Chapter 6: Possible Causes of Chabao’s Amnesia

Jiang Cha was no longer surprised by the magical elements hidden within the seemingly medieval witch world.

In a society where subspace orbital trains were used for commuting and broomsticks were tools for space traversal, technologies like dimensional expansion and teleportation portals didn’t seem all that shocking anymore.

Since she had no memories to begin with, her ability to accept such things was naturally high. The slight sense of dissonance she felt came only from the lingering fragments of some strange “common sense” in her brain.

—Which she had already tossed into the mental trash bin.

However, what did surprise her was that the moment she stepped out of the teleportation portal, she didn’t find herself in a dorm room, but in a European-style fortress that matched every impression she had of medieval witches.

A luxurious red carpet stretched across a wide hall. A magical crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. In front of her was a grand staircase leading to the second floor, and an abstract painting that gave off a slightly mysterious vibe.

Except for the faintly glowing blue teleportation gate behind her, this place looked no different from a European castle—like the kind you’d see in films, the domain of some noble lord.

“Films?”

The moment this doubt surfaced in her mind, she received a definition from that lingering “common sense.”

And she also understood why the witches she knew in her memories didn’t match the ones in reality—probably.

“So they were just fictional creations…?”

“Or… is this a case of transmigration?”

She had a vague guess about her origins, but whether or not it was accurate still required more clues and evidence.

For now, the girl could only focus on settling into the mysterious Aetheron Witch Academy.

“I thought we could teleport straight into the dorm room.”

Jiang Cha smiled and teased Qu Si’nan.

“Witches are a rather troublesome species,” Qu Si’nan sighed, seemingly displeased but more so helpless. She shrugged and explained,
“We crave knowledge, mysteries, and high-level magical applications… yet in everyday life, we tend to prefer the old-fashioned ways. As if centuries-old habits are still clinging to us.”

“What you’re seeing now is the result—a building that’s basically…”

She tapped her chin with a playful, elegant air of humor.

“Magipunk?”

“Not a bad term, though I’m not really familiar with other worldviews.”

The girl shrugged nonchalantly. But she didn’t mention the strange “common sense” in her head—she did know another worldview. A world dominated by humanity and technology.

“You’ll learn more about it—by third year for sure, or even in second year if you excel. Witch mentors value real-world practice. With your magic level, they’ll be eager to take you out to see the world.”

Jiang Cha didn’t fully catch the implication in Qu Si’nan’s words. She just thought it was something like a school field trip or an extracurricular activity.

“That sounds exciting.”

“Oh~ only a newbie witch like you would find it exciting. Anyway, let’s not talk about that.”

Qu Si’nan waved her hand dismissively.

Their steps were slow and elegant. Though this “dormitory” was clearly larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, it was still just a dorm. Before long, they arrived at the last room on the right side of the second floor.

“This is your room. Your roommates are in class right now, but you can introduce yourself tonight. You don’t have social anxiety, right?”

“You have the whole afternoon to explore the academy. Also, make a stop at the academic office to pick up your materials. You’re already a month behind, and you’ve got amnesia on top of that…”

“Of course, you can also just throw a party with your dormmates. First-year classes are pretty relaxed. No need to pressure yourself too much.”

Qu Si’nan spoke rapidly, clearly in a hurry—dropping off new students was the last task of her job.

“Thank you, Senior. I have one more question.”

“What is it?”

“About my memory loss.”

“Ah, that.”

Qu Si’nan slapped her forehead, a little regretful.
“I almost forgot. Your memory loss isn’t typical. To put it simply, the brain has sections for knowledge and for personal experience. Your memory loss—well, we’re not sure what happened—but it’s obvious that your experiential memory area suffered serious damage. The cells there were almost completely wiped out. Then something else happened—possibly your awakening as a witch—which caused a sort of brain regeneration.”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

Noticing the girl’s shocked expression, she laughed and waved it off.
“Witches—especially strong ones—are incredibly hard to kill. A hole through the brain? Eh, it’s like getting a scratch on your hand.”

