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The sun was setting.
I had to go around with Ryan once again to accept the greetings of the departing guests.
By the time I almost finished seeing everyone off, the sky was changing from blue to black.
Lagos came to me, who was almost exhausted.
“Sihyeon, thank you for inviting us.”
“Why are you thanking me for that?”
“We have a gift for you. I’ve been waiting for you because you seem to be busy.”
“Gift?”
Just in time, Reville appeared behind Lagos with a cart loaded with something.
“This is…?”
“They said they made it a little urgent to meet the swearing-in date, but it won’t taste bad. The villagers worked hard to make it by gathering ingredients. Of course, the person who suffered the most was Elder Raccoon, who made these himself.”
“Ah… by any chance?”
When I asked with a look of anticipation, both Lagos and Reville smiled and nodded.
As soon as I saw the familiar wooden barrels in the cart, my mouth was already watering.
“It’s not a great gift, but please accept it.”
“Sihyeon. Congratulations on becoming a Lord.”
“Thank you for the present. Thank you for the drink.”
I expressed my appreciation with genuine delight for the surprise gift.
I greeted not only Reville and Lagos but also other Elden villagers one by one.
When I showed Miru the flower bracelet I was still wearing on my wrist, she burst into laughter.
As the Elden villagers left, darkness and silence filled the area which was noisy until a while ago.
“Senior, what’s in the cart… huh? Isn’t this tree barrel honey beer?”
“Honey beer?”
Kaneff ran at the speed of light as soon as he heard the sound of honey beer.
His sparkling eyes looking at the honey beer looked as innocent as a child.
“Sihyeon, is this really honey beer?”
“Yes. The Elden villagers gave it to me as a gift.”
Other farm members also rushed in as soon as they heard the news of honey beer.
Judging by the atmosphere, there was a momentum to open the lid of the wooden beer right away.
I asked with a forced smile.
“Then shall we have a swearing-in ceremony after-party?”
Everyone nodded at the same time and twinkled their eyes.
A few days have passed since the swearing-in.
Although I officially became the Lord of this place, there was no significant change in farm life, similar to the time when I returned from the Demon Lord Castle.
There may be things I don’t know about the lord’s work, but taking care of the farm was more important than anything else to me.
I took care of the yakums, sometimes I look at strawberry fields and strawberry jam workshops, and recently, even baby griffins have been added to the work, so there are more things to pay attention to.
Ryan said he had something in mind about the lord’s work, so I kept focusing on the farm work for now.
– Chaiing! – Chaing… Chaiiiing!
After a long time, the sound of a sword rang out in the back of a farm building.
“Oh? Senior! You’re holding out for quite a long time in fencing training?”
“Haa… Haaa… Haa… Haa… Haa… aaaaa…”
I parried with Elfred while breathing hard.
I don’t know if he meant it as a compliment, but from my point of view, it didn’t look like one.
It didn’t seem like I had rested for a long time, but the body was as heavy as a sandbag attached to it, and the senses, which were once sharp enough to be recognized by Kael, were completely rusted.
Alfred slowed down the offensive for a moment and stepped back.
I also drew down the edge of the sword and breathed as hard as I could.
“That’s the way it is. If you don’t hold the sword even for a day, your senses will start to twist the next day. That’s why it’s good to keep practicing, even a little every day.”
“Haaa… I couldn’t help it. Things kept happening.”
I went to see the Demon Lord, then went to the Barbatos family to take care of the little griffins, and then there was the swearing-in ceremony.
As a series of fairly large incidents continued, I naturally neglected my sword training.
“You should have practiced for at least a few minutes. Even doing some basic posture training a day helps a lot in maintaining your senses. You have caught your breath, haven’t you? Here we go again.”
“Hold on, I’m still having a hard time…”
– Chaiiing!
‘This damn punk!’
Alfred neatly ignored my last cry and swung his sword.
I held back the curse that was about to pop out and managed to get into position.
Still, thanks to the short breather, breathing and movement have changed stably.
I tried to fight back somehow with a little bit of ease.
However, maybe it was because my senses were still rusty, I couldn’t even try a proper counterattack.
I was out of energy to the point where I’m out of breath again and my vision soon blurred.
The moment I gave up thinking I couldn’t really hold out!
Suddenly, I felt a sense I’d never experienced before in my body.
The flow of magic in my body suddenly rose from somewhere and quickly stirred my whole body.
I moved my body like I was led by that mysterious force.
“Huh?!”
A confused voice popped out of Alfred’s mouth.
I don’t know what happened, but the move just now created an opportunity to fight back while exquisitely avoiding the opponent’s attack.
No matter how rusty my senses were, I wasn’t stupid enough to miss a perfect opportunity.
I drew my last strength and swung my sword around.
Chiiiing!!
