Northern Region, Green Wind Forest, Emerald Ghost Tree.
Another day passed.
Petra was sitting in her laboratory, looking at a strange seed one of her ants had just brought her.
When the ant was returning from the daily newspaper pickup, he spotted this strange seed in the center of the road. Like a good little insect, the ant picked up this unknown seed and brought it back for Petra to add to her collection.
When Petra saw the seed, she was immediately confused.
'Was this even a seed?'
This small black seed was the strangest seed that she had ever seen. First, the only thing it had in common with a seed was its shape. If one didn't look closer, they would just assume that it was a normal poppy seed.
Putting aside the question of how the ant had discovered this tiny black dot, Petra began to wonder just what the ants were doing, scouring the road for dust sized seeds like a money grubber. If she knew that some of the ants had picked up the habit of robbing travellers, what would she think?
If she one day saw the scene of a group of gnome-sized ants standing up on their back legs, throwing out a lasso and dragging random people into the forest, what would she do?
If she knew that these same abnormal ants would kick and punch the poor 'bandits' with their tiny twig-like legs and leave them naked on the side of the road, what would happen?
It was a good thing that Petra didn't know about any of this.
Petra just looked at the 'seed' and shook her head.
Were the ants' eyes really that good?
Petra discovered that this seed seemed to have an unbelievably high density. Petra had done some simple experiments and discovered that this seed was almost as hard as a diamond. No, it was probably even harder, she just didn't have anything to compare it to.
When planted, it would absorb everything. Not just water, even the nutrients in the soil were taken away by this 'stupid-seed-pretending-speck-of-a-thing'.
As Petra tested it more and more, she slowly began to realise just how dangerous this little black dot was. Petra was genuinely confused as to why it didn't cause a disaster after laying in the middle of the road for so long.
It wasn't until half a day later that Petra finally got her answer.
During an experiment, Petra felt something deep within her bloodline slowly starting to move. It was like this seed was a delicious snack that was tempting her unknown bloodline to awaken. This resonance was likely the same thing that caused the seed to behave the way it did.
Petra was unsure of what to do.
She chose to lock the small seed in a special box until she understood more.
She used the small black box that Nebula's father used to store her green tassels.
After throwing that seed to the back of her mind, Petra turned her attention to what was happening around the house.
The first thing was that the design for Petra's new robe was finally finished.
Petra found her way to the Tailor's Studio where Lilly and Nebu were putting on the final touches.
When Petra arrived, she was dragged into the room by Luna and forced to strip down. The cold stone floors made Petra feel like she was standing on pins and needles. A chill ran down her pale white skin, causing her to shiver.
She glared at Luna.
Luna just stuck out her tongue before continuing.
Luna tied Petra's hair into a large green bun before bringing out the new outfit.
Petra struggled against the overexcited little mute before finally getting dressed.
Luna forced Petra to put on a pair of puffy white bloomers that reached the knees, then pulled over a simple black robe, struggling to get Petra's big head through. Petra swung her little arms in protest, but her struggle was in vain.
Luna took out something that looked like a thin white jacket, but without the front bit. She slit Petra's hands into it, covering her arms like a second pair of sleeves. Unlike the long black robe, this extra layer of sleeve was white, puffy, and ethereal, only reaching to her elbows. Petra continued to hiss, being pulled in different ways by Luna.
Next, Luna grabbed two long black knee socks and stuffed Petra's tiny white feet into them.
The final step was an elegant white, black, and green vest. After that, Luna laid a black and green mantle over Petra's shoulders and handed her a black witch's hat.
After stepping back and narrowing her eyes, she carefully scrutinised the outfit before finally nodding to herself in satisfaction. She threw on a few extra accessories, like the green tassels and small bell, before letting the dizzy little Petra spill out of the changing room.
When Petra left the changing room, Luna held up a mirror.
The new robe was similar to before, with a long black robe and a hood as its foundations. The same puffy white knee-length bloomers were worn under the robe. Unlike before, the long black sleeves were now accompanied by an extra layer of puffy white shoulders that stopped at the elbows and bloomed out, continuing as the normal long black sleeves. A white vest was worn over the top of the robe, and the black dress that normally hung down to Petra's feet was now trimmed to only reach below her knees, like a long skirt. Something like a scarf hung down her back like a cape. This bright green banner matched the two tassels that Nebula's father had given Petra as a gift.
Satisfied with her new look, Petra spun around like a ribbon dancer, her long black sleeves trailing in the wind.
"This is the last piece."
Lilly handed over a large wide wide-brimmed witch hat. The black hat matched Petra's long sleeves, pulling together the whole outfit. Tied around the hat was an emerald green ribbon that matched Petra's hair and hung down to the side.
Petra grinned at the little witch in the mirror. Petra didn't know what witches were like in the world of Pillomal, but she liked this fantasy witch style a lot.
Petra skipped through the halls and let her long sleeves flutter in the wind.
Watching the energetic little lolita disappear, Lilly suddenly giggled. "Now that her long robe won't trip her every few steps, I feel like the little master is going to be a lot more lively."
In the distance, Nebula watched the sleeve of the disappearing Petra get snagged on a door and the little girl do a somersault, resulting in the little brat's face meeting Mr. floor. She nodded silently.
-
After a short run around the mansion, Petra returned to the Tailor Studio.
Although the robe was done, there was still a lot of work that needed to be finished. Enchantments, Strengthening, Engraving, all sorts of things were still needed. This would take some time.
Petra's little eyes turned red, glistening under the candlelight.
She looked exactly like a child who would cry if she didn't get what she wanted.
Unfortunately, this small trick stopped working a week after the girls had moved in.
