Chaos in the Greenhouse

The “confession incident” ended in a fizzle, cut short by the professor arriving at the training grounds right on time.

After briefly showing surprise at the unusual commotion, the professor quickly determined that nothing dire was happening, restored order, and proceeded with the lesson. Consequently, Ensi—who now had no choice but to participate instead of slacking off—wrapped his palm around his neck, which felt chilly as his sweat cooled.

“The reason everyone’s staring is partly your fault, too,” Lily said, her voice bright and cheerful as she fell into step beside him on the way to his quarters.

“I know.”

“But does it really matter?” she added with a shrug.

Ensi let out a weary sigh. “It matters in the sense that you poured oil on the fire.”

“Well, there’s that.”

She didn’t deny it; she nodded in agreement. In fact, she realized—somewhat belatedly—that her actions hadn’t just poured oil on the fire, but had effectively fanned the flames as well.

“And Lily, I’ve told you time and again: you have a habit of getting tunnel vision when you’re excited.”

“Nag, nag, nag.”

“You said more than was necessary. You know it, too.”

“I know, I know. But what can I do if I can’t fix it?”

Since everything Ensi said was perfectly accurate, Lily could only grumble with a pout.

Ensi finally pulled out his pipe, his condition not improving with medicine alone. He expertly tucked the stem between his fingers, packed the leaves, and lit a spark.

“Fix it. It’s a flaw.”

“…Ensi, are you mad?”

When Ensi spoke with more firmness than usual, Lily finally began to read his mood. Even though Ensi clearly noticed her shifty eyes, he continued walking in silence.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to restrain myself a bit more, just like you said.”

So, can you stop being mad?

Lily’s apologetic smile was tinged with genuine flustered concern. Noticing the emotion she usually hid with a single glance, Ensi let out a faint sigh.

At that short signal, Lily’s face brightened instantly. She possessed an uncanny ability to recognize that sigh as a sign of forgiveness. Her footsteps, which had lost their vigor, regained their original bounce. Eventually, she even began walking a step ahead of him.

“Should we gather the others?”

“I wonder.”

“It’s a bit cold-hearted to let them hear it through rumors. We’ve probably shared enough secrets to build a whole kingdom by now.”

Whether that was an exaggeration or the truth was debatable, but the weight of the secrets they shared was indeed heavy. Eventually, Ensi gave a slow nod. Humming a tune, Lily pulled out the hairpin that had been holding her hair in place.

“Aaah— interesting incident occurred. Meeting today at Ensi’s place.”

She habitually pressed a gemstone ornament to record her voice, then pressed it again to transmit the message through the artifact linked to the hairpin. Having finished the process, Lily gazed at the hairpin with loving eyes, stroking it with an affectionate touch.

“No matter how many times I use it, this artifact is a masterpiece. It’s exciting and thrilling every single time.”

“Sure. Congratulations.”

As a member of the generation that grew up watching Detective Conan, Lily was the one among the club members who utilized her artifacts most enthusiastically—having pushed to have gadgets made like the Junior Detective League’s badges.

While Ensi habitually brushed off Lily’s fangirling, he twitched an eyebrow at her recording.

“By the way, Lily. An ‘interesting incident’?”

“Ah, oops.”

Having accidentally spoken her true thoughts, she quickly tapped her lips. Her attempt to signal a slip of the tongue only made Ensi’s eyes narrow further.

“Can we just move past the small details?”

Lily laughed with a slight scrunch of her eyes and looked away, pretending to tidy her messy hair.

“I wonder when they’ll get here. Ah, Luke was in class, right? Donovan will be tending to the Sun Grass… Cyril might actually find it hard to come this time. Ah, and Titania too. She’s in the middle of dealing with those mages.”

Having finished fixing her hair, she began rambling about the other members. It was a transparent ploy to change the subject, but Ensi clicked his tongue and let it slide. He lacked the energy to pick apart every detail when the burning herbs weren’t even soothing his body yet.

After Ensi and Lily had settled in the greenhouse for about two hours, all the club members had gathered.

One by one, those who visited the greenhouse naturally carried artifacts that emitted a chill. Consequently, Ensi moved away from the group and took his place in the very center of the Sun Grass clusters. Despite the dirt floor, Ensi didn’t mind; the warmth touching his skin was far more important.

“So? What’s the ‘interesting’ news?”

Luke, rolling up his sleeves in the suffocating heat, stirred his mana to spread a wide breeze. Because he had placed a cooling artifact in the path of the moving wind, the air brushing against their skin was cool, unlike the sweltering atmosphere.

