The Plant Diaries

“Paper and… paper. It’s a tie.” I looked up and met Magia’s gaze. “One more.”

“Two papers again?” Bill raised an eyebrow. I should’ve known a fellow bookworm would stick to paper. Then this time I’ll go scissors.

“Two scissors? Are you two for real?” Zyra said in boredom. “You both know it all comes down to this right? Stop messing around.” The rest of the group nodded.

I could feel my palms get slightly sweaty. Magia’s glasses had misted slightly. I could feel it, this next one would be decisive. Here goes nothing.

“Rock, paper, scissors—shoot!”

I flicked my hands downwards flaring my hand into a scissors shape.

“S-sorry, Reno.” She said softly. “It’s my win.”

I looked around, the eyes of the Little Dreamers lacking their usual sparkle. I messed up.

“The winner of the four hundred and fifty seventh grand magic games is none other than… the pre-scouts!” Bill said a single, solitary tear dropping from his face as he did.

“I’m surprised you announced it so quickly, good job.” Zyra said to Bill. A rare compliment from Zyra of all people.

“To think it’d all end like this…”Jamie said softly under his breath, then he recovered bubbling back up to his usual cheery self. “Well, we did our best, so it’s okay.”

“We lost fair and square.” I said reasonably.

“It’s because I only played one game.” Bill cut in.

“You realise you lost the one game you played right?” Zyra cut in. All of a sudden Bill didn’t feel like talking anymore.

“It was well-fought, you all did great.” Rosette extended her hand out to me and I clasped it. “I had fun.” She smiled in a way I’d never seen of her before. So even Rosette has a childlike side to her.

“It’s all thanks to Magia.” Rosette continued.

“Hm—Magia? What did she do?” Zyra cut in. Magia lowered her head.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you see what she just done? You were rooting for her a few seconds ago, you know?”

“T-that’s—whatever!” Zyra said coldly. Is it something about Magia that annoys her? Something’s off about those two when they’re next to each other, did they have some sort of argument or fight in the past?

“So what’s the punishment again and when does it start.” Jamie cut in.

“Community service of course! You’ll be helping setup and clear out the very stalls you destroyed. Also your parents have been informed and will be paying reimbursements for the destroyed stalls. The Butter Town council should be dealing with that as we speak.”

“What, they have to pay and we have to do community service?” Bill cried in dissatisfaction. “Where’s the logic in that? Why are we punished twice?”

“It’s simple really.” Rosette had slipped back into her elder sister tone. “You all won’t learn if you’re not punished, but community service isn’t enough to pay back what they lost, so both need to be done as a lesson to the parents and the kids.”

“That’s…” Phill started speaking but quickly stopped.

“Fair, is the word you’re looking for, right, Phill?” Rosette gave a slightly threatening smile.

“You’re right s-sorry Big Sis Rosette!”

“When do we start?” I cut in.

“Tomorrow.”

“That soon?”

She chuckled. “No, you start a week from today, officially anyways. You can do whatever until then but… I’d suggest not playing chaos tag or anything like that again. Ever.”

“Yes, Big Sister Rosette!” We all said in unison nodding. When she put on that tone she was scary.

“Girls, let’s go.” Rosette turned and they all nodded before turning to leave. It wasn’t only the Little Dreamers who respected Rosette enough to listen to her. “Aren’t you coming too, Magia?”

Magia looked Rosette in the eye before looking at me. Her head kept swivelling between me and Rosette.

“Hm?” I said involuntarily. “What’s wrong?” Is she trying to tell us something?

“I-I want to stay here… with Reno. Just for today.” She looked at Rosette.

Rosette’s expression was one of confusion but eventually she conceded. “Alright then, I’ll sort things out. Until next time, thanks for the games.”

“T-thank you!” Polia spoke.

“Hm, we’ll have a rematch Finn.” Keira said as she walked off.

“Enjoy your community service boys.” Zyra said before turning around.

We all nodded waving them, off.

