CJRD CH 15

Chapter 15

“I need to raise her grace stat before she enters the academy.”

But before that, there’s something else I must do first.

There has to be a reason why her grace dropped so low.

‘I remember people saying—if your stats change a lot, you should look back at what happened.’

When stats suddenly change a lot—like Estelle’s now—it usually means some kind of unexpected event has occurred.

And it’s often related to a job path event.

Estelle has only done two things so far: study and work part-time at the farm.

Between the two, the farm job is the more likely cause.

I should talk to Peter.

Once I decide something, I act fast!

As soon as I thought of talking to Peter, I contacted him and set up a meeting right away.

***

Later that evening, after sunset,

I was waiting for Peter at the pub called Green Giant.

I arrived first and was sipping on my plum juice when—ding!—the door opened with a soft bell sound.

I looked over at the entrance and soon spotted the person I was waiting for.

“Peter, over here!”

I raised my hand high and waved big to catch his attention, calling out loudly too.

Maybe my voice was a bit too loud, because Peter found me immediately, despite the crowded pub.

He walked over, laughing brightly.

“You’re so loud, Raina. Did you know everyone in the pub looked at you just now?”

“Be quiet. I’m embarrassed too.”

“Ow! That hurt!”

He teased me playfully, and I lightly poked his side with my elbow, then covered my blushing face with both hands and looked down.

“So, what’s going on? You asked to meet first this time.”

Peter pulled out the chair beside me and sat down.

I felt a bit awkward jumping straight into questions about Estelle, so I dodged the topic a bit.

“I just wanted to ask a few things. But first, let’s order drinks. Fiona’s been walking around us for a while.”

I nodded toward Fiona, the pub owner, to change the subject.

“Oh, right. Let’s order then. Fiona!”

Peter called Fiona over, and she came right away, as if she had been waiting.

“Ready to order?”

“Yes. I’ll have—”

“Peter, you’ll have beer. Raina, more plum juice. Right?”

“Yes, that’s correct!”

“You both always order the same thing.”

Fiona smiled with a knowing look and walked away with a soft laugh.

Soon, she came back with two drinks: a cold beer for Peter and a plum juice with a heart-shaped garnish for me.

“I’ll take your empty glass, Raina.”

Fiona handed us our drinks and took away my empty cup.

“Thanks, Fiona.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Peter thanked her, and she casually shrugged.

But something felt strange.

Fiona didn’t leave.

She just stood there, looking at us.

Feeling a little awkward under her gaze, I blinked and looked up at her.

Then something surprising happened.

She looked between me and Peter, tilted her head in curiosity, then smiled and said,

“Have a great time! Good luck!”

Then—she winked at Peter!

She even gave him a little cheer with her fist.

‘Wait, what?’

I stared in shock, then turned to Peter, who was shaking his head shyly, clearly flustered.

‘Hold on… is something going on between these two?’

Peter had been visiting this pub a lot lately.

Maybe, without me knowing, something sweet had started between him and Fiona—just like this plum juice.

“Aww, you should’ve told me!”

“Huh? Told you what?”

“I didn’t even notice. My bad.”

I smiled warmly and sipped my juice.

“You’ve got it all wrong. That’s not it!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Seriously… I mean it’s really not like that.”

Tsk. He’s denying it so hard.

I tapped his side gently and made a ‘zip my lips’ motion to show I’d keep his secret.

Peter sighed and held his forehead, clearly frustrated.

Why doesn’t he trust me? I’m starting to feel a little hurt.

I spun my juice glass and shrugged.

“Anyway, I wanted to ask about Estelle.”

I was planning to make small talk first and then bring it up, but I decided to just get straight to the point.

After all, I didn’t want to be the clueless childhood friend stuck between a new couple.

I glanced at Peter and carefully said the line I had planned earlier.

“She’s the girl I’m looking after… and I just wanted to check if she’s causing any trouble for you or Mr. Marcus at the farm.”

That’s when it happened.

“Causing trouble?! No way!”

“Ah! You scared me!”

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to shout. Did I scare you?”

“I-It’s okay.”

Peter had slammed the table so hard I jumped.

Realizing what he’d done, he apologized while nervously raising his eyebrows.

I calmed myself with a deep breath.

“Raina, you don’t need to worry at all. Estelle is one of the most hardworking kids I’ve ever met. She’s already working like the other workers.”

“Really? But she’s only been working for like ten days?”

“I’m serious.”

Peter nodded eagerly.

“She worked hard from day one. I kept an eye on her. You know it’s the start of farming season, right? So the other day—”

Then Peter went on and on, praising Estelle.

How she didn’t complain about the awful smell when spreading fertilizer on day one, how she was super careful when handling seedlings, better than some adult workers even.

He just kept complimenting her nonstop.

‘This is beyond praise—it’s a full-on brag. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Estelle was his daughter, not mine.’

I listened quietly and noticed something funny.

Peter’s beer hadn’t even been touched.

He was so busy talking about Estelle, he forgot he even ordered it.

It felt strange, watching him like that.

In a good way.

It was nice to see someone else care about Estelle as much as I did.

My heart felt warm, and I smiled without realizing it.

I forced the smile down and kept listening.

Then Peter said something interesting.

“…So that’s why I gave her that thing on the first day.”

“What thing?”

“My old farm journal. You remember? The one I wrote when I gave up on becoming a landowner and decided to be a great farmer instead.”

Peter scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

But I was too stunned to respond.

Because I suddenly realized what had triggered Estelle’s event.

“The farm journal.”

It’s the first key item needed to become a farmer.

That’s it.

Estelle’s new job path was… farmer.

‘No wonder her grace stat dropped so badly!’

I sent her to the farm to build stamina for sword training, but instead… she was training to become a farmer!

I dropped my head onto the table with a loud thud.

“Raina? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

Peter jumped up in concern and helped me sit up.

I gave him a silly smile and shook my head, and he sat back down, still looking confused.

“So? You gave her the journal, and then?”

“Oh, right. Then—”

I smoothly changed the topic.

Peter nodded, remembering what he wanted to say and started talking again.

But honestly, I didn’t hear a word after that.

Because all I could think about was going home… and burning that farm journal.