Benjamin’s POV

I leaned back slightly against the smooth wood railing of the wide regal stairs, his fingers tracing absentmindedly over the intricate carvings of twisting vines and blooming flowers etched deep into the living wood.

Hey, lately, hasn’t my life been getting more and more complicated?

And in brutal successions too, one event slamming right into the next without giving me even a moment to catch my breath.

Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

I seriously can’t put my finger on it properly, no matter how hard I try to sort through the whirlwind inside my head.

But I AM grateful I finally became a demigod.

I am now several solid steps closer to becoming the man I want to be: the eternal, powerful being that never leaves his family behind, no matter what storms come crashing down.

If anyone is leaving at all, I will see them out peacefully with dignity and care...

But people like Sara and the other demigod girls won’t be leaving in a long time.

Some of them will not be leaving at all.

Particularly, Sakura is eternal.

That thought settled warm and steady in my chest as I kept descending the stairs.

Whatever; the meeting had adjourned just now, with all the participants slowly getting ready to embark on their journeys home, their voices murmuring low as attendants moved around them with quiet efficiency.

Well... except for two others: Sakura and Titania had decided to stay back a bit longer, and return only a few days later.

The surprising thing was Elara didn’t put up even the slightest fight with the idea, her arms remaining relaxed at her sides instead of crossing tightly over her chest like they usually did when something displeased her.

GASP!

D-Don’t tell me; does Elara want to have her revenge on them when they’re closer and more vulnerable?!

In the meeting, I realized she is actually not really the cute high school bancho I thought she was; at least, not completely.

She had brutalized some spies over the case regarding my disappearance, including some poor demons we will not hear from again, her strikes swift and merciless in the shadows of Verdant Spire.

Though, Lotus claimed to have a reset-type of magic that will allow her to do some stuff and the spies won’t remain "brain dead" and mindless afterward.

So... maybe Elara has some plan in store for Sakura and Titania?

Well, I think so...

But is it not a bit... No, it is really disturbing that Sakura and Elara shared a small mutual smile after Sakura insisted she stayed back.

Their eyes were meeting for just a heartbeat across the oval table with something unspoken passing between them.

What exactly is going on behind my back?

I realize that Sakura thinks the Amazons are nothing more than unusually intelligent wild animals, and Elara doesn’t even like people that much, living as a political recluse who prefers the quiet strength of her own people.

And Titania... she is very troublesome, always breaking things with a bright smile and apologizing while clearly planning the next bit of chaos.

So I can’t imagine that they were getting along at all.

Hah! The thing capable of bringing those three women together, or even making them friends?

It must be one hell of a valuable treasure. One that I think might not exist yet, haha.

Okay, back to the topic at hand:

After the meeting finished, I followed the rulers out of the grand hall, my steps echoing softly on the wide vine-covered stairs leading downward to the area not too far away where their rides were waiting patiently.

The outside of the foresty hall opened up into a breathtaking expanse of living architecture.

Massive wooden trunks rose like ancient pillars all around, their bark smooth and warm to the touch where they formed natural walls and colonnades.

While thick, emerald-green vines draped gracefully from branch to branch.

They were creating natural archways overhead that filtered sunlight into soft, dappled patterns across the ground.

Delicate flowers in shades of gold, crimson, and lavender bloomed directly from the living wood.

Their petals were swaying gently in the breeze and releasing a sweet, earthy fragrance that mixed with the rich scent of moss and fresh rain from earlier.

The wide regal stairs themselves spiraled downward in elegant curves, each step carved with intricate scenes of something old perhaps.

Things like blooming forests, and soaring mythical creatures, the edges lined with veins of sap that pulsed softly like living lanterns.

Seriously, I underestimated the Amazons in their ability to be this detailed.

Small streams of clear water trickled alongside the stairs in shallow channels, their gentle babbling adding a soothing melody to the descent.

At the bottom, the area where the rides waited resembled a fantasy version of a grand park — an open clearing ringed by towering trees whose canopies formed a natural dome high above.

Soft, velvety grass carpeted the ground, dotted with clusters of luminous flowers that brimmed faintly even in daylight.

Elegant carriages and majestic mounts stood ready: enormous winged beasts with shimmering scales shifting between emerald and sapphire, sleek elven bisen-like beasts with bat wings wrapped in silver straps, sturdy dwarf wagons pulled by massive winged unicorns whose horns gleamed like polished steel, and graceful Amazonian war-birds perched on specially grown perches, their feathers rustling as they preened.

Attendants moved quietly among them, adjusting saddles and reins while the rulers approached with measured strides.

Like, whoa!

I’m not saying Verdant Spire was like a dump or anything, far from it.

But seeing the quality of the hall we just left — with its towering ironwood pillars and living canopy — the staircase with those detailed carvings that told silent stories with every step, and this... fantastical version of a park spreading out before me...

Verdant Spire could be luxurious and regal too when it wanted to be.

The realization put a genuine smile on my face, as if I had just discovered that my country was far more awesome than I had ever given it credit for, the warm sunlight catching on the glowing veins and making everything feel alive and welcoming.

I stayed in Verdant Spire for quite some time, say two weeks or so, but I didn’t touch every nook and cranny during those days, always rushing from one place or treehouse to the next.

Maybe I should do that already — wander through the hidden groves, climb the spiraling tree towers wrapped in vines, and explore the quiet corners where the forest itself seemed to whisper things only the calm and patient could hear.