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Acceding to the clan head ultimately proved to be the easier thing to do, despite the expectation to exceed expectations. “Take control of an entire village, wrapping them around your little finger as their Queen Bee.”
Except—
“I don’t want to control other people’s lives,” Haru thought to herself. “I don’t want the villagers to love me simply because of my Queen Bee ability.”
Yet—
It remained at the back of her head as she moved into the farmhouse, a rundown place with a bed and television, along with tools to live her life as a farmer. The morning thankfully proved sunny, and she learned that the village wasn’t a village, but a small town called Pelican Town, thanks to the local weather report, which meant there was some nearby broadcast connected to Pelican Town, not Zuzu City.
Haru stepped outside, wiping her brow. “How hard can this be?”
Apparently very hard, with her questioning how she’d exceed expectations without charming the townsfolk as the clan head made clear, but then perhaps that was the whole point of the daunting task. Haru frowned, continuing to struggle away at preparing a nice three-by-three patch for her parsnip seeds, planting each one and watering them.
Her entire body dripped with sweat, and she didn’t know what she should do next, particularly since going into town meant facing the townsfolk, and her ability potentially going off. She let out a sigh, thinking over every way that her success might be attributed to her Queen Bee power, such as the store owner conveniently giving hr a discount.
Haru brushed it aside, deciding to forge a bit, hoping to find something edible to eat without having to rely on the store. She headed up the path to the north into the mountains, slowly picking up various spring vegetables, wondering if any of them would be poisonous.
“Well, at least I’ve built a tolerance for poisons, so if I eat something poisonous…”
“Are you crazy?”
Hary frowned, turning her head to look at a young man with dark hair and dark eyes, a cigarette in his fingers as he glared at her.
“The look on your face says yes.”
“Uh, hello.”
“And the fact that you even want to move out here.”
Haru frowned. “I said hello.”
He stared, then, “Sebastian. That’s my name.”
“Oh! I forgot to give my name!” Haru said, grinning and giving her name. “I really didn’t want to meet anybody and thought I stayed far enough away from the house.”
He sighed, looking away. “It’s spring, so everything but the daffodil is edible.” He paused. “Well, they are edible, but…”
Haru wasn’t sure what to think. “I’d better be going then!”
He let out a snort as she headed back the way she came, nearly bumping into an old homeless guy, unsure of whether her supposed Queen Bee power had any effect on her interaction with the young man.
“I really don’t know what I’m going to do.”