The farmlands were starting to become the one place she visited the most in Marigold and farmer Jim was starting to warm up to her each time. It was funny because even Eva was starting to like the small farmer. He was an honest man, simple and hard working. He didn’t expect any profit from his work except for the happiness of others and he was passionate about what he did, unlike many others. Eva sincerely respected the man though the last time he came running to ruin her peaceful slumber, she was quite irritated, almost to the verge of telling him to get out. But, she had helped him with the wolf problem anyway, although if it wasn’t for luck, she would have been the wolf’s dinner.

Now here she was again because of another request from Jim. This time, he was saying bye bye to the cabbages, going for the next season’s crops. He had sent a letter to the inn again which she received from a fuming inn owner that morning. Farmer Jim barging into the inn without her permission last time had rubbed her the wrong way to a point that she was starting to give Eva the complete evil eyes instead of the subtle irate glances every now and then.

“So, we are going to till the soil today, Eva san,” she heard farmer Jim come up behind her, wiping his sweat on a white towel that was wrapped around his neck. “You can take the hoe from the shack there,” he pointed to the worn out looking shack that Eva and Diana had used to capture the deer a few days ago. “Once you get it, I’ll show you how it’s done,” he continued, giving Eva a smile. Returning the gesture, Eva walked over to the shack looking for a hoe. She found various equipment strewn around the room and started moving stuffs from one place to another until she found a slightly rusty old hoe that didn’t seem like it had been used in a while.

When she got back, Jim gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. I haven’t had to use that thing in ages,” he answered Eva’s questioning look. “I see. It’s ok. It looks like it’s still in a working condition,” Eva replied with a shrug, mentally sighing at how difficult the task would be. The sun was glaring at them, heating the ground and anything that they touched. She wanted to throw the hoe away and scream bloody hell at someone until she saw farmer Jim working diligently at the field, only wiping away the sweat when it covered up his entire face.

For a while, he explained to Eva on how to properly till the land so that they could be ready for the next crops, watching and guiding her as she tried to figure the thing out. Of course, it didn’t take her too long to master it either since she was closely watching Jim’s every move from the corner of her eyes.

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They continued tilling the farm for a couple of hours, taking five minutes breaks each now and then. Eva was surprised at the stamina farmer Jim displayed even at the age he was in. He may have been a crying sniveling man that had an unhealthy obsession with cabbages but she had to give credit where credit is due. He was up on his feet before Eva was most of the time and seemed to know just how to conserve his energy while working. It was a wonder how this old man managed to be so fat despite the work he did.

During their work, they even started exchanging stories about themselves. Eva told him about how she was a model aspiring to become a successful dancer and Jim told her about how he fell in love with cabbages from a young age when his mother first made him some cabbage soup. He told her how everyone in Marigold loved cabbages, enough proof that they are the best vegetable in the world. She narrated how she ended up becoming one of the Rune Knights as Jim told her how he wanted to become a mage when he was young but couldn’t because he was unable to learn any magic. She understood that. Among the total population, only a handful of people had any power at all. But yet, it wasn’t like you wouldn’t run into them randomly either.

After a few more hours of tilling the soil, Jim stopped. His old body was at its limit as thick beads of sweat ran down his face to the ground below. Eva wasn’t far behind either. She was tired, too, only she could keep going for a little more. That was probably the day that she sweated the most ever after having to crate the cabbages last week. While working that hard made her feel pleasant for some reason –was it a sort of self-satisfaction? – Eva was also sure that she didn’t want to be doing this all day. Seeing as the work was almost done, she sped up at the last stretch, even surprising farmer Jim as she completed it within half an hour.

“Oh dear, I didn’t think we would finish this fast,” he told her in surprise, looking over at the farm that was now completely tilled and ready to welcome the new crops. “You’re a sweetheart. Why don’t you stay in Marigold?” he laughed, and Eva laughed with him. That was a fine idea but she had things to do. Eva was already planning to go back to Magnolia after a week or so in Marigold. “That’s sweet, Jim san, but I can’t. I have to get back home before my manager starts throwing a search party for me,” she chuckled, remembering that she had withheld from contacting her manager for the past few weeks. She was sure that he would ask her to come back if she called him. That, or he was going to scold Eva to hell. Both, something she was going to avoid until she could get back to Era.

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