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[I]
In motions that were swift yet cautious, Syalis placed down a plant pot on her nightstand. And once she did, with her hands clasped together and a beaming face, she gazed at it. Her eyes neither blinked nor broke away from it in that moment.
Confident and with great expectations, such were her feelings for it. Even if there had yet to be a speck of green emerging in the soil, it was fine…
It will definitely grow up to be a blossoming Mangolasia, through the care and attention she had to offer.
And she couldn’t wait for that day to come.
[II]
Every day, she provided her plant enough water, sunlight (through Nudist’s younger brother), and fertilizers just as instructed by her minion– erm, that talking grimoire.
If she were off to work on another task or too ill at the time, she’d ask the Teddy Demons to tend to it in her stead. With utmost important, she added.
And they’d comply with her request, leaving her at ease during such absences.
For the first week, it went by smoothly.
[III]
When she woke up in one morning, she turned her still sleepy head to somewhere and…
Much to her pleasant surprise, she saw a dot of green coming out of the soil.
Quickly, she hopped out of her bed and grabbed for her plant pot.
She could hardly wait to tell the others about this!
[IV]
“How unexpected of you to be responsible for something,” a sharp remark by Fluffy Dog as he pushed up the frame of his spectacles and back into his nose while his gaze kept shifting between her and her plant.
She made not a reply, opting to shrugging her shoulders instead.
Though she received negative attention from the demon hound, at least his own master was much more enthusiastic in contrast. Twilight took a step forward, admiring the fruition of her hard work, just as she was, before asking her in a lively tone, “so, what got you so interested in caring for a Mangolasia?”
Before she thought of answering him, Nudist suddenly came butting in. And with a nasty tongue, no less.
She shoot him a glare the moment he opened his mouth, “besides that, once that plant has its first bloom, won’t you be an old ha–”
…Only for his words to be cut short when Leo put one gentle hand on the marine deity’s shoulder. Then, he slowly shook his head, almost as if wordlessly informing the latter of something.
A second later, Nudist looked at Leo funny for some reason.
“Anyhow!” Sexy chimed in, interruptingly. While having her hands on her big chest, she continued on, “it’ll be a pretty little thing once it blooms!”
She nodded, sharing the sentiment.
Yes, a pretty little thing it shall be.
[V]
“Muu~”
The Teddy Demon purred in delight as she combed through its soft fur. Her brushing unhurried and precise.
She then glanced at the plant pot, checking for its condition. To see it with a tiny stem and two leaves spurting out of the soil, her lips curved up. A sense of pride swelled up in her chest.
Unbeknownst to her, a certain someone also smiled at the sight when passing by her cell.
[VI]
When one morning came, however, it left her in a state of shock and panic.
Before her was not a little Mangolasia slowly growing and of good health, instead a slightly tilting plant in some spots of browns and black… had greeted her.
A few seconds later, she got herself together and hurriedly looked for alternatives to salvage it from completely dying on her.
[VII]
A frantic pair of hands threw out a grimoire after another, through them she skimmed their details but only to be met with inadequate results.
Her grimoire was going through rhinitis yet again, so he proved to be of no help to her.
And so, she had no choice but to search in this underground library.
That even got her many hours of reprimands from Fluffy Dog and disapproving shakes from Twilight, all for making such a mess in that place.
But she did not let them stop her, persisting on until she realized her efforts were futile.
[VIII]
When that talking grimoire recovered from his illness, she initially thought that he would provide her proper advice…
Instead all he gave her were vague answers while looking all too unbothered by the sight of her wilting plant.
In a fit of fury, she spun around and tried to grab at him…
Only for her doppelganger to take that book in her grasp a second faster before she could do anything.
In a meek voice, the demon succubus said to her, “how about asking Miss Alraune for help?”
And that she did…
[IX]
But she found out that Sexy was off on a business trip for a couple of days. Her subordinates and fellow Ten Guardians informed her so when she saw that she wasn’t in her rooms, the Evil Gardens, nor the conference halls.
With her knees tightly tucked in, she heaved out a sigh.
