Hilda knew that the swirling colors beyond the porthole were not true colors, but residual magical radiance leaking out as the dimensional lines rose and fell. Just as the rabbit seated at the controls before her was not a real rabbit, but a wizard who had suffered an accident during a magical experiment.
"How much longer until we get back?"
The teaching assistant for Astronomy Class 08-1 took out his Pocket Watch and checked the time, a trace of irritation appearing on his face. "It didn't feel like it took this long when we came!"
Mr. Rabbit smoothed his crooked ears, glanced sideways at the teaching assistant in the rearview mirror, and curled his lip. "Do you think this is a Special Plane from Puji Island to Jinling Market, where you can simply fly back the way you came? From one world to another, it has always been a one-way trip, and every route has subtle differences... Are you really a teaching assistant at First University? The officially appointed kind?"
"Heh."
Hilda gave a cold laugh, disdaining to argue over such a question with a rabbit that flew planes.
"One generation really is worse than the last." The pink rabbit shook its floppy ears and sneered with satisfaction. "In our day, any wizard who wanted to stay at the university had to at least earn an excellent grade in Magical Cosmology..."
"I didn't take that elective!" The teaching assistant gritted his teeth, struggling to recite the Calming Spell in his mind while considering whether to have braised rabbit head or spicy shredded rabbit for dinner.
"Ha, exactly! That's why I say each generation is worse than the last!"
As if it had heard some irrefutable argument, Mr. Rabbit slammed both paws forcefully onto the console. Its face lit up with