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Chapter 42
Chapter 2 — Expand, my world! • Episode 2-2 • Thread Witch ①
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
A room in the Magic Bureau. Beyond the double-winged white door, a room larger than the layout seen from the outside was where I was summoned. Usually it is used for the monthly Witches’ Tea Party, and it is said that some Witches come to have tea privately even when there is no tea party, but today they are renting it out after talking to the Department of Magic about the situation.
As I walked up to the room, accompanied by the bipedal dog elf working at the Magic Bureau, I knocked on the door, feeling slightly nervous.
「Come in.」
「Excuse me, then.」
I followed the inorganic voice coming from inside and entered to find a woman with half blonde hair sitting on an elegantly designed white chair, pouring tea into a teacup decorated with a flower pattern. On top of the lace tablecloth is a three-tiered cake stand with what looks like baked goods on it, though I can’t tell what they are from a distance.
But still, it’s a great decoration, although I knew that before I checked… It is like wearing a piece of white cloth, or should I say a mythical garment?
「Please come and sit here. Thank you for coming today. I am Wigs Crosseau, the Thread Witch who contacted you. And congratulations. I hereby congratulate you for opening the third gate and reaching as the 14th Witch.」
「Thank you for inviting me as well. I am the Witch of Wind, Tyrant Sylph. Nice to meet you.」
I have no intention of getting along with her in the same way as other Magical Girls, but when she is polite to me, I tend to return the courtesy out of ingrained habit as a member of society. But it may be just like a business exchange.
The Thread Witch, Wigs Crosseau-san. I gathered all the information beforehand, and she is an extremely talented and faultless Witch. She became a Magical Girl six years ago, and a year later she became a Witch. It seems that she has been a witch for the next 5 years and is now putting together the Witches in place of Monarch Sprite, who retired about a month ago. By the way, I heard this information from Knuckle-san via Elephant-san. How does that person even know the inner workings of Witches? It’s information that I wouldn’t have been able to find even if I had looked for it in the usual way.
She doesn’t seem to be a person who uploads a lot of videos, but even so, her career is so long that she has uploaded more videos on her website than I can count on my fingers of both hands.
True to her name, she fights by using Thread Magic to manipulate, cut, and bind her opponents. She was calm and commanding even when several witches were working together to fight a Duke-class Diest.
There are some eyebrow-raising bad rumors about her addictive tendencies, infantile sexuality, and so on, written on the Magical Girl’s anonymous message board, but such things are a celebrity tax, not just on this person but on everyone, and word of mouth seems to give the impression that she is basically either not well known or a good person, not a bad impression.
「Excuse me.」
「First of all, an apology. I apologize for not being able to invite you to the recent Tea Party. It was my own decision not to invite Tyrant Sylph-san, as I thought it would be confusing to welcome two new Witches at the same time.」
「I don’t mind about that, so don’t worry about it, Wigs Crosseau-san.」
「You may call me Crosseau. Wigs Crosseau would be a little more difficult to call you.」
「Then, I’ll take your word for it. You can call me Sylph as well.」
This sense of not stepping on each other’s toes, yet trying to make things go smoothly, is very work-like. I am sure I will continue to have a good distance with Crosseau-san.
「I am a little relieved. As you may know, many of our Witches are unique. I don’t mean to be rude, but you seem very calm for your age, Sylph-san.」
「Thank you very much. So, what can I do for you today?」
I feel comfortable communicating with Crosseau-san because I don’t have to worry about her trying to invade my territory, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to waste my time talking with her.
I sympathize with Crosseau-san, who usually organizes the habitual witches, but I’m not here to hear her complain about it.
「I have invited you here to tell you what you need to know as a Witch. It will be a little longer. I have invited you to share with you what you need to know as a Witch. Please do not hesitate to enjoy the tea and snacks. The Magic Bureau will take care of the food and drink here. It is one of the privileges of being a witch.」
Witch’s Privilege. I had heard about it, but I didn’t know there was even such a thing. For example, I heard that only Witches are allowed to use this room, so it must be a privilege.
There are also other facilities dedicated to witches that have the same functionality as facilities that ordinary Magical Girls have to wait their turn to use, and it is said that they can even talk directly with the upper echelons of the Bureau of Magical Arts.
Naturally, privileges are the price of heavier responsibilities. Because Witches are so privileged, they must be asked to do something that other Magical Girls are not asked to do.
「Before I get into the main topic, I will tell you something that I am sure you are aware of, but just in case you are not. We Witches meet once a month.」
「You mean the Witches’ Tea Party.」
「Yes. This was started voluntarily by Witches in the early days for the purpose of exchange and information, and it has been carried on from generation to generation.」
「So it’s not an initiative of the Department of Magic, which means it’s not my duty as a Witch.」
「Indeed. Participation or not is optional, and there are witches like Lazy Lady-san who have never participated. But basically, almost all the witches are participating, and we would like to encourage Sylph-san to participate as much as possible.」
「I understand. I’ll keep that in perspective.」
If the other party was a wooden Magical Girl, I might not have had to worry about it, but she was a Phase 3 Magical Girl like me. Since I don’t know how much of a difference in superiority there is among Witches, it would be a bad move to make a bad impression by deciding to ignore them from the start.
I have no intention of getting along with her, but let’s say I attend the first meeting as a show of face for the first time. After that, I can decide at that time.
