Gardenia’s Heart

In the flower-covered plains beneath the branches of the great tree with golden leaves, the tall woman in a tailored suit spoke with a thin smile on her otherwise expressionless face.

“It was a long wait. I didn’t expect that a simple logic test would cause so much difficulty. But in the end, it was effective.”

The woman, who had introduced herself as Rhei, wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular. The hand that had been resting against her face slid down until her index finger hovered in front of her pale lips, the faint smile disappearing as her eyes grew colder.

“You’re the guardian of this labyrinth, aren’t you? And by ‘daughter of Sylvan,’ you’re referring to the fact that Nia has already read the Book of Truth, right?” Lily asked, still holding both of her swords at the ready.

Although she couldn’t be certain of the woman’s race, Lily easily deduced from her appearance that she was related to bees—meaning she wasn’t human. Since asking directly about her species might come off as rude, Lily opted to gather other information instead.

“Labyrinth? A rather old-fashioned way to refer to my sanctuary, but yes—you are correct on both counts. However, since I have introduced myself, I would appreciate it if you did the same. Especially you two.” Rhei gestured towards the married couple, a brief flicker of curiosity glinting in her otherwise cold eyes.

The woman’s request reminded Lily that, indeed, Rhei didn’t know who they were. The last time Lily had met one of the guardians, she hadn’t even needed to introduce herself, but that had only been because Nox could read their minds and extract the information on his own. From what Lily could gather in this brief conversation, Rhei only knew that they had at least read a copy of the Book of Truth because the volume she guarded resonated with what was inside Nia.

“My name is Lily, and this is my wife, Gardenia.” Lily said quietly, her eyes flicking toward the purple-haired girl who had already positioned herself in front of her, ready to protect her from any sudden attack by the guardian.

“Perfect, indeed. We can continue our conversation now—”

But before she could finish, a surge of mana drew her attention.

“Hey! What do you mean by ‘guardian’? What the hell are you talking about?” With a battle axe held tightly in her hands, Elarielle glared at the woman, fury burning in her eyes.

Lily understood that Elarielle’s angry question was justified. As far as she knew, aside from the labyrinths where a volume of the Book of Truth was kept, all other labyrinths should be guarded only by monsters.

“Indeed, ignorance is a fault, but I see no reason to answer your questions.” Rhei simply turned her gaze away from the queen, as if her existence no longer mattered. “You had your chances to earn that right, but you failed. Many times.”

Rhei’s sharp words made Elarielle bite her lip. The woman’s dark, opaque eyes made it clear that, to her, Elarielle’s rage was nothing more than a passing breeze—insignificant.

“Do you know who I am!?” Elarielle shouted, her words blazing like fire.

“I may have been in isolation, but I am not ignorant of the world’s events. I know you very well, Lophantera Elarielle Phaea.” As if every word she heard meant nothing, Rhei answered in an indifferent tone. “Part of the group that killed the Demon King, and the greatest healer in all of history. Your deeds are worthy of the title of ‘hero,’ but none of that matters in my sanctuary.”

With a smooth motion, Rhei pointed her hand toward the elf standing furthest from her position.

“Lady Rhei, I am—”

Thelira, thinking it was her turn to introduce herself, began to speak, but was abruptly cut off.

“Lophantera Thelira Phaea, the sole living bearer of the innate precognition ability, granted by the Primordial Fairy to the royal bloodline.”

The words cast into the air made both Lily and Nia tilt their heads in confusion.

“Granted?” Murmuring the word she had just heard, Lily tried to grasp what the bee-like woman meant.

Turning, she shifted her gaze toward the sisters, searching for answers—but what she saw was nothing like what she expected.

With wide eyes and rigid limbs, both Elarielle and Thelira seemed to forget how to breathe for a moment. A tremor ran across their faces, any emotion they had before vanishing completely.

“Y-You... how do you know that?” Elarielle stammered, her eyes narrowing in a confusion that was almost tangible.

