Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva
Chapter 903 - 66: Tilan at the Pet Hospital_3

"Need any help?" Tilan glanced at the little kitten.

"No need for that. I can handle this myself. What I'll need Zi Jin's help with is something else. For now, can you keep an eye on the front desk? I'll take care of things in the back, and also check inventory. The pharmacy rep is coming this afternoon, so we can restock any missing potions and supplies as needed."

"Alright." Tilan had gotten used to arrangements like this over the past couple of days.

Unlike her, Lemon Fruit was clearly uncomfortable sitting at the front desk. As she put it, she's a nimble little creature of the mountains and hates being tied to one spot.

But for Tilan, she quite liked sitting there, enjoying a quiet moment to read a book during downtime without having to move around. Different personalities, perhaps.

The morning ticked by steadily until 10 a.m. By then, the shop began to fill with customers. Many were familiar faces and calmly walked in with their pets as though they'd done this dozens of times before.

"Miss Zi Jin, do you have any recommendations for a conditioning regimen?" A man wearing sunglasses leaned against the front desk. Beside him coiled an enormous, intricately-patterned python, its blood-red tongue flicking out periodically. The intimidating sight kept other customers at a distance.

"My 'Flower Web' is at Sequence 5 now, and it's been steadily accumulating Magic Power for years. It should have long met the requirements to advance, but it hasn't shown any inclination to do so. I'm a bit worried."

He usually didn't discuss this with others, but over the past two days in the shop, he'd discovered this young lady was quite the prodigy. Perhaps she'd have some insight.

Putting her book down, Tilan glanced at the python flicking its tongue not far from her.

"One moment." She stood, reaching out her hand toward the python, which lowered its head, allowing Tilan to calmly stroke its forehead.

A faint glow emerged from Tilan's fingertips, and through the contact, she meticulously examined the python. Retracting her hand, she tilted her head, deep in thought.

"Hmm, it's been raised quite well. Its overall condition is excellent. As for advancing, the condensed Magic Power might not be sufficient."

"Because its body is naturally larger than other snakes of the same rank, and its foundation is fairly robust, its advancement threshold is higher than normal and would require more condensed Magic Power," Tilan explained.

"If it relies solely on its own accumulation, it could take another five years."

"That long? I've been raising it since it was young. It advanced to Sequence 5 six or seven years ago. I didn't expect Sequence 6 to still be five years away."

"That's because its original species wasn't a supernatural creature but an ordinary animal that condensed a Transcendent Core to advance. This inherently slows its Magic Power accumulation compared to species that are naturally supernatural creatures." Many artificially-enhanced supernatural creatures have genetic blueprints pre-programmed with advancement pathways, a distinct advantage over ordinary animals.

"Reaching this level at all is already an outstanding achievement." It was clear that this owner had spared no expense in caring for it—otherwise, there was no way it could have reached Sequence 5 so easily.

"So, I'll need Spiritual Medicine to assist, won't I?" The man in sunglasses rubbed his chin. Spiritual Medicine of that kind didn't come cheap.

"If you're in a hurry, then yes, Spiritual Medicine could help. But snakes have long lifespans. If you're not in a rush, waiting another five years won't make much of a difference," Tilan observed. She could tell he wasn't treating this python as merely a tool, nor did he seem overly driven by a lust for power.

"Thanks. Looks like it's not that it hasn't been working hard—its Talent is just *too* good. Haha." Laughing, he led the python over to the lounge area.

One by one, more customers began approaching. Seeing how accurately Tilan diagnosed issues, many brought over their pets to ask for advice.

"A heads-up, I'm not a doctor, just a Breeder. All I can address are training and care issues. If your pet is sick, it's best to consult the doctors in the back." Tilan made her position clear.

"Haha, no problem, no problem. We get it." The crowd chuckled—they knew Tilan wanted to avoid dealing with unreasonable types. Though those customers were rare, they were certainly unpleasant when they did appear.

The rest of the morning passed with Tilan helping analyze each pet's condition and offering corresponding solutions. Many originally visiting to check on their pets' health ended up following the trend, asking Tilan for care advice.

The phenomenon snowballed until Tilan could no longer easily call a halt. She had no choice but to help everyone patiently, quickly resolving each issue so customers waiting in the queue wouldn't grow too impatient.

And so, from morning to afternoon, from the start of her shift to its end, Tilan barely paused. She didn't even get the chance to quietly sit at the front desk and read her book like before.

6 p.m.

"Good work, Zi Jin." The crowd had thinned significantly by now. Lemon Fruit brought over two energy-boosting drinks for Tilan and redirected the remaining customers to another section where the night-shift staff were available.

"I didn't think you'd actually see them all, like a seasoned doctor holding rounds," she remarked with a straw dangling from her lips, clearly impressed.

"I didn't anticipate it would spiral this far either." Tilan sipped her drink in small gulps, leaning her head against the counter to relax.

"Still, you're amazing. You've remembered all these details, things I learned back then but forgot, never even putting them into practice."

"At the start, I didn't know much either. But the more I helped analyze, the clearer everything became—so many things I learned before began clicking into place in the real world. It was quite an 'aha' moment for me," Tilan explained.

"Haha, Zi Jin is truly incredible," Lemon Fruit said with a playful laugh, covering her mouth.

"If this keeps up for a few more days, your reputation is going to soar."

"No," Tilan promptly declined.

"It's exhausting."

"What about just half the day? Set specific times for offering these services," Lemon Fruit suggested after a moment.

"And you want to charge extra fees, don't you?" Tilan instantly saw through her intentions.

"How could you say that, my dear Zi Jin? We're sisters, aren't we? Shouldn't we make money together?" Lemon Fruit batted her eyes dramatically.

Though the shop belonged to her brother, it wasn't personally hers, meaning her earnings were capped. A little side hustle could easily outstrip her brother's payroll.

"I'll think about it. I might agree, but only if my work hours are shortened," Tilan replied, recalling how busy she'd be in the coming days, unable to stay long at the shop.

"No problem at all! I'm practically the co-manager here. If my brother's not around, I call the shots!" Lemon Fruit puffed out her chest in confidence.

"From now on, Tilan can just work half-day shifts."

"I can even give you an excuse: tell them you're taking customers' pets out for walks and fresh air. Hmph, I usually handle those easy jobs myself anyway."

Now Tilan understood how Lemon Fruit had been skirting responsibilities all this time.

"Alright, then let's settle on that." Over the next few days, she'd need to dig deeper into Alanna's situation and that newly-formed organization.