This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 148

A Completely Different League

Ellie raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard Aunt Lana say she wanted to repay her later. Ellie’s intention in helping wasn’t to receive money. This was a small, poor village, and Aunt Lana’s family was even poorer.

When she offered to help, she didn’t think much of it. However, Aunt Lana’s response showed she had the right mindset. Despite being impoverished, she didn’t just accept kindness without the thought of repayment. This attitude of not using her unfortunate situation as a condition to receive help without repayment made Ellie respect her even more.

Even when she didn’t have enough for herself, Aunt Lana wasn’t greedy and remained grateful for others’ help. Seeing this, Ellie felt more inclined to help her...

"I don’t need money as repayment for this. Aunt Lana, don’t worry about it. But if you really want to repay me, can it be something other than money?" Ellie thought for a moment before speaking her mind.

Aunt Lana was slightly taken aback. She didn’t know what Ellie might want in return for such expensive potions, but whatever it was, she didn’t have much choice.

"If it’s something I can give...I will certainly give it to you, Ellie."

"Sure. So...for the next few years, could I ask you to look after my house? When I returned and saw my parents’ house destroyed by beasts, it made me very uneasy. Before you go to work, could you check on it for me?"

"I’ll buy some traps and set them around the house before I go back to the institute. Your job would be to remove the animals caught in those traps and reset them. I’ll set up a lot of traps, so it might take some time to collect the caught animals. However, it will help keep the beasts from causing trouble."

"And the farming plots my parents bought has become barren and unused. If my parents saw it, they’d be heartbroken. Their hard-earned money spent on land has turned into something worthless. I believe my parents would want to see the area filled with crops."

"I’d like you to help cultivate something there to keep the land looking beautiful. You can plant the seeds my parents left behind. They would have wanted to plant them themselves, but sadly, they can’t do that anymore."

Ellie expressed her desires, and Lana, who had been bracing herself for a difficult request from the girl, was taken aback. Listening to Ellie’s reasonable requests, she found nothing to argue with. However...she felt that this wasn’t a difficult request but rather something that would benefit her.

Starting with helping to clear the animals caught in the traps around the house—what kind of traps were these? Normally, huntsmen set simple traps in the forest to catch animals because they lacked the combat abilities of magic users. These simple traps often weren’t very effective and could be used only once, as they were made from easily obtainable materials from the forest.

This approach was very different from what Ellie was suggesting. Huntsmen’s traps were simple and inexpensive, but they had to be remade each time they hunted, with many breaking almost daily. In contrast, the prefabricated traps sold in markets were much higher quality.

Not to mention their high quality, since most of them were made from forged steel, making them much stronger and more durable than handmade traps. Additionally, they could be placed around and reused multiple times. However, people didn’t often buy them because they’re too expensive and there’s a risk of them being stolen.

Expensive traps like these would be taken by anyone who found them in the forest. Even without catching any wildlife, just picking up the traps could provide enough money to buy a big pot of rice.

In the mountains, where the land had no owner, it’s difficult to hold anyone accountable. There’s no proof of ownership for the traps, so it’s impossible to track down the thief. For this reason, no one wanted to risk buying them, even though they were ideal for hunting large animals.

Despite this, the girl said she wanted to buy traps to place around her house to prevent animals from disturbing the area, asking Lana to help clear the trapped animals. She didn’t even specify that the animals had to be given to her or sold for her. Wasn’t this more of an investment in traps that would benefit Lana?

Moreover, Ellie’s house had a lower risk of theft when traps were placed around it. If someone attempted to steal the traps and was caught, they would be charged with theft for trespassing on private property.

Ellie’s house was considered undesirable by many, who believed living there would inevitably lead to being harmed by beasts. But that was the opinion of those who couldn’t afford to deal with the surrounding issues. If they had enough money...like Ellie, they could buy traps and harvest animals without much effort.

Beyond just traps and wild animals, there was the matter of the land around Ellie’s house. Even if Ellie presented it as something her late parents would have wanted, but...the benefits from farming would go to Lana, wouldn’t they? How could Lana let that happen, receiving more benefits after already getting medical help?

The middle-aged woman’s expression grew serious. She thought for a moment before agreeing to Ellie’s request.

"I agree to do it, of course. For the animals caught in the traps, I’ll sell them and save the money for you. As for the crops, I’ll keep the earnings from the harvest and give them to you all at once at the end of the year when you return," Lana said earnestly. Ellie had already expected that someone like Lana wouldn’t take all the benefits for herself.

"I don’t want to sound harsh, but...right now, do you think I still need the money from selling animals and growing a small vegetable plot?"

"As Nara told everyone, I’m not that extraordinary. But I do have skills in farming and potion concocting. With these two abilities, I can earn a lot of money. Growing herbs can bring in 1 silver coin for just 10 plants. Making a single potion can earn several silver coins. So, how much would the earnings from selling animals and vegetables be for a whole year? If it’s less than 1 gold coin, then Aunt Lana, please keep it."

"Consider it payment for taking care of the house. In the future, I might need to ask you for more help. It’s better to share the benefits from the beginning. Otherwise...we might have problems later, and I don’t want that."

