Chapter 304: Communication

Chapter 304: Chapter 304: Communication

The waiter finally understood what she meant. A hint of difficulty flickered across its face, which had been fixed in a smile since it entered. Shaking its head, it said, "Auric Young is one of the most mysterious forms of life in the entire Black Mist World. In fact, simply classifying them as ’life’ might be an inaccurate description."

The waiter placed the piece of metal on the stone table with a soft CLICK, and Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze followed.

"They appear in all sorts of wondrous, even bizarre, places, offering a wide array of assistance to those who pass their tests. And when this assistance is complete, it’s as if they were never there, their vessel turning into a solid piece of metal like this."

The waiter’s eyes held a calm that was almost compassionate. Seeing Seraphina Sinclair’s confusion, it elaborated:

"Guest, this piece of metal before you isn’t your former companion’s corpse. It’s merely a vessel, an empty shell that has lost what was inside."

Seeming to worry the guest still wouldn’t understand, the waiter cleared its throat and spoke more plainly.

"Few waiters understand Auric Young..." It blinked. "But you’re in luck."

This opening sounded like good news, but Seraphina Sinclair just wanted it to get to the point.

"As I was trying to explain, it’s not your companion’s corpse, but an empty shell. The real Auric Young—or rather, the wondrous phenomenon that could interact with you and offer help—has completed its task and departed."

Departed.

Seraphina Sinclair mulled over the word.

She suddenly understood. "So you’re saying, if I find an Auric Young again in the future, it might be the same one I had before?"

"It’s even possible there is only one Auric Young in the entire Black Mist World."

The waiter blinked. "It’s a phenomenon, a cycle, and also... a response."

"When the conditions are met, it appears in the form you witnessed and interacts with you. When its help is complete, it departs, leaving this empty shell behind."

"And next time, when you—or someone else, in another place—meet a certain condition, it may appear again in a new form. You can never truly possess it, nor can you truly lose it."

These words smoothed over the knot of anxiety in Seraphina Sinclair’s heart. She subconsciously glanced back and, just as she expected, saw the Sunflower also staring intently in their direction. Its huge eyes didn’t blink, and its flower head tilted slightly toward them, as if it too were trying hard to understand the waiter’s words.

Most importantly, its petals seemed to have unfurled a little. Although it still looked wilted overall, the lingering aura of sadness had faded somewhat.

It was as if it had understood the waiter’s words.

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes widened as she watched this unfold.

’What is happening?’

’Why can the Sunflower understand the waiter, but not me?’

Just as Seraphina Sinclair was about to ask, the waiter followed her gaze to the Sunflower. Then, right in front of her, it emitted a strange sound from its mouth. ℴℴ𝘮

It wasn’t a syllable from any known human language. It was more like... a vibration with a specific frequency and rhythm, like the chirping of some ancient insect, or the wind whistling through a uniquely shaped opening.

The sound was extremely brief, almost inaudible, but the Sunflower lying on the floor trembled violently. Its flower head swiveled completely toward the waiter with a SWISH, and its two thick leaves pricked up slightly, as if they were ears.

The Sunflower even turned its flower head, searching for the source of the sound.

All Seraphina Sinclair could hear, however, was the Sunflower’s inner voice:

’What was that...?’

Its tone even carried a hint of vigilance, like a puppy whose territory had been invaded, immediately on guard.

The waiter finally seemed to realize there was a clueless human standing by. It offered a slight smile and began to explain:

"I just greeted your companion in Plantae, a method for simple emotional communication with low-intelligence plant life. It seems it didn’t understand."

Seraphina Sinclair looked at the Sunflower’s still-baffled yet wary expression, then at the flawless, standard-issue smile on the waiter’s face, and a ridiculous thought suddenly popped into her head.

’This guy... is it deliberately messing with the Sunflower for fun?’

She shook her head, casting the thought aside.

She was more concerned with the current situation than with probing the waiter’s sense of humor.

"So, Auric Young just left, it didn’t die. It’s just somewhere else now, but if there’s a chance, it might even find me again?"

"Theoretically, yes." The waiter gently placed the solidified Auric Young back on the stone table in front of Seraphina Sinclair. "But the probability is minuscule. The Black Mist World is boundlessly vast, and the conditions for an Auric Young’s appearance vary wildly. It would be more fitting to consider it a beautiful, chance encounter."

Seraphina Sinclair silently picked up the cold piece of metal.

The waiter’s words brought her a sense of relief, but also a twinge of emptiness. The end of a beautiful encounter is always tinged with melancholy.

With that question answered, there was still the matter of the Sunflower.

To this, the waiter explained, "Guest, we don’t just serve a single Species. We can interact with any Species that obtains a meal ticket and wishes to dine. This is also because, when we communicate, we typically emit several hundred languages simultaneously."

It spread its hands, explaining a whole heap of things on its own, completely disregarding whether Seraphina Sinclair could understand.

Finally, it said, "You can think of it as us emitting a composite information stream. The recipients can only perceive the language they are familiar with from it. Humans perceive human language, and Sunflowers perceive Sunflower-language."

"So, both the Sunflower and I can understand what you’re saying."

’So that’s how it is.’

’In that case...’

Seraphina Sinclair asked, "Is the device that emits this ’thing’ for sale?"

She needed to communicate!

Not just with the Sunflower, but also with the Gloom Hatchling, the Eclipse Dragon outside, and even the countless other creatures of the Black Mist World.

The waiter hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from the human, but the smile on its face didn’t falter. It looked at Seraphina Sinclair with its calm, placid eyes and shook its head.

"I’m very sorry, esteemed guest. This isn’t some sort of device that can be sold, you know."

It leaned forward slightly, its posture elegant, and explained, "Just as you, a human, are born with vocal cords to speak, and a fish is born able to breathe in water, this is the fundamental basis for how my people serve the myriad Species of the endless Black Mist World. It cannot be separated from us, nor can it be transferred."

As its voice faded, the mobile cabin fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, Seraphina Sinclair spoke up. "Without a waiter, can this ’thing’ still be used?"

The waiter answered almost instinctively, "Theoretically, no. And besides... the matter of..."

Its voice faltered. The waiter finally realized what kind of question it was answering.

For the first time, a crack appeared in its smile. It turned to look at Seraphina Sinclair, its gaze filled with nothing but disbelief.