Chapter 2 — Expand, my world! • Episode 2-Leisure • Enforcement

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

In the center of a small room that resembled a courtroom, Jack, a pumpkin-headed fairy, was floating in midair. In front of him, was Earth, a fairy resembling the earth floating above the podium, a mechanical apple fairy on the left side, and a small dragon fairy on the right side, each floating inside. There is no clerk, no observers, just four bodies in the trial.

「Did you go to all this trouble to make a room like this–ran? Normally, you wouldn’t be doing this, they’d be executing it.」

「Respondent Jack, please remain quiet.」

When Earth speaks out in an uncharacteristically serious tone, a wooden mallet appears out of nowhere and taps on the desk, making a dry sound.

「Not really, I’ve always wanted to try this once, you know.」

「You’ve got to be kidding me, Earth. What the hell are you doing?」

The serious mask he had been wearing just a few moments before was instantly cast off and Earth spoke in a playful voice, and the mechanical apple elf asked grimly, “What do you mean?”

The name of this mechanical apple fairy was Wiz. While Earth is the highest ranking fairy that governs Magical Girls, Wiz is the highest ranking fairy that governs the laws of the Magical World. Basically, he judges fairies who have broken the law, and since he is rarely involved with Magical Girls, very few Witches know of his existence.

「I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to try it too because I saw it in the drama.」

「They don’t actually hit the desk like that–ran.」

「Eh, is that so? Then what is that for?」

「Like I know–ran.」

「Fool! That’s not what I’m asking you! I’m asking what the hell you think you’re doing stepping all the way into my territory!!」

Whether it was the elusive attitude of Earth or the antics of the pumpkin fairy, who is now in a position to be judged, something seems to have touched Wiz’s ire. The two people who had been angrily shouted down were silenced with an atmosphere of saying, “Oh dear.”

「The pumpkin there, of course, used magical chemicals to transform her into a Magical Girl half-intimidatingly, without her partner’s consent. At that point, the crime is so serious that at the lightest it is a lowering of rank, and at the heaviest, the total erasure of memory. And on top of that, he even have thought-inducing magic to correct her words and actions. And all this without her consent. If it goes this far, the maximum penalty is inevitable. What are you up to, going to the trouble of making a farce of a trial?」

「You’re not a very good listener, Wiz, if you think he’s plotting. I just thought I should give him a chance.」

「A chance, you say?」

「Tyrant Sylph, that girl’s a real talent. She’s still developing. She’s stronger than ever after the trials. There’s no way I’m going to let that thing get away when we’re about to avenge the King.」

The King, it was the King Of Distortion. It was called that among the fairies in reference to the ranks of the Diests, but in fact it was not known exactly what it was. But it turns out that it will certainly come in the near future. If they cannot defeat or stop it, there will probably be no future for mankind. That is why the fairies are eager to secure their forces, and the number of Witches has doubled so far.

「Yes, he was a bit pushy, but I would have done the same thing if I had to weigh the public morals that would be disrupted by it against the strengthening of our forces. Isn’t it a bit of a waste to simply erase someone who can make such a clever decision?」

Arth insisted that it was just Jack who happened to be there, and defended his decision as having been correct.

However, Wiz kicked Earth’s argument to the curb.

「Nonsense. Laws are meaningful only when everyone obeys them and is punished for breaking them. In the first place, Earth, you are partly to blame for this incident.」

「Ahhh? What do you mean?」

「I went back through the past records and the speed of this guy’s promotion is extraordinary. He certainly seems to have a track record, but you are the one who is reviewing his track record and deciding on his promotion. You promoted this guy to a high rank fairy in order to take advantage of him from the beginning, didn’t you? Without the authority of a high-ranking fairy, it would be impossible to insert a magic formula into a blank slot in the Magical Girl System. Not only that. This guy is clamping down on complaints from Tyrant Sylph who were consulted by the Magic Bureau’s Monitoring and Evaluation Center. This is another act that would be difficult only for a high-ranking fairy. Among other things, he has brought in Tyrant Sylph through actions that could not have been accomplished without assuming the authority of a high-ranking fairy, and he still allows her to operate as Magical Girl. Even if you have no strange plans, you are responsible for promoting him to a high fairy rank.」

There are four ranks of fairies: Low, Medium, High, and Summit, but they do not indicate superiority or inferiority as a species, but rather the strength and number of powers granted. Any low-ranking fairy can recruit Magical Girls and transfer them to the archives, but from there the support and range of magical potions available will vary depending on the rank.

For example, the rejuvenation and sex change medicines used by Jack are the kind of products that only fairies of the Summit-rank are allowed to handle. Only a high-ranking fairy can also interfere with the subject of the transition and insert magic into the blank slots daringly created in the system.

