Chapter 37: "Journal of the Herbalist"
"Sigmund…" Ivory blushed. She wondered why, even though her Servant was a Vampire, she had always felt his warmth. "Uhm… please let go..."
"Why do you look so shy whenever I'm near you, huh?" Sigmund snickered.
"You-"
But before she could even speak, Sigmund already let her go and spoke in a serious tone, "I am your Servant. You should be more comfortable with me."
Ivory hurriedly rolled her body towards the side and turned her head towards him, "I am trying my best, but I hope you know I trust you now more than before. Isn't it a good progress, too?"
"I guess it is," he also turned his head to face her. "Didn't you say you're tired? Go to sleep. I'll tuck you in."
The Vampire assisted her, placing the blankets over her.
…
The start of the week quickly came, and Ivory was allowed to go back to Qawiun Academy. With Sigmund behind her, she joyfully entered the classroom and greeted Arcea as soon as she saw her.
"Good morning!"
"Oh, Ivory! It's been a while! I missed you!" Arcea embraced her friend tightly for a short while, then let go. She then turned to Sigmund who was quietly observing the two. "Leader of Ivory's Anti-Love team, it's a great morning, but you are frowning," she had always felt that the Servant despises her.
"It has nothing to do with you, annoying woman," Sigmund crossed his arms. When he noticed that his Master's friends weren't complete, he asked, "Where is the rich boy?"
"You know Lucius. He's like a random mushroom growing on a wooden log. He just pops out of nowhere."
As they spoke about him, Lucius suddenly entered the classroom. Upon seeing Ivory with her Servant, he approached them.
"Good morning, mushroom!" Arcea teased, and he just gave a smile.
"Lucius! It's been a while!" Ivory said in a joyful tone. "By the way, I love our new house. Thank you for helping us with the rehabilitation."
"No problem. It was a good thing that there were extra funds," Lucius responded. He then sat on the vacant seat near them. "How was your suspension? I heard that in the Land of Sandria, mornings are hot, but the nights are chilly."
"It was a fun suspension," Ivory lowered her voice. "I mean… It was a good experience."
"According to rumors, you were tasked to clean the Iceburgh residential house. They also said that you did not do a good job…" Arcea shared, looking all worried. "Maybe it was those three girls who spread that awful rumor."
Sigmund and Ivory were surprised that it was the rumor. The two glanced at each other, and they had the same thought: what happened in Hunter Town must be kept a secret for now. Maybe it was the Principal who let everyone know that the two just cleaned the house and nothing else.
"It's true that we cleaned the house…" Ivory told them, "And it's also true that I did not do a good job. If Sigmund weren't there with me, I don't think I could finish cleaning everything."
"Eh? It must have been hard cleaning a naturally dusty house! Poor Ivory…" Arcea muttered, then patted her head. "I'm sure you still did well!"
Ivory gave a subtle smile, "Thanks, Arcea."
It came to their knowledge that the three, Amy, Brinna, and Cassie, who were the main reason why Ivory was suspended, were transferred to another section. Their adviser, Titus, was against it at first, and just wanted to kick out Ivory from the academy.
But of course, Principal Arthurdane refused. Although he knew that the three might have done it, he had no evidence to punish them. He knew that an intelligent Servant like Sigmund would not do such things without a good reason. Plus, he couldn't just reveal that he was a Vampire Servant who he could hear whispers from a distance. After all, he made him pretend as a Spirit Servant.
When the Magic Class ended, Educator Wallace called for Ivory and Sigmund in his office to talk about what happened in Hunter Town.
"I was informed by Educator Alphonse and Educator Alexandra about your situation, Miss Sprucemint." Educator Wallace said as the two stood in front of his desk. He shoved an opened scroll, showing to them inscriptions about healing.
"This is the only document where I have seen something about physical healing using mana."
Ivory and Sigmund looked at the inscriptions written on the scroll. It was like an herbalist's journal, but everything was about healing wounds. Most of the content included recommendations on what herbs one should use and how to prepare them. However, there was only one section about healing wounds using one's mana.
In that section, the herbalist wrote about how she got wounded from an accident in the mountains. One night, her carriage fell from the cliff. She and her coachman suffered from the blood loss from their wounds, but fortunately, there was an unknown adventurer who helped them. This adventurer was with his Servant, and when he pointed his magic staff to her, it glowed in response to his mana. His Servant held the other end of the staff, and in just a few seconds after exposure to its light, all of her wounds healed. They did the same with her coachman and after making sure that they were okay, they bid goodbye to them.
"Miss Sprucemint, if there is a Master who can heal others using mana, I think you have the potential to do it, too. Right now, your ability still needs to be honed. Once you understand all the theories of magic, train hard, and work on the quality of your mana, you and your Servant will be invincible."
Sigmund saw that Ivory's eyes were filled with excitement. "Did you hear that?" he tapped her shoulder. "Your Educator said that you should study harder."
"Excuse me, Sigmund, but I am studying very hard," Ivory rolled her eyes. "Isn't that right, Educator Wallace?"
"Well… I heard from the other Educators that you need to work on your stamina…" the Educator replied, and he and Sigmund chuckled. When Wallace looked outside the window, he realized that it was almost sunset. "Please take this scroll. For the meantime, you can start studying those herbs. I believe it will be useful for you in your future. When you're free, please also read the reference scrolls in the library about mana control."
Ivory nodded, then thanked Educator Wallace for his big help. She rolled the scroll and placed it in her sling bag.
When they left his office, the two quickly went out to the gate. Ebleu was waiting for them.
"Shall we go back to Greensteid?" the old man asked them.
"Yes, please!" And the three of them headed to Ivory's hometown.
...
The next day, early in the morning, Sigmund was requested by Gordon to help in harvesting some firewood in the forest, Anne went out to harvest some blueberries, while the two kids were still asleep. Ivory was the one who volunteered to cook breakfast.
"We're almost there. Thanks for helping out, Sigmund. My daughter is really lucky to have you as her Servant." Gordon said as they walked towards the house, pulling the sacks of chopped wood.
Sigmund just smiled at Ivory's father. He thought that helping her family would earn his Master's trust, too.
Then, the Vampire Servant suddenly heard his Master screaming. He dropped the sack of wood, and hurried inside the house.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone