Chapter 24: I Really Can't Say It

"Hello! May I ask, are you... Senior Bai Yan?"

Witch Miss, who thought no one knew about what she did to Cat, suddenly got flustered when, just after emerging from the little forest, she found a crowd suddenly surrounding her.

However, Witch Miss's habitually expressionless face, combined with her naturally high‑class looks, made her expression appear unchanged.

"Yes... it is."

Unlike the tone she uses when sucking little kittens, her voice toward outsiders is always flat and indifferent.

But...

Witch Miss's inner thoughts were far from as calm as her outward expression.

Eh...???

What happened?!

Why am I being surrounded!

I... they discovered that I was sucking Cat in the little forest?

Violating school rules? Undermining customs?

Just as Witch Miss was extremely confused, she heard the surrounding classmates enthusiastically say,

"Senior! I saw your photos and videos on the school forum, and I think you're super cool!"

"Exactly. You're so cool, so aloof, yet you're so gentle with Cat!!"

What forum?

What photos, videos?!

What aloofness, and what gentleness?

Who? Who are you talking about?

Witch Miss now looks completely bewildered.

She feels that being suddenly surrounded by so many people is an unusually huge pressure.

She tries to squeeze as many words as possible from her mouth to form a sentence,

"Could you explain, please?"

"Alright! Senior!"

"Even the question is this aloof!! Love it, love it!"

❀(o´ω`o)ﾉヽ(o°ω°o)❀

"…"

Finally, after a round of overlapping explanations, Witch Miss understood the cause, process, and outcome of the incident.

Her speech in the auditorium yesterday afternoon and her dining scene in the cafeteria were recorded and photographed, then uploaded to the school forum, sparking widespread dissemination and attention.

"We are members of Senior Bai's fan club.

Senior! Good luck with the mock exam! We'll all go to the venue to observe and cheer for you!"

ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ！！！

"…"

Although she understood what kind of group they were and why they knew her, she still couldn't grasp what exactly happened in this cause-and-effect process!

What fan club!

What observation support!

She…

When Witch Miss was already starting to feel at a loss, these instantly familiar, sunny girls who had been standing at the front communicating with her threw another bomb,

"In summary, Senior, we've fallen for you! We're all your fans!"

"And, we are the representatives chosen by everyone.

So… may we ask, Senior, could you give us an SNS contact? Or a school forum account? Email address? Anything works! A signature photo would be even better!"

Your faithful followers need you, Senior Bai!

"…"

This…

Listening to these people's enthusiastic and polite requests, watching their eyes sparkle as if the words 'want' were written on their faces, Witch Miss, who considers herself a blend of negativity and darkness, feels as if she's about to be purified by that dazzling light.

What to do…

I have no phone, let alone any SNS app, I really can't say it!

(ノДТ)

Witch Miss, who thought she had undergone harsh training, now realizes that there are still words she simply cannot utter.

Helpless, wanting to make a sudden dash away, Witch Miss forced herself to suppress her instinct to flee, set a stern face, and after much effort managed to squeeze out a sentence toward them,

"Testing requires serious training."

You juniors: (*◎ｖ◎*), we beg you, beg you, beg you

(ﾉД`)…

"But… could you leave me the social‑app IDs you want to add as friends? When I rest at night, I'll add you."

"Yay!! Long live the Senior!!! Thank you, Senior!"

Watching a group of youthful girls march away happily, Witch Miss suddenly felt that all her energy for school today had been drained.

"Senior! This is all of our contact info! Actually… we've been ready for a long time!"

Σ(⊙▽⊙「a…

Then, one person and one Cat watched this lively group of youths march away.

"Cat, are humans actually… such terrifying creatures?"

Cat: Actually, from my perspective, you are far more terrifying than that overly familiar group.

"But... inexplicably, this feeling is actually... not bad, Cat."

"So... this is what it feels like to be liked by others? Cat."

The liking of family, the liking of strangers... it turns out they feel so different.

It's a sense of recognition and belonging.

Cat silently spoke for Witch Miss in her heart, voicing the word she felt for the first time but had longed for so long that she no longer knew how to describe it.

"Moreover, Cat, I feel that in my heart I have added another thought: 'I must absolutely not let them down.'"

