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Chapter 81
Chapter 3 — Dry scrape, burn and perforate! • Episode 3–1 — First Participation ⑤
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
The comment about the treatment of extremists was simply an entry point to the conversation, and Simeracres-san’s main issue was how to deal with the shortage of Magical Girls in the area. With the help of Discause-san, the alternative proposal of setting up a foundation, which had been a theoretical idea, became a reality, and without further input from Simeracres-san, the discussion was settled in the form of a Devil’s keep.
After that, the other Witches didn’t speak to me in particular, and the meeting ended. I was planning to quietly leave the room when the atmosphere became that of a pure tea party from here on, but as I was about to leave the room, one witch held me by both shoulders and forced me to be seated again.
「What are you trying to do?」
「Well, as promised, let’s have a little chat.」
It was Ex–Magna-san, leaning her body over the back of the chair with her hand on my shoulder.
It wasn’t that I had forgotten about it, I just wondered if I could go home and pretend it didn’t happen. Unfortunately, I didn’t escape.
「Tyrant Sylph, you know the Social game called Magical Girl Wars? You can play on your phone, and if you want, you can play it on your Magiphone too.」
「At least in name, well…」
It’s not that I actually know at least the name, since I used to play a lot until the day before Jack put me in this body, but I haven’t played it since I uninstalled it once, and if I answer that I did, I’m afraid I’ll be asked a lot of questions, which would be troublesome.
「I see, I see. Well, that’s a quick story then. That’s actually run by a front company for the Bureau of Magic, and I’m the one who started the project, no matter what they say～ Isn’t that great? Am I producer-y?」
「I see.」
I do think it’s great, but what does that have to do with me?
I mean, front companies, is the Magic Bureau a yakuza or something? Considering what was done, it’s like the Yakuza, come to think of it.
「That’s not much of a response. By the way, have you ever played any mobile games of any kind? Do you know what a gacha or rarity is?」
「At least that much.」
「Magical Girl Wars implements real Magical Girls as characters, you see? And the highest rarity SSRs are basically Witches. The next one to be implemented is the Extend Traveler, and then the Tyrant Sylph will be the next one to be implemented——」
「!? What was that!? I’m not listening to you! Please stop that!」
「I’ve got permission from the Department of Magic, so the rights are not an issue, here. We’ve implemented all the witches of the past with a few exceptions, but only a few of them have gotten permission from the person in question.」
It’s impossible to say that it’s not possible, and that is the shitty thing about the Magic Bureau.
It is their specialty to do things on their own without getting people’s approval.
It’s something like portrait rights or copyrights or something like that, but in reality, Magical Girls are like fairy tales that exist in real life, so there’s no point in saying anything if the head of the Magic Bureau approves of it.
It’s hard to put into words how thrilling it is to have myself implemented as a character in a game, but I have a strange sense of embarrassment.
I’m not a big fan of attention, and I’d rather it didn’t happen, but with the way Ex–Magna is going, I don’t think it’s going to happen.
「Tch! You went out of your way to talk to me to tell me that!」
「Here’s the main issue. It’s a done deal to implement it, but the problem is the voice. Even if they are of the same rarity, the response will be different if they have a voice or not. You know, even a certain idol Idol moblie game is a big deal, with the voice election and all that, right? That’s why I’d love to see Tyrant Sylph do a voice-over.」
「I definitely don’t want to.」
If they can’t overrule my objection to the implementation of a character called Tyrant Sylph in the game, I’ll forgive them a hundred steps. I know it’s embarrassing, but if I try not to look at it, I’ll forget about it eventually.
But there is no way I can do that, to give them a voice! If I get involved that deeply, I can’t just say that I don’t want to look. I will definitely remember it at a moment’s notice and want to wriggle with embarrassment!
「Don’t say that, you’ll even get a reward. You will be rewarded with 50,000 points, or 5 million Japanese yen. I’m sure there aren’t many professional voice actors who get paid this much for shagging recordings. I don’t know the details.」
「I don’t care, I don’t have any money problems.」
「At your age, you may not understand the importance of money yet, but I think it never hurts to earn it when you can, as your Onee-san.」
Who, who the hell is my sister.
I think I understand the importance of money better than you, Ex–Magna, who has been earning money as a Magical Girl since you’re a student, because I have been in the society already.
If I could get 5 million yen just for speaking as instructed, it might be a good deal, but I have never practiced speaking for work, and I don’t think it would be that easy to finish. I won’t be able to apply my voice like a professional voice actor from the start, and in fact, it may take a lot of time, including practice. The world is not that simple.
If I hadn’t already accumulated enough points to exchange for the magic potion, I would have given it a thought, but I did get the Aging potion, and I can get the Sex Change potion as long as I win the competition. Of course I need money to live, but considering that I have five training sessions coming up, I won’t have to worry about money for a while.
「It’s a big deal. Anyway, I don’t do voice guesses.」
「Okay～ Extend Traveler said she would do it…」
「…So what?」
「No, aren’t you two good friend from neighboring towns, right? Your friend says she’s going to do it, too, and I thought you might want to give it some more thought.」
「We are not friends. Please don’t misunderstand.」
「Is that so?」
Why is it that Extend-san and I are perceived as friends by her?
