"Well, it's probably the human that exploded my mountain," she replied dryly. After learning that Leyvi could hear and understand her, she had already marked him as someone different from the rest.
"Bingo, bingo! Correct again! He has a quality that I desperately need for my plan to succeed."
"Then what about me? Is that why you also invited me? Do you need my help with your plan too?" the mistletoe asked curiously.
"Miss Misty, my invitation to you has nothing to do with my plan," Lapin said, his tone softening. "When I saw you, it reminded me of my situation. Living in hiding, fearful of being discovered. Luckily, my ability allowed me to travel and see the world. But you… you're stuck on that mountain. That is why I'm extending my invitation to you. It must have been very lonely."
"Oh my… Mister Lapin. You're one sweet rabbit. It's too bad that you're not a plant, or I might have taken quite a liking for you."
"As a gentlerabbit, that is without a question one of my best qualities," Lapin said proudly. "But unfortunately, Miss Misty, even if you actually fell for me, I can only reject politely—because I prefer a sexy rabbit lady with a big round tail. Kekeke!" He laughed, clearly flattered but staying in character.
But the laughter stopped abruptly. "Wait a second, Miss Misty, how did you know that I'm a rabbit? I haven't told you my real identity yet!"
"Hihihi. With my ability, of course! I can easily analyze this cloud's essence, understand its properties and composition, and from that, determine what kind of living being you are. I've long mastered this ability so I can select and absorb the best nutrients from other things without harming them—it's how I grew to this level."
"Of course, now that I've reached this stage, I don't just take nutrients anymore. I actually help other plants grow too. I figure out what they're lacking, what they have too much of, then shuffle the nutrients around—making sure everyone gets exactly what they need to thrive. That's what I love to do to pass the time. In this mountain, there's no plant I haven't studied and helped grow," the mistletoe said proudly, wiggling cheerfully on the celestial cloud.
She sounded so pleased with herself, like she'd been waiting forever to finally show off her magical abilities.
On his floating island above, Lapin's eyes lit up. "Miss Misty, your ability sounds wonderful! Now I might actually need your help!"
"Eh? What help do you need?" she asked, perking up—clearly happy that someone wanted her help.
"My... my carrots," Lapin said a bit sheepishly. "Can you help me identify what my carrots need to grow the bushiest and tastiest carrot tops?"
---
A month later, the Crown Royalmobile, which had been speeding through the land like a gust of wind, finally began to slow down. They were nearing their destination—an ocean-like lake that stretched endlessly ahead. The breeze carried a fresh scent, and tall coconut trees lined the edge of the land, swaying gently in the wind like they were greeting the travelers. Though it stretched out like a sea, this lake was unmistakably freshwater.
Very soon, the Crown Royalmobile came to a full stop at the lakeside beach.
"Alright everyone. We are here. Get off!" Dastan announced loudly, stretching his arms. "This prince wants to relax first. Been driving for a whole month."
"This clown prince is so dramatic," Leyvi scoffed from the back seat. "You didn't even do much. The Royalmobile basically moves on its own once you set the direction. And when manual driving was actually needed, it was Tantan doing all the work. What exactly are you tired from?"
Early in their journey, Tantan had learned how to enlarge herself, and the moment she did, she begged Dastan to let her drive. Unable to resist her excitement, Leyvi had given up his seat, moving to the back to sit with Victor. From then on, Tantan had been their dedicated driver.
But unfortunately, this weak squirrel had one very bad habit.
Whenever she saw large, muscular demonic beasts blocking the path, instead of avoiding them like a sane person, she'd go full speed ahead and crash straight into their legs—just to knock them down.
Just like the other vehicles in the Crown collection, the Crown Royalmobile was a tier-5 spirit artifact, boasting top-notch defensive capabilities. Despite all the high-speed collisions, not a single scratch had appeared on its sleek body.
Leyvi had already lost count of how many large demonic beasts had their legs broken and collapsed because of Tantan's wild driving stunts. At this point, he couldn't help but wonder if she held some deep grudge against big demonic beasts. It was obvious she deliberately aimed for them.
