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

“No,” Karen said, disgruntled. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t really get along with the people in town. They’re all so indecisive and lack ambition. I originally thought Rick was a responsible man who could understand my feelings, but he’s become more and more timid and hesitant. It’s just too much…”

Rick, is that Poppy's arrogant older brother? Then I can understand. He took on family pressure too early and always wanted to stand on his own. As a result, he had too many concerns and became more timid and hesitant, which is definitely different from Karen, who is an idealistic and action-oriented person.

Karen complained, then suddenly said, "I actually think highly of you, Marcus. You're willing to bargain with my dad for Jay. Maybe we could become friends?"

I chuckled and said, "What? I thought we were already friends. What a disappointment."

"Haha, that's right, we're friends! I overthought things this time!" Karen laughed happily, acknowledging me as her friend.

I have no problem with Karen's overly friendly nature. She's quick to help those in need upon first meeting, showing her kind heart and compassion for the weak. She's always been concerned about Jay, clearly a compassionate person. As for her carefree personality and outspokenness, what do those matter compared to her good looks?

Yes, I am that shallow! Is it wrong to believe that looks are everything?

"There's one more thing, Marcus. As a friend, could you promise me that?"

Karen's expression suddenly darkened, as if she had remembered something unpleasant.

"Go ahead and say it. As your friend, I'll definitely agree."

"It's a deal then," Karen said a little shyly, which was completely out of character for her. What problem could be bothering her so much?

"I hope you won't be angry with my father."

She looked at me with a sincere expression, her light green eyes sparkling like stars.

Chapter 96 The Town Where Only I Don't Exist

"Ah... even though you've made this request, to be honest, it's a bit difficult..." I said hesitantly, "Your dad is really annoying..."

Karen's expression instantly turned somewhat disappointed, and she forced a smile, saying, "That guy is really annoying..."

I suddenly smiled. "But for your sake, I'll pretend nothing happened! What do you think?"

"Tch, you bastard." Karen nudged my waist with her elbow and said, pretending to be angry.

"You disagree? Then I'll just show it?"

"you dare!"

"Haha, just kidding! How could I dare not disobey you, Miss!"

Karen chuckled for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter, hugging Jay and shaking him repeatedly, saying, "Jay, you have to be careful of this man. He talks a good game, but who knows how much of it is true?"

Fortunately, the jay didn't hear what she said at all. It was busy fiddling with its newly bought yellow wool backpack, happily taking things out of the magical beast skin bag one by one and putting them back into the backpack.

"Hey beautiful, I charge you for making up stories about me like this!"

"A fee? Is this enough?"

Then Karen pulled out several bags of seeds from somewhere and handed them to me.

When I looked at it, I saw from the label that it was several bags of strawberry seeds. How did she get them out? Was she carrying them around giving them away?

"Hush money, how about it, don't dare to accept it?" Miss Karen shook the seed, making a move to take it back, but I grabbed her wrist.

"Then I'll accept your offer! Where did the seeds come from?"

"I took it from the table when Dad wasn't looking before I left," Karen said nonchalantly.

"Hey, is this really okay? Giving away things from home so casually?"

“That’s why I told you not to be angry with that guy,” Karen said nonchalantly. “Actually, my father wasn’t always like this.”

Hmm? Could it be that Jeff wasn't a shrewd businessman after all?

I considered his honest and kind-hearted demeanor, then decisively shook my head, erasing that horrible image from my mind. All I could picture was Jeff with a weasel-like expression, plotting how to trick his poor customer into buying something…

"What happened?" I asked, trying my best not to laugh, but Miss Karen still saw through my act and elbowed me in the stomach.

She looked at the distant sky and began to talk about things from a very long time ago.

"I heard it from my mom. My dad used to be a rich young master who never knew what money was. He spent his days drinking and having fun with his cronies and squandered all his family's wealth."

“It was around that time that my mother also met him. In her description, she saw a man who looked like an unkempt homeless person, but Dad always had a carefree smile on his face. Every day he would pick a flower from the roadside and give it to Mom, and sing her a folk song he heard on the roadside.”

I exclaimed, "I never imagined that Jeff was such a playboy when he was young! How did he become so...?"

