Chapter 382: The Gardener of Withered Flowers (4)

Neither my orphanage director nor Kim Yul was the first to react to my request to manage this garden.

After deflecting Sylvia’s hammer, Estelle cried out in surprise, “Patriarch, you can’t do that! First, the clan shadow already has his duties. Hamustra wants him to stay in the library. The clan shadow has recently been away a lot, so Hamustra is already grumbling about it. Moving the clan shadow’s home permanently could send the wrong message to Hamustra.”

Sylvia was surprised. “Wait, what? Why are you now speaking like an advisor?”

“Well, I

am

an advisor. You’re the head steward. That is why you clean, cook, and serve tea.”

“If cleaning the house is the head steward’s job, then plucking you out of this garden seems like the first thing I should do...”

“The first thing you should do is clean yourself. You want me to do it for you?”

The two of them resumed measuring the best angle to cut off each other’s heads, but I interrupted them.

“The advisor’s note is worth considering. Someone I know well once said that when a Constellation harbors spite, a lot of bizarre things happen.”

The Guardian snorted from behind me, his arms crossed.

Estelle sighed, her chin resting in her hand. “Although Hamustra is no longer a Constellation...”

“He still needs attention and care. Even if this isn’t about preventing risks, I’m responsible for him. You’re right.” I nodded. “We’ll handle that. What’s the next issue?”

“I don’t know about the clan shadow, but the burden may be too much for the clan elder.”

Her tone was cautious. The orphanage director, who had been listening to our conversation without chiming in, agreed.

“Can I really do that?” he asked, his voice bearing the pressure he felt. “Gong-Ja, I’m weak. I don’t know any of these martial arts skills, like aura or reinforced aura, nor can I use magic. The only bladed tool I know how to handle is a kitchen knife.”

“To be honest, you can’t even use that well.”

The director smiled faintly, his voice becoming lighter. “True. I always found it difficult to use something sharp. Using the side of a spoon was about as much of a sharp-edged tool I could manage without feeling too burdened.”

“The rice you mixed and the apple you grated for me with the spoon were delicious.”

“Thank you. But that isn’t the skill needed to protect your home, is it?” the director asked. It wasn’t hard to hear the powerlessness in his voice.

He saw how violence worked.

The first flower planted in this world was a friend he couldn’t protect. I, the master of this world, was once a child the director had to protect, and I had many enemies. Even if I didn’t count the Constellations, Pillars, or Hunters from other worlds, many media outlets on the Tower’s first floor had joined forces and were out to get me.

As I had discussed with Anastasha, it was necessary for me to become the target of the media. The one point on which I agreed with the Tower master was that many people needed someone to point fingers at. The Tower master became that target, both by choice and need.

Still, seeing the Tower master like that kept breaking the hearts of the Mirage-Walking Princess and the other Pillars. Something like that had to be happening to the director, too. No matter how strongly he believed that one had to bear their own duties and responsibilities, could the heart of a father[1] who read harsh articles about me every morning truly be unaffected?

I decided to start with what I had to say.

“Director, I’m fine. It’s okay if you can’t use a sword. What I want from you isn’t violence.”

It was quite the opposite. I wanted him to stay away from it.

The director’s face eased a bit.

“I’ll make sure you never have to hold a sword.” I put my oath into action by first looking at Kim Yul. “Mr. Kim Yul.”

He was looking at me, too. Since he had killed his other self, he now saw the world in a different light from before.

“Can you protect the director and this garden?” I asked.

“I’ll do my best,” Kim Yul replied immediately as he looked down at the silver lily of the valley that had been him. “I’ll protect what should be protected.”

“Okay.”

I accepted his oath and picked up my holy sword.

Shiny.

I had been holding onto her since I got her from the Aegim Empire. When I embedded the sword into the center of the garden, light erupted.

[The Goddess of Protection has appeared!]

Hwia appeared, her wings made of light spreading wide. Like jingle bells swaying in the rusted sunset, the wings dyed the whole garden a pale crimson.

Even if the flowers were rotten, they were still flowers. The red light drenched the entire garden of blooming flowers, but they never lacked color, only brightness. The severity varied, but the colors of petals faded as pure white radiance coated them. The flowers existed not by shimmering, but through flickering.

“Hwia.”

“Yes, Hero.”

“I’d like to trust you with tending this garden, too. It would be good if you could assist Mr. Kim Yul.” I pointed at the man who had once summoned and wielded her. “Is that all right?”

Hwia gazed at her former partner, who had torn her into five pieces and sealed her away. Just like when she had first heard of Lefanta Aegim after being sealed in the sword, there was no hate in her gaze.

“Yes.” Only worry remained in her gaze as she skimmed over Kim Yul before turning back to me. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

I smiled. “I’ll miss you.”

“You’ll need to find a new sword. Is there one you have in mind?”

“I do, but it’s not just about the sword.” I bowed. “Thank you for staying with me all this time.”

Hwia smiled. It was a bright, pure smile. “Don’t make it sound like we’re not going to see each other again.”

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“Well, you’re right, but still.”

