CH 146

Chapter 146

Chapter 4 — Sleep, until your life is over • Episode 4–Rest — Sorcerer ①

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

The timeline predates the runaway.

At the ticket gate of a small station on a weekday morning, when the commuter rush was over and the number of customers had decreased considerably, a high school girl with long black hair and wearing a school uniform was looking around as if searching for someone.

In a normal school, Homeroom would’ve ended long ago and first period would have started, but there aren’t a few high school students who are usually late and sloppy, and there is no one to blame the girl in particular.

Some of those familiar with the school situation in the vicinity of this station noticed that the girl’s uniform was something not seen in this area and had some doubts, but fortunately for the girl, no one was too curious to bother to ask her.

「Hi, it’s been a while since the Witch Cup!」

『Long time no see, Atsuo-san.』

Atsuo Yuri, aka Magical Girl Press, a light-haired girl wearing a slightly loose-fitting hoodie and hot pants, approached a high school girl in a friendly manner, and the girl who spoke to her wrote something on a small notepad in her hand in a familiar manner and showed it to Atsuo.

「You usually speak in writing. Well, I don’t see many people talking with machine voices in real life.」

『It’s conspicuous. A strange look is not a pleasant feeling, even if you don’t mean to offend.』

「That’s right. Let’s move to the front where we can stand out. Why are you wearing uniform?」

The high school girl in the uniform was the real identity of the Magical Girl Discause, whose real name is Hachiya Shirabe, whom Press had previously contacted behind the Witch Cup.

During their encounter the other day, they had promised to meet again in reality at a later date, after both of them had released their transformations and revealed themselves to each other. This was at the suggestion of Press, and in order for the fairies not to know that Press was a Sorcerer, it was more convenient for them to be in reality rather than in the Deception World controlled by the Magical World.

『We are going to visit the Kingdom of Rats for a field trip today. This won’t stand out in a weird way, will it?』

「I told you that we would try not to look suspicious, but are you sure?」

In meeting up with Discause in reality, Press initially intended to make an expedition to the town that Discause were in charge of. Discause, the number two of the Witch Party and practically the best of the best except for Lazy Lady, who is not a proper Magical Girl, is likely to have some, if not all the time, knowledge of her movements by the fairies. In such a situation, she feared that leaving her own town and suddenly going to Sakira Town might attract the attention of fairies.

However, Discause had a recent business trip to the vicinity of Sakira Town, and since she was told that it was something that wouldn’t attract attention, she decided to meet up with them in Sakira Town without digging too deep into the business. Indeed, if she’s coming to the vicinity of Sakira Town for a school event, her movements will not be suspected, and the details can be perfectly disguised by Press’ disguise. It was an excellent decision that wouldn’t only not be discovered but also not be suspected, but Press asked whether it was right to ruin an event that could be called a trip.

『I have friends who care about me even though I am like this, so I will say that I was absent in the morning due to illness. So please keep the story short.』

「Okay-okay. I didn’t mean to drag this out too long to begin with, but it’s less than 3 hours…」

Apparently, Discause is not planning to spend the entire day with Press, either. The main purpose of today’s meeting was to confirm some facts and have a brief discussion, and since the actual event is still some time away, Press isn’t going to have a very long talk. However, the content of the meeting was so compelling that a casual chat at a local coffee shop was out of the question. After a 10-minute walk from the station while chatting, Discause was led to a moderately large house.

『This place is?』

「It’s my house. My parents are gone now, so don’t be shy.」

『I understand. Certainly, it’s appropriate to be in the house for a private conversation.』

「That’s one thing, but the rest, well, if we don’t talk directly, it’s too much trouble if there’s a discrepancy in nuance…」

『What do you mean?』

「You’ll find out soon enough.」

Inside the house that Press unlocked and showed her, there was nothing particularly strange from Discause’s point of view, and at first glance it appeared to be just like any other house. But as Press held her hand up to the wall of the empty hallway, the white wall gradually distorted and disappeared, revealing a staircase leading to the basement.

『This is…』

「I told you, I’m a sorcerer. I come from a family of sorcerer, so a basement or two is a given.」

『Is that what it is?』

「That is what it is.」

There was no way for Discause to know what a sorcerer’s common sense was, but she agreed that if Press said so, it must be so, and she followed Press down the stairs to the basement.

