Kays Translations

Chapter 7: Witches’ Gathering

“It’s such a pleasure to have you join us, Ao-chan. I wish I could offer you some tea and snacks, but I’ll send you some next time.”

“It’s fine. I’m the one who insisted on joining remotely.”

On the day of the Witches’ Gathering, the Blue Witch participated from her home via the familiar of the Eyeball Witch.

What is now referred to as the “Tokyo Witches’ Gathering,” a council of witches dominating the central power of Japan, originally began as a casual meeting during the chaos immediately following the Gremlin disaster.

The initiator was the Eyeball Witch, who sought to regularly exchange information with others in similar circumstances to understand what was happening in the world and to herself.

After the Vampire Wizard joined, the gatherings took on a more political tone. Tokyo was divided into districts to define the territories of witches and wizards, ensuring strong individuals were evenly distributed to maintain public order. This strategy significantly improved the safety of Tokyo as a whole.

Other accomplishments included creating a support system for calling upon other witches when facing monsters with bad compatibility, establishing exchange systems for food, medical supplies, and fuel, managing the influx of refugees from Saitama and Chiba, and forming plans to preserve and utilize technology by gathering engineers and medical professionals.

Even during the Iruma Wizard’s coup, the gatherings succeeded in suppressing the uprising, albeit with significant losses, and managed to secure public support in the process.

However, many witches and wizards were not well-versed in politics.

Most of them were simply ordinary people who had gained magic power. While they could handle straightforward tasks like hunting monsters with magic, the complexities of politics, with its intricate web of conflicting interests, proved challenging.

When the Vampire Wizard, who had taken the lead in organizing and directing the gatherings, died and exited the stage, attendance at the gatherings plummeted. Conflicts and tensions among witches increased, and many ongoing projects stalled or were postponed.

At its peak, the Witches’ Gathering consisted of 7 wizards and 22 witches. Now, that number has dropped to 1 wizard and 19 witches. Only six members regularly attend the scheduled meetings.

The Eyeball Witch, who became the de facto leader after the Vampire Wizard’s death, is known for her emphasis on harmony—though others criticize her lack of decisiveness.

Even she is aware that while she might be fit to serve as a PTA president in peaceful times, managing the Witches’ Gathering, which holds Tokyo’s fate in its hands, is far beyond her capabilities.

Nonetheless, there is no better candidate. Her focus has been on continuing the gatherings, maintaining collaboration in some form, and at the very least preventing further deterioration of the situation.

The Blue Witch, who rarely left Ome, actively attended the gatherings in Shinjuku only in their early days.

Her participation in this remote meeting marked her first since the emergency gathering in Akiruno City following the Great Kaiju Invasion.

“I won’t participate in your political games. Once I’ve finished my business with the seer, I’m leaving.”

“Really? You don’t even have to say anything—just listening to the discussions would be good for you. You might hear something useful, Ao-chan.”

“I’m fine. Seer, are you there?”

The Blue Witch called out, and after a pause, a voice muttered, “Answer her! The Blue Witch is asking!” followed by the weary voice of a middle-aged man.

“I’m here. Unfortunately.”

“I’ve got only one request, so this won’t take long. You’ve been sheltering a researcher of the magic language, haven’t you?”

“…Are you planning to kill him?”

“Kill him? I’m not a murderer! I just want to borrow the materials he has on the magic language.”

“Magic language research is still incomplete. What do you even want the materials for?”

“What else? To study the magic language.”

“Hah! You’ve never shown a shred of interest before, so forgive me if I find that suspicious. But hey, who am I to defy the great Blue Witch? Still, lending you the materials is impossible, unfortunately.”

“Why not?”

“There’s only one complete set of originals. The copier isn’t working, and if I lend them out and they get lost, it’d be a disaster.”

The seer’s reasoning was sound. Lending out irreplaceable, confidential documents casually would indeed be reckless.

However, the Blue Witch had made a promise to deliver the magic language materials to Dairi. She couldn’t let this issue go unresolved.