I didn't know how to express "desperate for money" elegantly and politely, so I simply omitted the phrase.

Fortunately, Miss Karen understood without needing to say more, and said with a sly smile, "That guy can still paint oil paintings now, he's more talented than you think. Not only that, Mom said that even when they got married, Dad was still a carefree idiot, messing up every job he did, and then helplessly asking Mom for help to clean up the mess."

"Anyway, life went on like this, with all the bickering and joking. In order to marry my dad, my mom cut off contact with the family who opposed the marriage early on, but their life in the city became more and more difficult. In the end, my dad remembered that there was a house left by his ancestors in the remote countryside, but it was too remote to sell and had been sitting there empty."

“I was born the second year after we arrived in Mineral Town.” Karen finally got to the point, finishing her description of her parents’ romantic history.

"My mom said that on the night I was born, my dad, who was always carefree and clumsy, stood outside the delivery room for a long time, and then suddenly burst into tears."

"The next day, he sold the family heirloom necklace as start-up capital to open this general store at home. My mother hugged me and asked him curiously why he did this. After all, that necklace was an important symbol of the family, and even when they were homeless, they couldn't bear to sell it."

"My father carefully picked me up from my swaddling clothes and said that he used to think that everything in the world was predetermined, that fate would bring things and take things away, and that there was no need to care. But when he saw his daughter being born, he suddenly felt a greed he had never felt before."

"He greedily hoped that this little life would enjoy all happiness, that the little life would be spared all suffering, that she would be well-fed and clothed, that she would grow up happily, and that she would be loved forever."

That greed, like a venomous snake, gnawed at his heart, injecting a poison called happiness. He was no longer calm; he needed so much money to give his daughter the best life, the best food, the best education, and the best future. He regretted not cherishing what he had back then, spending all his family fortune, and regretted not being able to give me enough wealth to live a carefree life…

I listened to this story in shock, never expecting that the ending would be because of Karen? What was it that made a lazy, good-for-nothing man grow into a strong and upright man overnight? And what was it that transformed a carefree playboy into a worried old father?

is a child.

“Boss Jeff… is actually quite great.” I managed to utter those words with difficulty. Actually, I would have preferred Karen to tell me that she made up the story, so I wouldn’t have to equate a good father with a shrewd businessman, which would challenge my worldview.

"Whatever. Although my dad is always nagging and annoying, and his petty and calculating manner doesn't show any manliness, I still hope that everyone can understand him and not dislike him because of it."

Karen looked sadly at the sky and saw strangely shaped clouds floating and drifting.

"People in the town have become distant from him because of his increasingly greedy behavior over the past few years. But my mom told me that he wanted to save money to send me to university in a big city."

I said quietly, "Well, no matter what others say, he is a good father, and you should thank him for his contributions."

But Karen scoffed, "Tch, who wants to thank that nasty guy?" Then she finally revealed her true feelings.

"His behavior is really bothering me... I didn't ask him to do this, yet he's sacrificed so much for me, and my existence has caused so much trouble for everyone in the town. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been the best choice for everyone if I hadn't been born..."

"If only this were a town where I didn't exist..."

Chapter 97 Zach the Trader

"This isn't like you at all," I asked her with a light laugh. I never expected that this seemingly mature and straightforward girl would have so many sentimental thoughts.

“Hey, have you ever thought about it? If none of this existed, there wouldn’t be any worries. But what’s the point?” I kicked a pebble away listlessly. “A person’s life is like carrying heavy luggage on a long journey… At first, it sounds like a very annoying statement, but when you think about it, the old man’s words do make sense.”

"It may not be much luggage, but everyone carries something precious in their arms, but they never notice it when they have it."

"I noticed that heaviness only when everything slipped quietly from my hands. I don't know how many times I've thought that I never want to have those things again, but I don't know when I picked them up again. Maybe it would be easier to just throw them all away, but I don't want to do that no matter what. Because without those things, how boring the journey would be."

Karen asked, puzzled, "But is this the life I want? I don't even know if my dream of going to school in the city is right for me, or if I've really thought things through. My mind is always shrouded in darkness. Is it because I can't escape my dad's care that I can't see the sunshine?"

