The little witches buzzed with excitement, but their enthusiasm quickly hit a wall, they still hadn't prepared their witch books for copying new spells and notes.
Vasida stared at her old, tattered notebook, which looked about as motivated as a sleepy cat. "Yeah, this thing has zero intention of copying anything," she muttered in frustration.
She began counting off tasks on her fingers. "First, make witch books. Then copy books. Then read books. Then write papers... 'and' learn the Clear Spring Technique. That's 'way' too much!"
Sylph chimed in, frowning as she calculated aloud, "We've got Witch History homework due today, and tomorrow there's World History... both classes will probably dump more papers on us. I'll be amazed if I can even finish 'six' papers by the weekend!"
The realization hit them all at once: the clock was ticking, and their workload was growing faster than they could keep up.
"I suddenly get why Lyra survives on breadfruit cakes," Alba murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"But no matter how busy you are, 'you have to eat properly'!" Amy interjected, alarmed. "Don't follow Lyra's example! Cooking is part of learning magic! If you don't practice cooking magic now, you'll end up living off the market stalls later. And once we leave the academy, where are you going to find breadfruit to sustain you?"
"That's... a fair point," Vasida admitted reluctantly. The others nodded, realizing that giving up on cooking magic was not a long-term solution.
Amy sighed in relief, glad to have prevented what would surely have been a disastrous lifestyle choice.
Lyra, ever the problem-solver, saw an opportunity to shift their focus. "Speaking of which," she said with a playful grin, "have you all finished reading Chapter Two of 'History of Witches'? Got any questions prepared for class?"
Vasida gave her a suspicious look. "Don't tell me... you've 'already' finished the preview too?" Her eyes narrowed. "I swear you've secretly learned some kind of clone magic from the dean."
Lyra laughed. "Not at all! I was planning to read it on the way to school! I haven't even started yet." She gestured toward the distant castle with a shrug.
The other witches gawked at her. "!!!"
Vasida slapped her forehead. "How did we already get halfway up the mountain without even 'thinking' about our questions?"
The realization struck them like a cold splash of water, if they didn't come up with questions for Ms. Amisha, they'd be stuck with extra essays again. The witches scrambled to pull out their books, flipping through the pages of 'History of Witches', trying desperately to review the second chapter before they reached the classroom.
They stumbled into class, still hurriedly brainstorming questions when Ms. Amisha walked in. The witches barely managed to jot down the ideas swirling in their heads.
Once the class began, every witch except Lyra activated their enchanted recording cards, knowing they'd need to replay the lesson later to catch anything they missed.
Ms. Amisha arched an eyebrow, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "It seems I don't have to slow down my answers today."
The witches exchanged knowing glances. "Well," Vasida muttered under her breath, "whose fault is that? You're the one assigning all these essays."
The class flew by in a blur of questions and answers. But as it drew to a close, the room tensed. Everyone braced for the inevitable onslaught of homework.
Amisha closed her book with a soft 'thud' and gave the class a thoughtful look. "One summary paper on the problems discussed today," she said at last, pausing just long enough to watch the nervous anticipation flicker in their eyes. "Due Thursday."
The little witches exhaled in collective relief, but not before shooting each other wide-eyed looks of disbelief.
"That's it?" Vasida whispered, stunned.
A few of them couldn't suppress little shouts of joy. Just three days ago, the idea of writing a summary paper had been overwhelming. Now it felt like a gift.
Sylph gave a soft laugh. "Amazing how quickly things change, huh?"
The following morning, during World History class, the witches tried the same strategy, bombarding Ms. Amisha with enough questions to distract her from assigning too many essays.
They succeeded... somewhat. After another rapid-fire Q&A session, they received the same assignment: a summary paper.
Later, as they descended the mountain on their way back to the dormitories, they ran into Lilith and a group of second-year seniors flying their brooms at a leisurely pace above the path. The older witches slowed, smirking as they spotted the exhausted first-years below.
"Well, well," Lilith called down with a grin. "How's theory class treating you? Easy week, huh?"
The first-years groaned in unison. "'Easy?'" Vasida moaned. "It's harder than our magic practice! At least with magic, you get results... Theory class just gives you 'papers'."
Lilith laughed, her voice full of sympathy. "Oh, we've been through it too. During our first year, we had six papers by the second week and four of those required reading entire reference books! It's like that every week. Welcome to the academy."
Vasida threw her hands in the air dramatically. "Six papers every week?! We're doomed."
Lilith smirked. "Not doomed. Just... trained." She gave them a wink before flying off with the other seniors, leaving the younger witches to contemplate the grim reality of academy life.
Lyra, however, didn't seem fazed. She adjusted her bag, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "See?" she said, nudging Vasida. "We're not the only ones. This is just part of becoming a great witch."
Vasida shot her a look of mock exasperation. "Easy for you to say. You already 'love' this madness."
