Wolfsbane, looking flustered, pulled the hood over his head to hide his face. His little hands, like peeled white potatoes, looked incredibly cute.

The dandelion children showed particular interest in the idea that he was the same recovery type. Dandelion crawled to Wolfsbane’s left, and they placed Wolfsbane between them. Then the two began urging Wolfsbane to use his power. Daisy 2 grumbled that she was an attack type and could hardly demonstrate techniques, so it was frustrating.

“Can you use such amazing power too, like the Dandelion King?”

“Show us, show us. We’ll just watch and copy.”

The two bickered often but worked quite well together.

Wolfsbane turned his head left and right in a fluster at the whining sounds from both sides. His violet eyes behind the glasses under the hood were begging me for rescue, but he didn’t seem on the verge of tears yet, so I left him be. Wolfsbane reluctantly lifted his long staff, his weapon.

I had seen Wolfsbane use recovery techniques once or twice before. It was when he tried to mimic Elder’s power. But Wolfsbane wasn’t a standard healer like Elder who blasted healing spells; he was a sub-healer specialized in debuffs and such. I hope he realizes his own specialty soon, rather than trying to do feeble healing.

As Wolfsbane used his power, a faint violet glow and a subtle herbal scent began to fill the room. It was a mild but uplifting force. Even though it was a modest technique, I was pleased that he could now use it fairly well. I should praise him when he does something right. I was about to clap when—

“Is that all you can do?”

“We can do better!”

Saying so, the two lifted their staffs, resembling magic wands. From the white, round tips—like dandelion seeds—a stronger light burst forth than Wolfsbane’s. A damp, grassy scent, like the smell that fills your nostrils when climbing a mountain, began to overwhelm Wolfsbane’s herbal fragrance.

Soft, downy flower seeds like baby bird fluff fluttered around the room. When one touched my skin, it felt cool. Still, the dandelion children’s recovery power was no match for Elder’s.

It seems they know how to scatter seeds. If applied well, couldn’t they use it for reconnaissance like the Dandelion King?

“We’ll be your support now.”

“Call me master. I need to teach you a thing or two.”

“Right, call me teacher. I can teach better than her.”

Wolfsbane hunched his shoulders and hugged his staff.

Wolfsbane was a child more accustomed to attack types from the start, so his clumsy attempt to copy Elder’s recovery power was bound to be crude… Our Wolfsbane is in big trouble. If he doesn’t awaken his power soon, he’ll be looked down upon by the newborn dandelion children. It already seems too late.

I looked at Elder, who had been sitting nonchalantly from earlier, fidgeting only with artifact furniture. You’re a healer of unique rank, don’t you have any advice? Elder seemed utterly uninterested in this place. No, maybe that’s a good thing? That mouth of theirs would be harmful to the kids.

“It’s good that you can handle the flower seeds. Did you feel which ones the seeds touched earlier?”

Mesquite tapped the dandelion kids’ noses as she asked. The kids stopped their chattering, closed their eyes, and fell into deep thought.

“Speaking of which, they’re impressive for still being kids. Is it because Dandelion raised them himself? Wolfsbane, even with limitations, was born longer ago than these kids. When I first saw them, they were really small. Yet, they seem to learn things quickly.”

I remembered Dandelion worrying when he sent the kids to me, saying that as saplings, they wouldn’t be of much help. So I thought seeing them use any real skill would be a future thing. But the kids showed a decent display, though still minor.

At my words, Mesquite left the pondering kids and came over to me.

“If only one of them existed, or if they were kept far apart, they probably wouldn’t even use half of their current power.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s possible because there are two of them. The two kids are currently in a ‘joined-tree state.’”

“Joined-tree state?”

It was a term I’d heard before. It often appeared in novels or movies. Was it when the roots of two trees grow tangled together?

“When two or more dryads of the same species are deeply connected and have high affinity for each other, the power of a joined-tree state allows their branches to intertwine, making them look like a single tree. It lets them combine their strength to compensate for weaknesses or become stronger, Jae.”

“Is it similar to Forest?”

“Hehe, it’s a slightly different concept. In a Forest, one king tree entrusts souls to become stronger, and being apart doesn’t matter. But a joined-tree state requires two or more to be on the field together, and they only grow stronger as long as they’re both out there.”

