Looking at the two beautiful girls who seemed to have stepped right out of a manga, the little girl forgot to breathe.
“Hello?”
Su Ling waved a hand in front of the little girl’s eyes, looking concerned.
‘Is she a simpleton?’
“Ah, I’m here! I’m here! My name is Tao Tao! I’m a second-year at the Life Academy, and I…”
“Yes?”
“Ahhh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I, I, well, yes! I can pull customers!”
The little girl blurted out all her information at once.
Su Yao suppressed a smile and patted Tao Tao’s small head.
That one touch caused a problem.
Tao Tao’s eyes rolled back, and she actually fainted.
“!”
Su Ling scrambled to help, but fortunately, Tao Tao didn’t completely pass out.
“Are you… okay?”
Su Ling was starting to think she should wait for the next ride.
This little girl looked like someone’s airheaded child.
“I can do it!”
“I’m very cheap! Half price—no, a ninety percent discount! You can go for just a ninety percent discount!”
Tao Tao seemed to have been injected with adrenaline.
‘A ninety percent discount?’
Su Ling’s eyebrows shot up.
“Ahem, we want to go to Xinbai. Is that okay?”
“Yes, of course! Ten Moni! Only ten Moni is enough.”
Tao Tao hurriedly opened the door to the tricycle.
Her small face was flushed red, and her watery eyes were filled with excitement.
This actually made Su Ling feel a bit awkward.
But for only ten Moni, what was there to complain about?
Even if they crashed, she would still have to praise Tao Tao’s driving skills.
After putting the luggage and the cat carrier in the back, Su Ling and Su Yao squeezed into the vehicle.
The interior was small but exceptionally tidy.
“Sit, sit tight.”
Tao Tao seemed very nervous.
As she looked at Su Ling through the rearview mirror, she kept cheering herself on in her heart.
‘Go for it! Tao Tao, you can do it! This time, you can’t get lost again!’
She had been to Xinbai many times, so surely she wouldn’t get lost this time.
“Que-de Navigation is at your service.”
“Oh? Is loser Tao Tao looking for me again? You even brought two such beautiful older sisters. What a loser, a total loser~~~”
A playful voice suddenly rang out.
“A voice pack…”
Tao Tao’s face turned red, and she didn’t dare look at Su Ling.
Su Ling expressed her understanding.
‘So she’s into this. A little girl who likes a Mesugaki voice pack… well, that’s quite interesting.’
“Hehe, is loser Tao Tao blushing? Being so useless just because you saw some pretty girls? Truly a loser~~~”
The Mesugaki Voice Pack was truly noisy, filling the entire vehicle with “loser, loser.”
Su Ling and Su Yao exchanged a glance.
‘Ugh, what should I do? I kind of want to laugh.’
“Shut up!”
Tao Tao finally couldn’t take it anymore and quickly uninstalled the voice pack.
She… she really was… damn it, why did it have to speak the truth?
“I-I’m starting now.”
Tao Tao started the tricycle.
She took a deep breath.
The tricycle vibrated once, and then, under Su Ling and Su Yao’s curious gazes, it actually began to rise into the air.
‘Whoa, it’s actually a flying vehicle? You should have said so earlier.’
“Wow, it can fly! That’s amazing!”
Su Yao sighed in admiration as she watched the crowd of people below grow smaller through the window.
“Is the senior here for a part-time job?”
Su Ling asked.
Even though Tao Tao looked silly, her driving skills were surprisingly good.
The tricycle weaved through various cool-looking aircraft like a nimble goldfish.
However, why did the people in those passing aircraft keep sticking their heads out to say something to them?
Their mouths were opening and closing—were they praising Tao Tao’s great driving skills?
“Yes, expenses at the academy are too high, so I can only work part-time to earn some extra money.”
Tao Tao’s small face was currently scrunched up in distress.
“By the way, are you two freshmen?”
