I wake early the following morning, feeling way more rested than I have in a decade. Maybe it`s my body somehow remembering being dead? No, that can`t be it. This is definitely a different body - a bit taller, a little thinner, and my hair went from curly red to a sandy blonde. I choose not to dwell on the existential crisis waiting if I peer too far down the abyss of wondering about this body`s previous inhabitant. Instead I get up and stretch a bit.

　　Breakfast is good, though unremarkable after the feast from last night. There`s a good variety, including some repurposed leftovers from last night, though once again entirely too much. I can barely eat even a modest portion as I`m still full from last night. Giada gives a bit of a disapproving look when I say I`m not hungry enough for seconds; I apologize but my explanation falls on deaf ears.

　　After breakfast, we go make our final preparations before we leave Penne. Sammy and her family want a little more time to say good-bye to each other, so I let her know that I`m going to stroll around for a bit and talk to some of the villagers before meeting up at the northern entrance to the village in half an hour. I breathe a sigh of relief at having some time away from Sammy to do what I need to do - this next conversation is going to be& awkward.

　　I head over to Mr. Greton`s general store, cash in hand. By sheer providence, when I arrived in this world, I had 400 dols - the world`s currency. With the 90 more I found after defeating the slimes yesterday, I have just enough to buy what I need. In the game, this is the setup for obtaining some broken items in a few towns, but having to do this with a real-life merchant, in-person. I am not prepared for this. Why can`t this just be a grocery store back on Earth where I can just shrink away in a self-checkout line and be difficult with a computer that doesn`t care about such trivialities as human decency?

　　It`s for the good of the world! That`s what I tell myself anyway, as I take a deep breath and head inside. In contrast to Mr. Relford, Mr. Greton is about as far from intimidating as they come. Short black hair with plenty of gray streaks, a fair few wrinkles, and a soft smile greet me as I enter his store and browse the aisles looking for bundles of strawberries. I`m not actually a big fan of strawberries, but I don`t actually need those. What I need are the receipts. A lot of receipts. And strawberries are cheap. Really cheap.

　　"You`re an unfamiliar face," Mr Greton says after a few minutes. "Just passing through?"

　　"I am. Arrived last night and I`m going to be leaving town again in just a short while. Wanted to grab a few supplies before I left." I sigh as I muster the courage to make my request.

　　"Do you know where you`re going?"

　　I do, at least in broad game objective terms, but I don`t want to bring it up, so I lie and say that I don`t.

　　"Hmm. Interesting. I was a traveler back many years ago, peddling my wares wherever my feet took me. But one day, after fifteen years, I finally planted roots and settled down here. Do you know why that is?"

　　"I don`t."

　　"For love. While I was here one day twenty years ago, I met the most beautiful woman I`d ever laid eyes on. I was only here for a night before I had to travel up to the next town, but over the following decades, I found more and more excuses to travel here until one day, I just couldn`t take it anymore and I asked her to marry me right there on the spot."

　　"And did she say yes?"

　　"Oh gods no! Turns out she had a woman she fancied of her own."

　　I fail to keep a smile from protruding on my face from the sheer absurdity. I know that feeling all too well in reverse, fancying a woman only for her to drop the straight-bomb on me.

　　"I`ve had more than a few guys proposition me over the years. I can speak from experience that as much as it hurt you, it hurt her just as much. Anyway, so what did you end up doing?"

　　Mr. Greton smiles as the two of us carry twenty-five cartons of strawberries to the counter. "Well, I left town for a few months to clear my mind and feelings, but I realized that I was growing older and I`d gotten fond of Penne. So, I set up shop here about eight years ago and I`ve been here ever since."

　　I smile, genuinely this time. It truly is a breath of fresh air to find a man who can respect I`m a lesbian` and leave it at that. My goodness, I had one of my followers claim his love` for me one time and it was absolute hell trying to get him to leave me alone! Like, I didn`t want to ban the guy but at some point, I had no choice. I thought that would be the end of it, but you have absolutely no idea to what lengths some dumbasses will go! Thankfully it didn`t quite get to police levels of escalation, but it was approaching that stage before we had to get ViewTube corporate involved. And that`s a nightmare I wouldn`t wish upon anyone.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　"Mr. Greton," I finally say as we get the last carton on the counter. "I need to make a really strange and probably difficult request for you. Can you ring each of these up one at a time?"

　　"Well, that sounds like a lot of work. Might I inquire why?"

　　I chuckle. "This is going to sound strange, but on my travels, I met a guy with a strange collection. You see, he collects receipts. I don`t have any idea why, but he does, and he pays good money for them. I know this is a bit unconventional, but it would help me out a lot."

