Chapter 57. Cinderielle’s first contact with Liu Shu.

Chapter 57. Cinderielle’s first contact with Liu Shu.

When Cinderielle, the red-haired Sylvan, crossed the distance, she didn't even hold back her intentions as she hugged the tree. Her arms wound around the thick trunk as she buried her face in the somewhat rugged surface. Because Liu Shu's body was close to seven meters tall, counting the canopy, Cinderielle reached around the waist area of the faint humanoid figure.

As a World Tree, her trunk was thicker than a typical tree of her height would have, making it thicker than what her arms could surround. However, Cinderielle couldn't care less right in this instant.

The second she hugged Liu Shu, her entire existence seemed to have become complete. Something deep inside her that had, for the first time since forever, felt satiated.

The powerful sensation entrapped her mind, body, and soul, making Cinderielle's eyes gain a deeper-than-usual tone that reflected her inner feelings of growing obsession.

Yet, even as this powerful feeling grew inside of her, there was something that Cinderielle couldn't or didn't understand deeply. While there was a desire for a monopoly, there was a strange feeling looking at Flor and the Rose Fairies, not wanting to make them go away.

In Cinderielle's mind, she knew what was happening. Her instincts as a Sylvan wanted to court this World Tree and make it hers. However, at the same time, she wanted the World Tree to grow and become stronger.

'However, from the way Flor has been treating Liu Shu, it seems that she is still quite childish mentally. What to do~?' Cinderielle separated from the tree when she felt the energy inside of it become strangely relaxed. 'I can... make her accustomed to my presence? Perhaps I can become an essential part of her and slowly enter her mind.'

Cinderielle smiled as she separated. And to her expectations, she saw her branches extend but stop midway. This action made Cinderielle's smile deepen.

Meanwhile, Liu Shu was confused. 'Why is she hugging me? But...' Cinderielle might've been a person with Fire affinity, something that most flora didn't like. However, she was not any being but a Sylvan who had an affinity toward plants. '...It feels warm.'

The innate heat and aura emanating from her relaxed and made the World Tree feel comfortable as if her branches were being warmed up by the Sun after a cold winter. The heat from Cinderielle's aura seeped inside her and made her own energy feel attracted to it.Updated chapters at novelhall.com

Liu Shu looked at Cinderielle and thought. 'It would be nice to be smaller and fit in her arms...' It was the first time Liu Shu wished to become smaller. Her entire life, even before she became a World Tree, was all about getting bigger and bigger.

Of course, this fleeting desire wouldn't even minimally affect her efforts to get bigger. Her primary and biggest desire was to become bigger and stronger; her entire existence, desires, skills, and will pushed her in that direction.

While Liu Shu comfortably relished in Cinderielle's presence, she suddenly felt the source of such warmth slowly getting away, making her relaxed mind become alert as the <World Tree Eye> fixed on Cinderielle.

Seeing her smile as she moved away, Liu Shu's branches extended unconsciously to grab onto her, but she stopped herself. 'Why did I reach out?'

Flor asked from above, interrupting Liu Shu's pondering. "Did you have enough?"

The Sylvan looked upward and smiled, her face much more relaxed when facing Flor. Flor blinked, surprised at her adaptability. Usually, after being almost killed, a creature would remain cautious and even flinch.

Of course, while Cinderielle remained cautious inside her heart, somewhat having been able to get so close to Liu Shu made it so that Flor, who was acting like a protector, looked much more pleasing to the eyes.

The fact that she almost got killed by her still remained fresh in her mind. Yet, the fear she felt from that time had calmed down a lot after hugging Liu Shu. The aura emanated from her made all her other worries seem insignificant as she finally, after so many years, found the creature that the leaf belonged to.

Ariel shook her head. "Internal problems are quite deep. Anyways, what's wrong, Rose Fairy Queen?"

Flor smiled. "Changing the title now?"

Ariel laughed. "Now that we are close, we can finally analyze you and see your race and ternary essences. Quite a powerful creature."

Flor sighed ruefully. "I'm still behind to that thing when she transforms."

Cinderielle snorted. "Hey, be more respectful. Who are you calling a thing?"

Flor rolled her eyes. "I'll be respectful when you don't annoy me."

Then, she finally answered the question. "As I said, a tide of beasts is coming our way. We need to defend it, and while we are a bit short on personnel, Liu Shu honestly counts as a small army. As long as she has Aether Mana and Anima energy to help us, victory is not that hare.... Or so I thought if you all didn't appear and make this..." She looked at her burnt skin and sighed.

Cinderielle wanted to retort, but she couldn't. "Don't worry, we'll help."

Flor smiled. "That would be quite nice. Also..." She looked at the merchants and asked. "Any book around there related to communicating with World Trees? There are some things I've failed to understand lately, so I'm a bit eager to get something like that."

The four of them looked at each other and shook their heads. "Those kinds of books are usually in libraries, not in our hands, where they can easily be broken by our fights."

Flor nodded. "A library is a place to store books, right?"

The others confirmed it, and Flor asked out of curiosity: "Is it possible to take them out permanently?"

"A place like that is not usually where you can buy books. Of course, they have their prices, and they will be sold even more expensive than the original for being unique many times."

Flor thought of Verdantia and pondered. 'How did that woman deal with the fact that she have lost those three important books?'

Placing those thoughts aside, Flor told one Rose Fairy to go get Ignatia while she explained a bit about the Thornstrides and other races they've spotted.

Ariel asked, curious. "We could use some kind of building, but do you have any?"

Flor snorted. "Of course I don't, why would-."

Suddenly, several pulses of energy burst from the tree with the meaning of "Yes!"

The six people looked at the World Tree with many different expressions. Some wondered how she did that, something they hadn't been accustomed to even after all this time; others were looking with a strange glint in her eyes while Flor knew what was coming and prepared herself. 'I'll need to be an interpreter again, it seems. I wonder when Liu Shu will be able to talk with us.'