Chapter 127
Kanzaki Hōseki is one of the foremost magic flute makers of his time, overseeing the workshops under the Arachne Group.
As the breadwinner supporting his wife and daughter, and as one of Tokyo's leading magic flute makers, Kanzaki devotes himself to making magic flutes at the workshop every day.
Magic flutes are transverse flutes descended from ritual magical wind-instrument implements manufactured more than eighty years ago by the peerless master 0933.
Whereas ritual magical wind-instrument implements were experimental devices created to produce sounds impossible to pronounce, magic flutes are made for artistic purposes.
Created by fusing and refining Geometric Gremlin technology with the technology of ritual magical wind-instrument implements, these flutes are made entirely from Gremlin components. At a glance, they look like transverse flutes assembled from colored-glass parts and reinforced with metal at key points, but they are nothing like ordinary glass flutes.
Unlike ordinary flutes, when a magic flute is played, magic power moves in response to the sound it produces. (It does not turn into magic.)
The sound itself is highly distinctive. According to the elderly people who have lived since the previous era, it is a "cyberpunk electronic sound."
To those who know nothing of the previous era, it sounds like a luxurious, magical melody. To those who remember that era, however, it is a nostalgic timbre that reminds them of the age when magic did not exist in the world.
That duality is the magic flute's one-of-a-kind appeal.
Because several large Gremlins are needed as raw material for carving the components, the cost of the materials has to be reflected in the price, making magic flutes unavoidably expensive.
Delicate processing takes a long time, and even a first-rate craftsman with quick hands can produce no more than one a month. Moreover, becoming a full-fledged magic flute maker requires nearly ten years of training, so production cannot simply be expanded.
The combination of high prices and limited supply has made magic flutes luxury instruments for wealthy families. Apparently, pianos occupied that position in the previous era, and the children of old, affluent families generally learn to play both the piano and the magic flute. If someone only plays the magic flute, it is safe to assume they belong to the nouveau riche.
The magic flute workshop where Kanzaki worked had originally been a large company well known among the wealthy, but it rapidly declined after the Shadow Loss Disease epidemic wiped out all its first-rate artisans.
The Arachne Group, whose CEO was the Spider Witch, bought the troubled workshop outright and supported it until its artisans had mastered the craft and its technical standards returned to normal.
The veteran artisans who had been there since the acquisition could never say no to the CEO. Kanzaki, who had joined the company immediately after the acquisition, remembered the atmosphere back then well. It had been as though steel spider silk had descended into hell.
The Arachne Group was a corporate conglomerate centered around a top-tier apparel brand built on Spider Silk, and it had tremendous capital and stability. It had enough strength to support the magic flute workshop while it ran massive deficits for several years.
Under the CEO's policy, the Arachne Group occasionally acquired companies struggling in dire circumstances. It was practically a form of charity.
The witch had an excellent eye for such things, and half of the companies she acquired slowly recovered over time and began generating stable profits.
The other half failed and went under despite receiving generous assistance, but proper bankruptcy procedures were followed, and the employees were helped to find new jobs.
Being acquired by the Arachne Group did not guarantee success.
However, failure in a form that still left room for a comeback was guaranteed.
No one could ask for more.
There were plenty of corporate groups larger than the Arachne Group. But when it came to stability and the trust of the employees under its umbrella, Kanzaki believed that no one could compare.
Even prosperous companies growing with enough momentum to knock a flying dragon from the sky often had bombs hidden inside them. Kuranomu, which went bankrupt in last year's Tiamat upheaval, was one of the major companies that had collapsed in such a way.
Kanzaki was grateful to the Arachne Group and the CEO who always provided solid support for the magic flute workshop. He clearly remembered how she had given him a congratulatory bonus when his daughter was born and arranged things so that he could take parental leave without worrying about his subordinates. His gratitude was endless.
That was why he gladly answered the CEO's unusual summons to the head office.
The CEO would say so outright if she were summoning someone to deliver bad news, and if she summoned someone with good news, she would not get their hopes up for nothing. She was a witch capable of thoughtfulness and consideration.
When Kanzaki went to the group headquarters in Wakaba City in response to the summons, the CEO was already waiting for him.
A bamboo screen hung in the great conference room, creating the enormous silhouette of the CEO seated behind it.
The Spider Witch was a giant spider. She was extremely averse to letting anyone see what she looked like.
Even when she came to work, she was always behind the screen during meetings with employees.
Because even her secretary had never seen her directly, people involved with the company sometimes called her the Lady Behind the Screen.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. Thank you for coming today, Kanzaki-san. Make yourself comfortable... You look well..."
"Thank you. I'm glad to see you well too, Spider Witch-sama."
"Thank you... Kanzaki-san, your daughter is in her second year of middle school this year, isn't she? Things must be difficult in all sorts of ways..."
