Chapter 434 434 Stephanie's Spirit Animal
Once everyone was upright and functional, Stephanie and Kira led Sophie away to show her around town while Justine lingered by Wolfe, not entirely sure what she should be doing this morning.
She had gotten so excited about seeing everything yesterday that she had forgotten to ask about what came after, so she had no idea what she should be doing that day.
"How about we go get something to eat at the dining hall that is right this way, and then we will go show you the classrooms? It's your first day here, but you are a new Witch, so it's only right that you start your training.
Think of it like your first day at the Academy. They won't expect too much, other than that you show up and listen to a few pointers, then likely try to use a bit of magic." Wolfe suggested.
"That sounds amazing. I met some of the other students yesterday on my tour, and while it might be weird not to be the youngest student, at least I'm not the only one who's just starting out." She agreed with a huge smile.
There were still dozens of people at breakfast when they reached the lineup and grabbed their plates, but the room was no longer nearly as full as usual. Wolfe noticed that the strict serving times were gone, and there was now a menu behind the buffet so that you could order what you liked any time of day.
Cook was on duty when they arrived, supervising the creation of a massive batch of bread and pastries, but she made the time to wave to Wolfe as he loaded his plate and gestured that she would join him in a few minutes.
"You really do know everyone here, don't you?" Justine asked as they picked their seats.
"Well, I am ashamed to admit that I'm terrible with names, so I have forgotten many of the names but not the faces. Well, maybe the faces too, because some of these faces are definitely new ones." Wolfe agreed.
The witches next to them had been listening in and giggled at his comment. "Don't worry too much. Some of these are new faces. They showed up in the last week, drawn in by the forest.
"We will have to hold another big event so that we can all get to know each other again and spend some time with the neighbours. There will be a lot of concerns as the autumn begins to get close, so we should start planning ahead." Wolfe replied.
"In that case, you want to talk to Alice. She's huge on party planning and city planning in general. She made the layout for the market square, and it only took her one night to finish it." The witch agreed.
Justine looked confused, as she obviously didn't know who Alice was, but everyone seemed to perk up at her name, showing a high level of respect for her that Justine had come to associate with Wolfe and his closest advisors.
"She's one of the other Rank Two witches here. She's like Mary, small but mighty. Only, she's more of a bookworm than an outgoing lover of soft things." Wolfe explained.
Justine nodded, shocked at the casual mention of the village having an abundance of Rank Two witches as if they were a commonplace thing.
The distraction nearly stopped her from eating until a few more young Witches, all recently awakened, came to sit with their new classmates.
"Mister Wolfe, I hope that you don't mind if we steal her, do you? We have class soon, and we weren't sure if she had gotten time to memorize the way." A teen witch with extended canines and golden eyes visible under her hat asked politely.
"Of course, I'm sure she will be glad to have friends with her on the first day of classes. Sophie is likely around here somewhere as well, but she has Stephanie with her, so she won't get lost." Wolfe agreed.
That made all the nearby witches laugh.
"If you think that having Stephanie nearby is going to help her get to class on time, you have greatly misunderstood your Familiar Cat. Young Sophie might learn a lot about magic today, but the chances that she will be doing it in a classroom attached to the library are somewhere between zero and not happening unless someone intervenes." Cook laughed as she sat down beside Wolfe.
"Alright, you have a point. But Stephanie does know where the classroom is. Even if she only uses the knowledge to avoid it." He laughed.
One of the other witches shook her head. "You would be surprised how often she's near the classroom. She likes to sleep on top of the bookshelves when people are looking for her since it makes her so hard to find with her black fur, but that puts her right outside the classroom door, so I know she has listened in enough to learn all the basic magic."
Wolfe smiled at the outspoken young woman. "She knew that when we left the Academy. But that's why there is always someone looking for her. She's the only Rank Two witch whose time isn't completely booked."
Cook nodded in agreement. "I can't argue with that. We've all got so much to do that life as a cat seems pretty good. n-/o(-v..e)-l--b-.1-(n
Wait, that's why she refuses to transform, isn't it? If she were in a human body, it would remind everyone that she's a proper witch, with a full array of Witch Magic at her disposal, and they would put her to work instead of treating her like a pet."
Wolfe patted the veteran line cook on the shoulder in commiseration. "You just realized it? She has other reasons for remaining a Familiar Cat since she was cursed and not summoned, but a lot of it boils down to the fact that she doesn't want a full-time job.
Looking after Sophie should be enough for now. I will make sure that she's teaching the girl the basics if they're not making it to class."