Chapter 3 — Dry scrape, burn and perforate! ? Episode 3–4 — Witch Cup ①

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

At noon on the day of the main match of the Witch Cup, the stadium was almost full with the game about to begin, and the stadium was filled with a bustling, cheerful atmosphere.

In the air, images are projected on a huge screen like a hologram, forming a rectangle with no bottom or top surface, and the audience seats are arranged in a circle around the rectangular screen. The capacity of the stadium is 10,000, which is considerably less than a real stadium, but since only Magical Girls and fairies are allowed to use the stadium, the seats would be rather cramped even if the stadium were expanded any further. The size of the stadium is in line with demand.

「I’m getting kind of nervous myself..」

「Eh—? It’s getting rather exciting, don’t you think?」

「I usually don’t pay much attention to fairies, but I didn’t know there were so many of them.」

In the video shown on the screen, the fairy in charge of the play-by-play and commentary again explained the rules and introduced the teams, while mentioning that the time for the start of the game was approaching.

If you only want to see Witches fighting, you can just watch videos on posting sites, but when it comes to battles between Witches, it’s not an easy thing to watch. In addition, Blade’s back was straight and she looked nervous because her teammate would be participating in this match.

On the other hand, Press and Elephant are calm. Press had a large container of popcorn on her lap as if she were watching a movie, and is stuffing her mouth full of it and pouring it down with juice, while Elephant is happily gawking at the fairies who are filling more than 70% of the seats in the auditorium. Fairies are a very happy and joyful beings.

「But it’s a little surprising that Sylph-chan would participate in such an event. She doesn’t like to show off, doesn’t she?」

「I’m sure there are some circumstances. She seemed pretty preoccupied, and I wanted to help her, but I couldn’t go any further when she said she was going to train for the competition.」

「In the meantime, I’ve told Ex-paisen that I want her to care about it.」

The information that the Witch Cup was to be held was released, and the three felt uncomfortable when Sylph’s name was mentioned as one of the participants. They know that Tyrant Sylph isn’t the type of person who actively acts in a conspicuous manner because of her stance that she originally had no intention of befriending other Magical Girls, and because she still hasn’t posted videos or done social networking. It’s conceivable that she’s forced to do so by the management in order to make up the numbers, but if so, one wonders if it wouldn’t be much quicker to pile money on Simeracres.

Aside from Elephant, who is forbidden to make contact, she asked Blade and Press about it during Diest subjugations, but they were vague as to the reason. However, Sylph herself may think she’s deceiving them well, but she sometimes shows a thoughtful expression, and they both know that there must be some circumstances.

With information from Extend that there were times when she was training at an uncanny pace as if she was immersed in the training, and other times when she was absent-minded and unable to concentrate, Blade and Press were actively trying to get to know each other to see if they could somehow help Sylph, but in the end it didn’t work out.

「I knew you needed me, Sylph-chan.」

Her words were muttered with a smiling, flowery smile, but were drowned out by the cheers that erupted when the game began, and no one heard her.

.

『Soon! It’s almost time for the games to begin! But first, let’s go over it once more!』

『Red Team! Third in the pecking order and the Leader of the Witches in charge of the Tea Party! Can she bring about their destiny to win!? The Thread Witch! Wiggs Crosseeeeaaaauuuu!!!』

『Seventh in the pecking order! Lord of the Phantom Beasts, rumored to be the closest to full liberation now! Will she show her strength as a champion in this battle as well!? The Dragon Witch! Dragon Caaaaaaaaalllll!!!』

『Thirteenth in the pecking order! Arrogant and irreverent! A whack job and a talented one! Can she extend her talents further in this one match!? The Expansion Witch! Extend Travellllleeeeeeerrrr!』

『Blue Team! Fourth in the pecking order! Veteran Witch of Change and Autonomy! Will her dexterous eight arms grasp victory or defeat!? The Octopus Witch! Dopplegangeeeeeeerrrr!』

『Ninth in the pecking order! A producer in good graces! Can she pull off a win!? The Magnetism Witch! Ex–Magnaaaaaaaa!!!』

『Fourteenth in the pecking order! An up-and-coming child tyrant who has emerged like a comet! Will she receive a tailwind or a headwind!? The Wind Witch! Tyrant Sylppphhhhhh!!!』

『Yellow Team! Fifth in the pecking order! Innocent and pure violence with no mercy even for the same faction! Will she able put everyone on ice, and only she’ll stand at the end!? The Ice Witch! Permafroooosssssttt!!!』

『Sixth in the pecking order! Her nickname is the Strongest Anti-Human! Will there ever be a Magical Girl who can stop her!? The Gravity Witch! Red Baaaaaaaalllll!!!』

