Failing Witch:Volume3 Episode4

Episode 4: I Don’t Need the World

Part 1

A bureaucrat.

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary.

Now that the assassin was on the scene, there was only one thing for her to do. The government worker with the icy glasses didn’t look like the type to explain her objective and plan to her target.

When she killed, she did so silently.

Simply by arriving, she might as well have been saying, “I will now kill you.” If you didn’t want to die, you had to fight back.

…That was also the only way to escape this absurd situation where the girls working toward Maleficium would ultimately have their dreams crushed even if they did get into the school.

She came from behind.

She pursued on a broom. The aerial combat broom had diamond-shaped wings spreading out wide from the handle. That forced her to sit near the front. The broom’s odd shape may have made it look like a giant shield if she held it while down on the ground.

(A diamond wing design with a Pelikan tail? I’ve only ever seen that design on a certain stealth fighter!)

“Formula Broom – Mount Brocken bis25JAS.”

A whispering voice slipped past the sonic boom.

That broom had been modified more than 20 times.

And the result was a monster that could handle air combat, ground attacks, and reconnaissance.

Even the physical laws regarding sound and vibrations were ignored to allow her willpower to calmly seep into the surrounding world.

“Provide precise enough control to combine with the Adelaide unit, Faust.”

A chill ran down Yagoro’s spine.

He chose to trust his instincts.

“Watch out, Viocia.”

“Hwehh? F-for what? I don’t even know who that woman is.”

“Watch out for her too, but that isn’t what I meant!! Trick question warning: flying with me for long means the goddess’s divine punishment is coming!!!”

White lightning crashed straight down from heaven.

The attack completely ignored the distribution of rain clouds and atmospheric pressure.

If Viocia Modestlucky couldn’t handle such extraordinary acceleration, it would have pierced right through her, bringing them down. Just like it had happened with Instructor Flamberg Wyrd.

Apparently missing once wasn’t enough for the goddess to give up.

White lightning continued to strike, with only a few seconds between each. If even one hit, they would be shot down, but Yagoro and Viocia had more than their own safety to consider.

Myousou Yagoro couldn’t fly.

“Don’t fly over the city, Viocia! Dodge the divine punishment there and it’ll hit the people or homes below, don’tcha think!?”

“Got it, teacher! I’ll stay over the lake!!”

Viocia used a hand to signal Dorothea and Melehe before making a sharp turn.

Yagoro had used all the cards in his deck against President Ulrike.

He hadn’t expected an even greater threat. He didn’t have a single strategy or plan left. Not even a single anti-air weapon system camouflaged throughout the city.

But if he screwed this up, he couldn’t save Viocia and her friends.

They would have their lives taken by this assassin as a reward for having saved him.

(To hell with that.)

The boy clenched his teeth.

(You have guts targeting a student in front of her tutor, Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary. I’ll find a way to pull this off with what I have on hand!!)

Besides, escaping her would not be enough to save his life. A professional assassin would make another attempt after failing and she wouldn’t stop until her target was dead. That was what it meant to be a professional. If he wanted to survive, he would have to defeat her and end this once and for all.

“You choose how to shift your weight,” said Yagoro. “I’ll hold onto you from behind and lean whichever way you do. As long as I focus on your spine and shoulder blades I shouldn’t make any mistakes.”

“Wah, wah!” shouted Viocia in sudden remembrance.

Even in their predicament, the idiot had time to blush bright.

“H-hic? H-hold onto me? Teacher, you can’t grab me by the hips!!”

“Then where do you suggest I hold on while we fly tandem!?”

At this height, Yagoro would really prefer not to be thrown off the broom by their speed.

So he held on tight.

“Besides, Viocia, you picked me up! Then again, I wouldn’t want to burden someone who isn’t my student, so it’s good I’m not on Dorothea or Melehe’s broom.”

Dorothea and Melehe pouted their lips without uttering a word.

“…”

“…”

“Why isn’t anyone saying anything?

Apparently the two single-riders were displeased with the arrangement. Even though it meant they didn’t have to give thought to a passenger as they flew.

But now wasn’t the time for adolescence.

The beret and glasses woman expressionlessly observed them from close range.

She was only a few meters away. It was like an acrobatic flight. But they had no agreed-upon flight plan, nor did they know what the other was thinking. The beret and glasses woman predicted Viocia’s rapid movements, brought her broom in as close as possible, and accurately kept her distance with them.

That alone was enough to judge her skill.

It was hopeless.

Super acceleration alone wasn’t enough. Adelaide didn’t have Viocia’s level of power output, but she read the winds and used everything in the surrounding environment to stay close, preventing them from escaping!

Witchcraft was mostly reliant on brooms, but how accurately the witch operated the tool with her fingertips and speech could mean all the difference. The accumulation of little speed gains added up.

The assassin was clearly the one in control.

