Kays Translations

Chapter 51: Final Thesis

The magic stone that the Spider Witch had seized from the enemy was about the size of a child’s clenched fist, with a refined, deep periwinkle hue. The rich, quiet purple matched the powerful yet composed nature of the spider perfectly.

Our goal this time is to rescue Professor Ōhinata. Since the professor attempted suicide by poisoning, we need to save her as quickly as possible and get her to a doctor. There’s no time to craft an intricate, elaborate staff or experiment with a new design approach. Unfortunately.

A simple multilayered core structure with a backflow prevention mechanism should be enough.

I put on my steel-wool gloves and took out a Gremlin-blade engraving knife, a curved hook, and various polishing agents from my tool bag.

The more layers a multilayer structure has, the longer it takes to process. For now, I’d limit it to two layers, which can be done in a relatively short time. If the power isn’t enough, I can add a third or fourth layer later.

Spreading out a sheet, I sat down and called the fire lizards to gather around and light up my workspace. As I shaped the stone into a sphere, I consulted the Spider Witch.

“About the design of the staff—since your legs are like that, wouldn’t it be hard to hold a staff? Do you have any preferences for a shape that would make it easier to use?”

“Huh? I can actually make requests? What should I do…?”

“The basic shape is a regular staff, like this one I have at my waist—this Hendenshaw-kun here.”

“Hmm… If I could attach it to my leg, that would help. Also, I might have my decoy hold it sometimes, so it should also be something a human hand can grip.”

“I see. In that case, let’s keep the basic staff shape but add a holder so it can be fixed to your leg. By the way, can your decoy really do all that?”

“Yeah. I control it with magic threads like this…”

The Spider Witch raised two of her forelegs and moved them as if conducting an orchestra. Through the thin mist, Hiyori emerged.

Or so I thought.

On closer inspection, it was actually a humanoid doll made of some inexplicably strange material.

I stopped carving, captivated by the sight. The figure bore no resemblance to Hiyori whatsoever—just a plain, white mineral-like form. And yet, for some reason, I thought it was her. Even though I had already been fooled once and knew it wasn’t actually Hiyori. Was this some kind of magic?

“Is this enchanted to mess with perception?”

“Nope. That’s just how the decoy works. There’s no magic involved. It just naturally appears as a familiar or beloved person… It’s pretty sturdy, too. And when I use enhancement magic or suspended animation spells—anything that affects my own body—the effects transfer entirely to the decoy. So I can strengthen it for combat, make it play dead, or even turn it into a dragon and let it fly.”

“…Isn’t that way too strong?”

She could hide safely while manipulating the decoy remotely to deceive or attack people. The potential for underhanded tactics was insane.

“The Blue Witch with good mana control or the Eye Witch would be really powerful with this. But my control isn’t that great. If I focus on precision, the strength weakens. If I focus on strength, the precision suffers.”

“And that’s where my staff comes in. Leave it to me—I can solve the power and recoil issues. I’ll make you a custom staff that fits you perfectly.”

I patted the Spider Witch’s hesitant foreleg to encourage her, then resumed carving.

She let out a small chittering sound and stared at me with an unreadable gaze.

Focusing, I quickly processed the purple magic stone into a dual-layer structure and polished it to perfection—core complete.

Next was the handle. The leg of a bench installed on the train platform had a good shape, so I had the fire lizard team burn it off. I repurposed it as the staff’s grip.

Then, I dismantled my longtime companion, Hendenshaw-kun, and melted down its Gremlin piece. The Spider Witch used tiles from the station floor to craft a mold, into which I poured the molten metal to cast the backflow prevention mechanism. Once it cooled and solidified, I embedded it into the handle and secured it to prevent misalignment.

Goodbye, Hendenshaw-kun.

Once the core and handle were combined, the result was an admittedly hastily made, but functional, custom staff for the Spider Witch.

I also crafted a holster by cutting up some leather from my tool bag, fastening it to the Spider Witch’s leg.

All that was left was to hand it over, but it felt wrong to give a woman such a crude-looking staff. As a small touch, I lightly engraved “Spider Witch” along with a fire lizard emblem. Sorry, I didn’t have time to come up with a more fitting name.

“It’s done. Here you go.”

“Thank you…”

I knelt as I presented the custom staff, Spider Witch.

The Spider Witch mirrored my movement, bowing as if to receive a sacred relic. We both ended up lowering ourselves awkwardly and met eyes, then burst into laughter.

