Gardener of Eden

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Apple Debut

Rowan turned back to his parents with a confident smile, tapping his system interface. ”I have a heavy backlog of extra crops stowed away in my system inventory,” he said, gesturing toward the kitchen.

”Tomorrow morning, I’ll stop by the flagship store’s cold storage to deposit the full batch—including excess spirit-grains, azure dew berries, and frost-melons—so the team can list them for sale.” Arthur chuckled proudly, nodding in firm agreement, while Martha made a quick note on her trade tablet to prepare the store’s vault slots for the high-purity stock.

Heading back up to his bedroom, Rowan pulled up his communication interface to check in on his teammates. Opening private channels, he sent individual text messages to Caelen, Mirei, Barney, Seraphina, and Princess Lyra.

He typed out warm notes asking about their recovery after their intense climb through the 7th floor of the Imperial Tower, adding a quick heads-up that a special personal care package from Eden International was on its way.

Accessing a high-grade spatial express courier service, Rowan called forth five frost-runed stasis boxes from his inventory. Into each sealed, insulated container, he carefully placed 1 Amethyst-Gold Peach and 1 Sun-Crystalline Eden Apple.

The velvet lining instantly captured the radiant, topaz-and-amethyst glow of the fruits, locking in their pristine, uncorrupted mana density so zero vital energy would decay during transit.

He labeled the express packages directly to his four squad members’ residences and Princess Lyra’s royal pavilion, attaching a final instruction urging them to ingest the fruit in a quiet cultivation room to fully absorb the miraculous benefits.

As the spatial delivery runes on the packages flared golden and vanished into the express courier matrix, Rowan leaned back against his windowsill. Across the capital, five notifications chimed simultaneously on his squad mates’ terminals.

Knowing the sheer, astronomical value of the fruit—capable of permanently expanding mana pools, fortifying physical vitality, and granting absolute mental focus—Rowan smirked softly into the moonlit night.

Squad 07 was about to experience an unprecedented surge in power, solidifying their position as an unshakeable force in the realm.

***

The following morning, Rowan headed to Eden’s flagship store with his parents. They woke up at 4.30 am to harvest the crops, packing them into their rented chilled transport van.

Rowan unlatched the heavy pine crates stamped with the Eden International seal, transferring radiant batches of produce onto the misted shelves with practiced care.

The display cases quickly transformed into a mesmerizing tapestry of vibrant colors and concentrated vitality

Verdant Crown Tomatoes: 60 Units (Grade-B Starlight Variant)

Amethyst Solar Squash: 25 Units (Grade-B)

Aether-Thread Wheat: 100 Sheaves (Grade-B)

Ignis-Bloom Sweet Peppers: 30 Units (Grade-B)

Mature Frost-Melons: 15 Units (Grade-B)

Solar-Flax Flowers: Tier-2 Mana Fiber Batch

Magma-Lily Blossoms: Tier-3 Elemental Heat Blossoms

Vitality Grain: Tier-2 High-Density Spirit Crop

Azure Dew Berries: 35 Fresh Units / 5 Preserved Crates

Earth-Core Roots: 3 Crates (Cleaned & Processed)

Golden Spirit Flour: 10 Crates (Milled Spirit Wheat)

After filling the main shelves, Rowan walked back to the rear industrial storage bay. Retrieving a specialized, runic glass display case, he brought out a single sample pair of their newest, miraculous crops—1 Amethyst-Gold Peach and 1 Sun-Crystalline Eden Apple.

The moment he placed the case on the central high-tier counter, the topaz and amethyst light cut through the morning mist, elevating the entire room’s ambient mana density. He locked the case, leaving the rest of the harvest safely stowed in the store’s deep stasis vault for high-profile reservations.

”The mana readings across the front displays are perfectly stabilized,” Martha called out, adjusting the register terminal and reviewing the digital ledger. ”We already have over fifty pre-orders waiting on the slate from local guilds and merchant houses.”

Arthur wiped down the polished oak counter with a proud grin before walking over to the main glass entrance. Outside, despite the early hour, a quiet line of eager citizens, guild procurement officers, and local grocers had already begun to form along the cobblestone street.

