Miss Witch, even if we're poor, we can't sell ourselves!

As soon as she stepped outside, the cool, damp night breeze of Bellavita swept over her, blowing the few strands of short hair that were sticking up on Miya's forehead backward.

She buttoned her clothes and hat back up, and pulled her scarf up to the tip of her nose, leaving only her eyes showing.

Corona Borealis walked at the front, holding a half-eaten chocolate crepe in her left hand and making some exaggerated gesture with her right hand, her long, light purple hair swaying back and forth under the streetlights.

Fig, wrapped in a blanket, followed slowly behind, its footsteps as light as a cat's.

On her way to the bus stop, Miya stared at her D-rank witch certification on her phone and couldn't help but ask questions about the Fig Witch Association.

So the fig began to explain.

"The Witch Association's rating is the most authoritative standard for judging a witch's strength in the entire Bellavita. When people talk about S-class witches or A-class witches, they are not referring to how high her magical power is or how rare her skills are, but rather to her rating in the Witch Association."

"In other words, being rated S-rank means that a person has successfully completed enough high-difficulty tasks, accumulated a lot of achievements, and gained official recognition from the association. This is a rank earned through actual combat, which is completely different from getting first place in an exam at school."

Miya nodded earnestly, silently repeating the sentence in her mind.

Chata-sensei, Sietha-sensei, Primura-sensei, and Besshin-sensei, they should all be S-class witches.

She used to think the title was impressive, but now she understands how many times it meant risking her life.

Upon hearing about ratings and such, Corona Borealis immediately turned around and walked backwards, nearly dropping the crepe in its hand.

She pulled the silver-white B-grade badge hanging from her chest out from under her coat collar, held it up in front of Mi Ye and waved it, her face practically screaming "Praise me!"

"See that? B-rank! B-rank! I'm a genuine B-rank witch! This rank is extremely rare even among second-year university students. In short, B-rank is pretty awesome, you understand?"

Miya looked at Corona Borealis's smug, head-shaking expression, blinked, and then her eyes curved into two crescent moons.

She put her hands behind her back and spoke in a deliberately innocent tone.

"If I defeated a B-rank witch in the martial arts competition, does that mean I'm stronger than a B-rank witch?"

Upon hearing this, Corona Borealis immediately pouted, her pale purple eyes filled with resentment, yet she couldn't refute it, because she had indeed lost, and lost without any excuse.

She could only snort and turn her head away, her long, light purple hair whipping in the air in an arc, her footsteps deliberately pounding much harder than before.

"That doesn't count! I wasn't even using my full strength! Let's fight again next time, and I'll definitely beat you!"

"Sure, I'm available anytime."

Miya replied with a grin, and then Fig gently patted her head.

Fig's hand emerged from the blanket, its palm warm, and landed on Mi Ye's head like a sun-warmed leaf.

She used the same gesture to pat Corona Borealis's head as well. Corona Borealis, who had been sulking, relaxed noticeably after being patted twice, and eventually obediently followed Fig along.

"As for why you were exempted from the testing commission and were directly given a D-level badge, as you just asked."

Fig withdrew his hand, wrapped the blanket tighter around himself again, and continued the conversation.

"Although the Witch Association is a nationwide organization, there is competition between its branches in different cities. The main competition is in performance indicators, such as the number of new registrations, the number of commissions completed, the number of high-rated witches, and the total annual compensation. These things will affect the funding that the branch receives from the headquarters and the personnel quota for the following year."

"Bellavita Central Branch hasn't even met its quota for newly registered high-potential witches this year, and you've delivered yourself to our doorstep today, and you're also the top performer in the Moon Forest Martial Arts Tournament. Any branch would be scrambling to have a newcomer like you."

Miye took the phone and glanced at the dense data charts on the screen, feeling her understanding being refreshed layer by layer.

"Giving you preferential treatment means you'll come to us more often to take on commissions and help us boost our performance. This tacit understanding is an unspoken rule between the witches and the association, and neither side loses out."

Miya returned the phone to Fig, remained silent for a while, and then let out a sigh from the depths of her soul.

"So the world of witches is really this complicated."

[Sociology +1]

In her previous life, she had at least briefly experienced the struggles and intrigues of society, witnessing all sorts of power struggles. She thought that being reborn into a magical otherworld would free her from these worries, but she never expected that not only would the same things exist here, but they might even be more complicated.

