Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

In the night, orange jets of flames and roars unfolded in the canyon, branches and leaves danced wildly in the sweeping blast, and were brightly illuminated by the orange trailing flames, as if thousands of little figures were dancing.

Stepping down from the flight vehicle, Hexia carried her lightweight luggage and waved at the two maids behind her, then headed towards the distant dormitory.

It was now 9:40 at night, after she took a bath when she got back, she would probably still have time to read some leisure books, and then get a good night's sleep, tomorrow was the weekend, no classes either, so there was no need to be too tense.

Pushing open the closed dormitory door, Hexia switched on the light, and immediately felt something fluffy on her head, without guessing she knew what it was, she gave a slight shake of her head, and when she saw it wouldn't come off, she just let the large spider be.

"Well, I'm going to take a bath anyway, messing up my hair now doesn't matter," she said, self-mockingly.

After putting down her luggage, the first thing she did was to check the balcony, then she found three ducklings soundly sleeping. These three little ones were now larger than her palm, and the yellow fluff started to fade, indicating they were soon to grow white feathers.

As it was cold, the three ducklings huddled together in the embrace of the Indigo Snake, warming themselves with the heat the snake mother emitted. When Hexia opened the balcony door, the Indigo Snake lifted its head, rubbed her wrist, allowing Hexia to give a good stroke to its head and neck before shrinking back again.

"The three little ones are being raised very well," the girl gently prodded the sleeping ducklings with her finger, feeling the plumpness underneath the fluff, it seemed they hadn't been eating sparingly.

After petting them for a while and glancing at the three ducklings and the Indigo Snake, she stood up, it was time to take a bath.

Having prepared the bathing supplies and change of nightgown, Hexia, at the bathroom door, grabbed the large spider from her head, then held it down, although it was quite reluctant.

"Hmph, squirming is useless, you're not allowed to sneak in while I'm taking a bath," she put the reluctant creature on the floor, tapped it with her finger as a warning, then closed the door and entered the bath.

First, she finished the shower, washing off the foam from her body, then Hexia stepped into the prepared bathtub and slowly lay down.

Phew, glug glug, the girl released a few bubbles under the water, then lifted her head gently shaking it, the wet hair shed condensing droplets, instantly becoming dry again.

Although one could also take a bath in Edith Academy's dorms, sharing the space with others always prompted a bit of consideration, unlike the freedom of being alone.

For instance, she could stay in the tub until two or three in the morning before getting up, but at Edith Academy, she had to worry about whether that would seem strange to Annelli and the maid misses, so she couldn't linger too long.

After playing with the water for a while, Hexia leaned against the edge of the tub, closing her eyes, she reminisced and sorted through recent events, and couldn't help but quietly sing the song that Ran Bei'er had played that day.

Ancient stars

Twirling fates

The three keys that unlock

The never-fading flower

Must bloom in your eyes

O wind of the seasons

Please sing for me

Sing of the hero wielding the Flame Spear

Sing of the witch sunk in the deep sea

Sing of the unity of the three Saints

Sing of the halted steel symphony

Waking up over and over in the morning sun

Hesitantly taking steps

Tears and joy woven into a colorful canvas

...

This song, she couldn't find it on the Star Network; later, after asking Ran Bei'er, she learned that it was a song passed down within their Concealment family, related in some way to events at the end of the Fifth Epoch. However, for various reasons, nowadays within the Federation, discussions of the Fifth Epoch were often brief, providing only a vague overview with very few detailed accounts. It seemed a deliberate attempt to downplay and blur that period of history.

The hero wielding the Flame Spear probably symbolized something, but sadly she didn't know who that was.

The witches that sank into the deep sea seemed to mean those witches that appeared during the Third Era and gradually vanished into history and dust in the later periods of the Fourth Era. Many rumors claimed that those witches were slumbering in the deepest parts of the Aijieka Sea. Later literary and story creations mostly adopted this narrative, such that the current residents of the Federation envisioned witches as ethereal as the ancient myths and legends—mighty yet too remote to comprehend their true existence. If it weren't for the various records in historical materials, some people might even doubt whether such special beings ever existed.

The united trio of Saints referred to the three sages who ended the Fifth Epoch; through their innovation and sacrifice, they gradually led the dark times of the Fifth Epoch to an end.

The nation of 'Saintly White Melody' that existed today was established by the descendants who inherited the will of the three Saints. Although its population and star domain were far less than the Rose Federation, in the Milky Way, it was considered quite a powerful state, even more advanced than the Rose Federation in some special fields.

The halted steel symphony; these lyrics were likely related to the Sigma Council, but nowadays the Federation, despite being this neighboring country's close neighbor, continued to block borders and news, with scant information about the Sigma Council available on the Star Network. It was said that they were a special civilization built by machines, AI, and synthetics, where some of the early AI technologies within the Rose Federation originated from those huge corporations with close dealings with the Sigma Council.

After the Fifth Epoch, human civilization moved from unity to fragmentation; this was not just a divergence in ideas but even in species, leading to very distinct changes. It was already hard to describe the branches moving in various directions with the word "human".

The reason why each state claims that only residents who are legally born in their own country and have received primary education are entitled to human rights is to avoid certain loopholes.

Because some "humans" were no longer human, even if they possessed intelligence and civilization.

Life modding polluted the water sources; at the start of the Sixth Era, the powers that re-emerged across the galaxy had to perform a comprehensive purge of degrading species to rebuild a stable state system. This involved a significant moral burden, but it was deemed necessary.

Eventually, that dark period ended, and the existing nations also tacitly concealed that segment of history. Perhaps only a handful of tireless individuals could find bits and pieces of that era's resoluteness and brutality within dusty records.

Lost in thought over the lyrics and her imagination, Hexia realized only when she woke up again that the water had gone cold without her noticing.

Had it been that long? She stood up, dried off, put on a nightgown, drained the bathtub water, and hit the automatic cleaning switch before returning to the living room.

The soft night light on, Hexia sat next to the large table. With the night breeze occasionally blowing through the window and flipping through a few pages, the water vapor on her body gradually evaporated, bringing a slight coolness.

Opening a historical book on the origins of the Federation, Hexia leaned over, her slender fingertips holding a pen, and transcribed the song lyrics she heard that day into her notes. The black lettering, the faintly reflective ink drying quickly in the evening breeze, was exceptionally clear and enduring.

She quite liked these quiet moments of writing and recording, as if all the messy and ephemeral thoughts, inspirations, and emotions were all crystallized and engraved at that moment.

Even many years later, when she forgot the feelings and thoughts of the time, as soon as she turned the pages again and saw her handwriting, she could quickly recall them.

It was like a tiny miracle and magic, freezing time in that moment.

Because of her past weakness and timidity, she always feared losing something, afraid of forgetting certain things, and by recording them clearly, she could gain a sense of security, however slight.

It was as if she was stopping the current with her fingertips in the ever-flowing river of time, picking up pebbles, and keeping them safe, so that when they were taken out again one day, she could imagine the coolness and chill she felt in the river on that day.