New Neighbors

She tensely tears off the envelope and took out the letter inside it, with nervousness still lingering. Of course, no one can blame Elaina. There is indeed a chance that her husband managed to find her. And this letter is something that would inform her that she will never be able to leave now that she is discovered by Alfred and they will be taking her back to Luminiera Kingdom. The thought fears her, especially now that she bears twins, she has more reason to not go back there.

However, her fears vanished as soon as she found out that the letter was not something that her husband had sent to her, but rather, a letter that came from the mayor of the town where she moved in.

Although the town is more like an extension of the city, it can still be considered its town since the entrance of the town is not directly connected to the city and each house is the townsfolk that either have been working in the nearby city, or they are running their businesses over the city or the town itself.

The letter is not that long but it is precise and describes how the Town Mayor is delighted to make Elaina an acquaintance and even offers her a tour around the town as well.

"It seems the town mayor has already heard of me moving into this property. The guild must have already submitted my residential application to the town mayor which is why I received this invitation letter huh? Guess they are more welcoming than I thought."

Although Elaina planned to remain a stranger to the people of the town and stay on her farm all year round to avoid rumors that her staying there would not reach anyone, it seems staying hidden for this long is not ideal, and besides, if she forged friendships with her new neighbors, who knows and maybe they will become her allies in case his husband starts to search for her in this place?

"That settles then."

Elaina opened her almanac and checked her daily quests for the day and completed them in a hurry before she went back inside. To look presentable to the villagers, she decided to take a bath. Using the water crystal to fill the bathtub with water, she hastily cleaned herself changed her clothes, and made herself look as casual as possible.

"Alright, I am good to go."

With her sword on her hip, she locked the door of her house and left the farm to go straight into the mayor's house, not knowing that something had infiltrated her farm who quickly hid before Elaina could notice the presence of the entity.

...

...

...

The sky is bright and the breeze is fresh. Since the town is near the coast, the smell of the ocean is quite a good thing for her. After all, back in the Luminiera Kingdom, she is either sitting on her chair and busy handling paperwork, or she might be outside and busy preparing the business proposals and some other business-related work which made Elaina barely have time on her own.

"Perhaps I should take my time and visit the beach from time to time just to feel the breeze," Elaina mentally noted herself.

The town isn't that big and the town hall is quite different from the other buildings so Elaina already knows where she would need to go to find the town mayor. Entering the town hall, she saw a few people inside and although the town hall was not that big, she could tell that the town hall was well maintained and the people working in the town hall were all dedicated workers. Seeing the people at their desks did not even raise their heads when she entered meant they were focused on their jobs. However, she has no business with them. She headed straight to the main table where the town mayor was currently finishing something.

Contrary to Elaina's expectations, the town mayor is not an old man with a white beard. The town mayor was an older woman, around the age of 50s based on Elaina's estimation. Despite being a town mayor, she looks like a noblewoman if not for the casual clothes she was wearing. Even though she isn't wearing any makeup, Elaina can tell that she is quite a beauty when she is still in her prime.

Her auburn hair made Elaina remember the autumn leaves whenever the Fall season arrives are neatly combed and fall gracefully around her shoulders. Her face looks a bit strict but she can also tell that if she smiles, she will exude a gentle smile that even kids will surely love. Despite being older, her stature is very nice and with her being tall, Elaina can't help but feel the urge to ask her secrets of maintaining her beauty over the years.

Elaina wished that she ever turned into an older lady over the years, she hoped that she would be like the town mayor who can still keep her beauty even though her age has slowly crept into her.

The town mayor looked at Elaina and she smiled, easing the strict look on her face.

"Hey there, you must be the girl who moved to the abandoned farmhouse, I presume? Seeing that you are here, that must mean you accept my invitation?" she asked.

"Yes, mayor. I am Elaina Blois, it is nice to meet you," Elaina gave a slight bow as a casual way of greeting. She didn't want to look like a noble and carry the aura of one.

"Nice to meet you, Elaina. I am the town mayor of this humble town, Marigold Jurtez. Just call me Marigold or maybe Granny if you want."

"Eh? Granny? Aren't you still in middle age? Maybe auntie or ma'am would suffice?"

Marigold giggled after hearing Elaina's words. "Hoho, is that so? But I am not young, I am already turning 72 next month. I don't think that age is something that is not warranted to be called a granny."

Elaina was shocked by the revelation. She is almost 72 and yet she still looks young. That is something else.