“There’s no need to worry about Ao-chan. She always returns what she borrows.” 

Said another witch, reassuringly.

The Witch of Eyeballs stepped in to assist, but the Seer ignored her and continued speaking.

“If you’re determined to borrow it, then you’ll need collateral. The secret of a revolutionary project spearheaded by the Vampire Wizard’s cherished protégé—that’s the collateral required for me to lend it to you.”

“Hmph, fine. How about food and water for a thousand people for a week?”

“Ridiculous. Trade it for the magic staff, Kyanos.”

“What?”

A low voice escaped involuntarily, and she realized it.

The Seer had wanted Kyanos from the very start. He had merely used the Blue Witch’s interest in the magic language documents as a convenient excuse to maneuver her into a negotiation.

“Didn’t your great foresight show you I would refuse? How many times have I said this at emergency gatherings? Kyanos is not for anyone—neither to lend nor to give.”

“I heard you loud and clear. But listen, Blue Witch. I’ve been repeating this endlessly in the witch gatherings you don’t bother attending.”

He prefaced, and his perpetually worn-out, middle-aged voice gained strength.

“If we continue like this, an unprecedented famine will hit in two years due to food shortages. Next year, there won’t be deaths from starvation, but malnutrition will incapacitate countless people.”

“That’s why agricultural reforms are in motion.”

“You still don’t get it. Even if everything goes according to plan, it won’t be nearly enough. Listen. First, agricultural machinery stopped working—that alone drastically reduced production efficiency. Depending on the crop, it’s down by 20% to 75%. Food imports have ceased—that’s a devastating blow. Sixty-two percent of Japan’s food supply is gone. Chemical fertilizers? Completely out of the picture. Agriculture designed around abundant fertilizer is no longer viable. Roads are cut off, freight trains and trucks aren’t running. Crops grown in fertile regions can’t even make it to urban areas. The average age of those working in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries was 68. When monsters began wreaking havoc, medical systems collapsed, and air conditioning failed in summer and winter, the elderly were the first to fall. The know-how and workforce in agriculture have suffered catastrophic losses.”

The Seer spoke fluidly, citing numbers to paint a grim picture of Japan’s food production crisis.

The Blue witch, who hoarded vast stockpiles of food alone (or with Dairi), and had felt no sense of urgency about the food issue, now wore a serious expression.

The post-apocalyptic world, where human civilization had collapsed, was transitioning out of the era of scavenging and remnants of the old world.

If industries adapted to the new era weren’t swiftly established, humanity—already battered—would face further devastation through famine.

“There’s more. Of the 100,000 fishing vessels in Japan, every single one is broken. Fisheries are decimated. That’s a loss of 2.5 million tons of annual catch, enough to feed 3 million people. River and sea fishing, aquaculture, and private yachts barely make a dent. The remaining farmland, barns, and fisheries still producing are often ravaged by monsters. It’s laughable, isn’t it? By the time we detect a monster and rush to kill it, the precious food is already in its belly. Deer, monkeys, sparrows—ordinary pests seem adorable in comparison. The reclaimed land in Katsushika Ward was completely wiped out. Seed companies were literally destroyed, and dozens of high-yield crop varieties are lost forever. It’s irreversible damage. You wouldn’t understand, but instead of protecting places like the National Diet Building, we should’ve prioritized saving even one seed company. Eighty percent of Tokyo’s population is dead, reducing food demand by the same percentage. But the decline in food production far exceeds that 80%. Got it?”

“Enough. I understand.”

The Blue witch, fed up, cut off the disheartening explanation.

Although she had chosen to isolate herself in Ome and ignore external issues, hearing about the dire situation again left her feeling gloomy.

Taking down the giant monster on her own had made her feel as though she’d saved Tokyo, but compared to the looming famine two years from now, Tokyo’s destruction might merely be delayed.

“That’s why I need your staff.”

The Seer’s voice wilted again, exhausted from his speech.

He always seemed tired, but considering the magnitude of the issues he grappled with, it made sense.

