Sylph watched with a mixture of concern and frustration as she saw Lyra struggling to eat despite the clear discomfort it caused her.
"Senior Lilith!" Sylph finally burst out, her reluctance obvious in her voice. "Is it really that hard to speed up the recovery of magic power? Is there no alternative to eating breadfruit? I've heard that human mages can meditate to restore their magic… Can't we do something like that?"
Lilith, ever calm and knowledgeable, shook her head. "Sylph, witches and sorceresses are different from human mages. Our power isn't drawn from the same source. Our magic flows through our blood, not through meditation or spiritual focus. For us, meditation doesn't work the same way. We can't recover magic that way, nor can we grow stronger by simply meditating."
She paused for a moment, watching Sylph's eager expression fade as the reality sank in. "Our strength naturally increases as we age and as we use it. And the only way our magic power can recover is over time, as our bodies naturally replenish it. But if you want to speed up that process, you need external help. Things like potions or magical items can aid recovery."
Sylph frowned. "But those exist, right? Why not just use them?"
Lilith gave a rueful smile. "Well, it's not that simple. Low-level potions or common magical items don't help much with our kind of magic. The level of power we wield is too high for those to be effective. They might work for minor recovery, but for serious replenishment? You need advanced recovery potions. For witches like us who haven't fully matured, only high-level potions will work."
Her expression turned more serious. "And I'm not at the stage in my research where I can create such advanced potions. I even borrowed an advanced potion from a senior, but it wasn't nearly as effective as this awful breadfruit." She gestured toward the half-eaten fruit with a slight grimace. "As bad as it tastes, breadfruit really is the best option we have for quickly restoring our magic power. Other witches only need two bites a day to stay fully charged."
Lyra, who had been quiet but listening intently, sighed heavily. "I guess there's no way around it. I'll have to keep eating this breadfruit, won't I?" She cast a glance at the fruit, her face scrunched in distaste. "Looks like I'll need to be more careful with how I use my magic from now on. It's almost like blood; once it's gone, it takes time to recover."
Lilith's eyes flicked over to Vasida, and there was a subtle hint of something unsaid in her gaze. "It's like this now," Lilith said quietly, "but maybe that could change in the future." The unspoken words hung between them, and Vasida could feel the weight of expectation settle heavily on her shoulders. She knew exactly what Lilith was implying; her own latent talent could one day provide a solution to this very problem.
The atmosphere was momentarily tense, but it passed as Lilith and the others prepared to leave. Lyra, still dealing with the discomfort of overeating, saw them off. Alone again, she forced herself to finish the breadfruit, each bite harder than the last. She mumbled to herself in frustration. "I swear, my magic's barely recovered, and now I feel like I'm going to burst from overeating."
Too full to sleep and too drained to study, Lyra made up her mind. She stepped outside into the cool night air, deciding that physical activity might help with digestion. "I guess pulling weeds is better than just sitting around feeling miserable," she muttered.
The yard was dimly lit by the soft glow of street lamps and dormitory lights, but it was enough for her to see. For over an hour, she busied herself, pulling weeds and tidying up the yard until the tightness in her stomach finally eased. As soon as she felt better, she returned to the dorm and, with a sigh of resignation, grabbed another piece of breadfruit.
And so the cycle continued; work, eat, repeat. She managed to clear all the weeds in the front yard before finally heading to bed in the early hours of the morning.
When the clock chimed six, Lyra groggily dragged herself out of bed and faced her next challenge: breakfast. Another piece of breadfruit sat waiting for her. With a heavy heart, she picked it up. "Every time I eat this thing, it feels like I'm marching to war," she muttered through gritted teeth.
Halfway through forcing herself to swallow it down, a thought sparked in her mind. "Is it really impossible to make this stuff taste better?" She set the fruit down, her mind racing. "What if I cooked it or… tried to change the flavor somehow?"
Her eyes lit up with sudden determination. "Why not? I can't believe after all the years of culinary development on Blue Star, there isn't a single way to make breadfruit edible!"
She racked her brain for memories of food preparation techniques from her home planet, specifically how to handle sour fruits. "The usual way to deal with sour fruits is to turn them into candied fruit. The sweetness cancels out the sourness." Lyra frowned. "But candied fruits need to be boiled, and Lilith did say that heating breadfruit makes it explode."
Her enthusiasm deflated slightly at that reminder, but the idea had taken root. She wasn't ready to give up just yet.
Lyra stared at the breadfruit in her hands, imagining all the possibilities. "I have no idea how it'll turn out if I fry it. If it's too soft, it won't work as candied fruit. But maybe I could make it into a fruit puree cake, like those sour jujube cakes I remember from Blue Star. That could balance out the flavor."
