"Are the rare seeds you ntioned related to the soil’s declining fertility?" Gara asked, steering the conversation back to her point.
Selena nodded. "Yes. That rare seed require extrely fertile soil. Its nutrient level is everything. In fact, when this particular plant stopped growing, that’s when people first realized the soil was losing its vitality. No one’s been able to grow it since."
"Starberry, right? I’ve heard about that from Lio, the druid," Clara added.
"Oh, right. Your year has a druid, doesn’t it?" Selena murmured, suddenly recalling.
"Druid?" Gara perked up a little. The ntion of druids sohow worried his heart.
Selena nodded again but didn’t answer right away. Her gaze wandered across the room, scanning each student until her eyes stopped on one person.
When Gara followed her gaze and saw who she was looking at, his throat tightened.
Of all people, she was looking straight at the druid boy.
"Lio, co here!" Selena called out.
Gara’s heart stopped for half a second.
Lio, being summoned by one of the most respected seniors in the academy, imdiately left his group and walked toward them.
"W-why..." Gara muttered, his voice shrinking as Lio ca closer.
It was the first ti they’d been this close. And the mont Lio approached, Gara could sll it, the faint, earthy scent of a druid.
He’d caught traces of it before, being in the sa class, but never this strong. It made Gara tense. Even though he knew Lio couldn’t sense his scent...
Without the help of Scentless Unlimited Water, Lio would’ve noticed instantly because right now, Gara was pregnant.
"So, what do you think, Gara?" Clara’s hand landed lightly on his shoulder.
He blinked, disoriented. He’d clearly zoned out ever since Lio joined them.
"Sorry— uh, what was the question again?" he asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
Neither Selena, Clara, nor Lio seed bothered by his distraction.
Clara quickly repeated, "We were talking about how even Starberries —plants blessed by druids— still can’t grow. So as a herbalist and an alchemist, do you think there could ever be a fertilizer strong enough to help it grow again?"
Gara’s brows rose slightly. ’Even druids can’t make it grow?’ That ant the Starberry’s soil requirents were far beyond normal.
"I don’t want to jump to conclusions," he said carefully. "But if possible, could I get one of those seeds for research? I’d like to test it myself."
"They’re hard to find now," Selena replied. "But I can try to get so for you. If I tell them it’s for your research. ntioning your na might help."
"I’d still need your help. I’m nobody special, just a beginner." Gara waved his hands modestly.
Clara giggled. "You really don’t know, huh? You’re already famous in the herbalist world. Everyone’s amazed you’re just a first-year at Gyakarta Academy. You’ve got a lot of admirers."
"That’s true," Lio mumbled softly. His voice was quiet, but everyone still heard it.
For the first ti, Gara turned toward the druid boy. His face was so sincere, so unguarded, that Gara felt guilty for ever associating him with those druids, the ones hunting him. Not that he even knew what they looked like.
"Thanks," Gara replied, his tone a little stiff.
Sensing the growing awkwardness, Selena quickly cut in, "Alright then, Gara. I’ll do my best to find you so Starberry seeds."
After that, their discussion drifted away from rare seeds and onto Alrova’s products, which were still a hot topic among herbalists.
Since Selena had offered to find him so rare seeds, Gara gladly shared what he knew about the herbal plants used in Alrova’s products, along with several tips on better planting thods.
...
The class should’ve been on break a few minutes ago, but out on the training field, a human boy was still throwing small fireballs at another human, a tall, broad-shouldered young man who easily blocked each one.
A small crowd had gathered around them, Gara included, standing with his arms folded across his chest.
"Madha, it’s break ti," he called out, ignoring how serious the training looked.
Beside him, Orman looked on the verge of tears. "Madha was supposed to train in this Offense Class! Why is he focusing so much on Kevio instead?"
"You should be happy the boss’s kid finally turned into a good boy," Yuvika said dryly, patting Orman’s shoulder in mock sympathy. Her tone sounded wise, but it was clearly teasing.
Orman just groaned louder, milking his fake sobs. Gara could only shake his head, eyes drifting back to Madha and Kevio as the two of them approached.
"Co on, I’m starving," Gara said.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Madha reached out and gently ruffled Gara’s hair, a casual gesture that made everyone watching practically lt on the spot.
