A black wolf plopped face first onto the dirt, completely exhausted from pulling a plough around the garden on a hot afternoon at his owner's behest.

Aegon walked over with a smile and patted him on the head.

“Good job Kuro, you've done it.” Noticing how the wolf looked at him he added. ”Don’t worry, you won't have to do this for a while, more than a few months for sure, no need to be like that.”

Kuro turned with a fiery look in his eyes, rage clear for all to see, but instead of being afraid Aegon laughed in his face and petted the young wolf again as he looked around and appreciated the fruits of their hard work.

The once weed infested garden had been plowed and picked away until only brown earth remained,divided into multiple ditches ready to be planted, or almost ready…

There was also a white fence raised around it, a bit farther from his own land than it should have been, giving him an extra meter or two overall.

Nodding in satisfaction he moved towards the back of his house where, inside a deep hole, he had been storing Kuro’s waste since the day he entered the martial house.

And now it would come in handy.

He grabbed a shovel he had run back to buy right after coming home and started spreading that shit.

The neighbors were increasingly more entertained with this neighbor of theirs, from building a fence, to using his wolf as a cow to pull a plough, to then shoveling shit into the ditches the poor beast had opened…, in their whole life in the city they had never seen such a thing.

They knew it could only get better when they saw that young man walk up to their houses and with a most serious expression offer to take away their pets’ shit for free.

As a direct consequence Aegon became known by a pleasant nickname, the Dung Beggar.

The sun was close to setting when Aegon finished the arduous task of collecting the accumulated manure of his neighbors' pets and storing it in the hole. It was now almost full, the smell was nauseating and even the experienced Aegon had to cover his nose with a cloth when he came close to it.

Noticing the sun’s position he knew he couldn't ‘distribute’ all this manure through all these ditches by himself and he definitely couldn't leave them open during the night as his house already smelled bad enough, there was no need to let the smell take root on his walls, so he set out to enlist some particular friends for the task.

Walking down the row of houses he soon reached Roy’s room, since he had gotten 50th place in the entrance tournament his room was the 851st and consequently was the third to last room with anyone living in it, it was naturally pretty calm around the area.

Hearing the knock on the door, Roy opened it to a smiling Aegon, but that smile, although extremely familiar, left him certain he would suffer somehow.

And sure enough, a few moments later they were already climbing back the path towards Aegon’s room, in polar opposite moods.

As they got close, only a few houses down from Aegon’s own abode, the man in question stopped and made his way to knock on a door.

Roy watched from the street as a petite girl opened the door and awkwardly looked at Aegon, an expression one has when talking with a particularly good salesman who is trying to sell them something they don’t need and yet is so convincing they can’t seem to say no. He could relate very well with that feeling.

Soon Aegon joined him back on the path, accompanied by Anna. Him with a beaming smile and her with a face full of distrust.

As they got closer, Anna leaned in and whispered in Roy's ear. ”He told me he needed my help ‘preparing the soil’, whatever that means, to plant a few herbs, do you know what he’s talking about?”

Roy looked at Aegon’s back, incredulous from what he heard. [You’re shameless.]

Sighing and turning to Anna he answered with pity. ”You have been played. ‘Preparing the soil’ means spreading…hmmm…animal waste on the soil, it’s meant to enrich the land with minerals the animals excreted, it's common practice in the countryside…”

Looking at the girl’s increasingly more annoyed, surprised and disgusted face he sighed once more and added.

“I’m guessing you're from the city then…”

…

The moon was high when they finally finished their arduous work, right after finishing her part Anna stormed off towards the bathroom, occasionally looking back and throwing rage filled glances at Aegon’s back.

Roy slapped the young man on the shoulder. ”I'm surprised she actually finished, she didn't even throw up once. I'm impressed.”

Aegon looked at the fading figure.

“Well, she did say she would help me, I guess her word means a lot to her.” He shrugged. ”Plus, I offered pretty good terms.”

Roy thought about the glances Anna was throwing at his friend and guessed that she might be regretting taking those terms.

But ultimately that just wasn't his problem so he just casually chatted with Aegon as both made their way to the male common bathroom for their own, dearly needed and deserved shower.

…

The next morning, Aegon rose from his bed, grabbed a quick snack, put on his work apron and walked out the door, leaving Kuro asleep inside.

It was time to water his dear garden. He had worked very hard to build it but it was only the first step, it would need constant care and attention in order for Aegon to actually see some results. Besides, what better way to start the day than by doing some light gardening. The apron might have been unnecessary for such a simple task but it made him feel closer to gardening as a whole, similar to how a swordsman always carries his sword around.

His task done, Aegon got ready and woke up Kuro. Making his way down the pathway he couldn't help but look back at his garden with a proud look.

He had planted before, but never on his own and for himself.

He finally understood his elder’s words he had heard when he was younger.

“The happiness one feels when he first owns something of his own is scarcely beaten by any other feeling.”

[There was wisdom in those words.] Aegon nodded and acknowledged inwardly.

The fact that the man who said such prophetic words blacked out due to alcohol mere seconds after the fact seemed not to impact their profoundness in our young hero’s opinion.

[Perhaps alcohol, for all its flaws, also unleashes the inner philosopher in the common man, perhaps I…should try some.]