She Is Not a Witch

Hopland, Daffodil Street, Dusk Mermaid Costume Shop.

Loranhil stood at the door wearing a black hooded robe and gray boots, looking at the address in her hand and confirming once more that this was indeed the shop.

She had come to find Laniel, the junior student Tirella had mentioned before leaving. There were still some aspects of the magical steam turbine she wanted to understand better from this Emenas student, to see if there was anything she had missed. She was also curious about what a student from this famous school would be like.

Entering the shop, it was cool and very quiet. There was no one in sight, only beautiful dyed clothes hanging in the cabinets, with varied colors and rather classic, conservative styles.

Loranhil gently knocked on the shop door and asked, “Is anyone here?”

“Just a moment, I’ll be right there,” came the voice of a middle-aged woman from inside the shop.

A woman wearing an apron walked out from the back of the shop, with some red and blue dye on her hands. She wiped her hands clean with a towel and approached, asking, “Hello, are you here to buy clothes?”

“No, I’m here to see Laniel,” Loranhil shook her head, the hair falling from her hood swaying with the motion.

“Oh? I didn’t know anyone knew she was here.”

The woman looked curiously at the young girl. Laniel was her daughter, who had just come home for the holidays recently. Not many people knew about it.

“You must be her classmate. She went out this morning. She should be at the cold drink and snack shop on the east end of the street. You can try looking there.”

“Alright, thank you, ma’am.” Loranhil bowed her head and left the shop.

The cold drink shop on the east side was well-situated, right at the corner of the street. Its wooden sign and decorative style had quite an elvish flair. The green vines entwined around the wooden sign bore the words “Blooming Beach.”

Seeing this familiar style, Loranhil couldn’t help but think of that shop in Seabuckthorn City in Western Wind, called “Blooming Summer Leaves.” It must be from the same chain. It was also there that she first met Angus, leading to all the subsequent developments.

Pushing open the door, a wind chime sounded, and a maid wearing a flower headband approached.

“Welcome~” She wore a black and white maid uniform and had a pretty face.

Loranhil entered the shop. There weren’t many customers at this time, perhaps due to the cooling weather. Several maid ladies stood idly by, one of whom was sitting behind the counter reading a book. The book was thick, and as she read, she seemed to be reciting something in a low voice, as if memorizing something.

“Hello, I’d like to know if Miss Laniel is here?”

The maid behind the counter looked up: “Ah, sorry, I didn’t notice earlier. You’re looking for Laniel? Just a moment, I need to ask the teacher.”

She stood up, adjusted her dress slightly, then had another maid take her place before walking up the stairs inside the shop.

Soon after, a blonde girl in a light purple short skirt came down the stairs lightly. She looked a bit surprised when she saw Loranhil.

“Oh, I thought it was a classmate coming to visit.”

“Hello, may I ask why you’re looking for me?”

“Hello, Mage Tirella introduced me,” Loranhil took out the blue inheritance gem.

“Oh, this, I see~ Come with me.” She grabbed Loranhil’s hand and led her upstairs.

The second floor seemed to be a dance studio, where some girls could be seen rehearsing. The third floor was an attic with tables, sofas, wardrobes, and several dressing tables.

A noble lady sat at a desk by the window, with several sheets of paper beside her, seemingly writing something. Her face revealed her to be Lady Philia, whom Loranhil had seen at that shop in Seabuckthorn City. At that time, she had exchanged a few words with Angus, apparently an old acquaintance.

“Instructor Philia, may we borrow the space? This friend is here to discuss some alchemy questions with me.”

“Of course, Laniel, make yourself at home.” She seemed to be concentrating on writing something.

“Hello…”

Loranhil first introduced herself, then mentioned the relevant materials Tirella had given her and some unfinished aspects.

“This, mm-hmm, I know. Sister Tirella specifically instructed me before she left, saying someone would come to inquire about related issues later.”

“Actually, this steam power system is an important project within Emenas’s ‘Time Gear’. We’ve only recently come up with a relatively stable solution. I remember when I was a first-year student, it was Sister Tirella who introduced me to ‘Time Gear’. Now she’s been graduated for almost a year.”

Then Laniel began to explain what foundation this steam power system was designed on, what problems they encountered initially, and how they later made trade-offs and improvements. It was evident that she was very skilled in both alchemy and magic, and she wasn’t very old, probably only 18-19 years old, but her strength had already reached the Gold level.

Emenas is truly impressive, Loranhil sighed, looking at the evaluation displayed by the system: Magic Sequence 5 · Grasp of Lightning, Rare Gold level.

She was even younger than Edric, yet her strength far surpassed his. Sequence 5 compared to Sequence 4 was a huge gap. Sequence 4 and below mainly developed certain specialties; although supernatural beings excelled in certain aspects, they weren’t much stronger than ordinary people in other areas.

But once reaching Sequence 5, it was different. Overall weaknesses would be compensated, and there wouldn’t be any major flaws. Whether in physical qualities, soul strength, agility, perception, etc., one truly began to transcend the ordinary.

Loranhil took out a pen and casually drew a straight line on the paper, then continued to outline the shape of the steam engine. Her freehand drawing of mechanical structures truly startled Laniel, though she herself wasn’t particularly aware of it. Having studied engineering in college, she inevitably learned mechanical knowledge, and that mechanical professor had been particularly strict, with very high requirements for drawings.

As a result, everyone in their class had been tortured quite a bit, but ultimately developed solid drawing skills. Loranhil had gone a step further in this world, with extremely keen perception and control abilities. She didn’t even need a ruler, drawing straight lines, arcs, and right angles freehand, almost as if they were printed.

Loranhil didn’t directly draw out the magical steam turbine that combined the two civilizations’ knowledge, but only drew the part Tirella had left her. This wasn’t because she was keeping secrets, but because the knowledge systems of the two worlds were completely different. If she were to explain things from the previous world’s human civilization, she’d have to start from basic mechanics, which would take at least a few months to fully explain.

And so, these two technology enthusiasts, these two young girls, quietly exchanged ideas in the attic, occasionally letting out excited cheers, accompanied by the constant sound of pen on paper.