After handing in my letter to the local post office of Springwood early in the morning, I had realized that my plans have now deviated quite a bit from what they were originally meant to be. Due to recent events, it appears I will be accompanying Anna to go and find this mysterious and rare herb in order to cure Arthur’s illness.

But before we could rush into this, there were still many uncertainties with the plan which I needed to deal with before we could depart. First of all, is Ms. Harper even qualified to treat this mysterious illness?

“I’ve read up on the disease quite a bit since our last meeting.” She said as she drank the Latte I brewed up for her, “It does appear that Andolia Baonei is a real herb. Not only that, but it is an actual remedy for some of the more ‘out there’ diseases and conditions.”

“Thanks so much for this.” I replied, “I know you’re busy at this time, so I genuinely couldn’t thank you enough for helping me look into this a bit further. Whilst I did read a lot of books on modern medicine in my travels, I’m still quite inexperienced when it comes to this line of work.”

She took another swig of her Latte, then flicked my forehead. “Heh, don’t worry about it. So you’re thinking of becoming a Doctor like me, huh? I’m gonna miss these Lattes of yours, though.”

“W-Well, once I graduate from Simpleton’s MedArts, I’ll j-join you as your helper or something!” I suggested, “That way you can still enjoy my brews without a problem!”

She was shocked at just how far I was planning ahead, blushing a bit at the suggestion, then said “My my, you’ve certainly got it all figured out! But in any case, Simpleton’s University of Medical Arts, huh? My own Alma Mater… You’d go that far just to be with me?”

“W-Well, I’d certainly like to.” I bit my tongue as I said, “B-But only if you’d agree to have me assist you in the future!”

“Heh, haa…” She sighed, “Like I could say no to such an eager underclassman. But you’re gonna have to study your butt off, y’know? Stuff like knowing what each part of the body is called and where it’s located.”

“I know that much!” I got up from my seat triumphantly so as to prove my knowledge, “This here’s my left arm, my right arm, that there is my left leg, then the right!”

“Hahahahahah!” She chuckled at my little joke, “You’re certainly ready to learn, alright! Then tell me, Mr. Doctor, what’s the most important part of the body?”

“The heart!” I yelled out for the world to hear, without any attention or care for who’s listening, “We’d all die without it!”

“Good answer.” She said, “But could you show me where it’s located?”

“Of course!” I pointed to the top left of my torso.

“No no,” She stopped me, “Could you show me where my heart is?”

“Of course!” I went to show her before suddenly stopping, “I-It’s… right there…”

“Where?” She cheekily asked, “Could you please touch where it is?”

“I-I c-couldn’t possibly do that!” I said, “It’s, well… They’re in the way…”

“Come on,” She gave a hypothetical, “What if I was dying right now and I needed heart resuscitation?”

“Hmmm…” I thought long and hard, “A-Alright… Here I go…!”

I slowly reached my hand over the table towards her, my mind going blank with each millimeter that her chest grew closer. My breathing turned ragged, and I frequently darted my eyes back and forth between her face and chest. The moment I caught her gazing at me with a gentle smile, I was sure I was losing it. A bit more… Just a bit more…!

“Bzzt!” She made a loud jarring noise, “You took too long and now I’m dead. Too bad!”

“Nooo!!!” I screamed in sorrow, but for a different reason than what she had thought.

“Oh come on, don’t cry!” She tried to calm me down, “I’m not really dead, haha!”

“You guys gonna stop flirting this early in the morning or what?” Anna jolted me back to my senses with this one simple phrase.

“Oh, is that how it seemed?” Ms. Harper gave her a smug reply, “No need to get all jealous, Princess. We’re just enjoying a nice cup of coffee together.”

“That’s the problem, wench.” Anna insulted my idol, “He’s supposed to be helping me around the restaurant, not enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee with a broad like you.”

“Anna!” I reprimanded her harsh tongue, “If you want me to get back to work, just tell me! Stop badmouthing Ms. Harper, you do know she’s the one who’s gonna treat Arthur, right?”

“Hell if I care,” She said, “Just get back to work!”

As such, she gave me a slap to the back of the head and promptly went off to continue her waitressing. Her annoying attitude, mixed with the fact she embarrassed me in front of Ms. Harper really got on my nerves, plus I never even said I’m gonna be working here! I’m just helping her part time while Arthur’s resting!

“You should go help her.” Ms. Harper gave me her advice, “A maiden’s heart may seem like a mystery to you, a boy, but just know that a little bit of patience will mean the world to her.”

“…” I grumbled, “Calling her a maiden is a real stretch, y’know... Just ‘cause she grew up a bit doesn’t mean she’s someone I should follow to the ends of the world, y’know?”

“Humu…” She hid her laugh with her hand, “But isn’t that what you’re doing right now with this trip?”

I immediately realized my slip up and blushed a bit from embarrassment. It appears Ms. Harper knows how to deal with me more so than I originally imagined.

“Now go,” Ms. Harper sent me away, “And do apologize to her as quickly as possible. You will be spending quite some time together, so don’t get her angry now.”

“…Will do…” I put my pride aside and went on my way.

***

“So,” I went up to Anna, “…I’m sorry for getting a bit too preoccupied with my talk with Ms. Harper.”

“… Apology…” She stopped for a split second, “Not accepted!”

“WHY?!” I angrily shot back.

“You think you can get away with it with just a few words? If that was the case then there wouldn’t be any wars!” She commented, “You’re gonna need to prove you’re sorry to me by actions, not words.”

