My Farming Domain Is Broken

Carlos and Cosmic appeared on an ordinary stone square beneath an open sky.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

The city was familiar in the way an old shirt was familiar. Carlos knew the tower beyond the traffic bridge. He knew the narrow shop lane on the far side of the road. He knew the bus stop across from the square, where people were still standing beneath the faded metal roof.

But the square was crowded with returning Beginner Lords.

Blue flashes kept appearing across it. Lords arrived in small groups, some falling to their knees, some looking around wildly, and some immediately running toward people waiting behind the temporary metal barriers.

Uniformed officers tried to direct everyone toward marked lanes. Private vehicles lined the far curb. Three men in black suits watched every new arrival without pretending otherwise.

Carlos understood at once that companies and old Lord organizations had been waiting for the Beginner Period to end.

Cosmic looked tired, but he had cleaned himself up before the final reset. His clothes were neat, his face was washed, and even his hair had been put in order. He was standing straight, and when he saw Carlos, the tightness in his shoulders eased.

"You look worse than when we were fighting for our lives, bro," Cosmic said.

"You look the fucking same everywhere. Fuck you."

"Heh, cussing now, eh? Think I won’t tell Kaia?"

Carlos ignored him. "Fuck you. Fuck you again. And let’s go. Will your parents come to get you?"

"They should, but I don’t know." Cosmic glanced toward the waiting vehicles. "But they are sorting people already. You can see it. Lone Lords, people with families, people whose own people were waiting for them."

"And us."

"We should not be alone anymore since you fucked up those Lords. We don’t even have bodyguards," Cosmic said, looking at Carlos. "Which is probably why we should not stand here for long."

Carlos did not disagree.

They walked away from the square without speaking for a while. The noise followed them. It felt familiar but strange.

There were car horns, nervous voices, officers calling instructions through a loudspeaker. The city itself was as familiar as ever. Carlos was the one who had come back different.

Carlos passed a large screen above a bank. The news was showing a live view of a different return square in another city. More people. More barriers. A line of text beneath the broadcast read: RETURN OF BEGINNER LORDS CONTINUES NATIONWIDE AND WORLDWIDE.

He did not need the news to tell him what was happening.

Every company, family, and organization with enough money would be watching the returns and wondering which Lords were worth reaching first.

Cosmic stopped near the corner of an office building.

"What now?"

Carlos looked back toward the return square.

"We go back. We check Ironroot. Then we decide what we show anyone."

Carlos and Cosmic had only reached the corner of the office building when a woman called out from across the road.

"Daniel!"

Cosmic stopped walking.

Carlos waited with him as a woman came around the corner at a fast walk, followed by a man who was trying and failing to look calm.

The woman saw Cosmic and broke into a run. Then she saw Carlos beside him.

She reached him, wrapped both arms around him, and began crying before she said a word. Cosmic stood stiffly for half a second. Then his arms came around her too.

"I am here, Mom," Cosmic said quietly. "I am fine."

His father reached them next. He put a hand on Cosmic’s shoulder, held it there, and looked at him as if he needed proof that he was real.

"You are back," he said.

"Yeah." Cosmic swallowed. He did not want to cry in front of Carlos. "I am back."

"We are taking you home," his mother said, holding his hand as if she might lose him again.

Cosmic gave a tired nod.

His mother finally looked at Carlos properly. Her eyes filled again.

"Carlos," she said. "You came back too. I am so happy."

Carlos had known Cosmic’s parents for years. He had eaten at their table more times than he could remember, but seeing her look at him like that made him unsure what to say.

"I did, Mrs. Hayes."

She stepped forward and held his arm for a moment. "Thank God. Your mother will be waiting for you too."

Mr. Hayes gave Carlos a firm nod. "Good to see you safe, Carlos."

"You too," Carlos said.

The noise of the street kept moving around them, but it felt farther away than before. Both of Cosmic’s parents looked at Carlos with open gratitude.

"Thank you," Cosmic’s father said. "For getting him through it."

Carlos shifted his weight. "He got himself through it. I didn’t have to do much."

Cosmic’s mother wiped her face. "Are you going home? Do you have someone waiting for you? We can take you. Come with us until you know what you are doing."

Carlos almost said no immediately. Then he saw that she meant it.

He smiled, small but real.

"Thank you," he said. "I need to go home too, but I appreciate it."

His father nodded, understanding without asking for details.

"Then make sure they know you came back," he said.

Carlos nodded once.

Before anyone could say more, a black vehicle rolled to a stop beside the curb. Carlos took a deep breath as he looked at it. Its number plate was one he recognized: one of the Goldwins’ signature plates.

The rear door opened and a woman stepped out alone.

She was dressed simply, but nothing about her looked uncertain. Her eyes moved from Carlos to Cosmic and then back to Carlos without lingering on either of them.

"Carlos Goldwin," she said.

Carlos did not answer immediately.

"Who are you?" he asked, pretending not to recognize the car.

"My name is Evelyn Bennett. I represent the Goldwin family office."

Cosmic and his parents went quiet beside him.

Carlos looked at the driver, then at the two men visible through the dark front window. He did not like being approached like this. He liked it even less that they had found him less than ten minutes after arriving on Earth.

"You are fast. Were you waiting?" he said.

"We were waiting for every returning Goldwin," Evelyn replied. "Your mother is already waiting for you at home."

Carlos did not expect that.

"My mother is there?"

"She arrived home as soon as the return notices began. She asked us to bring you directly to her."

Carlos looked past Evelyn at the black vehicle.

Carlos had always planned to see his mother before doing anything else. What surprised him was that the Goldwin office had reached her first and sent someone to bring him home.

He could not make her wait longer just because he was cautious of what the main branch wanted. His mother could be in danger.

Carlos looked at Cosmic and his parents.

"When you are ready to go back, check how the Agricultural District is doing. If I am not back, check mine too," he told Cosmic.

Cosmic nodded and came closer to his ear. "If you get a good opportunity, try making it better. We need the Goldwin name’s support if we can. It’s only an advantage and an opportunity."

Carlos looked at him and took a deep breath. "I know."

Mrs. Hayes touched Carlos’s arm once more. "Go see your mother. She will be worrying for you."

Carlos gave her a small smile.

"I will."

He got into the black vehicle with Evelyn after bidding farewell to Cosmic and his parents.

As the car pulled away from the return square, Carlos looked back once at Cosmic and his parents standing together on the pavement.

Then the city disappeared behind the dark window.