This Time, I Am A Mob's Potions Teacher Who Has Become Engaged To The Mastermind Of The Otome Game - 6
The next morning, as I stepped out of the prep room, there was Noel again.
The prep room was in a quiet part of the school, so it was clear he was waiting for me.
“……”
“……”
Neither of us could say anything.
Noelle just stared at me. Maybe he was too distracted by my imo jersey (potato tracksuit) to say anything, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes.
I have to say something.
I knew that in my head, but the words got stuck in my throat and wouldn’t come out.
What should I do?
“Jill, let’s go.”
“H-Hey, brat!”
In the end, the time to depart for the field trip had arrived, and I just walked right past him.
“Hey, brat. Ignoring your master now, are you? Gotten pretty bold, haven’t you?”
“Shut up. It just wasn’t the right atmosphere to start a conversation.”
I really thought I’d be able to talk to him calmly today… So why did it go wrong again?
Why is this happening? I didn’t realize I could be this stubborn.
◇
We gathered in front of the school gate, boarded the griffon carriage, and headed to the Forest of Finis, located near the royal capital.
At night, a thick mist rolls into the forest, making it an inconvenient place for humans. But for Gardenia, it’s the perfect natural habitat.
“Everyone, be careful as you walk!”
The soil here holds a lot of moisture, making the footing quite poor. It felt like you could slip and fall at any moment.
From here on, we split into groups.
I made sure to form the teams so that nobles and commoners were mixed together.
Now, let’s see what happens.
As I observed, Sarah nervously approached Isabel from her group.
“U-Um… Miss Seraphine, could you please teach me more about Gardenia?”
“But of course. Now come along.”
When Isabel said that, Sarah’s smile bloomed like a flower.
At a glance, it doesn’t seem like Sarah has made much progress with any of the romance targets yet.
But she’s clearly grown closer to Isabel. Ever since the incident in the botanical garden, they’ve been seen together more often.
Isabel may be called a villainess, but really, she just speaks bluntly and acts strictly. When Sarah, a commoner, ends up alone with an engaged nobleman, Isabel steps in to scold her—but she means well.
It’s just that her sharp tone causes misunderstandings. That’s the only real flaw, and it’s such a shame.
She was raised strictly to be Alois’s fiancée, so she’s hard on herself and others alike.
“Miss Lufier, would you please stop approaching Lady Isabel so casually?”
“B-But… I’m in the same group as Miss Seraphine, and this assignment is about working together to find Gardenia, right?”
Isabel’s friends showed up, glaring at Sarah.
Ah, if I don’t step in, this is going to get messy again… And just then, Dona butted in.
“So what, you’re saying commoners can’t talk to nobles? We’re the ones who don’t want anything to do with you!”
Stop pouring fuel on the fire.
With that one comment from Dona, tensions flared dangerously.
“Hey, stop arguing and focus on the assig—”
As I tried to intervene, I tripped over something and fell flat on the ground.
I landed face-first, my right side sinking into the mud.
“S-Sensei! That root just suddenly popped out of the ground!”
Sarah had turned pale.
A moving tree root. The moment I heard that, I had a bad feeling. When I looked down, the root was gone. Instead, the ground shook, and a huge tree appeared from deeper in the forest.
“H-Hey, brat. This is bad.”
“Yes. It’s a Treant.”
It must’ve roused the surrounding trees into action.
At first glance, Treants look like ordinary trees, but they’re a completely different being. They’re a kind of forest spirit.
They usually blend in with the trees and rarely approach humans like this.
“Um… does it look angry?”
Sarah’s voice trembled.
“Yes. Its eyes glowing red means it’s agitated. It won’t listen to us now.”
We mustn’t provoke it.
But someone screamed out in fear.
“Stop that! Treants hate noise!”
Isabel tried to calm things down—but it was too late.
The Treant’s red glow intensified as its rage burst forth.
“Humans… not forgiven. Humans… ruin forest.”
Its speech was broken, but its message was clear.
“We only came to gather Gardenia! Humans come every year, don’t they?”
I pleaded, hoping it would see we meant no harm. But it didn’t listen.
“Two days ago… humans came. Humans ruined forest. I… fixed it.”
That wasn’t us—but it didn’t seem like it would believe me anyway.
I had to protect everyone.
But when I tried to stand, a tree root wrapped around my ankle and pulled tight.
“Everyone, run!”
“We’re not leaving you behind, Specs!”
Dona raised his voice and was about to use fire magic—thankfully, Alois stopped him. Sure, fire is a Treant’s weakness, but it would only make things worse now.
“We have to persuade it,” said Isabel, biting her lip in frustration.
“But it’s not listening. What do we do…?”
Sarah was on the verge of tears—when we suddenly heard the flap of wings.
Looking up, a griffin descended from the sky. Riding it… was Noel.
“N-Noel?!”
“I told you not to leave the school without me. Seems like problems always find you when I’m not around.”
That’s not fair. I’m not the problem—it’s these troublemakers.
That’s what I thought… but the moment I saw his face, I felt strangely relieved.
“Treant, we are not here to harm your forest. Let me prove it—by healing the land.”
Noel signaled the students, and together we all cast healing magic.
A bright light enveloped the forest, and when it faded, the greenery had become more vibrant than ever.
The Treant said nothing, but it released my foot. It was no longer angry—and quietly disappeared into the woods.
“Thank you, everyone, for working together to help.”
Despite their fear, they didn’t run. They tried to help me. I was genuinely grateful.
“Let’s remember the three tenets of Oria Magic Academy: ‘With compassion, strive together with your comrades.’ Your classmates are valuable partners who help you grow. With different values, status, and experience, you can support each other to build a new future.”
Everyone fell silent.
Maybe it really is difficult to overcome class differences that easily. But we’ll take it slow—step by step.
That’s what I was thinking… but it seemed my words reached them.
When the Gardenia search resumed, Dona actually went and talked to Isabel so they could look together. The other students followed suit, cooperating without conflict.
In the end, even Noel helped with the search.
Especially the girls—they were clearly delighted he had come.
I have to thank him properly.