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"Humph, you just got lucky this time, but next time I'll get my revenge, with interest."

After the duel, Isabella, who was transported out of the Arena, touched her chest with lingering fear and let out a sigh of relief.

However, the normally proud young lady felt too embarrassed to stay any longer after losing the match, and, bidding farewell to Dorothy reluctantly but politely, she was ready to leave with her two minions. But before she left, she couldn't help but glare fiercely at the triumphant Alice and spit out a threat.

Of course, Alice was not at all intimidated.

"Hehe, give it up, Fat Salty Fish, you're out of luck for this lifetime."

The little witch made a mischievous face, almost provoking Miss Blue Hair to throw her glove at her again.

"Sister, how did I do just now? Wasn't I awesome?"

After an indignant Isabella left, Alice looked at Dorothy with a face begging for praise while acting coquettishly, resembling a golden retriever seeking approval from its master.

As for Dorothy, she responded with frustration, giving her a knock on the head, causing the little witch to cradle her head in pain and wail.

"Ow, sister, why'd you do that? I won, didn't I?"

Alice protested while holding her forehead.

"Win, my foot! You fell right into such an obvious trap at the start, and if it wasn't for Isabella's old Artillery Witch habits acting up, you would have been wiped out instantly and wouldn't have had the chance for a comeback. It was just dumb luck this time."

Dorothy rebuked her foolish sister without mincing words.

The final moments of the duel seemed thrilling and caught Isabella off-guard, but Dorothy could see very clearly that this one was simply gambling with her life.

The Sea Dragon Cannon hit Alice at that instant, causing her massive damage, but it also broke the constraints of the Water Prison, giving the little witch a moment of freedom, which she used to activate her Talent and pull off a desperate survival move.

But all this hinged on Isabella choosing the Sea Dragon Cannon as her Finishing Move. This Six-Ring Magic spell, though powerful, was really a sustained damage area-of-effect spell, a standard artillery-type Spell, effective against groups and great for clearing battlefields, but relatively mediocre in single-target burst damage.

The long sea dragon that struck Alice was actually just the head part; the rest of its body and tail mostly missed, which allowed the little witch to survive based on her advantage of high health.

Had Isabella chosen a simple and brutal single-target spell instead, say, the Six Rings-level Extreme Cold Ray, then Alice would have been frozen on the spot along with the Water Prison, turned into a piece of amber, with no chance of pulling off a dramatic near-death comeback.

Besides, it was just a Duel, not a real battlefield. On the battlefield, playing with near-death comebacks is a big taboo, for one might come across a minion ready to finish off the wounded at any moment—it's far too risky. This was not a good tendency, especially since Alice was an Armed Witch and bound to enter the battlefield sooner or later. If such bad habits were not corrected promptly, Dorothy feared she might soon have to attend her foolish sister's funeral.

Confronted with her sister's unreserved scolding, the just triumphantly smiling Alice immediately drooped.

"Hmph, mean sister, if you talk so much, why don't you go onto the field yourself? Just good at talking big."

The little witch muttered quietly with her head down.

"What did you say?"

Dorothy frowned, raising her voice a notch.

"I said Sister is right, I won't dare do it again next time, so please teach me the correct way to fight. If it were you dueling with Isabella, Sister, what would you have done?"

Alice lifted her head, instantly switching faces to a flattering smile.

"I'm not an Armed Witch, why would I bother dueling with someone just because I'm full and have nothing better to do?"

Dorothy shook her head and said impatiently.

"What if, I mean just if."

Alice resorted to her innate talent of acting like a spoiled little sister, which worked wonders.

Who could resist such an adorable sister? Left without a choice, Dorothy grudgingly replayed the recent battle scenario in her mind.

If she were standing where Alice had been?

emmmm.....

"The competition would probably be over right after it started."

After a thorough simulation, Dorothy answered like this.

Faced with her sister's answer, Alice fell into silence. After a long while, the little witch let out a sigh.

"Sister, I will protect you well in the future."

The fight would be over as soon as it began, meaning her sister would be taken down instantly.

