Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 324. Cinderielle’s Second Attempt.

Cinderielle left right away according to Liu Shu’s wishes, but the image of that mysterious door stuck in her mind. Many thoughts swirled in her mind, but eventually, she didn’t really reach to any conclusion. 

Meanwhile, Liu Shu was feeling restless. She muttered in complaint. “Why didn’t Cinderielle stop when I told her? Touching here and there… pervert. Hmph. I won’t let her come near me ever again. Hmph.”@@novelbin@@

The Arboreal Winged Serpent heard Liu Shu’s mutters and chuckled. “Don’t be like that. She probably discovered something there and was investigating. Touching here and there to make sure you are okay is not her fault.”

Hearing the calming and reassuring hisses of the snake, Liu Shu slowly calmed down. What the serpent said, Liu Shu naturally understood. Still, the complex feelings that burnt inside of her were so strange and fearful that she became a bit afraid. ‘It felt as if my reason was slowly slipping away… Many strange impulses coming to me with each of Cinderielle’s touches…’

Tempting as it was to sink herself in that feeling, Liu Shu feared losing all rationale and following those instincts. ‘I’ve gained my intelligence for a few years already. Even then, there are so many things I have yet to understand.’ 

A sigh escaped her, and she looked skyward. With her height having reached over 600 meters, Liu Shu’s World Tree eye could reach several kilometers into the sky, enough to see low-hanging clouds. “Clouds… I didn’t expect to see them this soon. I wonder if one day I will be able to reach one of them with my branches?”

“What are you going to do now?”

The question of the serpent hit Liu Shu right on. “Um…”

The tone was enough to make this serpent understand. “Liu Shu, you can’t put it aside and do it later. You need to come to a conclusion quickly.”

“Ugh… Why? It’s not like it is urgent, right?”

The serpent didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Do you really think that a mysterious space inside of your body that you can’t even look at is not strange?”

Liu Shu humphed. “Humans and other species can’t look into their bodies, so what’s wrong with me being unable to do the same?”

“Liu Shu.”

The gentle tone in how the serpent called made the World Tree’s resoluteness falter. 

“You need to make sure to check it, okay?”

Our World Tree sighed again and muttered an answer softly. “... Okay. I’ll call Cinderielle tomorrow again.” 

The Arboreal Winged Serpent didn’t dislike her decision. Wait a day to collect her emotions, and try again tomorrow. “Great~.”

Liu Shu looked at the serpent and giggled. 

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing~.” Liu Shu said softly. “I am glad I chose your race when I had the options. Nothing more.”

The Serpent was slightly surprised, but then a gentle expression appeared on her face. “I am glad you chose us too, Liu Shu. Even our God Ancestor was quite delighted about it.”

“Woah… Such a grand name… Is that the big eye I saw that day?”

The serpent laughed wryly. ‘Big eye, eh? Haha.’ “Indeed, that’s them.”

Liu Shu hummed. “I see~.” 

After the small conversation, Liu Shu waited for the next day. While doing so, she just observed her surroundings while also preparing a large amount of roots to enter into Wall Forest territory. She had tried unsuccessfully entering the Dark Aether Swamp, and she wanted to probe the other major location. 

Hours were fleeting, and before she noticed it, the Sun was rising on the horizon, gently illuminating the world with its radiance. The World Tree looked toward Cinderielle’s house and observed her morning.

The Fire Sylvan slowly woke up and set aside the blanket covering her. Liu Shu became a bit embarrassed at what she saw. Cinderielle was wearing almost nothing when sleeping. She had a loose cropped top and a pair of shorts slightly shifted down due to recently waking up. The perfect and athletic curves of the woman were mouthwatering, showing nothing but stimulating one’s imagination. 

The Fire Sylvan sat up and yawned, stretching her arms and legs with a pleasant moan. Then, she stood up, her eyes half-closed, and approached a faucet in the bathroom at the side. She used a bit of soap, cleaning her hands, and then she washed her face. With water splashing her face, Cinderielle woke up completely and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. “Hm~. What should I wear today? I need to look good for Tiantian~.”

She struck a pose or two in the mirror and raised an eyebrow. “My figure has become quite good, eh? I wonder if Liu Shu likes mine more than Verdantia’s?”

When that woman crossed her mind, she scowled slightly. “That sinful body. Tsk. If she were fighting in the frontlines, she might slap her own face with her breasts!”

Liu Shu mentally spluttered. ‘Does she scold Verdantia in this way all morning? Hahaha.’

The Sylvan moved toward the kitchen and smiled. “Good morning, House. How are you doing today?”

A few branches hanging on the walls moved, waving happily. Cinderielle chuckled and approached a cabinet, opening it to reveal neatly arranged food items. “Hm~. Let’s have something sweet for breakfast today. I need my daily sugar and minerals!”

As a plant creature, Cinderielle’s diet was similarly focused on what plants ate. Meat was nice and nutritious for Sylvans, but fruits and other items were more common for them to eat. Other than that, a Sylvan could also create food on their own through a process similar to photosynthesis. Of course, because of their large energy expenditure compared to a regular plant, it was not something they could live off of.

