Faye and Faylin, the twins Verdantia gave birth to, were currently playing on a swing made out of Green's branches. The swing was controlled by Green, so the chances of them falling to the ground were basically zero.
The height of the swing was almost twenty meters, and their laughter became louder and louder each time the swing came back down from the sky.
Verdantia looked at them, swinging back and forth with a complicated mood. There was a mix of worry and amusement, making her want nothing more than to drag them down from there. "Green… You can't pamper your little sisters that much."
Green answered softly with a chuckle. "You say that, but who was the one who didn't stay away from me after the war?"
Verdantia looked at her tree daughter and showed a disagreeing expression. "You were damaged from the aftershock. Do you think it is the same as this?"
Green laughed, using her roots to coil around Verdantia's waist. "Of course not, Mother. But trust me, even if I throw them, do you think that something will happen? Mom is also looking. Even if she isn't using her main consciousness, she has more than enough ability to catch them."
Verdantia sighed and patted Green's root. "Alright, alright. I won't complain anymore."
After raising so many children, Verdantia was more than an expert, so she knew when not to insist and just let the children experience things. "Oh, Green, I almost forgot."
"Hm?"
"Be careful with what you show Faye and Faylin. I've already restricted the other sisters, so I will tell you as well. Remember that they are Sylvans, not Alraune. Sexual things are not a natural development phase for them. Sylvans rarely even think of having partners before they are 50, so let them discover it themselves."
Green hummed. "I will try. However, Mom, you know that those girls are quite active with their partners."
"Well, you just need to be attentive to two babies. It's not that difficult, is it? They will stay with me most of the time, but I can't neglect the rest of my children now, can I?"
Verdantia held a young Alraune in her arms, latched to her large breast, drinking delightedly. Green answered with a deadpan. "If you stop producing babies with Mom, perhaps you wouldn't have this problem. You can already create a strong Dungeon Delving team with all my sisters!"
Verdantia answered with a snort. "As if I can stop! When you find a nice tree in the future, I will see if you don't get pollinated daily by them."
"Mom! Don't be perverted!" Green answered with an angry and shy tone. "Moreover, I am still young! Wait until I am around 500 years old before searching for a tree."
"Alright, alright. No need to react so exaggeratedly." Verdantia rolled her eyes, expertly burping the baby, then placing it in a crib by her side to sleep.
With a gentle move of her fingers, she slid the dress back in place and looked up. "Alright, Green, it is their time now."
Green asked, confused. "Hm? Wasn't today Mom's milk turn?"
Verdantia tilted her head and nodded. "Oh, you are right. I'll go inside to get it. In the meantime, slow down the swing."
As she was going to walk into Green, she heard Cinderielle calling her. "Verdantia!"
The woman paused, looking over. "Oh? Why are you all here?"
Tempestria answered, holding a very young Sylphaith and carrying Arlyn on her shoulders. "Shu'er told us to come. We are as clueless as you in that regard."
Harmonixia didn't have a child other than Meldy with her. She looked toward the World Tree and smiled. "Lian'er, you can tell us already, right?"
Hearing her name being called, Liu Shu's main consciousness arrived. "Hm? Are you already gathered? There was no need to rush."
Her gentle voice echoed around like a warm breeze, and all the children instantly broke into smiles. They could feel their mother's presence, which felt soothing on a soul level.
Tempestria sighed softly. "Shu'er, we walked over. We didn't rush it."
"O-Oh, right. Sorry, time keeps getting fuzzier."
The Sylvans glanced over with a smile. This was natural, and they were already accustomed to similar happenings. Therefore, they didn't comment on it.
Verdantia still went inside to get the World Tree's stored milk bottles. She even took a few extra for Harmonixia and the others.
After they all gathered around a round table, with Faye, Faylin, Pyralis, Arlyn, and Meldy sitting on their mothers' lap, Cinderielle started the conversation. "Why did you tell us to gather, Tiantian?"
Liu Shu didn't answer right away, ordering her ideas in her mind. After a few moments, she spoke. "I need to Level Up a lot."
Having been with Liu Shu for decades, they were quick on the uptake. Tempestria frowned, holding the bottle and feeding Arlyn. "How long will it take?"
"I… don't know." Liu Shu sighed. "This Level Up session can last longer or shorter depending on what Level I reach. If I manage to reach Level 150, then I'll take longer. If not, it will be less."
