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Chapter 118
Chapter 3 — Dry scrape, burn and perforate! • Episode 3–Rest — Inscrutable Stratagem
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
Wigs Crosseau is not good at showing her emotions on her face. When she’s truly happy from the bottom of her heart, or when she’s having a good time, her expression naturally softens, but basically she’s always expressionless, and it is difficult to read what she’s thinking or feeling unless you have known her for a very long time.
However, unusually, on that day, Crosseau’s eyebrows were downcast, so much so that anyone could see that she was depressed, and her normally straight back was hunched over.
「I’ve done something I can’t take back…」
「I understand how you feel, but I think you should apologize first instead of being depressed.」
「But I have no face to look at Rabbitfoot-san…」
The day after the Witch Cup was over, Doppelganger was invited to tea by Wigs Crosseau, and since a few moments ago, she has already heard Crosseau’s weak words over and over again.
Normally, she would’ve told her to behave herself, but this time it wasn’t a matter of just firing up Crosseau.
Doppelganger was completely unaware of the story until he heard it here today, but Crosseau was forced to take her lips off after Rabbitfoot’s enchantment spell during the main Witch Cup match. Moreover, she doesn’t forget the memory of that time, but remembers it vividly, including the soft touch.
Crosseau’s love for children has been known for some time, but Doppelganger didn’t expect it to be enough to penetrate the Magical Girl’s protections.
If Crosseau had lost control of her desires and gone berserk and committed the act, she would thoroughly chastise her and drag her before Rabbitfoot and make her apologize until she forgives her, but if she wasn’t in a normal state due to magic, it would be wrong to blame Crosseau unilaterally.
But that didn’t seem to make Rabbitfoot any less bad. It wasn’t that she ordered Crosseau to kiss her, it was that she kissed her without time to stop when she thought the unintentional charm had passed.
For Doppelganger, she felt that both can be said to be victims and perpetrators, but if she put herself in each other’s shoes, she can say that Rabbitfoot, who was forcibly kissed, has suffered more actual harm than the other.
「I don’t know how you feel about… Well, it’s fortunate that it wasn’t televised. For you and for little Rabbitfoot. I’ll talk to Earth about cutting it out of the video they’re planning to release.」
「I apologize…」
She have been getting this kind of raw response no matter what she say to her since a while ago, the tea made by the fairy waiter had completely cooled down without being touched even once.
As Doppelganger was inwardly holding her head, wondering what to do with such a thing, suddenly a loud sound like something kicking was heard, and the door to the room was opened with a great force.
「!——」
「Oh my, that’s unusual. You don’t even have a quota.」
It was Rabbitfoot, the Rabbit Witch, a girl with a winsome expression, wearing an orange apron dress, beautiful long straight white hair, and cute rabbit ears on the top of her head.
The moment she saw her, Crosseau gasped and turned her face down to avoid eye contact, and Doppelganger spoke to her as usual. The fact that they kissed forcibly was a story that only they could know, since it wasn’t relayed to anyone, so they decided to play it cool and pretend that they knew nothing.
The fact that Rabbitfoot took the trouble to come to the Tea Party room at this time was surely about something else. As for Doppelganger, she was wondering what she should do, but to be honest, she had no idea how Rabbitfoot would react, so she decided to let the parties resolve the matter among themselves. Of course she will speak up if it seems to develop into a discussion related to factions or the balance of Magical Girls, but to be clear, this is a very personal matter. She can at least listen to what they have to say, but it’s not for Doppelganger to come between them and talk to them.
「You’ve already heard it anyway. So shut up.」
The power game imitations are causing some trouble, but it is also proof that Rabbitfoot is intelligent enough to do such a thing in the first place. Doppelganger had no intention of interfering, but it seems that Rabbitfoot knew that she was being consulted.
With small strides and dry, clattering footsteps, Rabbitfoot approached the seat where Crosseau and the others were sitting and, with a natural motion, took a seat in Discause’s seat next to Doppelganger.
「…Rabbitfoot-san, I apologize for yesterday’s incident.」
Crosseau swallowed the warmed tea in an attempt to appear calm, and then bowed deeply. Her gaze was always downward even before she apologized, unable to see what expression Rabbitfoot now has on her face in this place.
「Charm Of Bunny.」
「Capture——」
「Hey——」
「Stop!」
Rabbitfoot suddenly cast a spell on Crosseau, who didn’t raise her head anytime soon, as if she was waiting for Rabbitfoot’s words. Immediately after, Crosseau, standing up with a burst of energy, tried to cast some kind of magic, but Rabbitfoot was able to control her movement faster than she could do so. As if obeying her command, Crosseau interrupted her chanting and just stood there.
「…What are you trying to do?」
「You are to remain standing erect and answer my questions honestly. If you understand, say yes.」
「Yes.」
Ignoring Doppelganger’s quizzical glances and words, Rabbitfoot gives an order to Crosseau, who replies in the affirmative with a somewhat lifeless and empty expression, slightly different from her usual expressionless face.
