Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 234
Chapter 234
Witch (1)
Th i s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i ng m t l . o r g
***
Ding-Dong-Dang!
As the bell signaling the end of the boring class and the start of dinner rang, the students began to scatter in various directions.
Some would head to the cafeteria to eat with friends, while others might go out, and some might skip dinner altogether to go straight to night study sessions.
Aiselle typically enjoyed her meals with friends.
Though she was obsessed with studying, she never skipped meals. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to eat in the past—she simply couldn’t afford it. Now that her circumstances had improved, she made it a point to take care of her health.
She was meticulous in managing herself, exercising regularly to maintain her stamina, sticking to a strict schedule, and eating healthy meals whenever possible.
“Aiselle! Want to eat out today?”
“…Huh?”
Despite her disciplined nature, she had two major weaknesses, and one of them was her close friend Marillen, the person she had become closest to since arriving at Stella.
“Ta-da!”
Marillen spread out a flyer with both hands as she spoke. The flyer looked a bit crude, definitely not something officially produced.
“It’s for the ‘Witch Restaurant.’ You’ve heard of it, right? It’s super famous around here these days.”
“Uh… I think I might’ve heard something about it.”
She had vaguely caught wind of conversations about it from fellow students.
“The strange thing about the Witch Restaurant is that you can’t find it by just looking for it.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“It’s exactly what I said. No matter how much you search all over Arcaneum, you won’t find a place called the Witch Restaurant.”
“Then how do people eat there?”
“Here’s the weird part. If you wander around the student streets of Arcaneum around dusk, the Witch Restaurant just… appears. There are tons of firsthand accounts of people who’ve actually eaten there.”
“…Isn’t that just a rumor?”
“No way. You know Chailey from Class C, right? Even she said she ate there. So how about we go out and look for it tonight?”
“Hmm…”
Teenagers often had peculiar interests, and strange trends like this would occasionally explode in popularity.
T h i s wa s c op i e d f r om k in g m t l . or g
The Witch Restaurant.
Aiselle wasn’t really drawn to the idea, but since she didn’t have anything else to do that evening, she nodded.
Eating out was an extravagant luxury that she had never indulged in before, but now that she had some financial leeway and a way to reclaim part of her father’s assets, she didn’t mind.
“Alright. I’ll go with you.”
“Yay!”
“But what kind of food can you order there?”
“From what I’ve heard, they have a wide variety of dishes! Apparently, they serve almost every type of cuisine from all over the world.”
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Usually, a famous restaurant would stick to a few signature dishes, but the Witch Restaurant was said to offer an extensive menu, with every dish being highly praised for its taste.
“Great! Let’s hurry and check it out!”
And so, Aiselle, along with Marillen and five other friends, set off for their little adventure.
The streets were packed with students in their teens, all of them clutching a similar flyer in their hands. It seemed like everyone was out searching for the Witch Restaurant.
“There are so many people…”
The Witch Restaurant had already become a hot topic in Arcaneum, and it looked like a large number of students from magic schools had come out in search of the place.
“You’d think there’s a festival or something.”
Arcaneum would host grand festivals every year in the fall, with crowds flooding the streets. But it wasn’t even festival season yet, and the sheer number of people out on the streets was unusual.
“But! If it’s for delicious food, I can wait as long as it takes!”
…An hour passed like that.
As the sun began to set, the enthusiasm of the girls, who had grown tired of wandering around, began to wane. Aiselle shook her head.
Searching for a restaurant could be fun, but wandering around on an empty stomach was exhausting, and there was nothing they could do about it.
The girls were quietly biting their lips, unwilling to admit defeat. But it was clear that if someone suggested they give up, the others would quickly agree.
Aiselle understood the psyche of teenage girls all too well.
“Maybe we should just find a nearby restaurant and call it a day?”
“Oh… Yeah, maybe.”
“It is getting late…”
T hi s wa s c o pi e d f r o m k i n g m t l .o r g
The girls were reluctantly agreeing with her when, suddenly, Marillen pulled on Aiselle’s arm and excitedly pointed ahead.
“A-Aiselle! Isn’t that it?”
“Huh?”
Finally turning her gaze in the direction Marillen was pointing, Aiselle saw a peculiar building with large orange letters that read ‘Witch Restaurant.’
“…It really is.”
She hadn’t expected it to be in such a dark, remote alley.
