Week 16: サイレント・ウィッチ 🤫 🧙‍♀️

[Redglare]

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Silent Witch Home Thread

Week 16

Start Date: Apr 19
Previous Part: Week 15
Next Part: Week 17

Reading:

Week	Chapter	End page	End %	End on	Page Count
16	九章 2/2	238	81%	End of 九章	~13

Discussion Rules

• Please use spoiler tags for major events in the current chapter(s) and any content in future chapters.
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• Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarrassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
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Proper nouns

Name	Note
ケルベック伯爵領
ウォーガン山脈
リディル王国
アガサ	侍女
イザベル・ノートン	ケルベック伯爵令嬢
アラン	馬丁、アガサの弟
シェフィールド	風の精霊王
モニカ・エヴァレット	沈黙の魔女
ネロ
アニー
ミネルヴァ	school
ルイス・ミラー	結界の魔術師
リィンズベルフィード (リン)	風の上位精霊
ライオネル	第一王子, 27 yo
フェリクス	第二王子, 18 yo
アルバート	第三王子, 14 yo
セレンディア学園
クロックフォード公爵	第二王子の祖父
ダスティン・ギュンター	作家
ロザリー・ミラー	ルイスの妻
アーロン・オブライエン	生徒会会計
エリオット・ハワード	生徒会書記
ブリジェット・グレイアム	生徒会書記
ニール・クレイ・メイウッド	生徒会庶務
シリル・アシュリー	生徒会副会長
(フェリクス・アーク・リディル)	第二王子、生徒会長
ヴィクター・ソーンリー	先生
ラナ・コレット	2年生
セルマ・カーシュ	保健委員
カロライン
ウィルディアヌ	トカゲ
ハイオーン侯爵	シリルの養父
エマニュエル・ダーウィン	〈宝玉の魔術師〉

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[TobiasW]

I didn’t plan to read the whole thing in one day, but it was impossible to stop in the middle.

Thoughts while reading

モニカの説明を聞いたリンが人差し指と親指で輪を作り、その輪を覗き込むようにしてシリルを見た。

After the first half of the sentence I was sure she just wanted to make an gesture because she had read about it in a book and was always looking for an opportunity to use it in real life.

だがモニカが近づいたら、何故こんなところにモニカがいるのかとシリルに問いただされてしまうだろう。

Considering we also have a spirit and an extremely smart, handsome and capable cat around… maybe one of the two could fill that role instead?

モニカが躊躇していると、ネロがニャウッ！ と勇ましく鳴いた。
「そういうことなら、オレ様に任せろ！」

Oooh! I forgot to include “courageous”!
(Just another word for brave.)

I see absolutely no way in which all of this could go terribly wrong. Like, Cyril is probably going to love a cat trying to rip his treasured lifeline amulet from him.

それでも母はシリルの顔を──父によく似た貴族的な顔を見ると、いつも悲しそうに眉を下げて、シリルから目を逸らす。

Aw

これで母に楽をさせることができる！ 母に喜んでもらえる！
無邪気に喜ぶシリルを見て、母はため息まじりに言った。
『あぁ、貴方はやっぱり、貴族の子なんだわ』

もしかしたら、そばに仲間がいるのではないかとシリルは思った。そうでなければ説明がつかない。
だって、フードの人物は詠唱をしていないのだ。詠唱無しでシリルの魔術を打ち消すなど、できるはずがない。

I guess Monica’s power somehow isn’t public knowledge after all? I figured she’d be famous for being able to do the thing that was previously thought to be absolutely impossible. But if that’s the case, I feel like the mind of someone who knows about her would rather quickly add an “although now that I think about it, wasn’t there…” to “できるはずがない”.

I guess he’s not in a good state to think though.

「はい……魔導具の術式に不具合が生じてる……多分、保護術式が施されていなかったんです」

Still… to reverse its function seems like a rather extreme “malfunction”?

モニカの言葉に、ネロが「不良品じゃねーか！」と苛立たしげに尻尾を振った。
「ったく、どこのどいつだよ、そんな手抜き仕事した奴ぁ」
「えっと……ブローチの裏に銘が刻まれてる…………」

It’s going to be Louis, isn’t it?

「……〈宝玉の魔術師〉エマニュエル・ダーウィン……」

Huh, or not.

