Claire walked around her farm. Something was bothering her. Ciel ran to her and jumped on her leg. Claire picked him up and kissed him on the forehead. She looked at him and patted his head. She placed him back inside the house. She walked to the path leading straight to the rest of Mineral Town. Instead of turning right at the first corner, she walked straight forward. She looked at the first house she passed. Aja Winery was written on the sign just outside.

Claire entered the door. A woman with jet-black hair was walking back and forth. She suddenly stopped and looked at Claire. "Hello, would you like some wine or grape juice?"

"Ah, I-I," Claire shook her head. "I was just looking around. I was told that this was a good place to go to." Manna tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Oh, yes," she clasped her hands, "if you're looking for wine." Manna turned around and approached a big double door in the middle of the wall. "Do you drink wine?"

Claire nodded. "It used to be a family luxury. My grandfather had a vineyard." Manna smiled. "Ah, so you know how to taste wine, right?" Claire nodded. "Please, sit there," Manna pointed on the couch slightly opposite the gigantic door. "I'll let you taste something." Manna entered the room and took a while before she returned to Claire. Claire sat comfortably on the couch. It was just like what her grandmother used to own. Manna walked back into the room with two glasses. "This one is our experimental wine," she handed the first glass to Claire and watched her take a sip. "And this one," she handed the second glass, "is our traditional wine." Claire tasted it and nodded.

"The experimental one tastes good but it lacks something. The other one is just amazing." Manna grinned at Claire and took the emptied glasses. "Thank you, I'll be telling my husband." Manna turned around and walked toward her kitchen. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself." She let out an awkward laugh. "I'm Manna. I'll just bring these to the kitchen."

A man walked down the stairs. He looked at Claire. "You must be the new girl," he spoke as he descended the steps. "I'm Duke." Claire nodded at him and extended her hand to him. "I'm Claire." Manna walked back into the room. "Duke, Claire has something to say about both wines." She looked at Claire and grinned. "Is it alright for you to tell him?" Claire nodded, "it's no problem." She looked at Duke. "The experimental wine tasted good but it lacked a certain something. I can't quite say what it is that I think it lacks but it just lacks something. The traditional one is just amazing. One of the best I've tasted. It reminded me of home."

Duke laughed and patted Claire on the back. "That's great!" Claire laughed along. This was the first time something truly reminded her of the life she left behind when she transferred to the city. Manna nudged Duke on the side. "It's very nice to know that we have more people to talk about fine winery with." Duke nodded. "Not everyone here is into the true quality. They understand quality but not true quality."

"Aja knew a lot about wine." Manna's voice trailed off as she spoke. Duke saw the confusion in Claire's face. "Aja is our daughter. She left for the city a while back." Duke looked down as he spoke. "We really miss her." Silence filled the room. "Ah," Claire stroked her hair as she spoke. "I have to go now." Duke laughed. "I'm sorry, it must have been awkward." Claire let an awkward smile creep into her face. "Sort of." Duke laughed again. "She tells it like it is."

Claire waved goodbye to them and exited their shop. She walked forward and stopped when she arrived in front of the inn. She entered the inn and was surprised by what she called the 'welcoming committee'. "Good afternoon!" A woman whose hair was tied back in a braid ran to Claire. "Good afternoon!" A man from the counter called out. The woman stared at her. "Hey," the woman rested her chin on the ball of her hand, supporting her elbow with her other hand and tilted her head to the side. "You're the new girl, right? I'm Ann!" Her sudden movement surprised Claire. "You must be hungry." Ann declared, nodding to herself. Claire's eyes widened as she gave a quick nod. "Great, hmmm," Ann looked at the floor and thought to herself for a while. "Could you wait a while? I'll serve you a feast!" She nodded to herself then looked at her father. "It's alright, right, Dad?"