“Kh. Don’t ignore me with your unguarded ass right there in front of me!! Orpheus!!!”

From behind, Melehe sharply launched water spears.

The beret and glasses woman didn’t swerve hard to the side.

She matched her speed to Viocia’s while twisting her broom as if creating a vortex to pull Viocia in.

She made a barrel roll.

She used the minimum movement to throw off her pursuer and easily dodged at least 8 water spears.

If Yagoro hadn’t used his baton to construct some defense magic, Viocia’s broom would have been shot down instead.

“!”

“Don’t hold back, Melehe, Dorothea! I’ll stop any friendly fire, so just attack!”

One way or another, they had to end this tonight.

If President Ulrike had been telling the truth, that assassin had already destroyed the greatest western and southern covens for being a threat to the aristocratic patriarchy. On her own. If Yagoro chose to flee and go into hiding while waiting for a chance to strike back, she might just begin a strategic bombing of Temple School City.

Part 2

Air combat was all about technique.

Which meant Adelaide had the advantage from beginning to end.

“Kh!!”

As bright beams of light curved sharply in from behind, Viocia twisted her broom around to just barely dodge them. But she did more than just dodge. Formula Broom – Lyceum bisA was specialized for ground attacks, so Dorothea couldn’t handle the flashy acrobatics and ended up with guided magic targeting her. Viocia got that magic to target her instead before sharply evading it.

The lights were actually projectiles of about 15cm.

Or were those sharp wooden spindles used for weaving? Once Yagoro realized that, the trailing light looked a lot like magic threads.

“ATU 0410 is (__________).”

“Um!? (Sleeping Beauty)!!”

Viocia managed to keep up with Yagoro.

She was an idiot, but she was the kind of idiot who would actually study. Little by little, her knowledge was growing.

“The spindle is a weapon imbued with the fairy’s curse, don’tcha think? The king tried to remove all spindles around the kingdom, but in a nightmarish oversight, one of them was missed and a prick of a single finger was enough bring eternal sleep. The spindle is the carrier of a deadly curse.”

Eternal sleep was another word for death.

It was Melehe who gasped.

“That cold-blooded woman isn’t just trying to rob her enemy witches of their willpower. Suggestion, meditation, trances, role-building for a theatrical ceremony – she’s honed those techniques to externally mess with people’s minds to the point she can supply a psychological shock powerful enough to bring her victory without having to physically harm them.”

“Eep. Wh-what does that mean?”

“It means she can directly manipulate the life or soul that provides the source of the human mind!! That’s how she plays her role as an assassin – which makes her lethally bad news!”

A curse.

If it so much as grazed them, they would die.

“If you understand the threat, why not stop this silly resistance?”

A voice soaked through the frigid night.

Even though they shouldn’t have been able to hear it over the supersonic wind.

Was her will directly traveling through space?

“It’s no use. My attack is a lethal curse. If it even pricks your skin, it will take your life. There is no escaping it no matter where in this world you run.”

Letting her continue targeting them from behind would be a bad idea. Melehe gave a hand signal and then Viocia shot straight up while Melehe shot straight down. If the beret glasses woman went after either of them, the other would have a chance to get on Adelaide’s tail.

But Dorothea, who had followed Melehe down, gave a shout.

Her broom was specialized for ground attack.

“Wait, Melehe!! Eep, watch out for the water!!”

“Whoa!!”

Just before crashing, Melehe yanked the front of her broom up and managed to skim just above the dark water’s surface.

With everything dark at night, there was no obvious horizon to guide them. The lake had taken on the dark color of the sky, painting it pitch black. The witches were flying through the night wind at supersonic speed with no altimeter or direction indicator and with only their naked eyes to rely on, so even a slight optical illusion could send them crashing right into the water.

Meanwhile.

The assassin took an upward turn to chase after Viocia. And with Melehe and Dorothea delayed, they couldn’t come to her assistance right away.

(Even my defense magic will only stop a few shots!!)

Just one attack hitting would mean death.

Nevertheless, Viocia clenched her teeth and focused on more than just her own life.

“If your magic is this powerful, why are you using your witchcraft as an assassin!?”

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary gave a mechanical response.

“To bring about a better world.”

…By supporting the incompetent aristocrats of the patriarchy that rejected all witches and magic? They had to dislike her as well, so how could she believe that?

Even to a boy like Yagoro it made no sense.

That aside, her broom handling was flawless. She didn’t lose any speed. In fact, she used the shaking of her own body to gain speed and accurately close in on them. Like a nasty tailgater, she was behind them yet was in complete control.

Even with her extreme acceleration, Viocia’s reactionary movements were losing her too much speed.

“Trick question warning: Viocia, you can’t shake her with broom handling alone.”

“You can’t know that for-”

“I can know! Make a wide turn on my signal. I’ll dazzle her with a flash of light!!”

They were too slow.

