projectiles formed a solid wall rushing toward Viocia and the others.

“Did she amplify – no, mass produce – her magic!?” shouted Melehe, eyes wide.

As long as the assassin had a spell, she could increase its number as much as she wanted while she flew. Unlike air-to-air missiles, it didn’t matter how many she was carrying. This would explain how a single woman mad managed to tear apart a coven’s witch army. She overturned the assumptions of dogfighting on Earth.

“Eep!? W-we can’t last long like this!!”

“Don’t give up. There’s three of us, so we can form a big triangle and boost our own power!”

Viocia was Antiquity, Melehe was Admiration, and Dorothea was Amorality.

The three girls flew in formation while each one took on one of the Three Aspects of witchcraft. That made their mental calculations easier and boosted their willpower – the source of their magic.

This was the same tactic used by the (villainous) friends Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans.

“Wh-what exactly do we do? Eep.”

“Don’t ask-”

“Hansel and Gretel, the Three Little Pigs…no, let’s go with Snow White! Follow my lead!!”

Viocia was just a bit faster than Melehe.

The incoming wall-like barrage was too dense to slip through, but its distribution suddenly shifted.

ATU 0709, Snow White.

By extracting the text about the seven dwarves, the dense bombardment was rearranged into seven groups, each one clumping together on its own.

The shift in the even distribution reduced the density by one-seventh, creating gaps like in a net.

The three witches rapidly decelerated and slipped through those gaps.

“Eep!?”

Something swirled around them.

The many spindles used themselves to create a single thick beam of light. Once it was released, it shot right past Viocia and the others, passing them.

They would have been killed instantly had it hit.

Even if they had blocked it with defense magic, they would have been knocked from their brooms.

“…!! She’s still more powerful!?”

The assassin herself flew more nimbly with half the wings gone and the wing halves now darted about as flying wing drones.

At first glance, this looked like a three against three situation.

They may have looked even, with each side forming the Three Aspects of witchcraft, but that was inaccurate.

“Eep. Those triangles are flying around like birds, but they’re really being mentally controlled by Adelaide. She’s doing it all on her own.”

“Kh.”

“She’s taking on all three of us like that and still winning. How smart is she?”

They couldn’t win.

Even with three exam students working together, they couldn’t defeat that assassin!

### Part 5

“Are you alright, Lady Tedaura?”

“Thanks. Oof.”

In the brightly-lit shopping district, Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky was being supported by Olivia on the roof of Sabbath Party.

“I must say, these modern marvels are a wonder. I knew a big city would have all the latest advances. It’s hard to believe my back was killing me earlier. And it’s all thanks to this corset!!”

“Don’t rely on it too much. It’s only a thick piece of leather. It doesn’t actually solve the underlying issue.”

“I am aware.”

(This probably only gives me one full-power attack.)

Tedaura put her hands on her hips and rotated her hips while staring into the distance in amusement.

She could see explosions and flashes of light there.

The fighting had already begun.

And reading the stars told her the opponent here was more than just the Student Council President who had been holed up in the school Tedaura had created so long ago.

“Really, Sir Tutor, you bring nothing but trouble. Then again, maybe I should thank you for dragging the world’s problems out into the open.”

“?”

Olivia gave her a puzzled look, not sure what she was talking about.

Tedaura held her broom and opened her small mouth.

“Hello, hello. Can you hear me, you Limit Breaker pair?”

“Ugh.”

“!? What, when did you get in here !?”

“I haven’t stolen from or modified anything inside your heads, so don’t worry.”

If she wanted to, she could have done that to get their help and make them think it was their own idea.

…After all, Tedaura was the witch who used spells, witch’s ointments, talismans, charms, and ceremonies to manipulate hearts in love to either fulfill that love or break it. The effect of the “love at first sight” and heartbreak she could cause was so great that the powerful people in a world where international politics still relied on political marriages revered her like a god but also feared her more than anyone. She alone was half the reason that witches had been unfairly pushed out of the political world.

