Kays Translations

Chapter 12: The Witch of Dragons

“As autumn deepens and the air turns chilly, how are you faring, Dairi-san? In Bunkyo Ward, we are starting to see modest Halloween decorations. Last year, there wasn’t much time for such things, but this year, I’ve made Jack-o’-lanterns from harvested pumpkins and displayed them at the university. 

 I’ve enclosed a batch of pumpkin cookies that I plan to give to the students on the day of Halloween. I’d be delighted to hear your thoughts on the taste. Now then, regarding the question in your previous letter: to get straight to the point, it likely stems from the unique view of life and death within magical civilization. In magic language, there are precise distinctions regarding life and death. For example, in the Great Glacial Magic Incantation, the word “you” is expressed as Zei when addressing the living, but Kukefu when addressing the dead. 

Such distinctions influence the conditions under which magic is activated. The death-subjugation magic of the Zombie Witch, for instance, works even on brain-dead individuals, as long as their hearts are still beating. On the other hand, the puppet magic of the Iruma mage loses its effect on creatures whose hearts have stopped. Additionally, there exists a concept of ‘magical death,’ which refers to a state where a person has lost their magical energy and can no longer use magic. 

This state is also referred to as the ‘irreversible death’ or the ‘great death’ and is considered more significant than brain death or cardiac arrest. From these distinctions, I suspect that brain death or cardiac arrest might be viewed as reversible forms of death within magical civilization. In other words, I believe there may exist resurrection magic that we simply do not know the incantations for. 

I digress. For these reasons, the same magic may have different effects when used on living beings versus corpses. Magic designed to target living beings specifically may not work effectively on corpses because they are deemed inappropriate targets. Does this explanation make sense? If there is anything else you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to ask. Your unique perspective is refreshing and stimulating for me as well. 

One more thing regarding the delivery of magic wands for Tokyo Magic University students: I’m currently discussing this with the Seer Mage and Blue-san. Please wait a little longer. I believe I’ll be able to include the official order form with my next letter. Lastly, I hear it’s harvest time for your rice fields! Tending the fields alone must have been a challenge.

I pray that this autumn brings you a bountiful harvest.

Sincerely,
Kei Ōhinata.”

I tossed the letter into the letter case after reading it and wolfed down the pumpkin cookies that had been wrapped in wax paper.

Hmm, not bad! No butter or sugar seemed to have been used, so the sweetness was seriously lacking. 50 points.

But considering these were cookies baked during ongoing food rationing, they deserved 120 points. Absolutely delicious.

Ōhinata-sensei always includes sweets with her letters, so it feels like I’m being bribed somehow, at least that’s what I think.

Well, I do return the favor occasionally by sending her gremlin accessories crafted from carved gremlin material. As a child, her female perspective on these items is surprisingly helpful.

Since magic staffs have restrictions due to their power, there’s no such concern with purely decorative accessories. I want to keep improving based on her feedback and gradually sell them as a side job alongside my stagg-making craft.

By the way, I once gave an accessory to the Blue witch and asked for her opinion. Her utterly baffled expression as she asked, “…Are you trying to woo me?” was so uncomfortable that I vowed never to gift her anything again. What the hell did she even mean by that?

After devouring the cookies and satisfying my hunger, I donned my straw hat, draped a towel around my neck, tucked my water bottle into my back pocket, grabbed my scythe, and headed out to harvest.

It had rained lightly the day before yesterday, so harvesting wasn’t possible, but yesterday and today were sunny, drying out the dampened rice.

Autumn skies are high, and horses grow fat. It’s finally time to harvest the fruit of my labor.

Standing on the ridge of the drained rice field, I brandished my Hendenshaw and begn to chant the Fertility Magic spell:

“As the season of crystals turns, Glista Hiazi! You, Zei, may the world reflected in those eyes of Dadanida differ from the world of Optrae. Blessings to those who can be eaten, Hiti Hiti, and those who cannot, Kapaja! Wewewent!”

From my staff, glittering waves of light spread out in a fan shape.

The rice ears bathed in the sparkling light swelled visibly, growing heavier until the stalks buckled and fell, as if swept down by a strong wind.

Hmm, good. Harvesting just got harder, but the yield is now more than doubled. This is indeed what one would call a game breaking spell.

I applied the Fertility Magic across the entire 200-square-meter (2 ares) rice field in four sections, then got straight to work harvesting. The calculations showed I could harvest four koku of rice—enough to feed four adults for a year.

Even accounting for losses from pests, diseases, and poor growth, as well as the damage from hungry birds due to the two-day harvest delay, I was more than satisfied with the results that was achieved. I can’t even complain.

Grateful, truly grateful. I’ll have to build a shrine to the Agricultural God, Great Ōhinata Daimyōjin-sama.

Humming a song I learned from a rice-farming game, I happily cut the rice and hung it on wooden racks to dry. Sore hands and back were nothing compared to the joy of knowing all my hard work would fill my belly. Life possibly couldn’t get any better than this.

The Fertility Magic is an overpowered spell that doubles or even more than doubles the yield of crops by causing their edible parts to either enlarge or divide after just one application.

