Chapter 4
"So you want me to explain OOPARTS..."
I looked at the magic staff "Hendensho" lying on the table.
I haven't used any technology so advanced that it deserves to be called an OOPARTS. There isn't some incredible secret manufacturing method. I just carved it into shape and gave it a double structure.
"You know how magic stones become more effective the closer they are to a sphere, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, this staff is called Hendensho, and it's made from electric crystals I collected at the Okutama Substation. Ah, Gremlins, I mean. I'm using Gremlins. First, I carved a Gremlin into a sphere, then crushed the shavings into polishing compound, and..."
"Wait."
I had only just started explaining as requested when the Blue Witch stopped me.
"Are the machine tools in Okutama still working?"
"You mean electrically powered machine tools? No, they aren't."
"Then how did you process it?"
"How? With a carving knife and a chisel, obviously."
When I demonstrated carving with a knife, the Blue Witch shook her head.
"That can't be true. I heard the surviving engineers have gathered at the Eye Witch's place to conduct research, but the hardness is too high, and apparently its properties make it difficult to carve. They say it would be hard even with precision machinery. In fact, not a single person has succeeded in processing a Gremlin. There must be some secret method you discovered and are hiding, Dairi. Tell me."
What?
No, what was I supposed to say to that?
"I'm dexterous."
When I answered honestly, the Blue Witch irritably tapped her fingers on the table.
"Do you think this is something that can be explained away by being a little dexterous, idiot?! If being dexterous were enough to process Gremlins, I would have polished this magic stone into a sphere long ago. Look at the Gremlin in this staff. What is this? Huh? As if carving it into a sphere weren't enough, you've made a sphere inside the sphere! It makes no sense. There can't be a human capable of such godlike craftsmanship. Tell me the truth. What did you use? Laser processing? Huh?"
She kept pressing me for an answer, but there was no secret manufacturing method. I had simply carved it.
But if I honestly said, "I'm dexterous," she'd just decide I was lying.
If I kept arguing with the Blue Witch, who had clearly survived some truly dangerous situations, she might decide I was a liar and kill me.
I decided to demonstrate it right there.
"Um, then could I borrow that magic stone of yours, Blue Witch-san? I'll carve it into a sphere right here and show you. I did bring a knife, just in case."
"Don't joke around. How much blood do you think was shed for this one magic stone? By the time I killed the wizard from Iruma and took it, eight hundred people had died for this thing. Do you think I can lend it to you that easily?"
"Oh. Then never mind..."
This thing had a hell of a history. Scary.
"Do you have a Gremlin, then? I'll process that here and show you. I can do a small one, but a larger one might be easier to see."
"So you insist it can be done with nothing but a single knife. Very well. If you say that much, then show me."
The Blue Witch said she was going to get a Gremlin and stood up, but halfway there she turned around and gave me an obviously distrustful, icy look.
"Don't run away. I'll be back soon. And don't touch anything."
I nodded vigorously several times.
Could you stop threatening me every other sentence? It's scary.
Sure, I might look suspicious to you, but you're basically a yakuza to me. We can have a conversation like this, but I have no idea whether my life will still be safe after the conversation ends.
I sat quietly frozen in my chair for a while, but the Blue Witch took a long time to return, making noises as she moved things around upstairs. At one point, I distinctly heard a mountain of plastic bottles and empty cans collapse, followed by a string of curses. I relaxed my shoulders, figuring it would be a while yet.
Once I calmed down and looked around the room, I noticed all sorts of little things placed here and there. Several houseplants whose names I didn't know. Cacti. A goldfish bowl containing medaka, with colorful pebbles covering the bottom and aquatic plants floating on the surface. Stuffed rabbits and bears hugged heart-shaped cushions beside a toy house. The whole place had a distinctly girlish feel.
If I made sure not to look at the bloodstained gunsmithing kit on the workbench, the room looked no different from the living room of an ordinary woman.
I fidgeted, and before long I felt a vague urge to escape.
This is kind of uncomfortable.
Come to think of it, the last time I'd been invited into someone else's house was in elementary school, when I delivered worksheets to a classmate who had caught a cold. This was the first time I'd ever been inside a woman's home.
The protagonists in anime always got nervous when they went to the heroine's house, but they must have had incredible guts. I was so awkward I desperately wanted to run away.
