Ellin took the carving knife from Arkz's hand and attempted to carve the giant stone in front of her.
She carefully held the knife, trying her best to control the blade as it moved across the surface of the giant stone. However, the heavy weighted alloy armor on her body quickly made her back ache, and she lost control of the knife in her hands.
With just a moment of carelessness, the carving knife gouged a large opening in the giant stone.
Ellin was not discouraged and started trying again. For her, any effort she made and all the pain she endured were worth it to pass the Knights of Favonius assessment and become a member.
Moreover, during the time she spent training under Arkz, she could intuitively feel her strength constantly growing, which made her even more confident in his training methods.
Seeing Ellin continuously brandishing the carving knife without being discouraged by failure, Arkz nodded with satisfaction.
"Ellin, keep it up!"
"When you can carve a perfectly smooth egg, we can move on to the next stage of training!"
"I have prepared a lot of training content for you."
As he spoke, Arkz pulled out a long training checklist from behind him. It detailed an entire training plan Arkz had devised for Ellin.
"7:00 AM: Start watering the plants on the farm. 8:00 AM: Deliver goods to Mondstadt City wearing weighted alloy armor with Amu and Siegfrieda. 10:00 AM: Start repairing fences and clearing weeds on the farm. 1:00 PM: One-hour lunch break. 2:00 PM: Start swimming in the river while wearing weighted armor. 3:00 PM: Start running races against the Hilichurls. 5:00 PM: Start cultural lessons."
Looking at the training plan in Arkz's hand, which was as long as a red carpet rolling out several meters on the ground, Ellin's movements paused slightly. The slight arc of roundness she had just carved immediately developed a crack.
Ellin walked forward in disbelief and looked down at the training plan.
"Swimming in the river while wearing this armor?"
"Racing against Hilichurls while weighted down?"
"And studying singing and dancing too?"
Ellin widened her eyes, looked clearly at Arkz, and asked, "Uncle, are you really not joking?"
Arkz shook his head: "NO, NO, NO."
Ellin pressed: "Are you serious?"
Arkz nodded: "Yes, yes, yes."
Ellin looked up at the sky, and tears slowly streamed down her face.
...
...
On the other side.
Jean led many Knights and Amu and the others back into Mondstadt City.
Although Mora and the carrots stolen by the Treasure Hoarders were lost, in Jean's opinion, the best outcome was that everyone was safe.
"I'm sorry, Miss Sara, I failed to recover your carrots."
Noelle looked at Sara with an apologetic expression. She felt very guilty for not being able to help her retrieve those precious carrots.
Knowing that her magical carrots were destroyed in the fight, Sara, although disappointed, still tried hard to comfort Noelle.
She forced a smile and said, "No, this isn't your fault, Noelle!"
"It's all those detestable Treasure Hoarders' fault!!!"
Noelle opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and did not tell Sara about the Treasure Hoarders' fate of not even leaving behind ashes. She only repeatedly assured that those detestable Treasure Hoarders had received the punishment they deserved!
Facing Noelle's assurance, Sara naturally believed her completely.
She grinned and said, "Of course I believe what the kind little angel of Mondstadt City says."
Seeing Sara and the people around her smiling with undisguised kindness, Noelle blushed and fidgeted: "Little angel or whatever, isn't that too exaggerated..."
"Right!" Noelle clenched her fist and looked at Sara seriously, "Miss Sara, can you tell me where you picked those carrots from?"
"No matter how dangerous the place is, I will compensate you for your losses!"
"Um... that... please rest assured, I will keep it a secret, in the name of a Knight!"
Sara sighed and said, "It's not something that absolutely must be kept secret; I don't think it can be hidden for long."
"Let me tell you the truth!"
"These carrots were bought from Springvale Farm in Springvale."
Sara's eyes became deep as she began to recall what happened that day: "Back then, the farm owner brought over a large pile of carrots, saying that Miss Blanche from Mondstadt Department Store had introduced him. I was quite surprised and troubled at the time."
"You all know that as the most outstanding restaurant in Mondstadt City, we at The Good Hunter always select fresh and high-quality ingredients for our food." As she said this, Sara proudly puffed out her chest, clearly very proud of the quality of her restaurant's food.
"Therefore, to ensure our guests can eat fresh and green food, we always choose suppliers with more reliable origins."
"We generally won't accept ingredients from the street that lack food safety certifications and hygiene permits."
"But because it was introduced by Blanche, I still planned to buy all of the farm owner's carrots."
At this point, Sara's voice became impassioned, and her eyes turned moist. She said loudly:
"Originally, I only intended to accept that bag of carrots because I couldn't bear to see that gentleman return empty-handed after carrying such a heavy bag of carrots from so far away."
"But when that gentleman proposed to sell these bagged carrots at three times the market price, I actually felt a bit angry at the time, because I thought he was a swindler who was price-gouging."
Sara put her hands together in a prayer gesture, held them against her chest, and her expression became devout.
"However, when he opened the bag, a golden light splashed out from inside!"
"In a trance, I seemed to see a giant golden dragon soaring out of the bag!"
"Upon seeing the luster of those carrots and smelling that enticing fragrance, I understood: no matter the cost! I must obtain those CARROTS!!!"
Noelle and the others stared blankly at the agitated Sara, who seemed to be performing a theatrical play, their faces full of question marks.
"Ahem."
Jean coughed lightly, then asked softly, "Miss Sara, please be concise about what you want to express."
Slap—!
Sara put her hands together in a pleading gesture and quickly said, "I want to order some carrots from Springvale Farm, but the wilderness is too dangerous, and since I want to keep it secret, I can't post a commission at the Adventurers Guild."
"So! Help me, Noelle!"
"Help me buy some magical carrots from Springvale Farm, as many as possible!"
Noelle quickly helped Sara up and said seriously, "Miss Sara, please rest assured, I will definitely bring back the magical carrots!"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"