With their excursion and study trip to Goldenrain Village concluded, the group boarded the carriage once more and returned to Burnt Stone City.
A week was not particularly long, yet as they returned to Burnt Stone City, everyone felt the illusion that a great deal of time had passed.
"That's why going out to have fun is an absolute necessity," Taliel said, sharing her thoughts with Xilutaiya as she sat at the dining table.
"How has your work been going lately, Taliel?" Xilutaiya asked about her situation while eating mushroom soup.
"I've been doing great! I ran all over Burnt Stone City during this time—no one knows the local area better than I do now," she declared proudly.
"Really? Then do you know where I can sell herbs for a high price?" Xilutaiya asked teasingly.
"Well, the most common place is naturally the Apothecary Guild. But lots of people sell herbs there—villagers from nearby settlements deliver a batch every so often.
"Next is the Adventurers' Guild. When apothecaries or people from other professions need herbs they can't buy at the Apothecary Guild, they post bounties at the Adventurers' Guild.
"Finally, there are the merchant associations. They also purchase some herbs to transport and resell in other cities.
"Overall, the payout goes: Adventurers' Guild > merchant associations > Apothecary Guild. But the first two only take specific herbs, unlike the Apothecary Guild, which accepts a wide variety."
"I see. Got it." Xilutaiya pondered. It looked like she would have to visit the city's Adventurers' Guild and merchant associations tomorrow.
After finishing lunch, Xilutaiya went to the backyard to check on the Swan Orchid she was growing. After these seven days, its condition had undergone a noticeable change.
[Swan Orchid] (Exceptional-76): Growing. Humidity is not at the optimal state; requires an additional 21.24% humidification. Ambient temperature is slightly low; needs to be raised by 5.8 degrees. Air permeability is optimal. Sufficient nutrition; slight micronutrient deficit...
Its current quality had reached Exceptional, with room for further improvement. Xilutaiya gently placed her hand on the Swan Orchid's bulb to sense it, a trace of emerald green flickering in her eyes.
After a long while, she withdrew her hand, lost in thought.
***
The next day, she first went to the Adventurers' Guild to see if there were any bounties.
"A bounty for rare herbs?" Mailin thought for a moment and brought out the latest bounty booklet to browse.
"Doesn't seem to be any lately. But what herbs do you have? Did you forage them yourself, or did you cultivate them?" she asked, somewhat curious.
"I gathered them recently in the forest." Xilutaiya took a slip of paper from her pocket detailing the herb plants she had harvested over the past few days.
"Whoa, that's quite a lot. You must have gone to great lengths," Mailin marveled. "Still, a girl shouldn't wander into distant forests too often, or a Ti Wolf might carry you off."
"That won't happen, Sister Mailin." The girl shook her cute head.
"Hehe, did you have companions with you? That's good, but safety really is important," she replied as she scanned the list. "Found one! Viscount Xuefeng's butler inquired about a bounty for this sickle-thorn vine before, saying they're in constant need of it and will buy as many as come in—fifty copper coins per stalk.
"That price is already quite high. Ordinary herbs go for ten coppers at most," Mailin told Xilutaiya. "You wrote here that you have eight stalks. You can bring them all over, and after I inspect them, I'll give you four silver coins."
"Thank you, Sister Mailin."
Leaving the Adventurers' Guild, Xilutaiya visited several merchant associations in the city. After inquiring one by one, she sold off another portion of the herbs and received nearly ten silver coins.
As for what was left, she would probably only be able to sell them to the Apothecary Guild, which she estimated would bring in around eight silver coins, she thought.
Unfortunately, the Apothecary Guild here didn't know mushroom-related concoctions, so they didn't buy rare mushrooms either. Perhaps she could ask Teacher Haide to see if he needed any.
***
The next day, after the morning classes ended, Scholar Haide nodded slightly after hearing Xilutaiya's inquiry.
"I rarely brew potions, but I do have a few friends who desperately need rare medicinal materials like that. Bring what you have left and let me have a look.
"Here are ten glass bottles. Remember to place the precious fungi inside to cultivate them; that way, they can be preserved for a longer time." He opened a drawer and retrieved ten empty glass bottles.
"All right, Teacher." Accepting the ten compact glass bottles, Xilutaiya expressed her thanks.
That afternoon was their customary combat training, but everyone seemed somewhat absentminded today, probably having not yet shaken off the holiday mood.
"Baron and Mick are both nursing injuries and didn't come today."
"Miss Iona didn't come either. Without being able to see that gorgeous beauty, life has gotten so boring," several boys grumbled, leaning against the railing and watching the handful of students training on the grounds.
In the shaded rest area, Xilutaiya was currently leafing through her newly made notes, organizing the knowledge and considering how to assemble these scattered points into an interconnected framework.
Scholar Haide was immensely knowledgeable, and his lectures were never too rigid. He often strayed into extracurricular topics wherever his explanations led. In truth, if one genuinely grasped those extracurricular points, they were indeed of great help in understanding the core material.
However, the students possessed varying aptitudes. To some, these extracurricular digressions were like impenetrable noise that disrupted the simple knowledge framework they had originally built.
Considering the significant disparity in foundations among her classmates, and the fact that Xilutaiya was tasked with assisting those who struggled, she had to set aside overly obscure concepts and first lay a solid groundwork for everyone.
*That should just about do it.*
After an afternoon of organizing, Xilutaiya roughly mapped out this month's knowledge framework and contentedly closed her notebooks and texts.
From now on, she would only need to spend two hours each day tutoring the classmates who lagged behind. For these first couple of days, though, she would start with Kailun, suddenly thinking to practice on the classmate she knew best.
"Kailun~" she called out to the girl resting not far away after finishing her training.
"What is it?" Kailun washed her face with cold water, wiped it dry, and walked over.
"Starting tomorrow, and every afternoon after that, how about I tutor you in secret history class?"
"That..." Kailun hesitated slightly, but seeing the young girl's earnest, expectant gaze, she gave a nod. "I might not be very smart, Tiya, so don't get your hopes up too high." She had never been able to understand complex theoretical knowledge, and she worried about failing the girl's kind intentions.
"It's fine. We'll take it one step at a time." Xilutaiya lightly hopped down from the bench and walked up beside Kailun. "I'll adjust things based on your pace and progress."
"What are you two chatting about?" Kemiya walked over at that moment, curious about what they were discussing.
"We were talking about helping Kailun with her studies. Do you want to come listen tomorrow, Kemiya?"
"Ah, tutoring? That brings back bad memories." Kemiya's parents had hired private tutors for her before, but unfortunately, she was far too playful, and the results had been dismal, so the effort had eventually fizzled out.
"Give it a try!"
"Mmh, all right. But if I can't learn it, you're not allowed to call me stupid, Tiya!"
The laughter of the three girls drifted under the clear blue sky.
Chapter 40