The man pumped his fist forward and stuck out his thumb. "A-okay, dear! She is a special guest, after all." Claire blushed at the little announcement. Ann ushered her toward a table near the counter and helped her to her seat. "The food will be ready in a while." Ann smiled as she spoke. Her father entered the kitchen and she followed. After a minute or two, she went back out and headed to Claire. She grabbed one of the seats around the table and sat facing Claire. "What's your name?"

"I'm Claire."

"What brought you here?" She crossed her legs, rested her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her palms. Claire rested her hands on the table. "I was in Aja's Winery earlier, then, I remembered that the building right next to it was the inn that I had heard about. I heard the food here is excellent, so, naturally, I wanted to try it." Ann nodded continuously as she spoke. "My dad is a great cook! I'm sure you'll love his cooking." Claire smiled at Ann, "I'm sure I will."

After more than ten minutes, Ann's father came out of the kitchen with a large tray filled with food in his hands. He slowly set down the different meals he prepared in front of Claire. He prepared a full course for her: appetizer, soup, main course, dessert and beverage. "Eat up!" They watched as Claire nibbled through the appetizer, sip the soup, swallow the main course, munched the dessert and gulped the beverage. "I'm Doug."

Claire finished drinking her beverage. "Ah, that was just so heavenly, Doug! I'm Claire, by the way." She shook hands with Doug. "It's nice to finally meet you," he said as he released her hand. "It's my pleasure. I feel so lucky to have entered here and tasted such good food. How much do I owe you?" Claire reached for her pocket as she spoke. Ann placed a hand on Claire's arm. "Oh, no! It's on the house." She shook her head. "Like my dad said, you're a special guest."

Claire bowed to them and thanked them heartily. It was the first time someone outside her immediate family or circle of friends had given her free food. She exited the inn and continued walking down the road. She stopped when she reached the end. She looked to her left and saw the church. She looked to her right and saw the square. Claire turned left and walked toward the church. There were two children talking loudly with one another and a pastor, not too far from them. Claire saw that May had noticed her and approached her. "Claire!" The little girl called out as she ran.

Claire patted her on the head. "Let me introduce you," May pulled Claire along with her and she pointed to a little boy about the same age as her. "This one is Stu." She looked at the pastor but refused to point at him. "He is Carter." Claire bowed to the pastor. "Hi, I'm Claire." The pastor extended his hand to Claire. "Nice to meet you, Claire." She took his hand. Claire released Carter's hand when May spoke. She tugged on Claire's sleeve and looked straight into the woman's eyes. "Do you go to church often?"

Claire shook her head and crouched beside May. "I hadn't been able to attend to much of the church services when I was living in the city." May quickly glanced at Carter. "Does that make you a bad person?" Claire let out an awkward chuckle and looked at Carter. He shook his head and placed a hand on May's head. May looked up at the pastor as he spoke. "No, that doesn't make her a bad person. But, it's not entirely right to skip on it." He looked at Claire and smiled. She reciprocated the smile and glanced at both kids. "Maybe, you two can be my church buddies, if you agree."

May and Stu looked at each other, smiled and nodded. "Of course!" Stu grabbed Claire's hand. Claire patted his head. "Have you met my sister?" Claire shook her head. Stu pulled her away and ran to the clinic. "I'll be coming back!" She shouted as she found herself avoiding falling. She ran with Stu and entered the clinic. "Elli," Stu called out as he released Claire from his grip. He put his hand in his pocket. "I have something to show you, and Claire is here, too." Elli stood up and got into Claire's view. She stepped out from behind the counter and walked to Stu. "What is i—AAAAAAAH!" Stu laughed at his sister and showed his palm to Claire. There was a small beetle crawling, attempting to fly. "Get that thing away from me, Stu." Elli ran back behind the counter and put her hand to her chest.

Stu runs behind Claire and hides from his sister. "I didn't do anything wrong!" Stu called out from behind Claire. She looked at him and smiled. "I didn't do anything wrong, right, Claire?" Claire looked at Stu, then at Elli, then back at Stu. She shook her head. "I don't think you should have scared your sister." She saw the tears welling in Stu's eyes. "Don't cry!" Claire looked at Elli as Stu ran out of the clinic. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make him cry."