While searching for the back door with my eyes and planning an escape route for emergencies, I spotted a music box on a shelf by the window. It was the kind that played a song while a doll mounted on top rotated.
Wait, what!?
Isn't that the Magical Girl Logical☆Einstein Season Two Complete-Order Limited-Production Music Box, Ai-chan model!?
A-amazing! I've never seen one in person! It's one of the legendary music boxes of which only fifty exist in the world!
It isn't a knockoff, is it?
When I rushed over and examined it up close, its exceptional quality was obvious. As expected of something made to order and sold out immediately, every tiny detail had received loving attention.
Oh-ho, ho-ho-ho-ho. They made the lace on her skirt this fine? This must be hand-sewn, right? What craftsmanship! Is that Humanity Diamond on her chest actually a real diamond? That's not something you use in merchandise for little girls! This is completely aimed at adult fans!
I tried to wind the music box to hear it, but the key wouldn't turn. When I applied more force, thinking the key was stiff, I felt it catch, as though something inside had broken.
What the hell? It's broken?
I wanted to click my tongue.
What on earth was the Blue Witch doing? This was a precious, expensive masterpiece that had set the all-time record price among officially licensed anime merchandise made to order. If it broke, she should have had it repaired. Did she even understand what this thing was worth? What an idiot!
Well, fine. I guess I'll lend a hand.
I borrowed some tools from the gunsmithing kit on the workbench and quickly disassembled the music box without scratching it. Looking at the internal mechanism, it seemed that the gears had slipped after being dropped or struck hard.
Fortunately, this was easy to fix.
It had apparently taken a powerful enough impact to warp the frame of the music-box case, but the mechanism had been designed with enough clearance that the parts had come loose instead of breaking. Hmm. This is a useful approach. I should imitate it.
I repaired it while admiring the design, put it back together, and turned the key.
A verse of the anime theme song began playing in a beautiful tone.
Oh, nice~. Now I feel like watching the anime again.
But the Blu-ray I'd gone to all the trouble of buying was nothing more than a frisbee now that the electricity had vanished. Damn you, Gremlin.
As I enjoyed the music box with my chin propped in my hand, I heard a noise behind me.
I instantly remembered the situation I was in, and the blood drained from my face.
The Blue Witch had told me not to touch anything.
And yet I'd touched it with both hands.
This is bad.
I'm going to be killed!
Breaking into a cold sweat, I slowly turned around so as not to provoke a wild beast.
I cracked my eyes open and checked her expression. Contrary to my expectations, the Blue Witch wasn't angry.
If anything, a single tear was running down from her closed eye.
Huh? What? What emotion is that supposed to express?
The Blue Witch listened intently to the music box. I caught a glimpse of something far too heavy for the feelings one ought to have toward the opening song of a children's anime.
D-did you really like this song that much? I like it too, but I think you beat me.
Eventually, the music-box key stopped, and the song ended. The Blue Witch turned away, wiped her tears, and then thanked me in a gentle voice and with a calm expression utterly unlike her earlier demeanor.
"Thank you, Dairi. I thought I'd never hear it again."
"Oh, sure. Did you really like the song that much?"
"That music box belonged to my little sister. We used to listen to it together all the time."
"I see? You have such refined tastes. I'd love to talk with your sister sometime."
And if possible, I'd like her to give me the music box. I'd give her about half of my other merchandise in exchange.
When I buttered her up while hiding my ulterior motive, the Blue Witch answered briefly, radiating deep sorrow.
"My sister died. Of an illness."
"Ah."
This is awkward.
It's a keepsake... Sorry for messing with it without permission...
"You're a good person, Dairi. I'm sorry I treated you so coldly."
As I fidgeted, the Blue Witch apologized with a gentle bow, dropping the icy attitude she'd maintained until then.
Her transformation was so complete it could only be called a sudden change of personality. Repairing the music box must have meant a great deal to her.
Yep, I'm actually a good person.
I'm glad that misunderstanding got cleared up.
"I'd really like to repay you for fixing the music box."
"Oh. No, it's fine..."
"That's right. Are you short on supplies? Living alone deep in the mountains must be difficult. Dairi, you could even move to Ome. We'd welcome you."
"No, thank you."
