Annie's Otherworldly Adventure

21 Whose handsome young man came from?

"I really have to thank Anne. I was able to get the Rose Warrior entirely thanks to Anne's great idea!" For Joyce, although being in the spotlight was his favorite thing, he believed that sharing happiness was better than keeping it to himself, and he was not the kind of person who would forget his good friends.

'Ah, so she's the one who came up with this idea?'

'So it was her. No wonder she came up with such a terrible idea. How stupid and wasteful!'

'It was her idea. What's her relationship with Joyce?'

This is the inner monologue of the little beauties.

'Ahem, so it was Annie's idea. Ahem, truly, a 'genius'...'

'I was wondering who would give Joyce this idea; it was Anne!'

Did Annie betray Joyce, or help Joyce?

This is the inner monologue of the students in the weapon-refining class not far away, who are pretending to study but actually listening intently to what's happening outside.

Along with Joyce's rise to fame, Anne also became famous once again. Her titles expanded from the dim-witted genius of the alchemy department, Anne Aisha, the young owner of the konjac shop, to the poor and down-on-her-luck noblewoman Anne Aisha, and now there is another: Anne Aisha who comes up with all sorts of "genius" ideas.

Oh, I really want to protest. May I ask if I can file a complaint?

Joyce was wasteful, but he elevated his status by demonstrating his wealth through waste, while Anne's "genius" idea was considered a foolish idea from a foolish person, which did not benefit the people of the continent in any way.

That's... the difference...

Fortunately, Annie didn't care about any of that; she was more interested in excitedly discussing the summer trial with Abag.

Although the Monster Forest is Abag's nightmare, it used to be its home. A natural-born wild animal, it is very keen to go to the Monster Forest for trials. It is a lot of fun to transform into all kinds of monsters and chase and fight with other monsters. Usually, when Annie is in class, it will sneak off to the forest to play by itself.

Gods, little dragon Abag, are you treating other monsters like toys?

Before summer vacation, Anne told Jane about her plans and asked for her help.

"A trial? You alone? No way. The students in our Alchemy Department are here to conduct experiments, not trials." Jane strongly disagreed.

"Jane, please, you know I can use magic." Anne looked at Jane pitifully.

Jane, who shared a dorm room with her, knew that she possessed magic and had been diligently practicing it, though Jane couldn't understand it at all.

It's no secret that Annie knows magic; all the older students knew. Annie didn't try to hide it, and besides, Annie's magical talent is extremely low, so it's impossible for her to develop anything.

She kept her training in spatial magic and martial arts combat secret.

However, "superior magic and martial arts skills are no match for the experience of a hundred trials," so she urgently needs to go out and undergo trials.

As a young girl, going out to participate in the trial alone was too dangerous, so she asked Jane for help, asking if she had any magical potions that could change her appearance and figure.

"Jane, please, you know my... situation, I, I need to go out and earn money... I, I need to become stronger and go home..." With no other choice, Annie had to resort to her trump card.

Annie's eyes were red, and she looked so sad that she was about to cry.

Although Jane is usually aloof, she is very soft-hearted, and sure enough, Jane began to hesitate.

"This……"

Abag's voice rang out in my ears at just the right moment.

'Annie, you're amazing! You and Abag can lie, but Abag needs to transform to lie, while you don't. Abag should learn from you!'

Abagh remembers that Anne never thought about going home.

Annie felt a black line appear on her mind.

"Ahem, Abag, this is called being flexible and adaptable; it's something you only do when you have no other choice. So, you can't just use it casually. But sometimes, if a lie doesn't harm the other person, it's acceptable. That's called a white lie, Abag, do you understand?"

"Uh, Abagh understands." Abagh nodded slightly: "Sometimes, lies are kind!"

Anne had no idea that Abag had come to such a conclusion, and continued to play the role of a persistent, strong, and pitiful grassroots girl.

Jane finally softened, but Jane told Anne:

"I can only make potions that change hair. Potions that change appearance and body shape are too advanced. I don't know how to make them yet, and the materials are too expensive."

What Jane didn't tell Anne was that the ingredients for the hair-changing potion were also very expensive, and she had only tried to make it out of curiosity when she was a child. The recipe was found in her family's warehouse. It was that time that, although it made her family very angry, made Jane realize her strengths and she fell in love with potion making from then on.

"Thank you so much, Jane!" Annie rushed up and gave her a big hug.

As the sun grows increasingly intense, the temperature on the continent of Gerson rises, and the longest summer vacation of the Royal Magic Academy of Kane begins.

Students with homes, relatives, masters, and places to belong embarked on their journeys home. Of course, some students, like Annie, chose to go out for trials.

