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Chapter 529. Preparation for the Flower Day Festival. [AotSC]
🕑 Added 2025-09-05 19:00:45 +0000 UTCAfter the party, Dewna moved to her own room with Halthia, and then, the night happened.
Morning came quickly, and Dewna walked down the stairs with a refreshed expression and clear eyes. She carried a sleepy and tired Halthia in her arms like a princess.
Verdantia was drinking her morning tea when she saw her eldest humanoid daughter walking down. Her eyes observed Halthia closely. The human girl was exhausted, her body filled with red marks; obviously, Dewna had had her fun with her. ‘I guess… as expected of an Alraune, Halthia is utterly drained.’
Her green eyes were faintly glowing, looking at the life essence of the human girl. It was exhausted to the limit before it became harmful. “Good morning, Dewna. How are you feeling?”
Dewna planted her flower half on the ground before the table and sighed comfortably. “I feel so relaxed. It was so fun!”
Verdantia could sense that Dewna didn’t develop any emotional attachment to Halthia in a romantic sense. When she looked at the human girl, it was similar to when someone gazed at a very good friend. That calmed Verdantia’s heart. ‘If an Alraune got attached easily to their food, it would be a problem. Like someone eating steak once and falling in love with it while giving up on the rest of the foods.’
What Verdantia wanted was for her daughters to grow strong and healthy, so a varied diet was necessary. Moreover, Halthia’s life essence could be considered only good, not excellent. Still, she didn’t voice her more calculated thoughts. After all, she didn’t want to hurt Halthia’s feelings.
“I am glad you had fun with Halthia, love. Remember to take care of her, okay? You’ve absorbed her life essence, so she will be tired for a few more hours.”
Dewna nodded readily. “Of course! That’s why I am carrying Halthia with me!”
Halthia yawned and opened her eyes. “Dewna…?”
“You are awake!” Dewna smiled at the girl, and Halthia rubbed her face against Dewna’s skin.
“Yeah… So comfortable…”
Verdantia coughed once, just in case, and noticed the human girl jump a little and look sideways with shocked eyes. Seeing Verdantia, Halthia’s face turned red. “O-Oh. G-Good morning, Aunty Verdantia.”
“Good morning to you too, Halthia,” Verdantia spoke softly, an elegant smile on her lips. “I hope Dewna was gentle yesterday. Do you feel discomfort?”
Halthia shook her head quickly. “N-Not at all! I feel comfortable and relaxed…” Halthia closed her mouth, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Verdantia didn’t mind. ‘It’s great that she feels this way. That way, she will show others that there is no danger. Many are watching for how things turn out, so Halthia’s mood and emotional state are very important. She looks great, even if tired. This is good enough.’
“That’s great. Remember that today you have to go to school in the afternoon.”
Dewna blinked, her bright pink eyes showing confusion. “Why? Isn’t today a rest day?”
Halthia, still held in Dewna’s strong and reassuring arms, spoke while fiddling with her fingers. “Dewna, remember that today is the flower-blooming day. The flowers we planted half a year ago will be blooming.”
It was a tradition to teach care to children. They would plant the same flower species and take care of it themselves. These flower species were somewhat fragile, so if taken care of carelessly, they would not bloom. The degree of blooming was also related to how well they were taken care of during the half year.
It wouldn’t affect the grading of the students, but those who did badly in this test would often be looked down upon by other students. Naturally, where there was competition, there was trickery.
But teachers and the <Lignified School> took care of it for the most part. Anything that slipped past them would not be influential enough to mess up the blooming of the flower species.
Dewna remembered, her slightly slow mind recalling the event. “Ah! I almost forgot! I hope Little Dew blooms prettily!”
“Little Dew?” Verdantia blinked, amused.
“Yeah! Little Dew will bloom and become the prettiest! Even better than Eluan’s!” Dewna smiled proudly. Eluan was clever; a Farlune needed much more mental capability than an Alraune. After all, attracting females and males needed different strategies.
Dewna placed Halthia on a chair by the table while talking with Verdantia. Halthia showed a disappointed expression for a second. ‘Ah… The nice-smelling and soft body is getting away…’
Remembering what she did yesterday, her face flushed again.