Elli shook her head. "He's always like that. Thank you for telling him off." Claire tilted her head to the side and gave Elli a blank look. "No wonder he cried..." Her voice trailed off as she spoke. "Ah," Claire looked at Elli and extended her hand. "I'm Claire." Elli took her hand. "I'm Elli, Stu's older sister." The doctor suddenly exited his office. He looked at Claire. "Are you a patient?" He squinted as he asked the question. "Wait, you're not from around here, are you?" Claire blinked and extended her hand to the doctor. "I'm Claire, the one who bought the farm."

"Oh, yes, yes," the doctor rubbed his chin as he spoke. He noticed Claire's extended hand and took it. "I'm Trent. If you ever feel bad, just come here. We're always available, except on Wednesdays." He nodded to himself, his voice trailing away with every word. "Are you healthy?" Claire's eyes widened at the sudden question. She nodded. "Are you sure? Wait, come with me." Trent released her hand and walked into his office. Claire followed him in and saw him searching for something in his drawer. "I need your help with something." Trent looked at Claire and gently placed a bottle on the table. "I'm not too sure how effective this is. It's supposed to help recover some strength." He took the bottle and poured a bit of its contents onto a small cup. "Can you try it out?"

Claire nodded and took the cup from the doctor. She took a small sip and drank the rest in one, fast gulp. She stuck out her tongue. "The aftertaste is even worse." Trent nodded. "Did it work?" Claire nervously nodded. The medicine made her heart beat faster but it gave her an energy boost. "That's great!" Trent returned the bottle to his drawer and took another one. "I-I'm s-sorry," Claire backed away with her hands extended in front of her chest. "I have to go now."

Trent nodded his head and returned the bottle to his drawer. "Thank you very much for your help. It was very, very appreciated." Claire bowed to him and turned around. She walked out of his office and waved to Elli. She exited the clinic and walked back to the church. The kids were no longer there. She saw Carter enter the church and followed him. She wanted to apologize to Stu and explain herself. She hated seeing kids cry because of her. Carter turned to face her when she entered the church. "Oh, Claire, good to see you here." Claire smiled at him and asked where the kids were. "Ah, they went home already. May left when she saw Stu run into his grandmother's house." Claire looked at the floor. She felt guilty for breaking the fun they seemed to enjoy earlier.

"Don't be sad." Carter placed his hand on Claire's shoulder. He squinted his eyes and looked directly into hers. "Can you help me out?" Claire nodded. "You see that man over there?" Carter pointed to a figure sitting on one of the left pews. "He's new just like you and he seems a bit sad. Can you try to cheer him up?" Claire nodded again and walked over to the figure crouching in the very first pew.

"Hi," she approached him and sat beside him. "This isn't taken, right?" The man nodded. "Hi," he kept his head down as he spoke. "I'm Cliff. I-is there something on my face?" Claire shook her head. "I'm Claire." Cliff nodded and looked at Claire. "I'm sorry for seeming so tense." Claire shook her head and patted his back. "Relax!" She saw Cliff's muscles relax and his expression turning to a smile. "Thanks."

"It's nothing." Claire smiled back at him. "I hope you feel better now." Cliff nodded. "That's great." Claire looked at her watch. "I think I'll be leaving now," Cliff stood from his seat and turned to look at Claire. "It was fun speaking with you." Carter looked at them and smiled. He and Claire watched as Cliff walked out of the church. "At least, you tried. Thank you." Claire nodded and waved to Carter. "I guess I'll be going now, too. I don't want to miss the supermarket." Carter nodded and waved back at her. Claire exited the church and headed for the supermarket.

