Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Speaking with a Forked Tongue (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“How strange. Didn’t you say earlier that you were heading to the healers? You’re supposed to be making your contributions, your contributions.”
“That’s Libido’s job. Libido’s a problem too. He should’ve just said it was too much. He’s the naive type who tries to do everything Thymerus demands. But it’s impossible for Libido alone to heal every fighter on the front lines. The other bishops are so useless they won’t help at all.”
“Pardon? Uh, pardon?”
“Libido’s obsessed with controlling his emotions, so he can’t focus on his work. He can’t even tap into his full potential. A priest who can communicate with souls, yet he seals away that very ability like an idiot. I have to step in so often it gives me a headache~.”
“I have no idea what you’ve been saying since earlier...”
Cosmo poked my thigh. His pupils had narrowed significantly, and they trembled with anxiety. The only one acting unfazed was Dalia, playing with Orchid’s hands beside him.
“Master!”
Cosmo whispered.
“That guy’s a different person from before!”
I snapped to attention and pulled up the status window. And—
=================
Name: Orchid Destrodo
Job: Gardener
Personality: Curse - Greatly increases attack power, but using skills also consumes stamina.
Trait: Mutation - Changes into a completely different form under specific triggers.
=================
I confirmed the person had changed.
[♥♥♥♥♥]
I hadn’t done anything, yet the affinity was maxed out. What was going on?
“What’s with that look? Don’t tell me you still haven’t noticed?”
Bishop Orchid pointed to himself with haughty, delicate hand movements. Then he declared proudly.
“My name is Orchid Destrodo. Another soul sharing the same body as Orchid Libido. Libido wants to deny my existence, but in truth, I’m stronger, more beautiful, and more vivid.”
My eyes met Dalia’s. She formed a heart shape with her hands and nodded. I could see her tiny lips mumbling, ‘Lots of hearts.’
Seeing that, Cosmo mimicked her, making a squished heart shape to show me.
“No... You don’t have to show me...”
That was when vines burst through the broken windows, flooding into the drawing room.
“Dalia! Cosmo! Over here! Bishop Orchid too!”
Just as I tried to evacuate everyone, Bishop Orchid calmly picked up another pastry and said,
“Also, I’m not good at controlling my emotions.”
Crash! The glass shattered as the vines invaded. Their movements were dull and rough, like they were hunting prey.
“The spirits...”
Catching Cosmo’s mutter, I checked the spirits too. I could see the gardener spirits fighting the vines.
They swung shears, redirecting the plants’ paths.
It was a relief. If they hadn’t been spirits, we’d have been strangled by the plants by now.
“Maybe that’s why Orchid’s job is gardener...”
“Exactly. Jobs like bishop or mage that people slap on don’t mean anything. Libido and I know our true job. We’re gardeners.”
Bishop Orchid suddenly spoke up. I flinched in surprise, and he shrugged as if puzzled.
“You’re seeing them, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“The spirits.”
The blood drained from my body. How did he know?
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret.”
“How can I trust you?”
“It’s not that big a secret. It’s pretty common for mages with good senses to spot spirits. Even non-necromancers. Don’t worry too much.”
His words put me slightly at ease, like he was doing me a favor. He hadn’t figured out I was a necromancer—just that I could see spirits.
“To be precise, they’re not spirits. More like resentments, I suppose. The human who bore this body was the imperial gardener for generations. Maybe because we spent so much time in the garden as a child, or because of this weird ability. The resentments of those who couldn’t leave the garden started protecting the fragile Orchid.”
“Indeed, Bishop Orchid Libido had a delicate impression. Unlike you now, Lord Destrodo.”
“Ahahaha! That’s not a compliment!”
“Please keep the fact that I can see spirits an absolute secret. It’s nothing to brag about. Even I find it frightening. Seeing spirits or resentments—it’s all new to me.”
I lied without batting an eye, fearing it might bite me later. Bishop Orchid grinned slyly.
“Worrying over something like this? Thymerus was right—you really are a timid duke.”
“Sometimes it’s necessary to be timid. Maybe you should try being a bit more timid yourself, Bishop Orchid. The plants keep wrecking the drawing room!”
“Ahahaha! You talk so amusingly!”
As Bishop Orchid burst into laughter, the plants seemed emboldened and shook off the spirits. Even the gardener spirits’ strength wasn’t enough. The drawing room soon filled with stems and leaves, turning chaotic. Waiting for Bishop Orchid to fix it was foolish.
Let’s escape for now.
“Cosmo, Dalia! This way!”
