Chapter 97

Notos and the pines were leading the way, scouting ahead. Since I had given them a general area to cover, it seemed like it was time to check the dandelion children's abilities.

"Mesquite, how are the dandelions' training results? Can they use flower seeds for detection like Dandelion?"

The dandelions stopped in their tracks and looked at me when they heard their names. This was the first time they had ventured outside the terrarium since the dandelion colony. They had bickered and fought earlier, like Iris and Jeppe, but now they held hands tightly and were quiet. They must have been very scared about this new adventure. It was cute how they ultimately relied on each other despite their arguments.

"Feeling something touch the flower seeds is now possible, but the accuracy is still lacking. The range isn't very wide, so to detect a large area like a dandelion king, the saplings need to grow more."

"Is that so? Then can you show me?"

I gestured to Notos, who was far ahead. It would be better if he and the pines had a bit more direction rather than poking around randomly.

Notos and the pines returned. Standing next to the dandelion children, it felt like a game of spot the difference.

Unlike our dandelions, who could be distinguished by their hairstyles, the pines were hard to tell apart. Both had a male hairstyle.

I wonder if Notos can tell them apart? If he can, would he call them by different names? How would he call them? Since he rarely speaks, it would be hard to hear.

"These children are dandelions, as you can see."

"Goodness... They're still saplings. How cute. Are they naturally occurring dryads? We've only seen a few natural occurrences during our travels. It's been a long time since we've seen sapling dryads."

Surprisingly, I have three naturally occurring dryads. Bago is a natural occurrence too. I've even seen a colony with many dandelion saplings.

"Are you raising these two dandelion dryads as a pair? I've never seen anyone raise dandelions this way."

"No, I didn't specifically decide to raise them that way. They came together, so I keep them together. Later, we might create a forest and choose one as the king. But as you can see, they're still young, and neither of them stands out."

In front of strangers, the dandelion children were holding hands tightly and clinging to each other. The tall pines were looking down at them. Kids, there are senior dandelions over there.

"Okay, do you want to try what you learned with Mesquite yesterday? I'm looking for a sumac grove. Wait, what does a sumac look like?"

Well, if I don't know, how can I ask these kids to find it? Is there no plant guide here? What does a sumac look like...?

"Druid, can we take a look at these saplings?"

One of the pine dryads spoke to me. His voice was a mix of a young man's and a cool, refreshing tone.

It felt like someone had poured a can of pine-scented drink into my ear. I can't taste it, but the refreshing sensation hits my nose at the end.

"Of course!"

The two pines knelt to the children's eye level. It felt like a tree's courtesy to wildflowers, and I smiled.

"Unlike us, who grew from the World Tree, these saplings sprouted outside. They won't know what the druid is looking for. They are still young and haven't yet grasped the wisdom of their ancestors. As mature trees, we are willing to support these saplings, who will grow to be small World Trees, by providing a foundation."

He extended his hand, several times larger than the children's, and placed it on their heads. It felt like a large branch making room for the young shoots to grow straight toward the sky. The children spent a short but not too long time looking up at the pines with their bright eyes.

"Amazing... Elder, don't you feel anything? Huh? As a mature tree, don't you feel anything for the saplings?"

Hey, the neighbor's pine is fully grown and very polite to the kids. You, on the other hand, just complain about Diana all day. You grew up under Mesquite's hand!

How can such a twisted kid come from such a straight-laced Mesquite? My mom is very worried! Worried!

Elder turned his head away without a word. If his face wasn't so good, I'd be even more annoyed. But his face is good, so I can enjoy looking at it.

"Little World Tree! I understand!"

"Little World Tree! I knew it first. He's just pretending to know."

"Don't be silly! What do you know? A sumac is a tree with small white flowers blooming densely!"

"I know that too! It's a tree with small red berries growing in clusters!"

The children started arguing, each claiming they knew more. It was good to see them being active and forgetting the tension of their first trip.

"Stop fighting. I'm looking for that sumac. Can you help me?"

"I'll find it right away!"

"No, I'll find it before him!"

"No."

I held their tightly clenched fists and made them hold hands.

"You two need to work together to be stronger. Come on, do it together, not one at a time."

The children, though sulking, listened to me. The hands I forced to hold together stayed clasped even after I let go. They raised their staffs, which they were holding in their free hands, and aligned the ends above their heads. Bago, who had come close, stuck to my side and watched.

Two round, fluffy dandelion seeds began to glow faintly. A delicate scent of wildflowers, like morning dew, wafted around. The children started singing, like busy bees, in a rhythmic manner.

"Long ago, when a great flood covered the land."

"Our dandelion ancestors were almost drowned."

"Then our god, the World Tree, said."

"Spread your seeds far and wide to find land not submerged."

Your happiness still lies within the reach of my branches. If you fly far and wide, you will find it. Remember the feeling of flying through the sky on the wind.

If you remember, you can fly again to find the happiness of your little World Tree.

The story the children sang was one I had heard from Dandelion. I heard it when I removed a piece from her staff. The tone of the lyrics was definitely Dandelion's.

The melody was like a gentle lullaby. A song Dandelion would sing to the children when it was time to sleep, filled with the wisdom of mature trees.

When the song ended, white dandelion seeds, like fine snowflakes in early winter, burst from the children's staffs like fireworks. The seeds, fewer in number than Dandelion's, spread far and wide, like a cloud that didn't fully disperse.

I caught one that stuck to my nose. It crumbled like an illusion as soon as it touched my hand. Indeed, they weren't real seeds but the children's power condensed into the form of seeds.

The part touched by the seed felt cool. This seed, like the fruit of the devil's needle, had a faint healing power.

The light was more refined and brighter than when they used their power to show off to Bago. I was proud of the dandelion children, who had made great progress during that short time.

They say a promising tree can be recognized from its first leaves. Our saplings will surely grow to be great dryads like Dandelion. Yes, who are these dryads!

"Using your power was good. Now you need to focus. Don't forget what you learned during training."

Mesquite encouraged the children. Iris enjoyed the beautiful scene, admiring the floating seeds. It would be perfect if the children found something.

However, this peace was shattered by a loud alarm from my phone, like a disaster warning.

The wasp nest, stuck to my phone like a screen protector, glowed orange. The loud buzzing... Could this be a wasp Kalong sent me?

When I turned on my phone, a large wasp appeared on the screen like a hologram. The threatening stinger, as big as a thumb, was hard to get used to. To think such a creepy thing lives in my phone...

The wasp's image distorted like a low-quality video and broke into small hexagons. The broken pieces gathered to form letters.

"Outside? They might notice and find you."