Miyako, along with Satomi, followed Yuki through the castle corridors. From the way they were going, Miyako noticed they might be going towards somewhere on the rear of the castle. As they went, Miyako didn't feel as nervous as she had been recently, unlike Satomi, who was still cautiously looking around.

She didn't know where these feelings of ease came from. But it could be because of Yuki, he was different from his father. Yuki felt like a genuine person.

"Where exactly are we going, Yuki?" Miyako asked.

"That would ruin the surprise, no? Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be interested."

"You're not leading us to a trap, right?"

Yuki wryly smiled. "Why would you think that? But then again, I'm sure you don't trust me enough yet. But you'll see."

"What will I see?"

"A sign of hope, I suppose. For us all."

Miyako wondered what that meant exactly. What could be something here that could bring hope to everyone?

Miyako glanced beside her, seeing Satomi keeping a hand on her sword's hilt. It would seem she had become even more wary in this section of the castle. Likely because we were in an unknown part of the castle. There were still some servants, though there were fewer guards.

A short moment later, before they got to step out of the castle, Yuki turned towards the shadowy corner.

"You." He pointed with his finger. "Tell the others that there shall be no eyes that will follow us from here on out."

It was then that a ninja in dark clothing appeared from the shadows. Miyako took a step back, closely watching the ninja.

"My lord, are you certain?" The ninja asked.

"Yes."

The ninja glanced at both Miyako and Satomi. "We can't protect you if something happens."

"I can handle myself. Besides, they are my guests. They have no intention of harming me."

Indeed, and it would be incredibly stupid trying to harm the son of the lord in the middle of their castle. It would cause a lot of trouble, which some may be deadly.

"But—"

"Go now. That is an order. And do not even dare to report this to my father."

Miyako found it interesting that he would not let his father know about this.

"Understood."

With that, the ninja left. Presumably along with the other ninjas that were stationed around the area. Miyako noticed Yuki sounded a bit strict on that last line of order. Well, the ninja was being stubborn. Understandable, even Satomi would be the same if their charge was left alone with outsiders.

"We're close, so I had to get rid of them." He turned to the two of them with a smile. "Are you feeling a bit better now, Miss Satomi? Now that they're gone."

Satomi slowly nodded. "Yes."

"Excellent. Now please follow me."

They continued on until they arrived at a particular building. It was attached to the main building, with its entrance outside.

"What is this place?" Miyako asked, looking around.

"The outside is nothing special, but it's the inside." He opened the door and stepped inside. "Come in."

Miyako and Satomi glanced at each other, wary of what they might see, and the latter first stepped in for her lady's safety. Afterward, Miyako entered the building. It was a spacious place, the roof was made of glass, allowing sunlight to pass through. Inside, the scent was rich, and various kinds of smells filled the room. The place was cool, with plenty of ventilation on the sides.

The moment she saw what was inside, Miyako froze in place. Her eyes widened, and her breath was stuck in her throat. What she saw inside was incomprehensible, and yet wonderful. Inside was the impossible. Her eyes blinked a few times, trying to make sure she was not seeing an illusion.

Even Satomi, the skilled warrior, couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. Her mouth agape as she looked around.

"Welcome to my greenhouse!" Yuki said, spreading out his arms.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Greenhouse…?" Miyako turned towards him with a curious look.

"We learned that people from other lands have a building with a controlled environment where they place plants inside. So, we repurposed this building for that purpose."

"... How is this possible?"

Inside ‌this greenhouse were plants. But not like the dead, dark plants you'd see outside. The ones here were green and colorful. Miyako slowly stepped forward, looking closely at the strange plants. There was a plant that had colorful round things on its head. In her curiosity, she couldn't help but try to touch it lightly.

Yuki walked up beside her. "That's a flower."

"A flower? That's how real flowers are supposed to look like?"

"Yes."

Miyako smiled as she stared at the beautiful little thing, finding it incredible.

There was also another plant that was bearing a purple-colored round fruit. It was a small plant, but it was vibrant with life. And the fruit looked delicious at a glance.

"That's grapes."

"Grapes…? I've never seen something so whole…" The grapes she had seen here were wrinkly and dry looking. Like all the water was drained out of them.

Suddenly, Yuki plucked a ‌grape and handed it ‌to Miyako.

"W-What are you doing?" Miyako's eyes shot open in shock. "You just…"

"It's fine. It will grow another."

"B-But…" He did it so casually, despite knowing that something like this should be one of a kind here in the archipelago.

"Go and have a taste."

She looked down hesitantly. "A-Are you sure?"

