“Oh dear, poor child,” the elf said in her breathy tone. “You could get in if you wished, but you have to reject the acceptance letter because you can’t get that scholarship.”
She told me that I could leave, and I stood up just as someone banged on the door and barged into the room.
“Oh? We’re in the middle of an interview,” the elf said.
“This is an emergency,” the newcomer replied. “The private instructor in charge of the greenhouse fled, and the plants inside are in a dismal state.”
“Oh dear, what shall we do?” The elf was apparently a potions professor and had a trainee professor who taught students in the dorms how to care for the herbs. “Oh dear… And I’ve got classes tomorrow as well.”
She didn’t seem troubled one bit, but I decided to give a helping hand.
“Um, I might be able to revive those plants,” I said.
“Can you really?” the elf asked.
“Yes. I’m actually an apothecary, and I’ve raised quite a few herbs in greenhouses back home.”
I’d faced countless issues in Lawlife. The snow piled up and cracked the glass of my greenhouse, almost destroying all my plants. I often had to nurse my plants back to health and used a potion in lieu of fertilizer to aid their growth.
“Then can you show me what you can do?” the elf asked.
“Of course.” I nodded.
Hey, at least this’ll make for a good story back home. With that, I decided to lend a hand. The elf stood and clutched my hand. A magic circle appeared under my feet, and in a flash, I was teleported elsewhere. I found myself in front of a quaint English garden, and I was mesmerized by its beauty. There was a cabin, likely for managing the garden, and a large greenhouse.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“This is the garden of herbs used for classes,” the elf replied. “It’s called Garden Plant.”
Most of the herbs within the greenhouse were wilted when we stepped inside.
“How horrible…” the elf muttered.
“These are still salvageable,” I informed her.
“Do you need anything?”
“Water and magic stones should be good enough.”
I would’ve needed holy water for more severe cases, but the plants weren’t too far gone yet. Simple materials were all I needed. I scribbled down a magic circle with some chalk and placed water and magic stones that the elf prepared for me on top. Pale light filled the room, signaling that my spell was a success, and I summoned rain within the greenhouse.
“Rain upon us, Pluvia!” I cried.
My magical rain showered the wilting plants, enveloping them in a bright glow. The greenery burst back to life, regaining a healthy, vibrant hue.
“Ah, amazing!” the elf said.
After the wilted plants were as good as new in no time, the elf gripped my hands and praised me to bits.
“You’re very, very good! I see that now!” the elf gushed in her languid way. “I’d like you to join my lab! Ah, I know! I’ll pay your tuition, so will you manage this place for me?”
“Come again?” I asked.
“You spotted the caretaker cabin outside, didn’t you? You can live there and look after these plants while you attend classes.”
“I’ll live in that cabin instead of the dorms?”
“That’s right. Oh, don’t worry! This place is close to the main school building—far closer than the dorms. It’s just a short walk.”
Apparently, the private instructor was tasked with taking care of this place while they lived here, but they weren’t very good at taking care of the plants. Time and again, they caused the plants to wilt. As though to deal the finishing blow, it seemed this elf liked to work people to the bone, and thus, the job had a high turnover rate.
“I’ve got a magic tool for laundry, so you’re set there,” the elf went on. “For lunch, you can have your meals in the cafeteria. At night, I’ll give you some money so you can either make your own meals or eat out. Will that work?” She took out a bit of parchment and immediately drafted a contract.
“While you’re attending this school, you’ll tend to the herbs of the Garden Plant,” the elf said. “It’s a simple job, don’t you agree? I think this is an amazing deal for you, you know.”
“Urgh…” I groaned.
Can I do this? Frankly, I was worried about my competency and about the news that this elf liked to work people hard, causing many to quit. Since I was up against an elf, I couldn’t hope for reasonable requests that normal humans would usually make. But this is my only chance to attend this school for free! I have no choice but to nod my head!
“Um, will you allow me to work part-time while I go to school?” I asked.
“Go right ahead,” she replied. “So long as it doesn’t hinder you from taking care of these plants.”
“Can I grow my own herbs if I see any open spaces?”
“Sure, go for it!”
Usually, I would need express permission to go off campus grounds, but she informed me that if I just wanted to sell my potions to the pharmacy, I was allowed to use the exit at the back of the greenhouse and come and go as I pleased. I had much more freedom than normal students with scholarships.
“So? What do you say?” the elf asked in her usual, breathy tone.
“All right. I’ll take your offer.”
“I hoped you’d say that!”
The elf’s name was Whipp. She was 250 years old and had been a professor at the school for a century.
“I know your uncle as well,” she added.
“I-I see…” I muttered.
It seemed he was quite the problematic student, much to the school’s chagrin.
“I wonder how you will be,” she said.
“I’ll do my best so that I won’t drop out!” I replied.
“I’d like that.”
I signed the contract. I felt like I was making a deal with the Devil, but I tried to turn the other way. My tuition would be free, and that was far too lucrative a deal for me to pass up. In any case, I got in.
Professor Whipp went on to report back to the headmaster and negotiate the creation of my admittance letter. An hour later, she returned with the documents and handed them to me.
“I’ll buy you your uniform and supplies,” she said. “Don’t you worry about that.”
The uniform was woven with magic as well. It’d fit perfectly to my size the moment I put my arms through the sleeves, and it also had some defensive spells cast upon it to protect students from injuries. It was a very special school uniform.
“Is the uniform very expensive?” I asked.
“Well, it’s around ten gold coins, I think,” she casually dropped.
Isn’t that like a million yen in Japan’s standards? Scholarships could waive tuition, but students still needed to prepare uniforms and other supplies by themselves. I was extremely grateful that Professor Whipp would prepare everything for me.
“Hee hee, I suppose this is better than a scholarship,” she chuckled. “But as the contract says, if you fail to take care of the plants…”
“I know. I’ll be kicked out of school immediately, and I’ll need to pay you back for tuition fees, daily expenses, and dorm fees, correct?”
“That’s right. You’d best commit that to memory.”
I also had a curfew, and the professor might make unannounced visits to check whether I was following the rules. But those regulations weren’t out of the ordinary. If I attended school and studied diligently, I’d have nothing to worry about. I was glad that she wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable.
I had to return to Lawlife once, pack up my things, and return to the royal capital immediately. I was tasked with living by that greenhouse a month before the entrance ceremony to take care of the plants. The herbs I revived earlier were all harvested, and the soil had to rest for a while. Nothing would be planted, and I wasn’t needed there, but Professor Whipp told me that she would plant plenty of herbs by the time I returned to the royal capital in preparation for the new school year—she told me to be prepared to work hard.
“It’s five days by carriage to your hometown and five days back, isn’t it?” Professor Whipp asked.
“That’s right,” I replied.
“Then you ought to use this magic scroll if you’d like to return to the royal capital.”
The scroll was imbued with teleportation magic, and I happily took it in my hands.
“If you use this scroll, how long will it take before you can come back?” she asked.
“I would say about a week, ma’am,” I replied.
“Wonderful!”
Claire and Maris said that they had learned how to take care of our territory, so I was no longer needed.
“Then I’ll see you in a week,” I said.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” Professor Whipp replied.
We shook hands before we parted ways.