There is no great mistake in Press’ words, although some large families of sorcerers who have been in the family for generations have traditional mansions, many families of sorcerers, driven into the shadows by the development and spread of science and technology, disguise themselves as ordinary people and work hard at the study and research of magic in the background of their daily lives, and it is not unusual to find families with basements and hidden rooms.

「Well, please have a seat. You don’t have to worry about the fairies finding out you’re here. Our basement is especially well『disguised.』Well, my disguise wouldn’t be discovered even in the Deception World unless there was something wrong with me, but you want to be sure, don’t you? I have been working hard and patiently, but I don’t want to see it all go down the drain if I’m not careful, you know? Oops, sorry for rambling on by myself. You can talk as much as you want, Hachiya-san.」

At the bottom of a staircase, lit by mechanical lights and not too dim for a basement, was a corridor, which seemed to lead to several rooms. Press invited Discause into the room connected from the far end of such a corridor, and while urging them to sit down on a simple chair placed in the center, she spoke as if she were a weir.

The floor and walls of the room were covered with what appeared to be large magic circles, and on shelves placed in the four corners were a number of objects that could hardly be called interior decorations, such as animal skulls, furs, and some kind of ore.

Unprompted, Discause sits down in the chair across the desk from Press and is about to write on her notepad when her hand is lightly grabbed by Press.

「You can talk.」

「What do you mean. …! The curse, is not triggered?」

「I told you I wanted to talk to you in person. This is a room with multiple layers of countervailing wards against the curse of domination. If only here, the curse of absolute control is nullified. Magic can do a lot of things if you put in the time and effort. Well, I asked my father to make these wards for me.」

「I see… I understand you weren’t lying, but really you are something different from a Magical Girl. It must be a long time since I spoke in my own voice for such a long time.」

Gently placing her hand on her own throat, Discause closed her eyes as if she was deeply moved.

As far as Press had been able to ascertain, the curse of absolute control had been in effect at least five years ago, when Discause had begun to make a name for herself as a Witch. Since she seems to chant in her own voice during battle, and since the effect of the curse can be expected to be minimal if there are no other people present, she wouldn’t say that she has never spoken out loud since she was cursed, but it’s likely that she hasn’t had the opportunity to speak with someone in her own voice for such a long time.

「I’m sorry, I said I would be brief, but I cannot consume my time aimlessly. Can I ask you one question as soon as possible?」

「Go ahead, I’ll answer any questions I can.」

「Why are you so wary of fairies and the Magical World? Is it a bad idea for the fairies to hear about the friend you want to help? Suffice it to say, they have more diverse skills than I do. Of course I would be happy to help if there is anything I can do, but wouldn’t it be more reliable to ask for their cooperation as well?」

「Well, that’s something that needs to be explained. To the majority of Magical Girls, they are nothing more than friendly, talkative mascots.」

For Press, who has a sorcerer’s point of view, fairies and the Magical World are beyond suspicious and completely black, and even if they are justified in terms of the world as a whole, they are only evil to the individual Magical Girl, but not knowing the true meaning of this, and why there’s such a thing as Magical Girls, it’s not hard to see why they seem like a convenient helpful mascot or something in a children’s animation.

In fact, since Discause isn’t a Magical Girl who is so strongly interfered with by fairies, she feels that she is a good person who has given her the strength to protect her own precious things with her own hands and has taught her many things when she was just becoming. The fact that they operate a world called the Magical World, where Magical Girls can enjoy a variety of benefits, also adds to the good impression. Some Magical Girls receive generous support from fairies or are friends with them, and those who are skeptical of them are in the minority.

「Nhn, to put it succinctly, some of them, perhaps the upper management, are directly elected by the sublime and are Sorcerer supremacists, but that’s all that can be said. Let’s start by talking about the origins of Magical Girls, shall we? If you don’t follow the order, you won’t be able to understand what you can understand.」

Press, anticipating that this would eventually happen, had sorted out in advance the differences between Magical Girls and Sorcerers, which even a layman could understand, however, since she had to finish her talk in the morning, she began her explanation, selecting in her mind the parts that could be trimmed down in places.