Her power worked instantly on her fellow Limit Breakers.

Which meant there were no exceptions.

If she wanted to, she could make anyone fall in love with anyone, even if it meant breaking down the barriers of gender and age.

This provided a glimpse of what the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love could do, but Tedaura did not flaunt it. Because she was confident she could achieve her goal without relying on those methods.

“Anyway, I want you to help my granddaughter and Sir Tutor. If you’re still alive, then give them a hand. The fact that you’re still lying there instead of running away tells me you have reason enough to fight.”

Tedaura, Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love, grinned even as she needed Dancer Olivia’s support despite the leather corset around her little hips.

She held her plain broom.

And she stared at the distant battlefield.

“Are you ready, you wicked traitor of an assassin? This time, it will be no illusion.”

Meanwhile, on a small island floating in the distant lake…

“You really do have odd tastes.”

The witch with silver hair and brown skin looked exasperated even as she winced and struggled to get up.

She was looking at the other witch slowly rising next to her.

“I am willing to sacrifice my life for my daughter and Yagoro. But, Sorbeddy, you could have played dead here all alone. Like a cicada flipped on its back.”

“Who are you calling a lonely cicada corpse!? I do have Myousou, you know!? …And you know that merchant’s daughter in their group? I saw her at the flea market and I think her name is Dorothea?” Sorbeddy stared into the distance as she spoke. “I couldn’t manage to complete the entrance exam while working at my business at the same time, so I decided to give up on one. And, well, it turns out I’m the kind of old witch that wants to help someone out when I see them attempting what I ultimately failed at.”

The bookseller smiled a little.

Still seated on the ground, she leaned her bone-weary body against Sorbeddy next to her.

“Hee hee. You filthy money lover☆”

“Hey, did my confession mean nothing to you!?”

But anyway.

Everyone had their reason to fight. Each witch had to find their own. These witches had conquered their own lifespans, but it only took finding one itty-bitty reason for them to risk the eternal lives they had achieved.

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary.

Don’t think you can outdo other people’s motivations just because you support one world system.

In this case, the distance between them didn’t matter much.

Tedaura was Antiquity, the used bookseller was Admiration and Sorbeddy was Amorality.

The conditions were met.

“Melehe and her friends aren’t the only ones who can distribute the three Aspects between them.”

“Let’s see how you handle a single great attack powered by three Limit Breakerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs!!!”

### Part 6

It took the form of light.

Colossal beams of light shot from three points in Temple School City and flew toward a single point in the night sky.

“?”

The assassin gasped.

It was only for a moment, but she was definitely left dumbfounded.

She immediately rolled her broom to make a quick turn, but the pair of isosceles triangle drones weren’t fast enough. No, she had intentionally placed them in front of her so piercing them would subtly redirect the beams’ paths, allowing her to just barely avoid a direct hit.

Not even a trio of Limit Breakers could defeat her.

But the attack hadn’t been a waste. The beret and glasses woman had used herself and the two triangles to form the Three Aspects. Her witchcraft was thrown off balance.

And Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe’s great triangle remained intact.

This was the best chance they would ever have.

Out ahead, Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary pointed the nose of her broom up for a rapid ascent. Her intent was clear. Dorothea’s bisA was specialized for ground attack and Melehe’s bisMR was a multirole broom, so neither of them could reach extreme altitudes.

This was meant to break apart their formation.

“Viocia!!”

“I know. I won’t let her get away!!”

Only Viocia Modestlucky remained.

Only her super acceleration could reach the pure night sky where not even the rain clouds were allowed.

Fortunately, the Three Aspects magic structure could remain intact even at a distance.

They couldn’t fight together, but Viocia’s own specs were being boosted.

“Aristocratic society is complex. Far more than you know.”

A voice spread across the frigid night sky.

This was the assassin’s will.

Her voice was emotionless, yet it seemed to carry powerful resentment.

