Chapter 66: Results

In early February, Hiyori, who had attended the Japan-U.S. summit, visited Okutama three days later, bringing Professor Ohinata along.

The two of them looked exhausted as they sat in the living room. Tea was served, and the conversation began.

“So, how did the Japan-U.S. summit go, you two? More importantly, how did they react to my magic staff? Was it well received? Was it not? Tell me!”

“First of all, the Japan-U.S. summit concluded without issue. There were no casualties or injuries.”

“Wait, what?”

The ominous way she started her explanation was enough to make me nervous. She took a sip of tea, exhaled in relief, and adjusted her mask.

What? Was it really that dangerous? I thought the Black Ships were supposed to be friendly!

As I listened, it turned out that aside from a moment when a Japan-U.S. war almost broke out, the discussions had proceeded peacefully. How is that peaceful?! That was nearly World War III! That’s terrifying!

The reason for America’s visit was to deal with the Demon King.

The Demon King, the cause of the Class A monster abnormalities and the one responsible for gathering an apocalyptic army of Class A monsters worldwide, was currently in North America.

If left unchecked, it would undoubtedly destroy the world, including Japan. To defeat this incredibly dangerous Demon King, the U.S. sought Japan’s cooperation. Apparently, they had learned about Japan’s situation from the Hell Witch.

Wait—she went all the way to America? That’s beyond a long journey. But hey, at least she’s doing well.

That said, rather than accompany the Japan-U.S. summit, the Hell witch chose to stay in America and help its people. So, she hadn’t returned to Japan. Yeah, that makes sense. Knowing her, she’d prioritize saving lives over a trip back home.

Hiyori complained that negotiations would have been much easier if the Hell witch had been there. I figured that was her own problem, but Professor Ohinata nodded deeply in agreement, meaning whatever happened during that “peaceful” summit must have been really bad. I never want to attend one of those.

Facing the Demon King isn’t something an average witch or mage can do. They would be crushed and absorbed. To fight him, only the strongest among the transcendent beings would suffice.

In Japan, those eligible for the task were the Dragon Witch, the Blue Witch, and, for support, the Seer Mage.

The Dragon Witch agreed to help in exchange for ownership of Idaho’s major gemstone mines—Idaho being known as the “Gem State.”

As an invaluable aerial combatant, the Dragon Witch was a precious asset. The U.S. was more than happy to make the deal since, in this modern age, gemstone mines were practically useless. The arrangement was an overwhelming success for both sides.

Whether the U.S. realized that they wouldn’t be able to mine anything until the Demon King was defeated and the country was reclaimed was another question. They had generously “paid in advance” by handing over the ownership rights, but in reality, it was a deferred payment.

On the other hand, the Blue Witch was reluctant to cooperate, and it wasn’t a matter of compensation.

The Demon King relentlessly targeted magic stones and magicians, growing stronger the longer he was left alone. Rationally, it made sense to take him down sooner rather than later.

The problem was that joining the Demon King subjugation force meant traveling to America, leaving Professor Ohinata and me unprotected.

However, when Professor Ohinata expressed a desire to study abroad in the U.S., the situation changed.

The U.S. possessed magic script technology.

However, believing Japan also had this technology, America had left its top engineers and scholars back home.

One of the magic script experts aboard the Black Ships agreed to stay in Japan to share some knowledge, but the extent of what could be taught was limited.

Professor Ohinata was a magic linguist, driven by an insatiable curiosity and passion for magic languages.

It was only natural that she wanted to study America’s magic script technology firsthand.

Since she was a high-profile individual, the idea of her traveling was initially met with resistance.

However, Professor Ohinata proved that there wouldn’t be any operational setbacks.

Although she was a leading expert in her field, Japan’s Magic University had been cultivating new talent. She had already passed on her knowledge and established a system that could function without her. That’s incredible. Even so, the fact remained that Japan would temporarily lose an elite researcher.

Even if she was gone for a while, the benefits of her returning with a complete understanding of American magic script were enormous.

From America’s perspective, having the world’s foremost expert in circumventive chanting coming to them was a godsend. She was also fluent in English, making her a perfect candidate.

In terms of relationships, Professor Ohinata expressed her desire to go and left the final decision to the Blue Witch.

