Cornflower Witch

Chapter 365 Wisteria Flower Moon
"Hedra, you've become quite popular lately."

That evening, as the three sat around the living room table, Luo Weier handed a mango pudding to the girl reading across from her.

"Hmm?" Opening her mouth, she bit into the pudding in Luo Wei'er's hand, and tilted her head in confusion.

“Ah, Hedra looks so cute now.” Lover continued feeding the remaining half to Sylvia, and then replied.

"Before, when I saw you, you only read books and studied every day and didn't care about anything else. But these past few days, you've started responding to everyone and even helping a few classmates answer questions."

"Wow, was this the impression I had in everyone's eyes before?" the girl thought to herself.

"I guess I've gotten past the stressful phase of the start of the semester and am a little more relaxed now, so I have some free time to do other things," she explained softly.

Aurora held her ice cream and occasionally flipped through the thick book in front of her. Every page contained obscure and complex design drawings and annotations, things that Lowell couldn't understand at all.

Listening to their conversation, she occasionally glanced at Hilti, then continued flipping through her book. Although she didn't talk much, she wasn't the kind of girl who was cold and unapproachable. Rather, she was more like the kind of girl who found dealing with people troublesome and time-consuming, so she maintained a cool and aloof persona.

Three months have passed since they arrived in Asura District. Apart from the accident on the way back from shopping, things have been relatively stable. Of the three, Luo Wei'er is the most energetic and curious. She goes shopping every holiday, and now her dormitory is piled with many things she has bought.

For the first two months, the two women would accompany her, but later they found that the child never stopped going out, so recently Siltia and Aurora haven't been going out with Lover much.

Aurora wants to learn the secret arts related to puppets, and currently needs to lay a foundation and supplement various things, including courses on complex mechanical principles. After becoming familiar with life in the Mage Alliance, Hilti has filled in some missing basic knowledge. Now she has a general plan for the path she will take in the future, and is no longer as nervous and anxious as she was at the beginning. She has also begun to think about other issues.

If she were to take steps to influence the decisions of the Mage Alliance in the future, she would at least need to understand the thoughts and current situation of the various groups within the Mage Alliance. Therefore, in order to conduct an in-depth investigation, she decided to first contact her classmates and start from those around her to gradually understand this large and complex organization.

Given her previous achievements in pharmacy class, many classmates were curious and eager to improve their understanding of the course, so many asked her for help. As a result, she easily established initial friendships with some of her classmates.

It's probably the kind of friendship where you can invite each other to dinner or shopping without feeling too awkward.

"Are you free this weekend?" Today is Thursday, and tomorrow is Friday, a holiday.

"No." Aurora hadn't even bothered to come up with an excuse lately, and simply shook her head.

"Aurora is so cruel." Luo Wei'er hugged the girl beside her and acted coquettishly. Her golden eyes seemed to be filled with water ripples in the light, making her look pitiful and irresistible.

“Even pleading won’t work.” Aurora shook her head again. She had already suffered many times before. Even though she was physically strong, she was still no match for her roommate with the 'Blazing Sun' personality. Once, after going shopping, she felt sore all over the next day and slept in bed all day.

"Waaah, Aurora hates me." Luo Weier curled her fingers and wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye, looking as pitiful as could be.

"Sigh..." Aurora sighed and put down her book.

Why don't you go to Lahdra?

"Because Hedra agreed to have dinner with the other classmates," Lowell replied earnestly and considerately.

"I..." I really don't have many friends, I'm so sorry. Aurora picked up her finger to pinch Lowell's face, but Lowell nimbly dodged it.

"Don't run away." Under Aurora's command, Lovell pitifully leaned her face against Aurora's arm. This sight made Aurora feel a little guilty, and in the end, she could only pinch her lightly as punishment.

"So, Aurora can come with me?" she asked again.

"Okay." Aurora felt she wouldn't have time to study again this weekend.

Hilti watched this scene with a smile, and then she also recalled the scene of being invited to dinner by several other classmates earlier today.

"Thank you so much, Hedra, for your guidance these past few days. We are truly grateful." Several students of varying heights expressed their gratitude in unison in the corridor, attracting curious glances from passersby.

Compared to the college entrance examination in my previous life, the assessment results of the Mage Alliance are more important and more brutal. After all, if you don't do well in the college entrance examination in your previous life, you can only go to a slightly worse university. But here, if you fail the exam, it is a direct fork in your life. You will return to your barren hometown and have no chance again.

Most of the students who come here to study don't have much money. Even if they have saved some, they have to be careful with their money to buy various resources and materials for their studies. These are bottomless pits that can never be filled. No one dares to say that they have enough money to spend, even students from well-off families. Only a young lady from a wealthy family like Luo Weier can be carefree.

Although it was to thank Hilti, they couldn't afford to spend much money. But it would be inappropriate not to show any appreciation at all. So, they invited Hilti to a dinner party this weekend. For people from different regions with different customs and habits, having a meal together is a rare and universally enjoyable activity that no one would dislike.

