The Witch of Blessings, Sophie Hayter.
The newest and youngest of the Seven Sages, who earned the title of genius at just 17.
And believe it or not, she has come to the remote town of Lapis
to open the gate at the Otherworld Festival.
On top of that...
In exchange for allowing Sophie to stay here for a few days,
she'll open the otherworld gate.
Sophie's a genius. Learn what you can from her.
I've been ordered to assist her.
I mean, seriously?
The gate.
Huh?
I want to go see where the gate is to be opened.
A-Ah, you want to see where you'll be working? Sure, I'll take you there.
My name's Meg Raspberry. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Nice to meet you, S'berry.
What an odd way to shorten my name.
Once Upon a Witch's Death
Blessings With the Opening of the Gate
Wow, it sure is cold today, isn't it?
I mean, look. The river's half frozen.
You know, I once took my mistress's broom and played curling on the ice.
She was pretty angry.
She has such a distinctive aura.
It feels unreal to be walking beside her in this backwater town.
What is it?
Oh, uh, I was just thinking you've got a pretty face.
Y-Your blue hair and red eyes are beautiful and mystical as anything, too.
I see.
I saw a video of your parade. You really were something else.
We're the same age, but you've accomplished so much.
You really are a genius. It's truly amazing.
Not really.
Say, S'berry...
It's Raspberry.
Do you have a nickname?
You're asking me that, too?
S'berry, you're Faust's apprentice.
It's Raspberry.
It wouldn't be odd for you to have a nickname.
Is it really necessary to have one?
Plenty of mages don't.
But a nickname is proof that you've earned recognition.
Heh, well, that's not for me. I'm just a nobody.
S'berry the Nobody Witch.
That's not my nickname.
And for the last time, it's Raspberry.
Pardon me for asking,
but are you Ms. Sophie?
I might cause a stir if I enter the town as myself.
W-Wow! That only took a second.
It's true that it might cause a scene if people knew Ms. Sophie was in town,
but it seems a shame not to show off your beautiful hair and eyes.
It won't last long. It's only temporary.
After all, I can't escape the color of my hair or eyes.
What does that mean?
Why, if it isn't Ms. Faust's apprentice. Do you have business in town?
Yeah, a little.
Hey, apprentice. Is this your friend?
Nice, right?
Let's play, Miss Witch.
I'm busy today. Another time.
Promise?
It's the apprentice witch!
The eternal benchwarmer!
Flat as a board!
Bah! Who said that?!
I'll stuff your mouths with cow dung mixed with pig droppings!
Sorry about all the commotion.
Anyway, that disguise sure is effective.
Nobody's twigged that you're Ms. Sophie.
Hey, it's Ms. Faust's student.
Give my best to Ms. Faust.
Is it always like this?
Yeah, I guess. It's a small town. You tend to run into people you know.
S'berry.
It's Raspberry. What is it?
Nothing. I just noticed that no one has called you by your actual name.
Hm? Now that you mention it, you're right.
Well, my mistress is a great witch, and people know me as her apprentice.
I guess it is what it is.
I know now why you don't have a nickname, S'berry.
It's Rasp—huh?
You haven't earned their recognition yet.
What's her problem?
This is where the gate will be opened.
Oh, wow! What are you doing?
Virtually constructing the gate.
Wait, what?!
Is this the right size?
Y-Yeah. Um, is this the same magic you used for the parade?
Yes. It's an application of illusion magic.
But I didn't tell her anything about the properties of the land's magic,
nor how the gate's constructed.
Sophie's abilities can only be described as brilliant.
No wonder all those people were impressed by her parade.
Given we're the same age, the gap between us is depressing.
But this is also the opportunity of a lifetime.
Um, Ms. Sophie, how did you learn to do this?
The principle is simple.
First, you must understand the mechanisms of science and physics,
then recreate them using magic.
With that fundamental knowledge, it's not so difficult to construct.
I see. There's no way I could do that.
I'm hungry.
I didn't catch a word of that.
It's good.
Isn't it? This is the best bakery in town.
This town is nice.
It's quiet, and everyone's so friendly.
Those are the only redeeming features of this remote town.
Say, S'berry...
It's Raspberry.
Why do you study magic?
