February 25. In Lanica City (Xing 8 Castle), although most of the Imperial Capital on the Gallop Plains was still covered in snow, and even Roseburg in northern Hindukush had seen snowfall, spring had already arrived in Lanica City (Xing 8 Castle), in the forests at the basin's southernmost edge.
Early that morning, Centaur Girl Kaiyi bounded back and forth across the castle's canopy of branches, checking the various Magic Plants growing among the treetops.
"Kaiyi, take a break!"
Vivian called from nearby. "The harpies are helping keep watch here. You're already a Senior Priestess; you can just stay in the temple."
Vivian was not only Vianis Oak, the lord of Lanica City's maid, and the mother of the Elf physician Gwenna Dante, but also an Elf Druid who had studied under Halcala and Ernst for a time. Through her own hard work, she had advanced beyond Mid-Rank, and now oversaw Magic Plant Cultivation throughout the city.
Vivian kept calling after her, but Kaiyi never took her eyes off the Magic Plant seedlings in their eggshells. "It's all right, Vivian. The Mother Goddess always teaches me that cultivation depends on our own hands!"
"You could teach more of the Mother Goddess's followers some cultivation techniques," Vivian said with a smile. "Elves and Half-Elves aren't like those pack horses. They'll be very grateful to the priests and clergy for the tasks they give them."
After Lanica City was established, Kaiyi began focusing on spreading the Earth Mother Goddess's faith among the Elves living there, and opened the city's first Temple of Abundance.
Previously, Kaiyi had tried to teach the pack horses of the Gallop Plains about the Earth Mother Goddess's faith. Though she gained very few followers, her months of experience as a priestess had made her more patient, and she