Chapter 15: No Way...

There were already several people working in the farmland. Some were picking vegetables from the ground, while others were carrying baskets toward the small hut on the far side.

"Everyone!" the owner shouted loudly, and the workers immediately stopped what they were doing and looked toward them.

"I found two more people to help us today!" the owner happily shouted, which made the others in the field smile.

"That’s good. We could definitely use more hands!" One of the workers shouted.

"This is Harold. He handles most of the vegetables." The owner pointed toward the worker who had just spoken. The man lightly nodded his head to acknowledge them.

"Nice to meet you," Caelan greeted the man, and Eveline did the same.

"And that’s Mira. She usually takes care of the fruits."

A woman who was carrying a basket of apples gave them a small wave from afar.

"And that’s..." The owner suddenly paused as he pointed at a guy in the distance.

Before he could finish his sentence, someone quickly ran past in front of them.

"Whoa!"

In the next second, the guy was suddenly standing right in front of Caelan and Eveline. He was carrying a large basket filled with vegetables.

"Sorry about that!" he shouted loudly as he scrambled to fix himself.

"Did you just...?" Caelan’s eyebrows formed a straight line as he stared at him.

"Ah, you noticed?" The man simply laughed.

The owner sighed as he tapped the man’s shoulder.

"This is Leon. He’s one of our fastest workers."

"Hello, Boss. I was just bringing these over." Leon placed the basket on the ground. "And I’m sorry about earlier. I was born with an ability that lets me move much faster than normal. Though I can only use it when I’m full."

"Oh, I see..."

Soon after getting introduced to everyone, they eventually started working. The owner told them he’d come back at the end of the day to get them and give them their pay.

That was the part Caelan was most excited about. Getting paid.

Caelan grabbed his basket and walked toward the nearest row of vegetables that Harold pointed to him. The owner had given them a few reminders earlier, so it wasn’t that bad. They were also asked to watch the others for a couple of minutes before starting completely.

When Caelan walked, Eveline followed closely from behind him.

At first, Caelan wasn’t really sure what he was doing. But after watching the others for a few minutes, he quickly got the hang of it.

He crouched down and started picking the ripe tomatoes one after another. Before long, his basket was already half full.

"Caelan..." He looked up when he heard his name being called.

Eveline was still working on the same row that he had left her. She was carefully checking each tomato before picking it.

"Am I doing this correctly?" she asked uncertainly.

Caelan looked at the tomato she was holding before letting out a small smile. "Yup. Just continue it."

"Alright," she sighed. Touching the greenery around made her a little uncomfortable. It reminded her of the days she wanted to forget already. But still, she quickly pushed the thought away and focused on the vegetables in front of her.

All she wanted to do now was help Caelan, even if she was scared.

For a while, the two of them worked quietly.

Caelan quickly realized that the work wasn’t as difficult as he had expected. Once he got used to it, his hands moved almost automatically. He picked a tomato, placed it in the basket, and moved to the next one.

After a few more minutes, he had already filled most of his basket.

"I’ll bring this over." He stood up and looked toward the storage area.

"Okay." Eveline smiled at him before she continued once again.

Caelan picked up his basket and started walking towards the small hut while Eveline simply watched.

Instinctively, she stared around, down to the tomato in her hand. For a brief moment, she remembered how different things used to be.

The truth was that Eveline used to have an ability that could make crops multiply with just a few words from her. Her family was of noble blood, and since then, she had been their pride and glory.

Farmers would often ask for her help, and she would happily help them multiply their produce to be of the highest quality. She had never thought much about it because it was simply something she had always been able to do.

But for some reason, her ability disappeared a few months ago.

At first, she thought it was only temporary. Then days passed, followed by weeks, but nothing happened. The people who used to come to her for help slowly started avoiding her.

Some stopped asking for her help, while others began whispering whenever she walked past. She had quickly become the talk of the town.

The girl who could multiply produce with had suddenly become the girl who couldn’t do anything.

Eveline tried to ignore it at first, but it became harder every day. It was to the point that her own family belittled her for what happened.

Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore. She left her town. She told people she was traveling and told Caelan that bandits had attacked her carriage.

But the truth was...

She just really ran away from their house without anything.

Eveline lowered her head as tears slowly pooled in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away before anyone could see. She didn’t want to remember any of it.

She didn’t want to think about the people who had looked at her differently, and she especially didn’t want to remember how useless she had felt after losing the one thing that made her special.

But now, she was standing in the middle of a farm again, surrounded by the same greenery she had tried so hard to avoid for months.

Eveline looked down at the tomato in her hand, her fingers slowly tightening around it. For some reason, she suddenly remembered the way she used to do it. She would place her hand near the soil, whisper a few words, and the plants would respond.

"Why am I even thinking about this..." Eveline sighed. She knew that her abilities were gone, but she just wanted to feel the feeling again.

Eveline slowly crouched down and placed her hand near the small plant. She took a small breath and chuckled. Sometimes, she pities herself too for acting this way.

"Rise from the earth, and bear fruit once more," Her voice was barely audible when she said those words in a sweet and gentle tone.

Eveline slowly opened her eyes after and let out a small sigh.

"Of course..." She was about to pull her hand away when she suddenly felt something beneath her palm.

"Huh?" Eveline’s body completely froze as the plant beside her suddenly moved. A small bud quickly appeared on it, followed by another.

"N-no..." Eveline’s eyes widened when the neighboring plants soon began doing the same. The plants where she had picked the tomatoes from were suddenly producing more tomatoes, their fruits red and shiny as they grew before her eyes.

"No way..."