Doppelganger kept her mouth shut for the moment, as if sensing from Rabbitfoot’s appearance that she did not seem to be trying to harm Crosseau.
「What did you just try to do to me?」
「I tried to tie you up with magic.」
「For what reason?」
「So as for you not to run.」
「Why can’t you just let me go?」
「Because I love my Master. It is to prove my love. It is to receive Master’s love. I want to touch Master. I want you to touch me. I want to embrace you. To be embraced——」
「That’s enough! …The first time we met, you restrained me.」
「Because I loved you.」
「…The last time I was at the Tea Party, when Extend was first there. What did you think then?」
「It’s good that you were energetic, but I wanted you to be a little more mature as it interferes with the progress.」
「So you didn’t like me at the time.」
「Yes.」
「Okay, that’s enough. I kind of get it.」
Rabbitfoot looked serious throughout the exchange, not embarrassed or happy, or disgusted or pale. It was probably confirmation of something. At least that’s how Doppelganger saw it. Rabbitfoot’s mood was not that of a pretty little girl who is thinking about love and romance.
「Rabbitfoot-san, what was that?」
「You had passive enchantment going on when we first met, didn’t you?」
Crosseau, who had not received the order, spoke to Rabbitfoot with a slightly puzzled look, as if the enchantment spell had been lifted, but Rabbitfoot didn’t answer and asked a question to the contrary.
「That…」
「You didn’t tell us the truth, so we were forced to engage in this stupid one-woman war! You clumsy woman!」
Rabbitfoot, perhaps annoyed at Crosseau’s slurring of words while glancing at Doppelganger, yells at her with a blue streak on her face.
「Wait a minute, I’m not following you at all, what do you mean? Crosseau-chan, are you hiding something?」
Crammed by Rabbitfoot and Doppelganger, Crosseau finally cracked. As a supplement, Rabbitfoot also explained to Doppelganger why she finally learned why Rabbitfoot had been eyeing Crosseau. A sad passing… Rather, it was prejudicially due to Crosseau’s poor timing and devastating interpersonal performance.
On the day of Rabbitfoot’s first Witch’s Tea Party, when she had just become a witch, she happened to be running an errand for the Magic Bureau and decided to go to the tea party room ahead of the others after it was over. Rabbitfoot, who had been cocky and arrogant since those days, didn’t have the auspiciousness to go early because it was her first time attending the event, but she was curious to see the venue as well.
Crosseau, on the other hand, wasn’t yet in charge of organizing the Witches, but it had almost decided that she would eventually succeed Monarch Sprite, so she arrived at the venue much earlier than Doppelganger and Monarch Sprite in order to make preparations and not to keep her seniors waiting.
Thus, Wigs Crosseau and Rabbitfoot had their first meeting alone, and this is how it all began.
Rabbitfoot is passive and always has a slight charm and good luck magic in effect. In the face of Magical Girl’s protection, such things are almost nothing to the extent that they mean nothing, but surprisingly, this came through for Crosseau. And sadly, it was too faint to convey the sense of magic passing through to Rabbitfoot, the one who invoked the magic.
The moment Crosseau faced Rabbitfoot for the first time, she used the same captivity magic as before to tie up Rabbitfoot. However, even though the charm penetrated through the protections, it was still a passive magic with a weak effect. It was only a temporary passage because Crosseau was caught off guard and distracted, and she quickly came to her senses and released the spell, slightly panicked, apologizing in her usual expressionless, inflected voice and asking that what she had just said be kept secret. She made many other excuses, but Crosseau, who was at the height of her confusion, couldn’t remember each and every word.
For Crosseau, who was unaware that she had received a spell of enchantment, it was a terrible mistake, as she suddenly fell in love with the girl in front of her and tied her up before she knew what was happening. She felt that her seniors would be angry if they found out, and she meant that she hoped that they would please forgive her and, if possible, keep it a secret.
Rabbitfoot, however, didn’t take it that way. Originally, she knew of a witch named Wigs Crosseau, a person of whom she had never heard a bad rumor, but when she met her, she was suddenly a villainous person who tied her up with magic and threatened her not to tell anyone or do anything unnecessary. It is no surprise that she was incredibly paranoid about that one incident, and after that, Rabbitfoot completely recognized Crosseau as an enemy because of her behavior as an outwardly evil person who left no evidence behind. Of course, it only looked that way from Rabbitfoot’s perspective, but in reality, Crosseau’s interpersonal skills were just devastating.
Thus, Rabbitfoot has been working so far with the goal of getting to the top of the faction in order to gain strength against Crosseau, but noticed something strange at yesterday’s Witch Cup.
Magical Girls have a protection against magic that acts directly on them. Then why did the magic of enchantment pass?
Rabbitfoot also had a period when she was a newcomer, so she heard about the hole in the protections from the fairies. In other words, Crosseau is very fond of something about the elements that make up Rabbitfoot, such as rabbits, children, or girls.
