Horas watched as Tora jumped on tables and sniffed the herbs. She had remembered the scent from yesterday but it must be frustrating to find a single smell in this vast room full of other scents.
Still, Horas was confident that Tora will be able to find the herbs that had been lost yesterday. And especially more so since she seemed to have narrowed down the area.
Tora was running around Emma's desk and some of her neighbors, signaling that these desks were the problem. But no one seemed to have noticed Tora's moments just yet.
Emma did try to pet Tora but the mechanical cat refused to behave and kept on evading Emma's touch.
So it did not take long for Emma to give up with a flush on her face. The cat had not seemed interested in him.
Horas did not make his move until the suspicious senior walked over to Emma and touched her shoulder. That innocent touch sent warning signals off inside Horas's brain.
"-and this herb needs to be boiled to get the fragrance out."
The senior seemed to be explaining to Emma with a patient expression. Many people were looking over at Emma with curious looks in their eyes as she got one-on-one guidance from the senior.
He was currently holding a herb that looked suspicious.
Horas had a sharper-than-usual nose so he was able to pick up scents easily. This herb did not smell like any of the perfumes listed today. It had a sharp and tingle smell which indicated that it was an illegal herb.
Tora seemed to think the same because she jumped on top of the table and slashed at that tangled herb until it could no longer be used.
The senior and Emma were startled by Toras's sudden moment. The senior looked especially rough and panicked as soon as he noticed his precious herb being wasted like this.
He had risked so much to get this herb. He had headed out to get it in the middle of the night and evaded teachers on the way out.
Heck, he had even gotten lucky to be missed by Horas yesterday night. So he could not allow things to worsen his position.
"Aww, these herbs were destroyed. I don't think we can use them anymore."
Emma lamented as she looked at the plants on the ground. The textbook said not to use herbs that were faulty because their core could react weirdly.
"N-Nonsense. We can still use these herbs. See, their core is intact so there should be no problem-"
Horas noticed that the senior would not back down if he did not interfere. So Horas had no other choice but to walk over to the senior and wait for him to notice.
Thankfully, it did not take long for the senior to notice Horas's presence behind his back.
"This herb is destroyed. Whether the core is intact or not, does not matter. The manual says to throw away such herbs so we shall do that. A first-timer should not even try to preserve herbs."
Horas explained as he picked up Tora from the bench. He scratched her head in a 'good job' manner and called the president over to him.
"Instructor, how can I help you out? Whatever you say shall be done by me so do not be weary of asking."
The president was sweating bullets at this point. He did not want any trouble in his club so he decided to be polite to Horas.
Horas pointed toward the destroyed herb on the ground and the club leader looked down at the mess.
"Tora messed up this herb. We need a replacement as soon as possible. Do you think you can go and get us some more?"
Horas was not asking, he was demanding this from the club leader. No matter how politely Horas had worded these things, no one would dare disobey him.
The club leader was no different and he picked up the herd to check what it was. As soon as he brightened the heard closer to his nose, he was stunned to notice that this was not a normal herb that was first years used.
"T-This! There must have been a mixed up in the ingredients given out to the first years. Everyone, stop what you are doing and back away. There is an emergency and we will need to check your ingredients."
The suspicious senior cursed under his breath as he noticed all his efforts go down the drain. He had not expected this herb to be caught.
Students backed away from their tables with worried expressions. Many did not even know what was happening but followed the instructions nonetheless.
Emma was the one who was stunned the most. These herbs were discovered on her table and she was afraid to see them in the open. It was almost as if she had been the intended victim of this prank.
"Emma, calm down. Things like these can happen sometimes and you will be alright once we investigate things."
The senior who had come over to help her out explained. It helped Emma calm down since he was there with her.
Now that she thought back at it, the senior had also not noticed this dangerous herb so there was no way Emma would have noticed it. She was just thinking too much right now.
"You are right senior. Er, I'm sorry but what was your name?"
Emma only realized that she did not know this senior's name all this while. The senior looked taken aback by her sudden question but he decided to answer her.
"My name is Kevin. I…forgot to introduce myself again, right? This often happens to me. Anyway, you do not need to worry about what you went through since it can happen to anyone. Heck, even I took that herb."
The senior, no Kevin assured Emma. She felt better once she had that reassurance from him.
"I-I see. That is reassuring to know that it was not my fault. Thank you for speaking to me."
Emma thanked the senior and then the club was dismissed. She quickly made her way out of the classroom with her heart pounding.
She could not believe that she had humiliated herself in front of Horas. She wanted to disappear but she kept her cool. She needed to rectify what happened and her image needed to be restored in Horas's eyes.
Emma looked in the hallway, only to be taken aback by seeing Loris. The weird female was lurking around here when her club was in the other building.
Emma was about to call Loris when she stopped short. Loris had made a direct walk toward Horas and turned him around.
She had done it so naturally that Emma was jealous. She wanted to go over and be this familiar with Horas as well. But she did not have enough confidence in herself.
"Emma, is everything alright? You look a little stiff there."
Her classmates asked, not noticing Loris and Horas talking with each other. The two had all but disappeared by now from Emma's sight.
"Yeah, I am alright. I just happened to see something upsetting and it is hitting me now. I will be back to normal in a little time so you don't need to be worried about me."
Emma assured her classmates and they quickly live her alone in the hallway.
'No, don't think too much about it Emma. Nothing is going on between those two. There is no need for you to be worried.'
