Since it was too dangerous there, Zinnia and Cassian reluctantly hurried back to the Manor; they had to come up with another plan to resolve this problem.
Their faces looked downcast as they returned to the Manor, and Anna, who greeted them, looked a little worried.
“Miss! Are you all right? Did something bad happen up there?” Anna rushed to help Zinnia.
“I’m fine.” Zinnia waved her hand gently, then glanced briefly at Anna.
“Don’t bother me; I’m going to rest,” Zinnia continued, then walked toward her room on the upper floor of the Manor.
“All right, Miss.” Anna fell silent when she saw that Zinnia was in a bad mood.
With a sharp gaze, Anna turned toward Cassian, who was still there.
“Hey, you! Tell me what happened in the mountains? Why does Miss Zinnia look so gloomy?” Anna crossed her arms over her chest, then walked slowly toward Cassian, trying to press him for answers.
Cassian sighed softly, not surprised by Anna’s attitude toward him.
“Just ask your mistress yourself. Don’t bother me anymore,” Cassian said before striding away.
Left alone in the foyer, Anna was stunned, sensing that the atmosphere between Cassian and Zinnia felt different from before they’d left.
“What is this? Did something happen between them during the trip?” Anna tilted her head, thinking hard.
.
.
.
“Finally, I can feel my soft mattress again,” Zinnia said, closing her eyes after feeling her back settle comfortably against it.
After a whole day of hiking and going through many unexpected events, Zinnia could feel her entire body stiff and tired.
Lying down on the bed like this helped her stiff body relax again.
“By the way, it looks like I still have two more things to do to complete the System’s Quest,” Zinnia said, slowly opening her eyes.
She remembered that she still had tasks to complete in order to finish the System’s Quest.
[Quest Panel: Quest 1 (Completed): Save the Mysterious Intruder! Reward: Unlock a New Skill + Random Prize Penalty: The intruder dies! Quest 2 (In Progress): Find the source of the Lume River pollution (1/1) Stop the main source of pollution (0/1) Improve the water quality of the Lume River (0/1) Duration: 30 days Reward: New Farming Function + Random Prize ]
“Oh! I just remembered there was a quest to save Cassian back then!” Zinnia sat up from her reclining position when she saw her Quest Panel.
“System, aren’t you supposed to give me my reward?” Zinnia crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for the System to respond.
[The Host has been too busy to notice my notifications.]
Zinnia chuckled softly as she scratched the back of her head; the System was right, she’d been so busy lately that she’d forgotten something as important as this.
“Now that I have some free time, you can give me my reward,” Zinnia replied quickly.
Ding!
[Successfully acquired a New Skill!]
[Acquired the ‘Power Harvesting’ Skill]
[Acquired 5 Healing Potions]
[Rewards will be sent to your Mailbox!]
“Wow! You’re actually pretty generous with the rewards!” Zinnia’s eyes sparkled brightly as she looked at the string of notifications from the System.
“I guess I should check which Skills I’ve collected so far,” Zinnia said, then tried to check her Status.
[Name: Zinnia Vermillion (Fox Tribe)
Affiliation: Vermillion County, Valtherian Empire
Title: Lord of Greenmarch
Magic Affinity: Fire Magic
Farming Skills:
Basic Farming Proficiencies: Lvl.
1 (Proficiency Points: 11)
(New) Power Harvesting: Lvl.
0 (Proficiency Points: 0)
Magic Skill:
???]
Zinnia fell deep in thought as she gazed at her Status on the transparent screen floating before her.
“So… Can Zinnia use magic?” Zinnia tilted her head with a blank expression, still unable to believe what she was seeing.
“But… in the original story, I never saw Zinnia use her magical powers?”
Sensing that something was off, Zinnia remained skeptical about the “Magic Skill” entry that had appeared in her Status.
Especially since that section was still marked with a question mark, it seemed Zinnia would have to unlock her magical talent herself to activate it.
“Screw that magic stuff; I’d rather focus on my farm.” Zinnia shook her head slowly, trying to refocus.
Slowly, Zinnia reached out to click on the skill she’d just acquired; she needed to know what her new skill could do.
[Power Harvesting: Every plant harvested has a 10% chance of gaining a one-level quality boost.]
“Hmm… the probability is too low. It looks like I’ll have to level up the skill to increase the chances,” Zinnia muttered, beginning to understand how her skill worked.
.
.
.
After keeping herself busy with matters concerning the Lume River earlier, Zinnia had now returned to her usual routine.
Wearing her simple farmer’s outfit, Zinnia carried a watering can in her hand, ready to water her seeds.
“I can’t wait to check on my seeds, I hope I can transplant them today,” Zinnia said cheerfully.
With light, carefree steps, Zinnia checked on her seeds, which were still in the sprouting process.
Information from the System appeared after Zinnia looked at her seeds.
[Potato Seed: Sprout (8 days) (Ready to Move)]
[Carrot Seed: Sprout (8 days) (Ready to Move)]
[…]
Zinnia’s eyes sparkled brightly when she saw the information provided by the System; she hadn’t expected to be able to transplant them this quickly.
“Anna! Did you see that little cart in the storage shed the other day?” Zinnia called out to Anna.
“It looks like it’s still in the storage shed, Miss!” Anna called back from inside the Manor.
Hearing that, Zinnia hurriedly ran toward the storage shed to look for the cart she was referring to, and sure enough, the little cart was still inside.
Humming softly to herself, Zinnia pushed the cart back to the front yard where her seeds were.
Just then, Zinnia saw Anna walking out of the Manor, neatly dressed.
“Are you going to the town square?” Zinnia asked.
“Yes, Miss. Is there anything you’d like me to take for you?” Anna stopped in her tracks and turned to walk toward Zinnia.
“Could you stop by Old Bailey’s place on your way home from work?”
“Of course, Miss.”
“Tell him to come to the Manor tonight. There’s something I’d like to discuss with him,” Zinnia explained.
“All right, I’ll pass your message on to Old Bailey,” Anna replied obediently.
“Well then, go on, be careful on your way!” Zinnia waved her hand gently.
Anna bowed her head before turning to leave.
Zinnia went back to her work after that.
With Zinnia busy with her seeds and Anna having gone out, neither of them was keeping an eye on Cassian.
Even if he were to disappear from the Manor, no one would notice.
Just then, the cawing of a crow was heard above the Manor; shortly afterward, a crow was seen flying away from one of the Manor’s windows.