Gus headed into the kitchen, and Lewis went off to entertain the lady reporter. Since there wasn’t much point in staying at the Stardrop Saloon any longer, Leon grabbed his fishing rod and spent the entire afternoon fishing at the mountain lake. By the ti the sun began to set, he made his way back to the farm.
He first checked the coop and found that the chicks had already huddled together, fast asleep. They didn’t seem hungry at all.
Next, he went into the cave. There was no sign of any fruit, but the number of fruit bats hanging from the ceiling seed to have increased.
Finally, Leon returned to the fields. He glanced at the one small patch that had been watered by the pump and saw the soil was still moist. Only then did he toss the fish he had caught at the mountain lake into the shipping bin and head inside to prepare dinner.
After a good al, a bath, and a bit of TV, Leon drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
When he awoke, daylight had already filled the room. He went through his usual morning routine—getting up, washing up, and having breakfast. This ti, however, things were different. The pump he used for watering made the work unbelievably efficient; what usually took over an hour was now done in under five minutes.
He then went to the coop to pet and feed the chickens, and on the way back, stopped by the cave to collect a round of mushrooms. That wrapped up his morning farm chores.
“Purple Mushroom (Forage Item): A rare mushroom found in caves.”
Out of the six mushrooms he collected, one was a Purple Mushroom, while the rest were ordinary ones. Leon wasn’t surprised—it was exactly as he expected. Two days ago, when he had co to check on the fruit bats, he had noticed the purple cap of this mushroom peeking out from the cultivation box.
Even so, facing the Purple Mushroom still made him uneasy.
Its plump, thick cap was covered in tiny white speckles, the deep violet hue as rich as a purple gemstone, saturating every inch of its surface. Even the stem beneath it had a faint lavender tint.
In the ga, eating a Purple Mushroom restored a large amount of stamina and health—it was edible. But in reality, its appearance didn’t inspire confidence that it was safe to eat.
Luckily, Leon wasn’t planning on eating it directly. After all, it could be used to brew a Life Potion, which was far safer. At least the potion clearly stated that it could completely heal physical injuries.
With the farm chores done, Leon left through the northern exit, stopping by the resin tapper on the way. The small barrel was only half full, so he didn’t bother collecting it.
On his way toward the northern foothills, he also picked up any leeks, wild horseradish, and dandelions he spotted. Each ti, the familiar System Prompt rang in his ears.
“Long hours of foraging have given you new insights into how to gather wild plants. Your Foraging Skill has increased by one level.
Through extensive foraging, you’ve mastered new recipes. Crafting nu unlocked: Sumr Seeds and Charcoal Kiln.
You have received nature’s blessing. When foraging wild berries, there is now a chance to gather more.”
“I leveled up?”
If it weren’t for the prompt, Leon would have forgotten that his Foraging Skill could still level up.
After hitting Foraging Level 3, he hadn’t neglected chopping wood or foraging, but without an experience bar to track progress, he had no idea how long it would take to go from Level 3 to Level 4. In reality, skill leveling requirents felt far harsher than in the ga.
Still, the fact that he leveled up at all ant the system wasn’t broken—that was good news. One more level and he’d be able to choose a profession-specific perk.
The skill increase left Leon in high spirits, a smile on his face the whole way—until he ran into Linus, whose blunt words wiped that smile away.
“Are you smiling like that because you’re excited to bully kids tomorrow?”
“What? Don’t slander
out of nowhere! When did I ever say I was going to bully kids?” Leon shot back.
“Because I heard Lewis added your na to tomorrow’s Egg Hunt list. Most of the participants are children. What else would you call it but bullying?” Linus said with perfect seriousness.
“Huh? Since when? I haven’t even decided if I’m joining the Egg Hunt, and Lewis just signed
up without asking?”
“Maybe it’s because this is your first festival in Stardew Valley. Lewis probably wanted you to feel more involved, a bit more like you belong,” Linus reasoned after a pause.
“Fair enough. Old man, are you going to the festival tomorrow?” Leon found Linus’s explanation reasonable and imdiately asked about his plans.
“Of course. It’s a town celebration. But I won’t bother anyone—I’ll just stay on the outskirts and watch quietly. Don’t co over to , just pretend I’m not there,” Linus replied, making sure to set the boundary.
“No way. I don’t mind hanging out with you, and you don’t have to worry about people giving
strange looks for being close to you. I think the people in Pelican Town are all pretty nice,” Leon said, giving Linus a reassuring hug.
“No, it’s
who minds.” Linus pushed Leon away without hesitation. “I don’t want people thinking I’m close to soone who likes bullying children.”
“…Guess I’ll have to go find Lewis and ask him to take my na off the list,” Leon muttered.
“Are you sure? I heard you’re in the event, so I gave Lewis a magic hat to use as the prize for first place. You don’t want that hat?” Linus reminded him.
“Magic hat? Did you get it from the Hat Mouse too?” Leon imdiately thought of the Hat Mouse.
“What kind of hat is it? Can you tell ?”
“It’s from my old collection. But no, I can’t tell you—you’ll have to win first place yourself to find out,” Linus said, shaking his head.
“As for that little Hat Mouse, you should be careful. It’s not as honest as it seems. So of its hats aren’t exactly obtained through… proper ans. If you happen to buy a stolen hat and the original owner sees you wearing it, you’ll be in trouble.”
“What? The Hat Mouse sells stolen hats?” Leon was stunned.
“No matter how clever it is, at the end of the day, it’s still a mouse, isn’t it? So instincts are just inborn and can’t be changed,” Linus replied with a grin.
“And yet it dares to sell hats openly in Stardew Valley, even after doing things like that, without anyone killing it?” Leon asked, baffled.
“Don’t underestimate the Children of the Wilds. These offspring of the forest all have their special ways of surviving. And the Hat Mouse knows its limits—it never touches anything belonging to powerful people. A flexible moral bottom line is its key to survival,” Linus explained.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider subscribing to
on (/RomayStories). Your support helps
keep translating regularly and allows
to dedicate more ti to bringing Leon’s adventures in Stardew Valley to life!
Reviews
All reviews (0)