After watching the Turtle Allure Incense experiment, Louis turned to leave the testing grounds.
He had only just taken a step when he glanced back and found Sif still standing there, her face flushed crimson. She was intently watching the male Fireback Turtle enthusiastically rub back and forth against the fake female turtle's back.
Louis couldn't help chuckling. "All right, had your fill yet? I'm going to inspect the greenhouses in the farming district in a bit. Come along and learn something."
"Huh?" Sif abruptly snapped out of her daze, her blush spreading all the way to her neck. "I-I wasn't looking!" she hurriedly said.
But her flustered reaction only gave her away.
"All right, all right." Louis laughed and waved a hand. "We'll pretend you weren't looking."
"I really wasn't..." Sif muttered.
The two rode through the cold wind toward the agricultural greenhouses.
Ahead, the outlines of more than a dozen greenhouses emerged beneath the gray sky, like warm mounds rising from the snow.
As soon as they drew close, Sif caught the warm, damp scent of soil, along with a faint hint of... plants.
In this frozen world, the scent felt strangely unreal, as though it had slipped out of another season.
The greenhouses stood in orderly rows. Seventeen in all, each clearly numbered.
Their exteriors were tightly wrapped in animal hides and coarse cloth, with wisps of warm air escaping through the seams as though they were gently breathing.
Louis stopped before the nearest one and lifted its curtain.
"Come, take a look."
A wave of warmth rushed out to meet them, as though they had stepped straight from deep winter into early spring.
Inside, lush greenery flourished. Fast-growing lettuce stood in neat rows, its leaves gleaming with fresh moisture.
Farther in, winter radish leaves spread wide,