“Leon!”
Just as Leon was looking for a trash bin inside the library, a surprised voice called out from behind him.
Turning around, Leon saw Penny waving at him. Beside her stood two little ones—a lively boy and a shy girl—one on each side, curiously sizing him up.
“Hello, Penny. Do you know where the trash bin is in the library?” Leon asked with a smile.
“Follow . Jas, Vincent, take your books to the desk and wait for
there,” Penny told the two children before leading the way.
When they reached the trash bin, Leon tossed the bone powder he was holding into it. Penny then asked, “Are you here to borrow books?”
“I ca to see you. My Omni Geode cracked open to reveal sothing special. I’m telling you, you’re my lucky goddess,” Leon replied truthfully. That was his main reason for coming—to thank her for the lucky hand that had helped him get a Prismatic Shard from the Universal Crystal Cave.
“That’s just your good luck. It has little to do with ,” Penny murmured, face flushing red. She lowered her head, her fingers fidgeting nervously.
“I think you deserve more credit. So, if you’re free at noon, I’d like to treat you to lunch as thanks,” Leon said earnestly. Even in the ga, he had never gotten a Prismatic Shard from the Universal Crystal Cave, so he knew exactly how rare this was.
Penny froze for a mont before instinctively saying, “No need. Eating out is too expensive. It’s better to just eat at ho.”
Her first reaction wasn’t shyness or hesitation—it was worrying about the cost. That made Leon’s heart ache for her.
Realizing her words might have sounded odd, Penny hurried to explain, “I didn’t an your house, I ant mine—no, wait, forget it. You really don’t have to treat .”
Seeing her get flustered, Leon chuckled. “Let’s just go to the Starfruit Saloon then. That way we don’t have to visit anyone’s ho. And if you don’t co, I’ll just order two servings as usual—one for , and one to take to your place.”
“You can’t just decide that!” Penny protested, her cheeks puffing slightly in indignation.
“Why not?” Leon stepped closer, lowering his voice. “That’s my decision. Whether you accept the takeout or not will be up to you.”
Now standing just inches away, Leon made Penny’s face burn even redder.
He was taller than her, so from her angle she could only see his solid chest, sll that familiar scent unique to him. The effect on her was overwhelming.
“I… I’ll go with you.”
In the end, Penny agreed, her hand instinctively pressing against her chest as she struggled to catch her breath.
“Haha, perfect. Beautiful girl, I’ll see you at the Starfruit Saloon.” Leon turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, he ca back.
“Ahem, got a bit carried away there. Penny, do you know if the library has any geography books on Stardew Valley? Preferably with a map from Stardew Valley to Calico Desert.”
Clearing his throat to shake off the awkwardness, Leon asked.
“I’m not sure. You could ask Mr. Gunther,” Penny replied, then added, “Are you planning to go to Calico Desert?”
“Yeah, I’ve got so business there. But since there’s no bus from town, I’ll have to figure out another way,” Leon explained without hiding anything.
“In that case, you could take the bus to Zuzu City first, then catch a long-distance bus from there to Calico Desert. It’ll take about two hours longer, but it’s safer that way,” Penny suggested.
“There’s such a route?” Leon was genuinely surprised—he hadn’t known Zuzu City had a direct bus to Calico Desert.
“Yes, but hardly anyone goes there except during the annual Desert Festival. The place is too dry, and apart from sand and cacti, there’s really nothing to see,” Penny explained.
“You know so much,” Leon said approvingly. Since eting her, he had learned quite a bit of information he hadn’t known before.
“Well, I am a teacher,” Penny replied softly, lowering her head again.
“By the way, are those the only two kids in town who are school age?”
Leon thought back to the two little ones. In the ga, those were indeed Penny’s only students due to the limited number of NPCs. But in real life, Pelican Town surely had more people.
“There are more, but most families with children have moved to bigger cities for better educational resources. The only ones left here are Vincent and Jas.” Penny’s expression dimd slightly.
“Well, that’s not all bad. Kids in the city can have better teachers and resources.”
“Mm.” Leon nodded and didn’t press the matter.
It wasn’t unique to this world. Back on Blue Star, rural parents who could afford it would send their children to city schools with better resources and environnts.
“I’d better get back to class. I’ll see you at the Starfruit Saloon at noon.”
Rembering the two children, Penny excused herself and left.
Leon didn’t interrupt her work. Following her suggestion, he went to ask Gunther for any books with maps from Stardew Valley to Calico Desert.
With Gunther’s help, Leon found a book titled “Stardew Valley and Surrounding Geography.” Flipping through the table of contents, he located the section on Calico Desert and read carefully.
Half an hour later, he returned the book and left the library.
From the reading, Leon understood why Pelican Town had never repaired the bus route to Calico Desert. It wasn’t about funding—it simply wasn’t necessary.
Calico Desert was just that: a desert. Aside from a few scattered oases, the land was nothing but yellow sand. There was no fertile soil, no valuable resources of economic worth. It was essentially uninhabited.
With no real developnt or tourism value, the desert only saw visitors during the three-day Desert Festival each year, attracting backpackers and adventurers from afar. The rest of the year, it was practically empty.
For Pelican Town, spending its limited developnt funds to repair a bus that might not even make a round trip in a day just wasn’t worth it.
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