Chapter 15: Cha-Bao is a Young Academic Ace!

“Is there anything I need to prepare in advance for the Magic Introduction class?”

At lunchtime in the academy cafeteria—buzzing with voices and activity—Jiang Cha raised her voice slightly as a reflex.

“Absolutely~ nothing is needed!”

As soon as Luna said this, she perked right up. Though she hardly paid attention in theory classes, the material in Magic Introduction had real impact on combat readiness.

Glancing at each other, the other two sensed each one’s resigned understanding. Gentle and considerate He Qin quietly smiled, staying silent, and Jiang Cha decided to let Luna explain.

“At first, most people might need to use a wand, but with how precisely you control mana, Cha‑Bao, you basically don’t need a short wand to channel spells yourself.”

“Then why should I bother getting that thing?”

Jiang Cha waved the short wand in her hand—it was just barely longer than a knife—and traced the subtle engraving hidden in the dark wood.

“It’s stationery, isn’t it? Isn’t that normal? School requires something you don’t actually need… Witches are weird like that. They claim efficiency but fill everything with needless red tape.”

Luna’s small mouth started moving fast in her rant, as though she’d been held back by archaic institutions and had a whole belly of grievances. Given her background, one could guess why.

“So yeah, you technically have to bring a wand for the first class—but not if you ask permission.”

“Might as well get one from the Duel Club instead, right?”

“Exactly!”

Luna pounded on the table with energy.

“Carol’s way too lazy and Melos’s way too strict. Neither are good to ask for exceptions. Compared to them, even Elivia seems more understanding—though Diana is the absolute best!”

“Diana once let Luna sleep in class.”

He Qin explained softly in Jiang Cha’s ear. But Jiang Cha thought differently—she glanced at Luna, at that expression, thinking: “Luna really does worship Diana.”

“Diana’s ‘perfect shape’ really matches her—gentle as water.”

“I knew you’d get it, Cha‑Bao!” Luna giggled as the pair of roommates exchanged weird laughs. He Qin was a bit confused but decided not to dwell on it.

Later…

“Jiang Cha‑chan…”

He Qin watched as Jiang Cha struggled back with a stack of books teetering in her arms.

“Can you even read all that?”

Jiang Cha answered coolly. Her precise control allowed her to drop the stack—dozens of books—on the table without them toppling:

“Most are just notes and ideas. Only four have high ‘contamination levels’.”

“But those four?”

Luna crouched to inspect, glancing at the titles.

“Alchemy, potions, machinery, golems, enchantment… You want to master all the crafts?”

Enchanting isn’t a completely separate discipline, but before the 21st century it was on par with the other four “craft vocations.” As magical technology evolved, disciplines fused—and enchanting rose in prominence.

Alchemical items benefit from enhancements, potions are easier to make, machines and golems are dramatically improved. Nowadays, enchanting is foundational magic-tech—think materials science in a magical tech tree.

Every secondary path includes enchanting. Combat witches don’t need to worry—but Jiang Cha does.

“Yeah. Planning to learn the basics of them all first—there’s still time.”

Then the two witnessed Jiang Cha’s nightmarish reading speed.

With a relaxed smile, she opened the first volume of memos, flipped through it in a flash, closed her eyes for half a minute, and lifted the second book to repeat the process.

“Wait—wait—!!!”

“You’re done already?!”

Luna yelped, nearly disturbing Miss Moor. Apologizing with hands clasped, she tilted her head and asked Jiang Cha quietly:

“That can’t be right…”

Jiang Cha replied seriously, blinking innocently:

“I’m good at resisting mental contamination. My innate magic is Information Gathering—a mystery-type spell that boosts learning efficiency. And that first book? Just a travel log, not deeply tainted…”

“…That still doesn’t seem fair.”

He Qin couldn’t help feeling frustrated. She’d mastered golem-making in two years and was proud of her speed—but compared to Jiang Cha…

She puffed out her cheeks in silent gloom.

Completely not in the same league.

“Okay, first of all!”

Luna whispered urgently:

“Your mental aptitude is not just ‘a bit’… that’s insane.”

“I’d have to pay to measure that, you know?”

Measuring mental aptitude is expensive. You’d need to pierce witch defenses and directly measure their sister-mind—magic-wear isn’t cheap.

With regular humans this would be easy—but witches are naturally supercharged. What we call “mental coefficient” is the soul’s strength. Funny thing: in the 20th century, some tried killing someone, measuring their soul, and then reviving them to measure it that way. Witches… tend to be dramatic.

Jiang Cha smirked quietly at the absurd magical history.

“…Having a little genius roommate should be a blessing.”

Luna mulled it over, reconsidering her priorities.

There’s a good side to having a heavenly-smart roommate. Maybe Jiang Cha could even give you discounts on gear?

“Hey hey! With me, magical props come with unlimited discounts!”

“Nice! Then if anyone bullies you, come to me—my older sisters can totally handle them.”

The 1.3-meter blonde puffed her chest, giving a protective “I got you” vibe.

And she certainly could back it up.

“Maruko, that includes you too?”

Jiang Cha turned to He Qin.

“Maruko?”

Luna looked puzzled… then followed Jiang Cha’s gaze toward He Qin.

“Haha… yeah, she does get awkward sometimes.”

“Huh?”

He Qin snapped back to reality, seeing Luna and Jiang Cha grinning sincerely at her.

“Nothing.”

“Just planning to ask you about golem-making later.”

“Don’t worry—that’s totally legit. I’ll teach you everything.”

He Qin gave an expression of careful relief. Maybe she didn’t know why, but she knew she trusted Jiang Cha in that moment.

The rest of the afternoon was “reading time.” More accurately, “reading time for two of them.”

Luna had lost patience five minutes in—flipping through four novels in rapid succession, getting fidgety, chatting with other students… until Miss Moor, exasperated, lugged her out of the library by the collar. Maybe that was what Luna needed—she wasn’t cut out for quiet study in a library.

Luna was too shy to excuse herself.

Jiang Cha and He Qin just chuckled, pinged Luna a message, and turned back to their respective books