"Even without them, I cannot fail this Teaching Group test."

Cat never expected that letting Witch Miss struggle on her own would produce such a good butterfly effect.

This is him, no matter how, cannot replace Witch Miss in experiencing and savoring this growth.

Good, good, I've held back since the beginning.

Watching him now standing there, silently looking toward the Teaching Building with a foolish smile, all the unpleasant torment of this time at school turned into happy candy.

o(*￣▽￣*)o~

But Cat still underestimated the excitement of the reclusive Witch after she first gained recognition.

After lingering there for another few minutes, she directly picked up Cat, and under his astonished gaze, turned and walked off in the opposite direction of the Teaching Building.

Witch Miss resolutely headed to the library.

And it was the library's latest magazine section, which surprised Cat.

Her gaze quickly swept over the magazines, then settled on one titled 'Recommended Hot-Selling and New Smartphones of the Month'.

"……"

No way! Sis! You came to the library just to do this?!!

Cat helplessly covered his forehead with his tail, then let out a sigh.

My foolish daughter!

——A smartphone that can also be used in the dungeon!

——Best value for money, annual sales champion!

——Limited-edition classic retro style!

The magazine lives up to being a magazine; every big cover headline is extremely eye-catching.

But... the actual functionality is just so-so.

A sturdy, camera phone that can also be used in the dungeon.

Because the dungeon has no network signal, even if you bring a phone, you can only use it as... a flimsy brick.

As for all those fireproof, waterproof, anti-collision gimmicks on it, Cat scoffs at them.

Price 8799, pass!

And the phone touted as having retro charm is indeed very retro.

Because it makes Cat look extremely nostalgic.

If I had to describe it, it's basically the look of the earliest smartphones.

A large but not excessive screen, and a home key whose presence is still felt.

Although the crystal core and various configurations are some kind of magical high-tech product, they look very charming.

But... looking at this price of 28999, Cat still thinks Witch Miss should just buy the sales champion or the latest model phone.

However, all of this is just Cat's inner commentary while looking at the magazine, and it won't affect Witch Miss's actual purchasing behavior.

To Witch Miss, a phone is completely an unfamiliar thing.

She has no one to contact, and moreover, no friends.

As for the need to go online...

For the Witch Miss who is daily immersed in the ocean of knowledge, it is even more unnecessary.

All the knowledge she needs can be obtained through reading.

And for answers that cannot be found in books, even the computers in the school library cannot search for any useful solution.

By this point, Witch Miss does not consider the internet a necessity at all, and she won't care about any of its content.

Except... the rankings updated by year and month.

However, after she discovered she had no talent, she gradually resisted engaging with this kind of content.

In short, as a network newbie and electronic product newbie, Witch Miss feels completely bewildered after seeing these high-end products.

This emotion, consistent with lacking a sense of security in reality, causes her, when she sees a smartphone model she has seen before in her impression, to feel the excitement of meeting an old friend after many years apart.

Well... well, I've decided it's you!

After making the decision and also checking out current popular social software and how to use it, Witch Miss swiftly grabbed Cat and, jogging all the way, arrived at the teacher's office.

Today's coursework up until the test is conducted together with team coordination training, and as a Solo Party, Witch Miss naturally has no attendance burden.

In the office, after explaining the situation to Teacher Liu Ge and thoroughly reporting her home-based fake training plan, she successfully left school with her backpack.

However...

Teacher Liu Ge never expected that the Witch Miss, who had been a good student all her life, would, after turning bad, make her first act upon leaving the school gate to go straight to the phone store, preparing to open the door to sin.

Pushing open the store's door, Witch Miss pointed at the most eye-catching 'retro phone' on the promotional board and said to the clerk with a fierce aura,

"Hello, I want this phone."

Cat: (ΩДΩ)!!!!

Bai Yan!!!! Wake up!!!! What are you doing!?

But after all, Little Cat is just a little cat; what else can he do?

He could only watch helplessly as Witch Miss bought this phone, watched her, prompted by the clerk, also get a fancy-number SIM card, and watched her calmly swipe the card.

Looking at the amount on the POS machine, Cat gained a new understanding of Witch Miss.