Alas, it couldn't be helped. After all, her sister was a half-witch and naturally slow to grow. Although she had comforted her sister before by saying that everyone's theoretical limit was similar, and it was just the starting line that was a bit different, in reality, there weren't many half-witch elites in the Witch World who could actually catch up to that starting line difference.

Her sister was already sixteen this year and had only just met the Witch Academy's basic entry threshold of 10,000 Mana Magic Power, while she herself was only thirteen but already had nearly 190,000 in Total Magical Power. Similarly, as a pureblood witch, Isabella also had about 180,000 Magic Power.

With such a stark disparity in Magic Power, coupled with the fact that her sister was not a combat-oriented Armed Witch, being instantly taken down was only to be expected.

Why did I even ask that just now when I was idle? It's like rubbing salt into my sister's wounds.

The little witch regretted her words deeply and made a secret vow to protect her sister better in the future. Her sister's future was now hers to guard.

"Alright, sister, let's go buy materials. It's getting late, and after that, we still need to buy a broom and pick up the clothes, right?"

Alice, fearing her sister would sink into sorrow, quickly changed the subject.

Dorothy: "..."

Although she had no idea what was going on in Alice's little head, she was too lazy to ask.

For a homebody like her, just being out of the house for this long was enough. Since the melon was already finished, the sooner they could buy what they needed and head home, the better.

The shopping trip that followed went smoothly.

The casting materials store sold special Witch Academy freshman material packs, which were plentiful and of good quality. Key point, there was a discount for new students. It was a comfortable deal. Dorothy cheerfully bought three packs—one for previewing, one for class, and one for review. Contented.

After buying the materials, an excited Alice pulled Dorothy into the flying broomstick store. The little witch greeted the shop owner—a witch dressed in a leather jacket and jeans with a really cool hairstyle that screamed bōsōzoku—familiarly and without hesitation asked her to bring out the top-notch treasures for her sister to check out...

However, Dorothy, more adept, immediately stopped her speed-crazy little sister and, smiling, asked the shop owner to recommend the broom with the best cost-performance ratio.

She had no intention of spending more on a flying broomstick. She had already overspent on the Magic Wand, and there really was no need to waste money on a broom, a mere mode of transportation. It just needed to work.

Being a homebody, the broom was for her future use as simple transportation within the academy, where racing and speeding were not allowed. Those high-end racing brooms were truly unnecessary.

Moreover, she didn't particularly enjoy riding brooms. Like how in her previous life, some preferred to ride motorcycles while others preferred to drive cars, Alice was the typical motorcycle enthusiast, while Dorothy preferred the more stable and comfortable modes of transport.

She planned, after saving enough to buy a sky island, to acquire something like a magic carriage, preferably a luxurious one with internal space expansion, akin to an RV. Riding in such luxury to travel was the real indulgence; who would want to be blown about and rained on riding a broom every day?

So, amidst Alice's complaints that "Sister, you don't know anything about good things", the sisters left the broom store. After picking up their tailored school uniforms at the clothing store, they concluded their shopping trip and flew home together.

It's worth mentioning that Ms. Mary, the clothing store owner, strongly recommended Dorothy to try on the uniform in-store to ensure the fit and offer alterations if needed. However, Dorothy politely declined.

Heh, as long as the body measurements are accurate, a witch's craftsmanship can't possibly result in ill-fitting clothes. She wouldn't believe that sly tailor's words.

They made their way home much quicker due to the new broom. Chatting and laughing, the familiar private sky island soon came into view.

Only...

"Huh, do we have visitors at home?"

Alice looked curiously at an additional carriage on the sky island's parking platform. Judging by the materials and craftsmanship of this carriage, it was undoubtedly the kind of luxury vehicle her sister had dreamt of. No, it might be even more opulent than Dorothy could have imagined—costing several times more than their sky island itself. The little witch immediately wondered why such wealthy people would visit their home.

Dorothy, on the other hand, recognized the crest on the carriage at a glance, and her expression darkened.

"Damn it, it better not be that person who has come."