Trust Me
The situation that unfolded seemed to be exactly as the professors concerned. Despite their orders not to discuss the incident where students’ clothes were seen gradually disintegrating into thin air, the tale spread widely. Even if they remained silent in front of the professors, the students still talked amongst themselves.
Ellie leisurely enjoyed her meal, acting as though she was uninvolved, despite everything being her doing. As Ellie was relishing her 2-gold-coin meal, a petite, almost glowing figure approached her.
"Ellie, what...is this?" Nara was surprised to find her village friend sitting in the cafeteria with such an extravagant meal. If she remembered correctly, this meal cost more than 1 gold coin—how could Ellie, who had nothing, afford such luxury?
Ellie looked at her best friend who suddenly rushed toward her unannounced. Surely, if Ellie had known Nara would be there at this time, she would have chosen another moment to find food.
"This? It’s from the savings my parents left behind."
"Savings?" Nara raised her eyebrows in shock. How had she not known that Ellie’s family had such substantial savings?
"Yes, my parents had hidden it in the house all along. When I knew I had to study far away, I brought the money with me."
"How much money...are we talking about?" Nara probed, which would have been considered impolite if it were anyone else. But she feigned innocence that she was unduly curious, also pretending to be concerned for Ellie.
"Not much," Ellie dismissed casually, but she noticed Nara’s eyes shimmering with discontent.
"Not much? How much exactly? I’m not trying to be nosy, Ellie. You’re my friend, and I trust you. But recently, my mom mentioned that some money was missing from our house. Could it really be...?" Nara trailed off, but Ellie felt the implied threat.
Ellie was someone everyone suspected of being a thief, stealing the village chief’s family money. If suddenly she had a lot of money, they would definitely believe she was the culprit. But Ellie knew she hadn’t done it, just as Nara knew who had really taken the village chief’s money.
The fangirl of the heroine felt like she was hit with a hammer on the head. The last thing she wanted to believe was the event that had happened in the village. Ellie tried to forget and ignore what had happened and intended to perform her role as the heroine’s best friend until the novel ended. However, Nara threatening her to disclose how much money she had...was a bit too much for Ellie.
"Why don’t you just say it all, Nara?" Ellie’s face split into a curious grin, pretending not to know what Nara’s last sentence was going to be. Her innocent and seemingly foolish demeanor made Nara furrow her brows in frustration.
"Never mind, but I just want to help you, Ellie. It would be better if you saved that money instead of spending it on such luxurious food. It makes me feel like you’ve changed."
"I’ve changed?"
"Yes, I feel like you’re trying to mimic the wealthy by spending money so lavishly. But don’t forget why we’re here. We’re here to become stronger and then go back to take care of our village. So, every coin should be spent wisely, right? Before, even just hot water was enough to fill us up, so..."
"Nara, you used to eat just hot water for meals too?" Ellie immediately countered the seemingly well-meaning words of the heroine. She was afraid that if she listened any longer, she wouldn’t be able to maintain her role as the heroine’s close friend in the few remaining scenes.
Ellie’s thoughts also started to change. If viewed without bias, Nara’s current thoughts seemed no different from someone who was jealous of her friend.
Wasn’t it a good thing that Ellie could enjoy her special meal with the money her parents left her, even though it’s money she earned herself? Regardless, it’s her own money...If Nara had enough money to eat, no! In the story, Nara only struggled initially, which earned her sympathy points from the heroes, right? And in the second year, she went on many quests with the heroes and became the Goddess of Light. All the wealth Nara accumulated was eventually used only for herself and her family, wasn’t it?
The novel stated that after the heroine and the hero saved the village from monsters, the heroine was highly respected by everyone in the village. She cast a protective spell around the village to ward off beasts, but the story didn’t mention how long the spell was effective. How long could a second-year student’s territory spell last?
Not only did it not mention this, but at that time, it wrote that the heroine felt sorry for her parents who had to live in hardship, so she used her own money to buy a house in Set City and provided a comfortable life for her parents.
Didn’t this mean she was well aware of how hard life was in the village? It wasn’t just about the dangers, but also about living strenuously every day. So why didn’t the heroine think about how the others in the village would live after the village chief had left to enjoy comforts?
Ellie didn’t want to be prejudiced against the character she had admired for so long. She tried to overlook many things and pretended not to notice. However, the heroine’s reprimanding words, telling her, "Don’t forget why we’re here. We’re here to become stronger and then go back to take care of our village. So, every coin should be spent wisely, right?" Wasn’t this...implying that the money she used to buy her own special meal was misused?
