At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 186

—Not bad, huh? With someone like this.

Their assessment of Seo Jiwoo was that, in general, she was someone they could get along with, and she was necessary for maintaining the health of the trees. It seemed that they married to maintain that status.

It would have been ideal if she was a true incarnation, but in this case, she still functioned similarly, so they kept things as they were without any issues.

However, there was a problem.

— Are we going to be driven out?

Night, who felt the issue first hand, said his concern.

Since they weren’t going on this trip, their position had essentially become uncertain. For Marron and Night, this was a somewhat threatening situation.

— It doesn’t seem like that’s the case, but she probably doesn’t fully understand El Ragneil yet, which is why she’s saying such things.

For example, the idea of sending them to the capital along with a female.

The female who awakened them no longer needed them, and it meant that they would be sent off again as energy beings, wandering aimlessly and returning to be nutrients for the roots. The idea of not killing them meant that, essentially, they were being discarded. Once they had become aware, they would never want that.

In fact, Seo Jiwoo had said it as if she was sending them to a better place.

— If we’re not taken on this trip, what use are we? Language?

— Language can be learned quickly….

Even if Seo Jiwoo wasn’t like the female manifestation who despised the children of El Ragneil, having been born there made their instincts inherently uneasy.

Anyway, the conclusion was clear.

Before the trip, they needed to make sure they had something to be responsible for.

Seo Jiwoo was soft-hearted and very sympathetic.

She couldn’t ignore someone crying and, even if she didn’t intend to take responsibility, she would still reach out if they seemed pitiable.

So, they were thinking of using tears to attract her attention.

And as they discussed it, it naturally led to thoughts of the act itself.

Night cleared his throat before speaking cautiously.

— But… you said you liked it, right?

— It’s not something we enjoy. We have to make the other person feel it.

Marron let out a cynical chuckle at Night’s innocent curiosity.

He had pretended to be kind in front of Seo Jiwoo, but there was no need to act that way in front of Night.

Then, as if to clarify Night’s question, he said definitively,

— The reason it’s good is the sense of accomplishment, or the anticipation that the tree will grow more steadily from now on.

— Is that so?

— Yes.

Seo Jiwoo had often looked at the children of El Ragneil as lustful, but that was actually a misconception.

The children of El Ragneil did not seek pleasure. They took pride in guiding others to seek it.

So, on their first night, their sole purpose was to bring the other person to the height of pleasure, and whether they themselves felt it or not was not the important point. To call their nature pleasure-seeking would be a misunderstanding.

Since they focused on how much the other person reached their peak, some even finished without climaxing themselves.

The union between the female body and the trees wasn’t anything new, but the reason it had solidified into this form was because pleasure, in some way, was the only thing that could keep the female body attached for a longer period of time. Often, acts of pleasure were wrapped in a pretty package and presented as love.

In this group, only about five people held what could be called love.

Logically, Marron and Night weren’t among them, and it seemed unlikely they would be anytime soon.

The children of El Ragneil were more focused on practicality than emotions, and Marron and Night, who had only recently awakened, were the ones who fit that standard the most.

The five people who had already shared emotions close to love were clear. The rest shared more of a friendship or familial affection.

Though it seemed like about five others might eventually transition into love, none of them really believed in such feelings.

— Wouldn’t it be nice if it were love? It’s probably just a physical reaction.

Maron shrugged.

It seemed like Seo Jiwoo was weak to pleasure, and as a child of El Ragneil, he was confident that he could make her feel it.

Though inexperienced, the instinctual knowledge passed down from the tree was more than enough.

The ones with the much stronger bodies were hardly the type to lose their senses and get lost in pleasure, especially on matters they already knew in theory.

— Then let’s make sure she can’t ever leave us.

— Yes. If she starts coming to us every night, it might be a bit sad for the others, but…

And they were confident in their ability to melt Jiwoo.

Everything the children of El Ragneil did, whether calculated for long-term gain or based on pure emotion, was ultimately an attempt to keep their partner by their side.

Generally, the female detested such behavior, but Jiwoo was different, wasn’t she?

So, they decided to try appealing to her with tears. If they could just get her to go through the first night, it would be over.

— This is a big plan with a high chance of success.

…That’s how things turned out.

“I was trying to choose a really good date, but it got delayed a bit.”

Of course, Jiwoo, who had no idea of their plans, was trying to explain earnestly.

“It rained when I was with the others, and I thought it would be nice if it were the same day with you too…”

She had heard that rain on the first night was considered a good omen.

She still remembered the damp air and the smell of the wet grass from that day.

It was only then that she understood why her eyes had been covered, as everything about that day remained vivid in her memory. Starting with the strange, unfamiliar feelings that gradually became more familiar as time passed.

There was no need to rush.

Whether it was their first meeting or the first night, she felt that things had progressed a bit suddenly, and she hadn’t properly prepared for them.

In truth, Jiwoo preferred a slower, more steady relationship. While she was happy living with her husbands now, sometimes the way the relationship had rushed forward left her feeling a bit wistful.

So, this time, she wanted to take her time and build it up properly.

But it seemed that this plan of Jiwoo’s was a source of uncertainty for them.