“So, like I said before, we've gotta let people choose. Forcing a diet on someone just isn't cool.”

"Well, if we don't force it, none of you would do it. I mean, if you could do it on your own, you wouldn't have gained weight in the first place."

"You got it all wrong! We just couldn't help ourselves with those tasty snacks Sihyeon brought, but we've totally turned things around now."

"Uncle Kaneff just doesn't get it. This whole diet thing is so stressful. I can't even focus on work."

Andras, Lia, and Lilia were arguing with Kaneff on the other side. It got so heated that Ryan, the host, couldn't even jump in.

"Sihyeon's been too easy going from the start. In my day, it was a blessing just to have three meals a day."

Kaneff tried to use the "back in my day" card to pressure them. But the more he talked, the more he sounded like an evil boss.

This pointless debate kept going.

Ryan couldn't take it anymore and stepped in to stop the chatter.

"Wait! Just a sec. I've heard what everyone has to say so far. Let's hear from others too. Maybe we should let Sihyeon share his side of the story a bit more?"

Thanks to Ryan's intervention, I got to speak again. I let out a small sigh and talked in a quieter voice.

"To be honest, I feel kinda hurt."

"Hurt?"

"Yeah. I started the diet for everyone's health. As the one in charge of meals and snacks, I felt responsible."

When I said I was hurt, some on the other side looked uneasy.

"I had good intentions, but… I didn't think you'd all hate it this much…"

I mumbled and hid my face with both hands. The diet opponents looked confused by my sad reaction.

"We didn't mean it like that…"

"We know Brother Sihyeon cares about us."

"Exactly. Sihyeon hasn't done anything wrong."

Kaneff scoffed, clearly not liking what he saw.

"Look at you all now? Just a bit ago, you were so against me?"

"Are you and Sihyeon the same?"

"Mr. Kaneff, just back off."

Kaneff had no choice but to be quiet, not getting anywhere with his words.

So, just when things were starting to swing our way 'cause of how upset I looked…

Speranza, who was on the other side, quickly came over to me, walking past the table. She peeked at my face from my lap.

"Papa, are you mad?"

"……."

"Uh-oh?"

Speranza kept looking around, trying to figure out my mood. I could see her little fox ears poking out from between my fingers.

In the end, I couldn't keep a straight face and started laughing.

"Pfft Hahaha."

"Papa laughed, hehe!"

I mean, what dad could resist laughing when their adorable kid acts all sweet like that?

I picked up Speranza with both hands and put her on my lap. She grinned, looking pretty pleased with herself.

"Ah! Was Sihyeon faking it the whole time?"

"Ahem. Faking? I really did feel hurt. I just added a little drama to it."

Too bad, really. If it wasn't for Speranza, I could've had everyone on our side.

My laughter let the others, who were struggling, get back on track real quick.

Ryan jumped in again to get things back on track.

"Should we hear from some others? What about Elaine, who's been pretty quiet?"

"Me? Me?"

Alfred pointed at himself, looking surprised. He didn't think he'd get a chance to speak.

"Yeah. What's your take on the diet, Elaine?"

"Um… I… uh…"

He hesitated and looked around for a bit. Then, as if he made up his mind, he got up and moved to the other side of the table.

"Huh?"

The anti-diet folks stared at Alfred's unexpected move.

"I don't think the diet's that bad."

"Oh?"

"Brother Elaine, you traitor!"

"Hehe…"

Everyone reacted differently when Alfred switched to the pro-diet side.

Lillia called him a "traitor," but Alfred just calmly shared his opinion.

"Staying in shape is important, and so is eating right. I've been thinking we've had too many snacks this winter, but I never said anything."

"So, Elaine, you're pro-diet?"

"Yes. I also really like the idea of meeting up in the morning to exercise."

Kaneff nodded, looking pleased.

"Elaine knows what's right. Exercising together in the morning is great for team spirit, right?"

"But, Boss, you don't do morning exercises 'cause you say it's too much work, right?"

"I leave that to you guys. It's supposed to be managed by those below me."

