Chapter 366

Chapter 366

Eat The World Tree.

Episode 366: Sprouting Monster (5)

“Our king…he’s so pitiful…”

Taeyang chuckled at Aori’s words.

“Well, what can we do? He says he needs us.”

“But our king, he gets genuinely sick to his stomach whenever the topic of trees comes up.”

Everyone had their own inescapable traumas.

Especially someone whose life was turned upside down after impaling a tree. That trauma must be deeply ingrained.

When Taeyang and Aori listened to Lee Shiheon’s story, they could sense fragments of his trauma.

“And now, he’s accepted the tree,”

“Is that a big deal?”

“Of course, isn’t it?”

Usually, no matter how determined you were, it often ended after three days.

That was for ordinary people. So, for Lee Shiheon, who once lived as a recluse, how much resolve must he have needed to change?

“Even if the world has changed, how can people change so easily? It’s a combination of many reasons that led him to this.”

Aori nodded at Taeyang’s words.

It was an answer anyone could come up with, and it wasn’t hard to agree with.

They both thought at the same time.

Someone who hated trees so much had begun to accept his destiny.

It must have been a huge leap for him, if not for others.

Taeyang murmured seriously.

“Aori, our king is under a lot of mental strain.”

“…Yeah.”

“It’s up to us to support him.”

Remember, they could do this, right?

“Yeah, we can do it.”

Aori nodded. She clenched her fists, expressing her determination.

Taeyang’s lips curled up at the sight.

“Good job.”

They were created to assist the king.

They were adept at understanding human psychology and responding to it.

“But is our king really having such a hard time?”

“Yeah.”

Taeyang shrugged at Aori’s question. It was a fact that would only hurt their mouths to ask.

Lee Shiheon’s mental state, as judged by Taeyang, was too complex to explain in words.

He recalled the story of Lee Shiheon from the cradle.

-Our teacher… honestly, if she ordered me to do something right now, wouldn’t she be the person I trust the most?

-Is she that important?

-Of course, she is. She’s practically the one who saved my life.

The fact that it was mixed with a lot of subjective interpretation and exaggeration meant that he was that important.

From the moment Taeyang met Lee Shiheon, he had a hollow look on his face.

“He was exhausted from the pressure of having to solve something quickly. To the point where he needed to relieve that exhaustion somehow.”

Unconsciously, he relied heavily on those around him.

Those who became his support were Sansuyu, his teachers, and his lovers.

That was Taeyang’s judgment.

“And now, he’s even rejected those teachers.”

Lee Shiheon confronted Cheondo. He had voluntarily cut off one of the pillars he relied on.

This was bound to cause immense mental pressure.

“Our king is just a regular person, so he’s getting more and more exhausted.”

“…Regular person? Our king? He’s incredibly strong.”

“It’s not about skill or talent. It’s about how his life and way of thinking were more ordinary than we thought.”

He had experienced too much in a short period.

His growth was remarkable, but he had no time to rest.

“He’s being chased by something. I don’t know where that anxiety comes from.”

However, Lee Shiheon’s excessive confidence and ambition, and his excessive respect or affection for some people, were probably due to that mental state.

“I see.”

Aori nodded again. She had no choice but to nod.

Taeyang had almost always been the one to think for her in their lives.

“We only have one thing to do. It’s very simple.”

“…Yeah.”

“Help our king as much as we can.”

The confidence a person showed on the surface often stemmed from great anxiety.

It was a mental resistance when you knew your shortcomings but couldn’t back down.

A struggle for life. An active defense mechanism.

Some called it strength, but others might see it as recklessness.

“I get it now.”

“Yeah.”

Taeyang and Aori put their hands into their pockets almost simultaneously.

They were now in a dark alley. They moved as one, quickly scanning their surroundings.

-Fizzle!

A brief burst of magic. A long stream of electricity pierced the hunters hiding nearby.

“Ugh, kaaah!”

The silence was broken as the hunters fell.

-Whoosh!

A dagger aimed at Aori grazed her shoulder.

“Poison doesn’t work.”

New shoots sprouted from the tree, turning into skin and regenerating.

Many hunters began to surround Aori and Taeyang.

“You were a bit late finding us this time, weren’t you?”

Fluent Chinese spilled from Taeyang’s mouth. The hunters’ eyes narrowed.

“Well, it’s only natural since we came to Nagoya so openly, right, Aori?”

“Yeah.”

“Kill them all.”

Armor rose on Aori’s face.

-Crack!

Tree root-shaped tentacles burst from her waist, spreading out like wings.

The eight split tentacles pierced the hearts of the hidden hunters.

-Thwack!

Gushing intestines, blood, vomit.

Taeyang stood in the center, smiling bitterly.

Wasn’t this what they called a biological weapon?

The grotesque sound sent shivers of fear down everyone’s spines.

Keudeudeudeudeuk

Twisting bodies. Unfocused, red eyes.

A walking disaster. A monster that was hard to call a girl stood there.

If hunters had ranks, criminals also had grades.

The criteria were much stricter than for hunters, due to the destabilization of society.

Aori was in that category.

An S-class disaster, reached by all of Flower’s executives and some who had come close to that level, excluding the irregular Tree Spirit King and Cheonma.

“Taeyang.”

A living calamity.

Aori’s face returned, her eyes filled with her signature innocence.

“Are we going to see our king now?”

A long time ago.

What should he think about a girl who was so badly hurt that she couldn’t move, so broken that she would rather die, becoming like this?

“Let’s go.”

Well, that wasn’t important.

“Phew…”

The cigarette stuck to my mouth particularly well today.