Most of the buildings in Arcaneum were bright and colorful, but the Witch Restaurant had an ominous, gloomy atmosphere, with its black exterior adding to the creepy vibe.
It was hard to believe people would go out of their way to eat in a place like this. Especially when you could find far better-looking restaurants just a little farther down the street.
“Well, we found it, so we might as well go in.”
“See? I told you! Good things come to those who wait!”
The group of girls cautiously approached the Witch Restaurant and peeked inside.
“Wow…”
“It’s really well-decorated.”
These days, interior design was said to be more than half the battle for a restaurant’s image, and this place nailed it.
True to its name, the restaurant had a somewhat dark and gloomy atmosphere, but the purple and orange lighting gave it a dreamy, mystical vibe. The walls were beautifully adorned with magical symbols, adding to the mysterious ambience.
‘If you didn’t feel any lack in life today, then you are still fortunate to be alive.’
It was an ancient language.
It was likely from the ancient Kriston era, about 400 years ago. Since Aiselle had studied a wide range of subjects, she was able to decipher it immediately, but none of the other students—or rather, no one else present—would have recognized it.
“What do you think that phrase means?”
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“Maybe it’s some kind of witch’s spell?”
“Nah, witches don’t use spells like that.”
“Really? I heard witches were the origin of all spells.”
Even though Stella students studied witchcraft, it didn’t mean they truly understood witches.
In other words, even Stella’s students didn’t know much about witches, so it was no surprise that witches remained shrouded in mystery in most of the magical world.
Witches were enigmatic, dangerous, and full of secrets—there was far more hidden about them than known.
Nowadays, most witches had disappeared, and there was no longer any way to learn more about them…
“Are we the only ones here?”
The restaurant was quite large, but aside from the group of girls, there were no other customers.
“Let’s order!”
Marillen enthusiastically yelled as she took a seat, to which Aiselle, feeling embarrassed, quietly responded.
“There’s a bell for that, you know…”
“Oh, right.”
Upon realizing this, Marillen pressed the bell, and soon a waitress appeared, dressed in what looked like a stereotypical witch’s outfit straight out of a comic book.
“Are you ready to order?”
The waitress smiled warmly… and there was something strangely captivating about her charm.
‘What’s with these menu names?’
Aiselle frowned.
‘Witch’s Enchanted Curry.’
‘Witch’s Enchanted Burger.’
‘Witch’s Enchanted Spaghetti,’ and so on.
There was practically no dish that wasn’t on the menu, but every item had the word ‘enchanted’ attached to it, and they all lacked any distinctiveness.
“I’ll have this one, please.”
“I’ll go with the burger!”
After her friends finished ordering, the waitress smiled brightly and made eye contact with Aiselle.
“And what about you, miss?”
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Aiselle stared at the menu for a moment before pointing to the ‘Witch’s Enchanted Pork Soup.’
“I’ll have this…”
She had a bad experience with pork soup last time, but since the Witch Restaurant was famous for making everything taste amazing, she figured it might be different here.
“Got it.”
After the waitress left, the girls huddled together and whispered to each other.
“Hey, what’s up with that lady?”
“Why is she so pretty?”
“Seriously, she’s almost as beautiful as Aiselle!”
“…Why is my name always coming up?”
However, Aiselle couldn’t shake the strange feeling she had. There was definitely something charming about the waitress, but not to the extent that her friends were making such a fuss about.
She had an ordinary face but a smile that could draw people in… that kind of feeling.
But everyone found different things attractive, so Aiselle brushed it off, thinking she was just being a little odd.
After a short wait, the food was served, and before her friends even touched their meals, they snapped pictures with their fancy cameras.
It was probably to show off to their school friends. Aiselle didn’t feel the need to show off, so she just let them take their pictures.
“Aiselle, what’s this? Rice in soup?”
“I have no idea.”
She didn’t know, but she planned to eat anyway.
Once the photos were taken, her friends picked up their knives and forks and began eating, their reactions quite dramatic.
“This is insane!”
“It’s heavenly…”
The food seemed to be exceptionally delicious.
Aiselle also took a spoonful of the pork soup and tried it…
‘Hmm…’
It still wasn’t to her taste. There wasn’t much of a difference compared to the restaurant she had visited with Baek Yu-seol last time.
Maybe pork soup just had its limits as a dish? Curious, she took small bites of her friends’ dishes to compare.
‘…They’re all just average.’
Aiselle didn’t have a refined palate.
