Miss Witch Doesn't Want to Become a Songstress-Chapter 176.1

The small performance room wasn’t crowded. Hestia sat in the back row, watching the movements of the puppets on stage. Accompanied by narration and voice acting, she gradually immersed herself in a fantastical and distant world.

The Third Epoch was a time far removed from the present, but it wasn’t unfamiliar to people today, thanks to its portrayal in various games, scripts, and films. Compared to the taboo Fifth Epoch and the peaceful Fourth Epoch, the Third Epoch was undoubtedly much more vibrant and exciting.

Slowly, the performance on stage came to an end. Finally, the puppeteers and voice actors from backstage came out to bow to the audience. Even though there were only seven or eight people in the audience, the applause was still warm and enthusiastic.

It was clear that everyone enjoyed this kind of performance, even if it wasn’t as flashy as immersive movies.

After standing up, Hestia and her companions walked to the front of the stage, observing the exquisitely crafted puppets with fresh curiosity, occasionally asking the students questions.

"Did you make these puppets yourselves?" Mel was the first to speak.

"Yes, but some were made with the help of teachers and seniors," a student kindly explained, still radiating satisfaction and joy from the performance.

"Are they expensive? They look quite intricate, so they must require a lot of effort," Irene asked, curious about another aspect.

"They do take a lot of effort and time, but it’s all worth it."

“Is it all worth it?” This phrase floated through Hestia’s mind before dissipating.

"Do many people come to watch? I really like it, but I’m worried you don’t have enough audience to sustain this in the future," another student asked.

"It’s a niche interest, but there are still some who enjoy it."

"That’s good to hear."

Afterward, the crowd gradually dispersed. Hestia followed Irene and the others out, but before leaving the performance room, she glanced back. The students were crouched in front of their puppets, carefully inspecting and tending to them as if they were treasured possessions.

By the time they left the venue, it was already evening. Hestia and her companions decided to find a nearby capsule hotel to rest.

Since this was the venue for the Frozen Verdant Festival, several large honeycomb-style capsule hotels had been temporarily set up to accommodate the students. Otherwise, relying solely on hotels and inns wouldn’t have been enough.

After a quick wash, Hestia and her companions ate something outside before heading back to sleep.

Being a student gathering area, the capsule hotel was surrounded by several patrolling security robots, making it relatively safe. The area was also well-lit.

After climbing into the round capsule, one could sit up inside, likely because the students were all of smaller build.

At night, lying in bed, Hestia slowly drifted into sleep and had a long dream. In the dream, she was very young, invited by a classmate to play at their house. However, everything in the dream felt eerily strange.

Although she had indeed experienced something similar, everything in the dream felt unfamiliar and unsettling, as if she were watching another version of herself living a completely different life. She couldn’t remember the classmate’s name, and due to her height as a child, she could only see the lower half of the classmate’s parents. Their voices were strangely unfamiliar, evoking an inexplicable fear. Throughout the entire process, she never dared to look up and never saw their faces.

Later, the classmate invited her to play a game, and the atmosphere eased slightly. Finally, the dream’s memory lingered on a building block at the classmate’s house. She felt like she had indeed seen that block as a child, giving her a sense of familiarity. Suddenly, she was startled awake.

Sitting up halfway, Hestia leaned against the side of the capsule. She turned on the warm yellow light inside, slowly calming down.

What’s been going on lately? She’s been feeling so unsettled.

Hestia took deep breaths, trying to steady her emotions.

Could it be that she’s been overthinking things lately?

Hestia shook her head.

Now too afraid to sleep, fearing the same nightmare, she put on her coat, climbed out of the capsule, and decided to take a walk.

It was already past 2 AM. Outside, the lights were bright, but only a few students were chatting, and occasionally someone came out to use the restroom.

Entering the nearby washroom, Hestia washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. There was no significant change from usual. She closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. The girl in the mirror now had azure-blue eyes and long black hair.