“Then it’s fine. I am, after all, a protector.” The Goddess of Protection spread her wings like the goddess she was. “I’ll guard your home, Hero.”

Hwia slowly turned toward Kim Yul. Her wings slowly dimmed and no longer lit the whole world, only Kim Yul.

“It feels odd to say this again, but I look forward to working with you again, my first hero.”

Like an inexperienced actor suddenly finding himself under a spotlight, Kim Yul faltered. A mix of emotions flashed across his face for a moment.

He nodded. “The honor is mine.”

Kim Yul and Hwia would spend a long time talking, just as much time as Kim Yul spent with the orphanage director. Hwia and the director would also have a long chat. That could be done anytime, not necessarily now.

I turned to Estelle. “Advisor, I want to trust you with guarding this place, too.”

Estelle, who had been watching the materialized Hwia as much as Kim Yul’s, paused and looked at me.

“I...”

“What is it? Didn’t you want to be a gardener? In the sector of the garden you guard, you’d be stronger than me—”

“Upon reconsideration, that seems like a rather embarrassing idea,” Estelle answered quickly.

And so, the world’s light novel readership dropped by one. Estelle brushed off the part that the Viper had rubbed off on her, shaking her head like a wet Pomeranian.

She hesitated. “In many ways, I... with them...”

“I see.”

“Of course that’s how you see it, Patriarch. But please consider my view, too.”

She sighed. The former Demon King, who had become enemies with Lefanta Aegim’s empire and destroyed the Goddess of Protection’s world, was more desperate than a cat avoiding a bath.

“Please,” I said.

“

Ugh.

” Estelle sighed, her shoulders hunched. After a moment, she let her arms droop. “If you were to just order me to do that, it would at least put my mind at ease.”

“I trust you.”

“Understood... Yes, I’ll be a gardener. Now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem so embarrassing. Since I have a village to look after, I’ll take plenty of vacation time, but the clan headquarters would need its advisor too... Anyway.” Estelle took a deep breath. She then bowed toward Hwia and Kim Yul. “I’ll also be working with you.”

Hwia fluttered her wings with a warm smile; she truly was a bright goddess. “Welcome.”

When Lefanta Aegim first started his journey of the Constellation hunt, he spared Hwia, not just for her past favors. Perhaps that was why Kim Yul also nodded, welcoming Estelle. That only made her feel even more lost. After spending some time fidgeting like a snake on snow, Estelle spotted her target.

“You come too.”

Sylvia, who had been watching Estelle with a villianess smile, grimaced. “

Eh

, me too? For some reason I can’t fathom, my sanity seems to be eroding proportionally to the time I spend here. But you want me to stay in this place?”

“You’re the head steward. Where else are you going to be if not guarding the clan headquarters?”

“

Uhhh...

I have a mission of utmost importance to brew tea for Duke Silver Lily...”

“Shall I ask for her opinion? Should you brew tea for her or take care of the garden? Which do you think the duke would prefer? Actually, let me put it simply. Which one would she think will screw you more?”

Sylvia sighed.“Freaking hell...”

Estelle raised her chin, her greatsword slung over her shoulder. “Still, you’re a young lady named after a flower. Wouldn’t it suit you more to be in the garden?”

Sylvia grunted. “That’s old history.”

“On top of that, the garden is rotten, so there’s no more fitting place for you. Come.”

“Damn it...”

Sylvia finally gave in. As she walked over to stand by Estelle, she truly looked like one of the flowers that had grown in this world.

Only then did I turn back to the director. “As you can see, other people will use their swords, but everyone here needs help.”

I wasn’t just referring to the flowers. Kim Yul, Estelle, Sylvia, and the rest of the Death King Clan who would come here also needed help. Shadows grew darker with the depth of their wounds. Only those wounded by the world could carve the doctrine of shadows deep within themselves.

“I would like you to help us,” I said as the Young Heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult. “That’s what you do best, Director.”

The director didn’t stay silent for long. His reply was brief, like his friend’s.

“I shall do my best.”

Like that, everything was set.

[Your agents have been assigned to your world.]

[The eighty-ninth floor has been cleared!]

A rusty sunset hung over a red sea. The flowers, tired from luring bees or having never been gifted with such skill, dropped their petals and leaves and fell asleep. The land was guarded by the Goddess of Protection and the Demon King of Autumn Rain. My old teacher, who had raised me, and his friend would tend the garden. This was also going to be my clan’s haven.

[The Garden of Withered Flowers is now the Scream-Gathering Sky’s holy ground.]

[May luck be with all of you.]

The path to the ninetieth floor was cast upon my world.

***

“No, no, no, no! It’s too unfair!” Hamustra flapped his sleeves like a butterfly. “I object! I firmly object! If Kim Yul leaves, who will take care of the books? I’m going too! I’ll go, no matter the cost!”

“My god! Mr. Librarian is flapping!”

“Move aside! I’m getting the front-row shot this time!”

Around Hamustra, his stalkers—the Assistant Writer and his followers that had come down from the fiftieth floor—were having the time of their lives. What a mess.

