Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva-Chapter 390 - 131: The Night in the City

Evening, the club activity room.

Tilan sat by her desk, propped her face with one hand, and held a pen in the other, occasionally twirling it, occasionally marking the paper, unconsciously outlining the silhouette of a flower.

At this moment, she wasn’t contemplating any life problems, merely relaxing and daydreaming. The flower contour her pen tip traced was that of ’Tilan,’ a flower named by the elves.

It seemed like a long time since she last wrote in her diary. Tilan spun her pen on the paper, drawing a line resembling the calyx to signify the current date, June 2.

Since the start of this semester, she had been busy with many things, related to the academy as well as fellow students. However, her own matters had attracted less attention. Experience exclusive tales on novelbuddy

Thinking back to this time last year, she must have been working at ’Dream of Glazed Glass.’ It must be said that a top-rank academy like Edith Academy truly is a blissful paradise, sparing its students from many bothersome matters and allowing them to focus entirely on studies and advancement.

Recalling those days at Dream of Glazed Glass, a flurry of lively figures came to her mind.

Standing up, she walked to the corner of the room to a cabinet, unlocked the door, and took out a black walnut violin.

With violin in hand, she returned to her seat and began to play ’Canon in D’ gently, the piece she first practiced and with which she was most familiar.

The tune was not terribly complex, but every violinist’s status and thoughts while playing were different; it could sound lively and upbeat, be tinged with sadness, or even be calming and even-tempered. The musical score is merely a standard template, but the fingers and voice of a person are lively; the same piece performed by different people reveals different kinds of beauty.

In a room bathed in soft warm light, the girl, donned in a black dress, sat in her chair with a slender back held straight, shoulders subtly undulating with the movement of the violin bow. Her eyelashes quivered as she closed her eyes, and her blue hairband swayed with her body, resembling a deep blue butterfly fluttering its wings in the night, moving slowly, immersing one in a tranquil dream.

After a long while, the music ceased, and the girl slowly opened her eyes, setting the violin down, her fingers caressing the slightly cool surface, feeling its smooth and lustrous finish.

Picking up her pen again, the girl jotted down on the paper.

[Played Canon again today, and it brought back many memories.]

[Mom, there’s no need to worry; Tilan is no longer as timid and insecure as she was in childhood.]

[But performing in front of many people still makes me a bit nervous.]

[It will probably take a few more years for me to become as impressive as my sister.]

After finishing the diary entry, she closed the book, leapt off the chair, stowed away the violin, then took one last glance at the quiet room before switching off the light and heading out.

By this time, the club activity room was empty. After securing the door, she took the elevator down.

Upon leaving the building, she checked her personal terminal, which displayed [20:31].

It was hardly late, and with nothing particular to do back home, she suddenly felt like taking a walk. Although she’d been in South First District for a while, most of her time was spent at the academy; she hardly ever went out, firstly because the academy had comprehensive facilities within a beautiful environment, and secondly because her studies and training had taken up her time. Without a habit to shop, she hadn’t even fully explored the main street outside Edith Academy.

She decided to go see it today.

Summoning an internal hover car from the academy, she rode it, arriving at the academy gates shortly after. As the internal hover cars only served within the academy’s bounds and couldn’t travel outside, she got off and began walking.

The grand archway stood tall, with angels holding water jugs on each side, their eyes closed, facing the center of the gate, their clothing entwined with vines, leaves, and flowers.

Not many people were coming and going through the gate, and it was rare to see someone standing alone at the entrance like Tilan.

Once out of the academy, the main street outside displayed the tall, transparent walls of the academy on one side, and various shops on the other, illuminated and lively, occasionally with vehicles zipping by, stirring up the sound of water.

The sky was drizzled with fine rain, the ground slightly damp. Some pedestrians carried umbrellas while others employed rain-avoiding Art Formulas, treading through the rain with ease.

As Tilan walked along the street, she browsed on her personal terminal; the areas near the academy were very stable. The shops on this street were not densely packed, making for a peaceful evening. To reach the busier commercial district, one would have to head east for about two kilometers.

Having set her destination, she put away her terminal and walked quietly in the rain, unhurried, occasionally even wondering why she should be in a rush at all when the sounds of rain and steps were so relaxing.

Thus, she walked with light steps, occasionally looking at the shops and the night view along the road, until the glittering buildings of the commercial district started to appear at the end of the street.

This commercial block was much livelier. Not only did it house many corporate office buildings, but also a variety of dining and entertainment venues. Standing beneath the towering structures, one could see well-dressed men and women steadily ascending the rotating elevators outside the shopping mall, and people were passing by her side, stepping into the streets and into the buildings.

