Editing Failing Witch:Volume2 Episode4 (section)

===Part 8===

“Heh heh. It’s finally Sunday!!”

“Pick up the pace or we’re leaving you behind. We’re headed to a battlefield crowded with rival witches!”

“Eep. Th-this could be my only chance to afford grimoires or witchcraft devices.”

Liberty Ceridwen, the wandering realm.

That was the name of a flea market held in Temple School City where witches and others could bring in whatever goods they wanted and sell them. Rare grimoires and other great finds could be hidden there, so it became a colorful cauldron boiling with forbidden knowledge and rumors.

“What, is the pervy teacher supposed to be our chaperon?”

“Jacked-up prices, phony goods…the list goes on. I can’t let you three enter that devilish land on your own.”

“''And it isn’t just him''.”

Melehe glanced to the side.

The woman must have accompanied Viocia from the shop where she rented a room, so Viocia shrugged.

“Strena wanted to come with us after hearing where we were going.”

“Hmph.”

Strena put a hand on her hip and gave Yagoro an appraising look.

She was the bouncer at Sabbath Party where Viocia rented a room.

She was the same age as Olivia, so probably her early 20s. She had a long blonde ponytail and light skin, but she radiated a rough, dangerous air. She wore light armor and a miniskirt, but her right arm jutted out from her collar, prioritizing movement of the arm over defense.

The weapon she wore at her hip appeared to be a bastard sword, but a broom tip had been added to the pommel. The kind of small broom used to get at little gaps in a room or dust small objects. When held normally, she could cut down her enemy. When held in reverse, she could use recovery magic.

She never considered flying with it. Her broom was exclusively used to defeat her enemies from the ground.

“Is that based on the Dagda’s club, which could even resurrect the dead when held in reverse? Maybe it can’t accomplish that much, but it does allow attack and recovery. An opponent who can heal herself while she fights would be trouble, don’tcha think?”

“Are you trying to get to know me better?” The ponytail miniskirt knight gave a snort of exasperation. “You can handle Viocia’s studies if you want, but I can’t trust you when it comes to protection. Olivia seems to like you, but I don’t think so highly of you.”

“Heh heh. ‘So highly’? That means you think a little bit highly of him, doesn’t- ow!?”

Viocia cut in with a smile before Yagoro could say anything, so the bouncer rubbed her fists against her temples.

“Tch. Unlike Olivia and the others, I don’t trust teachers as a whole. And changing the title to tutor or instructor doesn’t help any.”

It was sounding like this belligerent fighter was half here out of concern for Viocia and half here in the hopes of running into trouble at the flea market where haggling was common, leading to a lot of arguments.

The flea market was in Block U, at the bottom of Blue District.

Open spaces larger than a sporting stadium were unusual in the city, but this was an event space rented out for various events like circuses and card game tournaments.

Yagoro’s group passed through the wooden gate decorated with pumpkins and bats to enter Liberty Ceridwen.

And as soon as they did…



“We have deeply discounted Formula Brooms here! We can’t tell you why they’re being discounted, but these are some great prices!!”

“If you need a witch’s textbook on ATU 0333, Red Riding Hood, you won’t find a better deal anywhere else! With the classics, you often feel like you know the story but have a poor grasp of the details. For example, the hunter rescues the girl and her grandmother by splitting open the wolf’s belly, but did he use a hunting knife, a kitchen knife, or scissors? You can find the answer right in here!”

“Hee hee hee. How about a lead panel that casts a deadly curse on each of its owners? Control can be a challenge, but one look at the records of mysterious deaths proves the power of the curse.”



They were hit by a flood of noises and voices.

The booths had clearly-defined spaces, but the sellers had brought in tall shelves and bookcases that blocked the view and gave the place a labyrinthine look.

“This atmosphere. Eep. Now I’m really nervous,” whispered Dorothea Rockpool to herself.

She was the opposite of Viocia who thrived in the crowded atmosphere of a festival or amusement park.

But wasn’t Dorothea the oldest sister of a large merchant family?

A wide variety of wares had its downsides. Viocia and the others only had so much money to spend, so without a plan, they could end up buying junk they didn’t need. The prices for the same products differed between sellers, but hesitating to buy what you wanted would give another buyer a chance to beat you to it.

“Viocia. Eep. Do you know what you want?”

“A whole bunch of stuff, but I most want this! The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences!!”

The dunce witch read off her memo and Melehe frowned.

“That’s a pretty well-known rare book. I wouldn’t be surprised if Maleficium has a copy securely stored in their library. I doubt you’re just going to find a copy here.”

The book contained a list of over a thousand different herbs and provided their correspondences to the four elements and to letters of the alphabet. It was a special class of taboo book. It was very famous, but it was a privately printed book and only 50 copies were ever made. Its value was at the point where it was best donated to a public library so its knowledge could be shared with everyone.

“Heh heh. Moloch said she wanted it. She can use it to boost her girl power and increase her repertoire of recipes!”

“Yeah, sure,” said Melehe with a hand on her forehead.

Yagoro decided to direct the conversation her way.

“Do you know what you want, Melehe?”

