Ch. 39 - The Dust Settles

The huge battle that shook the whole area petered out. I spent the entire time hiding in the shop, not involved at all.

Knowing my limits and steering clear of stuff I can’t handle? That’s my own kind of smart. I wasn't dumb enough to kick myself over it.

I calmed Bai Yu down and sent her home. Before she left, I got her to “buy” something—a bit of a shady move, I admit.

I didn’t make much money. I sold her some cookies I baked—the ones Senior Tang said I could do anything with. They weren’t good enough to sell out front.

If I didn’t eat them or take them, they’d have gone in the trash. I didn’t want to waste food, so I kept them.

I planned to give them to Bai Yu for free, but she insisted on paying.

Looking at those lumpy, weird-shaped cookies, I took her money and felt a bit guilty. I only charged a little—pretty much what their ingredients cost, I think.

It was off the books, just some extra cash for me.

Ugh. When did I start doing stuff like this for a few bucks?

Next time, after I've gotten better at baking, I’d make something really good and give it to Bai Yu for free to make up for it.

That was my plan, at least.

Things outside calmed down.

The seniors floated back down from the sky, so they weren’t needed up there anymore. It was a bummer—I was too weak to know what really happened.

They were too far away to hear what they said.

I only knew it was a fight between different academies, led by students. Did that mean the Witch School won?

It was our home turf, so a win made sense… but that huge tear in the Dome? Was that okay?

Fixing it had to cost a lot. The academy must’ve had a lot of money.

But other academies caused the mess. Maybe they’d pay for it.

Their students wrecked the Dome—they couldn’t just leave without paying.

I tidied up the shop. The battle’s aftershocks knocked things around—baskets tipped, a few cups fell over.

I checked for danger, like cracks in the walls, but the place held up well. There wasn’t a single crack.

If this were a cheap building from my old world, it’d have been full of cracks.

All I could do was wait for the seniors to come back and take over. I was just a part-timer—what could I do?

After a bit, they showed up.

I was so relieved I almost cried.

But I played it cool. I opened the door with a big smile. “Manager, seniors, welcome back!”

“There’s my best worker!” Xia Li said happily, walking toward me. She was in a great mood.

Like, really great.

Ying Shiqian came in behind her, and—surprise—Senior Tang was with them too. Did she meet them while out getting supplies?

Xia Li pinched my cheeks, full of energy. It was like she had so much excitement she didn’t know what to do with it.

Her clothes were a mess, though. Her outfit was ripped up—holes everywhere, bloodstains all over. She’d been in a tough fight.

If I weren’t so close, I might not have noticed.

“Alright, Manager, stop teasing Yuehan,” Tang Yihan said, stepping in.

“Teasing? How’s this teasing? Yuehan, do you think I’m teasing you?”

“Uh… no.”

I looked into the manager’s eyes, hesitated, then answered. She was the boss, after all. Senior Tang was right—she paid me, so I figured I’d let it slide.

It was just a little cheek-pinching.

I’d find a way to get her to give me a raise later. That’d be the real comeback.

“See? Yuehan doesn’t think I’m teasing her. I’m in a great mood today. I finally got to hear those bird people’s wings snap again—that crisp sound… paired with their pained screams…” Xia Li started, but got cut off again, earning a weird look from her at Tang Yihan.

“Manager, Yuehan’s just a newbie at the academy. You’ll scare her talking like that,” Tang Yihan said.

“Hm… fair point. But you get used to this stuff, Yuehan. You’re a trainee now, so you’ll run into this kind of thing a lot…” Xia Li realized her mistake and came over to give me a lecture.

Honestly, her words didn’t scare me. They just felt… new. The “bird people” she mentioned were probably students from that San Angel School.

I didn’t expect San Angel School to be so similar to Witch School. Even their students’ races changed.

The Witch School used some kind of mana core for witchification. So what did San Angel School use to turn people into angels?

I got curious all of a sudden.

“Mm, mm.” I nodded along, looking like I was soaking it all in, no complaints or discomfort.

Xia Li seemed pleased with her obedient employee. She even gave me a bonus for sticking around at the shop.

It felt like she just made up an excuse to throw some cash at me.

I had to admit, when she talked about giving me a bonus, that was when she looked the coolest!

After chatting in the shop for a bit, Xia Li finally got dragged off by Ying Shiqian and Senior Tang to change her clothes.

The shop put up a “temporarily closed” sign, but honestly, it didn’t matter much. There weren’t many customers at this hour, especially after what just happened. The streets, though, were packed with seniors gawking at the aftermath.

The battle wrecked many places. The bakery looked fine, but spots closer to the action needed major rebuilding.

“We’re closed for the day, Yuehan. Don’t worry, you’ll get paid for a full shift. Now, I’ve got an announcement!” Xia Li, as the manager, had the final say in the shop.

When she said she had something to announce, I was the only one who looked curious. The other two seniors seemed to already know what was coming.

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

After hearing that, my excitement faded a bit. Was it surprising? Not really.

Going out for a good meal was great, especially since the manager was paying.

But compared to that, I’d rather they explained what just happened.

Once my curiosity got going, there was no stopping it.

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