Luna approached from behind, her little claws poised to attack.
Petra felt a chill down her spine.
What was up with this little maid and helping her change!
Petra wanted to run, but Luna lunged, catching her foot.
"Nyaaaaa!"
Petra was dragged back into the changing room, not yet prepared to take off the new robe.
-
An hour later, Wind found the depressed Petra hanging paper snowflakes around the house. She was mumbling something about 'perverted mute' and 'manly hands'.
Wind waited, looking at the energetic shorty.
"What are you doing?"
Petra paused. She climbed down the pile of junk she had been using as a ladder. Petra put her hands on her hips and proclaimed. "When snow comes, it means Christmas! Oh, wait, is that a thing...? Oh well, Winter Decorations! We need to dress the house up for the holidays!"
Wind looked at Petra, her cold expression a little skeptical.
Petra pointed at the string of paper snowflakes that hung from the roof and grinned.
"Look! Doesn't that make you excited for the upcoming snowstorm! Only a few more days!"
The idea of 'winter decorations' completely went over the ignorant Wind's head.
Let's not talk about winter. Wind had never even celebrated a holiday. This wasn't too surprising, considering most noble families simply had better things to do.
"Look! Just help me hang some winter decorations up around the house! Later, we can all gather around the fireplace and have a nice cup of hot chocolate."
Wind tilted her head of silver hair.
Her long ears twitched, not understanding.
She frowned. "Do we even have a fireplace?"
Petra: "Uh…"
Wind: "…"
-
Sometime later, the seven girls were all outside.
Petra was off doing her own thing, making a fat snowman while being ignored by the six maids.
Lilly and Luna stood to the side. Their age was not much different from Petras's, so their interest in snow was about what you would expect from a young child. Lilly and Luna worked together to make a big igloo, far exceeding the scale of Petra's deformed snowman.
When Petra saw this, she was embarrassed by her stupid snowman and joined the twins.
Rose stood alone, her arms wrapped around her body, shivering in the cold. As it turned out, her problem wasn't only because of her clothes, but because cat-type beastmen seemed to be unusually susceptible to the cold.
Mell, Wind, and Nebula were all standing in front of the map, discussing the large group of people that had entered the forest.
The first to speak was Wind.
She pointed towards a blank spot on the map and frowned. "These people seem to be heading towards one of the unmapped areas."
Mell nodded. "The tide is scheduled for tomorrow. I can practically feel it in the air. They don't seem to care. It's almost like they want to use it to do something?"
"Do you think they want to use the green tide to explore these areas?" Wind asked.
Mell shook her head. "I don't know. We would have to go there to check it out. Although the ants can still transmit information, the snow has definitely slowed them down."
Petra called over from inside the igloo. "Then why don't we go! I've explored very little of the forest, this could be a fun opportunity!"
The twins popped their little heads out and raised their arms. "Explore!"
Mell shook her head. "The Green Wind Forest is dangerous enough. If you want to explore, why do you have to do it during the most dangerous time?"
Petra shouted from afar. "The same reason they are!"
The silent nebula nodded. "Let's wait and see. According to the ants, those people are from the Sky tower. They posted a recruitment notice last week for a 2-month-long expedition."
Mell nodded. "Let's see how bad the weather is first."
Petra's little head poked out of the igloo. Her eyes scanned the horizon. Although she couldn't 'see' the impending storm, she could 'feel' it. The silent tension in the air was like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.
A smile grew in her eyes.
She felt like tomorrow was going to be an exciting day.
-
Nighttime, Second Floor.
That night, the group of girls gathered around the dining table and tasted a variety of cookies made by Lilly and Luna. The theme was Christmas Cookies, and they came in a variety of forms and flavours.
Petra nibbled on a cookie, sorting out her thoughts.
She suddenly paused, only to make a sudden declaration.
"We need a bathhouse!"
The six girls nodded.
Lilly: "A hot spring, the really big kind!"
Luna: "…!!"
Mell: "With lots of waterfalls and stone gardens?"
Wind: "Refined and beautiful, carved from Spirit Stones!"
Nebula: "With a skylight, the kind that opened up to the stars."
Rose: "Uh… I'm still a boy, you know…"
Rose was ignored.
This kind of large-scale bathhouse was something that they had forgotten to build into the original design. The seven girls all discussed the next large project over a table of sugar cookies.
-
After dinner, Petra went to sleep.
She lay in bed at the top floor of the tower, looking at the wooden ceiling, lost in thought. The surrounding windows had been blocked by curtains, allowing the room to remain dark.
Tomorrow was the first day of her cultivation. She had made a lot of preparations, but she was still a little nervous. Petra was unsure if starting her cultivation on the same day that the green tide came would cause any problems.
She hugged a large pillow, turning her thoughts towards Elena.
Petra was sure that Elena was among the group of people who came to explore the forest. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but she hoped that Elena would be fine.
Petra yawned.
Her sleepy little eyes struggled to stay open.
She also needed to begin the training process of the other girls soon. Besides Nebula, none of the other girls had any cultivation. As for Nebula, she had no idea how strong she was.
Petra planned to make Lilly and Luna follow the pathway of a Mage, and Mell, Wind, and Rose follow the pathway of Immortal Cultivation.
As for herself, Petra planned to do something unique.
She originally planned to try to dual cultivate as a Mage and a Cultivator, but after finding that seed, she suddenly had a different idea. It wasn't that the seed had any special meaning, but it reminded her of her second unknown bloodline.
Petra had spent a few hours flipping through the old man's books, looking for any clues to her missing bloodline. Eventually, Petra found it. When she did, she decided to change her plans.
Petra's eyes slowly closed.
Tomorrow was going to be a historical day...