Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

The empty room, with its cool-colored walls backlit, bathed the interior in light. One wall was a vast expanse of transparent metal, resembling glass, beyond which lay the vast, distant expanse of space. Not far off, a silvery white planet slowly spun in place, its immense bulk dominating the view, strikingly conspicuous and unforgettable.

This was the 'Dual-Axis Crystal U-3' space station, located on the third planet's orbit within the Sinai Law α star system, home to about 500,000 residents.

A solitary guitar melody began to fill the room. The player was a girl with silver-blue hair, sitting on a U-shaped single sofa, her legs crossed, the guitar resting before her, her fingers occasionally strumming, producing a somewhat lazy tune.

Amidst the loneliness of the environment, the unique and lively sound of the guitar, set against the backdrop of the starry sky, held a special beauty—it was like a tiny heart, at the deep of the night when no one else was around, freely flowing through time and memory.

The simple melody was played over and over, the tune circling back on itself, each time returning to calm.

Fingers lifted from the strumming and chords, dancing lightly over a personal terminal nearby. After a series of inputs, an announcement began to echo through the room.

[Good afternoon, this is the Dual-Axis Crystal U-3 residential station of the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain, the time is 16:34:17, during the waning moon phase.]

[You have three unread messages, one of which is a greeting from your mother, who seems somewhat anxious.]

"Skip it, next message."

"Alright, the second message is an invitation from a classmate to attend a graduation party, scheduled in 4 days at the C12 district's sightseeing restaurant within the space station."

"Decline, next message."

"Alright, the third message is from 'Edith Academy' with the admission instructions, which include things you need to prepare and matters to be reported for enrollment."

"Read it to me."

"Certainly, there are 12 points in total. The first one, new students must arrive at Edith Academy before September 2, after which there will be a week for arranging accommodations and purchasing daily necessities... The fourth one, the opening ceremony is on September 10, it is mandatory for all students to wear their uniforms to the event... The seventh one, if students wish to keep pets in the academy, their weight must not exceed 8KG, and they are only allowed to live in the dormitory area, not to be brought into the study area..."

The instructions rang out one after the other, and the girl set down her guitar, walked across the silvery metal floor, and approached the window sill, gazing at the slowly spinning silvery white planet outside. She raised her hand and gently caressed it across the transparent wall.

"We're leaving, Silver Key."

'Silver Key,' the third planet in the Sinai Law α star system, was famous for its riches in a special substance, 'White Crystalline Thulium.' This unique, transcendent metal of the universe, transformed through the stimulation of Aijeika particles, had peculiar uses within the equations of space-related fields and was one of the necessary materials for the warp engines, thus highly precious.

In order to better mine the planet's special minerals and to protect the parts of the planet yet untouched by pollution, the Federation established the 'Dual-Axis Crystal U-3' space station hundreds of years ago. The inhabitants living here mostly served mining companies, with income levels far above the average of the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain, roughly on par with the prosperous star domains.

————

Emerald Skirt Road, Northern Seventh District, outside Payin City.

The green and white tourist vehicle traversed the yellow Gobi desert. The double-decker was not crowded, with tourists seated sporadically, enjoying the breeze by the windows, observing the desolate and expansive scenery outside.

Even though there was nothing out there, it had a strangely relaxing effect, which was probably a consequence of living underground for too long.

"Tilan, would you like some of this?" Yilin opened the box in front of her, revealing six neatly arranged warm egg tarts, exuding a light, yellowish creamy scent when sniffed.

Currently, Tilan was leaning against the window, looking outside, although her thoughts seemed to wander far away.

Hearing Yilin's question, she turned around, softly murmured an acknowledgment, and took an egg tart from Yilin's hand. She began to eat it in small bites, seemingly disinterested, yet not a crumb fell; she seemed to always bite the perfect size without breaking the crust.

Yilin watched Tilan eat, the outside wind occasionally lifting strands of their hair, as time swayed in that moment.

Half an hour later, when they both got off at their destination, they stepped onto the soft sandy ground. A large, semi-circular glass building drew their eyes, a botanical garden amidst the desert and wilderness that was quite prominent, attracting people from surrounding cities to come and admire.

