Hmm...
Wait, did this kind of desire count as evolution too?
The question flashed through his mind.
If it could not bloom, it could not spread or exchange pollen. That was hardly good for its growth, or for the Soothing Lily population.
Why would it have such an idea?
He was puzzled.
But he quickly realized that evolution did not necessarily have to improve a species' ability to propagate. What if this Soothing Lily wanted to keep its mana from dissipating so quickly, so its flowers would never wither?
Then would that not count as evolution for this individual plant?
It did not need to think about reproducing, only about its own mana and beauty... That seemed like a form of evolution too, and a perfectly reasonable one at that.
If more mana went to its flowers, the soothing mana in its bell-like tones would grow stronger, as would its pollen and nectar. How was that not evolution?
For the first time, Kroya sank into prolonged contemplation.
After a while, he began considering how to achieve this goal.
Honestly, this desire was quite novel, and it genuinely interested him.
"I think I could do it this way..."
First, it did not want to be picked. That was easy enough. It was only one Soothing Lily; he could simply leave it alone.
There also seemed to be a way to keep its flowers blooming for a long time.
According to the Sacred Spring Trade Guild's explanation,
a Soothing Lily took around two months from planting to accumulating enough mana for its flowers to be harvested. After its flowers were picked, it needed another six months before it could bloom again.
For most of the remaining time, the mana it accumulated gathered in the bulbous rhizomes at its base-the extra rhizomes were