One day later, on Friday afternoon.

Since tomorrow is a day off, the students in the class were quite excited after class. Many of them started discussing where to go tomorrow, while others said they wanted to put what they had learned into practice by setting up a stall at the student market to earn some pocket money.

“Last time I went to the market, I saw ‘scented candles’ being sold by students from the school next door, and they were half the price of those in stores.”

"Really? How effective is it?" Incense candles are mostly used to aid in relaxation and meditation. Almost all students aspiring to become monks need them, and they have always been a staple in their supplies.

"The effect is about 70-80% of that in stores. After all, it's a student's work, so it's not as consistent as the standard products in stores."

"But the price is really cheap, and the money saved can be used to buy other things."

"Let's go take a look this time. Oh, and we can also sell the potions we made recently; maybe someone will need them," the other students said.

At this moment, Hilti also finished packing her things and prepared to get up.

"Lord Hedra, we'll meet at 'Madam Winry's Shop' in Beetle Street at 10:00 AM tomorrow. Is that alright?" A petite girl trotted over. She had small cat ears and a tail and was one of the few beastmen in the class.

"Okay, I will go."

“Okay \(^o^)/~” she replied with a smile, and several other students waiting for news not far away also smiled and nodded at Silti.

After that, the group dispersed, and Aurora, carrying her schoolbag, came to Sylvia's side.

"Why do they call you Lord Hedra?" Aurora asked, a little curious about the title.

“Aurora doesn’t seem to have been paying close attention lately,” Lowell chimed in.

“Because Hedra helped them, they can’t just call Hedra by her first name when they call her. In many places, it’s considered impolite except to close friends and family.”

“Generally speaking, you should ask your seniors for help and just call them ‘senior’ or ‘senior’. But Hedra is in the same grade as everyone else, so he might look a little younger. We can’t use that title, so we have to think of something else.” Luo Wei’er explained to Xilutiya, and then the three of them walked out of the classroom together and went down the stairs.

---

The next morning, before leaving home, Hilti sat in front of the dressing mirror to groom herself. First, she combed her hair and tied it with a purple headband. Then she adjusted the details of her dress and finally pinned the 'Black Griffin' badge to her collar.

The girl then went outside.

Beetle Street is not far from where they live, about 1.5 kilometers away, within walking distance.

This is a well-known commercial street in the area, but unlike Hornet Street which sells all kinds of materials and resources, this street mainly consists of restaurants and clothing stores, and is always bustling with students.

Before even reaching the agreed-upon location, Hilti saw several people waving at her from across the street. It seemed they had arrived early, as there were still more than ten minutes until 10 o'clock. After arriving at 'Madame Winry's Shop', the group went straight to their reserved private room on the second floor.

"The food at this restaurant is delicious, but the cooking and preparation are quite complicated, so you need to make a reservation several days in advance so they can prepare everything by the time we arrive," a young man explained, explaining why he chose this place.

After sitting down, the group started chatting, and Hilti gradually learned about their situation.

First up is the guy who introduced this shop earlier, named Willen. He's from the Midwest region of the Mage Alliance. He has a cousin who's already a Tier 3 mage, and it was under his cousin's guidance that he passed the exam and came here to study.

“Actually, I have a few older brothers, but they are too old and can’t keep up with the studies, so they didn’t become mages,” Willen explained simply. He was wearing a white shirt, stood straight, and had square hair.

“Having my brother’s guidance makes me feel really at ease,” another girl replied, resting her chin on her hands. She was an only child and had no other relatives who had become monks. She had come here entirely through her own hard work and study.

"My words were told to me by my older sisters." The black cat ears twitched slightly, and the tail behind the chair also swayed upwards. This black cat girl named Alice came from the Winter Harvest District in the eastern part of the Mage Alliance, where the mountains and forests are evergreen and many orcs also live.

"They said that even if you were just working as a wine seller in the core area of ​​the Mage Alliance, you could make a lot of money, and that's how they persuaded me to come here."

"As for the results, the orcs' test is a bit easier. I might not necessarily go down the path of a mage; I might go down the path of a glyph warrior." She licked the ice cream in her hand and answered slowly.

Glyph warriors are warriors who wear various glyph-enchanted armor and are imbued with multiple abilities; they often serve as protectors of mages.

Mages rarely learn breathing techniques, nor do they have extra slots for these abilities, so they are physically weaker and need some melee strength for protection.

The others were also talking about their situations. Hilti noticed that three of the six people, including herself, were from non-Mage Alliance regions. It seemed that the Mage Alliance had recruited a lot of talent from other regions in the past two years.

Of course, this is also related to the school she attends, because she heard that some schools only accept students from the Mage Alliance.

After waiting for a while, the six people received their pre-ordered food.

