I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game - Chapter 78

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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 healing farming game.
Episode 78

“Bright, cheerful colors…….”
I selected yellow and orange blossoms along with green foliage from the flower vases scattered throughout the house.
For the flowers floating in the fountain, I only needed to snap off the stems, but assembling a proper bouquet required more finesse and an eye for arrangement than I’d anticipated.
After wrestling with wrapping paper and twine for what felt like an age.

Dexterity +5
Dexterity +5

“Close enough. That’ll do?”
The bouquet was complete, my modest skill gains accompanying the accomplishment.
“Done!”
Never mind that my desk had become a disaster zone, my hands were a mess, and leaves clung to my clothes in various places.
The finished bouquet was bright and lovely, and I felt genuinely satisfied.
‘Good. I’m pleased with this.’
After clearing away the mess and tucking the bouquet on a chair out of sight, Priam finally arrived.
“Miel!”
“Welcome!”
The moment I opened the door to greet him, Priam approached with a radiant smile and took my hand.
“I missed you.”
His eyes gleamed like sunlit leaves.
“Me too!”
I laughed warmly and led him inside.
“Do you like Watermelon Juice, Priam?”
“Watermelon Juice? I love it.”
“Good thing—I saw it was new at the Grocery Store and picked some up.”
I retrieved the juice and snacks I’d chilled in the refrigerator and set them out.
He sipped through the straw with a contented slurp and spoke.
“I saw the Fountain in front—it was glittering and so pretty.”
“Really? You noticed it coming in.”
“Yeah. There were lots of flowers floating on it. Did you arrange them?”
“That’s right! Kaies sent so many flowers because he’s been working hard with the farming.”
“I stopped and admired it for a while out front. It’s beautiful.”
As he continued praising the Fountain, my lips curved upward of their own accord. A warm sense of accomplishment blossomed in my chest.
Beaming, I grabbed the bouquet from the chair and thrust it toward him without warning.
“This one’s for you, Priam!”
Priam stared at the bouquet I’d thrust at him with a bewildered expression.
His eyes, tracing the flowers, widened noticeably.
“For me?”
“Yes. I made it myself. You don’t dislike flowers, do you?”
Taking the bouquet, Priam brought his hand partway to his lips. His face flushed red all the way to his ears.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah…….”
“Take it with you when you go home. Since it’s my first attempt, it’s a bit rough around the edges.”
“I… I love it so much… Thank you.”
His voice emerged in a mixture of shyness and overwhelming emotion.

Priam’s Affinity +60

At the same time, his Affinity rose astronomically.
For such a small gift to bring him such joy—my heart warmed just watching it happen.
I pulled out a chair and sat, observing Priam as he inhaled the fragrance of the flowers.
‘His eyes sparkle, his cheeks flushed crimson.’
Like a girl who’d just received a confession…….
‘Huh?’
It hit me only then—something was off—and I froze, cold sweat beading across my forehead.
‘Did I… just do something he might misunderstand?’
The truth was, giving a bouquet to someone of the opposite sex could carry a special meaning.
But Priam and I were so comfortable with each other that I’d prepared it without thinking much of it……
I studied his expression carefully, tense. He held the bouquet with his lips curled up wide, beaming.
Watching him glow with such pure delight, I exhaled softly.
‘Come on, what am I thinking? Here’s this kid, genuinely happy.’
I pushed the needless thoughts away and decided we should swap diaries already.
“Ready to trade diaries, Priam? Here’s mine.”
“Yeah. I brought mine too.”
I accepted the diary Priam held out.
I sipped the Watermelon Juice and opened the diary.

[Summer, Day 15]
[It’s rained for days straight. There are a lot of bruised fruits lying on the ground.]

‘Oh dear.’
I scrolled through the entry slowly.
I’d expected this diary to be refreshingly upbeat like Priam usually was, but it carried an unexpectedly dampened, downcast mood.
‘He’s blamed himself briefly before, but this time the tone feels heavier than it did then.’
Even his handwriting—usually round and crisp—looked drained of energy today.

[The humid air is suffocating and exhausting. I wish summer would end already.]

‘So Priam doesn’t like summer?’
It was quite a surprise. I’d thought he’d love the bright, intense sunshine. His birthday was in summer, after all.
Maybe this Rainy Season had just been dragging on longer than usual and worn him down?
‘But that doesn’t quite add up……’
A memory from my game days flashed through my mind.
Back then, Priam used to say that even in the heat, summer was his favorite—that he loved how the fruit ripened well and the days were long, speaking with bright excitement.
For that Priam to now wish summer would hurry up and end……
‘Something’s wrong.’
There had been countless ways this place differed from the game, but for even such a fundamental character trait to shift like this……
Now I was genuinely skeptical. Was this really the game world I knew?
Or was it an entirely different world altogether?

Do you think what you know is the entirety of the village?

The words from the Hidden Quest’s first appearance suddenly surfaced in my memory.
‘What I know is the entirety of the village……’
I couldn’t focus solely on the diary’s contents anymore.
What on earth had happened in Node?
As unsettling curiosity churned through my mind, I rolled my eyes away from the diary and checked my quest list instead.

-The Twins’ ????
-Priam’s ???

These were asking me to find the answer to fill in those question marks, weren’t they?
‘But there’s not a single hint.’
Right now, I couldn’t tell if they wanted me to find a location or an item……
“Ugh.”
I couldn’t figure out anything.
“What’s wrong?”
Priam reacted to my sigh immediately. Caught off guard, I hurriedly shook my head and spoke.
“What? No, nothing! By the way, this Watermelon Juice is really delicious, right?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s cold and tasty.”
Priam drank his Watermelon Juice while staring directly at me.
But I kept my gaze fixed on the diary as if nothing was wrong.
I didn’t want to worry Priam, who was sensitive to other people’s feelings, over nothing.
‘Since the Hidden Quest appeared once I hit Affinity level 5, getting closer should trigger something new.’
I’d settled into village life soon enough, and for now I was planning to spend time with the residents.
‘Take the train ride, go camping. Join in the autumn events and grow closer with everyone.’
With that resolve, I returned to reading Priam’s diary.

[Miel came over to our house.]

That’s about me!
That’s really the charm of exchanging diaries—seeing yourself pop up in someone else’s everyday life.

[We watched a movie and talked, lost track of time. It’s strange—Miel thinks similarly to me in so many ways.]
[Maybe I really could get along well with Miel.]
[Actually, I want to.]

Reading those words, laughter bubbled up from somewhere. I picked up a colored pen and wrote beneath his entry.

[Me too, me too!]

As I was skimming through the rest of the diary with giddy anticipation, my eyes caught on the final sentence.

[I wish Miel would stay here forever.]

Something tugged at my chest. It had been a long time since I’d felt anyone needed me.
I sat with that feeling for a moment, then took a sip of Watermelon Juice and looked up.
Priam had been scribbling intently in my diary with his pen, back and forth.
He finally looked up and handed the diary to me.
“Finished reading, Miel?”
Curious about what he’d written, I opened the diary at once and saw my own hasty handwriting from earlier.

[I don’t understand Kaies at all.]
[Do you like me, or do you hate me? Sometimes your words are so sharp.]

I’d written it as a complaint the moment I got home, and underneath Priam had left a note.

[Kaies is heartless to begin with.]

At that curt, uncharacteristically blunt comment from Priam, I burst out laughing.

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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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