Kaian had spent so much time lying in bed recovering that he had not even known what Eldarin’s house looked like.
He had only vaguely thought that the interior, being entirely made of wood, gave off a simple, warm, and old-fashioned feeling.
But he never imagined it would look like this.
Eldarin’s house was made by hollowing out the inside of a massive ancient tree.
It was, quite literally, the tree itself.
“Wooooow…!”
Kaian’s head tilted back endlessly.
“Eldarin really likes trees…!”
The image of Eldarin in Kaian’s mind moved one step closer toward the elf side.
Though she was still much closer to a mountain goat.
Eldarin spoke with a rare lively tone.
“Isn’t it magnificent? Among the five attributes of mana—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—the mana of wood symbolizes vitality and ascension. Growth. In other words, it is life force itself. This house is the center of Eldergrove.”
“You’re asking if it’s magnificent?”
Kaian’s eyes sparkled as he shouted.
“It’s beyond that! It’s overwhelming!”
The ancient tree that formed the main body of the house was so enormous that its roots were exposed above ground.
Between the raised roots, colorful flowers bloomed abundantly, adding to its splendor.
In front of the entrance, a separate wooden railing had been built with a table placed there, and beside it was even a fire pit for barbecues.
‘How far would I have to go before I could see the top of this tree?’
Kaian stepped backward with difficulty while estimating its height, then gave up and asked Eldarin.
“How many floors does this house have?”
“Until now, the only members of the household were Ember and me, so I only made seven floors. If necessary, it can be expanded as much as needed, so do not worry. Ah, there is a wine cellar underground, so do not enter there carelessly.”
“Then, then…! Yeah! Seven floors should be enough!”
Seeing Kaian enjoy himself here for the first time since arriving, Eldarin smiled as well.
‘Seeing him happy over something like this, he really is still just a child.’
She decided to give him some time to look around the outside of the house.
Kaian could not hide his excitement and kept turning his head around.
“Whoa…! It’s really amazing!”
The part Kaian thought was the coolest was the wooden pathway spiraling around the trunk of the ancient tree.
If he climbed that path, he would be able to admire the enormous tree from up close.
‘There might be lots of amazing bugs up there…!’
Kaian’s heart thumped.
‘If I climb to the top, I’ll probably be able to see very far. Ah, then… does Eldarin use that path too?’
That was difficult to imagine.
The adults he had known were always solemn, dignified nobles who cared about manners.
‘Eldarin seems a little different though… Anyway. I have to try those stairs!’
While continuing his pleasant imagination, Kaian suddenly remembered something and became pale.
“Wait. Does Ember being the spirit of the house mean… she is the spirit of this tree?”
“That is correct.”
Eldarin answered calmly.
Only Kaian’s voice trembled.
“Then… I set fire to this enormous and sacred spirit….”
“You did.”
“Ghk!”
“You also broke windows.”
“Gasp!”
“And you broke my precious teacup.”
“…”
Kaian’s face turned completely pale.
Why had Ember not spat at him?
‘If I were her, I would have. At least twice.’
The spirit truly had a generous heart.
From that day onward, Kaian decided to respect Ember.
***
Eldarin urged the dazed Kaian forward.
“You can explore the house slowly later. Working in the fields becomes harder once the sun gets hot.”
The workplace Eldarin introduced was divided into three major areas.
The vast fields surrounding the wooden house of Ember.
A glass greenhouse where medicinal herbs were cultivated.
And a dedicated mushroom cultivation room.
Eldarin called the entire area the Golden Plains.
Kaian nodded.
‘Well, it would be difficult to think of another name after seeing those golden fields.’
Fortunately, he did not have to harvest rice immediately.
However, that did not mean the fields were small.
The land in September was incredibly fertile.
Sweet potatoes, old pumpkins, radishes, green beans, and sorghum were planted widely throughout the fields.
“When the seasons change, the fields will naturally change the crops they produce.”
Meanwhile, Kaian’s expression became darker.
If the fields changed crops every season, that meant he had to work all year without a break.
And that was not all.
The greenhouse contained herbs, various medicinal plants, and even crops like green onions that could be grown throughout the year.
“There’s too much! This is excessive! You said only two people lived here!”
Kaian shouted desperately.
Why did they need this many crops if only two people ate them?
However, Eldarin answered as if explaining something obvious.
“I have an old friend who distributes crops to Silvaris. My friend also sends meat, seafood, and necessary daily supplies.”
Come to think of it, there were no animal pens.
Kaian unknowingly accepted Eldarin’s explanation and nodded.
‘So farming was an important source of income.’
Then he had nothing else to say.
Even a mountain-goat elf living in a subspace needed money.
Besides, he was a dependent who could not earn any money.
At least he could repay her with labor.
“Doesn’t Eldarin go to Silvaris herself?”
“I have seen enough of the world already. There is nowhere as beautiful as this place.”
Kaian could sense the bitterness and sadness hidden in Eldarin’s voice.
But right now, he had his own problems.
‘What am I supposed to do with land this huge?’
As Kaian looked around helplessly, Eldarin spoke in a solemn voice.
“Before the age of magical civilization arrived, farming depended on nature’s whims. Harvests could be good or bad. But now it is different.”
She swung her right arm over the field.
Blue-green mana transformed into tiny particles and fell onto the land.
—Fwoooooosh.
“If the soil lacks nutrients, we simply add them through magic.”
