Original subtitles

Yoshino!

I'm taking Aika home.

Just don't skip class.

If you're tardy again, you won't have enough credits to pass...

It'll all work out.

Later.

Yeah.

See you later, Aika-chan.

You could at least respond to him.

It is none of your business, Mahiro.

You shouldn't dislike him so much.

I mean, he may not be a good guy, but he isn't bad, either.

He's a con artist who puts up a good front posing as an average guy.

People like him can lie with a straight face.

That's harsh.

The time is out of joint.

O, cursed spite...

The time is out of joint.

O, cursed spite...

That ever I was born to set it right!

Episode 1 The Mage in the Barrel

Damn you, Samon. This was your plan...

Well done...

He's marooned me on an island,

with only some cheap sandals and a dress.

At least he was nice enough to

not leave me here in my underwear.

But not even I can use magic in this state.

Samon-dono.

Will this really be enough to stop the princess?

On this island,

she'll be unable to acquire the offerings she requires to use magic.

In that situation, the princess is no different than an ordinary girl.

So the princess...

Yes, she will perish on that island.

It is Samon, after all.

I'm sure he raised a barrier to render the island invisible.

I won't be able to seek help from outside.

I'm stranded on this isolated island.

But, Samon! You'd best watch your back!

I am Kusaribe Hakaze,

the strongest mage ever born into our clan!

I will put an end to your ambitions...

Guess I should start by gathering some food first...

The Defense Force's recent large-scale drill

Eat all your celery, too! Promise to do it.

simulated the protection of remote islands.

The Ministry of Defense says that this drill

included new tanks equipped with a C4I system to facilitate intelligence-sharing

as well as command and control...

Messages Received From: Girlfriend Subject: Tomorrow Looking forward to our date tomorrow. If you stand me up again, I'll never forgive you.

"Looking forward to our date tomorrow.

If you stand me up again, I'll never forgive you."

Defense Force's Large-Scale Onshore Drill

...says this kind of combined arms exercise is the first of its kind.

Rumors Around Town Carrots Growing in Asphalt Dog With Human Face Spotted! Balls That Roll Uphill Flying Pineapple Spotted Elderly Man Makes Clouds Disappear

Let's see what we have...

How much weight can a simple promise carry?

Hey, isn't Yoshino cute?

I guess so.

Without Mahiro around, he's just a guy.

He's a looker. Why don't you go for it?

But I heard a rumor that he has a girlfriend...

I do.

Huh?

Was he talking to us?

Who does he think he is?

Does he think himself superior?

Takigawa,

have you heard anything from Fuwa?

It's already been a month.

True.

Well, if he isn't dead, he must be alive.

How can you say that?

I suppose if his old friend is talking that way, he must be all right.

But he disappeared without even notifying the school.

And it is Fuwa.

He seems like the kind who'd cause enough trouble to make the papers.

You're right.

What?

If he is alive, he could be killing someone now.

If promises carry weight...

Yoshino!

All by yourself, eh?

This just isn't my lucky day.

Five, huh?

Doesn't feel like much.

How much is in there?

He's got quite a bit.

Let's go to arcade, then.

Again?

I can't do it.

I can't take on five guys at once.

But...

But if Mahiro were here...

Fifteen simultaneously?

Even a child would know to run away.

Fights aren't about numbers...

Besides, Yoshino was there, too.

Even surrounded, it was a piece of cake.

So in other words, this is all Yoshino-san's fault.

What? I'm a victim!

I was dragged into Mahiro's mess, so...

Then you should have fled alone.

I couldn't just abandon Mahiro—

Are you stupid?

If you'd left him, with no chance to win, Mahiro would have run, as well.

Acting like a victim now is even worse.

Hey, now...

Everyone says it.

If not for Takigawa Yoshino,

the police would have killed or arrested Fuwa Mahiro by now.

You're responsible for that.

This is all your fault.

Hey, Mahiro...