With the sound of a giant bump, I fell flat, unable to balance my body, and I heard a sword falling on the floor behind my back.
Alfred, who missed the sword in his hand, looked at me with a blank look on his face.
“H O W, how did you do that?”
“Uh… what?”
“Last move. You fought back, moving as if you had seen through my attack perfectly. I’ve never seen you fight back like that before….”
I tilted my head with a look of complete incomprehension.
“You’re not secretly getting swordsmanship lessons from anyone else besides me, right?”
“Hey! I’m having a hard time training in swordsmanship with you, so how can I afford to take another swordsmanship class?”
“… then this can’t be true…”
Alfred murmured in agony.
I couldn’t explain the mysterious power either.
I just quietly fell to the ground and caught my breath.
After some breathing, when I looked at Alfred, he still continued to be in agony.
I got up from my seat checking the time on my cell phone that I left nearby.
“Elaine, how long are you going to be thinking about that? I’ll be going first.”
“Are you going already? Aren’t you going to rest anymore?”
“I’m busy today. I have to organize all the reports that I’m behind because of the preparation for the swearing-in ceremony, and I have to prepare the side dishes that’ll be stored for everyone while I’m away.”
“… Are you going somewhere?”
“Didn’t I say this during the swearing-in ceremony? I’m on vacation from tomorrow.”
Since I came to Demon Farm, this place has revolved around me.
I’m not bragging, but there were so few things on the farm that I wasn’t really involved in.
So I always had to be anxious when I went on vacation or was forced to leave.
There are many times when they can’t respond if there’s a problem when I’m not around.
But now I don’t have to worry too much.
Because of a few vacations and my absence due to various reasons, the farm members naturally learned how to cope.
Without me, Lia can take care of the Yakums.
Of course, it was impossible to take care of Yakums as closely as I do. Instead, she can give food, clean the barn, change the bucket, and so on.
Simple things can be done by Lia without me.
Andras manages strawberry fields and strawberry jam workshops.
Alfred was in charge of cleaning the outside of the farm, doing chores, and preparing meals.
Even if it was meal preparation, it was just taking out the side dishes I had prepared in advance, or preparing ramen or instant food.
“Sihyeon, I’ve organized almost all the groceries and kitchenware you brought me last time.”
“Senior, this is a personal item we need. I wrote down everything except for you and Speranza.”
“Oh! Sihyeon. You said you don’t have the paper and ink you use to print pictures. I think you’ll have to buy them together this time.”
I was pleased to see the farm members preparing for my vacation.
Is this how a parent’s heart feels when looking at a child who has grown up?
“It feels reassuring to see everyone like this. I think I don’t have to be on the farm anymore.”
Lia, Alfred, and Andras got surprised at my words that I said in a half-joking and half-serious manner.
“No way! I can’t live without Sihyeon on the farm.”
“Se, Senior. What do you mean by that? You’re not leaving us behind, are you?”
“Without Sihyeon, this place will probably last only a few months… No, not even a month is possible.”
I was embarrassed when I saw them taking my words more seriously than I thought.
“I didn’t mean to quit or anything. I meant that you all seemed to be used to farm work and became reliable.”
I took the initiative to explain the whole misunderstanding.
Only then did the three of them let out a sigh of relief.
I felt good and at the same time a heavy responsibility at the fact that everyone depended on me more than I thought.
“Huh…You make a fuss just by hearing the words. Aren’t you relying on Sihyeon too much? It’s like you can’t live without Sihyeon anymore.”
Kaneff giggled and teased.
Naturally, the three frowned as if they were offended.
Of course, it wasn’t Kaneff who would care about such a reaction, so he slightly turned to me.
“By the way, why are you going on a vacation all of a sudden?”
“It’s… I’ve got something to do.’
“I can’t believe you’re going on vacation as soon as you become a Lord. Aren’t you joking around too much??”
Kaneff asked playfully.
I hesitated for a moment to answer.
Not because Kaneff’s mischief felt offensive.
It was because I was worried about whether to give a rough explanation or clarify the reason for going on vacation.
After thinking for a while, I decided to tell the farm members the exact reason.
I thought it was not polite to hide it from everyone on purpose.
“It’s not that… Soon it’ll be my father’s death anniversary. I haven’t been able to visit his grave properly in the last few years.”
“Uh…uh?”
Kaneff stammered, with a rare look of embarrassment.
“Mr. Kaneff… That’s a little….”
“Senior, you’re not really leaving us, are you?”
“Sihyeon, I apologize on behalf of the Boss. I’m so sorry.”
The three bowed their heads and apologized because they thought I’d be in a bad mood, and Kaneff looked restlessly at me.
“It’s okay. I didn’t mean it like that…”
Looking at the bewildered farm members, I thought I shouldn’t have said it, so I smiled bitterly.
After that, it took me a while to calm everyone down.