After a quick lunch of roasted fish—again—Athena made her way to the back of the house. With a swipe through the system panel, she retrieved the crate of seeds. It dropped onto the grass with a soft thud. A simple wooden box, nothing fancy. She unlatched the lid and opened it to find neatly packaged seed packets inside—labeled, organized, and eerily familiar, just like the ones back on Earth.
She closed the crate with a sigh and looked up—only to find Kael standing at the edge of the back wall, arms folded, silently watching her.
"Hey," she said awkwardly, brushing her hands against her trousers.
He gave a small nod. For Kael, this was nothing new. Eira hadn't been the most social person, and most of his childhood had been spent observing her from a distance. She had mentioned wanting to change… maybe it was time he did too.
"Are you going back to the hall with that?" he asked, nodding toward the crate.
"Ah, yeah," she replied.
"I'll help." He stepped forward and, without hesitation, lifted the crate. "Let's go."
Athena blinked, a bit surprised by the sudden initiative. She always assumed Kael preferred solitude. "Aren't you going to hang out with your friends today?"
"It's fine," he shrugged. "Nothing much happens anyway."
She nodded and glanced down at him. "How old are you again?"
"Thirteen."
"Oh." Just three years apart, huh. She looked him over—small frame, a bit too thin, and silent most of the time. Her gaze then shifted to herself. She towered over him now. Easily. She didn't know her exact height, but she was definitely taller than most men she'd passed. Back in her previous life, she wasn't even this tall at twenty-two. She wasn't sure if it was Eira's body or some post-system bonus, but she felt stronger, leaner, and far more intimidating now.
They reached the hall just as a man stepped away from the reception desk, smiling like he'd been waiting.
Lean, average in height, and with an annoyingly pleasant expression, he gave a short bow.
"Your Highness," he said. "I'm Faelyn Hall, a blacksmith. I heard you were recruiting farmers and thought I'd come by to see if tools were needed."
His smile didn't fade for even a second.
Athena facepalmed. Of course she forgot about tools.
She turned quickly toward the man still smiling at her. "Welcome, Faelyn," she said, recovering. "I'm Athena, and this is my brother Kael." She gestured behind her.
Kael gave a small nod, the wooden crate still in his arms.
"You stay here," she said, turning toward the empty reception desk. Rain was still out on her task, which meant this part of the hall was unattended. "All you have to do is write down the names of those who want to farm and let them have a seat. Once they're up to thirty, you turn the rest away and let me know."
Kael stared at her, his expression unreadable for a second—until he spoke, completely unfazed.
"I can't write."
Athena paused, her lips parting. "Seriously?"
Zero basic knowledge. What a fantastic place this was turning out to be.
She sighed and turned to Faelyn.
The man lifted both hands as if swearing an oath. "I can write," he said quickly. "And read," he added, almost proudly.
Athena let out a breath of relief. "Great."
She pointed to the crate. "Kael, just put that down. Anyone who comes in wanting to farm should sit and wait. If they're here for something else, let me know."
Kael obeyed without question, placing the crate beside the desk. Athena turned back to Faelyn. "Now. Can you get tools for thirty people here in about ten minutes, kind sir?"
Faelyn blinked. "Thirty… what, Your Highness?"
"Minutes," she repeated. "Or is your stall far from here?"
"Not quite," he said, bowing slightly. "I will return shortly."
"Perfect."
Athena gave a nod of thanks and stepped past the front area, heading toward the office.
As she entered, Elandor stood from his chair and bowed lightly. "Your Highness," he greeted.
Athena didn't bother sitting. "I found a spot for the farms," she said, getting straight to the point. "It's outside the boundary, near the fields just past the west wall."
Elandor's brows rose, and he quickly shook his head. "Your Highness, please don't. We're not allowed to set up anything beyond the boundary."
Athena narrowed her eyes. "Says who?"
"The nobles," he replied simply.
She blinked. "I thought they all left?"
"They did," he said, rubbing his temple. "At least, that's what we believed for a while. But they came back a few years ago… not openly, though. They don't live here within the boundary anymore."
"Then where?"
