It's been two weeks since Dea was accidentally summoned to Andean.
She was sent to a small courtyard, the residence for the gardeners, near an abandoned garden lot that used to grow herbs.
When the past gardener died, they stopped tending it. The Hall of Saintess are healers themselves. Hence, they do not need herbs to treat their wounds and diseases. The herbs grown before were donated to places where healers were lacking. Now, with the increased number of healers, they are sent to those places instead.
Anyway, it's cheaper for her. Now, she lives by herself in the remote courtyard as the new gardener.
The first week was troublesome because she knew shit about gardening.
Fortunately, there were books about plants in the house to remedy her lack of knowledge. Also, the schoolgirl/priestess has been coming to her for unknown reasons. Still, Dea was thankful for her help cleaning and tilling the soil.
Dea is convinced she's a very kind girl. No wonder she was morally kidnapped easily by Sir high priest. She wanted to remind her out of good faith, but seeing her increasingly energetic appearance made her decide not to.
The schoolgirl has been chirping in her ears about how magical this place is, how it felt like she was in a real-life RPG and stuff. Anyway, it's good for her to find happiness in this farce. She was smiling all day long until her training the week after came.
Dea remembers how the girl wept, saying she'll miss her a lot which got her like: ...
Girl, we are only a couple of buildings apart.
Ayanna lived in the inner building, located at least 200 meters from where lived. So, she really can't understand her drama.
Anyway, she likes it here.
The place is remote, and there are various trees surrounding the courtyard.
The place is peaceful, and she doesn't hear the shouting of neighbors or the sound of vehicles.
The air is fresh that she can enjoy the breeze with open windows all the time, and most importantly, there is no one around.
No one would watch her and scrutinize her every move.
No one would mock her every now and then, and she doesn't need to deal with people often.
She only needs to go to the old uncle to get seeds and give the future harvests, and if she needs something, then she can ask sir assistant of the high priest.
All in all, she is satisfied with the compensation.
It's just that, it would be best if she doesn't need to dine in the outer building for meals.
Good thing she doesn't have much appetite, and eating a lot for lunch is enough for her to survive the whole day.
Dea placed the watering can aside and stretched her waist.
She just finished tending to the seedlings she planted three days ago. Most of the seedlings have already sprouted. Now the garden is almost full of green sprouts. Seeing such a view, she felt very novel. The thought of growing something made her feel delighted.
She glanced at the vast blue sky, and enjoyed the cool breeze while staring blankly at the three moons that hovered above, thinking-
[This weird world is unexpectedly beautiful.]
Before her lips curved for a smile, she remembered the only downside of living here-no electricity and no internet.
Now, she can't surf the net and watch dramas. The only pastime she can do is pretend to be asleep and read botanical books. She wanted to ask whether they have a library but is embarrassed to do so. She decided to wait for her salary to buy things. She also planned to buy food, so she won't need to dine in the hall in the future.
Dea sat on a nearby bench to rest after her hands began trembling non-stop.
"Shit, I really need a drink." Dea sighed after a few minutes. She then went inside the house to change her clothes. She decided that she'll try asking for some alcohol from the old uncle or asking for a loan or something so she could buy some.
...
Dea peeked from the opened doorway and saw the old uncle tinkering with something on the table. Seeing him quite busy, she decided to wait before knocking.
She waited in the lobby and observed the design on the wall, the floor, and the lights above to pass time.
After a while, observing that the old uncle wasn't so busy anymore, she knocked.
"Hello, uncle."
"Hey, it's the little girl! Come in, come in! What can I do for you?" The old uncle saw her figure and quickly beckoned her to sit beside him.
"Well, it's like this..." Her eyes drooped, and her fingers started to fidget, but she continued,
"I...I accidentally cut myself and needed some alcohol to disinfect my wound. I was hoping to borrow some alcohol. If you have drinking alcohol, that will do. Thank you."
