Chapter 362: Arriving at the Witch Academy with Ninglan Qiuyue
“Sigh~ It has been several days, hasn’t it? I heard Sister Xiao Han still hasn’t come back…”
“That’s true, but… I’m curious how Sister Xiao Han managed to send her main body over there. She wouldn’t have gotten stuck and can’t come back, would she…”
“I’m not sure. Sister Xiao Han’s thoughts are beyond our comprehension, plus the instructor has gone over as well, so she shouldn’t be unable to return, right?”
At this moment at the Witch Academy, it has already been several days since the incident regarding the Sleeping Curse ended, and the academy’s online forums are filled with discussions about this event.
Of course, the discussions mainly revolve around fortune, scripts, and conspiracy theories. Some people are firmly convinced of these ideas, while others believe that the new students are simply losing their minds.
The academy has not made any effort to conceal information on this front; instead, it allows them to spread it freely on the forums, neither admitting nor denying anything.
Moreover, the academy hasn’t issued any formal announcements to explain the fortune script-related content, effectively adopting a ‘cold treatment’ approach.
Rather than letting it spiral further into darkness, it’s better to let those people guess and ponder it themselves.
“By the way, how is Tan Han? She seems… to have changed a lot since coming back.”
“I’m quite worried about her too. I went to see her earlier, and she appeared to be in good spirits.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, when I visited, Tan Han was still reading a book. After all, the monthly exam is in just a few days… Ugh, this month has already wasted so much time, and there’s still so much coursework missing… I’ve really fallen behind this time!”
“No worries, even if your rank drops, at least your room for improvement has increased!”
“You! You still have the heart to joke? Aren’t you in the same boat?!”
While the two were chatting, they caught sight of a familiar figure in the library out of the corner of their eyes.
“Hey! Wait a minute!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Look over there! That person, isn’t she…”
“Huh? Isn’t that… Ninglan Qiuyue? How could she be at the Witch Academy?!”
“It really is… the person from my dream is here in reality!”
“Wake up! The dream you had also happens in reality.”
“I know! But, but isn’t the Witch Academy’s recruitment process a bit too broad? How did she come here?”
“Don’t forget, the Witch Academy is known for its ability to recruit students from every class; it’s a traditional skill. So… how about we go say hi? After all, we are more or less familiar faces… right? I mean, we are her seniors in a way.”
“Right, and we can understand what’s going on.”
After exchanging glances, the two got up and walked toward Ninglan Qiuyue.
At the same time, Ninglan Qiuyue also noticed the two familiar figures approaching her.
“Hello there! I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“Indeed, what a coincidence. Did you… join the Witch Academy?”
“Yeah, the instructors invited me personally. I couldn’t turn down such hospitality, and I really longed to explore the extraordinary world, so I became an ordinary student here at the Witch Academy.”
As for her role as the city lord of Ninglan New City, she knew it was just for appearances. She was aware of her own capabilities and managing Ninglan New City would probably result in chaos.
Moreover, after experiencing the disaster from the Dream Demon, the officials in Ninglan New City underwent a significant change. With the suppression of certain families and forces, Ninglan New City had little power left to resist such decisions.
In many ways, Ninglan New City has undergone a reform and transformation, stepping into a new era.
Additionally, the Witch Academy’s influence over Ninglan New City is not merely one of extraction; it has even helped Ninglan New City to develop significantly. She clearly remembers maintaining the Earth Vein at the Ninglan Guardian Stele, which expanded its protective range, indicating that Ninglan New City gained the capital for expansion.
With assistance from extraordinary skills and more, Ninglan New City would stand strong on the ruins, thriving on its own merit instead of relying on the fortune of the First Generation City Lord.
People in Ninglan New City cannot refuse to expand outward; without enough living space, the population cannot develop.
Now that she has resolved the trivial matters in Ninglan New City, she is in a sort of hands-off managerial position. Or rather, even if she wanted to do something, most people wouldn’t want her to, and her interference would likely complicate matters more.
Of course, she is also quite clear about the purpose of her arrival at the Witch Academy: to learn extraordinary skills and bring that knowledge back home. Although the academy promised support for extraordinary skills, being a formal student offers understanding beyond that. Just think about Teacher Xiao Han; she is also a student here, a role model and goal!
