“Okay everyone, line up!” I called out for everyone’s attention, “We got another batch of goodies, step in line so we can give ‘em to you!”

The goodies, in this case, are new clothes, trinkets, tools and other similar gadgets we got from the dock town across the ocean. Now I hear ya’ asking, “But Schneeell~! With what money did you buy all those fantastic items?” and to that I can only answer with – Why the hell’s your voice so damn squeaky? Ya’ squeaker, grow some balls!

Argh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I was saying, or wait, since I’m talking to myself, then wouldn’t it be fine? Yeah, I’m just apologizing to my own self for imagining a person whose voice is so damn squeaky. Right, that’s better. Anyways, as I was saying, Olya and I had just gotten back from our three day trip to sell our wheat to all the bakeries in the dock town, and from that money we would often stop by a shop or two to buy some necessities. It was a good idea too, as the quikkas of Havana really fancy their new and shiny robes, iron tools and most importantly…

“Sugar!” Cassandra found herself among the needy crowd, “Did you buy any more of that tasty supplement?”

“What’s that? Supplement?” I asked as I tossed her a bag, “That’s a new word I haven’t heard you use before! Just for that, have some of your oh so precious sugar.”

“Nom!” She happily opened the bag and just tossed all the sugar inside of it into her mouth, “Hehe~! Delicious!”

“You’re such a glutton, Cassandra.” Shaid chuckled, “At this rate, you might actually become fat.”

It seems Cassandra’s road to learning the Entropic language was still at its green days, since she didn’t quite understand the nuance of Shaid’s insult. I guess she got stuck at the word “glutton”, so she didn’t at all understand he was making fun of her for having a sweet tooth and instead just smiled away innocently. Me on the other hand, I wasn’t gonna let that slide.

“Come on, don’t say that, man!” I quickly hushed him up, “Don’t you remember? It’s a huge insult for the girls here to be called anything but skinny!”

“You too, amigo.” He turned to insult me next, “You’re being way too giving to her, to the point where you’re just giving her ten times more sugar and other materials when compared to the others here. It’s pretty obvious she’s your favorite, but do keep it subtle.”

Hm? Now that I think about it, the last time we did a giveaway like this, I had also given her tons more sugar cubes and ale than I did the others. She’s a pretty hard worker, and dutiful too. She takes her jobs around here seriously, being the quickest one to finish them out of anyone else here, so I just kind of felt it was obvious she would be getting more than the rest. Looking back, I could see why someone would think that to be favoritism.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I agreed, “Sorry for picking her out like this. It’s rude to the others.”

“That’s not true.” Cassandra interrupted, “It’s simply not!”

“Hm?”

“Sister Cassandra’s right, you know?” One of the ladies of the quik agreed, “Brother Schnell, your heart is as big as you. A true titan of a man. And much like a titan, you protect and care for all of us little people around you, making sure we not only get enough to survive another day, but to also make sure we do so with a big smile on our face.”

“Eh?” I blushed, “Stop it, guys! Seriously, it’s embarrassing!”

“Humu, you’re kind, Brother Schnell!” Cassandra locked Eyes with me, “You give plenty enough for us all, so please continue doing what you’re doing without reserve!”

Well, if anything I know Cassandra’s got ulterior motives behind all this sweet talking. Her lying is atrocious, so it was all too obvious she just wanted me to not stop spoiling her with gifts. Ugh, these guys, they’re just buttering me up right now, and I’m afraid I just can’t say no to all these words of praise!

“Alright then!” I took another pouch from my belt and tossed it to Cassandra, “If you’re gonna say all that, I just can’t say no! Take my share as well, Selz knows I don’t need it!”

Holding the pouch with both hands as if she’s being handed a thousand year old family treasure, she carefully, put it in her pockets before walking up to me and, without uttering a single word, giving me a big ol’ hug. Naw, she’s three years my elder, but she’s still so tiny! Well, there’s that, but I’m also on the bigger side, even when compared to other Meridians.

“Thank you!” She cried tears of joy as she rubbed her face all over my chest, “Thank you, thank you, thank you~!”

Looking over at Shaid, who was trying to hold in his laughter as he facepalmed, I shot back with a little taunt of my own. Sticking my tongue out at him before erupting into a guffaw, I couldn’t help but feel blessed. In this current moment, I have two of the bestest friends in the World, a community to take care of that doesn’t at all shy away from making me feel appreciated, and an older friend who often teaches me the ways of the Traveling Merchant. Really, I know I’m laughing and all, but I genuinely felt happy when the people here praised me. It’s something that could never have happened back in Meridia.

“Where you goin’?” I noticed Cassandra started prancing back to the direction of our house, as happy as a clam, “You’re seriously satisfied with just some sugar?”

“Hehe, I’m fine with this!” She turned back at me smiling, “Thank you! I wanna try mixing this sugar stuff with other food, so I’ll be heading back.”

“Sure you don’t want any more clothes or something?”

“No, this is enough.” She giggled at me, “Your sugar is enough. When I eat it, I’ll think of you today!”

Hey now, what a proclamation that is, young lady. It was a naïve statement in her Eyes, I’m sure of it, but with that cute smile she had on, it was difficult to discern her honest emotions. She may be a glutton, but I doubt she’d say something like that just because her food was that tantalizing to her. On the other hand, it seems I wasn’t the only one who noticed her phrasing, for as soon as she left, all the other quikkas started clapping at me, as if I had done something incredible just now to warrant such a reaction from her.

