“Don’t call me ‘teacher’ so affectionately. You haven’t even taught me anything yet.”
Dorothy led the girl behind her up to the man’s desk, wiping away the thick dust with a look of disgust.
“Didn’t Sheffil and I help clean this place just recently? How did it turn into a mess again so fast?”
“Ahh, well, you know… for all sorts of reasons.”
“Let me guess—you blew the place up again with your dust magic and couldn’t be bothered to clean it afterward?”
“Haha! Little Tianxia, it’s been a while. Sorry I didn’t visit your family for the New Year last year…”
As his sharp-tongued disciple exposed his laziness without hesitation, Millers quickly changed the subject and turned to greet Tianxia.
That woman Largess had told him this genius young witch was supposed to be kind and gentle, so he’d rushed to meet her first.
But whether it was the witch herself or the childhood friend she occasionally brought along, their mouths were just full of venom.
All he wanted was a sweet, obedient apprentice to fulfill the principal’s annoying recruitment mandate!
“It’s been a while, Uncle Millers. I bring my mother’s blessings to you.”
Tianxia stepped forward and bowed respectfully, only to suddenly tilt her head with a sly smile.
“Mother would be delighted to see you’ve finally gotten over your allergy to women.”
“Hey! That woman from Heaven told you about that too?!”
“What allergy to women? Teacher has a weird illness?”
“Huh? You didn’t know, Dorothy? Uncle here was a pure and innocent virgin back in the day—”
“No no no no! Don’t listen to her, she’s just making stuff up!”
Millers leapt from his chair in a panic, his black wizard robes sending up a cloud of dust as he cut Tianxia off mid-sentence.
“I’ve already arranged your file with the headmaster. Here’s your uniform and dorm key. All the information about your room and class is in this folder—you can go through it later. If you have any questions, just ask Dorothy. I’m leaving her in charge of you.”
He shoved two bags into Tianxia’s arms, turned to Dorothy with a rushed explanation, and began pushing both girls toward the door, clearly eager to be rid of them.
“Hey! Tianxia came all the way from Akasha to Ober, and you’re just dumping her on me like this, Uncle?”
Dorothy yelled, flailing as Millers pushed her forward.
“Because I trust you two, of course! Anyway, if you need anything, you know where to find me.”
The legendary Crystal Mage, one of the few seventh-tier mages in the entire Ober Empire, shamelessly shoved off all responsibility.
“She’s all yours, my dear disciple~”
The stone door slammed shut.
Tianxia, clutching two paper bags, and Dorothy, fuming with frustration, stood in stunned silence outside the office.
“You old bastard! You really are the worst!”
Dorothy finally exploded, shouting at the closed door—though she knew full well how soundproof it was.
That old man was probably laughing to himself inside.
“Ugh…”
Dorothy let out a deep sigh and dropped her arms in defeat.
She genuinely couldn’t understand how a man like that became a seventh-tier grand mage.
Was it from sheer stubbornness or some kind of chronic condition?
“Um… Miss Dorothy? Miss Dorothy?”
“Ah, sorry, Tianxia. I honestly didn’t think he’d dump everything on me like that.”
“It’s okay, I’m used to Uncle’s personality. If it’s easier, I can manage on my own. He actually seems to have prepared things pretty well—I already found a map of the campus.”
Tianxia pulled a folded paper from one of the bags and showed it to Dorothy.
“No need. Since he handed you off to me, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Dorothy cut her off and took the paper bags from her hands, marching forward with determination.
“First things first, I’ll give you a proper tour of Jadecrest Academy.”
Dorothy turned back with a wide, confident grin. “And just call me Dorothy.”
She waved her hand, signaling Tianxia to follow.
Tianxia paused for a beat, then returned a soft, serene smile.
“Alright, Dorothy.”
***
Ding
New Character Loaded
Tianxia, Age 16
Affinity
Tianxia × Dorothy: 30/100
Status: Friendly
More Details ♢ (Expand)
“Hmm?”
Sheffil glanced to the side of his vision, where the affection system window had popped up.
When he saw the name, he looked back down with a smug grin.
Well done, Dorothy.
All that effort I put into setting up your little romantic getaway wasn’t in vain.
Swoosh swoosh—
Took just three hours to get the affection rating up to 30 and onto the leaderboard.
Nice.
Swoosh swoosh—
“Boss, bill please.”
Sheffil slapped his empty bowl on the table and reached for his wallet.
“Sheffil?”
Just as he was about to stand, a familiar voice called out to him.
He turned and saw a white-haired girl in a red tracksuit standing at the entrance, slinging a bag over her shoulder.
The blue strap across her shoulder marked her as a second-tier student—just like him.
He knew her.
In fact, aside from Dorothy, she was probably the girl he knew best here.
“Yo, if it isn’t Jianle!”
Sheffil waved at her.
“What brings you here today?”
Jianle Bahamut—Dorothy’s good friend, and half a friend to Sheffil.
At the moment, she had the highest favorability ranking among the female leads on Sheffil’s personal chart.
“Just passing by,” Jianle replied, walking over and sitting across from him.
After a quick glance around the shop, she asked, “Where’s Dorothy? You two aren’t glued together for once?”
“‘Glued together’ sounds awful,” Sheffil said with a chuckle.
“She’s off helping her teacher with a new student today.”
“As usual?”
Jianle pulled out a water bottle from her bag and took a sip.
“Heh, you know it.”
Sheffil chuckled again.
Here’s the issue—she showed absolutely no signs of jealousy.
Not even the barest hint of rom-com heroine possessiveness.
“Sir, that’ll be five rubies for the noodles.”
“Thanks, boss. Let’s get two more bowls, then.”
“Just dropping by to say hi.”
“Oho, you like me that much? Secretly crushing on me, aren’t you?”
Sheffil’s grin was nearly impossible to suppress.
“In your dreams. Boss, one soy-sauce noodle.”
Jianle gave the faintest of smiles as she raised her voice to the shopkeeper, sipping her water without missing a beat.