Editing Failing Witch:Volume1 Episode4 (section)

===1===

“Eh?”

It began with a confused voice.

Viocia was still slumped down on the floor, not looking his way. She had gone limp as she simply stared at the utterly destroyed Moloch.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Myousou Yagoro refused to accept this ending. For one thing, he was a witch tutor. He had traveled all the way to a world full of magic, so why should he have to give up here?

That spring, he had seen a girl standing in shock after seeing her failure on the exam result board.

But instead of crying or lashing out when faced with that harsh reality, that lonely girl bit her lip, suppressed the tears, and chose to face the next gloomy year head on.

That was when he decided to choose her.

Yagoro had his own objective.

But more than that, he knew he couldn’t bear for that girl, who had something he didn’t, to be worn down by reality before she managed to get back on her feet.

“Hee ha ha!! Why are you getting all worked up over that scrap heap? Moloch’s completely broken and you still think you can ‘save’ the thing? Don’t make me laugh!!!”

“That’s it, don’tcha think?”

Arbamini cackled, but the blond boy snapped his fingers.

He couldn’t avert his eyes. They could never escape this crisis if they shut out crucial information just because it was painful to hear.

In fact, he needed to thank that witch for her wickedness and cackling. It was time to turn this around in a single blow.

It was time to prove that anything was possible with witchcraft.

“Moloch is ''broken''. He’s a bipedal bronze statue, so you can smash up his body as much as you want – he won’t ''die''. Now, which parts are broken? If we open him up, determine the source of the problem, and fix or replace the broken parts, he’ll be as good as new!!”

“S-so what?”

“R-right? In case you forgot, Moloch’s under our control because it ate the pomegranate seeds.”

“Hee hee. Fixing it will only give us another pawn, so that’s fine by us. We’ll make that ugly thing kill itself hundreds or even thousands of times if you make us!!”

“Again, that’s it, don’tcha think?”

The trio looked taken aback by his repeated response.

This time, they had no idea what he could be getting at.

“Anyone who eats the fruit of the underworld is bound to the world of the dead and can no longer leave. You’re right about that. ''But that only applies to ordinary humans like us.''” Yagoro grinned. “But like I said, Moloch is ''a bipedal bronze statue''. You say he ate a special fruit? But what does ‘eat’ even mean? If you put something in a box or pot, would you call that eating? Metal Moloch doesn’t eat in the sense of absorbing nutrients through a stomach and intestines!! No bronze statue can do that!!!”

Being different from others wasn’t necessarily a negative thing.

If you accepted it as part of what makes you unique, it could open new paths for you.

In this case, bronze Moloch could be saved when an ordinary person would have died.

That was undeniable.

Those differences were a blessing that should be greeted with applause and utilized to their fullest!!

“Don’t give up.”

Which meant hope was not yet lost. They could still repel this tragedy.

A single thin thread of light remained.

If they replaced his broken parts and removed the pomegranate caught in his joints, they really could save him this time.

“Didn’t you want to be his friend, Viocia!?”

Checking on every little thing was a pain.

He didn’t need to question it. He could make the call himself at this point.

A tutor’s job was to supply his student with all the necessary knowledge. He knew that. But before even that, he had sworn to himself he would show his student the way when she was unsure of herself!!

“It doesn’t matter if he’s alive or not or even if he never was alive. He still believed he had something inside him he couldn’t bear to have insulted, didn’t he, Viocia!? So don’t let it end here. Who do you think you are giving up on a friend’s possibilities like this? You decided you wanted to be his friend, so don’t give up on that just because it’s a little harder than you thought!!”

Someone audibly gnashed their teeth.

It was Arbamini in the red waitress uniform.

“That thing’s fine if he’s broken cause its bronze? The pomegranate curse wasn’t perfect? S-saying it doesn’t make it true.”