“The history of the elves and the forest is long, but certainly not as secret as you might think.” The woman allowed herself a faint sigh before turning her gaze to the purple-haired girl. “Daughter of Sylvan, Gardenia, and your wife, Lily… It seems you already possess one of the books… no, two, actually. Tell me, which other ‘labyrinths’ have you crossed before this one?”

Narrowing her opaque eyes for a moment, the bee-woman seemed to peer into the core of their very beings.

Pressed under such an intense gaze, Nia turned her face toward Lily, silently seeking her thoughts. Upon receiving a confirming nod, the metamorph reflected for a moment before finally facing the guardian.

“The first I simply found, I didn’t receive it from anyone. The second, I received from a guardian named Nox.”

Nia’s words made one of Rhei’s eyebrows lift slightly. The indifference that had once dominated her eyes seemed to dissolve, replaced by a flicker of amusement.

“Let me guess… Nox recognized you solely because you managed to absorb the knowledge from one of the books, didn’t he?”

The look of surprise that crossed Nia’s face was all the answer Rhei needed. Covering her face with an open hand, an almost whispered but unmistakable chuckle escaped her lips.

“He’s really such an old-fashioned fool… but I respect that.”

Even without much expression, it was clear from her voice that the woman had been seized by a nostalgia she hadn’t felt in a long time. Hearing news of her companions, unseen for so many years, seemed to stir powerful emotions within her.

The silver-haired girl watched the woman in silence at first, her mind struggling to put into words something she couldn’t hide.

“Actually… he only recognized Nia that way.” Lily projected her words reluctantly, thinking carefully about how to say each one. “He challenged me… and used magic to separate our minds. Then...”

Lily didn’t even need to finish her sentence.

“Then he died...”

Rhei closed her eyes for a moment, and all sound was drowned out by the breeze of the night wind swaying the flowers.

The bee-woman remained that way for a while, her beautiful yet expressionless face carrying a sorrow so heavy that everyone present could feel it weighing on their shoulders.

“That idiot’s magic was a double-edged sword. Invincible if used carefully… but extremely fatal if he underestimated his opponent. Our master warned him so many times to be cautious with it.”

Finally opening her eyes, Rhei simply stated those words with a restrained sigh, shaking her head slightly from side to side.

“Wait… you’re not going to blame me?” Lily had expected many reactions to her words. Grief was one of them. But more than that, she expected anger.

It wasn’t far from the truth to say that she had killed Nox. Whether that had been a test he devised or not, it was Lily who had delivered the final blow that ended his life.

When she had decided to send word to his companions, she had been prepared to receive whatever hatred they carried.

“There is no resentment. That was his choice. Any of us would say the same.” Rhei spoke at a measured pace, her slow intonation sounding almost affectionate. “To curse you for having won a duel would be no different from trampling on the very legacy he built.”

Although she was more stating a given fact than trying to reassure herself, Lily couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

“We don’t wish to fight. We came to this labyrinth seeking your volume of the book.” Lowering both her swords to show she had no intention of engaging in combat, Lily turned her gaze toward Thelira. “We’re also looking for an ingredient called Amberdrop to make a medicine.”

Lily knew that the labyrinth contained various artifacts and precious materials from monsters. Obtaining them could bring her immeasurable benefits, but it wouldn’t be any different from invading that woman’s home and facing numerous risks. Since they had already encountered the guardian, if they could get the two things they needed, she wouldn’t mind leaving with just that.

“Oh.” Rhei let out an exclamation without any change in her expression, resting her face on her palm once more. Her voice, once velvety and mature, now carried a note of provocation. “I only showed up to see you because I was curious about the visitors who finally managed to overcome a problem so simple that even a child could solve it.”

Her dark, opaque eyes closed, but Lily could feel the woman staring at her so intensely that every fiber of her body stood on alert.

“Don’t get me wrong—you haven’t passed my test.”

Simply turning her back with indifference, the tall woman began walking back toward the tree.

