Chapter 323

Roar of a King (VI)

Danny’s promise of a feast was fulfilled quickly to a much higher standard than anyone expected. He’d led them into the massive tree’s trunk, where his home was set up--in the hollowed out parts--and where a massive table of fruits and vegetables awaited them. Furthermore, there was a whole line of silver cups that were filled to brim with all manner of juices and wines, their aroma filling up the chambers.

Cain wasn’t shy about it, quickly dipping his toes left and right into the spread, trying to taste the sunshine in all of them. Just like on Earth, tastes varied; some were juicy and refreshing, some were sour, some were really sour, some were salty, some were too sugary, some were bitter, and some were simply inedible.

The same was the case with the drinks, though most leaned on the side of too sugary or too bitter or even too sour. Wines, especially, went down like a bowl of sugar dipped in half a cup of water. He didn’t mind, however, using Mana to clear up the congestion, eating away still.

Quinn, Lear, and the twins joined him soon after, similarly going through the spread, one by one, plucking away at the feast.

“You sell seeds?” Cain asked suddenly.

“Seeds, sir?” the tiny one asked back.

“Hm,” he nodded. “I want to plant some of these for home use. One day, when I’m old, gray, wrinkled, and shitting blood, having some of these around to ease the pain would be nice.”

“It ought to be fine,” Danny replied, smiling. “These fruits and vegetables do not belong in a garden hidden away from the cosmos; they ought to be used to nourish and feed people. That is the reason they are born to begin with, aye. However! The number of seeds I shall give you shall depend on your performance, no? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fun, aye, aye!”

“... sure, sure,” Cain chuckled away, figuring he’d at least get a few sympathy ones. Starting with the first time he ever took biology, his knowledge of plants was proportionate to how long ago he took a test related to them. Since it’s been quite a few decades, he’d even forgotten the basics of basics--only the words truly lingered, like a stem, a flower, a bud, a seed, and he recalled some plants having hairs.

“Think of it like this,” Lear suddenly sat next to him holding an oval-shaped, pumpkin-like, sapphire-blue fruit he’d just eaten a few minutes ago. One bite sated him completely, though the taste itself was beyond bland. “What can you tell me about this one?”

“... it’s, uh, blue? And big?”

“Beyond that,” Lear smiled and shook his head. “When you ate it, it sated you. It had no taste. When you cut it, the juices don’t flow. The insides are separated into two chambers, with the innermost being mostly hollow outside of a seed, and the one closer to the surface packing the stuff you eat.”

“Alright, sure, you broke down the fruit,” Cain said. “Nothing too difficult about that.”

“Just use that information to explain the fruit itself,” Lear elaborated. “Like, what its likely purpose is, whether it was natural or man-bred, why do you think the seed is separated from the rest, how do you think it grows--on a branch, on a stem, in the ground, and so on. The more specific details you give out, the more points you get.”

“How do you know that?” Cain quizzed, taking a sip of milky-white liquid that turned out to be milk, actually. Though it was a bit on the sugary end of things, it was through and through an ordinary milk.

“Growing up, in my family we used to do something we called ‘botanic wars’,” Lear explained. “Before the Towers fell and changed the world, my family was a family of shamans, witch doctors, botanists, herbalists, alchemists--many names were given to us. Since I could talk, I was surrounded by hundreds, thousands of different plants and was forced to recognize them all. However, my father never forced me to memorize them.

“Instead, he taught me crossing points between different kinds and species and how to recognize them in a plant. He also taught me telltale signs of what having one or two or three of those crossing points could potentially mean--for instance, if a plant has a nice scent, it’s likely that it uses it to attract animals for one reason or another. Perhaps being eaten by the animals is how it disperses its seed, or how it attracts pollinators, or a hundred other possible things.”

“...” Cain remained silent, listening carefully. In truth, he didn’t know much about Lear past the surface-level things. Same with Quinn and the twins.

“So, even if we can’t name the plants,” Lear smiled faintly. “We can still tell many-a-thing about them if we observe carefully. Same as with animals and people. None need speak for their secrets to seep, my grandma used to say.”

