Chapter 25: On the Way to School

Chapter 25: On the Way to School

At six o'clock in the morning, the bells of the Academy Castle rang punctually. Moran was awakened by the sound, feeling a lingering sense of regret; last night's dream had been far too pleasant.

The first thing she did after getting up was to take a couple of bites of the breadfruit by her bedside. The sourness made her shudder.

Using breadfruit for a wake-up call was truly unparalleled; one bite and she was wide awake.

After getting up and changing into her school robe, she tossed the black satin hairband resting by her bed onto her head, choosing a clean and convenient hairstyle and letting it do as it pleased.

By the time she went downstairs to wash up, her hair was already tied back.

The *Beginner's Guide* hadn't mentioned bringing anything specific.

School supplies like pens, ink, and paper could all be collected from the Academy Castle's warehouse.

Thus, after tidying herself up, Moran only picked out the largest breadfruit from the storeroom and headed out, carrying nothing else.

A single breadfruit would solve her food and water needs for the entire day.

Vasida and Sylph were even more prepared, heading out with breadfruit cakes and water flasks in hand.

"I went to the breadfruit grove last night and filled my Devouring Stomach Bag, plus I have a pack of fruit cake as backup. No matter what, I won't run out of energy today!" Vasida said.

Sylph only brought a small, palm-sized bag of fruit cake: "This is enough for my lunch; I'll make more when I get back for dinner."

The three of them left around the same time.

Moran was fine, but the other little witches were like her, each carrying a single breadfruit.

Vasida and Sylph, traveling light and appearing as if they were carrying almost nothing, drew too much attention from the other little witches.

"Did you forget to bring lunch? Even though there are two hours at noon, it won't be enough to walk back and forth between the castle and the dorms and still make lunch!"

Vasida and Sylph had already asked Moran earlier and knew she had no intention of hiding the breadfruit cakes.

So, whenever a little witch inquired, Vasida would pull out a small paper packet from her pouch as if presenting a treasure: "We brought some!"

Then, amidst the little witches' doubts of "Is that enough to be full?", Sylph revealed the secret: "This is breadfruit cake made by Moran! It's very filling!"

"Can't breadfruit not be cooked?"

"Is anything made from breadfruit even edible? Isn't it very sour?"

The news that Lilith only brought fruit cake also spread among the second-year witches.

In the end, the little witches became incredibly curious about the taste of the breadfruit cake.

Since Moran needed to recover her magic, she hadn't brought any cake. To prove that the taste of the breadfruit cake was worlds apart from the raw fruit, Vasida and Sylph shared some for everyone to try.

Although they only gave each little witch a tiny piece the size of a fingernail, their own rations were inevitably reduced a bit.

Fortunately, only the first and second-year witches were walking to school; even if they all met, there were fewer than sixty people in total. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had enough cake to go around.

After tasting it, who would want to carry heavy, tasteless breadfruit up the mountain to attend class at the castle anymore!

Moran had anticipated this result and did not hoard her knowledge. She simply said

"The breadfruit cake only retains the high satiety of the breadfruit; it no longer has the effect of restoring magic.

If everyone is still interested, I can explain the production steps.

It's not difficult!"

"Interested! We're interested!"

The little witches expressed their enthusiasm one after another.

The walk to school thus turned into Moran's breadfruit cake mini-classroom.

After she finished her explanation, some little witches with cooking experience even gained their own inspirations based on the cake's recipe.

For example, Aes was already pondering whether she could add meat paste to the breadfruit.

Suddenly, the little witches' passion for cooking breadfruit reached an unprecedented high.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the gates of the Academy Castle.

Sylph wiped the sweat from her forehead: "I feel like climbing the mountain today was even faster than coming down! We arrived just by chatting."

"The bell tower struck nine times on the way," Lilith said, glancing at the time. "It's already nine-thirty. Calculating it that way, we were actually much slower going up the mountain today than before."

"Talking about food made me want to rush back and try making breadfruit jerky cake. I didn't even remember how high the mountain was or how hard it was to climb. I just came up without noticing, which is why it felt fast!" Aes said.

"Look! The upperclassmen are here too!" Alba looked toward the distant sky.

Dozens of flying broomsticks took off from the dormitory area, flying toward the castle, and landed in the small plaza outside the castle shortly after.

The first and second-year witches had woken up early and struggled for nearly three hours to get here, while the third-year seniors flew there in minutes.

"We'll be having flying lessons soon! When that time comes, I'll be just like the seniors, leaving for school at nine-thirty!" Lilith spoke the unspoken thoughts of all the second-year witches.

Moran and the others, who still had to rely on their legs for another year, were practically dying of envy.

However: "Senior Lilith, why don't we see the fourth and fifth-year seniors? Don't they have classes in the morning?"

"The fourth and fifth-year seniors rarely come to the Academy Castle for classes. I'm not sure exactly what they are doing."

Lilith looked around the plaza: "This year's Astrology Ceremony seems to have ended a bit early. It's only the fourth day, but I haven't seen the fourth-year seniors' tents yet."

"Then, Senior, which teacher teaches Alchemy?" Vasida asked. "Why is it Alchemy for the whole week? When will they teach culinary magic?"

Lilith gave a mysterious smile: "As for the teacher, you'll find out soon. Don't be too startled when the time comes! As for culinary magic, it starts next week."

Seeing that the conversation was heading toward a dead end, the other seniors also slipped away: "Hurry to the classroom, class is about to start!"

How could they not let their juniors experience the same detours and embarrassments they had gone through?

The first-year witches: "..."

The seniors love keeping secrets way too much!

Moran had no choice but to open her map: "The schedule says the Introductory Alchemy class is on the top floor of the West Tower. That's the shortest way!"

"Let's go!" Vasida waved her small fists. "I can't wait to learn magic!"

The group of little witches marched grandly toward the West Tower.

After walking for a while, as they passed through a long corridor, they encountered Ms. Amisha, who was wearing a deep blue witch's robe. The little witches greeted her in unison: "Good morning, Headmistress!"

"Good morning!" Amisha nodded slightly and reminded them with a smile, "The West Tower is quite far; you'll need to pick up your pace!"

"Yes! Goodbye, Headmistress!" The little witches grew nervous and quickened their steps.

Moran looked back; Ms. Amisha had disappeared into a classroom at the end of the corridor.

That was the classroom used by the second-year seniors; she had seen Senior Lilith's striking red hair when passing by the door before.

Not thinking much of it, they soon ran past the corridor.

After winding through the labyrinthine castle, they finally reached the western side.

"There is a path on the second floor here that leads directly into the West Tower."

"Let's go!"

Halfway up the stairs, the little witches' momentum came to a sudden halt.

(End of Chapter)