Flambéed Love (Story of Seasons / Harvest Moon Fanfiction)

Chapter 16: Forward

While Minori tries to hold herself back from being too intimate with Raeger in public out of consideration for the rest of the Oak Tree Town residents - and also due to her bashfulness, Raeger's constant affection towards her slowly informed the residents of their new relationship.

He would take a hike up the hills to visit Minori once in a while, bringing her favourite foods along because he knows how hard she work, sometimes at the expense of her own health. And although Raeger tends to be very serious at work, he would take a quick moment to approach Minori in her seat whenever she visits the restaurant and give her a small peck on her cheek - which would be returned only by her rosy blush.

The residents of Oak Tree Town had shown a mix of reactions upon learning about this news. And of course, the girls who frequent Raeger's establishment got really jealous at times. But Minori ignored those whispers, and quietly sipped into her favourite ice tea.

...

"Minori, you knew you have to do something about those girls!" Agate exclaimed, during the girls' usual afternoon tea meet up at Iris' place.

Minori sighed, slightly pouting as she replied, "...I just don't want to bring unnecessary drama into my life."

"But...! You can't just let them badmouth you like that!" Agate raised her voice. 

"It's... fine. I'm not gonna waste my time tending to their provocation. But if they take one step further, I'll be sure to do something about it." Minori spoke calmly.

"But...!"

"She's right, Agate." Iris quickly interrupted. "We don't have to stoop so low to their level." She winked. "But of course, we'll take action if they went too far."

"Okay....." Agate replied in a slightly dejected manner, when she suddenly noticed Iris' weak expression.

"Iris? Are you alright? You don't seem too well..."

"Huh? Ah! I'm okay... I'm just feeling a little light-headed today.." Iris explained weakly. "Thanks for asking, Agate."

"Well.. if you say so.." Agate replied, but still feeling concerned. "But be sure to let us know if you still feel unwell okay?"

Minori soon nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, both of you." Iris smiled gently. "I'll be sure to do that."

"Drink something warm and sweet for now." Minori stood up from her seat and bent slightly to pour more tea into everyone's cups, then started offering the sugar cubes around, before she settled into her seat again.

She looked at everyone, then proceeded to clear her throat. "Well.. I'm sure we can all agree that we've discussed too much about... Raeger and I.. today." Minori continued the conversation sheepishly, earning a chuckle from the girls. "Enough of that, what have you girls been up to?"

Agate gulped down her tea, and leaned backwards into a more comfortable position, "Nothing much really, I've mostly been busy with the safari. We're doing some upgrades so I have to move some of the animals there..." She sighed, then turned to look at Iris.

"Oh.. Ah! I guess.. I.. I've been quite busy with my novel too.. I need to look for more ideas for my next chapter." Iris smiled, at the same time showing a tinge of frustration in her expression. But Minori sensed something amiss; with the way Iris was acting, it seemed like it was something more than just a cold. The elegant writer did not seem as calm as she usually is - despite it being a very subtle difference - and her cheeks looked slightly flushed.