“Ugh, finally they’re gone.” Bill slouched. Typical, never change Bill, never change.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with them? They’re your classmates right?” I turned to Magia.

She nodded. “I’d rather stay here with you.” She looked down as she did, embarrassed.

“Okay.” I smiled.

“Hey Finn.” Jamie said out of the blue. “Anything you want to say to us?”

Finn turned to face us, instead of the usual horizon or sky he always fixated his gaze on. Then he said one simple and powerful word.

“Sorry.”

“Why did you let them win?” Jamie continued. He really, really didn’t like the fact Finn did that. And admittedly, I was the same. Just why did Finn do that?

“I wanted to make sure we did more community service.” He spoke slowly. “We’ve been doing this for a while—but Reno hasn’t. It’s unfair to Reno but we’ve avoided punishment plenty of times, and I don’t think it was right.”

Woah, more than a sentence? From Finn? He really is being sincere.

“So you took matters into your own hands and tried to make us lose?” Jamie said, his anger growing. “If you had a problem with what we were doing why didn’t you say something earlier?”

A cold breeze.

“Well?” Jamie followed up. “I really wanted to win but you…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise how much it meant to you, until after I let them win. You’re right, if I’m in a team competition I should do my best to win. Sabotaging isn’t… right.” He spoke calmly and softly.

Jamie sighed, “You know, you almost made Reno do it too.”

“What? How did you know?” I took another look at Jamie. Actually, Jamie was right. I was planning to let them win like Finn wanted but I got carried away. I couldn’t turn down a race.

“Remember the order? If I made Finn last he could easily sabotage the race. I had to make sure I was giving the baton to Finn, so he’d see my determination and how hard I was trying. Then he wouldn’t sabotage us—I know him too well. He could never let us down after seeing our spirit, he respects hard work too much.”

Woah, Jamie had thought about it that deeply? I was only considering the optimal running dynamics but Jamie had even thought about stopping Finn.

“You were in last, Reno, because I’ve seen you race. It doesn’t matter what Finn said or tried—once you start running for real, you’re a different person.” Jamie smiled.

Well… he had a point. When I was running I really was a different person. I was Akio.

“W-what about me boss? Why was I put in last place?” Phill said excitedly, waiting for his big reveal.

“Uhm…” Jamie scratched his cheek. “Yeah.”

“What? What do you mean ‘yeah’? Boss?”

“There, there.” I patted Phill’s shoulder, shaking my head slowly.

“But in the end we lost fair and square, so…” Jamie’s voice trailed off. “Aaaaaaaaaaa.”

“Eeek!” Magia cried from beside me.

“My ears!” Bill clutched at his ears desperately, his stomach rotating. “What was that for, Boss?”

“That feels much better!” Jamie smiled. “I’ve let out all my anger now.”

Well at least Jamie was feeling better now, even if it was at the expense of our hearing for a few seconds.

“Ah, no more chaos tag… what should we do?” Bill looked around scratching his belly. “Surely one more roun—“

“No.” three voices echoed in union. It was me, Finn and Jamie.

“Have you guys got any better ideas then?”

The sound of running water from a fountain.

Better ideas? Something we could do for fun to replace chaos tag… hmmm, I wonder. What did kids usually do around this age before phones? Football? Climb trees? Look at wildlife? Wait—that’s it!

“I’ve got an idea.” I raised my hand slightly as everyone in the group turned to face me.

“Rookie? You’ve got an idea?” Bill said, analysing me as if I was someone he’d never seen before.

“Alright, buddy, you’re not an announcer anymore so you don’t have to call me that.” I corrected him.

“Speaking of me being an announcer I’m pretty good, aren’t I? I practice in my room every now and then as a hobby, and that was a pretty good debut, right, right?” His eyes sparkled as he looked to me for validation.

Actually, I agreed with him, it was a pretty good debut. However, I didn’t like the smirk on his face.

“Are you going to listen to my suggestion or not?”

