“Oh my, you really are something.”
Jodi looked a little surprised by Charlie’s bow.
She held a hand to her cheek, smiled shyly, and shook her head before quickly helping him straighten up.
“You don’t have to do that, Charlie!”
“This is a quiet little town.
We’re just happy to have someone new move in.”
After he straightened up, Jodi gave him a careful look, forming her first impression of the new farmer.
Then she waved toward the back.
“Vincent, come here!”
A moment later, a child came running out from behind the fence.
In no time, he was at Jodi’s side.
The little boy looked about seven or eight.
His hair was the same color as hers, and his eyes were full of lively, childish energy.
Jodi took his hand and introduced him.
“This is my youngest son, Vincent.
He’s a good boy.”
Charlie looked at him seriously, then leaned down a little and waved.
“Hi there, kiddo.
I’m the new farmer here.”
Vincent answered politely.
“Hello, Mr.
Farmer.
My name is Vincent.”
The kid had good manners.
He was a little shy, but that was already more than enough.
Charlie thought he seemed like a pretty good kid.
But Jodi corrected him right away.
“No, Vincent.
You should call him Mr.
Charlie!”
Charlie didn’t really think that was necessary.
They had only just met, after all.
But it wasn’t his place to say anything.
The group chatted for a little while.
During the conversation, he finally brought up what he wanted to ask.
“Um, Jodi, Caroline, do you know how to get to the Museum?”
“It’s my first time here, and I wanted to take a look.”
Before either adult could answer, Vincent jumped in first.
“I know!
I know where it is!”
“Mr.
Charlie!
I know where it is!”
He bounced on his toes as he called out, like a student eager to answer a question in class.
Seeing how excited he was, Charlie smiled and tried to calm him down.
“Oh?
Is Vincent that impressive?”
“Then why don’t you tell Charlie where the Museum is?”
Vincent immediately pointed toward a building to the southwest.
“It’s over there!”
“Jas and I go there a lot to study with Ms.
Penny.”
Charlie’s eyes lit up at that.
Well, that was an unexpected bonus.
“Penny?
Ms.
Penny?”
“So she teaches kids.
No wonder she likes books so much.”
Everything suddenly clicked.
Jodi and Caroline noticed his expression and added a bit more.
“Hard to believe our little town has a Museum, isn’t it?”
“The curator’s name is Gunther, though we don’t know him very well.”
“There’s a bridge over that way.
Cross it, and you’ll be there.”
…
After saying goodbye to the three of them, Charlie headed for the Museum.
When he passed the tree from that morning, Penny was indeed gone.
“She’s not here.
What a shame.”
But when he turned back, he caught sight of two girls chatting on a bench near The Stardrop Saloon.
One was Penny.
The other was a girl with slightly darker skin, wearing overalls and glasses.
The two of them looked close.
“Mm…
that’s Penny.
Should I go say hello?”
Charlie ducked behind a tree and thought it over.
He was worried that approaching Penny again might make her uncomfortable.
After all, he had been too eager during their first meeting, and that kind of thing could easily make someone think he had an agenda.
Of course, Charlie didn’t have one this time.
In the end, he still decided to go.
At worst, he could say he was introducing himself to the girl beside her.
Pretending he had only wandered over by chance, Charlie approached the bench and looked at the two of them.
Before he could say anything, the darker-skinned girl spoke first.
“Oh, I know you.
You’re the new farmer, right?”
“Huh?
You know me?” Charlie asked, surprised.
“No.
My mom told me a new farmer had moved in.”
“Your mom?”
“My mom is the carpenter here.
Her name is Robin.”
Charlie immediately understood.
“Ah!
So you’re Robin’s daughter!”
“No wonder your smile looks a little like hers.”
If not for her darker skin, he might actually have recognized her at a glance.
He quickly introduced himself.
“My name is Charlie.
I’m the new farmer.”
The girl smiled and replied, “Nice to meet you.
I’m Maru!”
After saying that, Maru threw herself into Penny’s arms.
“And this is my best friend, Penny.
Cute, right?
Hehe!”
But Maru’s introduction made things a little awkward for both Charlie and Penny.
Seeing the dangerous scene in front of him, Charlie instinctively turned his head away.
Penny also looked aside.
Maru, who was now lying across Penny’s lap, froze.
“Wait.
Do you two know each other?”
Penny nodded.
“Mm.
We met this morning.”
Maru looked speechless.
“What?
So you’ve already met.”
“Boring!”
While the two girls were talking, a yellow flower appeared between them.
Charlie held out a Daffodil to Penny.
“This is for you.
As an apology for this morning.”
Seeing him nervously fidget with the hem of his shirt, Penny somehow found him a little cute.
She reached out and accepted the Daffodil.
After smelling its faint fragrance, she looked up at him.
“Thank you.
It looks really nice.”
Charlie felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.
“I’m glad you like it.”
He had been afraid she would refuse.
