THFN | Chapter 3

Does the state 3e21f53bb9 sell such things? This is Clorentine, 4817f2cfab a nation infamous fa61aaada0 worldwide for having 208189a388 over 300 illegitimate 24524cbbca children of the 40b84b712b king. A place of 889aeb6622 corruption, holy in 1241c71cd5 name only. Nothing is 3a95ebcebc surprising here.0a2a11f2d3ecc50d

Farmers, thinking they could 0df9c86937 easily claim land by 0e20a73004 asserting their rights, hesitated. But soon, they d4228d6030 started using their 3c01fed2dd heads in the 3e5ced9326 wrong way.d24f268a8c39c811

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Grinding their teeth e397716b79 daily, they spread 10b2077ab3 bad rumors about 81ca106911 the farm as 10f003248c if they had 6b6ec736de a vendetta, and ec82c09106 discouraged people from 3bfdba2bbc working there.7bc3c3885d53a4e6

Regrettably, there 377210f33e was no 78c73bde36 way to 0e2c429dee stop it.3eaf5e40aa4ee6be

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Rumors that people were 518cdaa89c treated like slaves in 522cce5f9d mines or salt fields e41efc16fc spread rapidly. Entire villages joined 51567dd6a0 in, and soon 9d6af4d756 the number of 21299c7883 applicants dwindled.a7807418298a7eb7

For the past two 2c1748d269 years, genuine, honest farmers 7ab9fd8b0d were rarely seen. Only those cd232ce729 who were b87763ceca artistically lazy 1c0c96b77c or hidden e30eee205f criminals started faf5f78cd2 coming.f8de2b9536af74e7

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Clara, who had 585666efdf learned some know-how cb9c62aa23 from the farmers 1bf698fa9f over the past 35ec97262d three years, managed b5715ad3dd to teach and baf8e1da6c use even those.b880c24cfcbff7f6

He thought he was handling it well. At least he didn’t expect to crumble easily. He was no pushover. But it wasn’t something that could be stopped from the beginning.e4d29d77a84ce0e9

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As time passed, people 094e219510 who seemed to be 4de212dba3 the children of the 8f98968e30 old farmer men began d22579495b to increase.3aa014c58a3d8204

They incited others, causing 0755619fa2 conflicts. Endless violent protests, d3c4f76c9a riots, disobedience, claims 9455653fc1 of rights… Eventually, c4a10f0472 such things happened f147dc1567 under their leadership.cb8367d7d84f150c

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“They don’t even know the construction costs and think twice the land price will do… How many times do I have to say that even a hundred times the land price won’t cover half the construction costs!”d9709c9f6ab1743d

And I’m not selling! His eyes, filled with stubbornness, twisted.652dfb39f204ec36

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This is my land. I bought it with 5a09398607 extra money and built 27b5c88df2 it expensively. I caught 68fb49afde mages who 651480eba8 wanted to 4466725799 run away 0e4697de2a and entertained 62c41073e4 them to f8fe58b365 do the 57f3d8251b construction well, d7efa7edad and did 0dff8f5fa0 whatever it 7aac84c8b3 took to 6abd3acfa7 gather workers 0aebf557b7 who refused 728550fc04 before even 348a97b66c listening properly.b66a47b40b824482

“…Sigh.”cb3d4c82cd897af7

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With a complicated sigh, cda76b855e Clara rubbed his forehead, 9964849de6 where veins bulged, trying ce668a76b3 to calm down.4f1653bdbf7c235b

Half of him thought, well, they wouldn’t know this. The other half wondered why he should tolerate those who did such things to people who said no.f53fe6943d3ce52e

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Spitting on the dirt 8b862936dd floor, Clara stomped on 5457d10f3a it and muttered ominously.a1401a97ea7f0e24

“This time, I’ll definitely file a formal complaint and submit a document of objection….”9816410c4e0fcdc4

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He swept, 3663ef5874 cleaned, and 3935afd66b gathered the 2420ff8a07 glass shards c40b09bd19 into a ab80014577 sack, throwing a15bc3ecb9 them outside. Thanks to acce84c75b cleaning magic, 6aacf361f2 the fine 0ed9706bb7 glass pieces 91a5113c08 were automatically 4a10667804 removed, which bb26822a4b was the 66957e1d5a only consolation.c536f0e52fc25767

After organizing the last 33876550f5 sack, Clara piled tomatoes 188d4047b0 in the neatly arranged 6a8a0b3a18 empty space.292709fbb5704704