Oh… so it’s a principle where the more duplicates you have in your deck, the more the power increases? In regular card games, duplicate entries are often forbidden, but thinking about it, in <Terrarium Adventure>, I can bring out dryads as I please, so duplicate entries are possible.

If I deploy five dandelion dryads, each of them would get a fivefold bonus, right?

“Then if both Daisies are out, would they get stronger too?”

“Daisy the child has already entrusted her soul, so having both out on the field won’t help. However, if the other Daisy dryad inside Jae’s artifact were to join, she might feel a bit more secure. Because the king is there.”

Daisy2 is meant as evolution material for our Daisy… so I guess I can’t use her up.

“I think I need to think more about how to raise the dandelions. Whether to focus all the power on one, unlocking special skills like Dandelion… or to grow them equally and make both strong together… It’s gotten complicated after hearing about the concept of joined trees.”

“My master, Jae. Whether to intertwine the roots so a vast forest looks like a single tree, or to weave the branches together to support each other like a sturdy single tree—that’s Jae’s choice. As long as the dryads grow stronger and can protect Jae more reliably, whatever way is fine.”

Mesquite looked down at me with a smile. With just one Mesquite, I already feel this secure… If two Mesquites were to benefit from the joined-tree effect… that means there’s no deck to fear in the world, right? Amazing.

At that moment, the dandelion kids finally shouted that they understood the feeling. “Good. Then let’s train so you can use it in real combat,” Mesquite said as she approached them.

“Ah!”

On the way, she suddenly scooped up Daisy. Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that. Daisy barely managed to stop by tucking her feet under the bed.

It was astonishing that even the side of the bed where Elder sat was lifted up. Whether to be amazed at Mesquite’s strength or at Daisy enduring the bed’s weight with just one foot….

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

Only Elder, who had been wronged, stumbled and grabbed onto the artifact furniture that was rolling off.

“If the sapling kids train like that, Daisy should also make an effort, right?”

“I’ll get stronger too!”

I was glad everyone was motivated, but I wondered how I’d sleep if they kept this up all night. However, when bedtime came, they all slipped into my artifact under the guise of training. Sure enough, my terrarium artifact, though attached to my wrist, was really spacious inside. It could even access the 28th terrarium.

Even Elder left abruptly to install artifact furniture. My dryads had clearly judged that staying in the inn room was safer than when I was outside.

When we slept on the streets, we took turns standing guard, but now there was no need. However, Wolfsbane couldn’t join them and lay beside my bed instead.

It seemed the child felt a lot of pressure about being a forbidden plant born from the alchemy tower. Elder was always the one to speak without thinking, and the other dryads seemed to treat it casually now.

The dandelion kids pestered Wolfsbane to come with them, but Wolfsbane held onto my clothes and resisted.

The child took the pillow next to mine and lay down. I took off Wolfsbane’s glasses, placed them on the bedside table, and hugged them tightly. Is this a problem that time can solve?

Wolfsbane was held with just the right amount of plumpness, like a giant teddy bear. I patted his back, enjoying our rare time alone together.

“I hope you don’t dwell on how you were born. No matter how you came to be, you’re a precious dryad who came to me.”

Wolfsbane remained silent. Ah… Is this because our intimacy isn’t high enough yet? How do I raise it? Give me some tips, please. His head was curled up like a pill bug, showing no sign of moving.

“Then let’s think of it this way. The real issue is just that your parent tree’s data isn’t in the World Tree.”

I worked hard to dig into Wolfsbane, who was in curled-up pill bug mode, fidgeting his hands. Even so, he was a child, and I thought he felt quite warm. It felt like sticking my hand under a pillow.

Finally, I found and grabbed both of his soft, mochi-like cheeks. With a heave-ho, I lifted his face, and his scatter of violet-blue eyes finally met mine. The child’s eyes, reflecting the lamp, were filled with dark clouds.

“Don’t be so down. You’re a dryad of the great me, Jae. I can’t stand to see my dryad fall short of others anywhere.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not even better than the saplings…”

The child’s high-pitched voice made ‘sorry’ sound so cute, and I almost laughed but held it in. So adorable.