I made a helpless expression at Kaneff's shameless response.

After Alfred joined the pro-diet side, Ashmir, who had been quiet, followed his lead. She sat next to Alfred and shared her thoughts.

"I'm not really for or against dieting, actually. But I think we should go along with Sihyeon's plan since he’s in charge of managing the farm."

She gave me a serious look as she spoke.

"I believe that in any organization, a leader's authority should be respected, even if it means putting aside individual opinions."

Ashmir, with her typical Angel stubbornness, sided with the pro-diet group. Kaneff nodded, looking pleased again.

"That's a surprisingly reasonable point, not what I'd expect from an Angel."

On the other hand, the anti-diet side looked pretty bummed.

With the pro-diet side gaining momentum, everyone's eyes turned to the last person, another Angel, Urki.

Urki glanced at Ashmir and hesitantly shared his thoughts.

"I, I think having snacks is a good thing. Not that dieting is bad or anything. But when you're working hard, a tasty snack can be helpful sometimes."

"Yeah, sometimes just thinking about yummy snacks keeps me going."

"Motivation is key."

Others agreed with Urki's words, stressing the importance of snacks. To some extent, it was a relatable point of view.

As Urki revealed his opposing opinion…

The group was now evenly split, with four people on both the pro-diet and anti-diet sides.

Ryan, who was leading the discussion, mumbled, looking a bit puzzled.

"Looks like… with opinions split right down the middle, finding a good compromise won't be easy, huh?"

Just when it seemed neither the pro-diet nor the anti-diet side would back down…

A small hand quietly went up.

"Speranza?"

The owner of that small hand was Speranza. The fox girl looked seriously at the facilitator. Ryan smiled and gestured to Speranza.

"Ah! My bad. We still have one person who hasn't shared their thoughts yet. Let's all hear what Speranza has to say."

Speranza, now having her turn to speak thanks to Ryan, stood up on my lap.

"I want everyone to have snacks."

"Hmm. Why's that? You can eat all the snacks you want without worrying about dieting. Wouldn't it be better to eat other people's shares too?"

Speranza shook her head firmly and said, "No."

"Huh?"

"I don't like having tasty snacks by myself. It's more fun to share."

She glanced at everyone at the table and added, "So, we should all enjoy yummy snacks together."

Even though it sounded like a bit of a stretch, her words strangely clicked with everyone. They all had similar looks on their faces.

I teasingly asked Speranza with a grin, "Speranza sweetheart, you're saying we should all eat snacks just 'cause you wanna enjoy them more, right?"

"… Un."

"Hehe, Speranza, you're such a little snack hog."

"Hehe."

Everyone has to eat snacks so she can enjoy them too. It was definitely a childish argument.

But no one disagreed with Speranza. Instead, they gazed warmly at the cute fox girl.

"Well, if Speranza wants it, let's do it."

"Meeting up to work out is cool, but getting together for snack time is also nice."

Kaneff, Alfred, and Ashmir, who had been all about dieting, suddenly became more flexible. The anti-diet side felt the same.

"How about we just limit the snacks we eat on our own, except for the ones we share?" sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"Continuing morning workouts sounds good too."

"I'm in!"

"Ugh, I'm not a fan of morning workouts, though…"

Just a few moments ago, they had been at each other's throats, but they quickly shifted gears and started to find common ground.

Everyone was on the same page.

In a flash, they came together to protect Speranza's happy snack time.

Seeing this, Ryan sidled up to me and whispered, "Sihyeon."

"Yeah?"

"I used to think you were the real boss of the farm, but I think I was wrong."

"…?"

"Seems like Speranza is actually the one in charge."

"Haha! You might be right."

I laughed at Ryan's serious comment.

And that's how the first labor-management meeting on the farm wrapped up.

It was decided to keep group snack time, stick to regular workouts, and cut back on solo snacking.

Speranza was thrilled that everyone could enjoy snacks together again, and she laughed out loud.

It goes without saying that seeing her happy smile made everyone in the farm family feel content.

(To be Continued)

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