'Saint-Chek Honey Cake', 'Lucky Leaf Passion Fruit Pie', 'Steamed Goose in Silver Basket', 'Purple Roasted Mushrooms', 'Chili Salamander Roasted Meat', 'Elderberry Lime Wine'

Although making a reservation was a bit of a hassle and the wait was nearly an hour, Hirutiya was able to enjoy some rare and delicious food at this gathering, some of which were even rarer than she could remember. Putting aside the nutritional benefits, it was hard to find anything comparable in terms of sheer deliciousness.

The others were initially quite reserved, but later they became engrossed in enjoying the food and even spoke less.

After lunch, the six of them left with a hint of reluctance.

"If I had known, I would have ordered more dishes," Willen said with some regret.

"Haha, we were all pretty tight on money when we were pooling our resources, we never imagined it would taste this good," another student replied with a laugh.
"It's so delicious, meow! I'm coming back again. This has become my life goal, meow." The black cat Alice was hopping and skipping as she walked.

"How are you feeling, Lord Hedra?" Finally, someone remembered today's main character.

"It's delicious! This is the first time I've ever had such good food in the Asura District." Luo Wei'er often took her shopping, but the food was usually made fresh, so the preparations might not have been very thorough.

Afterwards, the group chatted and laughed as they strolled around the streets. Since it was still early, they didn't need to rush back.

"Lord Hedra, shall we take a look at this shop?" Alice, the black cat who was in the lead, said, pointing to a shop on the street with a black and purple cloth curtain decorated with bows. The words "Wisteria Flower Moon" were written on it in ancient Eastern script.

“This shop…” Hilti recognized the handwriting on it and felt a little curious.

She now has black hair and black eyes, typical of the sixth continent and Easterners. However, in this life, she has no impression of that distant country, perhaps because she has not recalled some memories. After all, most of what she recalls is from the age of 6 to 10, and the period after age 12 is still blank.

Despite many similarities, the Eastern people of this world and the culture of their past lives still have many differences and cannot be generalized.

Accompanied by her companion, Hilti entered the shop and found it surprisingly spacious. There were hardly any clothes on display, but a low tea table stood in the center, and a faint fragrance filled the room.

Hearing someone enter, a woman in a black dress slowly stepped out. She was not adorned with many ornaments, but she had an extraordinary air about her. A hairpin with hanging wisteria vines was inserted into the bun at the back of her head, with four crescent moon pendants strung together among them.

"Oh? I didn't expect to see an old friend here today." As she walked into the store, her gaze swept over the crowd and landed on the slightly younger girl behind her, a playful look on her face.

"An old friend?" Was she referring to herself? But she didn't recognize the woman.

Hiltiya touched her cheek lightly, trying hard to recall, then shook her head. She was certain that she had never seen the other person before, even though she had lost a lot of her memory, she still had no vague impression of them.

“Of course, in this faraway foreign land, seeing a child like you from the same place, isn’t it like meeting an old friend?” she said with a smile.

So that's what it was. Hilti breathed a sigh of relief. If the other person knew her past self, she really wouldn't know how to answer or explain.

"Come in and sit down. It's fine if you don't buy any clothes. Actually, I opened this shop because I had nothing else to do." She invited everyone to sit down.

Several students sat on the cushions with curiosity, and then the dignified and kind classical woman poured tea for them before finally sitting opposite Hiltiya.

After a brief introduction, Hiltiya learned that the person opposite her was named 'Yingzi', which means 'flowers and the moon reflected in water'.

"Senior Yingzi, how did you come to this continent?" Xilutiya asked, concerned about this.

"I set off twelve years ago, and it took me three years to sail out to sea on a Phoenix sailboat, making several detours before I finally arrived here." The other person poured tea for the others again.

"At that time, I went to sea to find something special, namely precious and unique purple flowers and trees. This was the key to my advancement and the goal I set for myself."

"Must we use purple flowers and trees?" Shirutiya asked curiously.

“Others can also be advanced.” After answering this, the other party looked at the girl, his eyes like fire reflected in water, piercing straight into the girl’s heart.

Upon seeing this, Hiltia understood that her answer just now had a much deeper meaning than what it seemed on the surface.

After pondering for a moment, Hiltiya answered.

"You want to choose what you like, or rather, to advance your approach, right?"

“It’s not ‘I want to,’ but ‘I must.’” The other person picked up their teacup and slowly drank it.

“There are countless ways to advance, but the key is who I am and what my purpose is in advancing.” She said these words with profound meaning.

“I like purple flowers and trees, but I won’t wear purple clothes, nor will I embroider them on my clothes. Only when I wear black clothes, with nothing else to adorn me except for the blooming purple flower in my hair ornament, will I be so eye-catching and beautiful.”

“I understand.” Hiltiya understood instantly.

"Hehe, what a clever child!"

When others saw this, they were still scratching their heads, completely baffled as to what had happened between the two.

　Happy Lunar New Year's Eve!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)