「Thank you very much. Now, here is the main issue. Sylph-san has opened the third gate and become the 14th Witch, and as a matter of fact, there is only one obligation imposed by the Department of Magic for becoming a Witch. Nor does it significantly change our activities compared to when we were normal Magical Girls.」
「Is it to fight?」
I asked without waiting for Crosseau-san’s answer.
I have heard that Witches have quotas. I don’t know what exactly that quota is, but to put it succinctly, it is the Witch’s duty to fight. It’s true that there isn’t much difference between before and after becoming a Witch. Almost all Magical Girls fight of their own volition without being forced to do so.
「That’s right. Magical Girls receive points as a reward for defeating a dist and exchange those points for cash or goods. But it is not forced, that is, it is not obligatory. It is theoretically possible to be a Magical Girl and not participate in the battle.」
「I don’t know, it feels like a half-hearted battle to me to suppress my fears and insecurities and dangle the bait.」
「That there is such an aspect cannot be denied. However, Magical Girls are also aware of the suppression of such negative emotions. If you fight knowing that, it is still not an obligation.」
I knew it was really one of the items explained by the fairy.
That pumpkin, it seems, was thoroughly destroying any element that might make me lose my will to fight, even if only a little. Even if it was against the original rules.
I’m not even angry now, though.
「In the case of Witches, that would be an obligation, you mean.」
「Yes. As you may know, Sylph-san, it is usually referred to as a quota. However, it is slightly different from what is generally imagined when people think of a quota. This quota does not set a minimum score.」
「…? Are you saying that it’s not about how many Diests I kill per month or something like that?」
When people think of quotas, the first thing that comes to mind is sales quotas. I was not in that type of job, so I don’t know the details, but I can imagine how many or more contracts they would sign per month, or how they would have the contracts reviewed.
But I was told that the Witch’s quota is not that kind of thing.
「I don’t know who said anything about quotas, but a more accurate way to put it is missions.」
「A mission, is it? I see, I kind of get it.」
When I had previously encountered Rabbitfoot-san here in Magical World and was forced to take me away, she was on her way to use a long-distance transfer device to defeat the Marquis-class Diest.
Rabbitfoot-san said at the time that I would be kind-hearted enough to go and help her, but what a surprise. That was the mission she was tasked with.
「Defeating powerful Diests. Those who are above Marquis-class. If they ask you to do something, you can’t refuse it. I guess that’s about it.」
The pieces were already in place.
If there is a Diest over the Marquis-class and there are no Magical Girls in the vicinity who can handle the situation, a Witch will be dispatched with a long-distance transfer device. That was what I knew from the information brought to me by Jack. But I had separated the word “quota” from the fact that Witches are dispatched to fight powerful Diest.
「Well done.」
Crosseau-san mutters in an expressionless, emotionless voice, then cracks up and claps her hands.
「I probably don’t need to ask those of you who have risen to the level of Witches, but what do you think? Are you worried or afraid that you will not be able to refuse to fight?」
「I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.」
Crosseau’s eyes, which had remained expressionless all that time, widened slightly.
Was there an element of surprise? I don’t think my answer is that crazy, though.
「But like all Magical Girls, I have my reasons for fighting. I cannot retreat, and I have no intention of retreating.」
「Oh, I see. I don’t recommend it, but Ex–Magna-san, Rabbitfoot-san, and Bullshark-san are working together to complete the quota. If you are not comfortable fighting the fight alone, please reach out to these ladies. Alternatively, I can accompany you if you are willing. In that case, you do not have to help me with my quota.」
「Are you sure, Crosseau-san? But what good does it do Crosseau-san if you only get help from one side, even if it’s mutual help?」
「No, that is not true. After talking to Sylph-san directly, I found you to be a very sensible and easy to deal in person. It is encouraging to me that there are Witches like you. Therefore, it is a profitable act for me to remove such anxiety from you.」
「…I see.」
I don’t think I should take it at face value.
Crosseau-san says this, but from the side, it must look like she was unilaterally owing me if she help me with my quota and I don’t help her. If Crosseau-san asks for something later and I refuse it, I will naturally be the bad guy.
Also, although Jack didn’t tell me the details, I heard that there are factions among Magical Girls. If Crosseau-san belongs to some faction, if I am too much indebted to her, there is a possibility that she will fill the outer moat and before I know it, I will be a member of that faction.
I don’t want to get involved in too much trouble, so I want to keep my distance from the factions.
「I thought the local Magical Girls were going to be there to support me during the quota, right?」
「…You’re well informed.」
When I followed Rabbitfoot-san before, there was only me and Rabbitfoot-san at the front line, but I believe that local magical girls were supporting us to buy time.
I won’t lose to most Diests unless I’m caught off guard and exploit an opening or weakness. This is not an unfounded confidence, but a judgment based on experience and the knowledge that comes from Jack. So what I need is not a force as strong as myself, but the minimum manpower to retrieve me in an unforeseen situation.
「If there were local magical girls, they should at least be able to escape with me. Of course, I think it’s better to have a witch, but I think that’s enough insurance.」
「If that is all right with you, Sylph-san, I do not intend to force you to do so. But if you change your mind, you can always tell me. I am on your side.」
I like the fact that she didn’t force me to go the distance, but Crosseau-san is very suspicious, or perhaps my negativity is sounding the alarm bells that I’m not to be taken seriously.
She doesn’t look like a bad person, but then again, a really bad person wouldn’t say or do anything that could be identified as evil at first glance, so for now I think it’s just enough to not believe the story but not assume it’s a lie either.