Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 259
Chapter Title: The Leaf's Choice (3)
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"It's your fault!"
Marronier pointed accusingly and snapped at me.
"...If only that hadn't happened back then. Just holding hands made me feel so weird."
She scooted far away from the table, breathing heavily as she stared at me.
Her eyes spun in confusion. I had no idea what was going on either, so I just sat there dumbfounded, frozen in place.
She took a deep breath. Her flushed red face seemed to calm to a soft pink.
Her rambling didn't stop.
"...Don't hold my hand. Let's just talk. Just talk."
"O-okay, got it."
"Sit still."
I sat quietly.
"Blanche, what the hell."
"Don't call me that name either."
"Ah, okay. Got it."
We had to stay here together for about two more hours. I kept my words to a minimum, checking on Marronier's condition.
Had the events from that day left her with trauma?
Marronier's breathing was ragged. Even from a distance, I could hear her heart pounding, and her blue eyes tinged with pale purple darted around the room.
Tea cup. Teapot.
She'd fix her gaze on something like that, then glance at my face in a flash before looking away again.
"Is it trauma?"
"...Not exactly that... Ah, never mind. Yeah, probably trauma."
"Drink some water first."
I pulled a bottle of cold water from the mini fridge nearby and poured it into a glass for her.
-Gulp.
Marronier gripped the cup with both hands and drank. She let out a sigh laced with lingering emotion, her face much calmer now.
"Phew."
"Feeling better? What happened all of a sudden?"
"...If I knew, do you think I'd be like this?"
She shot me a glare. Placing her hands on her knees, she looked baffled, unsure what was happening to her body.
Marronier quickly composed herself.
She wiped away the slight tears with a tissue and tugged at her collar, as if it was too hot.
"Should we just talk and call it a day?"
It didn't seem like we could have a proper conversation. After a long pause at my question, Marronier mumbled in a tiny voice.
"...That would cause problems too, so just stay."
"Why? You're not in a good state."
"If word gets out that the National Tree bolted after five minutes because she couldn't handle a human, it'll just make things messy for me."
I immediately understood and sat obediently.
Fair enough. Marronier was a living symbol of her nation.
Everything she did could become an issue. Even minor things others could brush off weren't so easy for her.
It was like crossing a stone bridge after tapping it dozens of times.
'Still, her condition could serve as an excuse.'
She was probably worried about people twisting rumors maliciously.
In the end, setting the table fell to me.
I arranged it the way Lee Se-young or Azalea had taught me before, filling the teacups with black tea.
The mini greenhouse was stocked with what seemed like freshly baked pastries, so I laid out plenty on the table.
"...Thanks."
Marronier fanned herself with her hand and sipped the tea. I sat quietly, waiting for her to speak.
It wasn't long before she did.
"...Tell me something fun."
Suddenly asking that.
Hmm. Tricky.
Was this how a dad felt with a whiny daughter who couldn't sleep and begged for old stories?
A fun story. What had Marronier enjoyed before?
Digging through fuzzy memories, a brief flash: our past conversations.
Ordinary daily life tales.
She liked things she hadn't experienced, the kind that passed by unnoticed for others.
Was this the right time for that?
To break the awkward silence, yes. I started slowly.
"You know about cults?"
"What?"
"It's about fringe religions. Pretty famous in Korea."
"What's the story?"
A real cult incident.
Someone gets awkwardly pulled in, encounters a hint of madness.
Sensing something off in the creepy vibe, they try to leave, only to find grown men following them.
I began the tale.
I pieced together common incidents from online forums, framing them as my own story.
"Zone out, and a cultist might approach before you know it."
In my old world, it stayed as rumors, but here? With magic, chasing escapees with fireballs wouldn't be weird.
So I mixed some fiction in.
It showed a bit, but it made for an engaging short film plot.
"They lure people in like that. If you don't comply, they threaten to call the cops... And if that fails, they threaten your life."
Marronier listened intently, then asked cautiously at the end.
"...Is that real?"
She bought it.
"Nah, made it up."