And at the same time, even if she likes children, for example, if she dislikes or was hostile to Rabbitfoot’s personally, Rabbitfoot’s enchantment magic will not work.
After much thought, Rabbitfoot was convinced to experiment once more to see if the enchantment magic would work. To what degree, no one knows, but Wigs Crosseau favors Rabbitfoot.
Once she realized that the outburst at our first meeting, which was the beginning of the misunderstanding, was due to enchantment magic, she knew immediately that all of this and more had been a misunderstanding.
So Rabbitfoot resents being made to wrestle alone. Originally, there was no need for her to get hung up on what the factions were about.
「Earth!」
「Yessir!」
After explaining to Doppelganger and clearing up any previous misunderstandings, Rabbitfoot suddenly shouted out the name of Earth, and a globe floating in the air appeared in response.
It is easy to forget that only Wigs Crosseau has the right to speak directly with Earth, who is essentially the highest authority in the Magic Bureau, although Doppelganger often call on Earth when he was not in a summarizing role. Despite this, Earth appeared to answer Rabbitfoot’s call.
「My MVP reward, I’m changing the policy. Factions will be left to the Dragon Call. Support me as we move in that direction.」
「Hey, hey, is it alright? It’s not fine for you, is it?」
In the recent Witch Cup, the MVP was Rabbitfoot. Although the video was not relayed, the decision was based on the many highly regarded battles, including the unscathed defeat of Crosseau, a three-dimensional battle that looked great on film, and the revenge match against Extend.
Factions are created by Magical Girls on their own initiative, and the Bureau has nothing to do with them. However, Magical Girls whose power is recognized by the Bureau are naturally looked up to by other Magical Girls. Rabbitfoot’s prize was to have the supreme power, Earth, behind her as she rallied her faction. So he showed up in response to Rabbitfoot’s call. But Rabbitfoot abandoned it, and said it would be left to Dragon Call, which was even a potentially hostile group.
「If you hadn’t done something strange in the first place, I wouldn’t have joined the faction in the first place. It’s obvious that I can improve my skills by honing my abilities without thinking about anything else. But now I can’t even get out of one. I’m too deeply involved, and there are connections within the faction. So it’s better to make peace with them and not leave any lingering grudges.」
「Hoh～ nhn, well, suit yourself. I’ll lend a little help if called upon when needed.」
There are two factions within the Life Faction, one led by Dragon Call and the other by Rabbitfoot. Although they aren’t in open conflict with such frenzy, there are some rifts and thoughts among the Magical Girls of each faction. If Rabbitfoot were to suddenly slip away here, the Magical Girls who have been following Rabbitfoot would lose a lot of power within their faction. To prevent this from happening, Rabbitfoot decided to work on a policy of reconciliation on an equal footing, but with the burden of all troublesome matters falling on Dragon Call. There is no doubt that there is some yesterday’s nonsense in there.
「Hmph, I wasted my time on something really stupid. Don’t be a jerk, goodness…」
After watching Earth disappear, Rabbitfoot leaves her seat, mumbling and complaining. She is about to leave when she says she has said what she needs to say.
「Wait a minute, Rabbitfoot-san.」
「Ahn? What?」
「Are you not angry with me about yesterday? I did something to you that you can’t take back.」
「Tch, that was no accident. Nothing I can do, nothing I can do. I mean, who do you think you are? Do you think I’m going to let a little kiss from you bother me? You are too self-conscious!」
When stopped by Crosseau, Rabbitfoot gives a high pitched kinky yell in her usual tone. The appearance was really as usual, as if nothing had happened as Rabbitfoot said.
「However, that doesn’t make me feel better. If you don’t mind, would you allow me to treat you to tea afterwards? I know a good restaurant.」
「Don’t get me wrong, you lolicon woman! I may have been wrong about you being a diabolical, bloodless, evil maniac, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be friends with you or not!」
「I see…」
Crosseau had no idea that Rabbitfoot disliked her in the first place, but today she found out that Rabbitfoot apparently did, and she was willing to make friends with her again if that was resolved, but in the end she was cut off by Rabbitfoot, whose attitude was the same as usual. Her shoulders slumped with disappointment. As usual, there is no change in her facial expression and voice tone, so it is hard to tell.
「…Tsk, I didn’t say I wouldn’t go! If you’re going to go, get on with it! It’s on you, of course!」
「Is that so.」
The words she returned were the same, but her expression was not the same.
Not wanting to be left behind by Rabbitfoot, who strode swiftly away without waiting for Crosseau to stand up, Crosseau bowed to Doppelganger and then quickly followed her out of the tea party room.
「…I guess that’s what they say about inscrutable stratagems.」
Doppelganger, who had been summoned by Crosseau to come all the way here, was left alone and muttered with a somewhat satisfied look on her face as she tipped her teacup.