Annie didn't notice any particular changes in her life after the incident of her fleeing the restaurant.
The hot Summer days lulled her into such a peaceful state of mind, days would pass her by faster than she would have liked.
Still, she couldn't resist stopping by the side of the road, while on her way to Eda's house, for a moment to bask in the sun's warmth.
As she was stretching, she noticed Fritz making his way up the hill.
Curious, Annie ran over to him and asked, "Where are you heading?"
"Granny's place!" Fritz replied.
"So am I!" Annie was then going to suggest they walk there together, but she didn't get a chance.
"I'll race you there!" Fritz said and set off at once.
Annie was surprised but didn't stay still for long. She chased after him quickly and they arrived at Eda's door in a matter of moments.
A little out of breath, they pushed their way into the house, with Fritz calling loudly, "Hey, Granny! I'm here!"
Annie, much calmer, said, "How are you today, Granny?"
Eda was quite startled by their entrance, so she stared at them both for awhile, before suddenly starting to laugh.
Annie and Fritz stared back at her, completely confused.
"Are you okay?" Annie asked.
"I'm sorry, dear," Eda said as she brought her laughter under control, "but that was the first time you've called me Granny. You've been spending a lot of time with Fritz then, hmm?"
Annie glanced sideways at Fritz and shrugged.
"Ha, ha... I guess," she murmured awkwardly.
"Don't worry. I have this effect on everyone," Fritz told Annie, which didn't make her feel any less awkward.
Then he bounced over to Eda and handed her a bowl of food that Annie hadn't noticed he had with him.
"Anyway, I brought you something for lunch!" Fritz announced, proudly offering his gift.
"Oh, thank you so much, dear!" Eda said, accepting the bowl. She secretly wondered to herself whose kitchen he had borrowed to cook it.
Annie wished she'd brought something for Eda herself, so she walked over to her and, pulling out a bunch of flowers from the bag she carried with her, she offered her own gift. "I picked these flowers for you on my way here!" Annie said.
"These are lovely! Oh, let me go find a vase to put them in," Eda replied, taking the flowers as well and walking over to the other room.
Fritz glared at Annie for a moment after Eda was out of sight. Annie glared back.
"Granny, do you need any help around here? I can clean these dishes for you or anything else you want!" Fritz suddenly called out.
"No wait, I can do that!" Annie shouted.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Fritz growled.
"What about the farm?! Anything you need help with, Madam Eda? I'll help!" Annie suggested.
"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Fritz shouted.
"Back off, Fritz," Annie grumbled.
Eda walked back into the room, laughing at the two of them arguing for her approval.
"You're both too kind!" Eda said, then slyly continued, "Although if you are looking for extra work, there are a few things..."
"Yes?" Annie and Fritz both asked.
Eda then listed off a few odd jobs around the farm she'd been putting off doing herself. When she'd finished speaking, Annie and Fritz both nodded enthusiastically and rushed outside.
They worked together to get it all done faster, but as they worked, Annie thought to herself and became distracted.
"What's wrong?" Fritz asked after watching Annie stare out into space for almost a minute.
"Huh?! Oh… Hey, Fritz… About what Madam Eda said earlier about us..." Annie murmured.
"You mean, about how we seem close?" Fritz asked.
"Um… yeah, that. I was wondering… what you… thought about..." Annie continued, mumbling nervously now.
Fritz guessed what she was trying to say and so, to get rid of these worries for her, he answered, "Of course I think we're friends!"
"...Friends? Oh. Right!" Annie said. She began to calm down at once, and as she thought about it, she couldn't help but grin.
Fritz smiled back, completely unaware of how much Mistel would loathe him in this situation.
"Oh. I have one more question for you," Annie added.
"Yeah?" Fritz replied.
"Why do you care about Madam Eda so much? You visit her a lot, but I know you're not actually related to her," Annie said.
"Why wouldn't I?" Fritz replied, "She's so kind to me! I owe her a lot… I mean, she's one of the only ones who's kind to me."
Annie was surprised to hear this, and quickly said, "I- I'll always be kind to you! You won't need to worry about that! In fact, why don't you come by my house tomorrow and we can have lunch together?"
Fritz's eyes shot open wide at the mention of food and he exclaimed, "R- Really?! Annie… I'm so glad! I hardly ever get to eat cooked food now that I can't go to the restaurant."
"What do you mean you can't go to the restaurant?" Annie asked curiously.
"...Never mind! It's not important. But really, you have no idea how happy you've made me!" Fritz cried.
Annie was shocked as tears actually began falling down Fritz's cheeks.
"Fritz, are you okay? You're not starving, are you?!" Annie asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Fritz lied, grinning so as to appear his usual self.
Although Annie wasn't plagued by worries, the same could not be said for Mistel.
Mistel could think of nothing but Annie ever since he admitted his feelings for her out loud.
He hadn't even admitted his feelings for her to himself, so when he verbalised them to Raeger, he was suddenly confronted with the truth.
Now he was paying the consequences. He couldn't rid Annie from his mind.
He couldn't rid his mind of her hatred of him.
Now Mistel could see… that first day when they had met Annie, she had smiled for Raeger's sake. She was clearly only interested in him.
Mistel had never hated Raeger quite as much as he did now.
