Chapter 11: Getting Freebies Is a Witch’s Basic Driving Force

“Class begins.”

The history teacher, Elivia.

A middle-aged witch wearing glasses, dressed in traditional European noble attire even for class.

Her voice was authoritative but not harsh, and the unique aura of a teacher instantly quieted the group of young witches.

“In the last lesson, we covered a brief biography of the Sage Norton Eileen… Jiang Cha, please stand.”

“Yes.”

Heqin had already warned her that she was likely to be called on first, so the girl was mentally prepared.

“You’re a transfer student. I need to test if you’ve caught up with the knowledge you missed.”

Unexpected but reasonable, the seemingly strict and unsympathetic Elivia’s tone wasn’t very harsh toward Jiang Cha.

She wasn’t exactly friendly, but there was a sense of tolerance.

“I understand. Please ask, teacher.”

Jiang Cha’s calm response made Elivia think highly of her — at least she wasn’t like that energetic blonde battle fanatic who always needed Heqin’s help to answer questions.

The teacher’s position gave her a clear view of the small actions of the students below. As a senior witch who had survived since the Middle Ages, it would be ridiculous if she couldn’t see through the kids’ antics.

Regardless of Jiang Cha’s ability, at least her attitude was satisfactory.

“What’s your opinion on this original Sage? Remember, answer based on historical evaluation.”

“From the perspective of the development of witch society, the contributions of Sage Norton were groundbreaking and extremely important. Classifying and teaching subjects like potion-making, magic, and alchemy to young witches was undoubtedly a great achievement. But personally, I think she still had the limitations of her era.”

“Oh?”

Elivia raised her eyebrow.

“Witch lessons are dialectical. You and I are both seekers of truth. Please speak freely, Jiang Cha.”

“Alright. First, I believe that Norton’s compilation and transmission of knowledge was largely a product of the times. She was likely a typical academic witch, thirsty for knowledge and truth.”

“History shows that the original Sage Norton was a traveler who visited various witches to discuss knowledge — not fundamentally different from how we today seek out papers or consult masters.”

“It wasn’t until the war began that she was forced to stay in the primeval land, the cradle of proliferation, that she truly began her life as a Sage.”

Jiang Cha had read this part of history before, and although she wasn’t sure if the ‘materialist view of history’ analysis method applied to witch society, it was certainly a fresh perspective.

“So you think all of this was shaped by the era?”

“Yes. I think if not for that war, Sage Norton might never have become a Sage or organized and passed down the knowledge she knew. Even if she had, it would have been much later.”

Jiang Cha nodded calmly.

“Very good perspective. You have a habit of thinking seriously when reading, which is excellent.”

Elivia clapped her hands and smiled approvingly. “You may sit.”

“Jiang Cha’s view aligns with a popular 21st-century perspective — following rules and the era, combining the era and personal behavior to analyze history. This viewpoint isn’t wrong, but not entirely right.”

“Because magic is omnipotent, students, before the Fourth Generation Sage Council discovered and captured the Lines of Fate, Jiang Cha’s method was active and aligned with rules — but also dangerous.”

“Because that means our enemies could use time travel to annihilate us in the 14th century or even earlier among the primeval beings.”

“Lines of Fate — though outside historical studies — are very important. Heqin, please stand.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why it’s important?”

“Because by regulating and organizing the Lines of Fate, the history of the witch race is nailed down, making the past unchangeable.”

Heqin clearly had more knowledge than the nervous, whispering “Don’t call on me, don’t call on me” Lina.

But Jiang Cha wasn’t in the mood to watch Lina’s cute expressions.

She was thinking on a deeper level.

‘Just how terrifying are witches?’

A race that can control fate and nail down history so that time travelers can’t change it was far beyond her comprehension.

…

“Don’t be surprised, my Cha Bao\~ I thought these things were crazy at first too, but the Great Sages are just that unreasonable. The Sage Council is a bunch of monsters beyond common sense. They can do so many things. As I always say: magic is omnipotent.”

After the two-hour class ended, as Heqin rubbed her temples from the headache caused by knowledge infestation, Lina cheerfully sidled up to the girl and whispered.

