Golden Turnip #2: Mineral Farm

Chapter 3: Unknown Motive

The princess looked up into the eyes of the one who had brought her back to life and cringed. "Who the heck are you?" she asked.

Gray was silent for a moment and then replied, "You are the princess, aren't you?"

"I know it may not look it but I am a princess," Claire said, realizing now that she was in a coffin but not being bothered by it.

"Oh, no, I do think you're that princess…uh… the thing is I don't know how to introduce myself," Gray said.

"Most people would just say their name," Claire said, considering how stupid or socially awkward this boy could be.

"Okay. My name is Gray. But I know you," Gray said.

"Well, I thought you would since you brought me back to life and everything. How'd you do it, anyway?" Claire asked.

"…Complicated magic stuff," Gray mumbled, hoping not to get drawn into the subject.

However, Claire was intrigued and said, "Do you use magic?"

"No, what gave you that idea, I'm completely ordinary," Gray said, quickly and nervously. Claire looked disappointed.

There was a long pause of silence until Claire said, "Well, thank you."

"Yeah? Uh… What for?" Gray asked.

"Death sucks!" Claire shouted.

"Really? You mean there's something after death?" Gray asked, interested.

"No! That's why it sucks so much!" Claire said.

"You really don't seem like a princess but I guess being dead for decades does that to people," Gray murmured.

"That reminds me. What happened to Cliff? And Popuri?" Claire asked.

"…You mean the others in the story? They died," Gray said.

"Old age?" Claire asked hopefully.

"No. Popuri was burnt because she was a witch and Cliff died in battle a few months after you died," Gray said.

Claire looked very disappointed.

The silence dragged on until finally the clock in Gray's mind ticked past three.

"So what are you going to do now that you're alive again?" he asked.

Claire thought about it and quickly came to a decision. "I want to work on this farm again. I really love this place," she answered.

"You actually liked working on the farm?" Gray said.

"Yeah. It was the best time of my life. Better than being a princess…" Claire said.

"Well… I guess you could," Gray said and then they stood up, heading for the farmhouse to talk to Saibara about it.

"I really didn't expect someone who just brought someone else back to life to act like you, you know," Claire said, turning to Gray.

"I didn't expect someone who was just brought back to life to act like you," Gray replied.

He knocked on the door and it opened quickly.

Claire screamed at the sight of Saibara. And he screamed back at her.

They stared at one another for awhile until Gray finally said, "What?"

"You… brought her back to life," Saibara said.

"…I guess I should've mentioned that. Well, anyway… what are you so freaked out about?" Gray asked Claire.

"You look exactly the same the last time I saw you," Claire said directly to Saibara.

There was silence as everyone stared at each other.

"Okay, I'll just say it. Saibara, you… he's the farmer from back when I was alive. Which means you… what are you?" Claire asked.

"…Are you a wizard?" Gray asked.

"Not exactly. But I'd rather be called a wizard so just stick with that," Saibara said.

"This is very strange. I revive someone and find out somebody else I knew my whole life is a wizard. A very interesting day. It's a pity it won't always be like that," Gray said.

"What do you mean?" Claire asked.

"Well, you might be undead and he might be a wizard but you're both ordinary people basically," Gray pointed out.

Claire turned toward Gray and smiled. "Hey, Gray," she said. "Life's only interesting if you make it interesting. Come back tomorrow."

Gray stared at her and then laughed. "I completely forgot! Yeah, I will come back tomorrow. But for today, I must leave," he said and ran back to his own house.

"So can I work here again?" Claire asked immediately.

"It'd be nice to have you around again. But I'm worried about Gray. What's his motive…" Saibara muttered.

"Motive for what?" Claire asked.

"You don't just bring people back to life. No, he has a reason for bringing you back. I mean, I'm glad you're not a mutant half-dead thing, but I'm still suspicious," Saibara said.

"I guess things just can't be perfect. Anyway, I have things I want to study into. But first, the farm," Claire said.

And so now Claire had gone from princess to farmer to death and then back to farmer.

Gray has gone home to plan and plot what he would do tomorrow.

Oh, what will tomorrow bring?