“Please… wake up! Oh gosh…”

Meow!!

“Snap out of it Georgie!”

Three different voices were talking all at once from all sides of me. I struggled to open my eyes and get up but failed my first attempt I was deeply tired and very sore.

[  You were discovered last night having passed out.

Due to this your energy and health could not be fully restored.

Your Energy is now 50/90. You have incurred -10 energy due to being Exhausted.

Your Health is now 50/90. You have incurred -10 health due to your Minor Injuries.

Congratulations, two of your skills have leveled up:

Your Mining is now Rank 2:

* You can now harvest rocks 2x faster

* You have gained the ability “Identify Ore”

Your Combat is now Rank 2:

* Your Quick and Heavy attacks will take 2x less energy

* You have gained the ability “Charge”

It is now, 10:00 am. It is Saturday, day 6/30 of Summer ]

I groaned and finally opened my eyes on the next attempt, rubbing them with my hands and blinking under the light. This felt all too much like a bad hangover. Where was I again? I did a double-take. Not one, not two, but three female faces stared down at me from above.

The first one had pointed ears, green hair, and delicate features. She had a concerned look on her pretty face. The second had fiery untameable red hair and a scowl on her face, looking for all the world like a disappointed parent. The final girl stared at me wide-eyed and she had… ears… and a tail.

She’s a cat!  But we were at the office… and I was chasing her and…. Right, that was a dream. I’m here, at the farm. And all the girls came for me. My friends.

All of my memories flooded back, the mines, the battle, and my life here at Halfmoon HIlls. My heart sank as a full realization of what had happened dawned on me. I knew that I had probably made each of them worried sick. I looked between the three faces.

“I’m… sorry,” I said. It was all I could think to say.

“Oh, you are okay… I’m so glad!” said Ella softly, smiling ever so slightly at me from the right side of the bed.

“You! I can’t believe you would go off and do that by yourself, Georgie I mean honest-” Leyanna began to rant at me from my left.

Meooow!

Leyanna’s tirade was cut short as a very happy catgirl pounced on me, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me through the covers. I heard Ella giggling and Leyanna sigh.

“Well, he’s up. Let’s get him ready,” Leyanna said matter-of-factly.

Ready? For what!?

***

Frannie twirled in her dress and looked up at me expectantly. When she lifted up her skirts a little too high to show me their frills Leyanna swatted her hands down and rolled her eyes.

“It looks fantastic Frannie,” I said, quite honestly.

“I should hope so, it’s one of my favorites!” Leyanna shot back at me, still clearly annoyed. Then she turned to Frannie, her face softening and put on a motherly tone: “He’s right, you look great sweetie. Be careful with it!”

Frannie nodded excitedly and dropped the hem of her skirt, rushing off to the kitchen towards Ella who was preparing us all lunch.

I stood up to my full height and adjusted the dress shirt that Leyanna had brought for me. I hadn’t worn anything with buttons since I got here, and it felt odd. It was a little too big for me, she had said it was her father’s. I didn’t ask beyond that. The slacks were more of a problem as the waist was far too big and kept slipping down my backside. Eventually, we solved this problem with suspenders. I looked more than a little ridiculous but it would have to do it

Better than going out half-naked in my farm coveralls I suppose.

Leyanna herself looked stunning in a crimson dress with a very deep neckline, showing off her freckled chest. She caught me staring and coughed. I looked away and she chuckled. “Oh Georgie, you are so predictable.”

“So you are laughing. Does that mean you aren’t mad anymore?” I said, giving her a side eye and a hint of a smile.

In truth, I still felt shitty. Not just in my body, but in my mind. I knew that I had caused my friends a lot of worry and stress and felt guilty about that.  I wasn’t sure what they’d done for me or even how I’d gotten home and  I hadn’t asked. Once again it felt like a bad hangover.

Whatever had happened, though, they’d all come together here to take care of me. That was undeniable, and beyond feeling guilty I felt immensely grateful.

“I’m mad, George,” Leyanna responded after a long pause. “Because I care. The Mines are dangerous. You know you can always buy those things, right? The ore that is down there is on the market, even if it's a little more expensive. Or if you really need to go, you can hire an adventurer. At the very least take it slow until you are experienced! You are lucky you ran out of energy… worse things could have happened. Much worse.”

Worse? What would have happened if I ran out of health!?

I decided not to ask that. Or even consider it.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I will be careful,” I promised.

“Good!” announced Ella, eavesdropping and coming over to set the table. “Now sit! It’s a five-hour carriage ride to Vale, we should eat before we go.”

