Birthday Surprise in Progress (4): Cartethyia

Ever since that meeting about preparing a birthday surprise for Dania, Cartethyia has been thinking about what kind of gift would be appropriate for Dania.

Hmm... By the way, she spent an entire night reading through all the story texts about Dania online in order to pick out a suitable gift for Dania, and even reviewed her personal storyline twice.

The result is--

"Um... did you notice that Cartethyia's sword-wielding style is even more ferocious than before...?"

"Yeah, yeah, this is the fifth doll she's broken already, even though the swords she uses for training haven't even been sharpened..."

Inside the kendo club, all the club members, both men and women, were watching Cartethyia, and hushed discussions arose from the crowd.

Although it's called a kendo club, it's actually more of a performance-oriented club. While learning kendo, it also helps students improve their physical fitness.

But Cartethyia is different. She's a true martial arts expert. She always holds back when participating in club activities, otherwise, if she gets serious, one strike from her sword will shatter the puppet and the floor together.

Cartethyia glanced at the doll she had smashed yet again, perhaps realizing she had used too much force. After a soft sigh, she put the already dulled training sword back in its place, changed her clothes, and hurriedly left with her small bag, leaving the other club members watching her go with shocked and worried eyes.

Even though she knows that Dania is now living the life she once longed for, Cartethyia still can't let go of her past experiences.

In a sense, Dania was lucky; her self-sacrifice brought her good fortune, allowing her to live happily in this world as an ordinary girl.

But what if her self-sacrifice only results in endless nothingness?

That was an ending Cartethyia absolutely did not want to see, and Dania would ultimately choose to sacrifice herself, with Fractsidus a crucial role.

They were, after all, a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters, whose motto was to kill as much as possible if they couldn't kill them outright.

So today, Cartethyia was in quite a temper, and her personality didn't seem as approachable as before.

After leaving the Kendo Club, Cartethyia's next stop is the Gardening Club.

The gardening club is relatively relaxed, with no group activities; most of the time, club members take care of their own flowerbeds.

Cartethyia picked up the watering can labeled with her name from the neatly arranged containers, then walked to her flowerbed and carefully watered the flowers there.

The beautiful flower fairies were overjoyed by this heavenly rain. The flowers, covered with dewdrops, swayed gently, as if expressing their excitement.

Cartethyia found solace in this, but not much.

She wished the members of the Fractsidus would come along too, so she could catch a few of their Fractsidus dogs to vent her anger. But she knew very well that if the Fractsidus members came, this world would probably no longer be able to maintain its peaceful and tranquil status quo.

"Ha..." Little Cart sighed softly, his emotions still unsettled.

"What's wrong, Cart Cart Thyia? I could hear you sighing from far away."

The voice was all too familiar to her. Cartethyia patted her smooth little face, put on a bright smile, and turned around.

"Righteous One, you've come?" she said in a sweet voice.

"When did our adorable Little Cart learn Sichuan opera? Her face changes so fast!" Xiao Ling flicked her forehead.

Cartethyia let out a "whoop" and covered her forehead, looking somewhat embarrassed, with a sense of defeat at having her disguise exposed.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Ling walked over to him and squatted down in front of the flower bed. "The members of the Kendo Club told me you were really amazing today, you broke five puppets in one go."

"Uh... I just didn't control my strength well."

"Haha, you probably mistook those puppets for insects from the Remnant Fractsidus and chopped them down."

Cartethyia neither confirmed nor denied Xiao Ling's words, and instead asked about something else.

"How would the Righteous One know I was here?"

"Have you forgotten?" Xiao Ling snapped his fingers, "Back in the Black Shores, you wanted to plant irises but were rejected. In the end, I was the one who helped you."

"You actually still remember that?"

"Shouldn't I remember?" Xiao Ling asked with a light laugh.

Cartethyia smiled and squatted down as well, her slender, snow-white fingers gently teasing the delicate flowers.

"Actually, I originally intended to give Little Dania flowers," Cartethyia said softly, "But after learning more about her story, I felt it wasn't quite right."

"Flowers can bloom again and again because their roots are here. As long as the roots remain, no matter how many times they wither, they will surely bloom brightly again next year."

"But without roots, all that awaits these flowers is withering."

"Little Dania was like a rootless duckweed, without a past or a future. If she hadn't come into this world by chance, she might have been left alone in that desolate land, enduring endless loneliness."

"So you actually went and read all the stories about her? You have such a good attitude. I'm afraid I'll smash my computer after I finish reading them." Xiao Ling made a nonsensical joke.

"However, your analogy is quite good, so I'll continue." He cleared his throat and said gently, "You said that flowers will bloom again as long as the roots remain after they wither. Have you ever thought about where those withered flowers go?"

"Those withered flowers fell into the soil... and became nourishment for the roots!"

"Correct." Xiao Ling nodded to Cartethyia, who had just realized what was happening. "The story of Lahai-Roi is like a flower; the withered flower becomes nourishment for the roots, and the roots that have absorbed the nourishment will bloom new flowers the following year."

"But if the roots are gone, the flowers will be gone too. So Dania's final choice was to protect the flowers' roots by withering away herself."

"Although Dania is very stubborn, she has long regarded Lahai-Roi and Star Torch Academy as her roots. Therefore, as long as everything she cherishes still exists, she will do her best to bloom again someday in the future."

"Like now, isn't she living the life she wanted? That's the best outcome. If Dania knew you were feeling sentimental about her past, she would definitely say 'What a hassle,' while patting your head like a little adult."

Cartethyia was deeply moved by Xiao Ling's words, and her initial resentment towards Dania eased considerably.

The Righteous One is right; Dania is happy now, and that's the best outcome.

"But sending her flowers isn't really appropriate, since her personality isn't really suited to gardening," Xiao Ling said, steer the conversation back on track. "How about you knit her a birthday hat?"

"A birthday hat? What's that?"

"The gifts that come with the birthday cake, though simple, are still a token of our blessings for the birthday person," Xiao Ling explained, showing her some sample pictures on her phone. "But we mostly throw these things away after use; very few people keep them specifically."

"Does the Righteous One mean... that the birthday hat itself should become a commemorative gift?"

"That's my idea. As for what flowers to choose and how to prepare them, that's entirely up to you."

"Yes! I understand!" After receiving Xiao Ling's guidance, Cartethyia suddenly had a direction in mind. "I will definitely knit the most beautiful birthday hat for Little Dania!"

Xiao Ling remained silent, only offering a gentle smile to Cartethyia's renewed enthusiasm.