If that happened, he really would have wanted to crawl into a hole from embarrassment.
Luckily, she didn’t.
But Maru, watching the odd little mood between them, was not pleased.
“Hey, you two, there’s still someone sitting right next to you…!”
Before she could finish, another Daffodil appeared in front of her.
Charlie turned his head, lowered his voice, and tried to look cool.
“Here you go, beautiful lady.
I had one more.”
“It’s for you.”
Maru was briefly at a loss for words.
This guy was actually kind of…
Charlie’s playful side took her by surprise.
Maru looked satisfied.
She adjusted her glasses and reached out with a little huff.
“Hmph, that’s more like it.
At least you know how to look after the third wheel.”
But as soon as she reached for it, Charlie suddenly leaned back, dodging her hand.
“Heh…
can’t catch me.”
He dodged her with a cheeky grin.
He was messing with her on purpose.
Maru looked like she was about to explode.
“Charlie!”
Seeing that she might actually hit him, Charlie immediately gave in.
While Maru was still getting worked up, he quickly placed the Daffodil in her hand.
Then, as soon as the flower was delivered, he bolted.
“Bye-bye, see you next time!”
“I was just trying to lighten the mood, so don’t be mad!”
Charlie shouted as he ran.
Whether he found the Museum or not, running was definitely the right choice.
Watching him disappear into the distance, Penny comforted the angry Maru while quietly glancing after him.
She smiled to herself.
“He really is a strange person,” Penny thought.
Beside her, Maru still looked like she wanted to bite him.
But in the next second, she glanced at Penny and suddenly wore the look of someone who had just spotted something interesting.
“Penny, does that guy like you?”
“He even gave you flowers.”
Maru leaned against Penny’s shoulder and asked with a teasing smile.
Penny naturally denied it, shaking her head with a slight blush.
“No.
We’ve only known each other for one day.”
“Besides, didn’t he give you one too?”
Maru cut her off immediately.
“Wait, that’s different.”
“He was obviously just trying to shut me up!”
…
After running a good distance, Charlie finally stopped in front of a large dark-colored house to catch his breath.
Thinking back on what had just happened, he started to sweat.
“I think I might’ve gone a little too far.”
“Looks like I’ll have to apologize next time I see her,” he muttered.
He looked up and realized this was the nicest house he had seen so far.
It was practically a small manor.
“Rich, huh.
Someone with money must live here.”
“I wonder where that old guy Lewis lives?”
“If his place is even fancier than this, I’m moving in with him.”
Charlie looked the place over for a bit as he spoke.
When he reached the other side of the house, he saw a car.
At the same time, he noticed a bridge.
“Is that the bridge Caroline mentioned?”
He looked across it.
There was a building on the other side.
“Is that the Museum Vincent was talking about?”
“I’d better hurry.
What if the guy closes up?”
It was already almost four.
Charlie quickly crossed the bridge and arrived at the Museum entrance.
“Time to go in!”
He swallowed, then pushed the door open.
Once inside, the Museum was a little different from what he had imagined.
If anything, it felt more like a bookstore, since there were so many books.
As for artifacts, he didn’t see a single one.
Looking farther in, Charlie spotted someone standing near the bookshelves.
The man wore a blue suit and a blue hat, and his expression looked heavy.
Gunther was in the farthest part of the room, anxiously muttering to himself.
Charlie walked over.
As he approached, he took the blue doll out of his backpack.
“Hello.
Are you Gunther?
I found this—do you want it?”
Hearing his voice, Gunther turned around and saw the doll in Charlie’s hand.
His eyes widened, and he immediately took it.
After wiping a bit of dust from the doll, Gunther gradually grew excited.
“Wonderful!”
“This is exactly what I need.”
“Where did you find it?”
Gunther asked eagerly.
Charlie obviously wasn’t going to say he had picked it up while murdering earthworms.
“I dug it up while working on the farm,” he answered simply.
“Oh, then you’re incredibly lucky.”
“Would you be willing to help me?”
Gunther was practically glowing with excitement.
Charlie didn’t really mind either way.
He just looked at him curiously.
“What’s in it for me?”
“Yes.
If you bring me enough items like this, I’ll reward you properly.”
Charlie hesitated at that.
How does this guy know what I want?
He seemed a little strange.
Seeing Charlie’s expression, Gunther didn’t press him.
“I’ll be at the front desk.
Once you’ve decided, come find me there.”
With that, he walked away.
Charlie thought about it for a moment, then decided that was fine.
“I’ll give it to him.
Let’s see what happens when the quest is complete.”
Then he followed Gunther to the front desk and handed the item over.
…
Ding!
Quest Complete!
After Charlie donated the item, a notification chimed in his mind.
Only then did he notice an exclamation mark on the interface.
Apparently, that was where the quests were listed.
The current quests were:
Archaeology (Complete)
Raising Animals
Getting Started
Introductions