No, it shouldn’t be her sister’s interference. Hestia silently sensed her surroundings, finding no trace of Themisia.

They were born as twins, and although her sister might resurrect through her, this connection was mutual. Her sister couldn’t hide from her.

If it wasn’t Themisia’s influence, then what was it? After all, this was a world of the extraordinary, and it wasn’t strange for there to be secret arts that could interfere with dreams and memories.

After washing her face, Hestia walked outside.

This was a semi-mountainous area near Returning Dragon Temple. Inside the cave was a spacious stone tunnel, while outside was a forested area. Below, a winding road led to scattered buildings with faint lights in the distance.

It was winter in the north, and although the surrounding mountains made it relatively warm, the temperature outside at night was only around 3-4°C. (T/N: 37-39 degrees for the trying to be different)

Wearing her pajamas, the cold wind quickly woke Hestia up. She walked around for a while, then found a large rock to sit on. The moon tonight was full, and even at night, it wasn’t dark—it was quite "bright."

The cold moonlight bathed the mountains and forests. The girl in white pajamas sat alone on the rock, looking up at the moon. Everything under the moonlight was so clear and bright.

Leaning back on her hands, Hestia slowly closed her eyes, feeling the night breeze. Although it was a bit cold, her constitution as a transcendent far surpassed that of ordinary people, so it didn’t bother her much.

Her state of mind was unstable, Hestia thought to herself.

Although it seemed like she had moved past her timid and insecure self, this transformation hadn’t yet been tempered by real trials. There was still some unease lurking deep within.

It’s hard for people to truly awaken just by reading books or understanding theories. They always need some experiences to validate and solidify their growth.

She thought she had let go, but in reality, she hadn’t. There were still faint shadows in her heart that hadn’t dissipated.

Would the wounds of childhood really take a lifetime to heal? Hestia couldn’t help but cover her forehead, feeling a subtle sense of defeat.

Opening her eyes again, she jumped off the rock and continued walking. However, this time she wasn’t as "calm" as usual. Instead, she kicked small stones along the way.

She had always thought of herself as a kind and good-tempered person, but today she realized that wasn’t entirely true. Her so-called kindness was just another manifestation of "fear"—fear of being rejected, so she handled things in a way that everyone liked.

"What a joke, it’s disgusting," Hestia muttered to herself after kicking another stone. Then she looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

The moonlight was pure and unchanging, giving her a slight sense of peace.

Suddenly, she remembered something, and a silent shock spread from her feet to her entire body.

She remembered it all now. The classmate who invited her to play at their house in the dream was actually herself. That’s why she felt a sense of eeriness and unfamiliarity. People are often most familiar and yet most unfamiliar with their own faces.

And the parents of the classmate, whose faces she couldn’t see, were actually her own parents. The reason the building block felt so familiar was that she had found it years ago while cleaning out her house. The changing scenes in the dream had made her forget the block’s origin.

The young classmate in the dream was so obedient and well-behaved, but it filled Hestia with an inexplicable fear and unease. She was afraid, but why?

The girl stood under the moonlight, quietly looking at her own unchanging, lonely shadow.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, then opened them again, her gaze filled with a hint of reluctance and sorrow.

Yes, what she feared most was herself. She was afraid that everything would revert to how it was, afraid that the eerily obedient version of her childhood self would replace her current self. And now, all this so-called growth felt like an illusion.

The growth of her power had come too quickly, so quickly that it felt unreal. Unconsciously, she had accumulated a lot of anxiety and fear. With her mother’s death, her father’s departure, and her battles with her sister, she no longer had any safe harbor to confide in. Everything had to be kept hidden in her heart.

"How fragile," Hestia crouched down, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it. The panic in her heart dissipated slightly.

"Making a big deal out of small things, always overthinking, carrying so much weight in my heart," Hestia continued to criticize herself, then picked up another stone and threw it.

Although she was talking to herself, she did feel a bit better afterward.

