Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

The third night of the Winter Festival competition saw the original 48 contestants whittled down to just 8 after three rounds of eliminations, and the evening was rife with dark horses and surprises.

Sevia La from Saint Yingo Academy had an easy victory over Xia Kui, the leader of the Group Peaks, while Tilan, who had been previously thought to only be participating for experience, eliminated Sweitevi, the favorite to win the championship.

The eight remaining candidates were Sevia La, Wokard, and Maidi from Saint Yingo Academy; Tilan and Sitasia from Edith Academy; Levito from Thunder Edge; Klentchin from Crystal Lattice Academy, and Seraphiel from Lelisa Academy.

Among the eight, Saint Yingo had three people, Edith two, and Thunder Edge, Crystal Lattice, and Lelysia each had only one person.

Although the eight finalists were all powerful, there were some unfortunate matchups during the elimination process. For example, Sweitevi and Ahmed, who were eliminated by Tilan, had the ability to make it to the finals if they hadn't happened to face her.

Bennett and Xiao Yicheng, whom Edith Academy had originally held in higher esteem, also had to bow out early due to encounters with Levito and Sevia La during the eliminations. On the other hand, Sitasia was lucky, not coming up against particularly challenging competitors and advancing to the last round. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

"Tonight's competition concludes here. Please look forward to the final showdown in tomorrow night's individual matches, as well as the birth of the champion!" the host's impassioned voice marked the end of the night's events.

However, the city's nightlife probably just began, and there's no telling how many people won't be able to sleep tonight. Some are rushing to prepare the next day's press releases, some are replaying and analyzing tonight's battles and their failures, and some are too upset by their regrets to get any sleep.

"Come, this is a bouquet for Tilan. Can we take a photo beside this standee?"

After the competition, students from the academy surrounded Tilan, cheerfully shouting about various things, some even hoping to take a commemorative photo with her.

Unable to resist everyone's enthusiasm, Tilan accepted the bouquet of white and light green lilies and stood in the middle. Beside her were Edith Academy's contestants from tonight's competition; some stood tall, others knelt on one knee so that the photographer could fit them all into the frame.

The students then requested group photos, with Tilan still in the center. Behind her and to her sides were smiling classmates, some flashing hand signs.

In the end, everyone felt something was missing. Someone brought over the throne that had been placed in the lobby. Its backrest was adorned with black velvet swan cloth and deep blue Rose patterns embedded in wood nails. The armrests and the body of the chair were crafted from exquisite walnut wood with a matte, fine-grained dark gray-nearly-black finish, creating a textural contrast with the fabric of the backrest.

Tilan, in her everyday simple and dark blue dress, sat on the chair, holding the bouquet in her arms while allowing everyone to take pictures and group photographs.

"Indeed, it just feels right like this~"

"Tilan sitting in the chair emits a unique charisma, as if she were one of those legendary figures from ancient murals."

"I want to take one too, for the memory."

Everyone gathered around the central figure of the girl, saying various things. They later asked Tilan to change her position slightly, resting her hands on the armrests. After some thirty minutes of this, everyone finally let Little Tilan go, satisfied.

The reason she was called Little Tilan was that among the senior year contestants, Tilan was indeed the youngest at just 17 years old, not yet of age.

"All right, stop picking on Tilan. She's also tired tonight, let her rest well," Sitasia stood before everyone, blocking their view and helping Tilan out of the awkward situation, after which everyone dispersed with a laugh.

"Ahahaha, okay, it is pretty late today. Goodbye Tilan, have a good rest tonight~" One after another, the students waved goodbye to Tilan before departing through the venue's corridors.

Stepping out of the venue, Tilan found that there were already people waiting for her, and quite a few at that.

"Here, Tilan~" Efnie waved to her from in front of the convoy. Behind her was a luxurious fleet of large vehicles, including sixteen custom-modified hover cars, six towering military mechas, with Autonomous Units patrolling the skies above, vaguely visible.

Tilan walked over, and Efnie put an arm around her shoulders, then started explaining the reason for the convoy.

Part of it was Edith Academy's defensive force, another part was a special forces detachment allocated by the government, and there were also two vehicles carrying personnel from the Court of Judgment.

The reason for such a large security force was firstly Edith Academy's own emphasis on safety, and also because Tilan was a Songstress, and the government had a duty to protect her. They would deploy personnel to escort her, especially since tonight was the Winter Festival Grand Competition, with an estimated audience of hundreds of thousands of spectators, making the situation complex and requiring extra security.

"N teacher said that to avoid the chaos of leaving with the large crowd, they specifically had you stay in the venue for an extra hour before coming out. Are you a little hungry?" Efnie asked Tilan, after they sat back in the car, and took out a steamy baked bread from a box nearby to give to the young girl.

"I wanted to prepare a big meal, but it's inconvenient to eat in the car, so let's just replenish some nutrients for now. We'll be back at school soon anyway."

As the two conversed, the convoy slowly set off with police clearing the way upfront and mecha guards on the sides, ensuring unparalleled safety. Occasionally, some speed gangs would drive by, whistling at the convoy as if to draw the attention of those being protected inside, but they didn't know which hover car specifically carried Tilan, so many of their expressions went in vain.

After finishing the bread, Tilan sat inside the car, leaning her head against the window and closing her eyes, beginning to doze off. Seeing this, Efnie covered her with a light blanket and then looked closely at the sleeping girl.

The neon lights changing among the high-rise buildings softened and became hazy after passing through the tinted windows. Scattered patches of light fell on Tilan's face and then slowly drifted past, with faint shadows rotating to outline the curvature of her cheeks.

She really is ever so watchable, Efnie thought, even wanting to gently touch the soft, youthful cheeks covered in fine down.

Without realizing it, a few strands of hair slid down from her forehead, playfully covering the girl's brow and delicate nose bridge. Efnie hooked her finger to smooth the strands, but this slight movement still caused Tilan to open her eyes. She blinked lightly, saw Efnie smiling faintly in front of her, then closed her eyes again, her nostrils flaring slightly as she fell into a steady doze.

Efnie always admired this ability to fall asleep so readily. It was like this in the past too, when she would often see Tilan napping in the small office next to the club activity room—just sitting beside her brought a comforting feeling.

Unfortunately, ever since becoming the student council president, Tilan seldom took her naps there anymore, making it rare for Efnie and the other club members to see the young girl asleep.

Outside the hover car, the world remained bustling, filled with a cacophony of noises—advertisements playing music, the whooshing sounds of hover cars and motorcycles passing by, people talking as they walked along the roadside, the occasional propeller sounds in the sky, and the beeps from the traffic lights at every street corner.

But inside the car, only a window apart, it was quite peaceful, as if the outside world were merely a silent movie. The black-haired, beautiful young girl quietly dozed by the window, like a beautiful, distant fairytale from childhood.