After bidding farewell to Marlon, Leon left the Pelican Town Adventurer’s Guild.
There wasn’t much left to talk about between them. Once they had confird that Marlon could provide two sets of equipnt capable of protecting Leon from the extre temperatures in the deeper levels of the mines, they parted ways.
Since it was still early, Leon made a quick trip to Pelican Town. He stopped by Pierre’s General Store to pick up so rice, flour, cooking oil, and a few seasonings, then headed straight back to the farm.
When he arrived, Leon spotted several crows perched on the steps in front of his cabin. His heart tightened. He quickly walked around his fields, checking for any damage, but was relieved to see none of his crops had fallen victim to the birds.
Just as he was about to pull out his slingshot and a handful of stones to teach those crows a lesson, Leon noticed a long, flat box lying at their feet.
Curious, he stepped closer. The crows flapped their wings and took off as he approached, leaving the box behind.
Attached to the box was a letter, sealed with a wax stamp. The symbol on the seal told Leon it was from Rasmodius.
“The box contains a gift from the rmaids, entrusted to to deliver to you. However, as I am not currently in Stardew Valley, I asked my ssengers to deliver it instead. Don’t misunderstand—these crows are not the kind that steal crops from your farm. I hope you didn’t try to harm them.
—Rasmodius”
The note was short. After reading it, Leon felt certain the contents of the box were indeed ant for him, so he opened it without hesitation.
Given the box’s shape, he had assud it might hold a longsword or perhaps a painting. But when he lifted the lid, he froze.
Inside was a layer of compressed soil, flattened into a board.
The soil had been cut into tile-like pieces, each about the size of a mahjong tile. Counting them, Leon found around eighty pieces in total. Looking closer, he discovered that each piece of soil contained a single flat seed.
“Nutrient-rich soil containing seeds: No one knows what these seeds will grow into. Perhaps planting them in the earth and waiting will reveal the answer.”
Even the System Appraisal didn’t identify the type of seeds. Still, Leon felt they looked oddly familiar, as if he’d seen them sowhere before.
But seeds were seeds. And since they were already embedded in soil, he knew exactly what to do.
He tilled a fresh patch of land and planted all eighty soil-wrapped seeds. Thanks to the lingering rain, he didn’t need to water them himself. Once they were in the ground, his work was done.
He had imagined the rmaids might send him pearls or even money as thanks. Seeds were the last thing he expected.
Still, he was curious to see what they would grow into. Coming from such a wealthy race, these surely weren’t common crops.
It was just a pity he couldn’t share them with Krobus right away. He had planned to split any gift from the rmaids in half with him. But since these were seeds, he would have to wait until the harvest to give Krobus his share.
After one last check to make sure the new plot was in order, Leon returned to the cabin and pulled off his rain boots. His Frozen Soil Boots had been swapped out back in the mines.
The rest of the day passed quietly. Leon lounged inside, watching TV. To his surprise, the local news replay included the interview he’d given last ti. His own segnt was short—most of the sensitive topics had been cut, leaving only his formal responses. That suited him fine.
The part where he spoke about winemaking was left untouched, perhaps because it wasn’t considered sensitive—or maybe deliberately so. Either way, he had no problem with it and quickly stopped thinking about it.
He watched a few more shows until it was ti for dinner.
Cooking for one was easy enough. He mixed flour and eggs into a batter, added salt and oil, then scooped spoonfuls into boiling water. A simple, hearty bowl of flour dumplings was soon ready.
After being burned once by watery porridge, Leon had abandoned the old saying about eating lightly at night. Now, he ate until full without worrying about gaining weight.
With his al finished and dishes washed, he settled back in front of the TV until around ten o’clock, when he turned it off and went to bed.
…
The next morning, his body clock had him up at six. After a stretch and a quick wash, Leon stepped outside.
The rain had passed, and the air was rich with the scent of soil and grass. The fields of Red Star Farm were already dry, as if yesterday’s downpour had never happened.
Which ant Leon still had to water the crops. Thankfully, the water pump made quick work of it—no matter the scale of his farm, he could finish in just over ten minutes.
It made him shake his head at how obsessed he used to be with sprinklers. This was real life, yet he’d still been thinking like it was a ga.
The pump’s convenience gave him another idea—buying a tractor. Not the kind with a cart, but a proper farming tractor with plow attachnts. That way, he wouldn’t have to till the fields by hand at all.
He wasn’t sure how much one would cost, but perhaps the Traveling rchant’s Guild could help. They’d left a good impression on him, and their wide network ant they could likely source one.
The only problem was, he didn’t have their phone number. He’d have to ask Gus for it later.
First, though, there was the matter of feeding the chickens, making his usual trip to the mines, and having breakfast. These were, after all, essential parts of Leon’s daily life as a farr.
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