Even at breakfast, she called the villagers to eat together. Due to Sylvia waking up later than usual, breakfast turned into brunch, but the spilled water couldn’t be collected back.
After tidying up, Sylvia, guided by Louis and his parents, found the place where the red flowers bloomed. A little way up behind the cave was a low hill. The hill was filled with red flowers. As the wind blew, Sylvia let out a small exclamation of admiration at the gently swaying red waves.
“It’s really beautiful.”
Looking down at the end of the gently sloping hill, Sylvia slowly moved her steps. Felix naturally followed behind her.
“Yesterday, I collected the juice from the flowers using the method Miss Sylvia taught us. It tastes surprisingly good, different from the petals.”
Louis’ mother said, to which Sylvia nodded. She carefully used plant magic to replicate the process, pressing a bud she created above her hand to extract the juice and taste it.
“Hmm.”
It tastes the same.
Sylvia had only ever cultivated fruits and vegetables known from her childhood, but now she was certain that there were other methods too. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. The outside world beyond the castle seemed to promise even more diverse plants, exciting her immensely.
Felix approached and gently arranged her hair tousled by the wind. Sylvia, noticing him lingering by her side, grew curious.
Somehow…
Something seemed different than before, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
She stared blankly at him, feeling a change in the atmosphere around him. Her gaze lingered on him persistently until he turned to meet her eyes, and she sighed softly before turning away.
‘I can’t figure it out.’
Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, Sylvia moved on. As she did, Louis’ family and Felix naturally followed her, with the fairies trailing behind noisily.
Sylvia stood in front of the cave. There were large and small trees in front of the cave, with grass growing thickly. She channeled magic into her peridot ring and moved as she had envisioned in her mind.
The tree in front of the cave seemed to move, creating a space shielded like a fence by the now-distanced tree. Sylvia began constructing a house with vine plants and large wooden planks she had prepared earlier, taking them out of her spatial bag.
The sound of the ground rumbling brought people out to watch in amazement. Felix leaned quietly against a tree, observing her work.
The wide planks became walls and a roof, with vine plants acting like glue, sealing all the seams. The intricately woven vines stretched sideways, weaving together the pre-set wooden planks.
One by one, houses were completed. She considered the family composition she had learned beforehand, adjusting the size and number of houses accordingly.
While not as sturdy as the brick houses inside the castle, she thought they were better than nothing. After all, Sylvia’s own house was made of wood too.
Having built several cozy homes in the open space, Sylvia moved on to the next task, followed by an increasing number of villagers. Felix, looking slightly bewildered, hurried to her side.
Not far from the houses, Sylvia cultivated fruit trees.
Apples, pears, tangerines, oranges, hallabongs, peaches, jujubes, and olives were grown, along with a small vegetable garden with tomatoes, leeks, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes, and more.
She also created fields of wheat, barley, and rice.
Although she used more magic than anticipated, she was fine. She had quickly become exhausted when creating the spatial bag before, which seemed odd now, but she soon forgot about it. Felix quietly approached and held her shoulder.
“You should rest for a bit.”
She felt his magic subtly flowing into her. Sylvia blinked. Then, Benjamin called out to her, his voice breaking,
“Miss Sylvia…”
He wasn’t the only one. All the villagers were either crying or teary-eyed.
“Thank you so much.”
“Really, thank you.”
People began to express their gratitude one by one, bowing to her. Then, Felix whispered in her ear.
“I’m also grateful, Sylvia.”
Her heart fluttered inexplicably. She clasped her hands together, fidgeting.
***
Having addressed the most immediate needs, she and Felix returned to the lakeside. Unbeknownst to anyone, Felix had taken out a gem imbued with Black Dragon’s magic from the spatial bag and planted it in the ground while she was busy cultivating plants.
He was certain he felt the Black Dragon’s magic in the lake and its surroundings. To amplify that magic, he planted a gem made from the Black Dragon’s blood.
Lost in thought for a moment, Felix then looked down at Sylvia, who was intensely gazing at something below the lakeside, curious about what had captured her attention so.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
At his question, Sylvia lifted her head.
“You know, I went down there yesterday.”
Remembering the argument from the day before, Felix’s expression darkened slightly. Sylvia, oblivious to his mood, continued to look at the lake, picking up where she left off.
“There were a lot of white clams down there, you know? But it seemed like it would be difficult to collect the clams from there just like that.”
Completely squatting down, Sylvia pondered. It seemed clear to her that the people of the village would not be able to touch the white clams at the bottom. As she wondered if there was any way, Felix squatted down just like her and took out two gems that shone black.
