Herbology Harvest and Budding Crushes
Herbology class—there might be a bunch of lectures in this subject, but I bet it's the least popular one.
"They say you can make a ton of money from it," Kali explained. The academy maintains the environment, so all sorts of herbs grow naturally in the wild, making them super valuable. But sweating under the blazing sun in our uniforms, yanking weeds out of the ground, it was hard to tell if we were nobles or just peasants.
Beatus was listlessly munching on grass like it was a snack, while Kali wanted to pick herbs but kept shredding them with her razor-sharp nails.
This was my chance to shine after the duel practice—coming from some rural backwater village—but aside from the basics, I didn't know squat about herbs. Instead, I was busy stuffing my basket with every edible weed I could find, tossing in mushrooms and berries for good measure.
"...Hey, lemme at least buy you some food," Beatus offered, but since Meru Lume had already insisted on treating me once and I didn't want to owe anyone, I turned her down.
"By the way, that's detachable, huh?"
"Well, yeah, it grows, but it's ugly when it does, so I cover it up."
Beatus explained that fur sprouting around her neck was a total disaster for a girl. She'd taken off the fluffy sheepskin(?) collar she usually wore around her neck and tied it to her waist. I was surprised to learn it wasn't because she was a goat suin—it grew because she was some kind of succubus breed.
"How's the first lecture just 'gather a ton of herbs'?"
The professor had let us loose to gauge our basic herb knowledge. Everyone was hustling around picking away, but honestly, telling herbs from random plants wasn't that easy.
<That's why you need me, your familiar!>
Grand Duke was beaking up everything—poisonous plants, edible bugs—and sorting them like a pro. Contracting with the first-gen Witchcraft for 30 years meant he'd done every odd job imaginable, and hearing him call himself a pro brought tears to my eyes.
He bragged about flying continent-wide to gather herbs for potions of all sorts, but his eyes weren't smiling at all.
"But why edible bugs?"
<"When you're a crow and folks say 'feed the crow bugs for dinner,' you get desperate.>
"Why didn't you just ask for real food?"
<"That's why we compromised on 'edible'!>
He hung his head, mumbling that frying them in a pan with oil made them tasty. He looked so pitiful that tears started streaming down my face.
After sorting herbs from poisons and edible ingredients like that, Grand Duke took one look at my tears and said,
<But seriously, how do you even see where you're going?>
"Dunno, I got used to it."
I explained that when I really wanted to see ahead, my bucket went transparent like X-ray vision, leaving Grand Duke with a blank stare.
Training my Witch powers was handy, but realizing my average score was a pathetic 7 made me want to hide my face in shame. Sure, I was lagging behind, but a 40-point gap to my friends up ahead? Was that even right?
Everyone had already written me off as flunking, and the professor was straight-up begging me to study hard and graduate within three years.
"My body's a girl's now, but I'm too busy studying every weekend to care."
<"Even so, no romance without the goods—what a tragedy.>
No ha-ha-ho-ho fun academy life with friends for me. I was chasing after pals who'd lapped me by miles, studying like a sparrow hunting a stork—every single day.
Classes ended, group homework with friends; nights alone in the dorm studying; weekends buried in the library... Perfect recipe for going insane.
<"Witch powers come from wisdom, intelligence, imagination... so yeah, being dumb puts you at a disadvantage.>
"Shouldn't it be better to go full brute strength since I'm simple-minded?"
<"Even that hand-using Okuyasu scores higher than you—straight up, you're on No Jin-goo level.>
"No idea who that is, but yeah, I'm dumb."
To scrape a good grade in Herbology, I was grabbing every edible plant and herb in sight. Even with Grand Duke's help, I had to pick them myself, so no rare valuables in my haul.
Beatus and Kali were in the same boat, so we were pondering what to do when—
"Um, over here!! Mind if I help out!!"
A cute boy with a swishing horse tail and perked-up ears came running over. Classmate, same year—I remembered him always sneaking glances at Beatus.
Kali was giggling "aww" at the brave kid chatting up Beatus.
Beatus herself was clueless, but this was Revo, the first-year caught in second-year Tsarara Diamond's rampage. The horse suin kid had fallen hard for the tough, beautiful Beatus who'd saved him that day.
Oh, what a sweet, heartrending, bittersweet tale of first love.
Grand Duke's drool started pooling. Chance to impress his crush and score points!
The boy's face screamed it. Even through his big glasses, his affection for Beatus shone bright... His head was probably swimming with fantasies of her admiring him as he shared his knowledge. Imagining the kid lost in rom-com protagonist delusions...
Grand Duke's mouth was watering like a faucet.
"I know all about these! I'm a Herbalist despite appearances!"
"Heh~ Herbalist?"
"Showing off 'cause you're hung like a horse? Why hit on me outta nowhere? Succubus thing? Naughty boy~"
Beatus poked fun with a sly grin, calling him a "horny little perv," and the poor virgin classmate froze solid.
This was delicious in its own way, so Kali and Grand Duke just snickered from behind without correcting her.
Coming to help out of goodwill and affection... well, it wasn't that far off. Kinda pervy, though, so when Revo realized his inner thoughts were busted, his face flushed beet red.
Soon his rose-red cheeks were hidden behind frantic palms as he bolted at top speed without a word.
"Beatus."
"Man, it happens sometimes. Dudes think succubi are easy marks."
"Nah, nah. Herbalist means herb expert. He probably wanted to repay you for saving him by helping out."
".....Oh."
Beatus scratched her head sheepishly, realizing her screw-up. He'd come to return the favor, only to get hit with "Aw, virgin thinks the damsel is easy?"
"That's gotta sting."
Beatus looked guilty, rubbing her jaw awkwardly, so Kali gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Then apologize? You can't say that to a friend trying to help."
"Y-yeah... Better clear the misunderstanding? Don't want weird rumors."
"Good boy, go flirt it up."
"?"
Beatus blinked at Kali's words, but Kali shoved her back—then straight-up hoisted and tossed her with one arm. Off Beatus went after Revo.
"Nothing beats watching a friend's love life. Wiyu... this is academy youth for ya."
"I'll never see it till graduation."
"You could have guys lining up if you wanted?"
"I'm not gay!!"
I pounded my bucket in rage, and Kali just nodded like oh, gotcha.
She muttered about Grand Duke having it rough, and the crow perched on her shoulder whispered low.
<That's the fun part.>
"Spill the tea sometime if you're free..."
<Tit for tat... Push the friend's romance so I can enjoy too.>
Beatus had no clue the ultimate shipping duo—now pure evil matchmakers—were plotting wicked schemes. I overheard from behind and thought about spilling, but it sounded like prime manga fodder, so I zipped it.
"Revo!"
"Eek, n-no!! I-I mean!! Yeah, I'm a virgin!! But that's not why I said it!!"
"Oh, uh... I didn't know. Being a virgin's not bad, right? I'm one too."
"Eek!"
"Why's he happy...?"
"Well, uh..."
Of course—who wouldn't be thrilled if their first crush was single too? But Beatus, oblivious beyond dense to straight-up blind, pulled the sheepskin from her waist.
"You seemed super weak to cold last time, so here—gift."
She kindly wrapped it around Revo's neck.
"Now your crooked tie's hidden too, huh?"
"Th-thank you..."
Beatus chuckled, poking at his sloppy tie from all the studying. When she asked if the pro herbalist could teach her friends too, the boy pulled out his haul.
His grades? Right then, who cared. He just wanted to look cool... reliable!! Handing over precious herbs with that vibe.
Thanks to him, flunkout Wiyu's Herbology score miraculously skyrocketed.
"Friend, thank you!!!"
"Why thank me...?"
Beatus was baffled, but deep down, she'd hoped to get closer all year. More herb class help that way.
<Mind's a mess, but with three shippers, the kid's gotta love it.>
Shady shipper count: two to three...!! The academy's romance future is bright!!