Chapter 31

“Did you bring a change of clothes too? Pervert.”

“Don’t look at me like that. I just prepared in case my clothes get torn or ruined while working.”

“Hehe.”

After washing up, I step out and dry my hair with a towel.

Since I got drenched in the rain, there was no helping but coming out to wash up.

Can’t exactly wander around the house soaking wet like that.

The voice sounds slightly deflated but still carries a hint of playfulness – seems like Anne has regained some energy.

Looking at the gift box, it appears only two melons are missing.

As expected, people regain their strength when they eat something. It’s good to see her perking up after having a snack.

This house has excellent hot water.

Thanks to that, I collapse onto the couch with steam rising off me.

Anne, all bundled up in the blanket, wiggles her way over to me.

“Aren’t you hot?”

“It’s scary…”

“Yeah, that can happen.”

I’m curious about what happened, but I can’t bring myself to ask when I see the fear in her eyes.

There’s no need to dig up those traumatic memories anyway.

Just being here like this seems to be helping Anne settle down gradually.

No point in bringing up stories that might make things worse.

“How did you plan to come to my place?”

“I’m scared of thunderstorms.”

“Hee.”

Anne smiles bashfully.

“You remembered?”

“Well, the lightning made me remember?”

“What a good kid.”

As Anne tries to move her hand out from under the blanket, the stubborn thing holds her back.

From my perspective, it just looks like a caterpillar wriggling around.

The conversation continues intermittently.

Short exchanges followed by silence.

Rumbling sounds.

Terrified Anne burrows into my arms, and I pat the blanket.

When she calms down a bit, we have another short exchange.

The flash of lightning followed by the thunder’s hearty roar.

Anne trembles, and I dutifully pat the blanket again.

Her golden hair flowing down and getting tangled on the floor looks rather pitiful.

Maybe fate has us spending the whole night like this.

It’ll be tiring, but I can’t just leave her in this state.

Most importantly, Anne was the first person who helped me when I arrived in this world.

“Uuuh…”

“Should I cover your ears? How about that?”

“It won’t help…”

“You never know.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I bring my hand to Anne’s ear after washing up.

The heat from my hand is quite warm.

Perhaps because of that, Anne’s cheeks turn a light pink as the warmth seems to reach her.

“Should I have you close your eyes too?”

“I don’t like the light either.”

“Alright then.”

Even with her ears covered, she answers perfectly fine.

Rumble-rumble!

Anne’s trembling reaches me, though it’s less pronounced than before.

“Hmm…Hmm…Hmm…”

Anne nods a couple times then meets my gaze.

Beautiful blue eyes. They’re stunning.

“Are you alright?”

“Keep doing it. It’s better than before.”

“Like this forever?”

“Why? Is it inconvenient for you?”

“Not really. If it makes you comfortable, I can keep going.”

“Will you…keep doing it?”

Anne’s question carries meaning.

The tone feels strangely slow.

Soft, lingering, like she’s asking for something.

“I can keep going until tonight.”

“Really…?”

Anne hesitates, saying something indistinct before swallowing.

The word that finally comes out is surprisingly simple.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. You’re my savior after all.”

“Hehe. Are you talking about the first day?”

“I almost died.”

“You did look like you were dying.”

“Now it’s the opposite.”

“I’m not dying. Besides, I’m not that broken down. Look!”

Anne gets up close to my face.

That’s right. Back then I was completely exhausted, covered in dirt where I ended and the earth began.

Her fresh state now is certainly better compared to mine.

Though mentally, who knows. At least outwardly, she looks fine.

“There. You look pretty.”

“Eek.”

Was she expecting a different response?

Anne avoids my gaze then slowly pulls back, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

“A little, but I can’t sleep with the thunder…”

“If we keep like this, you might not hear the thunder and fall asleep.”

“I can still hear it…”

“Just lie down first. We’ll think about it later.”

“Mm-hmm…”

With my hand still on her ear, I lay Anne down.

Her tightly shut eyes make her look like a cute little angel.

In terms of beauty and elegance, there’s no one who can compare to Anne.

I can’t help but marvel internally at her appearance.

“Can you sing me a lullaby?”

“Out of nowhere?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Though unexpected, I slowly recall any lullabies I know.

Taking my time, I remember one my mother used to sing.

Even though I consciously tried to sing in Korean, it automatically translated.

“Hush, hush, my baby…”

“…”

Anne’s breathing stabilizes nicely.

The unsettling thunder fades away quietly.

Only the patter of raindrops against the window remains, carried by the wind.

She’s asleep.

Her steady breathing confirms she’s truly resting.

As the grip on my hand relaxes, a natural calmness returns to her face.

Rumble…

Even distant thunder doesn’t faze her now.

Since I’ve put her to sleep, I should be able to leave now.

“Please don’t go…”

The voice in her sleep sounds heartbreakingly sorrowful.

Filled with sadness.

Is she having a nightmare?

The heartrending tone stops my legs from moving.

Right. Spending one night won’t hurt.

What am I even doing here, but I remind myself this is repaying a favor as I keep my hand on Anne’s ear.

The softness of her cheek feels quite pleasant through her touch.

Somewhere along the line, her expression shifted from sadness to a faint smile.

There’s some satisfaction in watching that transformation.

Not that it matters, but seeing Anne’s face always improves my mood.

She is beautiful after all.

Thus passed the 41st day of spring under a stormy sky.

