Chapter 102 – We’re Not Taking the Blame for This

Chapter 102 – We’re Not Taking the Blame for This

Renée tugged at the corners of her mouth, not wanting to say a word.

Mo Lan was a Sorceress with a foundation in cooking, and she was always pushing herself hard—it wasn’t strange that she learned so quickly.

Iris had good Culinary Magic Talent and also had cooking fundamentals, so it wasn’t strange that she learned quickly either.

Sylph and Vasida could even be dismissed on account of being Sorceresses with good Talent.

But the remaining little witches, who had absolutely no cooking foundation whatsoever—how had they managed to start learning to bake black bread with Culinary Magic this quickly?

What were they doing at this time last year? Still struggling with all manner of pan-fried meat patties!

And on top of that, the first-years had been knocked unconscious for a full two weeks by that mutant Wind Chime Flower’s screaming!

But this was something that couldn’t be said aloud. If it got out, the second-years would lose all their dignity as upperclassmen.

“Upperclassmen?” The first-year little witches inexplicably felt the atmosphere turning somewhat strange.

The upperclassmen didn’t seem too happy? Even unhappier than when they’d been talking about workbooks and exams earlier.

In the end, it was Lilith who couldn’t help but ask:

“You all practice Culinary Magic pretty diligently, right? Do you practice in the Dormitory? Aren’t you worried about making a mess of the kitchen?”

“Not at all! We only practice Culinary Magic during class. We don’t know the Cleaning Spell, so if we practiced in the Dormitory, we’d never finish cleaning up! But as for Attuning our cooking utensils, we basically get that done on the way to and from class. We hadn’t even learned basic cooking yet, but we’d already Attuned everything in advance!”

As for why things turned out this way—naturally, it was because they’d learned it from watching Mo Lan, who could read her Grimoire, Attune brooms, rags, and dustpans all at the same time, while walking!

Though they couldn’t yet split their attention three ways, walking while Attuning a pot or pan here and there wasn’t much of a problem.

Everything was stored in their Cards anyway, so they could pull items out to Attune at any time.

The second-years understood now.

This heartbreaking topic could come to an end.

“Why did you all come to our classroom anyway? The third-years have theory classes during these periods too, don’t they?”

Why should only they be the ones suffering?

“The third-years don’t have workbooks yet!”

“That’s right! Lady Amisha has so many, but there’s only one Mo Lan—she hasn’t finished proofreading them yet!”

The upperclassmen’s gazes converged on Mo Lan once more: “The third-year workbooks aren’t done yet?”

“They’re written. They just need me to proofread them,” Mo Lan said. “Don’t worry! The third-year ones will be ready soon! Workbooks and exams—everyone will get them, everyone! Absolutely no favoritism.”

The second-year little witches felt much better: “Let us know when the third-year workbooks are ready! We’ll all go together!”

Go together to do what—no one needed to spell it out. Everyone understood instantly. Of course it was to go watch the show in the third-year classroom!

“Good luck on your exams, upperclassmen! Earn lots of Magic Gold Coins, and then we can blind the third-year upperclassmen together!”

The second-year little witches: yet another reason to study hard for the exams and earn Magic Gold Coins!

“Upperclassmen, do you know how to highlight key points? Get Moira to teach you! Workbooks are a specialty from her homeland in her previous life, and she helped write them. Once you highlight the key points, studying is worry-free!”

Under the first-years’ enthusiastic recommendation, the second-years asked curiously: “What key points?”

“The key knowledge from each chapter! They’re all important exam topics—the ones you need to memorize!” Vasida said. “As long as you master all the key points, it’s absolutely impossible to score below 80!”

“That impressive? But Moira hasn’t studied second-year theory courses. Can she really teach us to highlight key points?” Renée said.

“Yes,” Mo Lan spoke up. “Before proofreading the workbooks, I had to read the original textbook material. I’ve memorized it all…”

She didn’t even need to look at the books—she could recite it all from memory.

The second-years: “…”

Wait, did it really have to be this ridiculous? Were the books engraved into her brain?

Mo Lan smiled. “I just have a relatively good memory.”

“‘Relatively good’? This is absurdly good! Even the Transcription Spell isn’t as impressive as you!” Lilith said, thoroughly convinced.

Yet another day of being stunned by their underclassman.

The second-year little witches flew their broomsticks noticeably faster that day.

For no other reason than fear that on the next monthly exam, they’d score worse than their underclassmen, not earn a single Magic Gold Coin, and lose their dignity as upperclassmen.

Thinking about the first-year underclassmen made their hearts ache, but thinking about the still-oblivious third-years, fourth-years, and fifth-years made them feel much better.

Mo Lan watched the second-year upperclassmen racing their broomsticks across the sky back to the Dormitory and sighed with satisfaction: “How wonderful! The upperclassmen have been motivated by the exams too!”

Cheryl glanced at her and silently shook her head.

Were they motivated by the exams? They were clearly motivated by Mo Lan! Just like herself!

Hmm? A certain Sorceress had started reading again—she’d better keep up!

* * *

When the second-years’ monthly exams reached their second round, the third-years also received the news about workbooks and the upcoming exams.

The scene from two months ago played out once more.

Only this time, it was the first and second-years watching the third-years together.

Seeing the constipated expressions on the third-year upperclassmen’s faces, the pain the second-year little witches had felt from being shown up by their underclassmen was instantly healed.

Mo Lan was much more practiced at this by now.

Not every little witch enjoyed motivational speeches, but every single little witch absolutely responded to the goading approach!

No little witch was willing to be outdone by her underclassmen! It was a matter of dignity.

However, the third-year upperclassmen were particularly wistful: “It’s a shame that the fourth and fifth-years don’t have unified theory classes. Third-year theory is already half self-study, and from fourth-year onward, it’s entirely self-study. Otherwise, we could…”

They wouldn’t get to watch their upperclassmen’s reactions.

“But… they’ll have exams too! The fourth-year upperclassmen have quarterly exams, and the fifth-years will also have one before graduation,” Mo Lan said.

The fifth-year upperclassmen were nowhere to be seen, but the fourth-year upperclassmen could still be encountered from time to time.

The little witches were fired up.

A few months later, once the workbooks had become standard throughout the entire Academy, whenever the little witches ran into a fourth-year upperclassman anywhere on campus, they would stop and ask whether she had experienced the joy of workbooks and exams.

The fourth-years didn’t have unified theory classes, so the workbooks were distributed to them as supplementary study materials.

Even the quarterly exams had only been announced with advance notice.

They had far too many things to work on and study, and many little witches hadn’t taken the matter seriously.

And then… the first victims of Lady Amisha’s workbook rewards appeared among the fourth-year little witches.

“Half of the fourth-year little witches were rewarded with workbooks! Tracey was among them, and each person’s workbook was different. In Lady Amisha’s words, they were all custom-tailored for them…”

Lilith was beaming as she said: “Moira, your previous world is really something! This workbook-as-punishment method is absolutely brilliant!”

Mo Lan: “…”

She and Earth were not taking the blame for this!