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An hour later, in the basement kitchen, the aroma filled the room.

Dish after dish of freshly cooked food was arranged neatly, their rich aroma making mouths water and hearts itch with anticipation.

"Witch's Preservation Spell, Modified"

Dorothy waved her hand, and invisible magic power transformed into bubbles of magic power that flew out from her hands. Each bubble precisely enveloped a pot of food, then shrank to form a thin film attached to the surface of the cookware.

"Hmm, that should do it; today's work is finished. I've dealt with the food for three meals all at once, time to make a run for it."

Although all the work was actually done by the spells, the homebody witch spent the whole time by the side, cracking seeds and teasing her cute little junior sister. But as the work neared completion, she still wiped the non-existent sweat off her forehead with a sense of ceremony, pretending she had toiled hard.

According to the requirements of the Armed Society, Dorothy needed to prepare three meals a day. Normally, she would have to come to work three times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which would be too time-consuming and affect her study time.

Luckily, this is the magic world where omnipotent magic was at her aid. Dorothy had just finished making a whole day's worth of meals in one go. The twenty pots in front of her, even though expanded in space, were all filled to the brim with her labor's fruits.

Twenty different dishes, with each pot containing servings for 30,000, totaling 600,000 servings—enough to feed 600,000 witches for one meal. Considering they're for three meals, that would suffice for 200,000 witches for a day.

Of course, taking into account the large amount of exercise the little witches of the Armed Society do, and the fact they're big eaters, one person might consume three to five times the usual amount, so these portions would be enough for forty to fifty thousand witches.

Although the Armed Society is a huge society with a total membership of over a million, most members are dispersed throughout various parts of the academy, and only elite members qualify to train at the headquarters. In total, there are actually only about twenty to thirty thousand elite members.

So the amount that Dorothy has prepared is absolutely more than enough. Besides the consumption at headquarters, the surplus might also be given as rewards to some of the better-performing branches. After all, this kind of food that can increase magic power is quite precious.

Naturally, the practice of preparing an entire day's meals in one go isn't normally good because food is definitely fresher and more delicious right out of the pot.

And reheated cold dishes and cold rice not only lose a lot in taste but also a large amount of the magic contained in these high-quality ingredients.

Dorothy, with her pursuit for culinary excellence, wouldn't forgive such wasteful behavior, even if the Armed Society wouldn't blame her for cutting corners. The reason she dared to do this was that she had amazing magic to aid her.

The Witch's Magical Kitchen series of witchcraft—Preservation Technique, a spell that perfectly preserves the taste and nutrition of food. A common witch casting it can extend the best use time of food for up to a day.

But for a witch with a talent for time, the food's time would stop entirely, and if she continuously replenished the spell with magic power, the deliciousness could be preserved indefinitely.

Dorothy possessed time talent, and she had just applied a Preservation Spell that could last for a day, ensuring the food within the pots would be in time stop, maintaining the taste as if just freshly made, for the entire day. However, once the food was taken out of the pots, the effect of the spell would no longer be valid.

Thinking it over, she then waved her hand and wrote a reminder on the surface of the pots, "Civilized dining, take only as much as you eat."

Well, with that, everything is completely settled.

However, before making her getaway, Dorothy glanced at the mess in the large kitchen, and her professional ethics would not allow her to walk away and ignore it. She raised her hand, ready to cast a cleaning curse to tidy up.

But before she could act, the snapping of fingers was heard first. A massive wave of magic power followed, sweeping through the entire kitchen. Wherever the magic power went, all kinds of stains were erased. The chaotic kitchen utensils even stood up and bounced back to their original places. Except for the twenty pots, the whole kitchen was restored to its original state.

"Senior sister, you've worked hard. Leave these finishing touches to me from now on."

Audrey withdrew her hand, while the little puppet on her shoulder said so.

She now knew that her senior sister didn't have much magic power left. The Grand Banquet Technique and Group Preservation Technique she had just used were high-consumption spells. Probably, the senior sister didn't have much magic power remaining.

With her own culinary arts talent being such that she couldn't help her senior sister with cooking, Little Fox thought she could at least handle these final tasks—after all, it was just a matter of casting a cleaning curse.

As for Dorothy, her gaze couldn't help but be drawn to the ten golden finger rings on her junior sister's fingers, which were gradually fading away.

"Puppet Master-specific magic wand?"

The homebody witch recognized the true nature of those rings.

