Cornflower Witch

Chapter 31 Komia's Invitation

The assessment is over.

In the competition, the first place scored 120 points, the second place 100 points, the third place 90 points, the fourth and fifth place both 85 points, and the remaining students scored between 70 and 30 points based on their performance.

"Komia's score is 65." Yero read out the score, which surprised many students, but they quickly realized what was going on.

Indeed, Komia defeated Thorin. Although such an ability can only be used 1-2 times a day, it still shows that her combat strength is not bad.

"Hiltiya's score is 60." Yero read out the score of another girl, which surprised and confused many students.

"Why is that? Tiya didn't even play, how did she get points?" someone objected.

“Tia already had high grades in the Secret History class, and if we add her battle results…” Some people felt that their ranking had been taken away.

"Miss Tia spent extra effort and time learning gardening skills and officially mastered the Dew-Praying Technique, so the teacher included this in the battle score," Yero explained.

"What is the Dew-Praying Method?" Some people didn't understand.

"That seems to be a skill that professional gardeners need to have; it can accelerate plant growth or ripen flowers and plants."

"It doesn't seem to be of much use. It adds 60 points, but I think 30 points would be enough," someone whispered jealously.

"Silence," Yero, a student of Maester Hyde and currently the teaching assistant, explained again.

"Miss Hiltiya took less than ten days to learn and master the 'Dew-Praying Technique,' which the teacher considered a remarkable achievement and thus awarded her 60 points."

"In addition, because Mick broke through to the second stage of breathing techniques, Thorin learned 'Power Burst' and was given an extra 10 points."

"If you make any breakthroughs in your studies in the future, the teacher will also give you bonus points." After his explanation, the students finally accepted it.

"From this perspective, Thorin's 90 points are the same as the second place."

"I wonder who will get second or third place in this assessment." The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

In the afternoon, Mr. Hyde proctored the exam for the Secret History class and then graded the papers on the spot.

"The maximum score is 100 points. Iona scored 98 points, Tia scored 100 points, which is not much different. Next is Baron with 91 points, Komia with 87 points, and Sorin with 85 points..."

"In the end, Ray scored 43 and Mick scored 36." The two of them were in the same boat in the Secret History class, ranking at the bottom.

"The overall scores are as follows: First place: Iona 218 points; Second place: Sorin 185 points; Third place: Baron 176 points; Fourth place: Tia 160 points; Fifth place: Tos 157 points; Sixth place: Komia 152 points..."

After the rankings were released, the students gathered around to watch and discuss them.

"Iona did indeed win first place. That cloak was probably a gift that the Viscount had arranged for her."

"After all, she is my own niece, and the daughter of Viscount Karen."

"I didn't expect Sorin to score higher than Baron. It seems that the extra 10 points were crucial, otherwise Baron would have been in second place."

Baron was naturally furious at this result, but unfortunately he needed to recover from his injury and would be unable to attend classes for a while.

"Tia, you almost made it into the top three!" Komia threw herself at the girl, but was caught and put down by Sylvia.
"It's a big difference, 17 points." She didn't seem to care about the ranking.

"Let's go celebrate tonight. Oh, and come to my house. My mom said she'll prepare a big meal for us tonight. She told me this after watching the game at noon."

So Komia's parents came at noon? Hilti thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, in a separate lounge, Iona listened to Valenie report on the results of the exam.

She was certain to be number one, but to her surprise, someone else got a perfect score in the secret history class, even higher than her.

“Tia? That girl who always wears glasses and carries textbooks?” Iona turned around.

“Yes, Lady Iona, it’s that quiet commoner girl.” Valenie said with a hint of resentment. “That girl just memorized everything and got high marks when you weren’t looking.”

"Is it just rote memorization?" Iona was somewhat skeptical. Considering that Hyde had only been teaching for a short time, the current questions weren't too difficult. Although not getting first place was unexpected, it wasn't unacceptable.

"From now on, you won't be able to get high scores by rote memorization anymore." Iona used to study at the Royal Academy in White Cliff City and knew about the advanced content that would follow.

Regardless, the name Tia appeared in Iona's memory for the first time, and she became curious about that usually unassuming figure.
……

That night, Hilti and Karen arrived at Komia's house.

This is also in Dongcheng District, but in a better location. The entire house is built of stone bricks and coated with white lime. The roof is covered with orange-red terracotta tiles, and there are climbing vines on the side walls, making it particularly beautiful.

"Welcome, Tia, and Karen too." Komia's mother looked kind and virtuous; she wore an apron and a headscarf to cover her head from dust.

After leading her two classmates into her home, Komia happily ran back and forth inside, bringing them delicious honey water and showing them the flower basket she had recently made, her childhood toys, and her newly bought rag dolls.

The three chatted in Komia's bedroom until it got dark, when Komia's father finally returned from get off work at the Chamber of Commerce.

"You must be Tia and Karen. I've been hearing Komia mention you lately, haha." Komia's father had a small belly and seemed to be a junior manager in the Chamber of Commerce, with a lot of things to do on a daily basis.

After the guests and family members arrived, everyone sat around the long table chatting, while Komia's mother served the prepared dinner one by one.

The main course was a butter-fried steak specially prepared by Komia's mother, sprinkled with expensive spices, and served with pale red translucent currants and a small amount of roasted celery.

Such a main dish would cost 1 silver coin per serving at a restaurant, and even the ingredients would cost 30 copper coins per serving. With one serving for each of the five people, plus other side dishes, it would cost about 2 silver coins in total to prepare dinner. Even for a wealthy family like Komia's, this would be a considerable expense.

At the dinner table, Komia's father occasionally mentioned Tia and Karen's family background, but he didn't inquire too much. It seemed that he was very concerned about Komia's recent studies at Hyde College.

Komia's mother was a bit quieter. According to Komia, her mother had a good family background since childhood. She had studied and worked in Valley City before returning to her hometown to marry her father. Her father was just a young man from the countryside. He came to Scorched Stone City and gradually made his fortune. Eventually, he was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce and started working there.

"They both love me, but I feel like their relationship is rather bland and not very romantic," Komia said as she walked away from Sylvia and Karen.

"Tia, do you think it's because of me that they have to be together?"

"I don't know." The girl shook her head slightly.

"But even if that happened, you don't need to feel bad or guilty about it, because it was their choice to each other."

"What Komia needs to do is grow up healthy and happy. When you are able, you can help them solve some problems."

"I see..." Komia looked at the night sky above her head.

"I always feel that Tia is easy to rely on. Although she may not be good at fighting, I feel very relaxed around her and can't help but tell her some of my innermost thoughts."

She took a few steps forward, then turned around.

"Thank you for comforting me, Tia. Actually, I'm still very strong. I just tend to overthink things sometimes."

“I’m so happy that Tia and Karen came to my house today. My mom is always worried that I’m too outgoing at Hyde College and might offend my classmates. Actually, I’m very smart, but adults…” She shook her head slightly.

"In short, I'm very happy today, not only because I showed off my skills in front of my teachers and classmates, but also because you all accompanied me."

"See you tomorrow, Karen and Tia~" After saying that, she waved goodbye to the two at the intersection and ran towards the house whose door was still open and whose light was on.

"That's wonderful," Hilti thought to herself.

The past life is irretrievable; if she still has family in this life, where are they?

The journey is long and arduous, but the future is truly something to look forward to.

(End of this chapter)