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The great charm of Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku lies in the vivid worldviews from the five countries with different natural conditions and cultures, as well as the delicate portrayal of the characters’ inner lives together with the relationships that are in the process of changing. An element in the story that leaves an impression is the variety of foodstuffs and dishes unique to the world of the story. From time to time, the food is the key to understanding the setting the characters are in or acts as the symbol of their closeness. Today, we have the pleasure of having a conversation with Scenario Writer Tsushimi Bunta, who breathes life into their creation with profound storytelling and exquisite portrayal of psychology.

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Q: The way the food in Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku is portrayed in vivid details leaves a deep impression on us. Is that something you set out to do as you write the story?

A: That is something I pay attention to so that the tastes and preferences of the characters come out clearly in my portrayal of them. The wizards can use magic to control their surroundings and the temperature, so I think that among “clothing, food, and home”, “food” as an element to maintain life is especially suitable to bring out the wizards’ personality.

Q: We can sense that food has been deployed effectively in portraying the characters’ relationship with each other, such as how Riquet and Nero grew close to each other with each meal or the extreme sweet tooth of the fearsome Northern wizard Owen. Is there anything you pay special attention to when you write ‘food’?

A: Northern wizards are powerful beings who give off the impression of apex predators, so I portray their table manners to be on the wild side and a bit messy. The world the characters live in is different from modern Japan. There is no lighting or smartphone, so nighttime is inconvenient and boring for them. Their entertainment would be things like alcohol, dining, and music. In this setting, I place a high importance on elements like ‘the joy of eating’ or ‘the desire for food’ within the overall worldbuilding.

Q: Over and over again, the importance of food is displayed in details like the traces of the previous Sage’s effort in recreating the flavours of his homeland Japan with the ingredients of another world, or how Bradley values Nero’s food highly, saying that ‘Food is just like medicine.’ It is said that ‘Good food is vital in humans’ adaptation to their environment’. What is your personal opinion about that?

A: I feel that a person’s morale would be down if they cannot get used to what they eat. Imagine if you have to stay for a long time in a place where you can’t handle the food. Even people who love travelling abroad often talk about the relief they feel when they tuck in a meal of Japanese food.

Q: What is your thought process when you portray the characters’ tastes in food?

A: I think of what they would consider a delicacy given the countries they were born and grew up in.

Column: About ‘delicacy’ in the world of Mahoyaku

Which food ingredients or dishes would be considered ‘delicacy’ would be largely influenced by the circumstances each country is in. For example, a country where it is hard to find food because of harsh and cold climate on top of infertile land would have a different idea of valuable food and accordingly what is a ‘delicacy’ versus a country where food is abundant thanks to fertile land. Besides that, there is a certain limit to the transportation between the countries, so it is difficult to obtain the ingredients from faraway locations.

Q: It makes sense that what the characters like would vary depending on the country they were born and grew up in. How do you bring out the differences in the culinary cultures of the five countries?

A: I think of the real life countries to use as references for each country in the story. For example, Southern Country would give off the ambience of a hypothetical Spain or Turkey without sea. Then I elaborate further from that rough image of a locality that is very different from Japan and does not have an abundance of water.

Q: Cooking methods and culinary cultures vary with the era in history too. Besides the differences between the countries, is it conceivable that there would be a generation gap when it comes to food too?

A: I think it would often happen that some food ingredients were eaten in the past but then the custom of eating them was lost or they disappeared and could no longer be found. For the wizards, they may often obtain food ingredients from the humans, but they may also want to be 100% self-sufficient or they live fully on mana stones. As such, they may be left behind as the culture changes.

Q: Is there any food ingredient or dish in the story that you would like to try in real life?

A: That would be the ‘fruit of moonlight tree’, which makes your body glow when you eat it, and the ‘Rapunzel bean’, which has the effect of making your hair grow.

Q: Besides Cain, who ‘deep fries everything’, and Nero the chef, there are some scenes that depict the cooking prowess of the characters. Are there characters you think of as ‘good at cooking’ or ‘bad at cooking’?

A: On one end, I think Mithra, Owen, and Rustica would be bad at cooking. Oz has been improving but in the beginning he didn’t know how to cook either. Shylock serves food at his bar so he should be good at cooking to an extent. However, the chef par excellence is Nero who is obsessive over flavours and has many years of cooking experience under his belt.

- Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the topic of food, through which we have gained a deeper understanding of the world of ‘Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku’. The cuisine is certainly a beautiful garnish to a great story.

You can find the original interview here.

Many thanks to @/makiharawataru for help with Japanese and @/celestialrand for editing

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Q1: With the exception of Oz, who acts as the teacher, the Central wizards are all young. We think that one of their charms is the contrast between the comedic ‘there's only fools here’ back-and-forths and the serious interactions that display Oz’s temperament. What are your thoughts when you write the Central wizards’ stories and how they act with each other?

