Chapter 117: Pet Companion and The Opening Battle

Witches don’t like to enslave other races.

Back in the early stages of establishing themselves in warfare, they did recruit servant armies, luring other races onto the battlefield with the promise of becoming witches. But that was ancient history.

With the development of mechanics and the integration of various disciplines, witches no longer need living beings as cannon fodder.

Are war machines ineffective? Why bother with clumsy, low-level, hard-to-maintain servant armies?

As for the non-human beings working in witch society, some ended up there after their original civilizations were unexpectedly destroyed, drifting into the witch world to make a living.

But the majority are descendants of pets raised by witches.

Yes, witches are that extravagant—they even raise dragons as pets.

The dragon carrying them to the Camilla Cup venue, according to itself, was the descendant of a sage’s pet, who had grown up and come out to earn a living and food on its own.

In fact, many witches of the Transmutation School have a habit of keeping pets: dragons, demons, elemental spirits, and so on—there are very many.

Witches generally don’t like to constrain their pets… or partner creatures. So, unexpected pregnancies often occur.

Just like pigs can be either pets or livestock, even if witches regularly use their pets as material—or even eat them—the pets they’ve raised for a long time, with whom they’ve formed bonds, are treated differently.

Thus, the Sage Council issued a set of regulations for pet breeding and care. In short: pets and their descendants can now be officially registered as residents, with genuine rights of life, so they won’t suddenly be turned into “golden materials” during an outing.

—After all, they are intelligent beings.

Dragons, demons, and many other species are difficult to raise. Many witches cannot afford the economic burden of keeping extra pets, so many “partner pets” exist without owners, earning their own living in witch society.

Once they earn enough, they can apply for witchification, becoming genuine witches themselves. It’s also a method of population growth. Over more than a hundred years, this system gradually scaled up.

Examples include large companies like Dragon Travel, Elf Express, and Black Cat Odd Jobs.

Gradually, a saying emerged: witches go out to earn resources while partner pets work at home, supporting daily life. Both sides benefit—a healthy social cycle.

The Sage Council is even considering raising the status of partner pets further.

“This matter will probably have a result in a few more years,” Mephist said during their trip, explaining the details of partner pets to Jiang Cha and the little one, finishing with a note of reflection.

By the time she finished, they had arrived precisely on schedule.

“Oh~ that’s great. I hope we get there soon—though I do wish witchification fees were cheaper.”
“Your journey has ended. Please remember not to forget your luggage.”

The dragon remained humorous, yet in its massive, vertically slit eyes—longer than Jiang Cha’s height—there was a hint of anticipation.

It’s an outsider…

Even in witch society, discrimination exists—some witches disregard the lives of their own kind, let alone “materials.” This is why the Sage Council needs sufficient personnel. Witch society is enormous and complex; without an efficient management system, disaster would be inevitable.

The society is just… too…
intelligent for its own good. Without proper governance, it could plunge into self-destruction.

“I think this world is getting more and more interesting… Violette, what do you think?”
“Dragon-sama is super funny! I really like her!”

The little one can’t ponder such complex matters yet. Even Jiang Cha doesn’t waste mental energy on these issues. She’s still a little witch—she must adapt to society, not expect society to adapt to her.

“By the way, I haven’t looked at the tournament schedule… senpai?” Jiang Cha said, suddenly feeling guilty.

After all, she was hired—neglecting a commission could ruin her reputation.

Fortunately, Mephist didn’t mind. She only sighed softly, her voice tinged with indulgence:
“Yes, yes, I knew you wouldn’t have time to check. Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared it.”

“Senpai really is the most reliable!”
The girl rubbed herself happily against her.

“All right, all right.”
Mephist smiled, saying nothing more.

But neither noticed the little one behind them, its eyes shimmering with curiosity, as if deep in thought.

…

Generally, a small amateur cup lasts about fifteen to twenty days.

But the Camilla Cup, perhaps because of its fame, or because this is a relatively free season for witches, has so many participants that the entire tournament had to be stretched to a month for livestream scheduling.

Tickets and broadcast rights were all prepared.

Originally, the tournament was hosted by Sage Camilla just for fun; she attended with the mindset of enjoying the spectacle and spending some money for entertainment.

Surprisingly, apart from a slight loss in the first event, the rest were pure profit.

The tournament has now reached its eighth iteration, becoming more professional and larger each year. It is even gaining recognition from the Tournament Association.

Yet Sage Camilla still approaches it like a fun “baby cup,” unconcerned with small sums, leaving the schedule and specific dates to her convenience.

Fortunately, this year there were no issues.

Under Mephist’s guidance, the group checked into the hotel and successfully received the tournament schedule.

“Starting off with the opening match… I feel like the organizers are up to something,” Jiang Cha said, stroking her chin, a little anxious.

In witch battles, information warfare is part of the game. Scheduling the opening match immediately would draw massive attention, which could disadvantage the subsequent rounds.

“Don’t you know?” Mephist looked at her with surprise.

“You know some insider info, senpai?”
“The opening match was specifically requested by Senior Shui Jun.”

Jiang Cha: “……”

She could guess Shui Jun’s intention, but starting with such pressure was perhaps overestimating her.
She just wanted to win casually and continue learning.

“No, I have to think of a way,” she muttered.