Chapter 4: Fateful Encounter

Pete raised his fist in determination. I don't know if I can achieve what you did, but that won't stop me from trying! I'll make you proud, old ma–

"Excuse me, is this the farm MT Realtor sold to me?"

"Huh?" Pete and Thomas turned to the new visitor. They saw a girl approaching them. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. Who's that? She doesn't look like she comes from around here…? His gaze shifted to the sizable suitcase behind her. It's as if she was moving here.

"Are you perhaps a tourist, miss?" Thomas asked, curious about the new visitor. He shared the same thoughts with Pete. As far as his memory was concerned, the mayor didn't recall any tourists that would be arriving in Mineral Town today. Maybe she came here unknowingly…?

"Oh no, I'm not a tourist. My name is Claire." She waved her hand. "I mean… I arrived here from the city recently, but that's beside the point."

She's from the city…? Pete rubbed the back of his neck. What is she doing on the farm, then? Was she familiar with the old man, too? I highly doubt that.

"I see! Welcome to Mineral Town, Claire." Thomas welcomed her with a smile and tipped his hat. "My name is Thomas, and I'm the mayor of the town."

Claire's expression lit up. Oh, he's the mayor? That makes this convenient for her. "Is this the farm of Mineral Town?" She asked, standing in front of the two men. "I saw it was up for sale, and I recently bought it."

"… You what?" Pete's brows drew close together and his eyes widened. He tilted his head at an angle. Did I hear that correctly?

"You saw it was up for sale?" Thomas adjusted his glasses and studied her appearance. He doesn't recall the past owner selling the farm. Wouldn't he hear of it being sold? "Where did you hear that this farm was up for sale, miss?"

"I read it from an advertisement by MT Realtor," Claire answered, facing the mayor. "They told me I could enjoy a peaceful and refreshing farm life."

"… MT Realtor told you can live a refreshing life on the farm?" Thomas asked, his voice growing shaky. He suddenly recalled an ad about this farm. The agent's name struck him as familiar.

"Yes, is this the farm?" Claire asked. This has to be the place, right? She heard there was only one farm in Mineral Town.

"E-Er, well…" His shoulders felt heavy. He wiped his glasses with a white cloth. "Indeed, this is the farm but…"

Claire walked past the two men. She looked around and was astounded. The farm did not look… colorful compared to the advertisement. A small house to her right. A barn to her left. They looked much better in the ad. The structures looked… desolate. Was she at the right place? She took a few steps forward and saw the wide-open fields before her eyes. Weeds, branches, stumps, rocks, and boulders were spread all over the area as if a tornado had crashed through. What… is this place? This place looked abandoned! It looked so gorgeous in the ad!

"Hey, I heard this farm would be a lot more attractive!" Claire turned around and stomped toward the shorter man. "What gives?!"

"Y-You see, miss Claire…!" Thomas raised his palms, pressure building on his shoulders. He could feel the intense gaze of the woman drilling into his skull. "I think you may have been… tricked."

"… Tricked?" Her eyes twitched in annoyance. Her arms trembled. She was tricked?! How could she have been tricked?! "What do you mean by that?! I was told this would be a gorgeous farm!"

"It used to be a gorgeous farm, I swear!" Thomas began sweating profusely. "But not anymore since the owner passed away…!"

The owner passed away…? Claire clenched her fists, bowing her head. That answered the question she had before regarding the previous owner.

"A-As you can see…!" Thomas frantically drew his hands to the messy field beside them. "No one's been… taking care of it. Though I've been trying to look after it until–…"

"Well, you're clearly doing a terrible job!" Claire huffed and shot a glare around the farm. "Does this look like it's being looked after?"

"M-Maybe you shouldn't have bought the farm without inspecting it first…?" Thomas gulped heavily, fearing for his life. "The ad was intentionally made more attractive. Surely, it must have sounded too good to be true…?"

"You mean to tell me I was lied to?" Claire could feel a blood vessel about to pop on her forehead. "This is what I paid for?! I spent so much money on this!"

She paid for this farm…? Pete furrowed his brows, confused. Was this farm up for sale?

"L-Look, the ad has been up for several months! And the farm is still in one peace, wouldn't you say?" Thomas could sense the rage radiating from her presence. He had to choose his words carefully, or else he'd wake up in the grave. "Many people have come and gone since then! All of them were disappointed when they checked it out. I didn't think anyone was going to buy it! I had to make the ad more attracti–…"

"Wait, what?" Pete cut in, shaking his head in disbelief. "You put the farm up for sale? Despite knowing the old man left the will in my name?"

"Uh..." Thomas trembled in fear, sweating even more. This was a terribly dire situation he's gotten himself into. He didn't mean to incriminate himself.

"Seriously?!" Pete frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's only been six months! It hasn't even been a year yet! Why would you sell the farm so soon?"

"I've been maintaining the farm for six months!" Thomas cowered in fear. Now he's got not one, but two angry people on him. "No one was interested in looking after it. I didn't even know you'd come by! And the villagers weren't too pleased with me handling it!"

"Yes, we can see that!" Claire huffed.

"That doesn't change anything! You still decided to sell it!" Pete groaned and facepalmed. He narrowed his eyes at the other person. "To some random tourist from the city, no less!"

"Hey, I have a name, you know!" Claire turned to Pete and drew her hands to her waist, offended. "I'm not some random tourist! I was supposed to be the owner of this farm!"

"Really? You, the owner of this farm? Don't humor me." Pete crossed his arms, his gaze darkening. "No, you are not. The farm was handed down to me."

"Is it, now?" Claire took a few steps toward him, annoyed. "Why, did you have to spend a ludicrous amount of money–10,000 gold to be exact–to own all this property? I don't think so!"

