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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: A Field of Luck
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“You provoked Kalson on purpose, didn’t you? Timed it just right.”

I tilted my head as if to ask what he was talking about, and Leonid’s eyes narrowed.

“You might fool the other idiots, but you can’t fool me.”

When I just blinked without answering, Leonid pressed his lips together and started walking ahead.

My book was tucked under his arm.

“Hey?”

Flustered, I scurried after him. He slowed his pace to match mine.

I glanced at his face, wondering what this was all about. Keeping his eyes fixed forward, he said bluntly,

“I can’t have you dropping and damaging such a valuable book. I’ll carry it to the entrance for you.”

* * *

“Lord Axel.”

Leonid spotted Axel waiting for me at the entrance and greeted him with a polite smile.

“Leonid.”

Axel gave a slight nod in return, then glanced over at me.

His eyes seemed to ask how I’d ended up with Leonid.

Leonid was the one who answered for me.

“The book looked a bit heavy for Lesia, so I offered to carry it for her.”

*No?*

*Didn’t you say you were worried I’d drop and damage the precious book?*

I stared at him, dumbfounded, but he returned the book from under his arm without a flicker of emotion on his face.

“Are you coming to class tomorrow?”

“Huh? Oh, uh...”

“I see.”

As I took the book, still a bit dazed, Leonid gave a bright smile and bowed to Axel again.

“Well then, I have some studying to do, so I’ll be on my way, Axel.”

Axel watched Leonid’s retreating back after his bow, then turned to me.

“Did you two become friends?”

“Does it wook wike it?”

“It doesn’t?”

“Even I fink it wooks wike dat.”

*Even though that’s not what happened.*

I blinked, looking down at the book Leonid had given me.

*I guess this is his way of thanking me for taking his side.*

The thought of him being a child who couldn't be honest with his feelings was kind of cute, and a small laugh escaped me.

Just then, the book I was holding was lifted from my hands again.

I turned my head in the direction the book had gone to see Axel holding it in one hand, giving it a little shake.

“It’s ready. Let’s go.”

“Ready?”

“The four-leaf clovers. You said you needed them, right?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head, not expecting that at all.

“I said dat yestewday evening.”

“You did.”

“But it’s awweady weady?”

Not even twenty-four hours have passed.

Axel just shrugged, his expression asking what could possibly be so surprising about it.

*If I ordered it last night, shouldn't it obviously be done by now?*

That’s what Axel’s eyes seemed to say.

After a brief staring contest, I let out a deep sigh.

*...Right.*

*I give up trying to understand.*

*This must be how a Young Master thinks.*

* * *

Axel stood rooted to the spot, pointing from side to side.

“From here... to there.”

“Fwom hewe... to dewe...?”

With a dazed expression, I moved my finger, following his gesture.

It was hard to grasp the exact scale, but an impossibly vast space was filled with a sea of green.

It was, quite literally, a green field.

“No way. Is all dat weally fouw-weaf cwovers?”

“Well... it wasn't that hard, was it?”

Axel said, crossing his arms and tilting his chin.

Normally, I would have scoffed at him for showing off over something so trivial, but this was the real deal.

“Insane...”

This was actually something worth bragging about.

*Just how many are there?*

One, two, three, four, five...

I tried to estimate the number, but the sheer quantity was overwhelming. I threw my hands up in surrender.

*Anyway, there are a ton!*

I toddled into the green field.

I couldn't see them clearly from a distance, but once I was inside, the four leaves on each stem were perfectly clear.

I plucked a big handful of clovers and tossed them at Axel.

“Axew! I'm shawing my wuck!”

And in that moment.

A dozen or so message windows popped up in the air.

[Message from Heaven]

(Notification) Quest (Repeatable) Complete!

Congratulations! You have been awarded 100 Heaven Coins. Would you like to claim them now?

[Yes/No]

* * *

The quest required me to collect four-leaf clovers and share good luck to be completed.

I filled a basket to the brim with four-leaf clovers and wandered around the Elpinade estate, handing them out to everyone I met.

“Have some wuck fwom the Saintess!”

“Oh, my!”

“It’s wuck fwom the Saintess!”

“Thank you, Saintess.”

Even those who usually thought of me as a fake seemed to find it hard to refuse good luck from a saintess, and they all accepted the clovers with a smile.

Each time, another message window appeared.

[Message from Heaven]

(Notification) Quest Complete!

Congratulations! You have been awarded 100 Heaven Coins. Would you like to claim them now?

[Yes/No]

Handing out one hundred clovers would get me ten thousand coins, and ten thousand coins was a month of life.

I couldn't calculate exactly how many Heaven Coins I'd earned from this luck-sharing campaign, but it felt like I had secured at least a few years of life.

I grinned and continued on my way.

Lily, Rose, and Daisy followed behind me.

Their hands, too, held baskets filled with four-leaf clovers.

*Once I've secured about ten years of life, I should try using the Heaven Market.*

Now that my situation was a little more secure, I had the luxury of thinking about other things.

Half-distracted, I took a clover from my basket and held it out to the person in front of me.

The motion was purely mechanical.

“Have some wuck!”

I called out cheerfully and held out my hand, but unlike everyone else who had happily taken a clover, this person didn't react at all.

*Why isn't he taking it?*

I looked up in confusion, and...

*Gasp!*

My eyes met those of Duke Elpinade, who stood before me like a towering wall.

“What... are you doing?”

Duke Elpinade asked, his eyes flashing.

For a moment, I felt the illusion of a cold wind whipping past.

At his icy reaction, Lesia's timid heart, which had been perfectly calm just a moment ago, began to pound.

“I-It’s nuffing...”

I trembled, slowly retracting the hand I had held out to the Duke.

I hastily shoved the clover I was holding back into the basket.

My answer that it was "nuffing" clearly didn't please him, because Duke Elpinade's eyebrow twitched.

I suppose so.

It was obvious what I was doing, so my lie was sure to displease him.

*But the answer just slipped out.*

It was all because of the Duke's intimidating presence.

His chilling aura made my heart tremble, and in his presence, my thoughts always seemed to regress to that of a child.

As the strange standoff between the Duke and me continued,

“Y-Your Grace.”

Lily, who had been following me, hurried to my side and bowed to the Duke.

“The Young Lady created a garden of four-leaf clovers, Your Grace. She said it was a shame to enjoy it alone, so she decided to share them with everyone in the estate.”

“Four-leaf clovers?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

He was only asking a question, but his aura was terrifying.

Even Lily, the consummate professional, was tense, her shoulders hunched.

The Duke's questions continued.

“How was this garden made?”

“I believe Lord Axel assisted her.”

“Axel, you say.”

The Duke's voice took on a strange, sharp edge.

“So you're growing close to him.”

“They are siblings, after all. It's good for them to be close.”

“Hmph.”

Lily answered calmly, but it didn't seem to improve Duke Elpinade's mood in the slightest.