A: The Central wizards are typically heroic, thoughtful, model student-like. As a result, fundamentally troubles don’t happen around them. However, from a story writing perspective, there will be no drama if there is no trouble. Then, as we think ‘let’s stir up some trouble’, the Central wizards are on very solid ground, so they won’t be shaken if the trouble doesn’t pack enough of a punch. As a result, when writing a story of Central country, we end up in a dilemma of two extremes: either 0 or 100, peaceful everyday life story or earth shattering scenario. It’s really hard to strike a balance for that, isn’t it? We have come to yearn for Eastern and Western countries, who cause troubles in a moderate amount.

Q2: None of the Northern wizards listen to Snow and White, who act as teachers. Their relationship is such that they will start trying to kill each other immediately because of anything and everything. What do you pay attention to when you write them as a team?

A: Because the Northern wizards have a villainous aspect, we want to ensure that the players will feel a measure of unease around them. They are wizards who possess a strength that is unbounded by any rules, self-willed, and destructive. Their actions appear cool, reassuring, and refreshing when they’re on your side. However, the same strength may turn against you at any time. That’s the way all power, no matter if it’s of violent or social type, works in this world. With such a mentality, they are always on edge among each other as well as when they are with the Sage. That’s the kind of relationship we have in mind for them. When they cooperate with each other, it’s usually out of common interest, in a ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ way. What happens afterwards depends on their mood of the day because of their fickleness. Northern Country is the opposite of Central Country in that a simple fork falling down may start a fight between them, so we need to be careful that such tendency won’t shadow the main theme of the story.

Q3: Among the Northern wizards, Bradley has a sharp mind and usually takes care of others. On the other hand, we get the strong impression from what Nero said about the time he was a member of the bandit gang in ‘Etude of the Melancholy Sunflower’ that his past with Bradley has a dark and heavy side. What is important to you when you write Bradley’s smarts and mentality that he must challenge those who are powerful, and someone like Nero getting involved with him?

A: When we write the pride of Northern wizards, their image is that of powerful wild beasts, and we think of Bradley as the boss of a pack of such beasts. Besides the determination to defeat the opponent as a show of strength, he protects his pack from outside threats and grants them benefits. He isn’t so all-loving as to take in everyone who is weak. Rather, there’s the feeling that he’s a stern judge of lives. He’s accustomed to living with a pack like that, and we write him as a character that the Sage, who was initiating a communal life, would find relatively easy to talk to. We can’t really talk much about his relationship with Nero, but we would like to give a glimpse into their lingering attachment, irritation, loneliness, admiration, happiness, resentment, blames for themselves and others etc. among the various uncomfortable relationships at the Magic Manor.

Q4: In Chapter 14 of the main story, the Eastern wizards worked together when they investigated the graveyard. They seemed like a good team with a nice balance between Faust and Nero as the guardians and Shino and Heathcliff as the students. We also have the impression that compared to other countries, dangers often accompany the Eastern wizards in their missions. What is important to you when you write their stories?

A: We want to give Eastern Country an overall gothic atmosphere in battles as well as in investigation of mysteries. The Eastern wizards have the same team composition of two senior wizards and two young ones like the Southern Country. However, if South has a family-like type of trust, then East has the kind of wordless trust between fighters who let each other watch their backs during a battle. Compared to the feeling as if a burden is off your shoulder of North or the resplendence of West, there’s often an aching aftertaste of loneliness to East when the case is closed, which is probably how the Eastern essence is expressed. In the stories, Shino often gets badly injured. That isn’t something we intended, rather a consequence of the plot. It’s kind of sad if the Eastern wizards have to appear in gloomy stories all the time, so maybe we should let another country deal with that for an event from time to time. Something like, the Eastern wizards encounter a cute mysterious being, while the Southern wizards are soaked in blood.

Q5: Since we are discussing the creation of the story, it’s essential to talk about the Curious Affliction left behind by the Great Calamity. In particular, the incident in Chapter 20 when they fought the zombies left a strong impression on us. Because of his fear, Heathcliff transformed into a black panther and attacked Shino and Cain, then Owen appeared to help Heathcliff when he was in such a state. How do you capture such a relationship between Heathcliff, whose Curious Affliction had just arisen, Shino, and Owen?

A: The Curious Afflictions have various meta purposes, and one of those is to create drama in the story. From this perspective, there are many cases of characters who become what they dislike the most, and Heathcliff is a prominent examples, isn’t he? As he is still unaware of his internal complex about being a wizard, he transforms into a beast and becomes a risk to other people, and Shino decides to hide this fact from him. We think that Heathcliff’s learning about his Affliction and Shino’s action are an interesting point in how their relationship will develop. On his part, Owen’s situation, where he has a weak point that he doesn’t really understand and doesn’t want anyone to know, has some similarity to Heathcliff’s. Owen can seal Shino and Heathcliff’s lips, but the two of them know his secret and accordingly have a certain power against him. This way, we can make the drama related to the Afflictions even more complex.

Q6: The Western Wizards all have their own aesthetics while respecting those of others. To us, they seem to make a remarkably stable team. They enjoy terrors and troubles, and they take unexpected events in stride. Thus, the unknown and the bizarre lend them courage. Please tell us about what points you keep in mind when you write the Western wizards as a team?

