Farmer or Cultivator? Why not both?-Chapter 35: A plus one

Jonan passed out for a good hour, of which Ren utilized to bond with Rolfheim. He got to learn from her that unlike most people in Tunish, they had chosen to move here, and they were not natives.

Jonan and Rolfheim belonged to a powerful noble house at the heart of the nation, but that became overwhelming for the two, especially as they did not fit the standards like the rest of their siblings. Jonan being a dunce and terrible at mana manipulation, and Rolfheim obstinate about her studies, and how reclusive she tended to be.

They had arrived at the village two years ago when it was much more at peace, and they made it home. Jonan strove for knighthood despite not having a lick of talent for mana manipulation, and Rolfheim was studying to attend the capital’s university.

Jonan was laid on the parlor’s setee while the two shared stories over cake and tea. Undesirable as they were, they still had lands and plantations to their name, and thus were rich albeit less rich than many nobles.

Ren was forced to tell of what had happened on the expedition to avenge the village and he told the story how best he could. They had been lucky that their opponent was the wary type, and that she had overestimated their strength. Ren saw Rolfheim’s eyes glow as he told the story. He was not sure, but he had a feeling that the young woman was taking a liking to him.

Then they were interrupted by the creaking of the wooden floors, Jonan had gotten up, and he was approaching the two.

"Brother, I thought you would lay till night." Rolfheim said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up you." He responded, and helped himself to some of the cake.

"You were lucky, very lucky. I was exhausted from my training, that’s why."

Ren laughed wildly, that was not the direction he had expected Jonan would go, but he welcomed it. He was worried that the man would be furious to see him under his roof, and what more, flirting with his sister. Apparently, Jonan preferred to delude himself, rather than to accept defeat.

"I must say, it’s your fault this happened. You should not have forced a spar between us, when it was only certain to make me look good." Ren quipped back and smiled, and the sibling laughed.

Finally, someone with their sense of humor. Jonan joined the table, and he too went on with stories of his family background and how he was training for knighthood despite his lack of skill.

"I could see your mana streaming through your sword." Rolfheim spat, and Ren shrugged.

Jonan clicked his tongue, he had figured it out since getting up.

"You are adept at mana manipulation?" Ren asked.

"Yes, I’m not a bad cultivator myself. I may be rusty as I do nothing but study all day but I..." She paused, glancing up at her brother who looked away. He knew what it was she was going to say.

"I am stronger than my brother, and although I have not seen lady Tuarine fight, I believe I would at the very least pose some problem to her if we were to face off."

This surprised Ren, that he felt the need to gulp down a cup of tea at that moment.

"That is really good to hear. I could learn so much from you." Ren could not hide the excitement in his voice. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Rolfheim’s face turned redder at Ren’s excitement, but alas, she was not that impressive. She had skipped lessons when she was younger, and she did not like that mana was primarily used for destruction, she much rather preferred escaping into books where knowledge of how to improve lives lay or where stories of lovers fueled her desire for a partner of her own.

She waved her hands across her face in objection, "I am so rusty. I cannot."

"You cannot be that bad, I had only learned cultivation for..."

"She said no." Jonan cut him off.

He stopped, and leaned back on his chair, "I see."

After a brief moment of silence, Ren began to feel uncomfortable and felt that it was time to leave. He had not intended to spend some time with the family, but only to check Jonan’s wellbeing. More than that had been achieved, and there was clearly no use staying.

With a smile, he announced that he was going to leave, and the siblings followed him to the door where they said their goodbyes.

He had been so ecstatic to know another cultivator, but his hopes were suddenly dashed.

’She seemed really uncomfortable about the topic, maybe it was for the best. I just would have to think up excuses to see her around.’

He walked up the mountain to his place. At this time, the brightness and hotness of the sun had dwindled as night was near. His cows welcomed him with their mooes, however, Dinobad was gone. The scrawny boy had left. Ren honestly did not think that the kid would leave especially since he thought his place was so nice, where else could he play with cows and pigs, which farms had vegetables and fruits as sweet and delicious as his?

He was a little hurt by the boy’s decision, but he respected it nonetheless, Dinobad had meant every word he had said, upholding the family’s name was important to him, and working under another man likely would not amount to that. It was a sane decision.

"It is so quiet up here." He muttered, and then felt a soft nudge on his leg. Neg rubbed its head over him. He had been so occupied with thoughts of the boy that he forgot his little boy. He petted it, and gave it some milk, reminding him once more of his milk storage problem.

"I really need to find a solution to this milk problem. I could try making my cheese I suppose? No, I have no idea of how to go about that. What can I do? Would I have to begin giving them out?" His mind wandered for a solution, and then he spotted it.

He eyed the pristine gracious fountain some meters away from him. The fountain kept his fruits from spoiling, at least while they were still attached to the plants or the soil somehow. Not to mention that even upon plucking the fruits and vegetables, they stayed for much longer before spoiling, he had observed that some weeks ago.

[System Tab]

The blue screen displayed itself in front of him.

[Water Fountain of Elaxis]:

[A relic of the ancient god Elaxis, this fountain releases the Water of Elaxis, a magical stream that fertilizes 200 × 200 meters of land, restoring soil, boosting crop yield, and enhancing resilience. The water adapts to the terrain, reviving arid, poisoned, or exhausted ground without causing imbalance]