"Professor, where should I put this pot?"
In the greenhouse, Leonard, wearing dragon-hide gloves, called out to Professor Sprout as he carried a flowerpot, while she was busy sorting fertilizer.
"Just set it over here," Professor Sprout gestured beside her. "Then mix in this fertilizer. It's made from dragon dung and Mooncalf droppings—works wonders."
Fertilizer.
Leonard eyed the foul-smelling heap with interest. His botanical garden could certainly use some of that.
After finishing all his homework on Saturday, Leonard had volunteered to help in the greenhouse early Sunday morning. He hadn't gone near the Restricted Section—until the botanical garden could provide him with seeds, he wasn't about to risk exploring ruins recklessly.
His reason for helping here, of course, was to build rapport with Professor Sprout and maybe see if there was any chance of getting plant seeds.
Aside from the restricted species, Professor Sprout would surely be glad to see someone taking a genuine interest in magical plants.
And there were other benefits—like learning about this fertilizer. Leonard honestly hadn't known that dragon dung mixed with Mooncalf droppings made such good compost.
While portioning fertilizer into the pots, Leonard took the chance to ask for some extra, and Professor Sprout, unconcerned, told him generously to come by whenever he needed more.
Once all the pots had been refreshed, Leonard and Professor Sprout used the Levitation Charm to float them over to Greenhouse Two.
It was filled with mandrakes, their lush stalks swaying in the warm air.
"Professor, do these need repotting?" Leonard asked.
"Oh, not really. That's second-year material. But it's part of the work too, so if you'd like to try, no problem."
Professor Sprout handed Leonard a pair of earmuffs. "Put these on. The mandrakes aren't mature yet, but their cries are still dangerous—they can knock you out."
Leonard slipped them on.
"These block harmful sounds but won't stop you from hearing me," Professor Sprout explained as she grabbed a mandrake. "Now, watch what I do."
With a sharp tug, she pulled one free.
The root, shaped almost like ginseng, had a wide mouth that opened to let out a piercing scream—
"Ah… gah!"
But the mandrake clamped its mouth shut after barely a sound.
Professor Sprout, who had been braced for the cry, froze in confusion. She gave it a shake. "Why isn't it screaming? Is it sick?"
Leonard felt a flicker of unease. His instincts told him this was probably due to his own strange gift.
Fortunately, after being shaken, the mandrake let out another shriek, shrill enough to make Professor Sprout frown.
Leonard, however, stayed expressionless. The sound didn't seem to affect him at all.
Magical plants' toxins still worked on him, but mandrake cries didn't? His gift really was troublesome.
"That's it!" Professor Sprout shouted over the noise. "That's why you have to act quickly. Once it's back in the soil, the mandrake feels safe and won't scream anymore!"
She worked briskly as she spoke, scooping soil in swiftly until the plant was covered.
"There. Done." Professor Sprout let out a relieved breath. "It's exhausting work, but necessary. Mandrakes are picky about their environment. In the ground they're fine, but in pots, they need repotting often. Otherwise, they get upset and scream underground too."
Leonard nodded, looking like he had learned something valuable.
"Why don't you give it a try, Leonard?" Professor Sprout said naturally, calling him by name.
"Of course, Professor Sprout." Leonard's eyes lit up as he walked over to a flowerpot.
He copied her movements, pulling up a mandrake under her watchful gaze. At the same time, Leonard activated Optimize Growth.
Three visions appeared before him, and he quickly skimmed through them.
The first showed a figure approaching a mandrake. Suddenly, the plant burst from the soil, letting out a piercing scream. The figure clutched their ears and collapsed in pain, while the mandrake promptly dove back underground. A passive enhancement—perfect for traps and defense.
The second vision showed a mandrake yanked from its pot and thrown aside. It shrieked with lethal force, only to be blasted apart by a spell. But the deadly sound didn't vanish with its destruction—it lingered, reverberating even after the mandrake was gone. An enhancement both terrifying and unreasonable: even obliteration couldn't silence it.
The third vision revealed a wide, bird's-eye view. A mandrake was uprooted and tossed, its scream spreading outward for dozens of meters. Roughly estimated, the sound blanketed at least a fifty-meter radius. Everywhere within range, the volume was the same, unaffected by distance. This version, however, wasn't fatal. It merely caused unconsciousness. An enhancement that traded lethality for reach.
Normally, Leonard would pick one of these upgrades. But he didn't. He canceled Optimize Growth instead. This mandrake wasn't his. Enhancing it recklessly would turn out disastrous no matter which option he chose.
As Professor Sprout winced at the mandrake's scream, Leonard discreetly pinched off a small piece of root from an inconspicuous spot and slipped it into his glove. Only then did he return the mandrake to its pot and quickly cover it with soil.
The shrieking stopped at once, and Professor Sprout let out a relieved breath.
"Nicely done. If this were class, I'd certainly award you points," she said with a cheerful smile. "Though you could be faster—it seems the sound still got to you a little."
"Yes, Professor. That cry really is unbearable, especially at close range." Leonard smiled, fingers closing around the hidden root fragment.
"You'll grow used to it. To truly study this subject, one must endure some hardship," Professor Sprout said with a sigh.
Leonard nodded, chatted with her for a bit, then prepared to leave.
"Professor, if there's nothing else, I'll be going. I have a few questions for Professor Flitwick," Leonard said with the kind of radiant smile beloved by middle-aged women.
"Oh, then off you go, child. Don't let me hold back your studies." Professor Sprout's approval of him deepened. "You really are a diligent one."
...
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