『Tenth in the pecking order! A girl genius loved by fortune! She’s a little sassy, but that’s her flaw! Can she bring her luck in the Witch Cup!? The Rabbit Witch! Rabbbitfooooootttttt!!!』

『The nine members of the team were competing for three large crystals and 20 small crystals in a battle of war. The field selected at random this time was Forest Area A. Each team’s large crystal is placed at the outermost end of the field, and from there it is divided into three tiers as one approaches the inner side. The first is the outer layer, closest to each team’s base where the large crystal is located, with nine small crystals arranged in a doughnut shape. Next is the middle layer, which also has eight crystals arranged in a doughnut shape, just like the outer layer. Finally, the inner layer has three crystals, just like the outer middle layer.』

『In other words! So there are four doughnuts, along with the outermost layer where the Great Crystal resides!!』

『The layers are classified as doughnut-shaped. Of course, the layers get smaller as you get closer to the inside, and the donut shape is just a metaphor, so there is not a hole in the middle of the field!』

『Oops! While we’re doing our final review, it looks like it’s time for the countdown to the start of the match! 10! 9! 8!』

『7, 6, 5, 4.』

『3! 2! 1!』

『『Start!!』』

As a signal to start the match, the actual situation and commentary on the screen became a wipe and moved to the upper right corner of the screen, and the large screen switched to a three-part image of each team’s Magical Girls transitioning to their own camp’s base.

『The Blue Team began to head in the direction of the center, with Contender Tyrant Sylph flying alone in the air! The yellow team is running solo, with Contender Rabbitfoot looking slightly uncomfortable! What kind of strategy is this?』

『The competition is only a battle for position, so more crystals need to be secured. It’s obvious that it was more advantageous to have multiple players in a battle, but on the other hand, there’s a disadvantage that it slows down the collection of crystals, so it’s a standard strategy to have everyone move separately. It isn’t unusual in the early stages of a movement for a mobile Magical Girl to get ahead of the others to secure the inner layers and gradually move back down to the middle layers. However, the situation is a bit more difficult for Contender Rabbitfoot compared to Contender Tyrant Sylph who have the ability to fly. It would’ve been a different story if they were in a wilderness or grassland instead of a forested area.』

『I see! Oops! Meanwhile, the Red Team seems to be flying and aiming for the center, with Contender Dragon Call holding Contender Extend Traveler!』

『It may sound like a double dose of mobility and combativeness, but of course moving with one person is less mobile than when you are on your own. The Red Team’s strategy is probably to beat the other team’s leader with a two-man team, but if the other team is more mobile, there is a natural possibility that they’ll get away with it. It will be interesting to see whether this will kill two birds with one stone, or whether those who chase two hares will catch neither.』

『Blue Team, Contender Ex–Magna seem to be on her way to secure the nearest outer layer of small crystals! Contender Doppelganger hasn’t moved from their base!』

『This is a grand strategy. The first player secures the inner layer and secures the crystal while dropping down to the middle layer. The other Magical Girl will then move up to the middle layer while securing crystals in the outer layer, and after securing crystals close to her own camp to some extent, the leading role will go to steal crystals from other camps, while the other Magical Girl will wait in the middle to outer layers to defend the crystals she has secured and to recapture them if they are stolen. And the last one is in the lineup to protect the big crystal in their own camp. If this strategy works, especially if there are Magical Girl with excellent mobility in the team, you will have a significant advantage in the battle. If you take more than the other team takes, you win, so it’s very important to be able to run away and not get knocked down by the enemy team.』

『So this is a very compatible strategy for the Blue team with the Wind Witch! Oh no—! Contender Permafrost on the Yellow Team! She iced the great crystal of her own camp and left her base just like that! What is the meaning of this!?』

『This seemed to be a no-guard strategy. This is a strategy that is easily taken by teams with inferior overall strength. If you are almost certain to lose if you encounter another team’s Magical Girls, or if there are no Magical Girls suited to defend the large crystal, it may be more advantageous to have everyone move around and secure the small crystal than to leave the pieces in play in a bad situation. In the case of the yellow team, I don’t think it is necessary to use this strategy because of Contender Red Ball, but it could simply be that the members are more aggressive. I think that putting the big crystal on ice was a sorry defense, like putting on armor.』

『Apparently, the Red Team has a similar strategy to the Yellow Team! Contender Wigs Crosseau has the large crystal wrapped around a thread and is now moving towards the small crystal on the outer layer!』

『In terms of aggressiveness, the Red Team, which has two leading players, isn’t to be outdone. We have just started the race, but it is already turning out to be an unpredictable development.』

『The games have only just begun!　When will we see the blazing battles between the Witches!? We can only look forward to it now!!』