“I’m not dreaming quite as big as her. I’m hoping to find an original copy of some of the books we use to make sure their information is accurate.”

That made sense. In a world without a mass printing technology, most books were copies handwritten by familiars. So even if a text had the same name as the original, it could have errors.

“Eep. Th-this place is so crowded… Oh, I know. Viocia, let’s hold hands.”

“What, do you think I’ll get lost the second you take your eyes off me?”

Viocia didn’t know what booth would be selling her herb encyclopedia, so she had to search through them all. That meant they stuck with Melehe’s plan and checked the grimoire booths.

“They have Horns and Harvest, the Forest Goddess, and the Little People. Yes, I’ll be buying this one too.”

“Um, you can’t just buy them at the asking price, Melehe. Eep.”

“?”

“The spine is faded and the pages are stained, so there’s room to haggle. Eep.”

Dorothea was better at things like this because she had been forced to be frugal as the oldest daughter of a large family while Melehe was an elite who had grown up with plenty of money.

And…

“Geh… Why do you have to show up and ruin a good day at the flea market?”

Someone was not happy to see them.

It was Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans, the aces of the infamous Sassafras Cfa Prep School.

“Are you after that book too? The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences?”

“Hey, how could a failing witch like you even use a rare book like that?”

They were being insulting already, but Melehe actually showed interest.

“Huh, so it isn’t just Viocia being dumb? If you’re here for the Encyclopedia too, could the rumor about it being sold here be real!?”

“Arbamini. And Holibre. The non-idiot of their group is putting two-and-two together. We need to leave before we give away anything else.”

The wicked trio vanished into the crowd.

Dorothea watched them go.

“Wait, does that mean the rumor was real? Eep.”

“If so, there’s no time to spare. A super rare book like that will come in handy studying for the exam, so we need to get our hands on it!!”

Melehe was highly motivated now, but Viocia was looking elsewhere.

She had a distinct goal here – the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences – but she had already gotten distracted by another booth.

“What are these photos?”

“You have a good eye, miss. These are silver halide photos of creatures found outside of the city. This here is a vouivre and this is a mermaid!!”

“Wow,” said Viocia while Melehe slapped a hand to her forehead.

These “creatures” were all experimental animals created in Maleficium, or their offspring, just like the giant dragon flying by overhead right this instant. With the elf as an example, the possibility of them being real was technically possible, but natural creatures were very nearly unthinkable.

(Well, from the Cottingley Fairies to Nessie, Bigfoot, and the Little Grays, supposed photos of monsters is a major genre of the occult.)

“What’s this round purple creature?”

“That is a Dracae. They live in rivers and some of them look just like beautiful girls.”

“Hwuh? But that doesn’t sound scary at all.”

“Even if I tell you they are horrific creatures that abduct human girls walking on the riverside and subject them to seven years of forced labor? And any human who violates the rules, which are not explained to them, are punished by having an eye gouged out?”

“Gwehhhh,” groaned Viocia, trembling.

…Now, mysterious creatures were not the only things that abducted another species and put them to work. This was found in the natural world as well. For example, the polyergus samurai ant would take the pupae of other, harmless ants and bring them back to their colony as slaves.

“How about it? These are valuable photos. Buy them up and make an album from them and you’ll have a special illustrated encyclopedia all your own. This is your only chance to get a leg up on everyone else!”

“Um, uhh!!”

Someone grabbed Viocia’s hand from the side.

It was the delinquent girl Arbamini.

She had once gotten burned at a flea market, so she couldn’t just watch this.

“Come on, you failing witch!! Aren’t you here to buy the Encyclopedia!? Don’t waste your limited money on this garbage!”

“Wah!”

The force of Arbamini’s pull sent them both tumbling into another booth.

Sorbeddy Icing’s booth.

She had bought up old but worthless books at all the used bookstores she could find in the hopes of selling them for quite a bit more at the flea market.

Her broom spoke in a blunt, low female voice while leaning against the bookcase next to her.

“Myousou Yagoro. Watch out for a round purple garment with the scent of my river upon it.”

“?”

Did that mean anything or not?

While Viocia was distracted by that, one of the Limit Breakers spoke to her.

“Welcome, witch student. See any grimoires you like?”

“Oh! Th-this book…”

“As you touched it first, the right of purchase falls with you. So will you buy it?”

“Tch!!” Melehe and Arbamini clicked their tongues simultaneously.

Viocia stared intently at the thick tome clutched between her hands.

“I’ll buy it… I’ll buy it!”

“Hee hee hee! Thank you, thank you. I never imagined I could make so much money off these garbage books I bought for dirt-cheap prices. The good life awaits me now!!”

If she really had just ripped off Viocia, did she actually think Bouncer Strena would sit by and let it happen?

Myousou Yagoro sighed softly.

“(Hey, Sorbeddy, did you actually check the name of the book? That’s the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft Herb Correspondences. I don’t know it got mixed in with those other books, but it’s an ultra-rare book worth as much as a jewelry box of the same size.)”

The ice witch appeared to have frozen, but it was too late.

Viocia had already paid, so the book was hers.