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

As Meredith led Miya out of the library tower, the freshmen queuing outside to collect their books were experiencing a small-scale heatstroke.

The midday sun beat down directly on the square, baking the bluestone slabs until they turned white, and the heat in the air distorted the outlines of the distant statues.

The witches lined up looked like a row of wilted potted plants. Some fanned themselves with textbooks, some used their coats as sunshades, and some even squatted on the ground and drew a miniature frost array with their fingers, but their skills were lacking, and they only managed to produce a few snowflakes before fizzing out.

A volunteer who looked like the temporary leader stood next to the line, holding a portable megaphone and trying her best to maintain order, but her voice was so hoarse that she could barely speak.

"Are there any senior students specializing in ice elements who can save us? Just two ice blocks will do! Any shape will do! Ice cubes, ice pillars, ice cones, ice lumps—anything goes! If this sun keeps up, we'll turn into roasted meat!"

She laughed after she shouted, bending over and supporting herself on her knees, sweat dripping from her forehead onto the bluestone slab, instantly evaporating into an invisible wisp of water vapor.

Just then, someone said, "Isn't that Academician Meredith?" and then the whole group turned their heads toward the main entrance of the tower like dominoes.

Meredith stepped out of the door, her gold-rimmed glasses casting a thin golden line in the sunlight, her long, dark brown hair cascading down her back.

Miya held Meredith's hand; her hoodie sleeves were still a bit long, only revealing half of her fingers as she gripped Meredith's palm. Her fluffy, light golden short hair was fuzzy in the sunlight, and her face was slightly flushed from the sun, making her look like a round mango ice cream ball that had just been taken out of the refrigerator and started to melt.

"Was that the little girl who went in with the recommendation letter just now? How come Meredith personally led her out?"

"They went deeper into the academy. That's not the teaching area; it's towards the back mountain, isn't it?"

"Hello, Ms. Meredith!"

Finally, someone in the crowd reacted, and a girl holding textbooks called out to Meredith's back.

Meredith paused for a moment, turned her head and nodded slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips, as if in response.

Miya turned around as well, bowed earnestly in the direction of the sound, nodded, and then continued walking forward.

The group of little witches behind them, who were practically melting from the sun, immediately erupted in chaos.

"She's definitely my daughter, my biological daughter. If she's not, I'll eat this book, 'The Theory of Basic Elements'."

"That little witch looked so well-behaved and sensible when she nodded just now!"

"So that recommendation letter was a green light that the mother gave her daughter."

"Shh, keep your voice down! They're not far yet!"

As you walk from the tower toward the back of the mountain, the liveliness of Moon Forest is gradually left behind.

The stone-paved road narrowed as you walked, and the buildings on both sides changed from imposing stone buildings to low-rise laboratory buildings, and then to independent research rooms scattered on the grass.

Finally, even the stone path broke off, replaced by a dirt path half-covered by weeds, winding its way to a forest deep within the campus.

Meredith walked very fast, as fast as she graded papers, her long legs taking long strides.

Miya followed behind her, initially managing to keep up, then it became a brisk walk of three steps at a time, and later it almost became a run to keep up.

The little leather shoes pattered on the dirt path, his breathing became more and more rapid, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

But she bit her lower lip and didn't say, "Teacher, could you slow down?" Instead, she put all her strength into keeping up with the steps in front of her, like a child following behind an adult, who was clearly about to run out of energy but refused to say she was tired.

Then Meredith stopped, suddenly bent down, slipped one hand under Miya's knees, and supported her back with the other, gently lifting her up.

Miya felt her feet suddenly leave the ground, and her gaze abruptly rose from the dirt road to a position level with Meredith's shoulders. The hoodie hood was pulled up on her head due to inertia, covering her entire face.

"Huh?!"

She popped out of the hat, and before she knew it, her hands were already instinctively wrapped around Meredith's neck.

"Teacher, I can walk by myself—"

"It's okay, this way it'll be faster."

Miya opened her mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but looking down at the height of the ground above her dangling toes, she ultimately chose to bury her face in Meredith's shoulder and let out a muffled "oh."

Meredith had a very faint scent, like the ink of old book pages, the slight bitterness of coffee, and the crisp, lingering scent of magic from the laboratory.

Miya nestled on her shoulder, her nose brushing against her collar, and suddenly found the scent very pleasant and comforting.

She stopped struggling and speaking, simply holding Meredith's neck quietly as the denser shade of the trees on either side of the road receded into the distance.

The deeper you go, the quieter it becomes.

The cicadas chirped sparsely, the fallen leaves on the road were getting thicker and thicker, and the air temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees, carrying the unique moisture of the mountains and the fresh fragrance of decaying grass and leaves.

