It wasn’t easy, seeing the group of three off.

Just a few days after they had celebrated the twin’s birthday, ending with the best approximation of cake Licht could come up with, he had seen them go off by the grove’s gates.

Hemlock, who hadn’t been informed of his involvement with the future journey, or even the existence of a journey at all, had surprisingly come around to the idea rather quickly, and soon enough was instructing the twins on what they would need to pack.

Essentials, toiletries, sentimental items, and extra clothes were a must.

Licht had been a bit surprised to see all of those things existed in a medieval world, but Hadea surprised him everyday with all the ways it was different from the novels he had read.

“Yet at the same time, it’s very similar, isn’t it?”

Licht sat in a room underground, resting his feet against a table molded out of the wooden wall in front of him.

“What is…what the hell?”

Licht looked down at his shoulder, scraping some green paste off of one of the wood plates there.

The residue of cake from a couple of nights prior, baked by Licht from a mixture of fragrant mosses and tree bulbs he had scavenged before the party. Mostly having focused on presentation, he hadn’t paid attention to how it would actually taste until it was too late.

Licht laughed as he remembered the green flush that had come over the priest as he was the first to bite into the experimental pastry, prompting everyone to erupt in howls as he ran around the residence to spill his sickness.

“Aaahh…I haven’t felt like this since Rosie and the others left the house. Am I really repeating myself again in my second life?”

Licht’s laugh’s suddenly came to a stop as he realized his reminiscing had turned wistful.

He shot up from his chair at once, attempting to shake off the feeling of an empty-nester.

No! He would not have it!

He would not repeat that dreaded stage from his past again.

He had just evolved!

It was time to get back to work!

Licht exited into the hall, walking downward to a larger room filled with shelves along its walls.

From floor to ceiling, every slot was filled by a different species of sapling. Some hummed with red pulsations as small-sapling sized bulbs hung from their tiny branches, while others bore no resemblance to anything else currently growing in the forest.

Licht came to the center of the room, stopping while activating a few of his skills.

“Arlight, let’s get back to testing. A week was too short! I don’t believe I can’t finish this project before the month is up!”

Licht shouted confidently.

He knew he could do better.

“I’m not just going to settle for some weak token!”

…

A few days later, in the capital city of Blackreed, the autonomous region of plant-lives.

A male figure sat in an unlit room behind a sturdy desk, his eyes focused on the wavering figure of a white flame that danced across it.

The flame, curiously, was in the shape of a man’s upper profile, who’s moving eyes showed he too was being observed all the same.

“...So you’re saying you won’t do anything, is that it?”

“The right word would be ‘can’t’. I ‘can’t’ do anything, little Veles, you know this. The territory is only named after me, I have no actual governing rights!”

The man’s expression revealed in the flicker of flame upturned in a helpless grin.

Tane Silvanus Veles, the leader of Blackreed and the man sitting behind the desk, sighed in exhaustion.

“No, no, I get it…I just wish…”

“You’ll have to take it up with the Pytheoneans if you want help with your little venture. Besides, what pull would I have with them? You were better off going to them from the start…”

“But aren’t you a war hero, they named a quarter of the damn country after you, you’re telling me you don’t have any say?!”

Tane pounded the desk with his fist, leaning into the flame.

The figure of the man burning on his desk just threw up his shoulders.

“Hey, you try moving half a continent away right after being ennobled. Tell me if your countrymen respect you then.”

“But you still have your strength! How many can say they have more pull than you within the army!”

Tane’s voice rose. Throwing up his arms, he tried to make his point as potent as possible.

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“...Strength isn’t everything, kid. More than anything else, you learn that as you age. Just ask that damn albino statue at next year’s conference. You can be the most powerful being in the world, but if your fellow countrymen don’t recognize you, then what’s it all worth?”

Tane gnashed his teeth.

“I refuse to believe that. If you aren’t willing to help, then we’re done!”

“Hey–!”

The voice behind the flames on Tane’s desk were cut off as the fire was smothered by a hand. The leader of Blackreed began to rub his browline with frustration after the line was cut off.

“Chlorus!”

He shouted through the room. An instant later, a stunning woman with flowing green hair entered through the door with a resolute expression. Her red pupils steeled as she prepared to receive any order from her superior.

“Tane.”

She regarded him.

It was not a part of the culture of plant-lives to express respect through words, even to one’s superiors.

That practice belonged solely to the races of mankind.

“Chlorus, who else do we have on the list?”

The woman looked down at the papers in her hands.

“Trescult refused us?”