These were the wand styles most favored by Puppet Masters. After all, the original Puppet Masters originated from human puppet shows, where the puppeteers sometimes wore rings attached to puppet strings to manipulate the puppets for performances. Your next journey awaits at empire

Although Puppet Masters among witches no longer relied on their hands to control their puppets, in the magical world, this ancient tradition is also considered mystic. Many Puppet Masters believe that these ring-styled wands enable more smooth and natural puppet manipulation.

And magic is often idiosyncratic, especially for witches. When a powerful witch truly believes in something, she might indeed gain some sort of enhancement; and, if enough witches believe, this tradition might actually hold a mysterious power, becoming a kind of ritual magic.

Needless to say, the importance of a magic wand to a witch goes without saying; the fact that Audrey indeed chose this specific professional style of wand reveals her determination to master puppeteering.

However...

"This girl has a fantastic talent for Illusion Technique's spirit attribute and she insists on learning puppeteering instead, when her talent for it truly isn't as strong as hers for illusion."

Dorothy criticized inwardly.

But then she thought of herself being covered in dust from the roads; the homebody witch shook her head and said no more.

"Senior sister? Why are you looking at me like that?"

After Little Fox had cleaned up the kitchen, she noticed that her senior sister was staring at her, which made her unavoidably worried and on guard.

Could it be that my senior sister is ultimately attracted by my beauty? But I haven't felt any desire from her?

Audrey thought somewhat warily.

"It's nothing, just that I suddenly realized you, Audrey, are also not from the Soul Sect. You actually used a cleaning curse to clean the kitchenware,"

said Dorothy.

Although the cleaning curse is convenient and easy to use, just as there are always people who feel that clothes washed by a washing machine are not as clean as hand-washed ones, many witches also believe that an instant cleaning spell does not have a soul.

They are willing to use the cleaning curse for big clean-ups like rooms, but for personal clothing or kitchen utensils, they are convinced that washing with water is cleaner and has more spirit.

Well, it's actually just a pure psychological issue, like how some people would rather throw away food that lands on a clean table than eat it, even though it's not dirty.

However, on the Magic Network, the Practical Sect and the Soul Sect occasionally argue so fiercely that it's like the tofu pudding debate from Dorothy's past world.

Of course, Dorothy herself belongs to the faction that does whatever is convenient without a soul—those witches. However, her roommate, Sophia, is from the Soul Sect, and the Angel Witch insists on using a Water-based Spell to wash dishes each time.

But from a magical theory standpoint, Water does have the attributes of purification and holiness. But is it really necessary?

Dorothy originally thought that since this little junior sister was into the arts, she ought to belong to the delicate and soulful Living Sect. She never expected this one to be a carefree pragmatist.

As for the senior sister's surprise, Audrey was first filled with question marks before she silently took a step back.

"Could it be that you are from the Soul Sect?"

Little Fox's gaze carried a bit of disdain.

Dorothy quickly shook her head, denying vehemently.

"Of course not, who cares about a soul when being proper? I'm not a Soul Eater, nor am I majoring in the Necromancy Sect."

Hearing her senior sister's words, Little Fox's gaze instantly softened, and the little ship of sisterly friendship didn't capsize this time. In fact, because of their shared views, their bond became even stronger.

"Exactly, exactly. Those from the Soul Sect are just fussing over nothing. My sister and both mothers are from that sect, and it's always so troublesome dealing with them,"

said Little Fox, shaking her tail and beginning to control Little Puppet to grumble about her family members.

Mmm, the relationship between the two began to evolve from simply senior and junior sisters toward good besties.

Having completed her work, Dorothy had no intention to stay long either. The sisters were ready to go find the academy together for roll call and to attend Spider Teacher's class.

Only...

"Miss, that very important person is looking for you."

Just as Dorothy walked up from the underground grand kitchen to the Great Colosseum on the surface, she bumped into Madeline, and the Succubus Witch said to her as soon as she saw her.

Dorothy: "???"

What the heck, isn't it not mealtime yet? How did that important person notice me so soon?

The Homebody Witch was quite puzzled; she hadn't done anything yet, so how had she suddenly caught someone's attention?

"No..."

But then again, what does it matter to her? She has no interest in joining the Battle Group; why should she care about some VIP?

What kind of society are we living in now? Aren't all witches equal? Why should she go see them just because some important person wants to?

No way, no way. If someone else wants to meet them, let them go.

Dorothy opened her mouth, intending to decline.

But the Succubus Witch's next sentence completely blocked her escape route.

"That important person is your mother."

Dorothy: "....."

Mom, what are you up to now?

...The Homebody Witch is tired in spirit....