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

Chapter 84: Strange Commission

 
Before leaving, Jiang Cha stood beside the space shuttle and happened to glance back. She saw the completely dead wizard tower standing quietly in the deep universe.
It was utterly lifeless. Even if later generations imitated Jiang Cha’s behavior and infused the magic circle inscriptions with arcane energy, they would never be able to activate it, much less obtain the sage’s inheritance as she had.

Under the scourge of endless time, the wizard tower had lost all function.
But now, it carried an entirely new meaning.
A tombstone.

Perhaps many years later, another group of adventurers would come here. They might not be witches, or might even be of a very weak race. They would marvel at the exquisite architectural style of the wizard tower—yet regretfully, someone had already come before them.
They would never have imagined that, in the past and now alike, this place held a story.
The end of one sage, and the beginning of another witch.

The transition between old and new—the turning of the times.
“Hah~ I’m finally back!!!”
Nothing happened on the way back.
Just like when she had gone, the girl boarded the starship, arrived at the space post, and then rode a broom back to the academy.

Daisy’s team still needed to continue their exploration, so they only escorted Jiang Cha back to the Witch Airport in the fragment zone before setting off again. Only Jiang Cha returned.
It had only been a three-day journey, but the girl felt as though she had lived a lifetime.
—She had carried the weight of a life.

“The life of a sage…”
The black-haired, red-eyed girl lay sprawled on the sofa, sighing softly in exhaustion.
She had not inherited the memories of the tower’s owner, for those were useless. In the long life of a sage, what meaning did memories hold besides research results?

Perhaps none.
It was likely that even the world of her birth had already been destroyed, her soul no longer the same soul.
All that remained of her existence was the knowledge sealed in Jiang Cha’s mind.

“A tribute to the great truth-seeker.”
Jiang Cha lifted a bottle of mental potion. Her motions, the way she tilted it, resembled a toast.
Three seconds of silence. Then she downed it quietly.

The wonderful adventure was over. Next, she would return to her studies, to her daily life.
Especially now, with such a vast trove of knowledge sealed in her mind, her learning tasks had become unimaginably heavy.
“Chabao, you’re back?”

Lina and He Qin walked into the living room from outside. They looked at Jiang Cha—worn out and holding an empty glass bottle—and seemed to understand.
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
He Qin gently stroked her little head.
“He Qin’s mom, woo woo woo!”

The girl threw herself into those warm, soft arms and cried loudly… fake crying.
“I’m so tired!”
“I’m not your mom… never mind.”

He Qin sighed, her voice gentle and maternal: “Be good, don’t push yourself so hard. Why ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) not relax for a day once in a while?”
“…”
The golden-haired loli sat nearby on the sofa, sipping a bottle of strawberry-flavored stamina potion to restore the energy she had spent battling the club. She squinted at the “warm” scene.

Hehe.
“It’d be a miracle if Chabao, the top student, actually cried because of study pressure.”
Lina had seen through everything, but she didn’t bother to say it aloud.

“Chabao, you’ve got another commission. This one’s from senior sister Mephisto—you’re really popular.”
“Eh?”
Jiang Cha froze for a moment. The tears she had forced out with magic instantly vanished.

“Jiang Cha!”
He Qin’s face puffed with frustration when she realized she had been tricked again.
“Why would senior Mephisto give me a commission?”

The black-haired, red-eyed girl smiled ingratiatingly at Miss Yamato Nadeshiko. Like a puppy, she wrapped her arms around her neck, pressing her cheek against hers, trying to soothe her.
Then she blinked in confusion at Lina.
Still chatting about another beautiful senior girl—the tea girl was certainly full of charm.

“No, Annie told me.”
Lina shook her head, rolling her eyes at Jiang Cha as she explained truthfully.
She really didn’t know the details. As a witch from an Alchemy family, it was confusing enough that Mephisto would commission Jiang Cha at all.

And now, another girl was involved.
“Chabao, have you been a little too extravagant lately? You’re my baby!”
The golden-haired loli teased with a mischievous smile, her little fangs glinting in the sunlight.

But it was just a joke.
In Lina’s own words: “Chabao is cute and pretty, but not my type. She’s good as a snack replacement—forget about eating together.”
“Eh—baby Lina’s jealous?”

Jiang Cha hooked an arm around He Qin’s shoulder, using it as a fulcrum to lean in close to Lina’s face, teasing.
“Get lost. I’ll never be jealous of anyone but you!”
Lina rolled her eyes but didn’t pursue it further. Instead, she hesitated, then shifted the subject: “Anyway, if you’re free tomorrow, go to Annie’s maid shop. I still haven’t had time to help you cancel the leave I asked for earlier.”

“Baby Lina’s the best!”
“Would you two stop fighting over me already?”
Jiang Cha’s cheerful voice and He Qin’s complaints rang out together, yet somehow in harmony.

The sound of their voices blended perfectly.
Especially Jiang Cha’s soft, just-woken tone—sometimes even Lina couldn’t tell them apart.
“Let’s worry about tomorrow tomorrow. For now—rest! Rest!”

The girl curled up on the sofa like a cat, her head pillowed on He Qin’s lap.
“You’re finally willing to take a break?”
Lina came over too, leaning against the pillow, her shoulder pressed to He Qin’s arm. Her light weight barely needed supporting.

“…Well.”
He Qin sighed.
Truly, her life was a hard one.

Why was she the one taking care of three witches, when they were supposed to be equals as classmates and roommates?
Lina made her worry, Jiang Cha clung to her like a spoiled child, and even Estelle—who seemed the most well-behaved—had been led astray and would sometimes beg for midnight snacks like a child.
Simply outrageous.

“Speaking of which, where’s that white-haired one?”
“Don’t talk, Golden Retriever. I’m here.”
“???”

Lina had only spoken casually, but when Estelle’s voice actually sounded, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Looking more carefully, they realized that Estelle—whom they thought was asleep in her room—had actually been sitting quietly beside them all along.
“Something I’ve been working on recently. A complete invisibility device.”

The white-haired loli took out a small wooden box and explained expressionlessly.
“Estelle, have you already reached the threshold of the advanced level?”
Jiang Cha blinked curiously.

“Still far away. Just partial progress.”
He Qin snatched the cloaking device, her pounding heart proof of how rattled she was.
“Confiscated! From now on, this product is completely banned at home!”

“Oh.”
Estelle didn’t mind at all and simply nodded.
But Jiang Cha leaned close to her ear and whispered softly: “He Qin’s mom is most afraid of things like this.”

“Jiang Cha!!!”
“Hahahahahaha~”