Chapter 101: New Seeds of Life
Maeve immediately nodded. "I do."
Without another word, Axan bent down slightly. "Then come here."
Before Maeve could ask what he meant, Axan gently lifted her into the air. "E-Eh?"
Instead of carrying her in his arms, he carefully settled her onto his broad shoulders, so Maeve quickly grabbed the top of his head to steady herself. "Axan!"
"You’ll be able to see farther from up there," he said calmly.
She looked around from her new vantage point and couldn’t help gasping.
The forest stretched out before her like a sea of countless puddles, sparkling under the warm evening light. Rainwater shimmered everywhere, and countless birds had already returned, singing happily after the storm had passed.
A bright smile slowly spread across her face. "It’s amazing." She added, "There is even a little bird!"
The birds had probably returned to the Lumivale Forest the moment they sensed the Aether Energy growing stronger once again.
A bright smile slowly spread across Maeve’s face. "It’s... amazing!"
Hearing the excitement in her voice, both Axan and Cerus smiled without realizing it.
Seeing her this happy somehow filled them with even more joy than they had felt while mating—No, that wasn’t quite right. They had been incredibly happy then too.
Meanwhile, Pinky happily floated around Maeve’s head in little circles before speaking up. [Host, Host! Since the Lumivale Forest is about to become fertile again and won’t be short of water anymore, would you like to buy some forest seeds?]
Maeve frowned slightly. ’Buy seeds from the Black Market?’ she asked inwardly.
Pinky nodded immediately. [Yes! But not everything sold in the Black Market is bad, Host. On some planets, organic plants are considered pests, so things like seeds are treated as illegal goods.]
To be honest, Maeve still couldn’t understand how organic plants could be seen as pests on another planet.
Even the apple trees had been treated as pests where they originally came from.
Seeing the confusion on her face, Pinky patiently explained, [Every species in this universe is born with a different body, Host.]
[Because of that, every planet develops differently. Something that is harmless—or even valuable—on one planet could be dangerous on another.]
Maeve nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know. I know."
Pinky then said, [Then let me show you what’s available, Host!]
A glowing screen immediately appeared in front of Maeve.
[Black Market - Forest Seeds]
[1. Emerald Berry Bush: 2,500 Coins
Effect:
- Produces sweet berries every 10 days.
- The berries restore a small amount of stamina.
- Attracts harmless pollinating insects that improve nearby plant growth.
Side Effect:
- Also attracts small herbivores that may eat the berries before they are harvested.
[2. Golden Honey Flower: 3,000 Coins
Effect:
- Produces nectar that attracts bees.
- Increases the pollination rate of nearby plants by 30%.
- Can be used to make natural medicine.
Side Effect:
- The bees become aggressive if the flowers are damaged.]
Maeve frowned as she looked at the side effects. ’Aren’t those just normal side effects?’ she asked inwardly.
Pinky immediately shook her head. [The "small herbivores" that eat the berries may not be as small as you’re imagining, Host.]
Maeve blinked. ’How small are we talking about?’
Pinky smiled awkwardly. [Let’s just say... some of them are about the size of a rhinoceros.]
Maeve fell silent for a moment because that definitely wasn’t small at all!
Pinky continued before Maeve could recover from the shock. [And the bees become 300% more aggressive. They can even kill someone by stinging them over and over again.]
Maeve twitched the corner of her eye. The bees didn’t lose their stingers after stinging someone once?
Pinky nodded as if that were completely normal. [Like I said before, Host! Every planet has different creatures.]
[You can’t judge them by Earth’s standards.]
Pinky then continued reading through the list, but this time she no longer explained every seed one by one.
There were fruit trees that could feed both Azuryn people and wild beast, medicinal herbs that thrived in places rich with Aether Energy, flowers that attracted helpful insects, vines that acted as natural barriers, grasses for livestock, water plants that purified rivers, and even ancient trees whose roots could slowly restore damaged land.
Some plants grew quickly but required constant care, while others took years to mature yet could benefit the forest for generations.
The more Maeve listened, the more she realized that the Black Market wasn’t filled with only dangerous or illegal goods. Many of these seeds had simply come from planets where plants were considered invasive species or even harmful to the native ecosystem.
