“Highness.”
A cry from K423 caught Bai Miao’s attention.
She looked up and saw the landscape of the Witch Academy.
The sky was filled with flying vehicles, lively streets, buildings that touched the clouds, and various islands floating in the air.
This was definitely not something one could see in the Lower City; it was as if they had arrived in a legendary fairy-tale kingdom.
“Need a ride? I’m very cheap.”
At that moment, a group of little girls gathered around them.
Bai Miao glanced at the tricycles behind them and rolled her eyes.
Ride a tricycle?
Hah.
She ignored the girls and took K423 away from the area.
However, since they were in an unfamiliar place—and worst of all—she realized she didn’t seem to have any money.
Bai Wei was a pauper, and even after taking out a loan to repair her weapon, Vain, it had only been restored to a half-finished state.
She definitely had no money.
She had thought their previous life of sleeping in the open and eating in the wind was because Bai Wei wanted to train her, but she realized the truth now.
Damn it, it was just because Bai Wei didn’t have a single cent in her pocket.
Bai Miao glanced at the exquisite little cakes in a shop window and swallowed hard.
Her sister had bought her one before; although it was tiny and of low quality, it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten.
“K423, do you… have any money?”
Bai Miao’s face flushed slightly.
“Uh… Highness, Lady Bai Wei borrowed all the cash I had earlier.”
K423 tilted her head and said.
That cash was what she had earned from collecting and selling scrap metal.
She had given some to Su Ling and the rest had been borrowed by Bai Wei.
Upon hearing this, Bai Miao’s resentment deepened.
That crusty woman!
She gave her daughter fake credentials and didn’t even provide operating funds.
If this kept up, they would starve to death before even completing their mission.
*
“Gurgle, gurgle~”
Bai Miao’s stomach began to growl.
It was night now, and the Witch Academy was filled with bright neon lights.
Yet, in such a prosperous place, she couldn’t even afford a single meal.
K423 looked at her, her eyes cast downward.
“Highness, here.”
She took a few frozen dumplings out of her bag.
She had saved these specifically for K424.
Now, it seemed her Highness needed them more.
K423 ignited a green fire in the palm of her hand.
She and Bai Miao huddled under a bridge, eating the steaming hot dumplings.
“I’ll only eat a few; that’s enough.”
Bai Miao knew these dumplings were meant for K424.
“No, Highness needs them more right now.”
K423 hugged her knees and whispered.
“That’s an order.”
Bai Miao finished three dumplings and tucked the bag away safely.
“Although I have never met K424, I have a premonition that she is still alive. Perhaps we will meet soon.”
“But…”
But Bai Wei had said that K424 was dead—more dead than dead.
“Tch, that woman talks nonsense. She even messed up our student IDs. How much of what she says do you think is actually true?”
Hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in K423’s eyes.
That was right.
Although it might be offensive to think so, considering all the ridiculous things Bai Wei had done lately, perhaps Bai Wei had simply made a mistake?
For a moment, K423’s dormant heart began to beat again.
Yes, she hadn’t seen K424’s body either.
My stupid sister, wait for me.
I will definitely find you.
Bai Miao saw the subtle change in K423 and couldn’t help but smile.
She still preferred the silly, energetic K423 from before.
But suddenly, her expression changed.
“Who’s there!”
K423 also stood up, shielding Bai Miao behind her, looking vigilant.
On the other side of the bridge, several figures gradually emerged from the darkness.
One, two… seven petite little girls were sizing them up.
“I should be asking who you are! This is where we sleep, and we were here first.”
Da Miao walked to the front and puffed out her flat chest, trying to project an air of authority.
Unfortunately, anyone who didn’t know better would think she was just acting cute.
Bai Miao and K423 exchanged a glance.
Tch, no wonder there were tattered blankets everywhere.
It really was their sleeping spot.
Qi Miao fanned herself with a feathered fan, observing the disheveled appearance of Bai Miao and K423, and a flicker of realization crossed her eyes.
“You’re stowaways too, aren’t you?”
Bai Miao did not answer.
But Qi Miao had an air of complete confidence.
The corner of her mouth curled upward slightly.
“Big sister, it works out perfectly. Didn’t we need two more people?”
They had gone to the construction site for the Astral Grand Competition.
The person in charge looked at their credentials, then their past records, and mentioned there was a small project that required nine people, but they didn’t have enough members.
They had expected to return empty-handed, but this was an unexpected windfall.
“But are they trustworthy?”
Da Miao looked at Bai Miao.
Hmm, she was also a little girl.
There was a natural sense of trust among lolis.
But the black-haired girl standing next to her looked like the older sister.
Damn it, why do you have to be so tall?
Da Miao looked at K423’s large assets with resentment.
Being big isn’t everything.
“Hee hee, since they’re stowaways too, they definitely want to earn a meal. We’ll trick them into joining, then only give them ten percent of the wages. We’ll still make a good profit. Isn’t saving that money to ‘marry a wife’ wonderful?”
“What if they find out?”
“Oh, please, look at how stupid they look. They’re clearly village girls from the countryside. We can just brush them off easily.”
Bai Miao watched the seven little girls whispering to each other, unsure of what they were saying, and signaled to K423.
Find a chance to escape.
This was the Witch Academy, after all. Killing them would completely expose their identities.
Besides, there was no enmity between them; it wasn’t worth it.
Just as the two were preparing to slip away, the other side called out to them.
“Hey, do you guys want a wife?”
“Huh?”
Even K423 looked confused.
“Hee hee, we have a lucrative job here, and we happen to be short two people. The pay is enough for you to ‘marry a wife.’ How about it? Want to join us?”
Qi Miao waved her fan, speaking with complete confidence.
Bai Miao: “…”
Another train pulled into the station.
The staff member from before sat in a chair, while several security guards massaged her shoulders and back in a fawning manner.
“Hmph, there must be no mistakes this time.
If you encounter any more stowaways, don’t waste your breath—just pounce on them immediately!”
Although stowaways were rampant in the Witch Academy—a secret everyone knew—in principle, there were not supposed to be any.
Each month, they even had a quota; they had to catch at least a few unlucky souls to fill the requirement.
But with the end of the month approaching, not only had she not caught a single one, but several had slipped through under her very nose.
For that, she had been scolded by her superiors plenty of times.
“Hello, please show your student ID.”
Two figures appeared before her.
She rushed forward, flashing a professional smile.
But when she saw the figures clearly, her smile stiffened.
One was a tall, silver-haired girl with red eyes.
The other was clad in towering, silver-gray armor, standing at least two meters tall.
Looking at the greatsword on her back that was almost as tall as she was, the staff member wore a miserable smile.
A Comet Knight.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you clearly just now.”
“Haha, I said, welcome to the academy.”
She hurriedly ushered the two inside.
“This Witch Academy sure is enthusiastic, isn’t it?”
K424, walking beside her, marveled at the sight.
The knight remained silent for a moment.
She hadn’t actually heard what the woman said earlier.
Besides, this was her first time at the Witch Academy, and she didn’t know the rules.
“Thank you very much. May Justice protect you for life.”
“Tch, bucket-head.”
K424 hummed a tune, feeling quite comfortable.
Earlier, she had been worried about whether any flaws would be detected.
She just hadn’t expected it to be so easy to get into the Witch Academy.
Tch, all that worry for nothing.
“Boss, should… should we catch them?”
“Catch your head! That’s a Comet Knight! Even the weakest of them can slice through a star!”
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
However, Comet Knights had excellent reputations; even if they were stowaways, they wouldn’t threaten the safety of the students, right?
It’s just…
“Waaah, my bonus…”