I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game - Chapter 91

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

I thought this was supposed to be a healing farming game.
Episode 91

“Kaies, since when did you become so generous? Last time you wouldn’t even give me carrot juice for free……”
“So you’re complaining?”
“No! I’ll eat every last bite!”
I quickly shifted my posture and cut the meat into large pieces.
After working in the fields, my appetite sharpened, and I could eat far more than usual.
“Would you like a piece too, Kaies?”
I held out a piece of meat I’d cut as a matter of courtesy.
Then Kaies opened his mouth.
‘Huh?’
I’d naturally assumed he’d take the fork.
A bit flustered, I simply reached out and placed the meat directly into his mouth.
Kaies chewed and swallowed silently, then asked abruptly.
“Is it really just because of the farming?”
The food nearly caught in my throat. I gulped down the entire piece and quickly drank some water before answering.
“Of course! Why? What do you mean?”
“Nothing, really. Just a feeling.”
Kaies’s eyes scanned my face from top to bottom.
“A feeling?”
“Your eyes have changed. Before, they were just bright and eager.”
I felt a sting of shame but quickly changed the subject.
“It’s probably just fatigue. You always have that vacant look in your eyes anyway.”
“That’s me being me, and you being you.”
He certainly has sharp instincts. Does dealing with so many people do that to you?
I cupped my cheeks with both hands and made a pouty face.
“Do I really look that bad?”
“I’m saying it out of concern. You’re different from how you usually are.”
When Kaies gave me an honest answer, my heart inexplicably warmed.
“I see…… Thank you for worrying about me.”
Ever since my visit to Siard’s underground chamber, countless thoughts had been circling through my mind.
What sort of place was that, anyway?
If I thought of it as a hospital or prison for severely ill patients, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
But what bothered me even more was……
‘Siard feels like a stranger now.’
I worried that when I saw Siard again, I wouldn’t be able to treat him the way I used to.
That we wouldn’t be able to get along like before. The thought made me melancholy.
And yet……

‘Don’t dig too deeply into the residents’ affairs.’

I couldn’t confess everything honestly to Kaies, who had given me such a warning.
“If you tell me what’s wrong, I’ll help however I can.”
At Kaies’s casual offer, my eyes widened.
“……Why are you being so kind today?”
“Because it’s unpleasant to watch you moping around like a sickly chick.”
“What did you just say?! A sickly chick?”
After bickering back and forth about the exaggerated comparison, my mood improved considerably.
Kaies, watching me pout with my lips thrust out, smiled softly while resting his chin on his hand.

Kaies’s Affinity +10

“That’s better now.”
His expression, unusually gentle, made me feel oddly embarrassed for having sulked.
“You haven’t even come by to read lately.”
“Hm? Are you bored without me here?”
Her eyes sparkled as she leaned her upper body toward Kaies.
Instead of denying my words, I fell silent. My eyes widened as I wondered if she was serious.
Gladness tumbled the words right out of my mouth.
“I’ll read for a good while before I go today!”
After we finished eating, we climbed together to the Study on the second floor.
I selected a book, settled into a seat, and turned the pages at a leisurely pace while occasionally scanning the surroundings.

– Kaies’s ??

