Kays Translations

Chapter 59: The Mystery of the Black Gremlin

The Blue Witch has saved Tokyo three times.

• The Iruma Coup
• The Great Monster Invasion
• The Arataki Clan Raid

Once feared as the strongest and most ruthless witch, known for her aloof personality, the Blue Witch has recently gained popularity.

Since moving into the Ice Tower at the university, she has become more visible, and her personality has softened slightly. Even her fashion has changed—from a tattered, post-apocalyptic black coat to a refined, high-quality robe.

When I’m not watching, she often removes her mask. Her impressive achievements, combined with her fashion sense and good looks, have made her a sensation at the university.

Just as celebrities and actors sometimes become fashion icons, the Blue Witch’s rising popularity has led to a trend of mimicking her equipment.

Her signature three-staff style—carrying a multi-layered main staff, the Sage’s Staff, and a short, coreless anti-backflow control staff at her waist—has become the gold standard in magic combat gear.

For armor and accessories, the standard is a magic fabric robe paired with a protective amulet. A full set provides five key benefits:

• Increased magic power
• Enhanced magic control
• Improved defense
• Faster mana recovery
• Unlocked mana training potential

It’s a classic fantasy look, but also incredibly effective.

The demand for amulets has surged, prompting the establishment of numerous new workshops. The invention of mana training allows people to increase their total mana reserves. Since amulet effects are percentage-based, they were nearly useless for those with only 1K or 2K mana. But now, with mana training, their benefits have skyrocketed. The era has finally caught up with amulets.

Any marble gremlin can be used to craft amulets, regardless of shape or size, making them highly customizable. They can be rings, necklaces, brooches, tie pins, or earrings. However, since the Blue Witch wears a necklace-type amulet, that design has become the most popular.

Increased demand leads to increased production, which in turn creates brand recognition. Some workshops gain reputations for quality, while others are known for poor design.

In Tokyo, the most prestigious brand is “0933.” Though primarily used by members of the Witch Assembly, it also supplies the Magic University. During this summer’s open campus event, crowds flocked to buy 0933 products.

However, availability was limited. The staff in the shop were few and expensive, and while amulet order forms were available, the high prices and selective order approvals (which I decide based on my mood) meant only a lucky few got their hands on them.

And that’s fine.

I’ve chosen the high-end market. Competing in mass production is impossible, so I target customers who seek luxury. No cheap sales, no mass production at the expense of quality.

Even within the city, workshops are divided between high-end and mass-market producers.

For example, “Akasui Gate Workshop” in Kita Ward is the second-best high-end staff maker after 0933. They supply staff to security forces across districts that battle monsters. Prices start at 20,000 New Yen.

Many graduates from the Gremlin Engineering Department work there, bridging the gap between university research and the private sector.

On the other hand, “Asakusa Waterwheel Center” specializes in mass production. Most of the staff used by ordinary Tokyo citizens come from there.

Located along the Sumida River, it uses waterwheel-powered machinery to operate a massive factory. They produce wands around the clock using a manufactural system. Prices start at 2,980 New Yen (crafted with smaller gremlin particles).

This factory is also the main producer of gremlin-based polishing compounds.

For enchanted accessories, the leading retailer is “Atelier TODOROKI,” which holds over 70% of the amulet market.

Their biggest selling point is speed: if you place an order and provide a blood sample in the morning, you receive your amulet by evening. Customers can choose from 12 catalog designs, and custom orders take about a week. Prices start at 2,500 New Yen.

They already have five branches, with two more on the way. However, their second store in Bunkyo Ward suffered heavy damages after being ransacked by the Aratake Clan. What a bunch of scum.

Oddly, Tokyo lacks a local manufacturer of magic armor.

The Tohoku Hunting Association has a store selling hunting attire, and the Hokkaido Monster Farm produces beast-hide armor. In Tokyo, only a few branches exist, located in Minato Ward.