"Let's go in," Yilin said, taking Tilan's hand, the two of them walking shoulder to shoulder into the garden.
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In height, they were nearly identical. Yilin wore a black skirt with a white figure-hugging top, the cuffs slightly wide with ruffles, and a black ribbon tied around the collar, understated and elegant.

Tilan was wearing a light blue dress today with a sun hat on her head, soft hair cascading down her shoulders, revealing the delicate softness and loveliness of a young girl.

After having their tickets checked at the entrance, they walked into the slightly cool lobby where they could clearly hear the echoes of their footsteps.

Poetic and moving oil paintings hung on the walls of the lobby, with flowers and leaves set against bright colors, looking exceptionally vibrant and beautiful.

Having passed through the hall, the two continued to a side door on one side, finally officially entering the botanical garden for a tour.

Compared to the dry and desolate world outside, the air here was clearly more humid. Grass grew between the white striped floorboards, and walking over it in sandals, one could feel the gentle itch and tender green of the grass blades brushing against the feet.

On both sides of the walkway were white picket fences, and among them grew plants of various shapes and sizes. There were tall and lush trees whose canopies extended to the top of the botanical garden, casting patches of shade over the shrubs below.

Patches of leaves symmetrically arranged on the branches, which naturally overlapped and dangled, budded with clusters of goose-yellow flowers in full bloom, resembling trumpets but with fuller lines and a slightly adorable look.

"What kind of tree is this?" Yilin and Tilan stood under this tree, gazing at the clusters of goose-yellow flowers that hung between the green branches above them.

"It's a yellow bellflower from the family Bignoniaceae, often seen along Emerald Skirt Road or in gardens." Tilan recalled what she had learned before.

"Ah, it's quite beautiful, isn't it."

Yilin raised her hand, gently stroking the petals with her fingertips, feeling the faint fuzz and a trace of powder on the petals.

Afterward, the two continued on, and the bushes on either side began to feature numerous blooming small white flowers arranged in a vertical row, offering a natural and consistent beauty.

"And this one?" Yilin continued to inquire.

"This is a white bellflower. Though it is only one character different from yellow bellflower, it actually belongs to the family Campanulaceae," the girl said, shaking her head, feeling that the botanical garden staff placed these two similarly named flowers together on purpose.

"Tilan is really amazing~"

"Not really, because there's a sign over there." The girl pointed to a corner behind the bushes, where a small white sign was inclined on the ground, obscured by the surrounding flowers and not very conspicuous.

"Ah, Tilan, you have really good eyesight." Yilin had just noticed the sign, too.

Hand in hand, the two walked within the botanical garden, pausing occasionally to admire the rare natural flowers found beneath the surface, and Yilin shared many things with Tilan, including the novelty of the plants, the beauty and cuteness of the flowers, and stories from Tilan's childhood, among other things.

Although they chatted about inconsequential things, there was a faint sweetness to their leisurely conversation.

Before they knew it, they had toured most of the botanical garden and arrived at a round pavilion for rest, where tea and cookies were provided for visitors to sit and enjoy a break, replenishing the energy expended during the tour.

On the bench, the two leaned on each other's shoulders and rested briefly, as time leisurely passed by.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, having finished their visit to the botanical garden, the two boarded the return sightseeing car.

"Today went by so fast," Yilin said, looking out the window at the no-longer-scalding sun, feeling a touch less heat in the breeze.

"Let's go out together again next time~" Yilin turned towards Tilan beside her.

"Mhm."

Compared to a month ago, Tilan's voice now had a hint of laziness and was not as tense as before, perhaps also enjoying the rare leisure time with a friend.

"Hehe, Tilan is still the same as before," Yilin suddenly laughed.

"Huh?" The girl was puzzled.

"When you're in a good mood, it's like you're humming a song alone in a corner." Yilin reminisced about the scenes from their past interactions, making the comparison.

"Although you might not actually be humming a song, that subtly delighted expression is exactly the same."

"From now on, let's do it together, okay? Don't hide alone in the corner anymore. We all care about you a lot."

"Mhm, I know," the girl said, nodding slightly more formally.

Under the bright blue sky, the green and white sightseeing car drove through the desolate desert. The summer breeze blew in waves, and on the distant horizon, the shadow of the sun and the high tower slowly merged.

(End of Volume One, The Dark Picture Book.)

Next volume, White Kite's Blossom, Mesmeric Eyes.