“Fine, fine.” He said in resignation.

“Let’s hear it.” Jamie said as Magia looked up at me curiously.

“My suggestion is… we go sightseeing!” I grinned.

“What? Sightseeing? That’s so lame!” Bill groaned.

“Wait, at least hear him out. You couldn’t even think of an idea remember?” Jamie said speaking up for me. That’s you told, Bill.

“As I was saying, we should go and find some rare plants and animals. Think about how much fun it could be to find unique species! There’s all sorts that sparkle and light up weirdly and stuff!” I tried my best to sound convincing as if observing wildlife was the most fun thing in the world. After all, it is.

And there’s totally no other ulterior motives behind this suggestion. It’s not like I want to gather various rare plants and store them with Daphne. It’s not like I want to see if I could store animals or insects in Daphne’s interior space. It’s not like I want a good reason to mess around doing science experiments and need people to help me test certain things.

That wasn’t the reason at all…

“That sounds,” Jamie paused. “…boring.”

Well, there goes that plan.

“U-uhm I think it sounds fun.” A feminine voice cut in.

“What? Why does it matter what you think, you’re not even one of the Littl—“

“Bill.” Jamie’s voice was slightly cold. “Do you mind?”

“S-sorry boss.” He lowered his head.

“Anyone else think it could be fun?” Jamie looked around.

Two people raised their hands. “I do.” The first was Phill.

“I do too.” Surprisingly, the second person was Finn.

“Well, in that case…” Jamie paused contemplating for a while. “Let’s do it.” He smiled.

Mission success.

“But, what exactly are we supposed to do?” He continued rubbing his chin. I thought you’d never ask, Jamie.

“I was thinking, how about we keep a record of all the different plants and animals we could find in and around Butter Town and try to find them all!” I suggested, a big grin on my face.

“All of them?” Bill shirked back.

“What? You scared?” I goaded.

“N-not at all,” he stuttered. “In fact that’s even too easy for me.” You played right into my hands, Bill.

“Then we could compete over who can find the most or the rarest each day.” I continued.

Phill’s eyes lit up. “That does seem quite fun, and much less mischievous.”

“Doesn’t that mean someone has to keep track of all the things we find? Won’t it be boring for them?”

“That’s true…” honestly I wanted to be the person recording everything so it wasn’t much of a downside, but Jamie did have a point.

“I’ll do it!” A hand flew into the air.

“Magia? You will?” I turned, incredulous.

She gave a short nod of affirmation. “I like anything related to books and writing. And besides I’m not very good a running or sports so I’d prefer to just write things down and draw different things with everyone.” She smiled and for a moment she looked just like an angel.

“Well, that works.” I followed up. “And if Magia’s not here then I’ll do it.”

“I’m not sure how fun this’ll be but… lead the way Reno.” Jamie suggested.

“Me? Lead?” he nodded. I don’t know how much I liked that phrasing. Leading the Little Dreamers… I hadn’t considered it much up to this point but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. That being said, I did enjoy the current situation with Jamie as the leader. He was well suited to the role.

“Then let’s go to the inner district!” I shouted with newfound energy.

“Off we go!” Bill shouted.

“Woohoo!” Phill chirped in.

“W-woo.” Magia tried to join in.

“Hm.” Finn turned his scarf swaying in the wind.

For the first place we would go, I thought about the inner and outer district’s running river. I’d heard about a few of the wildlife in this world but I still hadn’t seen a lot of them personally. And besides I had another objective. To start teaching them, science.

“This is far enough.” I called out when we got to the river which was more like a small stream running through the districts. “Since we don’t have a book or a pen today we can just remember the things we see for next time.” I looked at Magia.

“Hm…” Magia hummed quietly. “Actually, I do have a book with me. I always keep a book and a pen on me.”

Why am I even surprised? I smiled—that’s just like her.

“Well we can start writing down what we find today. Everyone listen up.” I paused for dramatic effect. “There’s a flower known as the Spades flower, have you all heard of it?” They all nodded.