It’s true that I was helped during the last disturbance, but that was because Elephant-san and Extend-san were friends, and it had nothing to do with me. Perhaps other Witches think that way? I’d better correct that… No, if I get too upset, they may think I was just being shy. If asked, I must answer truthfully, and that’s about right.
「You really don’t like it? Well, I guess it can’t be helped then.」
「…You’re backing down easily.」
「Nhn—? I’ve been turned down by Discause and Captain Treasure, and that’s just the way it is. I won’t force you to do it.」
「Is that so.」
「Oh, my, my? Did you really want to do it? Do you want me to be more forceful?」
「I didn’t mean it like that.」
I just thought that some Witches have some common sense. I don’t want to say that because if I did, I might get tangled up again.
「If you’re done talking, could you please move your hand away?」
「Actually, there’s one more thing to talk about.」
「…Almost 10 minutes have passed.」
「We’re in overtime～」
I was a fool to think that she had even a little bit of common sense. After all, Witches are selfish people who go their own way.
「Don’t get mad at me because this time it’s in the Tyrant Sylph’s best interest. You know, lately, you’ve been advertising that you’re friends with a local Magical Girl. That’s to keep them from messing with your territory, right?」
「What if it was?」
「It’s fine to play in the Magical World and post pictures of it on social media, but I think it would be more effective to take a variety of approaches anyway. So, you’re pretty famous on Magical Girl video sites.」
「I’m a witch, so it’s no surprise I’m famous.」
「Boop–boop, wrong answer. Well, I’m sure the number of registrations increased after you became a Witch, but I’m pretty famous before I became a witch. So, you know, let’s do a collab sometime! The hottest new honorific cool-loli Witch girl! I’m telling you, this is a great attribute match and it’s definitely going to get people talking!」
As usual, I almost immediately responded with a reflexive “I don’t want to,” and quickly put on the brakes.
The Magical Girl video site is a Magical Girl version of the world-famous U-tube, where Magical Girls post a variety of videos, including recorded battle scenes, chatting videos, reviews of magical tools, magical charms, and more.
The number of views can earn points, and in live broadcasts, the points purchased by viewers can be sent to magical girls in the form of support, and if done well, it can lead to a large income, so it’s said that there are Magical Girls who make this activity their main business on the side of defeating Diests.
I don’t think that since we were Witches, we’d be working as a side job to defeat Diests, but they seem to be involved in a lot of different directions, such as posting videos and producing video games.
Of course I don’t have the slightest intention of doing that, but considering that we are a close-knit team, I think it is one way to get a famous Magical Girl to help us. I honestly don’t like the idea of that being in the form of a video myself, but I don’t think Ex–Magna-san would promote me if it wasn’t beneficial.
I don’t need to think about which way to lean when weighing the safety of Elephant-san and my emotional distress.
「Is that going to be a video with just me and Ex–Magna? Is it ok with my people as well?」
「Ohhh, a positive reply! Let’s see, personally, I’d prefer the two of us and Tyrant Sylph as a Witch collaboration if possible, but… that would make it harder to promote that one. It would be best to have us make out in the video…」
「M–Make out!?」
「A Yuri display is a Yuri display. That’s the best way to show how well we get along, right? Do you have a coupling in mind?」
「W–We are nothing like that!!」
「I told you it’s all about sales. It’s easier for the audience to understand if you don’t overdo it.」
J–Just because it’s an act doesn’t mean I can’t make out with Elephant-san! We were just friends! And I’m sure Elephant-san wouldn’t want to do that with me either. Because I’m a good old man inside…
「Okay, but Sakira Town itself is getting a fair amount of attention, and collaborating with that rumored Magical Girls team in Sakira Town, you know!? Wait, I guess that’s possible, yeah.」
「…Is that so?」
「Eh, why are you suddenly so down? Don’t tell me you don’t like it after all this time?」
「I won’t say, but I will talk to my colleagues once before I make a formal decision. Even if I’m good with it, if my colleagues are against it, we won’t have this conversation.」
「Alright, alright. I’ll be waiting in anticipation. Alright, next up, voice negotiations for the Halloween costume… Hey, Rabbitfoot! I’ve got some good news for you!」
Perhaps satisfied that the negotiations regarding the video performance ended on a reasonably positive note, Ex–Magna-san finally took her hand off my shoulder and went to talk to Rabbitfoot-san.
I said I would talk to my colleagues first, but they probably won’t object. I don’t think Elephant-san would refuse if asked to do so, and I think Press-san would be rather enthusiastic about it, saying it would be interesting. Blade-san may perhaps be a little reluctant, but if I tell her the purpose, she will be convinced.
「I was just talking about the foundation——」
「No mandatory collection for now——」
After the meeting was over, the Devil was glancing at me, but now she seems to be caught by Simeracres-san for the story she just told. Just as well, I decided to take this opportunity to leave.