Chapter 1

Veronica

My name is Johnny, and I'm 20 years old. I come from the Eastern Pacific, and because of that, I'm quite tanned and have natural spiky black hair and eyes. I wasn't raised too much there, so my English and tone are "white-washed". I currently have no developing dreams, and I don't even know why I took just one course.

I'm a cynic. It's because my genes don't give me eidetic memory like what everyone just seems to have. I hate everything because they seem like they're born successful. I don't believe in myself because I wasn't born a genius or naturally good at something, let alone something naturally "good". I hate how I'm born, but I still continue to live, trying to find something to make my life worthwhile, yet the nearest successful person reawakens my realization that I wasn't born that way. Suicide is just too edgy and stupid for me. I've been depressed a lot before, but the thought of killing myself is mundane and won't really solve anything. In a way, I might be considered having a strong will, though all my "good" things are overlooked.

I'm not without positive traits... if that's worth anything to anyone.

I love my family dearly and are loyal to them... to an extent. I trust most of them except my little brother, who is known to lie and deceive. It's mostly because I grew up around them mostly; I didn't have too much close friends back in high school. My closest sibling and friend is my eldest brother, Nathan.

After a few weeks after the final week of the semester, one of my friends at church showed me a place where I could apply. It was a day camp, and she said that I can probably get the job. I did the interview and all, but after that, I was rejected. I was deeply saddened; so sad, I believed that I'm unable to get any job. I did nothing to make it better... or at least try to do something that I thought could make me feel better.

Without anything else to do, I just decided to play video games to distract my ennui. I don't really feel like all my efforts will help me become better like this if everyone else can do it much better than me. I just don't see the worth of trying when others can do the same thing I try to do; just... not try. But what I find stupid is how much I'm dedicating my life to a video game, and how my efforts actually pay off in there. Stupid irony. With a sigh, I decided to just put it down for now. There's something wrong with me, but I feel like I'm stuck in some Samsara of despair. I'd probably return to my game anyway.

I decided to go outside of my room and buy some cola to cool down my mind. I took off my pajamas and put on a new set of clothes: a white t-shirt and blue jeans. I went downstairs to the living room and put on my red shoes. As I opened the door and entered the world with people I hate, a woman in her early 30s stood by my mailbox. She didn't seem to wear the mailer's uniform. Her dress isn't too elegant, but it has a "business-y" feel to it.

"... You're not the mailman," I said to her.

She perked up and looked at me with a surprised look.

"I'm sorry for my intrusion, I must-"

"Hold up!"

Before she left, I put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to halt.

"What's up with this whole mailing business, lady?" I asked.

She sighed and showed me her letter.

"... We're trying to find people who would be interested in our job offering," she said.

"Job offering?" I pondered for a moment, "So, is it like some sort of advanced job that requires a diploma or something?"

She thought for a moment and suddenly smiled.

"No, this is a job that anyone can start with," she said as she handed me the letter with a friendly smile.

I opened up the letter and looked at the application sheet.

"Oak Tree Town Farmer position available," I twitched from this, "Where's Oak Tree Town? Is it far from here?"

I looked at the flyer, and then to her.

I remembered reading a certain scary story about some hidden channel that can only be seen through those bunny ears antennae. I really hope this lady is not trying to look for sacrifices or anything.

"Not to be rude or anything but, are you part of some sort of devil worshipper cult or something? I've never heard of Oak Tree Town before."

Despite my sudden question, she shook her head.

"I promise you, we don't have any of that religion there," she replied, "Besides, we have a citizen that works in your city too in case you're wondering who our citizens are."

"Who?"

"Do you know who the weather woman is on the News?"

"Tamara Garters?" she was once the weather lady. She's the anchorwoman right now, but I don't know who the current weatherman/woman is; I don't watch TV that much.

She shook her head.

I took out my phone and looked up who the current weather person was on the news.

"Lillie?"

Lillie is a brown haired girl with a cute bob cut, wearing a yellow dress. She looks young and cute; around my age.

"Yes, she's a resident there; born and raised in Oak Tree Town," she said with a smile, "She's a personal friend of my daughter, and I assure you that both of them don't worship the devil."

Smooth move talking about devil worshippers. Gah! I just realized that devil worshippers who do those kinds of human sacrifices would keep their faith hidden from unsuspecting victims! Be cautious, but don't be too paranoid.

I stayed silent for a while. I looked the mysterious lady. I feel like I've made a bad impression of myself to a person I just met. But what's weird is that the first thing we didn't talk about was our names.

"... Sorry about the whole devil worshipper thing," I said, ashamed of my previous accusation, "I haven't got your name yet, Miss."

While she had a frown after my talk of whether they worship Satan or not, she immediately smiled from my apology,

"Oh, I'm Veronica," she said, "I run the guild in Oak Tree Town."

"... I'm Johnny," I replied, "So, if I were to apply for this job, am I gonna be in a homestay or something, or do I get a house?"

