CH 111

Chapter 3 — Dry scrape, burn and perforate! • Episode 3–4 — Witch Cup ⑯

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

We were sent out in direct transition to a slightly larger podium where all team members could stand, and we received the trophies that were brought to us with somber background music. I say we, but it was the leader, Doppelganger-san, who actually received the rewards.

Incidentally, the second-place Yellow Team, Permafrost-san and Red Ball-san, seemed to have bent their umbilicals in defeat and left early, leaving Rabbitfoot-san standing alone on the podium with a blue streak on her face and a cramped smile as she received their trophy. There were no Witches on the Red Team that were so childish as to be quirky.

Then we were once transferred out, and this time we were transferred to the interview room. Apparently, each team was to be interviewed in a separate venue, with no other teams in sight.

Unlike real sports, there are no reporters from various companies, so you won’t get the same answers over and over again or outlandish questions. In the first place, questions about the overall flow of the game or about the team, not questions about individuals, are answered by the leader, and I just dabble. The match lasted only 30 minutes and was played using avatars rather than real bodies, but even so, I am exhausted today. It was fine while I had something to do, but just sitting here like this, listening to other people’s stories, makes me sleepy…

Ah, this is not good… The moment I became aware of it, I became very sleepy… But, as I said, I can’t fall asleep during an interview… Endure, I must endure…

「What was the most memorable moment for you in this match, Contender Ex–Magna?」

「I guess that would be the fight with Dragon Call. I lost, but it was fun and flashy, wasn’t it? Especially the moment when Dragon Call became a big dragon and spit out her breath, I couldn’t help but admire how cool she looked.」

「Yes, it was a very large scale battle. Speaking of flashy, the fight between Contenders Tyrant Sylph and Permafrost was also worth watching. Which scene was most memorable for you, Contender Tyrant Sylph?」

「…」

「Contender Tyrant Sylph?」

「……Zzzzz.」

「Sylph-chan, we’re in the middle of an interview, Sylph-chan!」

「Ahaha, I guess she is completely asleep. Do you want me to wake her up?」

「Let’s see… In a sense, this can be said to be the way things were after the match, and I would like to write about how tense and tiring the match was. I couldn’t bear to wake her up when she was sleeping so comfortably.」

「I apologize, she’s usually a more firm girl.」

「No, no, I’ll let you two elaborate on that.」

.

「He—y, it’s time to wake up.」

「Nhn, mhu… I’m so sleepy…」

「I thought you had plans to do after this. Extend said something, isn’t she?」

「Nhn, plan…? ——Huh! What time is it now!?」

My mind wasn’t working well, and I was thinking that they shouldn’t disturb my comfortable slumber, but I woke up at once when I remembered that I had been summoned by Elephant-san and her friends at 3:00 P.M. I was so terrified.

I scurry around the room and ask Earth, who for some reason was nearby.

I wonder where I am and why Earth is with me, but time is more important than that!

「2:45 P.M. You still have time to get to your appointment.」

「What, don’t startle me… Huh? What about the Witch Cup? I was supposed to be interviewed… I didn’t think it was a dream…?」

「How long are you going to sleepwalk through that? You were interviewed for the Blue Team’s victory, just like you said you would be. Well, you fell asleep in the middle of the interview. I felt sorry for Doppelganger to wake you up, so I had no choice but to lend you my private room that I had built at the Magic Bureau.」

「H–Haah, thank you… I didn’t have to be in Earth’s room, right…?」

I was laid on the couch and covered with a thin blanket.

There are other things in the room, such as a TV, a refrigerator, and a bookshelf, giving the room a lived-in feel, as if people were living there. The room is quite human-like, even for a fairy.

「I could have left you in the infirmary of the Magic Bureau, but I have a reward I can’t give you in public, so I thought this would be a good idea.」

「!! That would mean…」

「Yes, that little bottle on the desk there. That’s the sex change drug.」

Earth has no arms, fingers, or even a face, so it might not be obvious to most people, but since there is only one desk in this room, I recognized it immediately. A fluorescent pink liquid that looks bad for you is put in a small bottle about the same size as a container for seasonings such as salt or seven spice chili.

