The Book Of Flowers

Back to Hortensia

-- The next day ---

"Your knife?"

"Already"

"Your clothes?"

"Already"

"The gemstone you stole from the Elf's courtyard?"

"Su- yah....?"

I turned towards Verdea who looked panicked using a sharp look

My annoyed look made him unable to look me in the eye directly and look back and forth

Who does he think I am so that he can hide something stolen from this area of the kingdom?

"I want you to return that thing later"

"But... The Fae who told me to take it. For a prank"

I pinched both of her cheeks after that. She complained of pain while trying to get my hand off her face

Whether he is funny or not, he still steals. I don't support his actions at all

"B-b-well"

"Stealing is despicable, joking or not"

Slowly my pinch came off her cheek. He held it because it still felt painful

His pouting face made me smile lightly while sighing

Not long after, the door to our room opened. My mother went into the room and stood in front of us

The height between me and my mother was so much different that I had to squat down to look her in the face straight away

"You sure you want to go now, son?"

I nodded slowly. There is a real sense of regret in my heart, but I have to stay strong and put this matter first

"Where's the father?" I asked

"... He's in his room. He said he wasn't feeling well"

...

That reason again...

Every time he wouldn't look me in the face, he would. It was his way of expressing his disappointment, caused by him really not wanting me to leave anymore

My mother held my face and kissed me slowly

"Part yourself my son. As for father, mother can take good care of him" He said softly with a gentle smile on his face

I returned her smile and we hugged each other to say goodbye

They never said goodbye. That's because they can't. So, I just hugged them to convince them I'd always be safe

She stroked my arm afterwards and looked like she wanted to hold back her cries

Slowly his hand slipped out of my hand

"Are you ready for Veri?" I asked

He nodded slowly with a small smile

"Mom go first, son"

Following her words, my mother slowly walked out of my room, returning to her room

...

I was sad to see my mother

He didn't say it, but he definitely wanted me to stay

...

"All right, let's go"

"Come on!"

Hmph. This kid is so excited. Let's see how long his spirit can last

And most importantly for later, I have to make sure that no one in the world tries to kill or kidnap Verdea again

......................

"I'll ask you one more time. Are you sure about this?" Fyon asked us all

"Yes, sure sa-"

Plaque!

"The one being asked isn't you" Lyralia cut while hitting Cyth on the head

Why did the two of them get to such a stage of violence, huh?

Forget that...

"You say that like I'm going to die" I said to Fyon

"Don't joke. You're dealing with something we don't know you know!?"

"Ahaha~ Little brother Fyon is worrying about me"

His face was red because of my plunge

He really doesn't have to worry too much. Me and the others can take care of themselves

But we still have to take care of this child. After we return to the castle later, I will make sure at least 2 of my friends will watch over him later

I even had time to negotiate with the leaders of the Fae to allow some of his clan to come with us

I couldn't bring the elves because I wasn't sure there were enough beds in the castle. And I need a lot of help, that's why I turned to the smaller Fae

There was a forest located in the Thyme castle area, and the forest was nowhere to be seen touched by humans. They can stay there if we're done making a decent home

They would be very helpful to guard that castle later

I looked at all my friends who were coming back. They all smiled steadily and looked confident with this decision of theirs

All right, we're all set

...

"By the way, have you taken anything for your payment from this place, Cyth?"

Cyth turned to me because his name was called. He then scratched his head and looked towards the sky

"If you want to pay me, I want to ask that the Hortensia kingdom not hunt the Black Hunt" He said and added a wide smile at the end of his words

...? He was hunted by the kingdom of Verdea?

...

"Well, I'll try to convince King Artorius later"

He laughed with a relieved tone

I can convince Artorius later. Besides why would they want to hunt down the Black Hunt crew?

They're all good people. I wonder why they were called pirates from the beginning

"All right, let's go"

"Well!" All my friends cheered

After being satisfied to say goodbye, we all turned around and started to head out to the Forest Gate one by one

...

I actually wish my mom and dad were here to take me away

But I won't force them. I don't want to be too selfish beyond this. I can't even fulfill their wishes

Sorry dad, sorry mom. I have to do this. Sorry if this has made you angry

All my friends have stepped out to the Forest Gate. After looking around and not being able to find my parents, I stepped out

Fyon who saw our departure immediately put his palms together and prayed for our safety. All the Elves who were in that place then came to pray for us as well

...

"T-t-wait a minute... We're gonna n-n-ride d-d-he?"

Cyth's entire body trembled, including his hand pointing towards Seren

Seren who had climbed out of his nest after such a long time only let out a tired sigh. On his face it was obvious that he said, 'Why would I want to do this?'

I'm also curious about what kind of trauma Cyth has that he's scared like this with a giant creature

"If you want to be safe and fast, he's our best choice"

Ivor whistled in amazement

"You convinced him to drive us? Apparently Seren can also obey other people besides-"

"Stop. Don't mention that name"

Seren will always look sad and angry when discussing that person

Because of Aestas' death, Seren hates all humans. He did not show it clearly. But when we talked about it, he wouldn't stop that mouth and keep scolding people

He even looked at Verdea as if he wanted to bite her right now. Verdea was stroking her tail slowly

"Can we go now?" Seren asked

He sounds uncomfortable with this

"alright. We also have a little time"

"And don't forget my pay later, Vainzel"

"Just calm. I've asked Fyon to provide it"

The first one to go up was Verdea, which I lifted up on Seren's back

I then dragged Cyth up because he did not dare to move in the slightest and took the third position on Seren's back

