Part 16: I'll have some vegetables

Update 16: I'll have some vegetables

Music: Spring



We open today's update with fieldwork and Bush in a funny pose.



If I just have Bush stand directly in front of the mailbox with a strawberry out, it makes missing the gift a lot harder.




ANETTE: Hey, there's a letter with your name on it, Bush.


Apparently, directly asking for your letters gives a small LP boost. For some reason I feel like it'd actually be kinda annoying in the real world.


-----------------------------------------------------
~"Thanks!" - Selphy~

I just wanted to thank you for the Bamboo Rice. You're a life saver.
But I realized I could have gotten food much faster if I had gone to Rosetta or Rita's stores rather than sending a letter out.
A lesson learned, indeed.

-----------------------------------------------------


This is aside from the fact I already bring you food every day.

I also like how she doesn't mention Danny's store at all.


-----------------------------------------------------
~"We have new shipments!!" - Ganesha~

I got new shipments.
I now have even better weapons thatn before, so be sure to check it out!
Of course, the quality is even more perfect than before as well.
Damascus Forge

-----------------------------------------------------





ANETTE: This is such a nice place. It's quiet and peaceful. Maybe I should move here. Haha, just kidding.


It'd help out a lot if you did.



After this, I spend quite some time trying to re-collect a lot of the excess Runeys on the Homestead. This is the point in my recording where I actually know what I'm doing, so expect to see some more informed actions regarding Runeys.

In fact, one big thing I'll be working towards in the next few updates is moving the prosperity off the Homestead and onto a different location so that my Water, Rock, and Tree Runey count will grow.




KANNO: The giant monster in the Green Ruins can be very interesting.


Sure, but I don't know how you're getting down there to study it. Music's still pretty good though.




CINNAMON: I'm gathering magic items, but they're hard to find.


CINNAMON: Tell me if you find any "Magic Crystal."


This is her favorite gift, giving three times the LP than the random fish we're throwing at her. We can't even get these yet, though we could soon enough.



Nothing new at St. Poli's, so it's off to the library.

When it comes to the library, we've actually read every book on the first floor!


-----------------------------------------------------
~Constellation: Turnip~

"The Turnip is THE constellation of spring. It is quite bright in the early night sky, so it is very easy to find."

-----------------------------------------------------

There seems to be a couple of these pages spread about that describe constellations we've seen.

Back when we saw the Crown Constellation, Selphy noted she got a book on constellations. As it turns out, that was it's corresponding effect and I had no idea. Presumably these are pages from that book.


-----------------------------------------------------
~Constellation: Serpent~

"The Serpent, a spring constellation, appears later in the night. Because it can be seen even after the sky has turned completely dark, the Serpent is one of the most radiant constellations."

-----------------------------------------------------

While stars are always shining, the immense light of the sun drowns them out until the progression to nighttime allows them to not be overwritten. Given this, I can only presume that "completely dark" must be referring to a cloudy night, which would mean that these stars are putting off a helluva lot of light to do so.


-----------------------------------------------------
~Constellation: Crown~

"The Crown is a constellation that appears past midnight in the springtime sky. Because it appears so late, few have ever seen it, but its splendor makes it worth staying up for."

-----------------------------------------------------

Wasn't hard for me, but I guess most people don't have frame delimiters.




SELPHY: There was a time when I went to a book market in the capital. There were endless books and I was so happy.




SELPHY: I want to go again!


Selphy doesn't just like books, she lives for reading. She wants to make sure we understand this.

Also, it's good to hear that Norad's got enough of a literary scene that it can have a book market. I guess when you're a peace loving nation powered by earth spirits, nature wizard farmers, and dragons, you've got a lot of time on your hand for literacy.




SELPHY: When I was little, I read a lot of books.


SELPHY: I was sickly so I never got to go outside a lot.


SELPHY: Now, I'm all healthy, but I still love books.


"Healthy" in the sense she usually suffers no ill effects from subsisting almost entirely on literature as she constantly forgets to eat. Doctors Hate Her For This One Weird Trick!