"You remembered? That's right. She's at such a cute age, but lately she's been getting rather cheeky."
After the two of them made pleasant small talk for a while, the Spider Witch shifted her massive body ponderously, and they moved on to the main subject.
"This is more of a personal matter than a company matter, but..."
"What is it?"
"We heard from Representative Gushiken, right? The Witch Party..."
"We did. That was toward the end of last year, wasn't it?"
When he confirmed it, the CEO gave an affirmative response from behind the screen.
The Witch Party was the largest faction among the opposition.
After the New Japanese Government was established, it transitioned from the Witch Assembly into a ruling party and held power for a long time. But as the witches retired, its influence gradually declined, and it fell into opposition after the political failure of the second-generation Foresight Mage.
Representative Gushiken was the adopted daughter of the Tobacco Witch.
At the end of last year, she had brought the magic flute workshop a proposal to produce magic flutes as part of a cultural-promotion policy.
The conditions had not aligned at the time, so he had turned it down.
"Could we take on that proposal even now...? If I remember correctly, we rejected it because taking it on would interfere with our regular work...?"
"Ah, yes. Broadly speaking."
"What if we each provided half the personnel for a joint project with the Akamizumon Workshop...?"
Asked that question, Kanzaki quickly ran the numbers in his head and nodded.
"Then it should be fine. Whether the other side accepts it is the question, but we can manage on our end."
"Actually, I already brought the proposal to the Akamizumon Workshop... They said they would accept it if we did..."
"Huh? You laid the groundwork quickly!? If that's the case, then there's no problem."
"Are you really sure? If it would put a burden on the artisans, tell me, okay...?"
"Not at all, nothing of the sort. If it means being of service to you, Spider Witch-sama, every artisan will be delighted!"
It was not entirely lip service, but ninety percent of that was Kanzaki's unvarnished opinion.
The capable CEO had looked after every employee in one way or another.
They could not let an opportunity to repay that debt pass them by.
"But why now? Did something change since last year?"
"It's really a personal matter... There's something I want to get the Witch Party to approve... I wanted to move things along smoothly..."
"I see. So that's what it was."
Since she seemed reluctant to be questioned too deeply, Kanzaki did not press her any further.
In short, it was probably a political trade: "We'll accept your proposal, so you accept ours."
Kanzaki was a magic flute maker, not a politician. If the CEO told him to do it, then he would give it his all as a craftsman. There was no need to delve into the circumstances behind it.
The discussion reached a stopping point, and Kanzaki took a breath. Then he heard a much deeper, longer sigh from behind the screen.
"...Are you tired?"
"Ah, sorry. Did it seem that way...? I'm fine, so don't worry..."
The Spider Witch answered normally, as though nothing were wrong, but Kanzaki grew concerned.
Since around the spring of last year, the Spider Witch's mood seemed to have grown brighter.
In exchange, he had heard in passing that she had also become terribly busy at times.
Even Transcendents who had surpassed humanity still became tired, both physically and mentally.
The Spider Witch in particular was a woman who worried about how others saw her and shouldered a great deal of mental strain. Given her instincts as a witch, it was only natural.
"If I may be so bold..."
After hesitating briefly, Kanzaki cleared his throat and spoke.
"You are liked by far more people than you think, Spider Witch-sama. Please have more confidence in yourself."
"Mm... I hope that's true... Thank you for being so considerate..."
Although he had meant to show consideration, Kanzaki felt as though he had instead forced her to put on a show of appreciating her subordinate's concern, which left him uneasy.
Anything he said to a seasoned witch who had lived twice as long as he had would be like teaching his grandmother to suck eggs. Even so, he wanted to do something.
Kanzaki decided to bring up something he had kept to himself because he felt it would pry too much into the CEO's private life.
"Ah, changing the subject, my daughter has recently started taking an interest in biology."
"Oh...?"
By biology, I mean that she likes keeping living things and going out to look for them.
She even says she'd like to meet Spider Witch-sama.
"..."
"My daughter likes spiders. I can state unequivocally as her father that she would not be frightened even if she met Spider Witch-sama."
"..."
"Would you be willing to meet her sometime?"
"...I'll think about it."
The witch answered gently.
Kanzaki could not tell what state of mind had led her to that answer.
The Spider Witch always stood quietly behind the screen.
Alone, in silence.
Kanzaki had heard that she had friends.
But he had only ever heard about old friends who were witches or demons.
Though his thinking was still shallow and youthful compared with the witch's, Kanzaki felt that new encounters would be a good thing. She was such a good witch, after all.
He was biased as a parent, but his daughter was a good girl. It would surely be a good encounter for the Spider Witch, and for his daughter as well.
He hoped that even a few more people would be able to form a heartfelt connection with the Spider Witch on the other side of the screen—thin, yet impossible for him to cross.
With that hope in his heart, Kanzaki left the conference room.