Chapter 107: Agnes and the Tree
“Come, repeat after me, stone.” Flora held a stone in her hand, smiling warmly at Agnes.
“Stone…” Agnes obediently repeated after Flora. Although she couldn’t speak Elvish now, her Common Tongue still carried a slight elven accent, with occasional playful trills, sounding quite adorable.
“How did things turn out like this?” Leona whispered to Abyss, who was sitting nearby.
Abyss shrugged: “Although I don’t know why Flora is teaching Agnes to speak, it seems Agnes learns quite quickly. She remembers any word after just one repetition. Maybe in another day, she’ll be able to talk to us normally.”
“That amazing?” Leona was astonished. Learning the Ancient Tongue required for magic had been much more painful for her than this seemed for Agnes.
Flora seemed to overhear Abyss and Leona’s conversation. She smiled faintly, not stopping Agnes’s early childhood education, and said to them through the mind link: “I know Agnes’s memories and knowledge will return someday, and I don’t expect to reteach her everything. But I thought if I could help her learn some simple conversation temporarily, fully activating the language centers in her brain, it might help her regain her former abilities sooner. Like rehabilitation training after an injury.”
“Huh, Flora’s idea is great,” Abyss couldn’t help but nod in approval. “Indeed, if we can get Agnes to use her brain more now, it might really promote the integration of the memories in her soul with her new body. Once her memory recovers, we can also understand the ins and outs of past events.”
Abyss felt it was necessary to know some of the secrets hidden within Agnes. Especially why she had planned to visit Flora, someone she seemingly had no connection with.
“Come, Agnes, look outside. This, this, and this, these are trees,” Flora took Agnes’s hand again, pointing to the ubiquitous trees outside the window, introducing them to her.
“Tree,” Agnes blinked her large eyes, repeating innocently.
“Right, these are all trees. You can also call them like this—” Flora said, then repeated in Elvish, “Tree.”
“Mm! Tree!” Agnes seemed happy to have learned a new noun. Her sweet little face didn’t show much expression, but her eyes shone brightly.
After learning this noun, she suddenly turned her head towards Leona, who was sitting there observing. Staring at the clueless Leona for a while, she crawled over on all fours like an infant, pointed at Leona, turned back to Flora, and said repeatedly: “Tree! Tree! Papa! Tree!”
“Hm? What tree?” Flora was confused by Agnes’s sudden baffling behavior. What did Leona – or rather, Abyss’s body – have to do with a tree right now?
Leona was also puzzled. She scratched her head, thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed “Oh!” in realization.
Then, she reached out, patted Agnes’s shoulder, shook her head seriously, and said: “Silly child, what you’re talking about isn’t a tree.”
“Tree! Tree!” Agnes persisted stubbornly.
Leona proudly pointed at her own crotch: “This, isn’t a tree. This is called a little wee-wee. Learn from me, little wee-wee—”
Flora never expected Leona to suddenly say such a thing and was instantly dumbfounded.
Agnes, however, blinked her eyes, pointed insistently at Leona, and said: “Tree! Tree!”
“Uh, Leona, she might not be talking about that part of you… I think she might really be talking about a tree…” Abyss poked Leona with his finger, reminding her softly.
“Hm? Am I wrong?” Leona looked back at Abyss in surprise.
“Do you remember what I told you before, about what the Lord of Nightmares looked like after I subdued him? His power is currently still inside my body. Could Agnes be talking about that tree?”
“Eh? Is… is that so?” Leona suddenly remembered what Abyss had told her about the Lord of Nightmares. Her face instantly turned beet red, and because she was currently using Abyss’s living body, her face flushed like a cooked crab.
“Little wee-wee, no! Tree! Yes!” Agnes emphasized her point using the Common Tongue she had just learned from Flora.
“Ah… seems like it really is… Why are you all looking at me like that! Isn’t it because I want to give the child the best education! Sex… sex education shouldn’t be lacking either!” Leona instantly panicked and started trying hard to explain herself, “What! It’s not like I’m teaching her this because I’m lecherous! I really am purely acting out of a sense of responsibility!”
“Papa, lecherous?” Agnes tilted her head, repeating Leona’s words.
“No, no!” Leona almost wanted to find a hole to crawl into, but then resignedly said, “Ah, forget it. Anyway, I’m using ABC’s body now, it doesn’t matter if I’m misunderstood.”
“Compared to reputation, I’m more interested in how Agnes saw the Lord of Nightmares’ power inside me,” Abyss leaned his face forward with interest and asked Agnes, “Tell Mama, where is the big tree?”
“Tree!” Agnes obediently pointed towards Leona’s heart.
“Very interesting…” Abyss narrowed his eyes slightly. “Flora, this task is yours. Please, during the three days Leona and I are swapped, try your best to give Agnes basic expressive abilities. She might have the ability to nurture the Lord of Nightmares. If so, we will soon gain another powerful ally.”
“Mm, leave it to me. Agnes learns very quickly, and it seems she isn’t just learning; she’s actually gradually awakening her past memories. Otherwise, such speed would be impossible,” Flora agreed confidently. “Learning a language requires repetition, but she doesn’t need that step. I don’t think her confusion state will last long!”
As she spoke, Agnes suddenly began uttering a string of tongue-twisting words.
The group quickly recognized she was speaking Ancient Tongue; she was casting a spell.
As she cast, a miniature image of a large tree was projected into the air – the very giant tree Abyss had seen in his dream before.
It seemed using magic had already become an instinct for Agnes.
Abyss became increasingly interested in her. He also began to wonder, for what purpose did his martial uncle Prodo want to obtain the power of the Sage’s Blood?
And after so many years of failing to obtain it, would Prodo have started looking for some other substitute?
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