Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Hmm..." Juan woke up and looked around.
"An unfamiliar room...hmm.. that's right, I nearly forgot."
He remembers everything.
He stood up and walked towards the door before opening it as he yawned from sleep.
"Good afternoon, sir Garu, sir Jura. Please come in."
Juan moved back and invited the two men inside. Although it was a little awkward to interact with people.
There was nothing his social anxiety could do than thicken his face and acted as normal as possible.
"Let me."
Jura closed the door consciously while Garu sat on the wooden stool.
The former then followed and sat on the table.
Juan opened the window and let fresh air in before he sat back on his bed.
"It's a little strange to see you wearing such little piece of clothing, so here you go."
Garu throws away a set of clothes for Juan.
Which the latter caught immediately, a little surprise and embarassed.
"Indeed, it's indeed a little embarrassing. So before we talk, how about you change first?"
Jura nodded in the same wavelength with his big brother.
Juan looked at them and then at the set of clothes in his hand before he bowed in thanks.
A while later, he wore the new clothes. A clothing vastly different from the ones he wore previously.
Somehow, he felt strangely new and uncomfortable. There's also a novel feeling in his heart as he saw himself wearing it.
Still, it's much better than being seen naked right now.
"Well, then, how about we begin?"
Juan and Jura nodded upon Garu's statement.
"First is the north, where I came from. All I know is that I suddenly woke up out of nowhere."
"I don't even remember how I got in there. It was as though I just appeared out of thin air."
"It was still a grassland with no end in sight. No living being except the fishes living under the river."
"I'm thankful that I've appeared near the river. At least, I had water. In order to survive, I had to leave."
"So I've made a raft after gathering the twigs on those shrubberies around and drifting along the current."
"Along the way, I thought it wasn't a dangerous place after all and made all kinds of noise and smoke."
"But just when I thought such peace would continue, I was warned once again that such place wasn't safe at all."
"Strangely devoid of living creatures, the always eeriely quiet grassland was the first sign."
"What comes after is the true horror of living creature under the river—a monster whose size and appearance I cannot fully fathom."
"I don't know if my meager existence wasn't up to it's standards or if I wasn't noticed that I escaped with my life."
"Truly, all I could do back then was sit still like a statue, afraid to even move a muscle or breathe heavily."
"By the time I found myself safe, it was already nearing night and I'd fallen asleep. The next thing I knew was Sir Garu and everyone around looking at me."
After hearing Juan's story, Jura and Garu fall into deep thought, and their expressions are solemn.
Well, after all, who can remain calm and carefree after knowing a terrifying monster lived along the river?
After a long time of silence, it was Garu who speak up first.
"Well, that's about it. I'm assuming you'll be staying in the village for a long time, right?" Garu stood up as he said.
"That's right, that's my plan right now," Juan was stunned for a bit before he affirmed.
He was a little confused by how easy it was for them to accept his story. Not even an in-depth questioning after.
Still, this is a good news.
"That's good. Well, this might be a little late, but allow me to introduce you to our village." Garu said with a laughed.
"This is the village situated in between the [Grassland Neverland] and the [Forest of Noli]—Greenfield Village."
Garu and Jura said, their voices filled with pride. They looked at each other and laugh together.
They seems to have thrown away that serious expression they wore and solemn atmosphere around them far away.
"I want to live in the [Greenfield Village] Village Chief! Please grant me my request!" Juan stood up and bowed.
He didn't want to be alone anymore.
"No problem! This village was a little low in population, actually. You being to live here is actually also my request as the Village Chief. Ha ha ha"
Garu laughed more and more happily. He doesn't seems to care about Juan's origin at all nor any secret he could has.
"Yes, the village will be more lively. How about we tour the village tomorrow and choose you a wife first so that you can start having a family immediately?"
This one came from Jura who seems to have some mischief hidden in those easily embarrassed side.
"Uh, I think it's quite early for me, so let me think more on that for now."
Having a woman this early? What could he feed her? His rotten fishes? Bah!
Well, if it's exceptionally within the range of his taste and she could accept him, he think it doesn't actually matter.
A while later, Garu and Jura talked to him about more things before each bid farewell since it's nearing night.
"Well, you can tour around the village tomorrow. I'll have someone send here to help you."
Those words came from Garu after they left. Though Juan seems to hear something hidden in between with those spoke words.
But, since he didn't found anything wrong with it. He just shrugged it off as him overthinking.
Juan looked at the village around him amidst the setting sun.
The missing safe haven and warm society are once again beside him.
It envelop his mind with a sense of security he hadn't felt so in a while.
"Ah~ How many days has it been? I once again return myself to society."
A place of comfort and pain, the gathering of complex structural connections.
'The house was given to me as a gift. But I insisted on paying tribute for a year as the repayment.'
'After all, it will leave a bad taste if I just takes something for granted and does not repay for anything.'
"The house isn't that big, but there's a big enough space in the back for gardening and fields."
Juan started thinking as he started eating his fish ration for today.
Looking at the fish ration in his hand, Juan finally felt some relief amidst it's gradually rotting smell.
"I can finally have some vegetables tomorrow. No more fish for a while, I think."
After having dinner, he closed the windows and door.
Locked them whole before he started doing push-ups and other body-strengthening training inside the house.
"It's been a while since I can do this again. In the past, I've been a sore loser to the bone. But now, I can at least change that."
"First, grow some muscles! Second, always be humble. Third, be careful. Fourth..."
The night has just started, but here he was doing some muscle-strain training.
After all, this is a very dangerous place.
He needs enough muscles and physique to prevent things from escalating out of his grasp.
...
The next day.
Juan woke up before the sun could fully rise from the horizon.
He opened his door and walked around the house after closing it. The chilling wind caress his face cold, making him breath fog in the air.
After getting used to the temperature outside the house, he thought for a while before he looked down around him.
There, in the backyard where he was standing, was a space overgrown with weeds.
"Hnng~ A new day for me to start. I even got a backyard to do anything. What a good place did I landed into."
Juan subconsciously stretched out amidst the rays of the sun. He had a good impression of Garu and Jura in his heart more and more.
"The house doesn't have any tools yet, just a table, a stool, and a bed."
For him to live and regain his daily lifestyle in this place. He would need plates, pails, spoons, and other tools.
But to do that, he will need some money.
And to acquire money to buy those things, he will need a job.
"I can't plant anything yet, so there's nothing to sell. As for my fish, they stink. I doubt someone would buy them from a stranger."
Since that's the case, he got an idea.
"A fresh one should be good. Although the river is quite scary, it will be fine as long as I'm careful."
This is all for survival. But this time, in a village.
"I can't naturally ask the others for more help since they already agreed for me to live here with them and have even given me a house as well as a plot of land."