The First Walpurgis Night
"Congrats on getting out, senpai!"
"You've changed a lot while I wasn't looking. Looks like you've adapted to the academy, huh?"
"Says the one who's grown up so much she doesn't even stab her witch junior. I'm proud..."
"What era are you living in?"
"It's only been a year, you idiot."
The day Amamiya Echo senpai was released from prison for sexual harassment. Wiyu had visited often enough—even sent him back once—so things weren't awkward between them. If anything, Echo had come to respect the Witchcraft family in various ways, thanks to Wiyu's stubborn visits where she'd just say her piece no matter how annoyed or fed up he got.
"You aiming for the unchained senpai successor spot or something? Or should I introduce you to Kaoru Ortokanna senpai? She's in the graduating class, lives around there."
"Has the academy changed that much in the short time I was gone?"
"We're doing an exchange meet."
"Whoa, the kind where even if you two begged to go wild, they wouldn't let you?"
"If this guy's at the bottom of the whole school and gets held back, his mom shows up."
Echo nodded right away at Bukureshti's explanation. Yeah, that makes sense. An academy this stuck-up wouldn't throw students into the battlefield without something like that. Exchange meets had long since devolved from whatever noble origins they had into full-on academy brawls. In a world crawling with magic beasts and monsters, even students needed combat basics, so everyone let it slide—until it became a full event.
"Heh~ The next two years are gonna be fun, huh? So that's why that crazy virgin bug is playing senpai?"
"I saw a beautiful pure love. That pure love was so fresh it had a green, tangy scent."
"Hearing a lunatic who would've gotten a knife to the solar plexus back in the day talk all normal feels off."
".....You two seem close, senpai?"
"Well, she's a witch, after all."
They were classmates too, and Amamiya Echo probably knew everything by now—but he shrugged that he had it worse as a male witch. He didn't want to drag down the mood with depressing stories, but the treatment of male witches was either the worst or like pets, he chuckled.
"Right, you said this one has a male witch acquaintance."
"What?! Introduce me!!!"
"Eh... Not really feeling it."
"No, that's the normal reaction. But if he's a fellow male witch, it shouldn't matter!"
"I'm scared he'll stab me with a knife... He has no mana either..."
"What, no mana? Yeah, that'd definitely make him worth protecting..."
Echo, a male witch himself with bug-tier status, burst into tears at the thought of one without mana. Bukureshti would've snapped at a guy crying like a baby otherwise, but imagining a mana-less male witch's life made her nose tingle—what could she say?
"Uh, if I get a chance to contact him? I'll tell him to reach out?"
"Don't wanna burden him."
"He probably wants to meet another male witch too?"
Male witches were so rare that even gathering every witch in the world, you'd be lucky to hit double digits. No way they wouldn't crave fellow kin. Echo's eyes sparkled with life at the thought of another under this blue sky—almost too intensely. Wiyu's stomach churned as things snowballed, but these two senpais had no clue. She gloomily chomped on the tofu in her hand.
"No, is that yours to eat?"
★★★
"And so! From first-years to third-years! With a whopping four witches gathered, let's commemorate with Walpurgis Night~"
Separate from clubs, it was the witches of Pluwitch Academy gathering for Walpurgis Night. The hosting condition? Just whenever witches felt like it—bafflingly casual.
Three witches clustered around Onozuka Yungmei senpai like baby ducks, her overwhelming giant frame on full display. Senpai gazed at her cute juniors with a dreamy smile, beaming.
"By the way, Echo-chan didn't stab her junior with a knife? You held back so well~ Good boy, good boy~"
Yungmei petted Echo's head with her pot-lid-sized hand. Echo, speechless or overwhelmed, clamped his mouth shut and glanced around before speaking.
"Well, uh... she's from the Witchcraft family, which I owe a debt to..."
"Being able to discriminate like that means you've grown, right? Big sis is so happy~ Hehe..."
"Um... Yungmei senpai. What was your first meeting with Echo senpai like?"
Pure curiosity slipped out, and Echo faceplanted into the table. It wasn't that big a deal, Yungmei recalled—Echo was in his wild storm-and-stress phase back then, super aggressive.
"Right... The moment I said I was a witch too, he stabbed my face and heart like a hundred times."
"I didn't know back then... about male witches... since he was crossdressing. You thought the same, right, Wiyu-chan?"
"Ah, yep."
"Then he tried to chop me to bits. I got a little mad and tore him into 18 pieces. But once I heard his story, he was so pitiful I forgave him!"
"....The stabbing was okay?"
"Ah, no problem. Looks tough, but I can reconstitute even if my whole body evaporates. Immortal unlike my dull appearance~"
So she forgave her junior's stabs and poison every meeting—as a benevolent senpai, she laughed. Echo still wouldn't lift his head, playing dead, while Bukureshti sighed and shook her head. Guess Echo had a tragic past hating witches and unable to hold back killing intent.
"Maybe Echo-chan's so bad at fighting he couldn't even beat a goblin, so no urge to hit?"
"I'm tough and sturdy, so probably fine even if hit!"
"Junior wants senpai's love, huh... What was it? Death God's Circus? How about a flashy finisher?"
"Makes me wanna seppuku from shame, so stop?"
"Eh, transform into clown gear and I'll kill you full power for real! Where'd that spirit go, Echo-chan?"
At the black history mention, Echo silently drew a dagger to gut himself, so Wiyu flopped sideways as a human shield. As she boldly offered her lap, a knife stabbed her forehead—clang!—snapping instantly.
"Hm, doesn't hurt as much as Park Minji senpai."