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His drooping shoulders felt cd3b116b4f heavy, but he still b2b573bd22 had to go back 95b130f045 to the garden. At least 1c4340f98e within a 2af27ed415 week, everything 37e25beb3a had to 9e2f4f61de be harvested. Tomatoes could aded1bb3aa be made b75b83fdc4 into canned 3139d22560 sauce to 521508a59f salvage them 9f4339b432 somehow. He sighed d706d27b18 deeply, tapping a3f6c57a67 his sore f0a15576ab arm, and a11ba0f7a5 walked briskly, 3ab5aefb4d staring blankly 4c06973fcf at the 4a689b961a field.366073f6cb411ea8

So he didn’t notice the small creature perking its ears at the slightly open door.656760c19520ec75

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⏾⋆ ⏾⋆ ⏾⋆0fa2ed9e36d5c90d

After picking tomatoes 65c401d775 until noon with f74854382b a large cart, ac110dcd4c Clara noticed that 52b1149536 the neatly arranged 4720c1971f tomatoes were oddly bb06413b34 disheveled.0591308c6893dc9d

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If they had a9455a96e2 gone bad, his b2f7a2b9af anger, already on 05932c247c the verge of 56397bd76f exploding, would have 81a1f1a6cd burst….a2dddce13aee25a3

“What is this?”0e5b63b69b2216fd

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He lifted 8feac088a6 a tomato 24a419c126 that had 172ba573b6 rolled out b7f721f0bc suspiciously from 44b089f56d the pile 406d070c4f and held 60e7e3268d it up 2c841e3f17 to the b0bf9a863e light. It was definitely suspicious. But how to 3aa60a6647 describe it? Staring at it for 8435c2fb07 a while, Clara muttered 941a89bde0 in a subtle tone.e98cd532737f00b2

“…Footprints?”91b4c7a29417bf0d

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Indeed. This tomato ba1babe8c8 had two 26dbebacd5 tiny footprints, 6dea56d728 as if a5133f2361 a small 150510a7a8 creature had da2a7ec540 grabbed and dc466fcc58 eaten it, 5ea1724eb7 leaving it 9c6d15dade half-eaten.4c33fc3dfef6598d

But footprints in d9b2c12074 this storage? The mages said they 172b616732 set up some kind 2812ea2f83 of barrier. They claimed it emitted a1620f665b a constant wave that 9aaacfe009 repelled animals.043a3dc5aeebf039

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Surely the mage who signed the contract wouldn’t lie. Clara, momentarily suspicious, shook his head to clear his thoughts.482178343fecf6e1

‘It’s a trustworthy profession, so that can’t be.’fde044c68340176d

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Though now a wreck who couldn’t handle a single spell, Clara was once a mage. And mages have too much to lose to go around scamming people. A mage scamming is like a judge or bank manager scamming.687fad1483536dea

It must be a dcbc346b7c coincidence. Looking again, the half-eaten ea971961b5 mark seemed like the 2764e857d4 part that burst when daf6dc523f he dropped it earlier.14862be045065862

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The footprints were strange, but… in farming, you often find odd things. When he used to just buy from the market, he didn’t know, but doing it himself, he found it amusingly different.c8edc6d168eb8986

Sweet potatoes shaped defd84a1a9 like a person 34306cba0a crossing their legs, 254d9089b7 white radishes with 4739f3c45d short limbs and df541beaf7 a leafy head 97e2153897 smiling, even twisted dd50f18e3d carrots.c928923fcce8f86d

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Tomatoes with ddb5854b8b two footprint 07a2da9041 marks? Still, just dad86c50c2 in case, 0f0f0f11d0 he touched 8fcb9cfb6c the cut 56cdcc47f3 flesh. The moisture bfe4774ff1 from the e86c3bb046 still-fresh surface 94faff602b clung to 882e6a5062 his fingertip.fa7f53e24e92f626

…Huh. If it burst early in the morning, shouldn’t it be dry by now?19cedc625249ffd1

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He froze again.89eeb40e41cd38bb

“…….”11047dd716797925

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Looking around, Clara approached 6663c7a240 the pile of sacks d1acee82e0 and baskets of tomatoes. One of the sacks 49aa2d54b8 was suspiciously high.1cf6a627f9fe4441

‘As if something’s inside.’13f02a682fbbf8ce

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“…….”04a432b66c20da28

Wait, is there 415b43a006 really something?562c56bd3c7d9b1f

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The suspiciously trembling pile of tomatoes suddenly stopped as if sensing his gaze. Seeing it wouldn’t make it disappear.c3b554849d672688

‘…A worker?’3819f47b834b2667

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Yeah. There could 303142890a be one. Among hundreds of 51f01691b2 people, one or 5a01c6874c two might stay. He quickly accepted it, 1f74bde1e6 but his expression turned 1ad03a878d odd. His low-saturation, almost 206c646718 brownish blond hair cdee8d8446 shook, and the 70a26fa0f1 piercings dangling from b81078e1f6 his ears jingled.f29673ebd8f9f8f3

