Kays Translations

Chapter 29: The Reunion

As the surroundings began to glow orange with the setting sun, we wrapped up the day’s work.

With Sheila having been away for part of the day, I had worried we wouldn’t finish everything, but we managed to get through it all, which was a relief.

“Whew, that was exhausting! It’s way more physically demanding than it looks!” 

Mika exclaimed.

“While it’s definitely easier than dungeon crawling, farming is no joke. I hope you get to experience the joy of harvesting vegetables you’ve nurtured yourself.”

“I’d love that! Maybe I’ll stay here a bit longer—”

Mika stopped mid-sentence, her gaze fixed in one direction.

Following her line of sight, I saw three figures approaching us—Ren, Shoji, and Yui, Mika’s fellow heroes.

“Mika, so you were really here.” 

Ren said.

“Why did you leave without saying anything?! We were seriously worried about you!” 

Shoji’s voice rose in frustration.

“Shoji, calm down. You know Mika must’ve had her reasons.”

Yui gently chided him.

Shoji’s outburst was met with Yui’s soothing words, while Mika remained silent, her head bowed. She seemed too overwhelmed to respond, so I decided to step in.

“Ren, Shoji, Yui, it’s been a while. I’m glad to see you all are doing well.” 

I greeted them.

“Oh, um… it’s good to see you’re doing well too old man. And thank you for taking care of Mika.”

Ren replied awkwardly.

“It’s no trouble at all. Has life here been difficult—”

“It’s Sato, not ‘old man,’”…Sato, thank you. I’ll go talk to them, just like I promised.”

Mika interjected, cutting me off.

I had planned to ease them into a conversation, but Mika seemed determined.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” 

I asked her.

“Yeah. I didn’t run away because I hated my mission or the battles. I just needed a break. I still care deeply about these three.” 

Mika said with a soft smile.

“That’s good to hear. Why don’t you all use the villa’s living room to talk? Sheila and I will wait outside.”

“Thank you, Sato. We’ll take you up on that.” 

Ren said with a nod.

“Of course. Take your time and talk things through.”

As the four of them entered the villa, Sheila and I stayed outside, enjoying the quiet evening.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about their discussion, but I wasn’t about to eavesdrop on such an important conversation.

“Sato-san, what shall we do while we wait? We’ve finished the farm work for the day, after all.”

“I was thinking of checking on Thread. He should be starting to stir by now. If he’s capable of eating like Lime, then perhaps he could evolve as well.”

“That does sound intriguing. Let’s head to the shed where Thread sleeps.”

When we arrived, Thread seemed to have just woken up. He knelt down on one knee and bowed his head in a display of loyalty.

“You don’t need to be so formal. Please, raise your head.”

Despite my repeated assurances, Thread always greeted me this way. I wished he could interact with me as casually as Lime did.

“Thread, I have a question for you—are you able to eat anything?” 

Thread tilted his head in thought. With his battered armor, his movements were so human-like it was almost uncanny.

“Sato-san, we just harvested some Crackdraff earlier. Shall we offer it to him?” 

Sheila suggested.

“By all means, go ahead.” 

She handed the Crackdraff to Thread, who examined it curiously before bringing it to his mouth. He quickly devoured it.

…So even undead monsters can eat.

While it made sense for Thread, given he still had a physical form, I couldn’t help but wonder if skeletal creatures like sword-wielding skeletons could do the same.

“Sato-san, it seems Thread is indeed capable of eating. If we were to give him magic cores, like Lime, it’s possible he could evolve as well.” 

“If that’s the case, the demand for magic cores would skyrocket. By the way, Sheila-san, how do you typically acquire magic cores?”

Magic cores weren’t listed in the shop menu when I checked earlier, meaning they couldn’t be purchased with NP. They had to be obtained some other way.

“Magic cores are obtained by defeating monsters. Weak monsters, like the Fang Deer we encountered in the foothills, have a low drop rate. Stronger monsters, on the other hand, drop them more reliably.” 

“So unless we buy them in the capital or get them from someone else, we’ll have to hunt for them ourselves…” 

I felt a bit disheartened upon realizing I couldn’t obtain them on my own.

If I were to rely on someone, my options would likely be limited to Velvet, the princess of this country, or Mika, who had just given a magic core to Lime.

That being said… my lack of connections was really restricting my choices.

I knew I should probably interact with people more, but living in a place that’s just far enough from the royal capital made that quite challenging.

“The most realistic option is probably to sell the vegetables we grow, earn money, and use that money to buy magic cores. As a last resort, I could ask Princess Velvet for help…”

“Hmm, I’d prefer to avoid that. I’m sorry I can’t explain why in words, though.” 

Sheila replied.

“Heh, no need to apologize. I was thinking the same thing, so we’re on the same page.” 

I said with a smile. 

“That leaves us with one option—focusing on farming.”

After discussing with Sheila, we concluded that dedicating ourselves to farming was the best course of action.

No matter what we did, farming remained the most important part of our lives.

Fortunately, when it comes to magic cores, it doesn’t seem to matter whether they come from fields created through my skills or naturally grown ones.

Though with our current lack of manpower, it’s hard to say how much we can manage.

“Alright then, let’s work hard on farming.” 

I said.

“Yes, let’s do our best.” 

Sheila agreed with a determined nod.

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