Chapter 12: Chapter 12 – I know it was you

Chapter 12 – I know it was you

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It was only after I had already left the cave that I remembered I had forgotten to sign the note with my name.

“Nevermind, Mr. Bear, let’s not go back,” I said to my companion. Something about the prince made me nervous.

Now that I had finished the quest, I felt a lot more relaxed, so I took some time to get some foraging done on the way home. At this time of the year, there were plenty of ripe berries, mushrooms, and fruit that I could get from the forest.

In fact, the woods weren’t just full of edible plants; they were also full of edible animals. I should really get started on the hunting skill, which would allow me to set traps for wild animals, but it was a fact that I had never gone hunting on Earth, and I was a little queasy about killing cute critters.

Besides, my cooking level just wasn’t high enough to cook meat yet.

As I was climbing a tree to pick some luscious-looking cherries, Mr. Bear alerted me to the presence of a person nearby. I hastily descended and smoothed my clothing, but no one appeared. Whoever it was must’ve moved away.

I was exhausted by the time I got home, and treated myself to a long, hot bath. The cottage only had a sink, so I had to put the tables and chairs in my inventory to make space for a claw foot bathtub that was a cash shop item. Fortunately, I didn’t have to fill it with water from the sink. I just had to press a button on the side of the tub to fill it up with hot water.

Then I sank down into the water and let all of my troubles melt away. I emerged from my ablutions feeling refreshed and clean.

It wasn’t dinner time yet, so I put the bathtub in my inventory and put the table and chairs back.

Time for more Herblaw!

I really liked the skill. The way that the herbs and other ingredients came together using the spell was quite fascinating, and it made my cabin smell nice. The fact that it was making both my Herblaw and Magic levels rise was another factor in my enjoyment of potion making.

The hours seemed to fly by, and I didn’t even notice that I had skipped my evening meal until my stomach started rumbling. Herblaw was just too fun.

I ate some bread and cheese and called it a night.

⁂⁂⁂

Yesterday’s quest had gone off so nicely that I wished I could get another one that was just as easy, but, alas, the System didn’t have any new quests available. As usual, I woke up early and did all my morning chores just as the sun rose over the horizon. The potato plants were growing so well that Shuye had asked me three days before when I would harvest them.

I was hauling a bucket full of water from the well when my Farm Guide appeared.

“Good morning! You’re here early,” I said to Shuye as I put the bucket down and handed him a crocus flower. Today he was dressed in rather better clothes than he normally wore, a dark brown silk robe and black silk pants. His boots were made of soft brown leather. He even had a black ribbon tying back his shaggy, long hair on the nape of his neck. “Hey, you’re dressed nice. What’s the occasion?”

“Good morning. I thought I should warn you to expect a visitor,” he said.

“Visitor? I thought you said I wouldn’t need to see the tax man since you filed my taxes for me,” I said. Immigrant farmers like me were exempt from taxes for three years, but we still had to fill out some paperwork to get the exemption.

Shuye crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a look. “Isn’t there something you want to tell me?”

I have no idea what he was talking about. “No. What do you mean?”

He threw his hands up in exasperation. “About Prince Baiyu, for example?”

“Huh? What about him?” I decided to play it dumb until I knew what he was talking about. Not that I had done anything wrong, but this conversation sounded like some sort of trap.

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He took a few steps away and sat down on a tree stump. I followed and took two chairs from my inventory, waving for him to use the larger one. When we were both seated, he shook his head and said, “I know it was you. I’m going off to make my report, and you should get ready for someone to visit you to investigate.”

Why did this sound like something bad? I would’ve thought the Prince would be happy that someone had cured his condition, but Shuye was acting as though I was some sort of criminal who was hiding from the law.

“Investigate what?” I asked.

Shuye sighed in exasperation. “The Prince said that he’s looking for a little human girl.”

“Why do you think it’s me? There are a lot of human girls in the world,” I said.

“He met her yesterday, and you’re the only one nearby,” he said.

“Did he say why he was looking for a girl?” I said.

“No,” he said, but his tone of voice implied that it wasn’t anything good.

“Well, why are you acting weird about it? Maybe he just wants to reward me for my efforts,” I said.

I wasn’t worried because the System still showed a favorable quest status.

[Rescue Prince Baiyu: Quest Complete

Reward: A Royal Favor from Prince Baiyu]

“He didn’t seem that happy about it,” said Shuye. “But if you think there’s nothing to worry about, then you’re probably right. Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Yes, it should be fine. Is that all? Excuse me, I have to finish my chores. When do you think someone will visit?” I said.

“He is only an hour away,” said Shuye. “Expect a visit within two hours.”

We said our goodbyes, and I continued watering and weeding the plants. Then I had a snack of some fruit and nuts before I washed up and changed into the nicer clothes. I picked the [Moonlight Jade] cash shop costume set, which consisted of a light green silk dress with a high collar and long sleeves adorned with intricate moon-and-clouds embroidery. I took off the elaborate pearl and silver headdress since it was way too over-the-top for everyday wear, but I kept the beaded silk shoes and white jade waist ornament.

Not wanting to waste time while I waited, I did a little more Herblaw training, but after about an hour or so, I realized I didn’t have any place to receive guests. Shuye, of course, seemed happy enough to just sit on a tree stump or a rock, but whoever might be coming to investigate might not be as easy-going.

“Ahhh!” I spent a few seconds wondering what I should do. In the end, I wasn’t comfortable meeting someone inside the cottage since it was quite small, and my bed was right beside the chairs.

Mentally rummaging through the Cash Shop items, I found a plain white pop-up canopy I could use. I went outside and put down some paving on the right side of the cottage, then placed the canopy over it. Paving over cleared ground was a basic landscaping ability in Adventure Quest, along with digging wells, placing fences, leveling ground, and so forth. I had plenty of stone tiles I could use, so I picked the elegant white limestone ones.

Shuye had told me that members of the White Tiger clan didn’t eat human food, so I wouldn’t need to prepare tea or snacks. That was a good thing, because I didn’t have any I could share, since all of my items were bound for my personal use.

I had only just placed two comfortable armchairs and a small table underneath the canopy when Mr. Bear alerted me that a person was nearby.

Now that someone was actually here, I suddenly felt a little panicked. I hadn’t spoken to anyone other than Shuye in weeks.

When I heard the knocking, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

My mouth fell open when I saw that Prince Shuye himself had come.