Weed ~The One’s Gardener~ - Chapter 117
He had always tried to match everything to her needs. And he was the one who was happiest doing that. He was the one who found the most joy in it.
If she had known it would turn out this way, she would have thought about it a bit more. She would live with him for countless more years, but now, looking back, she felt a tinge of regret for all the time they had spent just idly passing the days.
“Hana.”
“Hmm?”
“This is my first time leaving Lar.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I never had a reason or the leisure to do so before.”
Weed’s hair turned into a pile of leaves every time it was cut from him. On the ground, golden leaves had replaced the pale green strands of his hair, now covering the floor.
As Hana glanced at them, she spoke to him.
“If you had said you wanted to go, I would have gone with you.”
“No. I was worried.”
“Worried about what?”
Snip. Snip. Rustle. Rustle.
Weed paused for a moment, and all that could be heard was the quiet sound of hair being cut and the leaves falling to the ground.
“I wondered if Hana hadn’t been able to form attachments to this world.”
“Why?”
“Because of you, the void that plagued this land has finally disappeared. I thought maybe you might be curious about it, but you’ve always stayed in Lar.”
“Umm…”
Had she not been curious?
She didn’t think so. It felt too obvious. The world here didn’t seem that different from the ones she had experienced in her past lives. Everywhere was the same—places where living beings existed, and she could see that through Weed, the priests, and the occasional visitors from outside.
She couldn’t say she didn’t love this world. That wouldn’t be true.
Because she loved this world so much, there were times when she didn’t want to interfere, even though she cared deeply.
To put it bluntly, when a wolf chases a rabbit, whose side would Hana take? The predator? The prey? Neither. If she loved both, the best thing to do would be to step back and let them live their lives to the fullest, observing them from a distance.
However, at this moment, there was clearly someone she favored. And for the one receiving her affection, that might appear as though she couldn’t invest in anything else.
Weed surely knew this.
And yet, Hana didn’t fully understand what it meant. All she did was finish sorting his hair, pull him close, and express her fondness once more.
“Weed, I love you.”
“I love you too, Hana.”
* * *
But soon, Hana was able to understand Weed’s earlier concern.
When they finally took their first step outside of Lár de Ligna Initia, she felt the respect of the world around them, as if it were embracing her. The earth beneath her feet, the sunlight pouring down, even the cool breeze seemed to be filled with goodwill towards her.
She secretly hoped that this journey with Weed would be comfortable. Maybe that was why she felt a sense of warmth and bright sunshine would accompany their travels from now on.
“Do you think the weather will always be like this?”
Hana raised her arms to catch the sunlight as though she could hold it in her hands. The sunlight grew warmer as if it were responding to her.
Weed, standing beside her under the comforting warmth, smiled lazily, clearly enjoying the moment.
She couldn’t help but laugh at how natural his response was. Perhaps it was simply in his nature, as a plant. But still, she didn’t want to always see only this. Though she felt good in the moment, she wanted to feel the rain with him, the snow, and even argue with him over trivial things now and then.
She had never planned to leave Lar before, and now, even with the world showering them with admiration, she still felt indifferent. It was no wonder Weed had been worried.
But now, she understood why. So, she said it.
“I like Weed more than anything else.”
The sudden confession caught Weed by surprise, and his face turned red as he stammered, unable to say anything at first. The joy of knowing Hana wanted him and the worry of where her heart truly lay battled within him.
Eventually, his joy won out.
Hana patted his shoulder and took his hand.
In the end, his worry wasn’t about the world. It was about whether She felt comfortable in this place. How could she not favor someone like him?
“It’s okay. There’s a world that works this way as well. After all, we’ve done just fine together so far.”
As Hana walked ahead, pulling Weed’s hand, she turned back to look at him. Despite being much larger than her, he still blushed shyly, and it was lovely.
“Now that we’re outside, should we try to have fun like we’re outside?”
“How?”
She made her voice lighter.
“Umm, how about this? Like a happy couple.”
Surprised, Weed widened his eyes and stared at her. Hana smiled brightly.
“You have to answer, dear.”
“Ye, yes… okay.”
“Dear.”
“Yes, yes… de, dear.”
His face turned so red it looked like it might explode, and she decided to stop teasing him.
“Didn’t our children say they wanted to go north? This trip will be to there.”
It was something the priests had wanted to discuss with him. Hana, who had seemed uninterested, was actually listening. The moment she referred to the priests as ‘our children,’ Weed couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Yes…”
Clumsy as always, he still only spoke what he was told.
“Then let’s go.”
“Yes.”
They began walking across the meadow, following the course of their hearts.
After a while, Hana sensed several presences behind them. A dog with soft, cotton-like fur was following them closely, and perched atop it was a squirrel holding a wildflower. In the sky, a bird that seemed completely out of place for the season or location, was flying.
Whispers. Murmurs.
A gentle breeze carried their quiet words.
Before long, the brilliant bird had disappeared, replaced by a hawk soaring through the sky, more fitting for the season. The priests following them weren’t very subtle, and the world seemed to be revealing their secret actions as if it also wanted to be loved. Hana’s heart fluttered.
“Hana.”
“Huh?”
Hearing Weed’s voice, she looked up at him as they walked side by side. His eyes, now with a darker tint, were moist with a fullness of emotion.
“I love you… I’m so happy to have Hana by my side. I’ll live for Hana, always.”
She smiled in return.
How could she not love him?
She couldn’t help but love him. Even when given a new role, those words were always the first to be spoken. She pulled him close without a word, leaned down, and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. The wind tousled their hair.
Hana, thinking how well the short hair suited him, took Weed’s hand.
It had been a needless worry.
Because loving him, she could not help but love this world as well.
She could feel the small animals following behind.
This first journey with Weed felt like it would be one where she would discover just how similar he and the world were and to find a new way to love it.
End.