“Ben, I’ll just take one for you. No more than that, alright?”

After warning Ben, Kai tied him to a nearby post. Entering the field would increase the risk of being caught, as he had ruffled through it before.

But with so many carrots, who would notice if he sneaked in and took a few?

Kai leaped over the fence and into the carrot field, momentarily forgetting the shadows watching him curiously. He kept repeating to himself an unasked excuse for being there, not wanting to stir up any weird rumors about him and Stella.

“They’ve really grown a lot.”

Kai marveled at the carrots, which had grown significantly in just a few days. The number of carrots seemed much more, probably due to their increased size.

Cautiously glancing around, Kai grabbed a carrot leaf. The soft, damp leaves made his heart flutter. It felt like he was committing a theft.

Was it really theft?

Kai hesitated briefly, but the temptation of the brightly glowing orange carrots in front of him was too much.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

He had intended to take just one, but soon he had plucked more than ten. Realizing his greed, Kai shook his head.

“Time to get up. This is disgraceful.”

He resolved to formally commandeer the carrot field. Just then:

“A thief!”

“The carrot thief is back!”

Tiny creatures, no bigger than marbles, emerged from the ground like moles, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Although Kai knew only he and Stella could hear these voices, he panicked and looked around the fence, worried someone might hear.

“Hey, it’s not like that. I’m not that kind of person.”

Startled, Kai waved his hands frantically, but the problem was the freshly plucked carrot in his hand, covered in dirt.

“Protect Stella’s carrots!”

“Attack the thief!”

“Waaaah! Defend the noble farmer!”

Kai’s desperate attempts to explain himself seemed futile in the face of the tiny creatures’ fervor, especially while holding evidence of his ‘crime.’
The land fairies, initially just a few, had multiplied into dozens in no time. Kai could easily have struck them down with his sword if he wanted, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The tiny creatures, wielding little clubs and charging at him with life-or-death determination, were too small, insignificant, and, to his own surprise, adorable.

Kai couldn’t retaliate against the fierce attacks of the land fairies; he just flailed his arms around, careful not to hurt them with his much larger limbs.

“Low-ranking knight?”

Caught up in wildly waving his arms, Kai suddenly jerked his head up at the unexpected voice.

The last thing he wanted had happened. Princess Stella, with a land fairy perched on her shoulder, appeared like a triumphant general. Kai glared at the land fairy that must have tattled on him to Stella.

He felt pathetic and despicable for even thinking of excuses.

But walking away as if nothing happened didn’t seem right either. As he was about to reveal himself and propose buying the carrot field at a high price, Stella kindly spoke first.

“Were you hungry?”

“Uh?”

Stella looked at him with pity, her eyebrows drooping. No, it’s not like that. I’m not a pitiful person.

Kai shook his head in denial, but Stella, who had approached him, gently patted his shoulder as if understanding everything. She then plucked a few more carrots and placed them in Kai’s arms.

“You can’t go hungry. Whenever you’re hungry, come to me. I’ll share food with you. But don’t bring anyone else. As you can see, I’m still new to farming, so the yield isn’t that large.”

“It’s a lot, though.”

Stella looked at him with sharp eyes, making Kai feel awkward. He cleared his throat and turned his head away.

To him, the amount of carrots seemed quite substantial. How could she eat them all by herself?

Stella continued, “Tomorrow, I’ll harvest these carrots and make a pie. Lian is an excellent cook. Will you come to eat?”

Kai found himself nodding almost instinctively. He nearly gave in to the urge to hug Stella right there, but restrained his surging emotions with cold logic and meticulous reasoning.

“Then I’ll leave a basket with pie in it here tomorrow at this time. Come and eat it. But I’d prefer if you didn’t touch the crops without my permission from now on. They mean a lot to me, and I don’t want others handling them carelessly. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. Now take these and go. I’ll keep your pie for tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

Kai, clutching the carrots and responding as if entranced, couldn’t help but find his own behavior ridiculous. But it was carrot pie, after all.

Eating the carrot pie seemed like the right thing to do.