However, it’s not a limitless method for boosting harvests. Applying it more than once has no additional effect or whatsoever on the crops you use them on.

For example, with rice, using Fertility Magic before flowering makes the stems grow abnormally thick, and the leaves become massive. Though the mechanism isn’t entirely clear, it seems to disrupt some kind of balance. Even if the flowers bloom and grains form, the stems and leaves continue to grow, leaving the grains hollow due to lack of nutrients. This rule applies to all crops whose edible parts form after flowering and fruiting, such as tomatoes and eggplants. To avoid these failures, the magic should be cast just before harvest.

For root crops like sweet potatoes, radishes, potatoes, and turnips, the crops must be pulled out of the ground before casting Fertility Magic. If left buried during the enlargement process, soil gets caught in the edible parts. Additionally, for reasons still unclear, crops left unharvested immediately after casting the spell spoil much faster. The correct procedure involves pulling them out, applying the magic to enlarge them, re-burying them, waiting 3-4 days for stabilization, and then harvesting them again.

Different strategies apply depending on the type of crop, such as fruit trees or leafy vegetables. Additionally, the magic doesn’t work on mushrooms but does work on certain shellfish, highlighting a slight mismatch between what humans consider crops and what the magic recognizes as such.

A manual for Fertility Magic was created based on what the Seer Mage learned from the Flower Mage during their apprenticeship. However, the manual doesn’t cover every detail, and new caveats that even the Flower Mage didn’t know are continually being discovered.

It seems that it will take a while before humans can reliably and stably use Fertility Magic. Like any new technology, its widespread adoption is going to take a lot of time.

Harvesting rice by hand, which would be a quick task with a combine harvester, takes much longer. After finishing half the field, I took a break, sitting on the edge of the paddy field and pouring cold-brewed green tea from the water bottle I had brought.

“Freeze, Vaalar!”

I cast a spell to chill the green tea to ice-cold perfection and took a sip, letting out a satisfied sigh.

Since the Gremlin disaster, civilization has declined, but being able to use freezing magic anytime and anywhere is a convenience even greater than before the disaster. It’s fun to use, too.

Looking up, I saw white clouds drifting through a bright blue sky with birds slowly circling above.

Ah, peaceful days.

…Peaceful?

As I sipped my tea, I stared up at the sky. The birds circling overhead suddenly stopped and began descending to the ground so quickly.

But something about the scale was totally off.

The tiny black specks in the sky rapidly grew larger and larger  as they plummeted, their silhouettes sharpening as they approached .

It definitely  wasn’t a bird.

It was a brilliant crimson dragon, aflame like a living fire.

I toppled off the edge of the field in shock, instinctively clamping a hand over my mouth to stifle the scream that threatened to burst out of it. Crawling on my hands and knees, I ducked under a stack of bundled rice sheaves, hiding in a panic.

This was bad. Very bad.

It was a monster. A dragon at that.

This wasn’t some mutated rabbit or raccoon i’ve encountered before.

This was one of those ultra-strong monsters that the Blue Witch had warned me about, the kind you couldn’t hope or dream to beat and were better off praying to avoid.

I held my breath, cold sweat dripping down my back, as a faint tremor shook the ground, signaling that the dragon had landed nearby.

Too close. Way too close.

I peeked out cautiously through the grass growing along the edge of the field and froze.

The dragon had landed right in front of my house.

Damn it! This is the worst possible scenario!

Compared to my house, the dragon’s size became clearer. Its body stood just shy of the height of a two-story rooftop, about 7 meters tall, with an even longer total length including its tail. It had a muscular build, with a classic Western dragon design, a sharp, blade-like tail tip glinting in the sunlight, and a massive jewel embedded in its chest that burned like condensed fire.

The wind carried a faint charred smell my way. Was it starting a wildfire?

The dragon pressed its reptilian face against the wall of my house, sniffing around for a while. Then, out of nowhere, it whipped its tail and smashed an entire section of the building to absolute rubble.

Ahhh! What the hell, you bastard?! What did my house ever do to you?!

I almost screamed out in anger, but I held it back.

Stay calm. Think positively.

If the dragon’s just playing with the house, smashing it up for fun and then leaving satisfied, that’s fine. Material things can be replaced. Life itsel is too valuable.

I held my breath and watched quietly.

The dragon seemed interested in my house, wagging its tail cheerfully while rummaging through the collapsed section with its massive head.

With a delighted cry, it dragged out the large junk box I used to store the Gremlins I’d gathered. Using its front claws like hands, it carefully stuffed the box into a kangaroo-like pouch near its belly, then dove back into the rubble. This time, it emerged with a Medusa statue I’d made, modeled after an old anime character, complete with ruby eyes—and promptly snatched it away.

I trembled with rage.

You… you thief! You looter!

Dragons are famously known for their love of treasure—a classic trait of any fantasy dragon. True to form, this dragon had a thing for shiny objects. It diligently scavenged through my house, pilfering one piece after another of the creations I had painstakingly collected and crafted.

Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable. I wanted to march over there and sock it in the face.

But charging out now would mean certain death. I clenched my teeth and forced myself to endure, waiting for the storm to pass.