“The political world is complicated enough as it is, so do you have any idea how many will be lost if witches show up and start breaking the rules with their witchcraft? I know the answer all too well after making that very mistake. The political world needs only one witch. I will not allow any more lest you throw off my carefully-crafted calculations.”

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary flew in a wide curve. At this rate, they would reach each other head on.

Like a penalty shoot-out in soccer.

But a head-on approach in a dogfight required the kicker and the goalkeeper to read each other’s actions at the same time.

“Viocia, focus on your relative speed. When you reach each other, it’ll happen in an instant! Don’t let your eyes betray which way you’ll evade. If she can predict that, she’ll blast you to pieces!!”

No response.

They were at the center point of the vast circular lake.

That meant they were directly above Maleficium.

Maybe that was why.

“…”

In that moment, Viocia Modestlucky gulped. She was looking at something as she sharply operated her broom. But not at the enemy out ahead. Her eyes were probably on something else.

Something that had previously been hidden behind a white veil of diamond dust.

That had long been the goal of the inexperienced witch in training.

It was an unbelievably huge buildi-

“Viocia!! There’s no time to get distracted!!!”

“!?”

The situation was already underway.

The beret and glasses woman was already right in front of them. With the nose of her broom directed at them. Instead of trying to get on their tail, she was on a collision course.

Viocia couldn’t escape this time.

After using Formula Broom – Wittenberg to extract the necessary knowledge from Earth, the witch exam student muttered something under her breath. A pale light appeared at her right fingertip.

This time, she stared straight ahead.

The two witches approached like old-fashioned jousters riding their horses toward each other with massive lances at the ready.

It was one against one.

Viocia vs. Adelaide.

Yagoro held his breath.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

And.

Then.

They were past.

Adelaide’s broom shattered behind Viocia. Its pieces scattered into the sky and the woman herself was thrown into the night sky without the blessings of magic.

(Viocia won!! She actually hit her in that crucial moment!)

Viocia had her hands full regaining full control of her broom. Seated behind her, Yagoro twisted around to observe things behind them.

And he tensed.

Their eyes met.

The beret and glasses woman was becoming a shooting star along with her shattered broom, but she was still holding her palm out this way.

A sharp spike-like spindle shot out, drawing out a trail of light.

That was the deadly curse.

She no longer cared about her own fate. Professional to the end, she would complete the assassination. Even though she shouldn’t have any reason for that dedication.

(That bastard.)

That was the guardian of the old and outdated aristocratic patriarchy.

A collaborator for an age that thoroughly rejected the female witches. A traitor to all witches.

It had seemed unnatural for her to seem so detached about it all.

(That isn’t Adelaide at all. It was hard to tell because he’s been using that body for so long…but is that actually Voland Faust?)

But with her broom broken, even that would end. The beret and glasses woman would be freed from Voland Faust and the assassin who had become a part of this world’s system would be no more.

Although it looked like Yagoro’s reward for saving the world would be receiving one final attack.

He clenched his teeth in preparation for the coming impact. Their positioning meant Viocia wouldn’t be able to avoid this even if he tapped her on the shoulder to warn her right away. Fortunately, this attack had been made after the witches passed by. He could just sit here and it would hit him, not his student.

And that aside, it was finally over. Except…

He was suddenly twisted around.

Because Viocia Modestlucky had swung her broom about.

It should have been Yagoro. It was meant to hit him.

But Viocia noticed at the last second and forcibly shifted their positions so it hit her instead.

She had done it on purpose.

To protect him.

### Part 7

Formula Broom – Wittenberg was Viocia’s broom.

Without her, it couldn’t fly.

“Eep! Viocia!?”

“Perv, hold out your hand. I’ll support you with my broom and help you make an emergency landing!!”

They had already descended far enough to reach the altitude where Dorothea and Melehe waited. Slowly descended.

They couldn’t afford to crash into the lake.

