“Kukus?”

Kukus blinked several times, trying to clear his vision as he saw Princess Stella standing right in front of him. When her image remained, he rubbed his eyes repeatedly with his thick hands.

“It’s really you, Kukus?”

Even though she looked a bit shabby, it was unmistakably Princess Stella. As Kukus’s eyes regained focus, his already wide eyes seemed to grow even larger.

“S-s-s!”

“Yes, it’s me. How have you been? Seeing you here feels like a dream. What happened to the ship, and what brings you here?”

Tears welled up in Kukus’s eyes as he stared blankly at Stella speaking. Not wanting to cry in front of others, he took a deep breath and suddenly hugged Princess Stella tightly.

“You’re safe!”

With the sudden embrace, Stella’s body was lifted up and down swiftly.

If Kukus hadn’t quickly realized he was hugging a princess and let her down, she might have been left dangling in the air for quite some time.

“But what’s with this appearance? What on earth happened?”

“It’s a long story. How about you? How did you end up here? And what about Fooka?”

“That guy is probably still floating around on the sea. I wanted to stop sailing, so I settled here. Since it’s not far from the imperial city, I hoped we might meet, but I never imagined it would actually happen.”

Seeing Kukus, who always yelled, talking so gently with Rudina, Jack was puzzled and blinked in confusion.

“Jack! Close the guild doors. We’re done for the day!”

“What? Oh… Yes!”

There was no need to hesitate when the guild master said to close the doors. Since it meant not having to work all day, Jack ran outside and quickly hung the ‘Closed’ sign.

“Are you closing up shop already?”

A passerby, seeing Jack closing the door, asked with curiosity. The Moonlight Guild was famous for opening first on Fruit Street and staying open the longest.

Other guild owners who came to complain about the business hours would run away with their tails between their legs after meeting the intimidating Kukus.

But closing in broad daylight? The passerby couldn’t help but be curious. Jack hopped up the stairs and answered in an excited voice.

“A special guest has arrived. Goodbye!”

After Jack waved and closed the door, a clear bell sound jingled pleasantly inside the guild.

Meanwhile, Darren was rolling his eyes, not understanding what was happening.

He was relieved not to have a fight with the Moonlight Guild master, but he couldn’t figure out what connection Princess Stella had with that man.

At a glance, Kukus seemed like a merchant who had been through thick and thin, while Stella was a princess of a nation, albeit as a hostage.

Seeing Darren’s curiosity, Stella smiled brightly and said, “When I came to the Credion Empire, I was on the ship Kukus was on. During the month I stayed on the ship, he treated me very well, and I’ve always been grateful.”

“Oh, is that so? Nice to meet you. I’m Darren, a servant serving the princess.”

Kukus, staring at Darren who greeted him politely, tilted his head as if he found it unexpected.

“Really a servant? Not a knight or a mercenary?”

Seeing Darren’s strength, Kukus naturally assumed he must be a former mercenary.

He was much taller and bigger than most people, and seeing him easily lift a sack of carrots that day, he knew his strength wasn’t ordinary.

“Yes, I’m indeed a servant.”

Despite Darren’s repeated assurances, Kukus couldn’t shake off his puzzled look.

“Anyway, what’s with that appearance? You don’t seem to be on the run…”

Kukus glanced at Darren and spoke.

“The truth is…”

Stella calmly explained to Kukus what had happened. Of course, she didn’t mention meeting the earth fairy or practicing swordsmanship with Royce.

“My goodness! So you’re farming, Your Highness? Inside the imperial city?”

Kukus asked repeatedly, unable to believe what he heard.

“Yes. The carrots I brought and sold last time were grown by me.”

“Those amazing carrots?”

The carrots that Darren had sold were the talk of the market. They were more expensive than regular carrots but were so popular that they couldn’t be stocked enough.

“Now I’m planning to sell spinach.”

When Stella spoke, Darren placed the sack he had brought on the table. Inside, it was filled with fresh spinach, as if it had just been harvested.

“Did you farm this too?”

“Yes. How does it look? Doesn’t it seem delicious?”

“They seem a bit small, though.”

Kukus, who had cooked enough to be sick of it on the ship, could tell the spinach in the sack was unusually small, and anyone could notice it.

“Just try it.”

Stella plucked a spinach leaf from the sack and held it out.

“Just like this?”

Of course, when you’re hungry, you can eat anything raw, but that wasn’t the case now. Besides, eating spinach raw? Kukus didn’t usually eat vegetables raw, except for meat.