Which gave the beret and glasses woman a chance to summon a pale light into her palm.

They had to be in the perfect spot for her to hit, but the cursed spindle did not take flight.

Something got in the way before it could.

A water spear flew in from the side.

Melehe and Dorothea had finally caught back up.

The assassin stopped pursuing her target and took a sharp turn. While she was focused on evasion, Viocia managed to regroup with her friends. Now all three of them pursued their target from behind.

“It’s three against one,” shouted Melehe. “We have far more chances to attack! Don’t think you can stay in control forever!!”

A solid snapping sound rang out.

It came from the assassin’s broom out front. The large diamond wings on either side of the broom handle suddenly separated and flew backwards.

It happened in an instant.

Yagoro was reminded of a multi-stage rocket’s booster. Would the lighter weight give her greater maneuverability?

No.

(Wait. Did only half the big diamond shapes separate?)

Her broom’s wings had formed a large diamond shapes on either side of the handle. By splitting half of them away, they became broad isosceles triangles.

“Viocia… Be on alert. You too, Dorothea and Melehe!”

“For what, teacher?”

“Adelaide didn’t just abandon her wings. They’re flying on their own now. They’re autonomous flying wing drones with a broad isosceles triangle silhouette!!”

There was one on either side. And because Viocia and the others had overlooked them at first, the drones had positioned themselves on the witches’ tails.

In a dogfight, that position allowed them to attack whenever they wanted.

(Dammit!!!)

Yagoro twisted around backwards and readied his baton.

It was too late.

Something exploded at close range.

Part 3

Yagoro gasped.

But the broom hadn’t broken apart below him and it hadn’t crash full-speed into the lake.

He was in a temple of white stone. The night sky spread out overhead, but he didn’t recognize the constellations. Not from Earth and not from the world of swords and sorcery he had arrived in.

He took a look around.

(Where am I?)

“Sigh. So you’ve finally wormed your way in here, Yagoro?”

He heard an exasperated voice.

It was the goddess.

She stood at the center of a circular spring with her long blonde hair and wet priestess garb clinging to her pale skin.

““Class 1 L-FS – Strange Picking. …That mysterious ability doesn’t come from me, so I thought it was some dangerous human mutation. At first, anyway.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I am talking about the insolent human-born ability that someone smuggled past me.”

“I don’t care about that!! Where’s Viocia? What happened to Dorothea and Melehe!?”

The goddess shrugged.

Was she impressed or exasperated with Yagoro’s ability to say he didn’t care about this?

“They are still alive. You see, time is currently frozen.”

“…?”

Time was frozen?

The Student Council President had controlled space, so based on the theory of relativity, maybe it was possible to directly influence time too.

“Oh, this isn’t based on all that human logic. I’ll be blunt, Yagoro, you’re visiting the goddess’s bath because you are on the verge of death.”

“How can you call yourself a goddess when you keep getting in my way and trying to kill me with your divine punishment? You’re more like a god of death who deals in human souls, don’tcha think?”

“There’s no real rule saying the god of death can’t also be a goddess. There are plenty of examples from a variety of cultures. Like Persephone, Izanami, Nirrti, Ammit, and Neman☆”

Had Yagoro let his unconscious assumptions about male and female gods color his view there? Regardless, he was a little annoyed at having her use this accusation of divine harassment to distract from the threat she posed in constantly trying to shoot him down.

The goddess, who used accurate accusations as a weapon, titled her head.

“Also, I would say you’re better off under my management than someone else’s.”

“Oh, really?”

“I’m certainly better than a god of destruction who lives for nothing but destruction itself, or a god pestilence who spreads deadly disease while insisting that microbes killing their host is a peaceful and proper way of life.”

She had a point there.

And his agreement further irritated him.

The goddess was at least moving her pieces on the board to “create a better world” based on human standards. That was cold comfort for Yagoro who was being manipulated as one of those pieces, though.

“Were you the one who sent the President here?”

“I was.”

“And did you give her whatever that ability was that she was babbling on about?”

“I was☆”

“What about me winding up here?”

“That was an accident.”

She sharply denied that one with a smile.

She seemed quite insistent that he did not belong.

“What do you want from me?”

“To defeat Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary to correct that world.”

“…And you can’t do that yourself?”

“If I were to directly intervene, it would change the world too much. But if you’re fine with the planet being covered with giant frogs or chameleons instead of humans, I guess I could do it.”

Yagoro’s mouth formed a small triangle.

How could she say this after all that divine punishment she had sent his way? That seemed like direct intervention to him. Dangerously direct.

“With an ordinary witch who will die in around 100 years, I could just let her do as she likes. But she is a Limit Breaker, meaning she has conquered her ordinary lifespan. Letting that extraordinary assassin continue on like this is the same as letting her control that entire world until it has been altered beyond repair.”