After thinking for a while, Maeve finally made her decision. ’Let’s not buy too much of each for now,’ she said inwardly. ’I want to see which ones can adapt to Lumivale first.’
Pinky immediately nodded in agreement. [That’s a wise decision, Host!]
’Then I’ll buy all thirty types of seeds for now,’ Maeve said inwardly.
[Purchase Confirmation]
[30 Types of Forest Seeds ×1 Each]
[Calculating total cost...]
[Total Cost: 47,800 Coins]
Maeve took one last look at her remaining balance before nodding. ’Purchase.’
A soft chime rang in her mind. [Purchase Successful!]
[22 Types of Forest Seeds have been added to the Inventory.]
[Coins Spent: 47,800]
[Remaining Coins: 40,550]
Pinky happily spun through the air. [Congratulations, Host! Your forest restoration project has officially begun!]
Maeve let out a soft hiss when she saw how few coins she had left. Still, if spending those coins could bring the Lumivale Forest back to life, then she had no regrets.
After all, this was where her children—and their children after them—would one day live. That was why, she wanted to do everything she could to leave them a healthy and beautiful home.
"Are you thinking about something good?" Cerus suddenly asked after noticing the smile on Maeve’s face growing wider. She was even humming a little tune to herself.
Maeve turned to him with sparkling eyes and replied happily, "The Sky Mother just blessed me with new seeds for our forest! We might be able to plant them tomorrow!"
Axan and Cerus both stopped in their tracks, their eyes widening in surprise.
"The Sky Mother... blessed you again?" Cerus asked.
Maeve nodded with a bright smile.
To be honest, neither Axan nor Cerus could understand why the Sky Mother only spoke to Maeve and never to either of them.
Even so, if it meant their settlement would continue to receive blessings, neither of them had any reason to complain.
"Then let’s talk to Ikarus about this," Axan said calmly. "After that, we can form a team to plant the seeds tomorrow."
===
By the time they reached the Azuryn Settlement, the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon.
The guards standing at the entrance greeted them with cheerful smiles before opening the gate.
In her hut, she saw Ikarus sitting on the porch with Lior resting peacefully in his arms. The little one looked much healthier and full of energy.
The little one wasn’t nursing from Maeve for the time being, so Ikarus had been feeding him the nectar of the flowers that had been blooming more and more ever since the rain became frequent. Fortunately, the nectar contained enough nutrients to keep him well fed until Maeve came back.
The moment Lior saw Maeve, his bright eyes lit up. "Aaa... Aaa..."
He reached both tiny hands toward her, kicking his little legs excitedly. Seeing that, Maeve’s heart immediately melted. "I’m back."
She gently stroked his soft cheek before giving him a light kiss on the forehead.
Ikarus smiled at the touching scene before looking at the other two. "So... how did everything go?"
Maeve’s cheeks instantly turned pink. "It... went well."
Before she could say anything else, Cerus threw an arm around Ikarus’s shoulders with a wide grin.
"It was great!" he said with a huge grin. "First, we reached the cave. Then we had the wedding ceremony, and after that she can take us both—"
Ikarus had a bad feeling about where this was going. "Cerus."
"And then Maeve—"
"I don’t need the details!" Ikarus said in frustration.
"But you asked!"
"I asked how things went," Ikarus replied, the corner of his eye twitching. "I wasn’t asking for a full retelling of your mating experience."
Beside him, Axan let out a quiet sigh before saying, "Everything went well. We’re officially married to Maeve now, and before we came back, the Sky Mother blessed her again."
Ikarus raised an eyebrow. "What kind of blessing?"
Maeve smiled and explained, "She gave me twenty different kinds of seeds that we can plant in the Lumivale Forest."
Ikarus’s eyes widened slightly. "Twenty different kinds?"
Maeve nodded. "They’re all meant for forests rich in Aether Energy. Some produce fruit, some can be used as medicine, and others help restore the land itself."
"The Sky Mother..." Ikarus murmured. "She really is watching over our tribe."
Cerus puffed out his chest. "I told you! The Sky Mother always gives Maeve the best things."
Maeve smiled awkwardly. "Well... not all of them are completely harmless."
"Hm?" Ikarus looked at her.
"Some of the plants have side effects," she admitted. "One of them attracts herbivores that aren’t exactly... small."