A celebration party was planned to welcome Kasia back safely.
Of course, Goldie, Ddakkongi, and even Little Pepper—the family—would be invited.
“Kasia, could you start greeting them first? You know Goldie and Ddakkongi already. I’ll get the party preparations ready.”
- Oh! That’s a good idea. I hope they remember me.
I was worried it might take a long time, but she returned much sooner than expected.
Only now did I have the time to check the clock, and less than an hour had passed.
‘Ha! They said the time ratio is almost 33 to 1, and that’s exactly right. I guess I made a fuss before leaving Earth for no reason.’
The party preparations weren’t much.
Just gathering the beef and side dishes that had been set aside before going to Eliya.
Although Kasia had been seen nibbling on food here and there while in Eliya, she probably hadn’t been able to eat her fill, so this was a treat.
Suddenly, Kasia’s scream came from outside.
- Kyah–! Why, why are you doing this! No, don’t stab me…. Stop it–!
Wondering what was going on in broad daylight, I rushed out and witnessed a strange scene.
Kasia was standing as if on guard, arms raised as high as possible next to her ears, while Little Pepper circled around her, threatening her with a blazing gochu.
My mind was filled with question marks over the incomprehensible situation.
“What are you two doing right now?”
Five minutes earlier.
Kasia, heading to the henhouse to meet Goldie, found it empty and then moved toward the field.
That’s when she spotted a creature she’d never seen before wandering around the field.
- Hello? I haven’t seen you before. You must be the new one Minho started raising while I was away.
Little Pepper, who hadn’t sensed anyone’s presence, was startled by the voice from behind, leapt backward, and aimed his pepper sword at Kasia.
(Who are you! This is Master’s field! Identify yourself!)
- Eh? I won’t lower my weapon. I might even become Minho’s soulmate one day.
The tip of Little Pepper’s sword was sharp and pointed, making it very intimidating.
Perhaps because of the weapon aimed at her, Kasia instinctively raised her arms and took a step back.
The problem was, unlike with Goldie, Minho wasn’t around, so their conversation didn’t connect.
(Raise your hands! Raise them higher!)
Unable to understand the words, Little Pepper planned to subdue the suspicious intruder first and then wait for the master’s return.
To avoid being underestimated and to ensure easy control, he threatened with repeated prods of his pepper sword.
- Kyah–! Why, why are you doing this! No, don’t stab me…. Stop it–!
During this brief standoff, Kasia’s savior, Do Minho, arrived.
“What are you two doing right now?”
- This tiny creature keeps threatening me with stabbing! Get it away quickly!
“Little Pepper, put down your weapon. She’s my friend.”
(Understood! She seemed suspicious, so I was going to subdue her first!)
After hearing Kasia’s explanation, there wasn’t much behavior to suspect.
“She doesn’t seem to be acting suspiciously. What happened?”
(Well, it suddenly jumped out! I was sure no one was around here, but it approached silently from behind!)
Hearing the full story, from Little Pepper’s perspective, a superhuman intruder suddenly appeared and seemed to be trying to eliminate the sentry on guard.
No one was hurt, and since it was a minor misunderstanding during a thorough watch, there was no reason to blame anyone.
Since Kasia was going to invite them to the celebration party anyway, I took the chance to relay the message.
“Ddakkongi’s shift changes at 8 p.m., right? We’re planning a party with delicious food for Kasia then, so I really hope Little Pepper can come too. You’ll be spending time together, so it’d be good if you became friends.”
(Understood! I’ll be responsible for Ddakkongi and make sure to bring him along!)
“Thanks a lot~”
(Don’t worry about the field!)
“The field? Why the field?”
(If the gochu are here, they’ll notice intruders!)
“Really? That’s amazing. Then we can fully enjoy the party!”
Even if the field doesn’t need guarding, the guardians do their best.
Who knows who might show up…
I let it slide.
Now I just had to find Goldie and invite him.
Where could he be?
Flutter flutter.
“Hm?”
Turning toward the sound of wings flapping, the blindingly bright sun was directly in front of me.
And beneath it, something was perched on Kasia’s head.
Goldie?
- Goldie remembers me! We truly are friends! I’ve thought of you often too!
(Kasia, long time no see. Have you been well?)
- Not really. It was really hard wanting to come here.
Were they always this close?
I vaguely remembered Kasia having a brief falling out with Goldie over fried chicken around the time she went to Eliya, but after meeting again, they got along perfectly.
I left them to share more of their reunion’s joy and started the farm work that had been delayed due to Eliya.
I wanted to ask Kasia to water the crops using the Spirit of Water…!
That would be so convenient.
‘If I ordered her around right after coming to Earth, she might accuse me of labor exploitation and leave for Eliya again, so I’ll give her today off.’
As usual, I checked on the peanuts and gochu, then watered them.
Next was the green onions.
‘The green onions have grown so much already? It’s about time to start using them. Since green onions go into most dishes, I’ll cut some first.’
I was neatly trimming the long green onions when—
Vroom~!
Due to how remote this place was, hearing a car was unusual.
Looking toward the sound, a compact car was entering the only path leading to our home.
‘Who could it be? I wasn’t expecting anyone.’
As the car got closer, I began to make out the driver’s silhouette.
Looks like a woman…
A woman?
‘Seonwoo!’
Porti had bloomed flowers, and I had gotten a phone call telling me some new facts about Porti.
We had planned for her to visit the next day…
And that day was today.
“It’s you!”
Baek Seonwoo got out of the car, and I quickly greeted her as if it were nothing.
