Listen well, class. The lanternblossom is a glowing plant, as its name implies. It is distinctive in that is converts nutrients into magic before storing them inside its body. When it blooms, it releases all of its accumulated magic power at once, causing it to glow. Once it blooms, its petals release magic on a continual basis. Thus, it wilts extremely fast, making it highly difficult to propagate. Even our own garden has but a few specimens. In your lab exercise today, you will be using nectar gathered from lanternblossoms. It goes without saying that this nectar is HIGHLY valuable. Listen well, pups: first, you extract it from the vial carefully with a syringe, then...
The upperclassmen say that if you get on Crewel’s bad side, your life is basically over. Student who screw up big time get scolded until they’re begging for mercy.
So, you think is all being overblown, do you? I see what’s happening here. You have that little regard for the precious lab component you’ve so thoughtlessly ruined. You have SOME NERVE, puppy!
Be quiet! Bad boys who make excuses for their own behavior need to be punished. You spilled enough nectar to fill one teacup, so you’re going to replenish our stock by that much. You have, hmmm...two months. And if you don’t produce it by then... You know what will happen to you, I trust.
gulp* (At least he’s giving me a chance to make this right. I’d better take it!) Yes, Professor. I’ll collect enough nectar to replace everything I just wasted.
Classmate B
You think Epel is up to the challenge? He’s got the face of a guy who’d scream if a bug so much as buzzed in the same room.
Classmate C
He could’ve just said he couldn’t do it, and then he’d have been done with it. He’s got a proud streak for a little rich brat.
Classmate A
Wow, don’t you think that’s a little harsh? I mean, daddy’s fancy little lad is liable to cry if he overhears you! Ha ha ha.
I’m gonna gather that lanternblossom nectar, no matter what it takes! ...That’s what I said a week ago, anyway. I’ve been checking on the flowers in the garden every day, but to no avail. There are only five seedlings, and they’re all buds. I can’t gather nectar if they don’t bloom. And with only five of them, they’re not going to produce even a single spoonful of nectar. Much less a teacup. What can I possibly do here?
Yeah, sure. Your #look today says otherwise, though! ♪ Are you ready to start a Magicam account yet? I could show you how to set one up. Like I told you before, someone as adorbs as you could easily hit influencer status in no time.
So Professor Crewel’s tasked you with gathering a teacup’s worth of lanternblossom nectar. I getcha. Poor little Eppy. You were clearly doomed from the start.
Yup. That’s how long it takes for them to accumulate the magic they need to bloom. It’s literally impossible for you to get a teacup’s worth of nectar in two months. Period.
...... I... I’ve never been a good student. I mess up a lot, so I wanted to make up for it, you know? I wanted to earn some recognition. I was ready to make the absolute most of the chance I was given, but for all that... For all that, I got hazed by the teacher... Mocked by my own classmate... Unbelievable.
Hey, Eppy. Done with class for the day? We should totes hit up the Mostro Lounge together! I’ve got an idea for your Magicam debut: we’ll take a cool pic together with the cafe as our backdrop. You down?
You don’t have to dig in your heels so hard. This game was rigged the start. The sooner you apologize, the easier this’ll all shake down. If you’re scared of Professor Crewel, I could always go with you.
Let’s see, what heve we got...here...? WHOA! There’re enough lanternblossoms to fill a whole flower bed! But there were only five last time I was here. Now there’re, like, hundreds! And they’re all perfectly healthy and blooming! How is that even possible? All right, Eppy. Spill. How’d you do it?
Heh. Boy howdy, y’see, I-er... *cough* It was simple, really. You gave me the hint I needed, Cater. You said ot takes a while for lanternblossoms to accumulate the magic they need to bloom.
“It is distinctive in that converts nutrients into magic before storing them inside its body.” “When it blooms, it releases all of its accumulated magic power at once, causing it to glow.”
I figured that if I fed them a nonstop stream of nutrients, they’d keep accumulating magic and grow that much faster!
At least, that’s the idea I went with. But the kind of store-bought fertilizer you’d use for regular flowers wasn’t doing the job at all. So I decided to stop by every day and give them a special ferilizer packed extra nutrients.
I’ve done my fair share of farm --- I mean, uh... “Gardening.” Yes, I’m no stranger to that. It’s so easy to find fertilizer components here on campus, too! There’s a ton of food waste in the cafeteria alone, for one.
Horse manure. Dung. I get some every day from the Equestrian Club. The horses on this campus eat well. I appreciate them sharing it so freely. Horse manure nourishes not just plants, but the soil, too. It’s the best ingredient there is for fertilizer!
I’m happy for you, and I’ma let you finish, but, like... That is SO much to take in all at once. Cay-Cay’s head is spinning like cray-cray. Lemme see if I’ve got this straight, Eppy: you’ve been gathering food waste and horse manure every day for two straight months... All of which you mixed together to make a super-stinky fertilizer that got the lanternblossoms to grow crazy fast. Does that about sum it up?
I was wondering what all the commotion was about. How unusual to see you two pups yapping together. What are you doing in the garden? Wait, these flowers here... Are these all lanternblossoms?!
Professor Crewel. What do you think of the lanternblossoms I’ve grown? I should be able to deliver a full teacup’s worth of nectar to you soon, so I beg your patience. In fact, I could bring you a teapot’s worth.
Hmhmhm... Ha ha ha! Here I thought you’d come crawling back with your tail between your legs, and instead you do this. No doubt you labored tirelessly to nurture these flowers so prone to wilting. You’re a pluckier little pup than I gave you credit for. You’re a good boy, Epel Felmier.
But this will NOT influence how I grade your classwork or tests in any way! All this means is that you’ve finally made it into the same kennel as all the other dogs. You’ve simply evened out your prior negatives.
Like they say, all’s well that ends well! And not to harp on the same point, but... All these glowing, sparkly lanternblossoms, plus your beaming smile? Talk about fit for a picture. You wouldn’t even need a filter. Don’t you think this is a prime opportunity to make a Magicam account? You’d be trending in on time!
Sorry, but I need to get to the library. I’ve got a lot of learning to do! If I keep up my potionology studies, maybe I could outdo the housewarden himself! I’m gonna get on that now, Cater. See you later!