A: Because Western wizards are Western wizards, their aesthetics are important to them. As a result, no matter how much we want to progress with our story, the moment we force them to do something that contradicts their aesthetics, they’ll stop being themselves. Consequently, we have to let them finish what they want to do. When we think “looks like it’s time we should wrap up this case”, we’ll proceed with the “take your time to get here” approach. The Western wizards are all eccentric, but they are honest to their own hearts. They don’t do things like distort their nature or delude themselves, so when things go their usual courses, the Western wizards won’t feel restricted and chafed. Then we think ‘this is how they will be annoyed’ and proceed accordingly. That’s probably a rather irresponsible approach to writing, however, we feel that we can showcase the charm and sense of wonder in the story better when we let the wizards off the wagon and freely watch the world according to their aesthetics, obsessions, and whims, instead of making them travel linearly on a single track from the beginning to the end. In this fashion, the Western wizards are the polar opposite of the Eastern wizards, as in, when the wizards throw way their personal hang-ups and fight as members of a unit, that’s when the Eastern charm shines.

Q7: The Southern wizards are peaceful and good at communication, who have spent time in close contact with other people and can live together with them. On the other hand, they also have explosive factors such as the prophecy that Mitile will cause the destruction of all Southern wizards, or the fact that Figaro hides from Rutile and Mitile that he comes from the North. Could you explain to us your thinking process about the balance of such a group of characters?

A: By properly portraying how wonderful the down-to-earth, family-like Southern wizards are, we showcase what is beautiful about the world of “Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku”. The flashiness of the Northern wizards or the heroism of the Central wizards tend to draw a lot of attention, so we add thrilling elements such as Mitile’s prophecy or Figaro’s origin. Even so, with Rutile’s kindness, joy, and dauntlessness as well as Lennox’s generosity and patience, we do our best to portray how they are a lifeline to people around them in everyday life, even though they lead quiet, unassuming lives. Through that, the audience will hopefully be endeared to the Southern Country’s people and find them wonderful. And when the readers are immersed in this down-to-earth, warm, and gentle world, and are in love with this country, elements like Mitile’s prophecy or Figaro’s origin will become even more effective.

Q8: On the topic of Figaro, he has the side of a Northern wizard that he has been hiding from Rutile and Mitile and the side of the Southern wizard that he currently is. How do you capture and convey that quality of his? Please share with us what is important to you when you write Figaro.

A: At his core, Figaro is a compassionate person. However, he also knows that kindness is impotent. Because he possesses immense power, terrors and threats are his tools of choice when he wants something to go his way, because achieving his goals quickly and effectively is worth the price to pay to him. In his view, being kind to people won’t get him good results. He wants to treat the people who respect and admire him the right way in a consistent manner, but that takes time and effort. So there’s the impression that he makes the effort while being conscious that he is doing that deliberately. When we portray his two-faced-ness, we don’t go to the extremes. Instead, we take care to maintain the balance, in which he’s kind but prone to giving barbed comments, or brutally blunt but caring for the people he’s dealing with.

Q9: Masaki Akira is the protagonist, who is entangled with the wizards as the Sage. What do you pay attention to when you write them?

A: Their characterization is that they respect the wills of the wizards. The exception is when they want to do something in a particular way, but they don’t excuse themselves with “I thought this was how I should do it”. Instead they insist on asking the wizards about what the latter want to do. They pour their heart into playing the role of a confidante and mediator. If Akira fulfills this role too perfectly, the players won’t be able to put themselves into their shoes. Accordingly, we write Akira as someone who sincerely expresses their fear of scary things, their doubts, and their emotions, and someone who has the flexibility to apologize without rancor and fix things when they make a mistake. For the story as a whole, we’d like to write a figure who experiences diversity and accepts it, so perhaps in some parts Akira will come across as an abstract symbol. It’d be nice if we manage to convey to the readers the vibe of the Sage gently asking the wizards about how the latter feel because the Sage think of the wizards as cat-like beings, who take things in stride but aren't good at listening to what you say.

Q10: In the story, there are times we can see what a precarious place the young wizards are in, such as Riquet’s insistence that what the Chief of the Church taught him was the absolute truth, or Arthur’s unquestioning trust in Oz’ kindness, which leads him to erase the disasters and wars caused by Oz from history. What do you pay attention to when you write about these potential dangers from and for the young wizards?

A: “Mahoyaku” is not only a story about adults giving guidance to children who are in a concerning situation, because there are times the opposite happens when children guide the adults out of problems too.

With that as the premise, we think the concerning situation the characters you named are in comes from the belief that the justice and faith they hold are ‘correct’ while they still lack knowledge and experience. In the eyes of the young children, the shining justice and faith they feel are flawless, aren’t they? However, the longer you hold such justice and faith, even if the luster remains the same, the dirt will gather and overshadow it, as you notice that the other side of those values is unexpectedly tattered and grim. Disappointment is inevitable in that situation, but that’s also when you can look at what you have been holding on with a cool head. Thus you’ll have an objective view of what shape your faith has taken and the beauty as well as twistedness of your justice. That way, as you get older and your experience grows, you’ll be able to make the choice whether to give up your faith and justice and do something else or continue to keep them.

