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Chapter 07
“Ah, so that’s why I got scratched. The handle of the watering can you gave me was split at the edge—it must’ve caused the cut.”
Nana carefully applied the milky ointment to Ishanka’s wound and wrapped it with bandages. He stared at her silently, not casting a single spell, not even black magic.
‘What is she thinking? Is this really just for treatment?’
No, that couldn’t be it. He knew the ways of black mages well. They always acted kindly in front of others to lower their guard.
“All done. Try not to get it wet for a while.”
By the time he came back to his senses, the treatment was complete. As soon as Nana’s hands left his arm, Ishanka immediately rose from his seat. He didn’t want to stay near a black mage even for a moment.
“The sky’s clouded… it might rain, so I’ll go check the field. And… thank you for the treatment.”
He didn’t want to make it obvious that he was on guard, so he gave a casual thanks and left. After all, it would be rude not to acknowledge someone who had treated you.
Nana watched him leave and muttered without realizing it,
“Clouds? Did you hit your head instead of your arm?”
The sky was perfectly clear, without a single cloud.
Nana took a bite of bread slathered with jam and watched Ishanka fixing the ceiling of the chicken coop.
After a few days of working with him, she realized that this worker was… impressively capable.
Pulling weeds, spreading fertilizer, even harvesting grown crops—he did everything efficiently and without complaint. Teach him once, and he got the hang of it immediately.
‘Apart from the first meeting, he hasn’t drawn his sword once. Whatever I ask, he just does it. He’s really competent.’
And on top of that, he had an incredible body. Nana remembered the scene she had witnessed that early morning.
She had woken up before dawn to harvest chicory and greens for breakfast and had accidentally seen Ishanka practicing with a wooden sword.
The sword was crude, probably handmade, but what really caught her attention was his body.
Muscles rippled perfectly as he swung the sword. Not just bulky, but sculpted—every part of him looked like a work of art.
They locked eyes for a moment.
The greens were behind a corner, making it look like she had been spying on him. If anyone else saw, she could have been reported for workplace harassment. But there was no one around—she had to speak boldly.
“This morning… it was purely accidental! So for that, I give you a perfect score. One thousand out of one hundred!”
Not spying—just looking, proudly.
“…….”
“Now get back to work! I’ll be going!”
With a bright smile, she picked up the basket of salad ingredients and walked quickly into the house. Good—smoothly handled.
She cheerfully prepared breakfast, leaving Ishanka staring after her with a puzzled expression.
No matter what had happened in the morning, the farm breakfast was perfect.
Freshly harvested greens and chicory in salad, grilled sea bass with herbs from the nearby area to mask any fishiness, and thinly sliced potato pancakes.
Eating freshly harvested crops was a privilege of the farmer. Ishanka, arriving after his morning practice, silently ate, proving how good it was.
She noticed one small thing about him: when he ate something he liked, his usually stoic expression softened just slightly. Subtle at first, but living together for a few days, she could catch even these minor changes.
‘The food is especially good today.’
Satisfied with her cooking, she muttered:
“I wish I could make cheese too.”
Unexpectedly, Ishanka responded.
“Shall I bring some?”
“Huh? Bring what?”
“Animals that can produce milk. Not just cows, but goats too. There might be few left alive in this world, but we could find one or two goats.”
He truly intended to fetch goats—but he also had another purpose: contacting Edion, who was covering for him.
As he stood to leave, Nana grabbed his sleeve.
“Wait! That was just a suggestion! There are zombies outside. Don’t go out there!”
“But it is necessary. Milk can provide much more than you realize—especially in a world like this.”
“You don’t get it! No matter how useful milk is, going outside where zombies are crawling to get it is reckless!”
He couldn’t understand her caution. In the barren north, resources were scarce, and survival meant risking your life to obtain necessities. Goats were valuable, and wars had been fought over them.
He was the incarnation of the God of War. Normal injuries didn’t hurt him, and his strength rivaled a buried Titan.
Her protests might have seemed like disrespect to him—or even his god—but he had been observing her for days. She was just focused on farming, with no schemes or ulterior motives.
He knew her concern for the farm was genuine, not a trap.
Then a sudden sound broke the moment.
“Nyang nyang nyang nyang!”
A fat little mouse—Tanbbang—scurried to Nana, dropping what it had caught.
The passive skill “Farm Animals” activated, unlocking special quests. With main quests gone due to a bug, these were Nana’s only source of experience.
“Tanbbang, how did you catch such a big mouse with that tiny body? Did you get hurt? Good job, my little hero!”
Nana gushed over Tanbbang, whose tail wiggled excitedly.
Watching her, Ishanka muttered quietly:
“Even if I brought dozens of goats, it wouldn’t be like this.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing. Anyway, if your concern is for my safety, don’t worry. I am—”
Bang!
Before he could finish, a loud noise outside startled Nana.
“My precious farm!”
“Wait! We need to check for zombies first—”
But Nana had already dashed out.
‘She scolds me for going out recklessly… yet she charges straight into danger herself.’
Ishanka paused. No need to interfere with a black mage. Nothing would go wrong. If something happened to her, the farm would be gone, freeing him to return home with Ateruna.
Then his gaze fell on his forearm—the faint scar from the wound Nana had treated.
With a click of his tongue, he grabbed his sword and ran outside—not to act heroic, just to repay the treatment. Nothing more, nothing less.