She secured the magic stone staff in her leg holster and gave it a few test swings.

“How is it? Let me know if anything feels off—I’ll fix it right away.”

“It’s perfect. Amazing. I see why everyone wants a magic stone staff… This should work. So, I just need to rescue Professor Ōhinata, 0933 friend, right?”

“Yes. Please. Will you be okay?”

“Leave it to me. I’ll be using a lot of spells, so step back a little, okay?”

The Spider Witch ushered me and the fire lizards back before turning to face the motionless decoy. She then unleashed a rapid series of incantations.

This passage contains distorted and unclear words, making it difficult to translate perfectly. However, I can reconstruct a possible interpretation based on the readable parts:

“If I can know that my son, Yomohoro, is safe, then take them—gouge out these eyes if you must!”

“If both eyes are crushed, will it be Gulag? Do you think the truth will become invisible then?”

“Even volcanoes, unable to endure the light of that star, shrink away and hide beneath the trembling earth.”

“Wander, Canaan, be lost, hunter…”

“Boil over, my blood…”

—Her words summoned a floating, multi-eyed familiar, which settled into the decoy’s head cavity.

—The familiar’s eyes flickered slightly.

—With a sound like a bursting balloon, the decoy shrank to the size of a thumb.

—A dense fog of disorientation surrounded it like an aura, rendering its presence almost undetectable.

—Finally, body-enhancing magic surged through it, and under the delicate movements of the Spider Witch’s two forelegs, the decoy took off at incredible speed toward the subway stairs leading to the surface.

“I’ve linked my sight and hearing with the decoy. It’s hard to detect and can see through walls, so finding Professor Ōhinata should be easy… Ah, this staff really is incredible. Even from a distance, I can control it so well. The precision is amazing despite the power boost…”

“Once you find the stoat girl, should the decoy carry her back here?”

“Hmm, depends on the situation? Hiyori is probably nearby, so we’ll have to see how that plays out.”

“Understood. I’ll focus on finding her first…”

“Thanks.”

The Spider Witch and the Decoy are connected by the Eye familiar. Only the Spider Witch can see the visuals, but I can hear the sounds.

The sound of footsteps running at high speed, the whooshing of wind.

The rustling of bushes being pushed aside.

Eventually, the footsteps turned into metallic clanking, followed by human voices.

“I’ve entered the ventilation duct. Checking from the south wing, one section at a time.”

I silently nodded, careful not to distract the Spider Witch, who was controlling the decoy with magic threads using both her legs.

From the overheard voices and the Kyushu-accented conversation, it seemed that the group in the university had three wizards—”Boss,” “Underboss,” and “Lieutenant”—along with two captured “Witch Troop” members who had been taken after the Bunkyo Ward Office fell. That made a total of five.

The multiple witches invading Tokyo seemed to be under the command of “Kiwada-no-Ane-san.”

Roaming the university grounds were ordinary underlings. I could hear screams—high-pitched, like a wailing beaver—mixed with agonized cries and raucous laughter. This meant that at least one of them knew the basic offensive spell, Ute Aaah!.

Even in Kyushu, under the rule of the Arataki Group, personnel had once been dispatched from the Magic University to teach bountiful magic. Ute Aaah! must have been passed down at that time.

These scum of society repaid kindness with betrayal…!

“No one was in the south wing. Also, the contract magic ritual they were doing in the courtyard with the VIPs—it’s stopped. The courtyard is empty. It’s getting dark soon, so maybe they moved indoors…?”

Muttering to herself, the Spider Witch continued moving the decoy, but suddenly, she stiffened and stopped. I held my breath and concealed my presence.

For several seconds, the Spider Witch remained motionless, then exhaled slowly and began to move her legs again.

“0933, I think I found Professor Ohinata. But a very sharp, tense wizard almost noticed me. Feels demonic… No, more like a bat. A bat-faced guy.”

“The Underboss? The Lieutenant? The Boss looks human, right?”

“Hold on. Be quiet for a bit. Let me focus…”

The Spider Witch carefully moved her front legs for a while. I couldn’t see it, but I knew she was skillfully maneuvering the decoy with the magic threads connected to her feet, trying to slip past the enemy’s security net. I silently cheered her on in my heart.

Do your best, Witch-sama. I know you hate these high-tension situations, and I feel bad, but you’re our only hope. Please, somehow… somehow…!

After a nerve-wracking wait, the Spider Witch relaxed a little and turned her compound eyes toward me to explain the situation.