It isn’t necessarily a purely bad thing to know only one part of yourself due to lack of experience, and it is an occasion for learning in itself to find something shiny and wholeheartedly believe in it. To you, this shiny thing can be your guidance, or something you treasure the most or love the most, and through that you’ll grow to have confidence in yourself and enrich your heart. On the other hand, it's probably rather old-fashioned of me to view that as risky. Because we’re currently living in an information society, we don’t have the sheltered life of a frog in a well. In that state, we understand that someone's 'justice' is correct while being unable to agree with their opinion. As a result, even if we don’t intend to hurt that person, we end up doing that simply by stating what we think. Because that’s the environment we’re living in, we suppose many people would share such a view with the long-lived wizards. So, we would like to capture the different aspects of the views held by both the young wizards and the long-lived wizards.

Q11: On the cover of this issue are Riquet, Nero, and Bradley. Please share with us what has changed about them and what stays the same in the many stories they have appeared in compared to the initial characterization in your memory.

A: Riquet: In the original setting, Lennox was to take care of Riquet in addition to his former lord, because he was concerned about Riquet’s situation with the Church. As you can see, while Lennox is caring for other children, Nero has usurped his position. We feel that early on, Riquet had an even narrower mindset and worldview due to his fanaticism. The current Riquet has become much cuter, so we like him more.

Nero: His first setting is an Eastern wizard who keeps to himself because he is tired of dealing with people. He isn’t the kind of cold person who thinks he doesn’t need other people. Rather, he has an inner conflict where he’s tired of dealing with people but he can’t wholeheartedly hate them either. At first, he was someone who got tired of people because of his career in hospitality. Then his characterization becomes such that he is a former bandit. As a result, there’s a certain vitality in his weariness. It’s because he was passionate in the past that in the present he’s a shell of ash after the flame has burnt out.

Bradley: When we were coming up with a bad wizard to put in the company of Oz, Mithra, and Owen, there was the opinion that there should be a character who was a prisoner and mafia boss-like. That’s how Bradley came into being, who was once the boss of a bandit gang and is a prisoner in the present. We think that thanks to the presence of a wizard who is a prisoner, the worldbuilding became more complex, as this is the world where powerful wizards can be put in jail.

Q12: As you said, Nero usurped Lennox’s position. We feel that to Riquet, the food Nero makes is like a dream, and it’s thanks to Nero that he learns the kind of joy he can get from his own food. What are your thoughts on the nature of their relationship, who are neither brothers nor parent and child?

A: We think that they have the kind of relationship where they help each other despite the gap in age, as each of them brings in his unique skillset. In particular, Nero is the kind of person who can revitalize other people when he puts his skill in use. He doesn’t love himself, but he derives his self-confidence and pride from making food. In such a situation, someone appeared, who had never eaten real food and was moved by Nero’s food so much as to proclaim that he tasted paradise. For Nero, that’s a scene where he was given a reason to love himself. On the other side, though he isn’t fully aware of it, Riquet is good at setting boundaries and guiding people. Therefore, when Nero decides to kickstart his life again, even if he’s at a loss, Riquet will have faith in his nature and guide him. We think that they are both people who threw away the place that shaped them, and they share with each other the hope for rebirth into their new selves. They’re the duo that have our personal favorite theme.

Q13: The event “Paradox Droid” was held for April's Fools. The new worldbuilding and story of AssistDroids and humans living together were an instant favorite among the Sages. As the two of you created the worldbuilding of “Paradox Droid” together, could you please share with us your memory of the creative process?

A: Not just for April’s Fools but with events in general, we form the story with the three protagonists in the SSRs as the pillars. In the previous April’s Fools with the high school AU, Arthur is the representative of the academic-inclined school, Mithra represents the delinquent school, and Rutile stands for the art school. Similarly, this time we create the story with Owen representing the lab, Cain representing the police, and Rustica representing the downtown.

Because April’s Fools is a party, we created an elaborate setting so that players who like the characters that don’t appear in the card selection can join in the enjoyment of the AU world too. We think our art director had the hardest job, which was to create pictures of the characters who live in an unexplored world that no one has seen before. It was really nice to be able to use the word ‘promise’ without having to think much about it.

You can find the issue with the interview here. Many thanks to tumblr user MrMrsMissRandom for the edits!

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While crafting a charming fantasy story with magic and fantastical happenings in a world where humans and wizards live side-by-side, Scenario Writer Tsushimi Bunta and World Supervisor Kazuma Kowo also portray realistic sentiments that we have all experienced, like the feeling of inferiority and anxiety. Thus, they make the wizards in the story relatable to the audience and move readers’ hearts. To celebrate the first anniversary of Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku, in this issue we invited the two creators to a long interview of about 10k words! We looked back at Main Story 1 and discussed the relationships between the characters. We hope you will enjoy the interview, in which our guests so generously shared their views with us.

The fairy tale-like quality of the twins

Q: First of all, allow us to ask about Snow and White, who are the most senior in age in the story. In the scene where Snow and White nestled close to an anxious Sage who had been suddenly transported to another world, we learn the dramatic fact that White is dead. The details of White’s death are told in their affection stories. Please tell us what is the important thing you keep in mind when you write them?

