My plump and not even a little anemic arms cross. I pout my pouty lip, and—oh dear—I am going to abuse my cuteness, aren’t I? I can already feel myself taking advantage of it. “No.”
His big shoulders sag. “Do I have to take you to Peri?”
At Peri’s office is where I should have woken up after passing out.
That’s how the game works.
Whenever you pass out inVale of Gems, you wake up at Peri’s. Unlike in every other farm sim I have played, healthcare is free because the dev truly wanted to drive home thecommunity that cares about each other, sincerelyvibe.
The bummer is that you get a sluggish debuff that can only be cured after trudging home and sleeping.
The slog of shame is painful enough to make you careful.
That said, I didnothit my head. I donotneed to see Peri.
Iamecstatic.
I have been reborn, for reasons unknown, reasons I don’t care about.
All that matters is that I am here, in a community that sincerely cares about each other, and I amadorable, and the man of my dreams lives next door, and—
Sniffling, I push my glasses aside to wipe a tear. Wow. Justwow. I am overwhelmed. This is crazy. Does this new body have balanced hormones, too? I did not know I was capable of feeling joy like this.
Samson mutters a curse and is plunging his feet into heavy boots before I can get rid of the mud smudge that touching my tear with dirty hands streaked across my cheek. “Come on,” he grumps.
I tilt my head.
As delicate as a train, he says, “Something’s wrong with you. We’re going to Peri’s.”
I blink. “I’m totally fine. Promise.” But you know whoisn’tfine? Neptun. Neptun and his fisher-poet roommate, Laumon. They lost their house in the storm. Slapping my hand to my mouth, I tense.
If this is real life, that is real life, and I’ve been lollygagging in woe-is-me, my-bedroom-has-spiders-in-it while they haven’thada home at all. “I’m a horrible person,” I whisper.
Samson swallows, eyeing me like a wounded animal, ready to pounce on him. “…what?”
“Neptun and Laumon lost their beach house to the floods.”
Wary, my future husband says, “…yes?”
“They’ve been staying at the tavern. What’swrongwith me?”
The stress wafting off Samson right now suggests he does not know.
Swinging my backpack around, I fish out my journal to check my inventory. I scooped up tons of wood and stonecutting my way to Samson’s. If it’s not enough, I’ll make it enough by tomorrow afternoon. Who cares if I haven’t triggered theRehoming the Sea Boysquest yet? Neptun gave me food yesterday. The least I can do is give him a head start on a house.
I’ve gained everything I could ever want while this whole town has faced a natural disaster, yet so many of them have offered me aid, as though I need it more than them.
How do I get to the beach and drop off the supplies I have?
Flipping pages, I gasp again, and Samson looks like he’s going to either kill me or drag me to Peri’s when he snaps, “Stop doing that.”
“Amap,” I declare. “If I have my journal, I have amap. That’s so stinking obvious! I’m such an idiot.” Turning to the door, I grumble at the book in my hands, “You suck. You could have told me this.” The rotten thing does not bother to reply in the margins, so I sigh and wave at Samson. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you so much for patching me up.”
He flinches. “Ci—”
I am already out the door, grabbing my neglected axe and plodding toward the beach. Emptying my inventory of supplies is easier than expected, and I do appreciate it because I’m not certain I could manage the stack of tree trunks if they didn’tthunkout seamlessly on their own.
Night encompasses me by the time I’m done, and I decide I’d rather not head home through Samson’s farm, just in case he sees me, and I die of nerves. This manic episode, after all, is sure to fizzle out eventually. My likely flawed thought process does send me the long way around through forage land in the pitch black. Upon reaching quiet streets lit with blessed topaz lamps, I pause, turning to my quest page.
