Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 41
It was not just carrots. Next to the carrots poking their tops above the soil were green onions; next to the green onions, eggplants; next to the eggplants, cucumbers; and beside them, tomatoes and more.
In a corner of the Detached Palace lay a vegetable garden where a variety of produce grew. In truth, it was a space so tiny it felt almost embarrassing to call it a garden.
A garden planted with various vegetables, though each type amounted to only a few at most.
Its entire area spanned no more than an arm’s reach in width and length. It was so small that one couldn’t help but marvel at how tightly everything had been packed inside.
“Do these vegetables normally grow in this season?”
Though Hyperion knew nothing about farming, he was at least aware that the vegetables planted here had different sowing seasons.
When he received rations at the Border, the types of vegetables brought in differed from season to season. Granted, those had been bruised or half-rotten all over.
Regardless, this snug little garden seemed to hold every season all at once. Moreover, for crops planted so densely, they were all growing remarkably fresh and vibrant.
“Of course not. They might sprout, but ordinarily they wouldn’t ripen properly. But I have spirits on my side.”
Beaming with pride at Hyperion’s surprised expression, Laniakea spoke toward the ground in a distinctly brighter voice.
“Mole, would you like to come out?”
At once, the earth swelled up, and the Mole revealed itself.
[Did you call? Are we planting something new?]
The Mole peered around the familiar garden, then turned its head and jumped in surprise.
[Gah! What a shock! W-What is this? This is that thing, isn’t it?]
Pointing a forepaw at Hyperion, the Mole cried out to Laniakea in shock, as if asking what was going on.
“Hand! Hand! No, put your paw down!”
[No, but this is…]
“And stop calling him ‘this’!”
Flustered, Laniakea firmly pressed down on the Mole’s head. Then she apologized to Hyperion.
“I’m so sorry, our Mole still hasn’t learned much about humans yet!”
[What are you talking about! Out of all the spirits, who knows humans better than me? That’s the Emperor over there!]
“Shh! Please!”
As the Mole continued to refer to Hyperion as “that thing,” Laniakea turned even paler. Watching this unfold, Hyperion let out a soft laugh.
“It is quite all right, Laniakea. We cannot force human rules upon a spirit.”
[Oh, now here’s a human who can talk some sense.]
With Hyperion taking its side, the Mole brushed off Laniakea’s hand to tell her to stop pushing it down, then extended a forepaw toward Hyperion.
[I know who you are. You’re the human who married Laniakea, right? The Emperor of humans. I’m the Mole, an Earth Spirit. Nice to meet you! Humans hold paws like this when they first meet, don’t they?]
Oblivious to Laniakea’s distress, the Mole bragged about how well it understood humans.
Just as Laniakea pressed a hand to her forehead, wondering how on earth she was going to clean up this mess, Hyperion crouched down and took the Mole’s forepaw.
“A pleasure, Spirit. May I call you Mole? I am Hyperion.”
[Right, that was your name! People talk about you a lot. And I heard from Crow-tit, too. You saved Laniakea, didn’t you? Thank you!]
“That was my duty, so there is no need for thanks. But was this garden grown with your help? Everything appears to be thriving remarkably well. It even seems almost entirely untouched by the seasons.”
At Hyperion’s admiration, the Mole’s shoulders puffed up even higher.
[Of course! Do you have any idea how hard it is for all these crops to thrive in such a tiny plot of land? It’s all thanks to my magnificent power, you see!]
The Mole had always relished Laniakea’s praise.
In truth, the lowest-ranking spirits rarely had occasion to visit the Human Realm or unleash their powers. The only ones capable of using spirit power were the royal family of Priatra, and they only ever summoned the highest-ranking spirits.
To be sure, living without forming ties with humans brought no real discontent. They inhabited entirely different worlds to begin with.
Yet, even among spirits, there were beings who harbored curiosity about humans and wished to interact with them.
The Mole was one such being.
Among the countless lowest-ranking spirits, it was an individual fascinated by humans.
And so, starting back in the lands of Priatra, the Mole had trailed closely behind the youngest princess. For some reason, it had felt that this particular human might summon it.
Then, when the youngest princess was left alone, weeping and pleading for help, the Mole was finally able to call her name and begin their bond.
Naturally, its curiosity expanded to other humans as well.
More precisely, it seemed to yearn to see people rejoicing, telling it that its power was helpful.
Was it not a creature so faint in power that it had taken the name of a mere animal, the mole, as its own?
Yet whenever Laniakea rejoiced and praised it, it felt its power growing a little stronger.
