Exposing
"Do not meddle with my plot, Nara."
"E-Ellie! Why are you being so distant with me like that? Aren’t, aren’t we friends?" Nara was shocked, especially seeing the look in Ellie’s eyes, who had always acted foolishly. She felt that her friend in front of her was no longer the same person.
"Yes, I’ve always considered you a friend, and I really do like you a lot."
"Then why..."
"But it all started after my mother died and left a good vegetable garden for me. After that, I found out how I was betrayed." When Ellie brought this up, a flash of emotion briefly passed through Nara’s eyes, and soon she collapsed and burst into tears as if she were just a victim.
"Ellie! There must be some misunderstanding. You’re angry at me for something, right? I’m sorry, Nara apologizes for everything that you’re unhappy about," seeing her crying like this, Medik couldn’t help but felt anxious. Usually, he was a loner, not having many friends to talk to. Seeing a girl suddenly collapse and cry on the floor, he felt utterly helpless.
However, the expression on his potential colleague’s face became even more strained, making Medik hesitant to intervene in this situation.
Was this a women’s fight? He had only heard about such things but had never witnessed one. While Medik was lost in thought, Ellie let out a loud laugh.
"Nara, are you apologizing for stealing and selling my vegetables and keeping all the profits for yourself, or for suddenly sneaking into my room to look for something?" Upon hearing Ellie’s question, Nara’s eyes widened.
She hadn’t expected that Ellie would know about this. Wasn’t Ellie supposed to be out of her senses in the village before? Besides, she had made sure everything was checked thoroughly. She didn’t let the villagers meet Ellie to talk about the harvest or inquire about the shares. Nara was sure she could manage Ellie to stay in the house and wait for her help alone. Ellie wasn’t supposed to know what she had done in the village, let alone the part about her sneaking into her room...Wasn’t Ellie supposed to be at class then? How could she possibly know about this!?
"Steal? Search rooms?" Professor Medik looked at Nara with disbelief.
He wanted to tell Ellie that there might be some misunderstanding. The accusations she made against her friend from the same village were severe. Even though the theft of the produce was not a major issue and could not be proven at this point, the fact that Nara had entered another student’s room to search for something was a clear violation of the institution’s rules.
If this misunderstanding reached others, even he, as a professor, Nara would be punished by the institution for sure. If the two could resolve this misunderstanding, it would be more beneficial for both of them. However, Medik’s thoughts changed after he saw Nara’s uncontrollable reaction.
Such a reaction...could it not be a self-confirmation? It almost seemed like an admission that everything Ellie said was correct.
By the time Nara realized that she had displayed such an odd reaction, it was too late. She calmed herself and stood up. Unfortunately, the heroine of the story didn’t have many competitors in the field of acting. Therefore, when faced with something unexpected, she could no longer maintain her composure and facade.
Nara looked at both of them with a terrified expression, said nothing, just got up and ran out just like that.
After Nara left, the two remaining in the botanic-elemental building faced each other in an uncomfortable silence. Ellie wasn’t sure if the professor understood the situation, but ultimately, she felt satisfied with herself. It seemed that Ellie had indeed disrupted the storyline of the novel, possibly even losing her position as the heroine’s best friend forever.
Instead of feeling scared, Ellie felt strangely at ease. If she could go back in time, perhaps she would have exposed the heroine from the moment she heard that the other party had taken all her share.
Regardless, now that she had managed to handle the overstepping heroine, Ellie still had much to do. First, she needed to find out how the heroine managed to enter her room, given that it should require the actual student ID and the individual’s authentic magic power.
No! Maybe there was another way. One must not forget who the first golden connection of the heroine was!
Even though she wasn’t the Sage professor’s lover yet, as his direct disciple, Nara likely had many privileges, but if those included entering other students’ rooms at will, Ellie could never accept that.
"That...Where are you going?" Professor Medik, caught off guard by Ellie’s sudden motion to leave, blurted out. Ellie stopped in her tracks, no longer feeling like there was anyone there she could trust.
Nevertheless, this was an institution that nurtured the heroine to become a strong individual, and soon she would become a formidable “Goddess of Light,” someone the institution took immense pride in as their long-sought product.