Ever since losing her father, she had been eating the cheapest, most efficient meals she could find to get by.
But the food at the Witch Restaurant… to be honest, it was nothing special. It was so ordinary that even Aiselle, who would eat just about anything, found it somewhat underwhelming. Had a noble student come here, they would have probably spat it out after the first bite.
“This is amazing. Seriously!”
Yet her friends were shoveling the food into their mouths like they were under a spell.
“Is it really that good?”
T h i s wa s co pi e d f r o m ki n g m t l . org
“Yeah, yeah. Didn’t you like it?”
“To me, it’s just… ordinary.”
“I’ve never been to a restaurant like this in my whole life…”
“Even at a star chef’s place, I’ve never tasted anything like this.”
Was it really that good?
She didn’t get it.
Was her palate so unsophisticated that she couldn’t appreciate truly delicious food?
While Aiselle was pondering this, the meal ended, and the girls leaned back, patting their full stomachs, clearly satisfied.
“Ah~ Let’s come back next time.”
“I could eat here every day.”
“Should we ask the waitress how we can find the place again?”
“Yeah, let’s ask.”
The girls approached the counter to pay and casually asked the waitress.
“How do you find this place?”
But the waitress just smiled and shook her head.
“I’m afraid I don’t know the directions either. But don’t worry, if you truly want to come back, you’ll find your way here.”
What kind of vague answer was that?
Still, the girls quickly accepted her words and left the restaurant.
It felt like they were genuinely enchanted by the witch’s magic.
As Aiselle was about to follow her friends out, the waitress suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Wait a moment.”
“Huh?”
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“You’re… like me, aren’t you?”
What kind of random statement was that?
“Can’t you feel it? You definitely have the aura of a witch.”
“I’m so glad.”
Then, the waitress smiled brightly. What exactly was she so glad about? Aiselle couldn’t understand at all, but the waitress didn’t seem to care as she bowed politely.
“Take care on your way back. I hope we meet again.”
“…Yeah. I’ll be going now.”
Even though she felt incredibly uneasy, all Aiselle wanted in that moment was to get out of there as quickly as possible.
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“Hoo…”
It was only then that she realized her back was drenched in cold sweat.
“What was that about…?”
She had a bad feeling about the whole ordeal, but as long as she didn’t go back, there wouldn’t be any problems… right?
***
…Late that evening.
At the Stella Academy, in the staff storage room, something unusual was going on.
“Professor Valentine. I know you’re in charge of all the wands, but why are you asking for all of them to be brought out?”
Thi s w as c o p i ed f r o m ki n g mt l .org
“I’m telling you, I lost something important, and I think it’s here.”
“We’ve looked everywhere for the wand you described. It’s not here.”
“What are you talking about? How could you miss something so obvious?”
Professor Valentine.
She was not only the professor of ‘Efficient Wand Utilization’ but also the manager in charge of all the wands used by the students at Stella Academy. However, even as the manager, there was no way she could order all the wands to be taken out at once.
Wands that weren’t currently resonating with a mage were in a highly sensitive state, and some could even malfunction just by being exposed to the air.
“Ugh, you guys are impossible.”
Valentine, with her vibrant bronze skin, ran her hands through her curly red hair in frustration.
It wasn’t just the slow pace of their work that was stressing her out; it was the fact that the wand she had misplaced was an extremely dangerous and valuable item, making her stomach churn.
‘Where did I lose it…?’
A few days ago, she had secretly used the ‘broomstick wand’ while setting up the environment in the Stella Dome with Instructor Lee Han-wol for the students’ practical session.
Unfortunately, she had been completely drunk at the time and had no memory of where she left it.
‘It wasn’t there when I looked after the session…’
Normally, she stored the wands in the storage room, so she had torn the place apart looking for it but found nothing.
‘Did someone pick it up?’
Just thinking about it made a chill crawl down her spine. If someone had indeed taken that wand…
‘…No! It’s fine. No one would know what it is anyway.’
Valentine waved dismissively at the staff member.
“Forget it. I’m leaving now. Let me know if you find it.”
“Alright, understood.”
She really wanted to smash the staff member’s head like a pumpkin, but she held back.
That idiot had no idea how serious this situation was.
“Sigh~ What a life I lead~”
It was only a matter of time before she found the lost wand. But in the meantime…
She could only pray that no one would accidentally trigger a disaster by messing with it.
End of Chapter.
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