"Level 150?" Cinderielle asked, baffled. "How much experience do you even have?"
"Well… I have around 266 million."
"..." The four Sylvans were silent, their eyebrows twitching. They had also gained some experience during this war. But not nearly as much.
"Being a World Tree has its advantages." Tempestria sighed.
Harmonixia frowned as well. "We will need to go to the
Liu Shu chuckled. "That's true. Still, you are all very strong. I saw how you four, together with Flor and Ignatia, fought against those three
Harmonixia shook her head. "We were able to push them back easily because of your buffs. Without them, it wouldn't have been as easy."
Her words made Liu Shu snort. "My buffs are naturally yours. Why separate them from yourselves?"
Tempestria smiled wryly. "Honestly, we are a bit fearful that we will become dependent on your buffs. When we go into the
"...Really?"
Verdantia sighed. "Mine is even worse. Because of the
Even when they were sighing, Cinderielle snorted and exposed them. "Even when you say that, I know that we are fully able to deal with a
The others didn't deny it. Deep inside, they were quite confident in winning. Harmonixia gave Cinderielle a side glance. "Did you really have to say that? Have you become dulled because today was your turn with Liu Shu? If we feigned a bit of worry and weakness, Liu Shu would've pampered us later!"
Cinderielle froze, and her eyes widened. "How… how could I miss that? Was I really too mentally exhausted?"
Liu Shu felt like whipping their butts red. "Anyway, back to what we were talking about. I don't know how long it will take. I don't even know when I will start the Level Up. Still, I wanted you four to know that it might happen soon."
Cinderielle teased. "Your 'soon' or our 'soon'?"
"...I don't know." Liu Shu was awkward in that regard. She really couldn't control it.
The Tempest Sylvan had one question. "Why don't you start right away?"
"Various reasons." Liu Shu started. "First and most important, I don't want to be away from Faye, Faylin, Pyralis, Arlyn, and Meldy as they grow up. They are my first Sylvan children, so I want to be with them at least until they are a bit grown."
"Isn't that too long?" Harmonixia worried. "The enemies might return during that time, right?"
"They won't." Liu Shu shook her head. "Altherion and the others will take decades to return to Eclipse World, with how damaged the World-Type ships were. Once there, they will end up in a whole load of trouble. So, gathering a group to come here again will be something that won't happen for a while."
Tempestria was not convinced. "You are a bit too sure that your plan will work. What if something goes wrong? Liu Shu, your personal strength is one of, if not the most important. If you are weak, then all of us will fall. Sadly, for now, you are the first and last line of defense against invasions. We can only help reinforce this 'line'."
Liu Shu knew this. Still, she was insistent. "It doesn't matter what they do. If everything goes wrong and they come before I wake up, then Cael will intervene and make things political. The last thing the Nexus wants is to escalate the war for a distant part of the galaxy that doesn't hold any significant strategic value."
They weren't that convinced, but they didn't say much else. It was clear that Liu Shu had thought this through, so they would just go with it. They were ready to provide input, but they knew the information they had was not as thorough as Liu Shu's. So, at most, they could act as advisors for Liu Shu.
Liu Shu also knew that, but she would never disregard their opinions. In truth, their opinions were something Liu Shu took very seriously. "Anyway, let's leave those things for later. Now, let's spend time together. I want to be with Faye, Faylin, Pyralis, Arlyn, and Meldy."
Tempestria blinked. "Are you going to stop having our babies for a while?"
"Huh?" Liu Shu looked at Temepstria as if she were crazy. "Why would I do something like that?"
Even the other three were looking at Tempestria strangely, as if she had gone mad or something. Tempestria smiled wryly. "Don't misunderstand. I want to have babies as well, but since you didn't want to miss these children's infancy, I thought you would stop for a while to not miss the infancy of the others."
Liu Shu answered with a strange tone. "That… makes sense. But I feel that I don't really need to give as much attention to the Alraune children. They have always been quite independent. Ugh… Now I feel bad. Have I been—"
"No." Tempestria interrupted, knowing where all this was going. "You are right when you think that they do not need as much attention beyond their infancy. They are quite independent species. After all, they are monster-like in that regard. So, don't worry. You've been doing nothing wrong. The fact that you have a small consciousness with each of them until a certain age is much more than other World Trees would do for their hundreds of children."
Liu Shu smiled when she heard that. Then, the family proceeded to spend time together.