Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

With Flor's words, the tension all around dropped a few notches. During the entire fight, the Rose Fairies and humans had both been tense, ready to interfere if the other side made a move.

While the Rose Fairies weren't as strong, they were much more numerous. After all, the Rose Fairies that went out with Flor had already returned. In terms of numbers, they were more than ten times theirs.

Thankfully, the fight didn't escalate, and Flor was stopped by Liu Shu. While Flor did indeed gravel injured Cinderielle, the same was true for the opposite. In short, it was a real fight where blows were exchanged, but not, it had passed, so both parties could take their time to relax their taut nerves.

Cinderielle took in a deep breath, calming her restless body after experiencing a near-death call. She had never expected Flor to be so decisive and powerful.

When she transformed, almost all her stats but Aether were clearly above Flor's, and yet, making use of very risky tactics, Flor managed to very nearly bring her down. If she failed to react at that time when Flor landed on her shoulder, her head would've probably been detached from her body before she knew what happened.

Her explosive flame attack released to blow Flor away was not controlled in any way, and its strength, with her stats while transformed, was enough to probably kill all creatures below Level 10 in a large radius. 

No one knew how the rest of the battle would go after Cinderielle blasted Flor away. After all, Flor had lost a good chunk of her Phoer Body Shards and Aether Mana Shards. Flor was exhausted, while Cinderielle still had around 50 seconds more of her five-minute-long transformation at that time. 

On the other side, Flor's mental strength and decisiveness were leagues above Cinderielle's, so it was normal to think that as long as she managed to give a decisive blow, Flor would be able to win eventually.

Regardless, it was a close battle that could go either way.

Liu Shu looked at both sides and seeing that they were calm, she finally decided to let go of Flor. She was a bit confused as to why she stopped Flor.

Until now, Flor has been her guardian, caretaker, and even teacher in many matters. She provided her with knowledge, sustenance, and a safe environment without asking much in return.

Liu Shu didn't take her fruits into account, even though they were incredibly influential for the development of young Rose Fairies, because it was an almost effortless action on her part.

Now that she had mastered the process, it was something that she did with her subconsciousness. 'And yet, I wanted to protect that Sylvan from Flor when that Sylvan injured Flor so much…'

She was honestly confused. 'Why?'

Her <World Tree Eye> was firmly locked on the red-haired sylvan, not knowing why she kept protecting her after Flor was injured to the point that she used her own Phoer Body Shards to enhance fruits and feed them to her.

After a while, she understood. 'Her aura.'

Liu Shu finally realized how welcoming and gentle Cinderielle's aura was. It was attractive and warm, making Liu Shu unconsciously want to get closer to her. Like gentle heat during a cold day or the feeling of her roots being nestled in warm and nutritious earth.

While Liu Shu thought of all of that, Flor used her damaged wings to fly up while resisting the pain and land on one of Liu Shu's thicker branches. She plopped her little butt there and sighed in tiredness and pain. "Tsk, tsk. It has been a long while since I got injuries like these…" While Liu Shu was a willow-like tree, not all her branches were the thin kind that dropped. A few sturdy ones in her canopy held the softer and longer branches.

While she recovered 500 Phoer Body Shards thanks to Liu Shu's small sacrifice, Flor was still weak. The burns created by Cinderielle were that dangerous.

Moreover, the action of using her own Phoer was something Liu Shu certainly couldn't do daily or even weekly, as consuming her own Phoer Body Shards was quite damaging on a fundamental level,

Flor looked at Cinderielle, who was still holding her neck and asked. "Well, speak, Sylvan. You say that you want to… no… you said that you would not reveal the secret of a World Tree residing here. How could I trust that?"

Cinderielle chewed her lips. The wound on her neck still hurt, and for some reason, seeing Flor resting in the branches of the World Tree made her heart twist with envy. 'I also want to sit there…'

Even if she was given permission, the branches were too thick for her to sit comfortably, but the feeling of wanting to do the same was there.

After observing for a few moments, she answered loud and clear, with no shame in her voice. "Because I've come to adore her!"

Everyone paused, humans and rose fairies alike, looking at the Sylvan with bewildered expressions. Liu Shu looked at her strangely as well. 'Adore me? That word means to like someone very much, right?' Liu Shu asked herself with a puzzled mind. 'Why does she adore me? Is it a normal thing for Sylvans?'

Looking around, Liu Shu saw similar socked, bewildered, and frowning expressions everywhere, which showed that this was not normal behavior. Refocusing on the Sylvan looking between her trunk and Flor, the World Tree felt strangely flustered. It was more of a feeling of discomfort than anything else since Liu Shu didn't understand complex emotions much.