The lake wasn’t dotted with convenient little islands for them to happen across.

It was a terrifying thirty seconds or so with the broom trembling unsteadily.

The goddess’s divine punishment never came. Was that because he had done what she asked?

They somehow managed to limp along back to the lakeside. And they made a rather forced landing.

But they couldn’t relax yet.

“Viocia was hit by Adelaide’s deadly curse!”

The girl was already unconscious.

She had only managed to glide unsteadily to the lakeside because Melehe had pulled her broom along. As soon as they landed, Viocia collapsed sideways off the broom onto the hard ground. Her long, long hair spread out around her, but she didn’t even brush it off of her face.

That curse was deadly.

She would die.

“Eep. Tutor, what do we do now?”

“…”

“You know some way to save her, don’t you!? Y-you always have an answer!!”

Only after shouting that did Dorothea realize something and gasp.

The silver-haired elite hadn’t said a word. She must have arrived at the same conclusion as Yagoro. The deeper one’s knowledge of witchcraft, the more they understood how hopeless the situation was.

It wasn’t possible.

There was no way to save her.

The best option against Adelaide’s – no, Faust’s – deadly curse was to not let it hit you. There was no next best option. If one so much as grazed you, you were done for. That deadly curse had been honed to the limit for assassinations, so it was designed to leave no options left once it hit.

“It’s no use. My attack is a lethal curse. If it even pricks your skin, it will take your life. There is no escaping it no matter where in this world you run.”

Faust hadn’t been lying when he said that.

It was the simple truth.

“Teacher, could you not pierce me with that absolute zero glare? It’s terrifying.”

He had promised her.

Back in March, on a day still too chilly to call spring, he had found her searching the list of students who had passed the exam over and over, never finding her number, and just standing there, uncertain what to do.

There was no real reason it had to be her.

But he had still reached out his hand.

Because he himself had felt he wanted to work with her in the struggle over the entrance exam.

“Heh heh. I’m going to take her to live with me!!”

He had promised her.

No matter how bad the situation was, he had promised as Navigate Exam that he would get her into Maleficium next March.

He had promised the girl who would smile innocently and not hesitate to help those in need even when she needed to be focusing on her exams. Like she had done for Moloch and Freynir.

No matter how much effort a tutor put in, it was ultimately the girl herself who had to take the exam.

And no matter how much she complained, Viocia had a reason to make the attempt.

So she refused to be broken.

Something about her told Yagoro that his efforts wouldn’t be wasted with her.

“I know. I won’t let her get away!!”

He had promised her.

He had promised to help her become a witch who could remain modest, who would wield her power to battle the wicked witches who would try to limit the world, and who could live more beautifully than anyone, even if she was still awkward! He had promised that her efforts would be rewarded and that she would leave with a smile next time she stood before that list of passing students!!

That was the contract Myousou Yagoro and Viocia Modestlucky had made and he wasn’t supposed to break that agreement no matter what!!!

Was it impossible?

Did he have to give up?

Was abandoning that promise unfulfilled really the smartest choice here!!?

(Face it.)

Myousou Yagoro squeezed his eyes shut and stayed silent.

He thought with a scorching intensity.

(Just face it already, dammit!!)

Melehe and even Dorothea didn’t say a word.

The tutor boy wracked his brains in the darkness he had created. He had to find a solution. He had to draw on every last piece of knowledge he possessed.

And.

He finally spoke. He had to admit it.

“… There is a way. ”

“?”

Melehe looked puzzled, but this wasn’t just wishful thinking on his part.

He was a tutor who provided solid knowledge to support his student’s life.

“W-wait a second. There can’t be a way. I know it hurts, but you have to accept that. There is no witchcraft in the world that can save Viocia!!”

“But what about outside the world?”

Yes.

They both had a deep well of knowledge to draw on, but that was what led Yagoro and Melehe to different conclusions.

He had knowledge beyond witchcraft.

“There is still one way of escaping Faust’s deadly curse!!”