She basically never spends money, so she has an absolutely wrong view of money—a foolish rich woman!

"Sister, support me!"

"Oh, it seems she's supporting me now."

"Then that's fine."

Thus, amid Cat's weary complaints, Witch Miss, having bought the phone, cheerfully returned home.

She performed the ritualistic steps of wiping the phone, applying a screen protector, and inserting the SIM card.

She downloaded the social app IINS and registered an account.

The account name was… Bai Yan.

Cat: (ΩДΩ)?!

Hey hey hey!

Are you filling out a personal information survey?

Who would register an ID with their real name in a virtual network world!

Asuna?

Cat felt that today's surprise was enough for Witch Miss to turn into a year's worth of emojis.

Unlike Cat, who mourned his own recent foray into the internet as a solid witch, Witch Miss was earnest and excited as if stepping into a new world.

Set up a post…

Visible to everyone, showing only the past three days' content.

Yo~

That should be OK, right?

Witch Miss felt a modest pride in her clever and wise choice.

Since she registered a social account, then… she should probably post something, right?

"Hmm…"

She skimmed the default recommended posts on the homepage, glanced around the room, but soon fixed her gaze on Cat.

Cat: …?

What are you looking at me for?

In that brief, two‑blink stare, Cat sensed something ominous.

Cat activated the escape skill.

With agility far below Witch Miss's, Cat's escape failed.

Cat was captured by Witch Miss.

Cat was put into a little rabbit dress by Witch Miss.

Cat was held down by Witch Miss, who took a photo.

The humiliating photo of Cat was excitedly posted by Witch Miss to her Moments.

"…"

I hate!!!

o(╥﹏╥)o!!

How could such a heartless thing happen!

Reincarnated into a cat with reaction speed seven times that of humans, yet lost due to low agility!

Moreover, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't keep up with Witch Miss's agility growth.

Pikachu Corps… you are Dad's expectation!

Whether Dad can revive the family tradition depends entirely on you, Pikachu!

…

In the subsequent brief ten minutes—the time Witch Miss spent adding friends at a snail's pace—the photo of Cat in the little dress had already received over 200 likes, and the number of likes was rapidly multiplying over time.

Cat, over.

Some indelible dark history was forever left on the internet.

The internet has memory.

Cat knows this.

So, they recorded this grudge; they will definitely make the perpetrator, Witch Miss, pay a painful price.

After adding friends one by one and politely greeting them, Witch Miss put down her phone and prepared diligently to start today's training.

She stood up and stretched lazily.

Her outstretched arms and straight back made her look especially graceful.

"Wu~ so comfortable."

The relaxation after stretching made Witch Miss squint and moan softly.

After tallying the training she needed to do later, Witch Miss turned to Cat and said:

"Hey, Cat, you also train hard!"

"I know you're strong, Cat, completely different from me; you need special training to level up quickly.

Hmm… if you have any needs, find a way to tell me, and I will do my utmost to fulfill them!"

Witch Miss cupped Cat's face and earnestly promised them.

"But for the time being, I can only ask you to do some small training at home."

After graduating from high school, I should finally be able to try applying for a qualification to raid dungeons!

Then, Cat, you explore your area while I start from the first floor and slowly conquer it! Hehe!

╭(╯^╰)╮！

Listening to Witch Miss's words, Cat decided to still nuzzle her twice, and not keep butt‑butting her any longer.

Cat said, seeing that you have a place for me in your heart, I won't settle the bill on the spot today.

Anyway, a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years.

Cat endured!

Because the school test is approaching, Witch Miss's Daily Task training content was also arranged by Cat to lean toward the magical side.

Although Witch Miss's magical capacity was greatly expanded by Cat, her MP that recovers only 3 points per second still makes her worry about endurance in prolonged battles.

Most mages, when their blue bar hits zero, face dizziness, blurred vision, or even fainting.

For Witch Miss, who must level up alone, this is truly a taboo of taboos.

Therefore, when a practical test that must not reveal true strength approaches, a last‑minute cramming to strengthen magical skills is still very necessary.

Although this process is both exciting and exhausting for Witch Miss.

While Witch Miss was grinding in solitude, Cat used his newly invented 'Detection' magic to locate the Sword Saint who was busy somewhere in the house.

