Chapter 280
Chapter 280
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: You're Flower, Aren't You? (5)
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"Keuk. Cough."
Taeyang clamped his mouth shut as if vomiting blood, his body trembling.
"You okay?"
"Cough, cough! Does this... gah. Look okay to you? Cough."
It wouldn't be strange if a bone or two were broken.
His cheeks and eyes were swollen like balloons, and his clothes were ragged enough to toss straight into a donation bin.
"Aori, what did you turn the kid into, some kind of paste? Go easy on him."
I said that, but honestly, it felt pretty satisfying. Aori picked up on the subtext and flashed me a thumbs-up.
"Felt like if not now, I wouldn't get the chance."
"Keuk! Aori, you're killing me...!"
Unable to hold back at that pathetic display, Taeyang spat up blood.
If Taeyang had just been a bit tougher, a little more flexible, he could've been a decent kid.
He's not stupid, but compared to the info he has, he lacks desperation.
"That's why you gotta report shit properly, way in advance."
"......"
"You get it or not?"
"Bro. I'm seriously, fucking sorry—sorry enough to invoke my mom's name. But can I get some healing first?"
"No. Save it for Cornus."
"Shiiit."
For bruises like this, using divine power felt iffy. External and internal injuries are different, right? If gauging by pain or life-threatening risk, Cornus's were way worse.
That's why some of the wounds I got from Bao were left to heal naturally without treatment.
Most divine powers had to go to Cornus, so it was the obvious choice.
"That's 'cause you're on another level, like planaria-regen strong. Me? I'm a fragile normie who screams if I snag a hangnail."
"Then go rest up. You can talk, so you'll live."
"I'll shut up."
About damn time.
Back to the matter at hand. I clasped my hands and stared at her.
Bead gaped, mouth slack like what the hell is going on.
"...What is this, some skit?"
"Happens a lot."
The mood had lightened somehow, but the issue at hand was still grave.
Externally, Flower and the Wood Spirit King. Who knew what ripples this conversation would cause.
But pretending the earlier incident never happened felt wrong too.
Bead looked uncomfortable with the situation, so I brushed it off with a chuckle.
"Figured you guys linked up with Si-heon somehow. Didn't expect you to be this chummy."
I hadn't expected this either.
Now we tossed around "this punk" and "that asshole" casually, but it felt like we'd been forced into familiarity because Taeyang and Aori kept crossing lines.
"Then... you know what Flower is, right? You just heard."
Bead finally started talking.
The organization called Flower.
Its foundation aligns with the Line. I had reason to help Flower.
"There are hardliners, sure, but it's not just that."
Countless young lives preserved by Flower.
All of them discarded by the World Trees' hierarchy. Innocent. That's the gist of their logic.
Flower aims to shatter this harsh reality. Purpose and will-wise, even I can't deny it.
"So, you want me to join Flower?"
That was the point.
"......"
From a beggar's position, acting high and mighty was unavoidable for Bead's sake.
I'm a figure between World Trees and Flower. Coming in low could mess up negotiations with the World Trees.
So they'd balance threats and flattery to drag me in.
I hadn't heard Bead's full story yet, so hard to respond.
"...Yeah."
Bead fidgeted with her collar after forcing the words out. Her eyes flicked to Taeyang.
"Not entirely wrong."
"Yeah, true. Flower ain't bad. Without them, me and Aori'd be dead."
Taeyang nodded in agreement.
"So, how many have you killed? You know why Flower's labeled terrorists now?"
"That's true too. You know how many kids these bitches killed?"
Taeyang chimed in again.
You're right, and you're right too.
They'd been yapping nonstop. Annoyed, I flicked their foreheads hard enough to dent them.
-Thwack!
"Eek!"
Finally quiet.
Regaining composure, I calmly assessed the situation.
If I let personal feelings and selfish desires sway me, I might not make the right choices later.
My actions could affect many lives.
Even a stone bridge needs testing. Suspect to the end, inspect it, and only then proceed cautiously.
"Aori. Take him away."
"Yes."
Drag, drag. Taeyang hauled to the bedroom.
I sighed, then magicked away the tea and snacks in the center.
Set the translator earpiece on the table, threw up a magical barrier around us.
Checked for electronics. Scanned clothes for bugs. Conversations here went to no one now.
Bead got it, started setting down her phone and stuff.
"Straight talk."
We're basically naked now.
"Right now, I'd love to crush Flower. Why should I join you?"
"Can't give details."
"Figured. You wanna hide 'em."
If I joined Flower, what position could I take, what could I do?
Just hearing that would reveal how Flower operates.
If I ever turned to the World Trees, it'd be a nightmare for Flower.
"But then you can't even start. What's the point of talking?"
