I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game - Chapter 77

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I thought this was supposed to be a relaxing farm game.
Chapter 77

“Hehe. Thank you so much.”
My words stirred up old memories, and Day reached out to cup my cheek.
“Train travel, how lovely. Now that you’re in Node, you ought to experience it at least once. The place is small, but the scenery is beautiful. And it’s the tail end of summer, so it won’t be too hot. My husband used to…….”
Day’s distinctive chatter rolled on.
I kept nodding along, then gradually slipped away to get back to work.
Even as I moved busily about, my mind was already racing ahead to the journey.
‘What do I need to prepare? Pack a bag, buy gifts to share along the way…….’
My heart swelled with anticipation. I’d never even been to play anywhere during my student years because I was always sick, so of course I couldn’t help but feel excited.
“I’m done for the day!”
I left work, drinking water from my bottle to quench my thirst in the blazing heat.
‘Still, it’s surprising that Kaies agreed to come too. There was a time he said he didn’t trust me at all.’
Has his opinion of me changed now?
I couldn’t stop my lips from curling up into a smile.
On the way home, I stopped by the Bakery in a good mood and bought some of their newly released Garlic Bread. Then I headed to the Tavern.
“Hello. Is Kaies around?”
“He’s in the Office today.”
I climbed the stairs toward the Office with quick strides.
Once I handed Kaies the bread, I’d settle in beside him and read a book quietly if he looked like he was doing all right.
Knock-knock.
“What.”
The answer came back sharp as a blade before I’d even finished knocking.
I only poked my face through the gap in the door, and Kaies raised an eyebrow.
“What are you doing?”
“Are you busy, Kaies?”
“Always. Just come in.”
Only then did I push the door open and step inside, holding up the bread bag.
“It’s a new menu! I asked them to make it specially for me.”
“At the Bakery? Why would they go out of their way for you?”
“Oh, there was a small reason.”
He took the bread bag and checked its contents before asking.
“Are you trying to fatten me up?”
“I was worried you might skip meals because you’re so busy!”
“With the princess looking after me, I won’t waste away.”
“Of course not! So, are you really coming on the Train Travel?”
I crouched beside his desk and looked up at him with bright, eager eyes.
Kaies set the bread bag down on the desk and answered casually.
“Probably.”
Probably?
I pouted at his noncommittal answer and pressed him further.
“Why? You’re not going to say you can’t come because you’re busy, are you?”
“I’ll go if I can. I feel uneasy leaving you alone with those residents.”
“Those residents?”
“The other residents you invited.”
“Why would that worry you? They’re all kind and considerate people.”
His gaze, which had been scanning documents, slowly turned toward me. He looked at me as if I were hopeless.
Why was he looking at me like that?
“Well, I’m just glad you’ll come if you can. You’re so busy that you don’t get to play much anyway.”
“You don’t get to play? You’ve been traipsing in and out of this Office constantly.”
“I’ve been restraining myself a bit lately…….”
I pouted, pushing my lips forward slightly.
I’d been curious about this anyway.
“Does it bother you when I do this?”
Kaies seemed to consider the question for a moment, then spun his chair around and crouched down to face me.
“That was how it was before.”
“Before?”
So that means it’s not that way now?
I gasped with delight.
“Then what about now!?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ugh. How can you not know? It’s your own heart, Kaies.”
“What good would knowing do?”
Tch.
His dismissive response deflated me. I hesitated, then ventured the question I’d been turning over in my mind.
“Is it possible you’re… not happy that I came to this village?”
Kaies stretched in his chair and dropped his arms roughly to his sides. He leaned back and turned to face me with deliberate slowness.
“I don’t care who comes. Whoever it is, I just hoped they’d be entertaining.”
Entertaining? That means….
“Am I entertaining to you?”
I asked, unable to hide the spark of excitement in my voice.
Kaies gave a short laugh, as if he hadn’t expected that reaction, and nodded slightly.
“A little. You stay with me. Especially lately.”
I shot up from my chair and grabbed the edge of the desk, locking eyes with him. “So you’ve taken an interest in me!”
“I’m not sure ‘interest’ is the right word.”
Kaies picked up a Recovery Stick from the desk, put it between his lips, and crossed his legs.
“Some days I’d just as soon do away with you without the bother of thinking about it.”
The bluntness of it made my mouth fall open.
“What?”
“Other days, I want to watch over you quietly, the way Siard does.”
His voice trailed off as he fell into thought. Then he leaned toward me, arm extending.
As his hand passed near my cheek and drifted down toward my neck, a chill ran down my spine.
The moment my gaze drifted past the window, a scene I’d been trying hard to forget forced itself back into my mind.
The image of a person lying bleeding on the ground….
Alarms screamed inside my head.
When you really thought about it, wasn’t Kaies in a position where he could easily hurt someone? Where he could dispose of them?
That horrific image bloomed in my mind, and my body flinched without my meaning to.
I swallowed hard, nerves on edge, and looked up at him.
Meeting my wary gaze, Kaies’s face took on its usual playful expression.
After a moment, he slowly withdrew his hand.
“I’m joking. I’m not going to do anything.”
Kaies held up both hands to show me. I parted my lips and managed a voice that trembled slightly.
“You scared me…!”
“Sorry.”
Kaies apologized quickly, his expression darkening. A shallow sigh escaped between his teeth as he held the Recovery Stick.
“I don’t like that look much. More than I thought, anyway.”
Seeing that Kaies seemed displeased by his own frown, I felt a wave of relief.
“Of course. You’re probably just tired and stretched thin, so your mood got twisted for nothing. That happens to everyone.”
That’s what my grandmother used to say—that when life gets hard and grim, people tend to feel nothing but bad emotions.
If Kaies could just step away from work for a bit, get some fresh air, and rest, he’d feel better.
“So let’s have a really good time on the train travel. We can talk a lot!”
“…Yeah.”
Kaies agreed and waved his hand as if to dismiss me.
“Should I go now?”
“Finish up the work first. Then we can decide about traveling.”
“Yes, see you on the train travel. For sure!”
Just before shutting the door, I turned back and gave Kaies a bright smile.
Thud.
And I closed the door behind me.
‘What is he, anyway?’
I wished I could open up Kaies’s mind and look inside. What exactly did he think of me?
‘Just a few days ago he bought me that fountain and gave me flowers as a gift! And he lent me items without hesitation! He was being so nice!’
It didn’t seem like he disliked me. But his attitude was so ambiguous. Neither close nor distant….
“It’s complicated. So complicated….”

I muttered quietly as I stepped out of the Tavern.
“Like a cat that hisses.”
The kind of temperamental cat that loves to play and happily accepts food, but the moment you try to approach and actually touch it, out come the fangs—that’s what Siard resembled.
“Hmm.”
Still, this much was nothing.
‘The other Residents made their dislike of me obvious from the start.’
Only Kaies had remained consistent. From the beginning until now.
In that respect, it was actually reassuring.
Ding.
I stopped by the Grocery Store and made a beeline for the fruit section.

[Summer Limited: Watermelon Juice Now Available]

They’d just started selling freshly squeezed Watermelon Juice made to order.
“Priam would love this, wouldn’t he?”
He was coming by the house later for a Diary Exchange, so I planned to buy this as a snack to share.
‘Since he runs the Orchard, he probably eats plenty of fruit, but watermelon is something special.’
I returned home with a Watermelon Juice in each hand and began preparing a Flower Bouquet to give to Priam.
Kaies sent flowers so often that even after floating some in the Fountain, fresh blooms were still left over in abundance.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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