And he planted one in the ground and threw the other into the lake.
“What’s that?”
Sylvia looked at him with wide eyes. Felix blew magic into the gem that was planted and the one that sank to the bottom of the lake.
The carved magic circle was activated in an instant.
Kukung.
After a short vibration, the wind swirled around. It felt as if a bucket was being filled with water and pulled up by a pulley installed over a well.
“Wow!”
Sylvia clapped her hands with a moved tone.
“You’re amazing! How did you think of this?”
Felix, who had just helped because she was pondering, blushed at the excessive praise. Embarrassed, he covered his chin and mouth with his hand. It was difficult because laughter leaked out.
“Oh, it’s full of clams, so full. I caught quite a lot yesterday… Surely the seed wouldn’t have dried up or anything like that?”
Before Sylvia finished worrying, Eryngium burst out.
[Sylvia, then I’ll go down and check!]
“Really? Then, could you check for me?”
[Got it!]
Eryngium answered energetically and next to her, Clover flew by with a dull voice.
[What, you. You wouldn’t usually do it because it’s bothersome.]
Next to Clover, Poppy crossed her arms and glared at Eryngium.
[That’s mean.]
And next to Poppy, Daisy flew around in circles and said.
[Right, mean! You’re just doing this to get praised by Sylvia, aren’t you?]
Next to Daisy, Asta flew over and twisted her body.
[Sylvia, Asta will go and come back.]
Next to Asta, Calmia and Lupinus also unanimously said.
[Calmia will go and check!]
[Eryn is clumsy, so I will go instead.]
Seeing the fairies standing in line and speaking against Eryngium, Sylvia burst into laughter.
“Then, shall we split into pairs and go? There was more I was curious about.”
[Sure, just say the word!]
Not wanting to be outdone by the other fairies, Eryngium pounded her chest and said. Sylvia explained with affectionate eyes.
“Calmia and Lupinus, please check how many white clams are left and see if the gem imbued with Felix’s magic has settled well.”
Sylvia turned her gaze to Clover and Poppy.
“You two, go into that cave over there and check where the water flows. See if there’s a lake there or what. If it just keeps being a cave, then just come back, okay?”
[Got it, Sylvia!]
[Leave it to us!]
This time, she turned her head towards the remaining Eryngium, Asta, and Daisy.
“You three, go into the cave on the opposite side and find out where the water flowing into this lake is coming from. If it seems too far, just come back, okay?”
[Asta, don’t worry!]
[Got it, Sylvia!]
[Then, we’ll go now!]
[We’ll go down and come back too.]
[Lupinus, let’s go together.]
The fairies flew into the lake in unison.
Felix absentmindedly watched the fairies flying away neatly and muttered to Sylvia.
“I’ve never seen them listen so well.”
Although they were fairies who liked him and whom he liked, listening well was another matter…
Feeling slightly bewildered, he blinked slowly. Sylvia found his expression funny and burst out laughing. Felix’s lips naturally curved into a smile at the sound of her refreshing laughter.
“But why did you tell them to follow the cave?”
He immediately asked the question that was on his mind. Sylvia sat down on the grass as she answered.
“I thought it was just a lake, but since water is flowing from below… I wondered if there might be more places like this.”
Felix sat down on the grass next to her and quietly considered her words. He hadn’t thought that there could be more places like this, but her reasoning made sense.
Felix admired her drive. He liked that she paid careful attention to details he hadn’t even thought of. With a gently unfolding smile, Felix said,
“Thank you, Sylvia.”
His second word of thanks.
Sylvia wondered what he was thanking her for and felt a bit ticklish, so she just coughed awkwardly.
“What are you thanking me for, thank you indeed…”
Watching her awkward side profile, Felix turned his gaze to the vast lake in front of them.
The wind skimmed over the surface of the lake, causing gentle ripples. The midday sun shone intensely, meeting the lake and sparkling. Occasionally, the sunlight that stabbed their eyes reflected off the water surface and lit up their faces.
Sylvia absentmindedly watched the sky and the lake. She felt as if her fatigue was being washed away.
Since coming here, she had been moving non-stop every day. Unlike other places outside the castle, this place wasn’t excessively hot. The moderately blowing wind was cool. It was definitely different from other places.
Sylvia lay back completely. Thinking of her robe as a makeshift mat, she stretched out her legs.
The grass was incredibly soft. She couldn’t help but smile. Sylvia spread her robe wider and patted the spare space with her hand.
“Felix, lie down too. It feels good.”
Felix looked blankly for a moment before slowly moving. Then, he lay down next to her.