"Claire!" Karen called out from behind the counter as Claire walked into the supermarket. She approached Claire and winked. "You probably need a lot of new supplies, am I right?" Claire nodded and smiled. "Hey, wait here for a while, okay?" Karen walked to where her father was and spoke with him. She and her argued for a bit until she won. She got something from under the counter and walked back to Claire. "Here, a gift." Karen gave the small pack of seeds to Claire. Claire took the pack and placed it in the rucksack she had with her. "Thank you very much, Karen." She looked to the direction of Karen's dad. She began to walk toward him. "Thank you very much, too, mister..."

"Jeff," Karen's father looked at Claire. "Please call me Jeff." Claire nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you very much, Jeff." A woman walked into the store from the door not too far from the counter. She told him something and they began arguing. She took a quick glance to her side and saw Claire. She stopped the argument and stared at the new face in her store. "Oh, hello," she relaxed the muscles in her face. "You must be Claire," she gave Karen a quick glance. "Karen told me a lot about you."

"Mom!" Karen called out from behind Claire. She hid her face as she blushed. "I'm Sasha. It's nice to finally meet you." She shook hands with Claire. "I'm sorry to have to leave right away, even though I've just met you." Claire shook her head. "It's really alright, I was about to leave already." Sasha faced her husband and told him to go back inside with her. Claire faced Karen as the latter was apologizing. Claire shook her head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." Claire smiled at Karen and waved goodbye. Karen accompanied her to the door.

Claire exited the supermarket and continued through the small path. She saw Stu standing around outside a house. "Stu," she called out to him and waved. The young boy looked at her and grinned. She walked over to him and crouched in front of him. "I'm sorry about earlier," she patted his head. "You didn't do anything wrong, it's just that I don't think you should scare people older than you," she smiled at him, "especially girls."

Claire stood straight and looked at the sign just beside the house Stu came from. "Are you going to the library?" Claire nodded. "I'll go with you." They walked into the library. The woman with the black hair that Claire saw in Saibara's shop the other day was mumbling to herself. Claire tried to approach the woman but she just turned around and walked. She bumped into Claire. "Ah," the woman fixed her glasses. "I'm so sorry." She looked away from Claire and saw Stu. "H-hello, Stu."

Stu waved at her. "Have you met Claire?" He pointed at the blonde woman beside him. "Oh, not yet," her eyes trailed from Stu to Claire. "Hi, I'm Mary." She extended her hands and looked down. Her cheeks were red. Claire shook hands with her. "As he pointed out, I'm Claire. I bought the abandoned farm." She smiled at Mary who reciprocated the action. Mary opened her mouth but shut it at once. Her head perked up and she looked at the stairs. She tilted her head to the side.

Claire looked at the stairs as she heard the distinct sound of footsteps. A man emerged, holding a book in his hands, followed by a woman supporting herself on his shoulders. The man looked at Claire, then, the woman did the same. "Ah, dad, mom," Mary looked at her parents. "This is Claire," she pointed to the woman standing beside her. "She's the one who bought the farm the mayor has been trying to sell." Mary's father walked toward Claire. "Hi, I'm Basil and this," he pointed to his wife, "is Anna." Anna nodded at Claire. Mary walked to one side of the library with Stu as her parents spoke to the newbie.

After a few minutes, Stu walked toward Claire and tugged at her sleeve. He looked at Anna and spoke. "Can I go with her now?" Claire's eyes widened at the child's question. Anna raised her hand to her mouth and chuckled. "Of course," Basil answered his question. Stu pulled Claire away as she bade the three farewell. Stu brought Claire into the house he was standing outside of. He entered the house and ran toward his grandmother, Claire still in his grasp. "Grandma," he called out to the old lady. "Meet Claire."

