Hana reviewed back the previous three-day preparation phase while sighing in contentment. 

 

She spent some time with her team preparing the rewards for notable warriors who contributed significantly during the confrontation with the Silver-banded Eagles. Besides that, they worked together to build the list of participants involved. Later, she announced that the names on the list would be given priority and were eligible to purchase the next batch of 'spiritual enhancing meals' at a 50% discounted price. With this, she knew she would be able to move the hearts of the stubborn ones into participating in future 'activities'. 

 

Other tasks she managed to clear were formally thanking the Waterwave Clan's help via Grand Elder Watershade, instructing the Elemental Fiends and the freshwater creatures into clearing more land to make way for incoming crop cultivation, and reviewing seeds with Ta-chan to find the right ones for mass production. All these were done while planning counter-measures for upcoming confrontations. Hana wasn't so naive to think that others would follow her will. 

 

There were so many tasks to do! Suddenly, the slacker aunty became super productive and extremely industrious!

 

Recalling Grand Elder Watershade gentlemanly eloquence (Hana imagined he had a British accent and talked like a super suave spy), she shook her head and smiled. 

 

"...this one does not understand what is this all about; Your Grace must be mistaken, I am sure. Since the weather is so nice, this one just feels like visiting the Young Miss and coincidentally sees the unbecoming confrontation. Helping out in passing is an insignificant matter. After all, Your Grace's wisdom knows no bound. You surely already charted out your plans ahead accordingly to deal with future disturbances." Grand Elder Watershade chuckled meaningfully while being translated by Ara in real-time. The sight of a giant silver-whitish sniggering while its head bobbed up and down was quite memorable. The long whiskers even vibrated slightly, displaying the Grand Elder's lighthearted words.

 

What the giant silver catfish meant was clear; he didn't want his actions to be labeled as the will of the Waterwave Clan. One, so that the Mistress would not be obligated to return the favor as if she owed the Clan. Two, it was to eliminate future problems by association; hence, it would not implicate the Clan. After all, he was just 'visiting' and did not do much or hurt anyone. With the fall of the Gray Rock Mountain, the balance of power will inevitably be affected. Soon, the other Lords of the areas nearby will start moving once they notice something is amiss.

 

Facing a single Lord of an area will be doable. 

 

However, these local Lords formed an alliance and shamelessly distinguished themselves as the Eight Monarchs. With this new group, they became quite notorious by flaunting their powers and dominating a few Spiritual Crystal veins together. The Gray Rock Mountain's Monarch was a close kin to one of the main Lords within the alliance; hence the consequence was as clear as day. Strictly speaking, the Clan couldn't afford to contend against this kind of threat, not just yet. They still needed time to nurture their talents and grow unhindered.

 

As a result, the Grand Elder took a stance and made a clear line of non-interference between the two parties' dispute. Due to his high regard for the Mistress' abilities, he was sure she knew what she was doing. When push comes to shove, he will rescue the princess together with the Mistress and hide them for a while before letting the storm pass. The rest will have to bear the wrath of the other Lords to appease them. 

 

Seeing how busy the Mistress became, the Grand Elder excused himself to return to the Marine Waterwave Clan's grounds after a few more words of encouragement. Before going, he presented a new Lifeguard Scale to the Mistress and a few more Spiritual Crystals from his own personal stash, knowing that these would definitely benefit the clan members. He was thoroughly impressed with the Mistress' artificial spiritual energy-imbued crops! 

 

It was revolutionary!

...

 

"Yes, yes. Four main categories, guys."

 

Hana explained her food heaven plan to Shiro, Ta, and Queenie in detail. Shiro listened attentively while Ta the tapir shrunk back a little. F1 stood stoically without showing any expression, but through it, Hana could feel Q-chan acknowledgment of the matter. As usual, F1 became Q's ears and eyes. She used a stick to scribble on the dark loam in excitement.

 

"Staple, dish, ulam(1), condiment." 

 

"Staple shall dominate 60% of our fields. Vegetables suitable for main dishes at 15%, ulam at 15% and finally, condiment at 10%. We concentrated all condiments within 'Shiro's Little Garden.' The location around the Garden shall be dominated by Dish and Ulam classification. The staples can occupy the rest of the field outside." 

 

"Yes, Mistress." The tapir answered meekly. Its voice was akin to a double-layered pixie! Totally cute and astonishing at the same time. 

 

Unbeknownst to all, the Forest Spirit only needed a full dive through Soul-link with the Mistress to be able to speak the Mistress' foreign language.

 

That was how special it was.

