Chapter 6: Morning Routine
The Buné Manor consisted of four floors.
The ground level housing the general lobby, as well as the quarters of all the staff under Sebastian's employment, save for Thora who, thanks to her appointment as Head Maid, had a special room for herself on the second floor near Sebastian's office so he could conveniently call on her whenever he needed to.
He also utilized the floor for important meetings with colleagues, guests, and fellow nobles among the 72 Pillars.
The third floor was dedicated to the personal residence of members of the Buné Clan, including the living room, dining room, kitchen, Martha and Sebastian's bedroom, Alduin's room, and a few other facilities dedicated to research and leisure, such as the estate's library, which Alduin had visited a short while ago.
Then there was the fourth floor. The part of the manor that nobody was allowed to enter without Sebastian's say-so.
Throughout his life, even Alduin had visited it only a handful of times, and only done so under Sebastian's supervision.
As for Martha? Not once had Sebastian let his own wife up there—and the chances of him ever changing his mind were practically null even though Thora, a maid, had been allowed to visit the floor—and was actually standing at attention in front of one of the rooms there at the moment after making sure that Alduin attended his mother's morning session on time.
But Martha knew what he was keeping from her.
She had always known. She also knew exactly why it was being kept from her.
"You can leave," Sebastian's austere voice instructed Thora.
The Head Maid offered no verbal reply, simply nodding and making her swift departure.
Sebastian entered the room, his posture and demeanor undergoing a significant change upon doing so. A room that was so thoroughly cleansed it could rival one of Serafall Memorial Hospital's clean rooms.
The sound of cutting-edge medical machinery beeped every so often as he made his way over to the only pieces of furniture that lay within, a cushioned stool, and a bed. A bed that he had meticulously supervised the creation of, watching as each blueprint, frame, and inch of silk went into it with hawk-like surveillance.
"It's been a while since my last visit hasn't it? I'm sorry, things have gotten quite busy around here lately." His voice softened to a degree that would make Alduin and Martha believe someone had possessed him as he pulled the cushioned stool forward and sat down.
"If it were you, you'd probably get this all squared away within a day wouldn't you? Even after all these years, I can't even begin to compare to you in that regard. Or any regard to be frank." He breathed a self-deprecating chuckle while rubbing his chin.
On the bed lay a woman, her hair a shimmering light brown, her features simple, and her eyes closed—as they had been for quite some time now. A bright green wreath was crowned on her head, one that emanated a calm, soothing glow that seemed to be protecting her in one way or another.
He reached out, gently stroking the woman's hair. "Don't worry, even though I've taken on that woman and sired another child, I haven't forgotten one second of it—" His face twisted into a warped, eerie, lovesick smile. "—I'll bring you back, and cure Ladora soon enough. It doesn't matter what I have to sacrifice, I won't give up on my true family."
He raised his head, peering out the window.
"After all, none of this matters if I'm not doing it with you. We started this journey together didn't we? What use is it if I can't end it with you as well?" His eyes hardened to a frightening degree, his hand tightly clasping the woman's. "You may disapprove of my methods. But even if you end up resenting me, I won't care. As long as you're well again, I'd gladly endure a lifetime of spite from you."
She was none other than Gilda, Sebastian's first, or to him, his only wife—who was currently afflicted by Sleep Disease.
===
As a man who once pursued gardening, I couldn't be more giddy at the fact that our house had a literal greenhouse. Filled with flora that doesn't even exist on Earth, capable of producing wondrous medical concoctions and elixirs.
Most of which we sell to the Sitri Clan for profit, even though their nature reserve is the largest in the Underworld by far—there are some herbs that are quite demanding nutrient-wise, ones which our Dryad trait is much better at cultivating, both quality and quantity-wise.
Of course, I'm nowhere near my mother's level of horticulture prowess. She's been doing this for centuries, after all. Even though I was fortunate enough to awaken her Clan Trait at birth, which doesn't require any special ceremony, unlike my Buné blood, I still have a long way to go.
At the very least, I'd like to reach a point where I can help her nurture the Dragon Apples in Tannin's territory so she doesn't have to do everything alone. Maintaining the pact, or the Blaze Meteor Covenant as I believe it's formally coined, is essential to our family after all.
Progressing Dragonification on its own, regardless of how talented you are, is a Sisyphean feat. Having Tannin's blood makes the journey ten times easier, of course, the road will still be as rocky as it can be—but it'll be nothing in comparison to what Sebastian had to conquer with the very limited supply of Dragon Blood he had back then.
Naturally, thanks to my maternal bloodline, I am a new breed of Buné. According to Sebastian, every trial differs for everyone who undergoes it since it is created from our unique minds. So who knows what I'll end up facing?
"Alright, here goes nothing." I muttered in a self-inspiring attempt, my memories telling me precisely what I was about to experience.
The greenhouse is located in the middle of our "backyard," which is really just a private forest Martha painstakingly constructed on her own. Every morning, before I'm allowed to enter the facility, I have to go through an exercise of sorts to help me train.
