The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 64: Recalling the 'Festival of the Vultures'

In mid-December, Scholar Heide's lessons were suspended. This, of course, wasn't due to any accident; it was simply because the winter break had arrived.

"During the coldest part of winter every year, to prevent any accidents from happening to students traveling, the school takes a break." Komea explained this to Tia. Before the break, the group of friends gathered for another meal.

The winter of the Rising Wind Season had finally arrived, though it wasn't as cold as one might imagine.

Sylutia sat before her dressing mirror, looked at her black-haired reflection, then pulled up her hood and walked out of her room.

Today, she wore a dark grey coat and calfskin boots on her feet, keeping her warm while retaining a touch of youthful, girlish charm.

Carrying two pots of Swan Orchids, Sylutia boarded the carriage waiting in front of the mansion, which then set off for the Adventurers' Guild in the city.

More than ten minutes later, the carriage stopped. Clutching one of the Swan Orchid pots, she stepped down, glanced at the still-bustling guild entrance, and walked inside.

The current temperature was around 10°C. While not terribly cold, many windows in the main hall were still shut to retain warmth, resulting in a stuffy and far from refreshing mix of odors inside.

Skipping the crowded central area of the hall, Sylutia approached the front desk from the side and found a staff member.

"Is Sister Mareen here, please?" She lowered her mask slightly, revealing a youthful face framed by her hair."She is, but she's resting in the back right now. Are you looking for her?" Seeing it was a cute girl, the staff member answered amiably.

"Yes. Sister Mareen helped me before, so I wanted to thank her this time." Sylutia had now taken her first steps into the world of gardening and had some free time.

"Ah, so you're Mareen's junior? I'll go get her." The staff member assumed the girl was a distant relative of Mareen's.

Soon, Mareen followed the employee out. As it wasn't her shift yet, she was wearing a deep brown long skirt with a thick coat draped over it.

"So it's Tia." She was a bit curious about why this girl had appeared before her again.

"Sister Mareen." The girl stepped forward to greet her and then explained her purpose.

"To think it went so smoothly." Mareen was somewhat surprised. She had originally thought this girl would need at least half a year to achieve any results and become a somewhat proficient Gardening Apprentice. As for becoming Lady Franne's student, she hadn't held out much hope, having seen too many failures before.

"It was probably just good luck." As she spoke, Sylutia handed the potted plant in her hands to Mareen.

"This is a Swan Orchid I grew. You were the one who gave me the seeds back then, Sister Mareen. I'm giving this to you." Although this plant hadn't fully condensed a complete Verdant Nectar Aspect, it wasn't far off. It emitted a faint, refreshing fragrance that dispelled the unpleasant odors in the air.

"This is..." Mareen took it and examined it carefully. Although she wasn't a Transcendent, she could still sense this Swan Orchid was extraordinary.

"This is... a Swan Orchid of exceptionally fine quality." She mentally estimated its value. If sold to one of those noble ladies, it could fetch over 30 silver coins—nearly half a year's salary for her.

"Mhm, I've grown quite a few Swan Orchids. This is one of them." Actually, before the break, Sylutia had already given one pot to Scholar Heide and another to each of her few close classmates.

"What a shame, I don't know any special care methods. I wonder if just normal watering will keep it alive." Mareen looked at the Swan Orchid in her hands.

"Normal watering is fine. If Sister Mareen finds it troublesome, you could also transfer it to someone else." If sold, it would be a nice sum of income for Mareen.

"In that case, I'll accept it gratefully."

Before long, the news that Mareen had received flowers spread throughout the Adventurers' Guild and began to morph.

"I heard it was a junior who gave them to her."

"Really? Giving such an expensive flower... I bet it's from an older brother or an elder who's too shy to give it himself."

"Mareen isn't married yet, that's true."

"Why can't it be that the girl likes Mareen? How can you all be so prejudiced?"

"Ahem, don't spread talk like that. Mareen will beat you up."

"But that potted plant really is strange. The air just naturally becomes clean when it's in a room."