“Legend tells of a legendary five-leaf Spades flower!” I said with conviction.

Yes, the conclusion I’d come to was to reinvent a legendary game which was played since the ancient times back on earth. Yes, searching for the elusive five leaf clover—but in this world they were Spades.

“W-woah.” Magia and Phill said at the same time.

“Isn’t that a myth? I heard there’s only four-leaf Spades.” Jamie said slightly disappointed. He’s too smart.

“Huh? No, that’s where you’re wrong. It’s only been sighted once before in the entire world… and it was at this very stream!” I continued, committing to the story.

“No way…” Bill said with fervour in his eyes.

“All over the world it’s only been seen here?” Jamie said slowly. “Really?” I nodded quickly. Of course I was lying. The five leaf Spade didn’t exist, at least from what Silvia told me.

“And today… we’re going to find it!” I said with sparkles in my eyes. And while we’re finding it you will all be doing science—of course, largely unknowingly. The plan was simple, while everyone was looking for the five leaf Spade, I’d conduct two experiments. A river flow speed test and a mini plant biodiversity tally.

“I found a one leaf Spade.” Phill held up a flower he’d caught just along the bank of the stream. Nice way to kick things off, nice going Phill! I shot him a thumbs up

“Only? I’ve already found a two leaf!” Bill paraded his two leaf Spade.

“What how come I can’t find any?” Jamie said quietly.

“Look Boss there’s so many over here!”

Now while everyone’s distracted if I just place this stick here and count a little then—

“What are you doing?” Magia said from besides me.

“Oh this, it’s a way of testing how fast the stream is moving.”

“Wow, that’s interesting.” Her glasses sparkled. “How do you do it?”

“Well you mark two places you know the distance between and place an object at the start of the first line. Then as it’s moving you count until it reaches the second line. The speed will be the distance covered divided by the time.” I said slowly. “Do you get it?”

“Nope.”

“Not a word.”

“Hm.”

“I got it.”

“You were all listening?” I flushed red, slightly embarrassed.

“Well, of course. You weren’t looking for the five-leaf Spade.” Jamie smiled.

Two and a half tethers per second, I calculated in my head. The stream seemed relatively safe and didn’t look very deep either. It’d probably be fine even if someone accidentally fell in. Most of us could stand in it, but I’m not sure if Magia could.

“So how fast is the stream?” Jamie said curiously.

“About two tethers per second.”

“Per second?” Bill said confused. “I don’t get it, shouldn’t it just be either fast or slow?” Oh boy, guess there was a lot of work to be done.

“I think he means that for every second that passes an object in the river would move two tethers in the direction the river is going… right?” Magia said as she looked up at me. Ah, if I was a science teacher she’d easily be my favourite pupil.

“That’s right.” I confirmed.

“Oh that’s what that means.” Bill’s stomach nodded in understanding.

“Anyways, it’s about time I got searching for the five-leaf spade too.” Test one out of two, done. Now to keep track of the plant biodiversity, and maybe sneak a few into my pocket to give to Daphne later.

I wandered along the edges of the stream, my eyes scanning every unusual leaf and glowing flower. Some of the plants looked like they’d sprouted from a dream—broad, translucent leaves that shimmered in the sun, vines curling around rocks with what looked like tiny lanterns dangling from their tendrils.

I knelt down to examine a cluster of bluish-green blooms that emitted a faint humming sound. I’d never seen anything like it back home, and even here, I didn’t recognise them.

“Reno, look at this one!” Phill crouched beside a patch of pale pink flowers with speckled petals. “They smell… kinda like honey and metal.”

I leaned over to sniff. Sure enough, a sweet metallic tang hit my nose. “That’s amazing. Can you write it down, Magia? Maybe note its shape and smell—after all, we might be the first to record it properly.”

Bill waved a bright orange leaf with jagged edges. “Found another! Maybe a three-leaf spade this time!” He was grinning like a kid who’d just discovered gold.

