+++ 奇跡国 - Miracle Country +++

[The Candy Shop (as it is best known) has grown by one employee today. Anyone passing by or on their way to visiting the café next door may see Lancelot welcoming Connie to the shop, both aproned and her ready in the designated employee uniform. The tour doesn’t take long and the two will be soon seen working together or taking up separate jobs that morning.]

[Connie is tasked with the broom and in the front, Lancelot handles register as usual – or well, at least as he is usually used to doing so. It’s really more of a bag of money than a register. While sorting out and making sure it’s all there, he walks to the back and hears some... training drills?]

Connie? Is everything all right in here?

Ah, yes! [she hurriedly stops the drills she's running... with the broom itself. She swears she's actually working, welp.] It's just... it was already clean, so...

[... He can't help a smile and comment.] Good form. That's fine, I'm only getting to the back here. [Meanwhile the money kind of jingles in the bag.]

Alright, then -- [here she stops abruptly, seeing the bag for the first time. Uh.] ... Sir Lancelot? Is that the store's bank?

Ah. That's right.

But... [......................................... b- but.] That's not -- Shouldn't you use the register?

Well- [Aha, see about this.] I'm afraid I was not able to learn how to use it.

... [suddenly she has the most srs!!1 face] That won't do at all! [and she marches behind the counter and studies the register for half a minute before she hits the proper buttons to get it to open with a little ding. ta da!]

[He looks impressed and surprised at once. Then- rather sheepishly, he asks:] ... Perhaps it might be best if we trade, my lady.

Ah... [she hesitates for a moment, looking at the broom, but then holds it out to him and gently takes the bag of money from him. cause honestly.] That might be a good idea for now...

[Chuckles a little, accepting the broom with a small bow to her.] Agreed.

[And so, Lancelot is left to the sweeping, diligent as ever. Connie handles the (actual) register without trouble. They’re working things out.

What better way to welcome another pair of hands on board? That’s right, it’s time for a candy sale! There will even be a sign hanging up outside as a display to alert others, simple but cute and the window as ever shows several different candies and chocolates for extra appeal. Come on by.]

[If anyone wanders near the edge of the forests today, they'll find several targets set up against the trees there. It's a familiar sight, as Aramis usually does this when he's not shooting near the lighthouse at the beach (since, you know. If he ever did miss, he'd just shoot a monster and who'd care?).

Except this time, the person shooting looks a lot younger, lacks the usual uniform, and is a lot less experienced, so he does keep missing, only hitting the targets off-center a few times. He's stubbornly keeping himself far too away from them, however, looking delighted to be doing this at all even if he's not too good at it. He reloads his gun, determined to at least hit the center of a target once today.]


[[Deage post for Aramis, in case that's not obvious. He's around 18 years old atm pretend the pics match the age, lol and already met Porthos and has an idea of what's going on.]]

[Ever since the start of this week, you may have noticed a change in the weather and the general mood of Kiseki. Yes, summer is over. While it was really quite warm following up to this week, this week it's a little cooler, a little crisper - and other than the sakura tree that's always in bloom, all the other trees in the park and forests have begun to change color and fall. Fall is here in Miracle Country!

This week, maybe you need a little adjusting. Need to buy some warmer clothes? Have a sudden urge to eat something pumpkin-flavored or caramel-flavored? There are piles of leaves to hop into, maybe.

And throughout this week, the crisp, clear skies may cloud over and it'll start to drizzle, and sometimes even just rain. It'll drizzle throughout the day with some sun breaks, but it's definitely a clear indication of the change in the seasons.

But when it's not raining, and your character feels like exploring, they'll find literal cornicopias of fruits and vegetables all throughout the garden island, the park, and the forests. Sample them for yourselves, or perhaps make a pie with them.

Autumn is a time of harvest and abundance but also a time of waning sunlight and longer nights... so perhaps you feel that shift in the air, and are left reflecting on it.

Regardless, autumn is here.]

[You might not have noticed the little kid hiding around the streets of the shopping district today, if it weren't for the journal on the ground recording her. She's curled up near a wall, hiding like she's gotten used to staying out of sight. Her clothes are old and tattered and her arms and legs have absent scuff marks, but the most noticeable thing on the video is probably is how hungry she looks.]

[After a moment it shows her peeking briefly around the corner, enough that maybe someone walking nearby would notice.

But the biggest giveaway as to who this is would certainly the tiny hands that start sneakishly blooming near the open stand of the shop she's near by. One hand picks up a loaf of bread and starts passing it on carefully down to the others, until it gets back to Robin but.]

Ah-!

[It disappears almost as soon as she has it in her actual hands.]

Why? I- I know it's bad, but why did it...?

[Fearing that maybe she was caught, she quickly looks around and the video cuts off right as she gets up and moves to bolt down an alley and run away.]

