🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 61
“Did you see that shot just now? My swing was insane today.”
“The wood stuck to it perfectly. The sound alone was art.”
The nobles’ voices rolled across the manicured grass.
As if the world were still intact, they laughed, drank, and enjoyed themselves.
Fine cigars in hand, perfectly trimmed grass underfoot.
The Royal Imperial Grounds remained a playground for the upper class.
And behind them, quiet shadows stood in a line.
Boys silently following, holding woods with golf clubs tucked under their arms.
Neatly dressed, upright posture, but their eyes were strangely empty.
Like decorations with no sound, expression, or warmth.
“Hey, hold that wood properly. If it gets scratched, you’ll pay for it.”
“Why do these kids look so lifeless? Come on, dance a little to get in the spirit.”
“……”
“Don’t you hear me? Deaf? No mouth?”
“Hey, leave them. What if they ruin the wood dancing? Even if we sold all of them, they wouldn’t cover the cost.”
Sneers and mockery passed among them casually.
Brazen malice flaunted openly, an almost everyday sight.
One of them prepared for the next shot.
Placing the ball, swing—
Thunk.
The ball curved through the air and flew far.
“Nice shot again! The wine’s mine!”
“Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself. The real winner always comes from a comeback.”
One noble chuckled as he leisurely walked down the fairway.
But his leisure didn’t last long.
“…The ball’s gone.”
“What?”
“I could’ve sworn it landed here.”
The ball had disappeared without a trace. The startled nobles’ gaze fell on the children.
“You stole it, didn’t you? How dare you touch your master’s ball?”
Despite the false accusation, the children only bit their lips. But the real culprit was elsewhere.
“Oh, our Tanbang did well—.”
“Myang myang myang.”
Nana, sitting in the shade of the forest, welcomed Tanbang, who returned with the feathered ball in its mouth, holding it affectionately.
She fondly ruffled through Tanbang’s fur and head with loving fingers.
Gently taking the leather ball from Tanbang, she spun it on her hand.
“Oh, this looks pretty valuable. Losing this would sting a lot, huh?”
Bouncing the ball lightly, she turned her gaze to the message window that appeared before her.
<The nobles’ anger level increases.>
<Anger Gauge: ■□□□□□□ >
“Already? Well, now it really begins.”
At the teeing ground, the key spot for a golf swing, Nana had Lucas pour two full buckets of water without hesitation.
Water overflowed across the grass, quickly turning the ground into a muddy mess. Nobles finishing their putting on the distant green were approaching the teeing ground.
Their voices remained cheerful and confident.
“Did you see that? My last putt line. Ah, this is why I love golf.”
“Today’s score should go into the official record.”
“But it feels like someone keeps messing with our balls.”
‘Time to hide.’
As Nana disappeared into the forest, the nobles arrived at the teeing ground.
“…What is this?”
Seeing the teeing ground turned into a mud pit, their expressions immediately changed.
“What kind of maintenance is this? This isn’t a place to stand!”
“How are we supposed to play if the first spot is like this?”
Some began furiously searching for the groundskeeper, while others shouted into the air, frustrated at how it could be allowed.
Yet the game had to continue.
The first to tee off was a well-fed noble.
The moment he stepped on the teeing ground, he frowned at the strange squish beneath his feet.
His handmade leather shoes sank into the mud with a sticky sound.
“Tch… damn it…”
Grumbling as he walked on the grass, he managed to fix his tee, wobbling as he awkwardly took stance.
His posture alone looked unstable.
But the waterlogged ground was far slipperier than expected.
As he swung, his balance collapsed.
Plop!
The corpulent noble slipped and fell, covered in mud from head to toe.
“Puhaha! What’s that stance?!”
“One elegant tee shot? Nice new technique, huh? Hilarious!”
Other nobles burst into laughter.
And with his posture ruined, the ball flew at a strange angle, disappearing into the forest beyond.
The mud-covered noble jumped up screaming.
“Do you know how much this outfit costs?! Who the hell messed with the grass like this?!”
Still, yelling into the air wasn’t enough; his anger spread elsewhere.
“Hey! You livestock! What are you standing around for? Get over here and clean it up!”