Or should she really send that money to the village and tell everyone, "This is my money, everyone. Take it and use it. I’ll manage to live in hardship myself." Would that be better?
When Nara heard this question from her friend, she showed a slightly displeased look for just a fraction of a second. If it weren’t for Ellie already staring at her, she would definitely not have seen the anger in Nara’s eyes.
"How could Nara never have eaten just that? We come from the same village. Nara understands Ellie best," she took Ellie’s hand, seemingly to comfort her.
"Ellie, Nara knows you must feel it’s not fair to them, right? We were born into poverty. Just to eat something was always a struggle, while others have plenty to eat and use. But...because of that, it has made us stronger than anyone else."
"Nara doesn’t know whether Ellie still has money left, but Nara would like you to save it for now. Use it for a really significant purpose. Also, even though Ellie can awaken power by yourself, it doesn’t mean you will succeed in your studies right away."
"I’ve heard that the power of the botanic element is rare, but it also has many conditions for its use, right? In the next month, Ellie might be able to form a bond with a plant, which will have many conditions and might require the use of the remaining money Ellie has."
Ellie looked at the heroine who started to make sense. Just hearing this much seemed like she genuinely cared for herself, right? That would be true if not for the sentence that followed.
"Or if a mistake happens and Ellie can’t form the bond, you might have to return to the village and live as you did before. The money your parents earned should then be used to sustain Ellie’s life afterward." Nara smiled sincerely, her soft hand rubbing against the back of her best friend’s hand as if her sincerity was being transferred through their touch.
"So, does Ellie trust Nara? Nara thinks Nara should keep Ellie’s money for now, to prevent you from spending it frivolously. After you can form a bond with a plant or if you need to return to the village, Nara will give the money back to you."
Ellie’s lips twitched involuntarily. Was the other party going on about her concern just to get Ellie to pull out her own money and hand it over to her?
Indeed, if it were Ellie, who had lost her parents and had only a close friend like Nara, she might believe in Nara’s good intentions without any questions. But...was that believable?
If she hadn’t seen the other party bring people to harvest the crops her family had grown and then take a share for themselves, Ellie, who loved this novel’s heroine, might have been foolishly naive as well.
Thinking about it, wasn’t Nara implying that her power of botany was worthless? It’s difficult to use, even the act of forming a bond with a plant was complicated and time-consuming. Moreover, Nara had the audacity to inquire about Ellie’s powers and relay it to her. The power of botany wasn’t a common element like earth, water, wind, fire, or even light, which can be easily understood by asking anyone.
It’s a special element, not just because it’s unique but also because there’s only one botanic elemental professor in this institution, and there’s only one student, too!
If one really wanted to know about this power user, it would require significant attention. Simply caring wouldn’t feel right unless expressed. Nara knew how difficult it was for Ellie to train her powers. Instead of offering encouragement or avoiding the topic, she bluntly said that Ellie had a high chance of returning to the village and leading a mundane life.
If it were the unsuspecting Ellie, she would be deeply worried and saddened. She didn’t know how Ellie in the novel decided after learning her powers were deemed worthless. Moreover, Ellie in the novel didn’t have a lot of money, didn’t know how to grow Tezetrons, and couldn’t summon purple mushrooms like her.
According to the novel’s plot, Ellie was capable enough to remain relevant until the second year. After that, her character wasn’t mentioned again, possibly because she couldn’t earn enough points to advance beyond the second year.
Therefore, it’s not written whether Ellie ended up giving her money to Nara or not. No! It should be said that even the Chapter where Nara met her close friend in the cafeteria didn’t exist. To put it correctly...they were friends who only met in class, and Ellie was useful only when Nara was bullied...
She didn’t know how the author defined "best friends," but if it were her...if she had to live in a distant city with a completely different lifestyle, amidst various pressures, Ellie would choose to be with her best friend all the time.
From the start of the story, it was a bit strange. As soon as she arrived at the institution, while Ellie had to use the magical script to access the spiritual power realm to find a plant she could bond with, Nara could have waited for her there, but she didn’t.
Nara chose to walk around the institution alone and met the novel’s hero, the Sage, while leaving her friend to face some unknown test in the green building!
Well, she didn’t mean she wanted the other party to follow her everywhere, but if the status of a friend was just lip service, was it enough to trust to the extent of taking care of each other’s wallets?
If in the next month, it turned out that Ellie was really expelled from the institution, would Nara return her money as promised? Or might she never see Nara again!?