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Jinseong came back home after using teleportation multiple times, only to find the garden in disarray.

Before he left, the garden was indeed a mess, but it had some semblance of order; now, the ground was overturned, and its original shape was unrecognizable.

However, even in chaos, life has its persistence.

In the now chaotic garden, flowers and trees were busy at work, reminding anyone that the garden still thrived, with flowers moving small rocks with their leaves and trees transporting larger stones with their branches, showcasing that goodwill still existed on this land.

Jinseong muttered as he observed this touching scene.

“What on earth happened here?”

He blinked twice and moved toward the direction he felt a presence.

Yet, there were obstacles everywhere before he could reach his destination.

Walking without thinking, he was bound to bump into flowers or trees.

He couldn’t even count how many times he almost collided with flowers shifting gravel, and there were three close calls with trees that were using their sharp roots like octopus legs to carry stones. Moreover, each time he nearly bumped into them, the trees shook their branches as if warning him, which was truly absurd.

Finally, after maneuvering through the obstacles, the first sight that greeted him at the source of the presence was Iarin, waving her arms around like a traffic officer.

Iarin was perched on a large rock, laughing heartily as if she were having the time of her life.

Below her, the flowers organized themselves in perfect harmony with her movements. The flowers used their roots like legs, their leaves and stems like hands, dutifully following her directions. When Iarin pointed to a spot, they would rush over, dumping or collecting gravel, and when she gestured, they lined up in a row along the designated path. Moreover, whenever Iarin playfully saluted, they would respond by moving their stems as if the petals were saluting back at her.

It was indeed a bizarre spectacle.

But the bizarre sights didn’t end there.

Not far from Iarin, there was an enormous pile of sand seemingly acquired from nowhere, and Iserin was lounging in it, enjoying a sand bath.

Perhaps using her powers, she covered herself with the warm sand as if it were a blanket, sporting an expression of pure bliss reminiscent of someone stepping into an electric heating pad during winter. To top it off, there were two small trees beside her, leaning against each other to provide shade, and if she kept her mouth open for too long, they’d move their roots to fetch fruits from a basket to drop right into her mouth.

‘Considering the size of the shade, I bet there’s a demon over there.’

Jinseong turned his gaze from Iserin and walked toward Iarin.

Iarin, busy directing the flowers, lit up upon spotting him.

“Hey, brother! Where have you been?”

“Just took a brief tour.”

Jinseong lightly replied to her question, which seemed more like a complaint to herself, and pointed at the flowers standing at attention.

“What are those?”

“Huh? They’re flowers!”

“I can see that.”

“Oh, you mean why they’re walking? They say if you use witchcraft, you can make them do this!”

“I also know that. I’m simply asking how this is possible and why the garden is in such a state.”

Upon hearing that, Iarin’s eyes sparkled.

Then she jumped off the stone and scurried over to Jinseong.

“Wow, brother! It was amazing, you know?”

Iarin spewed out words as if she’d been waiting for him to ask.

She reminded him of a chatty person who had just been allowed to speak after having their mouth sewn shut for three days.

“The Great Witch saw the garden and frowned, right? And she made an uncomfortable face at the house decorations too. But after you left for a while and had dinner, she just exploded! She couldn’t stand this stateless meal, saying she couldn’t even tolerate this chimera-like mess of a place, and insisted she’d fix everything….”

In the flood of her words, Jinseong skillfully picked out the information he wanted to hear.

‘Hehe, she really couldn’t control her temper.’

He could almost visualize the Great Witch getting angry.

When it comes to having a bad temperament, she’d rank pretty high. Fortunately, her anger was just barely kept in check when she inspected the garden and artworks because Jinseong was there, but without him and after having overly lavish yet fundamentally flawed meals, her patience must have reached its breaking point.

‘Before the rewind, her temper was so fierce that all the mercenaries stayed clear of her. I wonder what it was like this time.’

As Jinseong pondered this, he continued to listen to Iarin’s chatter.

“I’ve never seen our cranky elder like that! Wow, the original cranky person is truly something else. I could tell it by how she treated Ella; our drama queen mother-in-law from morning dramas couldn’t even begin to compare!”

Iarin briefly paused to glance around before leaning in, as if afraid Odilia might overhear, and whispered into his ear.

“You know, I noticed her personality was broken ever since she started harassing Ella. Wow, she was downright gloriously cranky.”

As she whispered, she playfully leaned close to Jinseong, but upon realizing she was all sweaty, she subtly stepped back.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she slightly opened the distance and continued her story.

“Our cranky elder insisted it was no issue and that she put it together in her own way, questioning what the problem could be. Then she rambled about how Japanese gardens and the freedom of English gardens and all that… Art? Um, whatever. When we visited the art museum during school, she made it sound complicated and important, just like when a pretty lady explains it. Yeah, then….”

Iarin twirled a lock of her hair with her finger and chuckled.

Recalling that moment, she burst into laughter again.

“Wow, usually, after hearing our elder complain, I’d be mad too, but I couldn’t be angry because what she said was too outrageous and funny.”

“Hmm.”

“She said something like this? ‘Brother, just wait a moment!'”

Iarin laughed a few more times and then completely changed her expression, adopting a serious look in a way that mimicked the Great Witch.

She scrunched her face and raised her voice slightly, trying to impersonate her tone.

“‘Who are you to retort when an adult is speaking! How old are you?!'”

“Ha.”

“‘Who do you think you are, staring defiantly! If a grown-up is speaking, you should listen and respectfully offer your opinion! What’s wrong with me providing you advice that’s beneficial? What’s the problem?!'”

Iarin finished her impression and was giggling like mad.

“Wow, seriously. Seeing a person who looks like an older sister act this way is just ridiculous. But then again, she is older than us… puzzling.”

“Hmm. Still, there’s no denying it was rude.”

When Jinseong remarked, Iarin shook her head dismissively.

“It’s fine. Sure, it was rude, but more than feeling bad, it was just absurd. Besides, after she blurted that out, she regained her senses and apologized politely. Then she offered to redo the whole garden and decor as an apology. All at her expense. Plus, she even said she’d actively help when the Gwangyang group expands into Germany, so isn’t that a sweet deal?”

With that, she wore a sly smile.

Then, as if it were a secret, she covered her mouth and mischievously said:

“And, um, I’ve been thinking it would be nice to change the decor and meals too. Good things for everyone, right?”

Iarin said that and then hopped back onto the rock. She waved her hands, calling the flowers back, and resumed her earlier commands.

Jinseong quietly gazed at her for a moment before heading inside.

As he made his way to his room, he ended up running into the Great Witch.

“Yikes.”

The Great Witch startled at the sight of Jinseong, almost as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

Odilia, appearing frightened as if she had been caught misbehaving, took a step back from Jinseong. Then she stole a small glance at him and cleared her throat before speaking.

“Uh… You’ve arrived?”

The way she turned her eyes looked like a guilty puppy trying to avoid a gaze. Jinseong watched her and approached her.

“How could you commit such rudeness?”

“Ahem. Hmmm.”

Under his scrutinizing gaze, the Great Witch coughed a few times and looked away.

Yet, unable to withstand his unwavering look, she finally squeezed out an explanation.

“Isn’t this a bit too much…?”

It was a truly childlike excuse.

 

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