The Rock Tortoise set off once more. With its newly evolved talent, Earth Manipulation, it moved without leaving so much as a footprint behind.
Outside, the white-haired girl lingered alone.
"No matter how I look at it, it still feels incredible…" Liyue whispered, bracing herself against a stone spike as the hills and earth slowly retreated in the distance.
She stared for a while, then turned back inside. As soon as she entered, she overheard a conversation.
"Luciel, what exactly is this house used for?"
Mino was squatting on a bench, her chin resting on the table as she leaned close to Luciel, staring curiously at a drawing spread before him.
"It's not safe to pile everything in the hall like a warehouse," Luciel explained, glancing up just as Liyue walked in.
He wanted to warn Mino about potential hazards, so he continued, "The firepit is also in the hall. If sparks from the firewood scatter, it could easily set everything ablaze."
"I understand. I'll move everything right away!" Mino jumped to her feet in alarm.
"Hold on," Luciel caught her arm gently. "Let me teach you how to build a proper warehouse first."
The rabbit-eared girl blinked blankly, and Luciel pointed to a sketch.
"See here? The threshold must be built higher, so bugs can't crawl inside."
"Okay," Mino nodded seriously.
"The warehouse should also be divided into sections, so everything can be stored in its own place," he added, pointing to a square on the plan.
"Mm." The girl nodded again, attentive and obedient.
"I'll leave the construction of the warehouse to you," Luciel said, handing her the plan.
"No problem!" Mino accepted it solemnly.
Her cheeks flushed red as she asked shyly, "Luciel… when the warehouse is done, could you give me this piece of cloth?"
"You want the drawing?" Luciel asked, a little surprised.
"Yes… and could I have the other ones too?" Her blue eyes shimmered with expectation.
"Take them all if you'd like," Luciel chuckled. He didn't pry further—if the little rabbit had secrets, she deserved to keep them.
"Yay! I'll finish the warehouse first, then I'll find the other plans." Beaming, Mino clutched the drawing and ran out in a hurry.
"She's getting livelier and more cheerful by the day," Luciel said softly as he watched her go.
"Is there something I can do to help?" Liyue asked quietly, pursing her lips. She didn't want to live here idly—she wanted to earn her place.
Luciel thought for a moment, then arranged, "Go help Mino with the warehouse. You can build yourself a room at the same time."
That way, the two girls could spend time together and get used to each other.
"Alright," Liyue nodded, then went after the rabbit-eared girl.
"As for me," Luciel muttered, "I should open up some farmland."
Some of the vegetables were on the verge of dying—if he didn't transplant them soon, it would be too late.
"Little Black Tortoise, find me a hill and turn it into stone bricks and soil," Luciel commanded.
"Wooo~~"
The tortoise roared and lumbered toward a nearby hill.
In less than a few minutes, a mound more than ten meters tall was reduced to rubble. Neat stacks of stone bricks and a heap of soil were carried back to its shell.
Meanwhile, the two girls, who had been marking out plans on the tortoise's back, stared in shock at the sight.
"Does… does he always do things like this?" Liyue asked, blinking her silver-white eyes.
"Ahem…" Mino swallowed and gave a small cough, pretending to be calm. "It's normal. Luciel just… likes to go a little overboard sometimes."
"He's ridiculous," Liyue muttered. Just how many times had he scared her since last night?
The white-haired girl sighed and admitted, "With him around, you have to be prepared to be shocked at any moment."
"It's not that bad. He surprises people in good ways too…" Mino said weakly, trying to defend him.
"..." Liyue's cheeks flushed as she suddenly thought of the Angel Wings from last night. She lowered her head shyly, barely nodding.
Meanwhile, Luciel was oblivious to their complaints.
He moved the stone bricks to the edge of the tortoise's shell and began extending the courtyard wall all the way to its rim.
Last night, while the Rock Tortoise was evolving, he had deliberately left the area around the house untouched so the girls wouldn't wake up. Now, using Earth Manipulation, he stacked the bricks into a solid, one-meter-high wall around the edge.
"Xiaohong, set up some spider silk outside the wall," Luciel instructed the red ghost spider, giving it something useful to do.
Screee~~ The spider responded with a rasping sound.
"Next is the farmland."
Luciel surveyed the layout, then chose to place the fields beside the toilet. That way, fertilizer would be easy to collect, saving time and effort.
With his abilities, he cleared the soil into neat plots and surrounded them with ridges of stone.
"Perfect. Just in time for transplanting," he said with satisfaction.
He went back inside, carried out twelve barrels, and carefully brought out the tomato seedlings wrapped in spider silk.
"Never thought I'd come to another world only to inherit five thousand years of farming talent," Luciel sighed with mixed feelings.
He planted the vegetables neatly in the plots. Beside the tomatoes, he set up wooden stakes to support their vines. In the middle of the field, he planted the tea tree, with the Angel Wings right beside it.
"Most of the vegetables are already withered… can any of them still survive?" Luciel squatted on the ridge, staring at the drooping leaves.
His gaze fell on the Angel Wings swaying gently in the breeze. A thought struck him—he could use Taming Points to revive the plants.
"But… taming costs ten points each," Luciel frowned.
He quickly ruled out cabbage and tomatoes. Not because they couldn't be tamed, but because they simply weren't worth it.
To tame a cabbage? Pointless. It would be gone as soon as you cut it.
"A tea tree is far more practical," he decided. "It produces continuously—and I'll need it. Eating only meat every day won't be sustainable forever."
Tea could provide the same vitamins and fiber that vegetables would.