I still hadn’t found any clues about Kaies and Priam in the Hidden Quest.
‘If it’s Kaies… hmm. Maybe there’s a space behind the bookshelf?’
Like a door opening when you pull out a single book.
Lost in such daydreams while reading, the world outside grew dark before I knew it.
I was just getting up to leave after finishing one book.
“Here, Princess.”
Kaies held out an Access Card to me.
“Oh, an Access Card?”
“From now on, don’t bother asking the staff every time. Just come in whenever you like.”
“Really? I can come and go as I please?”
“Yes.”
“Wow!”
I threw both arms open in delight. Kaies scrawled his signature on some documents and added, “Just don’t steal anything.”
“Don’t steal anything.”
“Come on. What do you take me for? I’m only going to read. And I’ll put the books right back where they belong.”
Kaies was beginning to trust me.
My spirits soared at once, but in the same breath, a small anxiety took root in my chest.
‘It’s good that Kaies opened his heart to me… but what if he finds out later that I’ve been secretly prying into the townspeople?’
If he learned that I’d ignored his warnings multiple times, he might feel deeply betrayed by me.
“Have a good evening, Princess.”
If that happened, he might never treat me the same way again.
My earlier excitement deflated in an instant.
“See you next time, Kaies.”
I opened the door as usual and descended the stairs, wrestling with my thoughts all the while.
Should I just stop digging any further and let everything remain buried?
That way, I could go on living happily, knowing nothing.
Since everyone was kind to me, I didn’t want to be hated by them.

* * *

As I stepped out of the Tavern, a cool autumn breeze brushed across my face.
‘Tomorrow’s the village council meeting already.’
Siard would naturally attend as well.
Walking with worry about whether I could treat him normally, a warm voice reached me from behind.
“Miel.”
My shoulders flinched involuntarily as I turned around, and violet eyes were fixed precisely on me.
Speak of the devil.
“S-Siard.”
“What a pleasant surprise to meet you here.”
Siard approached without hiding his delight.
“Really! Running into you like this… it’s nice to see you.”
I tried to answer as I normally would, but my voice trembled slightly.
“I feel the same way. Ah, are you also attending the village council meeting tomorrow?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Of course. It’s mandatory, after all.”
“Then we’ll see each other tomorrow as well.”
Siard’s eyes softened with quiet joy.

Siard’s Affinity +10

Uncertain what to say, I laughed awkwardly and studied his face carefully.
The welcome in his expression and the gentle way he spoke to me were no different from how I’d always known him to be.
“How are the crops coming along?”
“Oh, well enough! Though I’ve been frantic planting autumn seedlings these days.”
“Please don’t overexert yourself.”
“You need to take care of yourself too, Siard. You’re always busy with the clinic work.”
As we exchanged these ordinary pleasantries, a sharp wind swept through.
Leaves scattered down, and I squeezed my eyes shut before opening them slowly.
In that moment, Siard’s hand drew close to my hair.
An automatic tension seized me, and my body went rigid.
His fingertips brushed gently through my hair and plucked away a single fallen leaf.
“You had a leaf caught in your hair.”
His touch was careful, as though handling something fragile.
The strange figure I’d glimpsed in the basement seemed nowhere in sight.
I found myself wondering if I’d merely imagined it all.
“You have one too.”
When I pointed to his shoulder, he bent forward naturally, as if asking me to remove it myself.
Though startled for a moment, I pretended indifference and brushed away the leaf clinging to his outer garment.
The corners of Siard’s mouth curved upward gently.
“Got it.”
“Thank you. Autumn’s made the wind quite fierce—the leaves are falling all around.”
The peaceful landscape of Node as it always was, and Siard’s familiar figure.
‘Yes, this is the Siard I’ve come to know.’
From the moment he first saved me until now, entering the third season together, he had always been consistent.
And I wanted nothing more than to trust him without question.
‘I don’t even understand what the situation was. I can’t let myself grow suspicious based on just a glimpse.’
When I recalled the man’s behavior in the basement, he was clearly not in his right mind.
Violent, brutal—
He’d even wielded glass shards and wounded Siard.
If that was the case, there must be an important reason they had to be kept in the basement.
This rationalization lifted a weight from my heart, and I smiled up at him.
Siard let the leaf drift away and opened his palm. A bandage came into view along the inside of his hand.
The smile faded slowly from my lips.
“…Siard.”
“Yes?”
“Why…are you hurt?”
Upon hearing my question, he glanced down at his own palm and answered without concern.
“I apologize. You did warn me to be careful.”
He covered the wound on his palm uncomfortably.
“I injured myself on a crafting tool while making potions.”

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