Chapter 75: Employment Contract

Chapter 75

Employment Contract

Celey’s words certainly shocked the students, but they didn’t grasp the significance as much as a true apothecary would. When everyone heard this...their legs nearly gave way and knelt down in reverence to the young girl in unison.

It didn’t take long to verify the potion’s properties. Finally, Celey smiled with satisfaction. It turned out that this low-level wound healing potion was indeed of the highest quality, even the bottle that had been contaminated with poison. This demonstrated that Ellie had perfected everything once again.

"This potion is flawless in every aspect, which means there were no mistakes in the concocting process, such as adding poison. Therefore, what needs to be investigated is who added the poison after Ellie’s cauldron was taken down." Celey’s revelation made many people gasped in surprise.

So, Ellie was cleared of suspicion, wasn’t she? She got through it that easily? Then who could have done this?

Many people gradually turned their gaze to the 1-star level apothecaries, who were looking at each other as if trying to figure out who was responsible. Meanwhile, some cast doubtful glances at the soldier who had lost an arm.

Wasn’t it this person who voiced the terrifying suspicion about the Setter family? Did this mean...someone intentionally did this to ruin the Setter family’s reputation? This wasn’t a small matter anymore. It’s a direct challenge to the power of a major family. Would a noble family tolerate being framed like this without taking action?

Who could be so foolish!

"Arrest all the 1-star level apothecaries who touched Ellie’s cauldron. I will personally interrogate them," Celey commanded sternly after proving that Ellie, a student from the institution, was not the culprit.

Although Celey was relieved that Professor Medik’s disciple was innocent, there was still a sense of loss within her. Well...She and the other apothecaries upheld the honor of their profession. The act of someone maliciously adding poison to a healing potion was a severe breach of their ethics and morals. It would tarnish the reputation of the association once again. While many strived to elevate the status of apothecaries, some repeatedly undermined it. Celey felt pity for Professor Medik, who worked tirelessly to demonstrate the true value of apothecaries. She wondered how devastated he would be if he knew about this.

Of course, these thoughts were Celey’s alone. If Ellie or even Professor Medik had heard them, they might have just shaken their heads and said, "ah...I don’t care about that reputation nonsense. If it weren’t my job at the institution, would I even bother?"

It was fortunate that Medik wasn’t there to hear these thoughts. A sharp-tongued, negative person like him might have said something to disappoint his fan, Celey.

The apothecaries exchanged glances, pointing at each other to identify who had touched Ellie’s cauldron afterward. It turned out that there were 3 of 1-star level apothecaries who had handled it.

Celey ordered the arrest of all three for interrogation regarding the incident. She stated that the crime was indeed severe, and the Apothecaries’ Association would not tolerate any injustice, especially regarding the near tarnishing of Ellie’s reputation. Celey personally bowed and apologized to Ellie, admitting part of the fault was hers since, as a 4-star level apothecary, she was responsible for overseeing the 1-star level apothecaries. Any misconduct on their part was also her responsibility.

"There’s no need for you to apologize, Lady Celey. This has nothing to do with the potion concocting for the soldiers. It’s the greed of a certain apothecary. No matter how much you try to control them, those who see 100 gold coins as more valuable than injured soldiers’ life will always find opportunities to cause trouble."

Ellie quickly waved her hand, not letting Celey continue bowing and apologizing. After all, Ellie already had a plan to expose the culprit. Well...If someone dared to scheme against her, they must also be ready to face the consequences, right?

"You speak as if you know who did it?" Celey raised her eyebrows. Thinking back, she recalled that Aman had previously mentioned the 100 gold coins, and Aman knew all that information from Ellie.

Aman knew that Ellie had the ability to track targets, a skill that had been verified by the faculty. Regan had even set up a test to prove the accuracy of her findings, which turned out to be perfect. Therefore, Aman had full confidence in Ellie’s information.

Unlike the soldiers and those at the aid camp, who were unaware of Ellie’s abilities, the soldier with the severed arm and the 1-star level apothecary looked at each other in shock. The 100 gold coins were supposed to be a secret between them and their employer, so how could it be repeatedly mentioned so confidently?

“Yes, I know who did it, and I also know who hired them.”

“Hmm?” Celey raised her eyebrows in surprise. What kind of ability could accomplish such a feat? The young girl in front of her seemed to have many secrets.

“You may not know this, but my ability is actually to track targets. Coincidentally, the level of the plant in my bond has risen to level 2, so I can now track up to two targets at the same time.”

The power assessment for a botanic magician primarily involved testing the bonded plant’s powers. Therefore, in the future, Ellie’s bonded plant levels would be tested anyway. After advancing to the second year, many teachers would need to evaluate students’ powers to guide their training correctly. It was alright not to care about this matter for the first-year student. Because the first year focused on basic knowledge, without the intense training of the upper years. Given these conditions, revealing the level of the purple mushroom now or later didn’t make much difference for Ellie.