Also you might be interested to know that she's now since bypassed Mist in LP, making her the current highest. Those books add up to a lot.

Mist might be higher if I tilled more land, I believe that's the specific trigger for her LP, but most of my land is covered in rocks I can't break, stumps that take half my RP bar to break, and wild grasses I don't mind having around.



Music: Trampoli


Danny is still being boring, so nothing new here. The "rival" bachelors in this game, he and Erik, are just kinda irrelevant most of the time.




ROSETTA: The vegetables are on sale today! ...Oh, it's you, Bush.


BUSH: I'll have some vegetables.


ROSETTA: Sure, but those vegetables came from you.


BUSH: Haha... Oh, right. Then I'll pass.


Bush is such a dork sometimes.



Also she's still talking about the moondrop thing. We'll be resolving that matter today at least so it'll stop clogging up the normal dialogue flow.




EUNICE: Bush! Let me tell you something nice.


EUNICE: Use the same water you washed rice with on the dishes. It can make them shiny.


I had to look this up, but it's a thing apparently. Apparently it makes a decent replacement for soap. Something something colloidal mixture and abrasion something something natural oils.
This rice-water isn't to be kept around though, only works for like a day unrefrigerated which I suppose is a result of that bacteria that grows on cooked rice.

Still, now that Eunice is starting to like us, we'll be getting random little tips like these.




Something else I found out: Uzuki accepts any fish! So all that sashimi making really didn't do anything but drive Bush's Cooking skill up.

Not a total loss I guess, and knowing this will save me a lot of time otherwise spent huntin for sashimi capable fish.



Ganesha's amazing new merchandise is that she's now selling the first tier Battle Hammer and Battle Axe, stuff we've already been able to make for quite some time.

She's also selling more of the elemental crystals, but at level 3 each. These can come in handy later if finding our own higher level crystals proves to be a pain. Having reduced RP costs on magic staves is very nice.




MARCO: There's supposed to be a huge bird monster in the Green Ruins.


MARCO: I wish I could go fight it.


Sorry kid, now that I've beat it, it's already leveled up even beyond my abilities.




ERIK: Well? Have you gotten used to the village yet?


BUSH: Yes. Everyone is very nice.


ERIK: Good!


ERIK: If you have any conversations about farming, just ask me.


While Danny is still spouting the same nothing lines he has been, Erik over here is still giving week 1 dialogue.




ERIK: T-turnip? Where did you get that?! Get it away!!!!


this man is evidently harrowed by the clandestine machinations of Mist

Erik really hates turnips. Explains why he's always telling that story about turnips turning into monsters after the season changes.

Unless...?


Anyways, Anette is also here in Erik's house for some reason. Sometimes she hangs out here between 9 AM to 12 PM on Wednesdays.




BUSH: Oh... What brinks you here, Anette?


ANETTE: Ahaha, I guess you caught me at a bad time. I was a bit hungry so Erik was treating me to a meal.


ANETTE: Oh, but that's all there is to it! There's nothing between us!




ERIK: Hahaha... She's right, but it still hurts to hear that...


ANETTE: Huh? Why?


RIP Erik.




ANETTE: Let's see...


BUSH: What is it? Why are you staring at me...?


ANETTE: Okay! Looks like you're a bit more fit now! Boys have to be fit, you know!


what

i just

huh




ANETTE: Do you like working in he fields, Bush? I love my job.


It's chill, so I guess.



Anyways, I leave for a bit and come back in to get Erik to be behind his front desk as he won't be there until 12 PM.

The Summer crops are Onions, Tomatoes, Corn, Pumpkins, and Pineapples. Tomatoes, corn, and pineapples are all regrowing crops like our strawberries, though pineapples are barely worth their 18 day growth time and 7 day reharvest period. Without max prosperity, they're an utter waste of time.

Corn and Tomatoes end up doing much better, so I'll be aiming for those when it comes time for the season to switch over. For now though, I want to start my tomato crop early on Whale Island as there's a favorite gift for one of the bachelorettes that's not far out of reach as long as I've got tomatoes.




