Seeing the resistance and wariness on all three of their faces, he explained, “We were just going to help you carry it back.
It’s on our way.
That water well was a huge help to us, and we don’t really have anything to offer to show our gratitude.”
“No, thank you.
There are three of us, so we can manage to take some soil back ourselves.
We wouldn’t want to trouble you.” Mandy Donovan nodded at the Defense Force soldier, declining his kind offer.
“Well—my name is Tom Shawcross.
If you need any help, you can come find me in the Defense Force’s Fourth Battalion, Second Squad.
I’ll help if I can,” the bruised and swollen Tom Shawcross said, trying his best to appear friendly.
“It’s not a bother.
All of us want to thank you.”
“Really, there’s no need!” Mandy Donovan gave a faint wave of her hand and took the shovel, filling the bamboo basket with soil.
‘They’re a group of people who could be sent to the front lines to fight beasts at any moment.
I don’t want to take anything from them.’
Tom Shawcross stood in place for a moment before turning and walking back to the well.
The men standing guard with him were all his brothers from the same squad.
“That young lady has some real character!”
“She could tell our captain wasn’t really in the right, but she still let us have the well.
If she’d put up a fight, she could have at least claimed half the rights to it.”
“Tell the other brothers in the battalion, if you see that young lady and her husband, look out for them…”
Drinking water was extremely precious in the New Sharn District.
Far too few wells had been dug, so the water supply was insufficient for daily needs.
Most of it was transported from other regions, and only a very small number of people had access to water created by Water Ability Users.
None of this could be shared with outsiders.
Although the men of the Defense Force knew something was fishy, they didn’t dare say a word.
Having seized the well, the captain of the second squad felt deeply guilty and was constantly thinking of how to make it up to Mandy Donovan.
The spot where they were digging soil wasn’t far from the well, and the wind faintly carried the Defense Force soldiers’ conversation to Mandy Donovan’s ears.
She thought, ‘Should I dig a few more wells for the Defense Force?’
Once the thought took root, she couldn’t suppress it.
Another equally bruised and swollen Defense Force soldier walked over, pointing to his chest insignia.
“I know people on the hunting teams.
If you want to go hunting, I can ask them to take you along.
But you’re not that strong, so you probably wouldn’t get anything good.”
Mandy Donovan stood up and saw the other Defense Force soldiers looking over, each flashing a friendly and apologetic smile.
She gave them a nod, then glanced at the insignia on the soldier’s chest in front of her.
“First Squad.
Chadwick.”
“You can just call me Chadwick.
I’m a lot older than you,” Chadwick said, reaching out to pat Gary Moore and Etta Moore on the shoulder, but the two of them warily took a step back.
He rubbed his nose in slight embarrassment.
‘I want to tell them we’re not bad people,’ he thought, ‘but after just seizing their well, what right do I have to say that?’ He could only try his best to make up for it.
“So, the hunting team.
Do you want to join?”
“The matter of the well is over.
Even if you hadn’t requisitioned it, the three of us wouldn’t have been able to protect it.
In your hands, more people will benefit.” The soil was packed, and Mandy Donovan tilted her head toward the two brothers.
Gary Moore immediately shouldered the bamboo basket, took his younger brother’s hand, and followed Mandy Donovan away.
Chadwick walked back, looking a bit exasperated.
“Doesn’t she know life would be much better if she went with a hunting team?
No matter how you look at it, it’s better than just foraging, right?”
“The captain’s more worried about it than you are,” Tom Shawcross said, slapping Chadwick hard on the shoulder.
“You should hurry home and have more kids.
Once you’ve got children, it’ll be our turn to go kill Mutant Beasts.”
“Screw you.
Do I look like someone who’s afraid to die?” ‘Still, it would be good to leave a few more kids behind,’ Chadwick thought, smiling as he returned his comrade’s punch.
The topic was too heavy, so the other Defense Force soldiers naturally changed it.
“The captain took some men to dig in a few other spots, but they didn’t find any water.”
“That young lady has some good luck.
Why don’t we have the captain ask her to help us find another well?”
…
“If we go with the hunting team, can we get Mutated Beast Meat?” Etta Moore licked his somewhat dry lips.