Only by mastering such power can she develop and arm Ninglan New City, as she is the only one qualified to enter the Witch Academy.
She had tried to bring others along, but none were accepted by the Witch Academy, including Wumali, the frustrated president of the Extraordinary Research Association.
In a sense… could Wumali be considered lucky to have avoided this?
All in all, at this moment, Ninglan Qiuyue arrives at the Witch Academy as an ordinary student. Everything here feels incredibly novel to her.
Even the enrollment process took quite a while, but luckily an instructor helped her through it. After the process, not knowing where to go, she headed straight for the library because, despite her lack of common sense, she understood that to learn about this world, and even extraordinary skills and knowledge, the library is always a good choice.
Upon arriving, she was surprised to encounter familiar faces here; though they weren’t particularly close, the fact that they were friends of Tan Han made her feel somewhat familiar with them.
“Wow, you actually became a student! What will happen to Ninglan New City? I remember Ninglan Qiuyu…”
“I became the acting City Lord. Just recently, I gave my inaugural speech; unfortunately, you all had left by then.”
“Ah? You became the City Lord? Congratulations!”
“There’s nothing to congratulate about,” Ninglan Qiuyue shook her head. Although she had only experienced it for a few days, she already felt overwhelmed by the demands of being City Lord.
“By the way, since you are now the City Lord, how are you…?”
“I’m the acting City Lord, you know I wasn’t being trained to be the future City Lord. I don’t have any experience prior to this, so… essentially, Ninglan New City is being managed by the Witch Academy, and it’s undergoing a transition to align with the academy’s main focus, starting to develop in that direction.”
Once Ninglan New City established a connection with the Witch Academy, it began to alleviate its burden. Initially, Ninglan New City operated alone, needing to do everything to survive.
Now that they are collaborating, they can focus on their strengths and exchange goods, such as… food, water, and so on.
“Is that so? Then will we have the chance to visit Ninglan New City in the future?”
“Well… that might be hard in the short term. Ninglan New City hasn’t yet transitioned to tourism-based services… If too many outsiders flood in all at once, it could cause problems, and then there are our city regulations… and the laws of your world… You understand, right? If problems arise, it could strain relations.”
“That’s true… Sigh, enough about you. By the way, how long have you been at the Witch Academy? Are you getting used to it?”
“I just arrived today. Actually, it hasn’t been long since I finished the process. I wanted to come to the library to learn about your history since a lot of basic things can be analyzed through history. Also… I wanted to see if I could learn some extraordinary technique to bring back to Ninglan New City. You know we have the Extraordinary Skill Research Association, right? Ever since Xiao Han spread rune literature there, there’s been a surge in interest in extraordinary skills.”
“Wow, is Xiao Han’s influence really that significant wherever she goes?”
“By the way, since you’re here, let us show you around! After all, we’ve been to the library many times. You can just ask us if you need help finding anything.”
“Thank you! There are so many unfamiliar things here. I appreciate it. But… don’t you two have your own matters to attend to in the library?”
“We do have some things to handle… Oh! Right, Ninglan Qiuyue, in just a few days, it’s time for another round of monthly exams! How about… you skip the history for now and catch up on your classes? At least… get through this month’s exam first. It would be embarrassing to score zero if you can’t do anything. Those theory questions don’t even have multiple choice; you won’t have any luck at all.”
“Monthly exam?” Ninglan Qiuyue was surprised upon hearing this, “I think my instructor mentioned that. She said I would encounter a theoretical monthly exam soon, and I could be exempt this time, but next month I won’t be able to.”
“Exempt… exempt? Ah… so we are the clowns here?”
“Are you both cramming for the monthly exam? If you’re in a hurry, I’m not yet at the point where I need someone to guide me; I can explore slowly by myself or ask others.” Ninglan Qiuyue stated. She didn’t want to waste their valuable study time on her trivial matters.
“No, no, no! Balance is key! We were just intensely reviewing theoretical knowledge; now our brains feel mushy.”
“Right! We also need a breather.”
“Okay, either way, thanks in advance, you two.”
