There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

"But twenty years ago, something unexpected happened..."

“During that time, Gotz went to town to build a church and often didn’t return home until very late. One day he brought home gifts to give to his wife and one-year-old daughter.”

"But what appeared before him was a muddy mudslide rolling down from the mountain, obscuring his view."

"The mudslide was like a huge beast descending the mountain, crushing and overturning everything in its path, and coincidentally, there were Gotz's forests and houses right on this road..."

I stared at Boss Dart in shock and asked incredulously, "Why are you still keeping him up in the mountains doing carpentry? That's too cruel!"

Instead of answering directly, Mr. Dart pointed to a person who had just entered and said...

"Then you should ask him about this, Sheriff Harris."

Harris?

I turned my head and saw a sheriff in a peaked cap walk in from outside, with an upright but somewhat dull expression, smiling as he greeted Mr. Dart.

"Boss, the usual, a glass of plain water!"

Mr. Dart complained, "I'm about to go bankrupt because everyone comes here to drink plain water every day."

Sheriff Harris said sternly, "I can't drink while on patrol! That's the rule!"

Then, seeing that Mr. Dart's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, he quickly added a comment.

"But I'll definitely come for drinks after get off work tonight!"

Mr. Dart's expression softened slightly, and he handed over a glass of water.

"What's wrong? Did someone mention me just now?" Sheriff Harris asked us after gulping down his drink.

“We’re talking about Gotz, you can continue.”

Sheriff Harris's expression stiffened for a moment, then he slowly spoke.

"Alright then, it's time for you, the new rancher, to know about that tragedy."

.........

That was my first year as sheriff of the town, and a tragedy occurred in the town.

Gotz's wife and daughters all perished in the mountain accident.

But one night, Gotz suddenly came to my house and knocked on the door.

I have never seen anyone express emotions in such a strange way.

His eyes were bloodshot and his face was filled with sorrow, as if all color had disappeared from him, leaving only a gray-white complexion.

But in his eyes when he looked at me, there was a surge of emotion, like molten lava.

I tried to discern the underlying threads: perhaps mourning for his wife and daughter, grief over the loss of loved ones, self-blame for his own powerlessness, and protest against the dictates of fate…

But when he opened his mouth, I realized there was something different.

He said.

"Harris, I will be in charge of patrolling the mountain from now on."

His words were not inquiries or requests, but rather an unassailable tone.

He is stating a fact.

"But Gotz, your current condition is not suitable for continuing this kind of work."

I felt that his language ability seemed to have been affected in some way; he was mumbling and muttering incoherently.

I don’t know if he has any lingering fears about Mount Maders, but in his current state, patrolling the mountain is definitely not a good idea.

"I will recover within three days, and I will patrol this mountain from now on."

“Mountain accidents happen without warning because people like me who know the Mads Mountains well never realize what they can do.”

"I don't want anyone else to suffer such misfortune in the future!"

Looking at his increasingly determined expression, I finally understood what his emotions contained.

It is the resolve to fight eternally against Mount Madras.

…………

"So, Gotz is staying in the mountains so that the people in the town can continue living there?" I asked.

“No, I think he’s atoning for his sins,” Boss Dart analyzed. “That’s why he puts himself in the most dangerous and resistant place, undertaking his mission.”

Sheriff Harris sighed deeply, as if still immersed in the memories of that night, feeling pain for the unfortunate man.

But no one knew that he had a trivial memory that he hadn't told anyone.

That memory might not even be worth mentioning.

Because Gots kept muttering some incoherent things before he left that day, it took Sheriff Harris a long time to understand those two sentences.

"I didn't find their bodies... but I saw them..."

"There's a problem on Mount Maders! I... I have to stay on the mountain!"

Before leaving, Gotz suddenly turned back, and reflected in his magma-like pupils was the young, terrified, and twisted face of Sheriff Harris from back then...

Chapter 35 Originating from the Fourth Day of the Emerald Elephant

On the way home that evening, my emotions were still fluctuating with the story that happened to Gotz.

Actually, asking Gotz this question was just a spur-of-the-moment thing for me.