“Professor Ohinata is locked up in a warehouse-like room full of dust-covered machines. Her face is pale, and she looks unconscious, but she’s breathing. Standing next to her is the bat-faced Lieutenant, on high alert. Seems like he’s expecting the Blue Witch to come rescue the professor…”

“Where’s the Blue Witch?”

“Not sure. But in one of the locked stalls in the men’s restroom, there’s a corpse of a low-level grunt—fingernails ripped off, neck snapped. The body’s covered in frost. Must’ve been her. So, she is here… but hiding well.”

I nodded. So Hiyori was here too. That was good news.

The fact that the enemy witches and wizards were still alive meant either she hadn’t found Professor Ohinata yet, or she had, but the security was too tight to make a move. Since she’d already interrogated someone, she might actually know the location.

“If we can rescue Professor Ohinata and alert the Blue Witch, she’ll take care of everything. Do you think it’s possible?”

“Sorry, it’s tough. Right now, I have the decoy hidden in the corner of the room next to the professor’s, but if I get any closer, they’ll notice. The room I’m in… looks like an interrogation room. There are bloodstains on the floor…”

“Hmm… If we could just separate the professor from her guard somehow. Should I go and create a distraction?”

“Ab-so-lute-ly NOT! Worst case, we’d just end up with two hostages. Please, do not go anywhere dangerous…!”

“S-Sorry.”

The forcefulness of her words startled me.

I was just suggesting it. I mean, I thought there was a chance, you know? No chance at all, huh?

The Blue Witch, the Spider Witch, and the Flower Witch all told me the same thing—Just stay put. Every single one of the strong ones.

I came all the way to this dangerous place with my Hendenshaw and gear, armed, with a bodyguard, and a toolbox on my back, sneaking through underground tunnels. I thought I was being cautious, but maybe I underestimated the danger after all.

“Hmm, hmm… But, a distraction is a good idea. The Lieutenant is on edge, but also jittery. If we can startle him, there might be an opening to rescue Professor Ohinata…”

“A distraction. Startling him. But how? I can’t go. Sending a fire lizard wouldn’t work… Tsubaki, can you go?”

“Mimi? Miii!”

“Yeah, you’re hungry, huh…”

“My magic is amplified with my staff, but I don’t have a ton of it. I can’t keep this spell going forever. I’d rather resolve this quickly… and that bat-like guy looks like he’ll be even more active at night…”

“What about finding the Blue Witch first?”

“That could work. Or, we could just stay put in the next room and wait for an opening…”

We debated our options for a while, but then the Spider Witch suddenly fell silent and gestured for us to be quiet.

Through the familiar, I could hear footsteps approaching, then the sound of a door opening.

Someone had entered the room where the decoy was hiding.

There was some rustling, then a small groan, followed by the deep voice of an older, rugged-sounding man.

“Listen up, you. I said if you surrendered quietly, I’d let you off without using contract magic. But if you surrender and then resist, that’s betrayal. And betrayal needs to be punished. But I see value in you. Not just your record—your eyes are different from the rest. I’ll let you off with just two or three toes. Then I’ll cast the contract magic on you.”

A loud stomp echoed, and the Spider Witch shuddered.

But there was no scream.

“Heh… Not even a whimper? You really are something. It’s a shame to force someone like you into submission with magic. But betrayal needs consequences. I hereby ordain thee as my ×× Knight. Shouldst thou harbor disloyalty, my ×× magic shall ×××× respond, denying thee escape.”

After a brief silence, the deep, gruff voice spoke heavily.

“You have 30 seconds left to speak freely. Any last words?”

The previously silent man responded.

“I’m from Saitama City, you see. Unlike the city dwellers pampered by the protection of Transcendents, I didn’t have the luxury of peace. I survived by stealing supplies from children, the elderly, and injured women begging for help—by using them as bait for monsters. These hands have long been stained with blood. Sorry, but I can’t become some noble knight under your command. And I have no intention of steeping myself in cruelty again.”

“So, what? Planning to kill yourself? You’re worthless as a hostage. If you want to die as a man, I won’t stop you.”

The gruff voice sounded almost understanding, but the other man let out a lighthearted chuckle and spoke.

“No, you’ve got it wrong…” 

Hanada Sakunosuke, the final experiment of my life. He called it—

‘Can a magician be killed with dynamite?’”**

“…!? You—”

Before my mind could even process the words I heard through my familiar, an earth-shattering explosion rang out.

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