 

 Before this, all contracted pets understood the Mistress by hearing the voice of the heart, which was telepathy. Although Hana knew about this, she couldn't stop herself from speaking aloud due to habit. It was somewhat lonely. If a third party saw her, they would think she was crazy, talking and laughing alone while listening to 'voices' in her head. 

 

Suddenly, a tapir talking a localized English-Malay appeared, making Hana's heart flutter in amazement at first, in tears, second. It had been too long. A conversation partner in one's own local dialects would've made one feel nostalgic and wistful, whoever they are.

 

Since then, Hana had practically forced the poor Ta-chan to talk to her as much as possible. It replied a tiny bit; succinct and unwasteful. But only that had made Hana bloom into an impossibly cheerful aunty for the whole day!

 

...

 

"Check the list, Shi-chan. See that all condiments are there. The garden's energy level is still sufficient, right?"

 

No worries, Mom. The formation is working swimmingly. As you suggested, I added some Spirit Pearls as supplementary as well. Shiro answered confidently with his sweet androgenous telepathic-voice.

 

Hana went through the list on her smartphone.

 

Condiment list

Turmeric

Ginger

Garlic

Onion

Galangal

Chilies

Pepper

Cloves

Star anise

Cardamom

Cinnamon/cassia

 

She tapped her finger on the screen gently. These days, she noticed that her strength increased quite significantly. If she gripped it too hard, it might crumble. She sighed and circled around four items at the lowest part of the list.

 

All accounted for except for these four ingredients?

 

True, Mom. I have double-checked to no avail. A small human-like sigh resounded as Shiro shook his head gently in remorse. I am so sorry to fail you.

 

There's not even cassia around? Sighhh..

 

No matter, Sweetie. In my home world, it isn't easy to get them too during the olden days, they are widely available only in modern times through systematic cultivation and international trade. That is the beauty of globalization and free trade. We can't expect to find everything here. Hana rubbed Shiro's soft fluffy head lovingly. Every time she looked at her sickly little fox, she felt heartache and guilt all mixed up together.

 

Where can I find these herbs? I've never even seen them in their freshly harvested form. Fussing about the lack of ingredients, Hana was concerned about being unable to cook a proper dish. Without the all-important four-friend herbs (2), curries won't be authentic curries, and soup won't turn into proper herbed soup. The aunty's long-windedness had made her forget her priorities at that exact moment. 

 

Hana forced her thoughts to the back of her mind once she noticed she had been led astray again and continued checking the list.

 

How about the ulam, dish, and staple section?

 

Shiro answered while observing the fields. They were currently dominated by an insane amount of Elemental Fiends scurrying about, with freshwater creatures tagging along as assistants. If one were to see them with their own eyes, their scalp would've tingled. There were just too many of them! A slightly weaker Noble-tiered creature would've been consumed within the horde in a matter of minutes.

 

Instead, the giant termites were diligently making raised beds systematically before placing a single seed each at a distance of 30 cm from each other. The freshwater creatures will then conjure up some water to moisten the soil where the seeds were placed. A total of five types are planted under Dish category; yam, spinach, okra, eggplant, and chilies. These are some of the seeds that you have approved of previously. The yam tubers had been obtained from a nearby source; we strictly followed your suggestions to get the ones with a purple dot at the center of the leaves. 

 

The ones under Ulam category are a watercress patch, a water celery patch, a Vietnamese mint patch, a ginger torch cluster, two bilimbi trees, and finally, four cashew trees. I have arranged the larger ones at the periphery on the north side. The ones near the river are the smaller varieties. The rest of the space will be planted with rice once we settle all other categories first. 

 

As Shiro finished explaining, Ta trotted towards the raised vegetable bed and stomped the land lightly. A low-toned resonance resounded. One couldn't really see the life energy given but could definitely detect something like a force field being deployed. The colorless energy swept towards the numerous beds, and immediately, tiny leaves appeared over the soil! They then proliferated by about five centimeters. 

 

Ta immediately withdrew.

 

Alright, excuse me, Mom. I'm going to engrave the Spirit Energy gathering formation first. Shiro politely bowed to Hana and walked away slowly. Hana observed how her darling pet fox fitted a new formation worth five spirit crystals to be powered up and felt her heart ached.  

 

Just like that, Hana watched over all the preparations done by everyone with a grateful heart. Without these helpers, she would never be able to achieve something like this.

 

The three days taken for preparation certainly weren't for naught.

 

...

 

Authors' Note:

ulam = local vegetables (herbs) eaten raw, usually with dips such as sambal belacan or budu

four-friend herbs = directly translated from 'Empat sekawan'. We used it a lot in multiple cooking styles. They are cardamom, cloves, star anise and cinnamon. Oh, another thing. All herbs for cooking are in their whole form, we rarely used grounded/powdered ones except for imported western herbs.