Kays Translations

Chapter 65: Magic Script

The explanation from America clarified some mysteries but deepened others.

As the Eyeball Witch pondered where to begin, she glanced at Professor Ōhinata, whose sharp, serious expression completely failed to hide her excitement, betrayed by the energetic wagging of her tail. With a slight smile, the Eyeball Witch decided to start with the topic of magic script.

“America has discovered magic script, correct? What exactly is it? How was it found?”

“It’s the same as Japan’s. We didn’t use any special method to find it.”

“There seems to be some misunderstanding. Japan has not discovered magic script.”

“Huh? That can’t be. The one who made Hariti was a Japanese staff craftsman, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it originally designed for magic script?”

Conrad tilted his head in confusion as a small mouse tugged on his sleeve and whispered something in his ear. However, Conrad simply shook his head.

“No need for deception. Let’s trust them. Glen, give her your sunglasses.”

“If you say so… Here, these sunglasses are made with light-blocking lenses.”

The Eyeball Witch, still unsure of the situation, accepted the sunglasses. However, given that she had only one large eye, they didn’t fit properly.

A slightly awkward silence fell between her and Glen. Seeing this, the Blue Witch reached out, examined the sunglasses, and put them on instead. The lenses were extremely dark, significantly dimming her vision.

She nodded once, then took the sunglasses off.

“To see magic script, you need a light-blocking filter and one more thing. Do you have a Möbius Gremlin here?”

“Oh, yes. Anzai, could you bring one of the ritual tools?”

At the Eyeball Witch’s request, one of the ceremonial guards saluted and quickly, yet respectfully and silently, left the room.

While they waited for the necessary item, Conrad patted Glen on the shoulder, as if soothing his reluctance to share secrets, and proceeded to explain fluently.

“If you cast a spell while using a gremlin shaped into a Möbius ring, the inside of the loop glows golden, right? If you block the light with a filter, you’ll see the script appear inside the ring. The letters change one by one in sync with the spell’s pronunciation.”

The Eyeball Witch and the Blue Witch were impressed, muttering about how clever the method was.

However, Professor Ōhinata groaned in despair, burying her face in her hands. Her ears drooped, and her tail lost its energy.

“No way… It was that simple…? I should have thought of this… How could no one— Ugh, this is just like Columbus’ Egg!”

She was drowning in self-loathing, realizing that she had overlooked magic script for nearly three years despite it being right under her nose.

Such cases were rare but not unheard of in human history. Sometimes, even straightforward, seemingly obvious discoveries took centuries to make.

For instance, stirrups— a simple yet revolutionary invention that dramatically enhanced horseback riding and changed the course of history— were unknown in equestrian cultures until they were developed in China and eventually spread elsewhere.

These gaps in human thinking, these blind spots, had always existed and always would.

Soon, the ceremonial guard returned, carrying the ritual tool— a gremlin processed into a Möbius ring.

Professor Ōhinata composed herself, put on the light-blocking sunglasses, and chanted the Fertility Magic Circumvented Incantation.

The inside of the Möbius ring immediately glowed golden.

And then, she saw it.

The magic script that had been hidden by the glow.

The letters appeared one by one in response to her pronunciation, changing in real-time.

As a scholar, she wanted nothing more than to lock herself in her lab and study this in detail.

But given the current circumstances, she couldn’t abandon her duties as an interpreter.

With great reluctance, she removed the sunglasses and placed the Möbius Gremlin on the table.

“I have confirmed the magic script. There is no doubt.”

“You’ve seen it now? By engraving this script into a specially crafted metal alloy, and chanting the corresponding spell, you can control the magic. It essentially mimics the way witches and wizards naturally control magic.”

Conrad explained that magic script contained a variety of rhetorical symbols.

These symbols could add meaning to a spell, refine its intent, or limit its effects.

For example, consider a spell called ‘Slash with a Sword.’

A standard spell that conjures a sword and slashes at an enemy.

By adding rhetorical symbols, the spell could be modified into ‘Slash with a Greatsword,’ ‘Slash with a Dagger,’ ‘Slash Shallowly,’ or ‘Slash Deeply.’

These adjustments customized the spell without fundamentally changing its nature.

However, the script could not completely alter a spell’s meaning— for instance, ‘Slash with a Sword’ could not be rewritten into ‘Cleave with an Axe.’

Only modifications that preserved the core meaning were possible.

In America, they had used magic script to amplify power by expending additional mana, extend spell duration, restrict area of effect, and designate specific targets.

While witches and wizards could achieve similar effects through direct mana manipulation— though their skills varied— magic script allowed anyone to perform a rudimentary form of magic control.

Even for magic users, magic script was invaluable.

By delegating certain aspects of spell control to the script, witches and wizards could focus their own mana manipulation on the finer details.

“Magic script does nothing on its own; it must be inscribed with a precise alloy.”

