Chapter 296: Close Companionship

Chapter 296

Close Companionship

Once she received clear confirmation from Eldest Young Lord Owen, Ellie felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her chest. Her expression brightened considerably, which even Owen noticed. After the atmosphere relaxed, Owen invited the young girl for a walk outside.

Since it was already evening, the darkness made the stars easily visible. They had never spent time together like this before, making it their first time walking side by side.

Ellie let the cool breeze caress her face. She had never realized how beautiful the Setter family’s garden was at night. Usually, she only spent her time there during the day, sipping tea and reading books. She had no idea there was a "Moonlight Admiring Garden" that Young Lord Owen had prepared within the mansion grounds.

"Do you like it?" His warm yet firm voice came from beside her. Ellie, of course, did not deny the beauty of the garden. Her little rabbit liked it here very much too. At first, Ellie hesitated about letting it out of the pet ring, but looking at the person next to her, she felt there was nothing to hide from him anymore.

So Ellie let her Nocturnal Rabbit out to run around in the beautiful garden. Her favorite was the gazebo in front. Although there were many flowers around that glowed softly in the moonlight—green, white like starlight, and even bright yellow—the gazebo in the middle of the garden was even more special.

The flowering vines entwined around the small gazebo attracted a type of insect similar to fireflies, which flew around, illuminating the area. Of course, this beauty must have been inspired by the author’s original world. Although the fireflies were replaced by harmless beasts, it still created the same sweet atmosphere.

"These insects are commonly found on the 5th floor. I conquered a small city there, and during the night, I happened to see a swarm of them around my lodging. When I looked at them, I thought of you and ordered a place to be made for them. In the future, this garden will gather the night colors of the tower, in case you want to take a walk before bed. You can stop by here."

Owen explained his thoughts. Seeing Ellie enjoying the nighttime garden he had arranged made him even more satisfied. His mind began to wander, planning to bring all the beautiful things he saw back to adorn the mansion.

Ellie was unaware of how far his thoughts were going. Nonetheless, his attention to detail made her feel incredibly warm. Because of this, she smiled brightly, a sight not often seen.

Owen was momentarily taken aback by her smile. He hadn’t originally understood why he needed to put in so much effort, but the moment he saw Ellie happy, he knew that even if he had to do more, as long as she could smile comfortably like this again, it was enough...

The two of them didn’t speak any further, simply letting time pass warmly. The twinkling light reflected in both their eyes. Even though Owen wasn’t looking much at the garden’s beauty, he saw the beauty he wanted to see.

The next morning, Ellie had to return to the institute. Owen also followed her to the city of Erel since the meetings of the higher-ups in the family were still ongoing. He took this opportunity to accompany Ellie back. The young girl arrived at the institute in just 3 days, returning earlier than the initially planned 7 days.

However, upon her return, Ellie immediately noticed changes in the institute.

Many people walked past her, greeting her as usual, but without much interest. True, this behavior allowed Ellie to live happily, just as she desired. But every word they spoke was about the new student who had now become Professor Lucien’s direct disciple and was being pursued by both Professor Lily and Professor Nico to join their respective branches. This new student’s name was on everyone’s lips.

Ellie couldn’t follow Lady Grace, but she could still rely on gathering information through the other students. Although it was tiring, it helped her learn more.

It turned out that Professor Nico was highly interested in Lady Grace’s powers. According to very advanced manuals, users of dimensional magic power could create dimensional rings, dimensional equipment, or other items, but firstly, they needed to have a fundamental understanding of setting up stratagems, as stratagems act like gears making things work. Dimensional rings and magical equipment were essentially stratagem creation but miniaturized. Creating them required precision and considerable power.

As of now, no one had succeeded in doing that. Therefore, Professor Nico had high expectations for the young girl. As for Professor Lily, it was only natural that she wanted Lady Grace with her, as she had been a very powerful beast user before.

Ellie took a deep breath as she arrived at the front of the Botanical Building. However, the person she least wanted to see was there. Just like how Nara followed Professor Lucien everywhere according to the story, it was now Lady Grace in that position. And unfortunately for her, the two professors were close friends. Professor Lucien followed Professor Medik everywhere, even bringing his student to the Botanical Building.

"You’ve arrived? Have you checked your planting plots yet? If it weren’t for your previous stratagem, all the herbs would have been destroyed. But it’s good that you came up with such a wonderful idea. My herbs were unaffected too. In the future, if you can come up with other methods, I’d like you to devise stratagems to help our Botanical Building more."

Seeing Ellie walk up, Professor Medik greeted her first. In truth, he wanted to ask how her visit to the village was, how everyone treated her, if anyone criticized her, and whether his student had recovered from her sadness. But he was afraid of saying the wrong thing, as he was only glad that the troublesome student had finally left.

As a professor, he knew that the institute had truly kept a ticking time bomb. If that scholarship student unleashed her toxin powers here, how many would suffer? It could be considered a good thing that she was dealt with before causing problems for others.

However, Professor Medik also understood that such words should not be spoken aloud, especially not to his own student who came from the same village...So, he changed the subject, even though it felt unnatural as he bombarded Ellie with questions without waiting for her responses.

Ellie understood what her professor was trying to do. His kindness and the problem she feared had been confirmed. Because of this, Ellie responded with a smile.

"I understand, Professor. As for the planting plots, I checked them briefly and there seem to be no problems."

"Mmm, very good. So, will you be going to the Stratagem Branch today? If not, why don’t you join us for lunch first? I was planning to treat your Professor Lucien’s disciple, but I waited for you to come back. In the future, you two should get to know each other and help each other out." Professor Medik said.