However, the Spider Witch has recently increased silk production and started selling it on the market. If Iron-Wool Sheep production also rises, Tokyo might finally get its own magic armor shop.

That said, I’ve already made and gifted the ultimate robe—woven from Iron-Wool Sheep and spider silk—to the Blue Witch. Stay ahead of the curve, Hiyori.

While the city’s magic gear market evolves, I’ve been focusing on producing structural color gremlins—essentially magic power measuring devices.

The Sage’s Staff I gifted Hiyori is an excellent compact mana training tool, but compared to coffin-type devices, it’s far more difficult to manufacture.

When I sent its design to the university, skilled engineers successfully replicated it, proving that others could craft it too.

However…

It turned out to be completely impractical in terms of time and effort.

The resources needed to create one Sage’s Staff could instead produce ten coffin-type meditation chambers.

Since both devices function identically (except for portability), and over two million people are eager to train their mana, mass-producing the coffin-type is the obvious choice.

Sadly, even the elite members of the Witch Assembly didn’t place orders. Apparently, they had already secured coffin-type chambers before I even finished developing the staff. Since meditation is a once-a-day activity, there’s little incentive to carry a portable version.

If the Flame Witch were around, she would have ordered a matching Sage’s Staff just because “Ao-chan has one.” But unfortunately (or fortunately), she’s currently sealed away.

With low demand for the staff, another product surged in popularity: mana measurement devices.

I already knew these were in high demand for research, but with mana training on the rise, they became an absolute necessity.

Determining the limit of one’s mana training requires either an expert mage’s visual analysis of magical fluctuations or a measurement device. Since high-ranking sorcerers are currently busy dealing with the anomalies caused by Class A monsters, relying on them isn’t realistic. That makes the measuring devices essential.

And unfortunately for everyone else, I’m the only one who can make them.

Naturally, demand has skyrocketed.

Even at my best, I can only produce 1 cm worth of structural color gremlins per day—just one measuring device.

Despite my relentless efforts, supply can’t keep up with demand.

Even at a price of 3 million New Yen per device, people still beg me to raise the price and produce more.

Well, if I were the only person in the world capable of making rulers, it makes sense demand would be through the roof.

It’s frustrating, though. I specialize in crafting staffs, not rulers.

Day after day, I tirelessly produce structural color gremlins.

As I lose myself in the monotonous, eye-straining labor, the lingering heat of late summer fades, and autumn arrives unnoticed.

This year’s rice harvest was more abundant than usual, thanks to help from Fuyou, a literal plant being.

I look at the six sacks of rice stacked in my storage and feel deeply satisfied.

Having more food than I can eat is a real comfort. If I hadn’t lived through the post-collapse food crisis, I probably wouldn’t appreciate it this much.

Food is everything.

I’ve been continuing the structured color Gremlin Nissan system for over a month, handling everything from rice harvesting, threshing, and milling—I’m seriously exhausted.

The magic power measuring devices have been distributed, with at least one per district in the Tokyo Witch Assembly’s management area, and I gave four to the witches with vast managed lands. I should have provided enough to the universities (though no matter how many I send, they still ask for more). I also sent two each to the Tohoku Hunting Association, the Hokkaido Magic Beast Farm, and the Lake Biwa Accord.

I think it’s time to call it quits. The work is tedious, making it isn’t enjoyable, and I’m beyond tired and bored.

I told Hiyori to reject all new orders and took a leisurely gourmet vacation.

I threw freshly harvested peanuts, taro, lotus root, carrots, and the huge shiitake mushrooms that Fuyou grew better than I could into a pot, simmering them slowly with homemade soy sauce to make a seasonal stew.

For the mutated deer monster that the fire lizards near the blast furnace took down with their fire breath, I neutralized the toxins by soaking the meat in a secret sauce. Then, I simply seasoned it with salt and grilled it into a steak.

The large char I caught in the river was cut into fillets and marinated with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and a little wasabi. I then placed it over freshly cooked rice to make a rice bowl.