Her safety would be her ultimate trump card.

She wouldn’t be stepping onto the U.S. mainland but would instead stay under the American provisional government in Cuba, engaging in magic script and linguistic research.

She wouldn’t be anywhere near a battlefield, and at the first sign of danger, she would flee immediately.

But security concerns remained. What if she was attacked? What if she was used as leverage against the Blue Witch again?

America was friendly, but that didn’t mean they could be trusted blindly. In the end, the decision rested with the Blue Witch.

Professor Ohinata desperately wanted to go.

Academically, her absence wouldn’t be an issue.

For once, she was expressing a rare personal desire.

However, for the Blue Witch, letting her beloved little stoat (as she affectionately called her) go to America was nerve-wracking. Even if she wouldn’t be on the battlefield, it was still America.

Caught between wanting to grant her wish and wanting her to stay safe, the Blue Witch froze.

To reassure her, the Seer Mage gave his stamp of approval.

He foresaw a bright future for Professor Ohinata—she would be under strict protection by a team of elite bodyguards, living a pampered life in the American provisional government.

Conversely, the future of the Demon King subjugation force looked grim. They were in for a world of hardship.

Still, the Blue Witch was too anxious to accept this at face value. Even though she wasn’t suited for future sight magic, she forced herself to use it—passing out instantly from the strain.

Her vision confirmed that everything was safe.

After much deliberation, she finally accepted the idea of going to America with Professor Ohinata.

With that, three people would be heading to America:

• The Dragon Witch
• The Blue Witch
• Kei Ohinata

America had also wanted to recruit the Seer Mage, but that was immediately refused.

If both of Tokyo’s top two witch combatants, as well as the Magic University’s top scholar, left, Tokyo would be left unguarded.

Even if they succeeded in saving the world by defeating the Demon King, if Tokyo was reduced to ruins in the process, it would be meaningless.

Instead, Japan agreed to share future sight magic with America.

There were other witches and wizards with the same lineage as the Blue Witch and Iruma.

If America found someone with resistance to future sight magic among them, they could establish their own future sight division.

If they were willing to accept the inefficiency of a single instance of future sight rendering a witch or wizard unconscious and immobile for an entire day, along with the risk of lasting brain damage, then in the worst-case scenario, they could leverage America’s sheer number of magicians to make future sight magic viable.

There was also an invitation extended to the legendary staff craftsman, Staff Maker 0933, but the Blue Witch declined it.

“I’m grateful you refused on my behalf. Like hell I’m going to America, the land of extroverts (probably)! Even in Japan, which is supposedly a reserved country, I live quietly, tucked away in the countryside. If I go to America, I’ll shrink so much I’ll disappear entirely.”

After hearing all about the situation regarding the Demon Lord and the personnel transfers, I nodded.

“So, you two are going to America? I expect souvenirs.”

“Of course!”

“Wait, what? You realize we might not see each other for months, maybe a year, or even longer. You’re not the least bit sad about that?”

“Not at all? I actually enjoy being alone.”

Recently, I had learned the joy of hanging out with close friends.

But spending time alone was a different kind of pleasure altogether.

Losing my friends would be boring. But would I feel lonely? Not at all.

Hooray for solitude!

“…I’ll be lonely, though.”

“Oh? That sounds rough.”

“…Aren’t you at least worried? What if I lose to the Demon Lord?”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t you the strongest in the world? The strongest witch in existence, wielding a staff I made—there’s no way you’re losing to some Demon Lord.”

I tilted my head, confused. Hiyori, who had seemed a bit dissatisfied earlier, suddenly smiled.

Even Professor Ohninata, who had looked a little flustered, smiled when he saw our exchange.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll make sure to come back alive with Kei. I’ll be fighting with Dairi’s staff. There’s no way I’m losing.

In the meantime, I’ve entrusted the protection of Okutama to the Spider Witch. Tell Fuyou to stop producing essential oils. Otherwise, the spider will die.

Also, can I set the return location for my return magic here?”

“Oh, can I set mine here too? This place is safe.”

“Return magic?”

What’s that?

Hearing the name of a spell I didn’t recognize, I parroted it back in question.

Apparently, return magic was a spell learned from the American delegation.

You cast a return point-setting spell to mark a location.

