Episode 7

**"The Wall Etched by Travelers / The Grape-Stomping Girl"** (旅人が刻む壁 / ぶどう踏みの少女, *Tabibito ga Kizamu Kabe / Budō Fumi no Shōjo*) is the seventh episode of the *Wandering Witch* anime.

## Synopsis

Elaina visits a country from "The Adventures of Niké" after Saya is sent there for a job, and then she has her first taste of alcohol in a village famous for its wine.

## Summary

### The Wall Etched by Travelers

The story begins in the past with a young Elaina reading from "The Adventures of Nike" where a country is split into two sides of east and west by a wall because the villagers did not get along. Nike is then shown to be standing at the said wall, where the village chief explains that he wants to show that his side of the village is better than the other side and asks the witch for help. Nike carves a message to show "This side of the country is truly splendid." and suggests the chief to invite travellers who pass through to inscribe similar messages on the wall, as more messages means that it'll show that said side is better. The chief doesn't really like that idea, to which Nike remarks that the wall on the other side already had a lot of inscriptions from lots of travellers, which shocks the chief. It is then revealed that Nike then went to the other side of the wall and told the same story, and from that point on, the custom of having travellers to that country inscribe the wall was established.

Saya is walking around reading the messages on the wall when the village chief requests her to do something about the wall to attract crowds once again like when the custom was first introduced. Saya is reminded of the word travellers and decides to inscribe her own messages of her love for Elaina but is promptly stopped by the chief. Saya suggests changing the rule so people can write whatever messages they want so not just travellers can enjoy the wall but also the villagers can enjoy their wall every day.

Elaina is excited to finally be able to visit the country of the wall inscribed with words from her childhood book. Elaina is then disappointed to see that the wall is gone when she arrives. The village ministers are surprised to see a familiar face but upon closer inspection realises it isn't who they thought to be. Disrespected, Elaina tries to counter by calling them withered old men but fails. She then asks why the wall was torn down. It is revealed that from the advice of the witch (Saya) that suggested writing anything people wanted eventually caused embarrassment to those that lived in the villages as their words confronted them every day. People tried to erase their marks which eventually caused bits to crumble which led to the collapse of the entire wall.

People from both sides then came to find out that their resentment towards one another was no more. Afterall, both sides were all exactly alike and so they decided to live together in harmony from that point on. Elaina then asks which side had more inscriptions before the wall was torn down but it is revealed that it was the same. In the end, the wall breaking down was for the best, because a country doesn't exist for the sake of travellers but rather those that live in it. Lastly, a villager gifts Elaina a fragment of the wall of her choice to which Elaina is surprised when the rock has half of her name written on it.

### The Grape-Stomping Girl

At a large grape farm, a grandson asks their grandpa how the "grape-tossing festival" came to be, and it is explained that the village was once split into Over Here and Over There, and one year a witch came to visit.

Elaina arrives at Over Here and came to the village to try the famous wine. It is revealed that the wine sales from Over There have skyrocketed due to the wines having a label featuring the ravishing Rosemary. Additionally, the wine was also labelled as originating from Rosemary rather than the manufacturer to further boost sales due to it being appealing to fetishes. Elaina suggests the village to also find a cute girl to squish-squash its grapes in order to compete with the other side, to which the chief agrees and assumes that Elaina wants to become the said girl to help them out.

As the Here villagers prepare for Elaina to squash the grapes, Rosemary arrives and notices the Here villages have also gotten their own grape-stomping maiden. Rosemary then insults Elaina in order to taunt the village and leaves after. Elaina agrees to be the grape-stomping maiden and begins to work ferociously. The villagers cheer her on and a photo is also taken for the label of the wine.

In the evening, Elaina is exhausted and asks the mayor how much wine that produced, to which he estimates around half a barrel's worth. Elaina then realises how hard of a job a grape-stomping maiden really is. She then asks about the sales of the There village wines, to which the mayor replies that they have moved hundreds or even thousands of bottles. Elaina comes to the conclusion that it would be impossible for Rosemary alone to produce that much wine.

Together, the chief and Elaina find out that the There villagers have been concealing a lie all along, with Rosemary never stomping the grapes and instead a bunch of workers have been doing it the whole time. Elaina uses her magic and summons ropes to tie them all up. The chief is visibly and audibly saddened by the fact that Rosemary never stomped the grapes, to which a villager from Over There throws a grape at the chief's face to tell him to shut up. A fight breaks out using the grapes as throwing weapons. A drunk Elaina goes crazy and uses her magic to rain down the grapes at incredible forces that causes everyone to get knocked out. By the time the next morning came when the villagers woke up, the witch was long gone.

From that day forward, the grape-tossing festival was established, happening each time the grapes were harvested. It was great for relieving stress, and eventually the two villages ceased fighting and became one again. The grandson says the witch should be thanked for starting the festival and uniting the two villages together to which the chief agrees. Lastly it is revealed that the woman at the start stomping the grapes is Rosemary, who has become the mayor's wife.

## Characters

* Elaina
* Elaina's Father (flashback)
* Victorica (flashback)
* Saya
* Magician Brothers (cameo)
* Muscle Man (cameo)
* Rosemary