I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game - Chapter 69

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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 this was supposed to be a healing farming game.
69

After studying my face for a moment, he spoke with quiet reassurance.
“It should be fine to go without tea for a while.”
“Ah… yes.”
“If your insomnia grows severe again, please tell me.”
“Yes, I will.”
To put Siard at ease, I drew a deep breath and let a smile play across my lips.
‘That’s right. Things have a way of working themselves out.’
I’d lost my parents in a car accident and been left alone with Grandmother. I’d weathered illness that ravaged my body.
I’d even adapted when I suddenly dropped into Node.
I’d managed to survive each time, so I could manage this too.
This time would be no different.

* * *

A few days later.
“Eggs, carrots…”
I’d run out of ingredients and filled a basket at the market.
Just as I was heading out after picking up some thinly sliced beef brisket at the butcher, a familiar tea package caught my eye.
“This! It’s just like what Siard gave me, isn’t it?”
The packaging looked similar, and the contents seemed to match the tea Siard had been giving me.
“Is this the tea Siard uses?”
Truth be told, ever since I’d stopped drinking the tea, sleepless nights had crept back in here and there.
But it wasn’t bad enough to ask Siard for more tea again.
I figured a light cup before bed wouldn’t hurt, and after some deliberation, I added the Tea Leaves to my basket.
However…
“Hmm…”
The tea Siard gave me had been remarkably effective.
But when I brewed and drank it before bed, it didn’t work nearly as well as I’d hoped. It felt like a completely different tea altogether.
The next morning, I stretched my sluggish body with a long yawn.
“Aaah.”
Yawns kept spilling out because of my sleep deprivation.
“Haaaawn.”

Stamina: 55/100

I’d eaten and slept, yet my stamina was still this low.
‘I need to build my energy back up with some food.’
Suppressing another yawn, I opened the refrigerator. I’d keep it simple with yesterday’s ingredients.
I layered finely chopped vegetables onto the thinly sliced beef brisket, rolled it up, and seared it golden-brown in a pan.
While the meat cooked, I made a quick sauce.
I dipped a steaming roll of meat into the sauce and took a bite. The vegetables snapped between my teeth, and the mushrooms crunched satisfyingly.
‘Good nutrition balance. If I made this for the Twins… they’d refuse to eat it.’
They’d turn their noses up the instant they spotted all those vegetables inside.
As I ate, I caught myself naturally thinking of the villagers, and I smiled faintly.
‘I’ve really grown attached to Node.’
It truly felt like a second home now.
If a day came when I had to leave, I’d probably cry far more than I expected.
I polished off six rolls and finished washing up, then got dressed.
“Right. Let’s get moving!”
If I threw myself into fieldwork and housework all day, I’d be tired enough to sleep well tonight!
Following my plan, I bustled around all day long until my calves were sore.
“Huff…”
Hours later, I flopped onto the sofa and caught my breath in gasps.
‘This is really exhausting.’
Evening hadn’t even arrived, yet I felt ready to collapse into sleep at any moment.
But if I dozed off now, I’d surely wake at dawn. So I dragged my weary body back outside.
While exchanging greetings with residents as I headed toward the Plaza, I spotted familiar faces.
“Hello, Your Highness.”
“Kaies! And Siard is here too?”
“Lady Miel.”
The two of them, who had been examining a ledger, both looked up at me.
I stepped back hastily.
“Is this an important discussion? Should I leave?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Siard answered first, studying my face with quiet attention.
“But… have you been sleeping well lately?”
Between the restless nights and a day of constant motion, my complexion must have looked poor.
Noticing his concern, I answered with exaggerated brightness.
“I’m fine!”
Kaies, standing beside me, stared at my face for a long moment before bluntly contradicting me.
“Fine? You look more exhausted than I am.”
“No, really, I’m fine. Actually, I saw something similar to those tea leaves you gave me when I was shopping yesterday!”
“Is that so?”
“I bought some and tried it, but it wasn’t nearly as good as what you gave me.”
Siard seemed slightly surprised that I’d actually purchased and brewed tea on my own, a faint smile crossing his face.
“It would naturally be different. What I gave you wasn’t merely tea.”
“Really? What makes it different?”
“I combined it with medicinal herbs to have a calming effect.”
“Goodness. What herbs did you combine with it?”
He, who usually explained everything readily, fell silent this time and pressed his lips together.
“That’s a secret.”
“Oh, I see…”
I was disappointed, but I didn’t press further.
Besides, even a healer must have trade secrets he can’t easily share.
Just then, Kaies, who had been standing beside me with his arms crossed, suddenly leaned his weight against me.
His bulk was heavier than expected, and my body swayed precariously.
“Oof!”
“So you just accepted whatever Siard gave you?”
“Mmhm.”
As I grunted, bracing Kaies with both hands, he whispered with a playful glint in his eyes.
“Want to know what was in it?”
Even as I strained to support his weight, I couldn’t help but let out a skeptical laugh.
“You’re saying Siard poisoned the tea?”
“Who knows?”
“There’s absolutely no chance of that!”
I punctuated each word firmly as I shoved Kaies away.
Kaies shrugged and straightened up beside me.
“If you give your trust that easily, you’ll end up betrayed.”
“That won’t happen.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“Because Siard is my benefactor—the one who brought me here and looked after me.”
Kaies tilted his head slowly toward me.
As his face drew near, I stared blankly at it before he locked his eyes with mine and spoke.
“I could do the same thing. If I set my mind to it, is there anything I couldn’t do for you, Your Highness?”
I glanced sidelong at Siard and lowered my voice.
“Are you telling me not to trust Siard?”
“I’m telling you to keep your guard up.”
At that moment, Siard wedged his hand between us and gently pushed Kaies’s face away.
“Both of you, that’s enough.”
Though Siard stepped in to mediate, I couldn’t let Kaies’s words pass unanswered.
“Keep my guard up? Do you distrust everyone?”
“It’s only natural.”
“Then you can’t trust me either?”
“Yes.”
Her mind went blank at his answer—so certain, so utterly free of doubt.
“Wait, why not?”
“What is there to trust? People flip their loyalties like turning over a palm.”
I found myself speechless, stunned into silence.
A terrible thought crept in—did Siard doubt me too? I turned to him, my face crumpling.
Siard offered an awkward smile and spoke softly.
“Kaies tends to be rather blunt and harsh in his expression. Please don’t take offense.”
Though Siard spoke in a soothing tone, the look I’d just seen on Kaies’s face was anything but playful.
A strange sadness settled over me.
“It’s only because we haven’t known each other long yet, is it? If we spend more time together, you’ll trust me then?”
“No. I don’t trust anyone to begin with.”
“Then why not?!”
“You’re the one who should answer that, princess. Why do you assume it’s so natural to trust others? I find it far stranger that you give your heart away so easily.”
“How can anyone live without trusting a soul? There are so many good people in this world……!”
I couldn’t even imagine such a thing.
‘To build walls around yourself like that—it would be so lonely, so exhausting.’
Siard patted my drooping shoulders and added his words to the fray.
“Kaies’s philosophy is not shared by everyone. Please don’t trouble yourself over it.”
That gentle touch offered me a measure of comfort.
‘And yet he refuses to trust someone as kind and tender as Siard…….’
If I couldn’t trust the one person who had always helped me in my darkest moments, the one who had stood beside me and looked after me—then who in this world could I possibly trust?

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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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