I firmly shook my head at the Blue Witch, who was proposing an outrageous penalty while claiming she wanted to repay me.
Why would I move to an area with other people when I was finally enjoying the bliss of living alone?
Living alone deep in the mountains was difficult, but the very fact that I lived alone deep in the mountains offered more than enough benefits to cancel out every other disadvantage. I absolutely wasn't moving.
I took a firm stance of total refusal, but the Blue Witch continued pressing me with the full force of her unnecessary concern.
"It may not have been a big deal to you, Dairi, but it was extremely important to me. I won't feel right unless I repay you. Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all."
"...Anything?"
When I echoed her question, the Blue Witch started to nod, then suddenly realized something and hurriedly added,
"N-no sex stuff!"
"Then could you not talk? Don't come near me. I don't even want to look at your face."
"!?"
Since she had told me anything was fine, I honestly stated my greatest desire, and the Blue Witch was so dumbfounded that she dropped the little chunks of Gremlin in her hand onto the floor with a clatter.
I tilted my head at her bizarre overreaction, then, after a beat, realized I'd caused a terrible misunderstanding.
"No! It's not that you're gross or that I dislike you, Blue Witch-san! It's just that hearing your voice or looking at your face makes me feel like I'm going to throw up. Ah, no, that sounded wrong too! That's not what I mean, I swear!"
Despairing over my terrible communication skills, I spent nearly an hour clearing up the misunderstanding.
I think I cleared it up.
Apparently, the Blue Witch had never encountered a social misfit like me before. It took quite a while to make her understand that it wasn't that I disliked her; I just had trouble with all human beings.
It's not that I dislike you or anything. I'd just appreciate it if you kept an appropriate distance, you know?
"..."
Having understood my extremely troublesome nature, the Blue Witch pulled a garment case out of the closet, took a cheap white mask from a compression bag labeled "Halloween Costumes," and put it on. Then she went to the corner of the room and silently used gestures to ask, "Is this better?"
"Much better."
When I said that, the Blue Witch seemed relieved.
Sorry for making you go to so much trouble. But thanks to that, I could finally breathe deeply again.
Once all her skin was hidden and she lost the outline of a person, it didn't matter how beautiful her uncovered face was.
It felt as though there were no humans in front of me, and I was relieved. I wasn't scared anymore.
After wandering down all sorts of tangents, I decided to return to the subject at hand.
The Blue Witch had doubted my ability to process Gremlins, so the first thing to do was demonstrate it.
I picked up a small chunk of Gremlin from the floor and first had her confirm its unprocessed state.
"Watch closely."
When I blasted it with a voice at its characteristic frequency, the Gremlin resting on my fingertip weakly fired a thin beam, like it had wet itself.
The Blue Witch covered her ears as though the sound bothered her.
"You saw that, right? That's the current magical power of this Gremlin. Now I'll carve it into a sphere and show you how much stronger it gets."
"...?"
"My mouth? What's wrong with my mouth? Oh, you mean that screaming-beaver-like voice? This is the only spell I know. Sorry it's so loud."
"..."
The Blue Witch looked as though she wanted to say something, but she didn't force herself to ask any questions.
No questions meant no problem. I got to work immediately.
Without any fixture to hold it in place, shaving a rice-grain-sized Gremlin as it rolled around on the table with the tip of a knife was nerve-racking to say the least. I should have brought a magnifying glass.
But dexterity was the only thing I had going for me.
After about ten minutes, I finished a piece I was extremely proud of.
"Done. I haven't polished it, but I think its power has increased quite a bit. Here goes."
When I blasted it again with a voice at its characteristic frequency, the Gremlin on my fingertip fired a thin beam with a sharp whoosh, like a spider spitting out a thread.
I couldn't see the Blue Witch's expression because it was hidden behind her mask, but her surprise came through loud and clear.
"That's how it works. Do you believe me now?"
The Blue Witch fell silent for a while, then wrote something on a sheet of drawing paper with a pen and solemnly held it out to me.
Her handwriting was adorably girlish, with cute, rounded letters that didn't match her cool appearance at all. The contrast was making my brain short-circuit.
'Dairi should go into hiding. If this feat becomes known, every witch and wizard in Japan will come after you.'
"That serious...?"
