I ignored Archer and began packing up the blacksmith table. Archer glared at me, pointing an accusing finger.
"Hey, did you botch that on purpose?"
"I wish I could botch them on purpose. If I could, I'd have trashed every item that wasn't mine. Even shattered weapons with critical failures."
When I said that nonchalantly, Archer's stiff index finger jabbed me indignantly in the nose. I swatted his hand away and set up the blacksmith table again.
"Going for attempt number two?"
"……"
However, doing it himself yielded a 20% success rate, whereas having me do it gave him 40%. Even if I had failed once, it didn't change the fact that my odds were higher.
With tears welling up in his eyes, Archer handed me the weapon and the fee for the second enhancement.
Flash! This time, a bright light shone.
Unfortunately, it was a success. Keeping my face neutral, I handed the +7 Lightning-Struck Wooden Bow back to Archer.
By the way, why was this jerk Archer hanging around with me instead of entering the C-rank dungeon Belsus went into? If he just needed a weapon enhancement, he could have done it beforehand.
"Why didn't you go into that dungeon? You must have gotten the notification too."
Archer’s eyes darted away, staring awkwardly at the ground. Looking deeply uncomfortable, he muttered reluctantly.
"I feel like I'd run into Calain."
I let out a snort. Archer furrowed his blond brows.
"I-I'm just raising my character by letting him roam free. Yeah, free-range."
"Free-range, my ass. You’re just too scared to get close to him."
If I were keeping a large dog at home, Archer was essentially watching a wild tiger walk by and claiming it was the exact same thing.
"Want to make a bet? Let's see who can put a collar on their character. A real dog collar."
"You have the advantage! Belsus would just offer his neck to you!"
Exchanging pointless banter, Archer test-fired his newly enhanced weapon. To me, it looked exactly the same, but the energy must have felt different because he stood there with his mouth agape, mesmerized by it for quite a while.
Then, he suddenly snapped back to reality, turned to me, and asked:
"Did you do this for Bard, too?"
Archer’s eyes were brimming with suspicion.
It was the kind of look a gamer gives when only their class was supposed to get a buff, but they suddenly see other classes getting massive buffs as well.
Why was he getting jealous? Did he really think a mere Archer could monopolize me?
When I didn't reply, Archer slung his newly tested bow over his shoulder and swiftly leaped up, landing lightly on a tree branch.
"See ya."
I turned to leave, but Archer looked at me in confusion.
"I'm not leaving, though?"
If he wasn't leaving, why did he jump up the tree? I guess once your Agility stat gets as high as an Archer's, it becomes impossible to just stand still on the ground.
Thanks to that, I was forced to look up at him. Fluttering his glossy blond hair, Archer began spitting out useless gossip.
"Hey, I went to see Persephone the other day, you know?"
…Well, maybe not entirely useless. It actually piqued my interest.
"You met her?"
"No? I just used Stealth in a tree and peeked at her."
I frowned in disgust.
A second later, Archer looked appalled and shouted, "What are you thinking?! I just watched the troupe practicing!"
"Does that make your creepy intentions disappear?"
At that, Archer's mouth puckered as if someone had pinched it shut.
"…Fine, I went to look at her like a fan watching a celebrity. So what!"
Denying it when I was right all along.
Persephone. The prima donna of the Nature Troupe, a highly renowned theater company in the Kingdom of Art and Magic.
She was the female soprano of the most successful play in the Nature Troupe's history, a heavenly flower who had surpassed even the legendary opera singer 'Marnella' who once defined an era.
Although her debut at the age of twenty-two was considered late, the moment she appeared in the Nature Troupe, no one doubted that she was the undisputed prima donna of the current generation.
As the female lead, Persephone's presence shone so overwhelmingly on stage that male actors actively avoided playing opposite her. She was hailed as the greatest genius or disaster of all time.
That was her in-game lore, anyway.
Simply put, to the players, she was an absolute miracle and a goddess standing out amidst a sea of dull male characters.
Now that I had transmigrated into this world, it was only human nature to be curious about what Persephone looked like in real life. Honestly, I was curious too.
The Nature Troupe is currently in a neighboring city, and Bard even gave me a ticket, so I could have gone to see her if I really wanted to.
But seeing her wasn't more important than making sure Belsus was fed and rested, so I hadn't gone.
Anyway, Persephone was an unparalleled beauty whom no one could deny, which was why this was so particularly shocking.
Because they say that old man Bard completely sweet-talked that same Persephone.