[Today, when you wake up, you’ll find a little glass jar with a stopper beside your bed with a little note that says “do good deeds to fill me & make your wish come true”. From today until Friday, you’ll have this jar by your side and whenever you do a good deed or something kind, a little konpeito will clink into the jar. The better you are, the more it will fill.

But be careful, because bad deeds and cruel things will make the konpeito disappear piece by piece, and you’ll never make your wish come true that way! The more the jar is filled by Friday, the better the prize you’ll get, or ‘your wish’.

The prizes range from little tokens from home to larger tokens. Filled it halfway? You might find a little trinket from your old room, something you remember and often wished you had with you. If your jar is almost full or completely full, your prize will be something larger – a token from home of more substance, something you’ve longed for but couldn’t have here – a picture of a loved one, an old family heirloom, a prized possession.

If you were a bad person this week, and your jar is mostly empty, then sadly you will not be receiving a token from home. But maybe you’ll have one or two konpeito to munch on. For those who don’t have a pressing desire for something from back home, the konpeito can be exchanged for money or other goods.

And throughout the week, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to do good deeds. Suddenly, the stray cats around Kiseki have a tendency to get stuck in trees. Perhaps you see a friend carrying more grocery bags than he can handle. There’s a kid struggling to get something down off a high shelf. Just taking a look around reveals plenty of opportunities and possibilities to be a good person.]

[With all the new arrivals lately, it seems that Miracle Country wants to help encourage some new jobs and positions in the community...

Which is why today, flyers are appearing under everyone's doors with advertisements for all of the many attractions in Miracle Country. Want a relaxing job? There's the onsen to consider. Want something more exciting? How about being a keeper at the zoo! Want something more sweet and fun? The amusement park needs ticket-takers. There are lots of ads available and today you might feel motivated to finally get out there and get yourself a paying job!

And for those who already have jobs, or go to the school, perhaps these advertisements don't mean much to you. But, fear not, because Miracle Country wants you to support your friends and family in their pursuits - and you might find some coupons tucked under your door: a free slice of cake at the Cherry Blossom Café, a free ride on the roller coaster at the amusement park, 50% off of a ticket into the museum, etc. The choices and opportunities are endless!

Signing up for a job today means you'll get a small starting bonus, too, so even more reason to get up and get out, find something you'd like to do! There are lots of places and opportunities to explore, either as an employee or as a customer.]

[There's a short video recording in Merlin's journal, showing him in one of the common rooms underground, snoring softly as he sleeps awkwardly bent over an open book, a few others piled up next to him.]

[Rejoice, Kiseki residents, as today the massive flood finally comes to an end. Starting early in the morning, the water levels will slowly start to go down, faster and faster, the extra vegetation that had grown all over the place receding with it. Eventually, the usual Miracle Country will reappear, just the slightest signs of rust remaining for a while. The tree houses will gradually disappear in the following days, once its inhabitants go back to their usual lodgings.

Not all the water will disappear, however. Now, near the Sakura park, a small lake will show up, and connected to it, a narrow stream that will go all the way up to the ocean, widening as it approaches it and becoming large enough to allow people to swim in it or travel it by boat or other means.]

[After the recent flood, things have somewhat settled down. Or, at least, the water has.

It seems as though it's been forever since the change, at least looks-wise; the old buildings now buried underwater have been corroded and invaded by corals and other marine life. If you dive deep in, you might even start finding treasure here and there - not just the old abandoned items in the hotels and shops, but things like weapons or even gold. Banks of fish are swimming around at ease, their number increasing more and more (and of course the areas where the forests are now submerged home much more dangerous sea creatures). And near the area where the beach was, a gentle, massive manatee-like creature will be found, ready to carry people around, be fed vegetables or simply be happy to play around in the water.

The vegetation is thriving, embracing the change, trees growing all around buried buildings, those which hold the tree houses seeming sturdier, their tops getting thicker and thicker leaves, almost camouflaging the houses from view, but at the same time making it easier to travel above the land, as branches from different trees connect to each other.

The rafts are still around for anyone's use, and during the night, fireflies will show up all over Kiseki to help illuminate the way of anyone still awake.]

[If you're spending the day out and about today, and suddenly reach for your wallet/purse/bag/whatever -- you might find that it's suddenly gone. If you look around quickly enough, you might see a little boy running off with your things. And he can move pretty damn fast, so good luck catching him when he ducks away into small places.]

[Having suddenly arrived in a new place that is most decidedly not the Court of Miracles, a young Porthos is doing what any sensible little boy would -- stealing money and hiding. So he might be difficult to spot, but, anyone walking around the shopping district today or the park will find him hiding and ducked out of sight, putting on a brave face but... most assuredly scared.]