Even at breakfast, she called the villagers to eat together. Due to Sylvia waking up later than usual, breakfast turned into brunch, but the spilled water couldn’t be collected back.
After tidying up, Sylvia, guided by Louis and his parents, found the place where the red flowers bloomed. A little way up behind the cave was a low hill. The hill was filled with red flowers. As the wind blew, Sylvia let out a small exclamation of admiration at the gently swaying red waves.
“It’s really beautiful.”
Looking down at the end of the gently sloping hill, Sylvia slowly moved her steps. Felix naturally followed behind her.
“Yesterday, I collected the juice from the flowers using the method Miss Sylvia taught us. It tastes surprisingly good, different from the petals.”
Louis’ mother said, to which Sylvia nodded. She carefully used plant magic to replicate the process, pressing a bud she created above her hand to extract the juice and taste it.
“Hmm.”
It tastes the same.
Sylvia had only ever cultivated fruits and vegetables known from her childhood, but now she was certain that there were other methods too. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. The outside world beyond the castle seemed to promise even more diverse plants, exciting her immensely.
Felix approached and gently arranged her hair tousled by the wind. Sylvia, noticing him lingering by her side, grew curious.
Somehow…
Something seemed different than before, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
She stared blankly at him, feeling a change in the atmosphere around him. Her gaze lingered on him persistently until he turned to meet her eyes, and she sighed softly before turning away.
‘I can’t figure it out.’
Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, Sylvia moved on. As she did, Louis’ family and Felix naturally followed her, with the fairies trailing behind noisily.
Sylvia stood in front of the cave. There were large and small trees in front of the cave, with grass growing thickly. She channeled magic into her peridot ring and moved as she had envisioned in her mind.
The tree in front of the cave seemed to move, creating a space shielded like a fence by the now-distanced tree. Sylvia began constructing a house with vine plants and large wooden planks she had prepared earlier, taking them out of her spatial bag.
The sound of the ground rumbling brought people out to watch in amazement. Felix leaned quietly against a tree, observing her work.
The wide planks became walls and a roof, with vine plants acting like glue, sealing all the seams. The intricately woven vines stretched sideways, weaving together the pre-set wooden planks.
One by one, houses were completed. She considered the family composition she had learned beforehand, adjusting the size and number of houses accordingly.
While not as sturdy as the brick houses inside the castle, she thought they were better than nothing. After all, Sylvia’s own house was made of wood too.
Having built several cozy homes in the open space, Sylvia moved on to the next task, followed by an increasing number of villagers. Felix, looking slightly bewildered, hurried to her side.
Not far from the houses, Sylvia cultivated fruit trees.
Apples, pears, tangerines, oranges, hallabongs, peaches, jujubes, and olives were grown, along with a small vegetable garden with tomatoes, leeks, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes, and more.
She also created fields of wheat, barley, and rice.
Although she used more magic than anticipated, she was fine. She had quickly become exhausted when creating the spatial bag before, which seemed odd now, but she soon forgot about it. Felix quietly approached and held her shoulder.
“You should rest for a bit.”
She felt his magic subtly flowing into her. Sylvia blinked. Then, Benjamin called out to her, his voice breaking,
“Miss Sylvia…”
He wasn’t the only one. All the villagers were either crying or teary-eyed.
“Thank you so much.”
“Really, thank you.”
People began to express their gratitude one by one, bowing to her. Then, Felix whispered in her ear.
“I’m also grateful, Sylvia.”
Her heart fluttered inexplicably. She clasped her hands together, fidgeting.
***
Having addressed the most immediate needs, she and Felix returned to the lakeside. Unbeknownst to anyone, Felix had taken out a gem imbued with Black Dragon’s magic from the spatial bag and planted it in the ground while she was busy cultivating plants.
He was certain he felt the Black Dragon’s magic in the lake and its surroundings. To amplify that magic, he planted a gem made from the Black Dragon’s blood.
Lost in thought for a moment, Felix then looked down at Sylvia, who was intensely gazing at something below the lakeside, curious about what had captured her attention so.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
At his question, Sylvia lifted her head.
“You know, I went down there yesterday.”
Remembering the argument from the day before, Felix’s expression darkened slightly. Sylvia, oblivious to his mood, continued to look at the lake, picking up where she left off.
“There were a lot of white clams down there, you know? But it seemed like it would be difficult to collect the clams from there just like that.”
Completely squatting down, Sylvia pondered. It seemed clear to her that the people of the village would not be able to touch the white clams at the bottom. As she wondered if there was any way, Felix squatted down just like her and took out two gems that shone black.
