Chapter 36: Fame Spreads Far and Wide

Chapter 36: Fame Spreads Far and Wide

Overnight, Eileen became a celebrity.

Her name shook Felix, echoed through Willis City, and spread across the entire Keville Empire!

The magic apprentices of Felix envied her for becoming Ajef’s assistant and were even more jealous that Ajef had flown into a rage for her—smashing the botanical garden and humiliating an Archmage.

The citizens of Willis City marveled at Ajef’s power, stunned by the terrifying combat prowess of the lava giant and the mountain giant.

But for the majority of the Keville Empire’s populace, their focus was on the non-toxic winter mallow—and by extension, Eileen.

The scene of Ajef wrecking the botanical garden was undoubtedly terrifying, but for most commoners who had never left their mountain valleys, it was hard to imagine just how enormous and frightening a sixty-foot-tall giant could be through mere words.

This was a world unrelated to them.

This was a world for idle gossip after meals.

This was a world that could only exist in their dreams.

When the fantastical scrolls of the internet vanished, they were still left facing the harsh reality of their impoverished lives.

They were grateful for the light and strength the internet brought, but these things needed time to take root and grow.

The limited land wouldn’t suddenly expand just because they gained a little more power.

The heavy taxes wouldn’t decrease just because they grew slightly stronger!

The future was infinitely bright, but the present remained rough.

Winter was coming.

Only by surviving did they have the right to continue pursuing light, magic, and that dazzling, bewildering world.

Naturally, Eileen’s winter mallow became the focus of many.

……

Eileen never expected she would suddenly become famous.

Unexpectedly receiving the purple snowwood wand as a reward had already made her the envy of countless magic apprentices.

But that envy was nothing compared to the attention she was receiving now.

She had become a prominent figure in Felix!

Everyone knew she had become the favored apprentice of Ajef, a Summoning Archmage (or perhaps even a Grand Archmage).

Her circle of friends suddenly expanded.

Many acquaintances from her early days at the academy—friends who had drifted apart due to differing ideals—suddenly reappeared.

At first, it was just the occasional greeting when they bumped into each other outside the dormitory.

Later, they started visiting her directly.

Some came to share newly discovered magical seeds.

Others asked for her help in cultivating magic plants—of course, presenting her with expensive gifts in return.

Even someone as slow as Eileen couldn’t miss the implications.

This sudden influx of social connections completely disrupted her daily rhythm.

What made her even more uncomfortable—even awkward—was the sudden romantic attention from male suitors.

And not just one, but several, including a noble disciple—Lang Leidi, the grandson of the late Archmage Langfeiluo.

The real world was chaotic enough, but the internet was even livelier.

Opening the internet, she found that among the pinned posts on major forums, there was always at least one discussing her.

Her background had been exposed.

When people learned she was of common birth—sent to an orphanage after her mother’s death, where she worked hard and received guidance from the headmistress, a magic apprentice, eventually mastering meditation and enrolling in Felix—they instantly felt a sense of kinship and pride.

Look! Even we commoners can produce noble magic apprentices!

Everyone was discussing her background, personal life, and, most importantly, the winter mallow.

Eileen’s personal social account was even leaked by her friends.

Overnight, her profile gained tens of thousands of followers, with over a thousand comments flooding in!

"Lady Eileen, did you really cultivate the non-toxic winter mallow?"

"When will the winter mallow seeds be available for sale?"

"Lady Eileen, can we buy the seeds you cultivated? I’m in Layatin Town—if possible, could you send them via mercenaries? We’re willing to pay a hundred silver coins for just a hundred seeds."

"Everyone says the sample you used to cultivate the winter mallow was destroyed, so the non-toxic winter mallow is gone. Is that true?"

"That bastard March deserves to die for ruining the only sample! Lady Eileen, you must persevere and cultivate the winter mallow again!"

The comment section was filled with all kinds of messages—

Some inquired about the winter mallow;

Some left words of encouragement;

And of course, there were plenty cursing Archmage March.

Amidst the nationwide attention, one week after Ajef’s furious rampage in the botanical garden, the Keville Empire’s official website announced a major breakthrough in the most prominent banner section:

Non-toxic winter mallow, successfully cultivated!!!

