Chapter 83
I quietly looked into Nia’s face.
“When we were searching for the guardian posts earlier, a small speck of dust got carried by the wind….”
That moment, Nia claimed she saw a flash of light.
For someone as timid as Nia to make such a bold statement was surprising.
Moreover, her expression seemed quite serious—it didn’t look like she was lying.
‘She’s not the type to lie anyway.’
Even during dinner the other night…
“Nia, is it good?”
“Yes, it’s delicio… blegh, delicio… blegh….”
She had tried to eat mushrooms she disliked, her face pale, just to say they were good.
Someone like her wouldn’t lie about something like this.
“Alright.”
After thinking it over, I gently stroked Nia’s head and smiled.
Her fluffy white hair swayed softly as I ran my hand through it.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Nia was the kind of person who wouldn’t even mention disliking food because she feared it might hurt others.
It must have taken a lot of courage for her to speak up about this.
“It’s no… nothing much.”
Enjoying the gentle touch, Nia briefly closed her eyes and replied with a shy face.
How could a sweet child like this end up as Agatha’s right hand in the original story?
Slaughtering innocents and serving as a major antagonist in Three Lives Chronicle.
As someone who knew the original Nia, it was hard to believe.
Right now, she was just a child who wanted to be loved.
A child just like I had been.
“Nia.”
“Yes?”
At my call, Nia tilted her head and looked at me.
Her ruby-like red eyes reflected my face, clear and transparent.
In the original, those red eyes were criticized for being unsettling and often received hateful comments.
‘Unsettling? They’re beautiful.’
“I’m so glad you joined our team.”
I hugged the dazed Nia tightly and pressed my cheek against her soft one.
“If you ever face something tough, let me know.”
“A-Ah… um…”
“Hmm? Do you not like this?”
“No, I… I do…”
Caught off guard by the sudden hug, Nia’s face turned bright red, and she began stammering.
“I like it…”
Her expression was like a tomato on the verge of bursting.
‘So cute.’
Feeling content looking at Nia, I turned my gaze upward toward the sky.
For now, we had something else to address.
To clean the guardian post’s face, I needed something suitable for the task.
“Inventory.”
At times like this, nothing beats the inventory.
<‘Wendy Porcelain’s Personal Inventory: Total capacity: 13 items. Currently stored:>
- A tattered winter dress
- A somewhat clumsy flower necklace
- A heartfelt flower bracelet
- Fenrir’s Molar
- A half-eaten top-grade recovery potion
- A resurrection stone
- Sura’s Calamitous Despairflower (Ethereal Form)
As I summoned the inventory, the list of stored items quickly appeared in an orderly row.
While browsing through the items, my gaze stopped at one in particular.
‘Oh?’
It was none other than the old dress I had stored when I first learned about the inventory.
The dress had holes here and there, looking shabby and worn out.
‘But it’s sturdy!’
With its durability, it seemed perfect for wiping down the guardian post.
See? You never know when something might come in handy.
With a shrug, I pulled out the dress and confidently approached the guardian post.
But there was a problem.
‘No water.’
I had the cloth, but no water to clean with.
While the nearby stream was too far, scrubbing it without water would take far too long.
As I hesitated, trying to figure out a solution—
“I’ll help.”
Nia stepped forward, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Soon, a small dark cloud appeared in the air above her palm.
Rumble, rumble—
There was a brief clap of thunder, and rain began to pour from the dark cloud.
Whoosh.
The sound of the sudden rain drew everyone’s attention.
We already knew Nia could control wind.
She had used it back in The Wind’s Stronghold, slicing through all kinds of beasts with ease.
But none of us had expected her to summon a cloud and make it rain.
Even though it was just a small cloud, it was still impressive.
As if to top it off, a radiant rainbow formed behind the guardian post’s head as the rain stopped.
“Rainbow…”
As I watched the scene in a daze, I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
There wasn’t any time to admire it.
This wasn’t the moment to marvel—it was time to act.
With the dress in hand, I approached the now-wet guardian post.
“Darwin, help me out.”
The guardian post was quite tall.
Even if I jumped as hard as I could, I wouldn’t reach its face.
Instead of wasting energy, it seemed better to get help from someone tall to finish the job quickly.
The plan? Piggyback cleaning.
Though it was a little embarrassing, efficiency was key.
‘Guess there’s no other way.’
Darwin sighed beside me and slowly walked forward.
“Alright, wait a moment.”