“You didn’t know this stuff before either?”

“Oh, because of knowledge infestation, most witches start learning knowledge at age eight. Before that, we only have human-written fairy tale books to understand the world.”

Lina shrugged helplessly.

She knew Jiang Cha’s memory loss and wasn’t surprised.

After a while, Heqin also eased her headache and looked at Jiang Cha, who had shown no abnormal signs from the start, with a bit of envy.

“Such a high mental coefficient is great. Elivia is most criticized for packing too much into her lessons — every class is a mental challenge.”

“Lina, didn’t you manage alright?”

“I didn’t listen at all!”

The blonde loli proudly showed off her flat chest at a perfect 90-degree angle, totally unbothered.

“As long as I don’t listen, the knowledge can’t infest me.”

“…Impressive.”

Jiang Cha looked at Heqin and they sighed together.

Because of knowledge infestation, the academy classes usually run for an hour and a half, then a one-hour break, then another class, followed by lunch.

So Jiang Cha and the others had a full hour of free time.

“What to do next? Play games? Or a battle match to relax?”

“Then the next class, magical theory, we just sleep through it?”

Heqin teased Lina.

That blonde loli was a typical battle witch, uninterested in anything unrelated to fighting, and very focused — low scores in other subjects were fine, but magic and combat classes had to be high.

The academy’s tailored teaching philosophy supported her extreme specialization.

Heqin herself was more academic; although her combat grades weren’t low, she was not interested in fighting and would fall behind the battle witches in higher years.

“Theory is useless. I’d rather memorize more spell models than drain my mental energy on that stuff.”

“Sigh.”

“Anything to prepare for magical theory class?”

Jiang Cha was more curious about why her other roommate hadn’t appeared for classes, but for now, she kept to less sensitive topics.

Lina seemed to dislike that mysterious roommate.

“Nothing much… if anything, just a staff.”

“Of course, it’s fine without one; it’s a theory class.”

Heqin realized Jiang Cha had no money and added quickly.

“You don’t even have a staff?”

Lina frowned, surprised.

No staff was a problem; she wanted to drag Jiang Cha to the battle club later.

“The academy doesn’t provide them; I can’t do anything.”

The girl shrugged and joked helplessly.

“Alright, alright… let me think.”

Lina stroked her smooth chin thoughtfully, then suddenly clapped her hands.

“Got it!”

“If you don’t mind, I can help you get one for free, just need to fill out a form.”

“My spare staff. You can return it after you buy your own.”

Heqin looked troubled, speaking quickly and winking at Jiang Cha.

‘Rare to see the gentle Yamato Nadeshiko this conflicted.’

Jiang Cha secretly smiled but didn’t want to owe her roommate anything, so she gently shook her head.

“I’d feel uneasy about that. What’s your method, Lina?”

“As long as you pass the battle club’s assessment, you get a free standardized combat staff — it’s crappy and basic but enough.”

“Jiang Cha hasn’t learned magic yet.”

Heqin quickly objected, knowing Lina wanted to pull them into the battle club, which she disliked — blood and fire made her uncomfortable.

“Close combat counts too, and don’t we have innate magic? The battle club values potential, not skill.”

Lina stubbornly insisted.

They didn’t argue or quarrel, just calmly debated their views.

This was rare.

In a witch society where even whether a small item is fun could cause a scholarly debate ending in a duel, such peaceful disputes only happened when they weren’t too close or strangers.

A real-life example: scientists arguing theories — if no one convinced the other, they’d just start a physical fight.

Compared to old men’s passionate brawls, magical duels between cute girls were more entertaining.

‘Alright, I admit I’m a bit of a masochist.’

Jiang Cha reflected and interrupted the arguing pair.

“Can I check it out? If I can get it for free, why pay… Heqin, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to come.”

“I’m your guide.”

Heqin sighed.

“You’ll have a hard time with those battle club ladies. They aren’t all as easy as Lina.”

“Hehe\~”

The blonde loli stuck out her tongue and flashed a victory sign.

She knew Jiang Cha would agree to join the battle club — why?

Because they both shared the same poverty vibe!