“Eep?”

According to Faust, “there is no escaping it no matter where in this world you run”.

Or to put it another way…

“ We just have to escape this world altogether. Crossing the boundary between worlds that loathsome goddess is hiding can neutralize the deadly curse affecting Viocia!!”

### Part 8

Yagoro carried Viocia’s limp form while he, Dorothea, and Melehe ran to the area behind his apartment.

“Hm? What are you doing here, mister? Wait, is she injured!?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no.”

“Don’t worry. Raynold. And Roslynica too. I’ll be visiting my usual spot.”

They ran to the squatter’s district.

More specifically, the giant locked container in the back of it.

“Honestly… Sometimes the things you can’t seem to let go end up coming in handy, don’tcha think?”

Yes.

School was out for the day. Yagoro was wasting time staring at the locked container he kept in the squatter’s district behind his apartment. He simply couldn’t convince himself to give up the crashed craft.

Lately, Yagoro had been spending a lot of time in the squatter’s district back behind his apartment. He seemed to be subconsciously trying to calm himself down with detailed work.

So what had happened to the locked container he had in the squatter’s district?

…It would be a real shame if that had been confiscated.

In other words, Myousou Yagoro had mostly finished reassembling the crashed craft.

A few parts were still missing, but he could procure them easily enough with his HEA house. That toy could create any electronic as long as he created the plans and he had even mass-produced a large-scale surface-to-air missile system with it.

He unlocked it.

Unsealed it.

Melehe and Dorothea looked equal parts surprised and confused by what he pulled out. He couldn’t blame them since it wasn’t shaped anything like a witch’s broom.

It looked a lot like a streamlined snowmobile with wings made of composite material.

That was what the base craft looked like when the rear cargo space was removed.

In his Earth, reindeer-drawn sleds had been developed and evolved to the point they could fly in the sky. Whether that at all resembled the other Earth the Student Council President had lived on in her previous life, he couldn’t say.

Myousou Yagoro had once wound up in this world after getting into an accident with this thing back in his Earth.

Myousou Yagoro’s attempts to return to his Earth in this thing had been blocked by the goddess.

The tutor boy looked up.

The night sky here was different from the one he knew back home. That sky was probably a thick wall separating worlds. By crossing that barrier, he could travel between worlds. That was why the sky was reserved for witches but the goddess had made it so even they couldn’t reach the highest altitudes.

However…

“…”

Could he really do it?

Maybe combining his craft with Viocia’s super acceleration could have caused a miracle, but he couldn’t expect her help when that deadly curse had her unconscious.

He would have to do it on his own.

How many times had he failed before? Even if the goddess’s divine punishment was no longer an issue, could he really intentionally cross between worlds on his own?

“Sigh, I don’t know what you’re planning, but fine.”

He felt a soft sensation.

The silver-haired girl had placed her hand on the back of his.

No, she had placed it over his hand.

Melehe Superlative.

Then Dorothea Rockpool placed her hand on top of Melehe’s.

“Eep. D-don’t try to do this yourself, teacher. Um, if Melehe and I help you create the Three Aspects, then maybe… ”

Then maybe success would be within reach.

Each of them would handle one of the Three Aspects. The girls weren’t the only ones who could take advantage of that. Yagoro couldn’t fly, but he could use witchcraft.

With their help, he might be able to break through his past failures.

They might be able to accomplish what he couldn’t on his own.

Melehe grinned.

“We just have to make up for one dunce of a witch, right? The three of us together just have to outdo her wild acceleration. …Don’t try to tell me you can’t do it, pervy tutor.”

“Now hold on. As much as I’d appreciate it, what about your exams? What about Maleficium!?”

“What about them?”

She actually looked exasperated.

“Are you kidding me? Of course we’ll keep at it. Maybe we won’t be at the prep school and maybe we’ll be in another world altogether, but we can still study 24 hours a day. Besides, we’ll have a pervy tutor with us, so where’s the problem?”

