What a beautiful day.
Birds are singing, and flowers are on my head.
Chara had been walking for a long time.
Flowey was perched right next to the top of her head, swaying back and forth with the rhythm of her steps.
Occasionally, he would rub against her neck.
It’s so ticklish!!
She crossed the gentle slope, walked past a few dried-up river ditches, and climbed over a hill even smaller than the last one.
Her stomach started to grumble, making her whole body feel a bit weak.
She pressed her hand against her belly for a while, but it was no use.
The hunger didn’t fade at all.
● You feel hungry…
It feels like your HP is dropping.
“Hungry?
Then let’s go find something to eat.”
Chara didn’t answer.
Finding food was easier said than done.
Because she hadn’t seen anything edible along the way.
No fruit trees, no wild vegetables, not even a single trash can.
It was all freaking rocks and dry grass.
Oh…
and the dry grass was too old and tough to even chew…
…
She didn’t know how much longer she walked before the silhouette of a village appeared in the distance.
She hid behind a large rock and looked at it.
There were about a dozen houses, packed closely together.
An old dirt road led to the village entrance, and there was hardly anyone walking around inside.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to go around it.
Why go around instead of approaching directly?
Because the last time she did that, her [LV] jumped from 1 to 6.
She still remembered the way that man fell to the ground.
But she was really, really hungry…
Flowey seemed to sense what she was thinking.
He didn’t rush her or say anything, just quietly wrapped around her hand.
Chara simply decided to go all the way.
She stepped out from behind the rock and walked straight toward the village.
● The village is very quiet.
This is a good opportunity.
You are filled with DETERMINATION.
…
She stopped and took a look when passing a house.
The yard gate was closed, and the windows were shut too, but a faint light leaked through the window cracks.
Someone was inside.
When she reached the end of the village, she saw a small house.
It looked like a place for storing miscellaneous items, and only the wooden door was unlocked.
She looked back to make sure no one was around, then took down the wooden stick propping it shut, pushed the door open, and slipped inside.
Light seeped through the door crack, cutting a thin rectangular shape on the floor.
She waited for a moment until her eyes adjusted to the darkness, then started examining her surroundings.
A few burlap sacks of unknown contents were piled in the corner.
Next to them were some farming tools: a hoe, a sickle, and a few rusty shovels.
Near the door was a wooden shelf holding some jars and bottles, along with a few things wrapped in oilpaper??
Chara walked up to the wooden shelf and took one of the oilpaper packages, unwrapping it.
Inside was a dry flatbread.
The crust was already cracked.
She broke off a small piece and stuffed it into her mouth.
It had no flavor, but it was edible.
The next oilpaper package contained a few pieces of pickled meat.
The meat was dark in color, with a layer of white salt frost on the surface.
It smelled salty and fishy.
She put it away too.
On the lowest shelf, she felt something with a different texture.
She pulled it out and took a look in the light coming from the door crack.
It was a neat, square little package.
Golden wrapper, printed with some characters she couldn’t read.
The wrapper was folded very neatly, with the four corners tucked together, and a small label pasted in the middle.
She unwrapped it.
Inside was a brown, square block.
The surface was very smooth with a slight sheen.
She brought it close and sniffed.
Sweet?
Chara broke off a small piece and put it in her mouth.
Sweet.
…
She looked down at the brown thing in her hand.
What is this?
She broke off another small piece and stuffed it in her mouth.
So good, so good.
Flowey’s voice came from right beside the top of her head: “Chocolate.”
Chara looked up: “What?”
“That’s chocolate.
You’ve never eaten it before?”
Chara shook her head: “No.”
Not in her past life, and not in this one either.
In her past life, she had dug up similar colored wrappers from the trash, but they were empty, just paper.
She didn’t know what it was back then, just thought the wrapper was pretty, and even saved a few of them.
“It’s good,” she said.
Flowey’s petals trembled, as if laughing: “Of course.
What kid doesn’t love eating chocolate?”
Chara broke off another small piece.
Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, her hand paused.
She looked at the piece of chocolate in her hand, then at Flowey beside her shoulder.
Then she held that small piece out near Flowey’s petals.
“Do you want some?”
He was stunned.
Logically speaking, he didn’t need to eat, but…
Flowey stared at the chocolate for a few seconds.
Then his petals slightly parted, and a tiny vine reached out from the middle, rubbing against the chocolate.
After the vine retracted…
“Yeah, it’s definitely good.”
Chara placed the small piece of chocolate on Flowey’s petals for him to savor slowly.
That was about all the sweetness she had, so she just ate a few more bites of the remaining dry flatbread.
It was so freaking hard it made her jaw ache.
…
She wrapped the remaining chocolate back up and stuffed it into her innermost pocket.
More than half of it was left, and she couldn’t bear to eat it all at once.
She also folded up the golden wrapper and stuffed it into another pocket.
Chara rummaged through the shed for a while longer.
Besides the dry flatbread, pickled meat, and that chocolate, she also found a small bag of salt, half a jar of some unknown sauce, and an old, dark green child-sized coat.
She shook the coat out and draped it over her shoulders to try it on.
Too big.
The sleeves were too long, the hem dragged on the ground, and the clothing strings dangled.
But she didn’t care.
Big was better than nothing.
At least…
she wouldn’t be woken up by the cold at night anymore…
She took the coat off, folded it up, and put it with the other things, planning to take it all when she left.
…
Chara packed everything up and walked to the door, peeking out through the crack.
It was already dark outside.
There were no lights on, and no one was walking around.
Wow…
The whole village was pitch black.
She put the wooden stick back in place.
She looked back at the shed.
The wooden shelf was still there, with some jars and bottles left unsearched.
She didn’t continue rummaging, feeling she had already taken enough.
She put the coat on, rolling the sleeves up two circles to expose her hands.
The pickled meat and dry flatbread were wrapped in oilpaper and stuffed in her bosom, with the chocolate in her innermost pocket.
The vines on her right hand swayed gently in the dark.
Flowey’s flower head poked out from beside her shoulder.
“Done taking stuff?”
Chara hummed in agreement.
“Then let’s go.
Don’t let anyone spot us.”
Chara pushed the door open, slipped out, gently closed it behind her, and put the wooden stick back in its original position.
She walked back along the path she came from, crossed the small road at the edge of the village, and left.
She quickened her pace.
…
After walking a long distance, she finally stopped and leaned against a tree to catch her breath.
She took out the chocolate from her bosom, unwrapped the golden paper, and broke off another small piece to put in her mouth.
Chewing the chocolate, she looked up at the sky.
Flowey didn’t say anything, quietly wrapping around her hand.
She swallowed the small piece of chocolate, wrapped the rest back up, and put it back in her pocket.
She licked her lips.
There was still a trace of chocolate on them.
Delicious.
● The sweet taste is unforgettable.
You recovered 25 HP.
This fills you with DETERMINATION.