“None need speak for their secrets to seep,” Cain mumbled. “I can get behind that. Early on in my marriage,” he continued, recalling his life before the return. “My wife somehow always used to know. She didn’t know the why and hows, but she always recognized the whats. Honestly, it creeped me the fuck out. Until I started doing it too.”

“... you’re going somewhere with that, right? And not just bragging about your wife?”

“A bit.”

“Dude.”

“I’ll never know plants the way I know people,” he added. “But the key in life is not to learn about both the plants and the people. If that were the case, a man would have to know everything--from how to start a fire to how to build a house, how to tame animals, how to cook, clean, forage, hunt... in life, it’s important to recognize where we fall short--and though it’s cute to try and fill that void, if it’s something larger, we never will. As such, we find people and we make them dams that shield our weaknesses.

“Think of it like a party in the Tower. I’m a Mage,” he continued. “I can’t heal. I can’t tank. I can’t do much besides machine-gun spells at whatever comes at me. So, rather than trying to create a build that can tank and heal and deal damage, we surround ourselves with others who can do that. This is like that. Truth be told, I’ve no interest in learning about the nature of plants and their biology. Not now, not ever. So, instead of forcing myself to heave over a tome thicker than a galaxy in vain hopes that something might stick, I’d much rather find people passionate about it and befriend them. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. We use those strengths to placate the weaknesses of those we love, and use their strength to cover up our own shortcomings. We mingle and match, like stars in a constellation, until we form whatever pattern that holds the strongest.”

“...”

“And sometimes,” he added with a faint chuckle. “We take anyone, regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. What’s the saying like? Surround yourself with strong and smart people, and you’ll never know what being weak feels like? Aye, something like that. Though, in fairness, I much prefer to adopt stray puppies and shield them ‘till they grow their wings and begin to fly.”

“So, that entire monologue,” Lear said. “Can be summed up with ‘sheesh, dude, I can’t be bothered, so just do the botanist things for me... ya’ botanist’?” he shot him a quaint leer.

“... alright, in my defense,” Cain said. “I’m usually dealing either with children or semi-adults who never formed critical inspection of things. That would have worked for them.”

“Pfft, ha ha, fine, fine, I’ll be your keen botanist slave,” Lear chuckled. “So long as you keep your promise of helping me Awaken.”

“Whooh, thank God you’re a sucker for good ol’ rub me and I rub you back tangent. This partnership would not work otherwise.”

“What are you two talking about?” Quinn joined them and asked.

“Oh, not much. Just about how he uses fake depth and manipulation to get people to buy into his cult of personality,” Lear said. “And how he tried to do it on me and failed miserably.”

“Hey, you’re taking a piss out of a very charitable programme, man!” Cain whined exaggeratedly. “Besides, it was working on you. I just pushed it a notch too far. And bam. The whole dam came undone.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re having fun,” Quinn said. “But we really should take this seriously. Some of these plants are insanely rare and their value outside is so massive it’s a venture that could create boundless wealth. If we can sneak out with at least a few of them, in about a hundred years, we’ll have whatever we want.”

“I am taking it seriously,” Cain proclaimed. “Which is why I’m delegating it all onto you guys. ‘cause I’m dumb.”

“Your Mana sensory tops ours by a mile, though,” either Harmony or Nature spoke out, joining the conversation. “You’ll still have a job, even if you won’t be able to understand it. Examine the Mana structure of the plant or a fruit or whatever and describe it to us. You can do at least that much, no?”

“... fine, fine. If you’re asking that desperately, hero Cain shall come to your rescue.”

“... I kinda wanna punch him in the face.”

“Really? I want to cut out his tongue.”

“Maybe set him on fire and watch him burn for a while?”

“Oi, oi, simmer down guys!”

“Haaaah...”

“Laughter echoes lovely, aye, aye! That means thine Sires and Ladies are ready for a challenge, no?” Danny spoke out suddenly, causing everyone to look at him. “Mind not, for thee can still enjoy the feast--though I recommend it not, for your taste buds shall become too overwhelmed for the challenge. Alas, shall we begin?”

“... sure,” Cain nodded after confirming with the others. “Let’s get to it.”