"Well, enough of that young lady. You can just call me whatever you want, anyways, I am done with my work so we can go and begin you with a little tour in our humble town, are you ready and good to go?"

Elaina nodded.

"Okay, first, this is the town hall. Although this place is not the usual place you will visit as you are a farmer, this is the place you can visit in case you want to open up a stall of your own in case you want to sell something from your farm or anything. We can help you process the documents to formally begin your business without a hitch. And if you have any sort of requests being done or if you are generous enough to do something in your free time, the request board is there for you to utilize."

Marigold then went to a nearby box and patted it a few times. "It's empty right now but in case you lost something important somewhere around the town, then try checking here in the lost and found box. You might see the missing item you are looking for if you check in here. You can guarantee you will get your stuff back in case you lose it. Anyways, let's head to the next place."

Elaina mentally took notes on what the town hall had offered. She even has her eyes on the request board as well. She might try to see if there is any sort of stuff she can do there and earn extra cash if she is free.

While she was doing things, the Almanac opened and a few more stuff appeared on it. It seemed to have given some updates or something, however, it was too distracting so she closed it and followed Marigold.

"This is the town's square, this is where we will usually hold our festivals. Since you are new, you can check the calendar on the town hall to see what festivals will be held on which day. I will also send a letter to you if we are going to hold a festival the next day in case you want to participate. Anyways, it will be the place where the townsfolk will gather so if you have spare time, you can join us in the festivals and perhaps you can fancy joining some of them?"

"I will keep that in mind."

"Okay, that is good. Anyways, on to your left road, you will reach the farm of Guy. He sells animal products and even animals as well. Since your farm space is big, maybe you would fancy building a coop or a barn, and then going to his farm to buy some animal husbandry stuff might help you out. You can visit there later if you want."

"Perhaps, if I have the money. Right now, I will focus on my crops and on repairing the house, but I will keep that in mind," Elaina mentally took note of that.

"That is fine as well. Take it slow. There is no rush anyways. Alright, next, to your right is the little clinic run by our local doctor Fey and her assistant Maria. Although it is a small clinic it is equipped with all the tools that can be found in bigger hospitals so if you are not feeling well, you can check there and see if they sell medicine for you or perhaps you can ask the doctor to cast [Heal] or [Cleanse]. Further down the road is our local carpenter and woodsmith, Jacob. If you want something to be done, or you want to buy wood or furniture made of wood, he is who you will be looking for. If you have enough funds and wood, he can also repair your house as well."

"That's good to know. I thought I would have to go to the city to find someone who would repair my house in the future," Elaina also noted that mentally.

"Follow me, Elaina," Marigold called Elaina as they stopped in front of a Pub.

"Let's get inside. I have someone I want to introduce to you."

Entering the Pub, Elaina was expecting to see some drunkards on the table but it seemed she was wrong. There's no one around and only one masculine man is currently cleaning the dishes. He looks like a brash old man, his white mustache making him look like his mouth is hidden. He has scars on his face and one of his eyes is closed, perhaps due to the scar running down on his face.

"Hon? Is the job done?" he looked at Marigold when the two of them entered the pub.

"Nah, I am giving a tour to our newest neighbor. You know, the farmer who moved to the abandoned farm?"

"Oh, is this her?" he wiped his hands using his apron and went out of the counter.

"Why is it empty? Is the business slow?" Elaina asked.

"Nope. I am open from noon till midnight. I am closed in the morning and during Blize (Tuesday on our terms). Welcome to my pub, young lady. Name's Douglas, owner of this pub and husband of Marigold. It's nice to make your acquaintance, young lady."

"Oh, while we are here, how about we have lunch here, hon? Is it fine?" Marigold asked.

"It's cool. Food's on the house."

Elaina was about to decline it as she was embarrassed to receive a free meal even though they just met when all of a sudden, the god who had been silent earlier since the debacle they had on her morning pills returned.

"[Don't decline! You won't regret eating food here. Not only his food will give you temporary buffs, but it might also help your babies in the long run as well, dear Elaina.]"

"Huh? How come?" Elaina mentally answered.

"[Douglas is one of the blessed people who received a talent from one of the gods of cooking. We can guarantee that eating food that he makes will be worthwhile so how about accepting the grace offer?]"

Elaina didn't expect to know this little fact about this man. To think other than her, someone else have received a gift from the gods. Since this was the case, Elaina nodded and trusted the words the god has said to her.

"Then, I will accept it with gratitude. Thank you."