As she too entered the base of the shopping mall, a clamorous atmosphere enveloped her, as if pulling this ethereal girl into worldly affairs: the sounds of advertisements, music, dispatcher announcements, mixed with adult conversations, coughs of the elderly, children’s cries, and even a few pet noises.

Standing on the massive spiral escalator with everyone else, she slowly took in the variety of shops along the way, stepping into any that piqued her interest to take a closer look.

The first thing that caught her eye was a dessert and cold drink shop.

T5 grade "Xilan Fragrant Red Rice Cake," 300g for 99 Federation Coins.

T5 grade, "Vortex Tricolor Ice Cream," 128g for 65 Federation Coins.

T5 grade, "Ice Crystal Pomelo Tea," 300ml for 42 Federation Coins.

...

Most of the store’s offerings were T5 grade quality foods, with the few T4 grades placed at the very top of the display cabinet.

T4 grade "Yellow Maple Fragrance," made with "Tixilan Maple Leaves," "Ice Essence Honey," and "Lulana Cream," is refreshing and sweet, capable of softening Magic Power and reducing the aftereffects of Magic Power scourging.

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T4 grade "Orange Chiffon Cake," made with "Red Fragrant Oranges," "Foxflame Bird Eggs," and "Lulana Cream," can alleviate fatigue and the status of weak vitality.

T4 grade, "Jadeite Jade Cake," made with "Concentric Bamboo," "Qina Snow Beans," and "Moon Clear Dew," can clear the mind, stabilize the spirit, enhance Magic Power perception, making advancement and study more likely to succeed.

Compared to T5 grade foods that even ordinary people could afford, T4 grades with their Transcendent effects were quite expensive, with the cheapest among them costing 1699 Federation Coins.

If this were the past, Tilan would probably have done like most people passing by this place—just looking enviously at the exquisite foods on the high shelf and then happily settling for a T5 grade food.

Now, though, she certainly could afford those top-tier food boxes, but the spending habits she had developed in the past still made her a bit wistful.

Seeing the young girl lingering in front of the counter for a long time, a clerk walked over. He took a closer look at Tilan’s appearance and was slightly surprised, but then shook his head. He had been working here for a few years now, and such situations were actually quite common. Many people looked enviously at the attractive and effective products but were heartbroken by the expensive prices—for a quantity that was only enough for one meal, many people would not make the purchase.

At this moment, the store manager noticed the situation and also walked over slowly. He looked at Tilan, then at the food boxes placed above.

"Which one do you like, Miss? I can give you a portion for free."

"Eh?" The girl was slightly surprised, turning her head.

"Such a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be troubled by this kind of problem," said the manager as he took down several portions and placed them in front of her.

"Pick one."

"For free?"

"Yes, just take a photo with the food box as a souvenir."

"Well, I think I’ll pass," said the girl, gently patting her chest, understanding the manager’s intentions.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I’ll pay," she said, picking up a box of ’Orange Chiffon Cake,’ and then heading to the cashier.

"Paying for it yourself, huh? That’s fine," the manager didn’t mind much since, in his view, such a beautiful girl couldn’t possibly lack money.

After paying, Tilan walked out of the store carrying her first independently purchased T4 grade food box and sat down at a quiet observation deck, placing the box on her lap to open it, revealing the vibrant and tempting cake inside.

Carefully sectioning off a small piece with a fork, she placed it into her mouth—the smooth sweetness and the scent of orange blossoming, endearing.

With her legs gently swaying, she savored the chiffon cake from the box, gazing down at the night view below, filled with emotions.

In truth, she had eaten quite a lot of T4 grade foods over the past year, but most were gifts, treats, or provided for free; buying them herself was a first, and that’s why it felt somewhat painful.

It was probably because she hadn’t officially started earning money yet. The funds in her account were mostly from Academy rewards, including the prize for her advancement and the stipend from her student council position. Another card was for the club’s activity funds.

Although the amount of money was astronomical to her, since it wasn’t earned by herself, she always had a surreal and unreal feeling about it.

If her sister were here, she would probably tease her again, saying she was still so sensitive and advise her to read less about psychological analysis.

But people are different. Now she was increasingly aware of the plain and profound truth of this saying. Everyone has their own preferred pace, and she is her own person, not Temisia.

Now, she would no longer doubt herself or suffer from internal strife because of others’ opinions. She listens to her own heart, does what she wants and thinks is right, doesn’t twist herself, doesn’t deceive herself, doesn’t deny herself, being an open and sincere person.