Chapter 25
HAVING DECIDED how they’d go about their operation to help Alfina overcome her dislike of tomatoes, Mira followed Floedina deeper into the park.
“Oh ho… This is quite impressive,” Mira said, standing before several plots.
The garden there was about thirty-five feet wide, and partitioned into ten plots, each of which contained abundantly sprouting fruits and vegetables. It seemed that, having first dipped her toe into maintaining the garden, she’d then started to explore gardening, until, before she knew it, things had reached the point they were at now.
The field was full of all sorts of commonly eaten vegetables such as spinach, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and lettuce, among other things. There also seemed to be some fruit as well, such as strawberries and blueberries.
On that note, Floedina complained that even though no wild animals came in to eat from her garden, the fruits and vegetables in it sometimes disappeared. What’s more, the one responsible for this was quite wily. As such, the thief always managed to slip right through whatever means she developed to protect the fruits and vegetables and disappear without a trace.
Taking a closer look, Mira indeed noticed that various preventative measures had been hidden around the exterior of the garden. Floedina had taken some pretty serious precautions.
And yet, a rather playful look twinkling in her eyes, Floedina said that one day, she’d catch the thief red-handed and turn them over to Alfina.
Come to think of it, I think this is my first time seeing vegetables growing in a garden like this.
Alongside Floedina, who was determined to make the ultimate tomato dish, Mira went into the field to carefully choose the tomatoes. Having learned how to pick perfectly ripe ones, she examined them closely.
“Floedina, how about this one?” Mira inquired, calling Floedina over after she’d found a particularly plump, bright-red tomato.
The tomato was ripe enough that a single glance clearly showed it was ready to be eaten. Not only that, it had a prominent star-like pattern toward the end of it. This proved that it’d grown in harsh conditions, without much water, which would make it sweeter.
“That one’s perfect, Master!” Floedina replied, grabbing the tomato after checking it thoroughly.
The two of them then repeated this process many more times until they’d gathered enough tomatoes for dinner.
Since they’d also need other vegetables for dinner, Floedina began picking those as well. Meanwhile, having finished her very important job of carefully selecting tomatoes, Mira strolled about the over one-thousand-square-foot garden. On that note, they’d disabled the preventative measures that were in place to protect the garden.
Having realized that it was her first time setting foot in such a garden, Mira thought back on everything that’d happened recently as she felt her spirits buoyed by the vitality emanating from the plump and verdant vegetables growing there. Furthermore, seeing the vegetables in their natural environment, she thought to herself how they seemed even more delicious.
“It’s almost like they’re begging to be eaten.”
Stepping into a strawberry patch, Mira saw loads of large, round, and plump strawberries which looked as if they’d been dyed bright red and were perfectly ripe. The candy apple shade of red seemed to be seductively calling out to her, saying, “Now is the best time to eat me, and boy, am I delicious.”
Mira’s eyes darted to another one of the plots nearby. There, she saw Floedina expertly eyeing an eggplant, facing away from Mira’s direction. And so, Mira wasn’t currently in her line of sight.
If I do it right now…!
Or so Mira thought before reaching her hand out to pick a particularly ripe-looking strawberry when…just as she was about to do so, she pulled her hand back. Then, looking over toward Floedina once more, she called out, “Floedina, this strawberry is practically begging to be eaten. Do you mind if I pick just this one?!”
Having had the idea put in her head by all their talk of whoever was stealing from the garden, Mira almost followed in their footsteps. However, this was the ever-generous Floedina she was dealing with. And so, Mira figured she’d at least let her have one if she asked.
Sure enough, Floedina laughed and answered, “Ah, sure. If they’re begging, then have as many as you’d like!” In cases like this, one will usually get permission if they come right out and ask for something without being all sneaky about it.
And so, having gotten permission from the master of the garden, Mira plucked that first strawberry she’d laid her eyes on without feeling a single ounce of regret.
“These are really growing spectacularly, huh?”
Feeling the heft of the strawberry in her hand, Mira took an enormous bite and munched on it. And at that very moment, strawberry juice burst into her mouth as her taste buds exploded with sweetness and the scent of strawberries filled her nostrils.
“Mmm! This tastes incredible! I’ve never had a strawberry quite like this.”
Perhaps the soil in Valhalla really was special, as Mira could definitely say that the strawberry was more delicious than any that she could ever recall tasting.
And so, while she was appreciating just how delicious they were, a voice rang out.
“Mira, since you say that, I doubt you’ll find these any less delicious.”
Indeed, it was Martel’s voice. Having looked around curiously when she saw the garden, she commended Floedina’s hard work but also felt herself start getting a bit competitive. Despite looking like the Holy Mother, Martel appeared to have quite a competitive streak when it came to plants, especially delicious fruit.
Walking around Floedina’s garden, Mira continuously asked for Floedina’s permission while plucking fruit. Finally, having made her way to the very end, she saw another plot.
“Hrm, it looks like there’s nothing growing in this one.”
Had nothing sprouted yet? Or was nothing planted there? The plot, which stuck out a bit from the corner of the large garden, looked as if someone were properly cultivating it. However, unlike the other areas, which were lush and abundant with ripe fruits and vegetables, this particular spot was completely empty, as if someone had simply forgotten about it.
“Thank you for waiting, Master.”
After she’d finished carefully selecting all the vegetables she needed, Floedina came over while Mira stared at the empty patch. The basket in her hand was full of plump, juicy-looking vegetables that she’d picked, as well as the main star of the show, tomatoes. They were all of the very best quality, so as to help Alfina overcome her dislike of them.
“Every single one looks incredible.”
Floedina would soon transform the luscious vegetables into a dish of unparalleled deliciousness. Mira continued that she was looking forward to eating, and Floedina enthusiastically answered that she’d whip up the ultimate meal.
Then, shifting her gaze toward the plot directly in front of her, Mira changed the subject and asked, “By the way, there doesn’t seem to be anything growing over here. What’s the deal?”
“Ah, this plot…” Floedina began. Then, a somewhat troubled look appeared on her face and she continued, “Actually…”
According to Floedina, the empty plot was where she’d recently expanded the field.
“I managed to get some rare fruit, so I was getting ready to plant the seeds here, but…”
By chance, she’d gotten her hands on what was apparently a mythical fruit. Having only planted normal plants up until then, Floedina figured this might just be a perfect opportunity to try something new and plant something a little different, and so she immediately began by creating a space for them to grow.
However, while she was doing so, Christina talked Selestina and Elievina into eating them for a snack.
“I should’ve stored them somewhere special, instead of just in the cabinet…”
Floedina admitted that it’d been her fault for putting them on the shelf where they usually kept fruit, but a bitter smile crept onto her face as she questioned how insatiable of an appetite her sisters must have had to unhesitatingly scarf down fruit that they’d never seen before in their lives.
Additionally, it was fairly difficult to get one’s hands on the seeds of this rare fruit, as they had to be planted before they dried out. However, by the time she’d discovered the discarded seeds, they’d already dried out completely.
And so, the seeds that she’d planned on planting were no more. That said, after she’d gotten all ready to plant something outside of her comfort zone, planting something normally in the area she’d prepared didn’t quite sit well with her. Therefore, she was now searching for any other kinds of rare seeds.
“I see…” Mira said, not having expected the barren field to have such a backstory.
Surprised at the window she’d gotten into the sisters’ everyday lives, Mira felt slightly amused.