The Witch Academy of the Vast Sea City.
The barbecue restaurant “Remembrance of Things Past” was doing brisk business.
Unlike the streets of Blue Star’s northern cities, which were basically empty after 9 PM, the nightlife in Dona Yala World leaned more toward southern cities, revealing an untiring frenzy in the darkness.
For witches, they were thoroughly nocturnal creatures.
When the moon hung at the zenith, declaring the end of a busy day’s work, the witches’ private time was just beginning.
In witch society, if a witch could go to bed before 3 AM, it meant she had an abnormally good sleep schedule.
After all, for the witch race, physical exhaustion and mental fatigue could both be resolved with magic.
‘Moreover, thanks to the witches’ unique physical constitution, the concept of sudden death from overwork simply didn’t exist.
‘According to witches’ living habits, a small amount of comfortable sleep was the norm.
Witches had to spend more time on fun recreational activities rather than meaningless sleep.
A witch like Tunzuo, who went to bed early, was actually the odd one out in witch society.
Oh, in a way, we couldn’t exactly say that our Ghost Witch was an oddball.
After all, from Tunzuo’s perspective, sleeping was her greatest form of entertainment.
In that regard, she was no different from other witches in society—
They all pursued extreme mental comfort, just in different forms.
After arriving at the barbecue restaurant, Tunzuo, Samotush, and Anne found a relatively secluded outdoor table.
Above their heads, lush ivy leaves blocked out the deafening noise from the main street.
Tunzuo and the others still had important matters to discuss, so an overly noisy environment wouldn’t be suitable for conversation.
Once seated, Samotush lifted her leg and propped it on an empty stool, skillfully pulled out her grimoire, and simply scanned the faintly glowing magical rune at the corner of the table.
The barbecue restaurant’s menu immediately appeared on the grimoire, her movements bold and unrestrained.
“Tunzuo, can I call you little Tun? Any dietary restrictions?”
Samotush asked while scrolling through the menu.
Faced with Samotush’s question, Tunzuo blinked and thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“Nothing I can’t eat, just don’t order anything too spicy. I still have classes and practice tomorrow, and I don’t want to be rushing around with a burning stomach—that would be too uncomfortable.”
After hearing Tunzuo’s request, Samotush flashed her an “OK” gesture, indicating she’d take care of it.
Then Samotush added notes and started ordering, her fingers rapidly tapping on the grimoire screen and rattling off a series of skewer names like a smooth tongue twister.
“First, thirty skewers of grilled hellfire tentacles, medium rare, don’t overcook them. One serving of roasted rock dragon tail, remove the scales, I don’t like that crunchy texture. Oh, and this one, molten slime jelly skewers, grilled angel wings too…”
After finishing the order, Samotush looked up at Tunzuo with a grin, her purple eyes gleaming with cunning and encouragement.
“Hehe, little Tun, how about we have a little drink with me? ‘Remembrance of Things Past’ has special moonlight rock candy—a rare opportunity, and it’s not strong. Let’s get some to liven things up, okay?”
But before Tunzuo could respond, Anne struck Samotush on the head with a precise knife-hand chop.
From the dull thud and Samotush’s sharp hiss of pain through her teeth, Anne’s strike was quite forceful, clearly having a armor-piercing effect.
Anne narrowed her eyes and scolded Samotush irritably.
“Dumb dog, she hasn’t graduated yet, why are you trying to get her to drink? Besides, we still have things to discuss later. If you drink too much, can you even control that leaky mouth of yours?”
Samotush, clutching the back of her head in pain, complained quietly and aggrievedly:
“Come on, things are easier to talk about over drinks… A little won’t hurt. Besides, isn’t drinking part of discussing business?”
“Hm?”
Seeing that Samotush still dared to complain, Anne’s gaze sharpened, her piercing eyes staring straight at Samotush.
In an instant, a pressure that only Samotush could feel spread everywhere.
Sensing the killing intent around her, Samotush quickly straightened her posture, back as straight as a board, looking like a husky grabbed by the scruff of its neck by fate, and said seriously:
“Yes, Anne’s right. Why drink when discussing business? Drinking messes things up! Little Tun, I was just kidding—don’t take it seriously!”
Seeing Samotush’s reaction, Tunzuo shook her head regretfully.
She actually kind of wanted to drink.