Her eyes lit up as more ideas popped into her mind. "And if that doesn't work, I could try pickling it! A mix of salt, sugar, maybe even chili peppers; just like how we used to pickle plums. That wouldn't require any heating, so no risk of it exploding."
She grinned, getting excited. "Or I could coat it with syrup, like making candied haws. A crispy, sweet shell on the outside, with the breadfruit on the inside... Candied breadfruit! That could actually work!"
The more she thought about it, the more energized she felt. "Ah, the wonders of Chinese cuisine!" she mused, suddenly filled with a wave of inspiration. Her mind buzzed with endless possibilities, all thanks to the rich culinary traditions of her homeland.
But then reality set in. She glanced around her small kitchen. "Wait... I didn't bring back many seasonings yesterday." She frowned. "All I have is a bit of sugar and salt. Not nearly enough. Plus, I only have a few breadfruits to experiment with." Determined to fix that, Lyra decided to head out for supplies. She left the backyard weeds for another time, grabbing a basket and stepping outside.
As she made her way out, she spotted Vasida cleaning the backyard. "Lyra, feeling better today?" Vasida asked, wiping her hands as she saw her friend approaching.
"Much better!" Lyra replied, feeling a bit more upbeat now that she had a plan.
Vasida noticed the basket in Lyra's hands. "Are you off to gather some food?"
"Yep!" Lyra nodded, her mind still on her breadfruit experiments.
"Wait up! I'll come with you!" Vasida called, abandoning her cleaning. She hadn't been to the food collection area yet and figured it'd be a good opportunity to tag along. Plus, she'd learned a couple of dishes from Lyra recently, and wanted more practice.
As they strolled past the fields, Lyra caught sight of a familiar figure. "Is that Sylph over there?"
Vasida stood on her toes, peering into the distance. "It looks like her! What's she doing over there?"
"She's probably chatting with Bi'er," Lyra guessed.
"Bi'er? You mean the green leaf fairy who loves stories?" Vasida had heard about her from the other young witches.
"Yep, that's the one. Sylph is different from the other witches; she's got this thing for fairies. I think she really loves them, so she doesn't care much about making a contract like the rest of us."
Before they could continue their conversation, a playful voice interrupted. "So, you're just looking for a free gardener like the others, huh?"
Vasida jumped, startled, as Bi'er suddenly appeared from behind a bush, her tiny wings fluttering.
"It's nice to meet you, little witch! Welcome to the planting area. I'm Bi'er, the intern management fairy of Farmland No. 8!" the fairy chirped, her voice filled with mischief and friendliness.
Vasida blinked, trying to recover from her surprise. "Oh, um... Hi! I'm Vasida." She finally managed to return the greeting, curiosity flickering in her eyes as she observed the legendary little fairy.
Bi'er smiled and handed her a few raspberries wrapped in delicate leaves before darting back to Sylph, who waved at them from across the field. Lyra and Vasida waved back but didn't linger, continuing their way to the food collection area.
As they walked, Vasida's thoughts wandered. "Do you think Bi'er really wants a contract with a witch? Or is she just hanging around for the stories?"
Lyra shrugged. "Who knows? If that's her real reason, it's kind of sweet. But if not, the witches' contracts are pretty fair for the fairies. They'd be treated well. So why the hesitation?"
Vasida frowned. "Yeah, the contracts are definitely kind to the fairies. It's not like they'd be mistreated. I just don't get it."
Lyra thought for a moment. "Maybe she's waiting for something more. A witch who genuinely cares for her, not just for the sake of a contract. Someone who really loves her and would tell her stories just because."
Vasida shook her head in disbelief. "That's pretty rare in a place like this. Outside the academy, maybe... but here? It's hard enough to get by without thinking about extras like that. I mean, who's going to put in the effort for a fairy when everyone's struggling just to make it through the day?"
Lyra couldn't argue with that. Fairies were good at tending to plants, sure, but for witches, they weren't exactly irreplaceable. There wasn't enough benefit in forming a bond with a fairy, especially not when times were tough and everyone had to prioritize survival.
"If they were really so valuable, the fairies wouldn't need to hide or rely on us witches for protection," Vasida added, her tone thoughtful. "But that's just how it is. They're more fragile than we are, and once they're exposed, they're vulnerable."
Lyra nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's not like they're indispensable. I guess that's why they don't throw themselves at us, even if a contract could mean safety for them."
The two of them continued walking, their conversation swirling around fairies, witches, and the complexities of life in the academy, while Lyra's mind also lingered on the possibilities of her next culinary experiment with breadfruit.