What? Why, you ask? It just kind of happened.
What do you mean?
I'm an orphan. My mistress took me in.
For as long as I can remember, magic has been a normal part of my life.
An orphan?
You've studied magic since you were little, too, right?
It was necessary for me to do so.
Necessary?
S'berry.
It's Raspberry.
Is there anything you want to do with magic?
Make money.
Oh, but first, I want to survive.
Survive?
Yes. Living a long life comes first.
There are lots of people I don't want to forget.
How modest of you, Raspberry.
It's S'berry.
Uh, no, wait! I messed up!
But what you want to do doesn't require magic.
Huh?
In today's world, there are far more effective ways to make money
and live a long life than using magic.
And since you just happened to choose magic, you have no clear goal for studying it.
That's why you haven't yet been recognised as a witch, despite studying under Faust.
So what's your goal, then?
My goal is to eliminate magic from this world.
I will eliminate magic for taking everything from me.
That is why I've studied it.
Since our circumstances are the same, I will tell you.
You possess too many things, S'berry.
You can't learn magic without casting everything aside.
Family, hometown, friends, dreams...
Abandoning all of them to push towards your goals
is the optimal way of learning magic quickly.
P-Please, slow down with the jokes.
Jo-okes.
SLOWLY
Jo-o-okes.
SLOWLY
That's not what I meant.
The Witch of Blessings who moves people with her beautiful magic
wants to get rid of magic entirely?
Wait, what?
What?!
Hey!
Ith wath leffo'er.
It wasn't leftover! I was planning to eat it later!
Hey!
Should I suck it out of your mouth, you Witch of Hunger?
That expression she made earlier...
Was that the real Sophie?
I don't get it!
My goal is to eliminate magic from this world.
She's right, though.
If I'd never fallen into magic, my beauty would've made me a billion-dollar actress,
and I wouldn't have been cursed with one year left to live.
But...
If magic didn't exist...
I'm pretty sure... the same must be true for Sophie, too.
I can't get my thoughts straight.
I'll make some tea.
Ouch.
Oh, you're already back on your feet?
Yes. That poultice you gave me worked.
Where's Sophie?
She collapsed in the drawing room the moment we got back.
I see. She must've been exhausted.
Um, about Sophie...
She says she wants to eliminate magic,
and that I possess too many things.
I see.
From her perspective, perhaps you do.
What do you mean?
Meg, do you know how old Sophie was when she left home?
Wasn't it when she became a Sage at 17?
She was five.
Huh. Surprisingly young.
Wait, five?!
She's smarter than everyone. Too smart for her own good.
And no one even tried to accept her.
It was an incredibly sickening and unbearable story.
Sophie was born in a small northern country with exceptional magic power.
Because of that, plus her blue hair and red eyes, people called Sophie a "devil child."
Sophie demonstrated brilliance from a young age.
But that only made the people around her
and her parents who tried to love her distance themselves from her.
Then, when she turned five, Sophie's magic blossomed.
But in the north, where awareness of magic is still limited,
it was seen as the work of the devil.
Ultimately, Sophie was taken in and raised by the Council of Magic.
Sophie was abandoned by those most important to her because of her great abilities.
Despite your similar circumstances, you are surrounded by people.
Perhaps that makes her view you as privileged.
Sophie hates magic, so she can't stand seeing me study magic by chance without a clear goal.
Then, why does Sophie perform magic all around the world?
Because she still seeks human connection.
She believes she'll someday earn recognition if she makes people happy using magic.
She's trying to use magic to reclaim what she lost because of magic.
Even though she hates magic. She must be desperate.
Meg. You cannot compare to Sophie. You're a loud, stupid softy.
Your only strength is your skill in the kitchen.
Less of the insults, please.
Stupid
Softy
Loud
But I've never once detected any hint of corruption in you.
Huh?
The light inside you will melt the ice within her.
She's asking the world of an apprentice witch again?
But, well...
I don't want to leave that amazing girl the way she is.
Hey, Meg!
Oh, Fine!
I brought you a present.
Thanks! Let's get married!
At least ask me how I feel about it.
But this sure is something.
Opening the gate requires constructing all seven levels of magic techniques.
