Maru was a bit quiet when it came to this sort of thing, so she didn't join in on the two's nostalgic conversation.
Robin leaned on Joy's shoulder, suddenly remembering something, and asked, "By the way, in the year you've been in Pelican Town, have you..."
"Have I what?" Joy asked.
Robin's gaze landed on Ron's back as he walked ahead of them, so she lowered her voice, "Have you set your sights on any of the young men in our town?"
Joy was startled. Robin laughed, then enthusiastically started introducing, "Don't let our Sebastian fool you; he doesn't talk much, but he has a very kind heart—hm, not your type? Then what about Alex? Hmm, Sam—surely you don't mean Ron, do you?"
At the mention of Ron, Joy's expression changed slightly. Though it was subtle, Robin more or less understood.
She let out a long sigh.
"As a fellow resident of the same town, I like Ron," Robin whispered. "But as a mother to a boy, I have a bit of an issue with it."
"You could also let him go to Kalos," Maru said abruptly. "Maybe he'll meet some nice girl over there."
Sebastian hadn't been slacking off during this time, of course. He surprisingly got along quite well with Clemont, and the two seemed to be busy developing something, which even gave him the idea of taking a trip to Kalos at one point.
"—" Robin didn't reply.
It seemed that letting a child leave your side to go on an adventure in a distant big city was a required course for every mother.
Caroline had also mentally prepared herself thoroughly before letting Abigail go off on her adventure to Kalos.
But Robin had never imagined that she would see this day. She had originally assumed Sebastian would find a girl in town, settle down right in front of her, and start a family.
God—
"Stop talking about this—" Robin shook her head. "If we keep talking, I won't be in the mood to celebrate the festival today."
"—" Maru was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about me? Actually, I..."
"You want to go to Kalos too?!" Robin asked, her tone sounding a bit agitated. So, Maru swallowed her words.
"Good lord, if you all leave, Pelican Town will just be an empty town. The young people will all be gone, and in the end, only the old folks will be left, holding each other up as they linger on in the town." Robin pictured it with a bit of exaggeration.
"I'm just saying. Who knows what will happen in the future," Maru offered a few words of comfort.
Joy looked at Maru, then at Robin, not really daring to interject into their topic.
Letting go had always been a constant theme in parent-child relationships.
Though that wasn't the case in Kalos.
In that place, a ten-year-old could set off on a journey alone.
***
For some reason, Ron felt a prickling sensation on his back all day today.
It felt like someone's gaze was constantly falling on his back, but whenever he actually turned to look, he couldn't find the owner of the gaze.
Anyway, something was very off!
He walked a bit, and suddenly heard Robin let out a wail behind him. So, Ron changed his course and stopped in front of the three of them.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked.
"Nothing—just thinking about the kids' marriage prospects." Robin waved her hand. Then, she asked the question she had been wondering about for a long time: "By the way, Ron, is there a girl in town you're interested in?"
'I definitely shouldn't have come over to talk to them.'
—
"I haven't really thought about that question for now," Ron said. "Isn't everything fine as it is? Besides, there's still work to do on the farm."
Saying this, he slowly backed out of Robin's line of sight, acting as if he had never been there. He took a few steps to the beach, squatted next to Lewis, and began preparing the night's lantern boats with him.
Lewis happily handed him some materials.
"It's great that you came to help."
Lewis said, craning his neck to search through the crowd. "With your help, maybe more of the kids will find Penny! Hey, come help out! You too, Leah! And—"
"—" Ron's hands paused mid-assembly of the lantern boat.
Penny, who had accidentally made eye contact with Lewis, walked over cautiously.
"Um, what do you need help with?" Penny asked softly. She was a bit worried that her rushing over might annoy Ron, so she didn't immediately approach his side.
"Just work on the lantern boats for tonight." Lewis pointed to the piles of material kits. "Then just brush on a layer of oil. If we can get these done early, we can head to the beach. I got some fireworks, and after the Moonlight Jellies leave, we can set them off!"
This year's festival was a bit different from previous years.
In past years, the activities, aside from the lantern boats, just consisted of watching the Moonlight Jellies migrate, and finally eating some Seafoam Pudding at Pierre's for the love of the game. Other than that, there was nothing.
But they couldn't help it that there were more people this year, plus the Pokémon participating. Lewis himself wanted to add a little something different to the festival.
Otherwise, if they spent it the exact same way every year, it wouldn't be long before Stardew Valley really only had us old folks left.
"Fireworks!" Leah squatted next to Ron, her interest piqued. Because she was used to woodworking, handling this was a breeze for her, and she was extremely fast. "Let's get started then. I think Ribbon is preparing to set up a stall over there to sell snacks today. I even brought a picnic blanket. Ron, do you want to join me?"
To make her intentions seem less strong, Leah added, "It's fine if you have other arrangements."
"I probably don't have any arrangements for now," Ron thought for a moment.
But then he remembered he had decided not to just casually agree to anything anymore. So, Ron added, "We'll see when the time comes. If I'm free."
Hearing this, Leah glanced at Ron without stopping her handiwork. "Alright, no problem. I'll just be waiting for you over there anyway."
With this moment of hesitation, Penny had no choice but to sit halfway next to Leah and start assembling as well.
Lewis felt that getting Ron to help was the right decision. If Ron hadn't stopped him quickly just now, maybe every single young woman in Pelican Town would be sitting right here.
Speaking of which, Lewis remembered the newly arrived young lady.
He looked up and saw Dawn staying with Emily and Sandy.
Sandy still had a Sweet Pea tucked behind her ear. The three of them seemed to have been chatting about something happy, and they all burst into laughter at the same time.
Leah looked up for a moment, then turned to look at the quiet Penny.
"What about you, Penny, are you free? Do you want to join me?"
"Ah—" Penny froze for a second before slowly nodding. "If it won't be too much trouble for you."
"Of course not," Leah smiled at Penny.
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