……

……

"Mr. Black, is it true that the non-toxic winter mallow has been cultivated? The kids say it’ll reach our village in a month at the latest?"

In an unremarkable village deep within the Keville Empire, a group of villagers crowded around the only literate man in the settlement, their excitement palpable.

The literacy teacher, who had been dispatched from town just a month ago, couldn’t help but feel stirred by the fervent gazes of the villagers, despite his own secure livelihood.

"Yes! Didn’t I teach you how to read these words? Look here—these eight characters: 'Non-toxic winter mallow, successfully cultivated!'"

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! If it arrives within a month, the weather will have just turned cold. Winter mallow grows fast—it’ll be ready to eat in a month. Cut one batch, and another will grow. Mix it with Black Grain, and maybe no one in our village will starve this winter!"

"Ah, my kid told me about it, but I didn’t quite believe it. Hearing you say it yourself, sir, puts my heart at ease!"

The villagers chattered excitedly.

"Mr. Black, read it to us, please!"

"Yeah, Mr. Black, read it out loud!"

Encouraged by the crowd, Black cleared his throat and pulled up the Empire’s announcement, beginning to read.

"The Keville Empire proclaims: Second-year student Eileen of the Felix Magic Academy has successfully cultivated the non-toxic winter mallow. This winter mallow comes in two varieties…"

'What? There are two kinds?'

'Heavens, mages truly are extraordinary!'

'We’re saved this year.'

'That’s right! I heard the mage who developed the non-toxic winter mallow is a woman!'

"I heard that too!"

'Do you think Eileen might be an incarnation of the Earth Mother?'

The villagers couldn’t help but interrupt with their own speculations, making the atmosphere lively and chaotic.

By the time Black finished reading, everyone was utterly exhilarated, passionately discussing the unseen winter mallow and dreaming of a brighter future.

According to the Empire, the newly developed winter mallow came in two types:

One was the white-flowered wrinkled-seed spiral-leaf winter mallow;

The other was the white-flowered wrinkled-seed broad-leaf winter mallow.

The former retains the original cold-resistant properties of winter mallow and can be sown in the wild for cultivation.

The latter, however, is less cold-resistant but has more edible parts, requiring careful cultivation.

Good heavens! People were already thrilled about the cultivation of non-toxic winter mallow, but who would have expected two varieties at once?

Most importantly, the Empire will distribute these winter mallow seeds to all administrative regions within a month at the latest. Among them, the spiral-leaf winter mallow will not be sold but will instead be sown in fields by the Empire's Magistrates, allowing everyone to freely harvest and consume it.

As for the broad-leaf winter mallow, it will be sold at 100 Keville Copper Coins per pack, with each pack containing at least 50 seeds.

The Empire solemnly warns that Magistrates at all levels are strictly forbidden from raising prices arbitrarily. If any such violations occur, all citizens of the Empire may file complaints on the Empire's official website. Once verified, severe punishment will follow without leniency.

"Long live the Empire!"

"Ah, the mages have done us a great service!"

"What are you talking about? It’s all thanks to Lady Eileen! Without her, where would we get non-toxic winter mallow?"

"Exactly!"

"Long live Lady Eileen!"

With the announcement of the Keville Empire's new beneficial project, Eileen's name once again shook the entire Empire!

Countless commoners flooded her personal space with messages—praising, thanking, and even proposing to build shrines in her honor for worship!

In no time, Eileen's fame nearly rivaled that of the three Gods of Magic!

Meanwhile, Eileen herself lay in her humble private dormitory, her dark cheeks burning red as she watched the endless stream of gratitude pouring into her personal space.

She had never imagined that a mere wild vegetable could attract such overwhelming attention and praise!

Amidst the accolades, it was impossible not to feel proud and excited.

Yet, beneath that pride, another emotion tormented her.

She knew she did not deserve this glory.

The non-toxic winter mallow was cultivated using theories taught to her by Mr. Ajef. In truth, if he had chosen to experiment with differentiating the traits of winter mallow, he could have achieved the same—perhaps even better results.

Moreover, the two variants—"spiral-leaf" and "broad-leaf" winter mallow—were not her creations either. They were developed by Mr. Ajef based on the white-flowered wrinkled strain.

She didn’t know why Mr. Ajef had allowed the Empire to announce this as her achievement, but she knew this monumental credit did not belong to her.