Chapter 48: Another Failure Compensation

By the time they reached the garden, the damage was already impossible to miss. What had once been Sylvia’s carefully tended flower bed now sat frozen solid beneath a thick layer of frost, the once vibrant petals turned brittle and pale, several stems already snapped clean from the sheer weight of the ice clinging to them.

Yuki move proudly in the middle of the wreckage, tail flicking back and forth with obvious satisfaction, completely unbothered by the destruction surrounding him.

"See? See? It’s so pretty, right?" Evelyn said, pointing excitedly toward the frost-covered bushes.

Neo winced, crouching down to inspect the damage more closely.

"Pretty is one word for it. But Mother’s going to have a different word entirely once she sees this."

Nora stepped forward without a word, already moving toward the frozen bed. She raised one hand, and familiar crimson petals bloomed instantly around her fingers, swirling gracefully through the cold air before spreading outward across the ruined garden.

The frost melted rapidly beneath the warm, glowing energy, thin trails of steam rising softly from the thawing ground as the crimson light swept steadily across the bed.

Evelyn watched with wide, fascinated eyes, though her excitement quickly deflated the moment the last of the frost disappeared entirely.

"Aww... The pretty ice is gone." she pouted, crouching down beside the now-thawed bushes.

But her disappointment quickly shifted into something else entirely as the full extent of the damage became clear. Without the frost hiding it, the garden looked even worse than before, wilted stems, blackened petals, and torn roots scattered across the once beautiful flower bed.

"Oh no, It’s really broken. Brother, what should we do now? Mother will definitely going to get angry." Evelyn whispered, her small face crumpling slightly.

Nora knelt down beside her, gently placing a hand on top of Evelyn’s head, offering quiet comfort despite not being able to hear the girl’s soft, worried mumbling.

Neo sighed, running a hand through his hair as he surveyed the wreckage. "Well, this is definitely going to need some serious work before Mother gets back from her meeting."

He crouched down, poking at one of the ruined stems, already trying to figure out whether there was any realistic way to salvage the mess before Sylvia discovered it herself.

Then, without warning, familiar chimes rang softly through his mind.

[Ding!]

[Failure Detected: Property Damage — Draven Estate Garden.]

[Failure Compensation Activated.]

[Calculating value of failure...]

[Compensation Generated.]

Neo blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the sudden sound of the system’s chimes rang inside his head. He’d honestly forgotten that such a particular reward even existed, given how long it had been since he’d last triggered it.

’Wait, seriously? This even counts? But it is not something even I had done.’ 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Before he could think much further on it, a soft golden light spread outward from where he crouched, sinking gently into the damaged soil around him. The wilted stems trembled slightly, then began straightening themselves out, color slowly returning to the blackened petals as thin, glowing roots wove rapidly back together beneath the surface.

Evelyn gasped loudly, scrambling backward in surprise as new buds began sprouting rapidly along every branch, blossoming within seconds into flowers even more vibrant and full than the ones that had originally been there.

The entire garden bloomed back to life in a matter of moments, the colors somehow richer, the petals larger and more delicate than before, filling the air with a soft, sweet fragrance that hadn’t existed in the garden previously.

Evelyn stared, completely speechless for once, her mouth hanging open as she looked between the newly restored garden and her older brother.

"Brother, did you just do that?" she finally managed, her voice hushed with awe.

Neo straightened up slowly, glancing around at the fully restored garden himself, equally surprised by just how much better it looked now compared to before.

"Uhh, well... something like that, yeah." he said, scratching the back of his head,

Nora remained quiet throughout the entire display, though her sharp lavender eyes lingered on Neo for a long moment; her expression carefully unreadable as she studied him.

She’d long since suspected there was something unusual about him, something beyond simple talent or hard work. She’d caught small, strange moments over the years, brief pauses where his eyes would glaze over slightly as though reading something invisible, sudden bursts of knowledge he shouldn’t have had access to, unexplained wealth of skills that seemed to appear overnight without any clear source.

She never asked him about it directly. She figured, whatever it was, he would tell her himself when he was ready.

But watching an entire ruined garden restore itself instantly, more beautiful than before, without so much as a single spoken incantation, only deepened the quiet curiosity she’d been carrying for years now.

Evelyn, completely unaware of the silent exchange happening above her head, scrambled excitedly toward the newly bloomed flowers, gently cradling Yuki against her chest as she admired the vibrant colors.

"This is even prettier than before!Mother’s going to love it!"

Neo let out a small, relieved breath, grateful the sudden crisis had successfully resolved itself far more smoothly than he’d initially expected.

"Yeah, Let’s just... maybe not mention exactly how it got destroyed in the first place, alright?" he said, offering his sister a small smile.

Evelyn nodded eagerly, already too distracted by the beautiful new blossoms to argue.

Nora, meanwhile, continued watching Neo quietly, her gaze steady and thoughtful, filing away yet another small, unexplained mystery to add to the growing list she’d been quietly keeping about him for years.

She said nothing about it, not yet. But the question lingered clearly behind her calm, composed expression as she finally turned back toward the newly restored garden, deciding, for now, to simply let the moment be exactly what it appeared to be.

Neo simply dismissed the interface and looked around the garden with a relieved expression. Thankfully, he had managed to prevent any trouble from arising.