After eating breakfast, Cinderielle went to her wardrobe and changed into a gorgeous deep green dress. It had beautiful golden flower embroideries, and the skirt was loose, easily flowing with her steps. Over the dress, she put on a rich brown coat, complementing her clothes with an article of autumn-themed clothing. 

She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned slightly. “Hm… The golden flowers and the brown coat… ugh.” She went back to the wardrobe and changed her rich brown coat into a soft beige one. Looking at herself in the mirror, a more satisfied smile spread on her lips. “Better. It makes everything look more gentle~. I don’t want to appear too overbearing.”

As for shoes, she put on a pair of comfortable boots of the same color as her coat that wouldn’t bother her even if she had to fight. 

Liu Shu thought to herself. ‘Honestly, with how pretty she is, almost anything she wears looks good.’

With fiery red hair and gentle orange-colored eyes, some colors would definitely feel off on her. Regardless, her confidence and charm were too overpowering to make clothes matter that much. 

After choosing the clothes, she went back to the bathroom and combed her hair. She never usually puts on makeup, but today, thinking that Liu Shu might call her again, she decided to enhance her beauty very slightly with transparent lipstick and moisturizing cream. It enhanced her natural beauty without changing it. 

Cinderielle walked out and waited for a few seconds at the entrance of her house. Liu Shu was curious as to what she was waiting for. She didn’t have to wait much longer until Cinderielle looked toward herself and called her. “Liu Shu.”

“Hwah!?” The World Tree was startled. She had been spying on her since the morning, so she had a bit of a guilty conscience. She answered, slightly flustered; it was rare for Cinderielle to call her by her name instead of her nickname. “Y-Yes? What’s wrong, Cinderielle?” 

The Fire Sylvan’s eyebrows raised, and she smiled to herself. ‘Is she shy because of what happened yesterday?’

Cinderielle felt amusement bubbling up, but she controlled her laughter. Instead, she spoke up. “Tiantian, let me enter that place again. I promise I won’t touch around as much as yesterday.”

The Sylvan expected a barrage of complaints to come her way the second she finished her sentence. Instead, what she met was a moment of silence. To be honest, Cinderielle had decided not to bring it up and just let Liu Shu call her again. However, she changed her opinion when she exited her tree house and looked toward Verdantia’s, Tempestria’s, and Harmonixia’s. ‘If I don’t take the initiative, these crafty flytraps might steal my Tiantian’s first first!’

When no answer reached her after a few seconds, Cinderielle frowned faintly, slightly worried. “Tiantian?”

“Okay.”

“Huh?” 

Cinderielle’s eyes widened. “You agreed?”

Liu Shu harrumphed. “Did my screams yesterday hurt your hearing? I said okay!”

Happiness bubbled inside her. However, Cinderielle didn’t dare show it too blatantly. The Fire Sylvan raised her arms and chuckled. “Okay, okay. Don’t get mad, Tiantian.”

Without delaying much more, Cinderielle walked toward Liu Shu at a rather fast pace. Two minutes later, Cinderielle crossed the inner farming ring around the World Tree and arrived in front of Liu Shu.

Like yesterday, a branch stretched down and picked her up, unhesitantly placing her in the World Tree’s belly button. Unlike yesterday, Cinderielle didn’t hear Liu Shu speak a single word. She couldn’t help but tease slightly. “Are you nervous?”

“W-Who is nervous?” Liu Shu snapped instantly, causing Cinderielle to chuckle. 

After a bit of walking, the Fire Sylvan reached in front of the Seven-Petaled circular door. She had spent a lot of time yesterday in the library and in her house thinking about how to deal with this. However, she found nothing. The only thing she could trust was her gut feeling.

Cinderielle walked forward and raised her hand, touching the petal with fire symbolism around it. Liu Shu shuddered slightly when Cinderielle did that, but she didn’t protest. Unlike yesterday, Cinderielle was placing her hand there without rubbing that strangely sensitive surface. 

The Fire Sylvan crossed eyes, and then, she moved her Fire Aether Mana and poured it slowly into the petal. ‘Please… work.’

Cinderielle had appeared tranquil. However, she was terribly nervous. Questions like. ‘What if I am not the Fire-related creature related to that petal? What if there is another one that Liu Shu hasn’t met yet? After all, Liu Shu was very young. She had so many years in front of her to know other fire-related creatures and get close to them.

When her energy touched the surface of the door, it sent an electrifying feeling across Liu Shu’s entire body. “Mmm~.” It was so penetrative and pleasant that a strange moan escaped her.”

If one looked at her face, Liu Shu was actually biting her lip sensually. Her eyes showed shyness and were slightly moist. Even the color on her cheeks had turned from the usual brown to a slightly bluish hue. 

Meanwhile, in front of the circular door, a gentle red light began to emit from the fire-patterns of the petal. These patterns then moved the red light toward the petal and started filling it from the tip toward the center. Cinderielle had her eyes closed, but she could feel the heat from the light illuminated her face.

The glow advanced until it reached around seventy percent, and then, it stopped. When that happened, Cinderielle felt an obstruction, and she stopped pouring energy inside the pattern. “Hm?” Looking up, the Fire Sylvan observed the lit-up patterns and the flower petal. ‘Why couldn’t I fill it-Huh?’

Cinderielle’s eyes opened wider as the circular door began rolling to the side, revealing a relatively large room.