The 42nd day of spring morning.

Realizing I had fallen asleep only when the thunder subsided.

I woke up suddenly somehow.

Unaware that my eyes were closed, I open them to see Anne’s bright eyes right in front of me.

“What…?”

My gravelly voice drops to an unusually low pitch.

A growling sound rasps painfully through my throat.

“Um, yeah. Did you sleep well? Mm-hmm.”

She flails around cutely under the blanket.

Only then do I realize I had my hand on her ear while sleeping.

You must have been uncomfortable.

When did you wake up?

“If you were awake, you should have said something.”

“No, I didn’t want to wake you since your hand was on my ear… It would have been rude to wake you after staying up all night.”

“But you told me not to go and said you’d keep doing it.”

“You kept your promise well.”

“Promises are meant to be kept.”

“Thank you. It’s because of you.”

I remove my hand from her ear at her gentle voice.

The faint scent of Anne lingers on my palm.

“I’ll go now.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“See you next time.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Leaving Anne behind, I step outside.

It’s a bright morning.

The ground remains damp from the rain, but the sky is clear with sunlight greeting me.

What a nice morning.

Today’s routine will be very simple since I couldn’t buy seeds.

Or so I thought.

“Greetings.”

“Oh, who might you be?”

“Ah, wasn’t there a melon trade contract two weeks ago? I’m the newly appointed representative for that. My name is Horn. We’ll likely be seeing each other often, so please treat me well.”

“Ah! Nice to meet you. I’m Minho.”

This morning’s event, though unfamiliar, is rather pleasant.

Several soldiers. And one well-dressed man introducing himself as Horn.

Finally, my 150,000 gold, potentially up to 200,000 gold, has arrived.

It feels odd referring to people as gold, but isn’t this the charm of trading?

“May I see the goods?”

“Of course, they’re ready for you.”

“Ah, excellent. Very thorough of you.”

“Indeed.”

Though the exact two-week mark would have been two days ago,

such precision in medieval times is rare.

A variance of ±3~4 days is standard practice.

This timing is perfectly acceptable.

Seeing the goods, a smile spreads across Horn’s face.

I thought he’d be stern-looking and only conduct business professionally.

“Everything looks in great condition. Should be safe to eat, right?”

“Of course.”

“Cut this open. Yeah, in half.”

A soldier steps forward and slices the melon with his dagger.

The blade goes in effortlessly, sweet juice flowing down the blade.

“Take a bite. Hmm.”

Horn takes a bite, then nods approvingly.

Seeing him nod repeatedly puts me at ease.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the quality of my musk melons.

The soldiers also nod continuously.

One soldier is practically devouring the fruit whole.

I feel secretly proud.

It’s gratifying to see my crops receive such recognition.

“Excellent. So delicious. Let’s proceed with the trade as per the contract. Are all the goods melons or are there strawberries mixed in?”

“All melons. Would you like strawberries too?”

“We’ve been instructed to take all melons if possible. Can we take all 10,000 units as melons?”

“Certainly.”

“Here, would you like to check this out?”

“What’s this? Strawberries… Quite large ones.”

“They’re called kingsberries.”

“Did you personally develop them?”

“One could say that.”

“Understood. May I taste this as well?”

“Of course. Let’s share. I’ll give you more samples.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

We cut the kingsberries.

Horn and the soldiers take bites, exclaiming how delicious they are.

Judging by their reactions, the kingsberry trade will likely go smoothly too.

We load the kingsberries and melons onto the carriage.

The transfer process isn’t difficult. Simply pouring them out from my bag.

Perhaps because of that, the soldiers’ expressions brighten considerably.

Indeed, reducing workload is always welcome wherever you go.

“Confirmed 10,000 units. Here’s the agreed payment of 200,000 gold.”

“Thank you.”

“We appreciate you cultivating such fine produce. Please continue treating us well.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go!”

The transaction with Horn concludes neatly and swiftly.

10,000 melons gone, 200,000 gold in hand.

200,000 gold.

I can’t stop smiling.

This joy bubbling up inside me can’t be contained right now.

What a wonderful morning.

I’m looking forward to tonight’s shopping spree.

With nothing left to do in the morning, I head straight to the lake.

To complete my remaining 600 swimming minutes.

Making do with fish for breakfast, I immerse myself in the water.

Despite not getting enough sleep, my condition is decent.

By the time my body feels pleasantly worn out from swimming, 10 hours have flown by.

As the sky turns red with the setting sun, I finish my swimming duties.

The sunset backdrop is breathtaking.

Well.

This marks the moment my fishing will reach advanced level.

Come morning, deep pain will accompany the night’s rest.

The faint anxiety that comes with it is an inevitable companion.

Checking the painkillers in my bag, I inspect the food I’ve prepared next.

Prepared specifically for moments like this.

Two defense+1 buff foods. Total defense+2 buff food.

All preparations are complete.

Walking back home slowly.

Today is both a very happy day for enjoyable shopping and a dreadful day to prepare for the morning’s pain.

This is the result I must fully accept, so I grit my teeth and remain calm.

Using the remaining time to tidy up the fields and area near the house.

Doing some logging and mining while passing the time, soon the sky turns deep blue.

Time is flying by quickly.

Taking the painkillers and eating the defense-boosting food.

Planning to take more in the morning, I hope these foods and painkillers will be helpful as I slowly drift off to sleep.

Thus ends the 42nd day’s night.

---