Rumble! Rumble!
Fierce vibrations started to quake through the grassy terrain beneath me, resonating with the soles of my feet as I took a deep, preparatory breath.
Yep. Here we go.
A body of roots burst out of the soil, snaking up towards me like sentient tendrils.
I leaped backwards out of muscle memory. My eyes darted to each of the roots to note their trajectory, quickly noticing that they were each coming at me from different heights in an attempt to create an opening in my guard.
This was my mother's routine. Assaulting me with all sorts of attacks from the confines of the greenhouse until I successfully reached the structure.
It was honestly terrifying that the level of damage she could do without even being in her opponent's line of sight.
Sigh. Both of my parents are bona fide monsters. I imagine it'll be a while before I catch up with them.
Oh well, best focus on the present before the future.
I honed my Demonic Power, the sound of wood creaking growing progressively louder as the bark of the surrounding trees started to morph towards me. This was my Wood Manipulation.
If this were an actual battle, Martha would just overpower my currently inferior dryadic abilities and "prohibit" me from interacting with any of the flora around me. However, this is just training—so she allows me to experiment as much as I want so I can familiarize myself with my powers to the fullest degree.
The timber altered itself into the shape of a sword, despite its meager appearance—it was tougher than most metals available in the Underworld, especially when I reinforced it further with a handy Earth Enhancement.
Besides Wood Manipulation, we Dryads have a natural affinity for all four basic elements, Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. Speaking of that last one—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I brushed my sword against the air, sending out a cross-section of wind slashes towards the roots to cover as much area as possible and watching as they were torn to shreds.
Wait. I swear I counted one more of them?
My eyes lit up in panic upon noticing that one of them had crawled back underground before I sent my wind slashes out, creeping up behind me and shooting towards my abdomen in a piercing motion.
Not good!
I planted both palms into the dirt, erecting a mud wall to force the roots to redirect themselves and give me an opportunity to create some distance.
Smash!
Ah, the roots appeared to have effortlessly broken through my wall.
I may or may not be fucked here.
I dropped my sword, a soft, white light enveloping my body. I decided to fall back on a technique called Touki, in which you manifest your Ki as an aura that strengthens all your physical attributes, including strength, speed, and dexterity.
Veins started to bulge through the skin on my arms, and my muscles tensed as I clutched the darting roots as tightly as I could. My feet skidded through the dirt as I experienced the insane force the roots were capable of producing.
Why can't I help but feel that Mom's a little more temperamental than usual?
My mind flashed to the short scuffle they had at dinner yesterday.
Yeah, that would do it.
"Gah!" I yelped in pain as the roots dug into the flesh of my midsection, threatening to pierce my intestine.
I forced myself to stabilize my breathing. Senjutsu in general requires its user to be in a calm state of mind to draw out its true strength. If I let my mind falter, so will my Touki.
Slash! Slash!
I fired off a round of point-blank wind carves, quickly noticing that the stray root was decidedly tougher than the initial ones that had been launched at me. My slashes were able to break off some of the root's exterior, but not dismantle it outright.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Usually, I'm supposed to be extra-extra careful with using Fire Magic here. I'm allowed to use it against any attacks she throws at me, however—if I so much as graze anything else in the field I'll have basically signed my own death warrant. There's a memory of the one instance I made that mistake, and let's just say—there's a reason I only have one memory of it.
Crackle!
An ember surged out from my fingertips, a wave of fire washing over the root as I redirected my attention towards its base. If I let the flames spread too long, they'll hop from the base of the root onto the grassy field.
Slash!
Boldly, I chose to release one hand from the root, using it to send another crescent of wind at the brunt of the now weakened root.
Finally, I managed to cut through it, disabling Martha's ability to control it now that it was no longer connected to the ground.
At least I hope that's the condition to disable it, otherwise I'm flat out screwed.
"All that struggle just from a few roots." I couldn't help but laugh at my own weakness, putting a hand over the open wound on my abdomen as it began to emit a bright-green, soothing hue.
While our ability to command plants, connect with natural energy, and utilize Wood Manipulation are all excellent abilities to have. None of them are valued as highly as our Dryadic Blessing, a healing factor that works both on ourselves and others. Underworld aside, recovery-type abilities are scarce throughout the entire supernatural world. There's no limit to High-Class Devils looking to recruit people with them into their peerages.
Of course, I'm going to become a King since it's my responsibility as Heir. But Sebastian won't put me into the process of getting my Evil Pieces approved by Lord Beelzebub until I've passed my awakening ceremony.
Now then, it's time to meet an angry Martha.
Rustle!
Slowly, I turned around. A pang struck my chest as I watched the blades of grass around start to swish and sway in an unnatural manner.
Gradually, they started to elongate and group up with one another, forming five individual grassy humanoids that circled around me. Each of them held pointed roots in their hands, presumably to act as spears.
Great.
Maybe I should just disown myself and live as a farmer?
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