Chapter 360
April 5 used to be a national holiday. It was a designated day off to encourage people to plant and care for trees, but it was eventually removed from the holiday calendar due to its perceived lack of productivity. To most people, it was now just another ordinary day. However, for some, it meant everything. For example, let’s take a look at a little garden shovel floating in front of the calendar.
April 5 was circled in bright red. Apophis had been eagerly counting down to Arbor Day for a whole month. It excitedly started talking to Do-Jun.
—Hey, King of Earth, Arbor Day is only three days away. I may have been ignored all year, but things are different on Arbor Day.
Just how many times had it said that now? At this point, it was enough to form a callus in one’s ear. Lately, Apophis had become quite the chatterbox.
—During last year’s Arbor Day, those preschoolers’ eyes had sparkled like stars when they saw me. My popularity soared to the heavens! I was swarmed by children on all sides! Do you even understand how much of a bother that was, King of Earth?! You wouldn’t get it! Not in a million years!
“Must’ve been nice,” Do-Jun commented dryly.
—H-hmph! That’s not what I meant.
Apophis snapped, but as if betraying its own words, it was unknowingly humming a cheerful tune.
Watching Apophis prance around like that naturally made Do-Jun chuckle. The classic tsundere routine, through and through. Well, it had spent a lot of days home alone. It made sense that it’d been lonely.
It’s already been a year, Do-Jun thought.
It had been a full year since Apophis was remade into its new form by Hephaestus. Do-Jun could tell that its temperament had softened immensely during that time. There it was, floating gently through the house, a tiny shovel with a spirit of its own.
As Do-Jun watched, his gaze softened, and he asked in a low voice, “Do you not resent me?”