Chapter 242
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 242
Chapter Title: I'll Help You with Your Order.
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"......"
She had anticipated seeing something unusual ever since assigning Rimon the role of gardener.
Whenever it came to physical labor, he always delivered extraordinary results.
Even when he tidied up the garden—what would have taken a dozen skilled gardeners all day—in less than an hour.
Even when she saw how the cut branches had cross-sections as smooth as glass.
That was why Maya wasn't surprised.
But at this moment...
She could only fall silent.
The garden, transformed so dramatically after passing through Rimon's hands, left her utterly speechless.
He hadn't transplanted trees or overhauled the landscape entirely.
Just pruned unnecessary branches.
Removed slightly obtrusive decorations.
Adjusted a few imbalances here and there.
What Rimon had done were only minor, trivial tasks.
Yet those small touches alone had made the garden far more beautiful, serene, and elegant than before.
To the point where, if she hadn't seen him working, she might have mistaken it for an entirely different garden.
"......What did you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you change the entire atmosphere of the garden with just a little pruning?"
Rimon shrugged at Maya's question.
"I didn't really try to change it. I just noticed some eyesores and fixed them on a whim."
"You saw parts of the garden that were lacking?"
"Not lacking, exactly... but some spots felt a bit regrettable."
Maya fell silent again as she watched Rimon answer so nonchalantly.
This was Quetzalcoatl's headquarters.
Naturally, the gardeners who maintained it were top-tier professionals, and even Maya had never sensed any shortcomings.
So how could he spot regrets there and even fix them?
It was nothing short of astonishing.
However, her amazement was nothing compared to Hermann's.
'......Painting the dragon's eyes.'
Hermann recalled the Eastern legend where adding pupils to a drawn dragon made it come alive and soar into the sky.
What Rimon had done was similar.
He had added the final touch of perfection to a garden already near flawless.
It was a difference thinner than a sheet of paper.
Yet for artists at the peak, it was an insurmountable wall—one that could take months, years, or even a lifetime to overcome.
As the world's foremost sculptor, Hermann knew this all too well.
That was why he had to ask.
"......Ri, why didn't you use that sculpting knife yourself?"
Just from the skill that perfected this fantastical garden, it was clear.
If Rimon had wielded the knife, he could have easily sculpted even the Venus de Milo that Hermann himself had failed at.
So why had he insisted on testing it through Hermann?
Rimon shrugged again as he looked at the confused Hermann.
"I didn't not use it. I couldn't."
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, Rimon pulled a glass case from his pocket.
Unlike when Hermann had held it, the sculpting knife inside neither deformed nor emitted light. He scratched his cheek while showing it clearly.
"I don't qualify."
The answer was so unexpected.
Hermann stared blankly.
"......Why? Why don't you qualify?"
"Well... probably because I'm not a sculptor."
"After doing 'sculpting' like this, you're not a sculptor?"
Hermann pointed incredulously at the garden, perfected like a single grand sculpture.
But Rimon just shrugged.
"I told you, I only filled in the missing parts. That doesn't count as sculpting."
Just as editing parts of someone else's copied music doesn't make it your composition.
He had never sculpted before, so he had no qualifications.
Hermann was dumbfounded by Rimon's calm explanation.
"You've really never sculpted before?"
"Yeah."
"Not even once in your life?"
"That's what I said."
'This garden was made by someone who's never sculpted in their life?'
Hermann shuddered.
Of course, gardeners and sculptors were different fields; skill in one didn't guarantee the other.
But Rimon wasn't even a gardener to begin with.
Yet his eye for spotting the garden's flaws at a glance, and the handiwork to fill them effortlessly, gave Hermann a certain conviction.
A conviction that even if assigned as a sculptor instead of a gardener, Rimon would master it perfectly.
That was why the idea had struck him.
'With talent like this...!'
The platinum sculpting knife's challenge.
The debt of gratitude he owed Rimon.
His own illness, with no guaranteed cure.
And above all, the awe and anticipation of overwhelming talent reminiscent of Salieri first beholding Mozart.
All those emotions intertwined, and before he knew it, Hermann spoke.
"Ri, would you ever consider learning sculpting from me?"
[Princess sis, can I ask you something?]
'What is it?'
[You came out to investigate Ambrosia, right?]
'Yes.'
The black-haired girl, Li Chingwei, with a single bluebird perched on her shoulder, readily affirmed the telepathic message in her mind as she walked.
[So why are we here?]