The dizzy feeling after getting drunk was quite nice, allowing a witch to forget many troubles.
But seeing Anne’s serious expression, Tunzuo thought she’d better play the good girl and just stick with juice.
After Samotush paid the bill, there was still some time before the food arrived, so Samotush and Anne took the opportunity to discuss today’s main topic with Tunzuo.
Samotush was clearly the type of witch who couldn’t stand waiting.
She eagerly spoke, cutting straight to the chase with Tunzuo.
“So, little Tun? About joining our Shadow faction that I mentioned before—have you thought about it?”
Seeing the expectant looks on Samotush’s and Anne’s faces, Tunzuo knew that they had come to talk about joining a faction.
After this period of living in Dona Yala World, Tunzuo had thought things through.
Some things couldn’t be avoided just by hiding.
In a witch society that valued strength above all, procrastination was never the solution to problems—
It only made things worse.
Instead of waiting for things to deteriorate, it was better to adapt early, creating a more comfortable environment for herself.
This was probably what they meant by: since you can’t change the environment, try to mold yourself into a shape that fits the environment.
So Tunzuo decided to pick a faction to join, so she’d have a place to hide when Antuxi came to beat her up later.
However, accepting just like that wouldn’t do.
They had to show her some sincerity, right?
How could recruiting a witch come without benefits?
It wasn’t just about interests;
It was about attitude.
So Tunzuo put on a troubled expression, furrowed her brows slightly, sighed softly, and spoke:
“As for joining a faction, I’ve already thought it over. Regarding your warm invitations, I should naturally accept and join readily. After all, we’ve gotten along well. However…”
At this point, Tunzuo paused, secretly observing Samotush’s and Anne’s expressions before continuing:
“A little complication has come up, putting me in a dilemma.”
When they first heard that Tunzuo was ready to join the Shadow faction, Samotush and Anne were naturally overjoyed.
After all, Tunzuo was the bloodline of Lady Lovecraft.
If the two of them recruited her, it would be a major achievement, raising their status within the faction significantly—
No witch would dare say anything if they walked sideways from then on.
But when Tunzuo mentioned a “complication,” Samotush and Anne couldn’t help but panic.
They quickly asked:
“Complication? What complication? Did some witch say something to you?”
Tunzuo put on a conflicted look, her fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the table as she said softly:
“One of my summoning class teachers, Teacher Lei Ruiya, recognized my potential and wanted to recruit me into the Summoning faction. That left me unsure of what to do.”
Tunzuo’s words were like a pebble dropped into a calm lake—
Tiny, but enough to stir ripples, making Samotush’s and Anne’s hearts sink.
They exchanged a glance and fell silent.
Damn, they had been dragging their feet.
If only they had been more proactive earlier!
Even though very few witches knew the specifics of Tunzuo’s bloodline, other factions had still extended olive branches to her.
Especially that faction—
The Summoning faction, one of the largest academic groups in Dona Yala World!
But thinking about it, it was only natural.
After all, multiple parties vying for her proved the authenticity of Tunzuo’s bloodline and the extent of its potential.
Besides, how could Samotush and Anne fail to hear the implication in Tunzuo’s words? The Ghost Witch in front of them wasn’t conflicted at all—
She was clearly negotiating terms, seeing which faction, Shadow or Summoning, could offer her more benefits.
Tunzuo’s behavior made Samotush and Anne sigh inwardly, lamenting that young witches and lost witches these days weren’t so easy to fool.
They were all wise, like old monsters who had cultivated for thousands of years.
But since they had come this far, Anne didn’t plan to be reserved.
She took a deep breath, straightened her attitude, and formally extended an invitation to Tunzuo.
“Tunzuo, although the Summoning faction is powerful and rich in resources, its internal factions are deeply intertwined.”
With a large witch population, resource distribution is inevitably uneven.
If you join the Summoning faction, you’ll at most be a key training target.
“But if you join our Shadow faction, I can guarantee that you’ll be cultivated as one of the faction leader’s successors.”
Anne lowered her voice, a red glow flickering in her eyes, her tone carrying a seductive charm as she threw out a bunch of benefits and special privileges to Tunzuo.
“As long as you’re willing to join our Shadow faction, we can use special permissions to apply for access to the Shadow Library for you.”
Related spells can also be discounted.