With everything ready, Annie took the potion from Jane, took a deep breath, and drank it. The potion immediately became hot, and a surge of heat shot up her spine to the top of her head. Annie felt a rustling sound above her head, her eyebrows felt hot, and wisps of smoke drifted from the top of her head. Her long black hair tucked up from her waist until it reached her ears. The heat dissipated, and Annie's transformation was complete.

Seeing the changed Anne, Jane's expression also changed. She frowned, glanced at Anne, then at the medicine, and her brows furrowed even more.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Jane's unpredictable expression puzzled Annie. Annie asked Jane, and also asked Abag, who had jumped onto the table and was looking at her.

"It's nothing, it's just that my potion wasn't made perfectly." Jane put down the potion bottle, smoothed her brows, and returned to her usual demeanor.

"Huh?" Annie was stunned.

"Annie, I don't think it's anything, it's just that my hair is shorter and the color has changed," Abag said sincerely.

Anne was clearly incredulous. She stood next to the mirror, and then, she was utterly dumbfounded.

The originally planned brown color leaned slightly reddish. The hair wasn't properly shortened and became coarse, so now her hair is a messy, wavy, reddish-brown pile on top of her head, and her eyebrows have also turned reddish-brown... It looks like... like a turkey, a dragon fruit, and an upside-down mop...

Annie's lips twitched and twitched until she was almost having a stroke, before she managed to utter a hoarse sound from her throat.

"Um, it's okay, we can, uh, improve next time... but..."

"This medicine was specially made for you. It's effective for three months, and there's no antidote. It will automatically expire after that time." As if knowing what Annie was going to say, Jane told her in advance: if she wanted the antidote, no way.

In fact, if other medicinal materials hadn't been added to prolong the effects of the medicine, the results wouldn't have been so poor.

It was summer, but Annie felt a cool breeze blow past her... She sighed. "Well, she's even experienced death, so why would she be afraid of looking ugly?"

……

Cough, cough, calm down, calm down. Annie spent a lot of effort straightening her hair, then put on a hat she bought on the street to cover it up, leaving only a few strands of bangs peeking out from her forehead, half-draped over her left eye. Annie raised her eyebrows at the mirror and smiled crookedly like a boy. To be honest, she actually looked quite dashing, Annie hypnotized herself.

Wrap a white cloth around your chest, put on a loose short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and add a pair of cloth shoes, and a handsome rogue is born...

Jane watched Annie transform calmly throughout. Annie struck several cool poses in front of the mirror, feeling more like a boy now, and then turned to Jane and gave her a flirty wink.

"Hey beautiful, interested in having coffee with this handsome guy?"

Jane looked at her again and again, and finally couldn't help herself.

"What identity are you trying to portray in this trial? Swordsman? Scout? Knight? Or thug?"

Jane pulled her back and redid her hair, tying it up tightly. She took out her tools, drew thick eyebrows, applied tan foundation to her face, neck, and hands, and then draped a school uniform robe over her. Instantly, a thin, handsome young boy appeared.

Jane clapped her hands in satisfaction and then gave her some more instructions.

"Before you set off, go to the Magic Guild to take a test on your magic level. You can get a level certificate and a corresponding magic robe. Once you put on the magic robe, it will be difficult for ordinary people to tell your identity."

After being fussed over like this, Anne couldn't help but mutter: So Jane is a dress-up fanatic!

Jane looked at her work with pride. She was always happy when she tidied up other people's work to her liking, and it was only at these times that she would reveal a bit of her true nature.

Despite Jane's repeated instructions, Annie stuffed all her disguises, such as powder compacts and eyebrow pencils, into her bag and fled the school as if escaping, embarking on her holiday trial journey. Of course, she left quietly, avoiding being noticed.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Magic Guild, Annie was surprised to find that the Magic Guild was rather inconspicuous, much like the Priscillah Embassy. It seemed that there were quite a few people with power and influence in Kane. She had to ask many people before she could find it.

The reason is this: most of the children in Kane with magical talent attend the Kane Royal Academy of Magic—either the Ministry of Magic or the Ministry of Alchemy.

The school has a special place for students to take exams. In other words, the Royal Magic Academy of Kane is essentially a magic guild, and this magic guild is a place for other unrelated people to take exams.

Annie's arrival surprised the staff in charge of the assessment, because she came to the assessment wearing Kane's school uniform. Although the uniform had the Alchemy Department's flame symbol on it, it was still quite surprising.

The staff gave her a form to fill out.

Name, Magical Talent Category, Test Level...

As for her name, she certainly couldn't write "Annie Ash," so what should she call herself?