This is the magic potion I have been looking for all along. A sex change drug…

「The lid has been modified so that it won’t open until the King of Distortion is defeated, but you can take the original if you like.」

「…Why is that?」

「Ahn? I said I’d give it to you if you won the championship or was named MVP. I don’t break promises, do I?」

「No, not that. Why is this medicine here and now?」

I won the Witch Cup just a couple of hours ago.

Are you telling me that in those mere two hours, Earth prepared this medicine?

I was told that there was no stock and it was hard to gather the ingredients for this precious medicine.

As Earth just said, my condition for getting this medicine was to win the championship or be named MVP. I shouldn’t have known that until after the game was over. And yet the medicine is here now, as if it had been prepared from the beginning.

「You’re asking a wild question. Winning the championship or MVP was just a way to motivate you. I was going to give you compensation either way. That’s why I managed to procure it in advance. You’re also worried about the prize that will be given to you at a later date, aren’t you? You wondered if you’re really going to get it, or if you’ve been cheated again. You should be thankful for my gracious consideration.」

「…I see. I am certainly glad to get the medicine here. Thank you very much.」

「Hahah, glad you understand. As I’ve said many times, that was the deal. Of course, the original Witch Cup prize money will be paid out later, so you can look forward to it.」

「Yes, I understand. Now if you’ll excuse me.」

I thanked him nonchalantly without changing my expression, exited Earth’s private room, and left the magic bureau as it was in a hurry.

At this point, I cannot say with certainty that Earth is black. It was all as Earth said, the goal was to motivate me by baiting me with prizes to make the Witch Cup more exciting, and maybe he was going to give the drug to me regardless of the outcome. Maybe that’s why he prepared it early.

But is that really the case? There are other Witches to begin with. Is there any reason why the contestant had to be me? Since there is a prize for the winner, wouldn’t someone like Simeracres-san have come out if he had invited her without having to prepare another prize? If he just wanted to make the game more exciting, did he have to go to the trouble and cost of getting me involved? Even Discause-san and Captain Treasure-san are great when it comes to magical flair.

I can only speculate, but I think he really wanted me to participate in the Witch Cup. So he tried to create a reason for that. If he knew who I was, he must know what I wanted, so he tried to get a bargaining card against me by buying up all the sex change drugs. Then, he would transfer one of the drugs he had been buying up from the beginning to me, who had moved according to his plan.

…Even if that were the case, and everything was in Earth’s hands, I would be disgusted, but as a result, I got the magic potion I wanted.

If that’s the case, it’s not a good idea to dig up something that has already been done and have someone take notice of it. It doesn’t feel good, like crying myself to sleep, but the other party is the most powerful person in the Magic Bureau. If he had said that he wouldn’t give me the medicine for sex change, that would have been a different story, but I got the medicine for sex change as promised. If I go up against that guy in the current situation, I will only lose money and nothing good will come of it.

Yes, I got the sex change drug.

I head for the tower apartment, carefully clutching the bottle of pills I have stashed in my pocket.

I bought two aging pills in advance. So with the use of three magic potions, along with this sex change potion, I can get back on track.

The battle isn’t over yet, and I don’t know when I’ll actually be able to go back since I don’t know when the King of Distortion or whatever will appear, but still, with this, I can start over.

It was a long but short three months.

If I defeat the King of Distortion or whatever he is, will the other Magical Girls automatically retire?

I didn’t ask for details about that, so I’m not quite sure, but I’ll have to explain it to Elephant-san alone in advance. That after defeating the King of Distortion, I would retire from being a Magical Girl and return to Mizukami Ryōichi.

Elephant-san is a kind person, so she might say that we are still friends, but it is different from when I was in the form of a girl. Elephant-san may not care, but the way people look at Elephant-san will surely change. It will surely not be a good change. I cannot forgive that. I can’t forgive myself for being so brazen as to continue to be friends with her, knowing that it would come to that. So, I can only be friends with Elephant-san until the last battle. After that, we go back to being total strangers.

It is sad and lonely to have to say goodbye like that to the first friend I made, but I will not cower in the dark anymore. I don’t need Elephant-san to take me by the hand, I walk out on my own feet and start over with Futaba.

Maybe I am selfish. Maybe I am being smug and not considering Elephant-san’s feelings. But I am sure Elephant-san will understand.