MIST: You defeated the monster in the Green Ruins? Not bad.


MIST: I knew you had it in you, Bush.


Man, that is one chill response to "dude on the farm slew an 8 foot tall chicken lion". Then again, this is supposed to be a sequel or something, so Mist has already personally witnessed Bush eliminate multiple deadly creatures from the first game. Or maybe not...?

Like I said at the beginning, the connection between this game and it's predecessor is exceeedingly vague. I bet you already forgot this game was a sequel to a previous one. I did until I wrote this.




Cave farming and grass farm management happens after that and that's all I've got to say about it.



Music: Green Ruins


EPIC TAMING SEQUENCE

GO



Masterfully rolling with the punches, Combatant Bush pacifies the ant!

He's being called Grant!

(Default name is Anne.)



He goes for the Clucky! It's not a Peck, but a Clucky!

But OH NO

Bees are attacking from the sides!



Oh dear! He may be poisoned, but he sucks it up and gets to TAAAAMIIIING

We've got one Clucky by the name of Raven! Is that a reference I hear?!



OOOH

AND ANOTHER BRUSHING GOES DOWN

This one's going by the name of Bokbok!

(Default names Doodle and Cluck.)



He's put the glove down! And with that, this match is OVER.

Strong showing today!



Sometimes I almost forget these toyherbs are planted back here. They're worth a lot, but they just take so darn long.

More strawberries go in the bin. My plan is to try and make enough money in these next 8 days to have both the forge and kitchen extensions by the start of Summer.




MELODY: I saw a person take a pigeon out of his hat the other day. Ist that magic, too?


MELODY: I wish I could take a pigeon out of my hat.


Bathhouse Melody over here just wanting to learn any magic at all at this point.




MELODY: I'm glad to see all the villagers coming to the bath. Recently, I've had customers from outside the village. too.


MELODY: I knew it. People who love baths can't be bad people.


must be why i never see mist in here

But I guess outside visitors is how she can manage to afford the cost of living. With her basically free price of 10g, 21 people have to come by per day to even afford a single turnip.

She makes basically no money off these miracle bathhouses.



Nolan's got nothing new to say, so it's time to start the long haul up to tower on the Whale Island Fin.



Music: Whale Island Outside

Hour and a half later, I'm there. And then we run right into a cutscene!




A view of the moon and the bright, glowing flowers beneath it...



Bush slowly walks across the aged tile, towards the mysterious girl wearing white.




As we approach, she turns around to him and the flowers send up petals into the sky.



Pointed ears, green and red eyes, and a general expression of "huh?"




GIRL: Good evening.


There's more petals after this.






GIRL: I didn't expect a guest today. I'm sure today will be good then.


GIRL: Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Iris.




BUSH: My name is Bush and I came from Trampoli Village, below the island.


IRIS: Bush, is it? Nice to meet you. Please come visit me whenever you want.


Well, that was brief. At least we got another Bush Introduction. But this is Iris, one of the last few bachelorettes we were waiting on, and the whole reason for growing the moondrops thing.

That's also one hell of a cloak pin- giant blue gem, frilly flower thing, and a giant gangster golden chain.




IRIS: How is your walk out at night? Are you enjoying it?


Unfortunately, after all this build up to her introduction, she's got a lot of nothing to say right now.




BUSH: Speaking of which, what's behind that locked gate, Iris?


BUSH: How do I open it?


IRIS: I don't know. I haven't gone very far so I'm not sure.


BUSH: I thought so...




IRIS: Oh, but there could be a chance that it could just open.


IRIS: That's why you should just check up on it from time to time.


BUSH: I guess. I'll go check it out whenever I come to visit you.




IRIS: Oh, you. So you're saying that I'm the main purpose of your visit?


Between the confusing start to the conversation and Bush moving fast here, this dialogue is about how we progress the storyline for Whale Island. The answer is basically we need to keep coming up here until it does. Yeah.

Also I think this was supposed to trigger later, but whatever.




IRIS: Thank you! It's a very pretty flower... I'll be sure to cherish it!


