The Silver Pendant

Six Months After Isekai'd:

As the sun sank below the horizon, everyone gathered for dinner. Gerald looked directly at Keisuke, who had grown a beard. He then looked at Heidi. "Kei, Heidi, I need your help tomorrow. We’re transporting some of our stock to Telwin."

Heidi blinked. Kei paused mid-chew, spoon hovering over his bowl. "Why us, Papa?"

Gerald laughed. "Well, Kent is already busy enough, same with all of the other farmhands. Keisuke here is new to these parts, and I figured he’d want to see the big city he’s going to live in one day if he wants to become an adventurer."

Keisuke sat up straighter and gave a quick nod. "I understand. I’ll gladly go with you, Gerald."

A smile crossed Gerald’s face. He looked at Heidi. "It’s easier to sell crops with my beautiful daughter there."

Heidi let out a huff. "Oh, of course. When I was a little kid, it was because you needed your cute daughter. Am I your selling point for some corn, Papa?"

Gerald laughed. "You’re not wrong. We always sell our stock quicker when you come with Heidi."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I’ll come."

Gerald’s eyes crinkled as a grin spread across his face. "Great. Then we begin first thing in the morning."

As soon as dinner ended, Keisuke broke away from the table and bolted toward the fields, pounding out lap after lap. His breaths came sharp and steady—he couldn’t sit still, not tonight.

From the far side of the coop, Keisuke slowed to a jog. Kent handed Heidi a bucket of scraps; she laughed at something he said. They stood close—too close. Keisuke’s jaw tightened. He turned away and picked up the pace.

Helga pulled Gerald into the kitchen. She looked at him and shook her head. "Don’t think I don’t see your plot for a second, Gerald Kristein."

Gerald shrugged with a crooked smile, trying not to laugh. "What? I’m just making good use of the assets we have."

Helga let out a sigh. "You’re trying to set Heidi and Keisuke up, aren’t you?"

A wide smirk crossed his face. "Oh, I see you’ve caught on."

Helga shook her head. "You can’t force this kind of thing. If the two of them are meant to be, you need to let it happen."

Gerald waved his hand. "Nonsense. Plus, anyone with a pair of eyes can see that Keisuke is in love with Heidi. He’s been making doe eyes at her since week one. He’s come a long way too. You can’t call him a noodle boy anymore. He’s starting to become a real man."

Helga sighed again. "Alright, if this blows up in your face, I’m not cleaning it up."

Gerald waved his hand dismissively. "It’ll be fine."

The next morning, Keisuke helped Gerald load the wagon with crate after crate of produce. Kei effortlessly lifted each one without wincing or making a sound. "Alright, Keisuke, that’s enough," called Gerald.

"Heidi, come on, we're heading out." called Gerald.

Heidi quickly approached looking a bit flushed. He could see Kent starting the morning chores. Kei waited at the passenger's side for her to climb onto the wagon, then he hopped on quickly after.

The front cab was a bit crowded. Gerald whipped the reins. "Telwin, here we come."

Kei leaned forward, eyes wide, trying to absorb every building, every face, every banner. He hadn’t seen civilization in six months. He looked around at the scenery as the wagon slowly trudged down the dirt road.

After half an hour, the road widened. He could see battlements in the distance. Every cart or person queued up to enter the city.

As they got closer, Kei could make out more details—red banners with a gold border, a golden shield with a blazing helmet emblem in the center. He observed the common people all around him. Some wore rags and looked sickly. Others were wealthy merchants with mercenaries guarding their caravans.

Kei leaned forward, knuckles tight on the wagon’s edge. His heart hammered as colors and voices flooded his senses—banners whipping in the wind, clattering hooves, and market bells ringing in the distance. “This is more like it!”, he thought.

Heidi chuckled. "You look like a little kid who just got a new toy. Are you that happy to see civilization after six or so months?"

Kei nodded eagerly. "You gotta remember, Heidi, I’m a city boy through and through," he said to mask the excitement of seeing a proper Isekai setting.

Heidi chuckled. "Your reactions are adorable sometimes, Keisuke."

As the wagon reached the front of the queue, a few heavily armed men in plate mail with swords and shields approached. Kei looked up at the battlements and saw men patrolling above.

"Name and purpose for visit?"

Gerald replied, "Selling my crops with my daughter and farmhand."

One man walked around back and pried open one of the crates to check. He gave a thumbs-up to the man in front, who nodded.

"Alright, move along."