I hurried out of the drawing room with the short-legged pair. For some reason, the culprit behind this mess was running after me too.
“Bishop, you should be solving the problem, not running!”
“Hahaha! I’d love to, but once plants slip my control, they’re hard to handle! It started wrong! Can’t we just blame Libido and move on? He knew getting me in a good mood would let me take over! Hahaha!”
“Bishop!”
The gardener spirits followed us too, chasing after. The gardeners busied themselves cutting and pushing plants, but the plants grew too fast.
“Duke!”
I saw the head butler rushing toward us. I gestured for him to stay back and evacuated everyone.
“Escape first! Get everyone out of the castle!”
“Understood!”
Servants poured out from all directions, fleeing. Dalia, being so young, couldn’t run far. In the end, I had to carry her on my back to escape. Plants burst through every window, making it utter chaos.
Feeling like crying a little, I shouted with a sense of injustice.
“Bishop Orchid Destrodo! What do we have to do to stop this mess? My castle’s going to collapse!”
“Hey! How could a castle this vast and sturdy collapse!”
Rumble!
A stone wall crumbled as a tree trunk shot out. I grabbed the bishop’s wrist as he nearly tripped, then stepped on the tree to get outside. Cosmo dashed out behind me, and pulling him along too had me at my limit.
“Duke Sierra, bill the crown prince for the repairs.”
“Not the church?”
“The accidents I cause aren’t one or two. Ahahaha! Not bragging or anything!”
Bishop Orchid laughed even more brightly, looking embarrassed.
“If they had to handle me, the church would go bankrupt! They can manage Libido, but not me! That’s why Thymerus Crown Prince keeps me in check. That’s why he drags me along on every beast subjugation. Gotta earn my keep, right!”
“That makes... sense.”
Now I understood Bishop Horay’s letter. It described Bishop Orchid as church-affiliated yet under the crown prince—likely due to his unique situation.
“Ahahaha!”
We arrived at the riding grounds and outdoor party area without a moment to catch our breath. The servants had gathered there, trembling in fear.
The grass around Bishop Orchid writhed, but it wasn’t as threatening as in the garden. He laughed heartily again with an ‘Ahahaha,’ then swayed as if anemic. Supporting him, I saw a slightly serious expression this time.
“This is bad. If it keeps up, I’ll run out of mana. I share mana with Libido. If I don’t recover by the beast subjugation, I’ll get in huge trouble. This is serious, really serious.”
His words hit me like a revelation. In a good way.
“Looks like I have an excuse to meet Crown Prince Thymerus today?”
Bishop Orchid shrugged and replied.
“That’s for sure. Calm these plants for me, and Thymerus will reward you. Of course, it’ll be Libido who has to pay the debt.”
“That’s plenty.”
Even with the crashing sounds of the house collapsing, I felt pretty good. This was fine. We could stay at the villa while repairing. Think of it as a chance to renovate the gloomy Sierra Gluttony ducal castle to my taste. Dalia’s room was drab anyway—I could decorate it properly now.
“Then shall we go?”
I stretched lightly and headed toward the plants, but two little ones clung to me.
“Big brother, can’t we just run away?”
“Humans... Humans are the scariest in the world. Hate humans.”
I handed Dalia to Alberto waiting behind. Cosmo subtly tried to slip away too, but I grabbed him by the scruff. He still had work to do.
“Cosmo, we’re heading to the garden.”
“Do we have to? What for? Get squashed like flies by the plants?”
“Repotting.”
The plants’ weakness had to be their roots, obviously.
***
The garden was even worse. Covered in plant stems, the ground was invisible. Plants spiked up like spears, blocking paths, and flowers spewed toxic smells instead of fragrance. No need to go out for beast subjugation—our garden was full of them.
Scraaape! Looking toward the grating sound like metal on steel, I saw Pipin struggling valiantly. He sliced through the writhing plants, carving a path for people. As expected of a butcher from the meat shop—clean, powerful strokes.
“Pipin!”
Pipin turned as he tore a lunging plant vertically. His fierce eyes dulled stupidly the moment he spotted me.
“Master!”
“Does gardener work suit you?”
“What’s all this about?”
“A gift from a guest. Too much to handle.”
Cosmo and I followed behind Pipin. Thanks to him cleaving the path ahead, moving was much easier. As we went deeper, the green stems thickened and leaves grew larger. Meaning there was a nutrient-rich root at the center.
“Pipin, are these beasts by any chance?”
“Who knows. Similar beasts exist, but these aren’t. No cores.”