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Chapter 30
“Those who held heavy swords in their hands pounded roughly on the castle gates, their blades and armor drenched in blood.”
There were people who came to the fortress in the novel.
“Why did I forget about that?”
The raiders had appeared suddenly and disappeared just as quickly.
They were gone not long after arriving, but it was still a fairly important episode.
“Lady?”
“Ah…”
At Lillia’s voice, I snapped out of my train of thought and quickly nodded.
“It’s a relief that the dry climate means nothing will spoil easily.”
“Indeed. We’ll have to stay here for a while longer, after all.”
Lillia glanced around my room, then pointed toward the open window.
“Shall I close the window for you?”
“No, it’s fine.”
I quickly shook my head. Lillia had been taking care of every little thing ever since I hurt my leg.
“I can do it myself.”
I only wanted to skip training — not be treated like an invalid.
“Heresthen might overlook me faking illness to get out of training…”
But if I used that as an excuse to make Lillia serve me, he definitely wouldn’t.
“Alright then, I’ll leave it open.”
When Lillia left the room, I closed the window and hurried to my desk.
“I thought I at least remembered the major plot points…”
The people who came to the fortress were from the Leton territory — the place the protagonist’s group first visited with the refugees.
They had claimed their lord grew greedy and seized all their food.
Unable to live under such tyranny, they abandoned their homeland and came here, seeking a new refuge.
This fortress, with its food stores and solid defenses against zombies, must have seemed ideal.
“But in the end, they just stole our supplies and ran.”
In the story, they had put sleeping drugs into the heroes’ food.
While everyone was drugged and asleep, they raided the storage rooms.
Heresthen had woken midway through, and they even took Lillia hostage to escape.
They’d come prepared — even bringing opium and taking hostages — just to steal food. Clearly, that had been their goal from the start.
Tap, tap, tap.
So now that I knew the reason food would go missing… what could I actually do about it?
Even if those people came to the fortress, we’d have no choice but to let them in.
After all, zombies would be chasing them, and neither Idorian nor Heresthen would allow innocent people to die outside the gate.
We couldn’t turn them away or keep the gates shut.
So the only thing I could do was…
“Guard the food storage, I guess.”
I fell asleep easily at night, but even small noises tended to wake me.
If I guarded the storage, maybe I could wake up the moment they tried to steal the supplies.
And if I made sure they couldn’t drug our food beforehand…
“Would that be enough to stop them?”
But these were people who’d crossed zombie-infested lands just to get here.
They’d come well-prepared. Could I really stop them alone?
Tok, tok, tok.
I didn’t need food myself, but still…
“Ah, the seeds!”
Just as I started to feel a headache from all the worrying about food shortages, I suddenly remembered what I’d told Idorian — that I wanted to receive seeds.
He’d said it was a good idea, so maybe, if I was lucky, the next imperial letter would include them.
I didn’t know exactly when the people from Leton would arrive, but if I started farming now, even if they did steal our supplies, we might still manage to be self-sufficient later.
With that thought, I decided I should confirm it.
I stood up, meaning to find Idorian and ask if he had mentioned the seeds in his letter to the Emperor.
But just as I stepped into the hall, I saw Heresthen coming up the stairs.
He spotted me, then lowered his gaze to my leg.
He stared at the bandages wrapped around it, then lifted his eyes back to mine.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Ah, I just had a quick question for His Highness the Crown Prince.”
My tone was casual, but since our last conversation hadn’t exactly ended cleanly, I expected him to start questioning me again.
I quickly began thinking of how to answer whatever suspicion he might raise next.
“He’s in the kitchen,” Heresthen said instead.
Then, without another word, he walked right past me.
That reaction was… completely unexpected.
I couldn’t help turning my head to watch him walk away, but quickly looked forward again, afraid our eyes might meet.
Click.
I heard the door close behind me.
“What was that…”
Was he suspicious but unsure, so he decided to wait?
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but at least he didn’t seem intent on making a big deal out of it.
Casting one last glance at his closed door, I made my way to the kitchen.
“Seeds?”
Idorian looked back at me while cutting large chunks of potatoes and carrots to throw into a big pot.
“I’ve already informed His Majesty. If we’re lucky, they’ll arrive with the next letter.”
He glanced down briefly at my leg before continuing.
“Did you do that yourself?”
“Ah, Lumi helped me. Anyway, when the seeds arrive, where should I plant them?”
Idorian paused, ladle in hand, and gave me a slightly puzzled look.
A faint crease appeared between his brows.
“…Wherever you’d like.”
He turned away again, answering as if it weren’t an important matter.
“Then maybe near the well would be best — close to water.”
He gave a noncommittal nod and went back to stirring the pot.
He didn’t seem particularly interested in farming.
Once the chicken he had browned earlier was added to the pot, he poured in water.
“I’ve never planted anything before. I’ll need to till the soil first, right?”
I asked carefully, watching his movements.
I guess I should make a small field or garden first…
But since I’d never farmed before, I had no idea where to start.
“Yeah, you’ll probably need to clear stones and weeds first,” he said.
“And then?”
“Usually, you’d make ridges and furrows. Then plant the crops.”
Idorian tilted his head slightly as he spoke.
“I’ve read about it, but I don’t know the details either.”
After closing the pot’s lid, he began tidying up the counter.
“Are you really planning to grow crops?”
When I nodded, he gestured with his chin for me to follow and left the kitchen.
We crossed the corridor, and he opened a small door beneath the west staircase.
“What’s inside here is what you’ll need for farming.”
When I leaned down to look, a dusty smell hit my nose.
It was dim inside, with no windows, and I could make out baskets, hammers, and three-pronged forks scattered around.
I stepped closer to get a better look at the pile of farming tools.
“Wait here — I’ll bring a lantern,” Idorian said, his footsteps retreating down the hall.
Left alone, I looked around the storage space.
Between old shovels and baskets, I spotted a tool with a hooked, claw-like end — perfect for breaking up soil.
Just as I reached for it, the room suddenly brightened.
“Phew.”
Idorian exhaled, waving off a cloud of dust as he stepped in with a lantern.
“There’s way too much dust. I’ll get what you need — stay outside.”
“I think this one’s enough.”
I lifted the rake I’d found among the baskets.
Idorian nodded.
“Alright, let’s go. Be careful — there are sharp things everywhere.”
He brushed at his face as if something — maybe a cobweb — had stuck to it.
And just then, something flashed quickly past in front of him.