"Homestay for a while until we set up your house," she replied.

From hearing this, I suddenly felt intrigued. For some reason, I feel positively compelled to this job. I know my dad came from a farm back home, but I never really did any farm work before I moved to the city. My life is shit at the moment, so I feel like going somewhere will be different. Though, the bad part is that I'll be living away from my family. No meals cooked for me, no wi-fi, video games, phone data. The only electronic that is implied to still be used are televisions, especially when you have a weather woman residing in the village. Still, I can't be a NEET forever, and I want to see how much this will change me. Being here feels like change is only for the privileged; something that my family is not... well, maybe Nathan is an exception...

"... I'm intrigued with your offer, Veronica," I said, "Before I start considering, can you take me to Oak Tree Village some time?"

She seemed very surprised by my request and nodded.

"I'd love to."

"I should hand you my phone number whenever you want to invite me," I said.

"I should too."

She handed me a business card with Veronica's full name on it. All I see is "Veronica", mostly because my thumb was on top of her surname. Before I could unveil it, Veronica immediately interrupted me by clearing her throat.

"Can you tell me your number? I'll write it down on my notebook."

I nodded frantically and grabbed my phone. I went to my contacts page and looked at my phone number and told her my number. After that, she did a courteous nod and waved goodbye as she left my yard.

Veronica seems like a nice lady. She doesn't look like she's hiding anything sinister. There's just something about her that makes her trustworthy and reliable. Is it because she's the Guild Master? I'm not so sure. If she's a Guild Master, it could imply massive success. Why am I not envying her? Perhaps I only envy people around my age who are better... I'm confused.

With her out of the way, I walked out to the super market as I juggled my wallet. Before anyone's temptation to steal it activated, I quickly hid in my pocket as soon as the nearest person was in my field of view.

10 minutes later

I came back from the super market and put my two litre bottle of cola into the fridge. Of course, I had to wait in a line, especially with other people shopping for groceries.

I usually prefer my cola cold, and the store doesn't keep it in fridges. Despite that, they still retain their fizz, so refrigerating it makes it possible to return its taste to its prime.

I found myself in my room, relaxing on my bed.

I decided to ponder on the job offer Veronica gave me. While I usually regret certain things recklessly, this is almost no exception. This has entry-level... entry. Problem is that I don't know how to run a farm. I don't even know how to drive, so I can't use a tractor. I don't know how to grow plants. The only thing I feel that will help me in farming is my love for animals and my adaptability to certain things. Will that be enough?

I have 9 cats living in my house, and our house is small; chaos is almost present around it. I feed them regularly, groom them, and they purr as I pet them.

I really hope Veronica can wait for me. I'm a bit... conflicted with my choice.

My mom is at work, my dad is sleeping, my brothers are out somewhere, and my eldest brother is probably at some Ultimate game. With me home alone, I'm glad they didn't ask me who I was talking to.

With that done, I opened up my portable gaming system and played away. I played Monstrosity Hunter 4 Extreme, a game where you... hunt monstrosities. Being the latest instalment in the series, it has a Wireless internet server, so I'm almost always hunting with a full team. By the time I started playing, the sun was shining high in the sky. By the time I decided to take a break, it was already sundown.

I looked at the flyer/application sheet again. I started to think of how Oak Tree Town would be like.

I really hope it's not like one of those farms near here. If the farm is there, I don't want the thought of going home, especially when it's around the city; I live in the suburbs. Thinking about getting a job at Oak Tree Village made me feel like I am completely far away.

All of a sudden, the sound of the main door opened and closed. The sound of footsteps walking up the stairs was heard by my door, and soon, the latter opened, revealing my eldest brother and roommate, Nathan. I immediately hid my flyer from my brother.

"Hey, Johnny," he said as he wiped his brow, "Did you do anything productive today?"

"... Not really."

His tired smile immediately switched to a frown from hearing this.

"Did you register your next semester classes yet?"

"Not yet."

He was displeased with this and glared at me.

"Open up your laptop and register!"

I backed away slightly from my brother's command. What I didn't realize was that the hand that held the flyer was now out in the open. My brother eyed my hand and looked at me again.

"What's this?"

I was about to say something, but what came out of my mouth was a sigh of defeat. I stayed silent and gave it to him. He grabbed it and looked over it.

"Oak Tree Town? Farmer?"

"Some weird la-"

"Dude, are you sure that weird lady is not some part of some devil worshipper cult?!" I really hope the whole devil worshipping thing isn't foreshadowed.

"W-well, yes. According to the mail lady, her daughter is actually best friends with the weather lady in the news."

"Lillie?" his frown was now a raised brow.

Nathan contemplated for a moment, dropping his head low as if he was the Thinker statue. He raised his head back up once he reached a realization.

"Oh, I remember. Lillie said she came from small village called Oak Tree. She says that they're not so popular and they have some sort of Amish lifestyle."

