Chapter 833: Intermission: The Flower of the Earth ③

After handing over the souvenir I brought, we got down to business, but the consultation with Lillywood-san didn't really take that long. Well, I was really just confirming things with her, so I guess it was obvious. Incidentally, it seems like I could replant the seedling of the World Tree as it is without any problems at all.

I also heard that Lillywood-san had modified my World Tree so that "a Spirit wouldn't dwell in it" and "it would stop growing at a certain size", which made me somewhat relieved.

After that, I spent some time chatting with Lillywood-san, who seemed to have some free time today. In the middle of our discussion regarding the Housewarming Party a few days earlier, the conversation somehow headed towards the executive subordinates of the Six Kings.

[Come to think of it, Lillywood-san's executives are called the Seven Princesses, right?]

"Yes, that's what they're called. They're all excellent and I could rely on them.]

[Heehhh…… Speaking of which, I've never met any of the Seven Princesses. If there was an opportunity, I'd like to meet them one day.]

When I think back, I've met a good number of those who were called as the Six Kings' Executive Subordinates, such as all of War King Megiddo's Five Generals, only Fafnir-san among Magnawell-san's Four Great Demon Dragons, Pandora-san and Catastro-san among Alice's Ten Demons, but I've never met any of Lillywood-san's executives.

It seems that Lillywood-san has a lot of work to do as one of the Six Kings, and being her executives, I guess it won't be strange for the Seven Princesses to also be busy. Hmmm, I would like to thank them for the previous incident in the God Realm, so if it's possible, I would like to get to the Six Kings' executives.

"……Eh?"

[Eh?]

When Lillywood-san heard my words, which I thought I had said in a very normal way, she dubiously looked at me, to which I just tilted my head.

Looking like she was thinking of something for a bit, Lillywood-san let out a small sigh.

"……I see, it's just the usual huh. Kaito-san, could you wait for a bit?"

[Eh? Ah, yes.]

I nodded at the words Lillywood-san said with a wry smile on her face. As we waited there for a little while, a knock came from the door of the room, and Camellia-san, who had just left the room earlier, returned.

[Lillywood-sama, you called?]

"Yes, I'm sorry to interrupt your cleaning."

[Ahh, no, I'm just glad I found an excuse to turn down training."

"Unnn?"

Looking at Camellia-san who seemed kinda tired, Lillywood-san tilted her head before she turned towards me.

"……Let's start all over again, Kaito-san."

[Ah, yes.]

"First, I'd like to start with introductions. This is one of my executives, the Seven Princesses…… The Grass Flower Princess, Camellia."

[Haeehhhh? Ah, yes, I'm Camellia.]

Unnn? What did she just say? One of her executives? Camellia-san is?

[E- Eeehhhhh!? I- Is that how it is!?]

"As I thought, you didn't realize it huh. Even back then, it has been hard for others to realize that she's actually one of my executives…… Even though she's an excellent child, I guess it could be said that her presence is thin……"

[A- Ahaha……]

To be frank, I was quite surprised by what Lillywood-san said. I've talked to Camellia-san before, and I believe we've become quite close…… but I've never felt the atmosphere of an executive from her before.

How should I say this…… I don't feel the aura of a strong person from Camellia-san, and she has this very friendly atmosphere around her. If I were to compare her to those I'm close with, I guess her friendly atmosphere would be comparable to the atmosphere around Lilia-san.

[My presence is so thin that I'm almost unnoticeable even when I walk around the city without using Recognition Inhibition Magic, and people often say I don't look like an executive.]

[N- No, I've never felt like your presence is thin, Camellia-san. It's just that I was surprised by the sudden new information, even when we've known each other for a long time.]

Lillywood-san said that "it's just the usual", so I guess this happens often. However, while I did find the atmosphere around Camellia-san making her look simple, I don't think I've thought of her as someone with a thin presence.

I'm even confident that I could easily find her within a crowd…… I guess I just might be feeling this because I have my Sympathy Magic.

[Ahh, speaking of which, if Camellia-san is an executive, that means that you also participated in the previous incident in the God Realm, right? I'm sorry that it took so long for me to say this, but thank you so much for that time.]

[No, no, please don't worry about it. I didn't do much anyway, but I'm glad that I was able to help you in any way I could.]

