Upon arriving at the city gates, Mia could not help but to think back to her first few days in “The World”. Things had evolved and developed so fast that she was almost lost. She was lost in joy, but bewildered at what direction her life may take at this rate. She had not told Brad yet, but she was also leveling up, what would be considered, exceptionally fast. With an average of Stone 7 but ‘Merchant’s Eye’ all the way at Stone 9, she was catching up with the back end of what many people on their second year here. It was no surprise though, between all the loot and harvests to sell, there were plenty of ways to level her merchant skill. In fact the more she thought about it, she was lucky to have found Brad both inside and outside of their relationship.

With her mind occupied with her thoughts, Mia had completely missed the guard waving her up past the stopped wagon until one of its passengers helped get her attention. Face flushed, she ran up to the front of the line to be greeted by a familiar Private.

“Good morning Edgar! Did you get in trouble again?”

“Good morning Mia, and you should really call me by my guard title while I am on duty.” The bronze skinned man replied with a smile.

“Fair enough, but I only really see you when you are on duty, so I just wanted to be friendly when I do see you!” Mia good heartedly explained.

“Well, I would be happy to take you out after duty one day.” Edgar hedged.

“I am sorry Edgar, but I am in a relationship already. And I do not plan on being back on the market any time soon.”

“Really!? Dang, what lucky guy hooked you? Do I know him?” The curious guard asked.

“You sure are nosey today!” Mia said, chuckling. “I am not sure if you know him or not. But so you know, his name is Brad. He is also my business partner, we have a combined farming business that we started pretty early in the season.”

“Oh, he is another farmer? Well I guess it makes sense, since you both encounter the same experiences.” Edgar conceded.

“Something like that, but honestly a lot of it was just how it happened to play out. But do not worry Edgar, there are plenty of pretty girls in town!” Mia cheerfully told him.

“Well if you could put in the word for me, I would be more than thankful!”

“Come now, you should put in the work before I ever get involved… a girl will not take you seriously if another girl brokers the date. Heck, having your buddy would be more effective than me trying it.” Mia said while trying not to fully chastise her friend.

“Well then just point me in their direction, that alone would help.” Edgar said with determination.

“Well, I will keep my eyes open for you.” Mia said with a chuckle as Edgar finished the guard post journal entry for her coming into town. And so with a wave goodbye she got on her way down the street with a smile still playing across her face.

Passing shop after shop, Mia made her way through the streets knowing exactly where she was heading. Having passed the one of the many opulent storefronts that she had seen during her first visit to the city, Mia turned down a short alley. Ending in a cramped cul-de-sac, the alley was quite boisterous with traffic thanks to the two shops occupying it, “Frank’s tailoring for the working man” and “Homestead Tooling and Sales”. The former being a very reasonably priced source for clothes that focused heavily on having durable clothes and the later being a somewhat “one stop shop” for farmers.

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With a jingle announcing her presence, Mia was greeted with a loud “I wasn’t expecting you back so early!”

A smile on her face, Mia shouted back over the crowd at the counter. “Well we had a good harvest and I wanted to get a few more items. Will that be a problem Samantha?”.

“Oh! You learned to chat the chat way too quickly! I will have to watch out for you a bit more in the future less you take MY customers with your quick wit!” The frizzy haired woman replied.

“Hehe, It is always a wonderful time seeing you Samantha! But in all seriousness, I will need some help sorting out my purchase this time.”

With an eyebrow raised, Samantha asked ; “You actually need help ordering something? You sometimes ask for recommendations, but you are always so decisive with what you want.”

“Oh, I know what I want, I just need your help to order it.” Mia responded quickly.

Slapping her forehead, the redhead shook her head side to side before responding. “Of course you do… and what is it that you need help with?” The older woman asked while finishing her task of checking out the prior customer with almost no effort spent multitasking the situation.

“I need to upgrade our plot of land.” Mia stated plainly knowing that it would draw more than a few looks of surprise.

“Um Mia… I think it might be early to do that. Until you get close to copper tier, it will be pointless. Heck, it might be too dangerous until then as well. I would eve~~.” Samantha was saying before Mia cut her off.

“Oh, I know. My farming is not quite ready, but my business partner is. In fact, I believe that unless we purchase the upgrade he will stagnate along with my Merchant class.” Mia said proudly, knowing that she would cause a few double takes on what she just said.

“Your business partner is already hitting copper!? It hasn’t even been a full season yet! No wonder you locked him down and started dating him! I had heard that a few nurse girls thought him cute, but I never would’ve imagined him to be that good of a catch!” The older woman went off.

“WHAT!? How do you know that we are dating!? It is no secret, but I have barely told anyone!” Mia questioned with a feeling of anxiety starting to percolate.

“People talk honey. Everyone knows about you and Melissa competing for some boy.”

“How do people know about that!?” Mia’s voice now squeaking.

“Because it is not everyday that two of the pretty new girls start a grudge over a boy that barely anyone has met. In fact, from what I heard, you both got in a little peacocking competition while he was bedridden.”

“WHAT!? I did not!”

“Honey, you did it infront of bedridden old men. Us women gossip a lot, but two pretty girls prancing along trying to outdo each other in front of injured old men with nothing better to do, is asking for some chatter.” The older woman laughed.

Her face buried in her hands, Mia just stood there. Not knowing how to proceed, she took a deep breath and tried forgetting what was just said. “So can we get that upgrade registered? I have a few more purchases to make as well….” And after a few moments of watching Samantha raising her left eyebrow at her, Mia pouted in frustration. “Please tell me that it is just the old men talking about it.”

“Old men, old women, young women, and a few others… pretty much most people with nothing better to do.” Samantha said laughing loudly. “But don’t worry, I will cut you a deal of the purchases today!”

“Well, if anything is going to make me feel better, I guess a discount will do. But I am still not happy.”

“Haha, wait until you get older, then you will love it!” Samantha said with a smile.