The fact that we had to grow these flowers to meet her should be enough of a hint that she likes them as gifts. Her favorite gift is perhaps one of the easiest to make, and I'll be able to make piles of it once I get the expanded kitchen.



Speaking of said flowers we had to grow, I immediately pick all of them and plant tomatoes there instead. They're almost the same thing, they've got yellow star shaped flowers.

This is the one field on Whale Island I know I'll be passing by constantly, so it's the best one for this. Besides, it's part of getting her favorite gift.



Music: Whale Island Entrance


~Whale Island - Tower of Rest~

Now I can finally start calling this thing by it's proper name. There's also nothing but piles of boxes and crates on the first floor, so up to the second we go.



This is Iris's bedroom, evidently. And for the first time, there's no prompt to sleep in her giant bed.

Why do I have to point this out



Oh, and Iris does art. She's still got nothing new to say.

Until tomorrow then!




KANNO: Cinnamon and Candy's parents are still doing research at the Imperial Magic Academy.


KANNO: I would die if I didn't have anyone to make food for me. That's why I called those two over.


You should just learn how to subsist on knowledge like Selphy. Seems to work well for her. It's also past 11 PM at this point, but the Clock Tower is unique in that we can always enter the main rooms, regardless of the time.

Also I don't know what's up with the "Imperial" part there, unless it implies that the usually evil neighboring empire has a magic academy. They're kinda magitek oriented so I guess it makes sense, but I always interpreted them as being more mechanical than not.




CANDY: Good evening!


Also Candy's still up for some reason. I guess it's kinda hard to tell the kid with nature spirit power to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

She's also blocking the way to the Runey Distribution Viewer so that I have to ask her directly.




CANDY: Do you want to make Tree Rune Stone?


I need one of these for something soon, and there's far too many of the darned things around, so it's not a loss.

Also for whatever reason she gets tears in her eyes over this. I don't know why.




CANDY: Here's Tree Rune Stone.


You got Tree Rune Stone!



And then to close out the night, I finish migrating the bulk of the Runeys from the Shrub Farm Homestead to the Church District. Knowing what I know now, I can grind up Runeys this way and work on my ultimate goal of bringing at least a few zones to prosperity.

I don't have it stacked to the exact 50/50/50/35+ I need yet, but it is prosperous, so my mass strawberry and fodder operations will continue.



Music: Spring


It's a new day! Wow!

Given that being inside the barn stops time like any other building, I've been starting out these days by getting all the brushing out of the way.




ANETTE: I always get pestered by monsters.


ANETTE: There was one that bothered me earlier. I tripped and skinned my knee. Look!


BUSH: You're right. That must have been bad.


ANETTE: Maybe I smell really good to them...


Anette's evidently still having monster troubles.



After that, I resume the endless picking of strawberries. In time, Grant the Ant will be able to help out with this, but his friendship with us needs to get a bit higher before he'll do a decent job at it.



It takes me until 11:10 AM to get all the farm work done. Sheesh.

Well, in the coming days I'll be able to cut watering the fodder out of my schedule as I'll have more than enough for a while. That, and the Toyherbs should finally finish growing too, which shaves a little more time off.

By the end of Summer, I should be ready to grab the next tier of watering can which will also reduce the time I spend watering by 66%. Every watering can upgrade is a big boost to the amount of stuff I can afford to grow with my limited daytime.

In short, this is just gonna be the 8 days of some real hefty labor.



Surprisingly, a lot of the conversation pool in the Church District is dry today, but Selphy is at least here to deliver.




SELPHY: Say... Wanna buy some books?


BUSH: Selphy... Are you out of money again...?


SELPHY: Well, there's a book I want but my wallet's empty. Please! Think of it as doing me a favor!


BUSH: Sure!


SELPHY: Awesome! That's my Bush! So generous!




SELPHY: Then how about this book... Wait, not this one... I haven't read it yet...


SELPHY: Hm... I don't know what to do! There aren't any books I can sell! Should I sell it for now then buy it back later...? No...


BUSH: Ahaha... I'll come back after things settle down.




