章 84: What Do You Want To Be?
Sometimes, Edward had this lingering thought inside his mind. 'What's the hardest hardship a man, especially a single man, can get?' Generally, the answer would be the same as what any single woman had, either finding the love of their life or success in their career.
However, some could gain both without even trying, and Edward was forced to witness the real deal today.
Clack!
Edward hanged up the call with Sherry and jumped down from the stool he sat on. Although he was relieved that everything was fine for now, he still needed to talk with May first. The idea of taking her in or not would be feasible only if there's a problem in the first place.
"If it's now, maybe she's in the ranch," muttered Edward while cupping his chin, posing as if he was thinking deeply.
Just when he decided to go to May's grandfather's Ranch, a hand reached out and held the back of his collar, lifting him up. Just like a backpack, Harvey dragged the flustered Edward away using one hand.
"Shit! I can walk! What the hell are you doing?" protested Edward.
"Just hang on, we need to leave as fast as possible," said Harvey, confusing Edward a little bit.
It was then that he heard someone running down the stairs. It was a blonde girl with a braided ponytail, one of the capture targets in the game, Ann.
"Stop, Harvey! You can't run away from me!" yelled the tomboy girl.
The confused Edward asked the running Harvey, "Say, what's her deal?"
"Ahh... Ann? I beat her in the cooking contest and now she keeps asking me for a rematch," replied Harvey.
"So? Why didn't you accept it?"
"It's not the match that I was evading, but the bet. The losers must bring the winner to a dinner date," explained Harvey.
'This man is quite a hard worker. One's not enough, he also had another conquest?' thought Edward while smirking. 'Well, the game didn't limit on how many girls the player can approach, moreover, it became a real-life.'
"It's just a dinner, that's not a big deal," muttered Edward, his body keeps shaking left and right, watching the running Ann didn't make it better either.
"And reducing my work time? Also, whoever win or lose, it would be me that paid for the dinner," said Harvey
"At this point, I don't know if I should call you a workaholic or a cheapskate," said Edward, shaking his head.
Seeing that this game of mouse and cat wouldn't end soon, Edward decided to give a hand to help the girl, and by hand, he literally meant it as it is. He reached his hand toward a nearby branch of a tree that was getting in their way and grasped it, putting a stop to Harvey's escape.
Of course, because of the sudden stop of momentum, the latter fell backward. Edward used his shoes to cushion Harvey's head. A wrist was enough, there's no need to add concussion in the medical reports as well.
"I'll see you later at the farm, so good luck with her," said Edward, pointing his index finger on the girl that was chasing them before vanishing into smokes.
As Edward ran in the opposite direction, he could hear the girl's loud voice laced with a slight of worries in it.
'It seemed Ann just saw the bandaged arm.' thought Edward while running toward May's grandfather's ranch. Their rematch would be put on hold until next week at least.
The town's scale was a bit small, running from point A to point B wouldn't take that long. Soon after Edward saw a gateway with the name Yodel Ranch written on the board on top. He sneaked in whilst staying invisible, looking for the girl, but there's no sign of her anywhere at all. There was only the bald grandpa inside the barn, tending to the cattle and horses.
'Hmm... did she go elsewhere?' pondered Edward while cupping his chin.
He looked around a little bit, even going to the church where the girl usually plays, but he still couldn't find her trace. 'Did she run into a problem?'
But Edward simply dismissed it. The town was far too peaceful, the only conflict he found was a fight between a squirrel and a dog. Even when the squirrel won, it was a pretty boring match.
"Ahh well, she'll return before the sunset. I'll just look for her later," murmured Edward, returning to Harvey's farm.
However, once he arrived, he found another gut-wrenching scene, for Edward at least.
Harvey already arrived a few minutes before Edward did. But, he was accompanied by another girl, a lovestruck one at that. Anyone could see that the blushing girl was in love with him. Just like her pink hair, her face was completely pink because of him.
"Thank you, Popuri. I'll definitely use it well," said Harvey, putting something into his rucksack.
"Ahh... you called me with my first name again, this is too embarrassing." said the girl, covering her reddening face.
