Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

After parting with Zhao Yun right after the meal, he directly returned to his quarter and took a long, desired nap.

The very next day, Ace woke up to the sound of the notification from the system.

"Ugh…" he groaned, stretching lazily beneath his thin covers.

He blinked at the floating screen, the words loading in one slow, glowing line at a time.

[Host, the little girl you brought into the system has finally regained consciousness.]

He read it aloud, squinting in confusion.

"…What does that mean?"

He could find no memory of dropping off a kid into the system, much less one in a coma.

He scratched his head, still half-asleep.

What a way to start the morning, confused and already mildly annoyed.

Well, if the system had something to say, he might as well check it out. It had been a while, hadn't it?

When was the last time I even visited the system space?

The thought made him feel a little guilty.

With a sigh and a mental command, Ace stepped into the space.

He was greeted by the usual sense of vastness, the mighty sky above, lush green fields below, and neatly segmented zones.

But more than anything else.... The whole space actually felt really empty.

Lily, the one who practically did and handled everything, was off handling the task of returning the village children to their mothers. She was thorough, of course. Probably already had a plan A, B and even a D.

Meanwhile , Yuu had vanished. She went off with Xie Ninger and hadn't been seen since the day he entered the academy.

Then again, she had been introduced as a tool. Literally. Just a hoe to dig farmland.

Maybe she probably wanted to experience what it felt like to walk on two feets.

He chuckled to himself.

Aqua was still around, thank the heavens. That fishman had practically transformed into a marine tycoon.

He was already breeding the highly sought-after gold bubble-tea fish.

Then there was Shane.

Poor, overworked, underappreciated Shane.

Imagine one poor soul cooking for two thousand people every day. No staff. No backup.

Just him, an apron, and a kitchen.

When you can't imagine that, Ace mused, just look at Shane.

Oh, right. Aunt Hong and his sister Ruby were also still here.

Ace walked through the fields, mind still half-drifting, until something caught his eye.

A girl.

Beautiful.

Wait—familiar?

He stared, taking in her long dark hair swaying with the breeze, the calm way she stood near the herb garden, humming softly as she worked.

"Isn't that… Akha?"

He almost didn't recognize her. Akha, his dedicated Grade 3 Alchemist. One of the bald human variants he'd collected earlier—more valuable than gold, but usually as hairless as a polished pearl.

But now… hair?

Since when did they start growing hair?! he thought, utterly bewildered.

For a moment, he questioned if the system had secretly upgraded her appearance.

Or if this was a totally different person with the same vibe.

Still, curious, he walked over. Maybe she had something new for him, like a newly invented alchemy recipe or an explanation for the magical follicle growth.

How did I forget about them, my four little bald eagles, Ace muttered as he approached Akha.

The four bald humans, Akha, khani, kathum and Mati. Their race innately being talented in alchemy.

Together, the four of them basically ran the herb garden, one maintains while the other three refine.

He looked around again, now fully appreciating the bizarrely efficient kingdom he'd ended up managing.

"Master!" Akha greeted him with a bright, jubilant smile, practically glowing as she ran up to him.

Ace gave a small nod, eyes drifting up to her hair.

"A major glow up, I should say," he remarked, arms casually folded. "Didn't expect you to evolve from bald human to a hairy human."

Akha giggled, clearly proud. "Haha, thank you! I believe this is what humans call… wigs." She ran her fingers through the long black strands, a little too theatrically.

"It's the perfect disguise if we ever need to blend into human society. What do you think?"

I'm sure lots of ladies out there are bald even if they aren't bald humans...

Ace opened his mouth to answer, but a voice interrupted from behind.

"Sister Akha! Sister Akha, where are you? It's my turn to wear the artificial hair!"

The tone was desperate, almost like a lover searching for a late-night rendezvous. It echoed through the herb garden with the urgency of a girl who had waited just too long.

Khani burst into view a moment later and promptly froze when she spotted Ace standing beside Akha.

Her eyes widened. He could almost hear the gears turning in her head.

Ace, ever composed, lifted a hand and gave a casual wave. He flashed what he assumed was a dazzling smile.

"Hello there," he said smoothly.

At least, he thought it was smooth.

In reality, it looked more like a smirk caught mid-cramp. The kind of smile that said, I'm trying, but please don't zoom in.

Khani blinked. Once. Twice. Then her face turned three shades redder than a fire spirit's core.

She stiffened, clutching the helm of her dress.

For a moment, Ace swore he saw steam rising from her head. Whether it was embarrassment or excitement, he couldn't really tell.

"H-Hello, Master…" she finally stammered, bowing so fast it looked like she was trying to dodge a flying sword.

He tried to keep a straight face but failed, just a little. Her reaction was adorable, like a child caught sneaking pastries before dinner.

Akha grinned knowingly. "She's been practicing how to say that to you for weeks now. I feel like someone's in love."

Khani let out a scandalized squeak. "Sister!"

Ignoring her sisters scream, Akha leaned closer to Ace ears and whispered, "She's been obsessed with the concept of courtship lately. I blame the new romance scrolls Ruby snuck in."

"Romance scrolls?" Ace blinked.

But somehow Ace realised the girl the system mentioned hadn't shown herself up yet.