He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior-Chapter 55

However, rather than being impressed, she became more wary of Lin.

Her cautious gaze made Lucy even more irritated.

‘Should I kill her?’

Because of her prayer to the goddess of Epalteria, she couldn’t do that.

The prayer was to spare Lin while seeking revenge on everyone else except Reinhold.

Of course, it was only a promise not to seek revenge first.

If Naidrian continued to provoke her like this, she was ready to snap her neck without needing to use her temporary Holy Sword.

‘Killing her is too extreme, so maybe I should just slap her?’

If her face collapsed halfway, she might calm down.

When Lin and Ravin weren’t involved, Lucy was a tyrant, through and through.

Even Lin acknowledged that Lucy’s behavior during the campaign against the Demon King made her the number one target for elimination.

But that didn’t justify her betrayal of Lucy.

"Are you studying plants?"

Lin casually threw out a question, but Naidrian openly raised her eyebrows and stared at him.

She was really annoyed.

Lin noticed Naidrian’s irritation but was startled to realize that he, too, was feeling annoyed.

Recently, although it was rare, he occasionally felt strong emotions.

And those emotions were mostly anger or frustration.

"Do you know where the magician is? I wanted to thank him for what he did in the archipelago last time."

"…."

Lucy was equally displeased.

She rested her hand on the temporary Holy Sword’s hilt, tapping it with her thumb to make a deliberate sound. Only then did Naidrian hesitantly speak.

"Do you think the magician would want to meet you?"

Although this comment was likely another instance of her overthinking, Lin understood it immediately.

She must be researching love, staying close to Reinhold.

That’s why she’s saying Tigrea isn’t available to meet him.

Well, I’ve got all the information I need.

There’s no point in asking further; she probably won’t give a straight answer.

As Lin was about to leave the imperial library without any regrets, Ravin came in, fanning himself.

"Ugh, it’s hot!"

"This is a place for reading and research. Could you please be quiet?"

"Oh? Well, look who it is, the archer!"

Ravin nonchalantly approached Naidrian and began browsing through the books she had gathered for her research.

Even though the archer showed clear signs of discomfort, Ravin didn’t care at all.

That’s just how thieves are.

They use their straightforward manner to gain favor or extract information, and if things don’t go their way, they simply steal something from their target.

With their tricky gameplay outside of combat, it’s no wonder Ravin is an overwhelmingly popular pick over the porter.

So, Lin planned to use Ravin in this episode to set the stage.

Signaling the thief to follow him out, Lin was instead met with Ravin turning the conversation back to him.

"It’s about plants? Trees and forests? Porter, didn’t you say you researched farming or something?"

"…I failed."

"Why? Don’t plants just grow on their own when you plant seeds in the ground and water them?"

Naidrian’s ears twitched slightly.

Ravin’s careless remark scratched at the botanist’s nerves.

"The soil was too barren for anything to grow. There were a lot of weeds too."

"Come on, unless it was the desert, that can’t be true, right? Oh! If you plant them right by the river, the water will flow on its own, so they’ll grow well!"

"While it’s true that most trees grow well near rivers, crops are a bit different."

"How could that be? There’s land and water. I even planted some apple seeds once, and they grew just fine."

Naidrian, unable to bear it any longer, stood up from her seat.

"Hmm, what kind of apple was it?"

"Huh? Are you interested too, archer? Well, it was a Red Jade apple, but that’s all I remember."

"In that case, it might have been a Banas Mountain apple, which grows well in poor soil… Anyway! Plants, especially trees, don’t just grow well with land and water. Each species requires a different environment. And the soil needs to be of good quality, with proper nutrients, moisture, organic matter, and aeration!"

"Really? I had no idea. You’re really knowledgeable about plants, archer. I didn’t realize soil was so important."

"And drainage is also…."

Lin and Lucy quietly observed the scene.

Naidrian had fallen into Ravin’s trap.

Apologies, but she was an easy target.

In a conversation, it’s natural to react to what the other person says.

But Naidrian, being both shy and a plant enthusiast, wasn’t exactly adept at leading a smooth conversation.

Yet Ravin was giving her reactions.

He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say.

She had corrected him for his ignorance, but instead of getting offended, he asked more questions, genuinely curious.

Naidrian was thrilled.

"Recently, the world’s forests have been shrinking due to reckless logging. So I’ve been researching seeds for trees that can grow large and fast, even in harsh environments. In fact, I’m almost finished."

"That’s amazing! You’re creating a new type of tree? Let’s go plant them right away."