A: We don’t want to lose the balance of “it’s easy to feel close to the twins but they’re still pretty scary – the twins are pretty scary but it’s easy to feel close to them”, so that’s something we need to pay attention to. If the reader feels too close to them then the sense of tension and fear will be lost, and if they are too terrifying then the reader can’t feel at ease around them. However, those aspects of them will suddenly change depending on each situation, such that they are like characters from a ghost story. With that as the basis, there’s the sense that they are always together and have very similar outlooks of life, as they have always been separated from the world. There is a kind of ‘ultimate private jokes and family secrets’ that are shared only between the two of them for eternity, which we portray via a kind of unsettling humor. As the result of a certain incident, something that they both desired became no longer the case, as their outlooks of life change and drift from each other. That’s something interesting in a fairy tale-like way, isn’t it?

The relationship that represents the entire ‘look’ of the story

Q: In the part where Arthur and the others headed to the castle in Northern Country where Oz resided, one can see Oz’ devastation to learn that Arthur had been chosen as a Sage’s Wizard in parallel to Oz’ presence as the most powerful wizard known in the world. Through that, one can have a glimpse of what their relationship is like. What is the important thing in your mind when you write them?

A: Those two are the duo whose relationship can be said to represent the entire ‘look’ of the story. If they’re too much in the uncertain zone, the atmosphere of the story will become overly shaky. If everything is fine and dandy, they will be on too solid ground and there will be no drama. In one aspect, they have a stable relationship while in another aspect, they’re in a precarious situation, and we have to watch carefully for the doses of all that. Oz is someone who didn’t care much about how others viewed him. However, when he raised Arthur and earned his trust, Oz began to vaguely regret what he had done. For Arthur, Oz reflected on himself and came to believe that Arthur shouldn’t be with him for his own sake. Meanwhile, Arthur went through the experience of Oz not showing up to greet him on top of being abandoned by his parents, so he cannot feel proud about his affection. In a way, both of them are used to living with the distance between them. When one looks at only the two of them, they have a powerful bond. However, when one looks at the past, present, and future, as well as the politics and cultures that surround them, one has to wonder if that same bond can hold all the way to the end. It will be great if we can express the charm of such a fine balance, as well as of the moving parts from the fact that they will continue to be influenced by everyone and everything around them, such that they will change dramatically for both better and worse.

The duo who are too young for a lord-and-vassal relationship

Q: In the scene where the Sage asked Shino about the reason of the quarrel between him and Heathcliff at the party in Central Castle, the views and feelings of both sides about being wizards were shown to us. What did you pay attention to when you wrote this scene?

A: Perhaps Shino isn’t fully aware about what he does, but he makes Heath stand out because Heath is unable to be like “I’m amazing, look at me!” On Shino’s part, he has had a difficult life since birth and been through much hardship, so he can’t treasure himself. He thinks of himself as someone who is used to suffering, so he leaves it to Heath to say “Stop getting into danger! Take care of yourself, please!” In this way, the two of them complement each other with their friendship. Both Heath and Shino are too young for a proper lord and vassal relationship, and we keep that in mind when writing them. In particular, Shino sees no value in his self that is just ‘Shino’, but thinks the Shino that is Heathcliff’s vassal is valuable. As a result, he imposes his view of worthiness and the meaning of his life onto ‘Heathcliff’. Meanwhile, Heathcliff wants to be friends with Shino. He believes that he doesn’t want Shino to sacrifice himself for him. However, we think that in the hypothetical scenario where Shino were still Heath’s friend but took up service and had a career under someone else, Heath wouldn’t be able to bring himself to support Shino in such a venture. He’d certainly be full of jealousy and resentment along the line of “But you belong to my family!” Heathcliff wants to keep Shino to himself, while not having sufficient self-awareness to be a lord. And Shino is effusive in his idolization of his lord, while not having sufficient self-awareness to be a vassal. They can’t fully be either friends or lord and vassal. We think such topsy-turvy unbalance is the charm of this duo.

An accidental meeting with a Murr fragment

Q: After receiving the report of the investigation, the Western Wizards headed to the Lunar Eclipse Mansion with the Sage and encountered the materialization of a fragment of Murr’s shattered soul there. In that moment, Shylock showed a rare bout of anger at the callous words the materialized Murr threw at him. What kind of feelings did Shylock have about Murr and Murr about Shylock at such a time did you have in mind?

A: That was the first time Shylock saw a Murr materialized from a fragment of the latter’s soul. The shock from meeting Murr again after a long time and his wariness were a whirlpool. We think he had a mild panic uncharacteristic of him when facing such brazen, obnoxious words at such a moment. He acted cruelly out of impulse, then after calming down, he couldn’t help but ask “What do you think of me?” If Shylock had thoughtlessly attacked the real Murr, he would have been teased with “I can’t believe it! You really raise your hand against me!” But he thought that with a soul fragment, it would have no consciousness when fed to Murr. As such, he gave in to the irritation and acted somewhat sloppily. On the other hand, the Murr in that scene was a fragment of Murr’s mind, a biased piece of his thinking. Perhaps compared to the usual Murr, the self-confidence side was coming out rather strongly and a line such as ‘You love me, don’t you’ was laying on a bit too thick. Murr himself isn’t the type who likes provoking and mocking other people. Rather he points out the truth without hesitation from an analytical and curiosity-fueled point of view. We are a bit curious about Shylock’s reaction when being confronted by such a truth. That scene is a commentary from bird’s eye view of what their relationship is like, with Murr and the self in that Murr fragment as separate beings.