"You started this. We planned to watch longer."
"Then don't tip your hand."
Flower, World Trees—both are scum I need to devour.
But after seeing some really bad shit in the past...
I can't help leaning slightly toward the others.
Soon, Bead spoke.
"Lee Si-heon. Flower isn't the reckless bulldozer you think."
Let's see what she says. I narrowed my eyes.
"As you know, Flower's factions are split."
"Hardliners and moderates."
Bead nodded lightly, raising a finger.
"The no-holds-barred types are mostly hardliners. The group I'm in, where you'd join..."
"Not moderates?"
"Right. Recently shifted, actually. The eighth leaf. One person took the lead, changed the vibe a lot."
Then no room for mercy.
They're at least my level. Maybe lower.
Reading my expression...
Bead hurriedly corrected.
"We never. Killed innocents."
"Bullshit."
Unbelievable.
Innocent casualties are inevitable in any external action.
Especially for instigators of Flower's intense terror acts.
"Even if there were—"
"Not the intent, sure."
I've killed plenty myself; no judging them. Even I ruined hundreds of hunters' families.
But I'm not dumb enough to trust liars.
"And 'no innocents'? What about me? What am I?"
Say I deserved it for my crimes.
But targeted for the absurd Wood Spirit King title too.
"Prime innocent victim."
"...You. Have tons of sins."
Hm.
Can't argue.
"True. Sorry about that."
Hit a guy's head hard; turns out he was a criminal. No retort there.
If Bead's telling truth, I could revise my view of Flower.
Whether trustworthy is separate, but Taeyang and Aori survived thanks to them—right in front of me.
Sakuna and Kim Soo-yeon know why Flower exists too.
Flaws of the World Tree-centered caste society.
Why Flower's influence persists worldwide.
Suppress terrorists all you want; they grow stronger. There's a reason.
Era's flow favors Flower.
Bead's words, with some exaggeration, seem believable.
"Still, emotionally, can't trust."
Bead shut her mouth.
"Listen."
I laid it out point by point.
What Flower did to me, what they should pay for, what almost happened.
"Just what I've been through. Skip Azalea; you know her past. Dozens of innocents turned to entropy, caught in blasts. Kids suiciding in child forms nearly killed me. Oh, targeted people I know."
See?
Honestly.
"Almost everything near me happened because of you Flower bastards."
Gotta call it out.
"Sorry, but it was this way"—too late to believe.
"That was."
"Hardliners. The rotten core. Different from your group. I get it, but to me, all the same."
"......"
"World Trees ain't saints either."
But many helped me.
Healing did, White Poplar did.
Never met Purity, but she backed me.
Merry'll help soon too.
Bead sighed.
"Pff. Persuasion's tough."
Never planned to accept anyway.
But Bead had more, smiling confidently now.
"Still, Lee Si-heon."
Her smile carried ease.
"You'll join Flower someday."
Her voice dropped like a solemn decree.
"Why?"
"Curious? Plenty reasons."
Still smiley like Bead, but laced with cold certainty.
"Lee Si-heon, you have too many to protect now."
Spot-on analysis.
True.
One slip, and disaster.
No matter how far I reach, gaps exist.
"And those you cherish will cause trouble. Protecting you, or somehow for you."
"......"
"Fate's vicious. You might not care if you get hurt, but they do. Can't stand their people suffering. No passive movie characters among yours."
Lee Se-young, Azalea—almost all.
If my life's at stake, they'll charge no matter my screams.
"...They'd die for you."
Yeah.
"You too, right?"
Bead said my relationships were pure liabilities.
Not wrong.
For a moment, I got drawn in, her voice pleasantly tickling my ears.
"Time to cut ties will come. Wood Spirit King. Many factions back you? Eventually, end it all, focus on your path."
If power feels insufficient despite growth, her offer's right.
"Or lose one, then wake up?"
Déjà vu. Something Taeyang and Aori said.
Etched deep. Already glimpsed a future of loss.
I stayed silent long, then smirked.
"Not a single lie."
"Thanks for the praise."
Choice is mine—that's the point.
Hands-off attitude. Smart negotiation.
Not some random Flower pick.
"If. I consider it, I'll say."
"Yeah. Oh, but."
Behind her triumphant face, I grinned.
"Then I can smash the Flower that seems totally unrelated to your faction?"
Snipe at the Flower attackers in the Forest Keeper selection.
Bead's face hardened. Like a gut punch.
"If they're allied, even harder to tell. Moving with radicals anyway—kill or not, no diff."
"......Do what you want."
"You might be there."
World Trees near neutral, Flower hostile.
Can't overlook their deeds.
No knowing when relations ease; unimaginable now.
"Talk's over. Go."
World Trees or Flower—we're still parallel lines.