This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 236

Cheating

"U-Uh, Senior Luke..." Emma, who had sneaked a glance at Luke’s face, felt a bit flustered.

She had initially thought that Luke’s face would be hideous or covered in rotting wounds from working so hard in the tower, hence why he always hid his face. However, the scar she saw was just a thin line, like a sword cut that had healed into a faint mark. If treated earlier, it might not have left any trace. He must have been in a very difficult situation back then. Surprisingly...his face was quite handsome. Just from his mouth and jawline, it was evident. If he took off his mask completely, he might look even more handsome than those noble heirs.

Nara was equally surprised that the man before her wasn’t as ugly as she thought. It made her curious enough to want to see his true face.

Even so...Nara was just curious about him; she didn’t feel otherwise. For this Senior Luke...When it came to comparing handsomeness, Young Lord Arman, Young Lord Wint, Professor Lucien, Professor Medik, and Eldest Young Lord Owen, who surrounded that wretched Ellie, were all much more attractive by a hundredfold or even thousandfold!

Moreover, their social status was not low at all. Comparing them to a hunter with an unknown background, even if he proved his prowess today, living a dangerous life as a hunter every day, though he could initially earn a lot, it wouldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t die soon after getting married...right? Hence, Nara never viewed him as a romantic interest.

Emma’s demeanor clearly showed she had feelings for him. And she wasn’t alone...the other female hunters also seemed to share the same sentiment. For them, Sir Luke, despite potentially having an ugly face, was still a highly skilled individual. But since he turned out to be more handsome than they had imagined, many had set their sights on him!

Ellie noticed the strange atmosphere but knew exactly what they were thinking. Well...how did someone who deliberately applied makeup wouldn’t be unaware of its impact?

"Mmm, what is it?" Luke’s deep voice asked as he put his mask back on, maintaining his mysterious image. Keeping it on might avoid raising suspicion.

"N-No, nothing. Uh, no! Actually, thank you so much, Senior Luke, for saving us. If it weren’t for you, we might have been in serious trouble," Emma stammered; this was all because she was too shy. Normally, Emma would have shouted or commanded sternly.

"No need to thank me. You should thank all the hunters," Luke replied nonchalantly, waving his hand as he walked away from the girl. He had no desire to engage in more conversation. She still needed to check on her little Apple, who seemed quite satisfied after eating, and make sure it hadn’t scared the other hunters.

"Ah! Senior Luke, um...sigh..." Emma sighed as she saw him indifferent towards her. However, having been saved multiple times by him, her heart was already captivated.

In fact, even Lucy and Mirin felt positively about Senior Luke. Every time they faced trouble, Senior Luke would eventually step up to protect them. Witnessing him fight firsthand this time only made them admire him more. This was the pure feeling of young girls who had found someone dependable; it was no wonder they felt good about him.

"Mirin, who is that hunter? I saw that he has his own beast, and you called him “Senior.” Is he really our senior?" Asked a male student.

He was also a student of Professor Lily, specializing in using beasts in combat. He had just lost his beast, which had deeply saddened him. But after seeing the hunter named Luke, he thought that losing his beast might have been a good thing.

That’s because it would give him the opportunity to find a new beast! He had already decided to ask his father to find a beast like the one Sir Luke used. He remembered the powerful "Demon Frog!" It would become his new partner in place of his fallen wolf.

However, his foolish idea would eventually come back to haunt him. The result of his greed, wanting what Luke had, would lead him on a futile search for something that didn’t exist. No matter how hard he tried, there would only ever be one "Demon Frog!"

"I don’t know either. Senior Luke hides his true identity. He probably doesn’t want others to know who he is. Even the name Luke might be fake. However, he didn’t deny being our senior, so he must be one of our graduates. He doesn’t look much older than us either."

"Got it." With Mirin’s answer, all the students thought the same and concluded that Luke was indeed a senior from their branch.

As for Ellie, when she stepped out to the front of the camp, she saw the full extent of the damage. Many people were waiting for medical treatment, some were poisoned, and there were fatalities as well. However, compared to the massive pile of corpses, the number of those who sacrificed themselves was relatively small.

"These Formicidae fangs are useful, so before we extract the fangs, can you ask your Demon Frog to wait?" The camp leader asked Ellie as she arrived.

"Yes, sir," Ellie nodded.

During the battle, the little Apple had eaten over 100 Formicidaes. Thus, she could wait until the fangs were extracted. She knew that the fangs could be used to make weapons or traps as they still contained poison. If used to attack other beasts, it would make taking them down easier. However, their real purpose was likely to use them against the enemy soldiers. That’s because if they handled the beasts with poison, the beasts they obtained couldn’t be used for other purposes.

The little Apple retreated obediently, refraining from showing any gluttony since it knew that soon enough, this towering pile of corpses would become its meal. There was no need to rush...

"It seems that the suspicion regarding that female student has been confirmed by this situation. And...I believe you must have had your doubts as well, correct? I’ve heard that you volunteered to protect them during their missions. The Demon Frog must have gotten quite a bit of food then," the association leader wasn’t stupid. He quickly deduced Ellie’s intentions, and she had no reason to deny it. After all, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Although it might appear that Ellie had exploited the students, they would have encountered misfortune regardless. Just like this time, they almost met their end.