He who only need smile to get whatever he wanted- No, he didn't even need to smile.
What made it even worse was Raeger didn't intend to be like this.
He charmed everyone just by existing. Oh, if they only knew that he was just as horrible as Mistel.
Mistel thought again about the day Annie had fled the room simply because he was there.
Mistel had been so angry at the time that he hadn't asked Raeger what he thought of Annie.
...Well, Mistel didn't care. However he answered, Raeger was still his rival for Annie's affections.
It was all so hopeless, Mistel thought, as he continued attempting to earn Annie's trust.
She didn't want to have anything to do with him, and whenever he tried to speak with her more, she would flee.
It was all so hopeless, Mistel told himself again and again.
He, quite frankly, hated being in love. It was the worst feeling in the world.
In the end, Mistel decided that rather than "winning her over," he'd rather be put out of his misery.
He resolved to tell Annie how he felt. When she rejected him, she would say in her own words how she despised him.
At the moment when he decided this, Mistel was at work in his shop. It was not yet midday and he thought it likely that she was still working.
Not content with waiting a second longer, Mistel headed for Annie's farm.
He hurried along and as he reached the path outside of town, he gazed at the surrounding greenery as he passed it.
He was quite relieved that Summer would soon be over. He would never feel anything but contempt for this season ever again.
Mistel continued along, wondering through all the words in his head, deciding as to what he should say to her, when he looked up and saw over by the rice paddies, Annie was walking down the path towards him.
They both stopped and stared awkwardly at each other.
Determined, Mistel continued his approach and said to her, "Good day, Annie! What a coincidence that I was on my way to see you. You see, there's something I must tell you. May I have a moment of your time?"
"I was heading into town to get lunch at the restaurant, so I can speak to you before I go there. What do you want to say to me?" Annie replied.
"Hmm… Well, I'd rather we speak elsewhere. I don't wish to be interrupted," Mistel said, looking to either end of the pathway.
"What?! Why do we have to be alone?" Annie asked worriedly.
"I would rather nobody overheard what I'm going to tell you," Mistel answered.
Annie stifled a scream and looked absolutely terrified. "Y… You only want to speak to me, right? I… I think I… can handle it," she mumbled.
"What on earth do you expect from me?! I would not lay a finger on you, unlike the swine you seem to have confused me with from your past," Mistel swore.
"Okay, but let's speak over there," Annie said, leading Mistel as she headed for the bridge to Giorgio's and Fritz's farms.
Mistel looked over at their farmland for a moment, then turned to Annie and said, "But Giorgio or Fritz could walk over at any moment."
"Don't worry, they won't even notice we're here!" Annie said, unless they hear me scream, she thought.
Mistel sighed and wondered what he had done to make Annie distrust him so much.
"I suppose I should get on with it. I don't want to waste any more of your time. Annie, I have..." Mistel stopped. Only at the moment when he needed to say it, did he suddenly realise he had no idea how to define his feelings for her.
He should keep it simple, because there was no need to explain himself when he already knew she would dismiss him at once.
So he said, "I am in love with you."
You fool, he thought to himself a second later, that was definitely not the right way to phrase it!
In anticipation of Annie's response, Mistel tensed.
Annie's mouth slowly fell open. Her expression was of shock, then of confusion.
Mistel was sure now that silence was worse than harsh words.
At last she spoke, "But… I thought you and Raeger were a couple."
Now it was Mistel's turn to be silent. He stared and blinked a few times, his mind a total blank.
Then he shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. What did you say?"
"I thought you and Raeger were a couple. As in, dating," Annie replied.
"And where did you get such a preposterous idea?!" Mistel questioned.
"W- Well, it's just that you're together a lot," Annie murmured.
"What's strange about that?" Mistel asked.
"I mean, you're together alone a lot. I heard from the townspeople that you visit each other at night, but usually at his place so that your sister won't bother you," Annie said.
"It's hardly so dubious!" Mistel snapped, shocked not only to hear Annie say such things, but that the townspeople might have encouraged these thoughts.
"Also, whenever I'm with Raeger, you glare at me. I thought you despised me."
"I'm glaring at him, not you!"
Annie started laughing a little. "I'm actually relieved! I thought the reason you wanted to speak with me now was to tell me to back off of Raeger," she said.
Mistel wanted to crawl away and die of shame. He buried his face in his hands, quiet for a time, but then suddenly he looked up again.
"You're relieved? So my being in love with you doesn't horrify you?" Mistel asked.
Annie was shocked again. She had forgotten that that was what she was supposed to be dealing with. She returned to her nervousness, then after realising she didn't know what to say, she said, "You can't expect a response from me! I need to process all this… So give me some time."
"Of course! Take as much time as you need. But please don't avoid me. I don't want things to be awkward between us," Mistel said.
"I won't avoid you, I swear. So, um… goodbye," Annie said and Mistel watched as she walked away in the direction of her farm.
"...Weren't you going to the restaurant?" Mistel asked.
"I can't eat when I'm so distracted!" Annie replied.
Mistel smiled, surprised that he was able to distract Annie. Annie saw his smile and smiled back; a sight Mistel thought he might never see again.
Then she hurried away.
Mistel was left a little stunned by being honoured with Annie's smile again.