We talked until the sky turned pink. It was beautiful, and it felt fitting to end things here.
"Haley, I think you should go home. It's late."
"...Right."
I turned to her, finding her response odd.
But then, Mel spoke.
"Feel free to visit us anytime, Miss Haley."
"Ohh, Mel, you could just call me Haley."
"And sure, if I'm free, I'll drop by."
Haley smiled.
We saw her off as she left.
So she did know the path.
I didn't know why she'd come here, but if even Mel seemed to like her, I didn't see why it mattered.
After dinner, I tried to grind the daily quest. Ten lunges were easy enough, and I sort of needed the exercise.
I don't even know where my SP went.
When midnight came, I managed around twenty lunges before I couldn't do any more. I went to sleep tired, but proud.
The next day was Friday.
We ate breakfast as usual.
Then, a sudden thought made me pause.
"We've been here for a week."
I muttered it aloud, just loud enough for Mel to hear.
"We have," she replied.
"What are your plans today, Mel?"
Personally, I was quite free.
"I'll be going to town to restock." She looked at me worriedly.
I understood what she meant, but I wasn't as bothered by it anymore.
"I'll come with you. Let's drop by Clint's later, too."
With our plans settled, we made preparations and left the house well past eight.
Taking the truck, we headed off.
The drive to town was short, taking us past the bus stop along the way.
As we passed, however, I noticed something beside a tree. At first glance, it looked no different from the surrounding leaves. It blended in quite well with the tall grass, but it was undoubtedly a horseradish. New chapters come out on novelping dot com first.
I suppose they were technically root crops, but in the game, they weren't so well hidden.
So that's why I couldn't find them.
Ever since finding the daffodils, I'd made it a habit to get used to my Appraisal Eyes, and I was quite pleased with my decision.
I took out my new journal and noted the discovery, reminding myself to check on it when we returned.
We reached town just after nine.
Parking at the same corner as last time, we headed toward the store.
There were already people moving about. Some I didn't recognize, but one caught my attention.
She had bright pink hair and wore an off-shoulder frilled top beneath a pair of overalls that seemed connected to her pants. Her clothes gave her a countryside look. She seemed shy, consciously looking around as she made her way in our direction.
I couldn't see her face behind her mask, but I knew who she was.
Sophia, the young owner of the Blue Moon Vineyard.
I remembered her from the game. Her sprite was eye-catching, and the dialogue that followed had made me like her even more.
A nerdy otaku who kept to herself, hardly ever leaving her estate. One she'd inherited under unfortunate circumstances.
Must be her doctor's appointment.
Our eyes met, and she immediately turned away. But I didn't want to get involved, so we moved along without bothering the poor lass.
Inside the store, Mel did most of the talking.
I wandered around the aisles, looking here and there with my Appraisal Eyes, hoping something might pique my interest.
But there wasn't much. Some crops and products had silver quality, and even a few were gold, but that was all.
There was one other customer, a seemingly middle-aged man. He looked jacked, with a beard I couldn't tell was messy or neat.
I continued appraising some items and did notice a few that caught my attention. Bouquets, it seemed. Perhaps my staring had made the man curious.
"You thinking of asking someone out?"
I was surprised. His voice wasn't as deep as I'd expected.
"Not really. I'm just curious why there are so many," I replied.
"The Flower Dance is coming up. It's become quite customary lately for the young people to give flowers. That's how that spiky blonde boy asked my daughter out."
"Spiky blonde? Your daughter?"
"Ahh, where are my manners? The name's Frederick Ramirez. The young boy I mentioned should be Sam, Jodi's son. And my daughter's—well, my daughter's Maya, if you've heard of her. She works at Joja."
"No, I'm sorry. We're new here."
"Mhm, I've heard. I hope you stick around. The town could use some new blood." He laughed a little.
We talked for a while longer before I noticed Mel had finished up.
I thanked Fred and excused myself to help Mel load up our purchases.
What a good kid.
Frederick continued his shopping. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
As we paid for everything, I saw a familiar face with purple hair enter the store, only to leave just as quickly.
It was around ten when we finished loading everything up. We'd stocked up quite a lot.
Pierre hadn't helped us this time, but I didn't mind.
I checked our surroundings and noticed that Sophia was already gone.
There didn't seem to be any signs of trouble, but I did spot a familiar blonde.
Haley.
She wore a white one-piece dress with a butterfly motif. She wasn't wearing her usual straw hat, but I noticed a glint of something shining in the light, wrapped around her wrist.
She spotted us too. A look of surprise crossed her face, but she soon headed our way.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Nothing much. Just restocking our supplies."
"Mhm. Are you going home, then?"
"No, I plan on dropping by Clint's."
"Clint? Who's that?"
"...The blacksmith. Do you not know?"
I gave her a skeptical look, silently asking, You've been here for years, haven't you?
"NO! Is that a problem?" She glared at me.
I raised my hands in surrender, not wanting to press the matter. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite hide my smile, which only made her huff.
"Wanna come along?" I offered.
"...I suppose I could."
With her joining us, I started walking, taking the longer route so we wouldn't have to pass by Olivia and Joja.
Mel was already by my side.
"Hey, we're walking?" I heard Haley ask from behind us.
"Yeah." I turned to her but didn't stop walking.
"Ugh, wait for me!"
She hurried after us.
The three of us set off, accompanied by the sound of Haley yelling at me to stop.
I didn't, but I did slow down a little, laughing as I walked.