On the other side, Ron.
Finding some spare time recently, Ron had finally gathered the materials for the last two Community Center bundles. After handing the items over to the Junimos, he turned to look at Joy, who was standing not too far away.
"Sorry for taking so long."
Joy shook her head. "Not at all, I've been living here very happily—Robin helped me patch up a lot of things too. It's very warm, and the space is quite large."
Just as Joy said that it wasn't much different from being fully repaired, a flash of light suddenly appeared.
The previously dilapidated and heavily patched Community Center was instantly completely renewed.
Aside from her original bedroom and the clinic room, there was now a brand-new main hall, furnished with a sofa and a coffee table.
Even the roof, which Ron and Maru had previously fixed, had changed in appearance. Even the long-stopped pendulum started to emit the faint, crisp ticking sound of its hands moving.
Originally, she had to wear a heavy coat indoors and light the fireplace. Now, relying solely on the heating from the boiler room, the inside was as warm as spring.
Joy paused, unable to help but look at Ron.
"Forget I said anything."
Ron couldn't help but laugh, apologizing to Joy once more with a hint of guilt.
"If I hadn't experienced this difference firsthand, I would have thought it was no big deal." Joy took off the scarf around her neck. "But more than that, I should have asked what you needed and helped you gather it."
That way, she could have moved into a better environment sooner, and it wouldn't have been too much trouble for Ron.
Obviously, this was something Ron hadn't considered either.
After all, in the game, these things all had to be completed by yourself alone.
"But it's not bad." Joy hung up her scarf. "Out with the old, in with the new. Next year will definitely be a good year!"
Time shifted to the next day.
Ron was shaken awake by Indeedee early in the morning. Before he could even figure out what was happening, Indeedee dragged him out of bed, got him dressed, made him eat breakfast, and hurriedly pushed him out of the farm.
"—Today is Spring 1st, right?" Ron asked, being forcefully shoved by Indeedee. He turned his head to look at the massive, trailing Pokémon army behind him. "There shouldn't be any holidays today, right?"
"Indeedee! Indeedee!" Indeedee said, continuing to push Ron forward.
"It says you'll know when we get there, meow," Meowth translated from the back of the line.
"—" Ron resignedly followed Indeedee.
Today was the start of spring, and the farm work was endless. Aside from having Orthworm till all the soil and plant the new crops, he also needed to set up the sprinklers. Furthermore, he had to plant grass in the barn pasture as soon as possible—
Calculating the farm work in his head, Ron was led by Indeedee to the entrance of the Community Center.
The moment he arrived, Ron noticed that it seemed the entire town had gathered here.
"He's here, he's here!" someone cheered. The next instant, Lewis turned around, holding a massive trophy and looking at Ron in the distance.
"..."
"Indeedee." Indeedee gave him another push from behind, and Ron walked up to Lewis.
"Today happens to be the first anniversary of your arrival in Pelican Town," Lewis said. "When you took over that rundown farm, I never imagined that in just one short year, this small town would be completely revitalized because of your arrival."
Lewis slowly and methodically delivered his congratulatory speech.
Not far away, Linus—who had used the Warp Totem to get to the farm from the Fern Islands—was slowly walking through town, holding hands with a wide-eyed Leo.
Because it was still early and he didn't expect anyone in town to be up yet, he had specifically taken a longer route so Leo could familiarize himself with the area.
They hadn't walked far before Linus's attention was drawn to the Community Center.
"Why are there so many people today?" Linus paused, tightening his grip on Leo's hand. "Ah—the Community Center is repaired. Are they celebrating that?"
The two stopped in their tracks, and Leo curiously looked over.
Lewis's words carried over to them.
"I have decided to award you this town's highest honor! The Stardew Valley Hero Trophy!"
As soon as the words fell, the crowd erupted in cheers.
"It seems he restored that place too—" Linus thought to himself as he pulled Leo closer by the hand.
"Ron, is that the person? He gave me tasty food before. He's a good person," Leo said.
"Yeah, he's a very good person. He was the first one in this town—the very first person to look at me without giving me a strange look," Linus said. However, he led Leo away, walking toward the farm instead.
"Aren't we going over there?"
"Not right now," Linus said.
Even though the people in Pelican Town were all nice, today was Leo's first day here. He didn't want him to be subjected to the strange stares of the crowd at all.
Children were sensitive. Moreover, having lived alongside animals, Leo was even better at reading the emotions in people's eyes.
He didn't want to ruin Leo's first impression of Pelican Town.
It would be best to slowly integrate into the community under Penny's guidance, rather than having him, an outcast, drag Leo right into the thick of it.
On the other side, Ron took the trophy from Lewis's hands.
"Now even the Community Center is fully restored!" Lewis looked up. "We're off to a great start in the new year! This year will absolutely be a great year!"
Applause echoed through the crowd in agreement.
Penny was also quietly watching Ron from a corner at this moment.
She couldn't quite put it into words, but she just felt incredibly proud.
The person she liked was such an outstanding person.
Ron echoed Lewis with a few words, then handed the trophy over to the eagerly awaiting paws of Sailor.
Sailor lifted the trophy with all its might and started crying out, "Ratta ratta!"
"What is it saying?" Jessie asked softly.
"It sounds like—lines it learned from a TV drama," Meowth listened uncertainly for a bit, then raised its voice to mimic it.
Over there, Sailor was acting as if it were the true final recipient of the honor.
Of course, it had indeed contributed a lot to the bundles. The latter two bundles didn't have any special changes, so it was Sailor who caught the required fish and fished out the minerals and such.
The group of Rattatas surrounded Sailor like stars surrounding the moon.
Amidst the chirping sounds of agreement, Ron hurriedly returned to the farm and began organizing the early spring work.
"I should have just gone to Ginger Island the day before yesterday," Ron said as he started giving orders. "Orthworm, till the land from this patch to that one. Sailor, take the Rattatas with you and help me sow the seeds later—"
"Ratta—"
And so, Sailor regretfully put down the trophy, woke up from its hero dream, and buried itself in hard work.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)