Gardener of Eden

Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Sovereign Pressure

As the golden hues of dawn spilled across the rolling pastures of Sunny Vale, the atmosphere inside the manor kitchen was calm, warm, and grounded.

Martha sat comfortably at the heavy oak dining table, a warm cup of roasted barley tea cradled in her hands. Her other hand rested softly over her blooming pregnant belly. Floating above the table were several glowing blue interface screens, flickering with real-time server diagnostics as she worked alongside the estate’s tech team to stabilize Eden International’s overwhelmed web portal. Arthur stood beside her, gently setting a plate of toasted grain bread at her elbow and making sure she stayed relaxed.

”Don’t you worry about the online store, Rowan,” Martha said, offering her son a bright, confident smile as her fingers effortlessly routed regional traffic into queue channels. ”Arthur and I have everything under control here at the farm. The tech team is launching the secondary server clusters as we speak. You just focus on the flagship boutique.”

Arthur clapped a heavy, reassuring hand onto Rowan’s shoulder, his eyes shining with quiet pride. ”Give ’em a grand opening they’ll never forget, son. Just remember to keep your head cool.”

”I always do, Dad,” Rowan replied with a warm, grounded smirk.

Pocketing the high-level intelligence dossier Emperor Aurelius’s courier had delivered at first light—containing the precise coordinates of Adam’s thirty-six S-Rank purists, Roxie’s spatial inhibitors, and every compromised captain in Sector 4—Rowan walked down to the estate’s loading bay.

Stacked neatly upon the enchanted freight platform were twenty-five massive, brass-bound timber crates. Packed to the brim with midnight-harvested crops from the rich earth of Sunny Vale and the primordial soil of [The Virgin Soil] domain, the haul was a sight to behold. A visible, iridescent vapor of pure earth mana floated above the crates, smelling crisp, sweet, and laden with life force.

Rowan activated the estate’s private spatial dispatch array. With a deep, resonant chime and a flash of emerald light, Rowan and his twenty-five crates vanished from the farm, rematerializing instantly inside the secure loading dock of Eden International’s flagship store in Sol Aethel City.

The heavy iron security doors hissed upward, revealing the sparkling, high-ceilinged interior of the boutique.

Waiting inside was Orion, the store manager. Dressed in a sharp, tailored dark green uniform, Orion was pacing nervously near the loading bay, an enchanted clipboard clutched tightly in his hands. The moment he saw Rowan materialize beside twenty-five overflowing crates of legendary produce, his face lit up with overwhelming relief.

”Master Rowan! Welcome, welcome!” Orion called out, bowing deeply as he hurried over to greet him. ”Thank the gods you’ve arrived! The crowd outside... sir, I’ve never seen anything like it. The queue stretches past four city blocks, and the local guard captains claim they can barely keep the perimeter contained!”

”Morning, Orion,” Rowan greeted smoothly, lifting the top crate with effortless grace and setting it onto the main staging dolly. ”Take a breath. Everything is right on schedule.”

Orion unlatched the brass fasteners on the top crate to inspect the inventory, and his breath hitched in his throat.

The fragrant aura that burst forth instantly swept through the entire ground floor. Flawless Amethyst-Gold Peaches, glittering Sun-Crystalline Eden Apples, jade-green rhizomes of Dragon-Vein Emerald Wasabi, and soil-dusted clusters of Grade-S Royal Imperial and Celestial Diamond Truffles lay nestled in velvet straw. The pure vitality radiating from the twenty-five crates was so intense that the store staff’s morning fatigue vanished in a single heartbeat.

”Twenty-five full crates...” Orion whispered in awe, rubbing his eyes. ”This... this is enough to stock every luxury display case on all three floors!”

”Let’s get them arranged on the main display counters before seven o’clock,” Rowan said smoothly, resting his hand casually near the Hoe of the World-Tiller secured at his hip. ”We’ve got an eager crowd waiting outside... and a few weeds hidden among them that need pulling.”

Orion nodded vigorously, immediately calling the floor staff to begin stocking the shelves.

Standing near the grand front entrance, Rowan looked out through the reinforced display windows. Beyond the iron shutters, thousands of patrons were cheering in the morning sun—while deep within the crowd, thirty-six hidden signatures and spatial suppression devices quietly shifted into position.