“But your case is special. The brain cells storing your past were destroyed before you became a witch. So even with our technology, there’s little hope of recovery. It’s like a storage device: if the data is deleted, there are ways to restore it. But if the device itself is destroyed and there’s no backup, then it’s hopeless.”

“…Okay, that’s actually mind-blowing.”

Oddly enough, Jiang Cha had knowledge about this. The brain structure of pre-witch beings in this world wasn’t all that different from the humans in her memories.

So, if Qu Si’nan was telling the truth, her memory loss was likely permanent.

Not that she really wanted to recover it anyway.

A time traveler from a hundred years ago, possibly not even from the same world—this was a secret Jiang Cha wasn’t ready to reveal.

As for the shock—yeah, it was about the witches’ regeneration abilities.

Could they even still be called biological beings? A hole through the brain and you live?!

“Even ordinary witches get shocked when they first learn about their own regeneration. Every new student goes through it. If you’re interested, you can check out related books in the Grand Library. Just use your access card. It’s free—but you can only read books at your grade level.”

“Well then, it’s getting late. I’ll be off.”

“Thanks again, Senior. I’ll definitely check out the library.”

Jiang Cha nodded politely and bowed.

“We’ll run into each other again~”

Qu Si’nan, clearly relieved that her task was done, waved goodbye and vanished in front of Jiang Cha’s eyes.

There wasn’t even much magic fluctuation. Even Jiang Cha’s enhanced brain barely picked up anything—probably a teleportation spell similar to a portal.

“Time to organize what I know.”

The girl sat on her bed. The room was standard: no decorations, just a desk, a wardrobe, and a bed.

But that wasn’t all. This personal dorm included a living room, study, bathroom, kitchen, and even a balcony!

Who knew how a building that looked like 200 square meters from the outside could contain four such suites inside?

This was a standard five-person dormitory.

But that wasn’t the focus. What caught her attention more was the holographic screen that floated up from her wrist.

…Okay, the dorm was still more surprising. But compared to the tech she’d seen in the research facility—whether you called it science or magic—the difference was still notable.

“My secret… maybe it’s not even a real secret. Either way, I should keep it hidden. Don’t expose anything unless absolutely necessary.”

“Next…”

After waking up, Jiang Cha noticed her brain was unusually clear. She later realized this was due to her innate magic. But it wasn’t until she sat down to think that she realized how fast her mind really was—this wasn’t a human brain. It was more like a quantum computer.

She analyzed her current situation in a fraction of a second.

With no idea what other hidden tech or magical abilities witches might have—and with hints from Qu Si’nan that world or interstellar travel was possible—perhaps “time travel” wasn’t even that rare among witches.

Still, her own journey likely involved time—something she wasn’t sure witches could control. So it was better to keep quiet.

As for what she needed to do next—

‘Grrr~~’

“Yeah… food first.”

Following the directions from her access card—aka the holographic display—Jiang Cha left her dorm and boarded the commuter shuttle. Within minutes, she arrived at the cafeteria.

Yes, the academy had a cafeteria.

Of course, there were also grocery options, kitchens in the dorms, and fairy-powered food delivery.

But still.

The cafeteria was free, and her pockets were completely empty.

Of course, her visit wasn’t just about getting food. Even though she ended up spending half an hour there (because the food was delicious and she was really hungry), she had other plans.

“Academic office… Textbooks… I wonder what witch textbooks even look like.”

She was genuinely curious. These witches already had tech like personal AI assistants. Surely they didn’t use physical books anymore.

It was even more convenient than using tablets.

So, when Jiang Cha arrived at the edge of the forest, she was excited.

This world was full of surprises.

But…

She stared at the old, worn-down wooden cabin in the woods, perfectly matching the “witch hidden in a forest” image from her memories. A wooden sign hung outside.

【Academic Office】

…Written in Chinese.

“What kind of aesthetic mashup are witches running here?”

The girl could only silently roast them in her mind.