Farrington Farms: Slice of Life LitRPG Novel, page 32
The blankets on the floor were empty when he woke up, but one look out the window soothed his nerves. The good boy was outside, resting next to the chicken coop, likely to make sure that no wizards tried to steal one for his steed.
“That’s my good boy,” he sighed, stretched, then checked his shoulder beneath the gauze. Just like the description said, the wound had completely healed, now that he’d given it eight hours to do its job. There were more on tier two of the trading post, which he made a mental note to buy as soon as he was freed up. It had to wait though, because there was a treasure chest in the corner with his name on it. His back was still sore, but he managed to drag it into the middle of the floor, where he sat down and threw back the lid.
He should have seen it coming, but he was too tired to be prepared. A flash of light blinded him, followed by the sound of several items striking the wooden floor. After a few attempts at swearing, he rubbed the stars from his eyes, then blinked to find items scattered everywhere before him. Some of them were far too big to have fit in the chest, but, considering he’d just taken down a wizard and his fire-breathing dinosaurs, he merely shook his head and got to work sorting through the loot.
Six large boxes took up most of his room, so he shoved everything else to the side so he could examine them. Two of them were air conditioners, one large one that looked like a central air unit, and one small one that was made for a window. They were lighter than they should have been, which he was thankful for when he took them downstairs to free up some more room. The central unit would go to the house, obviously, while the smaller one would go back to his room once everything was cleaned out. He didn’t want to give up his only window, so he considered cutting a hole in the wall for the unit while he walked back up the stairs. They would drive up the electric bill, for sure, but he doubted Mrs. Farrington would complain too much.
Two of the remaining four boxes were bound together, with a picture of a washer and a dryer on their fronts. They were a welcome addition, especially with school starting in two weeks. Both were taken downstairs, but his mind was busy on the trip back, trying to recall if he’d seen anywhere to install the two units. He doubted it would matter though, not when he thought back to how easy it’d been to install the ceiling fans.
The shape of the fifth box gave it away before he got close enough to read its front. According to the words, it was a 32-inch TV, which he considered leaving in his room for those long, boring nights. The family needed it too though, and he could always buy one later for himself. It was taken downstairs with the rest, leaving just one large box to examine.
The last one left him baffled, because the picture on the front didn’t look like anything he recognized. However, as soon as he read the front, his mind went straight to Cassidy. It was a grape processor, which meant that the daughter wouldn’t have to stomp them by foot any more. He could only imagine how wide her smile would be when she saw it in the outbuilding, which left him pondering whether he should wrap it up as a present, or put it in the outbuilding for her to discover. The latter seemed more appropriate, so he ran it over, opened the box, then watched as it expanded before him. It was bigger than he thought, and stood on a stand so it could funnel its contents into a barrel beneath it. It made perfect sense when he thought about the process, and he couldn’t wait to hear Cassidy’s squeals of joy when she found it waiting on her.
Just because the big items were gone didn’t mean that the fun was over. He gasped hard enough that he nearly choked on the air when he picked up two identical items. They were coupons for free upgrades, which he read through strained eyes as he coughed up a lung. When his breathing finally returned to normal, he placed them next to the computer, then sat down to examine the remaining items.
He knew he had chores to do, but there was no way he was going to leave his treasures aside for later. Right now, it felt like Christmas, and each new item brought a smile, or a gasp as he sifted through them. There was a silver boomerang, which he took to mean it was higher quality, along with four gauze wraps, and a set of leather chaps. He knew they were for protection, but he couldn’t get the image of him wearing them while riding a motorcycle out of his head. The thought made him chuckle at least, but not as much as what was waiting for him.
“Finally,” he laughed when he saw a catalog waiting for him. The front said farmer’s catalog, which meant that he wouldn’t have to save up anymore to purchase one. It disappeared as soon as he touched it, which made the computer beep from behind him. He decided it could wait though, because he still had a few more items to examine.
Some of the items made him cringe. There was a t-shirt with a hornet on it, which he tossed at the storage box, along with a metal sign with the image of the wizard shooting lightning out of his staff. He didn’t want it either, so he slid it across the floor, then gasped when he saw what remained.
There was another coupon, but reading it didn’t make any sense. It said it was for the purchase of an advisor, and was only good for the next twenty-four hours. He didn’t know if he needed an advisor, or if he even wanted one. It went to the computer though, along with the other coupons, leaving just two items to examine. One was an egg, but it didn’t look anything like the kind he’d expect to find in the chicken coop. It was green, and the outside was leathery, like a. . .
“Oh sheep,” he groaned when he realized what it was. For a second, he thought about putting it into the storage box, but a better idea came to mind. It was small enough to fit, so he put it into the incubator, turned it on, then prayed that he was wrong about what would hatch from it.