“The alloy must be composed of: 61% silver, 23% platinum, 10% gold, 2.6% iron, 1.4% copper, 1.1% titanium, and 0.9% gremlin. Do you recall the Shantak Meteor Shower that rained magic stones upon Earth? The meteorites were coated in a rock-metal mixture— that mixture contains the exact same composition.”

“……”

As she hastily took notes, Professor Ōhinata once again deflated.

This time, the Eyeball Witch and the Blue Witch also tilted their heads back in dismay.

How had they not realized this sooner?

All magic stones had fallen to Earth as part of the Shantak Meteor Shower.

Most were coated in a mixture of rock and metal.

Yet everyone had focused solely on the magic stones themselves, dismissing the coating as nothing more than an irrelevant impurity.

At the magic universities, samples of this rock-metal mixture had been carefully preserved.

However, they had only ever been studied from an astronomical perspective.

Neither witches nor wizards had considered them anything more than useless debris stuck to raw magic stones.

Even Tokyo’s legendary staff craftsmen had thought nothing of these impurities— simply discarding them without a second thought.

Seeing the Japanese representatives sulking at their oversight, Conrad offered them a gentle, understanding smile.

“One of the purposes of this visit to Japan is technological exchange. We still have technology we can offer. But Japan also possesses truly remarkable technology. I would love for us to learn from each other.”

“We now know that magic script exists. But does it really activate special effects when used with the alloy you mentioned?”

Conrad’s friendly words were met with skepticism from the Blue Witch.

She had not yet dismissed the possibility that they were simply dangling an enticing bait while wearing a friendly facade, trying to lure them into a trap.

The Blue Witch was not skilled at hiding her emotions. Sensing her distrust, one of the American envoys, Glenn, twitched his whiskers in irritation and frowned, but Conrad responded with a smile.

“Shall I demonstrate it here? I’m wearing a bracer inscribed with magic script right now.”

“Is it magic that can be used indoors? What kind of magic is it?”

“It’s enhancement magic. It wraps the user in an aura, making the effect easy to see. Normally, this spell only affects one person, but by using magic script, it can be extended to multiple people.”

“Understood. Show us. However, do not cast it on us. Please limit it to just the two of you.”

The Blue Witch signaled the Eyeball Witch and Professor Ōhinata to stand up and step back against the wall, distancing themselves from the two American envoys.

Seeing their blatant wariness and distrust, Glenn’s tail stood straight up in anger.

“Isn’t this excessively rude? Have we done anything to offend you? Why are you so on guard? It looks as if you think we’re about to attack you!”

“O-oh, I sincerely apologize. We meant no offense…”

The Eyeball Witch stammered an apology, but Glenn remained in a foul mood.

Conrad soothed his irritated companion.

“Glenn, calm down. They have their own culture and circumstances. We only know about Japan through the oral accounts of the Hell Witch, don’t we?”

“You’re being too soft, Conrad! Even if they have their reasons, is this how one behaves in diplomacy? We’ve been giving them resources and technology for free! At the very least, they should pretend to be friendly out of politeness.”

Listening to Professor Ōhinata’s simultaneous interpretation, the Eyeball Witch felt a pang of guilt.

Glenn was absolutely right.

They had come in good faith, offering gifts and kindness, yet they were met with suspicion and wariness. That would make anyone lose the will to continue fostering goodwill.

The Eyeball Witch tried to apologize again and return to her seat, but the Blue Witch glared at her and pulled her back against the wall.

Conrad eventually convinced Glenn to step back, and they moved to the opposite wall, away from the Japanese delegation.

Then, Conrad rolled up his sleeve and held up his bracer, displaying the silver magic script inscribed upon it.

Professor Ōhinata immediately recognized the writing as bearing the characteristic “Śirorekha” of Devanagari script used in India, where all the letters in a sentence were connected by a horizontal line.

However, while the script’s structure resembled Śirorekha, the characters themselves were nothing like Devanagari. If anything, they were closer to cuneiform, yet not a single character matched any known cuneiform writing. It was an entirely different language from anything on Earth.

“These are magic scripts. I will now cast a spell with the exact same words as those inscribed here. As I chant, the letters will glow in response. Alright, here I go.

‘Together, let us stand against Tuga, Kumdjitoa. Until our last breath, ××××××××――――'”

The moment Conrad uttered that thunderous, unpronounceable phrase, everything changed.

The Eyeball Witch and the Blue Witch both turned pale and, at the same time, drew their staff.

The Eyeball Witch, driven by fear.

The Blue Witch, driven by hatred.

They both prepared to cast attack spells on Conrad simultaneously.

The Eyeball Witch, reacting instinctively, caught herself and quickly lowered her staff, cutting off her incantation.

But the Blue Witch did not stop.

With murder in her eyes, she began to chant.