“Let’s see if I have this right: you, as a god, refuse to have even a single world leave your control. But you’re just too powerful, so if you were to punish her, it would alter the world itself beyond repair. So instead you tossed a decently-powerful human in there to have her eliminate the assassin?”

“Correct. 100 points☆”

“But even after you set President Ulrike up with some kind of special ability, she still couldn’t defeat that woman?”

“120 points. Yagoro, you do not belong in that world. Your Strange Picking power lets you force open the dimensional boundary, but that was not something I gave you. Accepting your help is risky, but I don’t have any other choice. No one asked you to wind up in that world, but since it happened, I decided to make some last minute adjustments to coordinate your ‘journey’. Because you are my last hope.”

…That would be why he wasn’t allowed to leave that world until he had achieved the goal she had for him.

His arrival from Earth had been a complete accident, but the goddess preventing him from returning had been completely intentional.

“Sounds like a bad joke to me.”

“But you have no other choice,” replied the goddess. With a smile. “Or are you really willing to go back home alone and abandon Viocia Modestlucky, Dorothea Rockpool, and Melehe Superlative?”

“…”

“Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary is a true believer in the vested interests of the outdated, inflexible patriarchy that insists on crushing any witch with sufficient power. As long as that traitorous witch remains, those girls can only rise so far even if they do pass the entrance exam. They have no future after graduation.”

“I see you know how to motivate your human pawns, scummy goddess.”

“Oh? Would you have preferred a more direct approach?”

The goddess standing in the center of the spring clasped her hands in front of her damp chest.

And she gave him an upturned look with tears welling.

“Please, hero. I will grant you as many ultimate forbidden skills as you desire, so will you please save the world that I carelessly let leave my control?☆”

“Goose bumps.”

The goddess froze in her pose of entreaty.

That must have hurt her feelings.

Part 4

He suddenly woke.

Yagoro’s head drooped before jerking back up. He nearly slipped right off the broom handle but somehow managed to stay on.

Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe didn’t seem to have noticed.

Nor had the assassin.

“Viocia, what’s the situation!?”

“We can’t lose her with speed alone. Now Adelaide is on our tail along with those flying triangles!!”

So the situation could hardly be worse.

A merciless attack flew in.

The beret and glasses woman didn’t simply hold her palm out to launch her cursed spindle magic.

It was much worse.

Light flew in from behind. No, the two isosceles triangle drones were also launching sharp spindles. The magic itself was the same as the beret and glasses woman used, but the quantity was much greater.

They launched more than 5 thousand at once.

Between the two of them, 10 thousand glowing projectiles formed a solid wall rushing toward Viocia and the others.

“Did she amplify – no, mass produce – her magic!?” shouted Melehe, eyes wide.

As long as the assassin had a spell, she could increase its number as much as she wanted while she flew. Unlike air-to-air missiles, it didn’t matter how many she was carrying. This would explain how a single woman mad managed to tear apart a coven’s witch army. She overturned the assumptions of dogfighting on Earth.

“Eep!? W-we can’t last long like this!!”

“Don’t give up. There’s three of us, so we can form a big triangle and boost our own power!”

Viocia was Antiquity, Melehe was Admiration, and Dorothea was Amorality.

The three girls flew in formation while each one took on one of the Three Aspects of witchcraft. That made their mental calculations easier and boosted their willpower – the source of their magic.

This was the same tactic used by the (villainous) friends Arbamini, Holibre, and Lampans.

“Wh-what exactly do we do? Eep.”

“Don’t ask-”

“Hansel and Gretel, the Three Little Pigs…no, let’s go with Snow White! Follow my lead!!”

Viocia was just a bit faster than Melehe.

The incoming wall-like barrage was too dense to slip through, but its distribution suddenly shifted.

ATU 0709, Snow White.

By extracting the text about the seven dwarves, the dense bombardment was rearranged into seven groups, each one clumping together on its own.

The shift in the even distribution reduced the density by one-seventh, creating gaps like in a net.

The three witches rapidly decelerated and slipped through those gaps.

“Eep!?”

Something swirled around them.

The many spindles used themselves to create a single thick beam of light. Once it was released, it shot right past Viocia and the others, passing them.

They would have been killed instantly had it hit.

Even if they had blocked it with defense magic, they would have been knocked from their brooms.

“…!! She’s still more powerful!?”

The assassin herself flew more nimbly with half the wings gone and the wing halves now darted about as flying wing drones.

At first glance, this looked like a three against three situation.

They may have looked even, with each side forming the Three Aspects of witchcraft, but that was inaccurate.

“Eep. Those triangles are flying around like birds, but they’re really being mentally controlled by Adelaide. She’s doing it all on her own.”

“Kh.”

“She’s taking on all three of us like that and still winning. How smart is she?”

They couldn’t win.

Even with three exam students working together, they couldn’t defeat that assassin!

Part 5

“Are you alright, Lady Tedaura?”

