5. Spring Begins Again – A New Start

The cold winter passed and warm spring arrived. Thanks to the crops piled high in the storage, she didn’t need to farm, but still, farming was her foundation!

With the mindset that she should maintain her daily routine, she tried to work the land even a little. However,

…Does it really work this way?

“Should I plant this here?”

“Your Majesty, who has never done such work, should go inside and rest.”

“That’s not how you do it. This is my job, so why are you all out here?”

“Hmm… I should make it so fertilizer can be spread automatically too.”

This seems a bit too heated.

The four men’s enthusiasm was extraordinary. They went beyond helping to being excessively proactive. Since they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves, she couldn’t really stop them either.

Rudis quietly sighed and gripped her hoe. That’s when an unexpected visitor arrived. It was Martin, the village’s greatest dreamer.

“…Um…”

Martin hesitated, unable to get his words out. Then he spoke with a tearful expression.

“Veincrust the Third has disappeared!”

“…What? Who’s that?”

“My cat. He hasn’t been seen since last night.”

Who gives a cat such a grandiose name? Rudis was so dumbfounded she was speechless. But Martin’s expression was desperate.

“I’ve searched everywhere but can’t find him. So… could you help me?”

A cat? She had done a similar quest before. That time had been really troublesome… Now that the system was gone, no quest appeared, but she couldn’t just turn away either. She knew how much Martin cherished his cat.

From childhood, he had always carried it in his arms, and she had often seen him talking to it like a companion. It might have been closer to him than family. Veincrust the Third was Martin’s only friend.

‘I guess I have no choice but to step up.’

Just when she was about to put down her hoe and suggest they search together, Martin’s gaze was looking elsewhere.

Iska?

‘Don’t tell me… he’s asking him?’

“…Could you possibly help?”

Martin’s fingertips were trembling slightly. Even while still fearing Iska as a beast-person, Martin was desperate enough to ask Iska directly. Perhaps he chose trust over fear. Iska had sharp senses and didn’t miss small movements.

More than anything, there was no one more suitable for finding Veincrust the Third. It was a very smart idea. But even so, he couldn’t completely shake off his fear and spoke while carefully maintaining distance.

Iska blinked slightly at the unexpected request. Then he slowly looked Martin over with apparent interest. He seemed to be confirming whether Martin was really asking him for help directly. Then he narrowed his eyes and smiled with interest.

“…You’re really asking me?”

In Iska’s low voice, Rudis detected the subtle emotions underneath. A bit of surprise, a bit of bewilderment, and just a tiny bit of joy.

Iska’s gaze quietly turned toward Rudis. His eyes seemed to be watching how Rudis would react. Rudis nodded without hesitation.

“Let’s do it!”

Iska hid his tail and pulled his hat down low. He seemed worried that the villagers might be startled. He acted nonchalant on the surface, but still seemed bothered by what had happened on harvest festival day.

But could that build really be hidden?

People’s gazes followed them on the way to the village. However, no one showed obvious signs of surprise. They still kept their distance, but at least there was no one openly cursing like before. That was fortunate.

But finding a cat is really difficult. Rudis recalled the quest she had done before. She had searched every forest and village corner pixel by pixel, and even when she finally found it, if she moved just a little too fast or too slow, the cat would run away.

It had been one of the most challenging quests she had ever experienced.

“There it is.”

Finding it this quickly?!

Not long after arriving at the village, Iska’s gaze fixed on one spot. In the corner of the village plaza, a small creature hiding in the dim shadows – it was Veincrust the Third. Iska strode toward Veincrust the Third without hesitation.

“Cats aren’t caught like that…!”

Before she could finish saying that wasn’t how you do it, Iska’s nimble hands precisely grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck.

“Meow!”

Veincrust the Third struggled momentarily. But when Iska muttered something, it quickly became docile. Rudis was so amazed she couldn’t even speak. That such a difficult quest would be resolved so easily.

“It’ll be fine now. I told him he needs to stay home at night.”

When Iska handed over the cat, Martin’s eyes widened. Then suddenly,

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

He hugged Veincrust the Third and cried loudly while shouting. At that moment, the villagers who had been nearby gathered one by one.

“What? You found the cat?”

“That’s good. You were searching everywhere for it.”

“Thank you so much. Phew. I thought we’d have to listen to Martin crying all day.”

The people’s greetings continued, but Iska’s expression remained stiffly frozen. However, his hidden tail swayed slightly inside his pants.

Rudis was the only one who noticed.

* * *

A quiet afternoon.

Rudis was spending leisurely time in Sandra’s dress shop. This place was originally a space created by renovating the first floor of the three-story house she had built for Sandra as a newlywed home.

She had wondered why Sandra insisted on a three-story house, but now she could see there had been a plan all along.

On the first day of spring when they found Martin’s cat, this was where she had fled to escape the four men who were making a fuss about celebrating Rudis’s birthday. Since that day, she naturally came here often. Especially when the four men engaged in pointless rivalry.

The familiar sound of the sewing machine, half-finished clothes scattered here and there, and the sunlight filtering through the curtains swaying by the window made her feel at peace.

Rudis enjoyed a moment of tranquility while watching Sandra absorbed in her work. But this quietude didn’t last long. Amid the soft sound of the sewing machine running, Sandra suddenly spoke up.

“Rudis, so who are you going to marry?”

“…Marriage?”

Rudis looked at Sandra, who was operating the sewing machine, and tilted her head.

“Why, you caught my bouquet, didn’t you?”

That’s right. She had caught the bouquet. After completing the ‘Ralph’s Destiny – 4’ quest, the reward she received was the ‘Bouquet of Unchanging Heart.’ She had put it somewhere in storage and completely forgotten about it.

“Originally, if you catch someone else’s bouquet and don’t get married within a year, you can never marry for life.”

Xenon had said something similar. Right on the day she caught the bouquet. She had thought he was just making trouble for no reason…

“There’s not much time left now. Even if you prepare now, it might be too late. It’s not like you don’t have men.”

Marriage.

This was also the reason for the subtle rivalry that had been happening among the four men lately. That’s why she had come to Sandra’s dress shop like she was fleeing, but she never expected to hear about marriage here too.

Rudis let out a light sigh. Sandra fiddled with thread and added cheekily,

“I had forgotten about it too, but Xenon came and told me. Asked me to talk to you about it?”

Sandra smiled meaningfully.

“He has quite a cunning side, doesn’t he?”

…Not quite cunning, but rather openly so, right?

Rudis thought of Xenon, who had become even more sly lately. Even in his light, casual jokes, she felt him somehow getting one step closer. He was the first to bring up marriage and the most proactive in his actions.

He would say with playful but never light eyes that since he was Rudis’s first, she should naturally marry him.

But the others weren’t staying quiet either. Iska showed his necklace, saying he had already made a lifelong promise, and Noah calmly ignored Xenon, telling him not to talk nonsense.

Yet he also said magnanimously that he wouldn’t drive everyone out. Like marrying him was the natural thing.

And Kaires. Even he claimed to be the most suitable person since he was the first to propose, and began engaging in rivalry with everyone. Rudis sighed inwardly. The situation was getting more and more complicated.

“…Do I have to get married?”

All four men are so wonderful though?