Chương 391: The Sylvans Are Taken By Surprise.

After that day with Cinderielle, the other Sylvans entered Liu Shu's Core Room without being warned by the Fire Sylvan. By the end of the week, the four women were in a room together, their gaze quite serious. Tempestria tapped the round wooden table they sat around and spoke.

"Shu'er… Is quite voracious." The other three felt their eyebrows twitch. Harmonixia, who had been with Liu Shu on that day, spoke with tiredness between her brows.

"I didn't expect my innocent little Lian'er to be so active…" Verdantia coughed, her face blushing.

"I think that we should rethink our approach to Liu Shu." Cinderielle rolled her eyes.

"You don't say. Big sister, if we wanted to approach it like before, we would become wilted plants before anything could bloom." Tempestria chuckled.

"That's a way to put it." Harmonixia leaned back lazily.

"Well, while it was tiresome, seeing the petals on the door being almost full is quite satisfactory. Mine is at 93% already~." Verdantia snorted.

"Mine is at 94%. What are you bragging about?" Harmonixia glanced at her with a smirk.

"Heh, who knows if you were able to measure it correctly. It's not like there is a number on the door to tell us how full it is." Tempestria sighed.

"Both of you, stop." Her beautiful gray eyes glanced at them, and she commented.

"I am now quite sure that we need to take the final step to fill the petals. Those petals seem to represent Liu Shu's relationship progress with us." Cinderielle looked at them and asked.

"What do you suggest? At first, we wanted to wait for Liu Shu to choose who she would give her first time to… But I feel that if that happens, the person who is eaten first might be sucked dry of all moisture." Harmonixia was speechless.

"Say, I understand that Liu Shu has quite a bottomless appetite in that regard. However, were you girls really not expecting it? She is the Avatar of a World Tree, a creature that literally personifies life. If Liu Shu didn't have a lot of stamina in that regard, no one would, right?" Verdantia sighed, her eyes looking quite melancholic.

"I just wanted to pamper her and make her beg for mercy, completely addicting her to my touch and existence…" The more she spoke, the darker her gaze became. Tempestria bonked her head with a chop.

"Stop thinking like that!" One would think that she was going to scold her, but her next words were quite different.

"We all wanted to do something similar, so there is no need to voice it." Verdantia sprawled her body on the table.

"Ah… I want to go all the way soon…" She propped up her head and blinked.

"Speaking of which… Wasn't Liu Shu strangely eager for it? It's as if she was planning on doing something…" Cinderielle blinked.

"What could she be planning?" Harmonixia remembered a slight mutter she heard by the end, and she repeated it.

"I heard her mutter something like…

'With this, I am sure they can bloom prettily.' At first, I thought she was speaking about my flowers, but I think that's not the case at all." Tempestria asked, her face contemplative and somewhat worried.

"Say… She wouldn't create a few children without notifying us, right?" Cinderielle glanced at Tempestria speechlessly.

"Even if she is ignorant in those regards, she shouldn't be THAT clueless… Right?" The other three wanted to nod, but the more the Sylvans thought about it, the stranger their faces became. Verdantia coughed and commented.

"How about we ask her… Just in case. After all, while Sylvan children will only be born through the Avatar, other types of children can be born in many different styles." Ring~. A sound came from outside, notifying them that someone had arrived. Harmonixia was curious and looked at Cinderielle, who slowly stood up.

"Did you ask for a package?" Cinderielle shook her head, confused.

"I didn't." Walking outside, she noticed a Rose Fairy carrying a relatively large box. The Rose Fairy smiled.

"Hello, Lady Cinderielle! We have this package sent from headquarters. It seems to have been prepared by Lady World Tree. It has the <Extremely Precious and Fragile> tag, so be careful when moving it~." Cinderielle picked it up gently and then gave a <Bren> to the fairy.

"Take it. Thank you for your efforts." The Rose Fairy was stunned when she saw the <Bren> coin.

"Wow~. Thank you so much, Lady Cinderielle!" The Fire Sylvan returned to the living room and placed the box in the middle of the table. All four of them glanced at it with apprehension. Tempestria coughed and commented.

"Are you going to open it?" Cinderielle sighed and extended her hand, creating a small but powerful blue flame in her finger to cut the package open. She didn't take long before the contents were revealed. Cinderielle's face spasmed a few times.

"This…" If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Verdantia's feelings were complex as she looked at the content. Still, she pointed at the note and commented.

"That note… It has Liu Shu's handwriting." Cinderielle took it while taking a deep breath and read it.

"Hi, hi! I love you lots! Hehe. Surprised? Surprised? This is my little present to all of you! I saw that you girls entered the same house, so I decided to send it packed together~. There are four potted plants here, but not any plants! They are our cute and adorable first babies! I hope you girls can treat them nicely~. Many lovely hugs and kisses, Liu Shu~. P. S. They need a bit of extra nourishment from Mommy Sylvan to grow healthy and strong, so I hope you can give it to them~. Muah! P. S. S.

