Louise had a dream.
In the dream, she was crouching behind a wooden fence. She had already slipped one hand through the slats, cautiously reaching to grab the tail of a grayish-white duck.
Just as her fingers were about to touch it, the duck looked back at her and quickly scurried away.
Louise looked down at herself. She was wearing a faded coarse hemp shirt that was slightly smudged with dirt.
It seemed that, in her dream, she was trying to steal a duck.
“Miss.”
Louise slowly turned her head. Crouching on the other side of the duck pen was a youth who looked quite green. He wore a patched sackcloth shirt and held a hammer in his hand. Beside him lay a roll of wire and a few wooden planks, as if he were in the middle of repairing the pen.
“If you steal the duck, the client is going to suspect me,” the youth said, looking utterly speechless.
Louise blinked and pulled her hand back. “Stealing a duck while you're repairing the pen... Yes, I suppose that does sound a bit bad.”
“Is it only bad because I'm repairing it?” the youth retorted, still speechless.
“I'm a vampire! What's wrong with having a little duck blood?”
“If you really want to eat, you could come in and give me a hand. Once I get the reward, we can split it fifty-fifty to buy a meal. That way, you won't have to steal,” the youth suggested after a brief thought.
“Are you a rookie?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Incredibly obvious. Your face practically radiates a clear, pure foolishness.”
“I'm Louise. What's your name?”
“Chen Mian. A Level 7 Mage!”
“You're so weak! How can you say that with such pride?!”
...
Morning.
“Did that actually happen in the past?” Louise sat up and rubbed her eyes. Looking around the empty room, she slowly climbed out of bed.
The moment she pushed open the door, a rich aroma wafting through the air greeted her.
Following the scent downstairs, she saw Flora bustling about the kitchen wearing an apron.
“Good morning, Louise,” Flora said, turning around with a smile as she heard her footsteps.
“Good morning. Do you need any help?” Louise asked, walking up to the kitchen doorway.
“It's almost ready. You can go take a walk outside, Louise.” Flora shook her head with a smile, then added with a sparkle in her eyes, “When I woke up this morning, a huge lake had suddenly appeared at the edge of the apartment grounds, along with a metal building. The ranch has expanded too! Mr. Chen Mian and Loviki are outside with the villagers, planting the crops we brought back from the dungeon and farming the fish you bred before.”
“Oh? Really?” Louise asked, slightly surprised. As she spoke, she could faintly hear the lively sounds coming from outside.
“Yes. Mr. Chen Mian always comes up with so many novel things. Every time I ask him, he just says he conjured them up.” Flora chuckled. “Go take a look, Louise. You might find something that interests you.”
“Okay!”
...
“Hey, how did you actually conjure this up? Did you sneak out in the middle of the night while we weren't paying attention and dig up this massive lake?” Loviki asked curiously, having taken off her shoes to sit by the edge of the fishery, dangling her feet in the water.
“Sure, exactly like you pictured.” Chen Mian replied casually, his eyes fixed on the various small fish that had just been released into the fishery.
“Pff, as if I'd believe that... But once the fish grow bigger, I'll be able to eat Flora's grilled fish every day!” Loviki said, her face lit up with clear anticipation.
“Keep dreaming. You haven't even washed today's dishes yet.”
“I'll wash them after breakfast!” Loviki pouted reluctantly, then seemed to recall something. “That means I can come fish here whenever I'm bored in the future.”
“Sure, but did you forget about being mocked by those kids back in Wigtan?”
“You said it yourself... I'm a genius!” Loviki countered, lifting her chin proudly.
“Right, right... Genius.”
“But seriously, can this lake really shorten the growth cycle of fish and improve their quality, just like the garden does?” Loviki looked up at Chen Mian with curiosity.
“Yeah, though we'll probably need to scatter some mana grass into it every day. I've already assigned that task to Sari and the others. The mana grass in the ranch is growing too densely, and the livestock we have right now can't possibly finish it all.” Chen Mian nodded, his gaze falling on the mana grass floating near the lake's edge.
“Mr. Chen Mian!” Luolin's voice drifted over from a distance. She jogged over from the edge of a field, slightly out of breath as she reached them. “Everyone has finished planting the seeds you brought back.”
“Thanks for your hard work.” Chen Mian nodded with a smile.
“It was nothing!” Luolin waved her hands repeatedly. “Oh, by the way, what kind of flowers did you plant in the area you specifically set aside?”
“Windbell flowers. They're a unique species native to Veria, the Country of Windmills.”
“Windbell flowers? Are they pretty? When I was in the Sairen City-State, I heard about the Country of Windmills. I heard it's beautiful and romantic, with bards, wine, windmills, and all kinds of flowers.” Luolin said wistfully.
“Yes, it is very beautiful—both the windbell flowers and Veria.” Chen Mian replied, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “If you want to go, Luolin, you should travel more when you get the chance. The Continent of Cecia is vast.”
Hearing this, Luolin shook her head somewhat dejectedly. “I'm too weak. I'm not powerful like you and Miss Loviki, Mr. Chen Mian. I can't travel to places so far away.”
“Then work hard to become stronger.” Loviki said seriously, looking at the downcast girl. “If you want to learn swordsmanship, Luolin, I can teach you.”
“Really?! Miss Loviki!” Luolin looked at her in surprise, her eyes sparkling.
“Of course, I keep my word. As long as you're willing to learn.” Loviki nodded. “Even though I'm a bit weaker than him, I'm still Diamond Rank, you know.”
“You finally couldn't resist bragging, huh, genius?” Chen Mian teased with a grin.
“Hmph! Why should I hold back?” Loviki replied, unable to hide her grin.
Although Platinum Rank and Diamond Rank were only one tier apart, it was a qualitative leap. A Diamond Rank expert was vastly more powerful than a Platinum Rank one.
“Miss Louise is coming over.” Luolin pointed toward the apartment entrance. Louise was walking toward them with light, brisk steps.
She was still wearing those ill-fitting spare boots, her long silver-gray hair draped loosely down her back, swaying gently with her movements.
“Chen Mian, did I ever try to steal a duck from a duck pen?”
“Yeah, that's actually how we met. You remembered?”
“It seems the things in my dream really happened.” Louise nodded with a smile as she walked up to the edge of the fishery. “I didn't expect you to be so goofy back then.”
“Goofy?” Loviki's eyes lit up. She looked at Louise with great interest, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Mhm. He went to take on a commission before he even met the requirements, only to get sent off to repair a duck pen. He proudly declared himself a Level 7 Mage, and every day he acted like some hot-blooded idiot, shouting about how he was going to become a Hero and defeat the Demon King...” Louise counted them off on her fingers.
“He's completely different from how he is now~” She dragged out her words playfully, “O Great He-ro!”
Chen Mian glanced sideways at her and said helplessly, “Louise, if you keep this up, you can kiss your refrigerator goodbye.”
“I'll stop, I promise.”
Sitting by the lake with her feet still in the water, Loviki's gaze shifted back and forth between Chen Mian and Louise. “Did he really always talk about becoming a Hero?”
“Mhm! Absolutely true! He even drew a self-portrait of himself as a Hero!”
“I'm going to check on the Brewing Workshop,” Chen Mian said, quickly walking away toward the metal building.
Loviki slipped her shoes back on and stood up. Watching Chen Mian's retreating back, a smile spread across her face.
This was the first time she had ever seen him look embarrassed... It was kind of cute? Wait... why would she think something like that?
Rate on N.U.