I can also unfortunately relate to this all too well.


-----------------------------------------------------
~The Cornucopia Tree~

"The Adventures of John Arthur Sec.1, Ch.9, Pt.4, P.S. 'Cornucopia Tree'"

"At the very moment I was about to draw my last breath, I saw trees upon trees, so laden with fruit, it looked as though the branches would break."

"I tried everything to get my eager hands on the fruits, from climbing to throwing rocks. My desperation gave me strength."

"However, not a single fruit would budge, not even once."

"Alas! If I only had a hammer with me, I could have eaten one! I would have been able to survive long enough to see the next fruit bearing season..."

-----------------------------------------------------


A bit grim there. And wordy. Did you really need all the stuff at the front?

Either way, this is a hint to hit trees with your hammer for fruit. I'll go back and do that another time before the season ends.




ROSETTA: Did the Moondrop flower grow nicely?


BUSH: Yes, it did.


ROSETTA: Oh.. So that rumor was true. Show them to me next time.


BUSH: Sure, but they're on Whale Island so it's dangerous.


ROSETTA: Whale Island, huh... If only there weren't any monsters there, it would make a great tourist attraction. Too bad.


BUSH: Ahaha... That's just like you to think of it that way, Rosetta.


I mean, I have the flowers with me if you wanted to see them.

Missed opportunities like these to go out with a character is something that would be capitalized on in RF3. Just hand pretty much anyone a sword and have them come fight with you. That or the actual dates you could do. Those existed too.




TURNER: Uh oh... I drank too much last night... and now I feel..


Only new dialogue inside the Snowstyle is Turner about to lose his lunch.




EUNICE: I'm glad to hear that you come to the bar often, but please be sure not to over drink.


BUSH: Don't worry about me. I only come to the bar to buy food.


EUNICE: Oh, really...? I guess I'm strange to worry about over drinking in a bar.







EUNICE: I used to feel lonely but I have many more friends now.


EUNICE: Lara is so kind and pretty... I really look up to her.






Nobody else has anything interesting to say, so I spend a while managing Runeys.



I've found that the Runey biz gets a bit better than it sounds on paper when you set up everything right, and it does make for something to do if you need to burn time, but it remains to be work. It's work that's even missing that relaxing edge the farming can have.

The problem is that it's just very "ugh" before you get it set up right.



At least Melody's got something interesting to say today.



MELODY: Say, Bush. Hear me out.


BUSH: What is it?


MELODY: The hot springs seem to be coming out slower recently. Maybe something happened to the Whale Island hot spring?


MELODY: Can you got take a look at it?


BUSH: No problem. You can count on me!


MELODY: Thanks, Bush! ♪




NOLAN: Hot springs are very nice. Not only do they warm your body, they warm your soul as well.



Fully refreshed, it's time to go see what's up with the island on our way to talk to Iris. Going to talk to her is required to be part of our schedule for at least a couple days, so be expecting our days to run up to 11 PM on the regular from now on.



Music: Whale Island Entrance


???: Bush, it seems that your adventures are going well.


BUSH: Yes, and it's all thanks to you.


???: That's good to hear...


???: Bush...


IRIS?: If you'd like, could you please come to my place so we can talk?


IRIS?: Though I may not seem like it, I really like to have company.


BUSH: Oh, really? All right. Just call me over whenever you want.


The problem with these little psychic conversations is that the speaker is left up to interpretation. You've only got context and nothing else. I'm guessing that was Iris, given the last half.

Apparently she can just telepathically communicate with us like the island does. Or was she the island at the start? Who knows?



Music: Whale Island Cave


What I do know is that it's time for MOOOOOORE TAAAAAAAAMING



Multiple 1 damage kicks to the shin later and Gobbs the Goblin joins the crew in record time!



When we get to the second room of the cave, we find this big lad blocking the way of the hot springs.



BUSH: Excuse me...



He speaks telepathically as well.


GIANT: Huh? Who are you and what do you want with me?



BUSH: If you sit there, it'll stop the flow of the hot spring. The bathhouse owner is getting really mad.


