Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Speaking with a Forked Tongue (4)
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Pippin swung his sword nonstop as he explained. Splash! The plants' lukewarm sap sprayed several times.
"I've read in books that death spirits and magic beasts have cores. They all look different, but you can usually spot them right away... The beasts move using energy from the core—it's like a human heart. I don't sense anything like that from these plants. They just seem like regular plants. Ones that grow wildly and can't control their movements."
"That's enough. You can stop there..."
Anyway, so death spirits have cores too?
Come to think of it, the Sugar Lord had been too small for me to see its core with the naked eye. But there was no guarantee that future death spirits I captured would be that tiny. Actually, I could just stop catching the small ones.
"Let me see."
Looking around, I spotted several gardener death spirits locked in fierce combat. If the core was like a human heart, it wasn't hard to guess where it might be. I just had to find the spot that felt like 'the heart should be around here.'
Keeping a garden pretty would require an expert's help, right?
"I could use a gardener."
"Yes?"
I patted Pippin's shoulder and nodded toward Cosmo. Cosmo shot Pippin a grumpy look. Pippin mumbled, "Ah, that time... uh..." and trailed off.
"Team up with this guy and provide cover."
"Wait a second. Yes?"
"Here I go!"
I used Pippin's shoulder as a springboard and charged forward.
"Master!"
"Owner!"
Plants tangled together sprouted up abruptly. Pippin raced over and sliced nearby stems, and I leaped over the fallen ones. Vines and leaves lunging from behind were blocked by Cosmo throwing himself in the way. Nearby, several gardener death spirits clustered around the thickest stem. Some battered plants with shovels, others snipped with shears or bashed with them—various tools in hand.
They were mere gardener grudges, so their human forms were incomplete. What I wanted was the most human-like one. The one using shears like a proper tool, trimming plants and blocking paths. There was a gardener death spirit that caught my eye. The aura it gave off was on another level from the other grudges.
Yeah, this guy's the leader—that was the vibe.
"Been a while since I captured a death spirit!"
The sensation was familiar by now. As I gathered mana in my hand, gray smoke shimmered around it just like when viewing death spirits. I trampled stems Pippin had cut, shoved aside leaves, and rushed toward the spirit. Then, I thrust my hand straight into its heart.
"Nice to meet you! I'm your new employer!"
I injected my mana, stirring its insides. Then I gripped the part that clicked into place. That was the core.
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Familiars in Possession
-Sugar Princess
-Sweet Swarm
-Gardener's Grudge
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The Gardener's Grudge was added to my death spirit list. No hesitation needed. This one looked like the boss, so I just had to give orders.
"Sever all stems that have emerged from the ground! The other grudges too! You get it as a gardener, right? That's how you maintain this garden!"
The gardener twisted its shoulders creakily in response to my command and changed direction. As it began acting, the other grudges started mimicking it. Plant stems torn by the grudges' attacks shattered and fragmented. Kicking aside the falling pieces, I searched for bare soil. When I spotted a decent patch, I raised my hand and called Cosmo.
"Cosmo!"
Cosmo came bounding over. Just then, an untended vine lunged at me. I backpedaled to dodge, but tripped over a severed plant root and fell. As I braced for strangulation, thick teeth appeared before me instead of green vines.
"Gah!"
I braced against the ground and jerked my head back. A massive magic beast bit the vine, shaking its head wildly until it tore the plant apart. It spat it out and lumbered toward me on four legs—a familiar sight. It was Cosmo in his beast form.
"Back to this form, huh?"
Behind Cosmo, I saw the clothes I'd put on him torn to rags. A cheap price for saving his life. I jumped up and ruffled his neck furiously.
"Good boy. Thanks. I knew bringing you along was the right call."
"I think I get it now. How to transform. I could turn back to human form. But the fake human skin got ripped. Can't fix that. Can't eat it either."
"Don't worry about it."
Cosmo shook himself like a dog and blinked. With multiple eyes, the staggered blinking wasn't a pretty sight.
"Better stay in human form most of the time, not just in moments like this."
Anyway, more pressing matters at hand.
"Summon the Sugar Lord! Time for the sugar family to shine."
"Got it."
Cosmo opened his mouth wide. It split far bigger than usual, and a purple magic circle bloomed deep in his throat. For some reason, the Sugar Lord and its retinue poured out majestically onto the ground.
"Sugar! Eat every massive root buried in the earth!"
The ant death spirits burrowed into the soil in perfect unison. The ground bulged and shook.
