Editing Failing Witch:Volume2 Episode1 (section)

===Part 5===

''Boom!!

''Eeeee!

''Kapowwwww!!!

Motivated by Melehe and Viocia, more and more hopeful witches kicked off from the edge of the building rooftop and flew toward the squid buoy 5000m away. The distinctive sounds of bursting, whistling, and rapid compression of air sounded on top of each other several times over. Even Dorothea was raring to go. Unable to bear waiting in line, oftentimes five or six witches at once were attempting the round the buoy at sharp angles. Afterwards, they would land directly on the main street, assess their results, and try again. They made repeated attempts over a short span of time.

Which had an inevitable result.

During lunchtime…

“Blehh…”

“C’mon, Viocia, eat this salmon and onion sandwich. Get your head off the table and eat. You worked hard to pay your tuition, so you don’t want to sit out this afternoon, do you?”

Witchcraft was not powered by anything as convenient as “magic power”. All humans had was willpower, so they had to borrow power from another world and manipulate that. However, it went without saying what happens to a human body after repeatedly performing strenuous exercise without a break.

(Hm, maybe I egged them on a little too much.)

The witches were all dead tired. It was strange indeed to see a bunch of growing teenagers in the cafeteria without any of them ordering anything. Yagoro had only been trying to use Viocia’s rivalry as a motivator to get her to study, but he did feel a little guilty now.

But the lunch break only lasted so long. If they didn’t eat anything, none of them would be having a good time during their afternoon lectures.

A naked cloak vampire girl and cat ears maid had enough energy left for their empty stomachs to overpower their exhaustion and they were whispering to each other.

“Ugh. The cafeteria’s raised its prices again.”

“That’s how many times now and it’s only June? How are we supposed to focus on studying like this?”

“If it was just one day, fine, but it adds up day after day.”

“What am I going to do? Maybe I should start borrowing more money this month,” said the cat ears maid, gently holding a keychain-like doll between her hands.

“Ugh,” groaned Viocia, her head down on the table. “Higher prices is a real problem. The XL hamburger steak plate and the extra-thick chicken steak bowl were the one thing I could look forward to in my brutal days of endless studying, but now I won’t be able to afford them.”

“You nee to focus more on keeping a witch’s figure. Being short and light gives you an edge.”

Was this why Melehe and Dorothea had stopped eating lunch with her lately even though they were generally good friends? Sadly, the entrance exams were both a competition with others and a battle against yourself. Those two would gain nothing by letting their friend’s endless desire drag them down too. Not to mention that a witch was supposed to know how to control her desires!

Then Yagoro heard something moving outside the first-floor cafeteria window.

Curious, he opened the window to look out.

“Raynold, what are you doing here?”

“Geh, mister!?”

A boy of about 10 in a filthy shirt jumped directly below the window. He lived in the squatter’s district adjacent to Yagoro’s apartment.

Next to him was a girl in a dress covered in patches and so filthy its original color was no longer discernible. She was like a crepe fallen in the sand or like Cinderella before she met the fairy godmother. Her short skirt was frayed and torn in places, but she appeared to be wearing shorts below. Her wavy blonde hair was tied back and she wore a pointy hat and a thin summer cloak that gave her a bit of a witchy look. If she actually took a bath, she would probably have the lovely face of a doll.

She carried a homemade notebook made from tying fliers together with string and she had tears in her eyes.

“Th-th-they noticed us.”

“Shut up, Roslynica. It’s okay if he knows. He’s one of us!”

Apparently Yagoro had been made a member without his knowledge, but what were these brats doing hanging around this prep school?

Then Viocia reacted with surprise.

“Huh? What’s Roslynica doing here?”

“H-h-hello.”

“Friend of yours, Viocia?”

“Heh heh. I need money for the field trip. That’s how I met her.”

“?”

Was she taking on more day labor jobs or roadside subquests? Viocia could make friends with anyone in the city – even a carriage horse waiting for customers – so the extent of her acquaintances was always a bit of a mystery.

Raynold pouted his lips and spoke as if giving in.

“Roslynica is going to Maleficium one day.”

“Wait, I haven’t decided for sure yet!”

“She’s definitely going!! She’s really smart and the grownups were even saying she might be the first person from the squatter’s district to get in!”

“I see…”

Ordinarily, girls graduated from their compulsory education and then attempted the Maleficium entrance exam, but it was possible to skip that first step if they already had the necessary knowledge. Maleficium believed in acquiring people with definite skills over requiring a silly diploma that only meant you knew how to toe the line. Otherwise, Yagoro could never have gotten in after suddenly appearing in this world one day with no credentials to his name.