BUSH: Would you please move?


GIANT: Why should I move for you people? I like this place.



BUSH: Please...


GIANT: Fine, fine...


*He stops to scratch his abs, then the back of his head for a second*



GIANT: Then how about this?





GIANT: You bring me some ice cream.


GIANT: Then I'll move.



BUSH: Ice cream, right? I'll bring it right away!



"Right away" is a bit of an overstatement. While we can make it now with materials from the bar, I forget that we can for a couple days.

It's not like there's a timer on this quest or anything. The hot springs continue to work fine regardless.



Music: Whale Island Outside


Up next on taming is AAAAANOTHER WOOOOOOLY!



We call this one Micah to match up with Raven the Clucky from earlier, these two names being RF3 references. That's some IN THE RING FACTS 4 U!

Depending on how much time passes between RF2 and RF3 chronologically, it's possible the two characters referenced here may not even born yet in Frontier. Hard to say, as the only metric to go by is trying to estimate how much older Yue is.




WHO'S GOT MILK?

We've also got two Buffamoos on the agenda, and they beat us up pretty badly as there's really no good time to get in there with the brush. Good thing we've got some levels and gear on us.




WE GOT MILK!

Our two cows are Daisy and Momo, the latter being a default name I liked enough.




IRIS: Thank you for coming. There's nothing here but please make yourself at home.


She's not wrong, there's absolutely nothing to interact with in here aside from her.




IRIS: Oh, your name was Bush, was it?


IRIS: I'm surprised to see that this island is shaped like a whale.


She says this like she's almost forgotten who we are already. Kindred spirits in amnesia, maybe?

The fact that she didn't know this island looks like a whale is peculiar. We'll find out the reason why later.




IRIS: A wondrous girl. Sleeps during the day to stay out of the sun. Loves flowers.


This is her profile entry. Although I might not have explicitly pointed it out yet, you have to wait until after 6:00 PM to talk to her at all. My schedule is stuffed enough already that getting to that time isn't much of an issue, but it doesn't stop each individual day taking me 30 - 50 minutes to play through.

I like this game so far, so while I don't mind playing more of it, I can't deny that it can drag a little bit to have each day be like this.



After this, I grind a level off of wolves to restore Bush's HP, and set about taming one. Unfortunately, their hitbox on their lunge can be large and lasts a bit longer than it should, kicking me off on a number of my attempts.



I instead find it's easier to land the brush hit while it's turning. Still doesn't stop Bush from almost dying to this.



And our wolf shall be known as Pony. Because Bush can tell that this is obviously a small horse in disguise.

With that, Bush returns to the surface to tidy up a few last loose ends before the day's up.




RITA: Listen, Bush. My husband got drunk and passed out here the other day.


RITA: He really needs to know how it feels to clean up after him...


Here's the Snowstyle continuing to get depressing. The first time we came here it was pointed out that this comes out of the business's pocket, and the conversation with Eunice today already shows she has an amount of anxiety about all this, so...

At this point I'm having a hard time telling if this was intentional, or if it was still supposed to be a comedy thing that just got written wrong.

Anyways, I'm just here to buy more rice, not discuss the topic of alcoholism in a game with pacifist magic swords.




I go and pet all the new animals added to the barn. It'll take a few days, but you'll see why I wanted to keep a slot open.



Given I have a load of RP still leftover, I spend it all fishing into the night. This'll help me stock up a hefty pile of gifts for Uzuki and Cinnamon, as well as let me make a lot more RP extending food.

Technically, any food I eat is a loss in potential profits, but I'm not that stingy. This food makes using magic easier, and returns more RP than it took to make it so I can extend farming operations if needed.

...And if I was being stingy, it so happens that on our homestead the Pale Carp, the best fish present, has a low amount of RP restored for a high selling price, and the cheapest fish, the Chub, restores a lot of RP.



With that, I head to bed. We've got some big goals to accomplish before the end of Spring, and these next few days are going to be some hard workin'.

Join us next time where it gets HOT in the next frame.

...Not that kind of hot. The temperature kind of hot.