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“Thank goodness the fields are okay.”
“The fields?”

The adventurers’ base camp, also known as the lava rock island villa of Kafal, was gradually expanding. On the black-gray island raised above the water, streams of lava, like capillaries, flowed.

In a corner of it, between the lava streams, the hard lava rocks had been tilled into a sandy texture, resembling a small field. Unfamiliar plants grew there, spreading glossy leaves and bearing strange fruits.

When Lucella and the others departed from the camp, there shouldn’t have been any sign or shape of such a field.

“This. They sprouted in three hours after planting.”
“…That’s insane.”

The submerged trees around were bearing strange fruits by absorbing dragon aura. Although everyone was eating them, Monica seemed to have collected their seeds and planted them. It was unreasonable since they were already bearing fruit.

Lucella and Monica sat side by side at the edge of the island and ate the strange fruits. Monica showed no reaction, but for Lucella, it felt like consuming sweet flames, and her tongue tingled with a sensation of power.

“Help me water them. You’re good at it, aren’t you?” Monica began returning the seeds of the just-eaten fruits back to the field. Despite her unfamiliarity, her movements were awkwardly precise.

“Have you ever done something like this before?”
“I watched the gardeners from the mansion’s window. And I read books.”

With a wave of Lucella’s finger, a light rain fell on the field. Stimulated by it, the newly planted seeds immediately sprouted. They absorbed the dense and refined dragon aura, growing rapidly.

Normally, in such a place with concentrated dragon aura, no decent plants would grow due to the harsh environment. However, here, thanks to Kafal’s precise environmental control, crops could thrive.

“Normally… it takes days, even months of repeating this process for flowers to bloom and bear fruit.”
“Yeah.”

Watching the rapidly growing saplings, Monica said quietly, with a touch of contemplation.

“Farmers repeat that for years… There are countless farmers in the world… And there are people who transport and sell the produce… Both the food you buy in town and the dishes at the mansion are made that way.”
“Yeah.”

Monica seemed to have so much she wanted to say, her chest felt full. Lucella focused on nodding along.

“People… live with incredible strength, I realized. As long as you’re alive, you’re connected to someone. It’s not about good or bad, it’s just the way things are…”

Lucella pondered momentarily to follow Monica’s thoughts, gazing at her profile. Catching her gaze, Monica turned back, looking slightly puzzled.

“What’s with that goofy look?”
“…To think you’d come to such a realization from three hours of gardening.”
“Is that weird?”
“It’s not that…”

For Monica, who had carried loneliness since birth, it might have been an eye-opening realization to broaden her perspective. But to Lucella, it felt like skipping steps, understanding division after just learning addition.

Even though she lacked knowledge and experience, her insight into things was profound, expanding her thoughts from there. Indeed, she was the sister of Viola, the scholar.

“You know, when I was locked up in the ‘mansion’s prison,’ I thought I was isolated and confined from the world. But when I thought about it, many people were involved. Yet until such a big event happened, no one came to rescue me. Isn’t that cruelly ironic?” Monica shrugged, speaking sarcastically.

The world was intertwined like a spider’s web, with relationships between people forming its structure. It was either a comfort, knowing that somewhere, someone was connected to you, or a despair, as people still fell into unhappiness.

Lucella reflected on her own life.

“…It’s unfortunate, but that’s just how it is. Usually, everyone is just trying to handle their own affairs… It’s impossible for everyone to help everyone they come into contact with.”
“That’s why!”

Naturally, Lucella and Monica found themselves flanked from behind. Viola, who had apparently been eavesdropping, enveloped them both from the sides.

“Grab onto the hands you can reach and never let go. You understand now, don’t you?” At a distance where their cheeks almost touched, Viola spoke to Monica.

Monica nodded, so faintly that it was hard to see without looking closely.

A shadow fell upon them. Kafal extended her long neck, her large face looming close, peering at Lucella. She swayed her head gently, then licked Lucella with her massive tongue.

“Awawawawa!”

Warm, soft, and enormous, it fervently enveloped her, along with Viola and Monica who were with her. Drenched, Lucella laughed.

“I understand, Mom.”

She clung to Kafal’s nose and nuzzled against it.

“So, how are things on your end, Miss Dragon?” Tim, still wearing his gloves, pointed to the miniature volcano in the center of the lava island. It was the source of the lava flowing around. All this lava was Kafal’s stored power, and the small volcano at the island’s center was, so to speak, the fuel depot.

“Not bad.”

After answering Tim in human language, Kafal glanced at Lucella still clinging to her face, and added in Dragonian.

“If things continue like this, there’s a chance we can put up a fight. But we haven’t fully grasped the opponent’s true form…”
“Don’t worry.”

To ensure her assessment was conveyed accurately, she spoke in Dragonian. Hearing this, Lucella patted Kafal’s forehead.

“That’s just another day for adventurers.”
“Hehe, that’s reassuring.”
“What, are you worried about us?”

Even without understanding Dragonian, Tim seemed to deduce what Kafal had said from Lucella’s response.

“I wish I could do it… alone. I appreciate the help. But you will have to… step into a situation… even dragons find dangerous.”
“Hey, come on, you can’t say that stuff now, Miss Dragon.”

Tim laughed, but it was a bittersweet chuckle, as if he were tickled. He was terrible at lying. If he were pretending or hiding something, it would have shown in his demeanor right away.

“Actually, we’re the ones receiving help. We’re dragging you into human affairs, so we’re the ones who should apologize.”
“Wait… Just to confirm, we’re all currently operating without any formal quests or obligations, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, that’s true. We’re all just busybodies, aren’t we!”

Tim acknowledged Viola’s point and clapped his hands together.

In the first place, Lucella and the others weren’t even hired by Setulev. Golden Helmet was nominally hired by Maltgartz and came here, but that was just a pretext, and now they were acting on their own accord, beyond those expectations.

However, they were risking their lives here for what they believed in, to protect what they held dear, and because they believed it contributed to justice in this world.

“Let’s join forces as busybodies and do our best!”

Everyone, as if they had planned it, looked up at the sky. Despite being beautifully clear and refreshing, the edge of it, the far west, was heavy and darkened. A storm was approaching.