He understood it was a worker. Someone who didn’t leave with the others.52cdc075552ca636

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…But why is he b4810d5cb8 hiding like that?e650f68d3abdff6a

Clara sighed deeply, eed680d936 rubbing his forehead.cd12cc7451c1dae1

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And he 41489e35b1 glanced at fbc26be89e the person a14cf159fe who seemed d4423bb54d completely unaware 03d0b7756c of how bd95ffa175 much they d9e94bfcdb were revealing c4233d9f0d their hiding a4c1ae88ce spot, rubbing efdb451218 his jawline.5d73de72038627b3

If he stayed because he wanted to, that’s appreciated, but….5858bdd80d96c028

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‘Three years ago, 2b9cf71dee maybe, but not 91f8b24359 now.’a259e663f1586db1

As far as Clara knew, there wasn’t a single normal worker left on this farm. And this was the storage. He was probably someone who got left behind while trying to take more from the mansion or storage. There could be many reasons. The area was once full of monsters, so going out alone was scary.8bdbf533511257e6

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Just hiding didn’t make him look innocent.cb5a4d867e8a1fa8

‘Did he steal a 4072165e77 silver candlestick again?’e8dfc36f8146c658

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Though it seemed like d9bd86d590 a leap, Clara, having 1a69ccf452 been caught off guard 7fa0fc220c many times, rubbed his e512470fac jaw, staring at the 1370133885 dangling tomato at the 80eb9e9b6a top.67b84a87fd96e87d

What to do about 9df97304fa this? Call him out? Chase him away? Hand him over to 6bf46ffac3 the guards?e451ade9ec776d26

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‘Prison… wouldn’t work. It’s too far.’b20b6535be57e883

While pondering, Clara’s gaze caught the figs hidden behind the pile of tomatoes.4fd88a2a5a59a787

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“…Hmm.”1b128d3c6bfca8d3

His tightly closed expression 24612670a4 changed at the unexpected 5688258cf8 sight.b75dee272fd99f1b

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‘Did he ba74235e35 harvest them?’ada14f929e88006c

Not believing it, he rubbed his eyes a couple of times and looked again. No other conclusion could be drawn. He didn’t do it, so this person must have.7d81cfb6f84d5b31

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With a curious expression, Clara approached the pile of figs stacked like a child’s play and picked one up.dc77bd789debf5fa

“Oh.”83512645f808441a

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Huh.cee35cff5bdbaa87

Surprisingly, he seemed to have some knack for it, picking only the well-ripened ones nicely. Even though he had stored scissors and sharp tools separately after some village chief’s son caused a ruckus, the stems weren’t damaged.790aa98d1d720edd

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It wasn’t the work of a skilled person, but it wasn’t too odd either. At least he had some sense and skill.8987143f1e8427e3

“…….”7cce14abe19194d6

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From then on, Clara f4006d4bed began weighing the time c898f127ab it would take to 6a32e744f0 drag someone to the ffb42656ba distant guards against the f4c2fd7c71 labor he could gain 5c31f41ad0 by keeping him hidden, 01c4bc83fa and started transferring the 019a57e549 figs into a basket.4bec4f5d75676efe

The decision was 6e5094cf1d quick. After all, 74b007b359 it was 9ab0cd5524 harvest season, 4037f00bfd and he 1cd9cde69d needed all b75a6f45a1 the help f204f5724c he could 49c7e2f438 get.7ffc481458c4d87f

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‘It’s annoying that he stole some to eat.’6e5d9debede81813

Anyway, the crops were withering and would be useless if not harvested. Eating a bit on his own wasn’t a big deal. He knew how painful hunger could be. No matter the circumstances, he wouldn’t scold him over a few tomatoes.551894c44003cf73

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Sitting with his chin 7ccbe73205 propped, watching the twitching a42e18cbb5 pile, Clara stood up, 4f0d951392 dusting off his pants, 070b35d853 and muttered exaggeratedly.23afd2bce460369a

“Ahem, ahem! Oh, someone harvested for 01529713f6 me.”398fbdff20100100

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Twitch, twitch.0216ebbb306e854b

Eyes peeked out dedde118a7 from between the 5dfdf06458 tomatoes. They were quite b02e7f6ceb large for a e294593619 human, but Clara, 104909be31 not noticing, exaggeratedly fa53aa1a8a placed all the 525fc2aa23 figs into a 82b1f90854 basket and laid 58069f7eca out several empty 0a4622b370 baskets nearby.f71f04df154bda74

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“It’s a whole basket. Nice work. With this skill, I could let you eat tomatoes as snacks, so why hide and leave them here?”0fa6654a42fa2830

Twitch!47c07eecf340e50d

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“Whoever it is, they must be a good farm worker, right? I’ll leave some more baskets since they’ll have to work until evening!”f72b303ea33f89da