I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I thought it was just a healing farming game
Episode 26

The crispy texture gave way to a fragrant shepherd’s purse aroma that filled her mouth.
“Mm. Delicious.”
Priam finished one Flower Pancake and reached for a second, asking me a question.
“Can you cook other plants like this too, Miel?”
“Hm? Yes. If it’s a plant I know?”
“That’s amazing. How do you know about cooking like this?”
“My grandmother taught me. Long ago, I used to make Flower Pancakes too!”
“Flower Pancakes?”
“When flowers bloom in spring, you pick edible flowers and place them on round dough and…….”
As I gestured and explained, the conversation naturally drifted into childhood memories.
Like the time the whole village made three hundred servings of kimchi together.
Or when I was cycling for exercise and a chicken beside me ran at exactly the same speed.
Though they were trivial stories, Priam listened with such bright, attentive eyes that I found myself speaking without pause.
“So I lived in the countryside until I was sixteen.”
“That must have been fun…….”
Priam, who had been resting his chin in both hands, stared at me for a moment before suddenly asking, as if he’d realized something.
“But Miel, aren’t you nineteen now? Why did you only live there until you were sixteen?”
I dipped the Flower Pancake deeply into strawberry sauce as I answered.
“I came down with a Rare Disease all of a sudden. From seventeen onward, I was in the hospital the whole time.”
“Ah.”
I answered matter-of-factly and bit into the Flower Pancake with a crisp snap.
But Priam, having heard the answer, seemed flustered and carefully offered an apology.
“I’m sorry, Miel.”
Shiad, sitting nearby, glanced back and forth between us both, gauging my reaction.
Startled by the suddenly somber mood, I quickly waved my hand.
“No, you don’t need to apologize. I was doing fine in the hospital!”
“How long were you……in the hospital?”
“Um. Roughly from when I was seventeen…… until I came here? I don’t remember how I ended up in Node, but since I arrived here, I’ve been perfectly healthy.”
My face and body were exactly the same as before. It was as if the illness had never existed in the first place — I felt completely well.
Like I’d been given a brand new body.
“I see…….”
“That’s why I’m so happy now. I get to eat delicious food, roam outside as much as I want. Today we all got together and ate Flower Pancakes! It’s really wonderful.”
Shiad listened to my words and smiled quietly, then gently reached out a hand.
The way he petted my head so softly, as if offering praise, was like stroking a small animal, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Miel is…….”
Priam murmured, looking down at the table.
“Hm?”
“You’re really bright and optimistic. Even after something so difficult.”
Embarrassed by the unexpected compliment, I spoke playfully.
“Come on, stop. Just eat lots of Flower Pancakes. You can eat as many as you want.”
Priam took a small bite of the Flower Pancake, his mouth working quietly. His eyes seemed lost in thought.
Sensing the strangely subdued atmosphere, I silently mouthed a question to Shiad.
‘Did I say something wrong?’
Shiad slowly shook his head.
Then a small murmur escaped from Priam’s lips.
“……Envious.”
“Hm? Of what?”
“Your optimism like that…….”
“Me?”
Optimism, he said.
Priam was the brightest and most optimistic resident in all of Node.
Bewildered, I replied.
“If you ask me, Priam’s more optimistic. You’re like human vitamin.”
“Vitamin…?”
“Oh, like bright citrus fruits? Apples? The kind that makes you feel good and energized when you have them!”
Priam offered a faint smile. But even that didn’t last long.
“You always see the best in things, Miel.”
He lowered his gaze as he spoke, his voice dropping to a murmur.
“I… couldn’t do that.”
I wanted to ask what had happened, but the mood didn’t invite such questions.
Rather than pry and trouble him further, I selected the loveliest of the fried shepherd’s purse and placed it on his plate.
“It’s alright. Even pessimistic you, I’ll love the same!”
Priam stared silently at the fried shepherd’s purse.
I leaned close to his ear and whispered like I was sharing a secret.
“I picked the prettiest one.”
“…Thank you, Miel.”
The shadow that had clouded Priam’s face lifted just slightly as a faint smile crossed his lips.

* * *

Once Priam finished his snack and left, the house fell quiet again.
There was still time before dinner.
“I’m going to take a walk. I’ll be back soon.”
I left the house. Priam’s words from earlier kept bothering me.
I’d thought of him as someone bright and eternally optimistic, but it seemed he didn’t see himself that way at all.
‘I wish I could cheer him up somehow. What would work?’
Now that I thought about it, I’d heard some of the villagers mention something on the way back from the mountain earlier.
They said Four-Leaf Clovers grew sometimes in the Field near the Village.
‘If I found a symbol of good fortune and gave it to him, wouldn’t Priam be happy?’
The thought spurred me into action immediately.
Once I reached the Field, I crouched down and began searching carefully through the three-leaf clovers.
As I combed through the grass with intense focus, I noticed two black cats perched on a nearby stone.
They were beautiful creatures with eyes as blue as the sea.
“Hello there, you two. Have you seen any Four-Leaf Clovers?”
I asked half-jokingly, and both cats tilted their heads at exactly the same moment.
“How cute!”
My reflexive exclamation startled them, and they bolted into the grass.
“Oh, I’m sorry…! Come back, please!”
I called after them pitifully, but the cats had already vanished and didn’t return.
“Sigh.”
I exhaled deeply and resumed my search for clovers.
“There has to be at least one around here…”
“What are you doing, customer?”
“Caw!”
Startled by the sudden voice beside me, I let out an undignified cry.
There was only one person who could show up at a moment like this. Kais.
I spotted him not far away, perched atop a large stone.
“How long have you been there?”
My heart was still racing. I steadied myself and asked.
“Oh, maybe an hour ago…?”
His voice came a bit rough, as though he’d been napping.
“Anyway, what are you doing over there? Did you lose something, customer?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m looking for a Four-Leaf Clover.”
I plucked a clover from the grass and held it up in front of him.
“One with four leaves on it. Supposedly a symbol of good luck!”
“Why are you looking for that?”
“A friend of mine seemed a bit down. I thought giving it to them might cheer them up.”
Kais twirled the clover stem between his fingers.
“You have a friend, customer?”
“Of course! I do have a friend.”
“Shiad doesn’t seem like the type to get down so easily…”
“It’s… it’s a secret who it is.”
“Then it must be Priam.”
I was caught red-handed, but I pretended not to hear and turned my gaze toward the grass.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll go on looking for it…”
“Do you need help?”
“No, not at all! Please, rest easy.”
I scurried across the Field like a chicken, hunting for clover through the grass.
“Where on earth could it be…”
Just as I was about to give up another fruitless search, a familiar presence drew near, and a black shoe stopped abruptly in my line of sight.
“Customer.”
“Yes?”
I answered dutifully, my gaze still fixed on the grass.
“Is it this one?”
I snapped my head up. In his hand lay an unmistakable Four-Leaf Clover.
“That’s it!”
I sprang to my feet, my eyes gleaming as I stared at the clover.
“Wow! How did you find it?”
“Eyes.”
“Wow. I’m jealous. Good fortune must be on its way to Kais soon.”
“Is that so? What good fortune?”
“Anything at all! Even small blessings will come your way.”
Kais raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Sounds like a scam to me.”
“Come on, trust me. Positive thinking really does attract luck—”
“Don’t believe it. Here, you take it.”
“Wow! Thank you!”
I snatched up the luck that had rolled into my hands.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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