'To acquire the rumored Ambrosia firsthand, of course.'
Yuna Kyung blinked.
She slowly looked around, unwittingly making a dubious face before asking,
[......Here?]
Wide streets free of litter.
Stores adorned with stunning display windows.
Skyscrapers sprouting up everywhere.
Everything was lavishly decorated, save for drowsy pedestrians dozing on guardrails or yawning as they passed.
Avenida Paulista.
The highest street in São Paulo, a city already on a plateau.
São Paulo's busiest commercial hub.
There, Yuna Kyung muttered with an even more dubious expression.
'No matter how I look at it, it feels like we came to the wrong place.'
'Well, we'll know once we check.'
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
She then addressed the green-haired woman in thin ceremonial attire following behind her.
"Barbara, could you guide me to the department store?"
"......The department store?"
"I'm interested in the local specialties."
"If you just say the word, I'll procure anything for you."
A polite response befitting her role as a VIP guide.
But eyeing Li Chingwei with suspicion—as if wondering what shady scheme she was plotting—Li Chingwei chuckled at Barbara.
"No, then it wouldn't be shopping. I want to see and pick them out myself."
Shopping was fun precisely because you browsed and chose in person.
Barbara sent even more suspicious glances at the meaningfully smiling Li Chingwei.
But that was all.
Even as a surveillance detail, on the surface she was just a guide, so Barbara replied politely.
"If that's what you wish, I'll escort you there."
"Yes, thank you."
And so, moments later.
Li Chingwei was genuinely impressed upon arriving at the department store under Barbara's guidance.
'Quite a crowd.'
[......This isn't 'quite'—it's half air, half people.]
'Must be some discount event. Even accounting for that, seems we came to the right place.'
[Sure, crowded stores are usually good unless it's false advertising or crowd psychology... but can we even get in?]
Yuna Kyung muttered dubiously.
And rightly so—the department store entrance was packed solid with customers, a total madhouse.
Even a master martial artist would struggle to squeeze through without tripping in that massive throng.
But Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
'No need to worry about that.'
[Huh? Why?]
As Yuna Kyung tilted her head at the cryptic words...
Barbara stepped forward and spoke lowly.
"Make way."
It was an ordinary phrase.
Not particularly loud.
No psyonic energy infused.
Just a voice laced with mild irritation.
Thus, among the hundreds crowded at the entrance, only a few—just exiting the store and trying to escape the crowd—heard it.
But the ripple they caused was far from small.
"......!"
"Hey, hurry up and get out of—......?"
"What? What's going on?"
A few with eyes wide like they'd seen a ghost.
Dozens behind them, peering back due to the blockage, then stiffening.
Hundreds sensing the odd vibe, turning, spotting Barbara, and paling.
Barbara didn't twitch an eyebrow as they froze, staring at her green hair and attire.
She just repeated coldly.
"I said, make way."
"Gah! It's the Green Dragon Clan!"
"Clear out!"
"My foot...!"
Right then.
The crowd at the entrance scattered in all directions like startled beasts.
After the brief commotion...
With the formerly jammed entrance now eerily empty, Barbara gave a short snort before politely telling Li Chingwei,
"You can enter now."
"Thank you for your trouble."
"You're too kind."
Barbara humbly replied, claiming she hadn't done much.
And she wasn't wrong—she'd only repeated the same phrase twice.
The result was just absurd.
Unlike Yuna Kyung, whose beak gaped wide, Li Chingwei took the scene in stride as if it were natural.
She leisurely scanned the department store interior, then paused before a flashy storefront.
"Mind waiting a moment?"
"......So the local specialty you're interested in is over there?"
"Well, Brazil's traditional specialties are supposed to be meds and coffee."
Barbara stepped back with a nod, eyeing the smiling Li Chingwei suspiciously but honoring the request.
Leaving her behind, Li Chingwei entered the shop.
"Welcome! How can I assist with your order? Coffee to enjoy here, or beans to purchase?"
The shop resembled a café with a few tables and walls lined with various beans.
There, a waitress in uniform greeted her with a bright smile. Li Chingwei smiled back.
"Not beans—I'm looking for meds."
"Ah, those? Right this way."
"Do you have anything good?"
"Of course."
The waitress nodded cheerfully.
She pointed to the opposite wall from the beans, where various medicine bottles were displayed.
"Cocaine, heroin, marijuana—from pure to blended. Just say the word. At Coffee & Drug, we carry all government-approved narcotics."
Yuna Kyung's beak dropped wide open.