"In that case, its value must be quite high. I wonder if it was bought from the Horticulture Guild or grown herself."

"Don't even mention the Horticulture Guild in Scorchstone City. Their skill is bottom-tier. For a real gardener, you have to go to Valley City."

After seeing Sylutia off from the Adventurers' Guild, Mareen gave her many more pieces of advice before returning. As soon as she got back, she overheard the various discussions among her colleagues.

"These guys, all they do all day is gossip." After some thought, she decided to teach the main instigators a lesson to stop them from spreading nonsense.

...

Leaving the Adventurers' Guild, Sylutia took the remaining pot of Swan Orchid to Winnie's home.

"Tia's here." As soon as she knocked, the door opened to greet her.

Walking in, Sylutia found Talier was also there. No wonder Winnie knew she was coming.

"Talier came over this morning and told me to prepare some good food to treat you." Winnie welcomed Sylutia with a smile and invited her to sit down.

Soon, she brought over freshly brewed hot tea. Talier scooted over too, asking her sister Winnie for the same tea.

"When I arrived, Sister wouldn't make tea for me. So biased~"

"You come over almost every single day. Do I still need to make tea for you?" Winnie gave her mischievous little sister a light knock on the head.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the three of them sat down.

"So it seems Tia is now living with Lady Franne and her life has stabilized."

Recalling the girl from three months ago who was new to the area, unfamiliar with everything, and still somewhat reserved, Winnie felt a wave of emotion.

"Since Tia has advanced to 'First Tier: Verdant Nectar,' are you aiming to follow the path of a gardener?"

"Yes. But some time ago, I told Madam that I wanted to go to the Hidden Grove, and she agreed." Sylutia mentioned her future goal.

"The Hidden Grove..." Winnie fell into reminiscence.

"Actually, back in the day, I also competed for a spot to go to the Hidden Grove. Of course, I was just there to make up the numbers." Her words immediately piqued the curiosity of the other two.

"What was the process like, Sis? You never told me about it before." Talier couldn't sit still.

"The process... since I only experienced part of it, it's not a complete picture." Winnie shook her head.

"The next round will probably be around January or February next year. When the time comes, someone will arrive in Scorchstone City. Then, Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Heide will submit their list of names."

"The other party will review the information on the list and then have those students participate in an on-site preliminary selection."

"The selection process usually sets three objectives. About one-third of the students can complete the first objective. About one-tenth can complete the second. As for the final objective, possibly no one completes it."

"If no one completes all the objectives, then they will choose from among the remaining students who completed the second objective. At that point, Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Heide can recommend candidates they deem suitable, who will then obtain the spots."

"The first objective I faced back then was to find a red-sting wasp nest in a forest and bring it back."

"Red-sting wasps? Aren't those the aggressive, poisonous hornets?" Talier remembered something.

"Yes. Just finding one required some luck, and you had to risk being attacked by the wasps to bring it back. So only five people succeeded."

"I had brought some 'Red Snow Powder' I made myself. It's a kind of flammable powder similar to gunpowder, which helped me subdue most of the red-sting wasps in the nest." Winnie took a small sip of hot water as she recalled.

"However, during the process of retrieving the nest, I still got stung. Because of the poison, I collapsed into unconsciousness as soon as I barely made it back to the base camp. It was only after Teacher Heide administered an antidote that I gradually woke up."

"The second objective was to single-handedly slay a 'First Tier Beast' that was entrenched in the forest. Only two trainees completed this task, and they paid a heavy price for it."

"As for the third objective... on the high cliff at the forest's edge, there was a nest of gale hawks. To complete the objective, you had to obtain one of their eggs."

"Gale hawks, Talier, you should know about them, right? They are ferocious birds of prey with the Blazing Sun Aspect that appear when the heatwaves of the Rising Wind Season are at their peak. They rarely appear alone, often showing up in groups. They are exceptionally fierce and vicious, even more dangerous than Crimson-Stained Wolves."

"The appearance of these vicious birds symbolizes the most unbearably hot period of the Rising Wind Season, so it's also called the 'Festival of the Vicious Hawks.'"