As the wagon moved into the city, His eyes darted across the cityscape—stone buildings rose three stories high, worn cobblestones clacked under hooves, and vendors hauled carts into half-open stalls. The air smelled of roasted meat and horse dung. Kei drank in every detail like a man starved. He saw the marketplace ahead. It was quiet, as vendors were still setting up their wares.

They pulled up to a medium-sized tent in the market. "Alright, this is us."

The wagon came to a complete stop. Keisuke practically jumped out but remembered his manners and helped Heidi down.

"Alright, Keisuke, let’s get to work."

Kei nodded, and he and Gerald hauled goods from the back of the wagon. He observed the people. He could see different races—Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen tribes.

“Anime, you’ve done me well”, he thought.

It was a melting pot—humanoid cats, dogs, bears. They all looked relatively human, except their ears and tails denoted their race.

Once the wagon had been unloaded, Heidi started setting up the display: cabbage, wheat, tomato, corn, cucumber—all the vegetables they’d grown.

It didn’t take long for the first customers to arrive. Heidi spoke to them with a pleasant smile.

It wasn’t long until they had run out of stock altogether.

"See, Heidi, that’s exactly why I brought you along. You’re quite the saleswoman."

Heidi chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I know, Papa."

Gerald laughed. "Why don’t you show Keisuke around the city? I’ve got a few errands to run. Be back before sundown."

"Sure, Papa. Come on, Keisuke."

"I’d love to see the city." His cheeks ached from holding back a grin. He cleared his throat and looked away, hoping she wouldn’t notice how giddy he felt. As Heidi roped her arm between his, he could feel his heart beating out of his chest.

"Normally it’s the man that shows the lady around, but you’ve never been here. So don’t object when I take the lead," she teased.

Kei chuckled. "Alright, Heidi. I’m in your capable hands," he said as heat slowly crept up his face.

Heidi led the way and described every area of the city they visited. The entire time, Kei practically bounced as they turned each corner, his mouth hanging open. He pointed at passing shops, spun to look behind him, and grinned so wide it nearly split his face.

Heidi observed the wonderment on his face and chuckled. "You look like you’ve never seen a city before, Keisuke."

His face heated up more. "It’s just been so long," he said, trying to sound convincing. "Plus, I’ve never been to this city in particular. It’s so… cool."

Heidi raised an eyebrow. "Cool?"

Kei nodded.

"I’ve never heard that expression before. Must be a northern thing to refer to something as cool."

Kei chuckled. "Well, kinda, yeah."

They continued to walk around the city. They enjoyed a nice lunch at a tavern and ended the day near the marketplace again. Heidi’s eyes widened as she saw a pendant in a window. It was silver, with a few unfamiliar gemstones in it.

"Oh my goodness, it’s so beautiful."

Kei’s breath hitched. He didn’t even realize his mouth had fallen open until Heidi glanced at him. "Yeah, it is."

Heidi stared at it. "They make such beautiful things in this city."

Suddenly, they heard Gerald calling them. "Oh, it’s time. This was fun. Thanks for being such good company today."

Kei nodded. "I’ll be there in a moment. There’s something I wanted to look at real quick."

Heidi smiled. "Alright, Keisuke. Don’t take too long."

When she was out of sight, Kei walked into the store, a stony look on his face. He approached the shopkeeper.

"How much for that pendant?" he pointed.

"That’ll be 5 gold, 25 silver."

Kei winced. “A month’s pay”, he thought.

He looked at the shopkeeper. "Can you hold it for me until tomorrow? I don’t have that much on me."

The shopkeeper nodded. "Of course, sir. We’ll hold it for a day."

Kei left the shop and returned to the wagon. Gerald had long since packed everything up.
"Are we good to go?" he asked Kei.

He affirmed "Yep, we’re good to go."

He hopped on the coach. Gerald whipped the reins, and they started their trip back to the farm.

The entire trip home, Kei thought, “I’ll buy it for her tomorrow. Then I’ll confess to her on Sunday when the workload is lighter.”

He clenched his jaw and stared out at the road, eyes narrowed. But inside, his gut churned. His grip tightened around the silver in his pocket. What if she laughed?

He pictured her smile, the way her eyes might light up at the sight of the pendant. Then the image cracked—her brow furrowing, lips pressed into a polite line. He exhaled sharply and shook his head, heart pounding like a war drum.

“No, it won’t fail. It can’t. Surely she’ll return my love.” he thought as he clenched the few silver coins in his pocket, his heart pounding louder than the wagon wheels.

“Sunday”, he told himself. No more waiting.