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Tafel stood next to Mary, and behind them, Kim Hajun stared at the ground in front of his feet. They were standing in front of a cave, and at the entrance, there was a group of injured people lying on the floor. They were too exhausted to move, and they could only watch helplessly as a strange, black and red plant spread its roots all over them.
“What exactly is that plant?” Tafel asked.
“It’s a bush,” Mary said. The spherical bush wriggled upon hearing Mary’s voice, and the people underneath it whimpered as its roots dug through their clothes and wrapped around their skin. Tiny needle-like tendrils extended out of the roots, and they dug into the injured people’s flesh, not causing them any pain—similar to a mosquito’s bite.
“Okay.” Tafel nodded. “What is the bush doing?”
“It’s snacking on them,” Mary said.
“Snacking?”
Mary nodded. “I still haven’t named it yet,” she said and smiled at Tafel. “What do you think I should call it?”
Tafel blinked at Mary before turning her attention towards the bush on top of the wounded. It was spherical in shape with flat, waxy leaves hanging from blackish-red stems. Its roots were a shade of gray at first, but after snacking on the wounded, they were bright red and glossy. “Strawberry.”
“No,” Mary said. “You can’t name it after a food.”
“How about … Vampire?” Tafel asked.
“What if I’m killing vampires in the future?” Mary asked. “That wouldn’t do.”
“You sure have a lot of requirements for names, huh?” Tafel asked. She turned her head towards Kim Hajun. “Alright, you suggest some names, and we’ll pick from the options.”
Kim Hajun’s expression darkened. What was he, a random-name generator? “How about Bushy?”
“Denied,” Tafel said. “Aren’t you supposed to be wise beyond your years thanks to being a profit? Why do you have the naming sense of a five-year-old?”
Kim Hajun furrowed his brow. It was true. For some reason, he was plagued with a bad sense of naming. His white koi fish was called Whitey. His black koi fish was called Blacky. When his friend asked him to name a parakeet, Birdy was the name he had come up with. In that case, he’d pick the name of one of his friends. If it was good enough for his friend, then it must be good enough for a bush. “James?”
“No,” Mary said. “Why would you give a bush a common, human name? Think bigger.”
Kim Hajun exhaled through his nose. He raised his head and squinted at the bush in the distance. What did noble women like? Jewels. What did the plant’s roots look like? Rubies. “How about—”
“Leechy!” Tafel said, her eyes lighting up.
Mary’s brow furrowed. “It sounds nice, but isn’t that a fruit?”
“It’s not the fruit; it’s a homophone of the fruit I made up on the spot,” Tafel said and beamed. “Isn’t it fitting?”
Mary tilted her head and stared at the plant. The roots did look a little like engorged leeches. “I like it,” she said. “When Leechy’s done eating, I’ll tell it its new name. I think it’ll be quite happy.”
Kim Hajun tilted his head back to look up at the sky. Why did the demon tell him to pick a name if she was going to think of one by herself? Although he didn’t want it, it would’ve been nice to have given such a unique creature a name. Chances were it was going to be a respectable figure within the tower in the future.
“Leechy’s not going to kill them, is it?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow at the groaning people. After the roots entered their flesh, they had stopped resisting completely as if they were soaking in a hot bath after a long day at work.
“No,” Mary said. “If Leechy kills them, it won’t be able to drink their blood again. It knows better than to get rid of its food source completely.”
“You’re going to keep those guys as plant food?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Mary said and nodded.
Kim Hajun gazed at Mary’s back. It was no wonder why the Virtuous Hand was so ruthless. The leader of the guild was a psychopath. To her, human lives were just another positive or negative number in the equation of success. Actually, it seemed like Tafel and Mary were pretty good friends from Erde. In that case, was Mary the leader of the Virtuous Hand inside his prophetic dream, or was she another variable sent to mess up his mission of saving the tower?
“I don’t know where you’re going to keep them, but you’re not going to bring them to my residence,” Tafel said. “They’ll make the place smell like blood.”
“Don’t worry,” Mary said. “I’ll leave them at the Virtuous Hand’s residence. They won’t be able to escape.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It looks like Leechy’s done.”
Tafel and Kim Hajun turned to look at the black bush. Its roots receded from the wounded people, and small glittering orbs growing from its branches caught Tafel’s attention. Leechy waddled back towards Mary’s group, the orbs glittering in the light.
“What are those berry-looking things?” she asked. “They look like skill orbs.”
“They are skill orbs,” Mary said and crouched down while holding her arm out. The black and red plant climbed up Mary’s arm, making its way towards her shoulder like a large slug.
Kim Hajun’s eyes bulged as Mary plucked one of the orbs off of Leechy and offered it to Tafel. The demon blinked and raised it up. “This Sweat skill doesn’t seem very impressive,” she said. “It allows one to release extra sweat to cool off quicker.”
Mary shrugged. “The people Leechy absorbed skills from weren’t impressive,” she said and patted the top of the bush. “Your name is Leechy now, okay?”
The bush rustled its leaves.
“What did it say?” Tafel asked. “Does it like its name?”
“How would I know?” Mary asked. “I don’t speak plant.”