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

When Mi Ye was carried out of the Clock Tower Garden by Xu Yue, her whole body was stiff.

Her hands remained in her pockets, her fingertips pressed against the cool glass surface of the potion bottle, ensuring that the bumps in her steps wouldn't cause it to slip out of her pockets.

Xu Yue's arm was draped over her shoulder, and her light blue hair was occasionally swept across Mi Ye's cheek by the wind, carrying a faint floral fragrance.

The little witch in the top hat seemed to be in a pretty good mood the whole way, humming an off-key melody and walking as lightly as if she were shopping in a mall.

But Miya couldn't relax at all.

She had only one thought in her mind: the two of them absolutely could not find what was in her pocket. As a result, she became more and more nervous, and her steps unconsciously became smaller, and her shoulders shrank slightly inward.

However, this tension was interpreted by Xu Yue in a completely different way.

"Oh dear, you're such a timid child."

Xu Yue looked down at Mi Ye's tense profile and couldn't help but laugh.

She removed her arm from Mi Ye's shoulder and gently patted her back instead, her tone unusually softer, though still carrying a hint of cunning.

"Relax, we're not going to kidnap you and sell you. I was wrong just now, I teased you too much, don't take it to heart."

Miya nodded obediently, responding with "uh-huh" sounds, but her mind was racing.

It turned out that Xu Yue thought she was frightened by the two of them. That made sense. A little witch who had just encountered a sea of ​​consciousness without a master was then cornered by two A-level witches on the spot. Anyone would be nervous in that situation.

So she continued to maintain that timid expression, occasionally glancing up at Xu Yue before quickly lowering her head again, perfectly portraying a frightened little witch.

Bitter Fish walked behind the two of them without saying a word, looking somewhat melancholy.

Ronai and Kotone had already stopped following behind. As Ronai was going down the steps, Kotone tugged at her sleeve and said that their rehearsal wasn't over yet. Then the two of them said goodbye to Miya and went back to the teaching building.

As she was leaving, Lena glanced back at Miya, her ahoge (cowlick) bobbing slightly, but she didn't say anything.

When she reached the vicinity of the side gate of the teaching area, Miya finally found an opportunity.

"Um, I need to use the restroom."

She tugged at Xu Yue's sleeve, her voice soft and sweet, making her look pitiful against her still pale face.

Xu Yue glanced at her and sighed.

"Come back quickly."

Miya nodded and quickly went into the restroom.

She first made sure all the cubicles were empty, then slipped into the innermost one, locked the door, leaned against it, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

The next second, he disappeared into the cubicle.

Inside the Mirror Realm, it was still the little world she had cultivated with her own hands.

Miya walked quickly to a low tree, squatted down, and carefully placed the bottle into an inconspicuous depression next to the tree roots with both hands. She then moved a few pebbles from the side to cover it, and finally patted the mud off her hands.

When she stood up, her shoulders finally relaxed.

Alright, no matter how those two A-rank witches search her or interrogate her afterward, at least the most dangerous thing isn't on her anymore.

When Miya came out of the restroom, her steps were noticeably lighter.

Xu Yue leaned against the wall in the corridor waiting for her. When she came out, he looked her up and down, seemingly a little surprised by how quickly Mi Ye had recovered.

"You look much better."

"Hmm, much better!"

Miya looked up and returned her a small smile.

Then, the next second, her stomach let out a loud gurgling sound.

"..."

"..."

Miya's face flushed red, and she quickly turned her head away.

Xu Yue's lips twitched.

"you--"

"Shall we go eat?"

Mi Ye spoke before she could, her voice still soft, but her eyes were fixed on Xu Yue, filled with the thought, "I'm really starving."

"I just used up a lot of energy. If I don't eat something soon, I might really faint. It won't take too long, just a bowl of noodles, just one bowl will do."

Xu Yue took a deep breath, and just as she was about to say something, a hand reached out from behind her and firmly placed on the top of Mi Ye's head.

Kuyu gently ruffled Miye's hair, as if comforting a starving kitten.

"There's a ramen shop at the street corner that's pretty good, and it's only a two-minute walk away. I was hungry anyway."

Her tone remained calm, but her words made Mi Ye's eyes light up instantly.

Xu Yue opened her mouth, then looked at Mi Ye's face, which had instantly switched from pitiful to jubilant, but in the end said nothing, only letting out a soft hum.

"Alright, alright, let's eat."

When Mi Ye followed Ku Yu out of the side door of the teaching building, she deliberately took a small detour to get closer to Ku Yu, keeping a distance of one person between herself and Xu Yue.

Xu Yue took a few steps before realizing that Mi Ye had disappeared. She turned her head and looked over, only to find Mi Ye puffing out her cheeks and deliberately turning the back of her head to the other side.

So she rolled her eyes.

Who cares about you!

Ku Yu walked in the middle without changing his expression, completely ignoring the behavior of the elementary school students on both sides.

The ramen shop is located on the corner of the first street to the left after exiting the main gate of Xinggui Academy. The storefront is not large, and a lucky cat is printed on the curtain at the entrance.

Pushing open the glass door, you're greeted by warm yellow lighting and the rich aroma of pork bone broth.

There weren't many people in the store; only two students in school uniforms were sitting at the table by the window.

The three of them found a seat at the back of the room and sat down. Mi Ye and Ku Yu sat on one side, and Xu Yue sat on the other side.

The waiter handed over three menus, which Miya took and read through from beginning to end before pointing to what she wanted to eat.

Bitter Fish didn't even lift his eyelids, and held up four fingers to the waiter.

