[massages shoulders] Good grief, two weeks of duty at the ER was beyond tiring. Strained legs and back are such great birthday gifts, thank you very much. -_-

Oh, hey there! Don't mind my ramblings. Hehe. And in case you did, my natal day was at the 8th, but I can still get your late greetings! XD

Anyway, where are my manners? Enjoy!

CHAPTER 8

The next day, Phillip did show up and sketched for her journal while Reina reread her inputs to him as descriptions. She noticed that when he drew, he shifted from the annoying schoolmate to a hardworking artist who poured all his energy to creating strokes and shades. I believe I made the right choice of having him as my illustrator, she thought. The Board will never say no to my journal now!

The day at the tea house may be the first time they went out together—as least as colleagues, for her—but it wasn't the only one. After finishing some illustrations on cells and plant structure, he always suggested they could take a good walk somewhere.

To which I shouldn't refuse. I owe him a job, after all.

However, she admitted to herself that it is a little nice to take a few minutes of break—something she couldn't do when she is working alone. Just like what they were doing that Monday noon, two days after the offer.

"The spring?" Phillip asked as he trudged behind Reina at the mountain path.

Reina nodded. "I want to check some plants there. Some were those I have never seen before."

She heard him vocalize a soft "mm-hm". "Must be the Harvest Goddess's doing."

She stopped walking and turned to him, face tinged with amazement. "With that said, you are one of them."

"Huh?"

"You are one of those who believed that the Harvest Goddess existed in that very spring. Am I right?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Kind of. Aren't you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Science is more concrete than fairy tales with names used as mere expression." She does use the expression in her head—as it rolls off quite smoothly—but it was only until there.

"I understand. Maybe because I am a farmer, and it is mandatory to thank Her for the good harvest and weather. And springs had been Her shrines, a priest once said." He cupped his mouth as he yawned. "But of course, there are other things to thank the Harvest Goddess."

"Such as?"

"Well, how about we get there first?"


To the young botanist, whenever she visited the spring, she would always see it as having that ethereal glow. Now, even if the Spring season almost ended that day, the colorful flowers surrounding the body of water still rimmed with health.

She wouldn't mind studying them, but there was a plant there that brought great interest to her. This plant grew together with the flowers, but oddly, it wasn't blooming with them. On her mountain visits, she still saw it as a bud.

But not today.

Reina gasped when she faced the direction of the flowers. "Look at that! The plant finally bloomed!"

Phillip squinted. "Which one, Reina? All of them are in full bloom."

She had never felt so delighted before. She eagerly pointed the spot she was sure the plant was sprouting. "That one! The one with the blue-tinged petals!" She hurriedly approached the plant, leaving a still-puzzled Phillip.

At that moment, she didn't hesitate to talk to a plant with someone around. Not when she was this happy. "Wow, you've grown so well!" She hastily picked up her notebook and started to write her observations, all done while giving compliments to the sprout.

She didn't notice Phillip looking over her shoulder until he spoke. "You're right; some plants here are unfamiliar. Just like this one."

"Yes. It is the first time I've seen it bloom."

"No wonder you were so excited."

She heard a soft thump on the grass and turned to see him sitting beside her. "W-what?" H-he is just inches away from me!

"Oh, go ahead and observe it. I'll be waiting."

Her concern suddenly shifted from the plant's growth to their proximity. "Y-you can't just sit close."

He then saw her uneasiness. "Sorry." He moved a little bit away.

Her gaze went towards her workbag, now totally disconcerted. That was nothing, that was nothing, she tried to reassure herself as she searched for her tools.

Phillip yawned audibly. "Do you mind if I can rest for a few minutes? At least I won't be disturbing you."

She shook her head as she took a magnifying glass. A little concentration would be good, thank you.


Reina didn't know how much time had passed since she started observing the plant. The last thing she knew was that the spring was starting to reflect the pink cloudy skies.

Oh, no, is it this late now? She packed her tools and unintentionally turned to see Phillip sitting under a shady tree, with one hand holding a yellow flower and eyes being closed.

Phillip? Has he been there all this time?

She approached him and stared at him. Now that he was being calm—emphasis on not being so annoying—she can see some fine features. His hair from up close is actually reddish-brown, not chestnut. Some light freckles are evenly distributed on his face, too. Certainly…not bad-looking, she admitted.

Why was he still here? If I took time this long, he should've left. Maybe if he was awake, he might've went back to town—

Her thoughts were interrupted when slowly, light-gray orbs rose to meet her olive-green ones. She quickly moved away. "O-oh, you're up."

"Huh?" he asked drowsily. "How long was I asleep?" Phillip stretched and checked his watch. The deed perked him up. "What, two hours?"

Two hours?! "S-sorry, Phillip. Once I get wrapped up in studying plants, I lose track of everything else…"

"Not a problem." He chuckled. "I did get a shut-eye. I'm kinda sleep-deprived for days."

Reina guessed that it was because of his extra illustrating. "Was I making you work too much?"

"Ah, no, we've just started yet. And it's just house décor that's keeping me busy at the farm, that's all. Just to brighten things up." He glanced at the spring. "So, I see you're done with observing the plant."

She nodded. Every single detail was taken and noted; maybe in the next few visits, she would continue monitoring.

"OK, come with me, then." He stood and gestured her to follow him towards the spring edge. To Reina's surprise, he tossed the flower he was holding a while back.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making an offering to the Harvest Goddess." He clasped his hands, somewhat like in prayer. "Goddess, we thank You for always looking out for the plants, keeping them healthy. Thank You, too, for giving Reina a chance to see your plants and watching over her."

"Me?"

He turned to her with eyes twinkling, matching his smile. "Yep. If the Goddess watches over farmers, I'm sure She watches over botanists, too. Even though science can't explain it, believing She does won't hurt, right?"

Well…he has a point.

He gazed at the floating flower before returning to her. "You wanna say something, too?"

"Well, mostly to you. Sorry if I dragged you into this." Nobody would want to be with me, but you stayed…for reasons I do not know. Reina felt comforted with the thought. "But thanks to you, I made an interesting discovery."

"You're welcome." He started walking forward. "So, shall we go?"

She nodded. Before she followed him, she whirled to glance at the spring again. Goddess, if you are real, you must've known how much this colleague of mine believes in You. But he doesn't have to let You bless people who slightly don't.

However… She gave a hint of a smile. Thanks, anyway.

"Anything wrong?"

She hastened her pace. "Nothing. Let's go."

Neither of them saw a green-haired maiden who daintily picked up the flower from the spring.

I felt like adding a few parts to the event (yes, if you played ToTT, this scene would be Reina's Purple Flower Event), because I can't just let Phillip stand and watch her just like in the game. And their beliefs in the Harvest Goddess somehow fit, too. I hope.

unknown female voice: DUM-DA-DA-DAAA!

Uh-oh. Is it—?

unknown female voice: I am such an honoured guest in this chapter. So, as a favour to teamBLAZE, please rate and review! I bet she would say next chapter is soon~ Toodles!

[sweatdrops] ...uh, thanks?