The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 11: Shido Kagetsu

"Hedra, you've become quite popular lately."

In the evening, as the three of them sat around the living room table, Lovier handed a mango pudding to the girl reading a book across from her.

"Hmm?" Opening her mouth, Sylutia bit down on the pudding from Lovier's hand, tilting her head in confusion.

"Ah, Hedra like this really has become cute." Lovier continued to feed the remaining half piece to Sylutia before answering.

"Before, whenever I saw you, you were either reading or studying all day, never asking about anything else. But these past few days, you've started responding to everyone, and you've even helped several classmates with their questions."

Ah, was that the impression she left on everyone before? The girl thought to herself.

"Probably because I've passed that tense stage from the beginning of the semester. Now I'm a bit more relaxed, so I have some free time to do other things." She offered a slight explanation.

Aurora held her ice cream, occasionally flipping through the thick book in front of her. Every page was filled with obscure, complex design blueprints and annotations, things that Lovier couldn't understand at all.

Listening to their conversation, she occasionally glanced at Sylutia, then continued flipping through her book. Although she didn't speak much, she wasn't the type of cold, unapproachable girl. She was more like a girl who found socializing troublesome and time-consuming, so she maintained a cool, aloof persona.

It had been three months since arriving in the Asra District. Apart from that unexpected incident on the way back from shopping, the rest of the time had been relatively calm. Among the three of them, Lovier was the most energetic and curious. Every holiday, she would go shopping, and now the dormitory was piled with many things she had purchased.For the first two months, the other two would accompany her, but later they realized this child never seemed to stop, so recently, Sylutia and Aurora hadn't been going out with Lovier much.

Aurora wanted to learn secret arts related to dolls and currently needed to lay a foundation, supplementing various things, even including complex mechanical principle courses. After familiarizing herself with life in the Mage Alliance, Sylutia had filled in some missing basic knowledge. Now, she had a rough plan for the path she would take in the future, no longer as tense and anxious as at the beginning. She had also started thinking about other issues.

If she wanted to take measures in the future to influence the Mage Alliance's decisions, she at least needed to understand the thoughts and current situation of the various groups within the Alliance, from top to bottom. So, for an in-depth investigation, she decided to first get in touch with her classmates, starting from those around her, to slowly understand this vast and complex organization.

Coincidentally, due to the results she achieved in the potions class earlier, many classmates were very curious and eager to improve their own mastery of this subject. So, many people sought her advice, and thus she easily established the most preliminary friendships with some classmates in the class.

It was probably the kind of friend relationship where you could invite each other to go for a meal or shopping without it being too awkward.

"Do you have time this weekend?" Today was Thursday, and tomorrow would be Friday, a day off.

"No." Aurora recently didn't even bother thinking of excuses, directly shaking her head.

"Aurora is so heartless." Lovier hugged the girl beside her, acting spoiled. Her golden eyes, under the light, seemed to brim with rippling water, pitiful and hard to refuse.

"Acting spoiled won't work either." Aurora shook her head again. She had already suffered many times before. Even though her stamina wasn't bad, compared to this roommate with the 'Scorching Sun' Aspect, it still wasn't enough. Once, after coming back from shopping, she felt sore all over the next day and slept in bed the entire day.

"Wah wah, Aurora dislikes me now." Lovier used her bent fingers to wipe away a tear at the corner of her eye, looking as pitiful as could be.

"Sigh." Aurora sighed, putting down her book.

"Why don't you drag Hedra along?"

"Because Hedra agreed to have a meal with other classmates." Lovier answered with a serious, understanding expression.

"I..." I really do have few friends, I'm so sorry. Aurora raised her hand, wanting to pinch Lovier's cheek, but unfortunately, Lovier nimbly dodged.

"Don't run away." Under Aurora's command, Lovier pitifully brought her face closer, leaning against Aurora's arm. This look made Aurora feel a bit guilty, and in the end, she could only give a light pinch as punishment.

"So, will Aurora accompany me now?" She spoke again.

"Alright." Aurora felt like she wouldn't have time to study this weekend either.

Across from them, Sylutia smiled as she watched this scene, then also remembered the scene from today when she was invited by several other classmates for a meal.

"Thank you for your guidance these past few days, Hedra. We are truly very grateful." Several classmates of varying heights thanked her in unison in the corridor, making passersby glance over curiously.

Compared to the college entrance exams of her previous life, the Mage Alliance's assessment results were more important and more brutal. After all, failing the college entrance exams in her previous life just meant going to a slightly worse university. But here, if the results were not up to standard, it meant a direct fork in the road of life, returning to a barren hometown with no further opportunities.

Most students who came here to study didn't have much money. Even if they saved a bit, they had to spend it sparingly to purchase various resources and materials for their studies. These were bottomless pits that could never be filled. No one dared say they had enough money, even students from very good families were the same. Only a wealthy young lady like Lovier was carefree.

Although it was to thank Sylutia, they couldn't afford to spend a lot of money. But not showing any gratitude at all felt inappropriate. So, this time they invited Sylutia to a meal over the weekend. For people from various regions with different customs and habits, eating together was a rare activity that no one disliked and was very universal.