“O thou, Zei—, to the glacier, Trika—――――”

Before she could finish, Professor Ōhinata leaped from behind and clamped down on her mouth, interrupting the spell.

“You shall not be granted an audience, an×××××××!”

Sensing the danger, Glenn swiftly stepped in front of Conrad and chanted a spell. Though no visible change occurred, he kicked Conrad backward with his hind leg, spreading his arms wide in a defensive stance to shield him.

The Blue Witch struggled against Professor Ōhinata’s grip, her fury unrestrained.

“Let me go! That is Iruma’s Puppet Magic! It’s the same incantation! O thou, Zei—――――”

“Wait, Hiyori-chan, please wait! It’s just a shared root word! Calm down!”

“Kei-chan, back away! Now! O thou, Zei—――――”

“Kei-chan, your hands are in the way! Eyeball, what are you doing?! Do you want to be controlled?!”

“No, I believe it’s fine. I trust in the Seer Mage.”

“I know Iruma’s Puppet Magic incantation! This is a different spell! It’s okay, so please calm down!”

The Eyeball Witch joined in restraining the Blue Witch, but it took several minutes before the latter’s murderous intent finally subsided.

At one point, the ceremonial guards were torn between obeying the Blue Witch’s order to “attack” and the Eyeball Witch and Professor Ōhinata’s order to “stand down,” further complicating the situation.

Eventually, the chaos settled.

Still visibly agitated, the Blue Witch sat back down, with Professor Ōhinata soothing her.

“He’s a user of the same type of magic, isn’t he? I can’t trust him. We should at least demand they send a different envoy.”

“It’s fine. Let’s trust Seer-san. Besides, if anything happens, you’ll protect us, won’t you? You can’t be controlled, after all.”

“I don’t want to see Kei-chan controlled. Or Eyeball either.”

The Eyeball Witch felt a little moved.

The Blue Witch, who had once fixated solely on Ome City after the Iruma Coup, had changed. She was returning to the warm, caring person she had been before.

During the Iruma Coup, Iruma’s Puppet Magic had been a terrifying force.

However, Puppet Magic did not work on those whose hearts had stopped. Normally, cardiac arrest meant death.

But the Blue Witch did not possess a heart.

Thus, she met the criteria for cardiac arrest, rendering her immune to Puppet Magic.

This unexpected revelation made her Iruma’s worst nightmare, and in a climactic duel, she ultimately defeated the most dangerous mage of all.

Conrad quietly observed the madness displayed by the Japanese side, raising both hands in a gesture of surrender.

Glen repeatedly muttered, “Unbelievable,” “Negotiations are over,” and “Let’s go home,” but Conrad calmed him down and took his seat.

Glen, too, reluctantly sat down, shaking his head as if he had a headache.

Despite having just been nearly killed, Conrad remained smiling, even showing concern as he spoke.

“I don’t know what you were discussing, but I did hear the word ‘Iruma.’ I have heard about the Iruma mage from the Hell Witch. Perhaps you believe I am of the same kind as him. I understand he was an evil mage. My apologies on behalf of my kin.”

“Hey…!”

As Conrad bowed his head, Glen hastily tried to lift it.

There was absolutely no reason for America to apologize.

If anything, it was the Japanese side that owed an apology.

Throughout the entire exchange, America had remained courteous and respectful.

Even when faced with an attempted murder in what should have been a diplomatic setting, Conrad maintained a level of politeness that could even be mistaken for weakness.

Seeing Conrad’s composed and humble demeanor, willingly taking on blame that would only put him at a disadvantage in negotiations, the Blue Witch finally cooled down.

What if she had been attacked just because she was the same race as the leader of the Aratake Gang, a group responsible for terrible acts? She would have been furious at the sheer unfairness of it.

And yet, even after being treated in that exact manner, Conrad remained calm. He didn’t use Japan’s disgraceful behavior as a negotiation tactic; instead, he had even apologized. If he were someone like Iruma—someone who merely pretended to be good but was truly evil—this would have been impossible.

She felt utterly ashamed. If there were a hole nearby, she would have wanted to crawl into it.

It would have been better if she had not been at the negotiation at all. Instead of providing protection, all she had done was disrupt the meeting and ruin the atmosphere.

In a voice barely above a whisper, the Blue Witch apologized.

“I sincerely apologize….”

“Not at all. If anything, I apologize for my lack of consideration.”

“I will not interfere any further. I swear it. I won’t even speak. I’ll remain silent.”

“No, please don’t worry. You are a swift and decisive woman. While it may not have been ideal this time, that quality must be invaluable on the battlefield. I am sure it is a great asset.”

“I… I am honored…”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind at all. Please, relax.”

Conrad gave her a friendly wink.

It reminded her of a certain vampire mage, and it somehow put her at ease.

Although some lingering tensions remained, the worst possible future, as foreseen by the Seer, had been averted.

At last, true diplomatic discussions between Japan and America could begin.

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