Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

After unconsciously kicking away a small stone in the middle of the road, Akina Sawa decided to hurry home. Every place in Gensokyo was nice, but the best place was definitely his own dilapidated yard.

Just then, Akina Sawa also saw a familiar figure squatting by the roadside. Because her back was turned, he couldn't see what she was doing.

Upon seeing this figure he hadn't seen in a long time, Akina stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and decided to go over and see what she was doing.

rustling~

Perhaps because she was too focused, Akina Sawa had already walked behind her without her noticing anything.

After walking behind her, Akina Sawa did not call out to her, but quietly bent down to observe what she was doing.

Squatting on the ground, Motoori Kozue was scribbling on her notebook with a ballpoint pen. One by one, pleasing characters were released from the pen tip and neatly arranged on the blank paper.

I don't recognize any of these characters.

Akina Ze also tilted his head and looked at the words on the notebook, thinking to himself.

Each stroke of these characters, when combined, possesses a mysterious charm. But strangely, if you blink and look at them again, those characters that previously had a special beauty become a jumbled mess, somewhat irritating. The characters are still the same, but the feeling they evoke is different.

Strange, really strange, what on earth is written here?

Somewhat curious, Akina Zeya bent over even more, his chin almost touching Motoori Korin's hair.

Perhaps because she had been squatting for too long, Motoori Kosuzu felt a wave of fatigue wash over her and instinctively stretched.

"Ouch!" Akina Sawa and Motoori Kosuzu cried out in pain at the same time.

Motoori Kosuzu's head slammed solidly into Akina Sawaya's chin.

The chin is a vulnerable part of the human body. Even though Akina Zeya has a very good physique, he cannot avoid the pain of being hit in such a sensitive area.

"Woooooo~"

After stumbling and crouching back down, Motoori Kozue felt as if she had hit the ceiling. The pain in her head made her eyes well up with tears.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

The pain in his chin made Akina Sawa grin, but he didn't dwell on his own problems first and apologized to Motoori Kosuzu.

The effects of forces are reciprocal.

If her chin hurts this much, Xiaoling must be feeling terrible too.

“Mr. Akina, please don’t stand quietly behind me next time.”

Motoori Kosuzu pouted, her chubby cheeks puffing out, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

"I'm sorry, I just saw you squatting here alone, writing something, so I came over to take a look, and I didn't expect to run into you."

"How about this, I'll give you a string of dumplings as an apology, okay?"

As he spoke, Akina Sawa took a string of dumplings out of the bag.

Pink, white, and green dumplings are skewered on a bamboo stick, looking very soft and delicious.

This was originally bought by Akina Sawa specifically for Nikua, and now it's a good opportunity to use it as an apology. He just hopes that Rin can accept his apology.

"Hmph," Motoori Kosuzu reached out and took the dumpling, glared at Akina Zeya, turned her head away, and swallowed the pink dumpling in one gulp.

Although Xiaoling turned her head away, not wanting Akina Ze to see it too.

However, it was clear that the side of his face was puffed up like a hamster, and Akina Sawa couldn't help but chuckle.

The sound was very soft, but Motoori Kosuzu still heard it. She turned her head, opened her big, bright eyes, and glared at him fiercely.

Now, Akina Ze could see his chubby little face too.

With its chubby cheeks and big, bright eyes, it doesn't look fierce at all; on the contrary, it looks incredibly cute and adorable.

Of course, Akina Sawa wouldn't dare say that out loud. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. If he kept provoking her, she might actually get bitten.

"I can't understand what you're saying!" Motoori Kozue mumbled, her mouth full of food.

"You should swallow this first before you speak," Qiu Mingze said helplessly, rubbing his forehead.

"Gulu~"

Motoori Kosuzu swallowed the food in her mouth, but instead of responding to Akina Sawaya immediately, she glared at him fiercely and took a bite of the next white dumpling.

Seeing this, Akina could only shrug. But since Motoori Kosuzu had accepted Yui, she must have already forgiven him.

This put Akina Ze at ease, and he began to observe how Suzu ate.

Even though her cheeks puff up like a hamster, she bites down with a gaping maw. Is this what they call "gap moe" (cuteness due to contrast)? But she's adorable no matter what.

Akina Ze also rested his chin on his hand, watching with great interest.

Seemingly sensing that Akina Sawa was also observing her, Motoori Kozue's face flushed slightly, and she picked up the notebook she had just placed on the ground to block Akina Sawa's somewhat unbridled gaze.

Alas, what a pity.

The rare sight of a beautiful girl eating in a way that perfectly embodies the image of a beautiful girl was thus lost, and Akina Sawa sighed somewhat.

Thinking back to when I first came to Gensokyo, I've seen quite a few beautiful girls eating, but none of them matched my impression of what a beautiful girl should look like when she eats, not even the seemingly dignified and elegant Yuyuko...

Ah, let's not talk about this anymore. Just thinking about it reminds me of how my hands were trembling back then, and I was on the verge of collapsing. It's a truly unbearable memory.

Before she knew it, Motoori Kosuzu swallowed the last green dumpling.

