Chapter 86 – The Screaming Wind Chime Flower

Chapter 86 – The Screaming Wind Chime Flower

“It’s always shaking around like this for no reason! Probably because all its leaves got plucked off and the stem was damaged—it can’t support this little bud anymore!”

Lilith said, “I heard Lady Amisha say that when it screams, the bud swells up like a big mouth. I really want to see that!”

“I do NOT want to pass out again. Two whole weeks! I wasted over three thousand Mana—do you know how many Cards I could have made with that!”

Even now, the thought made Mo Lan’s heart ache.

“Over three thousand!” Even Lilith sucked in a breath—she could feel Mo Lan’s pain.

Mo Lan couldn’t bear to think about it any longer. She looked at the unconscious young witches. “When are they going to wake up?”

They couldn’t exactly hold classes like this.

“Vasida and Sylph are both close to Advanced Sorceress level, and they took the potion, so they should wake up today. The third-years and second-years who’ve already reached Beginner level will probably need another two or three days. The ones still at Apprentice level probably won’t wake up until this weekend,” Lilith said.

“So noisy… Who’s crying? Is this…”

Mo Lan and Lilith were still talking when they heard a faint whimper. They looked down and met a pair of emerald-green eyes.

“Sylph, you’re awake?”

“Moira, Lilith, what happened to me…”

This was something Mo Lan was familiar with. She immediately filled Sylph in on the situation.

“The Wind Chime Flower? Right! I remember—when I woke up that morning, I saw it had grown a little bud. I just lightly touched it, and then…”

“And then the Wind Chime Flower let out a scream, and we all passed out,” Mo Lan said, glancing at the culprit beside them. “Whoa! What’s going on with it now?”

The completely bare Wind Chime Flower had pressed its entire budded head against the side of the crystal dome facing Sylph.

If the crystal dome hadn’t been a full three-hundred-sixty-degree enclosure, it probably would have been knocked over by now.

“Is that… Little Bell?” Sylph said in disbelief.

Little Bell was the name she had given this Wind Chime Flower.

The bud bobbed twice, as if nodding.

Somehow, Mo Lan could actually see a look of grievance on a flower. “Did it just nod? It did, right?”

“Yes.” Lilith shot to her feet. “I’m going to get Lady Amisha!”

Sylph was equally astonished. “Little Bell? Is that really you? How did you end up looking like this?”

She reached out and tapped the little bud through the crystal dome.

The bud shifted, nuzzling against her fingertip through the glass.

To Mo Lan, the scene looked exactly like a bullied little thing running to its mother to complain.

She was still pondering this bizarre sight when she heard Sylph say, “Why do I hear it calling me ‘Mama’? And it keeps saying ‘ow ow ow’?”

“???” Mo Lan’s face was pure bewilderment. “Where? I don’t hear anything?”

“You can’t hear it?” Sylph was equally confused. “Little Bell, is that you talking?”

She tilted her head, listening intently, as if she truly could hear the Wind Chime Flower speaking.

But all Mo Lan could see was the bud fidgeting restlessly—without making a single sound.

It didn’t even have a mouth. How could it talk?

Oh wait—it could scream!

But wasn’t the crystal dome supposed to be soundproof?

Before she and Sylph could puzzle it out, Lilith returned with Lady Amisha.

“Sylph, you’re awake?” The moment Amisha’s voice appeared—before she had even arrived—the supposedly “frail” Wind Chime Flower summoned strength from who-knows-where and launched itself straight upward. The force was so great that it lifted the heavy flowerpot and shoved the crystal dome up with it.

The Wind Chime Flower, pot, dome and all, landed right on Sylph’s lap.

The weight was substantial enough to make Sylph cry out in pain, but she still reached out to steady the crystal dome, keeping it from toppling over.

Clearly, the Wind Chime Flower had given that jump everything it had—some of its roots had been pulled out of the soil.

As Lady Amisha drew closer, the Wind Chime Flower shrank into a tight ball, desperate to burrow right into Sylph’s arms.

Unfortunately, it didn’t have the strength for a second jump.

Sylph held the flowerpot, utterly at a loss. “Since when can you jump?”

“It mutated.” Amisha seemed not to notice the flower’s fear at all. She leaned in for a closer look, then called out to her side, “Bi’er!”

A Green Leaf Sprite materialized beside her.

“Sylph, this plant is no longer an ordinary Wind Chime Flower. It possesses the ability to instantly stun any extraordinary being below Peak level. It’s very dangerous and needs to be kept under strict supervision.

From what we can tell so far, your Manifested Gift is related to plants.

Considering that you’ll need to study plants going forward to develop your Manifested Gift, you may use Greenhouse 23 in the botanical garden. This Wind Chime Flower, along with any magical plants you cultivate in the future, must all be grown exclusively in Greenhouse 23.

Bi’er is now the managing Sprite of Greenhouse 23. You can ask her about anything related to the greenhouse.”

“Sylphy! I’ll take good care of Greenhouse 23 for you!” Bi’er gave a little curtsy, lifting the hem of her skirt.

“Thank you, Bi’er.” Sylph gave the Sprite a small nod.

“Bi’er can also serve as a translator between you and your plants,” Amisha continued. “When you’re not sure what abilities a plant you’ve cultivated has, you can have Bi’er ask it.

This Wind Chime Flower… it’s extremely stubborn. It refused to communicate properly until you woke up.

So far, we’ve only managed to interrogate a tiny bit of information out of it.

Its bud must not be touched. Touching it triggers a scream that can put every living being within a five-hundred-meter radius into a stunned state.

Breaking free of that stun takes a very long time. Its leaves are the antidote—they can wake a person up quickly, but one leaf can only revive one person immediately.

As for the rest, why don’t you try asking it yourself?

This sound-dampening dome only blocks extremely loud sounds that have a harmful effect. Normal speaking volume won’t be affected.”

At those words, an embarrassed look crossed Sylph’s face. “Um, Headmistress… I think I can hear it talking…”

“You can hear it?” Amisha showed a flash of surprise, but quickly connected the dots. “Perhaps it’s related to your Sorceress Talent. What is it saying?”

Sylph looked deeply conflicted, as if she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Hah!” Amisha let out a cold laugh and fixed the flower with a dangerous look. “Is it badmouthing people again?”

The Wind Chime Flower trembled violently: (◎_◎;)

Sylph nodded guiltily.

Even while she had still been unconscious, she could hear it crying and whimpering, saying it was sorry and that it hurt.

Just moments ago, it had been tattling to her—saying some big meanie had bullied it and pulled out its leaves, and two little meanies had called it bald and big-mouth.

And now? All that was left was “scared scared scared.”

“It’s my fault. I didn’t know we could communicate with it back then, and I didn’t notice anything unusual about it. When I saw it had grown a bud, I just casually touched it. Its bud is ticklish—one touch and it can’t help but scream. That’s what knocked everyone out…” Sylph said apologetically.