“Hyung, I thought you quit smoking.”

“……”

“Your Majesty… chain-smoking is bad for your health.”

I stared blankly at the sky with unfocused eyes.

“Taeyang…”

“…Yes.”

A hoarse voice came out of my mouth.

“Waaah, Your Majesty is so pitiful…”

Aori clutched her heart with a tearful face.

Regardless, I continued speaking silently.

“If a tree smokes, can it live longer with a filter…?”

The hand holding the cigarette trembled. The veins were clearly visible on his hand, which was sucked dry, as if only skin remained.

“H-Hyung! Please come to your senses!!”

Burning cigarette ashes. Sunset.

Having returned at dawn, it’s almost night now. I wiped my philtrum with a wet hand.

The smell of salt and sap filled the air.

Taeyang’s face, shaking my shoulders, seemed particularly heartless today.

“Isn’t this the result of your, your choice, Hyung!”

“I know. I know, but…”

-Cough.

A dry cough came out. It was fortunate that no blood came out.

“There’s someone I know named Jung Siwoo… he works really hard to save his younger sister, you know?”

“I’ve heard that, Hyung… please don’t mention it.”

“He risks his life to go to dungeons, makes contracts with spirits… even gets shot. Taeyang, that’s normal, right? For a person to get stronger, right? Huh?”

“Your Majesty… let’s go pick up pretty girls. Not trees… only girls you like…”

“But why am I the one being picked up?”

I dropped my head listlessly. My face, reflected on the surface of the lake, blurred in the flowing water.

Hollow cheeks and a gaunt face with shadows around the edges of my eyes.

Ah, right. I changed the shape of my mask.

Unconsciously, I made my face ugly to avoid being picked up as much as possible.

“Where’s the next place?”

“Hyung… waaah!! There’s a place similar to this… where they do it more intensely at night…”

“……”

A long silence followed. I lit another cigarette on the spot.

-Puff.

Clouds of cigarette smoke rose. It was fortunate that this was a red-light district. I could smoke as I pleased.

I felt like I could embrace anyone right now.

I looked at Taeyang and Aori.

Right. They went through the same things I did.

“You guys lived hard lives, didn’t you?”

“…Waaahhh!!!”

Taeyang and Aori couldn’t hold back their tears and knelt down, sobbing.

“You went through a lot to find me.”

“No!!! No, Your Majesty!!!”

“Shall we go? Lead the way.”

Tree roots growing under the lake were visible.

Tree trunks were visible along the street.

The buildings we passed were all made of wood.

There were so many trees in the world.

It was impossible not to seriously consider the love of nature.

Taeyang and Aori, half-crying, grabbed my shoulders and led me.

“I have nothing to say to Your Majesty’s lovers…”

“Taeyang, I’m just a bastard… that’s all.”

“Waaah.”

-Click.

The door opened again. Taeyang and Aori didn’t see me off any further.

A battle without swords.

The king’s service industry.

If the queen of a fallen kingdom were sold into the slave market, wouldn’t she suffer something like this?

“Oh my, you’re handsome. A high-quality S-class, hard to find these days~”

How could they all say the same thing?

“Come on in. The customers are waiting.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, right, my mind’s a mess~ wear this when you go in.”

“Isn’t this a bit too… full of holes?”

“I’ll give you extra pay.”

“……”

I was doing this for extra pay…

“I don’t need the money.”

“Oh my.”

The woman covered her mouth, as if she misunderstood me.

“A young man… oh well. Alright…”

She seemed to think I was doing this because I liked it.

I tried to say something more, but I gave up because of a lump of unspoken emotion stuck in my throat.

Alright. Let’s just go with that.

Looking at the countless trees rising in the room I entered after parting the curtains, I chuckled in self-disgust.

“…Teacher. Sansuyu.”

Damn, once I was out of here…

“……”

“Your Majesty, there seems to have been a misunderstanding. No, really, I swear!”

“……”

“Who would have thought it was SM!!!”

Taeyang frantically made excuses in a panic.

Next to him, Aori wiped her tears and stroked my skin.

There were clear marks of tree whips.

The scars subsided only after I used my regeneration ability, which had been stopped.

“Should I, should I go argue with them, Your Majesty?”

“Your Majesty… you were hurt by Taeyang. So pitiful… but so sexy…”

I flicked Aori’s forehead, who was breathing heavily while looking at the partially regenerated scars.

“Ouch!”

Aori fell over, making a sound effect like a game character.

I ran my hand over my forehead.

“…These days, do burls have… suction abilities or something? Like, huh? Do you learn new skills when you level up with age?”

“Th-That’s… burl fellatio.”

“……Huh.”

I was speechless.

“Hehehe, hehehehehe. Damn it. Hehehehe.”

“Taeyang, His Majesty has lost his mind… do something!!”

“How was I supposed to know it was that kind of place!”

I laughed while crying.

“How did that Tree Spirit King bastard… hehehe. Live like that?”

“Your Majesty. Stay focused. Stay focused!”

It’s so funny, absurd, and pitiful.

He was a doctor, wasn’t he?

If he grew up there, ruining the world without talent, what did he do for the world?

Only after experiencing it did I understand his great intentions.

“Your Majesty, wah.”

Aori rubbed her cheek against my shin and cried with me. I pulled my leg away and shouted with a bloodied throat.

“Next.”

“Y-Yes? Please rest, Your Majesty…”

“Damn it, bring the next one!!!”

Was my body important now?

Figuring out how to survive came first.

Once my mind was shattered, I felt like I realized what was important.