Eat The World Tree

Guseul stood on the balcony, silently gazing at the horizon.

The sun was setting, and the moon was rising.

The sky was as beautiful as if different colored paints had been mixed and splashed across it.

Below, trees were thickly overgrown, and beneath them, summer flowers were in full bloom.

“Sss…”

She looked at the flowers.

When she swallowed the saliva she had gathered, a bitter taste filled her mouth.

The situation she had feared came much sooner than expected.

She had subtly hinted at it, but she didn’t expect it to come so bluntly.

There were a few people following her now.

It was probably Lee Shiheon’s scheme or the World Tree and the Hunter Association’s ploy against Flower.

“Haa-yawn…”

Guseul yawned as she entered a contact into her phone.

As soon as she made the call, the phone rang a few times. After pressing a few more numbers, the call finally connected.

[What is it?]

A low, female voice answered.

“Oh, Auntie. How are you? The flowers here are really pretty, want me to send you a picture?”

[…]

Surprised for a moment by the sudden “Auntie” term, the woman quickly assessed the situation and responded to Guseul’s question.

Guseul was currently under heavy suspicion.

Tracking was not possible. The call between Guseul and Hongyeon was already routed through a company under Flower’s control.

Even if someone sensed something strange, they didn’t seem to have the power to interfere just yet.

Guseul continued the conversation without worry.

Messing with people during tough times was always fun.

[I don’t care for flowers. How is the Forester Selection Competition going?]

“Oh, of course! Auntie, haven’t you been watching TV? It’s been ages since we met. You probably don’t know that I’ve passed the second trial.”

[My apologies.]

Guseul smiled as she gazed down at the blooming flowers below.

[Are you ready for everything?]

Hongyeon whispered quietly so only Guseul could hear.

“Huh? Oh, not yet. The third trial is a bit long, you know. They haven’t even started assigning mentors yet.”

[In that case, it must be the Tree Spirit King.]

Guseul didn’t respond.

She simply continued with her cheerful “Mm-hmm” and “Oh, really?” in an effort to avoid drawing attention.

The person tailing her couldn’t use any abilities or magic to avoid being detected.

While there might be cameras in the area, there were no wiretaps.

‘There’s even a wiretap in my room, but I’d better not touch it, or I’ll raise more suspicion.’

[Do as you wish.]

Was she really not that interested in the Tree Spirit King?

It seemed like Hongyeon, or whoever might be above her, wasn’t really concerned.

Perhaps they thought it would be too transparent if they ordered the Tree Spirit King to be killed out of a desire for power.

But that wasn’t the case. Hongyeon seemed completely indifferent to the Tree Spirit King’s presence.

She just steadfastly stuck to her duties. To her, the Tree Spirit King was just one of many prophecies.

“Mm-hmm. Anyway, I’ve got to go eat dinner now, so I’ll hang up.”

After slipping her phone into her pocket, Guseul let out another sigh.

To ally with the Tree Spirit King or not—that decision was Lee Shiheon’s to make.

However, inside Flower, this very issue was also causing internal conflicts.

From the first to the eighth, Flower’s executives were divided.

Each of them had their own independent faction, and though they claimed to cooperate, in reality, they were entirely different entities.

If all the executives had fought the World Tree hand in hand from the beginning, the current tension would have already ended.

One of the major entrenched issues within Flower was this clash of opinions.

‘Should the Tree Spirit King be brought into our fold or killed?’

This matter was part of that agenda as well.

Excluding the eighth petal, which had no actual executive, the opinions on the Tree Spirit King were as follows:

The first, second, and seventh executives wanted to bring the Tree Spirit King to their side.

On the other hand, the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth executives were in favor of killing Lee Shiheon.

Flower was initially formed by the first and second executives, Taragon and Kanna.

Following them, five more executives joined: Cistus, Lotus, Gentian, Paeonia, and Freesia.

With everyone fighting for their own interests, was there any hope for resolution?

There’s a reason why they couldn’t even handle the authoritarian World Trees, which were rife with corruption.

Flower’s eighth petal, which was still vacant, was meant from the start for the Tree Spirit King.

If Lee Shiheon joined, he would sit in the highest position, equal to the first petal.

If that happened, everything would follow the prophecy of the saintess.

Carrying out that prophecy now rested in Guseul’s hands.

“Haa…”

But it was so hard.

‘Lee Shiheon knows his position all too well.’

Lee Shiheon was caught between the World Tree and Flower, two opposing forces.

But from another perspective, he was also someone who could control both forces at the same time.

The Tree Spirit King’s potential was strong enough for him to become an executive right now without issue.

If left unchecked, he posed a threat of swallowing both forces whole.

The World Tree was well aware of this too.

That’s why they needed to persuade Lee Shiheon before he defected.

Though the situation had devolved into a power struggle, Guseul never had any intention of opposing Lee Shiheon.

‘A petal without an executive is like a watermelon without seeds.’

Among the eight executives, the eighth faction was the weakest.

If it weren’t for Hongyeon’s talents and strength, they would be nothing more than cannon fodder.

For the benefit of all, the Tree Spirit King was essential.

