Friday, the 12th
10:00 a.m.
Charlie stumbled out the door, still half in a fog.
He had actually woken up at six, but he just hadn’t wanted to get out of bed.
Instead, he’d stayed there, staring at the ceiling and questioning his entire existence.
Mostly, he was wondering how he had gone from a proud believer in wholesome romance to the guy accidentally stealing other people’s routes.
In the end, though, he came to a simple conclusion: if he didn’t make it awkward, then it wouldn’t be awkward.
Besides, there were only so many people in this little town.
Of course they had all played together as kids.
Childhood friends were normal.
Totally normal.
Once he was outside, he watered the crops as usual, then planted the Parsnip Seeds he had bought at Pierre’s General Store the day before.
After finishing the farm work, he stretched his back and ate a Field Snack to recover some energy.
“Good morning, Robin,” he called to Robin nearby.
“Hey, farmer boy.
You slept in today, huh?” she said, greeting him while she worked.
“Uh, I guess so.” Charlie nodded awkwardly.
Robin pointed toward the mailbox.
“You’ve got mail.
I’m guessing one of them is from Lewis.”
He paused.
“Huh?
Mail?”
“And from Lewis?”
Curious, he walked over to the mailbox and reached inside.
[Hi.
Me sell hats.
Okay, poke?
Come to old old old haus, poke.
Bring coines.
-hat mouse]
Just reading it made Charlie’s head hurt.
“How can someone spell this badly?”
Then he noticed the signature.
“Hat Mouse?”
“Mouse?
Is that a nickname, or an actual mouse?”
“Wait, old old old house?”
When he thought of a run-down house, only one place came to mind: the little broken-down house near the Wizard’s Tower.
If that was the place, he figured he might as well go take a look.
“It’s southwest anyway.
Robin said that was where she last saw her axe, so I might as well check while I’m there.”
He checked the mailbox again and pulled out a second letter.
[I see you’ve been exploring The Mines.
You’ve got the spirit of an adventurer.
If you can slay ten Slimes…]
-Marlon
“Marlon?”
“Oh, the white-haired old man, right?”
“Kill Slimes?”
“Join the guild?”
Charlie shook his head.
He had no plans to do any of that today.
As for joining the Adventurer’s Guild, he couldn’t get excited about that either.
He skimmed the rest of the letter, but it wasn’t from Lewis either.
So he turned to the third one.
[Dear Charlie,
Tomorrow we’ll be holding the Egg Festival in the town square.
If you’d like to join us…
Don’t miss the annual Egg Hunt!
-Mayor Lewis]
“Egg Festival?!”
Charlie looked over at Robin.
“Um…
Robin, what happens at the Egg Festival?
Robin stopped working when she heard him.
“What happens at the Egg Festival?”
“Plenty of things.
But the most fun part is probably hunting for eggs!”
“Hunting for eggs?”
“The Egg Hunt?” he asked.
“Yeah, that Egg Hunt!”
“But that’s mostly a game for kids.
We don’t really join in.”
“Oh!
Got it.”
“Thanks, Robin!”
With that, Charlie left the farm.
He went to Clint’s to have his Pickaxe upgraded with Copper Bars.
Clint told him to come back in a day to pick it up, so he left after that.
When he reached Marnie’s Ranch, Charlie didn’t go inside.
He planned to keep heading south toward that run-down house.
But when he reached a particularly huge tree, he stopped.
“Whoa!
That pig is huge!
And it’s purple!”
A cart was parked in front of him, but instead of a horse, it was being pulled by a large pinkish-purple pig.
Sitting on the cart was someone with green hair.
“Hey there, friend.”
“Interested in buying something?” the person on the cart called out.
“Huh, me?” Charlie pointed at himself, not quite sure.
“Yep, you!” The girl on the cart nodded firmly.
He walked up to her, looking a little embarrassed.
“Hi, hello.
I’m the new farmer around here.”
She waved a hand.
“Oh, no, no, no, friend.
I’m not from around here.”
“Uh…
then who are you?”
The woman struck a slightly over-the-top pose.
“I’m a Traveling Merchant.
I just happened to stop by today to sell a few things.”
“A Traveling Merchant?” Charlie still sounded unsure.
“Then why not go into town?
There are more people there, aren’t there?”
The woman gave a small cough.
“Well, business is all about fate, you know!”
“Uh…” He nodded, barely convinced.
What he really wanted to say was: if business was all about fate, how was she supposed to make any money?
The Traveling Merchant looked at him.
“So, friend, want to buy anything?”
“Uh…
sure.
What do you have?” he asked.
She set her goods out on the counter.
Crystal Floor (5) — 200g
Pufferfish — 800g
Ancient Seed — 120g
Battery Pack — 2,000g
Coconut — 300g
Tulip (5) — 120g
Parsnip Soup — 360g
…
Looking over the wide variety of goods, Charlie was a little surprised.
“Wow, you’ve got quite a selection.”
“Let me take a closer look.”
A Coconut?
Doesn’t Haley like those?
“I’ll take a Coconut.”
He pointed to it.
“Of course, friend.
This one’s from out of town.
You can’t get these around here.
You’ve got a good eye.”
As she spoke, the Traveling Merchant handed it to him.
“Need anything else?”
Charlie thought it over again.
“Parsnip Soup, Ancient Seed, Tulips…
and…
Battery Pack.”
He hesitated over the Battery Pack.
After all, it cost 2,000g.
But in the end, he still bought it.
Whether it was useful or not, something that expensive had to be good for something.
Seeing him spend so freely, the merchant was thrilled.
“Very generous, friend.
I’ll be back next Friday.”
But Charlie still wasn’t finished.
“Is that pig for sale?”
“It looks pretty special!”
The Traveling Merchant looked surprised, then quickly refused.
“Oh, no, no, no.
This one’s my treasure.”
“Not for sale!”
…
After saying goodbye to the Traveling Merchant, Charlie continued on toward the Abandoned House.
He passed the Wizard’s Tower and kept heading down until he soon arrived in front of the little ruined building.
Standing there, he started to doubt himself.
“Uh…
it’s this run-down.
Is anyone really here?”
He called out cautiously.
“Hello?
Anyone there?”
“I got your letter.”
“Did you tell me to come here?”
No one answered.
After a while, Charlie started to wonder if he had been scammed.
“Great.
I think I just fell for a scam letter.”
Now a little annoyed, he shouted one last time.
“Hey!
Is anyone there?”
Then he turned to leave.
But just then, someone answered.
“No one here!”
“Oh, okay.
Bye!” Charlie replied automatically.
He had only taken one step before it hit him.
“Wait!”
“Where did that voice come from if no one’s here?!”
Charlie stopped and looked back.
A mouse poked its head out from the doorframe.
It waved at him with its little paws.
“Me not a person.
Me Hat Mouse!”
Charlie nearly jumped out of his skin and stumbled back several steps.
“Oh my god!”
“A mouse…”
“That mouse just talked!”