“Then you’re wrong, Karen,” I said with a touch of melancholy. “No matter where you are or what situation you’re in, there’s always the sun. Even though it’s often blocked by clouds, as long as you keep looking up at the sky, it will always peek out from behind the clouds eventually. So, in order not to miss that moment, we must not stop looking up at the sky, stand tall, and look straight up at the sun…”

Karen looked at me with some shock, then nudged me with her elbow with a laugh. "I didn't expect you to be so philosophical. Don't worry, I was just saying that, I don't intend to do anything irrational."

"Haha, I've always believed that instead of thinking about how to make a beautiful sacrifice, it's better to think about how to live beautifully until the very end."

"Wow, did you come up with that yourself?"

"No, it was said by a silver-haired, good-for-nothing samurai."

Is this person your friend?

"Hmm... I guess so. But I'd be surprised if I ever ran into him again."

After chatting for a while, I felt it was time to leave, so I stood up and nudged the jay, which was dozing off in the slightly tipsy afternoon.

"Miss Karen, I have to go now. I have something to take Jay to see Zack."

Karen straightened her clothes, smoothed out the wrinkles in her coat, and stood up. She patted my shoulder with a tomboyish air and said boldly, "You're a really interesting guy. Let's have a drink together next time!"

"drink wine?"

"What's wrong? You're not happy about it?"

"Ah, no... I'd be more than happy to." I never expected Karen to enjoy drinking. Why haven't I seen her drinking at Boss Dart's tavern? It's quite unexpected that there's a woman in this group of alcoholics...

"It's a deal! Goodbye Marcus, goodbye Jay!"

After saying that, Karen strode home in a hurry, leaving me standing under the tree with a big bag of seeds and a jay, looking foolish.

By this time, the jay had transferred all the contents of the animal skin bag into its backpack, and was excitedly bouncing up and down with its little yellow wool backpack on its back... just like an excited elementary school student about to start school?

In her previous life, she would have been just starting elementary school at this age, right?

This damn world.

"Marcus, this older sister named Karen is a good person," Jay said happily, oblivious to Karen's departing figure.

"Yes, he's a good person."

I stroked Jay's head, which was covered by a hat, and seeing that she was no longer resisting, I said, "We've spent almost all our money, so we need to figure out how to solve the tool problem."

"It's alright if you don't have the money, Marcus. I'm already very grateful that you helped me buy so many seeds and even bought me this backpack. I don't want to trouble you anymore!"

"We're allies, aren't we? If I can't even help with something this small, I might as well go back to sleep." I said with a light laugh, leading Jay towards the beach. "Don't worry, we're going to an old acquaintance's place; he'll definitely help you!"

…………

"Zack, you're such a good person, you'll definitely help us, right?"

I glared at Zack, my gaze darting over the goods in his room, as if to say, "If you don't agree, I'll rob you." Meanwhile, my savior, Jay, was watching me intently, blinking her starry eyes with a pitiful expression.

(。o3o)！

Poor, honest Zach had no chance to fight back under the double attack. In less than five minutes, he gave up and said, "Marcus, you're putting me in a difficult position... Okay, but I only have a little stock left in this shop. I only bought the previous goods because someone ordered them. See what you need..."

I patted Zack on the shoulder with satisfaction, very pleased with his lenient attitude of confessing, and, with my accomplice number one, Jay, began to inspect the things in the house.

"Ball... What is this thing? Isn't this a dog toy?"

"A frisbee? And it's a dog toy? There aren't any dogs on this island! Why did you buy this!"

"Why is there another dull gray rock? Zack, you're collecting garbage? I'm so disappointed in you..."

Zach walked over with a look of despair and explained, "That's not a broken rock, it's a piece of jade that Sebala dug up before. But I've never been able to see what makes it look like jade, so I couldn't assess its value and haven't been able to sell it."

The fist-sized stone looked dull and lifeless, with a gloomy aura like that of a dead fish's eyes. Its surface was also extremely rough. If it weren't for its perfectly round shape, it would be impossible to distinguish it from the stones on the roadside.