Either way, it’s weird that one of the seven top magicians would do a half-assed job like this.

「……七賢人って、まともな奴いねぇの？」

Nero doesn’t hold back, huh? Poor Monica

この手の物質に魔力を付与する魔術のことを、付与魔術と言う。

I wonder if that kind of sentence sounds kind of… basic to Japanese people.
“The magic that grants things magical power is called ‘granting magic’.”

ネロが前足でシリルの頰をフニフニと押す。

There it is! Finally! The famous paw pad massage!

I’m not saying that Monica’s contribution wasn’t valuable too, but I feel like this is what’ll make the most impact here.

…and now that whole episode seems finished. The amulet is fixed, Cyril is in the clear for now and on the way to being dumped in front of the door, and Monica wasn’t discovered.

Or… was she? The prince was suspiciously absent from the story, despite being alerted and on his way when we last saw him.

[2000kanji]

@TobiasW

I guess Monica’s power somehow isn’t public knowledge after all?

details

I am asking me that since Mr Thornley, the magic teacher, was introduced. Wouldn’t such an experienced magician know (or at least have heard of) the extraordinary talents of one of the famous National Seven Magicians?

This chapter is an interesting example of cooperation of three characters with special features: Lynn for the transport, Monica for a spectacular battle and Nero for cleaning up the remains.

It shows that none of those has superpowers although all three are surprising:

• Lynn and Nero with their transformations and strength (Lynn making 3 persons fly!)
• Monica with her high-precision defense and repair (and enhancement) capabilities

[snowwater]

This week

@TobiasW

Either way, it’s weird that one of the seven top magicians would do a half-assed job like this.

Was it really a half-assed job? I think something way nastier is going on here - a means to sabotage a close ally of the prince, perhaps?

@TobiasW

The prince was suspiciously absent from the story

I was waiting the whole time for him to pop-up behind them, but the chapter just.. finished. Hmm. Curious to see if he actually caught them or not..

@2000kanji

I am asking me that since Mr Thornley, the magic teacher, was introduced. Wouldn’t such an experienced magician know (or at least have heard of) the extraordinary talents of one of the famous National Seven Magicians?

I think they might have heard of it, but just think that they are enigmatic figures - probably wouldn’t suspect that the silent witch is an awkward teenager. But Cyril not knowing about it feels a bit weird indeed.

Overall, I enjoyed his character being developed in the last chapter, and I really feel for him for still longing for his mother’s love. Hope he gets some closure, somewhere in the series.

[Boodil]

This week

@TobiasW

I guess Monica’s power somehow isn’t public knowledge after all?

Yeah, been wondering that, too. Especially since the Seven Sages all have these really obvious nicknames. What else do people think “Silent Witch” means?

@snowwater

Was it really a half-assed job? I think something way nastier is going on here - a means to sabotage a close ally of the prince, perhaps?

I suspect this is going to become it’s own mystery, possibly part of the main plot of the next volume? Since Cyril is a rival for his adoptive sister, I also wondered if she might have something to do with it. Maybe she commissioned a cheap Chinese rip-off from Emanuel the Evil or the amulet initially had a reflux protection feature but she tempered with it.

@TobiasW

I’m not saying that Monica’s contribution wasn’t valuable too, but I feel like this is what’ll make the most impact here.

Definitely. Cyril seems to have a lot of baggage…father drank himself to death, mother doesn’t love him, potentially complicated politics in his adoptive family, dangerous magical disease…clearly he needs The Paws™. Massage harder, Nero!

Oh, and one more thing:

……七賢人って、まともな奴いねぇの？

Once again, Nero plays the straight cat character who says what I‘m thinking . Guessing we’ll probably be introduced to the rest of the Seven one by one and they’ll all turn out to be scumbags or weirdos.

[seanblue]

Response

@TobiasW

I guess Monica’s power somehow isn’t public knowledge after all? I figured she’d be famous for being able to do the thing that was previously thought to be absolutely impossible.

I think it’s just that having accomplices is far more likely than the one person capable of incantationless magic having infiltrated your school and follow you around at night. So much so that the latter might not even occur to you.

@TobiasW

I wonder if that kind of sentence sounds kind of… basic to Japanese people.

Yeah, I usually prefer simpler writing, but when I read that I thought it sounded stupid.

