Of course, with the joyous day approaching, not everyone was perfectly happy.
For instance, Boss Mabel, whose shop was located right across from the Pelican Town square.
"My, oh my, how lively!"
Perhaps the noise from the square was simply too loud, prompting the General Store's door to open a crack. A head that clearly looked deprived of sleep poked out from inside.
"Farmer, get over here!"
"Making an endless racket out there with all that clanging and banging first thing in the morning! With so many empty spaces in this broken place, do you really have to set things up right at my door?!"
Sounding like a feral cat letting out a warning hiss, Mabel, who hadn't even had the time to change out of her thick, padded pajamas, gritted her teeth.
"Uncle Suke, he was just..."
Having just returned from the Salem cross-realm gate carrying a basket of muffins gifted by friends as a congratulatory present, Abigail fidgeted and tried to explain, but was immediately interrupted by Mabel:
"I'm not listening! I'm not listening!"
"I don't care what you guys are doing, just move further away right now and don't disturb my good night's sleep..."
Thud.
Before Mabel's words could fall, a box fully packed with dozens of bottles of Ancient Fruit wine landed right before her eyes, causing her unspoken words to catch in her throat.
She lifted her head and looked at Suke, who had walked up to her. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks puffed out slightly, but she quickly pulled them back in.
"What is the meaning of this? Do you think you can bribe me with this kind of stuff?"
"I'm telling you, Mabel-chan is genuinely upset! You dense, blockheaded log of a man, this time, no matter what, Mabel-chan absolutely won't let you..."
Click.
Two more small boxes landed in Suke's hands, presented right before Mabel's eyes.
And these two small boxes were nothing else but a Wedding Ring forged from iridium and a Mermaid's Pendant crafted from a rainbow shell.
"?"
Seeing these two items, Mabel was genuinely stunned. She raised her head to meet Suke's "sincere" gaze, momentarily at a loss for words.
"You... I... Farmer, what is the meaning of this...?"
"I don't mean much by it, just a little token of my appreciation. It's really just a small gesture."
Suke wore a half-smile; this sudden turn of events gave Mabel an overarching sense of unreality.
What was going on? Did this blockhead finally see the light?
Could it be because of that fruit he ate earlier?
But that shouldn't be right either. Logically speaking, even if he ate that fruit, he shouldn't...
"...Hehe, since you've gone to such lengths, Farmer, Mabel-chan isn't someone who lacks compassion. I'll reluctantly accept them!"
Even though she constantly felt something was off in her mind, outwardly, Mabel immediately accepted Suke's "gift", as if terrified he would go back on his word!
Mabel first swiftly and nimbly dragged that box of fruit wine into her General Store, kicking it into a corner to prevent Suke from reneging.
Then, she reached out her hand, preparing to take the two small boxes containing the important items from Suke's hands:
"Well, logically speaking, given Mabel-chan's status, you should have prepared a grand, exclusive ceremony just for me."
"But Mabel-chan isn't that petty either. Mabel-chan sees your sincerity clearly, so Mabel-chan... hmm?"
Mabel reached out, but just as her fingers were about to touch the box containing the Wedding Ring in Suke's hand, when the distance between them was less than ten centimeters, an invisible barrier suddenly blocked her hand.
This barrier was like some sort of rule. Whether Suke handed it to Mabel, or Mabel tried to take it from Suke's hand, this rule prevented the object from falling into Mabel's grasp.
Mabel: "?"
Mabel froze for a moment. She hurriedly turned to grab the "Mermaid's Pendant" in Suke's other hand, but the result was identical.
The invisible barrier obstructed the space between her limbs and the item, causing Mabel to successively change several different angles and directions. She even had Suke throw the boxes onto the ground and went back into her shop to bring out a broom to hook them, only to find that she was completely unable to touch or move them.
Mabel: ???
"Now you understand, right?"
Suke looked at Mabel—who was squatting on the ground, staring blankly at the two small boxes less than a few dozen centimeters away, seemingly within arm's reach yet entirely out of reach—and let out a sigh:
"What kind of person do you take me for? The kind of scumbag who enjoys deliberately stringing others along? Or an ungrateful wretch who doesn't know who is actually good to him?"
"Let me put it this way, with your status, Boss Mabel, for you to be willing to condescend and favor a nobody like me is, of course, my honor..."
Looking troubled, Suke's words came to an abrupt halt, because he believed Mabel could understand the rest without him needing to say it out loud. After all, she was the biggest and fiercest Haji-Immortal in his territory.
But, you see, this is Stardew Valley, the so-called Land of Return as Mabel called it, and everything here must be done according to the rules.
And this rule, naturally, was one of the regulations within Stardew Valley that had not yet been bypassed—
Mabel, as the "General Store owner," was not a marriageable character!
"No, wait, let Mabel-chan get this straight."
Holding her forehead, Mabel felt rushes of blood surging up, making her head somewhat dizzy.
Her gaze scrutinized the people at the wedding venue being set up not far away one by one, moving from Tsukishiro Yuki, past Abigail, and finally landing on BB.
"Mabel-chan can roughly understand what happened, but... what's the deal with Nyar?"
"You mean BB? BB said she is the administrator of the entire 'Farm', so she can occupy whichever identity she wants to occupy within it."
"The 'Farm Owner' is not a marriageable character, but the 'Farm Owner's niece' is."
Suke calmly relayed the information he had learned from BB. In truth, the scene of Mabel wanting to take the Wedding Ring and Mermaid's Pendant but being unable to do so had previously happened to BB as well.
However, BB was quick-witted. Upon realizing the crux of the problem, she immediately and extremely shamelessly used her administrative privileges to swap her identity with BBcosmo—who was staying in a room on the Farm, having just arrived in Stardew Valley recently, entirely ignorant of everything, and acting as the "Farm Owner's niece".
As a side note, BBcosmo (Space BB) is an avatar with an independent personality that BB split off when constructing MOONDUBAI, which is also commonly known as "White Sakura".
Because it was BB splitting herself, rather than simply creating an Alterego like in the past, BBcosmo, considered a part of her, could freely enter and exit Stardew Valley. Furthermore, due to BB's unique nature, she could occupy an extra identity within Stardew Valley.
When the utterly bewildered BBcosmo came in, BB even hinted to Suke that if he liked her, having both BBs together wouldn't be impossible. However, it was now quite evident just how scummy this BB was, capable of backstabbing even "herself" at the drop of a hat.
"Hah..."
Mabel took a deep breath. The stars within her eyes were flickering; heaven only knew what kind of mood she was in at this exact moment.
As if thinking of something, she abruptly turned her head to look at Abigail. However, Abigail, shrinking her neck, hurriedly avoided her gaze and hid behind Suke, clinging to his arm.
Mabel: "..."
Her raised gaze then met Suke's warning "don't try anything funny" look, and she immediately knew that trying to imitate Nyar's trick of pulling the same stunt probably wouldn't work.
So unwilling... why did it turn out like this...
If I had known earlier that a niece would compete with me for a man...
Mabel's petite frame trembled slightly. Forcing herself not to look at the two boxes on the ground, she covered her face, retreated into the General Store, and slammed the door shut with a loud smack!
"Keep the noise down from now on! I'm going back to sleep!"
"And one more thing, Farmer! I'm giving you a time limit of one year to find a solution for Mabel-chan! Otherwise, Mabel-chan will snipe you from the outside..."
"...And make sure you won't even be able to take a single step out of this place...!"
____
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