The master and disciple relationship that is full of uncertainty

Q: When we read the scene where Chloe cried because the embroidered scarf he had gifted the child he befriended was rejected because that child didn’t want something created by a wizard, we too felt Chloe’s pain. Follow up to that was the scene where Rustica’s kind and gentle words were a salvation. We feel that their master and disciple relationship is different from that of Oz and Arthur’s or Figaro and Faust’s. What’s the important thing to you when you write them?

A: Chloe and Rustica are kind people, so we take care to show the charm of that in their everyday exchanges. They are the type of master and disciple such that Chloe usually takes the lead while Rustica steps up in crucial moments. If we have to compare the nature of their relationship to other cases, we think that above a certain point, Rustica’s search for his bride isn’t something that binds them. Since Rustica believes that his bride is out there, holding on to his marriage promise is a matter of course. However, if Rustica’s bride isn’t found and his heart decides that he is unable to keep the promise, he will lose his magic. Therefore, Chloe is unable to think too much about this situation. He has been receiving support from the kind Rustica, so he is questioning himself if he will be able to handle a Rustica who is in despair. Chloe has the premonition that if he asks Rustica “you’re actually in sorrow, aren’t you,” it’ll be the point of no return. He doesn’t yet have the resolution to deal with that situation. On Rustica’s part, he wants to continue travelling with Chloe, but in the present, he is still unable to contemplate deeper issues like “why do you think so?” or “what will you do if you can no longer do that?” The more they think about each other, the more inevitable it is that they will enter an uncertain, hazy territory. If they move forward with their relationship, they will have to grapple with a reality that might be unhappy. Yet, they’re in a conflict-avoidant mode. It can be said that Chloe holds the initiative when it comes down to their future. However, there’s also the possibility that it’s Rustica who will make the big moves when something happens. Accordingly, one doesn’t know if something will become a needle and burst things open, and we’d like to play out this interesting point about their relationship.

The loose connection between the Northern former masters and disciples

Q: There’re various masters and disciples in the story, and it has been revealed that Snow and White are Oz and Figaro’s masters. From the affection stories and event stories, we get a glimpse of a period where there was a deep relationship between these four characters, who were unchanging and had been together through many points in the long life of a wizard. What do you seek to bring forward in your portrayal of this group of four?

A: It’s really hard to properly express in words what these four are. I suppose they aren’t quite an actual family, but a small community that looks very close to a family. The elder ones really have a vague feeling of responsibility and affection for the younger ones, the kind of feelings that they have to look after the younger ones and help them out in times of trouble or danger. On the other hand, we can’t wholeheartedly describe their bond as ‘like a family’ because apart from the twins, they are the people who don’t really need each other. They are all powerful wizards who can live without asking for help from others, and Oz and Figaro are the passive type who don’t get involved with people on their own initiative. As a result, the connection between them remains on the loose side. Perhaps there’s a trick somewhere for Northern wizards to have a long, continuing relationship.

The rocky master-disciple relationship

Q: Because of what happened in the past, Faust resents Figaro and often clashes with him. What do you pay attention to when you portray the awkward feeling of estrangement between these two characters, who were master and disciple?

A: Their master-disciple relationship ended up not going well for them at the time. It isn’t just that a relationship that didn’t really work is something to feel disappointed over, but also that the fact that it didn’t go well makes it interesting. We think that one aspect of such charm is their conflict and irritation. To portray it, we write them such that an outside observer would look at the doubt and misunderstanding they have about each other and think “but that isn’t the case though?” From Faust’s point of view, Figaro is apparently someone he can’t trust, so Figaro on his part takes what Faust says lightly and pokes fun at it. However, we take care that there’s a measure of “I really mean it just now!” breaking in. Additionally, they fundamentally respect and yet are disappointed about each other. We pay attention so that the respect at the core of their relationship won’t be forgotten even in the situation where their disappointment is strongly expressed, while the sharp bitterness from disappointment won’t completely go away even when they treat each other with respect.

Faust and Lennox’ wishes

Q: In the scene where the Sage, Lennox and Figaro witnessed Faust’s Curious Affliction, which caused his dreams to materialize, we learn the difficult fact that Faust was burnt alive and is currently engulfed in much suffering. Could you tell us about how the sorrows of Faust, who was betrayed by his childhood friend after their fight together for the ideal realm where wizards and humans could co-exist, and the immense loyalty of Lennox, who searched for a disappeared Faust for 400 years, came into being?