[seanblue]

Random guess

If Felix didn’t happen to see Monica in this chapter, I think she’ll be found out because of Nero. Now that Cyril has seen him in a suspicious context, if he sees him around Monica he’ll get really suspicious of her.

[TobiasW]

Response

@seanblue

I think it’s just that having accomplices is far more likely than the one person capable of incantationless magic having infiltrated your school and follow you around at night. So much so that the latter might not even occur to you.

I agree on the unlikeliness, but I think that the shock of such a person existing would be such a big event that from then on, any time you think of the impossible thing you’d think of her. Especially since it only happened like… a year or two before?

I think if he heard about her, his thought process would’ve been: “That’s impossible! Unless you’re the Silent Witch. There’s no way she’d be here though. Could someone else have learnt that? I would’ve probably heard about it… there must be an accomplice instead.”

[Buruberimiruku]

Well, this week was interesting!

Some thoughts

Cyril’s back story is so sad and dark. His, along with Monica’s dark (abusive?) past is kind of surprising to me. I wasn’t expecting that from my first Light Novel.

Is it possible the brooch wasn’t a malfunction? Before this, Cyril was looking at student council records and suddenly lost his memory about what he had planned to do. He just wanders off with a head ache (just like Aaron Obrien). The next day (?) when he’s training Monica, he starts sweating ice cubes and his condition worsens progressively until he’s clawing at the ground in the forest. It is as if the brooch’s magic power had been reversed soon after he discovered some important information in the accounting records.

But what did he find? And wouldn’t Monica have spotted it too, since she reviewed all of them as well?

I continue to suspect Professor Thornley for the accounting fraud (it could explain why he was so nervous when he was last seen announcing Selma Karsh’s sudden illness) and could this new character - Seven Sages magician Emmanuel Darwin - be his accomplice?

Separately, I had a thought about the dead spirits (精霊). Monica (ネロ the cat）and Louis (リン the floating maid）each have one so I assumed these companions were connected to them being magicians, but Felix also has one (ウィルディアヌ the lizard). So…is Felix a magician?? I guess these spirits are part of the Ridll Kingdom, but I was wondering how one ended up with such a companion. They all seem earnest, but not necessarily all that familiar with human life…

[TobiasW]

@Buruberimiruku

Separately, I had a thought about the dead spirits (精霊).

Tiny side note: I think those aren’t “spirit of the deceased” (精霊しょうりょう), but just “spirit” (精霊せいれい).

[Buruberimiruku]

oooooh。。。 なるほど I’m so glad you pointed that out. That makes them less creepy then. I was wondering if these dead spirits were somehow connected to the characters while they were alive …

[simias]

I almost made the same mistake because the Kindle dictionary I use also lists the “spirit of the deceased” definition first.

[polv]

Kindle app, especially a JJ dictionary, may suggest a rarer reading first. Also, JJ doesn’t give multiple results, as far as I have tried. JE might give a better dictionary entry.

No problem with Yomitan and dictionary apps, I reckon. Even clipboard monitor + Bookwalker could be more helpful.

Google Translate reading (Kana) on Bookwalker gives mixed results, but still on a better side. I can’t get reading to be spit out on Kindle app + translate (though audio text-to-speech).

[simias]

Yeah the dictionary view on the Kindle is very lackluster unfortunately. I also dislike how you can’t recursively search a word within the popup.

[Buruberimiruku]

Yes, I have the same experience with the Kindle JE dictionary. The one I have (Shogakukan Progressive) usually has a definition, but often all I get is a sentence in Japanese containing the word and I can sort of glean the meaning from it. Occasionally it is just a blank pop-up screen. I use another JE dictionary app to fill in the gaps, or use a google camera translation of the kanji.

[Boodil]

The JE iOS dictionary you get when you use Bookwalker on iOS is also pretty abysmal imo. There are a lot of words it doesn’t know at all, and for many words that have many different meanings, it gives you only a single, pretty rare one. For 精霊, I think it also only gave me “spirit of the deceased”, but I’d already seen it used as “spirit” elsewhere. For better or worse, I rely on copypasting into deepl a lot.

[polv]

@simias

recursively search a word within the popup.

Not sure if things other than Yomitan (with not default settings) have this feature.