Naturally, Bard's face popped into my head as part of the package. I reflexively frowned.
When I met Bard those two times, I had tried to use 'Reading' on him both times. Mostly because my five daily uses were just rotting away these days.
Since I always stayed at the farm, the only person to read was Belsus, but Belsus wasn't the type to keep secrets from me anyway. There was also Archer, but Archer's thoughts were written all over his face, and he never really held any useful information, so using it on him was a waste.
And so, while reading Bard a few times, I stumbled upon a specific thought:
—If I'm going to make Persephone the Emperor of the Tower, I need to be tied to her. If we have no relationship, who knows how I'll be treated afterward?
Even though it was just a vague clue, that was the exact reason why I considered Bard a shameless, creepy middle-aged man.
"But Persephone... was a bit strange."
Archer's words pulled me back to reality.
"Persephone is?"
Not Bard, but Persephone was strange?
Well, if it was true that she was seeing a middle-aged man, that definitely made her stranger than her game counterpart. Regardless, since it was important information, I inadvertently found myself leaning in with anticipation.
To think that idiot Archer actually had some useful information...
"She was, uh... bulkier than I thought, I guess? Maybe because she was bundled up in so many clothes?"
I closed my mouth and stared at Archer silently for a long time. Archer, who had been muttering to himself, met my eyes and flinched.
"…Is that it for the 'strange' part?"
"That's it."
Wow, truly so strange. I genuinely contemplated abandoning Archer and leaving with Belsus to forge our own path.
"How are you any different from those losers who see a celebrity in person and go, 'Eh, they don't look that great in real life'?"
"No! It's not like that!"
Even in that moment, Archer was making a remarkably stupid face.
What a waste of time. I shooed Archer away and returned to my farm. It was just about time for Belsus to finish his C-rank dungeon clear anyway.
Sure enough, my timing was perfect. About ten minutes later, the farm door opened.
Without a single scratch on him, a completely spotless Belsus stood in the doorway, shaking the moisture from his clothes.
"I have food ready. Warmed up the bathwater, too. What do you want to do first?"
Just like always, I stepped behind Belsus and helped him take off his coat. Belsus compliantly moved his arms back, entrusting himself to me. When I stepped back to the front, Belsus was smiling softly at me.
Why was he smiling again?
"Shouldn't you demand I pay off my debt first? Are you really offering me a meal before collecting what you're owed?"
"Hm? That's obvious. You shouldn't stay hungry."
It wasn't a joke, but Belsus chuckled softly. The way he looked down at me... I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it felt brimming with sunlight, which left me feeling a bit puzzled.
Belsus opened my palm and poured a handful of mana stones into it.
There were about fifteen of them. Since they were from low-level monsters, they weren't particularly valuable, but they were enough to cover a few days of room and board.
"Take this, too. I wonder if it will be of any use?"
On top of that, he handed me a damp aquatic plant that looked like a lotus leaf. He must have gathered it inside the dungeon himself.
It's a Skipping Stone Plant!
Because I was a farm owner, not a pond owner, it was an item I couldn't usually get! I eagerly snatched the plant from Belsus's hands.
"Yeah. It's edible! Good job."
I was about to walk away with mana stones in one hand and the plant in the other, but Belsus gently held my left shoulder.
A single pink flower was smoothly slipped into the strap of my overalls.
"What's this?"
No matter how I looked at it, it wasn't an herb I recognized. When I looked up at him, Belsus quietly averted his gaze.
"It's not an herb. This is just... I just wanted to give it to you."
Why did he pick this? It wasn't even edible. To me, a flower was just the pupal stage before a fruit, or some kind of tumor stealing nutrients from the actual fruit.
Does he want me to put this flower in his lunchbox? As a decoration?
No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't figure out the intentions of Belsus, who was twitching his lips while looking everywhere but at me.
Ah, could it be?
I guess he just likes flowers. Quite fitting for his face, huh?
"Thanks."
I just accepted it. I figured that would make Belsus happy.
Plus, if I threw it away and he found out later, he might sulk. So, despite the hassle, I even went out of my way to put it in a vase and place it by the window of the house.
---
The night stroll that evening was as refreshing as any other, but it also carried a strange, fluttering excitement, much like Belsus's mood lately.
Belsus kept smiling as he recalled the bewildered expression on Heean's face with the flower tucked into his overalls. Smiling while walking alone in the dark might make him look like a madman, but he simply couldn't contain himself.
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