Her intense reaction to something I did just to pass the time really scared me.
Isn't that a little overdramatic? Sure, I pride myself on being the world's greatest wandmaker. But unless I were a president or billionaire, would anyone really target a craftsman personally?
While I wondered about it, the Blue Witch turned the page of the drawing paper and wrote more.
'Dairi is like the only person in a world with nothing but bows and arrows who can make a machine gun. You need to understand what that means.'
"Yikes."
Only after she gave me a concrete example did it slowly begin to sink in.
This is the kind of thing that could change the world. It's way too dangerous. Once my abilities and identity are exposed, kidnapping and imprisonment are a certainty!
...But having the power to change the world is kind of exciting, isn't it?
Honestly, I wanted to mass-produce and sell the over-the-top magic staffs only I could make, then bask in my own smugness.
Couldn't the internet auctions come back, even if the electricity stayed off? I wanted to watch the bids on my magic staffs climb higher and higher while I grinned to myself~!
But it was an impossible wish. Internet auctions were gone, and they would never return.
I couldn't survive in this regressed commercial society, where I had to move my feet and mouth around to hawk my goods.
Just hearing the words "sales pitch" made my skin crawl.
Was the Blue Witch right? Would I have to live quietly, keeping my head down?
Was there some way to hide my identity and never meet anyone while still letting the world know about the finest masterpieces of my era?
'Today, you've been a great help. I'll take you back to Okutama. If you run into any trouble, I can help.'
The Blue Witch held the drawing paper out to me. The sentence "Would you like to stay for lunch?" had been crossed out with two lines.
The sun was already past its zenith. If it took three hours to get home, I'd arrive around dusk. It really was a good time to leave.
The supply-recovery expedition had been full of unexpected complications, but I came away with a lot.
Still, I was exhausted. The Blue Witch also seemed to be taking great care with this delicate little animal who was hopelessly vulnerable to interpersonal stress, so I decided to take my leave.
"May I come to Ome from time to time to recover supplies?"
When I asked for permission, the Blue Witch nodded silently.
Good. As long as I secured that promise, everything was fine.
I'd make sure not to run into her in the future, and she would probably do the same. We likely wouldn't meet again.
She'd helped me by telling me all sorts of information today.
Although reaching the conclusion that "it would be best to live more or less as I had been" made the information exchange seem a little pointless. At least I was free from the anxiety of not knowing what was happening around me.
The food problem was on track to being solved, and now that I knew I couldn't hope for internet auctions to return, improving my living conditions any further would be extremely difficult.
I understood the current situation, and I could vaguely see where my future was headed.
Surely, from now on, day after day would pass without any change.
To avoid attracting the attention of dangerous people, I would hide away the many wonderful magic staffs I'd made, live quietly with my head down, grow old and decrepit, and eventually draw my last breath in silence.
Dying alone was exactly what I wanted.
But the fact that I couldn't release my creations into the world was a source of endless regret.
Ah, well! So that's how it is? Nothing in life ever goes smoothly. Still, I suppose I should be happy that my dream of dying alone had become more realistic.
......
No.
Wait.
With my backpack slung over my shoulder and Hendensho in hand, I finished getting ready to leave, when an idea suddenly struck me.
I froze like a petrified statue, focusing on the idea that had just occurred to me. The Blue Witch looked at me suspiciously.
That's right.
The Blue Witch.
She had dutifully put up with my full-blown refusal to converse like a social misfit.
Maybe she felt so indebted to me for repairing the music box that she would indulge me in a somewhat unreasonable request.
There was no harm in asking, right?
I spent several minutes frozen in place, worrying about whether my rude request would offend her, whether it was too presumptuous to ask on the very day we'd met, and what I would do if she refused and became angry.
But in the end, I decided to ask anyway.
The Blue Witch had patiently waited in silence after I suddenly froze and stopped moving.
Even considering the debt she owed me, there weren't many people so kind to someone with communication issues.
In fact, she was the first I'd ever met. Even my own parents had cut ties with me when I said, "I want to live without meeting anyone and make a living through online auctions."
Anyway, I figured she was the only person I could make this proposal to.
"I have a favor to ask."
When I said that, the Blue Witch tilted her head slightly and urged me to continue.
I made the request knowing it might well be rejected.
