บท 4: Blessing of the Gods
Elaina stands in front of the dilapidated house before her. Although it looks old, it isn't that bad, and a few repairs here and there and some renovations to be done the house will be a good place to live.
"Not bad. A perfect place to begin my new life, and also this house will serve as one of my goals that I will have to achieve before I get to labor," Elaina nodded in satisfaction.
The house is not that big nor it is too small. It is enough for a small family to live in and if she wanted to expand the house, there is also room for expansion as well. She used the key given to her by the realtor and opened the door. It was a bit creaky but it doesn't need to be replaced. The interior is also pretty clean except for the cobwebs and dust present due to how long it has been since someone entered the place. As for trash from the previous owners, it's not present which is something Elaina is happy about as she will have fewer worries about cleaning the place.
There are currently two rooms, one space meant for the kitchen, one small space for the bathroom, and a decent size space for the living room. No furniture is present but a little refurbish and this place is good to go. Although the exterior looks battered and old, the interior is still pretty fresh and sturdy.
"Alright, this house is the one I needed!"
As she said those words, she heard a bell ringing everywhere.
"Huh? What is going on?" Elaina looked around the place, not knowing what was happening. She looked around the house but there was nothing that would create that noise at all.
As Elaina started to freak out, something appeared before her vision. It was like a spirit but for some reason, it looks different from most spirits she sees from other people. It does look ethereal but for some reason, they looked like they were made of blocks.
"[Don't be alarmed, Dear Elaina. There is nothing to fear for.]"
Elaina instinctively held her sword on her hip. Despite this "spirit" or something saying that she shouldn't be alarmed, she is cautious about this thing that suddenly appeared before her. This is something that even the magic books have never talked about.
"Who are you?! If you don't show up and just keep on using this weird floating board or something, I will make sure you will regret trying to mess with me!" Elaina swings her weapon around, cautious in every corner of the house while looking for whoever is doing this to her.
"[Relax. And besides, I can't interfere with mortals too much, let alone show myself to you so we can communicate using this "system panel" for now.]"
"System Panel?" Elaina frowned.
"[Anyways, we have been watching your actions since you left your husband. And even though you are pregnant, that doesn't deter you from your original plan which we find interesting and we admire your determination as well.]"
Elaina is not yet sure what is going on but she seemed to have an inkling of who these "people" communicating with her using these so-called "system panels".
"Don't tell me...you are those guys that call themselves...gods?"
"[Not quite close but you can say we qualify as "gods" but we do call ourselves Deities more. Whichever suits your taste, either is fine.]"
"Then gods it is, deities are a mouthful. Anyways, what's going on and why are you pestering me? You know that even though I haven't started doing anything, I am a busy woman? Time is money for me and I can't afford to idle a single second like this."
"[Relax girl, you can benefit on this especially since you are about to become a farmer soon.]"
"What do you mean?"
"[You see, we gods have been making our experiments in handing out or spreading resources to the people all over the world. However, we notice that day by day, things seem to have gotten so bad that even crops are destroyed and extinct from time to time due to wars being done by different kingdoms. We are always saddened that most of these are gone for good due to these unfortunate events.]"
Elaina frowned as she read the message of the "god" displayed on the panel, "Uh...so why are you telling me this?"
"[This is where you will come in. We will give you our blessing so that it will help you get started in this endeavor. And through these blessings, we plan to reintroduce those extinct crops to you and your task is to let the world know that you do grow those crops and let the people spread them all over the world. You will be the one who will help us with this task.]"
"Okay...so what is in it for me? I am not going to let you lot bark orders at me without giving me any compensation," Elaina crossed her arms as she thought about the possibilities of this.
"[Of course, dear Elaina. We won't just let you work without compensation. Using the instructions on our blessings, based on your performance, we will grant you various rewards, some may be related to farming, materials, and even a bit of gold as well.]"
"This sounds like a scam and I do not like the sound of it, it sounds too good to be true."
"[Nah, trust us on this one. Give it a try. Here, let me grant you the blessing!]"
A finger snap echoed in Elaina's ears and the system panel changed into a book before her eyes.
"A book?" Elaina cautiously opened up the book and a message similar to the earlier system panel appeared on the page.
"Because the gods are impressed by your dedication, we reward you with a helper that will allow you to flourish in this land. In exchange, you help us grow plants that are not yet present in this world and spread them all over the world. Activating the Farm Helper. Welcome, host!"
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BANG!
The table shatters as Alfred slams his hand to it.
"Are you all saying that no one has seen the Empress since last night? She didn't come out of her room? What kind of bullsh*t is that?!"
The butler and the head maid had their heads bowed down as the emperor lashed out.
"Yes, it is true. We had not seen her go out of her room and when we realized that the empress had yet to have breakfast, we decided to knock at her doors to ask her whether she would be eating in her room today or not. But the moment we checked, we found her room clean and no signs that she was abducted or anything similar," the head maid explained.
"We do find this in her office table, Your Majesty. We haven't opened and read the contents yet since it was specifically addressed to you," the butler produced a letter from his coat and handed it to Alfred.
Alfred can tell that it is indeed a letter that came from his dear Elaina due to how she makes a habit of making a letter using scented paper and this paper is something that she usually uses. The seal is also part of her seal for letters as well, which is something that cannot be faked.
Opening it, the scent of perfume lingered on his nose and Alfred could feel the presence of his dear wife just by smelling the scent alone. He pulled the letter out of the envelope and he started reading what Elaina had given to him.
---
"Dear my Husband,
If you are reading this, then that must mean I am no longer in the mansion and have already left the kingdom to find a new life by myself. Although today is the day of our date, I am sorry that I must disappoint you this time around and I am done playing house with you anymore. As much as you think I am unaware of your affair with my sister, that's entirely wrong and I can tell that you and my sister enjoy the skin-to-skin contact and some excursions that you two are doing behind my back.
Of course, I knew that you do love me, but call me selfish and whatnot but I despise polygamous relationships. I wanted my husband all by myself without the need to share it with anyone else, even with my sister. The reason I left instead of filing a divorce is because I know that you would try to persuade me and try to enforce the "law" that you might create that will make this legal for you to marry multiple women.
I am sorry for this selfishness but I don't like that you are actively cheating on me behind my back and acting like nothing happened. I still love you, my husband, but because of your actions, my love for you is dwindling day by day. Now that I am gone, you can enjoy your time with my sister. If you want to look for another woman, then go ahead and do it. I am not in favor at all of what you want to do so go and leave me out of it.
Don't look for me. You won't find me anywhere you think I will be. I decided that I would stay somewhere out of your reach. I wish you good luck in your endeavors in the future. I love you, goodbye."
Your Beloved Empress and Dear Wife,
Elaina.
----
Tears start to drip out of Alfred's eyes after he reads everything. He didn't expect this to happen and he is not sure what happened. He stood up from his chair with a new resolve in his eyes.
"Guards!"
The royal guards who are just outside entered and the soldiers bowed down to him.
"We greet your Majesty!"
"I have a task for all of you. Gather all pieces of evidence and traces of my dear wife's whereabouts. I don't know how you do it, just give me a valuable location of where she is now. Give me the results and I will reward handsomely who can pinpoint where my wife is currently living. I can't afford to lose my wife. She is my precious wife. Find her and tell me for I will ask for her forgiveness."
Alfred's new resolve appeared, but unfortunately for him, things will never be the same again, and finding his wife again, will be a slim chance.
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