I Don’t Want to Start a Story!

Max took refuge in one of the safest places in the village for him.

Story Name:

Forbidden

Genre:

Romance

Description:

A forbidden romance in a mediaeval world has blossomed between two men. Can they endure the struggles that the LGBTQ+ community face?

Goal:

Get married to Noah

Difficulty:

★★☆☆☆

How to Start:

Ask Noah out on a date!

At least, that hadn’t changed. So, where has Adelaide’s prompt gone? Did she really find someone to take on the role of her story’s MC? Not much had changed in the village apart from the newest arrival. Perhaps…Cy?

“Oh hey, I haven’t seen you since Shinu Road claimed its newest victim,” Noah said with a wink, which was met with a smile. They were all really sticking to the lie. Max had walked in on him polishing some metal pots. He must be preparing for a sale soon. “Here to talk about Bessy’s order?”

Poor Noah. Had he been waiting all this time for an update? Hour after hour, working at the back of the shop, waiting for someone from the farm to make their way to where he was. Max was dexterous enough to weave his way through the piles of metal. Bessie would either bulldoze her way through or bark at Noah to come to her, it really depended on her mood that day. Farmer Vill? No shot. He didn’t stand a chance through the metallic labyrinth with or without his knee pain. “Sorry, I’ve been too busy to tell you, but we’ve had to put those plans on hold. A vet from the capital showed up at the farm. Apparently, a disease is starting to spread through our girls.”

“Sounds bad.” There was genuine sympathy in his voice that made it seem like he wasn’t disappointed at all from the lack of business. “How many?”

“Three, so far. There is a possible fourth. He can’t decide with one of them since ‘her fate is still flexible enough to change.’”

“… Pretty strange diagnosis for a vet.”

“I don’t think he really is a vet.” If Max had told anyone else in the village, then it would’ve spread like wildfire. He could see farmers and villagers alike rocking up to Bessie’s farm with an ‘extra loaf of bread’ or ‘news of a new fox den’ or ‘erotic images that happened to be found in the woods.’ Whatever it took to get their foot in the door to see if the rumour was true. But he told Noah. His secret was safe since he had an even bigger one that only the system and Max knew about.

“That would explain him offering to read people’s future in exchange for cash or gossip.”

“He’s doing what?”

Noah was taken aback. “You didn’t know? He has a stand that he sometimes props up for half an hour or so.” Max couldn’t believe his ears. How was this guy everywhere? “I thought it was a bit weird. I mean, why would a vet need to give phoney readings to pad his pockets?”

“You think they’re phoney?” Max hadn’t really considered if Cy wasn’t genuinely well-versed in magic. He left too strong of an impression when they first met. “… Is his business doing well?”

“Extremely. There’s always a long line whenever he’s open. I tried going a few times, but he always closed right before my reading.”

He always stopped before Noah’s reading? Did he know something about Noah? Could it possibly be linked to that dragon statue he saw a couple of weeks ago? Also, where was he? Did Aldwin actually uphold the favour Max had asked him? “I thought you said he was a phoney? Why go if you thought he wasn’t good?”

“Eh,” Noah shrugged before throwing his polished pot towards a pile of other pots, creating nothing but scratches. “It’s something to do.” You would have thought that, within a village so often plagues by supernatural phenomena, finding something to do wouldn’t be difficult. “So why are you here? Not that I don’t mind the company…”

While they had been talking, Max had been looking out into the piles of metal, looking for any traces of the oriental dragon. There was nothing. And he didn’t see any other metalwork with a similar design. “I was talking to Adelaide earlier.”

“Oh yeah?” Noah showed slight disdain in his voice. Adelaide was no one’s favourite.

“She had a pretty hairpin that had some kind of monster on it. I was wondering if you made it? Bessie might like something like it.”

“Bessie? Bessie wants a hairpin?”

Bessie wanted money. Bessie wanted the world to bend around her. Bessie wanted everything she felt entitled to and more. What Bessie didn’t want and never showed interest in were trivial things that didn’t generate an income. Everyone knew it, but Max could always feign ignorance. “She’s done a lot for me, you know. Giving me a place to sleep, food, a salary… It would be nice to give her a gift to show my thanks.”

Although it was a thoughtless gift, Noah seemed to approve. “It’s the hairpin that looks like a lizard, right? And with a red stone?” Max nodded. “Yeah, I made it. I’ve been practising the design for a commission. Her mother bought it the other day… I’m surprised she’s actually wearing it.”

“Liv might’ve lied and said it was from the capital.” Noah’s face was grim from the disrespect, but they both knew it was probably true. “So, who commissioned the original design?”

Just as Noah was about to answer, there was a loud knock on the door. Tap, Tap, Tap. The sound and timing were eerie, causing the pair to turn towards the unlocked front door of the shop. Tap, tap, tap. “What the fuck?” Noah whispered under his breath. No one knocked at that door. It was too noisy in the shop to hear anything most of the time, so everyone knew to barge in. Bang, bang, bang.

As the knocks grew heavier, Max’s irritation only increased. Like Noah, he had been unnerved from the unexpected noise until a prompt quickly sucked the mystery out of the air.

Story Name:

???

Genre:

???

Description:

???

Goal:

???

Difficulty:

★★★★★

How to Start:

Ignore Cy!

Why didn’t he just let himself in already?

Max weaved his way through the metal piles, allowing the raps to get louder and louder. With a frown on his face, he opened the door to frantic Cy. “Max! There you are-”

“You always seem to know where I am.”

“Ah, ha, ha,” Cy gave a fake laugh that just made the listeners uncomfortable. “Good one, Max. Anyway, listen, about your friend-”

“Aldwin?”

“He has magic bones!”

“… And?”