"I can’t believe it!" Aelin said as she picked up a small pinch of soil. "The soil here is even better than I expected! I might never find anything this fertile in the Golden Mountain."

Roxanna crouched in front of the plants, watching the tiny sprouts with bright eyes. "Yeah, I didn’t expect this either. Do you think they’re growing well?"

"Growing well?" Aelin raised a brow, then smiled. "Roxie, these plants are not just growing well, they’re growing amazingly! The sprouts look perfect. I’m sure when they’re ready to harvest, they’ll taste really delicious!"

Roxanna smiled brightly. "I really can’t wait to see them grow!"

[If only I could eat the tomatoes today.] Roxanna stared at the tomatoes with hungry eyes. [They must taste so good. I don’t know why, but I really want tomato salad right now.]

While Roxanna was thinking about that, one of her husbands, Calen, walked toward her because he wanted to check on her and make sure she was alright. But the first thing he heard was that his wife was craving something.

"Wife!" he called, making Roxanna flinch slightly. "What are you two doing?"

He crouched beside her and looked at the half-grown tomatoes. "The vegetables look fine, don’t they?"

Roxanna looked at Calen with a bright smile. "Yes! Yes! They’re growing well, and I think they’ll be really delicious!"

[I really want tomato salad right now.] Roxanna’s smile slowly faded and was replaced by a slight pout. Her tail dropped completely to the ground, showing that her mood wasn’t that great. [I just ate earlier, so why am I hungry again? My child, you’re going to make me chubby if you keep asking me to eat all the time!]

Calen paused for a moment. A chubby Roxanna?

When he imagined her with round cheeks and a soft body, he couldn’t help but think that his wife would look look even cuter.

"That’s such a pity..." Calen suddenly said. "If only the tomatoes could grow right now, maybe we could eat them together."

He exchanged a glance with Aelin, as if he wanted her to understand what he meant. Honestly, if Roxanna asked Aelin to speed up the growth of the tomatoes right now, she would definitely do it.

Unfortunately, Roxanna was too shy to ask Aelin to do that. Besides not wanting to seem greedy, she also didn’t want to trouble her friend.

Aelin, on the other hand, cheerfully said, "Oh, oh! I can speed up the growth of the tomatoes right now!" She added, "I didn’t want to interfere with the vegetables’ growth because I wanted to check the soil’s fertility, but I think I can speed up a few tomatoes."

Roxanna’s face immediately lit up. Her ears perked up, and her tail wagged quickly, showing how excited she was.

"Really?!" Roxanna asked. "We can eat the delicious tomatoes today? And... maybe with some carrots, potatoes, and mustard greens too!"

Aelin chuckled softly. "Of course. But not too much, since we haven’t planted many seeds here yet."

After all, the Vixeria Tribe was still under development, so people couldn’t fully focus on managing their farming yet.

"That’s alright," Calen said. "You can harvest them just for you and my wife. You don’t need to give any to us."

Roxanna’s ears drooped slightly again. "But that’s not fair. I want you and the others to taste the delicious vegetables too. If you can’t eat them, then I won’t eat them either!"

"No, you have to eat the vegetables!" Calen said quickly. But when he realized his voice was too loud, he immediately pretended to cough and added, "I mean... vegetables might be good for our baby, so you should eat as much as you want."

Calen hesitated for a moment, then gently reached out and patted her head. "We’ll eat them together next time," he said. "When there’s more. For now, just think of it as you eating on behalf of all of us."

Roxanna tilted her head slightly, clearly not fully convinced.

Aelin chuckled and stepped in. "He’s right, Roxie. Your body needs more nutrients right now. You’re not just eating for yourself anymore."

Her hand slowly moved to her stomach, her expression softening. "Right."

Her tail swayed lightly behind her, no longer dragging on the ground. "Okay," she said after a moment. "But next time, everyone has to eat together."

"Of course," Calen replied without hesitation.

Aelin smiled. "Deal."

With that settled, Aelin stepped forward and raised her hand slightly above the tomato plants. A faint glow gathered around her fingers, soft and warm, like sunlight.