Then, by casting return magic, you can instantly return to the marked location from anywhere, even across continents.

It was an insanely convenient spell, but it had its limitations.

First, you could only mark one location.

You could only return alone—no bringing anyone else with you.

It was a one-way trip. Once you returned, you couldn’t use the spell to go back to where you came from.

It also consumed a massive amount of mana—140K. But the Flame Witch could use it, and with her enhanced mana training, Professor Ohninata could just barely manage. At present, only two people in Japan could use it.

Huh. Pretty damn cool magic.

Curious to see it in action, I gave them the okay. The two of them moved to the backyard and immediately began casting the return point-setting spell.

“Younger leaves of the new tree, even they believe in the return of King Tarquea…”

As they chanted, golden rings briefly appeared beneath Hiyori and Professor Ohninata’s feet before vanishing.

“Alright. If there’s an emergency, or once we’ve defeated the Demon Lord, we’ll return here.”

“Huh. So, how does it work? Do you just whoosh and teleport back instantly?”

“Yeah. I should probably demonstrate once. It’s a bit flashy, so it might surprise you the first time…O sea, Nerika of the sea, Pulika of the mountains, open the way, Vei. Bow your heads, Zankum, Royola, for King Tarquea’s triumphant return…”

As Hiyori chanted, her entire body transformed into golden particles.

The particles rose into the sky, forming a golden celestial river connecting the heavens and the earth, then disappeared. Just when I thought she was gone, the gold rained down, and as the particles settled on the ground, they reformed into Hiyori.

I clapped as she reappeared. Whoa, that was pretty.

Yeah, that was definitely flashy. I bet it looks even cooler at night.

“So basically, getting there takes a while, but coming back is instant, huh? Like a one-way express ticket.”

“I’ll return either when my studies abroad are over, or if Cuba becomes too dangerous. I might come back separately from Ao-chan.”

“Got it. I won’t leave anything at the return point.”

Now that the return points were set, we all headed back inside.

The two of them, looking satisfied after finishing their task, relaxed and started drinking tea.

But that wasn’t the part I was curious about, so I pressed them again.

“The real question is—how did America react to my magic staff? Did they like them or not?”

“Oh, right! The document on the table is basically a summary of America’s response, along with the order form detailing what they would like to have made. They were really impressed!”

“I’ve listed them in order of priority. We’ve also told them that the craftsman has full discretion over which ones to make—or if they decide to make none at all, that’s fine too.”

“Perfect! You’re amazing, you little stoat!”

“Hehe.”

I patted the stoat’s head with my finger as praise and looked over the documents.

The list of requests was written out in detail under the title of the United States Department of Defense’s Anti-Demon Lord Task Force Commander. As expected, the highest-priority item was magic staffs.

At the top of the list was an order for 30 full-spec magic stone staff with a seven-layer structure, backflow prevention mechanism, magic compression intersecting rings, and mana measurement devices. I immediately crossed it out with a line. What kind of idiot thinks that’s a reasonable request? There’s not even enough material for it.

The next item was more realistic: 30 Gremlin staff with a three-layer structure, backflow prevention mechanism, magic compression rings, and mana measurement devices. There was a doodle of the stoat next to it, with a speech bubble saying, “You can use the ones meant for university delivery!”

Hmm. This one was doable.

The Gremlin staff for this year’s university graduates were already made. If the university president approved their repurposing, they could be sent to America as-is.

They didn’t have magic compression rings or mana measurement devices, but adding those would bring them up to spec.

However, the deadline was 14 days before the Black Ships departed.

Since it took a full day to craft just one mana measurement device, there was no way to complete 30 in just 11 days. Plus, it was a pain to make them. I’d craft just one to show off my skills.

The Quant-style magic compression rings were relatively simple to make, something I could do on autopilot. Even for 30, it wouldn’t be much trouble. That part was fine—I could chip away at it bit by bit.

The next highest priority request after the basic wands was four sets of ritual magic’s “Thirteen Sacramental Tools.”

Yeah, this was just a case of “might as well ask for everything and see what sticks.” Well, it’s up to me whether I make them or not, so whatever.

I modified the request to a single set of “Three Sacramental Tools” instead. That could be done in six days.

The next high-priority item was 10 regular dodecahedral fractal-type magic staff.