One day later, Friday afternoon.

Because there was a break tomorrow, after class ended, the students in the class were quite excited. Many had already started discussing where to go tomorrow. Some said they wanted to practice what they had learned recently and set up a stall at the student market to earn some pocket money.

"Last time I went to the market, I saw 'incense candles' sold by students from the neighboring school. They were half the price of the ones in the shops."

"Really? How was the effect then?" Incense candles were mostly used to assist with rest Meditation Methods. Almost all students determined to become Mages needed them; they were always staple supplies.

"The effect was about seventy to eighty percent of the shop's. After all, they're student-made products, not as stable as the standard goods from shops."

"But the price is really cheap. The money saved can be used to buy other things."

"Let's go take a look this time too. Oh, we can also take out the potions we refined recently and sell them. Maybe someone will need them." Several other classmates said.

At this point, Sylutia also packed up her things, ready to get up.

"Lady Hedra, tomorrow at ten in the morning, we'll meet at 'Madame Wenli's Shop' on Beetle Street. Is that alright with you?" A petite girl jogged over. She had small cat ears and a tail, one of the rare beastmen in the class.

"Alright, I'll be there."

"Great (~o~)/~" She responded with a smile. Not far away, several other students waiting for news also smiled and nodded at Sylutia.

Afterwards, these few dispersed, and Aurora also came to Sylutia's side carrying her schoolbag.

"Why do they call you 'Lady Hedra'?" Aurora was a bit curious about this form of address.

"Aurora obviously hasn't been observing carefully recently." Lovier also came over at this moment.

"Because Hedra helped them. When they call out to Hedra, they can't just call her by her name directly, right? In many places, apart from close people who can do that, it's considered somewhat impolite."

"Generally, when asking for advice from a senior or senior apprentice sister, you just call them senior or senior apprentice sister. But Hedra is in the same grade as everyone, and she might even look a bit younger, so that form of address can't be used. They could only think of something else." Lovier explained for Sylutia, and then the three of them walked out of the classroom together, descending along the staircase steps.

The next morning, before going out, Sylutia sat in front of the dressing table to tidy up. First, she combed her hair smooth and tied it with a purple hair ribbon. Then she adjusted the details of her dress and skirt. Finally, she pinned the 'Black Griffin' Badge on her collar.

Afterwards, this young lady went out.

Beetle Street wasn't far from where they lived, about 1.5 kilometers away, reachable on foot.

This was a famous commercial street nearby. However, unlike Wasp Street, which sold various materials and resources, this place was mainly restaurants and clothing stores, constantly filled with students.

Before she even reached the agreed-upon location, Sylutia saw several people across the street waving to her from afar. It seemed they had arrived early, as it was still more than ten minutes before ten o'clock.

After arriving at 'Madame Wenli's Shop', the group went directly to the reserved private room on the second floor and sat down.

"The food at this shop is delicious, but the cooking and preparation are quite troublesome. So, you need to make a reservation several days in advance. Only then can they have everything ready by the time we arrive." A male student explained the reason for choosing this place.

After sitting down, everyone started chatting casually. Sylutia also slowly learned about their situations.

First was the male student who just introduced the shop. His name was Viren. He was born in the central-western region of the Mage Alliance. He had a cousin who was already a Third Tier Mage. It was under this cousin's guidance that he passed the assessment and came here to study.

"Actually, I have a few older brothers, but they're much older and couldn't learn anymore, so they didn't take the Mage path." Viren briefly explained. He wore a white shirt, had an upright posture, and his hair was also quite neat and square.

"Having an older brother to guide you must be really reassuring." Another female student answered, resting her chin on her hands. She was the only daughter in her family and didn't have any other relatives who were Mages. She relied entirely on her own hard work to get here.

"As for me, it was my older sisters who told me." The black cat ears twitched slightly, and the tail behind the chair lifted and swayed. This black cat girl named Alice was from the Honeysuckle District in the eastern part of the Mage Alliance, where the mountains and forests were evergreen, and many beastmen lived.

"They said that even working as a bartender in the core areas of the Mage Alliance could earn big money, so they encouraged me to come."

"As for grades, the assessment difficulty for beastmen is a bit lower. I might not necessarily take the Mage path later; I might take the path of an Inscription Warrior." She licked the ice cream in her hand, slowly answering.

Inscription Warriors were warriors who wore various Inscription-Enchanted Battle Armor, endowed with multiple ability enhancements. They often served as bodyguards for Mages.

Mages rarely learned Breathing Techniques, nor did they have extra card slots for these abilities, so they were physically weaker and needed some close-combat protection.

The others also talked about their situations. Sylutia noted that among the six people, including herself, three were from non-Mage Alliance regions. It seemed the Mage Alliance had recruited many talents from other regions in the past two years.

Of course, this was also related to the class and school she was in, as she heard some schools only accepted students from the Mage Alliance.

After the six of them waited for a while, the reserved delicacies began to be served.

