This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 92

The Real Reason

The next morning was a significant day for all the students because it was the day the institution announced a grand prize. Whoever received this grand prize would have significantly less work to do. Ellie was interested as well. Although the plan for the first year was already set, earning additional points could mean she could revise her current herb cultivation plan.

The herbs Ellie was currently cultivating were short-term and provided continuous yields. However, there were also herbs that would yield a lot of points but took about 1 year to grow.

Ellie was quite interested in these, but she had to rule them out initially because there wasn’t enough time. Cultivating herbs that took 1 year meant she would have to work hard in the first year to earn points and then plant these year-long herbs. After passing the first year, she could then harvest them in the second year and beyond.

There were students before her who had done the same. However, the tasks for botanical students were not many and often too dangerous. Ultimately, they couldn’t complete the tasks even in the first year.

On the other hand, there were also those who succeeded with long-term herb cultivation. It was heard that Professor Medik had planned from the second year onward. As soon as he entered his second year and realized he could support others in their missions, he chose to cultivate herbs that took 3 years to harvest.

His idea was that the first year only required 10,000 points, the second year needed just 20,000 points, but the fourth year demanded up to 40,000 points. If he continued to support missions like this, he would earn at least around 20,000 points. During the third year, he could still work hard for additional points or perhaps plant small herbs alongside the 3-year herbs he chose to cultivate. However, the fourth year, which required a high number of points, was anticipated to be too difficult. Professor Medik predicted he wouldn’t be able to manage. To ensure he graduated, he planned 3 years in advance and successfully executed his plan.

Once the first year passed, the 3-year plants required less frequent care, unlike short-term herbs that needed constant watering and tending. These long-term herbs could sustain themselves even if he had to go on missions for 5-6 days at a time.

Because of this...Ellie adopted a similar plan to the beautiful professor. However, she didn’t have as much confidence in herself as he did. Instead of working intensively for 3 years on numerous missions, she didn’t want to become that kind of person. Ellie chose to cultivate plants that could grow in 1 year or less to earn points for that year. She also planned to rent an additional plot for long-term plants, as Aman had previously mentioned.

Renting additional cultivation plots was limited to 1 extra plot per person. The institution’s rules were strict and uncompromising. The cost for renting a single plot wasn’t just in gold coins but also required a payment of 5,000 points as compensation.

Many students were unaware of the rule allowing the rental of additional plots, or if they did rent a plot, their cultivation success rate wasn’t high enough to fully utilize it. Some students rented 2 plots but couldn’t earn the 5,000 points needed for the rental fee. Thus, increased opportunities came with increased workload.

Others might shy away from such high costs, but not Ellie...She wasn’t afraid of the additional 5,000-point fee because she was confident in her cultivation skills. As long as she transferred her magic power, even herbs with only a fragment of a leaf would grow and bear flower and fruit. How much more successful would she be with whole seeds in hand!?

"Ellie, I’ve been waiting for you. Everyone says the professor will announce the scores today. Let’s go," a large young man who had an image of selflessness, which was the symbol of the respectable knight, appeared in front of the scholarship students’ dormitory. Ellie wasn’t surprised; she knew he’d be waiting for her like a sentry.

Actually, Ellie wanted to delay further but recalled when she studied with Celey in the tent. Even after keeping Wint waiting until nightfall, he never gave up. Thus, Ellie had no choice but to go out.

As usual, she had to face him sooner or later. Why waste her life on unnecessary matters when the outcome would be the same in the end?

"Do you think you’ll get a high score? Many seniors predict you’ll get thousands of points, comparable to those on patrol duty. That’s because you’ve helped with potion concocting daily and joined the Setter family to hunt demonic beasts," Wint walked beside her, sharing his thoughts on her potential score.

"My score equal to those on patrol duty? That’s impossible."

"Don’t be so modest. At the recent emergency camp, you did an excellent job," Wint believed Ellie thought her contributions were minor. But in everyone’s eyes, she had worked hard in the recent emergency camp. He tried to reassure her so she wouldn’t overthink, unaware that this was merely his perception. Ellie never thought of herself as modest...

Upon hearing Wint’s remark, Ellie walked ahead without saying anything more. Results would speak for themselves; did she really need to explain anything else?

And so it was. When Ellie arrived, the surrounding students made way for her without being asked, but their gazes were filled with doubt and suspicion.

"Why is everyone looking at you like that?" Wint didn’t understand. He moved to shield her, perplexed by the intense scrutiny from the crowd. However, his duty was to protect this girl.

"Because I’m probably the one who scored the highest."

"Huh? You? Scoring the highest? That’s impossib..." Wint almost laughed, thinking Ellie was joking. But as they got closer, he saw Ellie’s name at the very top of the list.

His mouth dropped open as he stared at Ellie in disbelief. The girl merely glanced at her score indifferently and then seemed ready to leave.

