This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 153

The True Ability

"Jay-ar’s mother may say that, but that’s all in the past. What we see now is Jay-ar carrying a wild boar down from the mountain with one hand! He spent only half a day hunting and came back with a wild boar, a wild chicken, and a wild rabbit. If anyone says he was the person who was close to death, no one would believe it. But it’s because we saw it with our own eyes!!" said the huntsman who witnessed the event.

The elderly woman was taken aback when she heard this. However, all she focused on was "a wild boar, a wild chicken, and a wild rabbit"!

"W-What did you just say? He got an entire wild boar?"

"Yes! And it wasn’t just an ordinary hunt. He said he used only his own strength without relying on traps to catch the wild boar. It looks like our village’s “Silver Coin Hunter” is making a comeback!!"

"N-No way!"

"How could it be true? That Jay-ar?"

"This is truly a blessing from God. Finally, Lana’s household will find happiness." Many people were astonished, some rejoicing for the family, others still in shock.

"So where is the wild boar now? This won’t do! I must go to Lana’s house before they sell it," the elderly woman exclaimed urgently. Her mouth almost watering at the thought that her skilled son had caught such good meat. That’s because, with this wild boar, it might fetch a good price!

"Sorry, but even if you go now, you won’t be able to take the wild boar."

"What do you mean!? Why can’t I take the wild boar?"

"Heh, heh. What right do you have to interfere with another family’s wild boar?"

"Yes, didn’t you cut ties with the family before? And now that Jay-ar has brought home some meat, you suddenly want to claim it? Isn’t that a bit funny?"

"That’s right, Auntie. I think you should stay put. Just wait for the end of the year when Jay-ar’s family has to show filial piety with a handful of rice, as agreed when the families split."

The villagers openly expressed their contempt. This old woman always managed to show her selfishness. Even now, she was thinking of taking what belonged to others. When her son was nearly dying, she threw him out of the house. Now that he had recovered and could hunt, she wanted to steal from him again. Such selfishness was truly laughable!

Having decided to abandon Jay-ar and no longer consider him her son, shouldn’t she at least refrain from interfering with him to save face? If she simply expressed her congratulations, it would be more befitting a mother’s role, rather than becoming someone who tries to leech off her son’s success.

"Why! Whether we’re separated or not, I am still his mother. Just asking for some meat, won’t the son I gave birth to help me? Will he let his mother starve? Besides...this is a matter between me and Jay-ar. It has nothing to do with anyone else. So don’t meddle in our business! Or are you jealous that I have a capable son? Huh!?"

The old woman ranted. The villagers, not wanting to get involved with her any further, wondered how Jay-ar would react. If they defended for him and then she and Jay-ar reconciled as usual, wouldn’t they look foolish? So...besides rolling their eyes, they couldn’t say anything more, deciding it was better to let the family resolve their issues.

"Hah, hah. The reason I said you can’t get the wild boar meat isn’t just because of the separation between you and Jay-ar. It’s because...the boar isn’t at Jay-ar’s house. He said he was going to give the entire wild boar to Ellie and ran to her house early this morning. By now, Ellie has probably already cooked and eaten it," the huntsman laughed mockingly, enjoying the sight of the old woman’s changing expression.

"What do you mean, why is the wild boar at Ellie’s house!? Has Jay-ar gone mad? He just recovered from his illness, so his mind must not be fully back yet. I need to hurry and tell him to bring the boar back, otherwise, it would be such a loss."

"Hmm? Are you really going to take the wild boar back from Ellie yourself? Well, good luck with that. Hopefully, Ellie will give it back so you can sell the boar that Jay-ar gave to her, Auntie," said a village woman, laughing, while the old woman was ranting. Her sarcastic comment made the old woman pause as if she had just been brought back to her senses.

It’s worth noting that Ellie’s status in the eyes of the villagers had changed. She was now a student from the top-ranked institute. Even though she wasn’t as strong and powerful as Nara, she was still a magic user in training. If the old woman dared to make an enemy of Ellie now, who knew what the future might hold for her.

If the old woman were to take back what Jay-ar had given to Ellie, wouldn’t that mean she was setting herself up as an enemy to Ellie? In the future, if Ellie became successful, the old woman would be the only one who couldn’t face her. But losing an entire wild boar would be such a shame.

If the wild boar hadn’t reached Ellie yet, it wouldn’t be too bad. She could stop her foolish son from giving such a valuable gift to the young girl and instead sell it. However, considering the time since the huntsmen saw Jay-ar, it was probably too late to stop it now.

"W-Who said I was going to take it back? If Ellie has accepted it, that’s fine. I’m just worried that Jay-ar won’t handle the boar properly," the old woman said through gritted teeth, pretending she had never intended to reclaim the boar.

In her mind, even though losing the boar that should have been hers was regrettable, it wasn’t an unbearable loss. Besides, if her son was fully recovered, he could hunt more wild animals in the future, right? Next time, she would simply go to her son’s house quickly and ask him to bring the meat to the main house.

The old woman’s thoughts were almost entirely displayed on her face. However, the topic of Jay-ar hunting a wild boar wasn’t of any interest to Nara. She didn’t care whether Uncle Jay-ar had regained his strength or not. What concerned her was how this situation related to Ellie!

