Chapter 127

My next Herbology class is with Benjamin in the greenhouse.

“Whoa, is this completely withered?”

Yep, it’s way past just “lacking energy.”

“That’s what happens when you slack off on watering. Once it gets to that point, there’s no hope left. Hurry up and pull it out, then work in the fertilizer!”

It’s not just Benjamin—Bryce’s and Andrew’s low-grade herbs are in a hopeless state, too. In fact, the low-grade herbs in the other plots are looking pretty weak as well.

“Patience, do you want seeds for the high-grade herbs, too? You’ll be able to harvest seeds from those low-grade ones over there pretty soon.”

At Professor Mathias’s words, envious glances gather from all over the greenhouse. That’s because the high-grade herbs in my plot are growing thick and lush. Plus, the low-grade herbs I left behind to collect seeds from are covered in tiny yellow flowers. They look just like the ragweed from my past life.

“Yes, I’d like the seeds for the high-grade herbs, too.”

Leaving two plants behind, I pull out the rest of the high-grade herbs. The leaves on the high-grade herbs are prickly, just like thistles.

“These will sell, too. You really ought to become an apothecary. With this, you pass Herbology 2. Are you taking Herbology 3 right away as well?”

I might actually be able to become a low-grade apothecary! Of course I’ll take Herbology 3.

“Yes, please!”

Professor Mathias cackles her usual laugh.

“You’re an ambitious one! But for the classroom portion, you’ll have to take tests for Herbology 1, 2, and 3. Well, make sure you read your textbook carefully.”

Ah, I had completely forgotten about the classroom lectures starting in May! After that, I work fertilizer into the soil again, and this time, I plant detox herbs.

“Detox herbs are temperamental. But the detox potions made from them are good for upset stomachs and work against weak poisons, so they sell very well. Still, if you make them from herbs bought from adventurers, your profit margins shrink. If you can cultivate them this far, you’ll be able to become a low-grade apothecary.”

The detox herb seeds wrapped in paper are incredibly small and thin. If a strong gust of wind blew, they look like they’d fly away.

“You wrap these in soil one by one before planting. Well, it doesn’t matter if two end up together. Make sure to thoroughly purify the water you mix with that soil, too.”

I put soil into a beaker outside, chant “Become clean!”, and slowly mix in the purified water.

“Don’t make it too runny! You have to be able to wrap the seeds with it, after all.”

It’s the same trick as making tiny mud balls. I used to make them all the time as a kid. First, I make 20 small mud balls. Then, I wash my hands once. After that, I embed the tiny seeds into the mud balls one by one. I figured that if I tried to make the mud balls while holding the tiny seeds, the seeds would get lost. Plus, after the first one, my hands would be covered in mud, making it hard to pick up the tiny seeds.

“Aren’t you clever, Patience? Now then, go ahead and plant them.”

On both ends of the plot, two flowering low-grade herbs and two high-grade herbs remain. I plant the seeds between them.

“Once you’ve planted them, water them. With purified water, of course. Now, this is where it gets tricky—they absolutely love mana. You could practically say they grow on mana alone, but if you give them too much, the stems just grow spindly, the leaves turn red, and they won’t bloom. That counts as a failure. You need green leaves and flowers for these detox herbs.”

That sounds really difficult. Even though they love mana, you can’t give them too much.

“Professor Mathias, so they won’t grow if I only use water infused with mana?”

Professor Mathias clicks her tongue.

“It’s better to fail once, you know. Don’t go telling the others about this! Don’t cast household magic directly on the detox herbs. Just infuse the mana into the water alone.”

Yep, what a mean old witch. They like mana, but if you pour mana directly into the detox herbs, they grow too big and their leaves turn red. However, it seems pouring plenty of mana into the water before giving it to them works well.

It looks like I’ll manage Herbology somehow. I’m so happy! If I pass Pharmacology 3 with this and pass the low-grade apothecary exam, I won’t ever have to worry about earning my keep, right? If I study pharmacology at Romano University, would that make me a mid-grade apothecary? I’ll have to check!

…Or so I was counting my chickens before they hatched. I had completely underestimated Professor Mathias’s cunning nature.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up before Princess Margaret and went to the greenhouse, only to find the stems shooting straight up. But are they still too short?

“Is this a failure? Or are the leaves going to sprout after this?”

I have nothing but a bad feeling about this. But I have no choice but to keep going like this for a week.

“Maybe I poured too much mana into the water?”

Yesterday, I used water infused with a huge amount of mana. As a result, the stems grew way too long. In that case, today I’ll try using water infused with just a little bit of mana.

From then on, I was completely at the mercy of the detox herbs. If I only put a little mana into the water, they would droop limply.

Princess Margaret scolded me for being absentminded during the Music Club. Ah, I completely forgot to ask about the club fees, too!

