The Cornflower Witch Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Recalling the ‘Vulture Festival’

In mid-December, Scholar Hyde’s classes were temporarily suspended. This was, of course, not due to any accident, but because the winter break had arrived.

“Every year, during the coldest part of winter, the school takes a holiday to prevent any accidents from happening to students traveling,” Komia told Lia. Afterwards, the group had another dinner together before the holiday.

The winter of the Aurora Wind Season had finally arrived, but it wasn’t as cold as imagined.

Hylial sat before her dressing table, looked at her black-haired reflection in the mirror, then pulled up her hood and left the room.

Today, she wore a dark grey coat and small cowhide boots, keeping her warm while also retaining a touch of girlish charm.

Holding two Swan Orchids, Hylial boarded the carriage in front of the mansion and headed towards the Adventurers’ Guild in the city.

Ten minutes later, the carriage stopped, and she stepped out with one Swan Orchid pot. After a glance at the still bustling guild entrance, she walked inside.

The temperature was currently around 10°C. Although not exactly cold, many windows in the hall were closed to maintain warmth, which made the air inside rather stale and not refreshing.

Navigating around the crowded central hall, Hylial approached the front desk from the side and found a staff member.

“Is Marilyn sister here?” She pulled down her mask slightly, revealing a somewhat naive face between her strands of hair.

“Yes, but she’s resting in the back right now. Are you looking for her?” Seeing a cute girl, the staff member replied amiably.

“Yes, I asked Marilyn sister for help before, so this time I want to thank her.” Hylial was now a novice Gardener, with some free time on her hands.

“Oh, so you’re Marilyn’s junior? I’ll call her.” The staff member thought the girl was Marilyn’s distant relative.

Soon, Marilyn came out with the employee. As it wasn’t her work time yet, she was wearing a dark brown long dress with a thick coat draped over it.

“Oh, it’s Lia.” She was a little curious to see the girl in front of her again.

“Marilyn sister.” The girl stepped forward to greet her and explained her purpose.

“That smoothly, huh?” Marilyn was a bit surprised. She had originally thought that this girl would take at least half a year to achieve anything, to become a more skilled gardening apprentice. As for becoming Madame Faran’s student, she hadn’t held out much hope, having seen too many failed examples.

“Perhaps I was just lucky.” With that, Hylial handed the potted plant to Marilyn.

“This is a Swan Orchid I grew. Marilyn sister gave me the seeds back then, so I’m giving it to you now.” Although this plant hadn’t fully condensed the ‘Jade Nectar’ aspect, it was very close, emitting a faint fragrance that dispelled the strange odors in the air.

“This is…” Marilyn took it and examined it closely. Although she wasn’t a transcendent, she could sense the extraordinary nature of this Swan Orchid.

“This is… a very high-quality Swan Orchid.” She mentally estimated its value. If sold to noblewomen, it could fetch over 30 Silver Coins, which was nearly half a year’s wages for her.

“Yep, I grew quite a few Swan Orchids, and this is just one of them.” In fact, before the holiday, Hylial had already given one to Scholar Hyde, and a pot each to a few other close classmates.

“What a pity, I don’t know how to care for plants. I wonder if it will survive with normal watering,” Marilyn said, looking at the Swan Orchid in her hands.

“Normal watering is fine. If Marilyn sister finds it troublesome, you can also transfer it to someone else.” If sold, this would be a considerable income for Marilyn.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll accept it.”

Not long after, the news of Marilyn receiving the flower spread through the Adventurers’ Guild, and it began to morph.

“I heard a junior gave it to her.”

“Really? Giving such an expensive flower, I think it’s probably from an embarrassed brother or elder.”

“Marilyn isn’t married yet, indeed.”

“Why can’t the girl just like Marilyn? Why are you all so biased?”

“Cough, cough, don’t spread such rumors, Marilyn will beat you up.”

“However, that flower is indeed unusual. The air in the room became naturally purer when it was placed there.”