The last item was strange, because it was just a rock. It was a perfect sphere though, aside from tiny little craters scattered about its surface, with one proving just big enough to keep it from rolling off of the table. He decided it looked nice on the desk, and he wanted something to remind him of the lengthy battle.
There wasn’t anything left to examine, but that wasn’t to say that he felt cheated. The rewards would save him thousands of dollars, at least, which would free him to buy some items to make life a little better. With that in mind, he dumped the t-shirt and sign into the storage box, then pulled $500 out of it when it hummed.
Jeric knew he needed to get on his chores, so he set the rest aside for later, got dressed, and headed out. The dog followed him while he gathered vegetables from the garden, then into the barn when he took them to the storage box. He figured the pooch just wanted his breakfast, so he went out to the debris pile, filled the water bowl, then carried them into the barn. However, even when food was dumped into it, the dog continued to follow him around, proving that they were now friends.
“Really need to give you a name then, don’t I?” he chuckled before he happened to see Mrs. Farrington on the front porch, waving at him. It meant breakfast was ready, and that he also had some explaining to do about the state of the farm. Not only were there holes everywhere from the groundhogs, but there was a dark line around the outbuilding where the two bolts of lightning had singed its surface. That one would be impossible to explain, so he decided then and there that he would just shrug his shoulders and remind them that it had stormed last night.
“The dog stays outside,” she grumbled when Jeric approached the porch. “No exceptions.”
“What if I told you that he found our missing chicken?”
“Oh, really?” she questioned with a hint of suspicion. “So, if I go out there, I’m going to find ten chickens, and not nine?”
“Last I checked.”
“Wait here.”
The dog must have taken it as a command for him, because he sat down and joined Jeric in watching the mother cross the yard. Even from a distance, he could tell when she finished her count, because she practically jumped out of her shoes, then ran toward the back of the house. A few moments later, she came out the front door, carrying something in a napkin.
“Well, you’ll still have to stay outside, but I don’t see why I can’t reward you,” she announced, unwrapped the napkin, and held up two strips of bacon. The dog perked up immediately and started wagging its tail, but waited until the food was offered before chomping down on it. Mrs. Farrington let out a giggle, then stroked the dog’s head while it greedily consumed the meat. “Does this good boy have a name yet?”
“Still working on that, actually. Just figured out it was a boy last night when we were dealing with the groundhog issue.”
“Just one, or every critter in the county?” she sighed and looked around the farm, shaking her head. “Yard looks like a piece of Swiss cheese.”
“There were a few,” he replied in all honesty, “but we got them.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I made a full breakfast then. You must be starving.”
The meal went well enough, even though he held back on telling them about the household items out in the barn. There were a few remarks made about the appearance of the farm, forcing him to explain that there was a storm last night, but even he was surprised to find the dark marks around the outbuilding.
“You’re lucky you weren’t killed,” Mrs. Farrington grumbled when he sat his dishes by the sink. “Out there in a storm, trying to take out some groundhogs. You know you could have just flushed them out with the hose, right?”
“I’ll uh, I’ll remember that next time.”
He didn’t need to water the crops, so he joined Cassidy in the grape fields to pluck the grapes. She had a few remarks to make about the outside of the building, but she never let on that she didn’t believe his story about the storm. He hated lying to her, but telling her that a short wizard riding a chicken was responsible would likely see him booted off of the farm.
“Mama’s right, you know,” she grumbled as she pulled open the door to take the grapes inside. “You’re lucky you weren’t. . .”
The smile widened on his face as he watched her head turn to find the machine waiting against the wall. A loud gasp sounded, the buckets of grapes hit the floor, and she covered her mouth and let out a scream. It wasn’t what he was expecting, but the reaction was well worth keeping his tongue still about the present.
“Is that. . .did you. . .”
“Just put it in this morning, actually,” he announced and started to bend down to pick up the grapes she dropped, only to find himself tackled to the floor. She hugged him at first, but that only lasted for a few seconds before she lifted her head, grabbed him by the cheeks, and planted a firm kiss on his lips. She was gasping for air by the time she released him, then let out a laugh and hurried over to the new machine.
“I can’t believe you bought this,” she squealed as she climbed up the ladder on the side, threw open the top, and leaned down to examine it. “Looks clean. Let’s get this baby fired up.”
In his mind, he figured the grapes had to be washed, or there were other items she would have to put in to complete the process. As it turned out, all they had to do was dump the grapes inside, stems and all. He was too happy to question it though, especially when she turned and beamed him a smile every time she took a bucket from him. It made the battle worth it, in his opinion, even with the injuries he’d sustained.
As soon as the machine was humming, she jumped from the ladder, forcing him to catch her when she landed. A long, wonderful series of kisses were planted on his cheeks, resulting in a make-out session that lasted until lunch was announced. They were exhausted, and gasping for air when the triangle sounded, but his feet never felt lighter as he walked with her back to the house.
