Seeing the unfamiliar face, both Analise and Fiy instinctively had their guard
up.
Just then, Paul, the butler, appeared.
"Ms. Chamber, Major Knight," Paul greeted politely, then began introducing the unfamiliar male in front of them.
"This is the helper Mr. Hopkins hired from Nouris. He''s around my age. You can just call him Randolf from now on."
"Okay. Randolf, you''re here to grow vegetables and fruits, right?"
Fiy grinned, suddenly remembering the conversation he''d had with Scott about hiring someone from Nouris specifically to manage the nting of product in the vi''s back garden.
"Yes," Randolf replied, rubbing the soil off his hands. "This is the perfect time of the year to nt-early spring. Many vegetables are ready for sowing, and we can even manage a few off-season crops."
Analise smiled too. Fiy had indeed mentioned this n to her in passing.
"Randolf, I''ll be counting on you for my meals from now on."
"Oh no, Ms. Chamber. It''s my honor. When I found out I was going to be growing vegetables just for you, I was nervous for days," Randolf said with an honest, sheepish grin.
"Would you like to take a look now? If there''s anything specific you want, just tell me, and I''ll make sure to nt it within the next day or two," he added.
"Sure," Analise replied.
After handing her shopping bags to the household robot, she followed Randolf to the back garden.
The flowers that were originally nted had been moved aside, and the remaining area overgrown with weeds had been cleared.
Several small sprouts of vibrant green were already breaking through the soil in some areas. The sprouts were still too young, and since Analise had never grown crops before, she couldn''t tell what they were.
Some patches looked freshly tilled today.
Along the back wall, several fruit trees had been transnted. Analise only recognized the peach and pear trees.
In the corner, there was also a grapevine, but it hadn''t been trellised yet. The vine looked somewhat withered, save for one small section of bright green tendril.
"These are the only fruit trees I could transnt for now. The climate in Stormc?aw Alliance isn''t ideal for tropical fruits, so I didn''t bring any of those over," Randolf exined after noticing her gaze.
"This is already more than enough." Analise turned back to him. "Did you do all this on your own? That''s incredible!"
"Yeah. I started prepping the garden as soon as I arrived a few days ago. Vegetables sprout quickly, so it only takes two to three days to see the shoots. In another week, you''ll be able to start picking some.
"It''ll grow more as you harvest. The fruit trees were moved in with the help of a crane. Since not all trees bear fruit in their first year, I chose trees that had already fruited once before."
Randolf nodded respectfully as he spoke.
Analise looked over the neatly sectioned garden-or more urately, vegetable
plots now-and couldn''t help but sigh in admiration.
"Randolf, you''re truly a hardworking gardener!"
Randolf scratched his head, clearly not used topliments. He wasn''t highly educated, but seeing the sincerity in Analise''s expression, he understood she truly meant it.
"This is all part of the job, Ms. Chamber."
After viewing the garden, Analise dragged Fiy back into the vi.
Scott was probably still tied up with work at Hopkins Gxy Lodge. They all had no idea when he would return.
"Fiy, I''m going to take a shower first. When I''m done, let''s y a game, okay?" Analise said cheerfully, hugging a set of clean clothes and heading into the bathroom.
"Game?" Fiy blinked in confusion. But before he could ask, Analise had already closed the door behind her. So, he let it go.
Right at that moment, Finaly''s good friend—and self-proimed tactician-sent him a message. And thus, a very amusing misunderstanding was set in motion. Smarty asked, "So, how did it go? Did you and Ms. Chamber form the contract yet? I think I saw you two shopping together on Golden Street today. Does that mean it''s official now?"
Fiy stared at the message panel as his mouth twitched.
Oh, how he wished he had formed the contract...