“I need power. Firepower, manpower, some unknown new energy source—it doesn’t matter. What I need is an ultimate solution to fix everything at once. And I only have two years left. I paid a ridiculous price to learn the magic of fertility from the Flower Witch. If you’d just lend me Cyanos, I could amplify that magic and scatter it everywhere, boosting food production and preventing 3 million people near Tokyo from starving to death in this wretched future.”

“…”

The Blue Witch hesitated.

If the people of Ome had still been alive and pleaded for the sake of Ome’s 130,000 residents, she might have ultimately lent Kyanos, albeit reluctantly.

But being asked to do it for 3 million strangers? It didn’t feel real.

The Blue witch was the kind of person who could stay up three nights straight caring for her sick sister but wouldn’t drop a single yen into a donation box at the convenience store.

The Seer Wizard, growing increasingly desperate in the silence of the Blue Witch, pleaded fervently.

“I completely understand why you’re worried about the potential misuse of Kyanos. Your hesitation is valid, but I need it. Badly. I’ll ignore its origins—I swear I won’t abuse it, and I’ll return it. Please, I’m begging you! Just lend me Kyanos!”

“The Edogawa Witch said something similar when she lent a magic stone to the Iruma Wizard, only to be killed the moment she handed it over.”

“Ah…”

Through the Eyeball Familiar, the Blue Witch caught a vision of the middle-aged man groaning and clutching his head in frustration.

“You’re right… there’s no retort for that. That brat really left the worst possible precedent before he died. But still! Please, trust me! I swear I won’t misuse it. I promise! If you want to study magic texts, I’ll send over the researchers instead of the documents. Hell, you can even take one of them hostage if—uh, no. That’s not a good idea, actually. Never mind that.”

The Seer Wizard almost crossed a line but managed to stop himself at the last second. His refusal to resort to holding someone hostage—even to save 300 million lives—was a testament to his character, one that aligned with his close ties to the Vampire Wizard. Though, strictly speaking, his choice wasn’t the most logical, it did earn him a small boost in the Blue Witch’s regard.

She pondered and proposed a compromise.

“I’ll come up with a solution to the food crisis on my end. I can’t lend you Kyanos, but can we leave it at that?”

“‘Come up with something’? Are you serious?”

“I have a lead. I didn’t pull Kyanos out of thin air, you know.”

The Blue Witch hinted at a hidden ace up her sleeve while carefully avoiding mentioning Dairi, her collaborator. Her ambiguous promise left the -Seer Wizard visibly torn.

But as a wizard who could see the future, he decided to confirm the outcome of her suggestion. He began chanting a spell.

“Tell me, XXXKnuck, under the next full moon, what fate awaits? Svasas Toshaatia.”

Despite claiming to see the future, no one but the Seer Wizard himself knew the true limits of his powers. It was unclear what he saw with this incantation.

The Blue Witch, who had no intention of breaking her promise, remained curious about what he had foreseen.

“What did you see?”

“Looks like things’ll be fine! So, it’s a deal then.”

She was dumbfounded by his childlike, slurred response.

“Are you okay? You sound… off.”

“Hehe, I’m fiiine!”

“Your magic must’ve backfired…”

A distant voice belonging to the Witch of Succession soothed the now-dazed middle-aged man as though comforting a child. “Alright, let’s head to the break room. Good boy, now.” His voice faded away as he was led off.

The witches who had been silently listening to the negotiations began whispering among themselves, while the Eyeball Witch spoke up in awe.

“Hey, Ao-chan. Couldn’t you attend our meetings more regularly? It’s been ages since I’ve seen a negotiation wrap up this peacefully. Everyone exchanged opinions, listened, and even compromised. My heart is honestly moved to tears.”

“I’m done participating… probably. Later.”

The Blue Witch curtly cut off the conversation before she could get dragged further into this political chaos. With that, she threw the Eyeball Familiar out the window.

The food crisis was indeed grave, but she figured consulting Dairi would lead to a solution.

After all, he was the man who had crafted the magic staff, Kyanos, a tool capable of reshaping the world itself.

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