"I Became a Witch, but Now Everyone's in Love with Me!"

Chapter 15: Chabao is a Primary School Bully~
 
"Is there anything I need to prepare in advance for the Introduction to Magic class?"

There were quite a lot of people in the cafeteria during lunchtime, and Jiang Cha subconsciously raised her voice over the noise.
"No preparation needed at all!"
Lina, suddenly energized, answered with gusto. She rarely paid attention during theory classes, but the Introduction to Magic class actually had a big impact on combat ability.

The other two exchanged a glance, sharing silent helplessness.
He Qin, gentle and thoughtful as always, simply smiled without comment. The girl decided to trust Lina’s explanation.
"Other students might need to use a wand at first, but with your control, Chabao, you don’t even need a short wand to channel magic."

"Then what’s the point of me getting this thing?"
Jiang Cha held up the short stick, barely longer than a kitchen knife, brushing her fingers over the hidden inscription etched into the dark wood.
"Stationery, just stationery. The school always makes us prepare stuff we don’t actually need. Witches can be annoyingly bureaucratic sometimes. They talk about efficiency but love red tape."

Lina grumbled like she’d been personally victimized by outdated systems.
Given her background, that was probably not far from the truth.
"Anyway, bring the wand to your first class just in case. But really, if you ask the teacher, you probably won’t even need it."

"So instead of applying, it’s easier to just go to the Battle Club and grab one, right?"
"Exactly!"
Lina slapped the table enthusiastically.

"Teacher Carol and Teacher Herlous—one’s lazy, the other’s too rigid. Neither of them is great about special requests. Compared to them, even Teacher Alyvia seems flexible. But of course, Teacher Diana is the best!"
"Lina once got special permission from Teacher Diana to sleep in class."
He Qin leaned over and whispered, barely hiding her amusement.
But Jiang Cha had a different take. She glanced at Lina’s starry-eyed look, like a loyal fan.

"Teacher Diana’s perfect curves really suit her gentle personality."
"I knew you’d get it, Chabao!"
As the two exchanged knowing glances and mischievous giggles, He Qin watched, visibly confused. Her witch's instincts told her she was better off not asking.

...
"Jiang Cha-chan..."
Watching the graceful girl return with a precarious stack of books, He Qin was momentarily speechless.

"I’ve finished reading them."
Jiang Cha smiled, raising her hand and gently placing the pile—over a dozen books—onto the table in perfect balance.
"Most are just inspiration notes. Only four have strong infection levels."

"But... four?"
Lina leaned over to scan the titles.
"Alchemy, potions, machinery, puppets, enchantments... you’re planning to tackle all the secondary professions at once?"

Enchantments weren’t even considered an independent subject anymore. In the past, it was on equal footing with the other four. But as magic tech advanced, enchantments became the glue tying everything together—alchemy, potions, machinery, puppetry. It enhanced them all.
Enchantments were now considered a foundation of modern witch science, like material science in the human tech tree.
So for any serious secondary discipline, enchantments were essential. Only pure combat witches could ignore it.

"Well, I just want to learn the basics. There should be enough time."
Then Lina and He Qin witnessed something frightening—Jiang Cha’s reading speed.
She smiled, flipping through a notebook with delicate fingers, then closed her eyes for half a minute. When she opened them, she reached for the next book.

"Wait, wait, wait!"
"You finished it already!?"
Lina yelped, earning a stern look from Miss Moore. She quickly apologized and whispered, "This can’t be right..."

"I have some resistance to infection. My inherent magic is about information collection—it boosts learning. Besides, that book was just a travel diary, not very dangerous."
Jiang Cha’s innocent blinking only made Lina more flustered.
"Nothing about this is normal..."

He Qin quietly sulked. She thought she was a fast learner—two years to master puppet-making. But next to Jiang Cha?
No comparison.
"She’s definitely not just ‘a little’ talented."

Lina muttered, defeated.
"I don’t have the money to get tested, okay?"
Measuring a witch’s spirit coefficient wasn’t easy—or cheap. Unlike humans, witches had soul defenses that blocked casual scans.

You couldn’t exactly kill a witch, examine her disembodied soul, then revive her.
—Though, that method had been popular in the 20th century.
"Witches can be real savages sometimes."

Reading that in an old notebook had left them all quietly unnerved.
"...Still, I should be grateful to have a genius like her around."
Lina thought it over, then smiled.

Time to ride those coattails!
"Hehe~ Chabao, if you start selling magic items in the future, can I get a discount?"
"Of course! And if anyone bullies you, come find me. My sisters are all expert fighters."

The 1.3-meter-tall loli puffed out her chest, hands on hips, looking every bit the tiny protector.
"How about meatballs too?"
Jiang Cha looked [N O V E L I G H T] toward He Qin.

"Ball...?"
Lina echoed, then noticed where Jiang Cha’s gaze landed—just above He Qin’s chest.
"Pfft... Fair enough."

"Huh?"
He Qin looked up, confused by the sudden laughter.
"Nothing."

"I just want to ask for help with puppetry."
"You can count on me. I’ll teach you everything I know."
He Qin’s expression softened. Somehow, Jiang Cha sensed she felt relieved.

The three girls returned to their books.
Well, two did.
Lina gave up after four pages and started fidgeting like a restless child. She wandered, waved to friends, made noise—

—and was promptly dragged away by the collar and tossed back into the library by the unimpressed Miss Moore.
Honestly, she might’ve planned that.
Reading quietly in the library was just too much to ask from a combat witch like her.

Lina was too embarrassed to ask to leave on her own.
The remaining two just smiled, sent her a quick message, and went back to reading.