Magical Journey: The Other Shore Blooms on the Other Shore

"Why are they chasing us?" Elena belatedly realized that she was being chased. She had obviously been treating the chase as a game, and even hundreds of these people would have a hard time catching her.

"Maybe I just wanted to snuggle up to you because you're so cute," Qin said.

Do you think I'm cute too?

……

Is this some kind of advanced silence magic? Why do I feel like I've been silenced when I'm not affected by silence magic at all?

"Just kidding. I still like to hear you praise me sometimes." Seeing that the violin seemed to have malfunctioned, Elena smoothed things over.

Does this guy even understand the definition of cute?

At that moment, Elena seemed to faintly hear someone calling her, and it was a voice she was quite familiar with. She and Qin were hiding in a small alley, which she had cast a spell on to make it impossible for an ordinary magician to find them.

"Elena—I'm Ms. Fran—" Elena heard it clearly. Ms. Fran? Although the voice was exactly the same, could someone have deliberately imitated her? A fake teacher tricked me into coming out?

But there's no need to overthink it. After all, rationally speaking, the probability of this is approximately zero. Even if it's a trap, what's wrong with escaping it again?

Furthermore, during the chase just now, Elena didn't sense any malice from the pursuer; it felt more like a friendly sparring match than a chase. If there had been malice, the ball wouldn't have been thrown as a water balloon.

"Your teacher?" Qin asked.

“Yes, my cheap master. After all, she's the one who gave me this witch's certificate.” Elena nodded.

But why is Ms. Fran here? Although I have been wanting to find her for help.

"So you were here..." Fran cast a spell to remove the illusion, and looked at Elena with a playful expression, like a cat catching a mouse.

That expression seemed to say—playing hide-and-seek in front of your teacher? You're still too young as a student; experience counts.

But all he saw was Elena calmly looking at him, and the strange man listening to his student's description.

Fran stopped thinking for a moment.

……

"Why is Teacher Fran here?" Elena asked the question that had been bothering her.

Then she looked at the two students behind Fran.

Aren't these the man and woman the two who asked her to go with them? And why are they with the teacher?—Connecting all these things, Elena guessed the likely reason.

“I’m a teacher at the Magic University here. Of course I’m here,” Fran said matter-of-factly. “Besides, those people chasing you are actually my students. I gave them a strict order: they must bring you to see me without revealing their identities, or they’ll get extra points on their final grades.”

So that's how it is... So you were the witch from the magic university! But I still have some questions.

"Why would you do that?" Elena asked, puzzled. "And how did you know I was here?"

“You introduced yourself when you entered the city, and the guard at the school gate also told me that he saw a gray-haired witch, so it’s basically confirmed that it’s you. As for the first question… finding you in this vast country is not an easy task.”

Elena nodded in understanding.

This lazy teacher will never hesitate to mobilize manpower when possible. He'll avoid doing things himself whenever possible.

“Just like your mother said, you’ve already become a traveler, haven’t you?” Fran said with a smile.

"Huh?" Elena exclaimed in surprise, "Have you seen my mother?"

Only his parents and a few others, like Roberta, knew that he had become a traveler.

"Yes, I visited your hometown after that. Your mother misses you terribly. If you have the chance, go back and see her."

"I will."

"Speaking of which..." Fran felt it was time to get to the point, which was that her question hadn't been answered yet. "Who is that boy? Is he your boyfriend? Or are you already married?"

My adorable apprentice is in love?

I want to see which three-headed, six-armed demon kidnapped my lovely little angel.

Someone like Elena falling in love so quickly—it's impossible, absolutely impossible.

“Well—how come you think that way too—we’re just travel companions who have no choice but to travel together.” Elena sighed.

Afterwards, Elena told Fran about the two of them being affected by the Yin-Yang Sphere. Elena usually didn't trust others, which is why the Yin-Yang Sphere problem hadn't been properly resolved until now.

Qin seems to have a solution to the problem of the Yin-Yang sphere, but there is still a distance between the idea and its practice.

Then let's see if my teacher has any good ideas. Although Ms. Fran usually seems lazy and unreliable, she's far more experienced as a witch than I am.

"It's a very rare magical item," Fran commented, having fully understood the whole story.

That scared me to death—I thought Elena was really in love.

It's good that I'm not in a relationship.

"Does Teacher Fran have a way to undo this?" Elena asked tentatively.

“It shouldn’t be unsolvable. I have a friend who specializes in magical items, she should know how to undo it,” Fran said with a smile. “It’s also a shame that such a lovely girl like you has to spend time with this guy.”

“Let’s go find my friend now.” Fran thought that Elena must be eager to break free from the shackles that bound her.

After all, having to spend every day with someone who has a poker face and exudes an ominous aura of death is just too unbearable.

Fran didn't like Jean from the first moment she saw him. And her students also had a poor impression of Jean—which, of course, indirectly influenced Fran's attitude.

Therefore, there was no kindness in her tone towards Qin.

Upon hearing that the problem with the Yin-Yang Sphere could be resolved smoothly, Elena originally thought she would be especially happy—after all, the problem that had troubled her for so long was finally about to come to an end.

But contrary to her expectations of excitement, she felt an unexpected calm.

She herself didn't understand why she couldn't be happy.

……

"The Yin-Yang Orb? Could this be the one that the Star Witch Helena made?" remarked one of Fran's purple-haired mage friends. Fran explained that her name was Abigail.

"Do you know that Starshine Witch?" Elena asked.

"After all, I used to be her magical assistant. But my magical aptitude didn't meet the requirements, and I never passed the apprentice witch exam—then something happened, and we went our separate ways."

"Oh, so you're her friend."

"That's it for now."

“Then please settle the bill—here is an IOU for 100 gold coins, of which 80 gold coins are for compensation for emotional distress. Considering my identity as a witch, we should calculate the interference that the Yin-Yang Orb has caused to my life…” Elena said excitedly, pulling out the IOU she had been treasuring for a long time.

Hey hey?

Abigail stared blankly at Elena, then at Fran, who was equally dumbfounded.

She and Fran exchanged a brief glance.

"Are you sure she's your student? Is she known as the Money Witch? Or the Blackmail Witch? No, no, the Scum Witch is more fitting?" Abigail's eyes flickered.

“She does like gold coins,” Fran nodded.

As described above—it was simply that the two of them read the messages the other wanted to convey through their eyes, without even using magic. It was truly a tacit understanding.

“Ahem—of course you can,” Abigail laughed. “It’s just that the procedure for dismantling the Yin-Yang Sphere is complicated and quite expensive…ahem, you know what I mean, ahem.”

"Are you coughing? Take your medicine. I can dispense it for you free of charge."

"No, cough cough, you understand about pricing, right—"

"Aren't you the teacher's friend? I'm the teacher's student, why are you charging me?"

"You're your teacher's apprentice, right? I'm your teacher's friend, and I don't owe you money. Why are you asking me for a debt?"

The atmosphere is weird.

Fran couldn't help but burst into laughter. Jean, however, remained calm—but he sensed that the scene was indeed quite enjoyable.

In the end, both sides compromised: the solution to the Two Elements Ball problem would be free, and Elena wouldn't ask for the debt back—a cause for celebration. But Elena felt like she'd lost a fortune.

She originally thought she might be able to extort money from both parties. It's such a shame she got caught with just one IOU.

“Give me some time to prepare the materials, and come find me tomorrow morning,” Abigail said with a smile.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Fran nodded. She could wait a day; one more day wouldn't make a difference.

"We're like family. You're too kind."

Heh, then you still… Elena silently cursed a thousand times in her heart.