---o---
In reality, Caelus wasn't entirely sure if the wheat was the core of the process. For all he knew, the true core might have been himself. It was only through his hands that the wheat could make two bulls ignore their gender and bypass the normal reproduction time to rapidly produce a calf.
"The wheat is the core?"
March 7th looked quizzically at the stalk of wheat in her hand, examining it closely but failing to find anything special about it.
"Won't he be really mad when he finds out?"
Caelus nodded. The man would certainly be furious when he discovered the truth, but Caelus had never claimed that the two bulls alone could reproduce as quickly as he had demonstrated.
"He has only his own greed to blame. By all rights, renting two cows for thirty minutes for five gold ingots was already a great deal for him. If he had stopped there, I would have been the one taking a loss. But unfortunately for him, there are no 'what ifs'."
This was the first time March 7th had seen this cunning side of Caelus, and it surprised her a little. Previously, Caelus had always seemed like the reckless type; she never thought he had this side to him as well.
"So, what are we doing next?"
Just as Caelus was pondering their next objective, his peripheral vision caught Bronya's marker appearing at the edge of his minimap. Besides Bronya, she had two Silvermane Guards with her. Furthermore, Bronya's marker turned and entered the very farm they had just left.
He had noticed Bronya nearby when he and March 7th were at the milk tea shop earlier. At the time, he had thought she might have just been passing by, but this second appearance in his vicinity immediately raised Caelus's suspicions.
Dan Heng had just mentioned that they might send someone to tail them, and it seemed he was right on the money.
---o---
While Caelus was keeping an eye on Bronya's movements, March 7th was chattering non-stop beside him, discussing where they should go next.
"Should we go find some of Belobog's landmarks and take a few pictures? Hmm... but it doesn't feel right without Dan Heng. Since this is our trailblazing team's first mission, the first photo should really be of all three of us, don't you think? Right, Caelus?"
After rattling on for a good while, March 7th realized Caelus hadn't been responding. She frowned and turned to look at him, only to find him continuously glancing behind them out of the corner of his eye.
"What's behind us?"
March 7th subconsciously tried to turn her head to look, but Caelus suddenly reached out with both hands and cupped her face, preventing her from looking back.
The sudden action startled March 7th. She stared blankly at Caelus, her lips puckered from the way he was holding her cheeks, her words muffled.
"Caelus, what are you doing..."
Caelus leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Bronya is following us. Don't speak."
Hearing that she was being followed, March 7th quickly blinked her eyes to let Caelus know she understood.
Around the corner, Bronya peeked her head out cautiously. The first thing she saw was Caelus holding March 7th's face, his own head turned to the side, their cheeks practically touching. March 7th, for her part, looked incredibly 'shy', her eyes darting about in a panic.
Bronya took one look and immediately pulled her head back.
---o---
It was as if she had just seen something she wasn't supposed to see.
"Lady Bronya? What's going on over there?"
The two Silvermane Guards behind Bronya saw her strange expression and were about to peek around the corner themselves.
Bronya quickly held up a hand to stop them. "Stop. There's nothing going on over there."
The two guards exchanged a puzzled glance. They felt like something was off, but since Lady Bronya had said so, they wouldn't press the issue.
"Then, Lady Bronya, should we continue to follow them?"
Bronya thought for a moment, then shook her head.
She had already questioned the noble who owned the farm. Caelus and March 7th had only bought a dozen or so cows there. Although she didn't understand why these two off-worlders would come here to buy cattle, she really couldn't think of anything particularly special about this place.
"No need. Let's return to Qlipoth Fort."
"Yes, Lady Bronya."
Caelus kept his eyes on the minimap. Only after confirming that Bronya and her two guards had truly left did he release March 7th's face. He glanced back at her and saw that she was blushing furiously.
Seeing this, Caelus couldn't resist teasing her.
"Oh my, are you blushing?"
March 7th, who had been feeling flustered by the somewhat intimate atmosphere, snapped out of it when she heard his words. Her eyelids drooped as she shot him a glare.
"You're the one who's blushing!"
"Then why is your face red?"
"I'm just flushed with spirit!"
Caelus chuckled, deciding not to tease her any further. If he kept going, the little lady's head might actually start steaming.
"Let's go. We'll head back to the hotel and drop off these cows. I want to see what Cocolia is really planning, sending someone to follow us."
Caelus took the wheat from March 7th's hand and used it to lure the herd of cows toward the hotel. March 7th, however, remained rooted to the spot. As Caelus turned to walk away, she immediately raised a hand and pressed her palm against her cheek. She could still feel the residual warmth from Caelus's hands, and her face felt hot.
Recalling the way Caelus had held her face and leaned in close just moments ago, she almost thought her first kiss was going to be claimed here today!
"March, why are you still standing there like an idiot?"
"Coming!" March 7th shouted back. She patted her cheeks and quickly ran to catch up.
---o---
Back at the hotel, Caelus and March 7th handed the herd of cows over to the care of the hotel staff.
Although it was the first time the staff had ever seen someone bring a herd of cows to a hotel, since Caelus and March 7th were honored guests introduced by Bronya, they had no choice but to accept the cattle and promise to take good care of them.
After getting a few buckets of milk for emergencies, Caelus and March 7th went to the lounge area.
"Let's contact Dan Heng and exchange intel."
"Okay."
March 7th took out her phone to call Dan Heng, but a robotic female voice soon came through, informing her that the user was currently out of the service area.
"Huh?" March 7th looked at her phone and saw that there was no signal at all. "How is there no signal? Was there any when we first arrived?"
Caelus thought back. He hadn't checked his phone then, so he had forgotten what the situation was.
"It's probably because of the Stellaron. I mean, it caused a disaster on the level of an eternal winter. No signal seems pretty normal."
"Then what do we do?" March 7th put her phone away with a helpless look. "Should we go to the library and meet up with Dan Heng?"
Caelus considered it. If they went to find Dan Heng now, it would probably take a lot of time. By the time they met up and then went to infiltrate Qlipoth Fort, they might miss their window of opportunity.
"No. We'll infiltrate directly."
---o---