"Let’s speed this up a little," she said.

The small sprouts began to tremble, then slowly started to grow.

The leaves unfurled and the stems thickened. Tiny green tomatoes appeared and gradually turned red, one by one.

Roxanna’s eyes widened in amazement. "They’re really growing..." she whispered.

Within moments, several ripe tomatoes hung from the vines, their bright red color standing out beautifully against the green leaves.

Aelin lowered her hand with a satisfied smile. "That should be enough for us."

Roxanna immediately leaned closer, her eyes sparkling. "They look so good..."

Calen watched her quietly, a small smile forming on his lips. "Let’s pick them," he said.

A moment later, Aelin also made a few carrots, potatoes, and mustard greens grow faster.

After they picked them, the three of them went to the hut to make a tomato salad. But since Roxanna likes using olive oil as an addition, she bought it from the system. Meanwhile, Aelin waited outside the kitchen because she didn’t want to know too much about the system.

[Purchased 1x 500mL olive oil: 500 SP]

[Total Spirit Points (SP): 318,050]

"Does it taste good?" Calen looked closely at the olive oil. He was curious because it looked a bit different from the regular oil in the kitchen.

"Yes! It makes food taste better!" Roxanna cut all the vegetables and put them into a big bowl. As she poured the olive oil over the salad, she said, "You can try a little bit of the salad too, but please don’t tell the others you ate this."

[If the others find out I only gave the tomato salad to Calen, they might get angry!] Roxanna thought.

Calen had to try hard not to laugh, because honestly, her other husbands wouldn’t get mad just because they couldn’t eat some vegetables. But maybe they’d be a little annoyed if they knew that only Calen was being spoiled by their wife.

But did Calen care about that? Not really.

"Say ah!" Roxanna moved the spoon toward Calen’s mouth.

Calen did what she said, and then put the salad into his mouth. As a carnivore, Calen honestly didn’t really enjoy eating something green, but to his surprise, the salad made by his wife tasted so delicious.

"This tastes so good!" Calen said. "My wife, you’re really amazing!"

Roxanna’s cheeks turned a little red. "It’s no big deal. I just mixed the vegetables and added a few things. Anyone can do it."

"But I’m sure your cooking is the best of all," said Calen with a smile. "I’d swear on it!"

Roxanna chuckled. "Thank you." She added, "But Azul and Cyrus’ cooks are also delicious."

"Not as good as you," praised Calen.

At this point, Roxanna wasn’t sure if Calen was just trying to flirt with her or if he really meant what he said. Either way, she was happy that her husband liked her simple cooking.

"Ah, but it’s too bad there’s only a little bit of salad," she said with a small pout.

Even if she split the salad into three parts, she was sure her husband wouldn’t get full, since he had a big appetite.

"Don’t worry," Calen said with a warm smile. "Even a little taste from you is enough to make me happy."

Roxanna smiled back and gave him another small bite. "You’re just saying that to be nice."

"I’m not," Calen said honestly. "I really mean it."

In the end, Roxanna would sometimes feed Calen from her own share of salad. Even though he had told her many times that she should just eat it all herself, she still insisted on sharing it with her husband.

"You know what?" Aelin let out a soft sigh. She was getting tired of watching them be so lovey-dovey. "Why don’t you just eat my share of salad too?"

Roxanna blinked and looked at Aelin. "No way! Don’t worry about me. You can eat your own share!" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Aelin laughed quietly and waved her hand. "Ah, it’s fine. Besides, I also need to meet Skiv and someone else right now."

The moment Aelin stood up, Roxanna asked, "How’s Skiv? Is he doing okay with your lessons?"

Aelin smiled. "At first, he struggled a little, but now he can make some simple poisons. I’ve also taught him a few letters."

"That’s great to hear," Roxanna said warmly. "He’s a good kid. I’m glad he has you."

Aelin shrugged, but her smile stayed. "At least by the time I have to go back to the Golden Mountain, he can experiment by himself."