12 — 1

Naranda was the first to notice.

“Noel-sama. Have you noticed?”

Had about three months already passed since they welcomed Beth?

Both of them had noticed that the atmosphere in the research institute had somehow changed.

Of course, it went without saying that the quality of the plants used as potion ingredients, which everyone had struggled with, had improved dramatically thanks to Beth’s advice, but something they could not put into words, something more fundamental, had changed.

“Yes.”

Noel tilted his head. He understood what Naranda was trying to say.

“What is happening? Eloise has not thrown a single tantrum in these past three months, and Ezra-sama has not had an asthma attack. The other researchers are strangely calm as well, and even the cat magical beast in the research institute, which used to bristle every time someone passed nearby, finally let me pet its head the other day.”

It was not as though something specific had changed, but something had changed.

And it had changed for the better, as though something had settled calmly into the place where it was meant to be.

Researchers at the Magic Institute were friendly with one another, but in the end, they were still competitors.

They were always trying to probe one another’s hands, desperate to produce even slightly better research results than their colleagues, and there had been a slightly prickly air that jabbed at others, but now those thorns had been removed, and everyone was simply focused on diligently devoting themselves to research.

It was not that they had become especially close and cheerful with one another. It was simply that the thorns were gone, and the air was calm.

For magicians who handled extremely delicate magic, such as the creation of high-class potions, stability of mental state was extremely important.

Until now, they had struggled with the mass production of high-quality potions, but the quality and supply of potions over these past few weeks were remarkable.

For Noel, the chief magician of this Magic Institute, in other words the person in charge, it was a welcome situation, but he could not quite understand it.

“There is no doubt that it started after that girl entered the research institute. But Beth is only taking care of plants. It is not as though she is making some potion and giving it to the researchers. I do not understand.”

“Eloise, you have been calm lately.”

Noel called out from behind to Eloise, who was in the middle of refining a potion.

Eloise seemed to be in a good mood. Usually, she worked on delicate tasks while irritated, but today, she was working while somehow humming. Such a thing was rare.

Curious, Noel tried speaking to Eloise.

And Eloise revealed the reason behind the change in the research institute so easily that it left him taken aback.

“Well, yes. I’ve been spending all my time in Beth’s greenhouse.”

“The greenhouse? What is there?”

“The air there is truly healing. That child is really good at returning every plant to the form it should have, isn’t she? When something returns to the form it should have, I feel like humans can also bring out their greatest strength. When I think that and take a deep breath, somehow I feel as though I do not have to force myself or keep my shoulders tense, and my heart resets once.”

Saying that, Eloise, who had always carried a tense air, smiled at Noel with an innocent smile like the one she had had as a child. Noel and Eloise were cousins.

(This is the first time I’ve seen Eloise smile with that face since we were children…)

After the incident with the mold, Beth had been entrusted with both the shared greenhouse and Noel’s personal greenhouse.

Noel’s personal greenhouse was larger and easier to use than the shared greenhouse, but Noel was busy, so he had no time to manage a personal greenhouse, and until now, it had been used as a storage room.

Apparently, Beth had planted flowers and vegetables she liked in the empty space, but Noel had not yet set foot there.

Research, meetings, research.

There was no desperate research at the moment, but the fact that if he asked Beth, he could certainly obtain the highest-quality plant materials had truly lightened the burden on busy Noel’s mind.

“Right now, that greenhouse is beautiful, with all kinds of flowers blooming everywhere. The plants Beth grows are very relaxed, happy-looking, and natural.”

“There are happy-looking plants and Beth smiling without putting on airs, and the air there is truly good. When I nap there as I like, and when I wake up, eat rustic herb cookies Beth made while talking a little with her, somehow I feel like I return to my childhood, or rather, to my natural self.”

“It is hard to put into words, though.”

Eloise said that.

“Ezra-sama knows Beth, who was attached to her grandfather, is happy about it, so he often brings sweets from his family home and goes to visit Beth at least once a day. Somehow, he says things like the air is good or his body is getting back in order, and ever since he started going to Beth’s place, he has become quite energetic. Apparently, the pain in his knees healed.”

“There is no way something like that would heal it…”

Eloise laughed, then said as though murmuring.

“When I go to that place, I feel as though all sorts of things return to where they should be, and it will be all right. My heart, my body, and even my soul. I feel as though I can return to the empty state I had when I was born. If I go to that child’s greenhouse, I feel as though nothing sad will happen, and it is safe. On days when I receive painful letters from home, if I rush to Beth’s greenhouse, my ragged heart somehow becomes manageable.”

Because Eloise had become a magician instead of living the life of a daughter of a high-ranking noble, she was treated harshly by her family.

Eloise’s regular tantrums came from the pressure of the harsh competition for positions in this Magic Institute, where she had to leave high results, and from the harsh treatment from her family.

Noel finally realized that Eloise’s heart had been eroding somewhere he had not known about.

“I mean, everyone goes to Beth’s place to visit, so why don’t you go, Noel?”