"From now on, I might have to go to the Tower of Eternity to fight the beasts and will have very little time to spend in the village. One day, when Aunt Lana is no longer here, I want to pass these tasks on to your children so that their wives won’t complain about working without any compensation. This way, everyone won’t act like this little house isn’t worth taking care of...I want to create some motivation first."

Ellie pointed out her future path. In truth, Lana wanted to refuse. Although Ellie was an apothecary and could really grow and sell herbs, the small income could still help the young girl.

However, after hearing Ellie’s plan to enter the Tower of Eternity in the future, or perhaps in the next ten years, the girl was afraid no one would take care of her crops. So, she made an agreement from the beginning. With this small monetary incentive, it’s believed that no matter which daughter-in-law saw the money pile up in front of them without having to do anything complicated, they would surely compete to take on this responsibility.

Lana looked at Ellie, who seemed to have grown significantly. Ellie could see further ahead than a simple village woman like herself could. Initially, Lana was worried that Ellie might not keep up with others and could be bullied to the point of tears, as had happened in the past. But now, it seemed there was no need to worry.

Ellie appeared to have confidence in her own abilities. Whether it was farming or potion concocting, both generated substantial income—enough to make her wealthy even if she stayed in the village. If she sold her potions at the Tower of Eternity, the profits could be even greater.

And yes...Lana wasn’t concerned about Ellie’s safety at all. She understood that the girl’s goal at the Tower of Eternity was to sell her potions, not to hunt beasts as Ellie had initially implied. If this middle-aged woman believed that Ellie wanted to hunt beasts to make money, she might have tried to stop her.

“I understand now. Ellie dear, you’ve thought this through very well. With this method...everyone will try their best to take care of your home in the future.”

“Thank you, Aunt Lana, for understanding,” Ellie replied with a smile.

After discussing this, it didn’t take long for the potions in the cauldrons to be completed. Ellie called forth the bottles from her dimensional ring. Lana didn’t fully grasp the special nature of the dimensional ring, only understanding that it was an easily accessible tool for students at the institute. So, she was more amazed than surprised, unlike others might be.

As the “future lady of the Setter family,” possessing a dimensional ring was not something to be kept secret. Everyone at the institute knew about it. Otherwise, how could Ellie’s status be elevated in the eyes of others? She wasn’t seen as a servant of the Setter family, an ally, a business partner, or anything else, but as the “future lady” because of such a rare item bestowed by the Setter family.

Ellie had purchased these clear glass bottles for storing potions after she had chosen her path in the institute as a wealthy apothecary. This time, she managed to harvest several more bottles of potions, adding to the hundreds she already had in her dimensional ring. These didn’t include the high-level potions the Setter family had given her from the first to the fourth time. If anyone saw the contents of her ring, they might call Ellie a mobile pharmacy.

“This is your share.” Ellie didn’t pour the potion into a bottle for Lana, as that would be too wasteful. She used only the water cups from Lana’s house. Lana had prepared 3 cups for the 3 types of potions. After receiving them, Lana immediately took the cups to her husband.

Ellie stored her cauldrons in her dimensional ring before following Lana inside. Lana’s house didn’t have many possessions, mostly old items on the verge of breaking. The most noticeable things were the gardening and farming tools, as well as various traps her husband had woven to catch animals in the coming days.

If this middle-aged man wasn’t ill at night, he might still be making fish traps and other things. That was life in the village. People spent their days gardening and farming, their mornings setting traps, and their evenings by the fire making traps for the next day. For them, sleep was something nonsense. If their bellies weren’t full, they couldn’t sleep. The stress accumulated daily. If they didn’t catch a beast 1 day, they had to find other food, or else they’d have to dip into their winter supplies.

What a difficult way of life...

Lana helped her husband sit up. The middle-aged man, thin and frail, tried to smile and nodded at Ellie when he saw her. He had known something was up when Lana rushed in and started preparing things. She told him that Ellie had returned to the village and wanted to try to help after hearing about his illness because Ellie had learned how to make potions at the institute.

Seeing the hope on Lana’s face made him keep his tired eyes open, waiting for the results. When he found out the potion was ready, he got even more excited. Although he didn’t know what the outcome would be after drinking it, he felt hopeful once again. How could he not be happy?

“Ellie dear...thank you for stepping in to help. You’re just like your father. Cough, cough,” the middle-aged man said each word with great effort. Ellie didn’t respond much, just nodded once.

She didn’t even tell him to temper his expectations about the treatment. If these 3 low-level potions couldn’t heal injuries caused by ordinary animals, what use would they be for treating hunters?

These potions were meant for hunters. If they could treat hunters who faced severe dangers, why wouldn’t they work for an ordinary person?

The reason these potions were considered low-level was that their effects were gradual and took some time to heal, unlike high-level potions, which could heal all wounds within 3-4 seconds, like they never occurred, after drinking them.

Even though they were low-level potions, they were made from high-grade magical herbs. Compared to the potions made by village healers, these were in a completely different league!

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