“The magic I teach my students isn’t so cheap. I didn’t teach you witchcraft so you could give up on something. I mean, didn’t you come to Temple School City to learn ''how to make the impossible possible''? Isn’t that why you want to go to Maleficium!? Then use all the power you have. Viocia, what kind of witch do you want to be? Do you want to learn the kind of fashionable and clever magic that lets you skillfully avoid dealing with anything hard, abandon people in need to die, and live a happy life all on your own!? Like hell you do!!!”

A dull thud rang out.

That was the response Yagoro was waiting for.

Viocia still had her head lowered, but she worked her trembling legs to stand back up. She pressed the end of her Formula Broom against the floor to prop herself up like a cane.

And she raised her head.

When she was looking at what truly needed protecting, the girl stopped being a dunce.

“Teacher. If that’s true – if we can still save Moloch – then I’m through hesitating. In fact, I’ll do this even if you tell me not to.”

“You think you can beat us? Don’t be stupid, you failing witch!! You won’t even earn any real points on this practice exam after spending all this time dealing with Moloch. You talk big for a failure who isn’t on our list of people to sabotage or recruit!!” shouted Arbamini, red in the face, but Yagoro simply shook his head.

That wasn’t how witchcraft worked.

People didn’t have any convenient magic power inside them. All they had was their willpower. So no one was born a genius at witchcraft and no one was granted all the necessary abilities by a goddess. There was no easy mode for the witch entrance exam, allowing you to pass on your first try.

Furthermore, witchcraft was not so cheap that it could be wielded based ''only'' on exam scores.

What you needed was…

(The right situation.)

That wasn’t limited to magic. For example, how many people who passed a proficiency test in gardening or mental arithmetic could hold onto those skills forever? Wouldn’t a lot of people only remember it long enough to get through the special “situation” that was the test?

A professional always kept themselves in an appropriate situation and made sure to complete daily training to continually hone their skills.

And on a more emotional side, there were people whose skills could be temporarily heightened by the right situation. Like someone who could only play a video game at a certain level when trying to help out their struggling friend.

There was nothing wrong with being average.

Not as long as you ha the strong willpower to attempt the exam despite not having the skill.

Viocia’s broom demanded an estimated rank of S<sup>3</sup>.

So what?

''Don’t arrogantly assume witchcraft can truly be analyzed as nothing more than arithmetic.'' Magic gives people dreams, so it isn’t that simple.

When she said she could still save Dorothea, she was relying on the fact that her tutor was there to help if she failed. But that wasn’t an option here. Which created an extreme “situation” where she had to act now or lose this friend forever.

Witches did not reject the desires that could instead drive them.

In a situation where you wanted to obtain something no matter what, harnessing that desire transformed it into the greatest fuel.

Not everyone who wanted to be a top-level witch had been an extraordinary genius from birth.

But everyone had moments when they could push past their standard specs and become a genius.

The girl could pull it off if she had the willpower.

(Now if only she could maintain this kind of focus.)

“Moloch, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone trample on your wish. I won’t let anyone laugh at you. I won’t let them make fun of you. …And please, my broom, lend me the strength I need to keep my word.”

Someone moved past Myousou Yagoro. It was Melehe Superlative who had gotten back up despite her injuries.

She was joined by another girl who was trembling but had never let go of her Formula Broom. Dorothea Rockpool. The two stood side by side and exchanged a quick fist bump. This had nothing to do with the entrance exam. Pouring their heart and soul into this wouldn’t earn them even one extra point. But it was written plain on their faces that they didn’t care.

In fact, the same thing may have been written on Yagoro’s face.

Viocia raised her head and her voice.

They refused to leave her alone when she was willing to say this with no hesitation whatsoever.

They were all with her.

“Formula Broom – Wittenberg!! Help me with my task!!!”

The pitch black broom roared and golden light slipped across the surface of its handle.

Even mysterious Mephistopheles, who had kept his silence until now, had responded.

''Protect that feeling. Maybe he isn’t human and maybe he isn’t alive.

''But, witch, save your suffering friend using awesome magic that is linked to all things.