“Um, even if we go with you to Earth, uh…I don’t see why we need to give up on the entrance exam if we can follow a daily study plan and return here before the exam date. Eep.”

Yagoro was taken aback.

They had actually given thought to the entrance exam.

Yes.

To eliminate the deadly curse and save Viocia, they needed to cross the boundary between worlds without any help from the goddess of interworld reincarnation, but that didn’t mean those girls had to give up on the entrance exam. As long as the curse was dealt with, Viocia would be able to return to this world.

As Navigate Exam, Myousou Yagoro already had a contract with her. He had to get his student into Maleficium no matter what it took.

This was just some curse.

He wasn’t going to give up on his student’s future over that.

“Let’s go.”

He looked overhead.

He saw stars and a giant moon so different from his Earth.

It all acted as the boundary between worlds. And they were about to break through it on their own.

“Let’s goooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”

### Part 9

They broke free of common gravity and began their attack on the heavens with no idea if this would really work.

### Today’s Quiz 4

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Question: Explain the details of the deadly curse placed on Viocia Modestlucky so that she can be saved. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Aspect of Admiration:

ATU (____), Sleeping Beauty. The king gathered up all the (_____) from around the kingdom to prevent the fairy’s curse, but just one was overlooked and the princess was placed in eternal sleep.

Aspect of (______):

(____), the Norse god of light. There was supposedly no way to (___) him, but he was killed regardless by a spear made from (_______), the one thing everyone had overlooked.

Aspect of Amorality:

The (____) curse used in the witch’s (______). A (______) of the target can be pierced with a needle to curse and kill them.

The deadly curse is essentially (________), so once they are hit, not even a princess beloved kingdom-wide or an immortal god can escape their fate. Also, the target of the wax doll could even be someone out of reach of the common people, like the current pope.

Thus, Viocia Modestlucky cannot escape the deadly curse she was hit with as long as she remains in this world .

That is all.

Special Divine Right://■■■■ activate. As a goddess, I will not be allowing any questions☆

### 022. Epilogue: The Next Territory

“I can’t find him anywhere…”

A small girl grumbled to herself while lying in bed.

She couldn’t find her big brother.

However, this middle school detective had not been running around town with a magnifying glass. She was running a variety of searches with computers and tablets. The amount of data available there was far greater than in the real world, after all.

The view out the window showed a skyline composed of skyscrapers with a giant shape slowly flying by in the sky above them.

It was more than 2000m wide and shaped like a boomerang. The flying wing craft was in fact a corporate aircraft carrier. Since the Force was bound by laws and treaties, protection of this country’s skies had been privatized. And that was where any wannabe pilot hoped to end up.

It was a familiar sight to the girl.

Although for whatever reason, her brother Yagoro had decided to make friends with the Force instead.

Searching for her missing family member might make her sound tragically determined, but after years with no results, it had become an emotionless routine for her. She had discovered the nightmarish reality that people could grow accustomed to anything and even find it boring.

A gentle knock came at the door.

“Dinner is ready. Mama-sama asked me to call you down.”

“Okay, Athena .”

The sister got out of bed and left her room.

In this place, a disposable tool readily available at convenience stores and vending machines was all it took to summon a real god.

Because it was so easy, the people feared the possibility of gods going on a rampage. In this age, people sought the ability to directly stop a rampaging god, which had created new rules for air combat.

This was Earth.

It was the source of the information witches used to replace the forbidden knowledge they had lost.

The door clicked shut.

A notification had arrived on the phone left on the bed.

It happened when the sister wasn’t watching.

It came from an entirely differently place.

By literally traveling from another dimension.

“That concludes Chapter 12. A new character has been announced! Will you continue to watch Myousou Yagoro’s adventures?”