It would be better if Ellie directed the development of the purple mushroom toward its tracking capacity. Previously, it could track 1 person, as it had tracked Nara, but now it could track 2.

This upgraded ability wasn’t bad at all, it might even be crucial for certain missions. Thus, Ellie emphasized the number of targets the purple mushroom could track rather than mentioning its other abilities, such as decomposition.

“A tracking ability?” Celey was greatly surprised. She had known Ellie had a unique talent for potion-concocting, and though she didn’t fully understand botanic magicians, she had assumed their power related to potion-concocting. She never imagined it included tracking, typically used in hunting.

“Yes, and fortunately, I noticed the suspicious behavior of 2 individuals. I had the purple mushroom track them, and it just so happened that I discovered all the secrets through this tracking.”

“You! What did you track!? Who did you track!? Who authorized you to do this?!!” The injured soldier was the most shocked. He was still trembling with fear from the current situation. With their scheme to frame the prey failing so utterly, his plans were in shambles. But more than anything...the revelation that she had this strange tracking power stunned him.

"You don’t need to be overly anxious, sir. You are not one of the people I tracked." Ellie smiled upon noticing his suspicious behavior.

"Lady Ellie should have tracked him. He looks the most suspicious."

"Indeed. Did you track the right person?"

"Someone definitely tried to harm Lady Ellie and the Setter family. From their previous words, if you tracked this soldier, you would know who did it because he seems the most suspicious."

Many students knew how well-regarded Ellie’s tracking ability was. So, when they heard she hadn’t used it on the most suspicious soldier, they were immediately disappointed.

However, Ellie didn’t let them stay disappointed for long. A playful smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. Before the soldier could relax, Ellie said something that shattered all his hopes.

"Even though I didn’t track him, I did track the person who was going to give him the 100 gold coins...So...why don’t you show us the cloth bag hidden in your chest and see if it contains the contract for the 100 gold coins?" Ellie smiled.

In truth, how could she not track him? Her spores now floated all over the area. Whoever Ellie wanted to investigate, she could see and hear everything. However, she said it this way to avoid suspicion. It would have been too strange for Ellie to suddenly suspect a soldier she didn’t know or hadn’t seen before. So, saying she tracked someone else first and then linked it to him was more plausible.

"Y-You!!!" The soldier’s eyes widened in shock. The fact that she mentioned the small contract about the 100 gold coins hidden in his chest was akin to sentencing him to death.

No matter how foolish he was, he knew there was no escaping this situation. His face turned pale green, and he wanted to cry out loud. If he begged for mercy now...would this seemingly naive woman accept his plea?

But upon reflection, Ellie’s gaze had been clear from the start! As soon as she arrived and heard his slanderous words, she had already made it clear that she wouldn’t let him go. The chilling look she had given him at the beginning was still vivid in his mind. Fear surged into the young soldier’s heart, leaving him at a loss for words.

"Lady Ellie is indeed impressive. Everyone knows how remarkable your abilities are. However, your abilities can’t truly be proven to everyone here. None of us saw what really happened. Even if he has a contract for 100 gold coins, how do you know what that money is for?"

When the soldier couldn’t defend himself, a student, fearing the soldier might confess everything out of fear, spoke up. Actually, he had anticipated that the person he hired might be caught, so he had already prepared an excuse for himself.

"You might wonder why I’m saying this, but I’ll come clean. I was the one who gave this soldier the contract for 100 gold coins. But that contract was for him to protect me with his life."

"Is it wrong for me to fear future dangers after so many incidents, even the protective barrier here was destroyed? I couldn’t trust that I would survive, so I hired him for 100 gold coins to protect me. If I make it back safely, the 100 gold coins would be his."

"I hope Lady Ellie won’t use that contract to paint me as a villain, will you?" The young man from the Hart family displayed a cunning smile. Although no one believed his words due to the clear evidence against him and his enmity with the Setter family, his intention to tarnish the Setter family’s reputation was evident.

Even so...his words managed to cover his tracks. If they accused him based on the contract, it would appear as a simple hiring for protection.

"Thank you for the information." While everyone thought Ellie had failed, the girl showed no sign of disappointment. She still wore the smile of a village girl, and even Aman shook his head at the other’s foolishness masquerading as cleverness.

For this girl...if she could heal his elder brother when the best priests, the best apothecaries, and the greatest light magician couldn’t, could her abilities be limited to just this?

And indeed, that was the case...

"But as I mentioned earlier, I tracked two people, and one of them is not “this soldier”... The information I got from this soldier was simply that I saw someone giving him the employment contract. However, the real information that will incriminate this soldier isn’t about the contract at all."

"The contract was just...to give a preliminary indication that my power is truly verifiable. It’s not just baseless talk as you initially thought..."

Ellie gave a cold smile. To everyone...this village girl’s smile suddenly seemed frightening. But in Aman’s eyes...it was incredibly captivating!

Go ahead! Entertained me more. Show me just how worthy you were to sit beside my brother on the throne!!