The hustle and bustle of the college area has completely disappeared, replaced by the rustling sound of the wind passing through the treetops, like turning pages of a book.

After walking for about ten minutes, the view suddenly opened up.

At the edge of the dense forest was a small clearing, where a house stood all alone.

Strictly speaking, it's more like someone spurred on a whim to piece together several small wooden houses of different styles, added an attic on top, and finally hung a string of colorful wind chimes outside the attic.

The exterior walls were painted off-white, but the paint had peeled off in patches, and waist-high weeds grew at the base of the walls.

Several wooden crates were piled on the porch, some containing empty glass bottles, others planted with unidentified small red flowers that bloomed vibrantly, the only bright spot in this gray-green hue.

Behind the house stretched an endless expanse of mountains and forests.

The layers of tree canopies merge into a dark green sea in the distance, and the outlines of distant mountains can be vaguely seen on the horizon, shrouded in the afternoon mist as pale blue silhouettes.

The distance between here and the main campus of Tsukinomori is roughly such that "it is theoretically still within the campus area, but food delivery services may not be willing to deliver there."

Meredith gently put Miya down, and Miya's feet finally touched the ground again.

She was bending down and using her fingertips to comb her hair, which was frizzy from static electricity, when the wooden door in front of her creaked open from the inside.

A young girl stood at the door.

She looks about the same age as Meredith, but their temperaments are completely opposite.

If Meredith is an academic mountain surrounded by papers and lesson plans, then this witch is a neglected stream at its foot, flowing wherever it pleases, and possibly turning a corner at any time.

Her long, jet-black hair was not tied up, but casually draped over her shoulders and back, with her bangs swept to the sides, revealing a slender face with expressive features.

She wore a loose, dark blue robe with several indelible herbal stains and ink marks, and most strikingly, a red flower was tucked into her hair.

The petals still had dewdrops on them, as if they had just been picked from the branch and casually tucked into their hair.

Her gaze first fell on Meredith, she lazily raised an eyebrow, then moved down a little bit and stopped on Mi Ye.

Those dark eyes suddenly lit up, and the person sprang up from the door frame, clasped their hands together in front of their chest, and let out a joyful cry.

"Meredis—where did you steal this child from? She's so tiny! So cute!!"

Meredith pushed up his glasses expressionlessly.

"This is Mi Ye. Her consciousness and talent are both suited to flesh magic, so I'm entrusting her to you."

"student?"

Bie Chenye squatted down, resting his hands on his knees, and looked at Mi Ye at eye level.

She tilted her head and stared at Mi Ye for a long time, her eyes filled with undisguised joy, like someone who had lived alone in the deep mountains for several years suddenly hearing a knock on the door, opening it to find an adorable little deer standing there.

"No one has applied to my major for many years."

She reached out and gently poked Mi Ye's cheek with her fingertip, the force as light as touching a dandelion that would scatter.

"Are you really willing to learn flesh and blood magic, unafraid of hardship, and unafraid of this strange teacher of yours?"

Miya blinked when poked, but instead of backing away, she tiptoed slightly and leaned forward a little, pressing her face into the other person's palm.

Bie Chenye's hands were warm, and they felt very comfortable on Mi Ye's skin.

"...So soft."

Bie Chenye's voice suddenly softened.

She gently rubbed Miya's cheek with her thumb, then withdrew her hand, stood up, and took a deep breath.

"Okay, leave it to me."

She spoke to Meredith, her tone suddenly becoming much more serious.

"Don't worry, I may lack many things, but I have plenty of time and patience."

"I haven't had a student for several years, and finally one has come. I won't let this opportunity go to waste."

Meredith nodded, then looked down at his watch, his brow furrowing slightly.

She probably has a meeting or experiment waiting for her in the afternoon.

So he took the trench coat off his arm, shook it, draped it back over his shoulder, and then bent down to look at Miya.

"I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. If you need anything, please contact me via WW. Don't be shy. This teacher's name is Bie Chenye; you can call her Teacher Bie or Teacher Ye."

Her gaze lingered on Mi Ye's face for a while, then she raised her hand, gently pressed her fingertips on the wisp of hair on Mi Ye's head that she couldn't suppress no matter what she did, and quickly withdrew her hand.

"You're more capable than you think, remember that."

Then Meredith turned around, the hem of her trench coat tracing a clean arc, and strode back along the dirt path she had come from, quickly disappearing into the shade of the trees.

Mi Ye waved gently in that direction, then turned around, looked up at Bie Chenye, and greeted him earnestly.

"Hello, Teacher Bie. My name is Miya. I'll be taking care of you from today onwards."