Everything tastes amazing!

Long live the slow life. The fact that everything is homegrown makes it even better. With our food production system fully self-sufficient in Okutama, there’s no need to rely on anyone. Even if another disaster strikes, we’ll be fine.

Then, on a deepening autumn day—

While I was cooking rice over Mokutan’s fire (who’s recently taken a liking to licking the soot off the kitchen hearth), I got a message from Hiyori.

They had successfully captured one of those black Gremlin monsters alive. They planned to transport it to the Okutama entrance, slaughter it there, and deliver the extracted black Gremlin to my workshop before it collapsed.

She wanted me to analyze it. Of course, I immediately agreed.

The black Gremlin, carried by the increasingly abnormal Type-K monsters. The source of time acceleration magic.

I’ve been interested in this for a while.

Until now, the Gremlins would disintegrate over time, meaning they couldn’t get them to me in time. But now that they’ve captured one alive, that changes everything.

As planned, about an hour later, Hiyori arrived with the jet-black Gremlin.

It measured about 38.3mm in diameter. Hmm, pretty big. Probably from a Type-K2 monster.

I took the Gremlin and invited Hiyori into my workshop for a briefing.

“This is a Type-K2 Gremlin, from a monster with a frog-like upper body and a human lower body. It also had a green Gremlin, but we crushed that one while restraining it.”

“How’d you capture it alive? Time acceleration makes it immune to magic restraints, right?”

“We clamped it from above and below with two monster restraints. The same way Dairi sealed the Flame Witch.”

“Ah, right. With a strong enough slow effect, a little acceleration doesn’t matter.”

I placed the black Gremlin on my workbench and examined it.

Its texture and color were normal. There are Gremlins with this coloration, and its size was only slightly smaller than a typical Type-K2. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“The time it takes for a black Gremlin to disappear varies. The stronger the monster it comes from, the longer it lasts. This one probably has about 30 minutes left. Work fast.”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

With a time limit, I couldn’t afford to waste a second.

I started analyzing the rare sample right away. I hoped to find something useful for magic staffs—or clues about the Type-K monster anomalies.

First, I examined the basics.

Its hardness and weight were standard.

I had Mokutan breathe fire on a thin slice—it melted, meaning its heat resistance was normal.

Another slice crumbled into violet sparks under ‘Flame, Jin-Ga’ fire. Again, a normal reaction.

The cross-section of a cut piece was also black, meaning it wasn’t a structural color.

For all intents and purposes, this was a completely ordinary Gremlin.

But as I rolled it between my fingers, something felt off.

I set the black Gremlin down, lightly touched it with my fingertips, closed my eyes, and focused.

“…It’s vibrating? …Yeah, it’s definitely vibrating. This thing is shaking.”

“Vibrating? Are you sure? I didn’t feel anything when I held it.”

“No, the vibrations are incredibly subtle. At first, I thought I imagined it, but if you focus, you can clearly sense it.”

“Then only you can detect it.”

I sharpened my focus and carefully traced the vibration.

I felt like I had encountered this same vibration somewhere before.

Following the sensation in my fingertips, I recalled the anomalous vibrations I observed when crafting the Möbius-linked Staff Hariti and the Ritual Magic Thirteen Magic Items.

That’s it. The scale is different, but this is similar.

“Is it producing anomalous vibrations? Hiyori, do you hear anyone chanting nearby?”

“…No. I don’t hear anything. I can’t sense any magic activity either.”

“Then what the hell is this? No idea… Would shaping it into a Möbius loop stabilize it?”

I tried carving the black Gremlin into a Möbius strip, but before I could finish, it crumbled into dust. The melted and sliced portions also vanished simultaneously. Time’s up.

“Ahh, dammit! Just five more minutes…!”

“It can’t be helped. Even figuring out one thing is a huge breakthrough. So, what did you discover?”

I explained the anomalous vibration I had sensed from the black Gremlin in detail.

After listening, Hiyori tilted her head in thought.”

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