Eat The World Tree

Chapter 248: Maehwa Tree (1)

hunter association, president’s office.

a chill reminiscent of the dead of winter pervaded the surroundings.

cheonma and the sword sage faced each other. their complex emotions and relationships were intricately intertwined, marking them as fated adversaries. the deep-seated grudges they held were enough to call each other archenemies. however, in this era of peace, they must conceal their personal feelings.

the sword sage’s snake-like narrow eyes scanned cheonma’s clothes. clothes that seemed far too large for cheonma’s body, almost dragging on the ground.

“khkhkhkh.”

a bitter laugh escaped his lips.

“the more i look, the more you resemble him. the eyes, the aura, even the power.”

his face soon turned pale as if he might breathe his last at any moment. hundreds of scars, burn marks, and a nose that could not smell gave a grotesque rather than admirable impression, suggesting the hardships he had endured.

truly an imposing figure. in contrast, cheonma still had the youthful appearance of someone just past her teenage years.

“how that young lady managed to get here is beyond me, isn’t it?”

mugung mused.

“i thought at best a dragon was nurturing a tiger. ridiculous. that person was an example of foolish humanity, deluded even in his death.”

a voice filled with unmistakable mockery.

cheonma was irked by these words. a lifetime of following her father, and herself. a tone that seemed to slowly whittle her down from toe to head.

“in that sense, my eye for talent is still not as good as cheonma’s.”

his gaze shifted back to cheonma.

“who would have thought that tiger could become a dragon?”

until his words concluded, cheonma didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. it was as if she was enjoying this very moment, a leisurely smile on her lips as she listened to mugung.

“and now you’ve become the association’s dog. is that what you wanted to say?”

cheonma, arms crossed, quickly retorted.

a superior cheonma. and himself, who had even turned cheonma’s daughter into a dog of the association. a sense of superiority, intoxication.

of course, whether these were truly mugung’s thoughts was unknown. it was hard to think that an old man who would die soon felt superiority in such a place. mugung was a person who, behind his abhorrent and selfish exterior, hid a cunning and meticulous advisor. he was not bound by personal feelings.

if necessary, he would use even the enemy’s daughter.

cheonma, too, was a case of using her enemy.

but regardless of his true feelings, this conversation had been heard numerous times, dozens of times before. and every time, it was an annoying conversation.

it had also been a motivating conversation for a still young cheonma. mugung then feigned surprise and spoke to cheonma.

“you’ve grown.”

until recently, she was a girl blazing with vengeance.

“you’ve changed beyond recognition.”

had taking a disciple changed her heart?

now, cheonma looked calmer than anyone else. an amazing change.

like a volcano filled with malice and rage, ready to erupt at any moment, she had developed the capacity to embrace others. despite her young age, she now had the demeanor of a former leader of a sect.

always drawing a straight path, like a painting by a famous artist full of tranquil prosperity.

an elegance difficult to put into words manifested in cheonma.

‘my disciple has won.’

of course, her insides were filled with immense joy.

‘lee shiheon. the national tree.’

none other than her own disciple!

a teacher known only for bragging about her disciples.

a fool for her disciples.

perhaps next time she should teach him something better. a smile was about to bloom on cheonma’s lips when—

“report the rest.”

interrupted by mugung’s words, cheonma slowly began to unravel what she had learned.

the movement of the flower faction as investigated by spring peach blossom throughout korea.

the emergence of new dungeons and strategies for them.

it was a typical report, more thorough than anyone else’s.

“that’s enough.”

mugung cut off cheonma’s words and glanced at his computer screen for a moment.

-maehwa 25↑

real-time search keywords related to the progress of the forester selection competition.

this time, was that guy from china spreading his wings?

well, it didn’t matter.

mugung shifted his gaze from the screen and spoke to cheonma. his concerns were entirely focused on his homeland, and he knew that cheonma could bring significant turmoil someday.

“i trust you won’t do anything foolish.”

saku’s cheerful voice made me smile awkwardly.

“it’s delicious.”

i couldn’t keep up with the tension.

however, sansuyu seemed to enjoy the noisy atmosphere right now, showing about twice as happy an expression as usual.

a version of her usual expressionless face with a slight flush.

a subtle change imperceptible to others, but noticeable if you looked closely.

-suddenly.

sansuyu offered me a slightly burnt marshmallow.

“eat this?”

when i asked, sansuyu nodded slightly.

since there were cameras around, instead of moving her head, she reached out her hand to grab the skewer and put the marshmallow into her mouth.

was this also going to be broadcast?

but now, the cameras were far away, focusing on banya, so it probably wouldn’t leak out.

“we’re almost at the end of the first trial.”

after a quick meal, saku stretched her legs and arms as if releasing the stress of the past week.

it’s getting dark. about four hours left.

a little sleep and the trial would be over.

“have you and soo-yeon been here the whole time?”

“no, we met on the third day. we’ve been here since the fourth. before that, we just cleared dungeons.”

“that’s awesome!”

clap, clap. saku applauded, then suddenly seemed deflated, continuing in a subdued voice.

“we kept, kept, kept fighting. banya said we had to eliminate competitors as much as possible~”

“as much as possible? really necessary?”

“i mean, even for a perfectionist, it was too much. right, soo-yeon?”

at saku’s words, soo-yeon sitting next to her giggled.

“banya can be a bit much.”

eliminate competitors as much as possible.

reduce the numbers? a hypothesis i had considered briefly resurfaced.

could there be someone among the national trees who has approached flower? a far-fetched thought.

this idea had many flaws. i didn’t know why they would cause many to fail, nor why a national tree would side with flower.

to understand these details, a long-term investigation was necessary.

‘...if only i had a great ability. didn’t maronnie say she could read others’ thoughts?’

that ability would make it easier to find out who flower was.

of course, i was not a fool to think about flower in front of maronnie.

‘it’s vague.’

it was unknown at this point.

it had only been a week, so naturally, there had been almost no interaction. as competitors decreased, the remaining national trees and students tended to form closer bonds.

“i’ll go to bed first.”

maybe i’d think about it after getting through today.

saku yawned and crawled into her sleeping bag, and sansuyu headed towards the tent.

soo-yeon and i remained sitting by the dwindling campfire.

“aren’t you sleeping?”

soo-yeon’s words, maybe i should get some sleep too.

i was not sleepy, but i should try to sleep anyway.

as i was about to reluctantly get up, banya, who had been sitting on a rock looking at the lake, suddenly stood up.

“...someone’s coming.”

her eyes, brighter than the daytime, locked onto a distant figure.

“who? at this hour?”

just before the first trial ended, someone was crashing in.

at soo-yeon’s incredulous response, banya quickly looked around and then mentioned a name.

“maehwa.”

the national tree from china.

soo-yeon’s face turned cold at the mention.