Because I've been thinking about a question.

Do those miners from back then have any descendants?

If a group of miners landed on the island about forty or fifty years ago and built up such a large business, how come there isn't even a single heir?

I believe that there will always be one or two descendants who will find clues in the subtle details of their parents' words and return to this town to inherit their parents' wealth.

This is perfectly reasonable.

The first thing I'm most curious about is Gots's identity.

Like Doranco, one of the carpenters and miners' leaders back then, Gots walked in the mountains every day while also taking charge of the town's carpentry work, which can no longer be described as a coincidence.

Even if he wasn't a descendant of Doranco, he must have possessed something similar to Doranco, which is why these two people, separated by the river of time, chose almost the same way of life.

Actually, my second suspect was the old rancher of Mineral Town Ranch.

There have been no further leads about this person since he moved away twenty years ago, as if he had never had any relatives or friends in the town.

This personality reminds me of Hooke the Younger, that skeptic, the stubborn hermit who lived in seclusion on a plantation at the foot of the mountain.

But how did these two people escape from the "mysterious singing" incident, which was described by the monologue protagonist as almost supernatural and terrifying, and impossible to avoid?

Wait!

It was twenty years ago again...

Twenty years ago, the old rancher moved away, and twenty years ago, Gots' wife and daughters died in a mountain accident.

How many other things happened twenty years ago, a period they only vaguely described...?

As I was thinking, I returned to the ranch area. It was still quiet and peaceful. The entire ranch, with its vast open space, lay dormant amidst the endless weeds, like a giant that would never wake up again.

When I got home, I saw two unexpected people waiting at the gate of the ranch.

One was a tall, strong man with a full beard, wearing heavy clothes that were different from his usual style, making him look like a bear standing upright.

The other wore a high-brimmed sheriff's hat, leather boots, and straps around his neck. He held a revolver firmly to his side, like a proud and upright tree, exuding a dignified and composed aura.

Are these Gotz and Harris?

I never expected that these two people I met today would both appear at my doorstep.

I quickly slowed down and hid where they couldn't see me. I slowly approached, using the complex terrain around the ranch as cover, along their blind spots.

Not long after, I heard the two of them talking, and I could even vaguely make out the smell of an argument.

"Harris, do you think Marcus will agree to help me?"

It was Gots who spoke, and he looked extremely frustrated, as if he were doing something he didn't want to do but had to.

“You were the one who approached me, and I have never agreed to this matter from beginning to end.”

Harris's voice was a little hoarse, as if he had tried to persuade Gotz but failed and was now becoming more sparing with his words.

“But this is our best chance,” Gotz said, scratching his head, a little frustrated. “This is our best chance to solve that problem. It’s clear that the two of us have no chance of succeeding on our own.”

"But I don't agree with you dragging an innocent person into our troubles."

“Marcus will definitely agree. His archery skills are so good, he certainly won’t stand idly by.”

“That’s just wishful thinking on your part. No one is born with an obligation to bear any responsibility, just like you and me. This is the path we chose.” Harris’s tone also carried a hint of helplessness, as if the long-term pressure had inevitably had some effect on this stubborn person.

Gotz wanted to say something more, but Harris stopped him.

"No matter how much we discuss it, it's not as good as asking him in person. We need to talk to him face to face about his identity and his purpose."

Hearing this, I was certain that these two people had indeed come looking for me, and that they didn't have any malicious intent. So I came out from my hiding place and greeted them.

"Would it be convenient for you to tell me what exactly this trouble you're talking about?"

…………

"Actually, we're here today because we have some questions we'd like to ask you."

Once inside the house, after Gotz and Harris sat down, they carefully considered their words before finally speaking.

Do you know anything about the past of Mineral Town?

"Gotz asked."

I'm really not sure how to answer this question.

To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what has happened in Mineral Town over the past few decades, and I don't even know all of my neighbors in the town.

But to say I don't know anything, I should say I know the ins and outs of that strange incident in the town decades ago very well.

"Your consciousness is history? Which period of history?"

"The history of the town of Kuangshi during its founding period."