The farther we went, the more we found. Every bend in the stream seemed to hide something we’d never seen before—plants with spiralled stems that coiled like spring traps, flowers that glowed faintly in patterns like a heartbeat, moss that twinkled underfoot like tiny green stars. Even Finn’s scarf twitched every time he spotted a strange sentient-like plant.

I paused by a cluster of violet ferns that quivered whenever someone approached. I crouched, touching them lightly. They recoiled and then relaxed, almost like they were breathing. Size, colour, movement, leaf pattern, I made a mental note of them all and of course nabbed a few too—seeds and all.

What a haul! Today, Daphne would have a feast.

From the edge of the stream, Finn crouched down, picking something delicate from the grass. He straightened slowly, holding a flower between his fingers.

“Hey Finn, did you find anything?” I asked, walking over.

He glanced at it casually, as if it were no big deal. “A four-leaf Spade,” he said, voice flat. Then he twirled it between his fingers and let it drop back onto the grass.

Everyone turned to him with wide eyes. “F-fou—four spades?” Bill stammered, staring.

Jamie leaned forward, blinking. “Seriously?”

Finn shrugged, adjusting his scarf. I couldn’t help but smile.

He can’t keep getting away with this much aura farming.

“Reno!” Magia’s voice cut through the quiet hum of the stream. I turned to see her standing a few tethers away, kneeling by something that made her glasses sparkle with an intensity I had rarely seen before.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth curved in a subtle, satisfied smile. The type reserved for when she found something worth recording. I jogged over. “What is it?”

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. “Reno, I found it.”

“Found what? You found a four-leaf spade too?”

She shook her head. Her hand hovered over a patch of leaves unlike any other we’d seen so far. They were deep green, perfect spade shapes, and there were five of them in a single cluster. I smiled, of course it’d be her to find it.

“Wait… five?” Bill and Jamie froze, staring as Magia carefully lifted the cluster. A slow hush fell over the stream, broken only by the soft rustle of leaves.

“No… that can’t be real,” Jamie whispered.

“But how?” Bill said in confusion, voice shaky.

Magia’s lips curved into a triumphant, almost mischievous smile, and for a moment, even Finn looked genuinely taken aback.

Everyone’s eyes were locked onto the five-leaf spade, awe and disbelief mirrored in our faces. Then, almost in unison, murmurs of astonishment rippled through the group.

“That’s so cool!” Phill broke the silence.

“W-well done, Magia. S-sorry about earlier.” Bill said twiddling his thumbs. He was probably referring to when he said her opinion didn’t matter.

“It’s fine.” She smiled, happy as can be.

“So you really weren’t lying.” Jamie said to me quietly.

“O-of course not.” I scratched the back of my head. Lying—me? No, no, of course not.

After some time, I leaned back on my heels, brushing the dirt from my palms. Various leaves, insects, and flowers had been noted, categorised, and scribbled into the notebook and with the help of Magia, the stream’s biodiversity tally was practically finished.

I stared into the sky, noticing how the sun was already melting into the horizon.

“That was fun, Reno!” Bill and Phill said in unison.

“It really was, right Finn?” Jamie smiled as even Finn nodded, albeit subtly.

“That was amazing.” Magia smiled. She seemed to be the one who enjoyed it the most, as the one who was the most scientifically inclined among them.

“I’m glad you all had fun.” I smiled too. We didn’t need to play chaos tag anymore, we could do this peacefully and everybody would be happy.

For a sweet few moments it was just us, the Little Dreamers and Magia, lying down on a patch of grass in the middle of Butter Town. The clouds were folded neatly in the sky and the sun was golden, enhancing everyone’s smiles.

This was one of the moments I wished would last forever.

“What should we call this book, Reno?” Magia said as she looked at me curiously. Right, it did make sense to name the book with all our discoveries and findings in it. How about…

“The Plant Diaries.”