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

 
“Don’t do that.”
A faint blue light flickered in Jiang Cha’s eyes as she reached out to grab Maureen’s hand—just before it touched the thin fabric of her clothes. Her expression was composed, but her movements were sharp and deliberate, like a deer suddenly cornered. Her eyes brimmed with subtle panic.

“Oh?”
Maureen raised her eyebrows in mild surprise.
Then she smiled, not in her usual exaggerated style, but with a more relaxed and mature tone.

“Alright, alright. My fault. I’ll back off.”
She raised both hands in a half-surrender gesture, her voice light. “Just… try not to release too much magic. The equipment here is expensive.”
Though her words sounded gentle, Jiang Cha didn’t feel even a trace of sincerity. There was no hostility either—just a lingering sense of danger.

The gap in strength… is still too large.
Maureen hadn’t released any magic, and she didn’t seem hostile. Yet Jiang Cha’s overclocked mind quickly analyzed the situation.
I can’t win if I resist.

Fortunately, Maureen didn’t intend to take things further.
She could tolerate being looked at or touched during testing—after all, they were both girls. But Jiang Cha had no intention of giving anything more in this kind of setting.
She didn’t like secrets hidden behind lab doors.
And she wasn’t about to give herself to someone she had just met.

“Are we done here?”
Qu Sinan’s voice cut through the tension, arriving right on time. She seemed to have appeared out of thin air inside the lab. When she saw that Jiang Cha’s clothes were still neat and her expression calm, she looked a little surprised.
“That fast?”

Jiang Cha: “…”
“Hey, I didn’t even do anything yet!”
Maureen raised her voice in protest, sounding more disappointed than guilty. Then she sighed dramatically. “What a shame. Now those crazy people will be the ones to benefit.”
“You expected this?”
Jiang Cha quickly put on her coat and stepped behind Qu Sinan. At the moment, this senior felt like the safest person she’d met so far.

Chastity, it seemed, was a delicate matter here.
“Witch knowledge isn’t something that’s easy to learn,” Sinan replied. She glanced at Maureen and smiled. “That’s why I came a little earlier.”
“Tsk. Fine. It was my fault this time. I’ll be leaving. The institute won’t be accepting visitors for a while.”

“Witch knowledge—or more broadly, everything related to witches—is inherently contaminated. That includes witch history, potion science, summoning magic, and so on.”
As they stepped out of the research building through a teleportation gate, and the lingering dizziness began to fade, Qu Sinan continued speaking.
“But this kind of contamination can be resisted through mental conditioning. In fact, learning this knowledge is one of the best ways to train your mind. Are you feeling dizzy?”

“No.”
Jiang Cha shook her head. There had been some discomfort, but that was likely just the side effect of space travel—not anything caused by the “contaminated knowledge” Sinan had mentioned.
“Then your spiritual resistance is high. That’s a good trait, especially for studying or research.”

“The deeper the knowledge, the more intense the contamination. And the stronger your mental strength, the more powerful your magic. That’s why witch knowledge is difficult to pass on. Which is also why this academy and the Grand Library exist.”
“But you should still be careful.”
“About what?”

Jiang Cha tilted her head slightly. Even without memories of her past, her mind remained surprisingly calm. Whether it was her personality or her inherent magic, she felt an instinctive drive to learn more.
“Infected knowledge affects stability. A witch’s mind can become very unstable. We’re born with a desire for pleasure—whether it’s intellectual or physical. And a new witch’s body is… tempting.”
“So I should be wary of ‘kind’ upperclassmen offering private tutoring?”

She smiled lightly, joking.
“That’s right.”
Sinan nodded without hesitation.

Jiang Cha silently sighed.
What is this place… Aislyn Witch Academy?
But thinking back on everything she’d experienced so far, she couldn’t exactly argue with Sinan’s warning. For now, protecting herself seemed like a very real concern.

“Don’t worry. Forced contact isn’t allowed at the academy.”
“And what about potions that mess with your mind or make people more... agreeable?”
“Witches aren’t affected by those. Our immune systems are strong. As for extracurricular tutoring—that’s just tradition. If you accept it, then it’s understood that you’re also agreeing to the relationship that comes with it.”

