Chapter 17: The Tomato Trials (And Other Emotional Vegetables)
Eren wiped sweat from his brow as he stared at the absurdly vibrant tomato.
It was... flawless.
And that terrified him.
"I don't trust you," he muttered at the tomato.
Lira, polishing a pair of pruning shears with robotic precision, didn't even glance up. "Master Eren, are you talking to the produce again?"
"I'll talk to what I want. This one's too perfect. Either it's secretly sentient, or something went wrong in the compost again."
"I cross-referenced seventy-two horticultural databases. Your tomato is within optimal aesthetic and biological parameters."
"That's what a killer tomato would want me to think."
He eyed the vegetable suspiciously, then reluctantly added it to the basket beside him. It was the fourth batch of the day—part of his "trial runs" for the upcoming competition. If he was going to enter a farming contest judged by professionals and probably one overly attractive elf botanist (because this world had themes), he needed perfection. No room for average.
And frankly, his bar was high. He'd been cheated, chased, and harassed out of his comfort zone more in the last month than in his entire adult life back on Earth. At this point, winning wasn't just about pride—it was survival. He needed that gold. And maybe, just maybe, some peace.
Too bad peace had a name, a braid, and a habit of barging in unannounced.