"Master! Dangerous!"
Pippin yanked me back to safety. To Pippin, who couldn't see death spirits, it must've looked like the plants were dying off and the earth quaking for no reason. A terrifying sight without explanation.
"It'll be fine now. Best to watch from a safe spot. Cosmo, you can't go like this, so let's unsummon you."
"Finally, some rest!"
With a whoosh, Cosmo vanished, and Pippin and I strolled leisurely toward the gathered crowd.
On the way back, Pippin explained: He'd been spending time in the library as usual when the sky shook and plants invaded. He'd fought with the sword from the guards, but it had been tough.
Now that I thought about it, the sword Pippin wielded was a shabby iron blade. Plain design, chipped in places. Probably one of the poorer ones from the Duke's Castle guards.
"No one likes a rock that just rolls in out of nowhere."
"Why a rock? More like a fork I stuck in there myself. Or something."
"...That's a compliment, right?"
I'd gone to the trouble of snatching Pippin from the Crown Prince's people. Couldn't have him mistreated.
"Before the magic beast subjugation, let's get you a new sword."
"Thank you!"
We soon returned to the riding grounds. The plants had stopped rampaging, but the atmosphere felt more chaotic than before. Wondering what happened, we approached and found Alberto wiping cold sweat with a troubled look.
"What happened?"
"Well, a bird suddenly appeared out of nowhere, dropped a letter, and flew off."
"To me?"
"No, to Bishop Orchid."
Pushing through the crowd, I saw Bishop Orchid pale-faced, clutching the letter with trembling arms. Curious, I peeked: the contents were concise to the point of simplicity.
[To the Imperial Palace.]
What? Nothing major?
It seemed trivial to me, but apparently not to Bishop Orchid. He was on the verge of tears.
"I'm done for. They already found out."
"Found out about what? It just says to come to the palace."
"That's what they found out! I'm only summoned to the palace when I'm in trouble! His Highness Thymos is kinder to Libido. This stiff letter is for me."
Bishop Orchid sighed heavily, shoulders shaking, head whipping side to side. He grew more agitated by the second. Finally,
"I'm finished! This time I'm really getting fired!"
he bellowed.
Kugugugugugang!
Orchid Destructo truly couldn't control his emotions. As he yelled again, tragic noises erupted from my garden. I didn't even want to look.
Instead, I gripped Orchid's shoulder hard and gritted my teeth.
"Listen, Bishop. I just handled one mess, and you're starting another? Clean this up yourself this time."
Shadows loomed behind my head. This surge felt even grander in scale than before. Sighing, I turned—and felt absurd.
What rose was a massive bear doll. Truly enormous, the kind no store would sell or anyone make.
Green wooden vines covered it, and dark brown roots served as button eyes.
The bizarre, grotesque sight left me stunned. In the distance, Dahlia thrashed in her nursemaid's arms.
Dahlia pointed at the bear doll and screamed.
"Elise!"
***
Elise was one of Dahlia's favorite dolls. It had fused with plants into a monster on the spot, but Dahlia's hysterics made dealing with it tricky. It wasn't aggressive, so burning it seemed easy.
When I subtly hinted at that, the nursemaid and Dahlia freaked out and stopped me. Even the head butler opposed fire, fearing it might spread to the rest of the castle.
"Fire's still the best. Simple."
If a decent fire mage were nearby, I could've had them torch it and clean up later. Wonder if I could recruit one.
That thought brought Gerbera Pride to mind.
Did I need to recall someone with a rough mouth who unnecessarily grated on my nerves? I just nodded and feigned agreement. "Yeah, fire won't do."
"With things like this, Bishop Orchid, you handle it. Taking my little sister's precious doll hostage—what were you thinking?"
Bishop Orchid met my eyes, looking distressed.
"My skills are three: Germination, Bloom, Petal Fall. Petal Fall withers plants and ends the magic. But His Highness summoning me has me too rattled to control my mana. Just reining in Germination emotionally is exhausting. Plus, the sequence is off. Can't jump straight to Petal Fall now."
"Then what's that magic right now?"
"Germination. The wild growth stage."
"So, following with Bloom, then chaining to Petal Fall—too hard?"
Bishop Orchid shook his head wildly. Worry, anxiety, and fatigue etched his face.
"I can't use Bloom. Mine's different from Libido's. Hers boosts people's abilities. Mine spreads poison; those who smell the scent get paralyzed."
It was like two completely different mages living in one body.