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Chapter 80
Chapter 3 — Dry scrape, burn and perforate! • Episode 3–1 — First Participation ④
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
I myself became a Witch at the same time I became a Magical Girl, so I don’t really feel it, but I hear that attending the Witch’s Tea Party is a kind of achievement for the average Magical Girl. Well, it seems that the Magical Girls who dream like that don’t open the third gate as easily as the ones who dream of being a Witch, and the weirdos who have no interest in Witches often open it more easily, so it seems that most of the people who actually attend the Tea Parties don’t have such longings.
The name “Witches’ Tea Party” sounds rather meaningful, but when I finally attended the meeting, I found it to be a bit of a letdown, with little more than a status report and a discussion of factional trends. This way I won’t have to attend the next one. It’s just depressing to be talked to in so many ways.
「I think we’ve talked through the whole thing, but is there anyone who would like to talk about anything?」
「Can I have a moment?」
According to what I had heard from Extend-san beforehand, after the meeting was over, it would be time for chatting and enjoying tea, but Simeracres-san waited for the Devil who was about to close the meeting.
「The factions have talked a little bit about this, but I have a suggestion about the treatment of Natural Extremists.」
I have no evidence, but perhaps it was the main members of the Natural Extremist group that Permafrost-san destroyed with a clear purpose. They were mentioned once during the meeting, but since it was before they had caused a major incident, the policy was to leave the disposition of the girls to the Naturalists.
They are dangerous people with a record of driving Magical Girls who don’t belong to their faction to retirement and trying to attack Sakira Town, so for my part, I think they should be kept on ice for the rest of their lives, but since it was Permafrost-san who defeated them and the head of the Natural Faction is also Permafrost-san, it wasn’t a good choice. I couldn’t interfere.
I’m sure Simeracres-san didn’t say anything at the time, but didn’t she agree? She doesn’t seem like the type to be so righteous.
「As you all know, I’ve been hired as a mercenary and fought all over the country. And there were a certain number of areas that, from my point of view, would eventually go bankrupt if things continued as they were.」
「What do you mean by bankruptcy?」
「We don’t have enough Magical Girls. Right now, we’re still just barely getting by, but there are fewer Magical Girls in less favored areas. The fairies may be recruiting, but a rootless snob like me will move on to something more lucrative. But nowadays, the incidence of Diest appearances can suddenly increase.」
「You mean our hands can’t keep up?」
「Worst case scenario, the Magical Girl there dies and the whole place collapses. It’s especially bad in places that are maintained by one person. Even long-distance transfers can’t be used casually, can they? It’s not as if Magical Girls from other areas can just go and help. Those who feel threatened hire mercenaries, but not everyone is making money. There are areas where they can’t hire mercenaries.」
It is a perspective that only Simeracres-san, who has moved from place to place, can offer.
In the areas where we Witches are located, it is possible that there is a shortage of people, but I can’t imagine a total collapse with the Magical Girls being wiped out.
I have lost to a Baron-class Diest before, and I can’t say that will never happen again, but it is also true that it is hard to imagine a Witch losing to a Diest one way or the other. Aside from me, the other Witches may not have had the perspective that the Magical Girls in the community were wiped out and totaled.
「And here’s the thing about these Extremists, wouldn’t it be better to put them to good use in a place like this than to let them play on ice anyway? For example, they could send Extremists to areas where the number of Magical Girls is low.」
「…With all due respect, it is somewhat surprising to hear such an opinion from Simeracres-san.」
「If you’re trying to make money by any means, there are plenty of ways to do it, you know? It’s true that I’m a miser, but I don’t care what happens to the world. Without society, money is meaningless.」
「I understand your opinion, but this is not an easy story to decide. Coordination with the Naturalists will be necessary, and above all, the question is how to ensure safety. There is no guarantee that radicals will not attack local Magical Girls, or that they will not try to escape.」
「Wouldn’t it be enough to send someone weaker than the local Magical Girls or threaten to put them on ice again and never release them again if they cause problems?」
「If this talk is urgent and you have no other ideas, that may be fine. However, at this point, I would have to say that it is a bit of a foregone conclusion.」
I’m not following the heated discussion between Simeracres-san and the Devil. I was thinking that the meeting would be over soon, but I was caught off-guard.
But I understand what they are trying to say. I myself have strong power, and there are many Magical Girls in Sakira Town, so I didn’t realize it until they mentioned it, but there is nothing strange that there are areas where there aren’t enough Magical Girls in number or strength.
We might send Extremists to such places as punishment for the sins they have committed… Hmmm, It’s a terrible feeling to have to agree with the Devil, but I, too, think that’s a bit dangerous. If Elephant-san were defending the town by herself, and if she were told to send Extremists there, I would definitely oppose it. It is not possible.
Then I thought that I should tell the fairies to increase the number of Magical Girls, but even the fairies should know that without being told. As they can see from the fact that they half forced me to become a Magical Girl, they will do anything to protect the world. The fact that such a situation has arisen in spite of this means that simply increasing the number of Magical Girls isn’t the solution. As Simeracres-san said, they will probably flow out to other areas. It’s like young people coming out of the countryside to Tokyo.