Yet, despite leading the faction, Hongyeon showed no interest in the Tree Spirit King.

This left Guseul, the middle manager, in a frustrating position.

That’s how it was for middle managers.

Pressured from above, pushed from below.

It was a position that breeded endless stress.

‘…Sigh.’

It was lonely. Handling everything on her own was exhausting to the point of death.

Maybe it would be easier if she just got caught and killed.

The headache grew so intense that impulsive thoughts like that began creeping in.

Just as those negative feelings were about to cross the line…

-Tock.

Guseul’s expression suddenly turned cold.

The Dangdaeng Tree.

An existence without a flower language.

Born inside Flower, raised with the sole purpose of serving Flower. They are brainwashed so they can’t feel emotions beyond a certain level.

There was no flower language for them. This meant there was no reason for their existence.

Because of that, plants with no origin or roots tended to live without purpose, dream, or consciousness.

They crawled on the ground, picked up and used like tools.

The beginnings of Guseul, Taeyang, and Aori were all similar.

“Anyway.”

She organized the thoughts that filled her mind.

First, she needed to focus on what she needed to do.

Guseul rubbed her heated forehead, let out a sigh to shake off her emotions, and smiled again.

“Hyung.”

“Why are you here?”

It was the time when I had planned to meet with Guseul.

I was sitting on the couch, snacking and looking at my phone when, to my surprise, Aori and Taeyang came walking out of the bedroom.

“Come on~ If you’re meeting with Flower, of course, you should bring me along, right?”

“What do you think you’re going to say?”

“Don’t you know I’m secretly a genius strategist? Leave the muscle work to Aori.”

Taeyang giggled and pointed behind him. Behind him was Aori, dressed in a maid outfit, taking quick steps forward. Where did she even get that outfit?

I looked at her, baffled.

“It’s this girl’s hobby.”

Maid Aori walked around, setting the dishes on the couch with small, quick steps.

She glanced at me with a somewhat confident look on her face.

“I have pretty much every cosplay costume you can think of. All sizes. Let’s see, bunny girl, reverse bunny girl, elementary school swimsuit, school uniform—”

“Is that something to brag about?”

“You like it, don’t lie. Just let me know if you need it when you’re with someone you know…. I make them myself, so they’re super comfy.”

Would I ever actually need that?

I mean, I did like different outfits, but cosplay? I didn’t even watch cosplay videos.

The disconnect was too much for me to really enjoy it.

‘Wait.’

In this world, where exotic hair colors seemed natural, wouldn’t any outfit look cute?

Cheondo in a Pretty Cure costume…

Not something I should ever say aloud in front of my master, but… I’d like to see it at least once.

Cheondo did like that outfit, after all.

“Alright, I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Noted.”

-Rustle-

This time, I heard something from the kitchen.

It wasn’t Aori—it was Taeyang.

“What are you doing now?”

“Making snacks.”

“Why bother?”

“You’re welcoming a guest, right?”

“You’re probably the only one who’s ever served snacks to Flower.”

Taeyang was busy adding apricot jam or fruit to the cookies he brought from the buffet below, making snacks to his taste.

Surprisingly, his movements were quite fluid, as if he was familiar with the process.

“I met them once before.”

“…What?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I stayed in the lab until I was fifteen. I think I met them a few times back then.”

“Oh, really.”

“And, they’re kind of in the same situation as us.”

I sipped my tea, responding nonchalantly.

Even so, a Flower didn’t strike me as someone worth entertaining.

“A king must maintain his dignity.”

“Exactly, Your Highness.”

With them talking like that, I didn’t have much else to say.

To be honest, they weren’t completely wrong.

From their perspective, they probably didn’t understand why I opposed Flower.

The Tree Spirit King could fit in anywhere without it being strange.

Entertaining another power wasn’t so odd either.

“Here you go.”

Taeyang placed the finished cookies on the coffee table between the sofas.

The already luxurious cookies were now topped with fruit and jam, giving them the appearance of gourmet snacks.

-Gurgle-

Beside me, Aori was pouring tea.

“What exactly are you two?”

Watching them, I couldn’t help but feel amused and grateful at the same time.

They called themselves the king’s servants, and it seemed like they were trying to live up to that role.

Or maybe this had always been their hobby.

Or was this their way of gaining my favor?

-Knock, knock, knock.-

Before long, there was a knock at the door.

Aori quickly ran to the entrance and opened the door politely.

As soon as Guseul stepped into the room and took in the atmosphere, her face hardened.

“…What? You weren’t alone?”

Without thinking, she voiced her surprise. I shrugged.

Taeyang sat down on the sofa next to me and motioned toward the seat in front of him with his chin.

“Sit.”

As soon as her eyes met Taeyang’s, Guseul’s face stiffened.

Did they know each other?

Wait a minute.

So this guy hid something from me again?

The thought of how he had gone to such lengths to dig into my identity suddenly seemed laughable.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Hyung?”

-Smack!-

“Ugh!”

Before I knew it, my hand had flown out and smacked Taeyang on the forehead.

“Kyaah!”

Taeyang flopped over dramatically, and Guseul stared at the scene, bewildered.