It’s been over half a month since I bought the flute in Carlton Town.
I can finally go to Lang Village!
“I just gotta pour a bunch of magic into the Waymark, and that’ll do, I guess?”
I blast it with magic, and the runes carved into the stone glow bright—zoom!—I’m teleported near Lang Village.
Ugh, I might’ve used a bit too much magic… Can I still teleport back?
Now I’m a teensy bit worried.
“But hey, Selina said magic recovers on its own. Maybe I’ll be fine by evening?”
I run from the Waymark at the edge of the Great Forest to Lang Village.
Whoa, that tree next to the stump really has grown bigger!
“Hannah’s husband really needs to do more logging!”
Unlike Maggie’s dad, who works hard under the sharp eye of his wife (without even sneaking a drink of ale), Hannah’s husband just huddles in the kitchen drinking ale all day at the slightest hint of snow.
Most folks in Lang are farmers, but since there’s no farming in winter, they help with logging. Well… most of them do.
But grumbling about lazy husbands is just part of the charm of Hannah’s sewing classes, I guess.
Right now, the real question is—is Maggie free?
Even kids get busy helping out at home!
I burst into the general store, but Maggie’s nowhere in sight.
Instead, I spot the savvy shopkeeper lady proudly displaying a brand-new collection of hand drums and tambourines she must’ve brought in from Carlton.
“Ma’am, where’s Maggie?”
Oh no… Her eyes definitely lit up like she’s thinking “perfect timing.”
“Maggie’s out in the garden, dear. But before that, would you like to see this drum—”
I bolt out of the shop mid-sentence. Not the most polite thing, I know, but I’ve waited so long!
“Maggie! Teach me the music and dance for the festival!”
Maggie’s in the middle of setting up bean poles.
“After I’m done with this,” she says, so I pitch in to help.
I could probably whip this up with the same tricks I used building the fence at home, but Selina made it very clear: No magic in Lang Village.
So all I can do is help tie the bean vines to the poles Maggie has set up.
“Beans, huh… Maybe I should’ve planted some too.”
The ones here are green peas—she says you can use them in salads or soups.
Out in the main fields they grow wheat and a different kind of bean that looks like soybeans.
“Even with poles, they can still fall over. Beans are tricky. For beginners, potatoes are the easiest,” Maggie explains.
Yeah, potatoes… Mine are really growing wild. I think I planted mine later than Maggie did, but maybe the forest’s rich mana helped?
When we finally finish with the beans, I think I’m in the clear—but now it’s thinning time for carrots and greens!
“When you sow seeds, they all sprout at once, right? But if you leave them like that, none of them grow well. You gotta leave the strongest sprouts and pull out the rest.”
I watch Maggie carefully and copy her. I’ll have to do the same in my garden later, anyway.
“These thinned sprouts? You can toss them in a salad, or just blanch them a little and add them to soup.”
Ugh… I know I need to learn cooking too, but this is really pushing my limits!
“Maggie, pleeeease teach me the festival music and dancing already!”
Maggie grins. “Well, since you helped!”
We carry the basket of sprouts into the kitchen and chug a bunch of water.
“I could teach you here,” she says, “but let’s go down to the riverbank where the festival happens! It’s so hot today.”
Totally fair. I’m sweaty from the garden work. Plus, we’d better escape before the shopkeeper finds something else for Maggie to do!
We head out together to the riverside near Lang Village… Uh-oh, there’s Matthew and a bunch of boys fishing.
Tch, Matthew again. Always in the way.
But Maggie happily waves at him. Wait… does she like him?
Or maybe it’s not that—he’s the village chief’s son, right? Probably the next chief, too. That’s not exactly a prince, but… I guess it’s a good match?
Still, he’s the only one who butts in on my friendship with Maggie, and I’ve only got her.
I mean, all I really know about relationships comes from Selina’s forbidden romance novels. But from what I’ve read, people marry super young here.
Farm girls getting married at fifteen is normal. Some even get sent off to work at twelve, and then end up as someone's mistress. (That’s usually the gross nobles messing around with maids in the novels.)
It is fiction, so maybe it’s exaggerated… but still. Maggie’s really mature for an eight-year-old. Maybe she’s already thinking ahead.
I’d never get in the way of my best friend’s happiness. I don’t know if she could run the general store with her husband being village chief, though.
…Or maybe there just aren’t any other boys in Lang who can hold a proper conversation with her.
Seriously, look at those boys fishing. Total blockheads.
Even a novice like me knows you gotta be quiet when fishing… yet they start tossing rocks and splashing around when nothing bites.
“Hey! Knock it off or you’ll scare the fish away!”
Matthew tries to scold them, but I get the feeling this is just an excuse for water play.
“Maggie, what are you doing here?” he asks.
Looks like he’s given up on fishing. The boys are just splashing each other now.
“I came to teach Zoe the summer festival songs and dances,” she says.
He glances at me and makes an “ohhh” face.
“Right, you weren’t here last year.”
Hmm, if he didn’t need to constantly assert his seniority like that, I might be able to tolerate him.
I don’t need him to confirm that I’m a newcomer. When Maggie says something, I can just accept it as truth since it is, but somehow this rubs me the wrong way.
“Well then! Let’s all sing and dance together!”
Wow. Am I that easy? I was totally mad at Matthew a minute ago and now I’m all smiles.
“Awesome!”
Hehehe, now I can finally learn the songs and dances for the summer festival!