[Well, that lie seems credible.] She believed.
Contrary to her expectations, the old uncle blurted out,
"You're injured?! Where? Come and show uncle. Though I'm not a powerful healer, I can deal with small wounds." He scanned the girl's skin for any injuries.
[Well, shit.] Dea was frustrated. How could she forget that this is a magical world?
"No, no, uncle... I can do it myself. The wound location isn't convenient to show so...I want to do it myself." She could only try her luck.
"Don't be scared, little girl. I don't need to touch the wound. I can just hover my hand above the wound. Come on, it will be over in a minute." The old uncle reassuringly replied.
Helpless, Dea could only be honest with him. After all, she finds it unpleasant to fool the old uncle, who is treating her kindly.
"Uncle, actually I lied... I wasn't injured." She embarrassedly admitted.
"You're not? Well, that's good. Why did you lie then?" The old uncle is really considerate. He didn't admonish her but instead asked in a soothing tone.
"I wanted to borrow some drinking alcohol or maybe borrow money to buy one. I will definitely return it after I get my pay. I promise, uncle." Dea tried showing her an "I'm sincere expression". It's just that the old uncle couldn't see behind her thick glasses and long bangs.
"What do you need the alcohol for anyway? I have some here, and I can give them to you. No need to replace it or anything." He gently patted her unkempt hair, not knowing what was going on in the little girl's mind.
Dea was a little shy about his actions. She isn't used to being petted like this by other people aside from her mom. In addition, she's too old for this kind of action. It's just that she felt it was nice to have someone care about her. The old uncle is really a good person. He reminds her of the boss uncle back home. He, too, was very kind to her. It's a pity she didn't manage to bid him farewell after being summoned here.
"I needed a drink so I could sleep at night."
She lied. Well, not a complete lie, though. It's just that she can still "manage" her insomnia, but the withdrawal symptoms have been a real bitch.
"Aren't you too young to drink?" The old uncle was more curious about her age.
"Uncle, I'm already an adult."
"Adult???" His shocked eyes examined the little girl before him.
She looked more petite in the smallest size of uniform the church gave her, and she barely even reached his chest.
"In our world, 18 years of age is considered adult, and I'm already past my twenties, uncle. In fact, I'm already twenty...ughhh"
Dea scratched her head and mentally computed her age. Then she inadvertently remembered her birthday.
[Huh, no wonder I was craving pancakes that day.]
"..ugh... I'm already 29 years old, uncle."
"You're indeed almost an adult, huh? Okay, uncle will give you some to drink." The old uncle controlled his dumbfounded expression.
**Author note: Andean adult age is 30, and the average lifespan is 200**
Dea watched the old uncle enter his room and return with a small barrel.
"Be careful with this one. It's called amrita. It doesn't taste like spirits at all, but it gives quite the punch. I advise you only take a sip if you want to fall asleep."
"Well, thank you so much, uncle." Dea hurriedly took the barrel in her arms.
[Shit, it's quite heavy.]
"Don't do it, kid. Let me carry it back with you to the garth." The old uncle tried getting the container back.
"No, no need uncle. I can carry it, really. " She adjusted her posture and demonstrated that she can manage.
"Okay then." Seeing her insist, the old uncle let her be.
Dea bid her farewell after thanking the old uncle, assuring him that she'll definitely replace it in the future.
The old uncle did not take it to heart. Such a simple thing, he didn't mind giving it to the little girl at all.
Well, he forgot that she's not a kid.
He watched as the small figure darted further away, lost in thoughts.
Who would have thought the little girl was already at that age? No way, she's so small. Even his young niece, who is only 12, is way bigger than her. He felt pity for the girl. He decided to look after her. After all, she is alone in this world and must be feeling lonely without her family.
Unbeknownst to the old uncle, Dea has no family back home, but he is right- she is lonely, always has been.
That night, after drinking a glass of amrita, Dea finally slept early for the first time in her Andean life.