Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Four Scarecrows
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Knox awoke in the late afternoon, as the sun was beginning to set.
He was lying in a bed. An incredibly comfortable one, at that.
While not quite on par with the one in the Ludpersher townhouse, the duvet and mattress both appeared to be quite expensive.
He ran his hand over the soft duvet for a moment. The texture made it all feel rather unreal.
Then, he lifted his head and saw the sky, deeply stained by the sunset. The view outside the window naturally came into focus.
Past the grubby windowsill, he could see something like an unkempt vegetable garden. Four large scarecrows planted there caught his eye. Next to them was a large chicken coop.
A woman was crouched in the garden, busy with something. She was dressed like a farmer, a towel draped around her neck. Her face was hidden by a straw hat, her head bowed low.
But Knox knew it was Cherry. After all, the only strange woman who would be doing something like that in a vegetable garden was Cherry Sinclair.
Knox’s memory cut off right after he’d barely made it into her mansion on her back. He vaguely recalled her raising the same slender, lovely hand that had swung the axe and placing it on his forehead. Something about him having a fever, he thought.
He placed a hand on his own forehead. The fever seemed to have broken completely, as his forehead was now just lukewarm.
Cherry, who had been diligently patting the soil, stood up and dragged over a large scarecrow that had been set to one side.
She had lined up the four scarecrows in the middle of the garden and was now attempting to converse with them.
Knox slowly rose and walked to the window. When he opened it, her voice drifted faintly to him.
“Listen up. You all have the solemn duty of protecting this garden. Got it?”
What is she doing...? Knox stared at Cherry’s back with a bewildered expression.
*She’s good at keeping herself entertained.*
Knox leaned his elbow on the windowsill and let out a low chuckle. It was a laugh of sheer absurdity. He couldn't believe a woman like her existed.
Unaware that Knox was watching, Cherry stood with her hands behind her back and spoke to the scarecrows in a very solemn tone.
“You have to guard this spot in particular. Remember, my friends. This is the heart of the garden.”
That place is...
Knox’s brow furrowed as he looked where Cherry was pointing.
It was none other than the spot where the Elpinus Herbs were planted.
Elpinus Herbs were only useful for restoring a bit of stamina. He couldn't understand why Cherry was so dead set on cultivating them.
*Is there some other effect I'm missing?*
But no matter how he wracked his brain, he couldn't recall any unusual properties of the herb. Other than the fact that they were discovered at 61 Notium Street and 10 Hague Street.
The Elpinus Herbs Cherry had planted would probably be ready for harvest in about a month. Elpinus grew incredibly fast as long as you caught some insects to provide enough nutrients.
*Should I help her?*
Leaning against the windowsill, Knox quietly watched what Cherry was doing.
The Elpinus Herbs she had were clearly the ones she’d taken from 61 Notium Street that day. Knox remembered it distinctly, as he had witnessed it himself on the scene.
Why on earth had Cherry been there that day?
*I guess I have no choice but to ask her directly now.*
His original plan had been to stay in Brunel and slowly figure out her objective, but who could have known the world would end like this before he had the chance?
Knox had never, ever predicted that an unidentified monster would bring about the end of the entire nation of Graydon.
*Not that there was anything I could have done even if I had known beforehand.*
In any case, watching Cherry put on her little one-woman show in the garden filled him with a sense of peace.
So much so that he began to wonder if fleeing from the monsters in the village of Brunel had all just been a bad dream.
Knox gazed out the window for a while longer before turning his head. A familiar figure was standing at the door.
“Lancaster?”
He sometimes called him Ethan, but usually, he addressed him by his surname, Lancaster.
Despite having known each other for a very long time, there was a certain distance between him and Knox. A distance that wasn't particularly close, yet sometimes felt like it was. An ambiguous distance.
It was a distance similar to how Knox and Ethan addressed Cherry as ‘Miss Cherry,’ or how she addressed them with the honorifics ‘Sir Ethan’ and ‘Mr. Ludpersher.’
“You awake?”
With a somewhat unruly gait, Ethan entered the room. He moved very slowly, with an expression that said he'd rather be anywhere else.
As he approached Knox, Ethan casually placed the back of his hand on his forehead.
Perfunctorily, as if it were a great bother.