Chapter 203: Fertiliser

To make sure everything looked natural, Howl was instructed to pull more vegetation over himself, bending vines and shrubs until his massive form blended into the surroundings. Lily’s Treant even uprooted several medium-sized trees with sheer brute force, dragging them across the Colossus’ body. With its Nature affinity, it guided the torn roots back into the soil, coaxing them to regrow as if they had never been disturbed. Niri assisted as well, her presence subtly accelerating the process.

At last, Leo brought out all the magic plants he had previously gathered and planted them across the plateau region. The druid practically lit up when it saw its food restored, immediately rushing forward and munching away with a visibly pleased expression. Leo noticed that under the influence of the Fluxsoil Heart, the rate at which these plants produced fruit noticeably increased. At that pace, they would bloom at least twice within the same day.

At first, Leo considered harvesting the surplus and selling it later. But that thought vanished when he saw the druid devouring the plants like an endless pit. So much so that heits expanded body, growing to nearly seven meters tall, before it continued eating without pause. It was then that Leo realised the leftover berries would barely be enough for them on a daily basis.

That was when a glaring issue suddenly struck him.

"Where will all his shit go?" he muttered.

Almost immediately, he felt an intent transmitted from Howl.

When Leo understood it, his eyes lit up.

"Oh! So you can convert waste into energy for yourself and use the leftovers as fertiliser? That solves one major issue."

With that, one of the biggest problems of territory management—sanitation—was effectively resolved. People would only need to connect pipes underground; the rest would be handled by Howl.

Miho was tasked with sprinkling water across the plateau to make the area humid and natural. Lily assisted by generating additional vegetation using her skills. Meanwhile, Leo focused on reshaping the plateau itself, roughening the terrain with his earth manipulation to give it a more organic feel.

After almost three hours, everyone gathered around the Titanbreath Lotus. Miho was completely spent, lying flat on a grassy patch near the bark. Even Lily looked visibly tired. However, with the Fluxsoil Heart continuously thickening the mana density in the surrounding region, they began recovering quickly. Lily and Niri, in particular, with their higher mana absorption rates, could almost function like perpetual machines—though mental fatigue was still unavoidable.

When Lily noticed Miho’s state, she sighed.

"We need to solve the water problem soon. She alone can’t handle the whole territory."

Hearing that, Miho immediately sat upright and forced a smile.

"Big sister, I’m fine. I can work more," she said, though her trembling body betrayed her exhaustion.

Leo stepped in.

"No need to overexert yourself. I’ll try to tame a water beast soon—one with a passive effect that continuously condenses water around it. That way, we can build a reservoir on the Colossus’ back, and a huge burden will be lifted from your shoulders. But until then—"

"Don’t worry, Master Leo! I’ll do my best until then!" Miho declared, before promptly collapsing back onto the grass.

Now surrounded by people who genuinely cared for her, Miho refused to slack off. She had already decided to give everything she had, determined never to be discarded again—never like when Alric had sent her off to die.

After filling themselves with berries—which also boosted their stats slightly—they waited another hour for the mana density to increase further. Leo observed that every two hours, the druid would emerge from its cave and sit beside the Fluxsoil Heart, meditating for five minutes. Each time it did, the surrounding environment became noticeably calmer and more stable.

For a brief moment, Leo considered bringing out the Elasian Aether Bloom as well. In the Spiritual Space, it could only produce flowers and couldn’t advance in rank due to the lack of blood. But he refrained. A Low Red-Tier Treasure was far too valuable. He even suspected that the inspector sent for verification might attempt to steal it.

His concern didn’t end there. The Titanbreath Lotus itself was a Low Yellow-Tier Treasure—valuable enough to benefit a fifth-rank being. Even professors might be tempted by it, especially those at the lower end of the fifth star.

He pondered for a while, until an idea formed.

"Oh, wait. Since Howl is already my contracted beast, moving the treasure into my Spiritual Space won’t sever the guardian connection."

Acting immediately, Leo placed his hand on the bark of the Titanbreath Lotus and willed it into his Spiritual Space. At nearly twenty meters tall, transporting it required a massive amount of mental energy, leaving behind a thick, irregular hollow beneath the soil where it once stood.

Howl let out a low, rumbling growl that reverberated through the forest as his power supply was cut off, but he didn’t protest.

<Note: The beast guardian contract between beast ’Howl’ and treasure ’Titanbreath Lotus’ has not been severed>

Leo nodded in satisfaction, while Lily and Miho stared at him in disbelief.

"For something that large to be stored..." Miho muttered. "That spatial artefact must be very expensive."

"Even the one the Lord of the house had—only capable of storing small items—cost around fifty gold..." she added.

Leo’s mouth formed an ’O’.

"Looks like Lily will finally have something to show off after we get back to Aurelius Hall."

"What? I can’t buy it! Fifty gold coins is around 125000 AC. I only have about 115000 AC. I’ll go into debt!" Lily protested.

Hearing Lily throw such a large number with a prefix of ’only’ attached to it, Miho felt embarrassed since she only had around 15000 AC.

Leo’s lips curled into a sly smirk.

"You can always borrow it from me... in exchange for some services."

Lily’s face instantly flushed red when she realised what he meant.

"I-Idiot! Don’t say stupid things in front of Miho!" she said indignantly.

Meanwhile, Miho looked totally confused, struggling to understand what Leo had said wrong.

Leo simply shook his head and turned back. To check everything was alright, he brought the tree back out again.

With a crisp sound, the Titanbreath Lotus reappeared in the exact same spot, unchanged in the slightest. At that moment, another notification appeared before his eyes.

Ding!

<Initiate?>