The way to raise a fairy’s rank depends on the job he/she is in charge of, but if it was a fairy who recruits and trains Magical Girls, this fairy must establish a track record by recruiting girls with good qualities and training them to become excellent Magical Girls, and if that fairy has stronger authority, he/she must be recognized as being able to train stronger Magical Girls. The more authority, the stronger the fairies will need to be.

The Summit-rank fairy is a special role given by the founder of the Magical World and System, and no matter how many achievements are made, ordinary fairies cannot reach this level. Jack was an elite who had risen to such a high fairy position in a short time.

「That would be an accusation. No one would approve of a high-ranking fairy if you start saying things like that.」

「I am not saying that all approvals are accountable. This guy’s approvals are far too fast compared to customary practice. That’s because you specifically recognized that he was worthy of being a high-ranking fairy. But I’m telling you that you were wrong in your judgment.」

「Hahn, either way, it doesn’t matter. As I said before, I don’t think what he did was wrong. If there was a difference of opinion, it was majority rule, right?」

「Good. Dragon, let me hear your opinion.」

As a rule, incidents and problems that occur in the Magical World are handled by one of the Summit-rank fairies who have jurisdiction over them. Earth responds to matters concerning Magical Girls, and Wiz responds to matters concerning the laws of the Magical World, each with their own standards of judgment. The exception to this rule is that in cases of significance from other Summit-rank fairies, the policy will be decided by a majority vote of at least three Summit-rank fairies.

When Wiz asked him to speak, Dragon, who had remained silent all that time, rubbed his scale-covered chin and tilted his head.

「I’m sorry, but what are we talking about here? I didn’t hear anything.」

「…Earth, you called him over, right? Why didn’t you explain it to him?」

「I just called him to make up the numbers for the trial. He asked me to be his lawyer.」

「You foolish… No, hold on, how did you know about this in the first place?」

Wiz mobilized all the authority he had and all the personnel he had at his disposal to investigate, and he discovered the pumpkinhead’s latest outburst.

It all started with a new Witch, a Magical Girl for whom no information had been available until now. In the course of investigating whether he was involved in some kind of fraud or breaking the law to pad his track record, he was able to get a tail on the Tyrant Sylph’s background and the recent magical potion sales situation, and arrived at the truth.

And so, in the midst of preparing to bring Jack to justice, Earth, who looked like he knew the reason, broke in. Since it was not a very difficult investigation, he had no doubts about Earth’s knowledge of it, but by witnessing a situation like this, where other high-ranking fairies were unaware of the incident, he realized that Earth’s actions were too well-timed.

「I noticed you were up to something interesting again. I’ve been peeking in on you every once in a while.」

「Tch, you’ve got bad taste… Well, fine. Dragon, I’m only going to say this once, so listen up.」

Not convinced by Earth’s excuses, but deciding that he would not be exposed by questioning him at this point, Wiz relaxed his pursuit and told Dragon about the incident.

「Hmmm, aside from disposing of the fairy there, what about the young lady who was the victim? She’s a Magical Girl who doesn’t want to be a Magical Girl, right?」

「That is not my concern. My role is to judge the fairies.」

「I’m in charge of managing Magical Girls. I’m thinking about it, but yes, Dragon, the medicine, right?」

「I can’t do that. Sure, the fairy there may have committed a crime, but the medicine was purchased with her own earnings, was it not? As a business owner, I have to be fair. I’m sorry for the young lady, but it’s not fair to give away free medicine.」

Dragons was the Summit-rank fairy who oversee all goods and commerce sold in the Magical World, and his credo in fulfilling this role is to be fair. No matter how many Summit or High-ranking fairies he was dealing with, and no matter how necessary it is for his work, Dragon won’t give away goods for free. And no expenses are paid by the Department of Magic. In other words, the pumpkinheads also used drugs that were nothing more than self-bought.

Not only Magical Girls, but also fairies are given points based on their work and achievements, and they spend these points to further improve their achievements and enrich their days. To tell the truth, Jack’s wallet was strapped after purchasing two rejuvenation potions and a sex change potion, and if Tyrant Sylph returned to her original form on her own, even before defeating the King of Distortion, it would be difficult for her to change back into the form of a girl anymore. Of course, he didn’t tell her that.

「Ahh, so how many sex change pills do you have in stock now?」

「There’s not much demand for it. I think it was five or six… It shouldn’t be more than two digits at most…」

「How much would it cost to make a new one?」

「The ingredients are troublesome, but it takes time to prepare them. It will take two years at the earliest.」

「Hmm, I see… In the meantime, let me know the exact number later. I’ll buy them all if I have to.」

「I’m not impressed with the hoarding…」

「I’m paying for it, so what’s the problem? Just give me a fair judgment.」

「Hmmm, what can be done then?」

「Enough about Tyrant Sylph. It’s more about getting rid of this guy.」

Wiz, perhaps not liking the digression, irritably corrects the course of the conversation.