“Yeah, I’m planning to find a job when we get to Xinbai. Speaking of which, Senior, what kind of expenses are there at the academy?” Su Ling began to scout for information.
“Too many to count. Excluding fixed expenses like food and sleep, there are materials for Magic Potion class, equipment for Alchemy class, and even Hunting class. You have to go to various Small Worlds to hunt Magic Beasts, and they all charge entrance fees.”
Tao Tao sighed, her voice heavy with pressure.
Hearing this, Su Ling also felt a weight on her shoulders.
She didn’t have any benefits at all.
But no matter what, she had to continue her studies.
If things really got desperate…
Su Ling glanced at Su Yao, her eyes dimming slightly.
‘Forget it, forget it. I haven’t reached that point yet.’
“Right, Junior, when school starts in a month, remember to watch out for the people from the Witch’s Hut.”
Tao Tao overtook another witch riding a broom.
Her wake even blew up the older witch’s skirt, revealing a white bear pattern that gave several witches quite the eyeful.
The furious older witch kept shouting blessings for Tao Tao’s entire family to be happy.
“Witch’s Hut?”
Su Ling’s heart stirred.
Shao Hua had also told her to be careful before.
What kind of group were they to be mentioned repeatedly by students of the Witch Academy?
“Hmph, they’re all a bunch of jerks!”
“Freshmen have to take an Awakening Sequence exam. The Witch’s Hut will take the opportunity to sell Magic Potions that can force your body’s potential to awaken your Sequence early, but the price is extremely high. At that time, they will offer high-interest loans. Once you fall into their trap, you’ll be completely sold to them and become a member of the Witch’s Hut.”
Tao Tao seemed very agitated, her small face turning bright red.
It was clear that the Witch’s Hut was universally hated.
“What exactly is the Witch’s Hut?”
“Uh, they are Sequence Walkers of Sequence 5: Charm. Members of the Witch’s Hut… are that kind of person, you know.”
Tao Tao was now very embarrassed.
“Loser Tao Tao, they’re clearly just a bunch of Fuli Ji, yet you can’t even say it. What a loser~~”
The Mesugaki Voice Pack suddenly spoke up again.
Tao Tao’s face turned beet red.
‘Wasn’t it already uninstalled?’
“Hmph hmph, loser Tao Tao, I won’t be uninstalled that easily~”
The Mesugaki voice continued to taunt her.
Angrily, Tao Tao muted it.
On the vehicle’s projection screen, the Mesugaki continued to shout, but with no sound, it looked somewhat comical.
“Phew, I should have known better than to visit those shady websites.”
Tao Tao looked miserable.
This Mesugaki was rogue software she had accidentally downloaded while browsing a shady site, and she couldn’t get rid of it.
Fortunately, it was just noisy.
She was a natural klutz with directions.
Ever since she downloaded this Mesugaki Voice Pack, she hadn’t taken the right path once.
It was the same when she drove Da Miao and the others earlier.
Seven little girls had barely managed to squeeze into the small tricycle.
In her haste, she had believed the Mesugaki’s lies and ended up driving those unlucky girls in a giant circle, only to end up back at the station.
Da Miao and the others had been furious.
This time, for Su Ling’s sake, she decided to rely on her own Schrödinger-like sense of direction.
She had to take the right path.
‘Wait, was this way east or west?’
Su Ling was deep in thought.
Why did the Witch’s Hut sound like they were in the same line of work as her?
“By the way, does the Witch’s Hut pay a salary?”
“Huh?”
Tao Tao slammed on the brakes, her small face full of shock.
“Haha, I was just saying whatever came to mind.”
Su Ling scratched her head and laughed awkwardly.
Just then, Su Yao looked out the window with a puzzled expression.
“Eh? Why does this place look so familiar?”
Hearing that, Su Ling looked outside and fell silent.
‘Girl, why did you loop back here?’
They had been driving for a long time, only to end up back at the station.