Since we called in help to handle that part, gathering the materials is my job.
Ms. Faust hurt her back, didn't she? Will this helper of yours be all right?
Yup, she's a real powerful broad.
What are you, a middle-aged man? And she's a woman?
Don't worry. You're my legal wife, Fine.
In your dreams.
S'berry, where did you put the copper?
U-Um, is that Sophie of the Seven Sages?
Yeah. She's my second wife.
In your dreams!
Uh-oh, Meg. I think I'm going to wet myself.
You okay? Want me to drink it up?
Please don't.
The seventh and final technique has been constructed.
We're all set for the Otherworld Festival that starts tomorrow.
These past few days of effort really paid off.
Although my efforts towards this haven't.
Repeated practice. It's the only way.
Huh?
Ms. Sophie, this otherworld spatial connection stabilization technique
seems a bit different from my mistress's.
I'm impressed that you noticed.
I help her every year, so I'm familiar with the construction.
But why'd you change it?
I've made the gate larger than in previous years.
The gate until now has been stable, but it's too small to be an entrance and an exit.
Ah, I get it. That way more residents from the other world can come here,
making the festival more lively.
Is that what you were thinking?
But who knows what could happen if it makes the gate unstable.
We should at least consult my mistress.
It's all right. I won't rely on Faust.
I've worked on several large-scale spells before.
This construction will work.
There is no problem. I guarantee it.
I'll risk my life if I have to.
Whoa, girl. Also, don't throw your life away.
There are a lot of people here.
Well, yeah. The Otherworld Festival is about to begin.
How do you like the pre-festival atmosphere?
I don't dislike it.
Ms. Sophie, you do like people after all.
"After all"?
Oh, uh...
At first, I thought you didn't like people.
Nobody said that.
Did Faust tell you something?
Maybe a little.
What a gossip.
I like magic.
I believe I'm here doing this with you because of magic.
Don't you have anything like that yourself?
I don't know.
Where you were born isn't the only place you belong.
If you ever feel lonely, come hang out with me.
We'll draw in lots of spectators and make a killing.
I'll take a 50% cut.
S'berry.
Yes?
I'll kill you later.
It's incredible this year.
S'berry, are you ready?
Of course.
Activating first technique.
Second.
Next, activating third.
We've connected to the other world. Next is...
Activating fourth and fifth techniques.
Using support magic to stabilise and anchor space.
Sixth, transmuting the gate.
Seventh, establishing barrier.
Okay. Now, we just have to maintain this until the gate opens completely—
Ms. Sophie!
Ow.
They can't see it?
This is bad.
Naturally, there are dangerous things in the other world, too.
Unknown pathogens and mythical monsters we don't have in our world.
Things that could kill millions with a touch.
The barrier identifies and removes those things, but that's gone now.
Crap.
Crap!
Sophie, reconstruct the barrier technique.
I'll buy time with a simple barrier!
I don't have time to waste drawing on the ground.
This is the only option!
It's okay. I can do it.
I did it.
No, it's not nearly enough!
Faster. More.
Hurry! More! Hurry!
Ms. Sophie?
Good work, S'berry. It's all right now.
It's beautiful.
There's still the finale.
Huh?
Marvellous.
Wow!
Meg!
I screwed up.
I can't believe it wasn't really a problem even though the barrier broke.
If left for a few days, it'd be an issue, but dealt with right away, it shan't have much effect.
I totally jumped to conclusions.
My nose was stuffed with tissues during the final address.
Nice nosebleed. Everyone had fun.
But my girlish dignity!
Why did you lie, S'berry?
Lie?
About you being the one who made a mistake.
Oh, I ignored it even though I'd noticed beforehand.
Besides, an apprentice witch gets off with just a scolding for making a mistake.
But...
You were just trying to put on a good festival.
I didn't want you to leave with negative memories of Lapis.
S'berry...
You created this sight, Ms. Sophie.
Yeah.
Well then, Ms. Sophie, why don't we take a look around—
Sophie.
What?
Please just call me Sophie.
You...
You sure have a cute face!
You're a middle-aged man, S'berry.
Who are you calling a middle-aged man?
Let's go, Sophie.
Flowers Bloom in the Festival Night Sky