When the group returned to Maison Delacroix – Chambres d'Hôtes, the late afternoon light painted the motel in warm gold. The place looked peaceful, the same small family place they had left earlier.
Camille pushed open the gate first.
"Welcome back to—"
She stopped.
Everyone behind her took two more steps, then froze too.
In the backyard…
…stood a tree.
A very large tree.
Not a sapling.
Not even a young tree.
A thirty-foot lime-oak towered in the middle of the yard, its pale bark glowing faintly with mana, its wide crown throwing long shadows across the grass.
Dominic blinked slowly.
"…We were only gone for four hours."
Janet rubbed her temple.
"Please tell me this is not what I think it is."
Phong already knew.
He sighed.
"That's the sprout."
Camille's parents rushed outside the moment they heard the commotion.
Mrs. Delacroix looked horrified.
She started apologizing at once in hurried, broken English.
"I am so sorry. I am so sorry."
Camille stepped forward.
"Maman?"
Her mother pointed helplessly at the tree.
"We find the raccoon!"
Everyone turned toward the motel.
Rico was currently sitting on the roof railing, pretending he did not exist.
Mrs. Delacroix kept going.
"He was… how you say… sleepwalking?"
Dominic snorted.
"Sounds about right."
She gestured wildly.
"He digging bags like… dumpster!"
Rico quietly slid behind a chimney.
Mrs. Delacroix continued the story with rising stress.
"When I clean room, I see small plant on floor."
She mimed holding something tiny.
"I think, okay, little tree. Need pot."
She had only tried to save it.
That was all.
But the moment the sprout touched soil—
Everything went wrong.
"Tree grow!"
She threw both hands upward.
"Fast! Very fast!"
Camille's father had ended up having to wrap it up in several trash bag just to stop the roots from destroying the room.
In the end they had hauled the rapidly growing tree outside.
Now it stood in the backyard like a monument to terrible choices.
"If we leave inside," Mr. Delacroix said with a weary shrug, "your tree destroy motel."
Camille buried her face in her hands.
"Maman… I'm so sorry…"
Mrs. Delacroix shook her head quickly.
"No, no. My fault."
"I should know diver friends bring… strange things."
Dominic crossed his arms.
"We had one rule."
"Don't plant dungeon trees in European motels."
Jake added helpfully,
"When did we have that one oddly specific rule?"
Janet pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Since we brought a chaotic gremlin in the body of a raccoon to Europe."
All eyes turned slowly toward the raccoon.
Rico raised both paws.
"It was an accident."
They believed him.
A new rule was also declared immediately.
Rico would not be allowed in the same room as important items.
Or magical plants.
Or luggage.
Or basically anything.
The raccoon loudly protested, but they all knew it was only an act to get caffeine.
Phong stepped closer to the tree.
Despite the absurdity, his farmer instincts were already working.
He examined the bark.
The leaves.
The faint frost-like shimmer on the branches.
He picked one fruit, cut it open, and looked inside.
The flesh still held the same cool sweetness as the Snow Lime from the original lime-oak.
He tasted it carefully.
Still good.
Still refreshing.
But…
"No buff."
Dominic raised a brow.
"What?"
"No mana effect," Phong said.
"And no seeds."
He turned the fruit slowly in his hand.
"This one only makes normal fruit."
That meant the special dungeon properties needed dungeon soil.
The group relaxed a little.
Janet crossed her arms.
"Well."
"At least we didn't accidentally create a monster-evolving orchard in France."
Phong looked up at the tree again.
Then smiled slightly.
"You know what?"
"What?" Alex asked.
"This is actually perfect."
Everyone stared at him.
Phong gestured toward the tree.
"The first lime-oak clone…"
"…is not in the dungeon."
Dominic blinked.
"…You're trolling Em."
Phong shrugged.
"Absolutely."
Alex laughed.
"That is the most passive-aggressive rebellion I've ever seen."
Even so, the Delacroix family still felt bad about the whole mess.
Mrs. Delacroix insisted on making it up to them.
That night, the motel backyard turned into an impromptu feast.
The Lambert family from the restaurant next door came over.
Long tables were set up under the newly grown lime-oak.
Lanterns hung from the branches.
And the food…
The food looked like a celebration of everything French cooking could offer.
Roasted meats.
Cheese boards.
Fresh bread.
Wine.
More dishes than Dominic could name.
Mr. Delacroix even brought out a very expensive bottle of champagne.
Séline whistled at the label.
"You kept that since when?"
Mr. Lambert looked even more shocked.
"Jean-Luc."
"You were saving that for Camille's wedding."
Mr. Delacroix shrugged.
"Well."
"I might die before she starts dating anyone."
The whole table burst into laughter.
Camille shot her father a murderous glare.
"Papa."
He raised both hands at once.
"Just saying."
Mr. Lambert nearly choked laughing.
Mrs. Lambert wiped tears from her eyes.
Alex leaned toward Phong and whispered,
"Your raccoon caused international agriculture chaos."
Phong looked at the huge lime-oak glowing under the lanterns.
Then at the families laughing around the table.
Then at Rico trying to sneak another energy drink.
He sighed in peace.
"…Worth it."