"......"
Marronier's eyes narrowed instantly.
"You treating me like an idiot right now?"
"You were listening so well. Most of it's true, though."
"So it really happened?"
I nodded, and she sipped her tea, deep in thought.
"...Koreans live with that kind of danger all the time, huh."
She said it so seriously. She had a bit of Cornus vibes too.
I chuckled watching her, and she noticed, startling and glaring at me.
"W-what."
"Nothing. No other questions?"
"Questions..."
She pondered, then asked carefully.
"What do you eat for meals? Like rice?"
"Rice? Varies by family. Koreans eat rice with side dishes and soup, basically."
I wasn't sure how to translate banchan or guk, but she nodded eagerly, intrigued.
"Some families make a big pot of pork stir-fried with onions and bean sprouts... Keep it ready to eat. Others prep a bunch of small side dishes."
"You?"
"Similar. Fry up eggs and meat at home, throw it over rice. Lately, bread or sandwiches too."
"Never restaurants?"
Restaurants...
Pricey ones were usually ignored unless you had money to burn—like couples, SNS posters, or the well-off.
Single homebodies skipping meals? Never gone once is common.
"You too?"
"Me?"
I'd been plenty.
Too many as a kid.
"Not anymore. Used to be well-off."
"I see."
As we talked, her tension eased; a faint smile played on Marronier's lips.
Her gaze, now relaxed, fixed on my face.
Piercing through the mask, our eyes met. I popped a snack from the table and chewed.
Good that she listened well.
Thanks to her, I could keep chatting leisurely.
"Lots of curiosity, huh?"
"Curious..."
"Being the National Tree that tough? Like, zero normal experiences?"
She winced as if to say don't even ask.
A slightly downcast voice slipped out.
"...Honestly, yeah."
She aggressively crunched a cookie.
"Hard to endure. Ah, this is just between us... Don't tell anyone else?"
"Got it."
"The National Tree symbolizes the nation. Basically carrying the reputation on my back... If I slip, the whole country looks bad. Sixty million French people could get flak. You think Wood People like us have freedom?"
No way. Diet, training, free time—all micromanaged. For introverted Marronier, unbearable.
"Alone time? Nonexistent."
"Can't sneak out? Disguise or something."
"Max free time per day is one hour. How am I supposed to sneak off and enjoy in that?"
Impossible normally.
Unlike my reckless youth squandering life, Marronier grew chugging society's sludge. Such deprivation was inevitable.
"Short of teleporting."
"I can."
"...What?"
I reflexively answered her mutter.
"Spatial magic."
"You can do that? Don't make me laugh. Even the Sage poured heart into creating it..."
"Wanna see?"
I'd used spatial magic before to console young White Path, Yellow Path, and Blue Path.
'Yellow Path taught me well.'
Cramming thesis-like stuff all night hurt my head, doubting I'd ever use it. Now, my most useful spell.
"For real?"
"This one's real."
"...How, whatever. Point is, you bragging about spatial magic?"
"No, I mean I can take you places if needed. An hour's enough for a meal somewhere, right?"
Drop her off, do my thing.
Pick her up after, score favor with Marronier.
In return, borrow her authority—mutual benefit.
Finding Flower as pretext; not bad for her.
Collecting my thoughts, I looked at her again.
Her face was slightly flushed.
"......"
"What's with that look."
"...You're inviting me?"
Inviting what.
Oh. A date?
Blinking, she averted her gaze, fidgeting fingers.
Every time it veered romantic, her reaction spiked.
Easy to misread. No way. Not with our bad blood. Not like Lee Se-young.
"I mean, just drop you off. I'll handle my stuff. Or show you what you wanna see."
"......"
"I got a few requests too."
Snapping to at my follow-up, she cooled off and glared.
"R-requests? You've been plotting this from the start?"
"Nothing bad."
Win for me, win for you.
Only she could read thoughts.
Tip me off on insolent thinkers.
I detailed my situation, persuading thoroughly. Marronier looked genuinely surprised listening.
Soon, her answer came.