Chapter 39 : Chapter 39

Chapter 39 : The Incident Settles

The battle that shook the entire area ended abruptly.

I, trembling on the sidelines the whole time, felt no sense of involvement.

But staying out of things beyond my ability was a kind of wisdom.

I wasn’t stubborn enough to dwell on it.

I also managed to reassure the worried Bai Yu, and before she left, I even got her to buy something from me.

I felt a bit shameless about it, though.

I wasn’t making money off it.

I was selling the cookies I’d made myself.

Senior Tang said I could do whatever I wanted with them, as they weren’t meant for sale.

If I didn’t eat or take them, they’d end up in the trash, and I couldn’t let that happen.

So, I accepted them.

This time, seeing Bai Yu, I planned to give her these cookies.

But she insisted on paying.

Looking at those plain, even slightly misshapen cookies, I could only accept the money with a guilty conscience, just a token amount, probably the cost price?

It wasn’t recorded in the shop’s accounts, so it counted as my extra income.

Sigh… when did I become someone who’d do this for money?

Next time, once I’ve honed my skills, I’ll make something delicious for Bai Yu as compensation.

That’s probably the best I could do.

For now, the situation outside seemed to be calming down.

Judging by the senior sisters flying back down, they likely weren’t needed anymore.

It was a pity my strength was lacking.

I had no idea what happened up there.

It was too far to hear what they were saying.

All I knew was that this was a conflict involving multiple academies, primarily driven by students.

Did that mean Witch Academy won?

It was our home turf, so winning made sense.

But was it really okay that the Curtain Wall got slashed open like that?

Repairing it must cost a fortune.

The academy was loaded, though.

But since other academies caused the damage, maybe they’d have to foot the bill.

It was their students who broke the Curtain Wall.

How could they not pay?

I was handling some shop chores, like fixing items displaced by the battle’s aftershocks.

I also checked for safety hazards, like cracks, but the place seemed sturdy.

No cracks on the walls if this were one of those shoddy buildings from before, it’d be crumbling by now.

Next, I just had to wait for the senior sisters to return and take charge.

I was just a part-time worker with no real authority.

After a while, they finally came back.

Seeing them, I was so relieved I could’ve cried.

But I had to keep up appearances, so I eagerly opened the door and welcomed them warmly.

“Manager, Senior Ying, welcome back!”

“Oh My new employee”

Xia Li saw me greeting them and quickly approached, clearly in a great mood.

Or rather, an excellent mood!

Ying Shiqian came back with her, of course, but I hadn’t expected Senior Tang to return with the manager too.

Did they run into each other while she was out buying ingredients?

Xia Li reached out and pinched my cheeks.

Her desire to interact was palpable, like she had overwhelming joy she didn’t know how to express.

If you ignored her tattered clothes, it’d be even better.

Clearly, she’d been through a fierce fight.

Her outfit was riddled with holes and stained with blood.

If I weren’t so close, I wouldn’t have noticed.

“Alright, Manager, stop bullying Xiao Han,” Tang Yihan said, stepping in to stop her.

“Yihan, how is this bullying? Xiao Han, am I bullying you?”

“Uh… no,” I said, hesitating as I looked into her eyes.

She was the manager, after all.

Senior Tang was right.

She paid me, so I’d let it slide.

It was just a cheek pinch.

I’d have to find a way to get her to give me a raise later.

That'd be the real revenge.

“See? Xiao Han doesn’t think I’m bullying her. I’m thrilled today. I finally heard the crunch of those bird people’s wings breaking again. What a marvelous sound… paired with their pained wails…”

Before Xia Li could finish, she was interrupted again, earning a glare from her toward Tang Yihan.

“Manager, Xiao Han’s a new student. You’ll scare her by talking like that.”

“Oops… you’re right. But it’s something to get used to, Xiao Han. You’re a preparatory witch now. You’ll run into this kind of thing often…”

Xia Li realized her mistake and started lecturing me again.

Honestly, I wasn’t scared by her words, just intrigued.

The “bird people” she mentioned must be the students from Holy Angel Academy, right?

I hadn’t realized Holy Angel Academy was like Witch Academy, with students’ races altered.

Witch Academy used some unknown method involving the magic power source for witchification.

So what did Holy Angel Academy use to turn people into angels?

I was suddenly curious.

“Mm, mm,” I nodded, looking attentive without any discomfort or objection.

The manager was very pleased with my obedient demeanor and gave me an extra reward for staying at the shop the whole time.

It felt like an excuse to throw money at an employee.

I had to admit, the manager was at her coolest when she was talking about bonuses!

After some chit-chat, the manager was dragged by Ying Shiqian and Tang Yihan to change her clothes.

The shop also put up a “temporarily closed” sign.

Honestly, it didn’t matter there weren’t many customers at this hour, especially after what just happened.

But the streets were full of senior sisters watching the spectacle.

The battle had affected many areas.

The bakery was fine, but places closer to the action would need major reconstruction.

“We’re closing for the day. Don’t worry, Xiao Han, your hours will count as a full day. Now, I have an announcement!”

Xia Li, as the manager, held the most authority in the shop.

But when she said she had an announcement, only I looked curious.

The other two seemed to already know what it was.

“This afternoon, we’re going out for a nice meal! My treat!”

My enthusiasm waned.

Was this surprising or not surprising at all?

Going out for a good meal was great, especially on the manager’s dime.

But compared to that, I’d rather hear them explain what just happened.

Once my gossiping urge kicked in, I couldn’t hold it back.