Editing Failing Witch:Volume1 Episode3 (section)

===5===

“Celtic magic is known for its many human sacrifice rituals. One of those rituals is the wicker man. Which of the following does not apply to that?

“1. People were stuffed inside a giant doll.

“2. Fire was used.

“3. A lot of people were killed.

“4. The people were killed before they were burned.”

“Um, uhh, 1, 2, 3, and 4.”

“Have you given up on thinking entirely, Viocia? The answer is 4.”

“Why is it always these scary topics about human sacrifice and killing?”

“'''Trick question warning: But the punishment the criminals hated most was being denied the honor of being sacrificed.'''”

Her tutor was trying to help her study, but Viocia was covering her ears while they left Carraway Cs Prep School. The change to the city was noticeable no matter where you were.

“So the entire building turned into a labyrinth just because it was abandoned by all the students?” Viocia said curiously as she craned her neck up. “It’s always there beyond the year-round diamond dust, but everyone sees it with a different shape. What even is Maleficium?”

“…”

“Bwagh!?”

After her thoughtful comment, Viocia tripped on absolutely nothing and fell flat on her face. She must have stepped on the hem of her long skirt. A skirt which did an astounding job of pulling all the way up as she fell. ''What is even happening here?'' wondered Myousou Yagoro, staring into the distance. ''Did she earn some divine punishment for trying to be something she’s not?

“Hey, your underwear.”

“Ahhhh! Teacher saw my more mature underwear!?”

Shut up, Miss Pumpkin Print Butt.

The official practice exam was approaching. Temple School City had countless prep schools and not all exam students used the prep schools. Then there were the untold number of girls outside the city who wanted to get into Maleficium.

Viocia took a suspiciously-sourced extra edition newspaper from a bipedal puppy familiar.

“Wow. They have a bunch of stands doing balloon yoyos and goldfish catching and stuff. It’s like a festival, Dorothea!”

“U-um. Eep. <span style="font-size:75%">I don’t like crowds.</span>”

Bandage zombie girl Dorothea had shrunk down. This had always been a big city, but the population density seemed to have tripled in a single day and it showed no sign of stopping. The inns were full up, so the challengers who had traveled here from a long way away were stuck renting rooms in rundown hotels that were partially on their way to being brothels already. Everyone was desperate to find somewhere to stay so they could avoid sleeping out on the streets.

(I see. Does Viocia rent a room in the shopping district because she arrived during one of these busy seasons?)

Real estate had its busy times and its lulls. If you arrive from afar for the entrance exam, failed, and only then decided to find a place to stay while you studied for next year, you might end up in that situation. Because everyone in those same disappointing circumstances would be searching for a room to start their new life at the same time.

Then Yagoro spotted a boy of around 10 wearing a filthy t-shirt in the crowd. He appeared to be looking for a pickpocketing victim, so Yagoro approached the squatters district resident and handed him a sandwich he had bought at a stand (that was targeting nonwitches who couldn’t create food from a recipe with the Happy Halloween spell).

Viocia and Dorothea had gone on ahead and didn’t notice. A pro(?) would know how devastating an opening that was.

(Stop it, Raynold. I’ll buy you food if you need it.)”

“(Geh, you!? B-but I’m not hungry. And I only go after bad people’s wallets. I saw her charging people ridiculous prices for hand puppets she claimed were talismans for passing the exam!)”

The little brat puffed out his cheeks in protest, but Yagoro only rubbed his head and left. The kid may have been right, but no ''game'' was as addictive as “noble crimes”. That was something to watch out for. You would find yourself having trouble getting along with anyone before long.

Then he noticed someone who wasn’t engaging in conversation openly or in secret. Melehe walked alongside the blond boy.

“What’s with you?”

“Something caught my attention while I was thinking back on our talk with my mom.”

She gave him a searching look.

Yagoro should have always had the upper hand, but he felt an electric tension run along his spine.

“Navigate Exam is the near-legendary tutor who enters prep schools without permission and guarantees the girl he chooses will pass the exam and get into Maleficium.”

''Uh, oh,'' thought Yagoro.

He could tell where this was headed. There was no escaping this unscathed anymore. What mattered was how deep she managed to dig. He couldn’t let these thoughts show on his face.

“''Wouldn’t that mean you yourself have gotten into Maleficium''?”

Time froze.

A thick, invisible wall separated them from Viocia and Dorothea’s cheerful conversation not far ahead.

“You shouldn’t have known what my mom was talking about when you were looking up at the building the practice exam will be held in,” continued Melehe. Like she was investigating the contents of a box, one at a time. “Anyone who doesn’t pass Maleficium’s entrance exam will forget what was on the exam. Just like memories of last night’s dream fade away. Learning mom graduated Maleficium was a surprise, but it’s at least an explicable surprise. I understand how she could recognize the practice exam: ‘So it’s already beginning for this year.’ But not so with you, pervert tutor.”

“And? It’s not like we couldn’t hold a conversation about it. She generally meets us at our level and explains everything for us.”

“Maybe, but remember what you asked her? ‘Do you remember what problems are on it?’ You wouldn’t think to ask that unless you had something in your head to compare her comment to. If you didn’t recognize what was there in front of you, you would only wonder what she was talking about. I know I did.”

Melehe stared intently at Yagoro.

“Do you think I didn’t overhear your conversation with Schanze? You said you would mess with the inside of the broom so it would read in a different geographic location if Aristotle pissed you off again. But that means you would be accessing the core. ''Something only Maleficium students can do''.”

