Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty** of the fourth volume of the *Witch Hat Atelier* manga series.

## Summary

While the first group is entering the cave for their test, Qifrey tells Coco about a number of the five major magical ruins formed by the forbidden magic of the witches of ages gone, being the Dadah Range, Shadow Forest Tristas, the Smokey Wastes of the Far North, and the Gaping Maw of the Zozah Straits in the east, explaining that each of the The Pentagram Tests are held in these locations in order to help witches of the current day avoid making the same mistakes as their ancestors. Coco quickly asks if this means there is some story related to Cape Romonon, the location at which they currently are for their 2nd test, and Qifrey begins to tell her a story.

The Cavern City of Romonon was home to craftsmen of great skill, who weaved intricate designs of gold using their magic. Seeing themselves as separate from others, they locked themselves within their cave, only allowing those who they believed could bring some benefit to their city to enter, and as they grew wealthier, grew more and more arrogant. Eventually, they began to believe that those of their own people who served no purpose to them should be turned to gold to decorate their city, rather than continue to exist as flesh without use. As time wen on, internal conflict and hatred weakened the city, until it was said to have collapse under the weight of it's own gold, leaving only Serpentback Cave and the cavern through which it went.
With the context of the story of the Cavern City, Qifrey tells Coco that mankind is terrifying. However, she argues that magic exists to help people and make the world a better place. Qifrey tells her that if the witches of the future like Coco and the rest of his students believe so, than surely that will be the case.

The scene returns to the first group taking the test, and returns to the inside of the cave. Alaira tells the apprentices that as their proctor, now that they had all entered the cave, she would no longer be providing them with any instruction. Richeh attempts to fly all the way to the end of the road, but as soon as she leaves the surface of the road through the aid of her Sylph Shoes, begins to tumble through the air, and Euini catches her before she can fall from the winding surface of the path, standing sideways on the path, yet not falling, as if gravity had changed direction. Alarmed, Agott wonders what kind of spell allowed such a thing to happen, to which Euini, who had taken the test before, says the effect is caused by the scale-shaped stone slabs which form the surface of the road having spells that warp space on them which warp gravity, the effect only keeping one tethered to its surface so long as they are standing on it. However, he says that as some of the seals are old and crumbling, it is uncertain which ones can be traversed and which ones can't. Agott then casts a spell which covers the road in water. as only some of the seals are still active, the ones that won't will have the water drip off of them, while it will only pool on the parts of the road still traversable, the spell being one that was written in the primer(presumably some sort of guide) as the spell one is supposed to use to travel through the cave. The thought of how the spell Agott used is considered the "correct spell" causes Richeh to remember how she dislikes the spells viewed as "correct" the most, and she has a flashback , where her old teacher told her that all her spells are useless, and that if she doesn't learn the correct ones, she'll never become a true witch.

Urging the myrphon to follow her, Agott becomes frustrated when it doesn't do so. Euini then tells her that in order to make the myrphons follow, one is supposed to use an echoing spell, which mimics their calls. However, before he can do so, Richeh tells him not to tell her what is right when it comes to what magic she should use. She casts several Crystal Ribbon spell, which sparkle and catch the attention of all the student's myrphons, all of whom begin to follow her. She then tells Euini that while he may have taken the test before, that she doesn't want him explaining what to do every step of the way, vowing to make it to the end of the test using her own spells, which surprises Alaira. Euini then tells her that such a thing is impossible, and the two of them begin to bicker, with Euini saying such methods are bound to fail and Richeh saying that in that case, she will make them work. Agott then cuts in that failure is a tool that one can learn from, stating that she knows an apprentice like that, which is implied to be Coco, saying that how Richeh takes the test is none of her business.

Without warning, one of the Myrphons begins to run off, but Agott manages to catch it with a Grasping Wind spell, and says that right now, the birds should be their top priority, rather then how they solve the test. They then hear a sound, and Euini starts to talk about how his master tells him he isn't good enough as a witch, which he thinks is true as well, and says that due to this, he focuses on how other witches solve problems to compensate for that. However, he says that this isn't just any challenge, and is instead Romonon, which was designed specifically to keep out the unworthy. Just as he says this, the group encounters a massive chasm in the road, with no apparent way to cross.

Back outside, Coco runs to Qifrey, and asks him if any other witches were supposed to be there that day. After he says no, Coco states that she had just thought she had seen someone in a cloak nearby, and runs off to the side of the cliff, Qifrey calling after her. As she looks over the edge of the cliff, she thinks that she must have imagined it, and after another call to return from Qifrey, runs back to him and Tetia. However, a hooded figure, their face seemingly concealed by their brimmed hat, is seen hiding in a spot just out of view of Coco along the cliff's wall.

## Characters by Appearance

* Tetia
* Coco
* Qifrey
* Agott
* Alaira
* Euini
* Richeh
* Sasaran

## References

1. ↑ *Witch Hat Atelier* Manga: **Chapter 20**, Page 1
2. ↑ *Witch Hat Atelier* Manga: **Chapter 20**, Page 3-6