Verdantia naturally ignored the colorful expressions of the girl who had just lost her innocence. She spoke calmly, her tone gentle and elegant. “Eat breakfast first. I will go with you to the event this time around.”
“Oh! Mommy is coming!? That’s great!”
Dewna bounced in excitement.
“Big Sister, what is great?”
A younger voice came from behind, and looking over, Dewna’s smile widened even further. “Fauna!” Her vines moved, and she quickly hugged her little sister. How are you feeling today, Fauna? I heard that yesterday you had your first monthlies!”
Fauna smiled happily, rubbing her face in her big sister’s softness. “I am great, Big Sister. Big Sister Green helped me lots!”
Fauna then went to give Verdantia a morning kiss and sat in her spot. The rest of the Alraunes came down one after another, greeting each other happily.
Looking at the group of beautiful Alraunes, Verdantia’s lips arched with satisfaction. ‘My daughters are so pretty.’
When everyone sat at the table, the floor parted and Liu Shu’s roots appeared. All the girls showed excited expressions as the root dipped in their honey and released the sap.
Halthia was stunned when she saw them show a blissful expression. Verdantia explained softly from the side. “Liu’er… Liu Shu, their mother, is feeding them directly. They need lots of nutrients, and sadly, I only have one body. I can’t feed all these girls even if I wanted to.” She teased, pushing her abundant chest forward. “I am big, but not that big.”
“I-I see.” Halthia couldn’t help but mutter in her heart. ‘No wonder Dewna and the others are so extraordinary in appearance… Lady Verdantia and Lady Heavenly Willow are true beauties envied by many.’
The group prepared, and soon, they gathered at the front of the house.
Halthia followed the ground and noticed other groups walking out of the other tree houses at the side. ‘I noticed it yesterday but… Everyone is so beautiful.’ Her heart felt a touch of jealousy; it was unavoidable. Her appearance was not exceptional, after all.
Suddenly, she felt her hand being grabbed and looked to the side and up. There, Dewna was smiling at her. “Let’s go! Aunty Wind will come pick all of us up.”
“Aunty… Wind?” Halthia couldn’t remember someone with such a simple yet unique name.
While she was thinking, the sky above her darkened, and a powerful presence descended from the sky. Looking up, Halthia’s breath stagnated. She saw a serpent several hundred meters long, with wings stretching wide enough almost to cover the sky above them. ‘Arboreal Serpent!?’
Everyone in the Golden Sap Arborarchy knew about them. The reason was that many considered them the guardians of the Heavenly Willow.
This particular Arboreal Serpent was grey-colored, with beautiful silver eyes and a streamlined body. Even then, it was gigantic, enough to hold hundreds of people on its back easily. Halthia saw Verdantia step forward with the other mothers.
“Wind, thank you again today.”
Wind’s slightly round face showed a touch of softness. She hissed gently and lowered her giant head. Only then did Halthia realize that the skin was far from resembling that of a regular snake. ‘It looks like polished, grey bark.’
Tempestria was particularly fond of the wind-attributed serpent for obvious reasons. Her hand reached out as she petted the Arboreal Winged Serpent. Wind didn’t avoid it, showing a hint of joy from her caresses.
Speaking of Arboreal Winged Serpent names, there were so many that Liu Shu didn’t know how to organize them. Therefore, she came with a system. The strongest of each element would receive a title-like name. For example, Wind was a female serpent who was excellent at Wind Aether manipulation, far more than her peers. Therefore, she received that name.
Halthia mounted on Wind’s back with trepidation, but thanks to Dewna holding her hand, her nervousness was bearable. Flying through the sky was an experience that made her heart pound.
During the flight, Eluan approached Dewna. “Sister, are you prepared to lose?”
Dewna ignored the smug, handsome boy and looked down instead. Then, she pointed at the large flower below. “Eluan, I’ll make sure to defeat you this time around! I used a secret weapon to make Little Dew bloom brighter than ever!”
Eluan chuckled, his handsome smiling face making Halthia blush. ‘F-Farlune’s are really attractive…’ While she knew in her head that the handsome man was something like a “tongue” and “eyes” of the creature, the passive pheromones and looks made her human brain squirm.
Eluan glanced at Halthia and nodded once before looking away and continuing to tease his sister. He wouldn’t flirt with or try to get his sister’s prey.