Oh, and they won't grow to be too clever since I've just mixed one of my common seeds with the delicious things I've swallowed. They will probably be at the level of a Lignified Tree House at most. Still, I hope you can love them! They can become your personal Daughter Houses if you want! Hehehe. Muah! Muah! Muah!" Cinderielle read everything with a normal tone. However, the longer she read, the more the four Sylvans became dumbfounded.

When she finished reading, their eyes turned toward the four potted plants of different colors. Each plant resembled its mother: a red plant, a green plant, a grey plant, and a purple plant with blue streaks. All of them were small flowers that had yet to grow outside of their sapling form, but the four Sylvans couldn't help but feel a mix of so many feelings that they didn't know how to react.

'Branches above… I've suddenly become a mother!?' There was naturally extreme joy and happiness that they could meet their first children. However, their hearts were so unprepared that they didn't know how to react at all!

'Why is it so easy to have children with a World Tree!?' Taking a deep breath, Harmonixia extended her hand and picked the purple and blue potted plant. The other three did the same as well. Once the Sound Sylvan picked it up, her finger tremblingly approached the little new life, and she caressed it softly.

"This… Um. Hello, baby. I am your parent." Her voice was full of nervousness, and her forehead had a faint sheen due to the sweat. However, while she was full of convoluted feelings, the little plant moved one of the two leaves and coiled it around her finger. In that instant, Harmonixia's motherly instincts bloomed strong enough to overwhelm any other emotion. A faint blush of happiness covered her face as she giggled while gently moving her finger up and down.

"Oh? Does my baby recognize Mommy? You were born this morning, and you are already so clever~." The other three Sylvans had very similar experiences, and soon, the room was filled with the laughter and joy of the four Sylvans playing with the small but slightly responsive plants. Each time they poked the little saplings, they would react by curling around their fingers adorably.

'How can my little sapling be so adorable!? UGH! I want a thousand more!' Tempestria took a deep breath and looked at the rest while hugging the potted plant.

"Ahem. I need to go home and prepare food for the little one. Shu'er said that they need a little bit of our nourishment, so I need to stimulate my mammary glands and create breast milk sap. I guess you all are thinking the same, so, well, see you in a while."

Because the pregnant cycle of Sylvans could be different from humans, and they could give birth to non-humanoids through other methods other than their wombs, their physique had changed and evolved into one that could stimulate a substance similar to breast milk at will. Of course, they needed some time, around a week or so. However, it was easily achievable and very instinctive for all of them. Verdantia stopped them.

"Wait." The other three paused, looking at Verdantia while holding their firstborns in their arms. Verdantia asked, her face contemplative.

"What are your thoughts about Liu Shu's last suggestion?" Cinderielle blinked and looked down at the red sapling.

"About making them our houses?" Tempestria looked at the idea quite favorably.

"Unlike the <Lignified Tree Houses>, these babies will probably not grow too large. They will be quite perfect to be our houses since they are our children." Harmonixia agreed.

"Not to mention, living with them will make it easier to take care of them." Her face showed a hint of pride.

"If my baby grows to become a powerful house for her mommy, wouldn't she be the best baby in the world? Moreover, her future humanoid siblings can grow inside her and be cared for by their big sister!" Verdantia, who had some reservations, couldn't help but become thoughtful when hearing their words. Cinderielle supported the idea as well.

"Beyond that, since we will choose where to make them grow, we can be near each other and also near Liu Shu's body. There is the guardian thorn field near Liu Shu's main body, which will protect them from everything. It would also be a good place since they are near their World Tree mother." Verdantia followed their train of thought and nodded twice.

"I see. Those are good points. I guess I was thinking about it from the wrong angle."

"Which is?" Tempestria asked, curious. Verdantia shook her head.

"I was thinking that turning them into our house would be a bit like forcing their future development without asking them about it." Verdantia smiled and kissed the little potted plant.

"However, you are right that there are quite a few advantages to giving them a prepared path. Moreover, their intelligence won't be able to develop too much, reaching the level of an average intelligent tree like the Tree Houses." Harmonixia pondered.

"Your thoughts have merit, though. What if in the future she gains further intelligence? Her titles and skills might already be developed toward becoming a house-type tree, making it quite impossible for them to progress in any other path." Cinderielle refuted.

"I understand where you girls are going. However, I am sure that, since Liu Shu has so many children, she created these ones without thinking too deeply. This is probably a way to show love from a World Tree. After all, there are thousands of beings that can be considered her children." The other three nodded, but Tempestria added.

"Regardless, these are our biological children. I hope you girls never forget that. Even if Liu Shu is somewhat ignorant and gave birth to them without much thought, they deserve all our love and care." Cinderielle smiled.

"That goes without saying. I'll pamper my little sapling dearly." Verdantia chuckled.

"If you girls need advice on their growth, come to me anytime." Harmonixia grinned.

"I'll take you on that offer. I've learned botany since it is one of the obligatory subjects. However, your knowledge is leagues ahead of mine. I need to make sure my precious baby will grow tall and strong!" Tempestria smiled faintly and looked down at the grey-colored plant. Her eyes shone with love as she lowered her head and planted a gentle kiss on it.

"Good baby~."