Stomping her feet, her mood improved, and Hestia decided not to throw any more stones. She turned and walked back toward the mountain path, ready to return.

However, as she turned, she caught a glimpse of a black figure standing in a corner not far away. Her heart skipped a beat, but she quickly forced herself to calm down. She turned and walked toward the figure, only to realize it was just the shadow of tree branches cast by the moonlight.

Taking another deep breath, Hestia didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she wandered around the forest until she no longer saw anything suspicious, then returned to her accommodation. The narrow capsule gave her a sense of security.

"Goodnight," she said to herself, then slowly closed her eyes to sleep, leaving the warm yellow nightlight on.

Hestia finally remembered something: she was still afraid of the dark and ghost stories. Now, she didn’t want to hide it anymore.

It’s okay to be afraid. Sleeping with the light on is better than having nightmares.

Although it took a while to fall asleep in the latter half of the night, she finally calmed down and didn’t dream again, waking up only at dawn.

...

"Good morning, Hestia."

The next day, Mel rubbed her eyes as she sat in front of Hestia. Irene, on the other hand, was much more energetic and had bought breakfast for the two of them.

"Have something to eat," she said, placing bread and milk on the table.

The three of them ate breakfast and discussed their plans for the day. After finishing, Hestia tore off pieces of the remaining bread to feed the large spider at her feet.

"Is there any venue Hestia really wants to visit?" Irene asked.

"Not really, but let me think... Oh, I’d like to visit the Trinary Moon Academy. I heard it’s a very old school dedicated to training sorceresses."

(T/N: The most accurate translation should’ve been witch. But as the related group isn’t natural born witches lore-wise, but instead followers and practitioners of past witches’ teaching and secret arts, I choose to translate them as "sorceress.")

"No problem, adding it to the itinerary," Irene input the new location and schedule into the projected screen.

After finishing breakfast, the three continued to explore the festival venues. By the afternoon, they arrived at the Trinary Moon Academy’s venue.

Upon entering, their first impression was how dark it was. The building was intentionally designed to have a dim atmosphere, with a "crescent moon" hanging from the ceiling. A small path wound its way into the hills, and along the roadside was a mushroom-shaped hut with a pumpkin lantern burning outside.

Following the instructions in front of the hut, the three prepared their questions and entered the mushroom hut. The door closed behind them, and the candles inside lit up, revealing a masked sorceress sitting behind a round table covered in deep purple cloth. She wore a black sorceress’s outfit adorned with various gems and mysterious patterns.

If it weren’t for the fact that the sorceress was asleep, she might have been quite intimidating.

Mel shook the sorceress gently, and she slowly lifted her head, yawning. This completely shattered Hestia’s image of what a sorceress should be. The most fitting image of a sorceress she knew was probably that of the "Lady of the Forest," the silver-haired sage, the all-powerful miracle witch.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" The sorceress adjusted her hat and finally got to work.

"I heard you can do divinations here," Irene said, sitting down and pulling Hestia to join her.

"Yes, but it’s 600 Federation credits per session. It’s a fair price, and if I weren’t still a student, it would definitely be more," the sorceress explained. As she spoke, Hestia took the opportunity to observe her more closely.

Her hair was a caramel-red color, her eyes a wine-red, with heavy dark circles under them, likely from lack of sleep. She wore a fitted black outfit covered by a sorceress’s dress, with star and moon earrings dangling from her ears. Her wrists were adorned with red cord bracelets woven in a special pattern, and her feet, clad in stockings, rested on a paper mat, likely for comfort.

Lazy but sleep-deprived, her outfit matched the part, but her demeanor was somewhat disheveled, Hestia thought.

"I’d like to have my fortune told for the coming year," Irene said, more out of curiosity than a serious desire for results.

"That’s simple. Let me find the cards," the sorceress said, pulling out a deck of cards from a nearby cabinet and placing them on the table.

"Draw one."

