I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game Chapter 19

“Oh, really? I’m sorry. I left a note on the dining table, but…”

“I saw it and went to the Town Hall, but you weren’t there. I’m glad I found you so quickly.”

“You went looking for me? I got caught up talking with Priam, and so much time passed. I’m sorry.”

When I replied in a dejected voice, he gently patted my head as if to reassure me that it was all right.

I quietly accepted his touch, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Priam looking at me with an indescribable expression.

‘Why is he making that face?’

Just as I was staring at Priam in bewilderment—

“Do you still have a lot to discuss? If so, we can postpone visiting the herb garden until another time.”

“Huh? Oh…”

I looked back and forth between Priam and Siad, unsure what to do.

“The herb garden?”

Priam, who had been watching us, tilted his head and asked.

“Why? Did you make plans to visit the herb garden?”

“Mm-hmm. I asked him yesterday if he could show it to me… Sorry, Priam. I have to go now.”

“It’s fine. We’ve pretty much finished looking around the village anyway. Let’s meet up and hang out again sometime, Miel.”

Priam was the one suggesting that we meet again!

I was so touched.

“Yeah! I’d love that. Just ask me anytime.”

When I eagerly accepted his invitation, Priam burst into a bright, clear laugh.

“Miel, do you really want to become that close to me?”

“Yeah! You’re cute, Priam. You’re like a puppy, so just looking at you makes me happy.”

A look of bewilderment crossed Priam’s face at my words. In an instant, his face turned as red as a tomato.

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? N-no, nothing. I should… I should get going now…”

“Already? But we can still take our time and—”

“See you next time, Miel.”

“Mm-hmm, Priam. Take ca—”

Before I could finish saying goodbye, he took off like a shot. I watched his retreating back, my words trailing off.

“Care…”

Did I overdo it again?

The bright red affection indicator above Priam’s head gradually grew more distant.

It had been blue when his affection decreased, so I guessed he was simply embarrassed.

“Lady Miel, you do seem to be rather uninhibited when expressing yourself.”

“Huh? Yes. I tend to be honest about my feelings! As long as I’m not saying anything that might hurt the other person, that is. Did I seem a little too forward just now?”

“Not particularly.”

Fortunately, Siad seemed to share my opinion. With his arms folded, he simply watched Priam’s retreating figure.

“Then shall we go, too? Let’s visit the herb garden!”

I spoke cheerfully to Siad.

Now that I’d made up with Priam, I was so enthusiastic about getting things done that I could barely contain myself.

“Very well. Let’s buy some groceries first, then head back.”

At Siad’s words, I tilted my head back almost to the point of looking straight up at the clock tower.

It was already nine o’clock. As we crossed the lawn and emerged into the alley, villagers were bustling about, busy with their morning routines.

“By the way, what were you two talking about so intently?”

“Oh, I told Priam that I wanted to become friends with the villagers, and he told me all about them!”

I chattered away, telling Siad about our conversation.

“…And that’s why my next goal is to become friends with the twins!”

“You mean the twin siblings?”

Siad stroked his chin with a faint smile.

“I doubt that will be easy. They’re rather sensitive by nature. That’s also why they deliberately live in a mansion deep in the forest.”

“What do you mean by sensitive?”

“Generally speaking, they dislike noise. They don’t particularly enjoy being around large crowds, either. When the trading ship arrives, the village becomes noisy for days on end, so they keep their distance from it.”

“Ohhh…”

This was the first time I’d learned that the reason they lived so far from the village was because of the noise.

“The older brother is Eunyu, and the younger sister is Yuun. They look exactly alike, so you shouldn’t have any trouble distinguishing them from the other villagers. However…”

I simply nodded along, since I already knew all of that, but Siad added in a concerned tone,

“Even you, Lady Miel, might find your first encounter with them a little bewildering.”

“Huh? Why?”

“They aren’t particularly sociable. They’re shy around strangers and don’t speak much, so it’s easy for others to misunderstand them.”

“Ah, I see. That’s okay!”

Siad went on to tell me about the things they liked.

They liked sweet desserts, jewels, and fancy accessories.

“They also collect a great many dolls.”

“Collect them?”

I’d seen Yuun and Eunyu playing with dolls together a few times before.

But I’d never heard that they liked dolls enough to collect them.

“They also enjoy drawing.”

“Then maybe I could ask them to draw together sometime?”

“That’s a good idea. Although their drawing skills have remained at the level of preschool children for several years now, if you don’t mind.”

I let out an awkward laugh as Siad delivered that merciless assessment with an angelic smile.

“I-I don’t mind! It’s just for fun, after all!”

I’d always thought he was nothing but kind and gentle, but apparently, he could be brutally honest, too.

Seeing this unexpectedly coldhearted side of Siad—one I’d never encountered in the game—made me swallow nervously.

As we continued walking, we soon arrived in front of the Town Hall.

‘Oh, right! I need to pick up a job, too.’

I’d completely forgotten because I’d spent the morning with Priam.

When I suddenly stopped walking, Siad turned to look at me.

“Is something wrong?”

“Could I stop by the Town Hall for a moment? It’ll only take five minutes.”

“Of course. Take your time.”

“Go ahead to the grocery store first, Siad. I’ll catch up with you!”

Waving my hands to signal that he shouldn’t follow me, I dashed toward the Town Hall.

Jingle—.

I flung open the door, hurried over to the reception desk, and skidded to a stop.

“Hello.”

“Hello! I’m looking for a job. Could you show me the list of available tasks I can apply for?”

Before I’d even finished speaking, the employee began typing rapidly, and a long list appeared on the screen.

Without a second thought, I skipped over the absurd part-time jobs and hurriedly scanned the list for something that met my requirements.

‘I need to visit the herb garden, so I can’t take an outdoor job for now. I also need to use my Mini Vegetable Garden Ownership Pass to start cultivating my own plot…’

I clicked through the part-time job listings, looking for something with a flexible schedule.

Mending Part-Time Job: Please mend torn work clothes. Anyone with fingers should be able to do it!

Requirements: Handiwork Level 1, Creditworthiness 3 or higher

Payment: 2 gold per garment

“This one’s perfect.”

Mending was a job I could do at home as much as I wanted, and I could work whenever it suited me.

On top of that, I met the application requirements exactly.

‘Thank you, Grandma Mael…!’

I owed it all to Grandma Mael for giving me the opportunity to work part-time at the ranch.

I could almost see an imaginary vision of Grandma Mael smiling kindly and giving me a thumbs-up.

“I’d like to apply for the mending job. Number 113.”

“Would you like us to provide you with a basic sewing kit?”

“Yes, please!”

And here was another advantage of the mending job: I could get a sewing kit for free.

Depending on the task, the village would even provide essential tools if the worker didn’t already have them.

‘Plus, I’ll get to use the Handiwork skill I improve by sewing!’

I smiled with satisfaction.

Today was turning out to be a very lucky day.

“Your application has been registered. The client has currently submitted eight garments for mending. How many would you like to take?”

After doing some calculations in my head, I decided to check the condition of the work clothes first.

“Could I take a look at the clothes that need mending?”

“Of course. Please wait a moment.”

The employee disappeared into the room behind the reception desk and returned just a few seconds later with a garment.

“Most of the work clothes are in this condition.”

I carefully inspected the garment, checking the collar, arms, and sleeves.

‘There are holes from catching on something, torn-off buttons, and rips in the fabric from being cut by tools.’

This was an entirely ordinary mending job.