Hinata’s Revenge

I have been putting off asking Fulvius the important questions for a week now. Despite the fact that my passion for casting spells hasn't diminished, I don't want to hint Fulvius that I would like to take part in the next plant conversion. Perhaps I'm worried about what he might say. We see each other every day, but our interactions are limited to a short talk, and we hardly ever go out together. However, we take part in the club activities. We showed Emiko-san and Hideki-kun how to execute the leaf ritual, and they were overjoyed. Although Fulvius looks a little distant, I don't believe he has lost interest in me. Maybe he needs some alone time to figure things out in his mind. He even informed me he needed some downtime to rest up so he could successfully perform the major plant ritual.

"Good morning, Hinata, how are you?" Fulvius asks as he takes a seat next to me and begins unpacking his schoolbag.

"I'm fine, how about you?" I follow up by asking him.

"I'm actually in a great mood right now. I spent yesterday's after-school time sketching out how the ritual should play out. Please take this." Following his response, Fulvius grabs the sketch and hands it to me.

"Wow, there's a ton of information here. Wait a minute, this does not appear to be your room, but rather some old ruins. Is this right?" I inquire, curious as to what he is up to. 
"You are absolutely correct. This ceremony has the potential to be quite deadly. I won't be able to do it in my room. The potential plant must also be tethered to the wall, as you can see." After giving me an explanation, he follows up by asking me if I've made up my mind to take part.

"I'm not one to give up easily. Additionally, it seems less hazardous to me. I can't be strangled because the plant is chained securely. We would perform it from a specific distance as well." I speak while supporting my back on the wooden chair.

"Do you understand why it needs to be chained, Hinata?" Fulvius asks with a troubled look on his face.

"No, but how come we didn't tie down the previous one?" I'm hesitant.

"Because it moved too quickly and was too thin. Even if it had been well restrained, it would have escaped. This one is unique. Given its size and thickness, it moves really slowly. Furthermore, this plant lacks limbs. It needs to be shackled because it will literally turn into a monster." Fulvius bursts out laughing at my reaction.

"A gigantic, limbless plant. What are you talking about, Fulvius? Where can you find something like that?" I inquire impatiently.

"Hinata, don't be concerned. It's already in my basement," he says, laughing.

"Hey, you forgot to tell me what kind of plant it is," I remark.

"Victoria Water Lily. I have got its flower." Fulvius looks into my eyes and smiles.

"How big is it exactly?" I ask.

"One third of a meter, however it will expand to a radius of one meter during the ceremony. One meter in height and width. Does that sound good to you?" The school bell rings as soon as he finishes his update.

I'm looking forward to the end of all the lessons. After school, we are going to look around the place where we might be able to carry out the ceremony.

We rush over to his house to retrieve the flower from the basement. In order to conceal what we are transporting from bystanders , I aid Fulvius in packing it into a box. Fulvius takes away the schoolbooks and replaces them with magical books. Along with it, we go to the kitchen to prepare a meal. We pack a sizable supply of food because we have no idea how long the ceremony will take to complete.

"Have you noticed that they are holding a box, Mitsuko? I'm curious what that is." Emiko enquires from a crook in the street corner.

"Yes, it is clear that they have packed up so they could travel elsewhere. Both of them wear rucksacks. Like they're going camping or something," Mitsuko responds with a contented smile.

"I still can't believe we figured them out. In the end, it is not necessary to listen in on them." Emiko murmurs, and they both begin to trail in the direction of Fulvius and Hinata.

"Do you think this is the right place? There is a wall there, and we can tie the flower to it." Fulvius exclaims.

"Yes, it's amazing. Will you now begin to insert the chains into it?" I eagerly enquire.

"Of course," he responds, pulling a hammer out of the box and getting to work. Given that he is not looking at me, I don't need to conceal my malicious grin. After about a half an hour, I decide to tell him the truth. I've had enough of watching his useless struggle.
"You know what Fulvius. To survive, Victoria amazonica needs water. I can't believe you disregarded that information." I gladly pointed out his mistake.

I add gleefully, "We need to find a pond, not tie it up to the wall."

"You are the botanist, haha. I'm only a mage. You see, I need your assistance. We are working together on this." Fulvius says while feigning indifference.

"Yes, you're correct. Should we move the place then? Do you see why it wouldn't work here? I apologize for sabotaging your plan," I say.

"We should absolutely relocate. In the end, this is a forest. We'll have no trouble finding a pond. I must first take the chains from the wall." Fulvius responds and begins to take out the chains that he laboriously engraved a few minutes earlier into the wall holes.

I take a seat on a stump and watch Fulvius use a hammer to smash the stone wall. Fortunately, he considers all potential outcomes in advance, so he carried the necessary equipment in case he wanted to adjust or remove the chains. To exact my vengeance, I purposefully kept quiet about the fact that there is no water in this place. This is pretty amusing to me.

"What do you suppose they will do with those enormous shackles, Mitsuko? It actually terrifies me." Emiko inquires, unable to believe what she is seeing through the shrubbery where they are hidden.

Mitsuko happily declares, "I don't know, but this is getting intriguing."