In addition, we can provide you with a set of supporting shadow spell learning plans for circles eight through ten.
“Moreover, your monthly allowance of witch gold will be doubled. Also, I can arrange for a floating island with extremely rich resources as your fixed asset.”
Originally, the conditions Anne mentioned should have been approved by the faction’s elders and leaders, but given the special circumstances, Anne could only act on her own authority.
However, to secure the bloodline of Lady Lovecraft, the faction elders probably wouldn’t reject those conditions.
Besides, her mother was the vice leader of the Shadow faction—
That counted for something.
After listening to Anne’s conditions, Tunzuo remained silent, quietly noting down every condition Anne had just proposed and starting to calculate in her mind.
Then Tunzuo put on a moved expression, her eyes slightly red—
She was quite the actress too.
“Anne, and Samotush, I can feel your sincerity.”
These conditions are really tempting, but please allow me some time to think about how to decline Teacher Lei Ruiya’s invitation.
“After all, Teacher Lei Ruiya and I share a deep bond, and she usually takes good care of me. I can’t just reject her outright, so I need to come up with a suitable reason without hurting her feelings.”
But Tunzuo’s true inner thoughts were:
‘When the time comes, I’ll tell Teacher Lei Ruiya about Anne’s conditions and see what the Summoning faction can offer me. Then I’ll play both sides, goading them into sweetening the deal, and finally choose the faction with the best offer.’
Hehe, plan in motion!
Anne nodded silently at Tunzuo’s polite words, not pressing her.
She was fully aware of what Tunzuo was thinking.
Comparing offers was the right choice—
Every witch had to be responsible for her own future.
Now it was a test of patience and resolve, to see who was more willing to cut losses and ultimately snag the wolf.
Just then, a waitress walked over carrying a large tray of skewers that emitted an enticing aroma and an eerie glow, interrupting the heated discussion.
“Your orders, ladies. Please enjoy.”
After the waitress set the skewers on the table, Samotush’s eyes lit up.
She immediately grabbed a skewer of hellfire tentacles, shedding all the seriousness from the previous business discussion, blowing on it as she said:
“Ah, whatever, let’s eat first! Eat first! Only when you’re full can you have the energy to think about major witch matters! Little Tun, try this—it’s the restaurant’s specialty!”
Tunzuo looked at the still-slightly-wriggling tentacles on the plate and felt a bit creeped out.
But they did smell delicious, so she picked up a skewer and took a small bite.
Not bad—
The texture was surprisingly good.
Chewing it was a bit like beef tendon, but easier to tear apart.
But now that the serious business was done, it was time for the troublemaker to step in.
Naiya, who had been silently hanging on Tunzuo’s face, saw that the timing was right and spoke up seemingly casually, her voice so low that only Tunzuo could hear.
“Young master, since these two want to recruit you into their faction, why not have them reveal some more information? For instance… about Olivia’s weaknesses?”
Naiya’s suggestion made Tunzuo pause mid-chew.
Before Tunzuo could respond, Naiya turned her attention to Samotush and Anne sitting across from them, coaxing gently.
“If the two of you want to get along well with the young master, why not tell her some of the weaknesses of that yellow lizard Olivia? After all, if our young master doesn’t have some leverage over that yellow lizard, she might get bullied badly in the future. So, would you two kindly help out?”
Actually, Tunzuo didn’t really care much about what Naiya was saying.
She hadn’t even thought about taking the lead—
Just imagining those exhausting positions and the physical effort made her feel tired.
But then she thought that if she could learn more of Olivia’s weaknesses, she could occasionally bully that perverted dragon back.
Tunzuo couldn’t help but let out a silly chuckle, a suspicious string of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth.
Just as Tunzuo was getting lost in her fantasies, Naiya suddenly spoke loudly, deliberately:
“You don’t need to mention her fear of tentacles—our young master already knows about that.”
Naiya’s obviously leading words made Anne realize that the pale mask on Tunzuo’s face was deliberately setting a trap.
Anne’s expression changed, and she quickly reached out to cover Samotush’s mouth beside her.
Unfortunately, Anne was too late.
With Samotush’s naturally carefree personality, now catalyzed by sugar and good food, her brain was in an extremely excited and unfiltered state, so she blurted out:
“Tentacles? How could Olivia be afraid of tentacles? Where did you hear that? That woman’s most outrageous thing is—”