And he planted one in the ground and threw the other into the lake.
“What’s that?”
Sylvia looked at him with wide eyes. Felix blew magic into the gem that was planted and the one that sank to the bottom of the lake.
The carved magic circle was activated in an instant.
Kukung.
After a short vibration, the wind swirled around. It felt as if a bucket was being filled with water and pulled up by a pulley installed over a well.
“Wow!”
Sylvia clapped her hands with a moved tone.
“You’re amazing! How did you think of this?”
Felix, who had just helped because she was pondering, blushed at the excessive praise. Embarrassed, he covered his chin and mouth with his hand. It was difficult because laughter leaked out.
“Oh, it’s full of clams, so full. I caught quite a lot yesterday… Surely the seed wouldn’t have dried up or anything like that?”
Before Sylvia finished worrying, Eryngium burst out.
[Sylvia, then I’ll go down and check!]
“Really? Then, could you check for me?”
[Got it!]
Eryngium answered energetically and next to her, Clover flew by with a dull voice.
[What, you. You wouldn’t usually do it because it’s bothersome.]
Next to Clover, Poppy crossed her arms and glared at Eryngium.
[That’s mean.]
And next to Poppy, Daisy flew around in circles and said.
[Right, mean! You’re just doing this to get praised by Sylvia, aren’t you?]
Next to Daisy, Asta flew over and twisted her body.
[Sylvia, Asta will go and come back.]
Next to Asta, Calmia and Lupinus also unanimously said.
[Calmia will go and check!]
[Eryn is clumsy, so I will go instead.]
Seeing the fairies standing in line and speaking against Eryngium, Sylvia burst into laughter.
“Then, shall we split into pairs and go? There was more I was curious about.”
[Sure, just say the word!]
Not wanting to be outdone by the other fairies, Eryngium pounded her chest and said. Sylvia explained with affectionate eyes.
“Calmia and Lupinus, please check how many white clams are left and see if the gem imbued with Felix’s magic has settled well.”
Sylvia turned her gaze to Clover and Poppy.
“You two, go into that cave over there and check where the water flows. See if there’s a lake there or what. If it just keeps being a cave, then just come back, okay?”
[Got it, Sylvia!]
[Leave it to us!]
This time, she turned her head towards the remaining Eryngium, Asta, and Daisy.
“You three, go into the cave on the opposite side and find out where the water flowing into this lake is coming from. If it seems too far, just come back, okay?”
[Asta, don’t worry!]
[Got it, Sylvia!]
[Then, we’ll go now!]
[We’ll go down and come back too.]
[Lupinus, let’s go together.]
The fairies flew into the lake in unison.
Felix absentmindedly watched the fairies flying away neatly and muttered to Sylvia.
“I’ve never seen them listen so well.”
Although they were fairies who liked him and whom he liked, listening well was another matter…
Feeling slightly bewildered, he blinked slowly. Sylvia found his expression funny and burst out laughing. Felix’s lips naturally curved into a smile at the sound of her refreshing laughter.
“But why did you tell them to follow the cave?”
He immediately asked the question that was on his mind. Sylvia sat down on the grass as she answered.
“I thought it was just a lake, but since water is flowing from below… I wondered if there might be more places like this.”
Felix sat down on the grass next to her and quietly considered her words. He hadn’t thought that there could be more places like this, but her reasoning made sense.
Felix admired her drive. He liked that she paid careful attention to details he hadn’t even thought of. With a gently unfolding smile, Felix said,
“Thank you, Sylvia.”
His second word of thanks.
Sylvia wondered what he was thanking her for and felt a bit ticklish, so she just coughed awkwardly.
“What are you thanking me for, thank you indeed…”
Watching her awkward side profile, Felix turned his gaze to the vast lake in front of them.
The wind skimmed over the surface of the lake, causing gentle ripples. The midday sun shone intensely, meeting the lake and sparkling. Occasionally, the sunlight that stabbed their eyes reflected off the water surface and lit up their faces.
Sylvia absentmindedly watched the sky and the lake. She felt as if her fatigue was being washed away.
Since coming here, she had been moving non-stop every day. Unlike other places outside the castle, this place wasn’t excessively hot. The moderately blowing wind was cool. It was definitely different from other places.
Sylvia lay back completely. Thinking of her robe as a makeshift mat, she stretched out her legs.
The grass was incredibly soft. She couldn’t help but smile. Sylvia spread her robe wider and patted the spare space with her hand.
“Felix, lie down too. It feels good.”
Felix looked blankly for a moment before slowly moving. Then, he lay down next to her.
