Chapter 55
A Formidable Opponent
“Riche, is that fun?”
Lily asked, watching Riche dig the ground with a small trowel.
As Lily reached for a cookie on the tea table, her slightly wavy pink hair gently swayed. Each time it moved, the copper badge on her academy uniform gleamed.
“Sort of?”
Riche replied, skillfully planting flowers in the ground with her gloved hands. Judging by the slight smile on her lips, she genuinely seemed to enjoy it.
‘Doesn’t look fun at all to me.’
Lily detested touching dirt and sweating from such activity. She placed her half-eaten cookie back on the plate and picked up her teacup.
‘But the flowers are pretty.’
The enormous glass greenhouse within the Royal Academy was filled with flowers, all grown by Riche.
In its seventh year since establishment, the dessert research club founded by Robenhaaf was jokingly nicknamed the Flower Research Club of Troa Riche.
Started with five members, losing one in the first year, gaining the Hibetz twins as freshmen the next year, and then two graduates this spring.
Despite being a small club of only four members, they used a greenhouse-attached annex as their clubroom. No one in the academy complained.
Firstly, because the former student council president, Derke Dion, and the vice president, Robenhaaf, who graduated this spring, held immense power.
Secondly,
“Shall we plant pansies here?”
Riche stood up from her crouched position. As she straightened, her silver hair shone in the light streaming through the glass, resembling a beautiful goddess from a mystical river.
Lily put down her teacup and looked at Troa Riche.
‘Oh, she’s so beautiful.’
This is why I come all the way here in the summer. Although Troa Riche’s magic-created shade and the cool breeze made the greenhouse comfortable, the walk from the lecture hall in the scorching sun was quite an inconvenience for Lily.
‘No wonder no one complains about our clubroom.’
The second reason why students didn’t voice complaints about the dessert club’s room was that any desire to protest vanished upon seeing Troa Riche amidst the flowers.
“That place is sacred.”
Only in the Royal Academy’s greenhouse could Troa Riche’s beauty be fully appreciated, so students had silently agreed not to touch the dessert research club’s greenhouse.
The greenhouse’s creation also had strong support from the plant professors. Oddly, even with the same seeds and similar conditions, plants handled by Troa Riche turned out entirely different.
Fast growth, robustness, and bountiful fruits… Even seeds from other regions that seemed impossible to sprout could do so in Troa Riche’s hands.
Her cultivation skills were so astounding that even professors who had devoted decades to botany were impressed.
‘Miss Troa Riche has the…’
‘Hands of the Earth!’
It was clear that Troa Riche possessed the legendary Hands of the Earth, a myth in the botanical world.
Plant professors, unwilling to lose such a talent, had even offered part of their department’s area for her to grow plants, hoping she would help with their research.
That was how the newly established dessert research club became the Royal Academy’s legend, known as Troa Riche’s Flower Research Club.
“Riche, the magic professors are in an uproar. Have you heard?”
“An uproar? They haven’t mentioned anything to me.”
Riche replied, tying up her long silver hair, which reached her waist, in response to Lily.
‘I knew it. The professors can’t say a word to her.’
Lily recalled the trembling professor clutching the lectern during today’s magic class.
“Everyone, we have two years left.”
“…?”
“The period during which Miss Troa Riche, the pride of our Royal Academy and your senior, can still shine…!”
“Professor, are you crying?”
“The despicable Wudic Academy of the Pan Continent, if only our Troa Riche participated, we could crush their arrogance instantly-!”
Sixteen years old and in her seventh year, Troa Riche had won every magic competition within the Roxa Empire over the past three years.
Except for one.
The Kselfon Tournament, in which academies from both the Pan Continent and the Roxa Empire participated, remained an exception.
“I don’t think I can participate in Kselfon.”
“Why, why not?”
“It takes six months from preliminaries to finals.”
“And why is that a problem…?”
“I won’t have time to take care of my plants.”
Riche’s absence meant that the Royal Academy continued to be perpetual runners-up. The plant professors, who had cheered at her statement about needing time for plant care, once again dreamed of recruiting her.
“Double major in botany for Miss Troa Riche… That’s fine. But please persuade her to participate in Kselfon. During the tournament, also manage her greenhouse. If she agrees afterward, we’ll approve the double major.”
With the headmaster’s words, their hopes quietly faded. They could try persuading her, but only Riche could manage the plants in the greenhouse.
“Riche, are you not participating this year either?”
“Hmm…”
Riche glanced around the greenhouse in response to Lily’s question.
Thanks to her diligent care, it seemed the plants could survive a few months in the hands of others.
‘Will it be okay?’
[It should be.]
