Convincing Abigail to leave was pointless. Leon figured that if he just lay down on the bed, without anyone to chat and mess around with, she would eventually get bored and leave on her own.
Back inside his cabin, Leon kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed. He had just closed his eyes, ready for a two-hour nap, when Abigail suddenly pushed the door open and came in.
“Why aren’t you going back?” Leon asked helplessly, turning his head toward her as she stood by his bed.
“I think sleeping is a waste of time. How about you come play a game with me instead?” Abigail suggested.
“No.” Leon refused without hesitation.
“What if I say that when we record the winner’s name, I’ll put your initial ‘L’ first?” Abigail tried to tempt him.
“That still won’t work.” The offer was so unappealing that Leon almost raised his middle finger at her.
“So you’re really going to just lie here all afternoon?” Abigail pressed.
“Yes,” Leon replied, nodding.
“Fine, then I’ll lie down too.” With that, Abigail shoved Leon to the side and climbed onto the bed herself.
Of course, she only lay sideways, her lower half still hanging off the edge.
Her cheeks flushed red, but this was the only method she could think of to stop Leon from napping. She figured that if she lay there, he’d be too embarrassed to sleep.
Sure enough, the moment Abigail lay down, Leon immediately rolled out of bed.
Feeling smug, Abigail was just about to get up and ask if he was now awake enough to play games when she noticed Leon heading toward the landline phone.
“Who are you calling?” she asked, sitting up.
“The police. I’m going to tell them there’s a crazy woman here trying to take advantage of me,” Leon answered with a straight face.
“Go ahead,” Abigail said, unfazed by the threat. She knew Leon wouldn’t actually call.
But when he picked up the receiver and started dialing a number, she panicked.
“You’re really calling the cops?”
“No. I don’t think the police would help much, so I’m calling Mr. Pierre instead,” Leon explained.
“What?!” Abigail yelped, rushing over to hang up the phone.
“Alright, alright! I’ll go, okay? You really can’t take a joke, using my parents to threaten me.”
Abigail’s face was full of frustration, her gaze toward Leon a mix of emotions.
“This is for your own good. What kind of girl just lies down on a guy’s bed? Do you know how dangerous that is? If I weren’t a gentleman, looking the way you do… well, give it ten days or half a month, and you’d be on your way to the hospital for a pregnancy test,” Leon said irritably.
“I know you wouldn’t do that. Besides, aren’t we good brothers?” Abigail replied, blushing but still refusing to back down.
“I go skinny-dipping in the river with my good brothers. Would you dare do that?” Leon shot back.
“If I can wear a swimsuit, sure,” Abigail retorted.
Leon sucked in a breath. “Not a bad idea. How about we go swimming at the beach?”
“Swimming in the ocean in this weather? No way.” Abigail shook her head without a second thought.
“Why not? It’s not that cold. It might be chilly at first, but once you start swimming, it’ll be fine,” Leon reasoned.
“No. It just feels weird. Let’s wait until summer,” she said firmly.
“Then wait until summer to find me. Your good brother is taking his nap now,” Leon said, resuming his eviction order.
This time, Abigail didn’t linger and obediently left.
Only after she was gone did Leon breathe a sigh of relief. Abigail’s behavior had genuinely startled him. He hadn’t expected her to be so unguarded around him.
He wasn’t sure if it was because she truly had no defenses against him or if she really did see him as just a brother, as she claimed.
In any case, it was a good thing she left. If things kept going that way, Leon didn’t trust himself to remain a saint—there would have been trouble for sure.
Still, thanks to her antics, his drowsiness was gone. Leon stepped out of the cabin and glanced around the farm. With no sign of Abigail, and confident she had actually gone home, he decided not to return inside.
Leaving through the northern exit of the farm, Leon crossed the remote forest and arrived at the lakeside at the northern foothills. Finding a large tree, he settled into its shade, pulled out his fishing rod and bait, and began to fish.
Fishing was one of the few forms of entertainment in Stardew Valley, and it even brought in some income.
Time passed quietly, and the fish in Leon’s backpack steadily increased. Just as he was about to cast his line again, a soft, melodious flute tune reached his ears.
Looking toward the sound, he spotted Abigail under a tree to the south, playing a long flute. The notes were crisp, yet tinged with sadness.
Leon wondered whether it was the choice of song or simply Abigail playing according to her mood.
When the song ended, she neither left nor started another, instead squatting silently by the tree, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the lake.
The loneliness and confusion radiating from her were so clear that Leon almost couldn’t bear to watch. Packing up his fishing rod, he walked over and crouched beside her.
“Why did you stop playing? It sounded pretty nice,” he said gently.
“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? What are you doing here?” Abigail looked at him, her expression a mix of surprise and embarrassment.
“Couldn’t sleep. Came to fish instead,” Leon replied, then joked, “Maybe I’m just cursed to work hard. I can’t even be lazy properly. The moment I can’t sleep, I think about catching fish to make some extra money.”
“Are you short on money?” Abigail asked.
“I don’t even know,” Leon answered vaguely.
If he said yes, the crops in the fields, the barrels, and the extra pearls in his storage would probably protest.
If he said no, well, he didn’t have enough to renovate his cabin into a grand mansion and live a life of pure leisure either. It was a contradiction.
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