"Your professor is right. You don’t have any fellow students with the same professor. It would be a bit difficult for you alone, but having a friend can be beneficial. My student just came from the Rhea Kingdom not long ago. You’ve been here a while, so you might be able to help." Professor Lucien agreed.

"I understand, Professor. Please take care of me," the beautiful and charming girl in front of her responded naturally. No matter what, she looked like an endearing good child. No matter how much prejudice and suspicion Ellie had toward the other girl, all she could do was force a fake smile.

If it were Ellie back in high school, upon seeing this friend, she would have just put on a blank face and refused to speak. However...after growing up, social interactions required a mask. Ellie had to wear a mask often, even though her true nature wasn’t picky or talkative. Society didn’t want people like that.

Ellie put on a big mask over her face. With her acting skills that she grew up practicing, she believed that even if she met her old close friend again, they wouldn’t know she was just performing.

"Please take care of me as well," the petite girl replied. However, she didn’t agree to lunch. Ellie smiled warmly at the professors and Lady Grace, making it seem like there was no issue with the other girl. But...she still directly declined the invitation.

"Professor, about having a meal together, it might have to be on another day. Today, I need to go to my own branch. Otherwise, I might not complete my required hours. There’s still a mission I need to complete before the end of the academic year. If I delay any further, I might not have time to learn potion concocting with you before the inter-institute competition."

Medik immediately paused upon hearing this important matter. Although he wanted to scold his troublesome student for not even finding a little time for her professor, he feared that his stubborn student might refuse to participate in the potion-concocting competition altogether. With Ellie’s current skills, even if she wanted to compete in combat, just having Second Young Lord Aman and Wint by her side, along with Koross, would easily secure victory. So, he had to let Ellie follow her own path.

Professor Medik easily conceded, but Professor Lucien was different. He was very wise. Just seeing Ellie’s slight eyebrow twitch when looking at his student surprised him. He had been with Ellie before meeting Student Grace, so naturally, he leaned more towards Ellie.

Though he wanted to ask what was going on, he knew as a professor it was inappropriate. However, Ellie’s eyebrow twitching...who would have thought it would turn into a butterfly effect. Professor Lucien remained silent, not asking anything, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t keep a close eye on Student Grace from now on.

He had previously made an embarrassing mistake by believing his own disciple over Ellie, and it left a lasting scar on his heart. So, Professor Lucien wouldn’t make the same mistake twice...

"Professor Medik, Professor Lucien, I think we should let Ellie go to her branch. We can have a meal together anytime, right?" Lady Grace spoke with a smile, causing Ellie to pause for almost two seconds before regaining her composure, fortunately in time.

Well...Who would have thought that the personality of her "best friend" from her past life would be so similar to "the person both professors want to be her best friend" now?

The other girl was just like that, acting open-minded, easily approachable, and understanding of others. She also acted as a mediator who mediated various matters reasonably. Her keen observation allowed her to understand others’ feelings well. It was a pity that someone with such special abilities didn’t genuinely use them for others...

"I’m sorry," Ellie accepted this help graciously. Grace smiled back, showing full friendliness. For others, meeting her for the first time like this wasn’t bad at all. Unfortunately, the familiarity of the past threatened to prevent Ellie from falling for that kindness.

"Go on, Ellie. Try to learn well. I need to learn a lot too," the bright Lady Grace told Ellie to hurry, acting as if the two professors might change their minds soon. She seemed so kind-hearted.

"Are you helping her too? I wanted you to be friends so you could help each other learn, not to join forces against me," Medik laughed nonchalantly. He wasn’t one to overthink things. Lucien didn’t respond, but he felt that Ellie’s behavior seemed off.

"Professor, I’ll be going now." Ellie didn’t want to be near Grace anymore. It was better to leave quickly, regardless of whether the two professors thought they could get along well. All she needed was to complete her fourth year. After that, she wouldn’t involve herself with other students. As for the professors...she still respected them as such, even if everyone focused more on Grace.

Ellie hoped the outcome would be just that.

She walked out of the building, ignoring the two professors. Dealing with a woman like that required going with the flow. Since Grace wanted to stand out and be accepted by others, as long as she didn’t cause trouble for her, that was enough. However, after Ellie left, she still remained wary of Grace’s actions. In her past life, she didn’t have a listening device like her little spores, so she never knew what was said behind her back. But in this world, it was different...

Inside the Botanical Building, after Ellie had left, Professor Medik sincerely apologized to Grace because he didn’t host a welcome party for her as the sole disciple of his friend.

"I must apologize to you for this. When we all have some free time, we’ll celebrate your welcome."

"He he, Professor, you’re overthinking. I’m fine. Your student must be very busy indeed, studying in two branches."

"Heh, heh, aren’t you studying two branches as well? Yet you still have time to visit your professor."

"Oh, Professor, don’t be like that. If you’re ever lonely...you can teach me too. Consider me your disciple as well." Hearing Grace expressed her love for learning like this, how could he, as a professor, not fond of her, though Medik knew she was just trying to calm him down.

"Don’t be jealous, Lucien, if your disciple learns better from me than from you," Medik teased, but Lucien’s face remained stoic. His eyes couldn’t help but show a slight glimmer. He originally thought Ellie might have misunderstood something about his new student, but now it seemed that might not be the case.

In Lucien’s mind now, he tried to convince himself that he might be overthinking. However, the way his student spoke—saying such things once or twice the first one or two days wasn’t much, but if said at the right time, it could lead to Medik misinterpreting things...Someone as clever and articulate as her, who could make Medik smile just like that, how could he be pleased?!

If she started coming to the Botanical Building more often, wouldn’t Medik give him less attention? If Medik had a new friend, what use would the old friend like him be?...