"Haha, young masters, these are all small matters," Sveta said with a cheerful smile.
"But before that, please allow me to take the horses to George. They look a bit tired and need his careful attention," Sveta glanced at the gray horses, their legs dirty and worn, thinking that they could use a good wash.
"No rush, Mr. Sveta," Reilly replied.
As Sveta led the horses away by their reins, he suddenly remembered something and turned back excitedly. "Master, there's something important I need to report to you."
Clunk!
In his excitement, Sveta accidentally kicked over the watering can on the ground. Embarrassed, he bent down to set it upright and wring out his wet pant leg.
Rhett had a hunch about what Sveta was going to say, but he pretended to be surprised and asked, "Oh? What has happened in Falcon Town while I was away for a month?"
Sveta composed himself and began, "Master, it's about Kudin and the others. If I remember correctly, on February 8th, they found a chest of magical plant seeds, a chest of magic crystals, and a chest of gold coins in the eastern part of the Little Thorns Forest. As for how I know what's inside the chests, I swear we didn't peek. The chests were so old that they broke open on the way back."
"Oh, and there was also a notebook," Sveta added, rubbing his forehead in frustration as he realized how scattered his thoughts were today. "I placed everything in the hall on the fifth floor, where you can easily see it."
Kudin and the workers at the lumberyard had made significant contributions, and Rhett felt it was only right to reward them well. Just giving them coins seemed too little; meeting their reasonable requests was a better form of recognition.
"I will convey your wishes exactly, Master."
"By the way, Master, I was planning a welcome banquet for you tonight. How does that sound?" Sveta quickly mentioned, recalling the arrangement he made earlier in the day and eager to share it before forgetting again.
"Let's skip the banquet. We had one not long ago. Since the weather is warm, let's have a barbecue in the manor's garden. Invite everyone—servants, coaches, apprentice knights, and squires," Rhett suggested, pointing to a bag of magical beast meat. "This meat comes from the best cuts of the magical beasts we hunted. Take it to the kitchen and have Chef Maru prepare it. Make sure everyone enjoys it tonight."
Sveta felt the weight of the bag Tuck was holding, estimating it contained nearly a hundred pounds of magical beast meat. The quality of the meat was excellent, and Sveta's eyes lit up. "This meat must be top-notch. I'll thank you on behalf of everyone for your generosity, Master!"
"Tuck, take the magical beast meat to the kitchen," Rhett instructed.
"Oh no, it's a small task, no need to trouble the young master," Sveta quickly waved his hand and called to the knights behind him, "Willow, Briso, please carry these bags to the kitchen."
"Be careful not to bump them into anything sharp that might damage the meat. And remember, tonight, we all get to enjoy the feast the Master has provided!" The two knights, smiling happily, set down their swords and shields and hurried over to pick up the bags. "Thank you, Lord Rhett!" they said as they made their way into the manor.
"Now, Tuck, take the magic crystals and materials to the warehouse," Rhett said, turning to his son after Sveta left.
"Sure thing!"
After entering the manor, Rhett, despite the travel fatigue, didn't head upstairs to rest. Instead, he went directly to the back garden, bringing Reilly along with him.
"Father, these eight Frost Sunflowers need to grow in a water-filled environment," Reilly said as he carefully took the high-grade water-type magical plants out of the loose burlap sack. Even though these plants were resilient, Reilly handled them with utmost care, given their importance.
"I think you should dig a pit here, and I'll fill it with water to create a pond," Reilly suggested, pointing to a patch of land.
Rhett nodded in agreement. Their thoughts aligned perfectly.
Finding a suitable spot, Rhett used his mental power to manipulate the earth element, quickly forming a pit that could hold about 400 cubic meters of water in the center of the magical plant cultivation area, surrounded by high stone walls. Seeing the pit, Reilly began filling it with water.
In no time, the two of them had created a pond.
Reilly placed the eight Frost Sunflowers into the water, and the high-grade plants settled themselves naturally at the bottom, rooting into the soil.
"These Frost Sunflowers seem close to maturity. In about three months, they should produce a batch of Frost Seeds," Rhett observed, looking at the densely packed seeds forming on the sunflowers at the bottom of the pond, indicating they were already half-mature.
"Yes, Frost Sunflowers are a continuous source of income! Along with the abundant Ice Crystal Lilies, we'll never have to worry about the family's finances again," Reilly said with a satisfied smile as he watched the successful transplant.
A cold aura spread through the area, and Reilly surveyed the surroundings, suggesting, "Father, it might be best to transplant the fire-type magical plants around the Frost Sunflowers to balance the temperature and avoid drawing attention from anyone passing by."
"You're right!" Rhett agreed, recalling the twenty Flame Fog Grass plants they had gathered during the hunt, which would be perfect for this purpose.
Working together, they quickly transplanted all the fire-type magical plants around the pond. Fortunately, with over a hundred fire-type magical plants, including the recently acquired Flame Fog Grass, the area around the stone walls no longer felt unnaturally cold.
They also transplanted 103 Ice Crystal Lilies into the magical plant cultivation area. With that, the task of transplanting all the magical plants they had collected was complete.
...
Half a day passed.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway, reaching Tyles' room. He had been sleeping all afternoon, but the noise from downstairs and the bustling activity in the castle finally woke him.
Looking out at the dimming sky, Tyles blinked. "Did I sleep all afternoon? I just wanted to take a nap..."
...