Chapter Thirty-Nine

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The final month before the competition seemed to go by so quickly compared to the two months before, not that I learned anything particularly interesting from any of the professors that occupied my time, but the mere fact that the competition was coming closer and closer, and even though I felt pretty confident, I also felt nervous, having never participated in something like this before.

"I've arranged it all, I'm coming with you to the competition and win or lose I'll be there for you. I already have my family's agreement to recommend you for permanent citizenship in the Valena Empire, but they said it has to wait until after the competition, I'm not sure if they're telling me the truth, but even if they aren't I can still hire you as one of my vassals." I blink at him in shock, surprised at how he said all of that in one breath, he said it so fast that I could barely understand him, though he had been quite busy the last few days as the competition was only a few days away now.

"Wait, you're coming to the competition? What about classes?" He smirks at me, shaking his head as if I just asked something foolish, but if I was right then the rest days weren't for another week, after the competition.

"You think they'd keep herbalism students in class when there is a highly anticipated herbalism competition going on? Even the professors want to watch, let alone the students. I will definitely be there, after all who will cheer for you when you win or comfort you if you lose?" I smile at him, happy to have such a dedicated friend in him, though I still truly didn't know why he even bothered with herbalism, he was rather abysmal at it.

"If I win, will you tell me why you insist on studying herbalism even though you're not very good and don't truly enjoy it?" He looks away from me abruptly, as if worried I'll see something on his face.

"I suppose if you win that's fair, but don't go complaining if you lose and I refuse to tell you." I smile at his teasing tone, he was usually such an honest person, so it was strange for him to keep something like this all to himself.

"You'll tell me one day win or lose." He doesn't answer, but his silence is answer enough, he would indeed give in one day, I just hoped I didn't have to wait that long, I was rather impatient to know what he was hiding from me. But it seemed like my time alone with him was ending, because Carina finally showed up, after being rather late to coming. "You're finally here, what took you so long?" She pants for air, her cheeks tinted from exercise, after she jogged over to us.

"I was getting your present." I look at her with confusion, what on earth was she talking about? It certainly wasn't my birthday, because one it had been two months ago, passed uncelebrated which had been fine with me, and two I had never told them when it was.

"What are you talking about? A present? For who, me?" Andreas seemed likewise confused which comforted me slightly, it meant I wasn't the only one who wasn't understanding it.

"Yes, for you, I certainly wouldn't get Andreas a present. It's a good luck gift for the competition in a few days, I know how you are so interested in aquatic plants, so I spent the last six hours fighting with the rarest one in the saltwater pool in order to get you a cutting." She pulls out a jar from nowhere, though it had likely been stored in her spatial ring.

I look at the squiggling tentacle like thing in the jar, and even though it actually looked a little disgusting, I was rather touched that she had gotten it for me, that she had noticed my interest and decided to put in the effort to get me something before the competition. "Thank you, that means so much. It's part of a Depth Dwelling Sninet right?" The image of the fully grown plant flashes in my mind, a ball of spikes that could open to reveal a huge mouth full of venom covered spikes to pierce and dissolve prey, with numerous tentacle-like appendages attached to it that can lash onto prey, injecting stingers filled with paralyzing poison, and then bringing the immobilized prey to their mouth to be slowly digested.

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