“Hello! Have you been well? Were you harvesting green onions?”
“Huh? Ahahaha. You came to see Porti, right?”
Though I was naturally farming, I subconsciously hid the harvested green onions behind me.
“Of course. Can I see them right now?”
“Yes, this way.”
Seonwoo was so curious that she didn’t even pause for breath before getting to the point.
“They’re red flowers… beautiful. But what’s that smell?”
Seonwoo closed her eyes to savor the floral scent but then grimaced and pulled her head back.
“Oh, sorry. The smell caught me off guard.”
“It’s okay. I was surprised too because the flowers had a fishy scent.”
After thinking for a moment, Seonwoo said,
“It smells like blood, doesn’t it? Like a metallic scent. A flower soaked with blood…?”
“Huh? That might be it. Is that why it has healing effects?”
“That could be. The plant isn’t a superhuman and couldn’t have awakened such abilities.”
While deep in discussion with Baek Seonwoo, a sharp gaze pricked my neck.
Slowly turning around, Kasia was glaring at us with crossed arms.
Seonwoo noticed the stare and looked back.
“Oh? I haven’t seen you before. You weren’t here last time. Is she your girlfriend?”
“No, she’s a friend, just a friend.”
Kasia approached with a displeased expression, clearly annoyed by our conversation.
- Minho, who is this that you’re chatting so happily with?
“Uh, uh, she’s a Porti researcher. It’s not exactly a fun chat… just talking about Porti.”
What is this?
Why am I making excuses?
I was just talking about Porti’s flowers and such.
“Oh, was our conversation boring? I thought it was interesting.”
“Huh? I found it inte—”
Kasia’s sharp glare cut me off.
Ha.
Why are both of them treating me like this…
“Haha, just kidding. But she has pointed ears? I heard that means a long life.”
“Oh, really?”
“I can read physiognomy a little.”
Creepy how accurate that was.
Elves live far longer than humans.
“But I’ve never seen ears that long before.”
- Why are you having a conversation without me?
Even though you probably can’t communicate, you’re talking separately with the person right in front of you.
Kasia’s expression soured.
Oh dear, Kasia’s sulking.
“We talked about you. They said pointed ears mean a long life.”
- Humans just have short lifespans. Most of the species I know live as long as or longer than we do.
“I see. Besides elves, what other species are there? Not many have been discovered on Earth.”
At that, Baek Seonwoo expressed her disappointment.
“Tell me too! What are elves and species? Surely she isn’t an elf, right?”
Watching Kasia closely, Seonwoo’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Eh, she’s an elf! She is, right? Of course! That’s why her ears are so long and pointed! No human’s ears could be that long!”
I decided I had to stop this conversation.
I couldn’t just stand there playing interpreter forever.
“Let’s stop here and take a look at the Porti. Kasia, please step aside for a moment. We can talk afterward.”
- Tch. You have to tell me what you two were talking about.
Kasia pouted but moved aside.
But Seonwoo didn’t seem willing to change the subject.
“Sorry earlier. I saw you surprised and wanted to tease you. But this is my first time seeing a different species. Amazing. I always thought they looked mysterious—exotic and beautiful with a tall stature and suspiciously long ears.”
“Haha, I was surprised when I first saw them too. But aren’t you curious about Porti? You said making a potion is your goal…”
“Oh, right. Hehe. I’m quite curious. So where were we?”
“We were talking about the flowers smelling like blood, I think.”
We discussed not only the flowers but also the roots, and before we knew it, time had flown.
Seonwoo said she had to leave soon since the lab was far away.
“Thank you so much for giving me ten Porti plants.”
“Last time, you had few samples, so it must have been hard to research.”
“That’s right. But this time I have a good feeling. Thanks for reaching out first.”
“I hope Porti saves many lives too.”
At that moment, a notification blinked in my vision.
[ Baek Seonwoo – Communion Completed ]
We are empathizing and helping each other toward a common goal.
Achieving this goal will deepen our communion.
‘Huh? There’s a Communion Completed message even for humans?’
I learned this when Minjun and Goldie’s Communion-Bond ability blossomed through their Sympathy.
But I hadn’t seen a Communion Completed message for Minjun yet.
Maybe because they were communing before his ability awakened?
“Well, I’ll be going now. I’ll contact you once I succeed. Thanks again!”
“Safe travels.”
After seeing Seonwoo off as she drove away, I turned around.
Huh?
On my way to Kasia’s, I noticed the door was slightly ajar.
Through that small gap, I caught sight of Kasia’s eyes.
“Ah! You startled me! Kasia, what are you doing there?”
- I’ve been waiting for you. Why did it take so long?
“There were flowers blooming on Porti. And I just found out new abilities about the flowers and roots, so I have lots to tell you.”
Kasia’s eyes were half-lidded, dreamy.
“Really! Oh, and I also talked about you.”
- What did you say?
“They said you’re really beautiful. They thought you weren’t human when they first saw you.”
- Hmph, heh. That woman isn’t exactly ugly from the humans’ side of things.
Why is my nose twitching?
My lips seem to be twitching too.
And isn’t Seonwoo pretty enough already?
Better not say that out loud.
“But Kasia, the only humans you’ve seen are the Grandmother Chilcheonli ladies….”
- When I ate fried chicken with you at the market, I saw other women too.
Oh, I see.
Huh?
But last time she could change her ears to normal, so why not this time?
I was about to ask Kasia, but since she looked so happy, humming after receiving compliments, I let it go.
Someday, elves will come over too, and then it won’t be a secret anymore, so it doesn’t matter.