What made it worse was the fact that the clown prince fully encouraged her behavior.
Leyvi shook his head. Sooner or later, this guy's gonna raise the most dangerous squirrel in existence.
"Heh, Tantan is this prince's spirit beast," Dastan said smugly. "She could be considered a part of me. If she's driving, then that counts as this prince's driving as well. Got a problem with that?"
Leyvi narrowed his eyes. "So if she married a baboon, then that means you became the baboon's husband too, right? I see, I see... I understand your logic now."
"Dammit, Leyvi!! This prince is not like you! Get out of the Crown Royalmobile right now!" Dastan shouted, completely losing the logic battle.
When they came out, Victor was already standing on the lakeside, having left the Crown Royalmobile earlier. He simply couldn't stand how noisy the two men were. Throughout the journey, he had to block his hearing using Qi just to preserve his sanity.
"Yo, there's a lot of young coconuts here. Let me taste some," Leyvi said, hopping up lightly and plucking a green coconut from a tree. He tore off the husk with ease and poked a hole through the shell using just his finger.
Tilting it up, he poured the refreshing liquid straight into his mouth. "Hahaha! It tastes really great!" he exclaimed after a few chugs.
Once he finished the coconut water, he cracked the shell open and scooped out the tender white flesh, chewing slowly and savoring the flavor. "Yummm... this is probably the best coconut I've ever tasted in my life. I should get more while we're here," Leyvi said, licking his fingers.
"Is it really that great?" Dastan asked, intrigued. "This prince will give it a try too. Never tasted one." He stored the Crown Royalmobile with a wave of his hand and proceeded to mimic everything Leyvi had done—pluck, poke, drink, and split.
"Hmm... the meat is not bad," Dastan admitted, chewing thoughtfully. "But the taste is not this prince's cup of tea. However, this prince liked the water."
He casually handed the other half of the coconut shell to Tantan, who had been staring at it curiously the whole time.
Tantan brought it close to her nose, sniffed it a few times, then took a cautious nibble. Back in the bamboo forest, her diet consisted mainly of bamboo shoots, leaves, fruits, seeds, and the occasional insect. Coconut was entirely new to her.
As soon as the flavor spread in her mouth, Tantan's eyes lit up like stars. She buried her entire face into the coconut shell and started devouring the coconut meat with wild enthusiasm.
After licking it clean, she tossed the empty shell aside and happily rubbed her fluffy tail against Dastan's neck. "Master, Tantan wants more! Coconut is the best!"
"You like it?" Dastan asked with a grin.
"Love it!" she nodded vigorously, her tail rubbing even more affectionately.
"Daa hahaha! If that's the case, then your master shall harvest all the coconuts here!" he declared proudly. "Leyvi, this prince will be back shortly!"
Without another word, the crown prince launched into the air using his movement technique. With smooth, practiced motions, he began collecting coconuts from the treetops, storing them en masse. Leaping from tree to tree, he rapidly disappeared down the shoreline, his silhouette growing smaller as he pillaged every coconut in sight.
Leyvi stared blankly. "Is he seriously going to pluck all the coconuts around the lake?" he muttered.
He looked out at the vast, ocean-like lake, the beach stretching for what felt like forever in both directions.
"No way. He'll probably give up after an hour. That guy's not that motivated." Leyvi made a prediction.
Still, Leyvi decided to join in. "I should also take some," he said to himself, then turned to the other end of the beach.
But unlike Dastan, Leyvi didn't jump from tree to tree. Instead, he used his spiritual pressure, exerting pinpoint force to knock coconuts off trees with precision, then catching them below. It became a perfect opportunity to do some light spiritual pressure training, practicing control, accuracy, and speed.
Meanwhile, Victor, left behind, sat silently on a large boulder.
...He sprayed himself with a special perfume—one designed to keep demonic beasts away—and sighed in resignation.
These two... he cursed inwardly. Just how noisy and hyper could grown men be?