All my other friends followed one by one

When the last Luxor had gone up, Seren turned his head towards us. After making sure we were ready, he started flapping his wings and flew into the air

We climbed so high up above the clouds. We could not even see the ground from above the thick clouds, but the sunlight felt brighter and warmer as it hit us

Verdea and Veskal were amazed by it and laughed off. But their voices were barely audible due to the air pressure at this altitude

Most of my friends immediately took a lying position because they felt nauseous, especially Cyth who felt nauseous mixed with fear

Verdea then took a standing position while held by Veskal. Since they were sitting on the spot closest to Seren's head, the wind forcefully blew their hair back

Verdea who was standing straight away could feel the harshness of the wind. But his face did not look worried or afraid in the slightest. He looked happy and opened his mouth as wide as possible

"Hey, shut up, kid! I'm afraid something could get into your mouth!" I shouted

They must have listened to me, but they kept laughing and opened their mouths

To be honest, the sight warmed my heart. They laughed as if the thought of danger was not in their heads

Maybe I can consider this a break for them. At least they should lighten their heads occasionally like this

"I'm sorry the flight wasn't smooth. I haven't flown in a long time" Seren said

"It's okay! We're fine!" I retaliated

"Yeah!!!!" Verdea Cheers

He then repeated the cheers many times, and Veskal followed him

Ahahahah. I'm glad to see this view

Seren glanced at them. I don't know if he was bothered or anything like that when he glanced, but he didn't try to stop them from cheering it up

Not at all like Seren I know. He would usually get angry if I yelled near his lair first

"Below we have a ship!" Seren

Ah yeah. We should be close to the beach

"Down there first" I said

I slowly shifted my sitting position to near Veskal and Verdea

"Alright" replied Seren

I clasped the two of them on the shoulder and shouted, "Get on!"

Following my shout, Seren slid down quickly. The three of us held onto Seren's side while shouting happily

Meanwhile, all my other friends were clutching very tightly to Seren's scales and screaming in panic. Except for Cyth whose life is half lost and forced to be held by Luna so as not to fall

They both really screamed. I want to follow them, but sometimes I want to laugh because of their behavior

Seren shot so fast that we reached the ground back in a matter of seconds

And as I expected, we landed on the beach where Black Hunt was

All the crew were shocked by Seren's presence, but were relieved when I greeted them

And at the same time, Cyth rolled on Seren's back and fell on his stomach in the sand. A loud voice of nausea came out from his mouth

"Captain"

A crew of ships ran towards Cyth. He wears glasses and has neat black hair

Cyth raised one of his limpid hands

"From kat-me-Erin-Uegh!"

Erin tried to help her captain get up

We all went down for a while to the ground because Ordelia and Luxor were also nauseous

But the most important reason was, the Dark Elves who were still there. Luna immediately approached them and told them that they could all return

"Thank you for bringing the captain back" Erin said

Cyth whose body was supported by Erin was slowly giving a thumbs up

"It's okay. We also thank you for taking us"

Erin nodded

"I hope we meet again later" he said

"But-don't-in this place again" Cyth said

I laughed a little at that limp

"Then I'll see you, Mr. Vainzel. We owe you" Erin said, then walked back to her ship with Cyth

I forgot they were pirates

They said they owed me...

...!

I noticed Veskal's face looking sad when I saw Cyth's departure

...

Looks like I have to do something

From the palm of my hand, 2 seed plants filled with magic appeared

"Erin" I called out as I approached her

Erin stopped and turned to me

I told him to open his hand and put 1 seed in his hand

"Give it to Cyth later. And have him take good care of her"

Cyth has fainted completely by now

Erin then grasped the seed as tightly as possible and nodded at me. Convinced of the answer, I returned to my place earlier

"Oh yeah! Don't plant!" I said to Erin

He's just saying "Yes!" get up close to his ship and continue his steps

Now, I had Veskal open his palm. He looked confused, but still did

And the other 1 seed I put in his hand

"Use to contact Cyth" I said

Veskal's eyes sparkled

He hugged me because he was happy. I returned his embrace while stroking his head

"Did? Veskal can be soft as well as it turns out" I'm getting a sneer

He immediately took off his embrace with a embarrassed face, stomped on my feet as hard as possible, then climbed back up on Seren's back

What does it mean try!?

Be ill...

We all went back up to Seren's back. Not forgetting to wave to the Black Hunt crew, we all flew back into the air

"Bye bye!" Veskal and Verdea

Luna, Ivor and Lyralia cut off their arms and refocused on making Luxor and Ordelia comfortable

The crew members continued to wave their hands while cheering loudly until we all disappeared above the clouds

"... Man" muttered Seren, before shaking his head slowly, while showing a faint smile

He then darted towards Hortensia now. Verdea and Vescal shouted loudly as before while trying to stand on Seren's back

I tried to warn them while occasionally laughing and when Veskal almost lost his balance, I caught him

They both looked panicked when they saw my annoyed face, but returned laughing as I lifted Veskal into the air with my hand

Their laughter did not sound too loud, but their faces showed that they were laughing as hard as they could. Verdea even coughed with laughter

On the other hand, Seren who saw our behavior snorted

I really don't know what Seren is thinking right now. But his face looked as if he liked the atmosphere

Ivor then followed our pleasures, while Luna and Lyralia just shook their heads to look at us

And with the sunlight behind us, Seren took us flying towards Hortensia, as we on his back laughed as hard as we could with each other