“Thanks. Oof.”

In the brightly-lit shopping district, Tedaura Sugar Modestlucky was being supported by Olivia on the roof of Sabbath Party.

“I must say, these modern marvels are a wonder. I knew a big city would have all the latest advances. It’s hard to believe my back was killing me earlier. And it’s all thanks to this corset!!”

“Don’t rely on it too much. It’s only a thick piece of leather. It doesn’t actually solve the underlying issue.”

“I am aware.”

(This probably only gives me one full-power attack.)

Tedaura put her hands on her hips and rotated her hips while staring into the distance in amusement.

She could see explosions and flashes of light there.

The fighting had already begun.

And reading the stars told her the opponent here was more than just the Student Council President who had been holed up in the school Tedaura had created so long ago.

“Really, Sir Tutor, you bring nothing but trouble. Then again, maybe I should thank you for dragging the world’s problems out into the open.”

“?”

Olivia gave her a puzzled look, not sure what she was talking about.

Tedaura held her broom and opened her small mouth.

“Hello, hello. Can you hear me, you Limit Breaker pair?”

“Ugh.”

“!? What, when did you get in here!?”

“I haven’t stolen from or modified anything inside your heads, so don’t worry.”

If she wanted to, she could have done that to get their help and make them think it was their own idea.

…After all, Tedaura was the witch who used spells, witch’s ointments, talismans, charms, and ceremonies to manipulate hearts in love to either fulfill that love or break it. The effect of the “love at first sight” and heartbreak she could cause was so great that the powerful people in a world where international politics still relied on political marriages revered her like a god but also feared her more than anyone. She alone was half the reason that witches had been unfairly pushed out of the political world.

Her power worked instantly on her fellow Limit Breakers.

Which meant there were no exceptions.

If she wanted to, she could make anyone fall in love with anyone, even if it meant breaking down the barriers of gender and age.

This provided a glimpse of what the Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love could do, but Tedaura did not flaunt it. Because she was confident she could achieve her goal without relying on those methods.

“Anyway, I want you to help my granddaughter and Sir Tutor. If you’re still alive, then give them a hand. The fact that you’re still lying there instead of running away tells me you have reason enough to fight.”

Tedaura, Queen of the Night, Darkness, and Love, grinned even as she needed Dancer Olivia’s support despite the leather corset around her little hips.

She held her plain broom.

And she stared at the distant battlefield.

“Are you ready, you wicked traitor of an assassin? This time, it will be no illusion.”

Meanwhile, on a small island floating in the distant lake…

“You really do have odd tastes.”

The witch with silver hair and brown skin looked exasperated even as she winced and struggled to get up.

She was looking at the other witch slowly rising next to her.

“I am willing to sacrifice my life for my daughter and Yagoro. But, Sorbeddy, you could have played dead here all alone. Like a cicada flipped on its back.”

“Who are you calling a lonely cicada corpse!? I do have Myousou, you know!? …And you know that merchant’s daughter in their group? I saw her at the flea market and I think her name is Dorothea?” Sorbeddy stared into the distance as she spoke. “I couldn’t manage to complete the entrance exam while working at my business at the same time, so I decided to give up on one. And, well, it turns out I’m the kind of old witch that wants to help someone out when I see them attempting what I ultimately failed at.”

The bookseller smiled a little.

Still seated on the ground, she leaned her bone-weary body against Sorbeddy next to her.

“Hee hee. You filthy money lover☆”

“Hey, did my confession mean nothing to you!?”

But anyway.

Everyone had their reason to fight. Each witch had to find their own. These witches had conquered their own lifespans, but it only took finding one itty-bitty reason for them to risk the eternal lives they had achieved.

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary.

Don’t think you can outdo other people’s motivations just because you support one world system.

In this case, the distance between them didn’t matter much.

Tedaura was Antiquity, the used bookseller was Admiration and Sorbeddy was Amorality.

The conditions were met.

“Melehe and her friends aren’t the only ones who can distribute the three Aspects between them.”

“Let’s see how you handle a single great attack powered by three Limit Breakerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs!!!”

Part 6

It took the form of light.

Colossal beams of light shot from three points in Temple School City and flew toward a single point in the night sky.

“?”

The assassin gasped.

It was only for a moment, but she was definitely left dumbfounded.

She immediately rolled her broom to make a quick turn, but the pair of isosceles triangle drones weren’t fast enough. No, she had intentionally placed them in front of her so piercing them would subtly redirect the beams’ paths, allowing her to just barely avoid a direct hit.

Not even a trio of Limit Breakers could defeat her.

But the attack hadn’t been a waste. The beret and glasses woman had used herself and the two triangles to form the Three Aspects. Her witchcraft was thrown off balance.

And Viocia, Dorothea, and Melehe’s great triangle remained intact.

This was the best chance they would ever have.

