She Is Not a Witch

Snowflakes drifted in the Tisilan Mountain Range. In the blink of an eye, winter had arrived.

The snowflakes fell quietly like down feathers, slowly piling up on the leaves in the forest. The broad leaves gradually bent under the weight, then the accumulated snow slid off, causing the leaves to spring back slightly, stirring up bursts of white crystalline mist.

Inside the small cabin in the Maple Leaf Courtyard, a large pot, or more accurately, a large vat, was simmering in the main hall.

Orange-yellow flames burned beneath the pot, with bubbles occasionally rising to the surface and bursting. White steam continuously rose from the reddish-brown pot as Loranhil stirred with a long ladle. A sweet aroma permeated the air.

As she slowly stirred, the liquid in the pot gradually thickened, finally reaching a semi-solid, semi-liquid state.

It seems about right.

The girl thought, then pressed the liquid in the pot with the large ladle. It was soft and seemed to have some elasticity. She took out a large baking tray she had prepared in advance and poured the semi-solid maple syrup onto it.

She then used a spatula to spread the syrup evenly on the half-meter-wide baking tray, about an inch thick, and cut it into square pieces. The orange-yellow sugar pieces were like jelly, transparent in color and emitting a sweet fragrance.

Loranhil carefully lifted the baking tray and placed it in her clay oven. Then she took out another tray from the cabinet and poured another layer of rich maple syrup.

Maple sap is rich in sugar content and also has good nutritional value and effects. It was loved by many people in her previous life. Today, Loranhil wanted to try making a batch of candy. Firstly, candy was more convenient to carry, and secondly, maple syrup would easily spoil if kept for too long when traveling.

She then put three cut baking trays into the primitive clay oven, closed the lid, and placed the oven on the rack in the fireplace, letting the flames bake it continuously.

After cleaning up the traces in the hall, she sat quietly by the fireplace to wait.

Outside the window, snowflakes could still be seen falling continuously. The sky gradually darkened, and some snow accumulated on the window frame. A layer of frost covered the glass, making it difficult to see the situation outside clearly. Only the sound of the wind howling could be heard.

The girl wore a white winter dress with fur on the collar, sleeves, and edges. The dress had a cape on the shoulders, giving it a layered look overall. It also provided better warmth for the easily chilled shoulders. The lining of the dress was warm and soft fur. Although it had some thickness, it fit perfectly.

Speaking of which, this dress was actually provided by the Lamia Merchant Association. When she left, Head Maid Chelsea had forced her to accept it, saying that clothes given to others might not fit, and it wouldn’t be good to leave them in storage.

Unexpectedly, it came in handy soon after returning to the Tisilan Mountain Range.

On the small table in front of the girl were several thick books and some notes. These were preparations for her upcoming studies.

Although she had a letter of recommendation, Emenas would still conduct some tests, such as in language, history, mathematics, and so on. It wouldn’t be good if the admitted students were illiterate, as they wouldn’t be able to learn many things, which would not only waste a lot of time but also put great pressure on the students themselves.

At least passing grades were required for the school to admit students. Additionally, those who didn’t reach a certain standard in their grades would have to take extra remedial classes in their first year. It must be said that mathematics is truly a universal subject; even in the supernatural world, this subject is very important.

According to Laniel, to study under a mentor in the Magic Sequence, one’s math grades must be excellent or above. Moreover, different colleges had different subject requirements. For example, the Angel Sequence required good or above in language arts, the Necromancy Sequence also required excellent or above in mathematics, the War Sequence had requirements for legal code grades, and the Nature Sequence had requirements for plant and herbal knowledge, and so on.

If you wanted to enter a certain college for further studies, you needed to prepare well in the first year. In the second year, you would advance to a specialized department. If you failed to advance, you could only repeat the year and wait for the next chance. Many students from remote areas with weak foundations would get stuck at this stage, and quite a few had to spend two years in the first year before advancing to the second year.

Although the academy had a five-year system, in reality, only a minority could complete their studies and graduate smoothly within five years.

When Loranhil left Hopland, Lady Philia had given her some books to read in advance and prepare.

This reminded her of her high school days, that tense and fulfilling period. If university life was like fluffy cotton candy, then high school was like a compressed biscuit as hard as a rock.

Can you imagine using up a neutral pen refill in 2-3 days, memorizing vocabulary even during the three-minute wait before running in winter, and teachers giving out schedules specifying what you should do every 5 minutes? It was truly all-encompassing, squeezing out every drop of time from life.

Although some people criticized this rigid system, sometimes it was precisely because of this rigidity that some fairness was maintained. After graduating and starting work, everyone would discover that there were too many ways to play in this world, and one couldn’t help but marvel at the endless wonders of the vast world.

Slightly refocusing her thoughts, Loranhil picked up a book and looked at it. There wasn’t much problem with language and writing. As for mathematics, it was about the same level as junior and senior high school. With a little review, she could basically remember it.

The subject of natural herbs was mainly different in names compared to what Professor Trina had taught. She could quickly familiarize herself with it. The most unfamiliar subject was the legal code, most of which were new things from the past few hundred years. Customs varied from place to place, so to learn it well, she would need to read it along with history books.

The warm firelight illuminated the book. A soft blanket draped over her legs as she leaned back in the chair. Looking at those dry entries, Loranhil felt lazy and a bit drowsy. Although it was somewhat boring, thanks to her supernatural constitution, her memory was quite good, and she slowly memorized the regulations one by one.

After a while, she felt it was about right and put on gloves to move the oven down. She opened the lid, and the sugar pieces had already hardened.

She gently tapped them with a spatula, and then stacked the small cubes on a plate. The orange-yellow maple sugar looked like transparent amber crystals.

[Golden Maple Sugar Cube] (Outstanding Gold grade): Made by combining the juice of supernatural fruits with amber red maple syrup, heated and concentrated, then baked into sugar cubes. Due to the enhancing properties of the amber maple syrup, the effects of the original supernatural fruits are improved. It can greatly improve constitution and enhance cultivation effects. (It is recommended not to consume too much at once)

Picking up an amber-colored sugar cube, which was still a bit hot, Loranhil cooled it down with wind before putting it in her mouth.

Ooh, too hot, too sweet. A wonderful sensation flowed from the melting fruit sugar into her mouth, then spread as a warm current in her stomach, feeling very comfortable.

Oh right, I should prepare some for those little rabbits too. Remembering the group of children she saw at the rabbit-eared tribe’s school the day before yesterday, Loranhil suddenly wanted to play Santa Claus and leave some beautiful memories for these children’s childhood.

Thinking of it, she did it. She crouched in front of the cabinet, opened the door, and searched for the wood pulp paper she had made before.

The light yellow wood pulp paper wasn’t thick. Made from finer wood fibers, it was taken out of the cabinet by the girl, still as smooth as when it was made, very well preserved.

She cut the paper into small squares, then wrapped each sugar cube, tied them with ribbons, made them into bows, and finally put them in a jar.

The orange firelight illuminated her face as Loranhil carefully prepared the winter gifts to give to those children.