To think her first attempt in growing a plant herself would turn out this way…
How aggravating.
[X]
On that time when the Princess left to search for Miss Neo and Miss Cubey went on a stroll with the forbidden grimoire known as Alazif, Leonard’s peeked out and made sure to check of other demons possibly moving through this pathway.
Seeing that coast was clear, he stepped inside the Princess’s cell.
Upon entering it, he was greeted by such a forlorn sight.
But he tried not to dwell on it any further and immediately got to work. With him kneeling on one knee and his hands brought up to his chest, he intoned in much clarity, “Oh, Dark Father, please heed to this follower’s call and bring back what was once lost.”
Dark, tiny tendrils appeared and dancingly went around the already wilting Mangolasia. With the slightest of touch, the little plant gradually reverted to its original state.
Breathing out a bit, Leonard let one hand fall to his lap and the other reached out for its leaf. Giving it a gentle rubbing, he whispered, “you be well now,” with a smile on his face…
But it fell as soon as realization struck him.
Though he had the capacity to bring life back to the dead, his powers don’t exactly extend to other effects like natural growth and change.
In other words, what he did wasn’t enough to completely salvage it especially when the Princess wanted it to keep growing and eventually bloom into an actual demon flower.
He knew he had to request the assistance of another. One of the same demon species at that.
Getting up to his feet, he turned and walked out of the cell as discreetly as he could…
While so having a new objective in mind.
[XI]
With limping steps, Syalis walked back to her room. All in no mood to see the very plant she painstakingly tried to care for…
Only for it to be a complete failure.
But alas, she had to get rid of it before contamination was spread all over her place.
Resultantly making her way to her nightstand, she looked up and her eyes widened in disbelief…
To see it alive and well right before her.
She scurried forward and then dropped to her knees, her eyes watching her plant, taking in every detail of it.
Smilingly, she grabbed its pot and hugged it tightly.
Relief warmed her chest in that moment.
[XII]
Having returned so recently from her business trip, Neo wasted no time to use her face mask and allowed herself to lean into the sweet comforts of her sofa.
But then, she heard multiple knocks to her door that got her begrudgingly walking to it and twisting around her door knob to open it.
And at her doorsteps was none other than Demon Cleric, much to her surprise. After all, he rarely came to her for anything. Not even about official matters.
But that still didn’t excuse him from choosing the wrong time to visit her.
“To what do I owe this honor of having you visit my humble abode?”
And she hid no disdain in her voice and informed him just as much.
Though he looked anxious with all that finger twirling and his eyes wildly darting about, at least the Demon Cleric was quick enough to tell her what he wanted, “I… uh, need a favor from you.”
She shook her head dismissively, “can’t you just go to someone else? I’m really busy right now.”
With panic prompting him to act at once, he blurted out, “l–look! I can get you that special edition beauty set you’ve been keenly looking out for the past two years.”
All thoughts of excusing herself from his presence came to a halt. Blinkingly, she asked as if hardly believing it, “really?”
“Yes, absolutely!”
She surveyed the Demon Cleric for a moment. To see him look this desperate when he never showed this kind of display in front of others before…
Whatever it was, it must be that important to him.
“Fine, fine, I’ll lend you a hand. What is it, anyway?”
“Well, it’s…”
[XIII]
With the bouts of joy all gone from yesterday and now replaced by curiosity, Syalis gave her plant sharp looks as she went on inspecting its condition. Finding it strange that the little one had suddenly looked the way it was before. All alive and well.
The books never once mentioned anything about demon plants undergoing this kind of transformation.
Just as she squinted her eyes at it, there came a tiny creaking noise from her door.
She turned and saw Sexy standing by her doorsteps before looking back to her plant.
“Princess, aren’t you curious about my visit?”
“A little, perhaps.”
Hearing a lengthy breath come from her, Sexy then told her, “I heard from my subordinates that you were looking for me some days ago.”
Leisure nods to her head, confirming that she did so.
“Now that I’m here, I can help you with taking care of the Mangolasia.”
And so, she let her while hardly thinking much about her generous offer at the time.