He only used vegetables as a side when boiling or frying meat. Occasionally, he’d add them to vegetable soup, but that was always with other ingredients.

Princess Stella, who had spent a whole month with him, surely knew his eating habits. Despite this, her insistence suggested there was something special about this spinach, just like the carrots before.

After gathering his thoughts, Kukus reluctantly chewed on the spinach leaf.

After only a few chews, Kukus’s expression changed to one of surprise, as if thinking, “What is this?” He didn’t look like someone forced to eat spinach against his will.

Stella smiled confidently, as if to say, “See?” and Kukus, impressed, picked and ate several more spinach leaves.

“Is spinach supposed to taste like this?”

“No, you know what regular spinach tastes like, don’t you?”

Watching Kukus pluck and eat the spinach like grapes, Stella couldn’t help but laugh.

Kukus had thought spinach tasted the same everywhere, but the spinach he had just eaten from the sack was on a whole different level.

“This will sell like hotcakes!”

When Kukus spoke with certainty, Jack, who had been standing hesitantly nearby, approached and picked a spinach leaf to chew on.

“Huh? Why is it so delicious?”

Even young Jack was impressed. After several exclamations, Kukus, as if he had made up his mind, looked at Stella and said, “I’ll give you a shop, not just a street vendor’s license.”

“A shop?”

“Yes. One of the shops run by the Moonlight Guild has been vacant since last month. Although it’s small, it’s in a great location. Instead of struggling on the street, you can comfortably do business there.”

Telling a princess to comfortably do business was odd, but Kukus felt much more at ease than seeing her uncomfortable on the streets.

“Thank you. But I’ll pay the rent.”

Stella had no intention of accepting anything for free from Kukus.

“Oh no! I couldn’t possibly take money from a princess. Instead, let me enjoy those delicious vegetables. Who would have thought I’d ever say vegetables are tasty?”

“Paying the rent might be better, considering how much you eat, Kukus.”

When Stella jokingly pointed this out, Kukus whined like a child and then burst out laughing.

He realized she was right. If he sat down with the intention of eating, he could probably finish half a sack in one sitting.

“Alright! But I’ll sell them to you at a very low price. I can’t compromise on that.”

When Kukus spoke firmly, Stella insisted on paying the original price.

“Brother, why do you keep calling Rudina ‘princess’? Oh, is it because she’s as pretty as a princess?”

Jack, who had been sitting quietly, came to his own conclusion, and only then did the others realize Kukus had been calling Stella “princess.”

“Maybe. Kukus is playful like that. Is your sister really as pretty as a princess?”

Stella quickly covered for Jack, thinking it would be problematic if he made a slip of the tongue elsewhere.

“No.”

Jack’s response was very firm to Stella’s cheerful remark, and she awkwardly patted his head.

“Really?”

“Even prettier than a princess.”

Jack spread his arms wide as he spoke.

“You little rascal! You’ve got a good eye!”

When Kukus pretended to flick Jack’s forehead, Jack quickly shielded his forehead with his hand.

The sight of the biggest and smallest people in the shop playfully bickering looked as warm as a father and son playing around.

“Shall we go see the shop now?”

Having failed to touch Jack, Kukus clapped his hands and spoke.

As Kukus had said, the shop was small, but it was in a great location. It was in the center of Fruit Street, where many customers passed by.

Although Darren said he could carry everything alone, Kukus accompanied them to show his connection with them.

Knowing that he was backing them up would deter anyone from causing trouble or picking a fight. Kukus made a point of patting Darren’s shoulder and acting friendly whenever they met people.

“My little brother will be running a business here from now on. Don’t cause any trouble and get along well.”

Entering the vacant shop, Kukus shouted loudly enough for the neighboring shop owners to hear.

“That young man is the guild master’s brother? No way! They don’t look alike at all!”

“Exactly. Kukus looks like he could take down a monster with his bare hands, but that young man is slender and handsome.”

The couple who owned the fruit shop next door exchanged glances between Kukus and Darren, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Kukus pulled Darren, who was standing idly, close to him and spoke loudly for the couple to hear.

“Look closely! These eyes! They’re just as sharp, aren’t they? And these ears! Cute and round, just the same! I can’t show you, but even, you know, that part looks the same.”

“Oh, my! How indecent! There’s a lovely young lady here, and you’re saying such things!”

The fruit shop lady waved her hand in disapproval, and Kukus feigned innocence as he replied.

“I was talking about the belly button, but where were you thinking…”