If Ellie had plans to draw more attention to herself, Nara wanted to counteract that narrative. It was better than letting the villagers come to their own conclusions!

"Uncles, aunties, how is this related to Ellie? If there’s anything you need to know, you can ask me. Maybe I can explain," Nara said with a caring tone, once again projecting the image of the kind-hearted girl. This image, of course, was built on her charm and the future path she envisioned for herself. If it were the old Nara...perhaps only a few villagers would see her as special.

Just like Ellie, once she had the status of a "magician," everyone in the village had a better impression of her. If she were just an ordinary girl, interjecting and showing off in front of elders might have been seen as precocious.

"Mmm, the main point is this, and it’s why Jay-ar gave the whole wild boar to Ellie," the huntsman said, bringing the conversation back to the original topic with a serious expression.

"The reason, you say?" Jay-ar’s mother was the most interested in this and listened intently like everyone else.

"Jay-ar told us that his recovery is because of a potion that Ellie made for him. He also said that we shouldn’t speak as if Ellie doesn’t have great abilities. Because a low-level potion made by Ellie was a miraculous potion that restored his health, making him feel like he was 20 years old again!"

When they heard those words, the crowd erupted in murmurs. Many villagers had injuries, and some were seriously ill. Despite their treatments and the numerous medicines they had bought and consumed, none had produced such remarkable results. Therefore, hearing about a "miraculous potion" that could restore someone who seemed to be worthless back to full strength naturally excited them.

"Hmm? Why would Brother Jay-ar say that? Isn’t the potion that Ellie made just a low-level one? After all, she’s only a first-year student."

"If she could make a potion that can revive someone like that in her first year, she must be a genius."

"True. I think this story sounds really unbelievable."

"Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. Or perhaps Ellie received a miraculous potion from the institute? Nara, do you know anything about this?"

"Yeah, yeah, Nara, you must know something, right? After all, you said that Ellie could only make low-level potions. If it were truly a valuable potion, Ellie’s rank would be much higher. Why would she almost fail her first year? There must be some misunderstanding."

The village women discussed this matter, but the men who had seen Jay-ar recently knew what they had witnessed. They had all seen Jay-ar carrying a whole wild boar down the mountain swiftly, an act witnessed by many. If only one person had seen it, they might have thought it was a ghostly trick, but this was not the case. Consequently, a heated debate ensued, and Nara clenched her fists tightly as she listened.

It seemed...Ellie really wanted to draw everyone’s attention to herself!!

"Alright, everyone, quiet down. The person who knows the truth is Jay-ar. So, let’s call Jay-ar here and ask him directly," the village chief said, looking at his daughter who remained silent and did not explain anything as usual. He didn’t know what the facts were either, but since everyone was arguing, he needed to clarify things. Thus, summoning Jay-ar for questioning in front of everyone seemed the best way to get to the truth.

"Then I’ll ask the village doctor to check on Jay-ar as well, to see if he’s really recovered or if it’s just a temporary boost with severe side effects later on," one of the villagers suggested. They had heard of such things before. If it were true, then the potion should be banned for everyone.

"Mmm, good idea. Let’s do that. Send someone to fetch the village doctor and call Jay-ar here," the village chief concluded. Even if Nara wanted to make an excuse for this matter, having a witness to the situation meant that no matter how she twisted the narrative, people would be curious and would go ask Jay-ar themselves anyway.

The best Nara could do now was wait and see how the situation unfolded. Even though she wanted everyone to stop paying attention to this, trying to block the tide wouldn’t help. Besides, she had already mentioned the low-level potion last night. If she didn’t handle herself correctly, she could be seen as slandering Ellie.

For now, she was associated with saying that Ellie could only concoct low-level potions, which could be rectified. Since Ellie’s potion was a level 1 potion, it was indeed low-level. In the future, even Nara could concoct such potions. If anyone made a fuss about this, she could innocently state that concocting level 1 potions wasn’t a big deal at the institute. This way, she wouldn’t seem like a liar and wouldn’t appear inferior to Ellie.

Before long, Jay-ar appeared, practically leaping towards everyone with his wife and 3 children. His once pale face now showed clear signs of good health. Though his body wasn’t fully recovered from enduring long-term pain, it was evident that he would soon regain his full strength.

The person who reacted the most upon seeing Jay-ar was his mother!

"Oh, Jay-ar, my dear son, finally this day has come! I’m so happy, so very happy!" the elderly woman cried loudly, her face full of tears but with a smile as if she was overjoyed by this event.

Not only that, but she also rushed towards Jay-ar as if she loved him dearly, almost collapsing into his arms. Jay-ar was a bit taken aback, so he had to catch her. Meanwhile...his once bright eyes gradually turned cloudy. The way he looked at the old woman was very much like how Lana looked at her. Even the children quickly hid behind their mother, as if they didn’t want to face this elderly woman.

"Mother, you must have heard about the wild boar I hunted, right? Otherwise...what else would you be so happy about?" Jay-ar pushed his mother’s shoulders back so he could clearly see her wrinkled face.

Jay-ar’s smile as he looked at his mother, along with his words, were like a knife stabbing through the old woman’s body. Those who heard it were stunned. Jay-ar had always been a dutiful son who followed his mother’s every command. Who would have thought he would dare to speak like this?

The most shocked person was the elderly woman herself. She nearly fainted after hearing his words.

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