She put the seeds back into her inventory.

‘I should plant this catnip in the front yard later. It will only have an effect once it’s fully grown.’

Regardless, today had been quite productive in many ways. Although there was also a fair bit of betrayal…

Learning that she could upgrade her house and purchase items with vitality and rift fragments was an achievement as significant as all the results she had accomplished during her two years here.

Shhhhhh…

And so Haniel crossed her territory slowly, spraying water over the field with a hose in her hand.

She didn’t forget to look at the empty spaces in between, considering where to place sprinklers.

Although she had some misgivings about the status window, wasn’t it true that she would soon be able to get sprinklers?

Good status window. Nice status window.

“Ah, putting a sprinkler right in the middle there would be perfect. I’ve always said fields should be divided into sections.”

The sprinklers had long been hers in her mind already.

Haniel sprayed water here and there, humming a tune, not minding the muddy water splashing.

Even the butterflies fluttering nearby no longer seemed annoying.

Then.

Rustle.

As she was enjoying her time under the warm sunshine, something approached from behind her, making a small sound of stepping on grass.

It might be small animals that hadn’t been coming around lately. With that thought, Haniel turned her head.

“…!”

‘G-good grief.’

She was so startled she almost cursed out loud.

What she saw at the source of the sound was not a squirrel or Saedol, but a very large human figure.

A huge shadow standing still like a moss-covered rock in a shaded area… Regan.

Haniel could quickly recognize that it was Regan standing there because of two glowing eyes visible at the face level of the black shadow.

Eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Those blue eyes, which could be mistaken for will-o’-the-wisps if seen incorrectly, shone like a clear lake when Regan stepped forward into the sunlight.

Suppressing her pounding heart, Haniel stared at him.

Had she thought he was like a predator hiding in the undergrowth? The revealed Regan was far from a predator, wearing a dazed expression.

‘What? Why is he like that?’

What Haniel had felt during the few days of living with Regan was that, contrary to her first impression, he was always on edge.

Like an animal that always raises its fur, not knowing when a threat might come, he was always alert except when consciously lowering his guard.

Those pointy raised hairs did noticeably soften when dealing with her… but still, his guard rarely came down even inside the house.

But what was that expression?

Regan seemed to have completely forgotten his usual cautious attitude.

As if he had seen something completely unexpected…

‘Is there something behind me?’

With that suspicion, she glanced behind her, but all that was behind Haniel were insects like butterflies and bees, and an abnormally large pumpkin.

Click, a tiny praying mantis that had just molted on top of the large pumpkin waved its hand at Haniel.

Wondering if Regan was reacting to this, Haniel picked it up and moved it slightly… but it wasn’t the mantis. Regan’s gaze was moving according to her movements.

He had been looking at her all along.

‘…’

Why did the back of her neck suddenly feel cold? Strangely, she thought Regan might grab her neck right then and there.

Suppressing such thoughts, Haniel pushed back her slightly floating hair and addressed Regan.

“Hey, Regan?”

“…Ah… Yes.”

Only when she spoke to him did focus return to Regan’s eyes.

It was quite a peculiar sight.

The contrast between his appearance just moments ago, staring blankly at Haniel from the darkness, and now with his senses returned, was as different as day and night.

At least now he didn’t seem as threatening as before.

The man seemed bewildered by his own behavior just moments ago, rubbing the bridge of his nose and averting his gaze.

Regan spoke in a low, deep voice.

“…You were watering the field.”

“Yes, that’s right. Have you seen me from afar a few times?”

“Yes. You greeted me.”

The man’s gaze strangely circled around the lower part of her body.

Glancing down slightly, Haniel inwardly cursed.

D*mn it.

She hadn’t noticed because she was busy with laundry and fieldwork, but her clothes had gotten quite dirty.

Feeling her ears getting hot, Haniel fiddled with her earlobes and blurted out what sounded like an excuse.

“Ha…ha. I look terrible, don’t I? I always get this dirty.”

Why did she feel smaller in front of this man who had probably lived a noble life?

With her disheveled hair, face splattered with muddy water, and wet clothes, she smiled awkwardly, feeling as if those piercing blue eyes were evaluating everything about her.

But Regan slightly raised one eyebrow.

“Why would you think that? You’re not dirty at all.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Rather…”

Trailing off, Regan chewed the inside of his lip.

There were people everywhere who looked down on lives where one had to make and obtain everything necessary for survival by oneself, but Regan was not close to that type.

Just as his status, which would allow him to command everything with his fingertips without touching any troublesome matters himself, did not explain the winding life he had experienced so far.

The difference between noble and base was slight, and not so different when examined closely.

And in fact… apart from all that, although Haniel was clearly covered in dirt and dust, she didn’t seem dirty or filthy at all.

The ground soaked wet from the water. The smell of wet soil and water droplets clinging to the surface of crops, a faint wildflower scent from somewhere unknown, wrapping around the field like dawn mist.

Warm sunshine that one would want to lie down and enjoy, and when you turn around at the sound of footsteps, there’s a dirt-covered girl with small butterflies following her like wildflowers.

Haniel, smiling innocently as if unaware that outside there were foolish people who entrusted everything they could do themselves to others, or lives constricted by leashes.

How could she be perceived as dirty or filthy? Rather, she could be said to stand at the exact opposite point.

Instead, it made his mouth water.

“…Is this all of your field?”

“Huh? No. Haven’t you been to the back? It’s hard to see from here because of the trees, but if you go a little further north, there’s also an orchard where I planted fruit trees.”

Haniel said proudly, crossing her arms.

Though he tried to hide his inner feelings by changing the subject, Regan nodded his head in genuine admiration.

“Wow, even fruit trees…”

During the few days Regan had stayed here, Haniel’s territory had been a continuous surprise.

What she, a human, had accomplished in this vast land was not something that could be explained by the simple term ‘self-sufficiency.’

Even if one were to command hundreds of farmers and technicians to create something of a similar level, would it be possible within decades?

Even in foreign countries outside with many magicians, they wouldn’t casually possess and use such sophisticated and high-quality structures and inventions.

Especially not in a household where someone lives alone without anyone to help.

One of the things that had recently surprised Regan was the plumbing in this house.

“Since you’ve allowed me to stay, I’ll fetch some water. If you could tell me where the well or spring is…”

“Oh, there’s no need to go far for that. I’ve made a sink and plumbing over there, you see?”

Redirecting water requires significant labor.

Not only in Regan’s country of Soleil, but also in the Elven kingdoms, it took decades or centuries of calculated construction and countless labor hours to build sturdy waterways.

Of course, now there are more advanced technologies and magical knowledge making things much more convenient, but not as convenient as what was in Haniel’s house.

“Water comes out here? Without fetching it?”

“Yes, look. If you lift this, water comes out. Turn it left for cold water, right for warm water.”

“What’s the principle behind it?”

“Well, there’s groundwater deep in this land and there’s a separate reservoir under the house… um, so the boiler… there are two pipes connected to the faucet… when the valve opens halfway, lukewarm water…”

Haniel said there was a place where water was stored deep in this land.

And the reason warm water was always available was because a fire was constantly kept burning.

Such answers only raised more questions for Regan.

Water stored deep in the earth. Regan could somewhat infer such existence, but how did Haniel draw water from there to use up here on the surface?

How did she dig so deep into the earth?