Lyra grinned. "You'll see. Once you really get into it, it's not so bad. In fact... it's kind of fun."
Vasida groaned again. "You're impossible." But there was no hiding the tiny smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
As the little witches trudged the rest of the way down the mountain, the air buzzing with grumbles and laughter, Lyra's heart felt light. For her, each challenge was just another step toward mastering the magic and the world, that she loved so much.
There were just 'too many books' to read. It was becoming overwhelming. The little witches realized that the elementary witch books weren't enough to keep up with everything they needed to learn. On top of that, their magic power was limited. To copy new content into their books, they first had to clear out what they had already read to make room.
As Vasida groaned about their workload, one of the second-year witches, wearing the air of someone who had been through it all, offered some sage advice. "Essays get easier the more you write," she said with a knowing grin. "And Ms. Amisha only pushes us because she wants us to learn as much as possible. Trust me, it's all for your benefit."
She leaned closer, her expression more serious now. "But here's a tip: when you're in theory class, don't ask too many random questions. If you keep the discussions short, you'll only get 'one' paper per class. Ask too much, and it's a guaranteed two-paper situation."
The first-years exchanged nervous glances, nodding like soldiers preparing for battle.
"Also," the second-year continued, "if you're stuck on how to write your papers, just check the reference books. Otherwise, you'll end up with a poorly written essay that Ms. Amisha will make you rewrite." She sighed, shaking her head as if remembering some personal nightmare. "And believe me, having a paper sent back is worse than just reading a book in the first place."
The younger witches huddled closer, wide-eyed. They could practically feel the weight of the second-year's wisdom crushing their spirits.
"Wait... so you've had papers 'sent back' before?" Sylph asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
The second-year witch nodded gravely. "Yep. A bad paper doesn't just mean a lower grade, it means 'rewriting' the whole thing from scratch. It's brutal."
The younger witches gasped in unison.
"Good thing Lyra helped us review the answers from Monday's class," Vasida whispered. "At least we know what to focus on for the summary paper."
Sylph nodded. "And honestly, problem-summary papers are easier than research papers. You just write down what was discussed in class; no extra research needed."
"Wait a second," one of the first-years piped up, her expression thoughtful. "Back when you were a first-year, you didn't have recording cards, did you?"
The second-year witch frowned. "Recording cards? No... We had to look everything up ourselves."
"Well, no wonder!" Vasida said, grinning. "You guys must've asked fewer questions because you couldn't keep up with all the notes! Now we just record the whole class and listen to the dean's answers later. Way faster than reading through old reference books!"
Another first-year chimed in, "Exactly! We've got six papers, but only two require research. The others? Easy; just copy down the recordings!"
The witches giggled mischievously, feeling far more optimistic about their workload now.
The second-year witch's smile faltered. "Wait... recording cards? What are those?"
A first-year witch who had recently visited the academy warehouse perked up. "Oh! I saw those posters outside the warehouse! I guess that's what they're for."
The second-year witches stared at each other, the realization hitting them like a thunderbolt. 'They've been selling recording cards this whole time and no one told us?!'
"Why struggle through research," one of them muttered bitterly, "when you can just record the dean's answers?"
Without missing a beat, one of the second-years shouted, "Lyra! I need a recording card—'now!'"
"Sure, sure," Lyra said cheerfully, pulling out a fresh stack of parchment from her satchel. "One contract at a time, please! Line up."
With practiced ease, Lyra began writing up contracts for the eager witches, each transaction sealing another sale.
Watching this unfold, one first-year witch hesitated for a moment, her brow furrowed. "Lyra... Aren't you losing out by selling these cards for 'one-time' mana payments? Other witches sell permanent magic for recurring mana."
Lilith, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle. She shook her head knowingly. "Trust me; Lyra might give things away out of kindness sometimes, but if she's selling something? She 'never' loses. If anything, you should be worried about whether you'll have enough magic left to keep up with her deals."
Sure enough, Lyra smiled brightly, not missing a beat. "Oh, don't worry about me! These cards don't count as part of my personal witch magic. Once I develop my own magic, I'll start offering 'permanent' spells too. Make sure to support me when that happens, okay?"
The little witches stared at her, mouths agape.
"...We were worried for nothing," Vasida muttered.
"She's not just selling cards," Sylph added in disbelief. "She's setting herself up for 'more'—long-term, too."
The realization dawned on them like a heavy cloud. 'Lyra wasn't just collecting one-time magic payments, she was positioning herself for permanent, high-level magic sales in the future.'
"And we'll still owe her magic," Vasida groaned.
"Yep." Sylph sighed. "She's got us now and later, too."
One of the second-years shook her head in awe. "If Lyra ever suffers a loss, it'll probably be the end of the world."
With a gleeful grin, Lyra handed over another recording card, each signed contract boosting her magic reserves. "Well, what can I say?" she chirped. "Business is booming!"