This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 220

The Prince’s Proposal

"Now we have 5 people in our group. Can I select some others to join us? Surely the three of you can handle the mission alone, right?" Ellie asked the 3, to which Aman could only laugh.

The Setter family had faced life-and-death situations countless times. Hunting in the 1st-2nd floors was not an issue for them. Normally, they should be hunting alone for training purposes. So, Ellie taking in others who might be a burden was not a big deal.

"Don’t worry, my lady. I’ll handle their part myself," Koross interjected before Aman could speak. This earned him a glare from Aman, his rival.

"I can do it alone. Why are you worried?" Aman quickly added. He didn’t want to lose to that useless Koross.

"Same here. If my lady needs anything, just order me. After all, I am your knight, along with my disciple Zoey. We are both ready to sacrifice our lives for you," Wint said seriously. Zoey, still not understanding much, could only nod awkwardly.

It was clear that Senior Wint had too much faith in her. Right now, Zoey knew she could do nothing but summon earth. With such low-level abilities, it was uncertain what she could do. Nevertheless, Senior Wint told her to trust his orders, and everything would be fine. Having never had any senior to guide her, Zoey chose to listen to Wint completely.

Ellie rolled her eyes slightly. She wanted to tell Zoey not to listen to Wint too much, but it was evident that the girl only had Wint’s attention, and Zoey was very happy. Her initial shyness and reluctance had faded. Seeing the girl’s positive development, Ellie felt she had no right to advise against it as she didn’t provide any help.

So, Ellie could only let the two oddballs be. She nodded to Aman and Koross. Now, the group had 5 more spots, which should be enough to include some of the direct seniors.

"Senior Tor, Senior Zen, Senior Ezio, Senior Gus, would you like to join us?" Ellie called out. Professor Nico paused slightly, but upon seeing his second-year students joining a strong group like the Setter family, his expression lightened a bit.

"Good, good. You all join Student Ellie’s group. The rest of you, hurry up and form your groups. Are there any groups that need more members? It’s best to spread out for safety and to have a variety of skills." Seeing that nearly all the direct students had been accepted into groups, Professor Nico quickly urged the 4 seniors to join Ellie.

Although Ellie set an example, in the end, no one stepped forward to help other unchosen members. Nadia was one of those still left out, clenching her fists in anger. Ellie hadn’t invited her because she didn’t think Nadia would want to join her. However, it was unexpected that no one else would include her either.

Previously, Ellie had seen Nadia as confident, arrogant, and proud of her abilities. There was a reason behind this behavior; Nadia was an important member of her family, always cherished and pampered. Everyone spoke highly of her, and those from other families would flatter her as well. Growing up with such adulation, Nadia believed she was the most important person. She couldn’t have imagined that today, when selfishness ruled, she would be completely ignored.

This was scariest reality of people. Nadia’s eyes turned red as she experienced mixed feelings of shame and anger for the first time. She stood there in humiliation, having no choice but to endure the situation.

"Nadia, would you like to join my group?" Ellie bit her lip slightly. Although she didn’t particularly like Nadia, the main stratagem branch students had already been chosen. If Nadia was left alone, it’s likely she would have to join the non-combat students, and her chances of survival would be slim.

Hearing her name called suddenly, Nadia was taken aback. But upon realizing it was Ellie, she showed her displeasure. Initially, Nadia thought Ellie would sneer and mock her. However, seeing Ellie’s calm expression, without any hint of ridicule, Nadia lowered her head slightly.

She understood that no one would foolishly take in someone to burden the group just for a sense of satisfaction. That would mean certain death. Thus, her initial prejudice against Ellie slowly diminished as she seriously considered the invitation.

"You should join Student Ellie’s group. Since you’re in the same year, go join her." Professor Nico knew the two didn’t get along in class, so it wasn’t surprising Ellie hadn’t called her at first. Nevertheless, this was Nadia’s chance to survive, and he wanted to remind her of her situation.

Fortunately, Nadia wasn’t foolish. She felt that Ellie might be better than those who flattered her before. At least...no matter how much they disliked each other, this lowly village girl didn’t leave her to face death alone.

"It’s only because Professor Nico said so," Nadia raised her chin slightly before joining the group. Ellie shrugged indifferently, knowing that Nadia was secretly pleased with the invitation, even if the professor hadn’t spoken up.

Well...if it made her feel better, Ellie would let her be. During future missions, if Nadia wanted to sit or lie around, Ellie would allow it. With her power and the 3 men in the group, completing the missions wouldn’t be difficult.

"Sigh, I feel this is really unfair." While everyone waited to register after pairing up, a voice from the man, who sat silently in front that even Ellie had almost forgotten about him, interrupted.

Vida was the first to look at him. No! Actually, she had been watching him the entire time but didn’t dare interfere. Duchess Vida deeply wanted to be with the prince, to complete missions with him. However, she knew that joining him might only make her a burden. In the end, she agreed to be with her family’s group, letting them carry the burden of her presence, while allowing the prince to fight alongside the strong individuals he had chosen.

What Vida didn’t expect was that the prince had not yet formed his group. He simply sat quietly until nearly the last moment. Now, the only people left were from the Stratagem Branch, mere secondary students who lacked combat abilities. Thus...Vida was quite worried.