Meanwhile, be it the humans and rose fairies that saw her arrival remembered her actions and mannerisms, and all came to the same conclusion. 'Wait, she really does!?'

Since the start of their encounter, Cinderielle had been acting strangely, which threw many people in a loop, and they couldn't understand why she acted that way.

However, if her words were the truth, then her actions all made sense.

Flor looked at her and pondered for a while. 'This woman and Verdantia do resemble each other when it comes to how they've treated Liu Shu.' Flor thought with a wry smile. 'At least this one saw the entire tree before saying something like that. Verdantia became obsessed with just a branch…'

Flor would come to know more about Cinderielle in the future, and she would remember her thoughts at this time, making her regret thinking they were different in any sense.

Flor commented. "Well, that reasoning is not enough. I want more tangible proof to confirm your words."

In truth, those words were enough to make Flor believe in her because of the simple fact that Sylvans were extremely serious about their romantic interests. While it was not definitive that a Sylvan would never use that as an excuse, it was rare.

Moreover, unless Cinderielle was a perfect actress, Flor was confident in her vision. She also had the same feeling when she spoke with Verdantia, and the sense of trust that both of them gave her was pretty similar.

Touching one of her itchy burns, Flor added. "Moreover, even if you add proof for yourself, what about those four humans behind you."

Cinderielle, who was about to recount her childhood memory, paused, her words getting choked in her throat by Flor's sharp question. 'Right. What about them?'

Looking at Ariel and the other three stiffened people, Cinderielle frowned. 'We have known each other for a few hours, and it is true that we can't trust them to keep the secret.' Her eyes flashed with the image of Liu Shu being attacked and rooted out from the ground, and her heart became extremely cold and murderous while her eyes became gloomy.

She asked her tone as usual. "What are your thoughts?"

Ariel wanted to curse in all the languages she knew. 'Do I even have an option!? That crazy Level 12 is staring at us like hunting prey, and you are clearly on their side. While I don't think Cinderielle would attack us for that World Tree, I can't ignore the option.'

Ariel wanted to pull her hair out of frustration, but she made a perfect and business-like smile. "Of course! We don't mind keeping this a secret. As long as we are returned alive and in one piece, I'm happy, hahaha."

Flor sighed. 'Right. That's the feeling when someone doesn't really speak the truth. Too stiff, too professional… Who uses those words with a monster who is perceived as stupid?'

Of course, Flor didn't take into account her change in charisma after becoming a Rose Fairy Queen, thanks to being the first to discover Liu Shu's World Tree nature. 

In truth, while she still had that definite monster aura around her, Flor was much more dignified, and even these people had trouble keeping their chins up.

"Human woman, are you the leader of the group?"

Her question was met with a nod and a formal knee bending while holding the sides of her clothes. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ariel. I am part of the <Sunflower Caravan> merchant group, and these people are indeed my subordinates. We've come to this forest in search of a few items and to check out, together with Cinderielle, if a [Beast Tide] was starting to gather in the Golden Sap Forest."

Ariel thought being completely honest with certain facts would gain their confidence, but Flor didn't easily lower her guard. She learned in the past that humans are a cunning and intelligent race. Many can become really good actors in overcoming difficulties.

A influential and mighty human who specialized in those ways could even influence others enough to change opinions about small habits. This ability didn't seem all that powerful for a common person, but when used in the correct hands, it could become a tool to reshape society.

Flor got thoughtful and thought about it for a few minutes straight without losing eye contact with the five intruders.

'The Thornstride army is marching toward here, so I need to ask quickly and make decisions before it is too late… How can I convince these humans to work for Liu Shu…' Flor paused. "Wait, a caravan? Those transporting lines that I've seen a few times."

Ariel nodded. "Yes, we specialize in opening routes and transporting goods. We are a neutral party that doesn't usually get involved in wars, as we always go to the place that wins to rebuild ourselves a new business with new opportunities.

Flor pondered for a few seconds and asked. "Do you want to become our caravan?"

Ariel and the rest paused, not expecting such a question. The three friends frowned at the offer. 'What could they even gather here? There are no commodities that would increase our caravan's value. Stopping here is a waste.'

Flor scoffed. "Give it one year, and you might be begging to enter again? Just know that if you don't take my current offer, you will regret it when the prices of every single building and trade go far and above." Flor lifted an eyebrow. "Remember who I am sitting on and answer carefully, human."

The four humans paused, looking at the World Tree with a thoughtful expression.