His actions were slow, yet his grin seemed both pleased and indifferent.
Was he enjoying this or not? It was hard to tell.
‘What a strange guy.’
As I tilted my head in confusion, Xenon grabbed Darwin by the shoulder.
“…What’s this?”
Darwin raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Xenon, who met his gaze impassively.
“I’ll do it,” Xenon said.
With that, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop noticeably.
The once hopeful atmosphere quickly turned into something akin to a Siberian wasteland.
I rubbed my arms at the sudden chill.
‘What’s wrong with them?’
Did they eat something strange last night?
They weren’t the kind to be so eager to help others like this.
I stared at the two, bewildered.
Darwin’s expression was slightly twisted in discomfort, while Xenon responded with his usual stoicism.
“She asked me for help,” Darwin declared, his tone resolute.
There was a sense of unwavering determination in his voice, as if he refused to back down.
But his opponent was none other than Xenon.
The kind of person who, even if a tiger bit him, would remain expressionless and say, “So, you bit me? Die.”
“Well, if all that matters is getting it done, does it really matter who does it?” Xenon countered.
“She asked me for help.”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“No, it’s relevant.”
It was a clash of wills—a spear meeting another spear, not a shield.
“I’ll do it.”
“No, I will.”
I sighed at the sight of their subtle yet intense standoff and interjected.
“Then Darwin can just lift Xenon. There, problem solved.”
If this continued, we wouldn’t get the guardian post cleaned before the day ended.
Besides, by their logic, it didn’t matter who cleaned it, as long as they helped each other.
“…”
Xenon awkwardly accepted the cloth I handed him, looking a bit unsettled.
“Hah.”
Darwin, now tasked with carrying Xenon, didn’t look too thrilled either.
“…”
“…”
The two stood in awkward silence, staring at each other blankly.
Fortunately, that silence didn’t last long.
“If it’s just cleaning, I can do it,” came a calm voice.
The speaker was none other than Celestine.
She rarely spoke, much like Nia, so I hadn’t expected her to volunteer.
I looked at her in mild surprise.
“And,” she added.
With small, bunny-like steps, Celestine approached Darwin.
“I’m lighter than Wendy, so it’ll be easier for you.”
…Ouch.
That was a blunt truth.
Well, regardless.
Before I could say anything, Darwin crouched down, seemingly deciding to lift Celestine instead of Xenon.
“Be careful,” Darwin said, holding Celestine securely and looking up at her with a worried expression.
“It’s fine. I’ll be quick,” Celestine replied with a gentle smile, gripping Darwin’s shoulders tightly.
True to her word, it didn’t take long.
Sparkle, sparkle.
Within just a few minutes, Celestine had cleaned the guardian post’s face thoroughly.
As the dust and grime were wiped away, the guardian post’s face transformed into a broad, cheerful smile.
It even seemed to emit a faint glow, leaving me speechless.
It seemed Nia was right all along.
My companions also stared at the scene, wide-eyed in amazement.
“I used to do cleaning jobs, so it wasn’t hard,” Celestine said proudly as she handed me back the cloth after gracefully landing on the ground.
“Thanks, Celestine. That made things a lot easier,” I said, placing the cloth back into my inventory.
As much as I wanted to toss it away, there wasn’t a good place to dispose of it, so I decided to keep it—for now.
It might come in handy again someday.
But that wasn’t the important part.
‘Celestine used to do cleaning work?’
And if she had done it “before,” that meant it was when she was even younger than she was now.
‘She’s already so young. Where would someone make a child like her work?’
The inner K-Confucian in me burned with righteous indignation, but—
Ding!
An alert window popped up, cutting off my thoughts.
[You have reached the ‘Happy Guardian Post.’]
[You may now choose a seed.]
Finally, it was time to choose a seed.
Despite the minor delays along the way, we had arrived.
Even if the Laughter Flower seeds were gone, it wouldn’t be a problem.
After all, I had a rough idea of where to find the materials.
‘As long as it’s not the Sura’s Calamitous Despairflower.’
Feeling relaxed, I opened the seed selection window—and immediately froze in shock.
“What? Why—”
At the commotion, my companions gathered around and looked at the selection window.
“Why…”
Their pale faces mirrored my own disbelief.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again at the alert window.
But the text hadn’t changed.
I wasn’t seeing things.
[The seed has already been selected, and no further selection is possible.]
That’s right.
It seemed our team’s seed had already been chosen.
—
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