Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

After an unforgettable night, the time to depart came the next day.

"We'll take care of things here for now; it's time for you to return to school," said the kind-looking teacher, circling the children around her, to Valke and the others.

This teacher and her two assistants were personnel temporarily assigned by Edith Academy to replace the priest, who had been sent to a sanatorium to recuperate. The doctors had recommended that he rest for a few months before returning.

"Thank you for your trouble, Mrs. Xuelin," Valke said, bending to express his gratitude, before waving goodbye to the children in the church and leaving.

"Brother Valke!" Someone called out to him from behind as he walked toward the flight craft not far away.

A few children clutched the railings of the churchyard and shouted at him.

"Good luck, Brother Valke!" they shouted again. To these children, Valke was their hope and role model. It was thanks to him that everything at the church had improved.

"Mm... I will," Valke waved once more, swallowing before he replied softly.

The grey flight craft with outstretched wings blasted out blue jets, the ground-level gusts forcing the children to squint, their clothes and hair fluttering in the wind. Accompanied by the roar of the engines, the flight craft gradually ascended, higher and higher, farther and farther, until it became a speck in the sky and vanished from sight.

"Brother Valke will definitely make it," a child said in a murmur, looking up at the sky marked only by contrails, loosening his grip on the railing after a long while comforted by the teacher standing behind him.

——————

Returning to the bustling South First District, hover cars shuttled along their routes everywhere, and various rail transits never ceased. Mega-screens displayed all sorts of information, overwhelming to onlookers. This huge change felt like a leap through centuries.

After disembarking from the flight craft, Tilan returned to her vine-covered house, where Annelli had been waiting for her.

"Welcome back, Tilan," she greeted, lifting the hem of her dress in the courtyard, flanked by two rows of maids in identical black and white.

"It's been a while, Annelli," Tilan replied, nodding in acknowledgment before the group entered the house.

After setting down her luggage, Tilan checked the clock—it was just 2 p.m. She had dozed off on the flight and didn't feel sleepy at all now.

"Did anything happen at the Academy while I was away?" the girl asked, cradling her favorite floral tea and taking a sip.

"A lot, actually. Telling you all about it might make you sleepy," Annelli responded teasingly. Tilan was known to enjoy napping in the afternoons and often felt drowsy while listening to her reports.

"Cough, I don't really like to fall asleep that much," the girl replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Let's start and see. If I really get sleepy, I'll just stand up and move around a bit."

"Alright then, let me think. It's better to start with the internal affairs of the Academy; it's simpler," Annelli began.

"In March, the members of the Indigo Cornflower Club booked a high-end restaurant in South First District, and by coincidence, students from Saint Yingo saw them, which led to a conflict. The scene was recorded and uploaded online, sparking quite a lot of discussions, mostly negative. This forced the Academy officials to apologize and restrict the members of the Indigo Cornflower Club."

"Afterwards, members of the 'Hat and Short Sword' Club participated in a niche competition within the Star Domain, winning the championship, which somewhat salvaged the Academy's reputation. However, due to the limited scale of the event, the impact was not significant." Explore hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

"In April, Crystal Lattice Academy invited several of our Academy's major clubs for friendly training, seemingly with the intention of forming an alliance with us. President Amors responded flexibly, not committing entirely. He implied that since he's about to graduate, decisions affecting the next few years should be left to you, Tilan."

"The 'Phantom Elixir,' developed in collaboration with the 'Black Long Boots Workshop' and our Academy, received high praise from the Federal Rainbow Flask Agency. This Radiant Gold Level Spiritual Medicine can help Transcendents of the Withering Sequence advance, proving highly effective for Sequences related to ghosts and phantoms and having minimal side effects."

"The 'Phantom Elixir' has sparked discussions within the 'Withering Sequence' community, and next month some teachers and students from academies in other Star Domains are expected to come for exchange studies. At that time, our student council will need to assign people to guide and accompany them."

"The 'Grey Dust Crystal' mega-corporation has added another 6 billion Federation Coins in sponsorship to our Academy. Although the official reason wasn't made clear, the Academy hinted to me that it could be because of you, Tilan." As she said this, Annelli too was curious about what could have led Grey Dust Crystal to make such a significant investment.

"6 billion, I can't even fathom how enormous that figure is," the girl said, resting her forehead on her hand while leaning back on the sofa.

"Are mega-corporations really that rich to dispense 6 billion so easily?" she couldn't help wondering whether such an amount was big or small in the eyes of a mega-corporation.

"Well, it depends on the type of mega-corporation. Grey Dust Crystal is somewhere in the mid to lower range among them, with a yearly revenue of about two to three trillion and a conservative profit estimate of at least 600 billion. That figure is roughly one percent of their annual profits," Annelli estimated.

"Grey Dust Crystal's business within the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain accounts for only about 12% of their total operations. They have subsidiaries and industries in many Star Domains, employing roughly three million core staff, with affiliated enterprises and subsidiaries involving over ten million people."

"Over ten million people, that's hard to imagine," the girl sighed, astounded by the scale and might of mega-corporations, like leviathans traversing the stellar river.