A: For a long time, Lennox lived a life where he only reacted to sufferings and oppression. When he finally escaped that, meeting Faust was the first time he saw hopes and dreams since his birth. We think a person who didn’t just while the days away but possessed the new values that open up the future, and who gathers other people around him and leads them to achieve their shared dream, would be very striking in Lennox’ eyes. Loyalty plays a part in Lennox’ search for Faust, but above all is his own regret. He can’t come to an ending, nor can he move on to the next chapter. Instead of resenting Fate or someone else, he blames himself. Why didn’t he get Faust to escape even with the key in his hand? Why did he let Faust be backed into a corner such that the latter disappeared alone? He seeks a conclusion for the story which was cut off in the middle that day. In a similar way, Faust thinks that because of the choice he made out of misjudgment, he brought sufferings to the people who trusted him, and he bitterly regrets trusting humans. He is in the mentality that because he brought sufferings to people, he doesn’t deserve happiness; that he should resent the humans and never forgive him; that he is determined to warp his natural temperament. Because Faust doesn’t have the heart to be happy, Lennox wants to see Faust be happy. As a result there is a struggles between their egos. Because we think that’s what is interesting about this duo, we would like to write them such that the readers feel such charm.

The former partners Bradley and Nero

Q: In the scene where Bradley asked Nero to help him as he was about to go to the Lunar Eclipse Mansion to seize back his treasures, we can see their dispositions and how they interacted with each other. Could you please tell us about what you captured in your writing about the feelings about his former partner Nero of Bradley, who wanted to get Nero to join him for banditry after right meeting him again, as well as the state of mind of Nero, who was invited to return to such activity?

A: From the main story to the affection stories, they’re a duo who just can’t open up about what they feel and talk, aren’t they? As a result, they are in a situation where they keep making light jabs at each other while watching each other cautiously. It isn’t that they are bargaining with each other in a calculated way. Rather they lightly poke at the other side to gauge where each other stands without getting in too deep. To an extent, Bradley takes what happened as a lucky news and feels he must make his move quickly. He continues what they had when they were partners, in a “I’m here, you’re here, let’s go!” way. On Nero’s part, because he was told that he’d be killed if he quitted the bandits, he thought he wouldn’t escape turning to stone when he met Bradley again. What happened was that he was allowed to take up non-criminal life and told to do what he liked, yet at the same time was invited to do banditry again. It was like Brad to be like “This will be the last time” and let go of hard feelings, while Nero himself was conflicted like “This will be the last time so it should be fine?” As a result, it isn’t obvious what his decision would be, right? At the end of the day, Nero didn’t want to be dragged along, but that was what he was used to, so he ended up letting himself be dragged along anyway.

The feeling of distance between Cain and Owen

Q: In the scene where Owen’s Curious Affliction flared up and a child-like personality appeared in front of Cain, Shino, Heathcliff and the Sage, we think that many readers were shocked by how different Owen’s behavior was from his usual self. Even if his eye was robbed by Owen, Cain said that he preferred the usual, Affliction-free Owen. What is the important thing when you portray what kind of relationship Cain and Owen have?

A: Even if Cain is certain Owen is a bad wizard who attacked the Order of Chivalry, he is a soldier at the core. Accordingly, he can try to communicate with Owen for the sake of teamwork when there’s order for him to do that, even if he is angry and confused. Cain can recognize that Owen’s magical power is excellent, and he can’t tell how the next Calamity will turn out, so he won’t disturb the team’s peace out of personal grudge. Cain can become a teammate of Owen as a Sage’s wizard without seeing it as a contradiction, and he isn’t someone who harbors hatred or suffocating emotions. As a result, there’s the feeling that in Cain’s eyes, someone like Owen is akin to a rival. Seeing the person he considered a rival to defeat approached him with admiration like a child, Cain was surprised and at a loss about what to do. On the other side, the feelings Owen has towards Cain are many and varied but they are simple in a seemingly complex way. We can’t talk in details because it’s a spoiler, but we wonder if such feelings will entangle with the Afflicted personality, haunt the original, and take on a concrete shape. A character will look cool in scenes where they have the upper hand against the other side, but we take care that neither side of this duo will lose all the time. Normally, these two would be at the start of anger and hate, but we think it’ll be interesting if they can get to the point where their relationship is such that they will never be completely on the same wavelength but they click in a weird way because of Cain’s temperament and Owen’s true nature. They are the duo for whom we want to maintain a feeling of distance and tension.

Riquet’s favorite

Q: During main story, Mitile and Riquet took care of each other. We think they have come from having a certain distance between each other to treasuring each other as friends. Which scene in the main story do you think contributes the most to the transformation of their friendship?

A: It feels like Mitile and Riquet gradually get close to each other instead of having an incident that defines their relationship, doesn’t it? In the beginning, Riquet decides to take care of Mitile, who was anxious from being in a new environment. Having received that, Mitile teaches Riquet how to read and write. They stand up for each other and escape together. Lately, Mitile guides Riquet’s motivation to use big magic. That’s how we portray them helping each other little by little and spurring each other on their path forward. We think they are comfortable around each other because they’re both good kids, but we think it’s cute when Mitile is affected by the fact that Riquet is a bit strange, so we write them accordingly. Because Riquet is Riquet, he wants to give guidance to Mitile. Because Mitile is his favorite, he will give Mitile special attention and thus he takes the attitude of a leader. We find that quite cute. For Mitile, this is the first time he has a friend who is a wizard of his age, so he feels an according closeness to Riquet. Precisely because of that, he feels jealous about their difference in magical power and strives to be able to do that same thing, and he wants Riquet to watch him. They give off the image that they return the kindness they receive and sweetly do things together as they want to guide each other as if they were older than the other one. By the way, Tsushimi uses these two’s title plate to play the game.

