The door to the clinic clicked shut behind them, a soft chime sounding overhead.
Kana led him inside with a light touch on his arm.
"Come, sit here," she said, guiding him to the cushioned patient bench near her desk.
Venzel sat down obediently, extending his right palm.
Kana took it carefully, brows knitting with concern as she examined the faint golden grain-shaped mark embedded in his skin.
She tilted it gently under the light.
"It doesn't look like a burn or bruise…. What is this?" she murmured, more to herself than to him.
Meanwhile, Venzel's focus was... elsewhere.
His eyes flicked up—not at the ceiling, but at the floating game interface only he could see.
His field of vision was like a split screen: Kana's gentle touch on one side, and a glorious cartoon harvest on the other.
The rows of pixel potatoes shimmered under an 8-bit sun.
"They're ripe," he whispered to himself, involuntarily.
Kana looked up, puzzled. "Hmm? Did you say something?"
"No no!" Venzel chuckled nervously, straightening his back. "Just... happy to see you doing your doctor thing, you know?"
She raised a brow, unconvinced, but returned to gently massaging his palm with her thumbs.
Venzel, trying to stay composed, whispered toward the screen again.
"Harvest it."
The second he said it—
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!
BANG CRASH FLUMP!
Ten enormous sacks of potatoes materialized in midair and slammed to the clinic floor like meteorites.
"AAAHH!" Venzel screamed, leaping a full foot off the bench.
"KYAAAHH!!" Kana yelped, throwing her stethoscope into the air and scrambling backward until she hit her desk.
One of the sacks rolled ominously toward her like a cartoon boulder.
Venzel dove over and stopped it just before it bumped into her foot.
They both stared at the mountain of potato bags.
The quiet hum of the clinic was now replaced by utter silence and one softly spinning office chair.
Kana slowly turned to him, wide-eyed, mouth slightly agape. She pointed at the pile, then at him.
"You. Explain. Right. Now."
Venzel scratched his head awkwardly, eyes bouncing between Kana and the mountain of potatoes scattered across her clinic floor.
He raised his marked palm slightly. "Ah... this. It's because of the mark."
Kana arched a brow, skeptical.
"The mark... gave you potatoes?"
Venzel nodded seriously. "I... I don't know, it let me bring out items from a game into the real world."
There was a long pause. Kana squinted at him, unconvinced.
Then, without warning, she took a step forward, cupped his face in both hands and stared deep into his eyes. "Okay. I trust you."
He blinked. "Really?"
"But if it turns out you're an alien—" she leaned in with mock severity, "—I will kill you."
She held the threat with a deadpan face, then burst into giggles.
Venzel laughed, relieved. "Fair enough."
They both dropped to their knees and began tapping and inspecting the potato bags, their fingers brushing over the burlap material.
Kana's eyes widened.
"…They're real? It's actually... real?"
Venzel pressed both palms to one of the sacks, feeling the weight and the cool, earthy texture through the fibers.
He gave it a small shake. It thudded with the sound of actual potatoes. "I can't believe this… It's really real."
They exchanged glances, half disbelieving, half childlike awe.
Working together, the two began stacking the sacks neatly against the wall.
Venzel grabbed the last one, heaving it with exaggerated effort.
"Gah! Why do potatoes have to be so heavy in real life?!"
Kana, crouched by the corner, brushed her fingers across one sack and said casually, "Approximately... hundred kilos in total, give or take."
Venzel froze, his brain clicked like a gear locking into place.
[Sell 100kg of potatoes]
His eyes widened. No way... It wasn't just a random task. The game wanted me to sell these. For real. In the real world.
Kana turned to him with a blink. "You okay?"
He nodded slowly, still stunned. "Yeah... I just realized something."
Just then, the door to the clinic jingled softly.
A small boy burst in ahead of his mother, his shoes squeaking on the clean tiles.
"Sister!" he shouted joyfully, racing straight into Kana's legs and wrapping his arms around her knees.
Kana grinned and bent down, scooping the boy up effortlessly.
"Max! You're early today!"
Behind him, a gentle woman with warm eyes entered, smiling politely.
"Good morning, doctor," she greeted, then turned to Venzel with curiosity.
Her eyes subtly flicked to the potato sacks stacked behind him. "Good morning to you too."
Venzel straightened and bowed his head slightly.
"Good morning, ma'am."
The woman smiled kindly. "Are you here for a check-up too?"
Venzel laughed and held his hands up in mock defense.
"Oh—no, no. I'm just visiting."
The woman gave a small nod, eyes lingering with curiosity but not prying.
Kana came over, holding Max in her arms like he was light as a feather.
"Aunt Lina," she began warmly, "this is my boyfriend, Venzel."
She turned to Venzel.
"Venzel, this is Aunt Lina. She owns this whole building."
Lina's face lit up.
"She's such a sweetheart. You're a lucky man."
Venzel chuckled, scratching the back of his head shyly.
"Yes, indeed. I'm the luckiest."
His voice was soft but genuine, and Kana, hearing it, smiled with her whole face.
Lina eyed him playfully. "So tell me, young man, do you work on a farm?"
Venzel hesitated. His eyes darted briefly to the stack of potato bags behind him.
"…Yeah. Kinda like that."
Lina chuckled knowingly, folding her arms.
"Well, if you ever have farm goods to sell in bulk, let me know. I've got some contacts. Restaurants, grocers, that sort of thing."
Venzel's eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"Really? That'd be amazing. Thank you so much."
Kana bounced Max gently on her hip and chimed in proudly,
"My boyfriend is very hardworking."
Lina nodded with approval. "I can see that already."
Kana smiled, kissed Max's cheek, and set him down gently.
"Alright now. Aunt Lina, Venzel, you two can chat. I'll go change the lock on Max's teeth."
Max's eyes went wide.
"You're gonna lock my teeth?!"
Kana giggled. "I meant the braces, silly."
Max laughed, showing off his crooked little grin as he waddled beside her.
Lina leaned slightly toward Venzel as Kana walked off.
"She's got a good head on her shoulders, that one. Don't let her slip away."
Venzel watched Kana's retreating back with a soft smile.
"I wouldn't dream of it."