I am the Entertainment Tycoon-Chapter 916: Storytelling

On Friday, the Heartwood Mountains presented a sunlit vista. Yellow sunlight illuminated the spring-blooming forest, highlighting the vibrant greens of new leaves and the pastel hues of scattered wildflowers. Nestled within this landscape, Moon Blossom Village appeared as a collection of wooden structures, their timber construction catching the light.

The Flower Bunny Inn's terrace offered an unobstructed view of this scene. Theo and his companions occupied several of the available seats. A server placed a tray of drinks on a nearby table, the condensation on the glasses reflecting the ambient light. One of Theo's friends reached for a glass, tilting it to observe the sunlight passing through the liquid. Another companion shifted their posture, adjusting their position to better face the mountainous panorama. The air was still, carrying the faint scent of pine and damp earth. Birds could be heard from the surrounding trees, their calls contributing to the soundscape of the mountainside. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves of a potted plant situated at the edge of the terrace.

The terrace buzzed with a palpable anticipation, a collective hum of hungry stomachs and shared amusement. Theo, still recovering from his tickle-induced near-death experience, regaled them with exaggerated tales of his solo breakfast conquest, painting a vivid (and likely embellished) picture of each pastry and the sheer perfection of his mountain view.

Aurora, ever the drama queen, feigned a deep sigh, "Honestly, Theo, your life sounds *exhausting*. All that indulgence, all that solitary bliss. How do you cope with such immense pressure?"

Kaori, with a subtle smile, nudged Ayia, "I heard he almost wept with joy over a single crêpe. Imagine the emotional toll."

Ayia chuckled, "Poor thing. He's probably scarred for life from this ordeal of being mildly inconvenienced and then tickled by his friends. Such hardship."

Even Sam, whose stomach was audibly grumbling a lament for the missing opera-singing walnut pastries, chimed in, "I bet he's already planning his next solo culinary adventure. Probably a secret pilgrimage to a secluded chocolate fountain."

The banter flowed, a comfortable rhythm of teasing and shared inside jokes, a testament to their camaraderie. Gwen, meanwhile, was diligently trying to re-pair her newly discovered sock with its lost mate, muttering about the mysterious sock-eating vortex that seemed to reside within their shared accommodations.

As the conversation meandered through hypothetical scenarios of Theo's future gastronomic exploits and the existential threat of empty lunch plates, a hush fell over the group.

Shizuka, ever observant, pointed towards the terrace access stairway. "Look," she whispered, her voice carrying a hint of surprise.

A figure, small and wiry, emerged from the stairway, moving with surprising speed despite the years etched into her face. It was Grandma Iko, her familiar floral apron dusted with flour, a knowing glint in her eyes that seemed to encompass the entire terrace, the inn, and perhaps the entire Moon Blossom Village. She paused for a moment, surveying the assembled group, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips, as if she already knew exactly why they were all there, basking in the afternoon sun, waiting with bated breath for their promised feast.

It was at that moment that the group remembered why they wanted to speak with Grandma Iko.

The mystery!

They finally could ask her what everything they found meant!

"Grandma Iko!" They exclaimed as she neared their table.

The gentle old lady offered a kind smile as she said, "I heard you kids wanted to talk to me?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Yes!" Ayia exclaimed, "Grandma Iko, you won't believe what we found in the mountains on our hike yesterday."

"Hm!" Grandma Iko raised her eyebrows, "It seems like you kids found something exciting." She smiled.

"Come sit with us, Grandma Iko." Theo offered his seat, "We have a long story to tell you."

"Thank you, dear." She smiled, "I'm excited to hear the story that makes you kids so excited." She laughed.

"It's like this. Yesterday, as we were walking through the trail..." Ayia started describing the experience they went through yesterday.

Here and there, another person assumed the storytelling, and little by little, Grandma Iko became shocked by what they went through.

Ayia's voice, usually bright, now held a tremor as she began to recount their trek along the Valley of Serenity trail. "At first, it was just another normal trek," she confessed, her gaze seemed to see the scene. She depicted Max and Lauren's accident, and how everyone ran worried sick about their well-being.

"The air itself felt heavy, almost watchful, as we ascended. Then, it happened. Max and Lauren… they slipped. A patch of scree, loose as thought, gave way beneath them. They tumbled, a blur of flailing limbs, down a steep, unforgiving embankment."

It was only after making sure they were okay that they started making plans on how to rescue, but during that time, they heard Max's shout.

Max said, "Yes, at that moment, we discovered an abandoned cabin."

Lauren chimed in, "At first, we thought it was just another mountaineer cabin. But after checking all the maps we had, we couldn't find any map that showed a cabin at that location. As soon as we realized it was an unknown cabin, we became afraid as the cabin was extremely eerie."

"It was then that I shouted to the others," Max said.

"At first, after hearing Max's shout, we were confused," Theo said, "But soon we thought the same as them, it was only after checking the maps as well that we realized what Max meant. We became a little afraid, too, but soon our adventurous spirit was awakened. We then decided to climb down the slope to explore the abandoned cabin."

Grandma Iko couldn't help but give a different look to this group of kids. It wasn't everyone who would have the courage to explore unknown cabins in the mountains.

A collective breath was held as Kin intervened, his voice a low rumble. "We didn't hesitate. The slope was treacherous, each step a gamble. But we managed. Reached them. And that's when… that's when we saw it." He gestured vaguely, as if the memory itself was a physical weight. "A valley. Uncharted. Hidden. Like it had been holding its breath, waiting for us. And in its heart… a cabin."

Lauren shivered, pulling her shawl tighter. "Abandoned, of course. And it wasn't just absent from our maps. It felt… absent from reality. Like a forgotten secret, the mountain had decided to reveal."

The exploration of the cabin was a symphony of creaking floorboards and the whisper of disturbed dust. "It was a tomb," Max added, his eyes still holding a hint of unease. "But the fireplace… that's where the strangeness truly began. A stone fireplace, ancient and cold, and carved into its very hearth…"

"A bunny," Kaori finished, her voice barely above a whisper. "Holding a single, perfect flower. It was… familiar. Eerily so. The motif of the Flower Bunny Inn."

Grandma Iko's eyes narrowed as she heard that, but she still didn't interrupt their story.

"We couldn't believe it," Ayia continued, her voice gaining a hushed intensity. "We thought it was a coincidence, a funny joke. But as we looked closer… the carving wasn't just an etching. It was a mechanism. A subtle shift, a pressure applied just so, and a section of the stone fireplace groaned, revealing a hidden compartment."

"And inside," Kai said, his voice dropping lower, "was a box. Not wood, but metal. Cold to the touch, even in that suffocating quiet."

Kaori's turn to speak, her usual jovial tone replaced by a reverent hush. "The box contained… a painting. Ancient. The canvas was yellowed and old, the colors faded by time, yet remarkably preserved. It depicted… well, that's where it gets truly peculiar."

As Ayia opened her mouth, ready to elaborate on the artwork's unsettling details, Grandma Iko raised a hand, a thoughtful and curious expression settling on her face. "A painting, you say?" she inquired, her voice soft, yet carrying a weight that silenced the room. The narrative, so full of nascent discovery, momentarily fractured. Grandma Iko's gaze swept over each of their faces, a silent acknowledgment of the deeper currents now stirring beneath the surface. The air in the terrace, even with the warm sunlight on them, seemed to thicken, the unspoken questions hanging heavy, waiting for the next revelation. "And what, pray tell, did this painting depict?"