### 023. Afterword

Failing Witch is at Volume 3 now.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This time I took a step back from the witch entrance exam and touched on the world after passing the exam. If you think about it, people can only pour so much energy into studying for the entrance exam because they believe a happy world awaits them if they do pass the exam. I explored that idea this time. …We do, after all, live in a world where it’s common to find people who graduate from a prestigious university and then can’t find a job.

I think the biggest difference between magicians and witches in my different series is that some want to use any and all knowledge, including ancient myths and religions, while others want to protect or resurrect an ancient religion as a believer in an old god. If you reread my series with that in mind, you might make some new discoveries.

I think how the story played out would have changed a lot depending on where Yagoro ran to at the middle of the story, but he ended up going to Sabbath Party, with all its drinks and dancers. How would things have played out if he had gone to the squatter’s district or to the brown mama’s used bookshop for help? If you have some time, you could imagine those scenarios.

The connections between Viocia and Tedaura and between Melehe and the bookseller mama are obvious enough, but I personally like linking Dorothea and Sorbeddy as merchants. That wasn’t part of the initial plot. This just shows that the failing witch world is starting to take on a life of its own beyond my intentions. It’s moments like this that make really glad I’m an author.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Aroa-san and my editors Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. It must have been tough working with a witch battle that can include the literally extraordinary Limit Breakers. Thank you again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. I think I’ve shown most of the witch world at this point, but what did you think? I would love nothing more than if you found a favorite witch. Thank you so much.

I will end this here.

Yes, I never said he came from our Earth!

-Kamachi Kazuma

### 024. Appendix: Quiz Answers

Summer is really getting started now.

Your prep school should be giving you a general exam soon, but that means you will stumble and come to a halt if you neglect the fundamentals. It’s a tutor’s job to give you some help where you’re lacking, so this quiz will help teach you the importance of the fundamentals.

Let’s start with the Aspect of Admiration.

ATU ( 0782 ), Midas and the Donkey Ears. Or would you know it better as the King Has Donkey Ears? This story has more than one magical lesson: “words can bring disaster” and one other. What is that other lesson?

( The donkey is seen as a foolish animal, so the king’s secret getting out would damage his authority )

Next, the Aspect of Antiquity.

Witchcraft divides the year into 8 periods. What is the most common reason for this?

The year is viewed as a large ( wheel ) and the 8 periods indicate the changing of the ( seasons ) and the days of the ( festivals ).

Finally, the Aspect of Amorality.

The Formula Broom is the most well known magic tool, but there are plenty more. Such as the staff. It is mostly a long stick just like a broom, but what is the difference between a staff and a broom at the Witch’s Sabbath?

The staff is a symbol of ( male ) authority.

A witch only carries one when attempting a theatrical ceremony and playing the role of the ( horned ) male god.

### Today’s Quiz 1

Question: Reveal the magical cheating method used by Wicked Witch Chloe (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Today’s quiz is a bit different from usual. Because the way I defeated Brewery was so simple it wouldn’t really help with the exam.

The Aspect of Admiration was ATU (0782), Midas and the Donkey Ears.

The Aspect of Amorality was (automatic writing).

The Aspect of Antiquity was (the priestess’s prophecy) from Norse mythology.

Hint: Where did Chloe receive the illicit information from? And what pathway did she use?

When the (barber) shouted about the donkey ears, his voice is guaranteed to travel through time and space until it eventually reaches the (king). That was the main foundation of the remote cheating.

Chloe had given up control of her (right hand) to Brewery. They had to make sure it was in Chloe’s handwriting, but it was actually Brewery who was writing the answers on the answer sheet.

When the top god (Odin) was in trouble, he descended to the underworld and asked for advice, but he was actually speaking with the spirit of a human (priestess). That means it is possible for a human to provide information that surpasses even that of a (god).

☆Important note! While giving up control of her right hand, Chloe gained the nature of a king. When she accused Dorothea of cheating, people were weirdly willing to accept her baseless accusation because it is insolent to doubt the words of a (king).

That’s all. Any questions, Melehe?