Ella was wearing an elaborate gown of green that matched her hair and eyes. Somehow she still moved gracefully despite all the folds and lace. Along the white of her collarbone, I saw a string of glittering gems.

I am absolutely the most underdressed person among us.

As I sat down to a delicious lunch of roasted meat, mashed potatoes, and greens I asked the girls where we were headed and they explained to me a little further. There was a festival that was celebrated every year at this time, the Midsummer Festival.

Everyone who was anyone went there, or so they told me, and it was tradition to dress up. This year it was being held in Vale, the previous year it had been held in Halfmoon Hills. It was several hours by carriage and the girls were already late because of me. Ella and Leyanna had been planning to go for some time but had come over to take care of me in the morning. As recompense for making them late, I was to escort them.

As far as punishments went, escorting three beautiful ladies was getting off pretty light.

After eating the girls spent a little more time getting ready. I went outside to get some air and have a little time to myself. I hadn’t mentioned it to the girls but I noticed when I woke up that I had leveled up in two areas, mining and combat. So my journey hadn’t been a complete waste. I resolved to use this time to check them out if I could, then water the plants. Before I did any of that, I had to check my inventory and see if I still had all the items that were on me when I passed out.

[ Inventory 5/8

Wooden Sword (3-7 Damage)

Slime Essence (1/99)

Sandstone Ore (43/99)

Coal (7/99)

Nugget (1/99) ]

I frowned, I had lost some of my items. The acorns and wildflowers did not strike me as a big deal, but when I realized I had also lost the mining pick I groaned. So that meant testing out my new leveled-up mining was out of the question for today at least. I put away the ore and coal and kept the rest.

I looked behind me at the door. The girls were still busy, it was now or never to test the new abilities. I checked my energy and health levels first to be safe:

[ ENERGY 90/90 (DEBUFF: Exhausted - 10) ]

[ HEALTH 90/90  (DEBUFF: Minor Injuries - 10) ]

I grimaced. Right, I had seen that when I woke up as well but I hadn’t quite processed it. It seemed I had, at least for today, a cap on my health and energy that was lower than usual due to last night's escapades. It shouldn’t matter much as today was just a day to socialize and spend with the girls.

Right, the task at hand. Focus, you are running out of time!

I quickly ran through a series of swings. Quick and then heavy attacks. Not only did they take less energy than before, but they also felt easier and more powerful. I grinned and put the sword away. I wasn’t going to tell the girls but I enjoyed this development a lot. I would be careful, yes, but my days of adventuring were just beginning.

The last thing I had to do before we left was water my crops. I quickly got the can from the chest and headed over to them. The summer seeds were looking very close to harvest and I could already see a variety of different plants among them. The tomatoes were well on their way too. I was proud. Watering them took only a short time and I put the can back in the chest.

As I did so I realized that depositing these items would fill up one of the two chests. Instead, I would take this time to quickly organize them, splitting up my items. I was given dialog options and the ability to name my chests. I named one “Important Things” and the other one “Random”. It was good enough for now. I thought of the filing cabinets in my dream and sighed, I hadn’t been very good at naming or categorizing documents back at the firm either.

[ Chest - Important Things (5 / 20)

* Hoe (Rank 1)

* Scythe (Rank 1)

* Axe (Rank 1)

* Rusty Rod (Rank 1)

* Watering Can ]

[ Chest - Random  (14/20)

* Fibrous plant materials (99 / 99)

* Driftwood (5)

* Seaweed (5)

* Pebbles (55)

* Chopped wood (75)

* Small Trout (4)

* Map of Halfmoon Hills

* Coal (4/99)

* Clotted Dirt (54/99)

* Stone (60/99)

* Summer seeds (10/99)

* Slime Essence (1/99)

* Sandstone Ore (43/99)

* Coal (7/99) ]

I chewed the inside of my lip, I was sorely tempted to plant the ten summer seeds I had. But I shouldn't soil the outfit and I knew we probably needed to go soon. My decision was made for me when I heard a loud and exclamatory meow and then Leyanna’s voice:

“Come on Georgie, no farmboy today! Remember, you owe us, you are our bodyguard for the day!”

I heard Ella giggle at that. I raised my arms up and looked down at the baggy sleeves on either side. I supposed I looked like anything but a tough guy or bodyguard today.

“Well good, because I am bringing my sword,” I responded.

Ella gasped. “A sword?”

Leyanna was less impressed. “It’s a wooden practice sword, don’t get too excited. I saw it when the adventurers dragged him in last night.”

Last night? The adventurers? Is that how I got home?

I felt a hand tugging at my arm. It was Frannie. Leyanna had her arms crossed and Ella was motioning us over to join them. Our carriage had arrived.