Chapter 100 - Heavy Rain

Slowly but surely, the field was being sown with seeds.

I started off by going in a line. By the time I reached the end of that line, there were still a couple of empty plots, while my hands were empty.

I retraced my steps back to the bag of seeds. This time, I made sure to get a couple more seeds before continuing once again.

By the time I reached the end, I had a few leftover seeds which I used to fill in the empty plot from before.

After sowing the last seed for this run, I stood back up only to feel something lightly hit my face. My eyes looked up to the sky, to see rain clouds gradually forming. The droplets from the sky rapidly increased in quantity.

From a faint drizzle, the rain suddenly became a torrential downpour.

My clothes were almost immediately drenched, while my hair slicked back. My eyes reflexively closed from the rain hitting it.

The dirt that covered me quickly became mud. Some of it fell off because of the rain, but what remained made me feel really uncomfortable. The worst part was the mud being washed into my shoes, making my socks soaked.

A small sigh escaped me.

"Well... I guess there's no need to water anymore."

With that, I continued to sow the seeds. My shoes became particularly muddy, making squelching sounds every time my foot pressed down on the ground. Soon, my shoes were unable to hold back the water, letting it seep in.

...Though that didn't really matter. My socks were already soaked all the way through. I guess it felt a little uncomfortable, but that was all.

The rain was cool. Despite the discomfort it brought through the mud, it still felt rather refreshing after sweating so much.

Before I knew it, the bag of seeds was almost empty. My hand ruffled through, trying to get the last couple of seeds still stuck inside.

Then, I finished the last line within the field.

My lungs forced in a deep breath, inhaling a few drops of water in the process. After choking a little, my eyes surveyed the field.

After many arduous hours, it was completed.

After giving the plot of land one more glance, I headed back to the palace entrance. My clothes were noticeably heavier from all the water inside. Some mud still stuck to my body, especially my back.

Nonetheless, it wasn't too hard to drag my weary self back to the front of the palace. It was easier than actually doing the farming anyway.

I set foot into the palace, which was dry despite having such a large hole for the rainwater to come through.

Unfortunately, whatever strange magic did that, was unable to dry my actual body. As such, a pool of water quickly formed under me once I stepped in.

"Jay?"

Ned was sitting at one of the chairs in the room. He had a spell parchment in his hand while his head turned to me, eyebrow raised.

An awkward laugh escaped me. My hand slowly waved, causing a few drops of water to splatter.

"Hey there."

Ned, Alyx, and Erin were currently sitting at the chairs, studying the spells. They looked up at me with surprise.

Ned chuckled before pressing a finger to his temple.

"Seems like you went through a lot. What were you doing for so long anyway? You missed breakfast."

My hand scratched the back of my head.

"Haha, I was working on the farm at the back of the palace."

Alyx tilted her head to the side. Her brows furrowed.

"Eh, why were you doing that?"

My shoulders shrugged.

"Um... basically Mildred would pay me a bit for each day I worked on the farm."

Erin stood up in her chair. Her beady eyes inspected me before blinking curiously.

"Why do you need money? They already give us everything we need!"

My hand wiped off the rainwater getting into my eyes.

"Well... I just wanted to draw a little bit. I'll buy some paper and ink with the money from farming."

Ned's eyes widened in surprise. He put his elbow on the table and held up his chin with his hand.

"Drawing, huh? You never really struck me as that type of guy."

A laugh escaped me as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I can't say my thoughts are any different. I guess it kinda just came to me like a whim."

Alyx brushed her hair back. She gave me a small nod.

"Well, that sounds respectable enough. I hope that things work out for you."

A small smirk appeared on Alyx's face. She set down the spellbook she was holding.

"Hehe, maybe one day you will be able to draw our portraits."

Erin raised her hands in the air and bounced on top of her chair.

"That would be so cool! You have to learn quickly, ok?"

An expectant smile appeared on Erin's face.

My face twitched. Chances are, I wouldn't be able to do anything like that any time soon. After all, while my focus was on drawing, it was drawing the spell diagram.

An awkward laugh escaped me as my eyes shifted to the side.

"Well... it may be a while before that ever happens. I'm pretty sure my talents in drawing aren't the best. It's more of a hobby type thing, you know?"

Erin smiled, causing her eyes to narrow.

"Hehe, I will wait for as long as it takes!"

Ned laughed. 

"Let me show you how I want mine to look in advance!"

He took on an overly pretentious position before raising the spell parchment in the air. He closed his eyes as though he was focusing while he held the spell parchment as though it was something holy.

The corner of Ned's lip twitched.

Suddenly, he lost his composure, breaking out into a laugh.

"Did you see it? Make sure I look really cool in post!"

My eyes rolled while my hand held the side of my face. A small smile formed on my face.

"Sure, I'll make you look extra cool."

The corner of my lip turned up.

"By drawing you in shoulder-high snow. That's like the ultimate form of being cool!"

Ned burst out into laughter, as did I.

Erin clasped her hands together and rested her head on it. Then, she began pivoting back and forth, like a rotating door with two people fighting to go in opposite directions.

"Mmm... I want to see snow! There was never any in my town."

The side of my face twitched.

Alyx sighed before smiling bitterly.

"I'm sure it will be exciting the first time, but with snow comes all sorts of annoyances."

Erin pouted before flailing her arms in the air like a kid throwing a tantrum.

"But I want to play in the snow at least once! I've never been able to make a snowman or have a snowball fight!"

Ned chuckled while scratching the side of his head.

"Well... maybe if there's only a little bit of snow, we can have the best of both worlds."

Alyx shrugged her shoulders before brushing her hair back.

"The key point we are missing here is that the weather is out of our control. We may get lots of snow, a little bit, or none at all. At the end of the day, the most we can do is hope."

She sighed.

"Which is basically the same as doing nothing."

Erin balled up her hands into tiny fists. She pressed her lips together and let out a determined hum.

"Then I'm going to hope! It might increase the chances, you never know!"

Alyx smiled bitterly and set down her spellbook.

"Well, I suppose making an attempt is better than none at all."

Erin and Alyx turned to look at Ned and me.

Alyx blinked a few times. She coughed awkwardly.

"...Are you two alright?"

We had fallen silent.

Erin seemed to only notice it after Alyx pointed it out. She tilted her head to the side and stared at us curiously.

"Why are you guys so quiet? Cheer up a little! The people that actually can't talk will get angry at you for taking it all for granted."

Erin swung her arms around in the air, as though she was trying to beat us up telepathically.

My gaze slowly shifted to Ned.

Why was he being so quiet?

Ned laughed awkwardly. He shook his head.

"I was just thinking about something. Nothing important, but I got lost in my thoughts."

Erin pouted. Her cheeks puffed up in frustration, but she was unable to remain angry.

"Mm... ok."

I coughed awkwardly before pointing to myself.

"Anyways, I really should get changed. At this rate I'm going to make a pond if I stay here any longer."

Alyx nodded.

"Ah, you should get to it quickly. You don't want to get sick."

Erin gasped.

"Oh no, go quickly! Being sick is realllly bad."

As for Ned, he simply looked away. Almost like he had something to hide.

And with that, I headed upstairs.