“If you’re that curious, you could always go and check all the prep school lists of students who passed the exam, don’tcha think? You won’t find me on any of them.”

“That’s my point.”

She didn’t hesitate.

She had the tone of someone who was already convinced.

“'''Are you an unprecedented genius who was entirely self-taught but still managed to pass the exam on your first try – something that’s never been done before''?”

This accusation held great meaning. Since anyone who didn’t pass the exam would forget what was on it, not even the greatest prep school could collect past exam questions. That was why a prep school’s rank was determined by its number of successful students. But that changed if someone from Maleficium helped them. This tutor was the only one who could gather the necessary knowledge. Knowing all the past trends would make it a lot easier for him to choose what his student should study.

“That still leaves the question of what a boy who can’t become a witch was doing attending Maleficium, but it does explain the current situation. And thanks to our battle against the Sassafras Cfa trio, I know you can ignore the rules of this world and use magic without a Formula Broom.”

Yagoro briefly fell silent. And he reached a conclusion.

''This is fine.

''She’s still only scratched the surface. She hasn’t noticed how much deeper this goes.

“Sometimes you do run across miracles like this in Temple School City,” she said.

“How about asking your mom for help? She seems to be a Maleficium graduate.”

Melehe waved her hand dismissively. Maybe getting her mother’s help would reflect poorly on her when it came time for her to lead Private Striga.

All that aside, they had left the prep school to visit Viocia’s room.

“You were so reluctant to let me see your room before. What changed?”

“You followed me against my wishes, is what happened. And now that you know, there’s no point in hiding it.”

He knew better than to let that dunce know he had only asked to visit today because he was afraid she would get caught up in the festive mood of stands and street performers if he didn’t see her home.

“Eep. Wow.”

And come to think of it, Dorothea was the only one who didn’t know already. The place wasn’t running since it was still daytime, but she seemed overwhelmed by the sketchy business in front of her.

“Y-you rent a room here, eep, Viocia?”

“Yup! And since you’re here, come on in.”

Viocia grabbed Dorothea’s hand and marched in.

The place actually seemed more dimly lit during the day. The dancer inside widened her eyes in slight surprise. She apparently didn’t wear the skimpy, see-through costume all the time, so she was wearing a cardigan and holding a feather duster, giving her more of a homemaker vibe.

“Oh, my. We don’t often get a lot of young girls here. You really shouldn’t walk in the front door like that. You don’t want people getting the wrong idea, do you?”

“Ah ha ha. Sabbath Party is nothing like that.” Viocia cut in with a smile. “It’s a cheerful witch business where the customers come in looking glum and leave with smiles. Olivia here helps me come up with mnemonics for memorizing things, Strena the bodyguard accompanies me to the flea markets on her days off and helps me haggle for reference materials, and Mr. Kevin’s late-night cooking is the best. They’re all great, teacher. They can do so much I can’t!”

“I see. I would imagine so.”

“Heh heh☆ You have my word it’s 100% true.”

The dancer with the feather duster smiled bitterly. She may not have been used to this kind of praise. The reserved young woman (who had somehow ended up working at a place like this) whispered to the girl.

“Hey, Viocia. Inviting your friends over is fine and all, but are you really going to let them see your room as-is?”

“Geh!? You’re right, Olivia. I forgot to tidy up!!”

Hurried footsteps clambered up the steep stairs to the 2nd floor. The tumultuous sounds thundering down from the ceiling were enough to know this was going to take a while.

And once Viocia was upstairs, something new happened.

“E-excuse me.”

Melehe hesitantly raised a hand. That bundle of confidence had suddenly grown timid.

“Um, I need to apologize. I seem to have misjudged you based on my ignorant biases. I assumed this was a l-lewd place.”

Olivia the dancer looked puzzled at first. Then she used a quick twist of her hips to send her short, nearly-see-through skirt aflutter.

“Oh, we are very lewd here.”

<span style="font-size:125%">“Wahhhhhh!!??”</span>

Swimsuit-like Halloween costumes were the norm in this world, so what had Melehe seen? She blushed bright and just about fell backwards, so Dorothea had to support her from behind.

Olivia placed a hand over her mouth and giggled, but once she met Yagoro’s gaze, she bowed. Deeply. It was a surprisingly proper bow.

“That girl has told us so much about you. Please continue to look after her for us, teacher.”

“That is my job as her tutor, don’tcha think?”

He meant that as a serious response, but it earned him a casual kick to the shin from Melehe. She must have wanted something with a more romantic mood. But why would Viocia’s landlord go to this much effort for her?

“We are all self-taught witches here,” explained Olivia. “Since you know so much about the exam, you must know what kind of city this is. Sabbath Party is a gathering place for those who gave up after failing the exam one too many times but also couldn’t bring themselves to leave the city.”

Was that why they had accepted Viocia? They knew the anxiety and hardship of having freshly failed the exam, so they couldn’t turn away a girl who needed a room because her home was too far away to attend a prep school from.

There were those who felt resentment and jealousy when they saw someone with what they had already lost. There were others who would sabotage those people and mock them. These girls had only just been on the receiving end of that sort of abuse at the hands of the infamous Sassafras Cfa Prep School.

But Olivia and everyone else who worked here were different. Yagoro felt he could trust his students’ assessment that these were great people.

“That girl is yet another witch living in this city of failures. And she already knows the bitter flavor of that failure.”

“Yeah…”

“But she doesn’t need to taste that bitterness again. So please, teacher, help her. I want to see her smiling from the joy she finds in the dream that remained unfulfilled for us.”

“I swear I will. Like I said, that is my job as her tutor, don’tcha think?”