Pythonus replied to Riche’s question. Lounging lazily in a hammock set up exclusively for him, basking in the sunlight, his appearance reminded her of the passage of time.
‘It used to be a mess around this time every year.’
Six years ago, Pythonus had returned safely to Riche after going to the grave with the Great Stars of Hikenka. The problem was the human world’s environment. While unaffected as a thought-form, being in his physical body in this world took a toll.
Moreover, he couldn’t leave Riche’s side, which was detrimental to Pythonus.
The Royal Academy was far from the Demon Beast Forest, and all students lived in dormitories. Pythonus spent every semester lying limply by the lakeside.
However, he seemed to have adapted somewhat to the human world. Since last year, his body had been able to endure with just one visit to the lakeside during the vacation.
[The land has lost a lot of magic. It won’t become a demon beast nest anymore, even with occasional management.]
Pythonus said, touching the leaves of the tree next to him.
Riche had started cultivating flowers after Hikenka took the Great Stars’ thought-forms to the grave and she returned to the academy.
“The academy will turn into a demon beast forest?”
“Yes, within a few years.”
…
“So why don’t you prevent it?”
“Me? How?”
“Pythonus knows too.”
Riche asked Pythonus how to keep the academy from becoming a demon beast nest.
[There’s only one way to extract the magic. You need to remove the magic from the land and grow living things that absorb the magic instead of letting it return to the ground. Farming or gardening? You have to do it consistently. It’s a hassle.]
So she initially chose to plant flowers.
It was a bit challenging at first, but with the help of Pythonus and those around her, she managed to establish it.
Because of the need to extract the magic, she couldn’t leave the academy for more than two months, but now she could be away for about half a year.
‘The Kselfon Tournament…’
Deep down, Riche had always wanted to participate in the tournament before graduating. Only students in their sixth year or higher could join, so she had only this year and next year left.
Having made her decision, Riche nodded at Lily.
“I’m going to participate in the Kselfon Tournament this year.”
“What? Really?”
Lily was astonished by Riche’s unexpected decision.
‘The headmaster and professors will be thrilled.’
Could it be that they might even throw a celebration?
Honestly, Lily had no interest in such a dull tournament. But if Riche was participating, that changed everything. She would gather all the crucial information and relay it to Riche.
Lily’s mind started working quickly.
‘I should also ask Lotus and Sieg to help. They can gather information from the swordsmanship department.’
Maybe she should also ask for help from her eldest brother, who had been busy with business lately.
Robenhaaf, who had sworn to confess to Riche before graduating, had been traumatized by his public proposal failure six years ago and had graduated while still stammering around her. This spring, he suddenly poured out his concerns to the twins.
“Lily, Lotus. I will become the most successful businessman on the continent.”
“Really? Then I want a yacht.”
“Brother, I want a sword. The most expensive one.”
“Listen, you two. Once I achieve that, I’ll pro, pro, propose…”
“I don’t need the yacht anymore.”
“You can keep the sword, brother.”
Tsk tsk. Lily clicked her tongue, thinking of her pitiful and foolish eldest brother. It seemed like a hopeless endeavor, but she was rooting for him secretly. Being family with Riche would be beneficial to her too. She had heard that his business venture, started last month, was doing quite well.
“Oh, right.”
Lily called out to Riche, who was coming out of the changing room, as if she had just remembered something.
“What is it?”
Riche asked, untying her hair. She had changed from her work clothes into her school uniform, with a silver badge pinned on her collar.
“There’s a very talented student at Wudic Academy.”
“In magic?”
“In swordsmanship. But they say he can use magic too.”
Lily wasn’t interested in the Kselfon Tournament, but she had picked up some information. The talented individual from Wudic Academy had won last year’s Kselfon Tournament.
“But if he’s in swordsmanship, I won’t be facing him, right?”
“No. There’s a team event where academies compete regardless of the department.”
“Oh, I see.”
Riche nodded at Lily’s words. Now that she thought about it, she remembered hearing about the team event. Since she had just decided to participate, she didn’t know much about the tournament yet.
“Be careful, sis. He’s a formidable opponent.”
“You mean his skills? Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“No.”
“If not his skills, then what…?”
“His looks.”
“…What?”
Lily became serious and spoke.
“They say he’s incredibly handsome.”
* * *
Duchy of Rodwick. The Forest of Monsters.
‘It’s opening…!’
Philip nervously watched the forest entrance as it began to open.
Deon, who had spent the night in the Forest of Monsters, was emerging. Now eighteen years old, the young master had grown into a figure that inspired awe in all who saw him.
“Water.”
“Yes, sir!”
Yet he was still terrifying.