The bond born from a promise

Q: Mithra, who made a promise with Rutile and Mitile’s mother the Great Witch Tiletta, has the power only second to Oz. Because he’ll lose his power if he can’t protect the brothers, he ends up causing a decisive weak point for himself. What is important to you when you portray the relationship between Mithra, who is bound by such a promise, and Rutile and Mitile, as well as their interactions?

A: Like what we’ve written in the event stories, from the perspective of the Mithra who wants to become the strongest in the world, having a weak point is something unfortunate and negative. However, from the perspective of the Mithra who is all alone and unable to realize that he is lonely, a connection like a promise is something fortunate and positive. We’d like to present the point that whether what happens in a person’s life is a plus or a minus and how it plays out would depend on that person. In the physical aspect, the arrangement is that Mithra protects Rutile and Mitile. On the other hand, it’s the Flores brothers who have the broadminded-ness and patience, so we think they have a relationship where they provide emotional comfort for Mithra, calm him down, and teach him. We take care to show the ‘gap’ charm of situations such as someone who has so fierce a disposition like Mithra unexpectedly taking to the easygoing atmosphere of the Flores brothers, the strange scene of Rutile scolding Mithra, Mithra being alarmed many times by Rutile’s wild streak and spinning around in his effort to get it under control, the danger of having someone with immense power around Mitile who secretly admires the strong, and so on. Because the promise was made rather indirectly, the three of them are still at the beginning of their relationship. Mithra has no family, but from the perspective of Tiletta's sons, maybe they will become like three brothers. Perhaps it will feel like Rutile gains another baby brother instead of an older one. We think that their relationship will change many times under the influence of the environment around them, and we take care that it won’t look like the brothers are protected all the time and that Mithra won’t become a restraint on them for his own sake. We would like to create a bond that forms from mutuality.

Q: Mithra describes Tiletta as “an annoying acquaintance that he couldn’t quit.” Then what is Tiletta to Mithra? Also, please tell us how Tiletta came into being?

A: We think Tiletta was Mithra’s companion. If we have to describe it, they had a rather loose relationship of two co-workers at a convenience store who found things easy if they happened to be on the same shift. They had their separate lives and didn’t make much effort to be together. Nothing else would form between them. They were nothing more and nothing less. It’s forgotten now, but the very first draft for Mithra was a character who was ‘thoughtful and calm’ and who made a promise to protect the grandchildren (the Flores brothers) of his friend, who married a human. There was decidedly more human-ness in him than the present. As the details of the story’s world came along, his character became like what he was like at the present, and we think that he didn’t form a social relationship as strong as a friendship with such a personality. Because we wanted him to form the strongest social relationship with the characters who appeared with him in the present of the story, that relationship he had became looser. Along the way we wanted to write a powerful witch, and so Tiletta came into existence.

About Part 2

Q: A few day ago it was announced that the production of Part 2 started. Could you tell us within permitted scope what theme you choose and what kind of story it will be?

A: We won’t talk about the content of the story, but at the meeting for the production of Part 2, we asked if we should look around and move carefully or go full throttle with everything we had. The reply we got was “Of course we want to continue for a long time, and how long we can go depends on what is there at the present, so no need to watch out for anything. Please give it your all.” Like how we have done since release, we approach the story with our best effort. As we portray the wizards like in Part 1, we plan to expand from Central Country, which was the stage in Part 1, to other countries and showcase their situations.

Q: The story of the anniversary event is a long form one with Opening – Middle – Ending parts. What were your thoughts behind the story? What did you pay attention to when you decided the theme and wrote the story?

A: We learnt that the theme for the card illustrations of the event celebrating the first anniversary was the wizards dressed in ceremonial outfits riding their brooms. So to match this theme, we wrote a story where everyone appeared flying in the sky and taking part in exciting actions. Because all wizards took part in the story, the enemy must be accordingly powerful so that it doesn’t feel like a big group beating up a smaller group, so we had to prepare something. Thus we thought about the impression we wanted the audience to get from the story and added what was necessary. Because the wizards tend to appear by countries in regular events, this time we want them to be seen in action as combinations of title duos and trios. The setting is pretty serious so we paid attention so that it wouldn’t be too dark, as this is still a celebration. We were aware that it was rather painful to make everyone go all out in a fight so we have been thinking “we should do comedy next year!” Our greatest wish for this anniversary is that the players would be delighted in a “my favorite wizards are so cool when they fight” way, because we would like to make them happy as a thank you for accompanying the game through the whole year.

Q: Thank you very much for a wonderful conversation! Lastly, please leave a message to the fans who have so far supported Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku, which newly celebrated its first anniversary.

A: Thank you so much for playing Mahoyaku! It’s thanks to Master Sages from across the country that we can celebrate the game’s first anniversary. We might not even be alive beyond the 2nd or 3rd anniversary, but if wishes come true, we would like to be able to celebrate Mahoyaku’s anniversary with our dear Sages for 2000 years! Please continue to support us!