Rowan smiled calmly, his eyes cold and ready. The doors were about to open.

***

At precisely eight o’clock, the heavy brass-trimmed doors of Eden International swung open to the roar of an ecstatic crowd.

The morning air, previously chilled by the city breeze, was instantly warmed by the vibrant atmosphere as the first wave of patrons flooded into the grand boutique. Rowan stood right at the front entrance, a bright, welcoming smile on his face as he greeted the long-time regular customers, local guildmasters, and familiar neighborhood faces who had supported his farm since its earliest days.

”Master Rowan! It’s so good to see you!” an elderly noblewoman cheered, her eyes sparkling as Rowan offered her a warm, genuine hug.

”Always a pleasure, Lady Grey,” Rowan laughed softly, stepping aside to let her usher her family toward the glittering fruit displays. He shook hands with a grizzled S-Rank guild commander, exchanged cheerful pleasantries with royal chefs, and handed fresh sample slices of Sun-Crystalline Eden Apples to wide-eyed children.

Inside, the store functioned with pristine, effortless elegance. Under Orion’s crisp direction, staff members guided patrons through the high-capacity checkout lanes. Wealthy merchants and guild quartermasters selected their Grade-S truffles and emerald wasabi rhizomes with refined grace, marveling at the rich, life-giving mana lingering in the air. Enchanted checkout counters chimed continuously, logging thousands of high-denomination transactions per minute while the scent of fresh earth filled the three-story flagship.

Two streets away, high in the grand corner penthouse of the Sol Aethel Royal Hotel, a completely different world existed.

Behind heavy velvet curtains, the luxury room was stripped of light, illuminated only by floating, dark-violet scrying projections. Adam stood by the arched window, his massive hand resting on the pommel of his cold-iron blade, gazing down through a high-magnification optical array aimed directly at Eden International’s front entrance. Roxie leaned against the mahogany desk beside him, sipping a glass of spiced wine while monitoring encrypted mana readings on a slate.

Beside them, an elite purist lieutenant clad in matte-black armor adjusted his spatial suppressor. ”Executive 9,” the lieutenant whispered urgently, his voice tight with anticipation. ”The boutique is at maximum capacity. Rowan Vance is completely surrounded by civilians and off-guard nobles. Sector 4’s guard patrol has just shifted away as arranged. Permission to trigger the spatial isolation field and signal the strike team?”

Adam didn’t take his eyes off the scrying array. Down below, he watched Rowan laughing comfortably while handing a crate of peaches to a young knight.

”Not yet,” Adam commanded, his voice dropping into a raspy, lethal whisper.

”Sir?” the lieutenant pressed, frowning. ”Every minute we wait, the crowds outside get denser—”

”I said not yet,” Adam growled, a faint red glare burning in his eyes. ”Look at him. He is still in the middle of greeting his high-profile guests. The Crown Prince’s shadow guards on the roof are still cycling their perimeter scans. We wait until the VIPs complete their transactions and the store reaches its absolute statistical peak of distraction. When Rowan Vance’s hands are full of gold, and his mind is completely consumed by his little commercial triumph... that is when we sever his mana.”

Roxie took a slow sip of her wine, a cruel, feline smirk spreading across her lips. ”Patience, lieutenant. A good slaughter is all about the timing. Let the farmer enjoy his little celebration for a few more minutes. The higher he sits on his pedestal, the harder he hits the cobblestones when we cut off his air.”

Back inside the boutique, Rowan leaned casually against the polished oak counter, nodding along as a local baker raved about the aromatic quality of the new grain harvest.

Underneath his relaxed demeanor and warm smile, Rowan felt the subtle, microscopic tugs against the atmospheric mana—a tiny, synthetic dampening ripple originating from a hotel suite two streets away. Through the Hoe of the World-Tiller resting against his hip and the invisible root-network connected to the earth beneath the city, Rowan had already mapped the exact positions of Adam, Roxie, and all thirty-six S-Rank purists waiting in the surrounding alleyways.

Rowan smiled warmly, handing the baker his receipt with a gentle nod.

Take your time, Adam, Rowan thought quietly, his eyes twinkling with cool, dangerous amusement. Whenever you’re ready.