"Four bowls of char siu ramen, two large bowls for her, two small bowls for the remaining two, plus a serving of fried dumplings and a serving of chicken nuggets."

Xu Yue put the menu aside and watched Ku Yu order food for Mi Ye, her lips twitching.

"Are you her mother?"

"Don't you even give people enough to eat when you ask them for a favor?"

Kuyu pulled the chopsticks out of the paper sleeve, rinsed them with tea, and handed them to Miye.

Xu Yue choked, so she simply took off her top hat, put it on the table, and turned her head away, ignoring everyone.

Miya silently disassembled the chopsticks beside her, unable to suppress the smile on her face.

The noodles arrived quickly.

The ramen broth in the white porcelain bowl is a rich tonkotsu broth with a thin layer of oil floating on the surface. Several slices of char siu are neatly arranged on top, with charred edges.

Cut the soft-boiled egg in half; the yolk is a beautiful orange-red, and the semi-solid yolk liquid seeps out slightly and flows onto the noodles.

The chopped scallions are finely sprinkled on top, and when they are scalded by the hot soup, their aroma explodes.

Miya ignored everything else, picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

This time, she didn't wolf down her food like she did when eating dry noodles in the cafeteria. After all, there was an A-rank witch sitting opposite her and another A-rank witch sitting next to her. She still had to leave a good impression in front of important figures, so she barely maintained basic table manners.

But she kept eating quickly, and after about two-thirds of the first bowl of noodles had disappeared in silence, she finally looked up, picked up her cup, and took a sip of water.

After drinking the hot soup, my body warmed up, and my mind finally recovered from the hunger and was able to think normally again.

Since leaving the Bell Tower Garden, she has had a bellyful of questions: What exactly are they investigating? Why are they looking for her? And what exactly is that red moon in the unclaimed sea of ​​consciousness?

But these questions can be put aside for now; there's only one thing she really wants to know.

"Senior Sister Bitter Fish".

Miya put down her cup and said, pretending not to care.

"What exactly did Jian Qiuluo do?"

She spoke softly, but the atmosphere subtly shifted the moment she uttered the words "Jian Qiuluo".

Xu Yue was using chopsticks to pick up fried dumplings when the tips of the chopsticks paused for a moment.

Bitter Fish put down his teacup and glanced at Mi Ye.

Mi Ye did not back down, her eyes meeting Ku Yu's gaze directly, innocent and frank.

"Then I'll start with something you're probably more familiar with."

"Xu Yue and I are not investigating this case through the official channels of the Witch Association."

"This case is currently a very low priority within the association. The higher-ups feel that a lot of resources are needed to complete the arrest, and they are unwilling to invest more resources."

"But we both think this is much more serious than it seems, so we're now taking our time to catch up."

Miya nodded without interrupting.

Xu Yue didn't interrupt, but simply used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken that should have belonged to Mi Ye, chewing it very slowly.

"The person we're looking for is indeed Jian Qiuluo, but we're not looking for her as a wanted criminal."

Just as Mi Ye was about to ask what exactly they wanted from her, Ku Yu raised his hand, signaling her to wait a moment, and then spoke his second sentence.

"You're a freshman majoring in Flesh and Blood Magic, right? You're the last disciple that Teacher Bie Chenye took on this year. Xu Yue and I have actually heard of you."

Xu Yue picked up her chopsticks from the opposite side and shook them, as if acknowledging the statement.

Miya didn't deny it, after all, the news had already spread on MikuFans, so it couldn't be hidden and there was no need to hide it.

"Then you should know that there are very few students majoring in flesh and blood magic."

"How few? Before you enrolled, for the entire ten years, there was only one student majoring in flesh magic in the Moon Forest."

Kuyu paused for a moment, and Miye waited for her to say the name, but she already had a vague answer in her heart.

"That person is Jian Qiuluo."

Miya's fingers tightened suddenly as she gripped the chopsticks.

Is Jian Qiuluo also a student who avoids the deep night?

But Bie Chenye never mentioned this to her.

Miya's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but her throat seemed to be blocked by something.

Ku Yu watched Mi Ye's changing expression, waited a moment, and waited for her to process the news before continuing.

"But that's not the point. What I want to tell you is that things haven't been peaceful in Bellavita lately."

"Starting a few months ago, news about unclaimed consciousness seas began to appear in various parts of the city. You should have already experienced it firsthand."

Mi Ye nodded.

"The earliest cases were treated as ordinary paranormal events, and the government handed them over to the Witch Association's personnel below Rank C for routine investigation."

"But as more and more eyewitness reports came out, a pattern emerged: a red border appeared around the edge of the moon in all the unclaimed seas of consciousness."

Miya nodded again.

She remembered clearly that in the sea of ​​flowers under the moon in the hospital's mind-sea, there was indeed a ring of wriggling scarlet around the edge of the full moon overhead, as if it had been gnawed by some living creature.

When she was dragged into the Bell Tower Garden, she didn't even have time to look at the moon, but the feeling of being enveloped by that strange aura was exactly the same as that time in the hospital.

"There are currently sixteen similar incidents on record. They are all unclaimed seas of consciousness, all have the edge of the red moon, and are distributed in various areas of Bellavita. They are not geographically related to each other."

"In other words, it's not a curse or contamination of a specific location, but rather something deliberately done by someone or some organization."

Bitter Fish picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"The government, the Witch Association, and several independent research institutions have all conducted tests, and a joint expert group has reached a preliminary conclusion."

"The formation of these ownerless seas of consciousness is related to one thing."

"..."

"A potion called 'Blackbird'."

The moment the name was mentioned, the ramen shop remained bustling with noise.

But at the table where Miya was sitting, silence suddenly spread.