TERMS 18

Chapter 18

I could still hear Hailey’s tearful voice echoing in my ears.

Baron remembered his childhood, drifting through battlefields surrounding the northern Gate zones.

The so-called adults around me were always busy trying to push me onto the battlefield.

Yet Hailey told him not to grow up because it was dangerous. What an absurd thing to say.

And yet… his lips curled up on their own before he even realized it.

Bloden’s eyes shifted back into a violet hue.

Returning fully to Baron, he closed the book and placed the fountain pen back into the spatial pouch. Then he turned his gaze toward where Hailey should be.

He couldn’t see her beyond the wall, but she was surely working hard on the other side.

She’ll find it much easier now.

Last night, while she was asleep, the earth spirit Kamen had helped a bit.

At Bloden’s command—make it fertile without leaving traces—Kamen had lifted the marked surface layer of soil and shifted it aside.

Then he removed all stones, gravel, and rough soil underneath and carried them away somewhere, replacing them with fertile earth. After that, he carefully returned the original surface and packed it down so nothing would look out of place.

However, Baron had instructed him to leave the exact area Hailey had first started digging unchanged. If the stones suddenly disappeared overnight, she would definitely find it suspicious.

Baron stood up.

Let’s see how much progress she’s made.

＊ ＊ ＊

Thinking the ground was rough, I had planned to work only within a comfortable limit before going out to gather seafood.

But as I worked the hoe, the soil turned over far too easily, so I kept glancing at the weather.

The sky was clear, but the previously calm sea breeze was growing stronger. The waves would get rough too, so going into the water didn’t seem like a good idea.

Faster sprouting is better for crops anyway.

Decision made.

Today, I’d finish the field instead of going to the sea.

Imagining a future filled with green sprouts made me feel satisfied.

“Hey, sis.”

Baron’s voice came from behind as I was finishing up.

I stopped and wiped my sweat with my sleeve, straightening my back.

“Yeah, you’re here?”

“Looks like you’re almost done.”

I nodded and looked over the field. The neat furrows filled me with pride, and I couldn’t help smiling.

“I checked, and most of it is already fertile soil. Turns out only yesterday’s area had all the stones.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. I think I just need to sow seeds and water it now.”

Baron’s gaze drifted toward the stream.

“Then should I bring the seeds you bought from the market? Or fetch water from the stream?”

He was too kind.

Even though I kept telling him he didn’t need to help, he always tried anyway.

“No, it’s fine. I need to prepare dinner anyway. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

I put the hoe away in the shed, set up a fire pit in the sand in front of the house, and hung a pot over it, adding soaked soybeans and water.

Soon, white steam rose with the scent of boiling beans.

“You’re boiling a lot of beans.”

“Yeah. I’m making tofu.”

“Tofu? What’s that?”

“It’s made by grinding soybeans, straining them through cloth… separating soy milk and pulp. Then you heat the soy milk and solidify it into food.”

“Soy milk? Pulp?”

I explained it step by step.

Baron listened with interest but kept tilting his head. To someone from this romance-fantasy world, it was clearly unfamiliar.

“I don’t think the Empire has anything like that.”

“It’s food I used to eat before. It’s very good for health and beauty.”

I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

And secretly hoped he’d like it.

I’ll make it really delicious.

＊ ＊ ＊

By the time the tofu was finished, it was already getting dark.

When I went inside and lit the lamp, the wall-mounted jar emitted a gentle glow on its own.

It still felt mysterious.

It should’ve been inside a glass bottle, yet earlier in the day I couldn’t even see it clearly.

“I thought it might’ve run away. But it’s still here.”

Baron chuckled at my mutter.

“Flash fireflies are really, really small. So small you can barely see them.”

“I see… but doesn’t Search get hungry? What do we feed it?”

Baron climbed onto a chair and opened the jar.

“Huh? You’re letting it out?”

“Yeah. If you release it, it finds food nearby on its own and plays. And since it adjusts its own light, it’s probably already domesticated.”

“What? Already tamed?”

“I trained it, didn’t I? This species has high intelligence even as insects.”

“?”

All I had done was lightly praise it and call its name while touching the jar.

“Call its name, and it’ll come whenever you need it.”

It was hard to believe, but in a romance fantasy world, maybe creatures like that existed.

Once released, Search flew around the room and stuck to the ceiling.

The entire house became brightly lit.

It reminded me of LED ceiling lights from my old world, making me laugh.

“Thanks, Search.”

In the now-bright house, I cooked rice, made soybean stew with cabbage, and prepared rolled omelet.

Steam rose from the freshly made tofu placed on the plate, and Baron’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow… I’ve never seen food like this. The smell is strange too.”

Since I didn’t have proper seasoning for tofu, I used small amounts of spicy pickled olives, jalapeños, ketchup, and mustard from the market.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

Finally—food.

I picked up my fork in a good mood.

But Baron just stared at the table blankly.

“Do you not like it? If it’s too unfamiliar, I can give you bread instead.”

“No, I just don’t know which is the appetizer and which is the main dish.”

“Oh.”

Right. Eating style is different here.

“This is rice, and everything else is side dishes.”

“Rice… and side dishes?”

“Yeah. You can eat rice first, then choose whatever side dish you like, or eat them together.”

I scooped a spoonful of rice, added tofu and sauce, and lifted it.

“Say ahh.”

“Huh?”

Baron’s face turned slightly pink, but he obediently opened his mouth like a baby bird.

The spoon slipped in.

His cheeks puffed up.

“How is it?”

He chewed carefully, then his eyes widened.

“What—what is this?!”

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! It’s light but rich… kind of like pudding but different. It melts in your mouth.”

“Right? That’s how you eat it. Now, ahh again.”

I fed him another spoon.

“Ahh.”

I tried to feed him side dishes too, but he covered his mouth with his hand.

He seemed to think it was rude to open his mouth again before finishing what was already inside.

“There’s another way. You put everything in order and eat it together. Watch.”

I demonstrated, chewing and swallowing slowly.

While I ate, Baron finished chewing his rice.

“Even just one thing is tasty… but putting food in one after another is really strange.”

I also fed him rolled omelet. As he chewed carefully, light gradually filled his eyes.

Even without asking, I could see how happy he was, which made me feel proud.

“That’s how you do it.”

“Okay.”

I started eating too—but Baron suddenly stopped.

“…Why again?”

He tilted his head.

“I kind of… get it but don’t get it.”

“Huh?”

“I just saw it, but maybe because the eating style is unfamiliar… I can’t remember.”

“……”

No way.

I stared at him.

Baron puffed his cheeks slightly.

“If you feed me one more time… I think I’ll understand better.”