<The target transfers extreme embarrassment to others.>
<Anger Gauge: ■■■□□□□>
Despite the ridiculous scolding, the children didn’t change their expressions.
Without excuses or rebellion, they silently knelt and cleaned the dirty shoes as if it were routine.
Watching from the forest, Nana clicked her tongue softly.
“Expected, but they still haven’t learned. Good, round two.”
Nana’s sabotage didn’t stop.
The first tactic was simple but effective.
She stealthily crept onto the fairway, stepped lightly on the ball, and pressed it several times with her foot.
Crrk-.
Something broke, but Nana didn’t care.
‘As long as my ankle isn’t broken.’
Soon, the nobles arrived at the fairway and shouted.
“What is this?! Who did this to my ball?! It’s ruined!”
As one noble slammed his wood to the ground in frustration, Ishanka released a forest companion.
“Grrr-!”
A wild boar charged onto the fairway like a bulldozer.
“Go, Pikachu! No, Pigtchu!”
“Squeeeek-!”
The nobles on the fairway panicked at the sudden boar.
“A boar! Get out of the way!”
“Help! Somebody save me!”
Pride, dignity—everything was abandoned. Screaming, the nobles fled in all directions.
“Hey! You livestock! Stop them… Aah, it’s coming this way!”
<Nobles’ fear and frustration explode.>
<Anger Gauge: ■■■■■□□>
The field became a chaotic chase scene between a single wild boar and the upper-class nobles.
Sweat-soaked shirts, torn pants, shattered pride.
No trace of a polished noble remained—only survivors after the chaos.
Yet, they didn’t give up the game.
“…Alright. This time, focus and hit it right.”
One noble attempted serious concentration.
From the sky, a crow flew in, followed by several more, swarming like darkness.
Their wings sliced the wind, diving toward the nobles.
“Caw! Caw caw caw!”
“Ah, what are these birds?!”
The crows attacked any gleaming ornaments or gold embroidery they saw.
“Get them off me! Shoo!”
“Hey, livestock! What are you waiting for? Chase them away!”
“This is my family crest! How dare you… ah, my necklace—!”
One crow even snatched a noble’s feathered ball and soared into the sky.
“No! My ball! It’s custom-made from premium leather—!”
The crows carried off their spoils, the nobles screamed and flailed—a total chaos.
Watching from afar, Nana smiled.
“Oh, didn’t see that coming.”
Perfect timing, as if the system itself carried her.
The nobles’ patience was exhausted by extreme stress. The elegant social field had become a brawl with hair-pulling and spitting.
“Who’s responsible?! Did someone plan this today to screw us over?!”
“Was it you? Did you release them because you thought you’d win?!”
“What? That guy talks like that?!”
Suspicion arose among the nobles, their previous smiles replaced with sharp eyes, fewer words, and constant vigilance.
From the forest shade, Nana casually opened her skill window.
<Anger Gauge: ■■■■■■□>
‘This quest is ridiculously easy. Totally free loot.’
Finally, one noble threw his wood down in frustration.
“What am I supposed to do in this environment?! Playing with livestock or something?!”
The anger gauge reacted, filling the remaining portion.
<Anger Gauge: ■■■■■■■>
<Conditional Quest: ‘What’s a silly ball game anyway’ completed.>
Quest successfully completed.
Reward obtained: Ownership of the Royal Imperial Grounds.
Do you wish to declare this area as your new farm?
※ Upon declaration, farm-related skills and traits are automatically applied.
Nana declared the land as a farm without hesitation.
Though the ground seemed unchanged on the surface, purified by the Life Stone, even the breeze brushing her feet felt different.
“Look over there!”
Lucas suddenly pointed to the sky.
The gray clouds dispersed, and a ray of sunlight shone down on the Royal Imperial Grounds, just like Nana’s farm in Sweet Little Village.
Looking at the sight, Lucas turned to Nana.
“I may be a country bumpkin knight, but I understand this: this is now Lady Adrienne’s land, right?”
“Yes.”
As Nana nodded, a golden system message flashed with fanfare.
<Congratulations! You now own a massive 30-hectare estate. You have earned the title of Landowner.>
<Farm level has increased by 3 stages, unlocking exclusive landowner skills.>
Scrolling through, the immense rewards continued. Nana’s eyes shone—not with greed, but hope.
