Chapter 278
Chapter 278
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 278
Chapter Title: Aren't You Flower? (3)
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Bead stood on the balcony, silently gazing at the horizon in her view.
The sun was setting and the moon was rising.
The sky was beautiful, like someone had gathered paints of different colors and splashed water over them.
Below it, trees grew thickly, and even further down, summer flowers bloomed.
"Sss."
She looked at the flowers.
Swallowing the saliva pooled in her mouth brought a bitter vibration.
The thing she'd been worried about had come much sooner than expected.
She'd been dropping hints subtly, but she hadn't thought they'd come at her so directly.
She spread her mana faintly enough not to trigger any alarms and scanned the surroundings.
Several people were now following her.
It was probably Lee Si-heon's doing, or some scheme from the World Trees wary of Flower, or the Hunter Association.
"Yaaawn..."
Bead yawned and entered a contact into her phone.
She called right away. After a few rings and pressing a few more numbers, the call finally connected.
[What is it?]
A low, calm woman's voice came through.
"Hey, Auntie. You doing well? The flowers here are super pretty. Want me to send pics?"
[......]
Hong Yeon paused briefly, thrown off by the sudden "Auntie" title.
But she quickly grasped the situation and answered Bead's question.
She was in a highly suspicious spot right now.
Traces couldn't be followed. The call between Bead and Hong Yeon was routed through a company under Flower.
Even if they noticed something off, they didn't seem to have the power to dig that deep yet.
Bead chatted freely, at ease.
Teasing in a tough spot was half the fun.
[I don't like flowers. How's the Forest Keeper selection going?]
"Ahaha, you bet. Auntie, you not watching TV lately? It's been forever since we started. You didn't know I passed the second trial?"
[Sorry.]
Bead raised the corner of her mouth as she looked down at the fully bloomed flowers below.
[Are preparations ready?]
Hong Yeon whispered softly, so only Bead could hear.
"Huh? Oh, that? Not yet. The third trial's a long one. They haven't even started assigning mentors."
[Then it's the Wood Spirit King.]
Bead didn't answer. She just kept repeating bright "Yeah"s and "Really?"s.
To avoid detection, her tails weren't using abilities or mana.
There might be cameras around here, but no bugs.
'Though there's one in my room.'
Touching it carelessly could raise suspicions.
[Do as you like.]
Was she too uninterested in the Wood Spirit King?
He could end up as Bead's—or Hong Yeon's—superior.
Did she think pushing to kill him would reveal her ambitions?
No. Hong Yeon seemed utterly indifferent to whether the Wood Spirit King existed or not.
She stubbornly stuck to what she had to do. To her, he was just one prophecy among many.
"Yeah. Gotta eat dinner now, so I'll hang up."
She pocketed her phone and let out another sigh.
Whether to bring the Wood Spirit King into the fold or not.
It was Lee Si-heon's choice, but Flower was already fighting internally over it.
The executives were divided from the first to the eighth leaf.
Each had built their own independent forces, cooperating only in name—practically separate factions.
If all executives had joined hands from the start to fight the World Trees, this mental tug-of-war would have ended long ago.
Flower's internal conflicts were one of their deeply entrenched issues.
'Ally with the Wood Spirit King, or kill him.'
This was one of those agenda items.
Excluding the practically executive-less eighth leaf, the stances on the Wood Spirit King were as follows.
The first, second, and seventh executives wanted to bring him in, while the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth wanted to kill Lee Si-heon.
The first and second, who founded Flower and built their forces: Taragon and Canna.
And the five who joined later: Cistus, Lotus, Honeysuckle, Paeonia, Freesia.
With each pursuing their own interests, how could anything get resolved properly?
That was why they couldn't deal with even one corrupt, authoritarian World Tree.
"......"
The empty eighth leaf, Flower itself, had been for the Wood Spirit King from the beginning.
If Lee Si-heon joined, he'd take the highest seat, equal to the first leaf.
If that happened, everything would go according to the saintess's prophecy.
Now it was up to Bead to make it happen.
"Haa."
But it was too hard.
'Lee Si-heon knows his position too damn well.'
Lee Si-heon was in a pitiful spot, tossed between the World Trees and Flower.
But flipped around, he was someone who could manipulate both forces at once.
The Wood Spirit King's potential was enough to make him an executive right now.
Leave him be, and he really might swallow both factions whole.
The World Trees knew it too.
So they had to persuade him quick, before he sided with them.
It had devolved into mind games by accident. From Bead's view, she had no intention of antagonizing Lee Si-heon.