“Y’know, amigo, food is the best way to a man’s heart.” Shaid figured, “So does the same apply for girls too?”

“Hey, don’t insult her now.” I reprimanded him, “I had no such intentions, and she’s definitely not interested in me like that.”

“Right, right…” He jotted something down on a piece of parchment, “Sugar 2x…”

“Don’t make a recipe on how to snag a girl, goddammit!”

***

After that debacle, I had finished up handing out all of our items to the quikkas with Shaid before parting ways to check up on Olya and Tanathos. I felt it odd that they didn’t at all show up to the Grand Giveaway, as the quikkas call it, so I decided to pay them a little visit. What I didn’t expect was to be met with a scrunched up piece of paper to the face the very moment I opened the door.

“Shiet! It’s all shiet!” Olya cussed as he scrunched up yet another piece of paper.

“Calm down, brother!” The insecure Tanathos tried his best to quell Olya’s rage, “There is a saying, that only failures make it on the first try.”

“I don’t care about your proverbs, Old Man! I need some good plot points for my story, but the fact of the matter is that anything I come up with is all just shitty overused tropes that lack substance!”

Ah, so that’s what’s going on. The Old Man is busying himself with helping Olya write a novel that’ll shake the World one day. It seems they’ve stumbled upon some issues in the first draft though.

“Alright guys, what’s the problem?” I sat down next to them, surprising them with my sudden appearance.

“Ack! N-Nothing!” Olya quickly tried putting away his project.

“Hmm…” I grabbed his wrist, “Don’t forget, Olya, you’re under surveillance. Shaid and I forgave you back then, but if you’re returning to your old ways, much less showing it off to Tanathos…”

“What!? No, it’s not that at all!” He quickly explained the truth, “It’s just…! Y’know how I’m writing a novel, right? Well, I just asked the Old Man to read the first draft.”

“And?” I turned to Tanathos, “How was the book?”

“It was fine. Not something I would personally read in my spare time, as it is very much aimed at an audience closer to your age, but you can definitely notice his proper word choice.”

“But you don’t get it, Old Man!” Olya quickly intervened, “A World renowned novel isn’t just “fine”! It needs to be breathtaking, inspiring, and most importantly, it needs to drive the reader to rethink their entire life up until that point!”

“Wow, really?” I tilted my head, “That’s a pretty tall hurdle to jump over. But never mind that, if you want more opinions, why not let me have a read?”

“Nope! Nuh-uh! Not a chance!” He shook his head violently, “I’d die of embarrassment! Anyone but you would do, hence why I gave it to the Old Man first!”

“Here you are, brother.” Tanathos took the intricate hardcover book from under the table and handed it to me.

“Hey, Old Man! That’s not yours to share!” Olya cried out, “Schnell, bud, please don’t read the titl…!”

“Wanderlust: The journey of Schnell?” I raised an eyebrow, “A story of great hardship, friendship and romance depicted through the Eyes of an exuberant youth. This coming of age story will leave the whole World talking?”

“Gahh! Shut up, shut up, shut up!” He rolled on the floor, writhing in agony, “Please! I know it’s weird, but when I thought of who would be a good person to base the main character off of, only you popped into mind!”

“This is… amazing.” I stared at the purple book in my hands with Eyes filled with wonder, “It’s perfect! A story that accurately depicts our travels throughout the World! Olya, thank you so much for this!”

“Eh? You’re not gonna laugh?”

“Why? Should I?” I teased.

“Well, it’s not that, it’s just…” He gestured for me to flip through the pages, “The story isn’t really all that accurate to the base material. For example, one of the many changes I made is your appearance. In the story, you’re some Grandmaster Adventurer traveling the World and documenting your findings. You’re witty and a lady’s man like Shaid, you make a ton of selfish decisions in the beginning that haunt you later in the story, kind of like me. Ugh, it’s just not at all you.”

“…So?” I chuckled as I handed him the book, “It’s your book, right? I’m extremely honored to be the base for the main character, but at the end of the day, you’re writing an original story. Change as many things as you want, I don’t mind at all.”

As I gave him the thumbs up, he started wiping away the tears that were trickling down his face, trying desperately not to get any of them on the book, all the while Tanathos burst out laughing. See? He laughed, I told you he’d like it!

“That being said, I do have one worry.” I popped the question, “If my personality is like Shaid’s and yours, then where do you guys fall into place?”

At this, both of them kind of awkwardly looked down at the floor before he apologized. “I kind of didn’t include myself into the story. I hate self-inserts, so just the thought of publishing a story with an author’s self-insert would make me unbelievably peeved.”

“Oh, is that so?” I shrugged, “Well, that’s fine, I guess. I mean, I’d like it if you at least wrote yourself in as a character, but suit yourself. And Shaid?”

“Right, remember how I said the main character’s selfish decisions come back to bite him in the butt?” He looked away in shame, “Well, that’s because in the story, Shaid kinda… dies.”

“Eh!?” I jumped in surprise, “That’s horrible! Remove that plot-point this instant!”

“Right, right, that’s why I was ripping the pages before you came in, okay?” He then showed me that part of the story, “See? The pages are ripped… huh?”

“They don’t look ripped up at all, though.” I noted.

“What? But… no, this makes no sense.” He read through his writing, “I was sure I ripped out all these pages, so how…?”

“Well, whatever.” I shrugged and headed out, “Who cares? Just rip ‘em out now, please. I don’t wanna have to sit through Shaid’s tirade once he eventually reads the story.”

“A-Ah, right.” He and Tanathos went to tear the paper out, “How peculiar…”