“Test? To hell with that! I don’t have time for this nonsense!” Elarielle spoke in a low tone, but with such intense hatred that the mana emanating from her could wound her target.

Gripping the handle of her axe tighter, she pointed it toward the woman.

“So, you have the Amberdrop, don’t you? I’ll get it, even if I have to take it from you by force!”

Each word was spat as if it were venom, the veins in her neck bulging.

However, when the guardian looked back at them, there wasn’t even a trace of their reflection in her opaque eyes.

“What you fools consider a treasure-looting ground is the sanctuary of knowledge that my companions and I built together under our master’s guidance. If you are not the one I desire, there’s no point in giving you anything.”

She spoke in a monotone, as if the effort of trying to explain something to the queen of the elves wasn’t even worth it.

“If you wish to be worthy of possessing my copy of the Book of Truth—or anything else that lies within my sanctuary—you must fulfill my own conditions. Reach the highest point of my sanctuary. If you do that, I will give you what you desire.”

Stopping her walk, Rhei finally turned around.

Her opaque eyes then focused on the girls—or more specifically, on Lily.

“It seems the artifact Nox gave you along with the book was the Orb of Fractal Consciousness.”

“What?” Lily stammered, caught off guard by the strange term.

“My barrier is an absolute domain, so it’s impossible to deceive me. I can feel the presence of Sylvan’s daughter in two places at the same time.” Rhei placed each of her palms on either side of her expressionless face, a thin, mischievous laugh escaping her lips. “Fufufu… Such a perfect coexistence couldn’t be made with magic alone. My master’s artifacts truly are incredible.”

When the woman narrowed her opaque eyes even more, Lily felt an electric shiver run through her entire body for just an instant.

It was a sensation similar to the verification spell she’d received upon arriving at the elven city.

“Interesting… It seems that, to ensure it couldn’t be stolen, Nox made you swallow it so the artifact would permanently merge with your body.”

With no time to concern herself with the sensation that had already vanished, Lily stared at the tall woman.

The guardian’s words brought Lily back to the moment when she said farewell to Nox in the labyrinth. The wooden guardian had given her a sphere as a personal gift, and after the girl ingested it, Nia was finally able to create a body.

Rhei continued speaking, as if she had found something that genuinely piqued her interest.

”The affinity seems very good, since an entire parallel body was created. However, the stamina required to sustain this is another matter entirely. It might really be worth testing.”

At that moment, everything around them glowed a deep orange.

”What!?” Lily shouted.

Her feet instinctively moved backward, but they froze in place, as if moving were pointless. Patterns she didn’t recognize began to glow atop the flowers blanketing the plains, shifting at such an incredible speed that she couldn’t keep up. It was like a pulsing stained glass; unknown runes flickered like embers, rotating and rearranging into different patterns.

Not even a full second had passed since the light first appeared, but the only one who realized what was happening wasn’t fast enough to do anything about it.

”Lily, this is teleportation!”

The voice that had been so close now sounded distant. Sounds seemed to spin around her head with such dizzying speed that all her senses ached.

”Nia!”

The girl screamed as loud as she could, but before she could run toward the voice, the ground beneath her swirled into a vortex of light—and then, the world collapsed.

Left alone in the plains, Rhei turned toward the great tree.

”Please, do your best… and become someone I can call a king.” Her lips curled faintly into a smile, her cheeks blushing against her rosy skin. Raising both hands upwards, her voice came out as a whisper. ”Even if it’s a monster.”

---

Just like when she crossed her wife’s portals, the world around Lily seemed to reconstruct itself in the blink of an eye.

Lily recognized that sensation—she had experienced it many times before. But that didn’t stop her from falling into complete confusion when her body suddenly began plummeting through open air.

The howling wind sounded like a muffled hum, her eyes struggling to adjust just in time to see the deadly spear aimed straight for her chest.

”Get it together, idiot!”

A shout mingled with the rushing wind, and Lily felt someone grab her. The next moment, a thunderous, dull impact exploded around them, forcing her dazed mind to refocus.