'The executive-less eighth leaf is like a seedless watermelon.'
Their forces were the weakest among the eight.
Hong Yeon's competence and strength had built them up this far—without that, they'd be cannon fodder.
For their interests, the Wood Spirit King was essential.
But Hong Yeon, their current leader, showed zero interest.
Bead, the middle manager, was the frustrated one.
Middles were always like that.
Squeezed from above, beaten from below.
A stress-inducing position.
'...Haa.'
Lonely. Handling it alone was killing her.
Maybe it'd be better to just get caught in plain sight and die.
Her head throbbed with impulsive thoughts.
Just as those negative emotions were about to cross the line—
-Drip.
Bead's expression instantly hardened coldly.
Puppy Tree.
A being without flower language.
Born within Flower, raised for the sole purpose of serving it, brainwashed to feel no emotions beyond a certain point.
No flower language meant no discoverable reason for birth.
Thus, plants without origins or etymologies generally lived without purpose, dreams, or will.
Crawling on the ground until picked up and used as tools.
Bead's, Sun's, and Aori's starting points were similar.
"Anyway."
She sorted the thoughts filling her head.
First, she had to do what she needed to.
She soothed her heated forehead, shook off her emotions with a sigh, and smiled again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Big bro."
"Why are you guys here?"
The appointed meeting time with Bead.
I was sitting on the sofa, munching snacks and scrolling my phone, when—out of the bedroom—Sun and Aori walked out. Just as I'd suspected.
"C'mon~ If it's a Flower meet, of course we tag along. You know that, right?"
"What makes you think you know what to say?"
"I'm a smart cookie, y'know? Leave the muscle to Aori."
Sun giggled, pointing behind him. Trailing after was Aori in a maid outfit from who-knows-where, walking with dainty steps.
Where'd that come from?
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
"It's his hobby."
Maid Aori pattered around, setting dishes on the sofa table.
She glanced at me with a somehow confident look.
"Got pretty much every cosplay getup. All sizes. Lemme see—bunny girl, reverse bunny, elementary school swimsuit, uniform—"
"Bragging?"
"You love it. Just say the word if you need one. Like for bonding with someone you know... I made 'em myself, super comfy."
Like I'd ever need that.
I liked other outfits fine, but cosplay? I barely watched videos of it.
The disconnect was too much; hard to take in.
'Hold up.'
In this world where exotic hair colors looked natural, any outfit might look cute, right?
Cheondo's Prickcue outfit.
Not something I'd say to my master, but... I'd kinda like to see it once.
She loved that getup, after all.
"Hold it for now."
"Got it."
-Rustle.
This time, a sound from the kitchen. Not Aori—Sun.
"What're you doing now?"
"Making cookies."
"Why bother?"
"Got guests."
"You're the only one serving Flower cookies."
Sun, customizing cookies from the buffet below—apricot jam on top, fruits added—to his taste.
Surprisingly practiced; his hands moved freely.
"Saw her once before."
"...What?"
"Told ya. I was in the lab till fifteen. Think I saw her a few times then."
"Oh. Yeah?"
"Plus, she's in a spot like ours."
I sipped my tea, reacting lukewarmly.
No matter what, Flower wasn't worth hosting in my book.
"Gotta uphold the king's dignity."
"Right, Your Majesty."
They had a point; nothing much to say against it.
Not entirely wrong, peeled back.
They probably didn't get why I saw Flower as enemies.
The Wood Spirit King fit anywhere without issue.
Entertaining the other side wasn't weird.
"Here."
Sun set the finished cookies on the table between sofas.
The already fancy cookies, topped with fruit and jam, now looked proper cuisine.
-Pour.
Aori was brewing tea beside me.
"What the hell are you two?"
Grateful, but absurd watching them.
Self-proclaimed king's retainers—were they actually doing the job?
Or was this a hobby?
Or buying my favor?
-Knock, knock, knock.
Soon, knocking.
Aori already dashed to the door.
Unlocked and opened it demurely.
Bead entered and froze at the room's vibe.
"...What? You're not alone?"
I shrugged at her unwitting question.
Sun plopped on the sofa next to me and chin-nodded the seat across.
"Sit."
Bead's face hardened the instant her eyes met Sun's.
Did they know each other?
Wait a sec.
This punk had hidden knowing her from me?
Made digging into her identity with Star feel pointless.
"...Why're you staring, bro?"
-Smack!
"Ack!"
My hand shot out unwittingly, striking Sun's forehead.
"Kiyeeee!"
Sun flopped over dramatically. Bead watched, utterly baffled.