Chapter 16

Leaving that somewhat inexplicable pure white girl behind, Dorothy headed toward the textbook section of the bookstore.

She soon found her little sister, but after getting a little closer, she realized that Alice was not alone; she was currently confronting three witches of about the same age.

Seeing that her sister seemed to be getting bullied, Dorothy felt a surge of anxiety. She quickened her pace, wanting to rush over and teach those blind fools a lesson.

But as she got closer and saw the faces of the three witches opposite, especially the magical blue curly twin tails of the witch leading them in the middle, Dorothy immediately stopped in her tracks.

"Oh, so it's Isabella, then it's fine."

She recognized the other party's identity; that was her sister's old classmate and old rival.

The other party was the daughter of the Haiyue Witch, the lord of this Haiyue Floating Island, and the future young island lord. Isabella, who had inherited the talent of that great Haiyue Witch, was also a famous genius girl locally, and together with Alice, they were known as the pride of Haiyue Floating Island, often called the Haiyue Pair or something like that.

And her own stepmother, who was like a career woman, was the chief research witch of Haiyue Floating Island, equivalent to the grand steward of the entire witch territory, which could be said to be a high rank and power. She and the Haiyue Witch, who was the lord, were good friends who had grown up together, and the two families had a deep friendship, often gathering together.

Therefore, Alice and Isabella, who were about the same age, could actually be considered childhood sweethearts. It was just a pity that these two little girls had not inherited the deep friendship between their mothers at all; instead, they were like they were born incompatible. Every time they met, they were either arguing or fighting, neither willing to submit to the other.

Anyway, when Dorothy arrived, these two little girls were already at odds, but she heard from her stepmother that when they were even younger, they were actually so close that they would hug whenever they met. She didn't know why they became enemies after growing up a bit.

Of course, Dorothy, who was eating melons on the sidelines later, saw things more clearly as a bystander; she might understand their thoughts about each other better than these two little girls did.

Isabella, born as a young lady, actually liked Alice very much. She thought that she could have a relationship like that of the Haiyue Witch and her stepmother, and have Alice assist her in the future.

However, Alice was the type of person who would never be weaker than others. From a young age, the little witch had wanted to open up her own territory in the future and become a lord herself. She had the talent and ability to do so, so why should she live under someone else's roof and be a steward?

Thus, the conflict arose. Isabella always wanted to compare herself with Alice in everything, wanting to suppress Alice to convince her and make her assist her peacefully.

But Alice had a strong competitive spirit and was the type to get braver with every setback. She didn't submit to anyone, and Isabella's actions seemed like looking for trouble to Alice, so naturally, she was unhappy.

The result turned into this: one was a tsundere, the other a stubborn career woman; one didn't want to speak clearly and only knew how to look for trouble, while the other was stubbornly unwilling to admit defeat and would die before taking half a step back. It would be strange if they didn't argue when they met.

Anyway, every time she saw these two little girls meet, Dorothy liked to move a small stool, take out a handful of melon seeds, and start watching the show, sighing while eating seeds that this was probably youth; it was even more exciting than watching anime.

Like right now...

Although both sides kept their mouths shut because they couldn't make noise in the bookstore, Dorothy's high perception still allowed her to keenly detect the frequent magic fluctuations flowing between the two little witches.

Hehe, they're already arguing wildly in their telepathic transmissions.

And with the professional spirit of a melon-eater, Dorothy "operated" a little bit. The telepathic techniques of these two young and ignorant little witches, which couldn't be called very clever, were easily cracked. She started eavesdropping with a motherly smile on her face.

Isabella: "Hehe, I was wondering why I smelled a stench of sweat from far away. So it's you, a guy with a brain full of muscles. Can beasts read books these days? Does big sister need to help you pick out textbooks?"

Alice: "Get lost, I only have one sister, you who were born an hour earlier than me are talking nonsense. Also, stay away from me, the fishy smell on you is choking me, I don't like eating fish."

Isabella: "You shorty, are you looking for trouble?"

Alice: "It's clearly you, the fat salted fish, who is looking for trouble. Who's afraid of you?"

Isabella: "I see your skin is itching because you haven't been beaten in a few days."

Alice: "Hehe, I don't know who it was last time that I beat until scales fell all over the floor, almost becoming a dead fish."

Isabella: "That was a sneak attack, you don't fight with martial virtue. If you have the guts, fight me head-on."

Alice: "Oh my, our smart young lady was actually sneak-attacked by me, a beast with a brain full of muscles. Your fish brain is really smart."

Isabella: "Don't leave later, see you at the rooftop arena."

Alice: "Hmph, who's afraid of who? Arena it is. I'll call the medical team for you first."

Hmm, it's still the same high-intensity bickering as always. They even used high-speed divine speech, spraying hundreds of sentences a second. They must have practiced secretly in private. You two are really a match made in heaven.

Dorothy enjoyed the show. When both of them ran out of steam and entered halftime, she walked out from behind the bookshelf unhurriedly.

"Oh, little Bella is here too. What a coincidence."

She walked to Alice's side, looking at the blue-haired young lady opposite with just the right amount of surprise.

"Uh, Sister Dorothy, you're here too."

Isabella was a bit surprised, then a bit shy. She curtsied politely to Dorothy, her etiquette as a lady of a great family impeccable. At the end, she covered her mouth with a fan, smiling a little shyly.

This gentle, guest-like, and poised appearance really made it hard to believe that this was the same person who was a troll just a moment ago, spitting out hundreds of sentences a second, each one tricky and piercing.

"Yeah, I'm reporting to the Witch Academy tomorrow, and Alice is accompanying me to buy some textbooks today."

Dorothy also pretended not to know anything and explained, even making a joke.

"From now on, Isabella, you and Alice will be my seniors. In school, I'll be counting on you two to look after me."

"Okay, okay, Sister Dorothy, you can come to me for anything. I have some influence in the student council, and I'm willing to do anything for you, sister."

The blue-haired little witch seemed suddenly a bit excited, her eyes shining as she looked at Dorothy.

*Cough, cough... *

Dorothy was very gratified and moved by Isabella's enthusiasm.

Look, what a polite and enthusiastic child. Helpful, except for Alice, this child is very good to everyone.

It's just that before she could thank Isabella, her arm was suddenly hugged by her sister on the side.

"Hmph, I'll take care of my sister myself, I don't need you. Sister, you don't need to pay attention to her. If you need anything, just come to the school guard team to find me."

Alice made a face at her arch-rival, then forcibly dragged Dorothy away.

"Let's go, sister, we need to buy books."

"Alright, alright."

Dorothy was also helpless about this. She had to smile politely at the blue-haired young lady opposite before being dragged away by Alice.

However, what surprised her was that Isabella followed them quickly.

"Sister Dorothy, let me help too. Alice's grades are average, but I have always been in the top five of the school. As a witch on the Path of Omniscience, I can give you better advice, sister."

The blue-haired little witch said to Dorothy with a flowery smile while secretly bad-mouthing her old rival.

Dorothy was a bit tempted by this, after all, her sister's grades were indeed lagging.

Alice: "..."

She really couldn't refute this.

Damn it, I'll study hard when I get back.

The little witch stared at this damn fake childhood friend with murderous eyes while secretly making up her mind.