With a firm click, Arthur flipped the hanging door sign from Closed to Open and unlocked the front entrance. The brass door chime rang out bright and clear across Sunny Vale, welcoming the first rush of customers into Eden International.

”Good morning, Martha!” the regulars called out as they filed into the shop, greeted by the crisp mist and the sweet, invigorating aroma of pristine crops. Local chefs and restaurant owners moved down the aisles with practiced familiarity, carefully selecting the vibrant spirit-greens, Starlight Sun-Tomatoes, and Azure Dew Berries required for their daily restaurant operations.

”New products, wow—we’ll have to try some of these!” a head chef exclaimed as the customers noticed the new items on the shelves that Rowan had personally stocked himself earlier that morning. Whispers of admiration swept through the front display area as they took in the radiant glow of the newly arranged produce, their hands hovering over the cool, mist-covered trays in awe of the complete lack of mana corruption.

”Rowan brought in a fresh harvest this morning,” Martha replied with a warm, welcoming smile, ringing up their selections on her trade slate. ”Every single piece is harvested at peak vitality.”

Rowan stepped over from the rear counter to help weigh the crates and answer questions about the crops’ mana density, offering tips on how local cooks could best preserve the fruit’s natural essence during prep. The local business owners eagerly added extra crates of the new stock to their tabs, excited to feature Eden International’s unrivaled quality on their evening menus.

Arthur stood near the main entrance, leaning against the counter with a proud grin as the store hummed with lively chatter. Watching his wife and son effortlessly handle the morning rush with their loyal community, he knew the day’s operations were off to a legendary start.

A head chef from an upscale restaurant nearby pushed through the bustling crowd, stopping dead in his tracks in front of the runic glass display case. His eyes locked onto the glowing Sun-Crystalline Eden Apple and Amethyst-Gold Peach resting on the velvet interior.

Pulling a handheld mana-density scanner from his coat, he aimed the sensor through the reinforced glass. The device chimed rapidly before flashing a brilliant, pulsing gold display:

[Mana Purity Analysis: A-Grade (Pristine Primordial Organics)]

”Merciful leylines...” the chef gasped, adjusting his glasses in complete shock. ”A-grade mana density in raw, unrefined produce? Purity at this tier doesn’t exist outside of private grand auctions in the Imperial Capital!”

He turned frantically toward the counter, gesturing toward the case. ”Master Vance, what is the price on these? Name your figure—my restaurant will take whatever allocation you can spare!”

Arthur grinned proudly, wiping down the counter. ”Those two are our flagship display samples, chef. They’re newly mutated strains from our farmland. Due to their extreme rarity and hyper-concentrated vitality, individual pieces are valued at 1,000 gold each—and they are strictly limited to advance reservation.”

The chef didn’t even flinch at the steep price tag. ”One thousand gold for an uncorrupted A-grade botanical is an absolute bargain! Put our kitchen down on the waiting list for the very first crate!”

Rowan stepped forward with a calm smile, logging the chef’s reservation details onto the store’s digital ledger slate. Whispers instantly rippled through the rest of the queue as customers crowded around to marvel at the display, firmly solidifying Eden International’s reputation as a realm-class supplier.

Rowan stepped up to the main counter beside Martha and projected his voice clearly across the crowded flagship store.

”Attention, everyone,” Rowan announced with a warm, grounded smile. ”To celebrate today’s new harvest, every customer who makes a purchase today can write their name on the back of their receipt and drop it into the glass bowl here at the register.

Before we close today, we’ll draw ten lucky winners to sample a slice of our flagship display fruits—the Amethyst-Gold Peach and the Sun-Crystalline Eden Apple.”

An excited gasp instantly rippled through the entire storefront. Given that an entire piece was valued at an incredible thousand gold, the chance to taste even a single slice of A-grade primordial produce sent a surge of pure enthusiasm through the queue.

Within seconds, pens were eagerly passed down the line. Customers from all walks of life—local chefs, neighborhood regulars, and visiting guild members—hurriedly scribbled their names across their sales receipts.

A steady stream of folded paper fluttered into the large crystal bowl at the counter as everyone harbored the same quiet hope: securing a golden ticket to taste the two most extraordinary crops in the entire realm.