Unexpected Destiny: The Half Dragon and The Nine Masks

Chapter 9

"Grassland has the most fertile soil on Craco Island." The sight of the stunning rows of rice farms and plantation fields astounded Auristela.

Arion and Auristela purposefully across the rice fields in search of work for Arion and information about the best cooking schools for Auristela. They had spent ten days here.

Most of the people of Grassland work as farmers, gardeners, and herders. The soil in Grassland is suitable for growing a wide variety of crops. In addition to fertile soil, on Mount Omega there is limestone mining.

"Fresh." Arion inhaled the fresh air around him greedily. The Elf Kingdom is on top of a hill, the only sights that can be seen there are the houses of the citizens, tea, coffee plantations, and meadows inhabited by hundreds of horses.

"Damn it! The crops are damaged again! If this continues, I will fail my crops," shouted a middle-aged man wearing a straw hat.

"That's right. The pigs must be destroyed immediately," said a young man carrying a hoe.

Auristela and Arion looked at each other. The rice fields, which were previously quiet and there was no one around, were now bustling with farmers who had just arrived, perhaps having just finished resting while eating.

The farmers were tens of meters away from their standing position. One of the privileges possessed by elves is to have a sharp sense of hearing and vision. It was not difficult for Auristela and Arion to hear the voices of the people around them. They also could hear very low whispers.

"What happened?" Curiosity took over again Auristela.

The two of them walked through the rice fields slowly, afraid of falling because the ground was slippery and irregular.

Arion approached the fields of the two farmers. His brow furrowed with a sad look in his eyes when he saw the chili plants that were damaged like being trampled on. "If I may know, why is it like this, Sir?"

For a moment the two farmers watched Arion and Auristela who looked foreign like they were not native to Grassland. If you look at the color of the eyes, hair, and pointy ears there is no need to ask anymore, the handsome man and the beautiful woman in front of them are elves. The Elf clan was bestowed with a handsome and beautiful face.

"It's the act of wild boars!" said the young man as he plucked a good chili pepper.

"Wild boar?" Auristela mumbled in surprise.

Arion looked around the chili field. Looking for traces of wild boar that may still be left.

"Usually at night I go to the fields, but last night I had an event. So, I didn't know that the trap for the wild boar had not been set," explained the middle-aged man to Arion. "For the past week or so, the wild boars have been destroying the fields here."

Arion nodded in understanding. Then he and the two owners of the fields checked the traps for the wild boar. Arion volunteered to help make a new, better trap that he thought was accurate for catching wild boars.

Auristela sat in the hut in the middle of the rice fields, waiting for Arion who was busy with the farmers. Towards the afternoon, more and more farmers came and they were excited together to make traps according to Arion's instruction.

Because of the boredom that hit, Auristela idly tamed a crow that perched on the roof of the hut. After successfully tamed, Auristela petted and invited the crow to chat. From a distance, Arion looked sad to see Auristela, who was like an insane person, talking to a crow.

"Do you know? Arion's face does look flat and cold, like a demon in human form. But his heart is as wide as the ocean, loves to help anyone he thinks needs help." Auristela whispered into the ear of the crow who just nodded his head as if he understood what the elf girl was talking about. Auristela's green eyes watched Arion and the excited peasants. It seemed she had to teach Arion how to communicate properly and correctly, and also how to smile.

***

"Get some more corn and chili."  Auristela looked at the brown sack that Arion was carrying. Arion was rewarded with 4 corn and a bag of red chilies. When helping farmers or residents, they will be given vegetables.  Because they don't have a kitchen and Auristela can't even cook, they give the vegetables they get for free to a mother who has 3 children whose house is next to their inn, a mother named Lila who sells sweet potatoes and her husband has died.

They passed the goat farm where Andres and Anthoni worked. There was no one, only dozens of goats eating grass.

Auristela stopped, she approached the little goat that was eating near the fence. "Very funny." The fence made of wood was only as high as her stomach, making it easier for her hands to stroke the little goat that caught her attention.

Arion kept walking without knowing his twin sister was teasing the goat that was eating that afternoon. He frowned, not hearing the sound of footsteps and Auristela's unusual silence. He turned his head to the side, surprised that there was no Auristela. He sharpened his hearing and heard Auristela's voice in the distance. His heart was beating fast, then he looked back, he breathed a sigh of relief, it turned out that Auristela was playing with a goat.

"Arion?"

Arion was shocked. Andres, Anthoni, and Almeta were standing in front of him. It was a coincidence that they met.

"Where's Auristela?" asked Almeta. Because she always saw Arion and Auristela were always together.

"There." Arion pointed to the goat farm which was 10 meters away from them. "I didn't know she suddenly stopped," Arion explained.

Andres narrowed his eyes, following the direction of Arion's index finger. Looks like Auristela is talking. Who are you talking to?  "Let's go there." Andres went first. Curious, who was talking to Auristela, because she didn't see the person she was talking to. Also, the two guys working on the farm couldn't be spoken to.

Auristela turned her head because her ears caught the sound of footsteps. He was surprised, then smiled broadly. "Hi, we meet again."

Andres grinned. "Yeah, meet again." He looked towards the fence opening after nodding. There were just white goats, which caused one of his eyebrows to rise. Has Auristela spoken to the goat?

 "That goat is funny." Auristela pointed at the little goat as it walked away. Her face was sad. "It looks like the goat is the smallest."

Arion looked at Andres's face, which was confused and his eyes flashed with surprise. He sighed. Yeah, Auristela is strange.

"Yes, that's right. The goat is the smallest." Anthoni nodded.

Andres took a quick look at the baggage that Arion was lugging. Arion always had a sack with him when they met. He was aware of the source of the bag. "Would you two be interested in working on this farm?" What's wrong with giving them a job and getting him closer to the two elves.