“So, its value must be high. I wonder if it was bought from the Gardeners’ Guild or grown by herself.”

“Don’t even mention the Gardeners’ Guild in Burntstone City; their skill is mediocre at best. For true gardeners, you have to go to Valley City.”

After seeing Hylial off from the Adventurers’ Guild, Marilyn gave her many instructions before returning. Now, she heard all sorts of discussions among her colleagues.

“These guys, all they do is gossip.” She thought for a moment, then decided to teach a lesson to the main instigators, lest they spread more rumors.

…

After leaving the Adventurers’ Guild, Hylial took the remaining pot of Swan Orchid and went to Winnie’s house.

“Lia is here.” As soon as she knocked, the door opened, and she was welcomed in.

Stepping inside, Hylial found Talil there as well. No wonder Winnie knew she was coming.

“Talil came this morning and asked me to prepare good food to treat you.” Winnie welcomed Hylial with a smile and then asked her to sit down.

Soon, she brought over brewed hot tea. Talil also came over and asked her sister Winnie for the same tea.

“When I came, sister wouldn’t make tea for me. You’re so biased~”

“You come almost every day, do you still need me to make you tea?” Winnie tapped her playful sister.

The three exchanged brief pleasantries, then sat down.

“So, Lia is currently living with Madame Faran, and her life has settled down.”

Recalling the girl who had been shy and unfamiliar with her surroundings three months ago, Winnie felt a bit emotional.

“Since Lia has advanced to ‘Level 1 – Jade Nectar’, is she aiming to pursue the path of a Gardener?”

“Yes, but I told Madame Faran a while ago that I wanted to go to the Hidden Grove, and she agreed.” Hylial mentioned her future goal.

“Hidden Grove…” Winnie fell into thought.

“Actually, I also participated in the competition for a spot in the Hidden Grove back then, though I was just there for the ride.” Her words immediately piqued their curiosity.

“So how did it go? You never told me about it before, sister,” Talil quickly sat up.

“As for the process, since I only experienced part of it, it’s not very detailed,” Winnie shook her head.

“The next one will probably be in January or February of next year. At that time, people will come to Burntstone City, and Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Hyde will submit the list.”

“The other party will review the information on the list and then have these students participate in an initial selection on site.”

“The selection process usually has three objectives. About a third of the students can complete the first objective, about a tenth can complete the second, and perhaps no one completes the last objective.”

“If no one completes all objectives, then candidates will be chosen from the remaining students who completed the second objective. At this point, Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Hyde can recommend individuals they deem suitable, who will then receive a spot.”

“My first objective at the time was to find a Red Bramble Beehive in a forest and bring it back.”

“Red Bramble Bees, aren’t those poisonous and very aggressive hornets?” Talil recalled something.

“Yes, just finding one requires some luck, and you have to risk being attacked by the Red Bramble Bees to bring it back. So only five people completed it.”

“I was carrying my self-made ‘Scarlet Snow Powder’ at the time, which was a kind of gunpowder-like incendiary that helped me subdue most of the Red Bramble Bees in the hive.” Winnie took a small sip of hot water as she recalled.

“However, during the process of retrieving the hive, I still got stung. Because of the poisoning, I barely made it back to the outpost before falling unconscious. It was Scholar Hyde who detoxified me, and I gradually woke up.”

“The second objective was to single-handedly kill a ‘Tier 1 Beast’ entrenched in the forest. Only two students completed this mission, and they paid a heavy price.”

“As for the third objective, there’s a nest of Vultures on the high cliff at the end of the forest. To complete the objective, you have to get a Vulture egg.”

“Vulture, Talil, you should know that. They are ‘Blazing Sun’ aspect fierce birds that appear during the peak heat of the Aurora Wind Season. They often appear not just one, but in multiples, exceptionally vicious and more dangerous than the ‘Crimson Cloak’.”

“The appearance of these fierce birds symbolizes the hottest and most arduous period of the Aurora Wind Season, hence it’s also called the ‘Vulture Festival’.”

(End of chapter)