"Would you be willing to act as the sales outlet for my magic staffs?"
In truth, even during the online-auction days, I hadn't been completely free of human contact.
When I bought things, a delivery company came to my front door and left them there. When I sold things, another company came and picked up the packages I'd left outside.
I never met anyone face-to-face, but my online-auction business had been made possible by the help of various delivery companies.
The Blue Witch would take over the role those companies had played.
I would stay shut in at home and make magic staffs.
The Blue Witch would collect the finished pieces, advertise them without revealing their source, negotiate with customers, sell them, and bring the proceeds—or rather, supplies—to me.
That way, I could stay shut in at home and devote myself to my hobby!!!
The only flaw in this genius plan was that the Blue Witch had no reason to take on such tedious busywork. But she readily agreed on the condition that I make her staff for free.
That was an exchange I was more than happy to accept.
Having a celebrity use your product makes for some seriously good advertising!
The Blue Witch ruled Ome City by herself and apparently had connections with other witches, making her a celebrity by all indications. If I made her staff, its reputation would rise every time she made a name for herself. Simply carrying it around would have an advertising effect.
I didn't want my own face or name to become well known, but I wanted the excellence of my staffs to spread far and wide.
After receiving a magic stone from the Blue Witch, I got to work as soon as I returned home.
The Hendensho I'd made by carving a marble-sized Gremlin had only been able to support a double structure.
The double structure itself had been an experimental attempt, and the stone was so small that trying to make a triple structure would probably have shattered it.
But the blue magic stone I'd received this time was the size of my palm. It was smaller than my Octameteorite, but still plenty large.
The raw stone was quite misshapen, but roughly spherical, so I wouldn't lose much material while carving it.
This one could support six layers... no, even seven!
I worked day and night by candlelight.
Partway through, I noticed that my hands were trembling and my vision was blurry, then realized I had gone twenty-four hours without eating. When I reluctantly went outside to catch some fish, I found a paper bag packed with food and a bundle of firewood waiting outside the front door.
Huh!? A fairy!? No, it was definitely the Blue Witch's doing.
The food bag contained cans of corned beef, fresh lettuce in a Tupperware container, and salted rice balls. Considering the times, it was the perfect nutritional balance. Rice must have been a precious commodity, too. I was grateful.
With the Blue Witch supporting me like this, I could concentrate on my work.
Having all the time I spent gathering food every day suddenly free was huge.
For three days and three nights, I spent nearly all my waking hours on magic-stone processing, doing little besides eating and sleeping.
I occasionally felt the gaze of a fairy from outside the window, but once I entered a state of extreme concentration, I stopped noticing it almost immediately.
Around the time I began processing the fifth layer, the work became difficult with the tools I had on hand. Half resigned to the idea that it might be impossible, I asked the Blue Witch by letter to obtain some tools. The next day, the requested tools were waiting outside my front door.
This is a huge help. She'll deliver anything. It's like delivery service has come back just for me.
In the end, it took seven days to finish all the processing and assembly, including the staff's handle, joints, and protective materials. Massaging my rock-hard shoulders, I wrapped the completed staff simply in paper and left it outside the front door. At last, the job was done.
What a job. I'd initially estimated it would take two weeks, and when I left an empty Tupperware container outside the door to return it, I put the estimate inside before sending it back. But mastering the techniques and developing new methods had drastically shortened the production time.
Mmm, mmm. I made a fine piece, and learned a lot.
The Blue Witch's dedicated staff, made from the blue magic stone, was a masterpiece that brought together the very best of all my techniques.
It looked like a wooden staff, but I had run a metal core through it, so it was strong as can be. It wouldn't break from a little rough handling.
I had also lavished attention on the design. I inlaid silver into Celtic motifs carved shallowly into the wood to emphasize them, and engraved Kyanos—the coolest Greek word for "blue" I had found—as its name.
All the designs and decorations were arranged to showcase the beautiful blue gemstone crowning the end of the handle. I even mixed blue dye into the bonding material so it would harmonize with the overall look.
No craftsman other than me could make a better magic staff. Nailed it.
The blue magic staff Kyanos that I'd left outside the front door was gone when I checked the next morning.
I really hope the Blue Witch uses Kyanos to make a huge splash.
I'd also be happy if she put it on display, though.