“That logic doesn’t make any sense!” I tried logically refuting her, but to no avail, “…Grr, fine, what do you need me to do?”

“Help me with the deliveries, would ya?” She finally stopped being so naggy, “These boxes are way too heavy to carry around the entire town.”

As such, we made our way into the residential part of town to deliver food to the people who ordered it. This ‘Delivery Service’ was an idea Grim actually came up with back when we were in Great Hiana. It seemed like it’d get us more sales, so I casually mentioned it to Anna in one of the letters I sent her. Who would have thunk she would really go through with it?

“Haa, hahh…” I barely finished the last of our deliveries, “Are we finally, hahh, done?”

“Yep!” She said with a chipper tone, “All done! Thanks so much, Edward! It means a lot to me.”

We finally started seeing eye to eye, it seems. Not sure if it’s because we spent the day outside of the restaurant or just because we shared the pain of walking around town in the scorching Sun just to deliver some food, but it appears her earlier attitude has all but vanished.

We decided to spend some time just walking around and getting a breather, when we were approached by a somewhat old couple. Usually, it’s these types of people our parents told us to be wary of, but for whatever reason these two seemed… oddly familiar?

“Hello, sorry to bother you,” The woman gave us a flyer, “Have you seen our boy?”

Ah, that’s it, now I remember.

“Oh, isn’t that L-!” I quickly shut Anna up before she could say anything.

“Sorry, ma’am, I haven’t seen him. Who is this exactly?” I returned the question back to her whilst feigning ignorance.

“Young man, this is our son, Lune Grimheart.” The man said, “He left home a couple years ago, so he probably looks somewhat older than in this image here. He’s got me and my wife worried sick because of this stunt he’s pulled, so we regularly visit these nearby bigger cities to put up missing posters.”

Anna finally realized I was hiding Grim from then, then after exchanging a single glance she followed my lead, “I’m sorry to hear that, sir. If we see anyone matching him, we’ll be sure to get in contact.”

“Thank you so much!” Grim’s mother started to tear up, “He was always an overzealous boy, eager to see the world, but to think he’d go this far…”

After comforting his sobbing wife, Grim’s father took another glance at me and made a worrying face, “Now that I get a good look at you, could you be Edward Saint?”

Obviously, he’d know me. We’ve been neighbors since I was born, plus my blond hair color is so rare amongst kids that it makes me quite noticeable in a crowd. If I confessed now, he’d surely make me spill Grim’s location to them, but this can’t happen no matter what! Grim made it very clear to me at the very start of our journey that if this situation were to ever occur, I absolutely MUSTN’T tell his parents where he is or what happened to him, and I intend to uphold my end of the bargain.

“No, sir.” I made sure to answer him without pausing, so as to not arouse suspicion, “You must have me confused with someone else.”

“…” He glared daggers at me for a bit before his wife interfered.

“Dear! He’s not Ed, stop bothering them!” She then turned back to us and said something incredibly, “We’re sorry for interrupting your date, kids, please don’t mind us and have fun!”

“WHA-!” Both Anna and I unanimously yelped in surprise, “W-WE’RE NOT DATING!”

They looked at each other before laughing amongst themselves, “Suuure… Just be sure to keep it in moderation. Haa, if only our Lune was like you, young man.”

Oh, you have no idea…

“I-In any case,” I tried subtly steering them towards their goal, “Since it’s been a few years, couldn’t your kid have made it into some other country?”

“Phah!” Mr. Grimheart burst out laughing, “Lune’s still wet around the ears, ain’t no way he’s got a passport before 18!”

“R-Right,” I tried to nudge him a bit more, “But like, you never know right?”

“Boy,” Mr. Grimheart gave me another deathly glare, “You seem to be awfully persistent with this idea, y’know? What makes you so sure about this?”

“…”

“Alright!” Anna broke the silence, “I’ve decided! Since we have nothing to do for the rest of the day, we’ll help you set up missing posters around town!”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Mrs. Grimheart said with a merciful expression, “Just go out and enjoy your youth, no need to burden yourselves.”

“Don’t worry about it, ma’am!” I reassured her, “We’ll cover this entire town in flyers! And while we’re doing that, you could unwind a bit at our restaurant right over there!”

They both sighed in relief and handed us the flyers before heading towards the Arthur’s. And just when we thought we were free of their antics, they snuck in one final jab to poke fun at us.

“They opened a restaurant together?” Mrs. Grimheart whispered audibly to her husband, “Is their relationship that serious?”

“Shh!” Mr. Grimheart noted, “Can’t you see they’re keeping it on the down-low? Maybe he got that girl pregnant and they’re keeping it from their folks!”

They turned back at us with these shit eating grins that most resembled that of Grim’s, but since we were in the middle of the street, we couldn’t scream out any refutes to their bizarre claims. They had done us in…

“Ooh, you think they have those ‘Hamburgers’ I keep hearing about?” The wife asked her husband once again, “I’d like to try one, I hear they’re the new fad!”

“Heh, I’ll get you one if they have it.” Mr. Grimheart embraced her with his right arm, “These two are young, I’m sure their establishment has it. Heh, you think the kid’s gonna be a boy or a girl?”

God damn you Grimhearts… I WILL NOT HAVE A KID WITH ANNA! Thank each and every God that exists out there that Grim didn’t get this cheekiness from either of you! I’d have quit this journey way earlier if that were the case…