“But we don’t have the money to send Roslynica to a real cram school or prep school, right? And if you live in the squatter’s district, they won’t hire you for any of the ordinary jobs. So we thought if we hung around outside the window someone might throw out some balled-up quizzes or something. By gathering up enough problems and combining them, we’d have our own textbook or workbook.”

The blond tutor glared over at Viocia who was suddenly very busy looking the other way and whistling nonchalantly.

And sweating profusely.

What had she been doing with the quizzes he stayed up all night writing? Even if she got the problems wrong – no, especially if she got them wrong – they were a valuable resource to hang onto. A quiz did not end once it was taken. They were a means of identifying your problem areas so you could set up the next hurdle to clear and focus your studies there!!

“That’s it. I’m confiscating all the sweet things from your lunch.”

“Please no, teacher! Even a whack from your slide rule would be better than that!!!”

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” Roslynica began panicking even though she wasn’t the one being scolded.

Anyway, finding a way to get something for free and clinging to that was an essential skill for surviving in the squatter’s district. Salary-focused Schanze probably wouldn’t be thrilled with these kids’ methods, but it wasn’t a real problem for Yagoro since he was an outsider anyway. And as a tutor, he didn’t want to discourage someone who was self-motivated to study.

“But we might just get by thanks to you, mister.” Raynold smiled bashfully. “I mean, everyone thought we were just a drain on the city but you taught us how to sell firewood and give something back! Heh heh. So we’re all saving up our money little by little in a moneybox. One day the money we save up will be enough to help Roslynica take the entrance exam!!”

Raynold sounded delighted even though this didn’t benefit him in any way.

Was he just happy he was participating in the city economy and helping someone grow?

“We’re always telling her to focus on studying, but she keeps sneaking away and working.”

“I-I can’t let the rest of you do all the work… And I can flip through my notes while I sell firewood.”

It sounded like her motivation was on the level of Ninomiya Kinjirou, the original distracted walker. Yagoro really wished a certain idiot would learn a thing or two from that desire to absorb knowledge at all times.

The tutor boy sighed.

“Okay, Viocia. This calls for a quiz. Let’s see who can answer first – you or Roslynica here.”

“Eh? This does not call for a quiz, teacher.”

“Question: What is ATU 0333?”

“You’re not even listening to me, are you!? Um, 0333 is, uh…the 300s are the old magic stories with supernatural enemies, so-”

“Um, it’s Little Red Riding Hood.”

Viocia petrified when the much younger girl immediately gave the correct answer.

Yagoro winked.

“Then what’s the magical lesson found in the wolf symbol?”

“W-wait, let me answer tha-”

“When the prey is in the wolf’s spell, they will believe even the most brazen lie. But once the hunter reveals the lie, the wolf’s belly is split open and the captured and eaten people can be retrieved unharmed.”

“Correct. Which means ill-gotten gains will not remain yours for long. Good job, Roslynica.”

“Noo,” tearfully groaned Viocia.

As young as Roslynica was, she had apparently obtained even more knowledge than an exam student who had been studying for an entire year. As for the dunce girl, Yagoro would have to make sure this lesson stuck later on.

Yagoro handed a few sandwiches out through the window, earning him a delighted grin from Raynold in his filthy shirt.

“Heh heh. Of course, it helps that Miss Rayon sometimes teaches her some witchcraft.”

“?”

Yagoro didn’t recognize that name.

“But that witch lady has other work to do,” said Roslynica. “She’s always so busy working with all those numbers, so I can’t bother her too much.”

“She’s a real classy witch. Ahem, ‘It’s wrong that being dirt poor can keep people out of the entrance exam. If you wanna take that path, then come to me for help.’ ”

“Th-that doesn’t sound like her at all. Miss Rayon sounds a lot nicer and more polite!”

Apparently Yagoro wasn’t the only one looking after those kids during the day. It sounded like this woman was well-liked by the cautious squatter’s district children. Did ‘working with all those numbers’ mean she did some kind of accounting work? Witches were familiar with calculations thanks to their potion mixing and encryption building, so they were sometimes hired to do accounting work. Ordinary people apparently found accounting just as baffling as magic.

“See, told you Roslynica was smart! I bet she really can get into Maleficium. And it’s not just us saying it – even the grownups say she could be the first person from the squatter’s district to get in!”

“B-but we don’t have that kind of money.”

“Don’t worry! We’ll save up money bit by bit selling firewood, gathering trash, and so on. It’ll all go in that moneybox. You won’t actually be trying for the entrance exam until you’re 15, so we’ve got five whole years to save up. So you stop worrying so much and focus on becoming the best witch out there. Ah ha ha!!”

Roslynica still fidgeted nervously, but she didn’t have a response to that.

If someone from the squatter’s district really did get into Maleficium, it would be a Cinderella story straight out of a children’s storybook.