"Don’t you need to shuffle them?" Irene asked skeptically.

"When I take out the cards, the wheel of fate has already begun to turn. Everything we do is part of it," the sorceress’s voice suddenly became ethereal, and she sat up straight.

"Alright," Irene drew a card and flipped it over as instructed.

The beautifully illustrated card depicted a traveler on a journey, carrying a pack and walking along a dusty road. Behind him was a small village with smoke rising from chimneys, and in front of him, a dog stood on its hind legs, barking. The traveler had taken a step back, holding a walking stick in his hand.

"The Traveler and the Blocking Dog—this card has many meanings," the sorceress said, holding the card up and closing one eye mysteriously.

"There’s a saying, ‘A dog walks on the road, and so does a stick.’ Even if you don’t want trouble, it will find you."

"A dog that walks the road too often will eventually meet a stick, and the person holding the stick will always encounter a vicious dog."

"The traveler is just passing through the village, but the dog thinks he’s a thief and tries to bite him, forcing the traveler to defend himself with his stick."

"This suggests that your career will progress, but you’ll also encounter jealousy or obstacles from malicious people. Fortunately, you’re not completely defenseless—you have the stick, after all."

"Of course, if the card had been drawn upside down, the meaning would be different."

"You’re just a little dog trying to go home, but the traveler thinks you’re going to bite him, so he raises his stick to hit you. This indicates innocence but also hints at potential loss, as the traveler is carrying a pack, possibly stolen from your village."

"Overall, both interpretations suggest encountering trouble despite innocence, but one leans toward gain, the other toward loss."

Irene listened thoughtfully, while Mel’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

"I want a reading too!"

"What do you seek, little one?"

"I want to know when I’ll become a Sequence 5—no, a Sequence 6—powerful cultivator transcendent!" Mel held up her gray moon cat, excitedly declaring.

"Then draw a card," the sorceress said, tapping the table. The cards began to move, swirling in circles before settling back into a neat stack.

With a flick of her hand, the cards fanned out perfectly, eliciting gasps of amazement from Mel and making the sorceress even more pleased with herself.

Mel reached out and carefully drew a card, then flipped it over.

The card depicted four young men. One sat on a horizontal tree branch, holding a seven-stringed lute; another stood under the tree, playing a flute, slightly hunched over. In the center of the card, beneath the tree, a third man was singing with gusto, one hand on his chest and the other outstretched. The fourth man lay at the base of the tree, using his hat to cover his eyes as if sleeping, but his foot was adorned with a ring of bells that occasionally jingled, seemingly joining the ensemble.

All four wore similar outfits but in different colors, and their appearances suggested they were brothers. However, the central figure, the singing youth beneath the tree, stood out the most.

"The Ensemble Under the Tree—this is a card with a positive but ambiguous meaning," the sorceress explained.

"At first glance, the four have no worries and are united, happily playing together. But upon closer inspection, their personalities and statuses differ slightly. The most prominent is the singing youth, followed by the one playing the lute on the tree branch, then the flute player beneath the tree, and finally the one lying at the base, half-asleep."

"From this card, your future seems smooth, with few hardships. Even those around you will treat you well. However, this also means your future is uncertain. You could become the radiant singing youth, or you might end up like the half-asleep figure at the base of the tree. The tree in the background represents both a setting and a form of reliance, suggesting you have good elders looking out for you."

"Hmm, so my future is promising, but if I don’t work hard, I could end up as a slacker, right?" Mel analyzed, slightly troubled.

"Exactly, what a clever little one~"

"If the card had been drawn upside down, it would suggest a collapse—your elders and support system crumbling, the four falling apart, and the most radiant figure suffering the hardest fall," the sorceress shook her head, lamenting the unpredictability of life.

"Now it’s your turn, black-haired girl. What do you seek or wish to know?" Though Hestia hadn’t spoken up, the sorceress turned to her, her wine-red eyes glimmering with a mysterious light.