Cornflower Witch

Chapter 68 Garden Swordsmanship
Mrs. Fran returned home, and soon after arriving, she learned about the contract that Hilti had signed a few days earlier.

"Only three hundred bottles sold? I thought you'd be bolder." She didn't seem to care, and instead teased Siltia.

For this seasoned Tier 3 gardener, the truly precious things are those rare treasures of Tier 3 and above. As for things like sunflower seed oil, they are just the harvest from the sunflowers she casually grows on a daily basis. Moreover, even for sunflower seed oil, she has even more exquisite Tier 2 Blazing Sun type collections in her basement, so she doesn't care much about those Tier 1 stockpiles that she doesn't need.

The day Hilti became her official student, she gave the girl the key to the first-floor storage room. This wasn't because she was careless, but because the girl really didn't need those things anymore.

"Now that you've learned how to negotiate business for the first time, I'll leave this to you from now on." This teacher seems genuinely reluctant to handle such trivial matters.

"As long as you don't lose too much money, you can occasionally exchange it for something you want without charging any money," she advised Siltia.

“Yes, teacher.” Then, Siltia mentioned the three boxes of gold coins she had received that day.

"Gold coins? I understand. Just put them in the storage room; they're not really needed for now," the lady thought for a moment.

"As for the Tree Jade Spirit Sword you mentioned, I estimate that I will need to find a suitable craftsman to forge it for you, but the person with such skills is not in Jiaoshi City."

"I had thought about getting a similar weapon before, but after I advanced to the third tier, I no longer needed to fight in close combat, so I stopped looking for one," Mrs. Fran recalled.

"At your current stage, you cannot learn or explore many of the abilities of the 'Emerald Honey' attribute, so you can only make do with external aids."

"Since you've chosen a sword as your weapon, let Lining teach you some swordsmanship. She's very skilled at it." With that, Lady Fran summoned the maid.

"Lining, do you remember the garden sword technique I taught you years ago? Tia wants to learn it too, so you will teach her."

“Yes, Madam.” Lining bowed respectfully in response.

……

In the afternoon, Mrs. Fran attended a friend's tea party, leaving Siltia and Linin to look after the house. During this time, Linin also taught Siltia about garden swordsmanship.

"This sword technique is a legacy passed down among gardeners, used to prune excess branches and leaves in the garden, and can also be combined with some of the abilities of the 'Crimson Honey' for self-defense."

“Overall, this is a sword technique that leans towards defense and counter-attack; it’s not very offensive.” Lining drew a black longsword and practiced in front of Sylvia.

Her movements were slow, and she mostly held the sword with both hands. Her overall style was smooth and fluid, without any obstruction or major flaws in her movements.

(Garden Swordsmanship Proficiency +16)

Garden Swordsmanship Lv.0: A skill still under learning, current progress (16/100)

After watching it once, Hilti also picked up the wooden sword and began to learn. This sword style was balanced and steady, just as Lining had said, with few flaws, but it was not very aggressive, which was obviously different from military swordsmanship that emphasized killing enemies on the battlefield.

While observing Linin's movements, Hilti's attention couldn't help but turn to the maid.

In fact, Lining's strength is probably even greater than that of the instructor she had in the training ground. She even felt that even a third-tier knight might not be able to gain a significant advantage over this maid.

Name: Lining

Race: Human (Mortal Body) Status: Healthy (No Abnormalities)

Talent: High Speed ​​[Excellent], your reaction and movements are extremely fast, beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Fate Card: [Sword-wielding Maid] (Tier 2 - Blood Law)
'A maid wielding a sword, a caretaker of the manor, a dashing and swift follower.'
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Effect [Agile Body Lv.4]: Through adjustments to breathing techniques and power bursts, your body has greatly adapted to the flow of 'Blood Rhythm', gaining faster speed and reaction time.
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Effect [Demon-Slaying Blade Lv.2]: A special ability achieved by fusing the abilities of 'Steel Blade' and 'Demon-Slaying Blood'. It can be attached to a weapon to break through barriers constructed by supernatural power.

Ability Cards: [Breathing Technique Lv.5], [Swift Shadow Steps Lv.4], [Listening to the Wind and Determining Position Lv.3]

技艺：[基础剑术Lv.6][血蛭剑术Lv.5][女仆技艺Lv.5][花园剑术Lv.4][秘史知识Lv.4][园艺技巧Lv.4]
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No wonder the lady can go out so confidently without worrying about robbers or anything like that. With this maid at home, most people can't beat her, and there are very few in the entire Jiaoshi City who can defeat her.

The five-stage breathing technique—now Hiltia understood why she had never seen this maid sweat or pant. Her daily work was probably as easy as playing house.

Under Linin's tutelage, Hilti spent most of the day mastering the basic techniques of this swordsmanship. Linin was somewhat surprised by this and looked her up and down for a long time.

"You might be a good candidate to learn swordsmanship." Even she herself took three days to learn it back then, which already earned Lady Fran's praise.

Taking care of the flower field, familiarizing herself with the blooming techniques, and practicing swordsmanship, Silti's daily life can be described as fulfilling and orderly, and the days pass by quickly.

As December drew to a close, a few snowflakes finally began to fall from the sky. Unfortunately, the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground and did not accumulate into a vast snowscape.

In other seasons, this time of year would likely be when heavy snow closes off the mountains, making transportation and travel very inconvenient.

“Tia, I want to go home.” One day, Talil brought it up.

Because Lady Fran is often away from home, Hilti is now basically in charge of the household.

"It seems like it's been about half a year since we came out," Hiltiya suddenly recalled when she had just woken up in the forest.

“My sister asked me to bring some winter supplies, and also to see how Grandpa is doing,” Talil said, mentioning the old village chief.

At this point, Hilti was also tempted. She had been staying at the mansion for the past month and hadn't gone out at all. Now she wanted to go out for a walk.

"I'll ask Lining, and then we can go back together." She also wanted to go back to see the old man and then look for clues at the place where she had woken up.

Soon, Linin learned of Silti's request and nodded slightly in agreement.

“Miss Tia, it’s certainly fine for you to go out, but we hope you can return within a week. If it’s delayed too long, there might be problems with the flower field and the plants you’ve directly cultivated.”

"Okay, I understand." A week is enough time; she's not staying in Linden Village permanently.

Having decided to return to the village, Hilti and Talil went to the market to buy things. Following Winnie's list, they bought smoked meat, sausages, salt, jam, as well as thick winter clothes, blankets, daily soap, candles, medicinal wine, gauze, and other items.

With these preparations complete, the two hired a horse-drawn carriage and then set off.

(End of this chapter)