“P-Prince,” the mission assigner was slightly taken aback. Who would have thought that Prince Jason would suddenly speak up like this?

The mission was set up with inherent unfairness from the start. The royal family needed resources, particularly those from the 1st floor. There were enough workers to produce various items. How many people did you think there were in each generation? Those who worked without risking their lives were abundant, they didn’t even enter the Tower of Eternity to hunt resources, which leading to longer life spans in each branch. As such, there was no need for more workers, but rather for those who could gather resources.

Though it seemed harsh, this approach benefited the kingdom. In times of war, some sacrifices were necessary. However, given the prince’s personality...it wasn’t surprising that he would speak out.

“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to interfere with the decisions made by all parties. I just think that you might be able to compromise a bit, right?” Jason raised his eyebrows slightly, glancing around at the remaining students—around 20 in total. A smile curved on his lips.

“Actually, I planned to group with them to handle the mission. But there are too many of them. If I group with them, I’d end up doing double the work, which is too much.”

Hearing the prince’s words, Duchess Vida’s face fell immediately. The prince had spoken, and there was no changing his mind. But how could she let him fight alone?

“In that case, let me help you. The Jarlon family could also...”

“No need. I think the most suitable group to assist would be that of Second Young Lord Aman’s,” the prince waved his hand immediately. He had no intention of accepting help from the Jarlon family. His willingness to sacrifice like this was solely to observe the small girl in the group.

Given her brother’s extraordinary skills, it stood to reason that she, who was highly regarded by the Setter family, should also be equally talented, right? Normally, when women hear about war, they become alarmed. But she didn’t. Didn’t this imply that she had great confidence in her own abilities?

So, what were her skills? He genuinely wanted to know!!

“Hmm? Why us? We’ve already taken in many students from the Stratagem Branch. Isn’t this pushing the Setter family to work themselves to death?”

“Haha, you’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t planning to dump them on you. I merely intend to propose something to the mission assigner. I think...it’s possible, right? To assign tasks to me and Second Young Lord Aman’s group that are 3 times the normal amount. I and they will collaborate on these tasks.”

Prince Jason’s words immediately made Aman’s eyebrow twitch in displeasure. While Jason wasn’t outright dumping work on them, it meant they would have to collaborate on missions if this proposal was approved. This was an annoying prospect!

“Huh! Knowing that it’s beyond your capabilities, you still want to take on others’ responsibilities? I think you might be a bit too greedy. But fine...I’ll take on double the workload myself. You just handle your tasks.” So, you wouldn’t interfere with me!

Aman’s thoughts mirrored Ellie’s exactly. She almost gave him a thumbs up, but the prince wasn’t willing to back down.

“Haha, how could I burden the second young lord of the Setter family? If anything happened to you, I’d surely face severe consequences. I can’t handle the wrath of the Setter family.” When the prince retorted with Aman’s words like this, Aman found himself cornered.

Aman gritted his teeth, trying to find a way out, but the mission assigner was loyal to the prince. How could they not obey their superior?

“Very well, it is a grace from Your Highness. In the Green Forest of the 1st floor, near the Hunter’s Association’s city controlled by the royal family, there are 3 appropriate missions. They involve hunting large game. The task for 1 group per week is to hunt 10 large animals per week. If it’s 3 missions, that would be 30 large animals per week. Does Your Highness think this mission is manageable?”

“Of course. With Second Young Lord Aman here, I don’t think it will be a problem at all,” Prince Jason said, smiling like a victor. Ellie and Aman exchanged frustrated glances, but despite their annoyance...it was still good to have saved all the students from the Stratagem Branch. Deep down, Ellie even felt grateful to him. Without his intervention, the mission assigner would never have agreed.

The prince turned to smile at the two of them. Aman snorted, and Ellie pretended to look at her seniors and peers, ignoring him completely. Everyone who had been helped was overjoyed. Naturally, they felt guilty and decided that they would repay these 2 in the future.

The prince was quite shrewd in his decision. In the future, he would gain the favor of the Stratagem Branch members. This was a genuine opportunity seized from a crisis. In the past, requesting assistance from the stratagem creators required significant effort, but now, with his help, these people, if they survived, would consider it a great favor and repay him generously. That included their families as well.

Aman initially allowed Ellie to invite non-combat capable members because of this very reasoning. When he saw Prince Jason creating more work for himself, he could have refused with many words. But upon reflection, he found it more beneficial. Trading this for hunting a mere 30 weak, large animals a week was not a strenuous task. He and Koross alone could handle 20 animals in 1-2 days, making the mission quite manageable.

On the surface, this mission seemed easy enough. However, if someone else received the mission, or even if Aman worked alone, they would be frustrated and waste a lot of time transporting the animals. Even the prince would face difficulties in this regard. But they had a girl with her own storage treasure. Thus, transporting the animals was not an issue at all.

After hunting, they could simply let Ellie store the animals in her dimensional ring. They could complete the delivery in two days and relax for the remaining 5. Or they could even submit the mission early without anyone complaining. In fact, it was more like going on a leisure trip.

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