"By the mountains in the west," he answered. "They have manors out there—far enough to avoid any contact with the rest of us. They send slaves down from time to time, drop off a little money for the village, then disappear again."
Athena frowned. "So the manors here, inside the boundary, are all empty?"
Elandor chuckled. "Yes, those are just shells now. The real ones are hidden further out. I've never been there myself, but I hear they're still as lavish as ever."
Athena folded her arms. "And you just… leave them be?"
"We have no choice," Elandor said, the humor gone from his voice. "They're the reason the village is still surviving. Their 'donations' are the only income we get. No one dares to cross them, and honestly, no one wants to. As long as they stay out there and leave us be, it's better that way."
Athena looked down, absorbing the information. Manors in the west. Nobles still pulling strings from the shadows. Slaves being used to maintain the illusion of support.
She didn't like any of it.
Athena scoffed. "I'm still using the spot I chose."
Elandor looked up, concerned. "But Your Highness—"
"This is my island now," she said coldly. "Unless someone has useful advice, no one tells me how to run it. Especially not nobles who abandoned you all and now toss coins from behind the mountain like it's charity."
"They're dangerous," he said cautiously.
"So am I," Athena replied flatly. "And I don't believe for a second they're giving money out of the kindness of their hearts. They're hiding something out there—and I'm going to find out what."
Elandor sighed, the tension in his shoulders giving way. "Fine. I'll take you there later."
Before Athena could respond, a knock came at the door.
Rain stepped in. "Your Highness," she said with a slight bow, "the scout group is assembled and awaiting orders."
Athena gave a small nod, then turned back to Elandor. "Do you happen to have a map of the island?"
He blinked, then shook his head. "No. Nothing like that has ever existed, as far as I know."
"I figured," Athena muttered, then turned inward. System, map of the island.
Instantly, a glowing map materialized in her mind's eye. Detailed. Precise. Streams, hills, mountains—all clearly marked. "Highlight the Orchard," she ordered mentally.
The location glowed faintly on the map, and without further delay, she summoned it out into the physical world.
Neither Rain nor Elandor flinched at the strange appearance of the map. What did catch their attention, however, was the object itself: a wide, high-quality parchment, completely colored and richly detailed.
Athena spread the map across the table. "This should do."
Rain leaned in, visibly impressed. Elandor's eyes widened slightly, not at the method, but at the accuracy.
Ports, village, terrain—all marked with near surgical precision.
But then Athena paused. Her eyes scanned every inch of the map.
The cave. The one holding the core—it wasn't there.
Not even a hint of it.
System?
[The cave is hidden under an illusion. For safety reasons, it won't appear on any map.]
Athena slowly nodded. That made sense. With the dragon still inside, it was best left untouched for now.
Maybe, if no one disturbed it, it would sleep for a few more years.
That was the hope, at least.
The rest of the team wasn't around yet, so Athena decided to brief just Rain. She didn't know the girl much yet but for some reason,she just trusted her.
Rain was sharp enough to handle it, even if things went south.
They spread the map out again and discussed the route. Athena traced a path through the western woods, skirting the streams and staying clear of the hills. She didn't want them wandering for too long—food and weapons were still a problem.
They barely had enough dried fish to last a few days, and if anything attacked them out there… Well, she'd make sure to fix that soon. No way was she going to wait for some crops to grow before expanding their menu or protecting her people.
After they finalized the layout, she folded the map and handed it to Rain.
"Stop by the Orchard before you head out," she added. "Get some apples. At least we won't be surviving on just roasted fish again."
Rain nodded, tucking the map into her satchel, but before she could step out the door, Athena raised a hand. "Oh, wait."
Rain paused mid-step.
"The blacksmith. Faelyn. He should be back soon. Let's see if he brought anything useful for you."
At that, Elandor's head turned sharply. "A blacksmith?" he asked, clearly surprised. "There's still one left?"
Athena smirked. "Apparently."
"Does he even have tools?" Elandor asked, more to himself than anyone else. "It's a wonder he wasn't raided."
Athena just shrugged. "Guess we'll find out soon enough."