Yuvika and Orman decided not to join them for lunch, heading back to their own classmates instead.
"What about you, Kevio?" Orman asked.
Kevio, the youngest among them, had beco much more obedient lately almost like a kid his actual age. "I’ll eat with my classmates too," he said honestly.
"Good," Orman said approvingly, glancing toward the group behind Gara.
What used to be a small group of four Class S students had now grown to seven, more than half the entire S-Class. Anyone who saw them together would feel instantly intimidated.
The seven of them walked side by side through the corridor toward the cafeteria, every gaze following their every step.
Not only were they all Class S students, but several were already well-known nas within the academy.
By the ti they entered the cafeteria, the group stood out even more— drawing stares, whispers, and open chatter from the students around them.
"Since when did Gara and Madha start hanging out with Revan?"
"Just look at them. There’s the entrance test’s top scorer, the creator of the Alrova products, this year’s top student and grandson of the vice principal, the younger sister of a third-year prodigy and the daughter of the Healer rmaid family Karina, a first-year who beat an instructor, and the son of the Forgearsly gno family."
"If Lysa Fenrir joined them, they’d basically have all the top Class S students in one group."
"Yeah, but Lysa’s a total loner."
"Think I’ve got a shot at joining them?"
"Keep dreaming."
"But look, there’s a short girl with them. I don’t recognize her."
"Who is she?"
Among all the admiration for the academy’s elites, curiosity began circling about the one unfamiliar girl walking with them.
"Mona, don’t lag behind," Andine called out with a smile. "These guys are all tall, you’ll get lost back there." She gently pulled Mona forward until she was walking alongside her and Gara at the front.
Mona, the ghost girl, gave a small nod.
"I’m really happy there’s finally another girl besides ," Andine said cheerfully, looping an arm around Mona’s shoulder.
Gara chuckled and shook his head. Still, he understood. Even though Andine always acted casually around the guys, deep down she must’ve wanted a female friend too.
anwhile, Mona looked uneasy. Soone who’d always been alone wasn’t used to getting this much attention.
They reached their table— already secured by Miki, who had arrived earlier at the cafeteria.
Normally, Miki would save seats for Revan and Jett, so this wasn’t anything surprising. Miki always knew which side to lean on.
With all eight Class S students gathered at one table, the attention of the entire cafeteria naturally turned to them.
Just one table away, Vania glared at the scene, her expression sour especially when she saw Mona sitting comfortably between Gara and Andine.
"Mona! What do you think you’re doing over there?" Vania suddenly shouted.
Heads turned. The entire cafeteria went silent, reminded once again of how loud and arrogant this particular Class S student could be.
"Get over here, right now!" she ordered.
Mona didn’t move. Her head hung low. The others at the table frowned, clearly displeased.
"Mona, do you need to remind everyone that you’re a ghost—"
"What’s wrong if she is a ghost?" Gara cut her off, his voice sharp. His gaze even sharper.
Vania froze, stunned that Gara had publicly defended Mona.
"Vania, you should know this," Gara continued. "In this academy, there’s no such thing as racial bullying. Everyone is equal."
"I wasn’t—"
Before she could defend herself, Gara interrupted again, faster this ti. "I know what you and your friends were planning. You tried to use the fact that Mona’s a Ghost to make her lose confidence, so she wouldn’t use her Talent during yesterday’s Class S Duel."
That ti, it wasn’t just Vania who looked shocked. Mona, the rest of the Class S students at the table, and even nearby students stared wide-eyed.
Sure, making dirty plans to take down a rival wasn’t unheard of but calling it out in front of everyone? That was rare.
And that’s exactly what had just happened to Vania.
"You did that, Vania?" Miki turned quickly toward the tiger girl.
Vania frantically shook her head, but her beastfolk friends at the table all lowered theirs. Their reaction said it all, Gara was right.
Revan, the class monitor, finally spoke up. "Vania, you’ve made plenty of mistakes before, but since those were all based on misinformation, I never took any serious action.
This ti, however, you deliberately conspired with students from another class to bring down one of your own. I can’t overlook that."
All eyes turned to Revan, waiting to see what he would do next.
"I’ll report this to Professor Langga," he said firmly.
"No!" Vania yelled. "I didn’t do anything!"
"We’ll see what Professor Langga says about that," Revan replied coldly.
...
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