Adding to the chaos, the Medicine King, the manager of Cafe Planetarium, bellowed, “If you’re going to make a scene, do it outside! You’re disrupting the business!”

“Sorry...”

“This is the problem with young people nowadays.

Ugh!

Why are they so much like me when I was young?” the Medicine King grumbled, shaking his head.

“But I’ve told you this many times. There isn’t a single person here younger than you. Isn’t it about time you remember that?”

Hamustra’s stalkers began glaring and growling at the Medicine King. This was now a daily routine here.

Hamustra pushed his stalkers aside and gave me a plaintive gaze. “Look. Look at this pathetic mass in front of you. Do you see what you’ve done to me?”

“Strictly speaking, you brought that upon yourself,” I replied with a carefree shrug.

Hamustra was one of the few people I treated casually. I felt like it would be unpleasant to be treated like Yoo Soo-Ha, but Hamustra seemed to have already calmed down.

Avoiding my gaze, he grumbled, “

Hmm.

Well, that may be true. But even so, taking Kim Yul away is...”

“Don’t worry.” I stirred Hamustra’s frappuccino and handed it to him. “You don’t really want to use Mr. Kim Yul as a librarian, do you? You just want to be with him.”

“Well, yes, but...

Hmm... Ah

, I see. I see. Why don’t you take me as one of your ga—”

“No, I won’t.”

I chose not to bring Raviel here in the fear of turning the flowers into mere exhibits, so I would never let this voyeur into my garden.

“Then?”

“I’m planning to build a path to my holy ground in this library.”

I briefly described the layout I had in mind.

As a high-level Constellation who had spent some time managing the Tower’s floors, Hamustra understood me quickly. “So, you want to use this place as a cafeteria?”

“A lounge, to be more precise.”

It was like constructing a small building. Within that building, my holy ground would be a roof garden. The twentieth floor was under my control, as well as the paradise where Estelle used to live and the twenty-second floor where Teacher’s grave was. These floors would be under the roof, like a Tower within the Tower. Like that, Cafe Planetarium, where Hamustra lived, would serve as a lounge where gardeners and guests could rest.

“

Hmm...

Well, if that’s what you’re planning, I suppose I’ll get to see him once a day.”

“Yes. Not bad, right?” I asked.

“I would be lying if I said I don’t have any complaints, but... Okay.”

Hamustra looked at my fox god around my neck with slight jealousy before sighing. He sipped on the cappuccino I had handed him. “Why do you climb the Tower? Honestly, I’ve been asking myself this since I heard you reached the eightieth floor. Gong-Ja, you’ve proven everything you have set out to prove. You became a complete Constellation and fixed nearly every fault in your world’s Tower.”

Hamustra rested his chin in his palm and stared at me.

“Do you know what Constellations that reach that level usually do?”

“They stop taking challenges?” I speculated.

“That’s right. From that point on, they focus on gathering followers, cultivating their divine power, and collecting items. If they spot another world that looks easy to plunder, they might go for a raid.” Hamustra stirred his frappuccino with the straw. “Only those who feel there’s nothing more to do or who are tired of renting start building their own homes, their holy ground. That’s how they rise from the eighty-first to the ninetieth floors.”

“I see.”

“That’s the difference between high-level and ordinary Constellations. That’s all there is to it. ... But we don’t need to have a home to live, right?”

Hamustra’s followers and the Medicine King kept arguing. After stealing a quick glance in their direction, Hamustra then looked back at me.

“Even if you spent twenty million years in sweatpants, dipping fries into milkshakes and licking your fingers afterward, no one would have said a word. But you continued challenging the Tower. I heard that you nearly died—no, nearly faced a fate worse than death because of it. Is it worth the risk?”

Perhaps that question was to be expected.

“Are you doing this to become a Pillar?” Hamustra asked.

I frowned. “Who told you that?”

“I still have many strings left, so I hear news floating around. It’s bothersome, but... Anyway, is that why? Or is there something else?”

Hamustra didn’t ask whether I was doing this for the Tower master.

I said, “In your eyes, wouldn’t it be more strange for me not to climb the Tower?”

“As a fan, it’s better for you to climb the Tower, but reality is different,” Hamustra answered calmly, cupping his cheeks. “

Hmm.

Of course, if you were to say, ‘I’m doing this to make you, my fan, happy. That’s why I’ve decided to climb the Tower!’ Then I would immediately die from happiness.”

“I promised someone.”

Hamustra fell silent.

I added, “I promised someone to climb the Tower. Since you read my book, you should know to whom I made the promise.”

I stood up. Hamustra stared at me, then behind me, his gaze fixed on a man he would never be able to see but who was clearly beside me.

“I see,” Hamustra murmured. “That’s what it was.”

I turned away. My belt, now without Hwia, held only the dagger I’d always carried. This left me feeling empty yet oddly free.

“Now, shall we go?” I asked.

The man, who had taught me swordsmanship since I had been carrying only this dagger wrapped in duct tape, replied to me.

—Yeah. Let’s go.

The next floor was the ninetieth. Ten floors remained until the top, and nine floors were left until the floor where the Sword Emperor had stopped.

1. More like a father figure. ☜