Ksh

Kshh

### Today’s Quiz 2

Question☆ Save Sir Tutor by explaining the magical method Tedaura, Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love, can use to treat his critical wounds! (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

- Nectar

- Yu Gao

- Soma

As you can see, the Aspect of Antiquity is (legendary drinks).

Hint! A lot of myths depict fruits that provide immortality, but because fermented drinks can be made with (fruit), you can remember the two categories as a set!

The Aspect of Amorality is unfermented (wine). That acts as a (necromancy) tool because it is a twisted parody of the wine used in mass.

With that, we have set up everything needed to manipulate a (soul) in life or in death. All that remains is to link these symbols to the Aspect of (Admiration)!

ATU (0410), aka Sleeping Beauty. The princess is put to sleep by the (curse) of a fairy who was not invited to her (birthday party) and she is (woken) by a dispelling kiss. This means that life and death are no more than statuses and a witch can manipulate them as long as she follows the appropriate ceremony.

That’s all☆

Okay, Sir Tutor. If you have no complaints, then could you get up now?

It’s about time we began our counterattack.

Ksshhh

■■

Kshh

### Today’s Quiz 3

Question: What magical method did Myousou Yagoro use to deliver the finishing blow to the superior Student Council President Ulrike? (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Willpower allows a witch to use witchcraft.

That is what matters most. By directing your full willpower in a single direction, it can transform into tremendous attack power.

Note: In this case, the magic interfered with the witch’s mind to shred her will to use magic, thus preventing the curse.

Didn’t Ulrike seem awfully cooperative after her defeat? That was the result of her hostility being artificially removed. Now let’s discuss the actual method.

The Aspect of (Amorality) was a curse reversal.

This can be done with everyday objects. There is even a method where a fire-heated (grass sickle) is soaked in milk to cool and then mixed with sulfur and soot. Most any (talisman) spread among ordinary people is a ceremony meant to direct their (willpower) toward a single goal.

The Aspect of Antiquity was the Norse god of light (Baldr).

But this isn’t about how to kill that (immortal) god. It relates to the story after his death. It was said his death would be overturned and he would be (resurrected) if all life in the world wept for him. That shows just how meaningful it is for people to bring their wills together and wish for something.

The Aspect of Admiration was ATU (0425)c, Beauty and the Beast.

There are a lot of stories where the pure (willpower) known as love is used to break a (curse).

That’s all. Any questions, Viocia?

Kssshhh

Ksshhhh ■■■

Kssssshhhhh

### Today’s Quiz 4

Question: Explain the details of the deadly curse placed on Viocia Modestlucky so that she can be saved. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Aspect of Admiration:

ATU (0410), Sleeping Beauty. The king gathered up all the (spindles) from around the kingdom to prevent the fairy’s curse, but just one was overlooked and the princess was placed in eternal sleep.

Aspect of (Antiquity):

(Baldr), the Norse god of light. There was supposedly no way to (kill) him, but he was killed regardless by a spear made from (mistletoe), the one thing everyone had overlooked.

Aspect of Amorality:

The (death) curse used in the witch’s (black mass). A (wax doll) of the target can be pierced with a needle to curse and kill them.

The deadly curse is essentially (unavoidable), so once they are hit, not even a princess beloved kingdom-wide or an immortal god can escape their fate. Also, the target of the wax doll could even be someone out of reach of the common people, like the current pope.

Thus, Viocia Modestlucky cannot escape the deadly curse she was hit with as long as she remains in this world .

That is all.

Special Divine Right://■■■■ activate. As a goddess, I will not be allowing any questions☆

Melehe: Ksh …wow…■■■…what is that… ksh …rather not…■■!?

Dorothea: Eep. Is this…■…Earth that…■■■…tutor was…■■…talking about?

Yagoro: Hey, try not to stand out. You don’t have any kind of ID here!!

Viocia: ■■… ksshh !! Ksh ■ ksh !! Yay!! ■■■■