The warmth of the smile on Camellia-san's face as she said that tells me that she really was a very kind person. Even though Camellia-san told me to not worry about it, I just wanted to thank her again.

After enjoying a peaceful conversation with Kaito, who was surprised but quickly regained his composure, Lillywood called out to Camellia, who was standing next to her, as they saw Kaito off.

"……You didn't do much huh…… That's different from what I heard though."

[Yes?]

"I've heard that you were quite active in that battle. Tirtania and the others were even quite excited when they saw you become serious for the first time."

[E- Errr……]

Hearing the words Lillywood said with a smile, Camellia thought of the battle in the God Realm that happened not that long ago…… which is in a way, was the largest battle since the beginning of this world.

The battle between the Gods, which had been strengthened by Shallow Vernal, and the Human-Demon Allied Forces, was spread out in various floating islands, and was becoming increasingly fierce.

But relatively speaking, the executives of the same camp were fighting together on the same battlefield. In a way, that was inevitable. It's easier to fight with people of the same camp rather than trying to work together with other camps.

And on one of such floating islands, the Seven Princesses, a number of High-ranking Gods and Low-ranking Gods were facing each other.

[……100%!]

[Kuhh……]

With a shout, Camellia unleashed a blow of tremendous power, which was met by the God of Sky, one of the High-ranking Gods, with her arms crossed in a defensive posture.

The full-force strike of Camellia, known as Earth's Mighty Fist,  was so powerful that even some of the Six Kings' executives avoided receiving it head-on. However, the God of Sky dared to do such a thing.

The power of the blow was so powerful that even the current God of Sky, who had gained an incomparable amount of power, had taken two steps back.

However, she was able to withstand Camellia's attack by only taking two steps back. This exchange could be described as a turning point. The Gods looked relieved, while on the other hand, the people on the Seven Princesses' side looked bitter.

As one could see from the expressions on their faces, the outcome was a thankful one for the Gods, but not for the Seven Princesses.

In the first place, this battle was somewhat unique, as there were those who had an advantage and those who had a disadvantage. First of all, the War King's camp was the most powerful on this battlefield. The War King's camp has many people with excellent fighting skills, and they have many techniques to overturn the difference in pure physical ability.

The same is true for the Dragon King's camp…… which is dominated by Nidzveld's presence. She has always been a challenger at heart, and has risen to greater heights by continuously defeating opponents superior to her.

Therefore, she knows how to fight against opponents who are superior to her in terms of basic abilities, and she also knows how to overthrow them. And because she values challenges, she teaches the other members of the Four Great Demon Dragons and their subordinates to fight against superior opponents with enthusiasm. Thanks to this, the Dragon King's camp has been fighting favorably against the Gods, whose basic abilities have been boosted.

On the other hand, it is the Phantasmal King's camp that seems to be struggling a bit. Among the Phantasmal King's camp, including their executives…… There were many who make use of status afflictions as their weapons, and in this state where it could be said that all of the Gods had received Shallow Vernal's blessing, it was fair to say that their fighting power was limited.

Some of the stronger ones, such as Pandora, the strongest Count-rank, even overwhelms the High-ranking Gods, but overall, they were struggling in their battles.

The World King's camp didn't have much of an advantage in this battle either. The World King's camp, led by the Seven Princesses, has many people with excellent defensive abilities, and many of them are fully capable of dealing with the attacks of the strengthened Gods. In addition, they have a high level of proficiency in Sealing Magic, which is effective against the infinite resurrection brought by God of Life's power.

This is the only thing that seems to give them an advantage in this battle…… but it's actually not the case.

As can be said for most of the executives, the Seven Princesses, most of those in the World King's camp are good at counter-attacking from a block, waiting for their opponents to attack…… They're better when they aren't taking the initiative.

However, the Gods' purpose in this battle is to "buy time", and thus, the Gods don't need to aggressively attack the World King's subordinates, who have robust defensive capabilities. No, it was more like the Gods knew that many of the World King's subordinates were good at counterattacking, so they set up a fighting style where they wouldn't initiate attacks by themselves, sticking to defense.

With that being the case, the World King's subordinates wouldn't have enough cards to break through the defense of the Gods, which has been strengthened compared to usual. They thought about cooperating with other camps to fight, but messing with the coordination would only upset the rhythm of the overall battle……

This disadvantage was also true for the World King's executives, the Seven Princesses. And that's where the presence of Camellia, who boasts the greatest offensive power in World King's camp, comes into play.

