Otaku Witch

Meanwhile, on the other side, Dorothy and her junior witch Audrey were studying the architectural structure of this floating island.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, no wonder it could withstand that kind of spell without shattering. The usage of materials here is solid to an excessive degree; it's all top-grade levitation stones—who can afford such lavishness in their family?"

Dorothy touched the hard ground and couldn't help but express her admiration.

Levitation stones are the main material witches use to construct floating islands. Natural levitation stones are originally very rare and precious, but since the witches decoded the composition of levitation stones and started to synthesize them artificially, the price of this material plummeted to that of cabbages.

However, although artificial levitation stones are cheaper, to save on costs for mass production, their quality is slightly inferior to the natural ones.

The floating ability of both is nearly indistinguishable, but their hardness is a world apart.

Natural levitation stones have a hardness comparable to diamonds, whereas artificial levitation stones are often only as hard as ordinary rocks.

After all, this degree of hardness is already more than sufficient for construction materials; it's not like one is building a fortress, so why the extravagance?

Of course, if there really is a need for higher hardness, manufacturers can custom-make top-grade levitation stones with strength fully restored to that of the natural ones, although the cost would be more than ten times that of ordinary levitation stones.

This thing is positioned as a high-end luxury good, and ordinary witch families truly cannot afford it.

And now, to find such an island made entirely of top-grade levitation stones in the remote Thirteen-Ring of the Witch Academy is indeed quite bizarre.

This is practically like discovering a refined, detached villa in the slums—it's completely incongruous.

"Junior sister, what do you think?"

The homebody witch sharply inhaled some concentration smoke from her pipe, and then asked her companion, Audrey.

"Senior sister, I believe there must be something fishy about this."

Little Fox also spoke seriously. Discover more stories at empire

Afterward, the two observed the collapsed buildings, which were already completely ruined. Although these structures were thoroughly destroyed, it was still easy to determine the materials used from the remnants of the broken walls.

"Well, well, well—magic-proof wall bricks, dragon scale insulating boards, Turtle Turtle—what kind of high-level research was conducted here, to warrant such extravagant materials?"

They had no idea until they saw it, and were taken aback. The previous top-grade levitation stones were already considered extravagant, but compared to these two items, they were merely lesser siblings.

Magic-proof wall bricks, as the name implies, are specialty wall bricks capable of blocking magic power. These kinds of bricks are made using special wear-resistant materials during the firing process, materials that are originally intended for forging magic-resistant weaponry or armor and are considered military-grade, illustrating their rarity.

Dragon scale insulating boards are similar. Dragon scale wood is a rare natural High Magic Resistance material that only grows in the lands bathed in dragon blood. The texture of the wood resembles dragon scales, and with roughly half the magic resistance of dragon scales, they are accordingly named dragon scale insulating boards.

Generally, only high-risk research facilities use these two types of materials to construct one or two specialized laboratories.

The high obstruction of magic power offered by these materials can effectively prevent the leakage of danger from labs and also protect against outside surveillance using magic.

But again, the Thirteen-Ring doesn't harbor any high-end research facility, so why the need for such high-level materials?

You're not by any chance conducting some prohibited research, sneaking away to this fringe Thirteen-Ring and setting up such a high-grade laboratory, are you?

The senior and junior sisters looked at each other, seeing similar conjectures in each other's eyes.

"Little Fairy, have you made any discoveries?"

Just then, Senior Mia approached, she asked Dorothy.

"There is a little, yes, Senior Sister, who is the owner of this experiment facility?"

Dorothy was somewhat conflicted about whether to share her discovery, feeling as though she had somehow been dragged into a troublesome affair, so she began by cautiously inquiring.

To this, Senior Mia looked at Ista, the mouse-person witch who was accompanying her.

"Miss, the owner of this place is the nearby Tennyson Academy, which is about to close down. They are currently putting up their assets for sale. This floating island was originally prepared to be sent to the auction house, but before the auctioneers could come over for an appraisal, it turned into this," Ista explained.

Upon hearing such an answer, Dorothy's inspiration surged wildly, and her trouble radar started blaring an urgent alarm.

Although it's quite common for academies within the Thirteen-Ring to shut down and go out of business, how could an academy capable of building such an elaborate experiment facility possibly just close down so suddenly? I don't buy it.

And moreover, who would dare let an auction house appraiser see such an exceptional experiment facility? A professional appraiser with one glance would realize the special nature of the materials used in its construction. That would scare anyone to death, not to mention that this small floating island is probably worth more than several medium-sized commercial floating islands put together.

So, is this about pre-emptively blowing it up to destroy the evidence for fear of exposure?

Dorothy speculated as much in her mind but then quickly shook her head, dismissing the possibility.

No, no, it's unlikely that Tennyson Academy's school authorities did the bombing themselves. After all, they could have chosen to not sell this experiment facility in the first place. Why bother selling and destroying it simultaneously? That would be superfluous.

Then, could it be possible that there are actually two different groups involved?

Perhaps the school authorities, being the owners of the lab, had no clue about its special modifications and wanted to sell it. But the one who secretly modified the lab behind the school authorities did not want their secret exposed, so they planned this attack?

Dorothy arrived at this conjecture again, and it seemed quite logical on second thought.

However, she quickly curbed her curiosity.

"Damn it, I can't keep thinking about this. This mess is such a nuisance, knowing too much is not going to end well."

If her suspicions were correct, then the affair's implications were too vast; it was not something a little witch like her could meddle in. So, right there and then, she decided it was better to mind her own business and act as if she knew nothing.

Yes, once back, she would immediately send a message advising Alice to stay out of it too and to report the matter to the School Committee. This was no longer something the little witches of the Disciplinary Committee could handle. It was better to let the professors and teachers on the School Committee take over.

The homebody witch heeded the calling of her heart and made that decision.

Yet, just as she was about to speak and make up some excuse to brush it off, Hat Senior Sister above her head spoke up.

"Interesting, interesting, Dorothy, you like this little floating island, don't you? It just happens that the school authorities want to sell it. Why not take this opportunity? The damage now makes it a good time to negotiate a lower price," Hat Senior Sister murmured with the ancient deity's seductive whisper.

At this, the homebody witch couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"No thanks, Senior Sister, the waters are too deep here, I'm afraid I can't handle it."

It was true that she quite liked the location and environment of this floating island, but the evidently big problems associated with this hot potato were beyond her ability to handle. Besides, although the island appeared heavily damaged, those high-level materials were not so easily ruined; they were merely disassembled, and most of the material could still be reused.

Just the cost of the materials alone was something she could not afford.

"Can't handle it? But you have me, don't you? I may be a part of this group, lazy as I am, but I can still guard the house," the ancient deity enticed again with a low whisper.

..... the ancient deity whispered once more.....