With that in mind, Amos prepared to pick a crop that grew quickly, had obvious visible traits, and was preferably cheap and easy to obtain so the experiments could be repeated.
Amos quickly found a suitable target called Grass Apple.
It was a rather unusual crop, standing over half a person’s height and resembling a dandelion.
The difference was that instead of fluffy seeds, it produced apple-like fruits the size of eggs.
Its advantages were that it matured in three months and had many different traits.
Its fruits, leaves, flowers, and roots all varied.
Its disadvantage was that it had strict growing requirements, needing plenty of sunlight and large amounts of fresh water.
But for experiments, as long as it grew fast, this crop had no flaws.
And there was also a very suitable project for it: [Study the differences in Grass Apple growth in different regions and determine the causes.] ‘Gods are helping me!’ Amos immediately tore down the paper.
Just then, a girl’s voice suddenly sounded beside him.
“Wait!” Amos turned around and found an unfamiliar acquaintance.
“Sorry for bothering you so suddenly.
I…
I wanted to ask, are you still looking for people for this project?” Amos looked at the pink-haired girl with twin tails in front of him, then at the round white floating object beside her, and couldn’t help smiling.
“Do you want to do the research with me, or are you planning to feed the research funds to it afterward?” “Doo~” The fiercest Sky Descendant in Amphoreus let out a cry of surprise, while the girl awkwardly grabbed the corner of her clothes.
“Haha, is it that obvious?” “Doo!” “And you’re talking?
It’s because you eat too much!” The girl slapped the white ball to the side, then gathered herself and gracefully extended her hand.
“Hello, my name is Hyacinthia!
I’m currently studying in the Nousporists School!” Amos shook the girl’s soft hand and replied, “My name is Amos.
I plan to join the Lotophagists School.” The girl showed a bright smile.
“You’ll definitely make it.
I’ll tell you a secret.
The Lotophagists School actually likes practical scholars the most, because experiments involving plants often take a very long time.” “Like the project you just accepted.
It’s actually not difficult, and the Grove provides all the materials.
But because the process is boring and usually takes two or three years, very few people take it.” As she spoke, the girl lowered her head a little embarrassed.
“I saw that nobody took projects like these, so I wanted to use this method to feed Little Ica.
I didn’t expect…
hehe…” “It’s called Little Ica?” “That’s right, my best friend!” “Doo!” Out of respect for its strength, Amos nodded to Little Ica, but in Hyacine’s eyes, this only earned him extra points.
Because, just as she said, Little Ica was her best friend, but most people only saw Little Ica as a pet.
“I can share the project with you, but I have one small request.” “I’m from the countryside and never received a proper education.
Could you…
let me look at your textbooks?” “Sure~” Thus, the two reached an agreement.
With Hyacine’s help, Amos applied for the Grove’s scholar assistance program and was able to rent a small house with a bit of farmland near the Grove at a very low price.
After settling down, Amos wrote a letter to Cyrene.
Given the distance between the two places, he had expected to wait more than half a month for a reply.
Instead, only ten days later, the girl appeared in front of him.
“Ta-da!
Did you miss me~” Two days later, when the girl left the Grove of Epiphany again, Amos’s room had become just like it had been in Aedes Elysiae.
Time gradually passed.
During the day, Amos took care of the crops in the fields while carefully recording the effects of different environments on them.
At night, Amos would read the textbooks kindly provided by Hyacine and grit his teeth over the knowledge inside.
Because the Grove often sent Grass Apple samples from different regions, Hyacine would occasionally bring Little Ica over for a feast.
Amos would take those opportunities to shamelessly ask Hyacine questions and squeeze every last drop out of her.
Amos also made an agreement with Cyrene that they would meet once every month.
At first, Cyrene came to the Grove to see Amos.
But as Cyrene’s talent gradually revealed itself and her status as a Chrysos Heir became increasingly important, the Temple of the Three Aspects of Fate used various reasons to stop Cyrene from leaving the city.
So Amos became the one who traveled to see Cyrene.
Meeting once a month was completely unable to suppress the passion in the girl’s heart.
As a result, aside from the days they met, Amos received letters almost every day, letters the girl had sent half a month earlier.
Her handwriting was elegant and flowing, making it hard not to picture how happy she looked while writing.
Sometimes Amos would think that it would be nice if there were a universal network between the Grove of Epiphany and Janusopolis.
That way, feelings wouldn’t have to wait, and words wouldn’t become outdated.
