Time Left: 00 Days 00 Hours 01 Minutes]
“Almost done,” I said to my husband.
We were about a mile away from the site, looking up at the sky where the magic circle was going ham with the special effects, with a rain of golden stars, purple whirlwinds, green spinning wheels of light, and multicolored streaks of what looked like glitter running throughout the clouds.
A minute later, the glowing magic circle pulsed twice and then disappeared. The light show ceased, and Prince Baiyu flew me to the quest area where the ground was now covered in meandering shallow trenches, ready for planting.
The “berm” part of the ditch on the downslope side was a raised mound of soil that acted like a wall to keep the water in the ditch. That was where I planted the tree, shrub, vine, herbs, grass, and root crop seeds before covering them with cultivation boxes that Prince Baiyu filled with water.
Mr. Bear was by my side, holding a large sunshade to keep the worst of the sun’s heat from me.
I tilled one tile at a time, keeping a distance of two tiles between each one to give the plants space to grow. Then I spread [Mysterious Goo] over the soil before sowing the seeds and covering them with the [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers].
Prince Baiyu joined me in my work. Of course, he couldn’t use the System, but he could use mundane methods. Instead of tilling the soil as I did, he simply drilled a hole in the ground with a pointed stick before dropping in some native grass and wildflower seeds. He also brought with him a few good saplings from a tree nursery. For those, he dug a bigger hole with a mattock before putting the sapling in and smoothing the soil back over it.
We worked on alternating rows. I figured the qi from the spirit plants I cultivated would help the normal plants grow, too.
Once we were done, I put [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers] over my husband’s plants.
“This is a good day’s work,” I said as I looked over the open field. The ground was dotted with our footprints and the cultivation boxes marking where we had started the food forest. “I hope it rains soon.”
We both looked up at the cloudless sky.
“It’s a dry month,” my husband observed. “But the soil isn’t dry and cracked. I think it will be fine.”
I shrank Mr. Bear down to palm size and put him back into my pocket. Prince Baiyu flew us back to Blossom Valley, where we stopped for a moment to admire the desert flowers.
He landed lightly, and we both stood silent for a heartbeat. The flowers rippled in waves under the wind, and neither of us felt the need to speak.
This time of the year, there were tons of asters, larkspurs, carnations, and other blooms whose names I didn’t know. There was one in particular that was amazingly plentiful, small, five-petaled pink bloom with highly fringed edges, growing low among the grasses.
“Looks like there are lots of seed heads today,” I said.
“You’re thinking of gathering seeds?”
I nodded. “The plants here are proven to thrive in these conditions, so gathering their seeds would help the other desert reclamation projects.”
The clans whose ancestral lands were here, including Lord Yulin’s family, had all started up their own regeneration efforts, many of which were just starting to show results. It was a good time to offer them native wild grass and flower seeds from Blossom Valley.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
We walked through the flower field side by side, our shadows overlapping now and then across the flowers, the stalks of grass brushing against our legs as we made our way through them.
This time, instead of having Mr. Bear provide me with shade, my husband used his qi to erect a large shadowy cloud of darkness over our heads to shield us from the sun. It was quite ominous-looking but very effective.
Using a pair of secateurs, we cut off the mature, dry seed heads and put them in a basket for later processing. Snip, drop. Snip, drop. The rhythm was almost meditative, the sound of the secateurs blending in with the lazy hum of the nearby insects.
Prince Baiyu took care of the taller grasses while I mostly gathered the ones at waist height, occasionally bending down to knee height to cut off a few promising specimens. This wasn’t an activity in Adventure Incarnate, which meant I got no exp, but that was fine with me. We easily filled ten small baskets and decided to take a break during the hottest part of the day.
After the midday meal and a nap, we returned to gather ten more baskets of seed heads. Both sets were sent off via a messenger to Shuye, who would be in charge of finding someone to extract the seeds and distribute them to the clans who needed them.
***
Over the next few days, I decided to take it easy. There was no rush, and Prince Baiyu and I hadn’t had a proper honeymoon. Also, it was a matter of timing. I wanted to finish the autumn harvest season before giving birth.
We visited Prince Baiyu’s sister a few more times, but most days, we spent an hour each morning planting a few seeds before flying off together on my flying ship. This time, I chose the cute and whimsical [Teddy Bear Surprise].
[Teddy Bear Surprise:
A colossal, magically animated teddy bear ship, meticulously stitched from the softest velvet and filled with the purest cloud stuffing. With its button eyes gleaming and a tiny, embroidered smile, this majestic friend carries you effortlessly on silken, enchanted wings.
Forget creaking timbers and stormy seas. Your deck is a cushiony expanse, and the only turbulence is the gentle rocking of a warm embrace.
Take to the air in the ship your inner child always dreamed of.]
There was only one small bedroom inside the ship, very snug and cozy, which I fitted with a hammock, perfect for lulling us to sleep. The room inside its head was where we stayed when we wanted to enjoy the view as we floated above Blossom Valley.
We filled our days with relaxing activities like reading books, playing board games, birdwatching, and chatting about nothing much in particular. I also did quite a bit of Herblore, and Prince Baiyu took care of some paperwork. Sometimes we argued over the rules of a board game until one of us cheated outrageously. Other times, we simply leaned on the railing, counting how many different birds we could spot before sunset.
As for the usual honeymoon activities, Prince Baiyu took his “duties” seriously, and so, in contrast to our daytime interactions, the cold desert nights were anything but relaxing, especially when we used [Silphium].
***
Eventually, our honeymoon came to an end. We grazed the animals, which didn’t give exp but fulfilled one more item in my epic quest, and sowed the required seeds. One day before the harvest season, I planned to finish two quests simultaneously.
I tilled two tiles of land, fertilized them, and stood between the two spaces. Then I put a [Fig Tree] seed in my left hand and a [Cassava Seed] in the other one.
“Watch this!” I said to Prince Baiyu as I dropped the seeds.
Lights exploded around me like fireworks as the System bombarded me with pop-up screens.
[Cassava for a Greener Future: Quest Complete
Reward: Farming Exp]
[A Thousand Figs and Fables: Quest Complete
Reward: Farming Exp]
[Congratulations, you just advanced a Farming level!]
[Your Farming level is now 52.]
I took out two champagne glasses with golden rims from my inventory, which I handed to my husband. He held them up for me as I poured cool peach juice from the Peach Blossom Isle into them. We clinked our glasses together.
“Congratulations!” he said, his smile doing most of the talking.
“Thank you!
We drank the refreshing beverage as we walked to the portal to Emberstone Farm.
To my surprise, Shuye was waiting for us in the main hall of the house.
“Prince Baiyu, Princess Violet, I have important news. A mysterious maze has appeared northwest of Emberstone Farm.”
? The Archmage is Baking Now! ?
by R.C. Joshua
*****
Author's Note:
- A simple and cozy chapter. Hope you like it!
- Advanced chapters on my Patreon!
- Thank you very much for reading.
- Please let me know if there are any errors.