"Holy Honey Cake", "Lucky Leaf Passion Fruit Pie", "Silver Basket Steamed Goose", "Purple Scented Roasted Mushrooms", "Chili Fire Lizard Barbecue", "Elderflower White Lemon Wine"

Although making a reservation was a bit troublesome and the wait was nearly an hour, during this meal, Sylutia also ate rare delicacies, even some of the few delicious memories she had. Not to mention nutrition and benefits, purely in terms of tastiness, it was hard to find anything comparable.

The others were initially somewhat reserved but later also immersed themselves in enjoying the food, even talking less.

After lunch ended, the six of them left somewhat reluctantly.

"If I had known, I would have ordered a few more dishes." Viren felt some regret.

"Ahaha, when we were pooling money, everyone was still quite tight, who would have thought it would be this delicious?" Another student responded with a laugh.

"It was really delicious, meow. I want to come again in the future, meow. This has already become my life goal, meow." The black cat Alice was even skipping as she walked.

"How did Lady Hedra feel?" Finally, someone remembered the guest of honor today.

"It was very delicious. It's also the first time I've eaten such good food in the Asra District." Lovier often took her shopping, but those were usually made on the spot, so the preparation might not have been as thorough.

Afterwards, the group chatted and laughed while strolling on the street. Since there was still plenty of time, there was no need to rush back.

"Lady Hedra, how about we go take a look at this shop?" As she spoke, the leading black cat Alice pointed to a shop on the street adorned with black-purple curtains and bows. Above it, ancient Eastern characters were written: 【Wisteria Flower Moon】.

"This shop..." Sylutia recognized the characters above and felt a bit of curiosity.

She now had black hair and black eyes, typical characteristics of people from the Sixth Continent, of Eastern descent. However, in this life, she had no impression of that distant country. It might also be because some memories hadn't been recalled yet. After all, most of the memories she had recalled so far were from ages 6 to 10. Everything from age 12 onwards was still blank.

Even though there were many similarities, the culture of Eastern people in this world was still quite different from that of her previous life; they couldn't be lumped together.

Accompanied by her companions, Sylutia stepped into this shop and found it unexpectedly spacious inside. There weren't even many clothes displayed. Instead, a low tea table was placed in the center, with a faint fragrance lingering in the room.

Hearing someone enter, a woman in a black, elegant dress slowly stepped out. She didn't wear many decorations, but her bearing was extraordinary. A hairpin was inserted into the bun at the back of her head, with dangling wisteria flowers, among which were four crescent moon pendants strung together.

"Oh? I didn't expect to have a fellow countryman visit the shop today." Entering the shop's hall, her gaze directly passed over the crowd, landing on the slightly younger girl at the back, revealing a somewhat playful expression.

"Fellow countryman?" Was she referring to herself? But she didn't know this woman.

Sylutia lightly touched her cheek with her finger, trying hard to recall, then shook her head. She could confirm she had never seen the other person before. Even though she had lost many memories, there wasn't even a vague impression.

"Of course. In this distant foreign land, meeting a child like you from the same place, isn't that a fellow countryman?" She said with a smile.

So that's what it was. Sylutia breathed a sigh of relief. If the other person knew her from before, she really wouldn't know how to answer or explain.

"Come in and sit. It's fine even if you don't buy clothes. Actually, I opened this shop just for something to do." She invited everyone to sit down.

The students sat on the cushions with curiosity, and then this dignified and graceful classical woman poured tea for them, finally sitting opposite Sylutia.

After a simple introduction to each other, Sylutia learned the woman opposite was named "Ying Zi", meaning the reflection of flowers and moon in water.

"Senior Ying Zi, how did you come to this continent?" Sylutia was concerned about this point.

"I set out twelve years ago, spent three years traveling by windbird sailing ship, changing ships several times, before arriving here." She poured tea for the others again.

"At that time, I went to sea to search for something special, namely rare and special purple flowers and trees. This was key to whether I could advance to the next tier and was also a goal I set for myself."

"Must it be purple flowers and trees?" Sylutia was curious.

"Others can also be used for advancement." After answering this sentence, the other person looked at this young girl. Her eyes were like fire reflected in water, directly pointing to the girl's heart.

Seeing this, Sylutia understood that her previous answer was definitely not just the surface meaning.

Lowering her head to think for a moment, Sylutia answered.

"You want to choose the things, or rather the method of advancement, that you like, right?"

"Not 'I want', but 'I must'." The other person picked up her teacup and slowly drank.

"There are countless ways to advance, countless possibilities. But who 'I' am, and what I am advancing for, that is the key." She spoke meaningful words.

"I like purple flowers and trees, but I won't wear purple clothes, nor will I embroider these on my clothes. Only when I wear black clothes, with nothing else adorning my body, leaving only the blooming purple flowers on my hair accessory, will it be so strikingly moving."

"I understand." In that instant, Sylutia understood.

"Giggle, you really are an ice-and-snow smart child."

At this moment, the others who saw this were still scratching their heads, unable to figure out what exactly had happened between the two.