Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"The Flowing Fire Festival takes place over seven days in mid-July, during which the entire Jielou City will hold a grand parade with seven stages: the lighting of incense, calling upon the gods, circumambulating the city, the startle dance, offering of voices, sending off the departed, and the return of the troops..." The travel agency guide was introducing the schedule to the tourists, and Hexia also listened to part of it.

Afterward, she left the tour groups, exited the station on her own, and walked into the vast steel jungle.

Many of the high-rise buildings along the road had been abandoned, but the first to the third floors were still being used, and a good number of shops were open for business. The neon lights in their signs, changing and flickering, were especially eye-catching and vibrant against the surrounding grey concrete and steel.

The sky was flecked with drizzling rain, light enough not to matter much, but enough to dampen Hexia's hair slightly. She quickened her pace as she crossed the spacious street to enter a shop opposite her.

In this small shop, there were all sorts of handcrafted ornaments hanging up, made of jade or cinnabar, agate, and even some specially made coal stones. There was only the shopkeeper inside, who sat in a corner still busily engaged in his carving work. On hearing footsteps, he called out without looking up, "Take a look yourself if you want to buy something, and then come here to pay."

He then continued with his unfinished carving piece without lifting his head.

Hexia's gaze wandered around the shop, which was less than 20 square meters, its small space completely filled with hanging ornaments on red cords, which gently clinked against one another when stirred by the breeze.

The pendants were carved with animals, letters, planetary symbols, film characters, and brief texts. The variety was astounding, seemingly able to satisfy any demand.

Standing in this tiny shop, the young girl carefully examined everything. From time to time, she felt a slight brush against her ankle from the large spider hiding nearby, thankfully it didn't show itself nor did anyone else notice it.

"How much is this?"

Though she wasn't necessarily going to wear it, Hexia still wanted to buy something as a memento. She carefully picked up a turquois pendant carved with a floral design and walked towards the inside. Your journey continues with M-V-L

The shopkeeper finally put down his carving tools and magnifying glasses and looked up at Hexia.

"This one is 45 Federation Coins." It was a very cheap price; it didn't even cost as much as a single tasty meal.

The girl was slightly surprised, then she asked how to make the payment.

"Payment, huh? You must not be from around here." He shook his head, then rummaged for an old cash register in the corner and set the amount.

"If you use this, it's 100 Federation Coins," he said as he handed over the cashbox after explaining the price difference.

"Why is it so much more expensive?" Hexia was puzzled, but the man just shook his head, not bothering to explain.

Having hit a soft nail, Hexia had no choice but to make the payment using the cash register, although 100 Federation Coins wasn't a lot, she still felt a bit unhappy about it.

Seeing the girl had paid and was about to leave, the shopkeeper called out from behind, "If you're here for tourism, you could get a local card exchanged by someone from around here. It will save you a lot of money."

After saying that, he gestured for Hexia not to bother him anymore and went back to his work.

Walking on the street, Hexia continued to look around at the shops and attractions. Besides selling daily necessities, many shops offered local specialties like jade jewelry, classical dresses, incense burners, and painted fans. Occasionally, the girl also saw shops selling cold weapons.

In the Interstellar Era, where automated weapons are widespread, cold weapons have mostly lost their utility, but there are still many enthusiasts who keep them, and within the Federation, the use of Energy Lightsabers and other special weapons is derived from cold weapon techniques, so some people use them for practice.

Entering one shop after another, Hexia saw many locally handcrafted items, from small combs and folding fans to large pieces of furniture and statues. Items woven from bamboo strips also caught the attention of tourists.

Her gaze shifted from one unfamiliar yet familiar item to another, and the girl remembered that her mother had once tried her hand at these crafts. However, her mother, who had been pampered from birth, wasn't skilled at manual labor and had even been laughed at by her father a few times, before she gave up on it altogether.

Following the crowds that had come to Jielou City, Hexia continued her tour along the main street, walking past the cold, damp roads. Unbeknownst to her, it was already around 2 p.m., and she started to feel hungry.

"Let's find a place to eat," she mumbled to herself, giving the large spider hiding by her ankle a nudge with her foot, then heading towards an establishment that was obviously a restaurant.

The restaurant had a sign sticking out into the air over the street, its neon lights shimmering with a gaudy brightness, displaying a few large characters. Street signs like this were a common sight along both sides of the street and above it.

Several small AI Autonomous Units also hovered above the street, transporting various small items. These units looked like older models, with their paint primarily in orange-red and black. Some of their parts were exposed, allowing the sight of their internal mechanisms at work and the occasional spark.

"Probably only ground-level cities would have so many small Levitation Autonomous Units," the girl thought in comparison to Payin City. Since it was underground with cramped spaces, it wasn't possible to allow these disparate units to fly haphazardly as they would block the Hover Car passages. Therefore, express deliveries in the city were often made by vehicles or ground-operating AI Autonomous Units.

Heading towards the restaurant, Hexia was quickly distracted by a street food vendor.

Inside, the noodle chef, with one mechanical arm, was rapidly twirling dough, while the other hand continuously added various spices and seasonings. Then, he tossed the dough into the air, and with a smack, it landed on the chopping board. His right mechanical arm transformed again, this time into the shape of a Sword, and he began slashing, cutting the dough into even pieces.