Chapter 183 – Witches and Humans

With those girls leading the way, the older students followed suit, and the Great Hall gradually grew lively.

By this time, Mo Lan had already begun making her rounds in order from nearest to farthest, and was now heading toward Anna and Annie—the two sisters who had claimed a small corner for themselves, keeping their distance from the other new students.

Anna and Annie’s hearts leapt into their throats.

When a stranger approached, their first instinct was wariness and fear.

But to their surprise, this witch who looked younger than them didn’t press in close the way she had with the other new students. Instead, she stopped just beyond arm’s reach—any closer and the sisters would have lost their composure entirely.

“Anna, Annie, hello! I’m Moira.” Mo Lan put on the friendliest smile of her life.

Anna said nothing. Annie hesitated for a moment before managing in a hoarse voice, “H-hello, Senior Moira!”

Mo Lan didn’t mind their lack of manners in the slightest. She opened with an absolute bombshell: “In my previous life, I was a human too…”

She paused for three seconds, then tilted her head up to look at the two juniors who were half a head taller than her, her eyes practically screaming, “Go on, ask me! Ask me!”

Anna and Annie had never expected this senior to walk up and just blurt out her secret like that.

The implications of that single sentence terrified them—they half-expected to be silenced at any moment.

But when they glanced around, they noticed that while the first-year students had all perked up their ears, the upperclassmen and the Headmistress seemed completely unsurprised.

And it wasn’t as if she’d said it quietly.

“Wait, you’re not even curious? I said previous life!” Mo Lan planted her hands on her hips, utterly baffled. Had juniors these days really lost all sense of curiosity at such a young age?

And here she’d been planning to use herself as an example to put them at ease!

Anna and Annie finally understood—she wanted them to ask follow-up questions!

Were they curious? Of course they were curious!

Their guard even dropped a notch. Even if she was a villain, a villain’s self-revealed secrets might just be the key to their survival later!

“If you don’t mind, Senior—what do you mean by ‘previous life’?” Anna’s voice was somewhat clearer and crisper than her sister’s.

Mo Lan was satisfied. She continued:

“It means I was a human in my previous life. My soul reincarnated, and I became a witch—but I still carry all the memories from before.

Oh, and I was a human from another world, at that. Even so, the witch race never treated me as an outsider, and none of my classmates ever looked at me differently because of it.

The reason I’m telling you all this is to say: witches and humans really are very different.

Everything you learned about witches from humans—that’s not what real witches are like.

Witches never harm one another. The Witch Academy is absolutely safe. Here, no one will ever hurt you!

So relax and enjoy Academy life. Study Magic well! And if anyone ever bullies you again—hit them back with Magic!”

In Anna and Annie’s eyes, this seemingly carefree senior before them seemed to glow with a warm light.

If someone had simply told them that the Witch Academy was safe, they never would have believed it.

But now, the person saying these things was a senior from another world—someone who would be considered a heretic even among humans.

If even someone like her had been accepted by the witches, then could the two of them also live safely here—and even learn Magic?

“If anyone ever bullies you again, hit them back with Magic”—those words struck straight to the core of their hearts.

If only they could use Magic to protect themselves—how wonderful that would be!

“Oh, right—here, these are for you. This is my Sorceress Magic flyer. You might not understand what Sorceress Magic is right now, but don’t worry—once classes start, you’ll figure it out! Just choose based on what suits you then.

And this too. This card contains a complete set of the 《Young Witch’s Primer》. Every young witch reads these books before enrollment. They might help you learn a bit about the witch race before classes officially begin.

Just remember to use it after you get back to the Dormitory! Once you take the books out, they’ll be quite the hassle to carry back.” While handing out flyers, Mo Lan also gave them a card she’d made on the spot, containing a full set of the 《Young Witch’s Primer》—the same edition she’d read as a child.

Consider it a small gesture from a senior to these two prickly-as-hedgehogs juniors.

Today was Wednesday, and classes officially started on Monday—that was still four days away! Since they couldn’t access the library, reading through the 《Young Witch’s Primer》 would serve them well enough.

Only through understanding could they let down their guard.

Of the thirty-five flyers she’d started with, only one remained. Every single first-year witch had been reached. Mo Lan’s mission accomplished, she stepped away to prepare for the upcoming seasoning pack card tasting event.

After her, the other young witches also took the initiative to go greet Anna and Annie.

The corner where Anna and Annie sat had become quite lively.

In all their eighteen years combined, they had never seen as many smiling faces as they did today.

Senior Moira was right—witches and humans really were different.

Just like the other new students, they too had been moved by the warm and friendly seniors.

But the ones who left the deepest impression on them were the four seniors who’d come to hand out flyers: the second-years Mo Lan, Vasida, and Sylph, and the third-year Lilith.

Their classmates called them Sorceresses.

Anna and Annie had no idea what a Sorceress was, and couldn’t help but prick up their ears to listen to the others talk.

By now their little corner had long been swallowed up by the crowd, so eavesdropping was effortless.

Guardians of the Wilds, punching angels and kicking demons, All-Element Magic with limitless talent, Sorceress Magic, Manifested Gifts, the strongest in all of Valen… Anna and Annie listened with their hearts racing.

Their past experiences had instilled in them a deep yearning for power.

It was a shame they weren’t Sorceresses…

But being a witch was wonderful enough. Darkness and curses didn’t exactly sound heroic, but if it meant they could protect themselves, that was more than enough.

Neither of them even realized it, but they had already come to believe that the Academy would teach them Magic.

The only thing was—no matter how much they listened, not a single young witch had mentioned tuition fees.

They didn’t have any money. Surely they wouldn’t be thrown out?

Being expelled would be bad enough, but if they were sent back the way they came… The sisters shuddered, and for the very first time, took the initiative to ask someone a question.

“Tuition? What’s that?”

The young witches had only ever known the Witch Academy, and the Witch Academy had never charged fees—so they genuinely had no idea what tuition even was.

Mo Lan, however, understood their worry perfectly: “There’s no tuition. The Witch Academy is funded by the estates left behind by our witch predecessors.”

Anna and Annie: “!!!”

A free school—and a Magic school at that. They had never heard of such a thing.

How could witches be so foolish, donating their entire estates to the school? Why didn’t they do what those nobles and mages did—leave everything to their own descendants or apprentices?

The most precious knowledge among humans was given freely among witches.

Once again, they marveled: witches and humans truly were different.