Sir Alistair stared at the young man, then at the two women who radiated enough power to ignite the atmosphere.
"A farm? In the Dead Man's Barrens? Boy, do you have any idea where you are standing? This is a graveyard of kings!"
"I-I know it looks a bit... different now," Sakura stammered, activating his passive skill: [Universal Harmony: The Creator's Mercy].
Immediately, a soft, warm light washed over the Knights. Their racing hearts slowed. The horses stopped trembling. To the soldiers, Sakura suddenly felt like a "harmless, nice kid"—someone you couldn't help but like.
'Please don't kill them, please don't kill them,' Sakura prayed internally.
"But we do live here!" Sakura said, pointing behind him. "The house is right... uh... right there!"
He gestured to an empty patch of grass. Gaia's eyes glinted with a mischievous, emerald light. As the Knights blinked against the sun, she tapped her bare heel against the soil.
[Skill: Instant Genesis — Grotto of the World Tree]
In the span of a single heartbeat, the ground groaned. Massive, white-wood roots spiraled out of the earth, weaving together like living silk. Within three seconds, a two-story cottage—complete with a smoking chimney and flower boxes it looked more like a mansion than a small house — it stood where there had been nothing.
"See?" Sakura lied, sweating. "It was just... hidden by the mist! Yeah, the Barrens mist is crazy, right?"
Sir Alistair's jaw dropped so low his helmet rattled. 'Mist? I've been looking at this spot for ten minutes! That woman just grew a palace out of the dirt!'
Trying to act natural, Sakura noticed a massive, three-ton obsidian boulder blocking the "path" to the new front door. "Oh, sorry about the mess. Just clearing the field for the potatoes."
He walked over and, thinking he was being "gentle," he flicked the boulder with his wrist.
CRACK.
The three-ton rock didn't just move—it took flight. It whistled through the air like a cannonball, vanishing over the horizon with a twinkle in the distance. Sakura hadn't even broken a sweat. To him, it felt like tossing a piece of crumpled paper into a bin.
The Knights went pale. A scout whispered, "Lord Alistair... did that boy just... flick a mountain?"
Alistair gulped, his eyes darting to Gaia, who was watching Sakura with a thirsty, predatory smile, and Reil, who was casually sharpening her claws on a tree trunk. 'I see...' Alistair thought, his veteran brain coming to a terrifying conclusion. 'The boy is a puppet! These two ancient entities are using him as a pet! He has no idea how much power they are pumping into him
"Anyway, you guys look tired," Sakura said, desperate to stop them from asking questions. "Gaia, could you... get some tea for our guests?"
"Of course, My Lord," Gaia purred. She glided toward the new house, her sundress fluttering to reveal the milky-white curve of her legs. A moment later, she returned with a wooden tray and steaming cups.
Alistair took a sip, his hands still shaking. The moment the liquid touched his tongue, his eyes bulged.
The "Tea" was made from the leaves of the Primeval World Tree.
Alistair felt a burning heat in his chest. The jagged scar across his face from a Demon General's blade—a wound that had pained him for twenty years—suddenly itched. In front of his horrified men, the scar dissolved, leaving behind skin as smooth as a newborn's. His old, creaking joints snapped back into place. His Level cap, which had been stuck at Level 60 for a decade, suddenly shattered.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: PALADIN ALISTAIR HAS ASCENDED TO 'HERO CANDIDATE' STATUS]
Alistair dropped to his knees, spilling the most expensive tea in the multiverse onto the grass. He looked at Sakura—the "Farmer"—with tears in his eyes.
"A Saint..." Alistair choked out. "You aren't a farmer... you are a Hidden Sage sent by the heavens to heal this broken world! Forgive our rudeness, Great One!"
All fifty knights hit the dirt, bowing so hard their armor clanged against the earth.
'Oh no,' Sakura thought, hiding his face in his hands as his blush returned. 'I've only been here ten minutes and I've already started a cult.'
It seems I accidentally turned one of the Empire's best knights into his personal fans.