NPC Town Building Game - Chapter 3 (2/2): Lazy Me and Hardworking Villagers

All the items I have won as prizes that haven’t been used have been put up for online auction. I hope a buyer can provide a couple thousand for them.

Is there anything else that I can sell?

I notice my comics and games while looking around my room.

If I take them to a second-hand bookstore, I can quickly get cash. It may not be a large amount, but it is still better than nothing.

The problem is, I need to go outside to sell them.

It has been several months … No, that’s not true. I haven’t gone out for almost two years except at night.

I take a quick look at the screen of my PC. The villagers are working hard to live there. The beginning of the game was really good, but I have a feeling that this game will become much more interesting later on.

It’ll be a shame I can’t play the game if the villagers are annihilated.

“Let’s go, shall we?”

If you observe the villagers’ behavior, you can’t even tell they are in a game.

It seems like I have grown addicted to the villagers. I’m even willing to pay money for them, just like people who get addicted to mobile games.

I take off my sweatsuit and put on clothes to go outside. It has been a while since I last wore them, so they feel a little tight.

It’s not like I got fat. I just feel uncomfortable in these unfamiliar clothes.

After checking my appearance in the mirror, I see that I have become a middle-aged man with lifeless eyes.

The thirties I envisioned as a child is more respectable. I actually believed that would be the case, but in reality, it’s far different.

On the outside, I look like an adult… who has no ambition in life. But inside, I haven’t grown a bit since I was a student.

No, at least I was decent back in my student days. All I have gained after 10 years are my online gaming skills and the ability to insult other people.

Even for something as easy as going outside, my weak mind is whispering: “Don’t force yourself!” “Take off your clothes and get back into the futon!”.

Until now, I have always used the excuse “Do my best from tomorrow.”, as it is a very sweet temptation to leave everything for tomorrow.

But today is different.

I look at the villagers one more time.

Lodis and Gams are silently peeling the logs. The two men are working very hard, but they don’t seem to be bothered by it.

Chem is walking around the area to see if she can find anything to eat. Her brother, Gams, said his sister is not good at manual labor, but she is doing her job tirelessly.

Laila is doing the laundry in the nearby river. The water seems quite cold and I am unconsciously blowing on my hands repeatedly to warm them as if I’m the one doing the job.

To forget her hunger, Carol is going around cheerfully helping everyone without a single complaint.

…… I’ll do my best too. Being encouraged by a game’s characters like this might be the lowest of the low, but I don’t really care anymore. I just need a reason to motivate me.

When I get out of my room and go downstairs, my eyes meet my mother’s.

“Are you heading out? How unusual of you.”

“I’m only going for a bit.”

“Okay… Be back soon.”

My mother has a surprised look on her face.

It feels like she’s about to laugh. I wonder what she is thinking, seeing me going out after a long time.

“I’m going.”

It has been a while since I had such a normal conversation with someone else like this.

When I open the door, I notice that the air outside is cold.

Is it winter?

I used to stay in my room all the time. In summer, the air was cooled by the air-conditioner, and in winter, it was warmed by the heater. My room maintained a constant temperature, so I didn’t realize what the outside world was like.

…… No. It was not that I didn’t notice, I just avoided the outside world.

I unlock my bicycle and put my foot on the pedal.

I’m a little anxious about riding a bicycle after such a long time, but seems like my body hasn’t forgotten how to ride.

When I start cycling effortlessly, the neighborhood residents start watching me and talking about something.

――Are they mocking me?

――Are they insulting me for not working at this age?

Such delusions fill my head.

I’m scared. I cannot stop imagining them ridiculing me.

I want to throw everything away and make a U-turn back home, but I remember the villagers who are still working hard at home on my PC.

I want to make their lives a little easier.

…… I step on the pedal and continue riding the bicycle.

……………..

I enter a second-hand bookstore; my breathing is very rough.

Why is this place where no one knows me so calm compared to my neighborhood?

I sell all the comics in the two tightly packed paper bags I have. I also sell all my games, since I only need “Village of Fate” now.

The manga that I sold are more expensive than I expected them to be, so I get some extra money.

I want to eat some fast-food on the way home, but I stop myself.

Instead, I buy magazines about log cabins, log houses, and specialized books about wooden architecture. Of course, they are all second-hand.

Knowledge can also be obtained online, but it’s hard to determine the legitimacy of the content. The knowledge of experts found in books is more trustworthy.

I was planning to go home without a stop, but I stop on a whim and decide to buy puddings for my family.

Translator Notes and Comments:

Here is the next part of Chapter 3. Hope you all enjoy the story so far. Please comment your experience.

ED: Fixed a few errors.

ED2: Fixed some translation and grammatical errors – kienquocsi