[XIV]
She soon learned from Sexy that she was putting in too much sunlight, watering, and fertilizers for her plant to handle. They lived in extreme conditions, she informed her so, and thus it needed little to survive.
Nodding obligingly to her advice, Syalis looked on the plant she was caring for.
Stretching out a finger, she felt like touching its leaf on a whim. Like she always did.
That was all she wanted, but then…
She sensed something else in them. More than the provided nutrients and of Sexy’s mana…
Though so faint she could barely detect it, there was familiarity in those tiny sparks of mana she felt.
She reached out again, trying to make sure.
But there came nothing as she attempted so.
‘Was I just imagining things?’ Syalis tilted her head in wonder and her lips pursed.
“Princess, are you listening?”
“Yes, yes, Sexy.”
[XV]
On the final day of her enlightening the Princess of all her knowledge to care for a young demon plant, Neo was relieved that nothing went through.
“Is there anything else you want to know, Princess?”
“Yes, there’s one thing…”
She nodded, quickly browsing through her mind in preparation for herself to readily answer anything that the Princess asked her of.
“You’re not the only one assisting me in tending to this plant, are you?”
She froze upon hearing that, but composed herself almost immediately before it was noticeable to her.
“What makes you say that?”
The Princess said nothing for a while, staring at her and then turning back to her plant. Finally, she said, “because I can feel Leo’s mana in them. But they seem too faded that I wasn’t certain at first.”
At that, her face turned pale as white as the Ghost Shrouds. Running up to her and putting her hands to her lips, she pleaded the Princess, “p–please don’t tell the Demon Cleric! He firmly insisted on not letting you know about it.”
In response, she merely hummed to it, her hands still stroking the plant.
She waited in panic, with hopes that she went along with it.
“Fine, I won’t.”
And Neo let out a sigh, her tension leaving her stiff shoulders.
But as she looked up to the Princess, the look she saw on her face puzzled her a bit.
The Princess was… smiling, but exactly was the reason behind it?
Oh, what was she thinking? Of course it must be due to her plant growing well now!
[XVI]
“Princess, is there something in my face?”
Syalis averted her eyes from Leo the moment he asked her.
“Nothing in particular really,” she replied, her legs lazily swinging around.
Even if she pondering over a certain little thought.
It seemed that Leo won’t tell her about that. To go as far as to get Sexy not to tell her and if she hadn’t noticed…
She wouldn’t have known at all.
Though the very idea of her not knowing… had irritated her, at the very least she was fortunate enough to have discovered it by herself.
If Leo won’t say a thing about it, neither will she…
But there were alternatives, she could use, to make up for it.
“Say, Leo…”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go shopping. It’ll be my treat!”
“Eh… but for what reason?”
“It’s because I wanted to.”
[XVII]
A cheery skip or two in her steps as Neo strolled through the streets of the Demon Castle Town.
In her arms was the long-awaited beauty package she’d always wanted, containing her immense delight was anything but a difficult task from this point on.
“What should I try out first? This or this one?”
Her hands, all clumsy from such uncontainable giddiness, rummaged through every product. Her eyes sparkling as she admired every one of them.
However, one second of her raising her head and seeing two familiar faces, she immediately pushed herself into the edge of an alleyway while making sure with her hands that she spilled not a single one of her precious babies.
Not far from where she stood was the Princess and the Demon Cleric coming out of some shop. From the looks of it, as she narrowed her gaze in hard focus, the Princess eagerly went on thrusting a bouquet of flowers and a large-sized box into the demon goat’s arms.
And the recipient, in turn, gave the items now in his possession a nervous look.
Though it seemed quite forceful in the Princess’s part, she could tell that the girl was trying to be sincere with her presents.
And beside that, despite the Demon Cleric looking all too unsure about what to do with them, there was that soft gleam to his eyes whenever he looked at the Princess.
In her view, they were both happy and at ease with each other's company.
Shaking her head in a bit of acknowledgement, Neo decided to leave the pair be and walked on her own way…
While still squealing maddeningly to herself, she could hardly wait to try them all out!