She Is Not a Witch

After Alena and the blonde girl argued for a while, they finally stopped with Loranhil and Nya’s mediation. Alena repeatedly promised that her cat wouldn’t misbehave, and the blonde girl reluctantly agreed not to report it to the dorm supervisor.

After unpacking and familiarizing themselves with the dormitory, they realized they were getting hungry.

“By the way, um… you, want to go eat?” Alena asked. Despite their earlier argument, she seemed unbothered.

“What do you mean ‘you’? I have a name, you know,” the blonde girl finally introduced herself.

“I’m Leticia, from Ruluna. I’m currently a Frost Rose, the second daughter of the Philian family, skilled in elegant alchemy.”

“The Philian family, indeed famous,” Alena responded after thinking for a moment.

The Philian family was an important member of the ‘Time Hand’ faction, which specialized in manufacturing precision instruments and components. It was one of the top factions in Ruluna, and the Philian family had produced several alchemy masters.

“But what’s this ‘elegant alchemy’? Isn’t alchemy just making things? Is there a difference between elegant and not elegant?” Alena asked, puzzled.

“This is where you don’t understand. Whether it’s magic or supernatural artifacts, one should always pursue a sense of aesthetic enjoyment. Strength is temporary, but beauty and elegance are lifelong matters,” Leticia explained matter-of-factly.

“Uh, okay. I guess I can’t understand,” Alena began to introduce herself.

“I’m Alena, from the New Moon Council and Cranberry Kingdom in the south. I quite like small animals.”

“No wonder I didn’t take to you. So you’re from the New Moon Council,” Leticia opened her folding fan, hiding her face behind it, only her pale blue eyes visible as she looked at her roommate.

The two main branches of the Magic Sequence had been like sworn enemies since ancient times, always feeling the other was heretical and had taken the wrong path.

“Alright, you two, stop arguing. Let’s go downstairs and familiarize ourselves with the environment. We still don’t know where to eat.”

Loranhil stepped in. Nya was too shy to interrupt these two roommates with strong personalities. Loranhil felt that since they would be living together for a long time, at least until second year when they would separate, it was better to create a harmonious environment in the dormitory.

Leticia then carefully examined this black-haired roommate. Her nearly perfect features and serene Eastern-style aura unconsciously made her put aside her noble lady’s pride. She lowered her fan and nodded respectfully, treating her as an equal.

Alena hadn’t taken the argument to heart and agreed cheerfully. Nya naturally went along with everyone. So the four of them tidied up a bit and left the room.

They encountered many familiar new students in the corridor. Although they couldn’t name each other, they nodded friendly before passing by.

There were also a few senior students. Although their badges also represented the Central School Building, the patterns on the badges were more intricate, with the main body being a solid white building.

The badges on Loranhil and other new students’ chests also had the Central School Building pattern in the middle, but it was outlined with raised lines and had no color.

“Those must be official students of the Central School Building, at least second-year,” Leticia speculated as they chatted on the way.

“I heard that the Central School Building mainly teaches the Primal Sequence. Although we first-years live here, after advancing to second year, if we choose other sequences, we’ll leave for our respective colleges.”

“What colleges does the school have?” Nya finally gathered the courage to ask curiously.

Glancing at this timid roommate, Leticia continued.

“Emenas is divided into four major colleges: the Central School Building in the middle, the Tower of Outlook in the north, the Unfaltering Bridge Pier in the south, the Lakeside Fortress in the east, and the Temple of Deep Thought in the west.”

“The four major colleges are divided into how many schools?” For some reason, Loranhil suddenly wanted to say this.

“Mainly because the Central School Building isn’t famous,” Alena said after thinking.

“Actually, the Central School Building was the last to be separated. Originally, only first-years were here. There were too few people studying the Primal Sequence.”

“Because in the past, the Primal Sequence’s utilization rate of Mana was very low. Although it was widely applicable, the efficiency was too low, so naturally, few people studied it. It wasn’t until a sage greatly improved it several hundred years ago that the Primal Sequence slowly regained its glory.”

As they walked and talked, they passed through a quiet tree-lined path, turned past several long buildings, and finally their destination appeared before them. Alena stopped in her tracks, her mouth slightly agape, staring at the towering building in front of them.

“We’re here. Is this the cafeteria?”

“Why can’t you use a more elegant term? ‘Cafeteria’ sounds like a place for lower-class people…”

Leticia made another small jab, then looked up at the building in front of them and fell silent.

Calling it a cafeteria was indeed inappropriate. The building before them was as grand and majestic as an ancient Roman church, with vertical supporting pillars and clear flowing water surrounding it. The overall structure was magnificent and imposing, perhaps even excessively luxurious.

Entering this dining hall, although there were many people inside, one didn’t feel any sense of crowding. The tables were spaced 7-8 meters apart, and the high dome ceiling was about 50 meters high, equivalent to about 10 stories. People walking in the hall felt like tiny ants, and a sense of spaciousness enveloped them.

Inside the hall, there were seven levels surrounding the walls. Each level had various food stalls. After purchasing, one could go to the balcony tables near the center railings, which were surrounded by various plants, herbs, and potted plants.

The empty space in the center of the hall was about the size of two football fields. The dome ceiling was made of translucent glazed tiles, allowing sunlight to pour in, illuminating each surrounding balcony level. This allowed plants to photosynthesize while also providing natural lighting, letting students dine in a comfortable, garden-like environment.

“So, what should we eat for lunch today?”

Loranhil looked at the dazzling array of stalls, then turned back to look at her companions. Her roommates were all immersed in amazement, which made her smile. She was quite surprised too, but more by the design concept of this dining hall, as it was indeed very similar to shopping malls in the future. As for the grandeur, she had seen similar things before, having visited some national-level stadiums in her previous life and experienced that sense of vastness.

“Let’s look around first, Loran,” Alena said after a while. Her eyes were full of excitement and curiosity. What to eat didn’t seem important; what mattered was seeing what new things were available.

“What about you, Leticia?” Loranhil continued to ask.

“I’m fine with anything.” Although she was also interested, this young lady didn’t want to agree with Alena’s suggestion, so she tacitly approved.

“I think anything is fine,” Nya said softly.

“Alright, let’s take a look,” The four girls headed towards the nearest window and shop.