“I know, right? Another incident so soon. This year feels even busier than the last.”

Cyril, fanning herself, brightened at Luke’s magic and moved into the path of the breeze. Titania followed her, pressing an ice-cold artifact to the nape of her neck.

“Since Lily called us… was it Agniele? Isn’t it something related to that male lead?”

It was a rough guess, but a sharp one. Ensi’s eyebrow twitched at the mention of Agniele’s name. Donovan, wearing a straw hat, put down his trowel and tilted his head at the reaction.

“Looking at Ensi, it seems she’s right. But you don’t look happy, Ensi. Did something happen?”

“Donovan, I’ll explain everything, so look at the Sun Grass later and come sit here for a second. You might be so shocked you’ll make a mistake if you hear me while working.”

Knowing that Donovan cherished the Sun Grass dearly, Lily patted the spot next to her and called him over. Donovan looked even more puzzled but eventually complied. The spirits that helped him tend the Sun Grass moved gracefully along with his footsteps.

As the protagonist of an adventure story, he was one of the few spirit summoners on the continent—and an exceptionally talented one at that.

“Wow— it really is cooler around Donovan. Having spirits help is on another level.”

As soon as Donovan sat next to her, Lily marveled at the sensation of her lungs finally catching a break from the heat. Since everyone gathered in the circle felt it too, their expressions became much more relaxed.

“Then, moving on, I’ll get straight to the point. Ensi got a confession.”

Lily, who had been waiting for everyone’s attention while fanning herself with her hand, spoke once she was sure they were focused on her.

“—No way!”

Contrary to her light tone, the impact of her words was significant. A wave of confusion, the kind felt when encountering an incomprehensible concept, washed over the members.

Luke, whose mana wavered at the unexpected news, only regained his senses after the spell he was casting started acting up.

“Ouch—.”

He quickly stabilized the magic, but for a split second, the wind’s trajectory had faltered, causing Titania’s hair to whip against her cheek. Titania, having been slapped by her own hair, pouted and clutched her cheek.

“Oh dear, Titania. Does it hurt a lot?”

“I’m sorry. Are you alright?”

While Cyril regained her senses at the short cry and reached out to hold Titania’s cheek, Luke also offered his apologies.

“Mm-hm, I was just surprised. More importantly, what do you mean Ensi got a confession? Ah, wait, that’s not it… Right! Who confessed?”

Titania, shaking her head to show she was just startled and not hurt, couldn’t overcome her curiosity and pressed Lily for an answer. Her words stumbled over each other in her haste, and she tapped her lips lightly in frustration.

“I’ll tell you who it was later. After I tell you how he confessed.”

“—That’s mean!”

Lily giggled mischievously, merely shrugging at Titania’s complaint. She was the type of person who saved the strawberry on top of a cake for the very last bite.

“Lily, are you going to keep teasing us?”

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll tell you now. Actually, there isn’t much to say. As you all know, we had class at the training grounds today and—”

Just as Lily was about to give in to Cyril’s urging, she reflexively turned her head at the sensation of a cold water droplet hitting her cheek.

“…Holy crap. Wa-wait! Donovan! Snap out of it, hey!”

Lily shouted in horror at the sight she faced when she turned her head. At her scream, the members reflexively scrambled to their feet and fled from Donovan’s side.

“The Sun Grass is going to get crushed at this rate!” Titania cried out, stomping her feet in panic as she realized the plants were being damaged.

“Damn it… look at the spirits instead of that.”

“—Hiccup!”

Following Luke’s mutter, Titania checked the spirits around Donovan and immediately started hiccuping.

The spirits that had been playfully lingering by his side had lost their cute, fairy-like forms as Donovan became flustered, revealing their raw, elemental natures.

In synchronization with the spirits’ forms, the surroundings alternated between becoming as hot as flowing lava and as cold as a glacial sea. Fierce winds blew as if a typhoon were arriving, and the ground shook as if an earthquake were about to strike.

“Donovan, stop! Hey!”

A mess? No, a word like that couldn’t define this situation. It was pure chaos.

“Cyril, Titania! You two, move further back!”

Luke, possessing a relatively calm temperament, sent the two more vulnerable members back and charged toward Donovan, coating his body in protective mana.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”

Why on earth did the author of this adventure story set the spirits to react so sensitively to Donovan’s emotions! Lily cursed the author in her mind as she joined Luke’s efforts to calm Donovan down.

“Haha.”

Ensi, who had been sitting away from the commotion near the Sun Grass clusters, let out a hollow laugh.

“What a total shitshow.”

It was blunt, but no other phrase could describe the situation more cleanly.