"I'm serious," the Big Greenhouse King said earnestly. "A sentient relic, and one with such powerful abilities, could surely allow everyone in Oasis City to eat fruit."
The Little Elf was speechless at this point, frozen in mid-air and muttering to itself, "Why won't he make a wish? Why won't he make a wish?"
But the Big Greenhouse King remained completely unmoved, continuing to lay out his vision.
The middle-aged man who had been cowering beneath the park bench was gone.
The moment he started talking about his work, the Big Greenhouse King transformed into a confident and fearless man of success.
He spoke with more and more animation, gesticulating wildly. He turned and pointed toward the vegetable greenhouses beyond the wall, and launched into an explanation of the growth cycles of various plants…
When he turned back, ready to ask if the Little Elf wanted a job in his greenhouses, he discovered it had vanished.
He froze for a second, then scratched his head.