I understand that there is a problem, but then it is difficult to figure out how to solve it. I mean, shouldn’t the fairies be the ones to think of these things and do something about them? Witches aren’t the bosses of Magical Girls.
「I will say this at this time, but I was aware of such a current situation. We are often consulted by Magical Girls in areas where they are under-staffed.」
「What? You knew about this? Then you have an alternative, don’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have said it the way you did.」
「I don’t know if you all agree… no, especially not from Simeracres-san, so I was working out the details with Doppelganger-san.」
「Ahh?」
「Even though there are not enough people, areas such as hunting grounds are rather saturated with Magical Girls. In other words, in terms of overall numbers, there is no shortage of Magical Girls. The problem is the skewed ratio of Magical Girls created by the income disparity. To solve this problem, it is necessary to secure a certain level of income even in areas with little flavor. That is why we came up with the idea of starting a fund」
「…And then?」
「We Witches can hunt Dukes and Marquises. Our point income sets them apart from other Magical Girls. A slight decrease should not be considered unduly excessive. So, a certain percentage of the points of the Diest we defeat will be kept in a fund, from which we pay out commission fees to the Magical Girls who are mercenaries.」
「I don’t like that.」
Simeracres-san’s expression, as she listened to the Devil’s explanation, became more and more grim in the middle of the story. Perhaps she realized the conclusion of the story halfway through. And the Devil, too, could not present the idea until now because she knew it would be rejected in that way.
Simeracres-san is famous for being a miser. It seems that there was a little bit of thought for the world, but thinking back, Simeracres-san’s idea is rather random. Rather, I feel that she was trying to steer the group in a direction that would benefit her, such as getting the Extremists to cause some problems and hiring herself as a local bouncer. You are a vicious person, aren’t you?
However, if someone ask me if I agree with the Devil’s plan, I don’t.
I won’t say I absolutely hate it as much as Simeracres-san, but I certainly don’t feel very good about it.
If you beat a high ranking Diest, you get more points because you are taking on more risk for it, not because you are taking it easy and earning an unfair income.
「I know you’re probably like that anyway, so I’ve been thinking of various ways to improve it. For example, we could make all Magical Girl subject to collection, like an income tax, and change the rate of collection in proportion to the amount of point income they receive.」
「Uheh, taxes. That’s my least favorite word.」
「But we don’t have that kind of authority. The best we can do is to solicit goodwill donations. I am sending you a tentative image of the system and UI.」
I received a notification from a contact I had previously given the Devil before I had yet to learn of her true nature. The sender is, of course, the Devil. Looking around, it seems that the same notification has been sent to our Magiphones as well. A URL was pasted in the notification, and when I tapped it to try it out, it jumped to a page called “Fund” or something like that. It seems to be tied to each Magical Girl’s Magiphone. There is a big button that says『Donate』where you can donate up to the amount of points you have.
…Hmm? It looks like you can see the total amount of money donated.
「The management is left to the fairies, so there is no need to worry about fraud——」
「Umm, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but the amount of money donated is a huge number, is it from the original?」
「No, the donation was supposed to be zero… well, it was supposed to be.」
The Devil, who was speaking with a poker face and a voice without inflection, looked at Magiphone and then shook her gaze as if she were upset. She must think someone made a donation here.
「There’s no way that’s me.」
Beginning with Simeracres-san, who was the first to deny it, the other Witches all replied that it was not them. Of course, it was not me either. There is only one Witch among them who hasn’t spoken a word since I arrived at this venue today until now. The witch did not open her mouth at all in the current exchange.
All eyes, not only mine, turned to this Witch. The girl sitting furthest away from me, the second in the pecking order, the Poisonous Insect Witch, it was Discause.
「Discause-san, are you the one who made this donation?」
「……」
Discause-san looked at Simeracres-san with a vacant expression and cloudy eyes, and nodded silently and small.
No, but aren’t these the wrong digits…? The total points donated, is over 10 million…?
The points earned for defeating a Duke-class Diest are 5 million, but since the points are distributed based on the number of participants and their contribution, it’s actually unlikely that 5 million can be earned in a single defeat. In the first place, the Duke-class doesn’t appear that often.
Given that, Discause-san probably donated almost all the points she had on hand.
「Are you sure? It’s still temporary now, so we can give it back to you?」
「…」
I checked with Discause-san again to see if the Devil thought the same thing as I did, but her reply did not change.
Is that person all right…? Something is wrong, but if no one points it out, is it always like that…?
「Yes, I see. I wasn’t sure how much would be collected in the form of donations, but this is worth a try in the first place. Once I have discussed this with Doppelganger-san and the fairies, I will make a decision, but I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Discause-san. Thank you so much.」
「…」
In the end, Discause-san said nothing after that, just nodded quietly with a blank, unfocused expression on her face.