Out ahead, Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary pointed the nose of her broom up for a rapid ascent. Her intent was clear. Dorothea’s bisA was specialized for ground attack and Melehe’s bisMR was a multirole broom, so neither of them could reach extreme altitudes.

This was meant to break apart their formation.

“Viocia!!”

“I know. I won’t let her get away!!”

Only Viocia Modestlucky remained.

Only her super acceleration could reach the pure night sky where not even the rain clouds were allowed.

Fortunately, the Three Aspects magic structure could remain intact even at a distance.

They couldn’t fight together, but Viocia’s own specs were being boosted.

“Aristocratic society is complex. Far more than you know.”

A voice spread across the frigid night sky.

This was the assassin’s will.

Her voice was emotionless, yet it seemed to carry powerful resentment.

“The political world is complicated enough as it is, so do you have any idea how many will be lost if witches show up and start breaking the rules with their witchcraft? I know the answer all too well after making that very mistake. The political world needs only one witch. I will not allow any more lest you throw off my carefully-crafted calculations.”

Adelaide Weaponbay Sanctuary flew in a wide curve. At this rate, they would reach each other head on.

Like a penalty shoot-out in soccer.

But a head-on approach in a dogfight required the kicker and the goalkeeper to read each other’s actions at the same time.

“Viocia, focus on your relative speed. When you reach each other, it’ll happen in an instant! Don’t let your eyes betray which way you’ll evade. If she can predict that, she’ll blast you to pieces!!”

No response.

They were at the center point of the vast circular lake.

That meant they were directly above Maleficium.

Maybe that was why.

“…”

In that moment, Viocia Modestlucky gulped. She was looking at something as she sharply operated her broom. But not at the enemy out ahead. Her eyes were probably on something else.

Something that had previously been hidden behind a white veil of diamond dust.

That had long been the goal of the inexperienced witch in training.

It was an unbelievably huge buildi-

“Viocia!! There’s no time to get distracted!!!”

“!?”

The situation was already underway.

The beret and glasses woman was already right in front of them. With the nose of her broom directed at them. Instead of trying to get on their tail, she was on a collision course.

Viocia couldn’t escape this time.

After using Formula Broom – Wittenberg to extract the necessary knowledge from Earth, the witch exam student muttered something under her breath. A pale light appeared at her right fingertip.

This time, she stared straight ahead.

The two witches approached like old-fashioned jousters riding their horses toward each other with massive lances at the ready.

It was one against one.

Viocia vs. Adelaide.

Yagoro held his breath.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

And.

Then.

They were past.

Adelaide’s broom shattered behind Viocia. Its pieces scattered into the sky and the woman herself was thrown into the night sky without the blessings of magic.

(Viocia won!! She actually hit her in that crucial moment!)

Viocia had her hands full regaining full control of her broom. Seated behind her, Yagoro twisted around to observe things behind them.

And he tensed.

Their eyes met.

The beret and glasses woman was becoming a shooting star along with her shattered broom, but she was still holding her palm out this way.

A sharp spike-like spindle shot out, drawing out a trail of light.

That was the deadly curse.

She no longer cared about her own fate. Professional to the end, she would complete the assassination. Even though she shouldn’t have any reason for that dedication.

(That bastard.)

That was the guardian of the old and outdated aristocratic patriarchy.

A collaborator for an age that thoroughly rejected the female witches. A traitor to all witches.

It had seemed unnatural for her to seem so detached about it all.

(That isn’t Adelaide at all. It was hard to tell because he’s been using that body for so long…but is that actually Voland Faust?)

But with her broom broken, even that would end. The beret and glasses woman would be freed from Voland Faust and the assassin who had become a part of this world’s system would be no more.

Although it looked like Yagoro’s reward for saving the world would be receiving one final attack.

He clenched his teeth in preparation for the coming impact. Their positioning meant Viocia wouldn’t be able to avoid this even if he tapped her on the shoulder to warn her right away. Fortunately, this attack had been made after the witches passed by. He could just sit here and it would hit him, not his student.

And that aside, it was finally over. Except…

He was suddenly twisted around.

Because Viocia Modestlucky had swung her broom about.

It should have been Yagoro. It was meant to hit him.

But Viocia noticed at the last second and forcibly shifted their positions so it hit her instead.

She had done it on purpose.

To protect him.

Part 7

Formula Broom – Wittenberg was Viocia’s broom.

Without her, it couldn’t fly.

“Eep! Viocia!?”

“Perv, hold out your hand. I’ll support you with my broom and help you make an emergency landing!!”

They had already descended far enough to reach the altitude where Dorothea and Melehe waited. Slowly descended.

They couldn’t afford to crash into the lake.

The lake wasn’t dotted with convenient little islands for them to happen across.

It was a terrifying thirty seconds or so with the broom trembling unsteadily.

The goddess’s divine punishment never came. Was that because he had done what she asked?