"Sword Saint."

Cat suddenly sprang out from the shadow under the table.

Puff—

As the sound of the teacup shattering rang out, Lin Du inhaled deeply, pulling at the corner of his mouth as he said to the Cat that had suddenly appeared at his feet,

"... could you not suddenly pop up and keep a bit of stillness?"

"Next time, definitely, next time, definitely."

Since the Sword Saint discovered him hiding in the shadows last time, Cat, after deep self‑reflection, gave his concealment ability a special training.

Ability insufficient, buffs to the rescue.

Scent vanished, magical fluctuations vanished, movements silent, covert gaze... after stacking those buffs, indeed this concealment operation succeeded!

(￣▽￣)／Yay!

The original 'Concealment' required too many spells to be released simultaneously; after further research, once a ProMax version is made, it can go online against Witch Miss.

An assassin who doesn't want to become a swordsman is not a good mage.

To cultivate his own Shadow Flow Master, Cat is taking it very seriously!

Seeing Cat suddenly bubble up without speaking, just staring blankly at a spot, the Sword Saint was somewhat 'unable to endure', he restrained his impulse to yank that black plush creature and asked him,

"What business do you have finding me?"

Generally, Cat doesn't approach him unless there's a matter, and it's usually not a simple good thing.

However this time, Cat's reply surprised the Sword Saint.

"I would like to ask you some questions."

When seeking help, Cat never holds back on verbal praise and flattery.

Men may have gold under their knees, but he is just a cat whose egg rights have never been in his own hands.

Cat, you see, weighs two jin, with a one‑and‑half‑jin pride.

The rest, of course, is soft bone!

Being both soft and hard is what makes girls like you!

Ahem.

Cat's attitude and his words made the Sword Saint very surprised,

"Is there still something you don't understand that requires asking me?"

Such a mimic‑novice monster whose heart is as black as its surface?

"..."

Hey hey hey! What kind of arrogance and prejudice do you have toward this kind, cute Cat of mine!!

Seeing the Sword Saint's suspicious eyes and defensive stance, Cat just wanted to slam the table to plead his case.

But as communication with the Sword Saint increased, Cat also found his explanations only added insult to injury, becoming more futile and darker.

Thus,

"Hmm... I indeed don't know much about human matters.

But you seem very experienced, so to be safe, I definitely came to you."

"Go ahead."

The Sword Saint, his vanity greatly satisfied, poured a new cup of tea, leaned on his seat, and prepared to listen seriously to Cat's question.

"She is about to be tested soon."

"I know."

"But before entering the dungeon, she still needs to pass the teacher team's test."

"She has many abilities she cannot show; based on what you see, if she wants to completely hide her talent and pose as an ordinary mage, is there a chance..."

Then, Cat told Lin Du about the difficulty of this dungeon test and that the teaching team would use combat dummies for the test.

After hearing Cat's description, the Sword Saint, who now had a more comprehensive sense of the data strength, pondered.

Then he replied,

"Hmm... I think it's very difficult."

"The dummy won't give her a chance to charge a spell and one‑shot kill. However, you probably wouldn't want her to display such power either."

"Yes. Moreover, at this stage I don't want to give her too many magic spells that consume excessive mana."

Her talent ultimately isn't here; if a magic void causes her body to develop negative conditions, there will be many unexpected dangers in the dungeon.

Speaking of that, Cat immediately had countless worries,

"What if I'm also entangled by a powerful opponent? What if a special teleportation array appears and I can't reach her within a short time?"

I'm not afraid of ten thousand, I'm afraid of the unlikely; she already has far too many ways to die.

"…maybe you could hope she'll be okay?"

…

"I can hope she's fine, but the world won't."

…

Although the words were a bit odd, the Sword Saint thought Cat's words made a lot of sense.

When you're hot‑blooded and young, if you have a life‑risking big skill in your pocket, it always makes people lose a calm mind and a frugal heart.

If a single skill could solve it, why keep swinging the sword piece by piece?

However, excessive consumption of magic can cause bodily skills to malfunction, especially the brain.

It can cause confusion, throbbing pain, or dizziness.