"W-wait, wait! How, how did you score so high!?" Wint was utterly surprised, or else his voice wouldn’t rise in astonishment.

In his mind, Ellie had only helped with potion concocting and accompanied the Setter family on missions. If going with the Setter family earned such high scores, then why weren’t Aman, Koross, and himself in the 2nd and 3rd places?

Though Wint had stopped Ellie, the eyes of everyone else remained suspicious, and even the exit was left clear[PL1] . Despite not appearing confrontational, their curiosity made them seem slightly menacing.

The first-year girl pondered whether to waste time explaining herself. If she did, would they believe her? But if she said nothing, she might become a target for too many students after this. Ignorance would lead them to their own imagining conclusions. If those were positive, all well and good, but if they were negative, it might be too late to correct later.

In the end, Ellie decided she should say something, even if just a little bit...Otherwise, the 2,760 points she earned might become a mark of disgrace, despite her having done nothing wrong.

Looking at the score, where she held the number one position, while the fourth place was occupied by a well-known senior who had reportedly killed many beasts during patrols. This senior was always competing for 1st or 2nd place with the prince. His renowned reputation had been overshadowed by a first-year girl, which was indeed shocking.

Although the scores weren’t drastically different, 1st place was still 1st place!

"Are you suspicious?"

"Of course, it’s not just me. Everyone else is curious too!" Wint replied without hesitation.

"Mmm, but honestly, I don’t think there’s anything to be suspicious about."

"............." Wint raised his eyebrows, seemingly wanting to ask where Ellie got her confidence, but he didn’t say it out loud.

"I concocted potions to help patients continuously before the demonic beast invasion. After that, I was still the only one making 10 cauldrons of healing potions daily. These potions were of the highest quality among the lower-grade ones, so it’s not surprising I earned extra points for this," Ellie explained calmly.

"Then, during the beast attack, when everyone couldn’t fend off the bird-like creatures, I used a rake to clear the way. At that time, I received a lot of praise for that because creating a counterattack opportunity wasn’t something anyone could do. Although I should actually thank the Setter family for giving me the magical rake as a gift, it still depended on how well I could time my attack."

"Afterwards, I also helped the Setter family hunt demonic beasts alongside you. These three contributions should justify my 1st place standing, I believe."

Ellie spoke directly to Wint, but her voice wasn’t low, so everyone listening in heard her explanation. Even so, many still showed disbelief.

"If it’s just for those tasks, I think Senior Ethan should have scored a bit higher. Why is there a 200-point gap? For 200 points, there must be more to it. In comparison to regular missions, 200 points equates to completing a mission on the 2nd floor of the Tower of Eternity."

"That’s true. Scholarship Student Ellie didn’t kill the level 2 beasts herself. If she had earned special points for fighting on her own, that would be one thing. I wonder if the professors calculated the points correctly."

"Lady Ellie received 2,760 points, while Lord Ethan got 2,550. Even though Lady Ellie said she created a counterattack opportunity during the beast attack, the difference shouldn’t be this big. A gap of around 100 points would be understandable, since Lady Ellie made the opening and Lord Ethan finished the attack. Without Lord Ethan...there would have been more injuries for sure."

"I think even Lady Ellie doesn’t understand why she got so many points."

Many students whispered among themselves about what had happened. Although they didn’t fully believe everything, their understanding and acceptance increased significantly.

This was different from the initial reaction when they hadn’t considered Ellie’s role in scattering the winged beasts with her powerful rake. If she hadn’t performed that task and saved their lives, the chances of them accepting would have been very slim.

Ellie looked around. She didn’t expect everyone to fully accept her explanation. It was enough for them to know that there was a reasonable chance she could earn such a high score. Given her contributions she mentioned, if she didn’t get 1st place, she would have gotten 2nd. Now, no one felt it was unacceptable; they were just left with some lingering doubts.

“Ah! Everyone, Lord Ethan is here!!”

As they were discussing, a student in the back suddenly shouted. They all froze. Who would have thought Ethan would suddenly appear to check his score, with the one who had taken his 1st place still present?

Ethan walked through the crowd, glancing at his score indifferently, as if he had already prepared himself for not getting 1st place this time, even though his main competitor was engaged in an important mission for the palace.

Ethan was about as tall as Owen, with a slim but well-proportioned build. On closer inspection, the back of his hands were covered in scars, and his palms were calloused from frequent weapon use.

Ethan wielded “Iron Claws” and specialized in wind magic. However, unlike Koross, who focused on speed, Ethan emphasized the sharpness of the wind. Combined with the Iron Claws, this allowed him to cut through things effortlessly, as if slicing paper. However, using this weapon required precise movements, as any mistake could be fatal due to its close-combat nature, different from other weapons.

The danger Ethan faced could be mitigated through rigorous training...and Ethan was someone who trained harder than anyone else!

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