「You’re indeed right… Wiz has a point, but Earth has a point as well. Punishment is necessary, but it would be a shame to lose a good fairy because of it…」

Seeing Dragon twisting his head and worrying, Wiz’s body begins to shake with annoyance. If he had been in human form, there is no doubt that he would have been poor.

Earth, on the other hand, seemed to be calm and composed. That’s not to say that he’s convinced that Dragon will lean toward him, although he’s not, because in the end he doesn’t care how it ends up.

(Well, you’ve done your part. I’ve sent out a helping hand. Whether or not he survived depends on his luck.)

「Well, how about a pause, a memory wipe, and a demotion to a lower rank? The complete erasure of memory is synonymous with the death of the personality in human terms. That will be punishment enough, and if he is truly a good fairy, he will come back from the dead.」

「Wha—! Don’t joke ar——」

「That’s nice! Okay, it’s decided! It’s 2 on 1! How unfortunate for you~!」

Wiz tried to object to Dragon’s equivocal opinion, but was unable to say anything more when Earth expressed his approval.

Earth was fine with whatever the outcome was. He supported the erasure of memories, which he thought would be better than the complete erasure of the individual.

「Tsk! If you’re so obsessed, you can take care of it! I don’t care anymore!」

Perhaps annoyed by Earth’s agitation, Wiz left in a transition, forcing the execution of a sentence that would normally be carried out by himself or his immediate subordinates.

「I’m going home too. I’ll send you the inventory later.」

「Ohh, please do, old man.」

「Who are you calling old man?」

They easily throw light words at each other, and Dragon was gone in transition.

All that remained in the room was the pumpkin-headed criminal and his executioner, whose own memory had been decided to be erased after a brief exchange.

「Sorry, Jack. I would have let you off scot-free if I could have.」

「It’s all right–ran. I was prepared to be erased in the first place–ran.」

「Ahh, you expected it? For all the delay in exposing the Witch, Tyrant Sylph, I thought the other disguises were too lax. Today, you didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get away. So you didn’t want to hide it from the beginning.」

「The seeds I planted was growing properly–ran. Tyrant Sylph will fight the King without my intervention anymore–ran.」

「How do you maintain the technique? If the thought guidance goes away now, it might break.」

「From the beginning, I was prepared for it to be erased at some point–ran. So, I’ve designed the technique to be autonomous as long as it has a power source–ran. If you just erased my memory, there’s no problem because my magic will continue to power it.」

「This guy is a heavyweight. Anything left to say? The next time you wake up, you won’t be you, and your area of responsibility will change.」

「…I want to ask you something–ran. Was Tyrant Sylph the one you’re after, Earth–ran?」

Jack was never in front of the Tyrant Sylph, but he was attached to Press and knew the situation every step of the way. So he could somehow see the entity pulling the strings behind the turf war in Sakira Town this time.

In the first place, the power of Magical Girls is lent by the Bureau of Magical Arts, and in a simple power relationship, the Bureau is above and the Magical Girls are below. In such a situation, there is no one but a fairy who can use a magical tool called a magiphone provided by the Bureau of Magic and use it in a way that is not in the specifications, such as by using an unknown sender. It is not a trick that a Magical Girl can do.

Unlike Magical Girls, who are driven by various agendas, fairies, despite their differences in thought and ideology, are completely united in their ultimate goal. And that is to protect the world. That’s why, it’s unlikely that the town of Sakira was targeted in the sense of targeting a hunting ground, as they are less attached to the point than they need to be. So why was Sakira Town targeted? No, perhaps it was not the town of Sakira that was targeted. What are the major changes that have taken place in Sakira Town recently, and what are the notable differences from other towns? Definitely, it was because of the birth of a new witch.

「Beyond the trials, we become stronger. What does that mean–ran?」

Jack wasn’t asleep while the top fairies and the others were discussing the matter. He was searching for the truth behind the casual words.

「…Kakak! You’re really good, you know that? Don’t worry, I’m a fairy too. Your will is mine.」

With those last words, Jack’s consciousness gradually fades away. Fairies do not need sleep. In other words, this is not an attempt to fall asleep, but the disappearance of self-consciousness itself…

「I… got… it… –ran…」

After confirming that Jack’s activity had completely ceased at the end of those words, Earth muttered.

「Well, it’s not so much that I’m taking over as that you’re coming back. Kakak, I’m too late, Ryōichi-kun.」