What you want isn't only difficult to acquire.

It's also trivial.

Even if you got it,

it wouldn't make you happy.

Are you Fuwa Mahiro-kun?

Mahiro again?

Excuse me, I am Evangeline Yamamoto.

My friends call me Fraulein Yamamoto.

Unemployed, twenty-eight years old.

I'm not a shady character.

Everything about you is shady.

And what's your profile?

Takigawa Yoshino, second-year high schooler.

What is your relationship to Fuwa Mahiro-kun?

Only that we've known each other a long time.

And that's enough for you to visit his family grave?

Have you heard from Mahiro-kun recently?

Not a word since he disappeared a month ago.

Really?

Really...

Sorry, but this is important.

A gun abruptly shoved in my face...

This is totally surreal.

But...

But...

Two weeks ago,

a young man in his late teens was seen in a certain area.

One week ago,

an individual thought to be the same boy was seen elsewhere.

Both areas are now under quarantine, and entrance is strictly prohibited.

Hold on...

The news never mentioned that—

In the second area,

the boy saved someone's life.

When asked his name, the boy called himself

Fuwa Mahiro.

Almost every word you say is a mystery, but...

He isn't the type to rescue anyone.

That's a terrible thing to say about a friend.

He really is that terrible.

Even when dealing with a beautiful girl?

Let's say around fifteen years old?

Then, he may have saved her.

Is that Mahiro-kun's type?

Mahiro had a younger sister.

If he saw someone resembling her, he may not have been able to leave.

He treasured Aika-chan more than anything.

Treasured?

Why the past tense?

Because she now rests under that gravestone.

Yoshino, why did Aika have to die?

It's probably like the police said.

Someone broke in, looking for money...

That isn't what I'm asking.

Until that day, Aika lived a normal life.

Why did she have to die this way?

And the killer's even gotten away.

We still don't know that.

It's been ten months, and they don't have any leads.

Nothing left behind...

No witnesses...

They don't even know if the killer was acting alone.

We just don't know yet.

The task force hardly does anything anymore.

There's no possibility this case will move forward.

It's absurd!

It doesn't make sense...

Isn't absurdity of life the human condition?

You really don't care, do you?

Well, I guess Aika never did like you...

Then, what will you do about this absurdity?

Find her killer and punish them yourself?

Yeah, that's it...

I'll do whatever it takes to have everything make sense again!

I understand.

You really don't know anything?

What should I do?

A butterfly.

What?

Nothing, I just saw a swallowtail butterfly fly by.

What of it?!

Swallowtails spend the winter in cocoons.

It's snowing...

A single butterfly could just be an anomaly—

That's impossible...

Unfortunately for you,

I have more than one gun.

So what are you doing in front of my family's grave?

Mahiro...

Mahiro, where did you come from?

Over there.

Over there...

I flew here.

Huh?

Anyway, who's she?

Twenty-eight and unemployed, she's Fraulein Yamamoto-san.

Are you kidding me?

I doubt Yamamoto-san would want to hear that from some flying kid.

I just followed these guys.

Mahiro!

What was your plan if that had hit me?

Fuwa Mahiro, you really have met a mage.

A mage?

Do you work for the government?

Unfortunately, I'm just a volunteer.

Do you think bureaucrats and politicians believe in magic?

Answer me!

What is your connection to the black iron syndrome?

At this rate, Japan will...

What's your problem?

Not even from point-blank range?!

I like your spirit...

But for now, take a nap.

Well, let's go.

Was there something you wanted to say?

There's so much I want to say, I've no idea where to start.

Then keep your mouth shut.

Hey...

Wait, Mahiro.

Hey!

This city is done for.

Are you okay?

Leave him.

He's already beginning to metallicize.

What? Metallicize?

It's the syndrome she was talking about.

The black iron syndrome...

He's hard...

The black iron syndrome...

It's a psychic phenomenon that turns all organic life into metal.

