In response to Kukros’s joking remark, two merchants who had entered the guild looked surprised and stared at the two.

“I also don’t entrust assassination contracts to someone smaller than a soybean. Here, take this… deliver it.”

Pooka was about to say ‘to the princess,’ but he became aware of the nearby merchants and pretended to address them with a gesture.

“This?”

“Yeah, it’s not a regular dagger. The instructions are here.”

“The blade is just average.”

After Pooka laid down a neatly folded piece of paper, Kukros grumbled but still put the paper and the dagger into his pocket.
With Pooka taking the lead, the maid named Rudina will soon come to this place. Kukros, who knows Pooka’s abilities better than anyone else, confidently watched Pooka leaving the guild without any hesitation.

Planting sugar peanuts and recording the process seemed to be a daunting task, with Croth having barely enough hands. He wanted to plant peanuts himself and capture this moment without missing it.

After realizing it might not work out, he finally stabbed the notebook he was holding into his belt and started focusing solely on planting peanuts.

Concluding that with his excellent memory, it would be more efficient to accurately remember all the processes and then record them, Croth began concentrating on planting peanuts.

“Stella, that skinny human over there.”

Estar, who was twirling around Croth, quickly rushed to Stella and, leaning close to Croth’s side, whispered discreetly, even though there was no way Croth could hear, and it was cute how he mumbled even though Croth couldn’t possibly hear.

“Croth, teacher? Why?”

While Stella responded, her gaze didn’t waver from the peanuts being planted in the ground. Thinking that these would fill her pockets generously, they couldn’t look more beautiful.

“It seems a bit strange.”

“Me too! It looks a bit weird to me too!”

“He looks kind, but somehow seems lacking.”
As Estar spoke, the other three began to gossip about Croth, as if they had been waiting for the opportunity.

“Why?”

Stella straightened her back and glanced at Teacher Croth, who was diligently planting peanuts a little further away. In her eyes, he seemed to be working hard without any noticeable oddities.

“He keeps talking to peanuts.”

Ark gathered his plump hands in front of his mouth, whispering as if telling a secret.

“Huh?”

When Stella seemed to have difficulty hearing, Ark exclaimed, “Oh, dear!” Then, appearing disappointed, he stuck his tongue out and climbed up Stella’s shoulder, whining as he went.

“Ark, climbing to high places again? You get scared when you come down!”

Although Estar scolded, Ark paid little attention.

With Stella’s help, Ark quickly climbed onto her shoulder, and as if telling a significant secret, he whispered into Stella’s ear.

“He keeps talking to peanuts!”

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t know! Grow well, cuties. Oh, you look so round. Should I name you Dunggeul? Do you like it? If I do this, he talks every time he plants peanuts. I heard a real story from peanuts once, but no. Well, how can peanuts talk? They don’t even have mouths. That human is really strange. Not normal at all.”
Ark stared at Croth, who was diligently planting peanuts, with a gaze full of concern. The alternating looks between him and Stella, as if worried about meeting an odd friend, made Stella burst into laughter. In fact, my real mother has never looked at me with such a worried expression.

Stella gently stroked the round cheek of Ark, who was clinging closely to her with a precious and grateful heart. When Stella’s fingertips touched him, Ark squirmed and pushed his neck into her shoulder, laughing playfully.

“He’s just like that because he loves peanuts. You don’t need to worry. You even gave names to the beings in the soil, right? Something like Strongie, Cutie, and so on.”

“Really? I was worried that Stella might be playing with strange people again.”

Ark rested his head against Stella’s cheek. Although they were mysterious beings visible only to me, having someone genuinely concerned about me was truly reassuring.

Stella thought that as long as these kids were by her side, there would be nothing to fear.

Croth was quite a capable farmer. There were a few mistakes at first, but due to his natural intelligence, he quickly learned farming. Later on, he filled his quota much faster than others and even helped with other people’s work.

After finishing their work, the meal they shared together was even more delicious.
Croth found the meal shared with Princess Stella, the servants, and the gardener much more delicious and enjoyable than the banquets he had enjoyed at the royal palace.

Although Lian’s cooking skills were outstanding, the exceptional quality of the crops cultivated by Stella was beyond comparison.

Croth hadn’t lived a long life, but at this moment, he felt that it might be the true golden age of his life.

And to continue enjoying this golden age for a long time, he had a strong intuition that he needed to stick close to Princess Stella.