"I understand that the group of students has something that attracts poisonous beasts, sir."

"Mmm, we weren’t sure about this before either. We checked all their equipment and found nothing unusual. However, based on today’s events...they truly are bait."

"It’s no wonder the Seven Night Poison group wants them. If used correctly...I believe they could benefit from luring poisonous beasts."

"Because of this...after the war, we must report this to the higher-ups. The Hunter’s Association alone can’t vouch for their safety," the leader shook his head. If they had to protect someone who constantly attracted poisonous beasts...that would be a futile job.

Others might benefit from this situation, but he would gain nothing. The Hunter’s Association survived by taking on missions in exchange for money. And what were these missions? Sometimes it’s gathering resources, sometimes protecting goods, or sending mercenaries for minor tasks, all of which required appropriate compensation.

If suddenly tasked with protecting students who attracted swarms of poisonous beasts, what hunter would want to take that mission? Even if they were willing to risk their lives, how much could they expect to be paid for facing such dangers!?

With his extensive experience, he knew there wouldn’t be much payment for this kind of job. So, it was better to let the kingdom’s research institute or educational institutions handle these students. Let them become subjects for the institute professors to study.

Ellie said nothing, merely looking ahead. It seemed the life of the young girl, Emma, was indeed pitiful. She had no idea how Emma managed to complete various missions in the novel, but according to the brief mentions by the author, Emma was a senior of Nara, having graduated from the Ares Institute. However, at that time, Nara wasn’t in the Beast Training Branch as she was now.

Or perhaps...the misfortunes Emma faced might have stemmed from following the orders of Professor Lily, who supported Nara. Emma, being smart, would definitely avoid missions in the Fragrant Held Forest or the Medicine Conservation Forest if she knew she might encounter dangerous beasts there. But to help Nara pass her year, they had to take on resource-gathering missions instead, so they had to target such dangerous forests.

Upon reflection, Emma could have taken missions in other forest zones or even accepted village tasks. With the abilities of her attacking beasts, she would have completed them easily.

Sigh...if it’s indeed because of Nara, Ellie would also be partially to blame. If she hadn’t caused the heroine to struggle and turn to Professor Lily for support, Emma wouldn’t have had to suffer like this. Nonetheless, Ellie didn’t feel too guilty. She had helped Emma twice already, which was enough to show responsibility.

After facing life-threatening situations for 2 days, the hunters lost the mood for festivities. They took turns resting intensely, as if afraid they wouldn’t sleep peacefully again. This atmosphere was starkly different from the first day Ellie arrived.

Originally, the 10 students were scheduled to be sent to the city to report the situation the next day. They had received their mission from the palace, so they needed to report any incidents promptly. However, failing the mission still carried penalties. Thus, the 10 students requested to stay in the camp.

Their task was to hunt beasts around the nearby forest, which led them to flee to the camp just in time. They were supposed to hunt creatures with strong bones that could be ground into medicine. During wartime, all resources were vital, so the students had to hunt 15 Three-Colored Monkey beasts.

Knowing that these Three-Colored Monkey beasts were also around the area, the 10 students volunteered to help the Hunter’s Association here. After all, they had to deal with the surrounding beasts anyway. It was a collaboration; if the students managed to hunt the monkeys, they would keep them. If the hunters did, the students would not interfere.

This preliminary agreement benefited both parties. Instead of selling the Three-Colored Monkeys to the Hunter’s Association, it was more profitable for the hunters to sell them to the students. They would earn more substantially as the 10 students were wealthy. They were willing to pay for their safety, making it worthwhile.

Thus, the 10 students lived comfortably in the camp, while the hunters also gained benefits. The association leader felt slightly annoyed, but he couldn’t fault anyone. The hunters did their job well, selling other beasts to the association as usual and not neglecting their missions. They only sold the Three-Colored Monkey beasts to the students, which wasn’t a big issue.

“Has Senior Luke returned? You all work so hard every day. Here, I’ve prepared this potion for you,” Emma eagerly greeted the young man she admired, just as she did every day. Ellie, who had just returned from today’s hunt, could only sigh.

For the first couple of days, he still accepted the restorative potions, thinking she was doing this out of gratitude for helping her. But now, on the 5th day of the week, Emma continued to offer him the potion. It seemed a bit excessive.

Since Emma didn’t have a dimensional ring like hers, she had to buy the potion at a relatively high price...What could be said? This girl had too much money. Perhaps using it to please a man was better than throwing it away.

“That’s enough. You don’t need to give me any more potion.”

“W-why, Senior?”

“I’m not tired. The fatigue from handling the beasts isn’t something I can’t deal with. Besides...you shouldn’t waste money on me.”

“But...I’m willing. These things don’t mean much to me.”

“Do you see me as a despicable man who begs valuable items from women? If I needed these restorative potions, don’t you think I could get them myself?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant...”

“That’s enough. Don’t bother me anymore.”

Ellie responded coldly and walked past Emma without looking back. It might have seemed harsh, but the girl needed to be reprimanded.

Good grief! While others worked hard to earn money, she threw it away on a man who didn’t care for her. This girl was too naive about love!

But then again...Ellie didn’t mind teaching her a lesson. At least this girl was too honest to be taken advantage of. If it were Nara doing the same thing...Ellie wouldn’t hesitate to selfishly reap the benefits.

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