They somehow managed to limp along back to the lakeside. And they made a rather forced landing.

But they couldn’t relax yet.

“Viocia was hit by Adelaide’s deadly curse!”

The girl was already unconscious.

She had only managed to glide unsteadily to the lakeside because Melehe had pulled her broom along. As soon as they landed, Viocia collapsed sideways off the broom onto the hard ground. Her long, long hair spread out around her, but she didn’t even brush it off of her face.

That curse was deadly.

She would die.

“Eep. Tutor, what do we do now?”

“…”

“You know some way to save her, don’t you!? Y-you always have an answer!!”

Only after shouting that did Dorothea realize something and gasp.

The silver-haired elite hadn’t said a word. She must have arrived at the same conclusion as Yagoro. The deeper one’s knowledge of witchcraft, the more they understood how hopeless the situation was.

It wasn’t possible.

There was no way to save her.

The best option against Adelaide’s – no, Faust’s – deadly curse was to not let it hit you. There was no next best option. If one so much as grazed you, you were done for. That deadly curse had been honed to the limit for assassinations, so it was designed to leave no options left once it hit.

“It’s no use. My attack is a lethal curse. If it even pricks your skin, it will take your life. There is no escaping it no matter where in this world you run.”

Faust hadn’t been lying when he said that.

It was the simple truth.

“Teacher, could you not pierce me with that absolute zero glare? It’s terrifying.”

He had promised her.

Back in March, on a day still too chilly to call spring, he had found her searching the list of students who had passed the exam over and over, never finding her number, and just standing there, uncertain what to do.

There was no real reason it had to be her.

But he had still reached out his hand.

Because he himself had felt he wanted to work with her in the struggle over the entrance exam.

“Heh heh. I’m going to take her to live with me!!”

He had promised her.

No matter how bad the situation was, he had promised as Navigate Exam that he would get her into Maleficium next March.

He had promised the girl who would smile innocently and not hesitate to help those in need even when she needed to be focusing on her exams. Like she had done for Moloch and Freynir.

No matter how much effort a tutor put in, it was ultimately the girl herself who had to take the exam.

And no matter how much she complained, Viocia had a reason to make the attempt.

So she refused to be broken.

Something about her told Yagoro that his efforts wouldn’t be wasted with her.

“I know. I won’t let her get away!!”

He had promised her.

He had promised to help her become a witch who could remain modest, who would wield her power to battle the wicked witches who would try to limit the world, and who could live more beautifully than anyone, even if she was still awkward! He had promised that her efforts would be rewarded and that she would leave with a smile next time she stood before that list of passing students!!

That was the contract Myousou Yagoro and Viocia Modestlucky had made and he wasn’t supposed to break that agreement no matter what!!!

Was it impossible?

Did he have to give up?

Was abandoning that promise unfulfilled really the smartest choice here!!?

(Face it.)

Myousou Yagoro squeezed his eyes shut and stayed silent.

He thought with a scorching intensity.

(Just face it already, dammit!!)

Melehe and even Dorothea didn’t say a word.

The tutor boy wracked his brains in the darkness he had created. He had to find a solution. He had to draw on every last piece of knowledge he possessed.

And.

He finally spoke. He had to admit it.

“…There is a way.”

“?”

Melehe looked puzzled, but this wasn’t just wishful thinking on his part.

He was a tutor who provided solid knowledge to support his student’s life.

“W-wait a second. There can’t be a way. I know it hurts, but you have to accept that. There is no witchcraft in the world that can save Viocia!!”

“But what about outside the world?”

Yes.

They both had a deep well of knowledge to draw on, but that was what led Yagoro and Melehe to different conclusions.

He had knowledge beyond witchcraft.

“There is still one way of escaping Faust’s deadly curse!!”

“Eep?”

According to Faust, “there is no escaping it no matter where in this world you run”.

Or to put it another way…

“We just have to escape this world altogether. Crossing the boundary between worlds that loathsome goddess is hiding can neutralize the deadly curse affecting Viocia!!”

Part 8

Yagoro carried Viocia’s limp form while he, Dorothea, and Melehe ran to the area behind his apartment.

“Hm? What are you doing here, mister? Wait, is she injured!?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no.”

“Don’t worry. Raynold. And Roslynica too. I’ll be visiting my usual spot.”

They ran to the squatter’s district.

More specifically, the giant locked container in the back of it.

“Honestly… Sometimes the things you can’t seem to let go end up coming in handy, don’tcha think?”

Yes.

School was out for the day. Yagoro was wasting time staring at the locked container he kept in the squatter’s district behind his apartment. He simply couldn’t convince himself to give up the crashed craft.

Lately, Yagoro had been spending a lot of time in the squatter’s district back behind his apartment. He seemed to be subconsciously trying to calm himself down with detailed work.

So what had happened to the locked container he had in the squatter’s district?