　　Mr. Greton chuckles back. "Well, you`ve been a good help letting me ramble about my glory days, and it`s nice to help out a fellow traveler every now and again. Now, each of these are going to be 18 dols, including all taxes."

　　I lay out 450 dols as Sammy walks in, looking exasperated. She stomps toward me, grabbing me by the arm and trying to pull me toward the door.

　　"What are you doing?" she asks. "I thought we were supposed to be leaving already? Weren`t you the one who was all we need to get going as soon as possible?` And now you`re& buying strawberries? What in the goddess`s name are we going to do with that many strawberries!"

　　"I don`t know what we`re going to do with the strawberries! I just know that we need to buy the strawberries."

　　"Do you understand how ridiculous you sound right now?"

　　"Yes, Sammy! I understand exactly how ridiculous I both look and sound right now."

　　The fact that there`s a pile of receipts stacking up on the counter beside me doesn`t help. Through it all, Mr. Greton is completely unfazed, ringing up individual bunches, processing each transaction, and moving on to the next one. A decent person, and a consummate professional to boot. Too old and too male for me, but quite a catch for whatever woman he did end up with.

　　"Then why won`t you just come to your senses and let`s get going already?"

　　I roll my eyes. "Because I need these," I say, pointing to the stack of receipts.

　　"You just said you didn`t know what you`re going to do with the strawberries, and now you`re saying that you need them? Can you please start making sense?"

　　"I don`t need the strawberries, Sammy." I motion to the receipts I have in my hand. "I need these receipts."

　　Sammy raises her hands and gives a look that screams I am using every bit of my willpower to hold myself back from strangling you` before she sighs and turns toward the door.

　　"You`re a very strange traveler," she says. "But I can tell that no matter how much I appeal to reason and common sense, I`m not going to get through to you. I`ll be waiting by the front gate. Whenever you`re done with& whatever the hell you`re doing, you know where to find me."

　　I drop my head as she shakes her head and droops off. Yeah, this is ridiculous, and the worst part is, I can`t even really explain that I need all these receipts because some guy three towns from now is going to pay 50,000 dols for reasons I agree are asinine, but were still programmed into the world somehow. Money that`s going to be really important in the third arc of our adventure. There`s no way to really explain I come from a world where you and everything around you are all part of a video game, and I`m doing this because it`ll save eighteen minutes of grinding two hours from now.` Like, how in the world do you tell someone that yeah, I died and was summoned here by the goddess as your world`s hero?` Or even explain what a video game is to a world that has some magically-augmented indoor plumbing but hasn`t developed electricity, let alone the transistor. I guess I can add that on the list of things to stress over if I ever want the chance of a date with my long-term crush.

　　It`s only another three minutes of awkward silence in the store before Mr. Greton finishes ringing up my strawberries. One of the nice things about this world is that there`s a built-in pocketspace inventory system, and after keeping one package out for the travels ahead - I am starting to get a bit hungry - I deposit the rest and my receipts and prepare for the journey ahead. As expected, Sammy is waiting for me, and judging by the way she doesn`t even acknowledge me, this is going to be& difficult.

　　We stare at each other under the cool morning light, until our eyes meet and we both utter out an I`m sorry` in unison. We jostle around, trying to go first, until Sammy finally wins out.

　　"I`m sorry, Ash. I was in such a hurry to leave Penne behind, and when I saw you goofing off and chatting with Mr. Greton, I just got really angry and I-."

　　"It`s okay, Sammy. And I`m sorry that I can`t explain a lot of the things that I`ve done. Or that I`m going to do going forward. Can you promise me something?"

　　She nods, and I continue. "I want you to trust me, or at least try. A lot of what I`m going to do isn`t going to make a lot of sense. It`s going to defy reason and it`s probably going to be embarrassing to watch. But whenever I do something weird, I promise there is some reason for it, even though it won`t make sense even if I try to explain." Not that there`s a way I could explain I`m literally exploiting loopholes in the fabric of reality that only I know about and can see` if I tried.

　　"You`re really weird, Ash."

　　"I guess I am." Weirder than you know, Sammy.

　　I pick out a strawberry and eat it. Oh gosh, it`s absolutely delicious - the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, firm while having just the perfect amount of give. And every morsel oozes and bursts forth with delectable flavor the likes of which I`ve never tasted back on Earth. I open the carton and offer them to my new travel companion.

　　"Want one? They`re the best strawberries I`ve ever had."

　　"Sure," Sammy says with a smile as the two of us leave Penne, off on our adventure to save the world.