Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Lysander set her down gently on a dry patch of land nearby, patting her shoulder like one might soothe a wildly temperamental child before turning back toward the glowing blue field.

Ingrid sat on her stone perch, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching him like a hawk. "Watch the stems! I’m watching you! One break and the gods will personally revoke your tail privileges!"

Lysander chuckled softly under his breath, shaking his head as he knelt among the plants. With swift, practiced precision, he began harvesting the Star-Glow Lotus stalks one by one, carefully laying them into the deep wooden cart. His movements were fluid and efficient, the glowing azure light reflecting off his hair and highlighting the sharp lines of his cheekbones.

For almost an hour, the quiet valley echoed only with the rustle of leaves, the faint humming of the glowing petals, and the occasional grumble from Ingrid’s stomach. Soon enough, the cart was piled sky-high with the luminous herbs, looking like a floating mountain of blue light.

As Lysander reached down to pluck the very last glowing stalk standing alone in the clearing, Ingrid suddenly sat up straight and held up her hand.

"Wait! Stop!" she shouted, scrambling off her rock. "Leave that one!"

Lysander’s hand hovered inches from the stem. He blinked, turning his head to stare at her in utter confusion. "Leave it? Why? It’s just one stalk left."

Ingrid marched over, dusting dry moss off her knees, and pointed authoritatively at the lone, glowing flower. "We leave it for the next person who stumbles upon this place! Leaving just one is already insanely generous of me. Do you know how valuable this thing is? One single stalk is enough for whoever finds it to live comfortably for months!"

Lysander tilted his head, his purple eyes narrowing slightly. "Ingrid... we are in the middle of a hidden valley in the Whispering Ravine. No one comes here. Besides, after almost picking up all the herbs, you want to leave behind only one stalk? You do realise how greedy that sounds, right?"

"Well, now someone might come across it later." Ingrid countered, puffing out her cheeks. "Plus, leaving the final mother stalk keeps the roots alive. It tells the land to regrow the herbs faster. It’s basic botanical karma."

Lysander raised an eyebrow. "How do you even know these herbs will regrow?"

In her head, Lorna chimed in instantly with an exasperated groan. ’ Host, please. You just want to strip the entire valley clean for points, but you’re trying to act like a saintly environmentalist! You are a desperate, shameless money-grubber!’

’Shut up, Lorna!’ Ingrid snapped back internally. ’I’m practicing sustainable harvesting! Also... can I replant these stalks in the system space? Or even grow it in person? Then I can sell it to rich people later. I’ll be very rich!"

’ Maybe. But leave that for now, you money grubber. Focus on the system quests for now.’

Ingrid chose to ignore both the snarky AI in her head and the skeptical snake-man in front of her. She dusted her hands off with a smug grin. "Just trust me, snake boy, the gods told me it regrows! Now step back."

Lysander let out a quiet sigh, relinquishing the last stalk and standing up to walk back to the cart. However, as he looked down at the massive, overflowing mountain of glowing blue lotus stalks sitting in the rickety wooden wagon, a dark shadow of concern crossed his eyes.

"Ingrid, we have a serious problem," Lysander said, his tone turning grave.

"What problem?" Ingrid asked, peering into the cart. "It’s so much that I can’t stop thinking about how much money in total I’ll sell it for. I’m so excited."

"That is precisely the problem," Lysander replied, pointing at the brilliant, blinding blue light radiating from the wagon. "Star-Glow Lotus hasn’t been seen in the central markets for years. If we roll into the beastmen trading hub with a cart overflowing with millions of gold coins’ worth of legendary herbs, we won’t even make it past the front gates. Bandits, rogue warriors, and greedy merchant guilds will slaughter us and snatch it all away before we can even quote a price."

Ingrid paused, scratching her chin. "That’s true. You actually make a really good point for once." She tapped her chin thoughtfully, a brilliant, scheming grin slowly spreading across her face. She looked up at Lysander, pointing a finger at his chest.

"Okay, I have a solution," Ingrid declared. "But before I do what I’m about to do, you have to promise me something. You are NOT allowed to scream out of shock. You are NOT allowed to faint. And you are strictly forbidden from asking me any more questions! You just have to accept it as another divine power from the gods. Deal?"

Lysander stared at her, his purple eyes full of deep suspicion, but he slowly nodded. "I promise."

’Lorna! Teach me how to activate the System Inventory Space. It’s getting sunnier, I don’t want to be caught in the heat.’ Ingrid commanded in her mind.

’ Simply focus your intent on the target objects, extend your palm, and utter the mental command [Store], Host!’ Lorna instructed.

Ingrid stepped up to the massive pile of glowing herbs. She took a deep breath, extended her right hand toward the cart like a wizard casting a high-tier spell, and narrowed her eyes.

’[STORE]!’

A blinding flash of golden light erupted from her palm. In a split second, ninety percent of the glowing blue mountain vanished into thin air! The towering pile instantly collapsed down, leaving only about twenty modest stalks neatly resting at the bottom of the cart.

Lysander’s eyes went wider than saucers.

His body went completely rigid. He took a sharp, gasping breath, his hands flying up to his chest. He staggered backward two steps, his boots sliding against the dirt, his purple eyes darting wildly between Ingrid’s empty hand and the suddenly empty wagon.

Even in terror, he managed to look absurdly graceful, like a regal prince dramatically reacting to a twist rather than a guy losing his mind over disappearing plants.

Ingrid burst out into loud, hysterical laughter, clutching her stomach. "Pahahahaha! Look at you! How do you even freak out so elegantly?! If that was me, I’d be rolling on the ground screaming like a plucked chicken!"