Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

Efnie finished speaking, stood up, and walked over to the sleeping Tilan. She bent down and gently scratched the girl's cheek with her golden hair, curious to see how the girl in the casual black dress would react.

"Don't disturb Tilan's sleep, she has been very tired recently," Deloris also came over, gently took hold of Efnie's hand to stop her from teasing Tilan, and then brought over a thin blanket to cover the girl's body, leaving only her lower legs and toes, clad in black stockings, exposed.

Looking at the comfortably sleeping Tilan, Deloris couldn't help but gently touch the girl's soft cheek with her fingertips before drawing her hand back.

"Tilan is really cute," Efnie whispered softly.

"Ahaha, did you just notice that today?" Deloris laughed, covering her mouth.

"Alright, let's not stand here anymore. Let's go over there, take a seat, and discuss the Academy's festival activities," Deloris suggested.

Because the Saint Yingo camp had fallen, Edith Academy faintly showed signs of becoming the next top Academy in the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain. Now receiving more and more attention, the Board of Directors decided to hold a large-scale festival soon to showcase the Academy's strength and ethos. The Academy would be open to the public for visiting and touring during the festival. Naturally, many activities needed to be prepared, and with Tilan too busy to be involved, it naturally fell to Deloris, Efnie, and others to help arrange and handle the preparations.

"On one hand, we need to highlight our teaching strengths and showcase the students' combat abilities. An internal competition is definitely indispensable," Deloris began.

"It can't be all about fighting. We also need to showcase cultural and other soft strengths. These matters will require Efnie's consideration and arrangement." Efnie was currently the president of the Flower Opera Club, the largest literature and art club at the Academy.

"Mmm, I'm aware of that, but there's also the aspect of scientific research collaborations. We'll likely need to get Yalian involved in this afterward," Efnie added.

"In addition to that, there are sponsorships from partnering enterprises, joint projects, etc., someone needs to contact and arrange these, and we can let Kinsenke handle it," Deloris thought aloud.

"Actually, there are also some star students among us, who have significant online fame." As students at Edith Academy, they had considerable flexibility in their study schedule; many students were involved in various filming and performance opportunities, competitive events, and more, while still in school.

"Let's have Ruby take care of it, she's very knowledgeable about this area."

"Then there are support projects for impoverished areas and students from ordinary families. Their campus life and development also need to be highlighted to avoid leaving the impression that Edith Academy is an elitist institution that's not approachable or friendly for the common people. Valke would be good for handling this," Deloris suggested.

"Also, for the joint programs with northern universities, we can arrange for students who rose to prominence in last winter's competition like Alice, Elinda, Xian Ta, and Orcas to represent us, which would be a lot easier."

"It's a pity that Ying Feng, Wei Ke, and Elena have already graduated this year, otherwise they could have participated in this festival."

"Yes, time flies. We're already in our fourth year, and we've become the oldest students," Deloris mused softly, as if time had whisked by in an instant. Many people had come and gone without having the opportunity to really get to know and talk to each other.

In the past two years, not only had Tilan been busy, but they had also been actively involved, getting to know friends from outside Edith Academy and gradually coming to understand many levels and fields previously out of reach to students. These experiences had broadened their horizons and matured them more than their peers, no longer confining them to the small world of the Academy.

Compared to the highly elite, strict, and etiquette-focused Edith Academy of the past, the current Academy could be described as a place where different flowers bloomed together. One could see young ladies from well-established families, talented youth from ordinary households, and exchange students from northern universities, each bringing their unique vibe and lifestyle, making the once monotonous campus colorful and diverse.

After Deloris and Efnie discussed and talked for a long time, Tilan, who had been napping by their side, finally began to wake up. She rubbed her eyes, pushed herself up from the couch, shook her hair, letting it fall naturally, and then tied it with a headband before sitting up.

Looking at the slightly cold ring on her finger, with its surface etched with the pattern of the Seven-Edged Wing, the girl flexed her somewhat weary body before rising to her feet and walking towards the two people talking in the distance.

"Tilan is awake," Efnie turned around, smiling as she took the still drowsy Tilan by the hand, leading her to sit next to herself.

"We were just discussing the upcoming academy festival, Tilan. Do you have any performance ideas?"

"Me? I guess I could sing a song or maybe play the violin." Unable to come up with anything special, Tilan leaned on Efnie's shoulder in a slightly lazy manner, the Goldfish Princess's hair exuding a bit of warmth.

"Then let's go with a violin solo and a song," Deloris suggested for Tilan.

Afterward, the two of them shared their thoughts and arrangements with Tilan, who occasionally nodded off while listening.

"You're falling asleep again, Tilan," Deloris came over, tenderly lifting Tilan into her arms and placing her on the sofa next to her. She rested Tilan's head on her own knees, gently stroking the smooth long hair on her shoulder.

The two were similar in height, but Deloris's figure was much fuller, and when Tilan lay in her arms, she emitted a maternal radiance, or perhaps the demeanor of an elder sister, which was comforting and relaxing.

"Deloris is stealing Tilan from me again," Efnie said softly with a teasing smile, not really angry.

As the three of them chatted leisurely and looked out at the academy's towering landscape, thousands of kilometers away, the headquarters of Grey Dust Crystal bustled with activity. Countless long-train freighters constantly entered and exited, offloading raw materials and then loading finished products onto the trains, which were taken into the distance. Some were sent to other large corporate factories, while others were transported to spaceports, headed for Star Harbors through cargo starships, destined for other Star Domains and regions.

In the secretive depths of Grey Dust Crystal's underground core area, newly constructed production equipment was running at full capacity. In the vast underground square, a black obelisk stood tall, emitting a complexity of blue and white patterns on its surface.

As the machinery operated, a huge hexapetalous fan structure rose from beneath the square. Within each petal were layers nearly a hundred-deep, each holding a finished white crystal the size of a cake. These crystals were uniform in shape, each intricately engraved and paired with protective frames, resembling palace lanterns with the white crystals serving as the light sources.

The most basic was the four-edged cube, the double-sized one was the six-edged cylindrical crystal, and the largest was the eight-edged columnar crystal.

When the tens of thousands of white crystals rose on their shelves, the shelves on the square began to rotate slowly, distributing the crystals evenly. Then, isolation walls rose around the square, and the ceiling descended with curtains, perfectly fitting to seal the area.

Once the enclosure was complete, the central black obelisk gradually emitted light, first unfolding a vertical cut surface of light that rotated slowly to scan the entire square. Every crystal it swept over gradually lit up. The obelisk's patterns then changed, emitting complex ripples of light that spread like a special melody.

Thus, amidst undulating ripples, these white crystals slowly became crystal clear and flawless, resembling impeccable Crystal Stones.

Finally, these finished 'Rhythmic Crystals' stabilized in form, and the light from the obelisk above gradually dimmed and returned to its original state. Soon after, the sealed walls were lowered and withdrawn. These completed 'Rhythmic Crystals' were taken to another workshop for individual inspections. Each was stamped with an exclusive encoded key and packaged inside a unique metal white box, emblazoned with the Seven-Edged Wing and the letters representing 'Grey Dust Crystal' below it.

Each 'Rhythmic Crystal' produced this way was priced at several million Federation Coins, an exclusive product of the massive corporate enterprise 'Grey Dust Crystal,' with no substitutes available on the market.

Due to a contract with the Star Domain's government, 90% of the 'Rhythmic Crystals' currently produced were being used first in environmental restoration in the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain. The remaining 10% would be sold at high prices to laboratories and medical companies across various Star Domains for material purification and special product research, among other uses.