He had his water ration in his pocket but couldn’t bear to use it.
What did Gary Moore know about hunting teams?
He’d never had any contact with them back in the Old East District, either.
He’d only heard Gordon Gomez and his crew mention them a few times.
Gordon Gomez said they distributed meat, but Gary had never seen it himself.
“It’s not like just anyone can get into a hunting team,” he said.
‘Three fragile people like us, joining a hunting team to get ourselves killed?’ Mandy Donovan shook her head slightly.
“You want to eat meat?
We don’t have to join a hunting team to get some.” ‘When I get back,’ she decided, ‘I’ll find my neighbor and ask her to take me to the Black Market.’
“I do!” Etta Moore was practically drooling.
Gary Moore gave him a sharp tug.
“Mutated Beast Meat can’t be cheap.”
“But we have points,” Etta Moore blurted out, then started wheedling his brother.
“I don’t want a lot, I just want a taste.
Really, just a little taste.”
“Stop it,” Gary Moore said, glancing at Mandy Donovan’s expression before warning his brother in a low voice, “Don’t make Mandy angry.”
“What’s there to be angry about?” Mandy Donovan shifted the bamboo basket from Gary Moore’s shoulder to her own.
“I won’t buy a lot, just a little for you to try.
It’s your points paying for it, anyway.”
Etta Moore grinned immediately.
“I’ll pay for all of it.
My brother’s points are my points.”
Mandy Donovan poked him on the forehead.
“You’ve got one thing wrong.
Your points are my points.
You can only buy something when I say so.”
“They’re yours, all yours!
So can we buy some now?
I really want to eat meat,” Etta Moore nodded eagerly, not thinking twice about what he was agreeing to.
‘Buying some Mutated Beast Meat isn’t a bad idea.
I can use it as a chance to slowly add in the meat from my Space,’ Mandy Donovan thought.
She wanted meat too, but the kind she craved wasn’t the Mutated Beast Meat the brothers were longing for.
She wanted milk tea, hot pot, takoyaki, sandwiches… The list of things she craved was endless.
“We’re definitely buying some,” she said aloud, “but what we eat, what we use, what we buy, and what we have at home—you cannot tell anyone.
Not a soul.”
‘The most important things are in my Space.
Anything we buy will be out in the open; it can’t be hidden away in the Space.’
‘And yet, it’s the things left out in the open that attract the most attention.’
‘She didn’t want to bring trouble upon herself.’
She poured the yellow soil into the designated planting area, though calling it an “area” was generous—it was barely half a square meter.
Mandy Donovan casually picked out a few of the more uniform-looking mutant potatoes and buried them in the soil.
“That’s it?
They’re planted?” Etta Moore asked, poking at the loose soil on top.
“Will they grow lots and lots of mutant potatoes?”
“It’s my first time planting, too.
We’ll have to wait and see.” Mandy Donovan left the two brothers and went to knock on her neighbor’s door, but May Grant wasn’t back yet.
“There are still some left.
Gary, get a basin, add some water, and wash the rest of the mutant potatoes.”
Gary Moore carried the bamboo basket to the kitchen.
Etta Moore shot up as if his pants were on fire and tailed his brother closely.
“Use just a little water!
Don’t be wasteful.”
“Bring me the water after you’ve washed the mutant potatoes.
The plants need watering, and that water will be perfect.” ‘I wanted to roast the potatoes,’ Mandy Donovan thought, but then she remembered they had no fuel at home.
She had no way to cook them.
‘The plan now is to go to the Black Market tomorrow and buy some charcoal and coal.’ She called out, “Use the first rinse to water the planting area.
Pour the second rinse into the washbasin for washing hands.”
“Put the clean mutant potatoes in the basin for now.
I’ll figure out how to cook them later!”
Night began to fall, and Holly Grant’s voice drifted in from outside the door.
“…you’re always so stubborn, but the moment second brother shows up, you go soft on him.
I’m telling you, a man who marries out is like water thrown out the door—”
‘Mandy Donovan really liked this girl’s sassy attitude.’ She opened the door.
Before Mandy could say a word, Holly Grant swiftly threw her arms out, shielding a bamboo basket.
“Not for loan—!”