I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game – Chapter 5

Author: isuzuuy

“Huh?”

I drew in a sharp breath. I’d only just realized who he was.

‘It’s Kais!’

He leisurely sat up, then hopped over the wall and landed right in front of me.

The way he landed so lightly was almost catlike.

“I’ve been waiting for you, visitor.”

After greeting me, he interlaced his fingers and stretched his arms out. Then he rolled his stiff neck from side to side, cracking it as he grinned.

“You came out in one piece, huh?”

“Huh? Oh! Sir Siad treated me. I’ve also decided to stay in the village for a while. I look forward to getting along with you!”

I bowed politely, and Kais gave a half-hearted wave.

“Sure. Welcome.”

He seemed indifferent, yet he still bothered to respond to everything I said. If I had to describe his attitude in one phrase, it would be reluctant kindness.

Kais was something like the person in charge of managing everything in Node.

If I had to compare his role to something, he was practically the village chief.

‘Though he’s way too young to be called that…’

To sum up the villager named Kais in one sentence, he was the most unpredictable character in the entire game.

He would suddenly pop up at the most unexpected times.

Sometimes he acted so casually that he seemed to have no sense of boundaries, only to turn ice-cold in the blink of an eye.

And even when he seemed indifferent, he could still make sly, teasing remarks.

That was why he’d also been the character who took the longest to befriend in the game.

So I was surprised to find that Kais had come out to meet me on my very first day.

“Oh, right! My name is Yumiel. It’s nice to meet you!”

I held out my hand with a bright smile.

As my grandmother used to say, you can’t spit in the face of someone who’s smiling at you.

Kais stared at my outstretched hand for a moment before slowly reaching toward it.

Then, instead of shaking my hand, he took hold of the back of it and turned it over so my palm faced upward.

“Huh?”

While I stared at him wide-eyed, he pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and casually placed it in my palm.

[Kais]

[Node, Lot 10-1, Second-Floor Office]

I reflexively read the words printed on the card.

“Kais?”

“Yep.”

He answered casually and nodded toward the card.

“If you want to find a house, you’ll have to come see me, visitor.”

“Oh!”

I exclaimed as the realization dawned on me.

That was right. To get a house in the village, I had to encounter Kais, who appeared randomly, and trigger the event where he gave me his business card.

‘I can’t believe I ran into him as soon as I went outside on my first day! I’m lucky.’

Now that I had his business card, I could go look at houses whenever I wanted.

“I came to give you that so you wouldn’t end up homeless.”

“True. If I slept outside, I’d wake up with my mouth twisted to one side. Thank you!”

“Your mouth would twist?”

“Yep, yep.”

I answered absentmindedly as I tucked the business card away, then raised my head without thinking.

At some point, Kais had stepped closer and was staring at me from an extremely short distance.

“Eek!”

I jumped in fright again. Kais watched me intently before raising one corner of his mouth and stepping back.

“Well, see you around, visitor.”

Before I could respond to his whispered farewell, he hopped over the wall and disappeared.

I stared blankly at the empty spot, then replayed what had just happened in my mind and muttered in disbelief.

“Wait, did he just… do that on purpose?”

There was no doubt about it. He’d deliberately come close again just to see me jump.

Though, I supposed that was very much like Kais.

“Good grief. And this is our first meeting, too.”

Even as I grumbled at the realization that I’d been teased, the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward.

‘It already feels like we’re friends.’

Deep down, I was happy that he’d bothered to play a little prank on me.

Humming another little tune, I headed farther into the village.

“Hello!”

As I walked around, I greeted every villager I came across.

A few greeted me warmly in return, but most barely seemed to notice me as they passed by.

“Hmmm…?”

I remembered most of the villagers being friendly toward me at the beginning of the game.

Why were they so much colder than I’d expected?

‘So meeting them in person really is different…’

I continued walking, feeling a little disappointed, until I eventually reached the clock tower standing tall in the center of the village.

‘What should I do now…? Oh, right! The tavern is nearby, isn’t it?’

The building Kais managed wasn’t far away.

‘Now that I have his business card, it might be a good idea to find a house on my first day.’

Kais might have stepped out, but since he’d come looking for me that morning, there was a good chance he’d returned to his office by now.

I sprang to my feet.

“Let’s go!”

Hesitating would only waste precious time.

There was just one thing I had to be careful about when signing a housing contract through Kais.

Loans.

Once, I’d heard that he offered loans without any limits, so I tried living in a huge house. It had turned into a complete disaster.

‘I almost ended up working like a slave under Kais for the rest of my life…’

Of course, everyone knew that buying a huge mansion cost a lot of money.

‘But still!’

The interest rate was practically on the level of a loan shark’s.

I couldn’t remember the exact figure, but it was well into double digits. Even if I worked nonstop for an entire month, I could barely cover the interest.

‘All I need is a small cottage.’

I repeated that to myself as I hurried along.

Just then, I heard voices approaching from the end of the road.

“That’s the last of it, right?”

“Let’s get this over with and have a beer at the tavern.”

“Just beer? I bet we’ll head down there again today…”

The wheels of a cart rattled along the road. A group of workers were hauling a load of building materials.

As soon as I encountered them, I bowed and greeted them.

“Hello!”

The workers glanced at me, exchanged quick looks with one another, then briefly returned my greeting as they passed.

“Welcome.”

“Looks like we’ve got a new visitor.”

“Why bother greeting her? She’ll be leaving before long anyway.”

“She looks like a young girl. The least we can do is say hello!”

I watched the workers grumbling among themselves as they wiped away their sweat, puzzled.

‘A new visitor? Have other people come here and left before?’

As I’d noticed earlier, everyone seemed to be keeping me at a subtle distance.

Of course, if I thought about it realistically, it made sense to be wary of an unfamiliar outsider who suddenly appeared in a small island village.

‘So this is one way reality differs from the game. I guess I’ll just have to keep greeting everyone and slowly get to know them…’

A little disappointed, I decided to make friends with them gradually and continued down the road.

[Node, Lot 10-1]

After checking the address on the sign, I peered inside the establishment and brightened.

“This is it!”

I could see the familiar interior of the village tavern. Though it was called a tavern, the atmosphere wasn’t all that different from an ordinary restaurant.

Jingle—.

“Welcome!”

I opened the door and stepped inside.

Perhaps because it was lunchtime, the place was quiet. I approached the employee standing behind the counter in the middle of the room.

“Hello!”

“Good afternoon. Would you like to place an order?”

Choices