"But I only know your first name though..." muttered Harvey which couldn't be heard by the girl. In fact, he didn't know all of the townsfolk's last name, not even one.
The pink-haired girl then left with a fluttering heart, making Edward even more envious. He decided to not help Harvey with the farm task, not even if he pays him with everything he had. But before Edward could reveal himself, another girl came by, a black-haired girl with glasses holding a few thick books reaching her chest.
"This shitty bastard must be eradicated for the future of our generation," muttered Edward, silently, while rubbing Blackbeard in his hand.
The conversation went by just like how Edward imagined. Harvey smiled like a naive MC in a generic ecchi anime, while the girl blushed whenever he did or say something.
Just as Edward finished formulating a plan to 'accidentally' broke Harvey's other wrist, the girl left while humming joyfully.
"You bastard, how did you do that?" greeted Edward, appearing through the dense black smoke. One was normal, two was lucky, but three? And now there was one more making it four? That was just asking for too much. Is he a harem king? That was all that Edward could think of.
Harvey turned around, smiling, and asked with an innocent face, "Did what?"
"Forget it. Let's just get the work done, I need to go somewhere else," said Edward, grumpily.
"That's the spirit. Hold on, I'll go get the tools for you," said Harvey, running into the house.
Left alone, Edward just sighed, feeling a bit lonely. He looked around to distract himself and found the small Harvest Sprites he met before. He didn't notice them earlier, but now, he could see that they were busily tending the crops. There were a few of them still working inside the barn as well. The trio that Edward met earlier also were working diligently even though they keep complaining about the endless work they had.
But then, his Radar Sense picked up another girl coming to the farm with a basket in her hand. At this point, he wasn't surprised anymore. Edward tried to look inside the basket with his Radar Sense, and the thing he saw inside was... 'Stones?'
Baffled, Edward opened his eyes and saw the girl properly. He knew her as one of the most infamous capture targets from the game, Karen. Just as she arrived, Harvey also came out from the house, holding a bunch of tools with his left hand.
Meeting Edward's questioning gaze, Harvey turned his head and saw Karen coming. Suddenly his face turned pale after seeing the basket she brought with her. He looked left and right, wanting to hide, but it was too late as she already saw him.
"Yo! Harvey!" greeted Karen, waving her delicate hand.
She saw Edward as well, and greeted him, only to be met with a simple nod from the boy. Harvey and Karen started to talk between themselves, but throughout the conversation, the former looked a bit distracted by the basket on her hands.
As he didn't want to feel even more envious of Harvey's love life, Edward didn't try to listen to what they were talking about. But then, Harvey suddenly pointed his hand at him while looking apologetic. And next, Karen came to him while smiling.
"You're Edward, right? The lost boy," said Karen.
"And what do you want from this humble me?" replied Edward while wondering what she wanted from him.
"Humble?" mumbled Karen, snickering. "Ah well, I cooked something for Harvey, but the doctor said he shouldn't eat anything gravy for a week."
'Gravy? How's that had anything to do with his wrist?' wondered, Edward. It was then that Karen revealed the contents of the basket.
'What the hell was that!? Which of this shit looked gravy!?' yelled Edward inside his head. He turned his head toward Harvey, but the latter just evade his eyes while trying to whistle. Now he understood why Harvey paled when he saw the basket.
"You see, I tried to add Jellies, but then I gave up halfway and add some chocolate instead."
'Halfway!? It means you did put them already, right!? Wait, she also threw chocolate inside!?' yelled Edward, panicking. He keeps looking between the charcoal looking fo— object and her. 'Are you saying you wanted me to ea— inject this thing inside me!?'
"Oh... thanks... I uhh... I'll save it for later, the doctor said, Harvey could inje— I mean eat them later tonight before sleeping," said Edward, evading the protesting gaze from Harvey.
"Really? Then, I'll leave it here, for now, I'll check up if you guys eat it later," replied Karen, with a bright face.
Not long after, she left the two dumbfounded guys alone. They were lamenting on how they should throw the charcoal away without alerting her.
