Even as I was feeling guilty that my attention was temporarily drawn to Lillywood-san's very ample breasts, for the time being, I asked her to proceed with her story.
[...Errr, to sum it up, it seems that most of the Spirits were born thanks to Lillywood-san.]
"You aren't wrong to perceive it that way. Natural-born Spirits really are just that rare."
[I see, so you poured your magic power into various plants, and after a certain amount of time, you called out to the Spirits that were born huh? Incidentally, who was the first person to become your subordinate? I guess it would be Lillie-san huh?]
I got the general grasp of the situation. After becoming independent, Lillywood-san went around the Demon Realm and poured her magic power into various plants... giving them the chance to become Spirits.
However, even if these Spirits were born, that didn't mean they would automatically go to Lillywood-san's side. At the very least, until these Spirits were born, they had no consciousness, so they wouldn't know who poured magic power into their vessel.
That's why, thinking that Lillywood-san went around looking for subordinates again, Lillywood-san chuckled, looking as if she found something funny.
"That's the amusing thing... My first subordinate actually wasn't a plant that I poured my magic power into, but a Natural-born Spirit."
[Eh? Is that so?]
"Yes, in fact, this is the place where I met my first subordinate."
When she said this, I looked at the direction Lillywood-san's finger was pointing to, and there I found the other Lillywood-san... and Camellia-san.
———–If I follow you, will I be stronger than I am now?
———–Before I answer you, I want to ask you something. Wanting to acquire strength, what is it that you wish?
———–Let's see... I am a nameless Spirit of the Grass in this meadow. I have seen many people passing through this meadow, and sometimes, I have been touched by their kindness. It is not that great to say that it is my wish... but I want the power to protect those who are kind in "this world that is difficult to live in with just being kind".
———–I see... That's a good wish. As long as you remember this wish, you will surely be strong.
Although Alice created the concept of Six Kings and the Peerage system to change the way things are in the Demon Realm, it was probably just beginning to change at that time.
Wanting to be able to protect people who are kind but have no fighting power, it seems that Camellia-san became Lillywood-san's subordinate with such a wish in her heart...
[How should I say this... That's a wish that's just like Camellia-san.]
"Yes, that girl has never changed. She can do her best not for herself but for someone else... and in that way, she may be a bit like Kaito-san. Anyhow, my first dependent was Camellia. After her was Lillie."
[I see...]
"After that, the number of my dependents continued to increase. It isn't as if the Seven Princesses were immediately established. Blossom is quite young, and Tirtania also joined my camp quite later. When the number of my dependents increased to some extent, I decided on a base for our camp and moved my place to it, which became the current Yggfresis."
[...It just occurred to me, but Lillywood-san's true body, the World Tree... so you can move it huh.]
No, if it used to be near Kuro's house, it should be obvious that she moved it to Yggfresis at some point, but with its tremendous size... I mean, with how tall the World Tree is, which is much higher than Magnawell-san, I can't imagine how she moved it.
"It's possible to move it, but to be honest, it's difficult at the moment. I'm moving in a form close to teleportation, but places where I could move my true body without causing damage to the surrounding area are quite limited."
[Fumu fumu... I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but is there some kind of rule regarding how a plant could dwell a Spirit in it?]
"Basically, Spirits could dwell in plants that hold magic power. However, it's not certain that it would be the case. For example, that flower that Kaito-san also knows... Blue Crystal Flowers are nourished by the magic power in the air, and some of them do have a great amount of magic power, but I still haven't confirmed the existence of a Spirit dwelling within them."
[Could it be that they just haven't appeared yet?]
"It would be a different case if the propagation of said plant is extremely small, but even though their numbers were restricted, it's hard to imagine flowers that form a certain amount of clusters to have such magic power but never had a Spirit dwell upon them. Therefore, the Blue Crystal Flower is probably a plant in which no Spirit dwells."
She did say earlier that just because something has magic power doesn't necessarily mean that a Spirit would dwell in it, and the one saying this is probably the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to Spirits, so I guess what she's saying is true.
However, I wonder why? Somehow, even though I have no evidence at all, I have a feeling that the Spirit of the Blue Crystal Flower does exist.
Hmmm... It's a flower that I'm familiar with in many ways, so it may just be that I had a strong desire for that to be the case.