"As in they don't use mobile phones, the internet, and video games?" I replied.

"Yeah," he said, "But really, Johnny-boy. Can you really live by yourself with how you are? Also, are you sure you can immediately trust that lady?"

Compared to my brother, I'm quite frail (physically). While we're both the same size and we were both quite skinny at our youth, Nathan pursued making himself better in all aspects. He strengthened himself mentally and physically, joining sports teams and studying extensively. He eventually got into the local big University, studying for a Masters in Science.

While incredibly smart and strong, he's humble, patient, and a loving brother to me, but also quite strict and harsh when needed. My younger brother was too arrogant for him to favor, and my other elder brother pursued his own path. While he cares for the other brothers, Nathan and I grew up close together. We developed both a mentor-student relationship and a strong friendship. Nathan is basically the closest thing I have to a best friend; I don't have many friends in school.

"Well... I don't know. Either way, let's just drop this whole devil worshipper thing. Let's not get too paranoid about this," I said, "Heck, I actually did ask her about it."

We both facepalmed at my blunder.

I need to learn to talk to people.

"You need to learn to talk to people," Nathan said in unison with my inner-consciousness out of pure coincidence.

With that said, he took off his bag and sat on the computer chair. The desk rested by the wall and lay between our beds. He opened up his laptop and continued his usual business.

"I don't know about you. I'd throw that away to be honest." after he said that, he looked at me, "But, it's up to you. Depends if you really want that job."

Honestly, some people would expect smarter big brothers to make choices for their younger brothers. While I'm pretty much struggling with college classes, my brother still gave me the choice to come to him for help. I rarely do that because I usually try to handle things by myself. My brother also knows that my decisions are ultimately up to me, so while he gives sage wisdom and advice, he doesn't control my life, and he hates the idea of that too, especially with my lost and boggy mindset.

I looked at my ceiling and wondered what I should do next with my life here. All I could see is constant failure. The expectations of the world have increased, and Social Darwinism seems to start to rekindle. Just the thought of asking those geniuses for help makes me fear that they'll laugh. Even when they started out as a baby, I have nothing to counteract their argument. Perhaps being in the city where privilege is equal to identity is not the life for me.

I don't know why, but the thought of being a farmer just... frees me of these cynical thoughts I have living in the city. I could get used to the smell of manure and soil, I mean, I've actually visited my dad's family farm back home before. Was it the way Veronica talked to me? Nostalgia? Desire?... Escape from my current life? I don't even know. Thinking about this new life makes me want to run away from this putrid place. I know that they won't serve me things on a silver platter, but I feel like I can finally progress with my life there.

*grumble*

As I heard my stomach grumble, I stood up.

"I'm gonna go eat," I announced to my brother, "Are you gonna eat too?"

"I ate Pho with Rahul after my Ultimate game," Nathan said, "I'm good."

I nodded with a smile and said: "If you say so."

I opened the door, went downstairs, and opened up a can of meatloaf. I sliced the wad of meat into thin pieces and tossed them into the pan. After they were done cooking, I put my rice in the microwave and took out the rice as soon as the timer stopped. I put my cooked meatloaf on my plate and put ketchup on the meat and rice. I sat down at the table and ate away. After that was done, I put my plate and cutlery on the sink and brushed my teeth. As soon as that was done, I suddenly heard my brother calling across the kitchen.

"Johnny! Someone's calling you!"

"Alright, I'm coming!"

I quickly went to my room and looked at my phone. I was surprised to see who was calling me.

"Veronica?"

Author's Note

And that's the end of Chapter 1. I felt that the teaser wasn't too good, so, I decided I should just release the first chapter so you could learn more about Johnny. Yes, I know Johnny is the Male Protag's default name, but I don't want to reuse Alec, who's also a male protagonist in my previous fanfiction (Which I also used for my main character in SoS).

But yeah, as for having a big brother, I felt like if Johnny is very weak minded and bodied at the start, I wanted him to have a brother who outshines him, but not overlook him. Nathan is a core supporting character and may continue to be so even when Johnny is at Oak Tree Village.

But yeah, having a big brother figure factors into why I made Johnny's beginning a foil to the actual Story of Seasons' beginning. While both of them were enticed with the idea of being farmers, the protagonist in the game had what was described "the perfect city life". I wanted to do the opposite to not only make this Johnny unique, but to add some backstory and character development.

Pairing? I've decided already, but what's certain is that Johnny is purely straight. I think that the bachelorettes here are quite well developed, especially Elise after you finish her rival events. I'm not gonna put the pairing out right now because it's basically spoilers, and I think it ruins the purpose of Johnny's development if the reader already knows. The flow of this story is quite different; it doesn't put Johnny into the middle of farming immediately like most SoS fanfictions I've skimmed/read (and most of them involve AnniexRaeger, which I'm kind of tired of seeing(no offence to those who see it)).