If other humans praised it too, wouldn’t it be able to accomplish even more?
Given Laniakea’s circumstances, however, showing itself to other humans had seemed out of the question.
[I’ll show you my power! Try eating this!]
Now that Laniakea had introduced another human to it in person, the Mole was beside itself with excitement.
Following Lucy, here was yet another human—and a powerful one among humans at that.
It had to show off to its heart’s content!
Bursting with glee, the Mole poked its head out of the garden bed and climbed up a tomato vine.
Thick and sturdy as the plant was, the vine swayed under the Mole’s weight.
Though dizzy from the swaying, the Mole stubbornly clung to the end and pointed at a tomato hanging there.
[Eat this! This one! This is the most delicious!]
Watching the Mole tap the tomato with its dirt-stained paws, Laniakea could only let out a hollow laugh.
“Your Majesty, you don’t necessarily have to listen to the Mole…”
“Thank you. I shall enjoy it.”
Before Laniakea could stop him, however, Hyperion plucked the tomato the Mole had boasted of, rubbed it clean against his clothes, and took a bite straight away.
[Oh, a human who knows how to eat.]
Pleased by how he took a hearty bite without hesitation, the Mole wiggled its backside in delight and circled around Hyperion.
Surprise spread across Hyperion’s face as he tasted the tomato.
From the firm flesh that popped with a crisp snap the moment he bit into it, to the copious juice that threatened to drip down his hand—a gentle sweetness paired with a tangy freshness filled his mouth.
Just because he had lived in a Monastery and then moved to the Border did not mean he lacked a sense of taste.
Having lived in the Imperial Palace until the age of eight and tasted all manner of delicacies, his palate was perfectly sound, and he knew how to appreciate something fine.
He had remained indifferent to poor meals simply because he possessed not a shred of what one might call appetite or gluttony.
Yet here he was.
[How is it? Delicious, right?]
Hyperion did not answer the Mole’s question. Instead, he took another large bite of the tomato.
Munch, munch. Gulp. Munch, munch. Gulp.
In precisely three bites, the fist-sized tomato vanished completely.
Hyperion looked down at the juice on his hand for a moment, then spoke to the Mole.
“May I have another?”
[Pant, pant… I knew my power was the best.]
“Agreed. Mole is the best.”
While the Mole and Lucy gave each other thumbs-up in mutual praise, Laniakea and Hyperion stood beside the garden, talking.
“…For that reason, I wanted to ask if I might borrow the Detached Palace. This was the first garden I ever made, so I wanted to keep caring for it. And if it’s all right, I’d like to make a slightly larger plot over here, on this side. No matter how hard the Mole tries, there’s a limit, so I couldn’t plant everything I wanted to try. If I had my way, I’d love to grow all the Empire’s grains, too.”
Laniakea chattered in a noticeably more relaxed tone.
Fortunately, Hyperion had taken no offense whatsoever at the Mole’s way of speaking. Not only that, he had eaten all three tomatoes on the spot.
Overjoyed, the Mole used its power to make a portion of a nearby blueberry branch bear fruit.
Because it had exerted too much power, its body turned semi-transparent for a moment, but it succeeded nonetheless, and Hyperion ate those too.
Every last one.
Of course, he had not eaten them all alone.
After tasting the first berry and confirming its sweetness was rich, he stripped the branch clean and placed a generous handful into Laniakea’s hands first.
Only then did he eat the remainder, sharing some with Lucy as well.
“You do not need to invoke the rights specified in our contract. As I have said before, the management rights to the buildings within the Imperial Palace belong to you. Use them as you see fit.”
Hyperion subtly placed the largest, firmest blueberry remaining in his hand into Laniakea’s, then asked,
“However, if it is a garden, would it not be better to make it at the Empress’s Palace? If it is to avoid prying eyes, planting hedge trees would pose no issue.”
“Ah, well… it’s not that I want to make it so large. I’ve grown attached to this place since it was where I first made it, and it’s already easy to avoid notice without planting extra trees…”
She answered in a rush, but even Laniakea knew her reasoning lacked conviction.
Yet she could hardly tell him that since she was leaving before long anyway, she saw no point in remodeling the Empress’s Palace.
To steer the topic elsewhere, Laniakea turned her gaze toward the Detached Palace.
“Come to think of it, Your Majesty has hardly used this place.”
“I suppose that is because I never stayed for long.”
Fortunately, Hyperion joined the new topic without pressing further. Then, as if tinged with regret, he added,
“I have never once slept in that bedroom.”