And so, with the help of the two, Ninglan Qiuyue arrived at the front desk of the library to complete the borrowing process, chatting about other topics along the way.
“By the way, if you’ve become a student of the Witch Academy, which class are you in?”
“Hmm… Class 14,” Ninglan Qiuyue thought for a moment before responding.
“Class 14? Huh?! Isn’t that Xiao Han’s class? Xiao Han is the class leader of Class 14!”
“Yeah, I know. I requested to be assigned to the same class as Xiao Han when the classes were distributed. I’m curious about what kind of class can produce someone as outstanding as her.”
“Ah? I thought that was just a coincidence, but you might be thinking too much. Xiao Han gets to exempt coursework, and during most of the time, it’s the vice class leader managing the class. Xiao Han is amazing, but it has nothing to do with the class. I heard she hasn’t even attended many classes…”
“Is that so?” Ninglan Qiuyue didn’t feel disappointed upon hearing this. After all, she understood that her own efforts were what truly mattered; a good learning environment is just a bonus.
It would be better not to rely solely on Xiao Han’s class.
“By the way, I’m curious, since coming back from that trip, Xiao Han hasn’t appeared. Is she still in Ninglan New City? What is she doing?”
“I’m not too clear about that, but it probably has something to do with the academy. The instructors have sought her out; I can’t inquire too deeply about the specifics.”
“I see… Probably. Back then, I heard from Tan Han that she broke her fortune seed. Could that have something to do with this?”
“Who knows? That strike from Xiao Han was terrifying; she wouldn’t have triggered some sort of taboo at the academy, would she?”
“No idea.”
“Huh? What’s wrong with Xiao Han? The way you two talk makes it sound like…” Ninglan Qiuyue started to worry as she listened to their idle chatter.
“Oh! It’s nothing. The academy shouldn’t be too harsh. Xiao Han is the best student in our cohort; they surely won’t punish her.”
“Punish? That shouldn’t be the case, right? Those teachers don’t seem serious when they mention Xiao Han; instead, they look quite happy?”
“Okay… I just knew the Witch Academy likes someone like Xiao Han.”
……
At the entrance of the Witch Cat Café.
“Sigh? Hey hey!! These adorable ones! Are they the staff of the Witch Cat Café?!”
Today, various witch cat cafés at the Witch Academy welcomed their new employees. Normally modest in foot traffic, the café became packed today.
Those petite figures, cute postures, and the slight timidness revealed in a strange environment, mixed with their falsely brave expressions, certainly attracted many passing seniors.
After all, who can resist cute things? Even if they could, which witch could say no to cats?
Fool Dream instantly caught the attention of many seniors.
“Yes indeed~ These adorable ones are called Fool Dream, and each of them has their own name. Today is their first day working part-time at our Witch Cat Café, so they might be a little shy; we ask all customers to be understanding.”
“Moreover, Fool Dreams are also working hard to learn new skills… Hey! This customer? Please don’t touch our employees like that! Fool Dreams are legitimate staff members and should not be treated like that!”
“Phew… While I understand your impulse, this customer, please don’t scare our employees. Also, we kindly ask everyone to refrain from doing anything inappropriate to Fool Dream. If we find out, you will be permanently blacklisted from our Witch Cat Café~ So please act accordingly.”
“Now let’s have our new little employees say a few words to everyone!”
“Thank… thank you all… I… I will work hard!”
With Fool Dream’s soft and adorable voice sounding out, the content of her words became less important; just her cute appearance and soft tone captured the hearts of countless seniors.
At that moment, the front desk seniors became busy, processing cat card applications, receiving customers, taking orders, and providing services.
They were overwhelmed with work.
Until a customer presented a golden cat card; that’s when one of the seniors looked up in surprise at the unfamiliar customer before her.
The delicate face was adorned with a gentle smile, her long, rare white hair cascading down her back without seeming messy. Her blood-red eyes sparkled with joy as she looked at the staff.
“Cu… customer!” She trembled as she accepted the golden cat card that was usually unseen.
In that moment, she felt as if she had fallen in love; this beautiful and wealthy girl… she quite adored her!
But her duty at the front desk reminded her to finish the registration properly.
“Customer, is this your first time here? You look quite new~”
