Chapter 70: Joining the Bakery
“Speaking of the store manager’s small treasury, there are so many good things in there! You wouldn’t believe it; the items range from the Magic Source to various spells, and I even heard there’s *Extraordinary Knowledge* in there~”
Tang Yihan, my senior, came over and lowered her voice significantly when she mentioned Extraordinary Knowledge.
“*Extraordinary Knowledge?*”
Hearing this made me think of Sister Bai at that time, so I asked casually to see if the so-called Extraordinary Knowledge mentioned by my senior was the same as I was thinking.
“Uh-huh~ Well… I can’t tell you much. Anyway, this *Extraordinary Knowledge* is not the same as that one. Don’t ever mention to the store manager that I told you about it; that’s something very dear to her, a symbol of heritage.”
“So it’s something very valuable, something that can only be seen and not taken?” I asked tentatively.
Seeing my senior being so cautious, it seemed indeed to be the *Extraordinary Knowledge* that I understood.
I didn’t expect the store manager to have such strength to keep this thing safe. Back then, Sister Bai was even too scared to let me reveal a hint, even blocking this information from the data.
“Yes, it’s pretty much like that, but the store manager has a lot of other things too! And Xiao Han, don’t ever say I told you this!” My senior blurted out, but then quickly realized the issue and continued explaining to me. Towards the end, she lowered her voice and said.
“Got it!” I quickly nodded.
Although I couldn’t take this so-called *Extraordinary Knowledge*, I was still very interested in the Magic Source and spells. The Magic Source could essentially increase my mana capacity and also speed up my witch transformation, while spells would be equivalent to skills. Even just these two items would be enough for me to join a club.
As for looking for another club, with my talent, I could probably find one, and maybe others would welcome me too. However, my current relationship with my seniors was naturally more suitable for me, and my senior would take better care of me because of this relationship.
“As long as you understand, phew~ Xiao Han, do you want to join our bakery?” Tang Yihan’s senior sighed in relief and then looked at me seriously to ask.
“Of course I do!” Looking at the eager expression on my senior’s face, I readily agreed.
“You agreed? Hahaha! Xiao Han, you made the best choice!” My senior was very happy after getting my official answer, and in her excitement, she turned and ran back.
“Eh? Senior, where are you going?” I hurriedly asked. She can’t just run off right after I agreed, can she?
“Of course, I’m getting you the application form to join the club. This needs to be submitted for registration—just a formality, so wait~”
After saying that, Tang Yihan happily ran off, and when she returned, she was holding a simple form.
“This is it; just fill it out a bit. You don’t have to fill in anything you don’t know. Here’s a pen for you.” She handed me the form and the pen, urging me to fill it out quickly.
As I filled it out, I noticed my seniors seemed to want to see me complete it before they would relax.
Eventually, once they saw the completed form, they sighed in relief as if a burden had been lifted.
“Um, senior, did you just breathe a sigh of relief?” I asked curiously.
“Eh? Did I? No, you must have misheard.” Tang Yihan quickly tucked away the form, glanced at the content I filled in, confirmed it was basically correct, and then hastily stowed it away.
“You definitely didn’t mishear because there are only… uh… hmm!” Ying Shiqian, who was beside us, leaned over, just about to explain to me, but was stopped by Tang Yihan covering her mouth.
“What… what do you mean?” I asked curiously.
“Uh… hmm! Yihan, Xiao Han is already a member of the bakery; you shouldn’t keep that from her! Plus, there are only three people in the club, so what’s there to be embarrassed about? This is called concentrated essence! An elite group!” Ying Shiqian boldly pulled Tang Yihan’s hand away and spoke up.
“Eh? There are only… three people?” I widened my eyes. How can a club sustain itself with just three people?
“Just to correct you, now there are four.” Ying Shiqian gleefully informed me.
“Sorry, Xiao Han, this matter I…”
“It’s fine! Just like what Ying Shiqian said, so what if there are few people? We’re going the elite route~” I quickly reassured, also showing my stance. Otherwise, I felt Tang Yihan might become insecure if this continued.
I personally didn’t mind the number; after all, the more people there are, the more considerations there are to take into account. Plus, with fewer members, there would be no one competing with me for the store manager’s small treasury!
“Xiao Han, you really don’t mind?” Tang Yihan was surprised to hear comforting words from me and asked quickly.
“Of course! With fewer people, there’s no one competing with me for the store manager’s small treasury~” I said half-jokingly.
“That’s true. Once the store manager comes back, I’ll tell her this, and let her spill out for once!”
“Exactly! Yihan, I’m not saying you, but how could you not have seen it back then when you gave Xiao Han the first spell as Cleaning Spell? Too basic! You should have at least given her an attack spell!” Ying Shiqian interjected.
“What’s wrong with Cleaning Spell? Functional spells are no cheaper than regular attack spells. At that time, Xiao Han was a temporary worker; getting the store manager to provide even one spellbook was already the limit.”
“Alright, alright~ The two seniors, stop arguing. Anyway, as long as it’s a spell, I like it a lot; I don’t pick!” I hurriedly stepped in to mediate, or I felt it might turn into a quarrel.
Even though I’ve seen them bicker before, it felt different this time because it was about me, and I felt sorry for them.
Having calmed my two seniors, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Um, I’m still curious; what does our store manager usually do? I rarely see her in the bakery, and is she not coming today?”
“I don’t really know. The store manager never tells us what she is up to.”
“Yeah.” Ying Shiqian chimed in, “But I chat with the store manager occasionally and heard she has been busy with something very important recently.”
“Something very important? What is it?” I asked curiously.
“Well… it seems to be related to Tan Han. You know, she was abducted to the Witch Academy, and the store manager played a significant role in that~”
“Indeed…”
I nodded in affirmation. This year’s top student, who didn’t even enter the three major academies, ended up in the Witch Academy with a poor reputation. I could imagine that girl must be in tears somewhere.
The store manager contributed quite a bit to that situation. I wondered if she was involved in managing emotions at the moment?
Otherwise, I find it hard to imagine what the store manager might be doing since it’s been several days since Tan Han was abducted.
There hasn’t been any news at all.
In such situations, you’d think there would be a lot of publicity, right? After all, the hype around a top student is quite powerful, despite the dubious ways the academy might have brought her in.
They must have considered that, but abduction has always been an old tradition of the Witch Academy. Surely they wouldn’t not mention it at all, right?
From what I know of witches, shouldn’t they take pride in this?