Tane sat back into his chair, scoffing.

“He said go to the Pytheonians, though of course without knowing they had refused us last week. Scratch that, he probably did know…”

Tane shook his head as he looked off to the side.

“I still don’t know how that bastard managed to retire with so much land. If it were any other ‘war hero’ that pulled the stunt he did, they would have strung up faster than the blink of an eye…”

“Well, he taught you briefly, didn’t he? Wouldn’t you know more about his capabilities in battle than most others?”

“Well that’s…no, back on topic! Chlorus, the list!”

“Ah, yes!”

The green-haired plant life picked through the rest of the papers rapidly before coming to a halt.

“There’s only one name left on the list here, but…it’s…”

Tane stood up from his seat.

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s a bit suboptimal for our purposes. They have the firepower, yes, but it would damage our optics considerably.”

Tane took the sheet out from his assistant’s hesitant hand, reading it over before chuckling.

“Ha! This…really, this is not something I had considered. But…it could work.”

Chlorus looked at her boss questioningly.

“Are you sure? I’d think we’d hesitate before working with them, especially so given their history. I’m not sure they’d make good allies for an operation like this, especially so when our exposure to the kingdoms would be of critical importance.”

“There’s nothing to hesitate about Chlorus, didn’t you know? The Sanctum of Tellus has officially been recognized as a country, they’re a perfectly viable partner for such an operation.”

“What?! That went through? It hasn’t even been two years!”

Chlorus exclaimed her shock, almost dropping the stack of papers in her hands.

“And yet, these things move along rather quickly when the right people want it done. Yes, our continent’s backyard is now no longer inhabited by raving cultists, but by a perfectly official theocratic state. The news came just a few days ago, but the official announcement is not until next month.”

The revelation struck Chlorus as a smattering of emotions washed over her.

“Well…ah, in that case, I think we will definitely have the capabilities for the operation, though some events will have to be moved around. Should I send a delegate over to the east?”

“No, I’ll handle it myself with a personal retainer. Best to not leave such a thing to amateurs.”

Tane waved the notion away, before sitting back down behind his desk.

“Now, on to other matters…tell me, how is our little friend doing?”

Chlorus nodded, shuffling through the papers in her hand to reach a different set of documents. There, she pulled out some rolls of parchment that bore a series of overlapping lines. They fanned out in a similar fashion to a topographical map.

“...Right here, is the last reading from a fortnight ago. We won’t get the next one until tomorrow, but our eyes in the area have already reported something very interesting.”

“Oh?”

“His friends, the new arrival and the kids. They’re on the move. There’s no direct path out from where they are in the forest, but based on our prediction, they should be heading here, the closest point to the border.”

Chlorus planted a finger on the map.

“Thelaran, eh? Medium-sized city…odd.”

Chlorus nodded.

“I thought so too. Given the time of year, we believe it’s most likely to be a supply run for commodities not found in the forest, or an emergency visit for medicines…”

“Though that’s not likely, given the evident prowess with herbs.”

“Precisely.”

“Hmm.”

Tane sat back in his chair, his eyes shut in thought.

“Is there anything else?”

Chlorus cleared her throat.

“Well, it’s extremely unlikely, but the unexpected trip may also be due to the Corsair Elf custom of an independent journey. Though our team pretty much ruled this out as a possibility.”

Tane nodded his head.

“Of course. That theory makes no sense. It would be far too inconsistent with his previous actions. An ego like this, having already been given the time to mature…”

Tane opened an eye to give a leveled look at Chlorus.

“...would have long grown accustomed to calculated and measured thought. It’s impossible at this stage for it to make such blunders. If there was no reason to send out its workers, it wouldn’t have. Least of all for a trip of self-discovery.”

Tane scoffed.

Egos prefer to control. This fact was known intimately by both parties in the room.

“Should we track them?”

Chlorus asked. Tane scratched his chin, nodding after a minute.

“Yes, though do not engage until they reach Thelaran, if that’s where we’re sure they’re heading. Our little friend has already demonstrated he does not care for organic’s lives, so killing them would do nothing but set us back. That strategy has already been played out. I’m more curious about what they’re going to do in Thelaran. Until then, keep watching them. I want a report on their activity every week.”

Chlorus nodded.

“It will be done.”

Before she could head out the door, Tane said one last thing however.

“And Chlorus! Don’t pull back on our friend just because he’s alone now! Now is the time to strike! Tell our eyes in Trescult to step up the production of Serpenti. I want them tearing through the walls of that hovel within the week!”

“I’ll make sure of it!”