It's not an actual illness,

but it looks like some kind of horrible, infectious disease.

The same thing's already happened in over three regions.

The government's doing what they can to hide it,

but they won't be able to forever.

They'll think up some reason to quarantine this area, too.

Then those barricades she was talking about...

Will we be okay?!

Yeah.

When the syndrome's effects hit their peak, you were with me.

Did she do that to you?

No, it was some third-years...

That isn't important right now!

Those guys again? They never learn.

Tell me, Mahiro...

What's happening?

She mentioned it, too...

It's magic.

The family that's using it has this moronic ambition.

In order to gain greater power,

they're trying to awaken something

that must never be awakened.

Return, return, return, return, return.

Return, return, return, return, return.

Return, return, return, return, return.

The black iron syndrome is simply a harbinger.

Once it awakens... Not only Japan,

but the entire world will be turned upside-down.

It doesn't feel right...

I feel like I'm in a strange dream, listening to Mahiro's words.

Only one person is capable of stopping those idiots.

The family heiress and the most powerful mage known to man,

Kusaribe Hakaze.

Yet somehow...

I believe his every word...

The most powerful?

Then are you the mage's apprentice or something?

Apprentice?

I'm helping her out.

Hey, Mahiro...

This is a fair trade.

You have no right to imply I owe you any favors.

You say that, Hakaze,

but you're the one in trouble without me...

Oh?

Are you saying you no longer need me

to locate your sister's killer?

Hey, where did you get that doll?

Is someone there?

Yeah, he's...

It's coming again. This time, from the sea.

Got it.

Tell me its exact origin.

Mahiro!

One month ago,

I found a glass bottle, washed up on the beach.

Inside it was this doll and a piece of wood.

A message was written on it:

"If you believe in magic,

and would trade your soul to have your wish granted,

hammer a nail into this doll."

Even though the island is concealed,

the ocean is still connected to the rest of the world.

The communication method used by oceanographers and castaways,

the message in a bottle.

Even on a deserted island, I can find a bottle among the driftwood.

Once I cast my message out to sea,

I just had to hope the right person would find it.

Seems I have some good luck, after all.

Samon,

even in my underwear, I'm still pretty tough.

With that, I was able to communicate

with the mage on an isolated island.

And then we made a deal.

So that's who that was...

In exchange for my help,

I told her to use her magic to find Aika's killer.

Aika's murder was senseless.

Magic doesn't make sense, either.

Join the two, and it all begins to make sense.

I will kill Aika's murderer with my own hands.

I believe all of this.

But...

By the way,

aren't your parents out, working in the next city over?

They're safe, then.

Huh? Y-Yeah...

Is your girlfriend okay?

Yeah...

She isn't here.

All right.

You already knew that I've been seeing someone?

Yeah, someone mentioned it to me.

This is all crazy...

Look, Yoshino...

That's a part of what we're trying to stop!

Return, return, return, return.

Return, divided fruit!

Return, return, return, return, return.

Greatest of all trees, which raises itself above all others...

Return to your beautiful Tree of Exodus!

Beautiful, beautiful. Fruit, fruit. Beautiful...

What the...

Did the world go insane long ago?

I don't care if this world crumbles to ashes.

But, Yoshino...

I will save the world!

The time...

The time is out of joint.

He's a con artist who puts up a good front posing as an average guy.

People like him can lie with a straight face.

That's harsh.

And I lie, as well...

Messages Received Looking forward to our date tomorrow. If you stand me up again, I'll never forgive you.

The time is out of joint.

O, cursed spite...

That ever I was born to set it right!

Mahiro, how does a kiss feel?

The dead don't feel happiness or sadness.

Tomorrow's promise will never come.

Hakaze, you'd better keep your end of the bargain.

Can you trust Takigawa Yoshino enough to give him a talisman?

Let's make a deal.

I will kill Aika's murderer with my own hands!

This is where it all began.

Episode 2 He Said She Was Very Beautiful