*sigh
The two let out a heavy sigh at the same time. They don't have any mood to do anything anymore and decided to end the day with simple rest. The sky was slowly fading away, reddening as the sun started to lower itself on the horizon.
However, they were interrupted once again by another guest. But this time, it was not one of the girls. It was May's grandfather.
"Harvey. May is missing!!! My legs are too weak to go look for her. Could you help?" said the old man.
'Hmm... is it that event?' thought Edward. May is missing, is one of the events in the game and Edward was pretty familiar with it. All they had to do was to find her at the beach and listen to her stories, and everything would proceed just fine.
Edward then wanted to tell them where she is, "I know where she—"
"Oh my God! We need to find her as soon as possible before dark!" shouted Harvey, exaggeratingly, cutting off Edward's word.
Edward repeated what he wanted to say again, "She's at the—"
"I know, right! I already told Harris, the policeman, to help as well," said Barney, the old man, cutting off Edward's word one more time.
"As I said, She's at the—"
"I'll look for her at hot spring, you just go back and wait for her at the Ranch," said Harvey, before running off toward the hot spring. He threw away the shoulder strap because it was getting in his way. The old man also left, leaving Edward all alone.
"Can you just listen to me!" yelled Edward, frustrated.
He sighed and strolled toward the beach, where the girl actually at while complaining.
The sun was already gone when he arrived, but there were still some orange shades left on the horizon. The cold wind blew his hair away as he stepped down the stairs, his shoes sunk a little bit on the sandy beach, making him uncomfortable.
May's little figure could be seen sitting alone on the dock, looking at the darkening horizon. As Edward move toward her, the wooden platform squeaked, alarming her.
"Hi, what are you doing here?" greeted Edward, walking slowly as to not scare her.
"Umm, I know you, you're the lost boy. I'm May." introduced the girl.
"So, what are you doing here?" asked Edward one more time, while sitting next to her. May was smaller than him, looking at her height, she seemed to be 5 or 6 years old, reminding him of a girl she once met in Paris, Lara.
"I don't know. I was walking and somehow ended up here," replied May, looking a bit down.
"Everyone was looking for you, even grandpa Barney forced his weak legs to move," said Edward, sneaking a peek at the change of her expression.
May became flustered, worried for her poor grandfather. Seeing that she was genuinely worried, Edward assured her, "Don't worry, Harvey asked him to wait at the Ranch."
May breathed a sigh of relief after knowing that her grandfather would be fine for the time being.
"So? Do you want to talk?" asked Edward again. Knowing the course of the event, he knew that he only needs to listen to her. And just as he thought, May started telling her story.
"Umm... I remember it now. I came from here, from this dock to grandpa's house. I came by boat." said May, pointing at the small boat anchored right next to us. She then added, "I hope mom comes home soon... Then I can live with her and Grandpa. The three of us. And... and..."
May couldn't continue her words, she started tearing up, even her voice was muffled with sadness. Edward understood what she was feeling right now, as he also experienced it a hell lot of time.
While tapping her back rhythmically, he said, "You miss her, right?"
"Uhh hicc... what should I do? I want to meet her so much..." said May, suddenly jumping to hug Edward who was a stranger to her just a minute ago.
Edward couldn't bear to refuse her either. It might just a simple gesture, but a simple hug was all people need when they were sad. Having that warmth was much more comforting than empty words, no matter how beautiful it is.
"I also miss my mom," said Edward while stroking her hair.
"Did Edward's mom also left for work?" asked May, looking up at Edward's face.
All she knew about her mother was that she went to the city, working. She didn't know that the woman she always spoke with was just a nurse at the hospital where she was born.
Edward then replied, "Umm... I guess you could say so. My mom left to a much better place."
"A better place? Did they have a candy factory where you can eat everything however much you want, like what grandpa always told me?"
Recalling a certain movie with a bunch of kids in a chocolate factory, Edward smiled and said, "They sure did, that's why it's a better place."
"Woah, can I go there too?" asked May, innocently. Her eyes were blinding.
"You have to grow up, first. At least until you're much older than grandpa Barney."
