The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

"Hiss!" Just hearing the words "breadfruit" made Vasita's back teeth ache, as if she were tasting that tooth-aching sourness again.

Lilith also recalled some amusing incidents from her school days: "I suddenly have a bit of a urge to become the headmistress of the Witch Academy... I really want to see what kind of expression Dorera will have when she moves into a dilapidated dormitory and eats sour breadfruit..."

"Hey! Now that you mention it, I've been thinking about it too!" Vasita casually tapped her communication bracelet. "Who's the current dean again? I'll give him a heads-up now..."

"cough."

A soft cough interrupted her.

The three turned their heads and saw Moran holding a wine glass, her gaze drifting towards the distant stream: "Um... I've already applied for the dean's position."

"???"

Lilith, Vasita, and Sylph all turned to look at her, their faces filled with surprise: "You've already applied? When did this happen?!"

“The year Sylvia was born,” Moran touched his nose, feeling a little guilty, “she was so adorable. I couldn’t bear to see her leave home for school thirteen years later, and I didn’t want to miss the beginning of her formal magical training… so I contacted the current headmistress, Ms. Celia, and made an appointment with her that I would take over as headmistress the year the children enrolled…”

"Wow! You only brought this up now because it's so important!"

Lilith narrowed her eyes, leaned closer to Moran with ill intent, and whispered a threat: "Once you become the dean, you'd better reserve a private room for me in the dean's lounge. I want to stay there for a long time! Otherwise... I'll tell Sylvia in advance that you'll become her dean when she enrolls!"

“I want one too!” Vasita immediately raised her hand. “I can’t miss seeing little Tessa at the academy.”

“Then… count me in too!” Sylph replied gently, her smile carrying a hint of nostalgia: “I’ve been the dean for so many years, but I’ve never actually seen my own child when they were in school.”

"Why reserve a room?" Moran raised an eyebrow and smiled, tapping her fingertip lightly on the rim of her glass. "Why don't we all become deans together?"

"???"

Lilith blinked. "Together? The headmistress of the Witch Academy... isn't there always only one?"

“That’s because there’s only one ‘Dean’s Golden Cup.’” Moran flicked her wrist, and a purplish-black card appeared in her palm. “But now, I can create a new Golden Cup anytime!”

{Dean's Golden Cup}
[Function: The user can consume magic to create different clones of the Dean. The clones inherit the knowledge and abilities of the original user; the higher the inheritance, the greater the magic consumption. The clones are limited to the Witch Academy demiplane. Upon recalling a clone, the original user will gain all of the clone's memories and experience.]

"You turned the Dean's Golden Cup into a card?" Vasita asked in surprise.

Sylph noticed the phrase "different appearance": "It seems somewhat different from the original Dean's Golden Cup? Does this 'different appearance' refer to the ability to transform into clones?"

Moran smiled and nodded: "This is a new feature I added to the Golden Cup for the Deans. The appearance of the clones can be set at will. As long as everyone uses the same appearance, no little witch will be able to tell if there are multiple Deans behind the clones! Although the clan's funding will not increase, I think... none of you care about that little bit of magic consumption, right?"

Maintaining a teaching dean at the peak level of a witch requires 10,000 mana magic points per day.

Most witches who become deans rely on ordinary magic crystals allocated by the clan council to maintain their numerous clones.

However, for high-ranking witches whose total magical power has now exceeded one trillion, their own magical power is enough to maintain the existence of hundreds of millions of peak-level witch clones.

“Then it’s a deal,” Lilith raised her glass. “On the day the children start school—we’ll both be headmasters.”

Four wine glasses gently clinked together in the air, producing a crisp and lingering echo.

Overnight, the moving castle had quietly traveled from Emerald Creek Plain to the depths of Starlight Forest, where it came to rest peacefully on a soft patch of grass in the woods.

Morning light streamed gently into the rooms through the castle's stained-glass windows.

Tessa woke up first and habitually rolled over.

"Ouch!"

"pain……"

"Tessa!" Cries of pain rang out around her.

Dorella covered her head, Sylvia rubbed her bottom, and Evelyn pressed her arm; all three pairs of eyes stared at the culprit.

"Sorry, sorry!" Tessa quickly sat up, scratching her head sheepishly. "I have a habit of rolling around a couple of times as soon as I wake up..."

"Hmph!" Sylvia's eyes darted around, and she suddenly pounced. "Sisters, grab her!"

Dorella and Evelyn exchanged a glance and then joined the "battle" with a smile.

"Help!" Tessa dared not use any force, afraid that she would hurt her friend if she used too much strength, so she could only dodge left and right in the room.

The four little ones chased and played, circling the spacious room three times.

Just then, a voice came from outside the castle:
"Sylvia, once you're awake, bring Tessa, Dorella, and Evelyn out for breakfast! We still have to travel after that."

“It’s Mom!” Sylvia stopped immediately.

Evelyn looked at the spiraling vine ladder against the wall: "Want to go out and take a look?"

The four little witches scrambled up the vine ladder, pushed open the glass door at the top, and were greeted by the cool morning forest air.

"Wow...where is this?" Dorella leaned on the railing, looking curiously at the unfamiliar forest scenery around her.

Evelyn blinked her sleepy eyes, feeling a sense of familiarity: "It looks like... Starlight Forest?"

“Really!” Tessa pointed excitedly into the distance. “My mom and I came here when we were hunting!”

“That’s right, these are the Starry Night Trees unique to the Starlight Forest!” Sylvia has been studying maps very diligently these past few years, and she recognized them at a glance. “We’ve really arrived at the Starlight Forest!”

Four little heads crowded around the railing, full of wonder.

"You took a nap and ended up here from Cuixi Plain?"

"Did the castle fly over, or did it walk in?"

"I should have stayed up last night and watched how it walked away..."

"Look! Mom and the others are down there!" Tessa pointed to the grassy area in front of the castle.

Moran looked up when she heard the noise and snapped her fingers lightly.

In an instant, the railing at the edge of the terrace extends outward, bends, and folds, transforming into a winding and flowing staircase that steadily connects the terrace to the lawn.

"Come down quickly," she said with a smile and a wave, "Breakfast is ready."

The little witches ran down the stairs and rushed into their mothers' arms.

"Mommy! Mommy! Did the castle come from Emerald Creek Plain?"

"Why aren't there any big footprints left on the road?"

When did we get here?

Where to go next?

...(End of chapter)