“In witch society, knowledge is a valuable resource. You understand what that means, right?”
Sinan looked at her again and added, “Many new witches still seek tutoring even after they understand what it really implies. We’re very open about these things. If both sides agree, no one interferes. And witches mature quickly—age thirteen is the start of magical adulthood, though legal consent begins at fifteen.”
“…Got it.”

Jiang Cha’s expression twitched slightly. She didn’t comment further, but mentally filed that information away.
“Alright. Next, I’ll take you to the dorms. After that, you’re on your own.”
Sinan raised her hand and pulled a small sticker out of thin air. It had a chibi-style drawing of a witch on it.

“This is your access card. It’s also your basic communication device. Just stick it on your arm. It contains your schedule, dorm info, and a campus map. You’ll also find your enrollment details in it.”
“This small thing?”
Jiang Cha looked at it curiously. Holding it between her fingers, it looked just like a regular sticker.

Under the sunlight, it became translucent. It was no different from the stickers in her understanding of "common sense."
“Of course. It’s magic.”
Sinan nodded, watching as Jiang Cha attached the sticker to the inside of her wrist.

A blue glow appeared briefly, and then a transparent screen hovered in front of her, displaying various options.
“To use it, just channel a bit of magic. You can also set it to respond to your voice. It needs recharging every three days.”
“Thank you, Senior.”

Jiang Cha stared at the display, still adjusting to the surreal feeling of interacting with magic tech.
Even after experiencing magic firsthand, she couldn’t fully understand how this was possible.
Her analysis told her nothing. She didn’t have enough background knowledge.

In witch society, she realized, she might be worse off than a kindergartener. More like someone who had skipped prenatal education entirely.
“Let’s head to the dorms. It’s far, so we’d better go now.”
Sinan clapped her hands, bringing Jiang Cha’s attention back.

She looked calm, quiet, and composed. But Jiang Cha hadn’t forgotten how she’d casually thrown another witch like a shot put back in the infirmary.
So she followed her without protest.
“Are we walking?”

“There’s a commuter bus.”
Sinan pointed toward a sleek white vehicle parked by a fountain. It looked exactly like the park sightseeing cars from Jiang Cha’s memory.
“I thought we’d be flying on brooms or something.”

“That’s too fast. Broom collisions are a common hazard here.”
“…”
“There really are brooms!?”

For a moment, Jiang Cha had a vivid mental image of a Harry Potter–style school, complete with flying witches and enchanted goblets.
But apparently, broom travel was now prohibited.
She sighed, a little disappointed.

That feeling didn’t last long.
Once the commuter bus started, she realized it was faster than she had expected—maybe too fast.
The peaceful scene of the fountain and nearby garden blurred into a surreal image. White doves turned into indistinct streaks. The world outside shifted like static.

Jiang Cha caught glimpses of pathways distorted beyond recognition.
“This is a subspace orbital commuter. It’s slower than a broom, which travels through direct space folds, but it’s safer for in-campus transportation.”
Sinan’s explanation came just as Jiang Cha was starting to regain her balance.

But the terms she used made Jiang Cha pause.
What kind of civilization is this?
The buildings all had a medieval, European-style design. The dorms looked like cozy two-story villas. But who knew what kind of black-magic technology was hidden beneath those old-world façades?

Black magic tech, she thought.
“Let’s see. Dormitory D124... That’s a standard first-year room. At least you didn’t end up in the senior dorm wing.”
Sinan exhaled lightly, sounding relieved.

Jiang Cha relaxed too.
Judging from what she’d seen so far, she was lucky not to be rooming with any of the more unpredictable witches.
Maybe this way, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° she’d at least have time to prepare for whatever came next.

Would calling for help even work here the way it does back home? Or would it be like calling the police in India?
She didn’t know. But even the illusion of safety was comforting.
Dormitory D124 wasn’t far. After about ten minutes, they arrived at what looked like a private villa with a small flower garden. Some of the plants glowed faintly, hinting at magical properties.

“Tap your pass.”
Jiang Cha did as instructed.
[Student ID 1680021 – Jiang Cha. Welcome.]

A pleasant mechanical voice chimed, and the door opened automatically.
But instead of a living room, she was greeted by a portal.
I knew it wouldn’t be that simple...

“D12 is the section. Four is the room number. It’s a two-bedroom apartment with spatial expansion magic.”
Seeing her reaction, Qu Sinan smiled gently and stepped inside.