Greet everyone.23/23crosses itself off, meaning I’ve only not met Mimet the traveling merchant, who comes every Sunday to buy and sell goods and doesn’t count as a technical“townie.” My produce fetch-quest for Kaolin remains. Nothing else appears.
So, I clear my throat.
“Well?” I ask. “What’s next?”
Text scrawls beneath my remaining quest.A guide steps in when needed. I’m not here to control you. Aren’t you doing well enough on your own right now?
“Well enough is debatable. I’ve had one meal in three days, am covered in gunk, and only dodging a panic attack becausethis is real.” Tears prick in my eyes. “I’m in Gem Ridge. Somehow. I’m a new person, and Ineedto stay here. Seeing Samson, losing consciousness as suddenly as I did, and still waking up righthereeliminated all my doubts. Please. Tell me what I have to do to stay.”
You can stay.
You are welcome here, Citrus.
You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.
Pressing my lips together, I take a breath. “You promise?”
I don’t make promises. I make stories. And yours is only just beginning.
That’s eerie and foreboding in all the ways it also brims with hope.
By the way, if you’re hungry, check the trash by the general store.
A horrific snort pours out of me because if I find a perfectly good meal in the trash like you can in the game, I’m heading right on back to Doubtsville.
To reality’s credit, I find a well-sealed but out-of-dateAdventurer Snackalongside a dirty can of soda.
Beggars can’t be choosers, so I wash the can off on my skirt and stuff the protein bar down my throat, determined that henceforth I will take much better care of my cute, cute self.
For Samson’s sake.
He deserves nothing less than an adorable bride, who—ideally—does not eat trash food more than once in her shiny new life.
Mm. Yeah. Time to budget for meals.
Then, time to woo.
Step one is a go.
Chapter 6
♥
The swiftest way to a man’s heart…is through his amygdala.
“It’s been the talk of the town all morning!” Chrysa floats behind her glass counter displaying a dozen sweet treats, ranging from tarts to chocolates. Packing up the elegant pastries I pointed out a moment ago, she smiles at me, dark curls framing caramel cheeks. “Was it you? Did you deliver all the supplies Gabbro needed to start on Neptun’s and Laumon’s house?”
I’ve realized that people only go off script whenIdo. Therefore, I offer a shrug, committing to the silence of a player who can’t speak without a text box prompt. Right on cue, Chrysa defaults to her line for after the farmer completes theRehoming the Sea Boysquest. “Thank you so much for helping them. It gives me hope that we can recover what we’ve lost.”
My heart squeezes, and I nod again as she exchanges the brown paper bag with my order for two silver coins, bringing my total funds down to seven hundred twenty coins. After wordlessly offering Kaolin a bundle of herbs that I foraged on my way to Slate’s earlier, I spent a hundred coppers on some more spring seeds, to keep my crops rotating, because I think that’s what I’m supposed to do.
I read about it once. Just like I’ve read about foraging. My confidence is ever a fickle beast, and foraging in real life is a little more complicated than in the game.
As you can imagine, many herbs are green.
So is grass.
The good plants aren’t in obvious, predictable patches, so I spent a solid hour on my way to beg Slate for passage into the mines pulling weeds, dropping them in my backpack, andlooking at my inventory until I figured out what this season’s herbs looked like irl.