“Princess Margaret, regarding the club fees for the Music Club…”

Princess Margaret looks blankly at me.

“Club fees? What are those?”

Wait, she doesn’t know? Or do they just not collect club fees at all?

“I didn’t know about club fees until now. But Lord Russell mentioned that because the Riding Club lost members, their budget might decrease, so they would have to raise club fees. That made me worry about how the Music Club handles it. If you’ve been paying my share all this time, I’d feel terrible…”

When I said “I’d feel terrible,” Princess Margaret raised her eyebrow slightly.

“Patience, you are my attendant, so if Music Club fees were required, I would pay them. That is only natural. And the same goes for the bill at the upper-class dining salon on Thursdays.”

It seems the Music Club doesn’t collect club fees after all.

“The Alchemy Club seems to fund its activities through donations from senior members, but how does the Music Club manage?”

Those elegant chairs and instruments all look so expensive.

“The instruments we have from before, along with the ones brought by club members, are more than enough. I imagine the previous members left the furnishings behind. When I graduate, I plan to donate the chairs in this room, too.”

You can’t join the Music Club without a recommendation. In other words, there are only high-ranking noble students there. That’s why club fees aren’t necessary at all.

“How do they handle transporting the instruments during the Aoba Festival or the Harvest Festival?”

Academy servants carried them, but I don’t know if they help out the Music Club for free.

“Well, I am sure the club president gives them a tip.”

I suppose President Melissa and President Albert wouldn’t have any trouble paying tips. And even if Princess Margaret becomes the president, she wouldn’t struggle with it either. In short, I’m the only poor person in the Music Club. Samuel seems rich, too. Thinking about it is just making me head spin.

Third period on Wednesday is Pharmacology 3. Today, I’m making detox potions using those stubborn detox herbs. Benjamin and Bryce are still struggling with the low-grade health potions. It seems they won’t pass unless they wash their ingredients a bit more thoroughly.

“Patience, are your detox herbs doing well?”

She cackles at me, making me feel annoyed. Since then, I’ve researched a ton about detox herbs at the library!

“Professor Mathias, the herb encyclopedia said you shouldn’t give mana to detox herbs. It also said you shouldn’t give them too much fertilizer.”

She had made me work fertilizer in after pulling out the high-grade herbs!

“So you finally looked it up! Did you forget what I said? It’s better to fail once! Now that you’ve researched it, give it a try. But right now, it’s time for Pharmacology. Look here—you need to grow them so they have thick, plump leaves like this. We use the flowers, too.”

They look completely different from the detox herbs in my plot. I pick up a detox herb that gives off a distinct, slightly pungent smell, similar to the chameleon plant from my past life.

“Wash this thoroughly, and chop only the leaves finely. Keep the flowers separate.”

I suspect this might be another lie, but the textbook also says to chop them. As usual, it doesn’t specify only the leaves. It seems like a mistake anyone could make—chopping the flowers right along with them.

“That fine is good enough. Simmer them in purified water. Once it reduces to about half, drop the flowers in and remove it from the heat. Don’t forget to continuously infuse mana into it the entire time!”

Since I was lied to about cultivating the detox herbs, I make the detox potion while checking the textbook. It didn’t mention adding the flowers later. But since this textbook was unhelpful from the start, I follow Professor Mathias’s instructions just in case.

“Mm, you made it well. You pass Pharmacology 3, too. I suppose I’ll have to give you your completion certificate.”

Professor Mathias takes the bottle of detox potion in her hand and grins.

“Why did you tell me that detox herbs grow on mana?”

Professor Mathias cackles in response.

“It’s true that detox herbs can be grown with mana, too. It’s extremely difficult, though. If you give them even a little too much, the stems shoot up too long. Well, growing them with just purified water is the standard way. I just thought you might be able to adjust your mana and grow them that way.”

I don’t get her logic at all. Growing them with just purified water is way easier! Besides, even the reference book said not to give them mana.

“Is there any difference in detox herbs grown with mana?”

Professor Mathias cackles and doesn’t answer. But it feels like there must be something to it. Is that a lie, too?

This time, instead of the basic reference book, I look it up in a specialized Herbology text. No matter how many books I read, they all say not to give them mana.

“Growing them with purified water really is the correct way, after all.”

I was about to give up, but something bothered me. I’m going to investigate thoroughly!

“Ah, here! The instructions for growing detox herbs say… If you infuse mana only into the leaf buds, the leaves will grow thick—green on the front and purple on the back. If you carefully infuse mana solely into the leaf buds, you can cultivate highly potent detox herbs.”

I go to the greenhouse and locate the leaf buds on the detox herbs. I carefully infuse mana into only the tiny buds that are about to turn from stems into leaves. This really requires extreme caution and patience. It takes a ton of time, too.

“Detox herbs really are so temperamental!”

I felt like screaming in frustration!