…It would be a real shame if that had been confiscated.

In other words, Myousou Yagoro had mostly finished reassembling the crashed craft.

A few parts were still missing, but he could procure them easily enough with his HEA house. That toy could create any electronic as long as he created the plans and he had even mass-produced a large-scale surface-to-air missile system with it.

He unlocked it.

Unsealed it.

Melehe and Dorothea looked equal parts surprised and confused by what he pulled out. He couldn’t blame them since it wasn’t shaped anything like a witch’s broom.

It looked a lot like a streamlined snowmobile with wings made of composite material.

That was what the base craft looked like when the rear cargo space was removed.

In his Earth, reindeer-drawn sleds had been developed and evolved to the point they could fly in the sky. Whether that at all resembled the other Earth the Student Council President had lived on in her previous life, he couldn’t say.

Myousou Yagoro had once wound up in this world after getting into an accident with this thing back in his Earth.

Myousou Yagoro’s attempts to return to his Earth in this thing had been blocked by the goddess.

The tutor boy looked up.

The night sky here was different from the one he knew back home. That sky was probably a thick wall separating worlds. By crossing that barrier, he could travel between worlds. That was why the sky was reserved for witches but the goddess had made it so even they couldn’t reach the highest altitudes.

However…

“…”

Could he really do it?

Maybe combining his craft with Viocia’s super acceleration could have caused a miracle, but he couldn’t expect her help when that deadly curse had her unconscious.

He would have to do it on his own.

How many times had he failed before? Even if the goddess’s divine punishment was no longer an issue, could he really intentionally cross between worlds on his own?

“Sigh, I don’t know what you’re planning, but fine.”

He felt a soft sensation.

The silver-haired girl had placed her hand on the back of his.

No, she had placed it over his hand.

Melehe Superlative.

Then Dorothea Rockpool placed her hand on top of Melehe’s.

“Eep. D-don’t try to do this yourself, teacher. Um, if Melehe and I help you create the Three Aspects, then maybe…”

Then maybe success would be within reach.

Each of them would handle one of the Three Aspects. The girls weren’t the only ones who could take advantage of that. Yagoro couldn’t fly, but he could use witchcraft.

With their help, he might be able to break through his past failures.

They might be able to accomplish what he couldn’t on his own.

Melehe grinned.

“We just have to make up for one dunce of a witch, right? The three of us together just have to outdo her wild acceleration. …Don’t try to tell me you can’t do it, pervy tutor.”

“Now hold on. As much as I’d appreciate it, what about your exams? What about Maleficium!?”

“What about them?”

She actually looked exasperated.

“Are you kidding me? Of course we’ll keep at it. Maybe we won’t be at the prep school and maybe we’ll be in another world altogether, but we can still study 24 hours a day. Besides, we’ll have a pervy tutor with us, so where’s the problem?”

“Um, even if we go with you to Earth, uh…I don’t see why we need to give up on the entrance exam if we can follow a daily study plan and return here before the exam date. Eep.”

Yagoro was taken aback.

They had actually given thought to the entrance exam.

Yes.

To eliminate the deadly curse and save Viocia, they needed to cross the boundary between worlds without any help from the goddess of interworld reincarnation, but that didn’t mean those girls had to give up on the entrance exam. As long as the curse was dealt with, Viocia would be able to return to this world.

As Navigate Exam, Myousou Yagoro already had a contract with her. He had to get his student into Maleficium no matter what it took.

This was just some curse.

He wasn’t going to give up on his student’s future over that.

“Let’s go.”

He looked overhead.

He saw stars and a giant moon so different from his Earth.

It all acted as the boundary between worlds. And they were about to break through it on their own.

“Let’s goooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”

Part 9

They broke free of common gravity and began their attack on the heavens with no idea if this would really work.

Today’s Quiz 4

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Question: Explain the details of the deadly curse placed on Viocia Modestlucky so that she can be saved. (10 points per blank, 100 points total)

Aspect of Admiration:

ATU (____), Sleeping Beauty. The king gathered up all the (_____) from around the kingdom to prevent the fairy’s curse, but just one was overlooked and the princess was placed in eternal sleep.

Aspect of (______):

(____), the Norse god of light. There was supposedly no way to (___) him, but he was killed regardless by a spear made from (_______), the one thing everyone had overlooked.

Aspect of Amorality:

The (____) curse used in the witch’s (______). A (______) of the target can be pierced with a needle to curse and kill them.

The deadly curse is essentially (________), so once they are hit, not even a princess beloved kingdom-wide or an immortal god can escape their fate. Also, the target of the wax doll could even be someone out of reach of the common people, like the current pope.

Thus, Viocia Modestlucky cannot escape the deadly curse she was hit with as long as she remains in this world.

That is all.

Special Divine Right://■■■■ activate. As a goddess, I will not be allowing any questions☆

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