Kayla tried to plead her case. "No. You're making stuff up." Then she started crying. She had been scared that she would be blamed for what happened that day and had been waiting in trepidation for punishment. But punishment never came. King Ghoto had never blamed her for it so slowly forgot about it. It was until Mihila arrived that she remembered that the matter had yet been accounted for.
A mother can be unreasonable when it came to the well-being of their children. She had been entrusted to provide care and yet had led to serious damages. She didn't want to be sent back. The hopes had dreams of her family and all the effort they put in acquiring this position would be for naught.
Ghaster and litori were fond of her. They tried to speak up for her but Soverick glared at them.
"Stop crying like a kid. Your pitiful performance will not change what you did."
"Stop it Soverick, you're making the poor girl cry." Ghoto came to her rescue. He didn't blame her because he had inspected the formation array and found nothing wrong with it. If anyone were to be blamed it would be him.
"That's not enough reason for me to stop," Soverick said indifferently.
"She did all she did only because she meant well for you."
"What's your point?" Soverick asked.
Ghoto was in a good mood but his mood was beginning to sour. He found arguing with Soverick tedious.
"She is not to blame and that's final." Mihila cut in. Kayla felt relief sweep through her. But Soverick wasn't letting go.
"Maybe, but I suffered damages and have to be compensated for them."
Mihila tried to reason with him. "Your siblings suffered the same damages and aren't creating ruckus because of it."
"So?" Soverick asked again.
"If they can bear with it so can you."
"I see. You seem to be comparing me to the other two. You're wrong about that, they can't compare to me. I am unique."
Ghoto knew when Soverick wouldn't change his mind. He also knew that soverick only created a fuss when he wanted to gain something. So he decided to cut to the heart of the matter.
"What do you want then?"
"I'll let this go if she will carry me for the next year." He would be satisfied if he got the opportunity to bully her. She had not been willing to accept defeat when he sampled her cooking. And when he had pointed out that her cooking was rubbish as compared to the exquisite cooking of the high elves, she had called the high elves "grass-eating, tree-loving stuck-up hippies." He would not rest until she paid for her derision in full.
"Not possible," Mihila said. She was quick to reject the demand because she didn't want someone from her family to be humiliated under her watch.
"What do you have against Kayla?" Ghoto asked in frustration.
"The answer to that question is the same one to this question 'What use is Kayla?' Simply Nothing. I have nothing against her. She is just useless."
"She is not useless, Soverick. She has done a fine job taking care of Ghaster and litori, you just don't like her. Even if she is useless, it is none of your concern. We called her here not you. This is the last time I want to hear of this." Mihila said.
Soverick tried, "What about my compensation?"
"You just have to suck it up." She replied.
Soverick tsked, he was beginning to feel irritated. Mihila was truly out to get him but it didn't matter. He had gotten what he wanted out of it. Which was to make Kayla sweat a little, have some fun at her expense, and act like a petty child. A lot of his past behavior could be called under question after the life evaluation. It would be good for him to throw a tantrum once in a while to reinforce the image of a child.
They reached the Department of Family Affairs soon after. It was in a building built right on top of the ground but it was taller than the 60m trees around it. Mihila brought them to the entrance of the building. There was someone already waiting for them. He stepped forward to greet them.
"Thank you again for your leniency, your Majesty." The waiting person said.
"It wasn't your fault in the first place. When can we start?" Mihila inquired.
"Immediately, your majesty. I am sure you're a very busy person, it won't do to waste your time. I have everything prepared for your arrival." He seemed to bow even lower, "Follow me. Right, this way."
Ghoto was speechless. Was this not the supervisor of the entire department. How come he was waiting on them now. The transcendent had not been this subservient when he came to request the life evaluation but now seemed to have become humble. He had suspected that the transcendent must have someone to rely on, hence why the supervisor didn't accede to his request the first time. This mysterious person supporting the supervisor also must have had at least the same strength as him or maybe greater. It was one of the reasons he didn't make a scene back then.
He didn't have a wrong impression of the supervisor since the man had informed him that he didn't have a choice in the matter, he told him to wait for just 3 months and the delay would be over. Ghoto had chosen to wait for the 3 months to avoid resorting to violence. It would be one thing if the person was of a similar level in strength, but the matter could escalate if the person causing trouble was a titan. Ghoto shook his head and decided to stop thinking about bureaucracy and how violence improved their efficiency.
"Everything is ready for us so let's go," Ghoto announced to the kids since they were not aware of the quick conversation they just had with their divine sense.
"Ghaster." He called to his distracted son. Ghaster was looking at the boundary between the tall building and the trees surrounding it.
"What's there, dad?" Ghaster asked.
"You don't know?" Ghoto was surprised that his son would ask such a question. The knowledge about the forest of trees in the inner city is common knowledge and should be present in the bloodline memory.
"I think I do but I am not sure." The little boy said.
Ghoto grabbed his hand and started pulling him forward. "Come one. I'll tell you along the way. We shouldn't delay the proceedings."
Ghoto continued "I'll only give you a summary of what's there and we can talk more about it when we get home. The forest the city is built on is a single entity. A single tree with many trunks. The forest is constantly expanding and this makes the city also expand. It has been growing since its establishment. The forest is home to many exotic plants and animals from all over the realm. The wildlife is precious, so access is restricted. There are only a select few departments and individuals that have access to it, such as the department of family affairs."
The supervisor heard their conversation. "I have some interesting information about the forest." He said before looking to Mihila for permission to continue. He didn't want to be seen as a gossip even though he wanted to help them out. Who knows what could set off a titan? One had to be careful when a titan is around, that's why he wanted to see if Mihila would be okay with joining the conversation. Mihila gave a slight nod of her head.
"The forest is the backbone of the city. It is responsible for the production of origin energy present in the city." He started.
"It is?" This information came as a surprise to both Mihila and Ghoto. They knew that the origin energy was made available artificially. They assumed it was a machine or artifact that was responsible for it. Only Soverick was not surprised. He rolled his eyes at them. 'Country bumpkins.'
The supervisor continued. "Yes, it is. A machine can be used but the efficiency of the transformation is horrendous. You should know that origin energy is gotten from the dilution of origin essence with mana. Any waste in this process is expensive. The tree performs this operation with a very high rate of efficiency. It is just slow as compared to an artifact designed for the transformation process."
"Is this tree special or something or can all trees perform the conversion?" Kayla asked, everyone, turned to look at her for her silly question. She blushed due to the attention.
The supervisor continued after the interuption." The tree is special alright, but not because of its ability to convert origin essence. It is rare to find trees with this ability in most planes of the realm, even sovereigns cannot perform this feat. What makes this tree even special is its origin story." Then he paused to create some suspense.