This negative effect becomes more lethal the deeper one delves into a dungeon instance.

No matter how many times the principle is explained, a youngster who hasn't suffered themselves won't understand.

Yet, the consequence of suffering in a dungeon is losing one's life.

Miss Bai Yan…

While pondering, the Sword Saint gradually realized he had gone off‑topic, gave a light cough twice, and steered the conversation back,

"So you want her to first develop habits of frugality and keeping a fallback, then teach her large‑scale magic?"

"Pretty much. Mainly to train her ability to control magic. Afterwards…"

"Stop.

As for magic, I don't know much; you're the expert, just go ahead.

However, for this test, I think the chance of victory lies in 'being able to evade the sudden‑face attacks of combat puppets' and 'finding ways to avoid being surrounded.'"

Avoiding sudden‑face and avoiding encirclement…

The Sword Saint highlighted the key points of this test, giving Cat a bit of inspiration.

Mm…

To avoid both, what you need is 'knock‑back' and 'control.'

One is to prevent being instantly killed by a peculiar puppet's sudden‑face, the other is to keep oneself from being surrounded.

Apply special effects, gradually wear down damage, and perform some speed‑concealed 'face‑to‑face positioning'…

"Ah ha!"

The idea came!

Cat excitedly thumped its tail, began spouting sentences at high frequency, and described to the Sword Saint its great and exquisite cultivation plan.

After finishing the description of the theoretical knowledge and the upcoming tasks, Cat said,

"So, as a teacher, um… play the role of an elderly, surprisingly adept guide, and explain these to Witch Miss.

You only need to describe the principles.

Then, with my tiny hint, she'll understand!"

Having heard Cat's description, the Sword Saint nodded solemnly, then said to Cat,

"Alright, I understand.

Now say it again, so I can take notes.

You spoke too fast just now; I'm afraid I mis‑recorded it. Important stuff really does need to be repeated a few times, just in case."

Cat:????

You old rotten man, are you messing with me!

Honestly, I just blabbed a whole bunch, and you only heard a 'Ah! …'???

So when Witch Miss arrived at the underground training room this time, she saw a Cat riding atop the old butler's head and frantically pulling his hair.

Xiaohei!!!

How can you bully others like this!!

Get down right now!!!

Cat:???

This damn old man also torments me! Why don't you scold him!

Cat hadn't even had time to argue when it fell into Witch Miss's clutches.

"Little cat! Do you know this is wrong?!"

Cat: No, I don't.

"Grandpa Lin is old, already going bald, and you still pull his hair! Do you think your conscience can live with that, Xiaohei!"

"Hurry and apologize to Grandpa Lin!"

Cat:? This is worse than letting me die!

However, even with Cat's stubborn mouth, facing Witch Miss's 124 strength points, it's merely empty pride.

"Little cat, you must not do this again, understand!"

Seeing Witch Miss frowning, devoted to teaching her own cat proper behavior, Cat only felt a wave of mental fatigue.

Alright, alright, next time I go scratch that old bastard to death, I'll remember to cast a detection spell and see what that insanely fast Witch is up to!

But if I accidentally see something I shouldn't, that's not my problem!

While the Cat was being insincere, its legs fine, and bowing its head to make a wholly undevout self‑criticism, Witch Miss suddenly spoke again to the old steward, saying,

To be frank, setting aside the fact that the Cat went to pull your hair,

Grandpa Lin, do you truly have no conflict with the Cat?

The Cat is very well‑behaved when it's with me; even if it's frightened in class, it never attacks anyone.

Are you, like when you teased me while I was eating as a child, having made the Cat angry?

Lin Du: ……? Miss, what are you…?

Meanwhile, the Cat, upon hearing Witch Miss's words, had its eyes shine like a giant of light.

Cat: (✧◡✧)！！！！

Says… well said!!!

If this eye medicine isn't used, his rebirth as a weak, pitiful, helpless Cat would be wasted.

Thus, without the slightest hesitation, he decisively struck a weak and pitiful pose; watching the Sword Saint step forward two paces to explain, he immediately began trembling and sprinting, ducking behind Witch Miss's trouser leg.

Lin Du:?

If this monster isn't eliminated, the Bai Mansion will not know peace for a day!