Harmonixia hugged the flower that held Eluan’s body and rained kisses on it. “Why is my handsome boy so smug and adorable?”
Eluan’s handsome human face showed helplessness, looking at her mother and hugging her as well. “There, there. I love you too.”
Harmonixia lightly slapped Eluan’s body with a fake blush. “Oh, Eluan. You know that you can’t taste your mother! You are as perverted as always!”
Eluan’s sharp eyebrows trembled with annoyance. Clearly, this was not the first time he was teased this way.
His siblings sniggered from the side. Their mother would tease them playfully in that manner, and some of them would go along with it. Others just showed helplessness.
Melody spoke from the side with a hint of laughter. “Don’t bother about your mother's antics, Eluan. You know how she is.” Then, she smiled. “I will be expecting to see a beautiful flower blooming today.”
Eluan’s facial expression relaxed as he showed a hint of a smile. “Yes, Grandma. I will show you one of the most beautiful blooms!”
Even Melody’s mother was here, looking much younger than in the past. Liu Shu’s buffs had, in total, increased her lifespan by several hundred years. So, as vitality flowed within her body, the wrinkles mostly disappeared, recovering part of her previous beauty. For human comparison, she went from looking like an approachable 70-year-old lady to resembling a well-maintained 50-year-old madam.
Tempestria was at the side, speaking with her Sylphaith daughters with a soft expression. “Don’t be nervous today, okay, babies? Mother will be there with you.”
Sylvia and the others nodded shyly. They were the most “monstrous” among all their siblings. After all, their excessively large eyes and belly mouth were somewhat shocking for many humanoids. This made them conscious of the gazes from others, resulting in reserved, shy, but gentle personalities.
Sylvia, especially, being the Sylphaith that “broke the ice” for her species' resurgence, was the one who received the most awkward gazes. This had affected her confidence, but not so much that it was a problem.
After all, she was loved by all her family in her house, while her World Tree mother always kept her company when she felt depressed in an isolated place.
Overall, Sylvia would never feel that her childhood had been sad. She was very fond of all her memories, especially so when she remembered Tempestria and Liu Shu’s efforts to make her feel loved and welcomed.
Meanwhile, Pyara and the other Sanguine Blazes were somewhat indifferent to other people. Their species was a source of fear for some, but the fear was different compared to the Sylphaiths. One was fearsome in appearance, while the other was fearsome in personality.
Moreover, being naturally attached to their parents, they didn’t consider others as worthy of interaction. Of course, as time passed and as their parents taught them, they all tried to interact and fit in. Lately, some of them have had small groups of friends and interacted with them.
Cinderielle looked at Pyara’s dazed face while looking at Liu Shu and sighed softly. She hugged her from behind and placed her chin on top of her flaming hair. “What are you thinking about, baby?”
“T-That…” Pyara was silent before muttering. “Sorry.”
“No. Don’t worry.” Cinderielle was stern, but she was also understanding. Pyara was basically fighting with her instincts. So, it was very difficult for her. ‘Thankfully, Liu Shu always blocked their inborn skills. Otherwise, who knows what the result would’ve been…’
She tightened the hug on her daughter and lowered her head to kiss Pyara’s cheek. “You know that your mother and I love you dearly, right? Don’t misinterpret my sternness as me not loving you.” Cinderielle spoke seriously. “For you, I can do almost anything.”
Pyara nodded, her face showing a soft and heartfelt smile. “Yes, I know, Mother.”
“Good.” Cinderielle smiled and looked at her other babies. “Come, come, don’t just look with such envious eyes.”
They giggled and jumped into Cinderielle’s arms, their flaming hair flowing beautifully with the wind.
While riding Wind’s back, the family made it to the Flower Day Festival.
Comments
Andrew Miles
Some nice fluff after quite a disastrous war has happened. I wonder if this ceremony will be interrupted by annoying visitors? I'm expecting a delegation from the Verdant Sanctity Covenant, Azure Rose Confederation and Celestial Lotus Empire at some point. Even if the World Trees at the top have agreed to become part of Liu Shu's domain, the rest of their force might not and that's without mentioning all the political changes that'll happen because of it.
Alex Kaplan
An entire day for flowers! Lucky girls.