It seems that in addition to cultivating flesh and blood magic, she will also need to take some time to learn how to live shrewdly in this society, otherwise she might be used as a pawn and end up helping others count their money.

You'll get used to it.

Fig put his phone back in his bag, his tone becoming a little more serious.

"Just remember this: no matter how enthusiastic the association is towards you, you must carefully read the terms and conditions before accepting a commission, especially the disclaimer and the section on injury and death compensation. The association's stance is always to protect itself first, and you must also learn to protect yourself first."

Miya responded earnestly, keeping those words firmly in mind.

The Borealis, unusually, didn't interrupt, but took a bite of the now-cold crepe, his expression inexplicably serious.

This topic is probably not an easy one for her either, after all, becoming a B-rank witch is indeed not easy.

As they spoke, the three of them had already reached the bus stop.

A thin layer of frost had formed on the roof of the platform, with a few thin icicles hanging from the edges, glittering coldly under the streetlights.

A witch wrapped in a thick coat sat on a platform bench, holding a gray cat wrapped in a small blanket in her arms. The cat was dozing with its eyes half-closed, and its tail occasionally flicked lazily.

The bus arrived in less than three minutes.

The holographic GG sign on the car is playing a promotional video for Qianjing Group's new game.

When Mi Ye got on the bus, she glanced at the GG sign. She had seen the trailer for this game several times when browsing MikuFans. It was developed by Qianjing Group, the company behind Lu Yue's family. It was said to be a fully immersive virtual reality masterpiece based on the Internet of Consciousness Sea technology. She didn't expect to see GG on the bus. Qianjing Group is really willing to spend money.

"Hey, have you seen this before?"

Corona Borealis peeked out from behind Miya, followed her gaze to the GG card, and then her eyes lit up.

She strode up the bus steps, found a three-seater in the back of the carriage, pulled Mi Ye and Wu Huaguo over to sit down, and then took out her phone and started frantically swiping the screen.

"I've been following this game, 'Starfall,' for a long time! They say they're going to connect the entire Bellavita's sea of ​​consciousness internet, allowing players to create their own sea of ​​consciousness worlds and seamlessly connect with others' worlds. Are you guys playing it? Let's team up when it goes into open beta!"

"OK."

Fig squeezed itself into a window seat, wrapped a blanket around itself, and curled up into a comfortable ball, giving the minimum response to Corona Borealis's enthusiasm.

Miya nodded and said she would play too, then leaned back in her seat and stretched.

The air conditioning in the bus was on full blast, and the warm air blowing out of the vents had a subtle, magical quality, creating a stark contrast with the freezing night outside.

She took off her gloves, warmed her red, frozen fingers by the radiator, and then leaned her head against the car window to look out.

Outside the car window, Bellavita was quietly donning its festive attire.

The glowing plants on both sides of the street were adorned with tiny golden magic lights. These lights would change color with the fluctuations of magic, from warm gold to deep red and then to silver-white, like a river of light flowing along both sides of the street.

The shop windows were decorated with sparkling ornaments. One bakery had placed a Christmas tree made from a peach tree at its entrance. Instead of pine cones and bells, the tree was covered with colorful magic stars. Each star was a real magic item that would flash at a different frequency, and some would even slowly rotate around the branches, trailing points of light.

The festival of the gods, though not called by this name in its previous life, should be similar in essence.

During the coldest time of the year, people use sparkling decorations and warm sweets to combat the long and dark winter, and find an excuse to get together, exchange gifts, and say a few warm words.

The names on both sides are different, but the longing for warmth in the cold is the same.

One glowing tree after another flashed past the car window, the light spots trailing as blurry lines in her pupils.

The carriage swayed slightly, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Just as Corona Borealis was about to say, "I called you," he looked down and saw that Miya was already asleep. Her pale golden eyelashes trembled slightly in the breeze from the radiator, and her lips were slightly parted, emitting soft snores.

She quickly put her phone on silent and gestured towards the fig.

Fig glanced down at Mi Ye, who was leaning on his shoulder, and said nothing. He simply pulled a corner of the blanket over Mi Ye and gently covered him with it.

The bus traveled smoothly through the night on the eve of Christmas, with the magical stars outside the window twinkling and casting the shadows of the three people inside onto the backs of the opposite seats, swaying gently with each turn.