The morning passed quietly.
Fern had already pulled out the latest batch of harvested vegetables—a fresh load of potatoes and tomatoes, still warm with residual mana from the soil. Rowen stacked them carefully onto the wooden shelf by the window, separating them by type and size.
Meanwhile, Fern floated lazily nearby, planting a new batch of seeds into the soil inside of the portal. Everything was on schedule.
By the time Rowen glanced at the clock again, it was already 12:30 PM.
He picked up his phone and ordered lunch for two—a mana-rich meat dish, enough for himself and Fern. When the delivery arrived, they sat together at the back corner of the shop, eating in quiet.
By the time they finished, the heat of the afternoon had settled in. The air grew still, and even Fern was starting to drift toward sleep again.
But just as Rowen leaned back in his chair, eyes half-lidded—
Rowen straightened slightly as a familiar figure stepped inside.
It was the woman from earlier that morning—the one who had nearly spoken, then walked away when Darian’s group left.
She moved quickly toward the shelf.
Her eyes scanned the fresh tomatoes—just harvested—and without hesitating, she pulled out five low-grade mana stones from her pouch.
"I’d like fifteen tomatoes," she said simply.
Rowen nodded, counted them out, and handed them to her in a small basket.
As she tucked the basket under her arm, she glanced at him again—this time with something closer to curiosity than surprise.
"...I’m a teacher," she said, "at the lower school of the border town."
Rowen blinked but gave a small nod in return. He hadn’t known her name, but now that she said it, he remembered seeing her face around during his earlier school years.
"I was in another class," she added, noticing his silence. "We have probably never interacted with each other."
That made sense. Rowen had never been especially social—not back then, and not now.
He nodded slightly, unsure what else to say.
There was a pause. Then, as if sensing the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, she turned to leave.
Just as she reached the door, the bell rang again—and two more people stepped into the shop.
Rowen looked up, automatically preparing to greet them, but paused when he saw one of them.
And beside her, another girl around her age—probably a friend.
Talia, still standing near the door, froze for a moment before turning to face the new arrivals.
"Lyra?" she said, her voice sharp with surprise.
Lyra blinked. "Oh—Talia. I just came back from a quick hunt. Wanted to show this place to my friend."
Talia crossed her arms. "We agreed I’d take you out today. I was going to guide you in the wilderness, remember?"
Lyra looked away for a second, then sighed. "I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve been working hard on your own studies, and I figured... I could handle it."
Talia’s expression softened, but her voice stayed firm. "Lyra, you’re my sister. I suppose to help you learn to fight in the wilderness so you can’t make the mistake I did when I was younger..."
She paused, then added in a quieter tone, her eyes just a little red around the edges, "I don’t want you doing everything on your own."
Lyra hesitated. She opened her mouth, then looked at the tomatoes in her sister’s hand and was about to ask something when she spotted new tomatoes on the shelf.
When she came early, there were only potatoes available. She didn’t know there were tomatoes too. Then she understood that someone should have bought them early because she only saw the tags of tomatoes that time.
"...You bought these tomatoes from here?" She asked slowly to her sister.
Talia gave a small nod. "I did. I found something useful here. Something that can help me improve focus for 15 mins."
Just as she was about to ask what that was—
"I just harvested a new batch," he said from behind the counter. "Tomatoes with a focus boost effect. They’re on the second shelf."
Both Lyra and her friend turned toward the shelf, eyes catching on the fresh tomatoes now labeled with simple handwritten tags.
Talia watched Lyra quietly for a second, then said, "If you want to buy some, I can cover it. You don’t have to keep stretching your own supply of mana stone."
But Lyra shook her head immediately.
"No need," she said, already pulling a few mana stones from the pouch on her belt. "The potatoes I bought earlier... they worked. I lasted longer in the field today. Took out three low-tier beasts before I even needed to rest."
Her voice was calm—but there was pride in it.
Talia raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You made that much off one trip?"
Lyra nodded. "Enough to cover this and still save some."
She glanced at her friend and added, "When I was leaving the exchange center, she spotted me. Asked how I pulled in so many cores this time, so I brought her here."
Her friend stepped forward with a small wave. "I wanted to check it out myself," she said, then smiled. "I’m Aria, by the way."
Rowen gave a small nod in return.
"She awakened as a knight," Lyra added.
She glanced at the shelf, her eyes settling on the potatoes. "I’ll try those first," she said, already fishing out a single low-grade mana stone.
Rowen nodded silently and handed her three potatoes in a paper wrap.
Lyra didn’t hesitate either. She pulled out two low-grade mana stones and placed them on the counter.
"One set of tomatoes. One set of potatoes."
Rowen passed over her order, and she tucked them neatly into her side pouch, eyes already gleaming with plans.
Focus boosts meant faster spell learning. More efficient mana control when learning new techniques.
For someone aiming to break into the trainee level before the annual exams, it was a game-changer.
Behind her, Talia just watched her sister for a moment—relieved, but still quietly worried.
Then she looked at Rowen and gave a small nod.
With their purchases in hand, the three of them made their way toward the door.
Then the bell above the door rang again as they stepped out, the soft click of the door closing behind them.