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Chapter 39
Ishanka had been in a foul mood for the past few days.
The reason was simple: he had been noticing Sam and Nana spending a lot of time together lately.
It wasn’t unusual for a farm worker to be around their employer. But Sam usually spent his time either building tools Nana requested or holed up in his workshop, immersed in his own research.
Nana, for her part, was busy commanding zombies, selling crops, and managing the farm.
In short, the only times the two would normally cross paths were when Sam demonstrated his machines or checked whether the generator was working properly.
They weren’t constantly sticking together like they were now.
If Ishanka had known they’d become this close so quickly, maybe he would have “accidentally” shot an arrow at Sam the day he ran outside the farm.
He found himself frowning without realizing it. The previous incident had sparked feelings for Nana in his heart, but that was all. Those fledgling emotions often irritated him.
Objectively speaking, he didn’t like seeing some other guy loitering around the woman he had been attracted to first.
It was clear jealousy. But Ishanka had always been capable and accustomed to receiving favors from others.
Even the few relationships he’d had before were based on profit, convenience, or avoiding hassle—he had never genuinely liked someone romantically. Consequently, he had always been in relationships where the other person clung to him rather than the other way around.
He had never experienced jealousy before because he was always so accomplished. But now, as an adult, he was feeling it for the first time—a cruel irony. Truly pitiful.
Frowning and silently plucking at his bowstring, Ishanka suddenly stood up and strode toward where Nana was.
“So in your world, carriages disappeared and people move around in these iron contraptions powered only by oil? How do they even work? Is that possible?”
Ah, I shouldn’t have told him.
Nana desperately tried to ignore Sam, suppressing her rising annoyance.
At first, she had found it fun to explain the modern world to Sam, who believed her and was amazed.
But Sam’s curiosity quickly became relentless; he chased her everywhere, questioning her about everything except when eating or sleeping.
The mouth of disaster had become a disaster-questioning maniac. Even when Nana showed clear signs of irritation, Sam stubbornly followed her.
“Why aren’t you answering? How is this even possible?”
Nana tried to ignore him and walk on, but Sam was persistent. He grabbed her arm and pulled her.
“Ah, I don’t know, dammit!!!”
Finally, Nana snapped.
“I’m not an auto mechanic, and I didn’t study engineering! How am I supposed to know? If you’re so curious, go to that world yourself and find out, you crazy engineer!”
“If I could go, I would’ve already! How can you do this to me after I got completely captivated by you?!”
“When did I captivate you?! I’m the one being wronged!”
I didn’t tell him to become a question-murdering maniac!
Just as Nana opened her mouth to yell more, a firm hand suddenly blocked the space between them.
“Let go of her hand.”
It was Ishanka.
Stepping between Nana and Sam, his face was cold as winter frost, silently piercing Sam with his gaze.
Sam flinched and released Nana’s arm. Without hesitation, Ishanka led her outside.
Ishanka felt his stomach churn.
Seeing Sam approaching Nana so casually, his body reacted before his mind could.
‘Why is that guy beside Nana again?’
At first, it was simply unpleasant.
But as he drew closer, the voices he heard weren’t just ordinary arguing.
“…This is too much… to let someone be so captivated… how can you do this…”
It sounded like Sam was confessing to Nana.
Even in confession, Sam managed to be the worst at it. Judging by Nana’s grimacing face, she must have rejected him.
If the other person dislikes it, you back off. Yet Sam was being messy about it. Ishanka knew he wouldn’t have acted like that.
‘If it were me…’
His steps froze as if rooted to the ground.
‘If it were me… what?’
A sentence he couldn’t even handle appeared in his mind.
He could swear: he had never, not once, thought of Nana romantically.
At least, he thought he hadn’t.
Of course, he had some fondness.
But it was only that she was a little special compared to others. Probably not romantic.
He just wanted her to stay by his side…
“Um, Isha?”
Nana tapped his shoulder, snapping his scattered mind back to reality.
“What is it…”
“Wasn’t this your idea? You brought me here, didn’t you?”
Nana pointed to Ishanka’s hand holding hers.
‘Oh no… what have I just done?’
“Ah, no, well… it’s just that…”
He had brought her away from Sam because he didn’t like what he saw, but now he didn’t know what to say.
Even he, who had remained calm in front of thousands of enemies, couldn’t keep his composure in front of one woman.
His mind was in chaos. After a long silence, he finally managed to speak.
“…I found a hill full of flowers nearby. Would you like to go see it?”
Not a very convincing excuse—flowers, really? He silently scolded himself for the poor imagination.
“Sounds great. I’ve been wanting to go for a walk, perfect timing.”
Nana smiled brightly, accepting Ishanka’s awkward excuse.
Unbeknownst to him, she was actually grateful to Ishanka for helping her escape Sam, the disaster-questioning maniac.
The flower hill wasn’t far. Soon after they started climbing, the blue bellflowers shimmered in the sunlight.
Reaching the top, Nana gasped at the view. The fluttering blue bellflowers, golden flowers, and cistus created more of a forest than a flowerbed.
“There’s a place like this on the farmland… why didn’t I know?”
When she first became a farm owner, the land was just the farm and a lake.
But now, the Sweet Little Village and eastern forests had been converted to farmland, expanding her domain.
Now, as a major landowner, it was possible she forgot some areas. Yet she couldn’t have forgotten a flowerbed this large.
“You might not remember, but this place was cultivated by you.”
Nana tilted her head, confused.
“Look over there.”
Following Ishanka’s finger, she saw two zombies pulling weeds.
It wasn’t strange to Nana, who had long used zombies as workers, but she realized what Ishanka meant.
These were the first zombies she had encountered at the forge.
“Oh… the orders I gave back then… still…”
“Turn all land, except buildings, into a flower field!”
Back then, Nana had ordered the zombies to turn the farmland, except the buildings, into a flowerbed.
She had merely wanted to dispose of a beginner’s flower seed set she considered useless—but over time, that order had turned the area into a sea of flowers.
The seeds grew rapidly, helped by farmland buffs, and over time, they spread on their own, rooting and sprouting again.
The flower seeds were gone, but the flowers reproduced naturally.
While Nana’s order had initiated it, the growth was ultimately thanks to the vitality of the flowers themselves.
“It feels like receiving an unexpected gift.”
Nana smiled brightly.
Ishanka blinked. Her smile shone brighter than the hundreds of flowers before them.
Among the swaying flowers, she seemed vividly alive, more so than anything else.
He wanted to see that smile again.
Would she smile even brighter if he showed her another flower?
That thought sent Ishanka deeper into the flowerbed.
After scanning the area, he stopped not far from Nana, drew a dagger from his side, and began carefully cutting flowers.
His hands moved skillfully and swiftly, selecting, arranging, and gathering the blooms.
At that moment, a familiar voice called from behind.
“You were here?”
Nana had approached him, holding a straw hat filled with wild raspberries.
“There were so many raspberries inside. The basket filled up quickly!”
She smiled brightly.
“Dessert tonight is raspberry pie, then?”
“Yes. The rest I’ll make into jam.”
“Good idea. I hope you like it as much as these raspberries.”
He gently placed the flowers he had gathered on her head, the scent of leaves and blossoms filling the air.
A crown woven from flowers of various colors.
“These flowers were easier to work with than those over there, so I just made it.”
In truth, he thought it would suit her well.
The words rose to his throat but never escaped.
It felt strange, like forcing on clothing he had never worn.
And no wonder. He had never spoken sweetly to anyone, nor given a flower to anyone.