And so, one year passed, and Amos’s project came to an end.
Hyacine volunteered to review Amos’s paper.
After half an hour of silence, Hyacine put down the paper and couldn’t help exclaiming, “What an exquisite paper.” “The structure is complete, the arguments are clear, and the references are used perfectly.
There’s not a single unnecessary sentence.
It’s practically the standard template for papers!” “You…
really wrote this for the first time?” Amos also relaxed.
He blew away the tea leaves floating in his cup, took a sip, and said, “It seems I have talent.” “More than talent.
If you ask me, you’ll definitely become the greatest scholar!” The girl’s praise made Amos blush a little.
The value of Preservation’s chosen one really wasn’t inferior to Memory’s chosen one.
And unlike Cyrene, Cyrene praised people because of the feelings in her heart.
She trusted her feelings more than the world’s judgment.
But when Hyacine praised someone, it was genuine praise.
She truly believed that the sky should be clear and that everything should be lovely.
So everyone was wonderful too.
There was no arguing with that.
‘After all, I really am outstanding.’ After calming himself a little, Amos continued, “However…
I don’t really want to submit this paper.” Hyacine looked puzzled.
“Why?” Amos didn’t answer directly.
Instead, he took out another unfinished paper.
Unlike the serious expression she had while reading the previous paper, this time Hyacine truly absorbed what she was reading.
Sometimes her eyes widened.
Sometimes she frowned in thought.
She would glance out the window at the fields, then glare at Little Ica flying around everywhere.
Little Ica was startled.
It looked at the serious Hyacine and thought for a moment before flying over to Amos and quietly asking: “Doo?” Amos couldn’t understand it, but he knew how to answer.
“Doo!” “Doo?!” “Doo doo!!!” “!!!” Little Ica’s horse-like face suddenly became long.
It was probably an expression of shock.
Amos didn’t know what it had understood, but he had managed to fool it.
Interrupted by the antics of the two, Hyacine couldn’t continue reading the paper.
She helplessly put it down, a trace of amazement in her voice.
“So plant traits aren’t random.
They can…” “Be inherited.” “That’s right, inherited.
That’s a very fitting word!” Speaking of the paper, Hyacine’s interest clearly increased.
“You don’t want to submit the paper because you’ve discovered this and don’t want to stop researching?” “That’s right.
Although it’s just an insignificant coincidence…” “It’s not insignificant at all!
Even though nobody cares about food right now, I always feel that…
one day people will fight because of hunger…” Amos put down his teacup and looked at the girl, whose mood had suddenly fallen.
“I understand.
The Black Tide is unstoppable.
My hometown was swallowed by it.
Vast stretches of land turned barren.
If even the Chrysos Heirs can’t find a way to stop the Black Tide…” Mentioning such a heavy topic, both of them felt the same.
But the girl never stayed depressed for long.
After a moment of silence, Hyacine raised her head again and showed a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you finish the research!”, As she spoke, the girl proudly raised her head.
“Don’t be fooled by how I look.
I’m Teacher Anaxa’s favorite student.” “Many people say Teacher Anaxa is hard to approach, but he’s actually very gentle.
As long as you explain how important your research is, he’ll definitely approve it!” Only then did the girl seem to remember something, and her voice became hesitant.
“However…
I’ll have to show this paper to Teacher first…” Amos smiled and quickly dispelled the girl’s worries.
“If I wanted to keep the discovery for myself, there would be no need to organize it into a paper.” Hyacine let out a sigh of relief.
Looking at Amos, her opinion of him rose again.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your research?
Don’t forget, you’re not a Grove scholar yet.
Whatever I say goes!” Amos pretended to hesitate and grabbed Little Ica, who was flying around nearby.
“That’s true.
How about this.” “You leave Little Ica with me.
If you steal my research, I’ll starve it.
I’ll make it so hungry it won’t even be able to fly!” Hyacine showed an expression that seemed to say, “You’ve already mentioned the benefits, what about the downside?” “Then it’s a deal!” Little Ica, which had been quietly watching the drama, suddenly got dragged into it and immediately questioned them.
“Doo?” “Doo?!” “Doo!!!” Interestingly, this time Amos actually understood what Little Ica was saying.
‘What deal?’ ‘That you definitely won’t steal the results?!’ ‘Or that you’ll definitely starve me until I become skinny!!!’ “DOOO!!!!!” (ANSWER ME, YOU TWO!!!!!) Seeing Little Ica suddenly become excited, the two looked at each other and burst out laughing.