With the heroine’s aura, Ellie knew she couldn’t compare; she couldn’t easily make someone her ally as the heroine could. Whether it was Nara first meeting with the reclusive sage that easily captivated him or her sudden closeness with Professor Medik that came from an off script, not to mention the other 4 protagonists, it just confirmed how overwhelmingly charming the girl was.
So, hearing the beautiful faced professor’s call, Ellie showed her detachment openly.
"The matter of someone else entering my room without permission still requires the institution’s assistance. I no longer feel safe in my own room after such an incident," Ellie stated seriously. Medik contemplated briefly before nodding.
"I feel the same way. If someone were to enter my room without my permission, it would be very frightening. Moreover, it seems there’s something wrong with the institution’s security measures. I will go with you to inquire about our safety." Hearing Medik offer himself like that, Ellie couldn’t help but be surprised.
"Are you going to help me?" Ellie asked for confirmation. Medik looked at the petite student in front of him, who was clearly doubtful of him, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
It seemed this student was much like him. During his studies, he too didn’t trust his own advisor. Due to unpleasant experiences, even the private tutors hired by his family looked at him with disdain. Therefore, when he was at this institution, Medik found it hard to trust anyone.
In his mind...perhaps Ellie had similar experiences.
No! She must be wary, especially since she had just been betrayed by a friend from the same village.
"You don’t need to worry too much. As a professor, it’s my duty to uphold the rules. Besides, don’t forget that you are my only student. If I don’t help you, then who will I help?" Medik said cheerfully.
Ever since he learned that Ellie had a unique botanic power, a bond with a mystical purple mushroom that even he could find no further information about, he was determined to take good care of her. How often did one find such a talented student? It’s just like the other professors had said; Medik needed to treasure this student unless he wanted to continue living a lonely life.
"So...you don’t think I’m wrong? About Nara being the invader."
"As a professor, I cannot judge who is right or wrong without evidence. I must be fair to all parties. However, as the botanic elemental professor, I believe you wouldn’t lie about such a matter, and there’s no reason for you to do so."
"............" Ellie looked at the beautiful professor in front of her, dumbfounded.
How long had it been since she had met someone who could trust others so easily? The world she came from was not much different from the world of fiction. The author infused their fantasies into novels as if substituting their own identities for the protagonists. Everywhere the protagonist went, people liked and admired them. However, the negative attitudes the author encountered also affect the characters around the protagonist.
Whether it’s the irrationality of the villainess, the contempt for others, class differences, discrimination, or other issues, it seemed as if the world revolving around the author consisted only of such people, and the various protagonists represented the identity the author wished to have beside themselves.
All that information was certainly real. Even though she was just a reader over 30 years old, she could tell that it was general information accessible to everyone. While many might see the villains as having bizarre logic, those who had experienced much of the world saw a great deal of hidden truth in it.
Finding true friends in the workplace could be difficult, even some bosses could start to dislike you from the first day and constantly find reasons to harass you without any logical basis, though you had never caused any trouble for them. Or there were colleagues who were always ready to stab you in the back to get better performance reviews for themselves and get promoted.
These bad experiences pushed a working-age woman to turn to novels where the protagonist was a Mary Sue[1]. It’s not strange that she fell in love with the heroine and always rooted for her, even though the content of the novel was somewhat abnormal.
She thought that if she were the heroine...she would definitely be able to make people love her.
Just being the heroine in a novel meant she would eventually overcome any obstacle.
But she never imagined that in a world revolving solely around one protagonist, there would be someone who trusted her without needing any proof!
"Come on, we need to report this to the acting director first. The student who is having trouble with us is a direct disciple of Professor Lucien, so this could turn into a big issue later. If we don’t inform the acting director first, we might be seen as being aggressive," Medik helped his only student think about this.
For the capable Lucien, touching him could be quite troublesome. No professor wanted to have problems with someone that strong. Even though Lucien sometimes caused trouble for others, they tended to overlook those incidents. But could they really allow their own students to feel this unsafe?
If similar incidents occurred in the future and Ellie decided to leave the institution, wouldn’t that be a problem for him as well?
Ellie followed the beautiful professor who strode ahead seriously and tensely. While she remained confused, Medik led them to the office of the acting director.
[1] A Mary Sue is usually female and almost always the main character, who is often portrayed as inexplicably competent across all domains, gifted with unique talents or powers, liked, or respected by most other characters, unrealistically free of weaknesses, extremely attractive, innately virtuous, and generally lacking meaningful character flaws.