After everyone in the village said farewell to Grandpa Greenstone in their own ways, they went home to rest up for work tomorrow. They didn’t live in the busy towns and cities, so most people in the village never had any strict work schedule. Klein had to leave the party early because one of the women in the village went into labor. As the only real ‘Doctor’, he was basically on call 24/7 for various emergencies. As his apprentice, Ivy had to go help out.

Barilo worked in the mines with his parents now. Forest is a full-time hunter now, not just an intern or apprentice. Irving is a lumberjack and part-time carpenter. Myrtle runs the Herbalist Shop with her mother. Verna runs the Verde Village Trader for her parents most of the time now, since the two of them have been really sick lately.

Except for Peridot, it seemed like all the other ‘kids’ had a serious job…

“Are you sure you wanna go with me?” Oliver furrowed his black eyebrows and looked at the stone girl with concern, “Don’t you need to get sunlight?”

“I love sunbathing, but I don’t think it’s necessary anymore.” Jade pulled her hair back into a ponytail, wrapping it with a green hair tie that Peridot handed over. Then she put on a metal hard-hat, even a gas mask and similar overalls to Oliver. Those yellow eyes glowed bright green behind the goggles.

“As long as I eat enough food, I should be fine. I don’t want you to have to support both me and Peri, so I have to earn enough to pay for my own meals at least.”

“Hey~!” Peridot rolled her eyes and complained, “It’s not like I don’t have a job, okay? Someone needs to watch the house… Ollie keeps a lot of gold and other shit stashed around here. Not to mention professional Thieves, even the other villagers might rob us if we all leave for a long time.”

“I don’t care about that shit, Peri. I just don’t want you risking your life with me in the mines.” Oliver smiled wryly as he continued shaving his beard in the mirror with a straight-razor, “Jade is different… I can’t say that she’s completely safe. But at least she’s safer than I am down there. If we really get attacked by bandits or robbers, use the escape route in the basement and the booby traps. I don’t want anything to happen to you…”

“Damn it, Ollie, I love you too…” Peridot came over with tears in her eyes and started using metal scissors to cut his damp hair, “Don’t you dare die down there!”

“I can’t die. I’m gonna be the world’s greatest Miner!”

“Sure, whatever.” She snickered and trimmed his white hair down until it was only a centimeter long, sticking up all around.

“Umm, should I cut my hair as well?” Jade took off her helmet and gas mask, then put the waist-length ponytail in front of her stony face.

“I don’t know about you, but I need to shave so that my mask will seal with my face.” Oliver looked over at the tall girl and smiled wryly, “I like to keep my hair short enough that it’ll fit under my hat. Otherwise a bunch of dust will cling to it and it’s a little difficult to wash out. If your hair is too long, it could also get stuck in something and could get you killed. Even if you’re made of stone…”

“I understand. Uh, I’ve never cut my own hair, so…”

“I’ve got you covered.” Peridot snipped her steel scissors a few times and then got started on that long, thick hair. Of course, her own blonde hair was also relatively short. Only down to her shoulders at most. She wasn’t a miner, but it was just more comfortable that way. 

“Hmmm, your hair is really tough.”

“Sorry…”

“It’s fine for now, but I’m worried we might need bolt cutters in the future. Not just for you either. Ollie’s hair is almost as hard to cut now.”

“We have bolt cutters in the basement.” Oliver snickered as he washed his head off in the large metal bathroom sink, ”We could ask Klein for help. He can make really strong surgical scissors.”

Although he didn’t specialize in ‘Surgery’, Klein was still a Doctor. Most of the tools and equipment related to medicine could be conjured up. The only issue was whether he saw and understood those items as related to medicine. He couldn’t create something he didn’t know about or understand.

“I used to be a Stone Sculptor.” Jade looked over at the boy that was standing next to her metal chair, “It’s so awkward not being able to conjure tools anymore.”

“I get Sculpting or Mining, but how do people get better at ‘Stone Statue’? It’s not a Job, right? How do you train something like that?” Peridot asked while struggling to trim and even up the layers of short black hair.

“I don’t know.” The girl stared at her beautiful but ‘unnatural’ smooth gray face in the mirror behind the sink, “My father only ever taught me how to be a Sculptor. My mother ‘Cursed’ me to become like this…”

“Your Mom was a statue? Wait, was she one of those statues that I sold to Verna?” Oliver looked over and frowned, “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay. She… She died.” Jade sighed, “I think my father used his own powers to make her seem ‘human’. Like flesh and blood. But after he died, she turned to marble. I’m surprised I didn’t turn to stone immediately after…”

“Sorry for your loss.” Peridot smiled wryly and finally finished giving the statue-girl a ‘pixie cut’ of sorts. Essentially it was just the same super-short hair as Oliver, even the bangs were a little spiky due to being so short.

“Damn it, you’re too pretty!”

“Ehah-ehahah~! So are you, Peri.”

“Yeah, you’re both really beautiful.” Oliver looked at himself in the mirror and grumbled, “Why do I either look like a little kid when I’m shaved or an old man with a beard?”

“You look good too! So shut up!” Peridot smacked the back of his head angrily, then looked at her own somewhat mature face in the mirror. She was only thirteen, but she was already reaching her ‘peak’. Jessie was only eighteen but she already had crows feet and laugh/smile lines.

“Be careful down there Ollie.” She hugged the muscular boy tightly and then finally let go a whole minute later, “Love you.”

“Love you too, Peri.”

“You should be careful as well.” Jade smiled wryly and awkwardly hugged the much shorter girl.

“Be careful with what? Cleaning the toilet?” Peridot rolled her eyes and pushed the statue away, “Good luck.”