After a healthy lunch of chicken salad sandwiches, cucumbers, and an apple, the pair parted ways, freeing him to get started on the installment of the new items. It was another scorching day, so he opted to start with the air conditioner unit. After carrying it around the house, he found where the electrical lines came in from the road, which seemed like as good a place as any to unbox it. Just as he suspected, the unit expanded once it was cleared of the packaging, and grew several times heavier as well. He had to ‘walk’ it to get it onto a concrete pad, which must have been enough to satisfy it. As soon as it was square, it lit up, forcing him to turn his head to avoid being blinded. When he turned, he found that the lines had connected themselves, so he went inside to see where the control was. Just as he suspected, it was in the living room, where Joanie was watching him from the couch.
“Uhm, what’s that?” she asked while looking up from her book.
“That, my dear lady, is your brand new, state of the art. . .” he started, flipped the little clear button at the bottom, then touched the down button to set the thermostat. He could hear the unit kick on outside, as well as the rush of air coming from vents he wasn’t sure the house had before now. “. . .air conditioner.”
“Did someone say. . .” Mrs. Farrington cried out from the kitchen before she rushed in with a bewildered look on her face. Her eyes widened when she saw the control, then shifted over to Jeric with her jaw slowly dropping.
“It’s not a four-letter word,” he teased, offered the mother a wink, and headed for the door. “Got a few other items to bring in too.”
“But, how can we afford this?”
“Just had a good night is all,” he replied, then hurried out the door to shake off the tingling feeling that threatened to take over his entire body. While he enjoyed seeing them shocked, or happy, he hadn’t thought about how he would explain the existence of all the new appliances. He would have to come up with something though, or else Mrs. Farrington might accuse him of doing something illegal. For a minute, he considered holding off on the other appliances, just to keep up appearances. It stole some of the wind from his sails though, because he wanted the family to explode in joy when they saw all of the new stuff.
Jeric paused in the yard, pondering if he should hold off on the other items. Deep down, he knew that a central air unit like that likely cost thousands of dollars, especially if the installation was considered. He didn’t know if the Farringtons knew that though, so he considered telling them that he got everything for a thousand dollars, or won some sort of contest. Neither seemed plausible, which meant that he'd have to come up with something better before bringing anything else in from the barn.
Jeric was still working out his plan when he walked into the barn, expecting to find nothing but a few boxes, and a pile of old junk that he still needed to clear out. What he didn’t expect to find was a pink-haired girl in a pink jogging suit, sitting on the boxes while looking at him with a raised brow.
36
For half a second, Jeric considered running upstairs to grab his weapons and armor. Deep down, he knew it would be pointless, and the smile that slowly curled across Danny’s face said it might not be necessary.
“So, I see someone had a special event last night.”
“Oh, yeah, I. . .” he started to reply while trying not to let the breath of relief immediately expel from his lungs. However, as he made the statement, he happened to think back to the previous night, specifically, the fight with the fire-breathing dinosaurs. “You! You were the one who shot that orb into the sky to make it rain!”
“You’re getting smarter,” Danny sighed and gave the next box over a nod. “You must have been putting some points into your intellect.”
“That means you saw everything, didn’t you?”
“Well, duh. How else would I have known to make it rain? Okay, that’s a lie. I could sense something was off. I even drove here to help, but my car wouldn’t go down your lane.”
“I couldn’t get to the pond, or the dungeon,” he replied before leaning against a pile of junk across the aisle from her. “I was hoping to lead those dinosaurs there to fight them.”
“And you would have risked the entire woods catching fire. Save the house, screw the forest, huh? Something to think about next time.” With a sigh, Danny slid off of the box, then walked around, examining the items while occasionally looking his way. Her true reason for the visit was coming, like that friend who only calls when they need money, or help moving. “I got here in time to see you running from those hornets. Odd thing though. I don’t remember seeing any hornets in the dungeon. Are they uh, part of yours?”
It felt like a trap. If he said ‘yes’, she would ask what level, and if he’d barricaded his dungeon properly. On the other hand, if he said ‘no’, she’d likely figure out that he was lying. As an alternative, he could tell her to mind her own business, or go back to her farm, but those phrases came with risks that he wasn’t willing to take.
“Yeah, level three. I uh, I got into a bit of pinch, financially.”
“Let me guess. You had a quest to help the Farringtons, one that required coughing up far more money than what you had,” she started with a flat expression that he couldn’t place. “The timer was running down, and, in your panic, you ran into the dungeon to make more money.”
“Yeah, despite your warning. Is this where you carry out your threat?”
Asking her that was the same as taunting, in his opinion, but, if she wanted him dead, then she wouldn’t have helped him out last night. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that her threat may have had a different motive behind it entirely. One that he’d failed to see until just now.
