Chapter 12
Estelle followed Peter not to the fields they had just seen, but to a large barn next to them.
Peter stopped in front of the barn and turned to check if Estelle was still following him.
“Estelle, are you keeping up?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll explain today’s farm task and what you and I need to do.”
Ahem.
Peter cleared his throat and began speaking while looking at Estelle.
“Today’s goal is one of the most important farm tasks—helping the crops grow better by spreading fertilizer.”
As soon as he said that, he grabbed the barn door handle and pulled it open with force.
A strong smell of old manure rushed out from inside.
The sharp smell hit Estelle’s nose, and she instinctively wrinkled her face.
“The smell is pretty strong, huh?”
“It’s okay. I was just surprised, that’s all.”
But it only lasted a moment. Estelle relaxed her expression and walked into the barn.
The smell was bad, but the fertilizer seemed to be well managed—it wasn’t unbearable.
“So, is it my job to spread this fertilizer?”
“No, that part will be done by other workers. What we’ll do is move this fertilizer to the fields next door so it’s ready to be spread. We just need to mix it up and load it into the cart.”
Peter brought over two shovels from somewhere and handed the smaller one to Estelle.
Then he walked up to the manure pile and showed her how to do it with his own shovel.
“Want to give it a try? It might be hard since it’s your first time.”
Estelle nodded and went to his side.
She glanced over the manure pile, then stuck her shovel into the spot right next to where Peter had dug.
“Hup!”
She gave a small grunt of effort, and the shovel moved up and down in the pile. When she lifted it, it held a big mound of manure like a scoop of rice.
Estelle turned the shovel and dumped the manure into the cart.
“That’s it! Just like that. You’re really good for your first try.”
“Thank you. It’s thanks to your clear demonstration.”
“I didn’t do anything. You’re just good at it.”
After a short exchange of compliments, the two got to work in earnest.
Whenever the cart was filled with manure, another worker came to take it and brought an empty one.
After doing this several times, when about half the manure in the barn was gone, Estelle finally straightened her back.
“Hoo…”
It was her first time doing hard labor, so she let out a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
But after a short break, she got right back to work.
She didn’t show signs of being tired.
She believed that by doing this, she would build stamina and one day be able to swing her sword freely again.
As Peter quietly watched Estelle work steadily, he muttered to himself.
“Hmm… She’s really different from what I heard.”
Hearing him from behind, Estelle turned to look at him.
“Different from what you heard?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing. People just said you seemed kind of distant…”
Peter scratched his head and answered, realizing he may have said too much. He waved his hands quickly.
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way! They just don’t know how to approach you but want to be friends. You know what I mean, right?”
Peter seemed worried that his comment might create misunderstandings between Estelle and the others.
He kept adding excuses, watching Estelle’s face nervously.
But Estelle simply listened with a blank expression.
Then, without saying anything, she turned her head and got back to work.
Unlike Peter’s worries, she didn’t really feel anything about it.
In fact, she was more concerned about how nervous Peter looked.
So she intentionally changed the subject.
“Peter, you smell nice.”
“I do?”
“Yes. You smell like soil and fresh plants.”
It was a scent that felt different but familiar. A scent she missed.
She had smelled that same scent every day while living in the elf forest.
Estelle took a deep breath, as if to engrave the scent deep inside her.
Peter, confused by the sudden change in topic, blinked.
Then he smiled and answered warmly.
“Really? That’s nice to hear.”
“…”
“I hope Reina thinks so too.”
At those words, Estelle’s hands, which had been moving busily, suddenly froze.
“Why?”
“Well, because we’re friends, I want to look good in front of her.”
Looking a bit shy, Peter rubbed his cheek and spoke slowly.
“From the moment I first met Reina, I wanted to be friends with her. I just knew she was a good person.”
“…”
“She was really fragile when she was younger. She used to fall and get hurt all the time. She also made a lot of mistakes. But she always tried her best, never cutting corners—especially when it came to work. I thought that was really admirable.”
Peter smiled slightly as he looked into the air, as if recalling memories of Reina.
Though he wasn’t looking at anyone, his eyes sparkled with affection.
Anyone could tell—he liked Reina.
Estelle watched him, and a strange feeling started to grow inside her.
Her chest tightened, and a sudden wave of irritation bubbled up, as if something precious had been taken from her.
Just moments ago, she had felt positively toward Peter. But now, her feelings were shifting negatively.
Clang.
Estelle let her shovel drop loudly onto the floor.
“Oh wow, sorry. I was supposed to teach you how to work, but I ended up chatting too much.”
Snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the shovel, Peter scratched his head with an awkward smile.
Estelle picked up the shovel without changing her blank expression and shook her head.
“It’s okay. But I’m doing this right, right?”
“Hmm? Yeah, that’s right. You’re really good. Most people can’t mix manure properly the first time. You don’t seem like a beginner. Have you done this before?”
“No. I’ve never done it before. But after I saw the flyer, I went to the library and read some books about it.”
“Really? That’s impressive. You’re definitely talented at this. I should try giving you some other tasks too.”
Peter carefully observed Estelle’s work and gave her a big smile.
Telling her to wait a moment, he ran off and soon returned holding a thick notebook.
“If you ever get more interested in farming, take a look at this. It’s my personal farming journal. You can read it just for fun, too. I think it’ll be helpful.”
Peter handed Estelle a notebook labeled Farming Log.
She opened it and skimmed the contents. Just like the cover said, it was full of farming knowledge.
The handwriting and drawings were messy, showing that Peter had written and drawn everything himself.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely read it.”
“No, thank you! I’m just happy you’re showing interest. Alright, let’s get back to work!”
Peter gripped his shovel and scooped more manure.
Estelle carefully set the notebook aside and began working again with her shovel.
****
Meanwhile…
“I’m sure Estelle will do well. Peter is reliable, so he’ll teach her properly.”
As I walked back alone after dropping off Estelle—
“Now, what snack should I give the kids today? I made sandwiches yesterday, so maybe I should stop by the market and get some fruit?”
After leaving the farm, I began walking toward the market, deep in thought.
I usually look after the kids during the same hours their guardians are at work.
So if a guardian works from morning to evening, I care for their child for the entire day.
Naturally, I end up preparing meals and snacks for the kids, too.
“At first, I got a lot of complaints for serving the same food every day…”
Back in my past life when I worked as a babysitter, the guardians prepared all the meals and snacks. All I had to do was feed them.
But here, I’m in charge of everything—meals and snacks included.
Of course, I wanted to give them healthy and tasty meals like a real nutritionist would…
“But I didn’t know anything back then, so it was impossible.”
Now, it’s different.
Thanks to Kate’s help, I can serve meals that are both delicious and nutritious.
“Hehe. Just fruit might be a bit plain. Maybe I should add something else… like some nuts—ah!”
As I entered the market, thinking about snack options—
A sudden burst of light blinded me. It was so bright, I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
I forced my stinging eyes to open slightly to see what it was.
And there he was—
“Mr. Claude?”
Wearing his navy uniform and surrounded by stares from every woman in the street,
Claude stood there, shining like he had borrowed the sun’s radiance as his own personal spotlight.