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"This is the imperial palace, so we can’t plant anything without permission. But I’ve managed to make just one batch in my room, and someday, I hope to travel the world and plant them."

"You’ve already traveled the world, haven’t you?"

"Well… I released some early experimental seeds to the market a year ago, but I lost track of where they were sold and planted. They were sold out immediately in the famous Valtorcroix market…."

Ravin’s eyes sparkled.

He gestured for Lin and Lucy to wait a moment before continuing the conversation.

"Developing a new tree sounds like it would cost a lot of money."

"Yes, it requires an astronomical amount."

"Are you rich, archer? Is it because you’re a scholar?"

Naidrian smiled without realizing it.

She preferred being called a scholar rather than an archer.

"My wealth isn’t much. The Hero’s party does receive a fair amount of funding, but it’s still not enough for a research project like creating a new tree. Luckily, I found a sponsor, and thanks to them, I was able to get this far."

"They must be incredibly wealthy."

"But since the research costs so much, my sponsor recently told me they were having trouble with cash flow and asked me to wait for a bit."

"That’s unfortunate. I hope it gets sorted out soon."

"Yes, I really do."

Naidrian smiled faintly.

"Soon, very soon. I want to finish this and send the first seeds to them."

This high elf had no idea.

The sponsor was standing right in front of her, wearing a mask.

Not incredibly wealthy, but in exchange, they held ownership and disposal rights to all the loot from the Hero’s party’s battles.

If sold well, depending on the market, it could bring in a decent income, allowing for Naidrian’s research to continue.

Since the defeat of the Demon King, Lin hadn’t even had the chance to check out the loot, so he was now penniless.

Even in the Zuramon Archipelago, he barely managed to scrape by with a part-time job….

‘I passed out and left without getting paid?’

He was truly broke.

Lin felt bitter.

Still, it was fortunate that he had bought up all the seeds released in Valtorcroix a year ago.

"The magician does a lot of research too. Is it all covered by the funds?"

"Hmm… Probably? They never come out unless it’s related to research, so it must be covered by the funds."

"I’d like to see the magician’s research too. Where is their room?"

"Right next to mine."

"Great! I can go back and forth between the two of you to see both your research."

"My research too?!"

"Of course."

Naidrian became even more excited and eagerly revealed the location of her room.

That’s it. Now Lin could directly find Tigrea if needed.

Was this whole build-up just to get this one piece of information?

Knowing that made it seem trivial, but it was actually very valuable.

"By the way, Lucyana, I heard that your funding is still in the treasury. Make sure you collect it before you leave on your journey."

"…What about the porter’s?"

"Excuse me?"

"His funding?"

"I don’t know."

Even though she had information on the Hero’s funding, there was no way she didn’t know about the porter’s.

Her blunt denial irked Lucy, but Naidrian remained cold towards the porter.

Surprisingly, though, Naidrian was telling the truth.

She truly didn’t know about the porter’s funding.

Because Lin was excluded from the Hero’s party’s funding.

He was merely considered a non-combatant who carried their luggage.

As a result, Lin had to sell off loot in every city the Hero’s party visited, with 90% of the proceeds going towards Naidrian’s research.

‘That’s odd.’

In the original game, Naidrian and the porter were indifferent to each other, not interfering at all.

But at some point during the journey to defeat the Demon King, Naidrian began seeing Lin as a thorn in her side.

‘Something seems off.’

However, Naidrian was a lower priority.

For now, Lin had instructions to give to Ravin and Lucy.

At Lin’s signal, Ravin bid the archer farewell, and Lucy scoffed as they left the library.

In the end, putting Naidrian on the back burner was a mistake.

If possible, Lin should have resolved the misunderstanding with her at this time.

‘Noooo!!!’

‘Burn them all!’

‘…?’

Suddenly, a vision played in Lucy’s mind.

Naidrian, forced to her knees before the elven elders, crying out in despair.

And sacks of seeds burning in the flames set by the Empire’s soldiers.

‘Oh, sorry, sorry. The timeline just got locked onto this path.’

‘What was that just now?’

‘It’s just one of the many possible futures. Don’t worry about it. Think of it as a dream. Even if it was vivid, it won’t affect reality much. We’re connected, so think of it as a daydream.’

For the first time in a while, the temporary Holy Sword’s voice appeared.

Lucy shook her head at its excuse and followed Lin.

‘Damn it. This is the first time I’ve gotten spoilers in this segment.’

The temporary Holy Sword had a blissful expression.

‘Oh, wow~. Seeing the elf regret it might be quite a treat~!!!!’