"Not hurting from a demigod hit is the weird part."
Yungmei grinned even with the broken knife in her forehead, telling Wiyu to ask anything. Echo whispered something in her ear cautiously. Bukureshti sensed doom and yelled no, but Wiyu's eyes already sparkled.
"Bukureshti senpai, what were you like as a first-year?!"
"Ahaha, those two fought a lot~ Even in prison, eye contact meant fights—like they'd end up lovers biting and clawing..."
""No we're not!!""
"After that, they kinda bonded? Against the academy's rampant discrimination. Senpais like thugs picking fights without exception."
The two first-year witches in their storm phase, despised and trampled for being witches and weak. Fed up with endless prejudice, they shelved their mutual hate and joined hands. Opposites in personality made it easy to understand each other.
"When you entered, senpais didn't pick fights with first-years, right? Even repeaters didn't hassle you?"
"Um.... Yeah, I think so."
"Those two crushed every noble-pressure or threat-making trash."
Unlike Bukureshti, Echo went full murder-mode destruction, earning problem-child status, Yungmei said. Speaking of, Wiyu wondered how such a gentle senpai fit in the Seven Problem Children.
"Were you like that as a first-year too, Yungmei senpai?"
"Hm... Teasers, harassers... I snapped... Professors even power-tripped with grades?"
"What'd you do?"
"Summoned the Demon King three times."
"?"
"Evil gods twice."
"?"
"Summoned Witchcraft-nim once and blew up the academy six times."
Yungmei shyly recalled her first-year grizzly rage, blind fury. Embarrassed to tell juniors but fair after their stories, she petted Bukureshti's head. Armed with a scythe, full gear, decapitating professors and senpais alike—even the principal—still shamed her. Creepily, even dismembered, her magic kept her alive.
"Ah, that's why professors flee out windows yelling 'witch'."
Made sense they'd bolt every witch enrollment. Thanks to Yungmei shredding abusive profs, and Bukureshti and Echo, no bad senpais harassed anyone here.
"So Walpurgis Night is just witches chatting casually?"
Back on topic, they nodded yes. Sucking enchanted milk from Spotty like zombies, senpais dreamily called it prank time.
"My year~ Summoned ghosts galore, opened hell gates, flooded with undead! Surprise Halloween!"
"Yungmei senpai's scale is huge. I did a basic spell showing red lines from heads to sex partners and counts."
"I locked every classroom door, passworded keys and fuses, hid 'em everywhere."
Yungmei, Bukureshti, Echo in turn—the scale was wild. Is this what pranks are? Paging through grad albums with other witch senpai pics, they thumbs-upped Wiyu's prank time. Spotting mom's academy photo, Wiyu pondered her prank.
──No harm to others; top student nagged enough.
Just a light scare! Decided, she prepped right away. Senpais would freak, right?
★★★
"What's Walpurgis Night?"
"Like witches' tea time? Witchcraft did it in academy days too. Just dropped a meteor as a 'prank.'"
"Eugh."
It was witch prank season too. Meru Lume asked if that meant Wiyu'd prank. Grand Duke (Change) nodded probably, pondering her style. Loving friends, no nuisances. Nagged by top student daily, unlikely there. Cute prank at most?
Knock knock.
"Hm, footsteps say Witchcraft-kun. Back, it seems."
"Huh? Why knock then?"
Her dorm room—why knock? Meru wondered. Change got a question mark overhead, no way flashing, but unlikely—shook it off.
"Lost her key probably."
Unlike mom, too airheaded; keys likelier. Change flapped wings to open. Door swung—a woman in insane colors grinned.
"Hello, Change. Long time no see! Aris Witchcraft here!"
Tada──Academy-era cute Witchcraft! ....Obviously Wiyu disguised as mom. No harm, but scare? Daughter as mom.
Meru beamed ~Wooow, ma'am hello~ cluelessly, but Change shattered the window at light speed fleeing.
"Eh, where'd Grand Duke go?"
Meant to check with him first—overreaction? Sirens blared Eeeeeen!!! academy-wide.
"Gasp! Sorry, gotta evac!"
Still clueless, Meru bolted. Wiyu stood dumbfounded in disguise, peeking shattered window.
Myriad crows trailed Grand Duke skyward, squawking the same. Profs pale-sprinted, students screamed evacuating. Wiyu dazed briefly—then mega-spell hit dorm unannounced, vaporizing the building.
"All dorm students! Teleported to safety!"
"Did it land? Suppress first, then talk!!"
"No talk option?"
"Suppression to enable talk!!"
"Waaah, Principal!! Rannim!! I wanna quit teaching!!!"
Azunu Vermilio wailed instruments buffing teachers.
Wiyu emerged flames unscathed amid rubble-void, eyeing profs.
....Hadn't even pranked yet—overkill reaction.
"Uh... Walpurgis prank, what now, Outer God-nim?"
Sephiroth shrugged beside her, guarding naturally.
"Aris Witchcraft parent!! State demands from there!!"
Principal yelled desperately from barricade. Why'd his wild/smooth hair look pitiful today?
"My demands...."
Outer God's sincere advice—apologize first—left Wiyu glum. Just a light prank...
Later, profs hugged sobbing relief at her reveal. Principal collapsed weeping thank god. Grand Duke teary glad... I was the fool tricked!! oddly joyful. But mega-spell wrecked dorm and academy bad. Thus, month-long self-quarantine vacation.
"Ooh, free break."
Witch senpais'd love it. But visiting disguised? They foamed and fainted. Never mom cosplay again.