If you are in the mood to read a story about witches, you must give this series a chance! In a world where Gold Magicians are praised and Silver Magicians are feared, one girl makes a big sacrifice to save the silver witch who she feels indebted to.
Before we start the review…
What’s the Japanese level?
I rate this as a late intermediate – early advanced series. To see my reasonings for my rankings, please click here!
Who wrote this manga?
This manga was written by Tsuzawa Ina.
Info about the series
- There are 3 total volumes published in Japanese
You can check out this series for yourself below.
What happens in volume one? *Spoilers*
A very long time ago, the soil of a certain kingdom was completely barren. Just as the residents were beginning to starve, the Gold Magicians appeared. They injected their magic into the soil, allowing crops to flourish. Just as gold ran through the veins of these Gold Magicians, the wheat that grew from the soil came up golden.
Ever since the appearance of these Gold Magicians, a harvest festival has been held to honour them every year. One event at the festival is a baking competition, where young bakers turn the golden wheat into delicious foods. This year, our protagonist Mei came in second place, earning her a curious silver wheat brooch.
In this kingdom, Gold Magicians are not the only type of magic user—Silver Magicians also exist. At least, one Silver Magician existed. One day, a mysterious magician appeared, with silver hair and silver blood flowing through their veins. The wheat they grew, in turn, came up silver. The townspeople became excited when they witnessed the silver wheat, and just as the gold wheat, used it to bake delicious foods. The silver wheat baked goods were then brought to the king to sample. At first, he was delighted by the sight of such beautiful, rare baked goods, but upon having just one bite, he burst into flames.
The fire was so powerful it burned the castle down, and the Gold Magicians had to step up to rebuild everything. The Silver Magician was sentenced to death as everyone feared the wheat their magic brought, and only the Gold Magicians were left.
Back to our protagonist, Mei. She returns home to her father after winning second place in the baking competition, and he is less than happy. Ever since her mother’s death, her father has become a completely different person. Though she was very young, her mother caught the “White Silver Sickness”, which causes people to age at an alarmingly rapid rate.
Running away from her father’s misguided anger, Mei falls off a cliff and into a large field of silver wheat. Surprised by the sight, she’s even more taken aback upon meeting the very Silver Magician who was sentenced to death for the murder of the king, Bell. At the time, she knows nothing of his history, nor his name, calling him “Mister Magician”. Bell is kind but cautious when it comes to dealing with Mei, and the two of them slowly grow closer and closer throughout the months.
Mei has made a habit of jumping off the cliff to visit Bell’s silver wheat field, and even requests Bell give her some wheat so that she can make him something to eat. Bringing the wheat home turns out to be a deadly mistake though, as her father catches on when he sees the silver wheat powder residue in the kitchen. He follows her as she returns to meet Bell and sets the silver wheat field on fire, sapping Bell of his magical powers.
In order to help save Bell, Mei takes a bite of the silver wheat pastry that she made for him. Curiously, rather than setting her on fire, it grants her magical powers. Now that she has ingested the silver wheat, she has begun slowly turning into a Silver Witch herself. Using her new powers, she is able to cast her father away before he can wreak any more havoc. Mei doesn’t have enough power to save Bell though, and just as all seems hopeless, the two of them are teleported to the Gold Wizard, Jino’s, manor.
Mei, already having a friendly relationship with Jino, explains her situation to him. She has no choice but to entrust the now unconscious Bell to him, and she ends up helping him investigate a curious magical disease in a neighbouring town.
While Mei indeed has a seemingly friendly relationship with Jino, he is shrouded in mystery. We know he’s jealous of Silver magic, claiming it to be much more powerful than Gold magic. We also know that Bell is aware of, and fears, his existence. While Jino seems friendly and helpful, he seems to be hiding at least a few secrets.
The Characters
Mei
- Our fearless protagonist!
- Turned herself into a Silver magician to save her new friend
- 16 years old
Bell
- A Silver magician
- Incredibly OP
- Has the ability to turn others into Silver magicians
Jino
- A Gold magician
- Very suspicious
- Seems to be collecting Silver magicians
My thoughts about this volume
This series pulls you into the mystery right from the first page. The pacing and storytelling are absolutely masterful—some of the mysteries are revealed even before they’re formally introduced to the story, and others were barely introduced come the end of the volume. The way everything unfolds is timed perfectly to keep you entertained without being overwhelming.
There is constant danger looming over the Silver Magicians, but it’s very easy to forget that during the more lighthearted chapters. Mei also doesn’t really seem to understand the danger that she’s in, and is only prioritizing Bell’s safety.
The story is told in such a way that it feels like Jino could be the villain behind everything, but he’s such a complex character that it’s a bit unlikely. Just like the story of the king being set on fire, I feel like there is a lot more to the story than we have been shown in this volume.
I do hope there continues to be no romance between Mei and Bell, as I really hope we get to see a good mentor-mentee relationship between the two of them. Mei was robbed of a father figure when her mother died, and she needs someone to help her figure things out! I really hope this person ends up being Bell.
Art Sample
What I liked most about this volume
❤️ Mei wearing matching outfits with her father – their relationship is really complicated, but it’s clear that her father does love her dearly.
🧡 Jino – I know he’s probably a villain…. But he’s such an interesting character!! And that character design!!
💛 Mei and Bell’s first meeting – I really liked that Bell was shown to be an incredibly kind character right from his introduction. I really hope he wakes up soon…
💚 Bell plucking the silver wheat broach that Jino gave Mei and saying it smelt funny – foreshadowing? The broach is what eventually brought the two of them to Jino. Did it smell funny just because there was Gold magic cast on it? Or, is it something more sinister?
💛 Mei literally jumping off a cliff for months just to visit with Bell.
🧡 Gold wheat being poisonous for Silver magicians – I wonder if Silver wheat is also poisonous for Gold magicians? It’s such an interesting piece of information to me! It shows just how incompatible the two types of magic are with each other.
❤️ Mei visiting Bell in his dream – for the love of god please let her be okay… Why did this have to have such a big cliffhanger…
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