The old woman looked at Claire and smiled. "So, you're the one who bought the farm, am I right?" Claire nodded at her question. Stu was still holding on to her. "Hi, I'm Ellen." Claire walked to her and shook hands with her. "Would you like some cookies? I made a fresh batch." Claire shook her head. "Thank you for the offer but I'm still full." Stu released Claire from his grip, grabbed a plate and dropped a few cookies onto it. Claire rubbed her wrist. The kid's grip was strong enough to leave a mark. Stu went back to standing beside Claire. He gave her the plate. "Taste it." He got a cookie and started biting it. Claire looked at the young boy, shook her head and giggled. She got one cookie and tasted it. She offered some to Ellen who quickly declined, saying she just ate her share. Claire looked at Ellen and grinned. "This tastes so good." She started nodding to herself. "Can I get more?"

Ellen chuckled as she nodded. "Of course you may, dear." Claire ate more cookies and conversed with the old lady, sometimes answering some of Stu's 'dumb kiddy' questions. When she had finished exchanging stories with Ellen, Claire left the house and headed home, using the path in front of Basil's house. She walked straight and only stopped when she reached the path that intersected with Saibara's place. She heard a faint shout and that got her curious. She knew that judging from the voice, it must have been Popuri. She walked toward the poultry farm and saw a chicken running toward her. She grabbed the chicken as Popuri screamed for her to pick it up. She rushed to Claire and took the chicken. Popuri sighed. "Thanks a lot, Claire. I accidentally let this one get passed me. If you hadn't been there, I'm sure I would get into trouble with Rick." She stroked the chicken's neck. "Do you like chickens?" Claire nodded. "That's good. People who like chickens are good." She turned around and headed for the chicken coop. "My brother is inside." Claire nodded, "I'll visit him."

Claire entered the house and saw Rick standing in front of the table with Lillia standing beside him. "Popuri," Rick turned around and saw Claire standing by the door. "Oops, sorry. I thought you were Popuri." He spoke to his mom and Claire saw a bunch of eggs on the table. The door suddenly opened and Popuri walked in. "There you are, Popuri," Rick looked at his sister and raised his eyebrow. "We collected a lot of eggs this time," he moved away from the table to show Popuri and Claire the eggs lined up on it. "Hmm," he looked at Claire. "Do you like eating eggs, Claire?" Claire nodded. "Great," Rick took three eggs and handed them to Claire. "You can have these. They're spa-boiled." Claire took the eggs. "Oh wait," Rick noticed how awkwardly she was holding them. He took a small box near his kitchen sink and stuffed it with dried grass. "Here," he raised the box in front of Claire's hands. "Put the eggs here. You seem to be having a difficult time."

Claire placed the eggs in the box and took it. "Thanks!" She smiled at Rick and chatted with Lillia for a while. After a few minutes of conversing with her neighbors, she left the poultry farm. She decided to take the other route back to her farm. It wasn't dark yet and she wanted to properly check the forest out. As she passed, she stepped on a few twigs that snapped under her feet. Claire jumped when she suddenly heard a loud sound coming from the eastern side of the forest. She looked around and saw a man chopping wood with an ax. She called out to the man and he turned to face her. Claire was genre savvy and she knew the kinds of consequences her actions could have done, which is why she was standing more than a fifteen steps away.

"Who are you?" The man was still holding on to his ax. He was completely facing Claire and had a relaxed stance. "I-I'm Claire." She stood her ground. Every murder movie she had ever watched flashed through her mind. "Are you the one who bought the farm?" The man pointed to the hidden field behind him. Claire nodded. "I'm Gotz, the carpenter." He rested his his free hand on his hip. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Gotz!" Claire said out loud as she walked toward him. "I was just going to pass by. I'll be going to my house now. See you again some time." Gotz nodded to her and continued chopping wood. Claire ran to her house and was greeted by Ciel. She placed her hand on her chest and felt for her heartbeat. Her heart was beating fast. She managed to scare herself silly in front of someone she had just met. She hoped he didn't notice how she was beginning to get paranoid. Claire shook her head and rubbed Ciel's belly. She then proceeded to make a light dinner for herself and one for her puppy.