The first thing she processed was that she was upside down. The second… tightly wrapped around her waist, was an arm covered by a gauntlet and armor, bloodied from numerous deep cuts.

”Elarielle!?”

For the first time, she called that woman’s name directly.

”Focus!”

The elf’s sharp command forced Lily to tear her gaze away from the wound exposing raw red flesh and look toward the real threat.

Descending rapidly toward them was what could only be described as a chitinous colossus.

The monstrous creature, colored gold and black, had translucent wings vibrating furiously as they held up its massive body, standing over three meters tall. In its faceted eyes, as cold as glass, burned a bloodlust so intense it was almost palpable.

The monster, which Lily recognized as a grotesque bipedal form of a bee, gripped tightly a grotesque shield made of petrified honeycombs. From what should have been its other arm, a long stinger—sharp as a lance—swung menacingly.

She had no time to ask what was going on; she needed to act.

Fighting to focus her mind, she conjured a pair of bluish wings, reminiscent of storm clouds.

A pulse of mana exploded as she beat them, displacing the air. Desperately, Lily tried to generate lift. With great effort, she managed to overcome gravity, shooting horizontally with Elarielle still clinging to her.

”That thing’s going to keep following us. Fighting on the ground would be a problem. Go up!”

Even with one arm partially mangled, Elarielle ignored all the pain and stared down the bee-monster chasing them.

Lily could have protested at being ordered around, but she knew this wasn’t a situation where that mattered. Clenching her teeth from the strain, the girl began to ascend at full speed.

As they gained altitude, the monster now hunted them from below, its lance pointed directly at the pair.

Without saying a word, Elarielle released Lily’s waist and began to plummet. The axe in her uninjured hand took on a putrid green hue.

With a single motion of her body, the weapon’s blade collided with the honeycomb shield, piercing it deeply. The force of her fall was so great that the bee-monster completely lost its lift.

“No, you won’t!” The queen grinned fiercely as she saw the lance coming straight at her. Even while falling alongside the woman now, the bee-monster tried to swing its weapon at her.

A bluish glow enveloped her injured hand, and in just an instant, all the mutilated flesh reknitted itself. The girl then grabbed the lance firmly with her palm. A simple clench of her fingers was all it took to shatter the exoskeleton into fragments.

Recovering her amber axe by wrenching it free from the shield, she used the monster’s own body as leverage and swung her weapon vertically, cleaving the creature clean in two.

With the powerful impact, the creature’s body was hurled toward the ground. Before she met the same fate, Elarielle felt another hand seize her own.

“Was all that really necessary?” Lily asked with a raised eyebrow, watching as the woman nonchalantly wiped the purple blood from her axe with a casual swing.

“We have something more important to worry about.” Elarielle replied in an irritated tone that nevertheless betrayed her concern.

When the matter Elarielle had been trying to avoid finally presented itself, Lily looked around uneasily.

The horizon twisted before her like something monstrous. A black, gnarled tree tore through the rocky ceiling above their heads with grotesque branches. The light of twilight—though she couldn’t even tell where it was coming from—barely managed to penetrate the thick mist accumulating around the many colossal trunks.

Thin streams of water cascaded from various points, flowing like waterfalls and connecting the top and base like chains. The entire surface was covered in a thick layer of cracked brown earth, with numerous stone pillars jutting out like grey mountains.

The enormous walls marking the far edges made it clear—they were now inside the tree.

“Nia… where are we?” Lily asked quietly, unable to take her eyes off the landscape before her.

Several seconds passed, with only the soft beating of her storm-wings breaking the silence.

At first, she thought her beloved was surveying their surroundings as well, considering what they should do next. But as the long silence stretched on, Lily placed her free hand over her heart.

Her heartbeat continued as normal. Lily could feel her wife inside her. She could sense the tentacles wrapped tightly around her, clinging to her as if they refused to let go at any cost.

“…Nia?”

But there was no answer.