He nodded with a smile. "I'm sure. Want me to feed it to you?"

Miyako frowned at his teasing. "No." And she quickly put the grape into her mouth. The moment she chewed, intense liquid and flavor filled her mouth. It was sweet and so tasty. She slowly chewed, savoring every bit of the fruit.

"Delicious, isn't it?"

Miyako nodded.

Yuki chuckled, feeling proud. "Take a look around more, take your time."

Miyako looked around. There were plants put in large pots and also small ones. Each ‌of the plants was something she had never seen before. It was mind-boggling that something like this could exist in this land.

She noticed Yuki touching the soil of one potted plant, rubbing it between his fingers. The plant had long stems and round leaves, radiant in the color of ​​green.

"The soil is a bit dry." He rubbed the dirt off his finger and grabbed a round, metallic container. There appeared to be water inside. "Miyako, want to give it a try?"

"What?"

"To water the plants."

"Water?"

"Like this." He tilted the container, and water sprinkled out towards the pot. Afterward, he presented it to her. "So?"

Miyako nodded and received the watering tool. She pointed at one pot and slowly tilted it, water started sprinkling out. "Like this?"

"Yup, and pour it gradually." A second later, he touched her hand, causing Miyako to flinch slightly. "And that's enough."

Miyako quickly stopped.

"Some plants only grow well with a good amount of water, with some dying when given too much."

That happens?!

Never could she imagine something like that was possible. She had imagined that the more water, the better it would be for plants.

"D-Did I pour the right amount?"

"Yes, yes, you did." He smiled. "Other plants need water, if you'd do the honor."

"... O-Okay. But guide me. I don't want to kill them."

Seeing the genuine concern on Miyako's face, Yuki briefly laughed. "Don't worry, I'll be here."

Miyako pouted for a moment before she started pouring water on the plants around. She was closely guided by Yuki, stopping her if she had poured enough water. For Miyako, this experience was surreal, but as the two of them got physically close, she felt some warmth in her chest. It was something good. She had not felt like this before. Even her face felt like it started to become hot. But she kept her composure.

Sometime later, they had flowered the plants that needed them. Miyako was still processing everything ‌here. Even the way she walked was too careful not to bump into any of them. The plants all looked so precious and fragile.

"How did you achieve all of this?" Miyako asked.

"This greenhouse is an experiment. Actually, my father started it. I ‌took it over only after he got so busy."

"Your father?" She didn't expect that Yoshio could think of starting something as amazing as this.

He touched the leaves. "The question we wanted to answer is: is it even possible for plants to prosper in this land? One of the early experiments you saw was the garden at the castle."

Oh that.

"But those are not real plants. Real nature is green, colorful, vibrant, ever-growing. And so, we looked beyond our shores."

"To the other lands? What did you do?"

"My father sent expeditions to learn about plants, and bring some samples."

"Which land did you go to?"

"Oh, the one nearest. The one to the north."

That's the continent Estelia's from.

"From there we learned about how to nurture plants. However, there were some saddening results."

"What?"

"We tried planting the plants from another land into ours. But they all wilted a short time later."

"..."

"We tried all kinds of plants, at different locations, even in controlled environments. The plants all died. However, we discovered that the plants we've yet to transfer to our soil were still alive in their pots."

Miyako's eyes widened, realizing something. "The problem was our own soil?"

"Yes. We learned that with a good amount of soil from another land, it is possible for the plants to stay alive. In a pot, we tried mixing the soil. One was mostly from another land, while the other had mostly our blighted soil."

"The latter was a failure, wasn't it?"

"Yes. The one with the soil mostly from another land had a healthy growing plant… But at that point, we realized that our islands might have been cursed indeed."

"... Did you try planting our native plants in a pot with soil from the continent?"

"Yes, and the plants still died."

Miyako lowered her head, distraught. "Then, is everything in our homeland… dead?"

"... It would seem so. However, we didn't give up." He looked around ‌the greenhouse. "Right now, we're growing as many plants as possible."

"Why are you doing this? This may be a problem you won't solve in your lifetime. And the resources alone…"

"Even so, we have to try. To achieve the hope we so dearly wished for."

"Hope for what?"

"For a beautiful Shinoroa."

Miyako lowered her head and slowly walked around. "Why show me this?"

"... I feel we are the same. And I felt you'd appreciate what we've achieved here. That you'd share my hope."

"... Hope."

The hope to have hope.

Miyako smiled, chuckling quietly.

"Indeed, you've done something incredible, Yuki. This place is beautiful… No, this must be the most beautiful place I've seen in all of Shinoroa. Thank you for showing me this. I love it."

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