"Really? Then, I'll do it now," said May, closing her eyes and clenching her fists to make herself aging... Well, it was cute to see her attempting the impossible, which made Edward chuckled.
"Fuwahh... I can't... how can I get older than grandpa?" muttered May, collapsing on the wooden floor.
"You have to wait, patiently, and always eat your food without leaving any vegetable on the plate."
"You're lying..." protested May, hearing the word vegetable. No matter where it is, it was hard to find a kid that loved vegetables.
Chuckling, Edward said, "No, I'm not. If you don't believe me, just try it."
"Umm, I'll prove it. I'll stop leaving any vegetable and prove you're lying."
'Somehow it works, is it what they called reverse psychology or something?' thought Edward. He then asked, "Are you feeling better now?"
"Umm... maybe."
"Maybe?"
"I still miss my mom. What should I do, big brother Edward?"
'Uwahh, is she going to stick with calling me, big brother?' Not that he was complaining, it was just odd to find someone calling him big brother. Maybe it was because he kept living in solitude all this time.
"Do you want to leave this small town to meet her? I can help you," said Edward. He wanted to help her, but her mother died to give birth to her. He felt wrong to deceive her like this, but he couldn't help to ask. Maybe it's the right thing, maybe it's wrong. But who can decide what's right or wrong?
However, May immediately refused it by shaking her head left and right. She said, "then grandpa would be even more lonely. He also missed her so much."
'Ah... that's right. For May, she was a mother, and for Barney, she was a daughter.' thought Edward. 'Do Chris and Claire still missing mom until this day?'
"May, can you speak with animals?" asked Edward, abruptly.
"H... how did you know? Grandpa said to keep it a secret," muttered May, flustered.
"Don't worry, I'm on your side and won't tell anyone. What do you want to be when you grow up, besides going to the candy factory?" asked Edward.
"When I grow up?" mumbled May, tilting her head while deep in thought. It was the first time someone asked her this question.
"Yes, you can be whatever you want, and I'll help you get it." Maybe getting her into the x-Mansion isn't the right answer, but he still wanted to help her.
"Then, I want to live happily ever after with grandpa and mom!" replied May, excitedly.
While smiling, Edward corrected her, "That's not what I meant. A job, what job do you want in the future."
"Eeeeeh... What's a job? Is it food? Can't I just be happy? Don't you feel the same, big brother Edward?"
The last two questions pierced a very small hole in the wall he put up all this time. "Happiness, that's right. I did wish to be happy..."
"You do? And are you happy now, big brother Edward?" asked May, still feeling excited.
"Yes, I am," answered Edward, proudly.
"But why did your face look so lonely like grandpa?" muttered May.
That word pierced his steel heart, he did felt some happiness by getting stronger, however, he forgot why and how he wanted to be happy. Happiness without someone else to share with felt empty. It didn't matter how much record you broke in speedrunning a game, if there's no one to share it with, it was just an empty trophy. He might felt it was enough as long as he could get stronger and stronger. But then, what's next? What did he have to do after finding absolute strength? Would he felt happy then?
And he missed her mother. However, as much as he missed her, he also missed his uncle, Chris, and his aunt, Claire. He pushed them too far, not only to protect them from the lurking enemies but also because he felt ashamed of what he did in the last two years.
'Am I not doing this right?' thought Edward, clenching his fist as hard as possible, until blood could be seen flowing down his fist.
Meanwhile, Edward who was left in his own world, didn't realize something. May, the girl in front of her was staring deeply at his pocket. Something was calling her, from the timeless space inside the pocket. Something started beating, covered by the hard shell. It was the silver egg, embroidered with golden carvings on the top and bottom part of the shell.
<???'s Egg>
<?????????>
<Hey, can you hear me?>
クリエイターの想い 
NightHowl
NightHowl Damn it, I'm sorry if you felt this chapter was a bit stretched, I was too... you know... absorbed.
Anyway, see you in the next chapter.
Also, if you found any fault either in grammar or anything, please comment on it. I might miss something when reviewing the chapter.
One more time, see you on the next chapter!!!!
週次パワーステータス
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