Even Japan only had two of these (owned by Professor Ohinata and the Tobacco Witch), yet they wanted 10?

I crossed out the zero and changed it to a one.

It took three days at top speed and five days at a reasonable pace to make just one. They could settle for one.

Below that was a request for machining equipment (a mother machine) to manufacture staff cores, backflow prevention mechanisms, and mana measurement devices.

Yeah, no.

Everything I made was hand-crafted.

Even if I could build a machine from scratch, there was no way it would be ready before the Black Ships set sail. This request was out.

The last two items, “Monster Scissors” and the “Sage’s Staff,” were already crossed out with a note saying, “Blueprints handed over.”

That was fine by me—I had no need to make those myself. The same applied to amulets.

The absence of “Sealing Bullets” from the list likely meant that their technology had been deliberately hidden. That suggested America still wasn’t fully trusted.

If gun-happy America reverse-engineered and mass-produced sealing bullets, they might ride the momentum of defeating the Demon Lord straight into becoming the next Demon Lord themselves.

I was surprised that the “Möbius Ring Gremlin” wasn’t on the list either, but after reading a separate document, I understood why.

America had discovered its own method for processing Gremlins.

According to the illustrated explanation, exposure to radiation temporarily discolored Gremlins, turning them translucent and revealing their cleavage planes—essentially showing exactly where to apply pressure to break them.

Huh.

With a technique like that, processing Gremlins would be much easier.

I could carve them without seeing their cleavage planes, so it didn’t affect me, but for an ordinary craftsman, this was a godsend.

It would undoubtedly boost civilian processing accuracy.

With this method, America could likely mass-produce Möbius Ring Gremlins themselves.

They no longer needed me.

The payment for all these tasks would be in the form of materials acquired after defeating the Demon Lord (with the quantity and quality depending on the number of tasks accepted).

The Demon Lord was an AA-class monster, classified in Japan as a Class-A Exceptional Creature.

Even the Tōhoku Hunting Guild highly valued Daidarabotchi materials.

Materials harvested from a Demon Lord—something even greater than a Daidarabotchi—would surely be incredible.

After the Demon Lord was defeated, those involved in the hunt (or representatives they designated) would collectively assign evaluation values to the materials obtained.

I would then have the right to select and claim materials based on those values before anyone else.

In short, I could snag the best loot from the Demon Lord’s drops.

Among monster materials, Gremlins were the most desirable to me.

I absolutely wanted a Demon Lord Gremlin!

It had to be enormous. It might even have unique abilities.

…But still. It was a “Demon Lord Gremlin.”

That meant it was likely the original source of the black Gremlins that infected Class-A creatures.

And infected black Gremlins disappeared after death.

The Demon Lord Gremlin would probably vanish, too.

Then again, who knew?

Maybe the original infection source wouldn’t disappear.

It was hard to say, but it seemed suspicious.

Honestly, aside from Gremlins, I wasn’t particularly interested in Demon Lord materials.

And if the Demon Lord wasn’t defeated, this was all just wishful thinking anyway.

Even if they did take it down, if it took ten years, then the reward payout wouldn’t come for another decade. That was a long wait.

Fortunately, there was another payment option besides priority material selection.

They were offering payment in precious metals.

Apparently, using magic script required precious metals.

This option had a guaranteed value, with assured quality and quantity, and would be paid out in the near future.

The priority claim on Demon Lord materials, with the Demon Lord Gremlin as the highlight. Tempting, but unstable, with an uncertain payout date.

Payment in precious metals—a guaranteed reward. Less exciting, but stable in both quality and quantity, with a fast payout.

Two choices for compensation.

I decided to go ahead and mark the priority claim on Demon Lord materials as my preferred reward.

I couldn’t resist the allure of the Demon Lord Gremlin.

Even if it ended up disappearing, I’d still get my share of the best Demon Lord materials. And most importantly, my creations would have played a major role in defeating a world-ending Demon Lord. That fact alone was enough.

Now then, all the requested items had to be delivered before the Black Ships departed.

There wasn’t much time to spare, so I’d better get to work immediately.

I’d finish my tasks like a true professional—then, once everything was done, I could dive into that thick tome on magical script.

No way I’d be able to stop once I started reading it.

Man, I can’t wait!

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