“Is this the Young Witch Academy?”
Arcana curiously surveyed the gates of the Young Witch Academy before him.
It felt no different from an ordinary high school or university—very plain and simple.
“Yes, the Young Witch Academy.”
A hint of nostalgia appeared in Luna’s eyes; it was clear she must have had many wonderful memories of her time at the Young Witch Academy.
However, Arcana didn’t ask his mother, Luna, about her past experiences at the academy.
He knew that entering the Young Witch Academy required a parent to stay with the student for at least six months, though he wasn’t sure why.
But it would surely make his mother think of her own two witch mothers—his grandmothers…
…who had long since sacrificed their lives in the war to defend the empire’s borders.
The brief moment of nostalgia passed, and Luna continued their previous conversation.
“You will study at the Young Witch Academy for a year.
Then, based on your grades, you’ll be admitted to a qualifying Imperial University.”
“After that, you’ll spend anywhere from twenty to a hundred years in a Witch University.”
“When you graduate depends entirely on you.”
“If you wish, you can even stay in the university…”
“I don’t want to be a witch!
Absolutely not!!!”
Luna was interrupted by a boy’s roar from nearby before she could finish.
Arcana and Luna looked over at the same time.
Two witch mothers—one with green hair and one with blue—were trying to reason with their son, who was throwing a loud, crying tantrum.
“If you don’t become a witch, you’ll have to move out!
Isn’t living with your mothers better?”
“It’s just becoming a girl.
Do you really want to…”
The blue-haired witch’s urgent words were cut off by her son’s shout.
“I don’t want to!
I don’t want to!
I don’t want to turn into a girl!”
“Even if I, Jinze, have to die—even if I bash my head against a wall—I will never become a witch!”
The blue-haired witch had a massive headache; the urgency and anxiety on her face betrayed her inner turmoil and helplessness.
“No!
No matter what, you must become a witch today!”
“There is no choice!
You must!”
Finally, the green-haired witch couldn’t take her child’s noisy and unreasonable behavior anymore.
She used ropes made of magic to bind him tightly and gagged him.
Then, she strode into the academy, dragging her child, who was wriggling like a maggot.
Arcana looked at the other witch parents and children hesitating at the academy gates.
Without exception, every family still lingering at the entrance…
…had children who showed varying degrees of resistance.
What surprised Arcana the most was that there were even girls who didn’t want to become witches!
He watched a girl who was quietly sobbing and wiping away tears, while her two silent parents looked on with helpless headaches.
He asked his mother in confusion, “Mother, I thought only boys resisted becoming witches.”
“Do girls do it too?”
Luna’s answer was simple: “Rebellious phase.”
Arcana seemed to understand something.
His mother continued, “The vast majority of children, regardless of gender, are willing to become witches.”
“After years of being influenced by two witch mothers at home, children grow up with admiration and curiosity for the power of witches.”
“A long lifespan, not having to move out and live in isolation, being able to live happily with family…”
“The children who choose to refuse becoming a witch and move out to live independently are a tiny minority among minorities.”
Luna glanced at the witch parents hesitating at the gates and said softly, “As for what you see here…”
“Heh, every family has a different way of parenting.
They don’t actually dislike the idea of becoming witches; they just don’t want to follow their parents’ orders and want to rebel against them.”
Luna patted Arcana’s head.
“Let’s go.
Into the academy.”
“Mm…”
Arcana withdrew his gaze, tucked the gift box under one arm, and stepped into the Young Witch Academy with Luna.
Following the signs along the road, they arrived in front of a tall building within the academy.
“Hello!
Are you an incoming student and parent?”
At a temporary guidance desk, an idle witch spoke to them.
Luna nodded.
“Yes.”
“Alright!
Please head to the third floor, turn right, and wait in line in the hall.”
“Once the transformation is complete, please take your child directly to the Academy Dormitory to check in.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome~”
Luna flew Arcana directly to the third floor.
Upon entering the hall, Arcana saw many witch parents and their children.
There were both boys and girls.
Arcana also noticed that not all the parents and children in the hall were human.
He saw a very conspicuous witch with a human upper body and a mantis shrimp tail, waiting in line with a giant red mantis shrimp kept in an oversized aquarium.
Arcana stared blankly at the sight.
Noticing Arcana’s undisguised look of shock…
…the red-haired witch with the mantis shrimp tail turned around, smiled friendly at Arcana, and waved.
Arcana blankly looked away, took a queue number, and sat down in the hall to wait.
“Surprised?”
Luna asked with a smile.
“Ye…
yes…”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen…
a tail like that.”
Arcana knew that witch transformation wasn’t limited to humans.
Most living species in the universe could become human through transformation.
Let alone mantis shrimp—even grass carp, snakeheads, octopuses, or even paramecia could be transformed into witches.
“You’ll see even more embarrassing ones in the future.”
“Embarrassing?”
Arcana was puzzled.
Shouldn’t it be more “exotic”?
Why “embarrassing”?
Luna muttered, “When I was serving in the military, I met a witch with a sea snake tail who didn’t know how to walk.”
“She could only coil her tail like a spring to hop around or crawl on the ground like a caterpillar.”
Arcana: “…”
She thought of a certain embarrassing siren.
“Are there…
even more embarrassing ones?”
“Of course!”
Luna immediately described an Angel Witch who had wings but couldn’t fly, only flapping about uselessly on the ground.
And a Dragon Witch who would choke and cough whenever she tried to breathe dragon fire, and whose roar sounded like a pigeon’s coo.
Arcana fell silent…
It was too embarrassing.
Just thinking about it was humiliating.
“Alright, let’s talk business.”
Luna’s expression turned serious.
“When your number is called, you’ll enter the corresponding Transformation Room and see a ‘coffin’.”
“A…
a coffin?!”
“Don’t get worked up.”
Luna reassured him, “It’s just the bad taste of a certain research witch.
Every piece of equipment she designs, including vehicles and spaceships, is a standard rectangle.”
“Other witches widely mock them as ‘coffins,’ and no one wants to lie in them.”
Huh???
Arcana was stunned.
First an embarrassing siren, now a researcher with a coffin fetish?
Among the Great Generals of the Witch Empire, were there also two witches who were only 1.2 meters tall and happened to be sisters?
“Anyway, once you enter the Transformation Room, just lie down in your clothes.
Just treat it like a nap; when you wake up, the transformation will be over.”
Luna gave serious instructions to her child, who was about to become her daughter.
“After you wake up, you’ll have fifteen minutes to get familiar with your girl’s body.”
“There’s no surveillance in the Transformation Room, so no one will know what you’re doing.
Well, you should know what I mean—you can do whatever you want.”
Arcana’s lips twitched.
Is…
is that something you should be saying?
“Anyway, spend fifteen minutes getting used to your body, then put on the gift I gave you and wait for me inside the room.”
“Then, we’ll head to the Academy Dormitory together and get you settled in.”
“Okay!”
Arcana nodded, indicating he had memorized everything.
An hour later, the broadcast in the hall finally called Arcana’s number.
“Will student number 133 please follow the guidance to Transformation Room 88.”
The announcement repeated three times.
Arcana took a deep breath, stood up, and walked into the corridor leading to the Transformation Rooms under the gaze of Luna and several other witches.