Then she swung her left arm.
A small cloud formed and poured rain over the field.
—Ssssssss.
“If there is no rain, we make it fall in the necessary amount.”
Eldarin emphasized repeatedly.
“The Golden Plains produce the proper crops in the proper amounts according to the situation. Therefore, our effort is only the act of harvesting. Do you understand?”
But seeing her use magic only made Kaian feel irritated again.
‘Yes. Of course. Things are like that when you can use magic. But I can’t use magic, can I?’
As he complained internally, Eldarin somehow knew and looked directly into his eyes.
Kaian flinched.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”
“For the time being, focus on recovering your muscles by working in the fields. Judging by your body, you were never particularly muscular to begin with. This will be a good experience.”
‘She’s really looking down on me.’
Kaian was about to argue, but then he remembered Eldarin lifting him by the back of his neck and carrying him upstairs.
He closed his mouth.
“Let us start by harvesting sweet potatoes. Follow me.”
Kaian limped after Eldarin.
The butterfly mark engraved on his wrist caught his eye.
‘Tch. Why a butterfly? Something like a tiger would have been much better.’
For some reason, he disliked that mark more than usual today.
***
As expected, fieldwork was difficult.
The sweet potato vines were tough and long, and Kaian’s trembling, inexperienced sickle work could not cut them easily.
Even when he somehow cut the vines, sticky white sap got on his hands and bothered him.
He could not do the work carelessly either.
His body was already a wreck.
If he tripped over the vines and fell, it would be disastrous.
Kaian’s entire body quickly became damp with sweat.
“Good grief… good grief… ugh….”
He stretched his back and rested from time to time.
Every time, he saw Eldarin effortlessly thinning out sweet potatoes with only small movements of her fingers.
“It’s frustrating. So frustrating.”
But what could he do?
He could not use magic.
He was weaker than Eldarin.
And if he failed to control his anger, even his soul might burn away.
So he had no choice but to sit quietly on the ground and harvest sweet potatoes.
‘Ugh. I feel like my groaning keeps increasing.’
Following what he had learned, Kaian carefully dug around the sweet potato with a hoe.
He worked slowly because he was worried about damaging the precious crops.
But that was better than bringing damaged sweet potatoes to Ember and receiving that cold gaze again.
‘I really don’t want to see that look again.’
Beads of sweat rolled down Kaian’s forehead.
When the purple head of a sweet potato began appearing, he had to clear away the soil with his hands.
The rich smell of earth tickled his nose.
Kaian sniffed, feeling like he might sneeze, and carefully grabbed the base of the vine.
“Slowly… slowly. Hoo….”
If it broke, he would suffer.
He focused.
He tightened the strength in his lower body.
—CRACK, CRACK!
“Heave… ho!”
In that moment, the purple lumps pulled from the damp soil sparkled beneath the blue sky.
“Whoa!”
Kaian’s eyes sparkled.
But something was strange.
‘Huh…? Why does the sky keep getting wider?’
His body was falling backward because it could no longer support itself.
He waved his hands desperately, but he could not regain balance.
In the end, Kaian fell hard onto his backside.
“Ow! Ouch!”
Pain and embarrassment hit him at the same time.
However, Kaian never let go of the sweet potato vines.
“Good job. Good job. Hehe.”
Looking at the plump sweet potatoes that had grown so well, he could not help but smile.
“I harvested these myself. Wow, they’re pretty.”
His entire body was covered in dirt, but he felt good.
With trembling hands, he raised the sweet potatoes as high as he could and shouted.
“Eldarin! Look at this! It’s huge!”
From far away, Eldarin moved her mouth.
She frowned, thinking he would not be able to hear her from that distance.
But her voice traveled through the wind and rang directly beside Kaian’s ear.
“Well done. Do you feel your strength slowly returning?”
“...!”
Only then did Kaian realize his physical condition.
Even after doing fieldwork harder than climbing down the stairs, he was able to move fairly well.
He shouted in surprise.
“What? My body got better…! A little!”
“Earth mana is helping your physical recovery.”
“Earth mana?”
“The earth is where things are planted and harvested. It is always filled with the virtues of balance and acceptance. It does not reject anything. That is why touching soil naturally calms the mind and helps one regain stability. It will surely help you as well. While working in the fields, try to slowly perceive the flow of mana.”
Kaian blinked.
Then, still sitting on the dirt ground, he took a deep breath in and slowly breathed out.
His ribs still ached.
His entire body was sticky with dirt and sweat, and he felt as though he could taste soil even in his mouth.
But.
‘…Comfortable.’
For some reason, his heart had become calm.
The weight of the sweet potato in his hand felt pleasant.
Only then did Kaian smile.
‘Eldarin really had a plan…!’
Perhaps she was a better mountain goat than he thought.
Kaian inhaled deeply and shouted with all his strength.
“Eldarin! Thank you! I’ll work hard!”
From far away, Eldarin waved her hand.
For some reason, Kaian smiled.
He waved back.
After struggling to move the sweet potatoes into the basket, he picked up the hoe again.
—CLANG, CLANG!
Each time he removed stones from the soil, the complicated thoughts in his mind seemed to be pulled out along with them.
The endless scent of rich earth carried away his old emotions.
The more he focused, the clearer his mind became.
Carrying Kaian, whose body and heart had both become lighter, the sun rose toward noon.
8