As I grit my teeth and stayed silent, the dragon let out a particularly joyous roar. It had found the treasure—my prized Octa Meteorite. It held the gem in its jaws, wagging its tail enthusiastically.

Huh?

You… What?

Hey.

No way.

That’s the last straw.

I stood up abruptly, grabbed my Hendenshaw staff, and yelled:

“Dragon! Look over here! I’ll kill you! Frozen Javelin Du Vaala!”

I unleashed the most powerful attack spell in my arsenal. A massive spear of ice shot forth, capable of piercing through a car door with ease. It struck the dragon squarely between the eyes… and promptly fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The dragon blinked, staring at the ice spear at its feet. It leaned down, sniffed the spear—and melted it into a puddle with a single breath.

Oh, crap.

I knew it wouldn’t work, but this was beyond hopeless. It didn’t even hurt it—it was less effective than a mosquito bite.

Its face screamed, “Huh? Did something just happen?”

Damn it! Fine, then. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ll charge in close, shove my staff into its mouth, and fire off a spell at point-blank range! If I can hit the vulnerable inside of its body, it’s got to feel something. While it’s reeling, I’ll grab the Octa Meteorite and make a run for it.

Alright, that’s the plan. I don’t care what else it takes, but I am not losing my treasure. That gem is my everything!

“Uooooooohhh!”

Just as I was about to rush the dragon with my staff, a voice stopped me.

“What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t wizards like you be in class at the academy right now?”

“Huh? Uh… what?”

I skidded to a halt as the dragon spoke.

Wait—it talked? Monsters aren’t supposed to talk, are they?

The dragon, with its fierce golden eyes, spoke in a surprisingly youthful, feminine voice.

“If you’re lost, I’ll take you back. But you’ll have to give me that staff in exchange. It’s pretty, and I want it.”

“…Wait. Are you the Dragon Witch?”

“That’s right. I’m the Dragon Witch. I can take you back, but first, hold on. I need to pack up all this treasure.”

The Dragon Witch began stuffing my Octa Meteorite into her kangaroo pouch.

Hey, hold up!

I grabbed onto her foreleg, hanging on to stop her.

I’d thought she was just a monster, but apparently, she was the Dragon Witch—the one the Blue Witch had mentioned.

Apparently, she’d been helping transport spell users, known as Wizards, across the country after they’d learned advanced Harvest Magic bypass incantations.

If she was a witch, then we could talk this out. I explained the situation to her.

“Wait a second! This isn’t some abandoned house! It’s mine! That thing you’re holding is mine, too! Give it back!”

“Ehh? That sounds fishy. Nobody lives in Okutama—not witches, not wizards. No one can survive here.”

“I am living here, and that’s all there is to it! Look at that rice field over there! Does that look like a neglected, abandoned field to you? No, right? I’m here, tending to it. So give it back! It’s mine!”

“You’re so annoying. This is mine now. A big, shiny, round magic stone like this is wasted on you.”

I leapt up, trying to snatch the Octa Meteorite from the Dragon Witch, but she casually flicked me away with the tip of her claw.

The impact felt like I’d taken a full-force slap from a sumo wrestler. The shock knocked the wind out of me, leaving me coughing. S-so strong.

But I couldn’t back down.

Witch or not, what she was doing was straight-up robbery.

I’m a craftsman. If she wanted a magic staff, I could make one and sell it to her. But I couldn’t accept being robbed.

“That’s off-limits! The Octa Meteorite is absolutely off-limits! If you want a staff, I’ll make you one exactly how you like it! Just give that back. Give it back now!”

“If you keep pestering me, I’ll burn you to a crisp… Hm? Wait, did you just say you’d make this?”

Clinging desperately to her leg, I held my ground. The dragon pointed at the Octa Meteorite sticking out of her pouch with her front claw as she asked.

I nodded.

“That’s right. I’ll design it however you want. I’m still practicing, but I can even make accessories! Whatever you want—just give that back!”

“Did you really make this?”

“I did!”

“What’s your name?”

“Dairi Kenshi! Look, just give it back, alright? Once you do, I’ll answer all your questions!”

Ignoring my pleas, the Dragon Witch craned her neck to look at the nameplate on my house.

Sure enough, the nameplate read “Dairi.”

The Dragon Witch blinked in surprise.

“So this really is your house. And you’re telling me you really made this?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been saying! Are we clear now? Good, then give it back. What you’re doing is theft!”

“Hmm… I see. Alright, I’ve decided. You’re going to live in my lair and make treasure for me.”

“…What?”

Completely satisfied with her own conclusion, the Dragon Witch grabbed me with her front claw and launched into the sky with a ground-shaking leap.

With just one flap of her wings, we accelerated sharply, and the ground below us vanished in an instant.

The terror I felt put every roller coaster I’d ever ridden to shame. My blood ran cold.

Why is this happening to me?! I was just trying to harvest my rice!

“Help! Somebody help meeeee!”

“Hey, stop squirming! You’ll fall.”

My scream was swallowed by the mountains of Okutama.

Nooooooo! I’ve been kidnapped by an insane witch!

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter