LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 13
“So what do you plan to make me do if it’s not making a baby?”
“It’s nothing special. Just check the situation in the forest whenever I want for the next three days, and that’s it.”
The attempt on the crown prince’s life occurs from the night of the first day to the dawn of the second day.
As the sun sets and darkness envelops the area, the crown prince, camping in the snowfield, is ambushed.
The royal guard knights rush to protect the prince, but the assassins are a tough bunch.
They fall into a stalemate, unable to easily take them down, and the guards find themselves immobilized.
The critical problem is that the assassins outnumber the guards.
Five knights have to fend off a total of twenty-two assassins.
Even if each knight handles four, there are still two left, and if even one knight falters, it could lead to catastrophe.
Fortunately, the prince knows how to fight, so the battle remains on an even keel.
However, the inexperienced prince creates a rift in the intensity of the fight.
Even if he could assist, the prince is the protected target and the prime target for the assassins.
In his eagerness to help, the prince makes the mistake of straying from the ideal formation.
The assassins don’t miss the opening, resulting in the sacrifice of one guard to protect the prince, leading to the feared disaster.
After that, a messy brawl ensues, and in the end, only the prince survives.
Yet, he is severely injured, and at a timing where he could die any minute, Nina appears with a ta-da!
Nina creates a mandragora potion to revive the prince.
However, since the prince is in no condition to drink the potion, Nina has to hold it in her mouth and transfer it to his lips.
It’s quite unpleasant that Nina has to give her first kiss to the prince, but there’s no helping it.
The prince has to survive for Nina to face the trials ahead successfully.
‘If there was a way to save the prince and pass the credit to Nina, that would’ve been great…’
Sighing with regret, I refocused on the conversation with Celestia.
“I just want to confirm, but you can check the forest’s situation right away with vision magic, right?”
“The entire forest is like my home and yard. Do you think I can’t see that much?”
“What about life detection and field projection?”
“Both are possible. However, projection magic consumes a lot of mana, so I can’t use it for long.”
“That’s fine.”
Anyway, the only area I had to keep an eye on was the north.
As long as I could keep track of the prince and Nina, along with the assassins’ movements, that would be enough.
I remember that nothing else significant was going to happen besides the attempted assassination of the prince.
“Can you show me right now as a test?”
“Sure thing.”
As Celestia waved her hand, a blue holographic radar appeared above her palm.
There were multiple dots in the center of the radar; counting them, it matched mine, Celestia’s, and the children’s.
It seemed to detect and display life responses widely from the center.
“Wait a second! There’s a life form approaching this way?”
“Where?”
Just as Celestia said, a point I hadn’t seen before was moving toward the cabin.
“Do you have an acquaintance who promised to come here?”
“No way. It must be a wild animal living in the forest.”
“Do you really think a wild animal could survive in this environment?”
“That’s definitely impossible.”
If it were one of the plants I encountered when I visited the witch’s cabin, even a tiger would turn into fertilizer without breaking a sweat.
Especially with spores that disorient one’s sense of direction, it was a dangerous area if the professors weren’t prepared.
“More importantly, I’ve set it to detect only humans, so I can guarantee it’s a person.”
“If that’s the case…”
Was there someone other than me who would come to Celestia’s cabin at this time?
Thinking back hard, one person suddenly came to mind.
A genius who could brew the antidote to remove the paralysis spores and carnivorous plants on the spot.
“Excuse me! Is there anyone inside? I got lost, can you help me?”
A male student was calling for help from outside the cabin without coming in.
It was Paul Richter, someone I had seen often at the Academy.
“Unlike other people sneaking around, you’re rather polite, aren’t you?”
“Shut it.”
“Haah…! With that pretty face of yours, you’d only get cuter as you got younger!”
“If you touch him, you’ll really lose your head, you know?”
“Why’s that?”
“…Because he’s my student.”
With a heavy sigh, I stepped outside the cabin.
Asking Celestia to take Paul outside was like handing a fish to a cat.
I was the only one who could deal with Paul, so I had no choice but to show myself.
“Paul Richter.”
“Huh? Professor Daniel?”
“Yeah, it’s me. You little brat, you blatantly ignored the safety warnings I emphasized several times before we set out.”
The warmth of our reunion was quickly put aside; discipline came first.
If a student made a mistake, it was better to correct it immediately.
If I missed the moment to scold, he might forget the seriousness of what he did wrong.
“Uh…! W-well!”
“Did my words sound silly to you?”
“I-I’m sorry! I got so caught up in collecting herbs that I ended up deeper in the forest than intended! I truly apologize!”
As I glared at him, Paul immediately bent over and sincerely apologized.
He seemed to have properly realized his mistake, so now it was time to take him outside.
But then a thought suddenly struck me.
What if a legendary witch who creates marvelous potions teamed up with an astonishing genius who could develop numerous elixirs?
In the original story, their relationship fell apart due to Celestia’s kidnapping and forced drug administration.
But this time, I had directly prevented the disaster and felt as though I could balance their relationship.
As a fan of the Legend of the Asha Flower, I was curious.
What would happen if Paul and Celestia collaborated?
Could I stop Paul from dropping out and just boldly go for it?
“Paul, follow me.”
“Huh? Professor? That’s not the way out!”
“Enough chatter, just follow me.”
“Y-Yes!”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back and dragged Paul into the cabin.
Celestia, who wanted to keep her residence hidden as much as possible, mocked me as soon as I stepped in.
“Looks like you really are an Academy professor. But my home isn’t a classroom, so what in the world are you thinking bringing him here?”
“P-professor!”
Celestia narrowed her eyes sharply as she expressed her hostility for bringing someone into her home without permission.
With the aura of a witch surrounding her, Paul clutched my arm tightly, clearly tensing up.
If this continued, Paul would refuse to cooperate with Celestia out of fear.
Since I had brought him here out of my own desire, I had no choice but to mediate.
“I brought him for a reason.”
“Oh really? Then how about you tell me how grand that reason is?”
“He’s going to be your assistant from now on.”
“Huh?”
“Professor?!”
Paul objected, pulling my arm as if to protest how I could decide that on my own.
I gently patted his shoulder while whispering.
“Listen closely, Paul. The person standing in front of us is the owner of this forest, a legendary witch who has lived for over a thousand years.”
“A legendary witch?!”
“Yeah, you were interested in potion-making, right? Don’t you think there’s a lot to learn from a witch?”
“Well, that’s true, but what if I get on her bad side?”
“Hey! Sometimes you have to take risks to achieve your dreams. And do you see that shelf behind us? All those potions were made by the witch.”
“Whoa…! You mean the witch made all those valuable potions by herself?!”
“Even after that, are you still not interested in the witch’s knowledge?”
With the sight of the potions, Paul’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
He was so mesmerized by the topic of potions, it was no wonder he ended up wandering into this place.
Anyway, now that we were so close, it was time to persuade Celestia.
“You want me to use that kid as my assistant? If it means giving him the rejuvenating elixir and taking care of him, I’d welcome him with open arms, but if not, I’ll decline.”
“He’s not just any kid; he’ll surpass you in the pharmacy field in less than ten years.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I’m not kidding. If you don’t believe me, why not test him out?”
“Fine!”
Celestia took a bottle containing a yellow potion from the shelf and held it out to Paul.
“If you can figure out what this potion is, I’ll accept you as my assistant!”
“It’s a Gender Transformation Potion, isn’t it?”
Paul answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Celestia’s expression changed as she twitched slightly, as if he had gotten it right.
More than that, hearing about a TS potion in this world was a scary turn of events.
“How did you know?”
“I had a similar experience when I was rummaging through my family’s hidden texts.”
“You mean you’ve made a Gender Transformation Potion before…?”
“Of course, it was a terrible result compared to the one made by the witch. Ah! But this potion still has room for improvement.”
“So you’re pointing out flaws in my potion right now?”
“Yes, look; the concentration is too high, right? That means if someone gets a serious shock, they could revert back to their original gender. If you mix in finely ground Benval mushrooms, it’ll disappear.”
“Benval mushrooms? That’s not a bad approach. But how will you handle the side effects of using Benval mushrooms?”
“That can be solved by mixing in a bit of Flipper Flowers.”
“Ooh…!”
As they began talking about things only they understood, I found myself unable to interject any longer.
Excluding the herbs mentioned in Asha Flower, I was nearly clueless.
While I felt a bit isolated, it wasn’t too bad watching Paul and Celestia work together.
What if a monumental masterpiece was born in the near future?
‘I guess I’ll just stick to watching the radar.’
The sun was beginning to set in the west.
Although I had time before the assassination operation against the prince commenced, it would be wise to check early.
First, I wanted to check Nina’s position.
‘Looks like she’s slowly heading north like in the original story.’
There didn’t seem to be any reason for concern regarding Nina.
Next, I checked the prince’s situation.
“…Huh?”
The prince, who should have been preparing to camp, was nowhere to be seen.
There was no sign of the prince in the northern region.
‘What on earth is going on?’
I removed my gaze from the north and shifted to the eastern region.
That’s when I detected an unusual life response.
One dot was dashing away, while five dots were chasing after it.
Using Celestia’s projection magic, the current state was displayed as a video.
The prince, bleeding and struggling to run, was being closely pursued by assassins.
“…”
This was the first time I had seen the faces of those involved in the prince’s assassination.
They were extras not described in the novel, and of course, this was the first time I was seeing them.
But among the assassins, I recognized one face.
A man dressed in black, unlike the others in white.
He moved differently from the other assassins and seemed ready to take the prince’s head at any moment.
But he didn’t do that. He was enjoying the situation as he slowly pressured the prince.
He was a man whose nature could only be assessed as cruel, but there was a simple reason he was so relaxed.
He had the ability to contend with the headmaster during the terrorism invasion episode in the middle of the Asha Flower.
Destiny had twisted, leading him to join the hunt for the prince.
“Damn…!”
To make matters worse, the prince was headed in the direction where Nina was.
If this continued, the prince would encounter Nina along with a throng of assassins.
I didn’t even need to imagine what the outcome would be.
“Celestia!”
“Holy crap! W-what? How do you know my name…?”
“I need your help.”
This was not the time to worry about the means.
*
‘Have I gathered enough yet?’
Nina was wandering through the forest alone.
She was picking up branches for firewood to put in the campfire.
‘This should be enough, right?’
Class F had formulated a strategy to stick together for three days.
Each person had their assigned role to survive, and Nina’s task was gathering firewood to ensure a warm and safe night.
However, engrossed in collecting firewood, she had wandered somewhat far from the group.
Realizing this too late, she hugged a bundle of branches and tried to hurry back.
If only someone hadn’t been groaning behind her.
“Urgh…!”
“Is someone there?”
Putting down the branches for a moment, Nina searched for the source of the sound.
Pushing through the bushes and crossing between the trees, she came across a sight that made her cover her mouth with her palm.
A man covered in multiple wounds and blood was bleeding profusely.
His rare blond hair was stained bright red, and he looked weak, devoid of vitality.
He was at the level where a call for help would be necessary, but the injuries looked so severe that he wouldn’t last long.
Unable to let it be, Nina dashed over to him.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh!”
Just lightly holding his hand caused the man to scream in pain.
Treatment was urgently needed, and Nina reflexively took out the mandragora potion from her bag.
It was said to be a potion that would regenerate any injury; it was the perfect moment to use it.
“…”
However, Nina hesitated to use the potion.
Naturally, the potion she held was a precious gift from Daniel.
She hesitated about whether it was alright to use this one precious gift on someone else.
‘I don’t want to use it…’
If someone else heard this, they’d probably think she was insane.
Considering that the injured person was the prince, it would create chaos for the entire country.
But Nina’s resolve was firm. She decided to save Daniel’s mandragora potion for as long as she could.
What about the injured person?
By chance or miracle, the power lying dormant within Nina stirred to life.
A gentle light enveloped Nina’s body.
The warmth of the light began to flow into the prince, whom she had been holding.
“Just hang in there for a bit!”
“Ugh…!”
A change occurred in the prince’s body where the light touched him.
The minor lacerations had already disappeared, and the bleeding wounds began to slowly heal.
It was recovery as good as the mandragora potion.
Nina let out a sigh of relief and smiled, while the prince gazed at her intently.
It was the moment a man fell in love.
“Ugh?!”
“C-calm down! If you move too much, your wounds will tear open!”
“Ugh…! R-run away!”
That only lasted a moment; the prince started convulsing, trying to move desperately.
However, his efforts only provided him with greater pain.
“What?”
“W-watch your back…!”
The prince’s consciousness finally faded after he reached his limits.
Meanwhile, ignoring the prince’s last warning, Nina turned around without letting go of his hand.
Behind her, a black shadow had silently approached.
A hideously ugly man was staring at her with a piercing gaze.
“Looks like my efforts to chase you down paid off.”
Thanks to this, I can kill one more cute girl.
With that, the man began to smile unpleasantly.
After having his laugh, he drew out a dagger from behind him.
Not having wiped the blood in time, the blade had hardened. Its cutting edge was not sharp, but that didn’t matter.
He thought it would be enough to slice the delicate neck of a girl.
“It was fun. Now, let’s call it a day.”
“A…”
The blade of the man’s dagger hovered over Nina’s neck, digging into her flesh.
Blood began to ooze out, almost to the point of being sliced.
At that moment, zzzzap!
With a loud noise, the empty air torn apart, and an arm popped out unexpectedly.
A hand gripped the side of the man’s face tightly.
From the tear in space emerged a pair of dark eyes, and a grim voice emerged.
“You need to play with me as well?”
With that chilling line, the man was sucked into the torn space.
Simultaneously, the long tear in space vanished as if it had never existed.
Clang!
But there was clear evidence: a bloodied dagger dropped beside Nina.
The overwhelming presence and power over space, along with the faint glimpse of those abyss-black eyes.
“Professor Daniel…”
It was the figure of her teacher, who had come to keep his promise.