Yes, it was quite simple. If Camellia can break through the defenses of the Gods, the others can go support Camellia so that she can just concentrate on her attacks. But on the other hand, if even Camellia's attacks couldn't break through the Gods' defenses…… there is no way that they could bring down the Gods' defenses.

If the Gods can block Camellia's attacks, they can deal with the World King's camp as long as they all defend themselves like turtles, so there was a lot of attention paid to this exchange.

As a result, Camellia's 100% punch was unable to break through the God of Sky's defense.

As a smile leaked out on the God of Sky's lips, Camellia glanced at her right fist and muttered to herself.

[……I don't really like fighting.]

[Unnn?]

[If it were possible, I'd rather spend my days relaxing, doing my hobby of housework instead of fighting.]

When the God of Sky tilted her head, unsure of the meaning of her words, Camellia released her stance once.

[……However, I've also lived for quite a while too. I think I understand well that there are times when I have to fight to be who I am and to protect those I wish to protect.]

Saying that much, Camellia gently smiled, as if she suddenly remembered something.

[……He's a kind child.]

[……………..]

[Always drinking the tea I brew, saying it tastes good. He's a kind child with a nice smile.]

Thereupon, Camellia quietly clenched her left fist and put her right foot forward a bit. Seeing her Camellia take such a stance, about half of the people on the Seven Princesses' side had dubious expressions on their faces.

[If I am to fight for his sake, I think I'll be able to swing my fist.]

[……What are you……]

[It's not that big of a deal. It was just that I am "left-handed".]

[Wha!?]

[……"120%".]

Muttering those words, Camellia took a step forward towards the God of Sky. Her single step was so tremendous that it seemed as if the world itself was about to shatter, and after Camellia's left fist flashed with light for a moment…… The God of Sky's consciousness paused, and the next thing she knew, time had been rewounded by Chronois' Judgment of Time.

After looking slightly nostalgic, Camellia turned to Lillywood and smiled.

[……I think that battle turned out well because everyone, including Kaito-san, worked hard. In the midst of all this, all I've done is something really modest and inconspicuous…… but I think that's also good.]

"Is that so…… Well, if you're alright with that."

[Yes. If I could be of help to Kaito-san's battle in any way, that would be great…… though I'm not sure how much help I've actually been.]

"……Seriously, even from back then, you don't have any desire to show off at all…… If you wanted to stand out, you would have been able to do that though."

Hearing Lillywood's words, Camellia looked like she was thinking for a moment before she smiled.

[……As Lillywood-sama knows, I'm not really good at adding colors to the scenery with bright colored flowers. If I can just add a bit of color to the edges of the vision of the kind people I want to protect, that would be enough for me.]

When Lillywood saw Camellia say that with a smile, she felt that Camellia hadn't changed at all.

At first glance, she may appear timid and easily swept with the flow, but deep within her heart is a solid core that can't be shaken. She still has the same kind and beautiful heart that she has had since she became her subordinate, wanting to protect those who are kind-hearted.

Camellia is a Spirit of grass. It is true that she may be unable to bloom flowers with vivid colors. However, Lillywood still thinks that she is very beautiful.

And she was sure that she wasn't the only one who felt that way.

Yes, even if her presence is thin, even if she is inconspicuous…… Her beauty is being conveyed to those who need to know.

The name that she has been called as an executive…… "Grass Flower Princess".

Lillywood thinks that the word "Flower" attached to it represents Camellia's beautiful heart……

She may not have any petals———— but she is indeed the flower that brings color to the earth.

<Afterword>

God of Sky, Sky

God of Sky is the direct subordinate of Life, and has a relatively high position among the High-ranking Gods. She is assisting Life along with God of Earth…… Well, as one can imagine, they're having a hard time with her.

(T/N: The God of Earth here isn't Eden. This God of Earth is Daichi Shin, while Eden was called Chikyuu Shin.)

They envy the God of Flash and the others who were under Chronois' direct command. They'd like to swap positions with them if possible…… but they definitely don't want to switch positions with God of Disasters. Their side seems to be much more difficult than theirs.

As a side note, even though Life and God of Earth have ample breasts, her breasts are very modest……