"And why did you fall for such a phony ad?" Pete clicked his tongue and looked away. "Who in their right mind would make such a big investment without knowing what they signed up for?"

"Why, you…!" Claire was losing her patience fast. His words struck some serious nerves.

"Besides, Mayor Thomas told me my name was mentioned in the old farmer's will!" Pete directed their attention to the mayor.

"And why am I only hearing about this now? Is that true?" Claire turned to the mayor. "I heard nothing of this will! Nothing!"

"L-Look, I didn't think the mentioned person would ever come to Mineral Town!" Thomas rubbed the sweat from his forehead. "But he arrived here just recently, in the flesh! S-So that means the rightful owner of this farm would be–…!"

"Are you serious right now?!" Claire's eyes seethed with murderous intent. "All this time, there was another owner? I came all the way here for nothing?! What am I supposed to do here, then?"

How would Claire hear about another owner? She felt so betrayed. She left everything behind to start a new life. A life that could free her from the chains of a boring and repeating cycle. But now that she was here, the farm was like nothing like she imagined. To top it all off, this guy with a backward cap is the owner?!

"I'll sort this out, don't worry!" Thomas began sweating like a waterfall. He panickily wiped himself with a handkerchief. "I'll contact MT Realtor and set things straight! I'll have them give you a full refund! Then you can return to the city if you–…"

"RETURN TO THE CITY?!" Claire's arms quivered with anger. Her eyes became bloodshot. "I can't go back to the city! I already quit my job and moved out of my apartment! I don't have enough gold to stay anywhere else! I have nowhere to return to!"

She moved out of the city…? Pete listened intently. Her words cried out with many powerful emotions. Emotions he could feel.

"I came here… to start a refreshing and peaceful life that was promised to me." Claire bowed her head, her forelock casting shadows over her eyes. She grabbed something from her backpack. "And I'm not leaving. I came here to get it!"

SLAM!

Claire slammed a hammer right in front of her and barely missed Thomas.

"What the?!" Pete flinched to the side. Did she swing a hammer? Where'd she get that from?! "Hey, that's dangerous! You could hurt somebody!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious!" Claire set her sights on the mayor, furious.

"Eeek!" Thomas fell onto his back, utterly terrified. Was he going to die?! "Please spare me!"

"I'm not leaving!" Claire walked forward, her body swaying from side to side, menacingly. She raised her hammer with killing intent. "I'm taking what's mine."

"Please don't hurt me!" Thomas raised his arms to shield himself.

"Calm down!" Pete rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Put the hammer away!"

"Let me go!" Claire struggled, trying to break free of his grip. "I need to teach him a lesson!"

"No, you won't!" Pete dragged her away by force. He was not going to be a witness to manslaughter. No one will be spilling blood on this farm!

"Maybe I should hit you instead!" Claire cried out, comical tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're the one who took everything from me!"

"I don't even know who you are!" Pete cried back. "And why is this my fault now?!"

"Why are you the owner of this farm, anyway?!" Claire butted heads with him. "You didn't do anything to deserve it!"

"Will you please put the hammer away and listen to me?!" Pete grabbed her hands and held them away. Jeez, she's got an attitude!

Thomas wrecked his mind for something, anything, an answer that could put an end to this mess. It was only a matter of time before Claire could break free of Pete's grip and send him to bed permanently. He swore he could see lightning between their eyes, ready to explode. I'm the mayor! I should be able to figure out something! He squeezed his eyes, trying to come up with a solution… ah?

Thomas stared at the two newcomers. A lightbulb appeared above his head. The answer was so clear now. It was right before his eyes!

"Please, calm down you two!" Thomas willed resolve into his legs and dashed to them. "M-Maybe we can sort things out and reach a peaceful resolution! I h-have a wonderful idea!"

"You're telling me to calm down?!" Claire glared daggers at him.

"Stop it!" Pete held her tight. "Let's hear him out and resolve this situation."

"What if he says something dumb?"

"Then you can hammer away at him for all I care."

"E-Err…" Thomas had to tread carefully with his words. While Pete and Claire may dislike each other, they both are upset with the mayor himself.

"… Mnngh." Claire stopped struggling. She slapped his arms away and put the hammer in her backpack. As much as she wanted to unleash her anger, she realized it wouldn't get her anywhere. "Fine, I'm listening."

Man, this woman is crazy. He had never met anyone like her. Life in the city must have affected her. Pete folded his arms and faced the mayor. "So, what is this wonderful idea…?"

"Yeah, what is it?" Claire crossed her arms with a deadpanned expression. This better be worth it.

Pete and Claire stared at Thomas, waiting for him to come up with some miraculous solution. Thomas could feel the heavy weight behind their eyes. He almost felt crushed by it.

"S-So, as we know…" Thomas cleared his throat and tidied his suit. "When the farmer passed away, he mentioned in his will that he left the farm to Pete. And he's right there."

"Uhuh…?" Claire could already feel another murderous wave wash over her.

"Hold it." Pete stretched his arm defensively toward her just in case.

"A-And you also bought this farm from MT Realtor. And you're right here." Thomas took a deep breath. He only had one shot at this. "So, naturally, that would mean…"

Pete and Claire tilted their heads. What would that naturally mean, exactly…?

"Why don't you two run this farm together?"

…

..

.

The two farmers finally meet! This is how I always imagined their encounter would go down, with Thomas being the center of it all. I don't think the Story of Seasons remake gave them different origins (it's been a while since I played it.) But it was fun combining both their GBA introductions into one.

And to address a review by Mnemah, glad to know another Pete / Jack x Claire fan! Hope you'll stick around for a long journey. I'll be awaiting your fanfic with great interest :D!