"Mr. Akina, you're being incredibly rude, staring at me like that..." Motoori Kosuzu's cheeks were still slightly flushed, and she glared at him with a fierce (and adorable) look.

"Sorry, sorry, Miss Suzu is just too cute when she eats." Before he knew it, Akina Sawa blurted out what was on his mind.

As soon as he said that, Akina Ze felt a jolt in his heart. Oh no!

Sure enough, Motoori Kosuzu's slightly flushed face immediately turned bright red, as if it had been painted.

Before the instigator could apologize again, Xiaoling lowered her head to hide her flushed face, picked up her notebook, and slammed the thicker side of it at Qiumingze.

"Oh my gosh~"

Akina Sawa didn't dare to reach out and stop him, and took a solid hit from Motoori Kosuzu's "spell card".

[The Laptop's Devastating Impact]

In the midst of the chaos, Akina Sawa also noticed that the corners of Xiaoling's mouth seemed to be turned up.

Chapter Fifty-One: Twists and Turns

"Listen carefully, this is a book of demons. Normally, it wouldn't be known to ordinary people, but I'm telling you this because you're an outsider."

Motoori Kosuzu's lips curled slightly, and she proudly waved the notebook in her hand.

"Oh, so it's called the Book of Demons. Is there anything special about it?" Akina Sawa asked curiously.

What is the Book of Demons? Does it mean, as the name suggests, a book about demons and monsters? But Xiaoling doesn't look like a demon at all; she just looks like a cute little girl.

Akina Sawa also subconsciously forgot about those guys who were clearly monsters but appeared in the form of beautiful human girls.

Especially that one who is clearly very old, cough cough, this is a taboo subject.

"A book of demons is a book of demons," Motoori Kosuzu shook her finger, looking completely matter-of-fact.

"No, I'm asking what the demon book in your hand is for," Akina Ze pointed to the notebook in Xiaoling's hand.

"This is prohibited." Motoori Kosuzu put her arms in front of her chest, making a cross shape.

"Just let me know; I won't tell anyone else."

The more mysterious something is, the more curious one becomes, even if there is danger behind it. But Akina Ze couldn't suppress his curiosity either; it's human nature.

"No!" Motoori Kosuka hugged the notebook to her chest, turned around, and faced away from Akina Sawaya.

Uh, what should we do... Akina Ze also really wants to see what's written in the Little Demon Book again.

This wasn't just to satisfy his own curiosity; it was because when Xiaoling put away the Demon Book just now, he happened to see a bunch of unfamiliar characters, among which there seemed to be two characters that he recognized.

But Akina Sawa wasn't entirely sure; he wanted to take another look to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Xiaoling seems to really like eating dumplings, right?

Akina Ze also looked at the figure with her back to him and remembered how she had just eaten dumplings, one after another.

If you didn't like it, you probably wouldn't have eaten it so cleanly, right?

Maybe we can give it a try...

"Miss Xiaoling, what do you think of this bag full of dumplings?" Qiumingze also tentatively shook the bag in his hand.

"Oh?

Motoori Kosuzu turned her head to the side, her red eyes glancing brightly at the bag in Akina Zeya's hand before turning back.

Nothing happened, and Akina Sawa was somewhat frustrated. He composed himself and prepared to leave.

Just as Akina Sawa turned to leave.

Ok?

He suddenly felt something grab the bag in his hand. Looking down, he saw a small, white hand pulling at the corner of the bag.

Hey, isn't that possible?

Akina Ze also smiled and shook his head.

......

"Can I see it now?"

After Motoori Korin stopped eating like a hamster, there was only one dumpling left in the bag. After waiting for a while, Akina Sawa asked.

Before he finished speaking, a brown leather notebook was handed to him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Akina Ze eagerly took the notebook and began flipping through it quickly from the first page.

Before long, he showed a happy expression.

I didn't expect to turn to the page with those two words so quickly in such a thick notebook.

Pointing to the two characters, Akina Ze pronounced them as if he were learning to read.

"Chū, Bi?"

"Don't read it out!"

Suddenly, Motoi Kosuzu, who was standing nearby, noticed something and snatched the notebook from Akina Sawaya's hand in a panic.

"what happened?"

The notebook was taken away, and Akina Sawa's face was full of question marks.

"I didn't expect you to actually recognize the words on it and even read them aloud," Motoori Kosuzu said with a hint of panic in her voice, her expression turning serious.

"Huh? Is it not allowed?" Akina Ze hesitated. He couldn't understand why Xiaoling was making such an expression.

"Sigh, it's my fault too. I thought you wouldn't be able to read the words on it, so I didn't tell you the precautions," Xiaoling sighed. "I hope what I'm thinking won't happen."

"What is it...?" Akina Sawa was completely confused.

Motoori Kosuzu looked at Akina Sawaya with a serious expression and said:

"Now that things have come to this, there's no point in keeping secrets anymore. This book is no ordinary book, and the characters recorded on it are not ordinary strokes or ink; they possess magical power, and some of the characters are sealed with beings called demons."

"Magic? Monsters?" Akina Sawa frowned, seemingly realizing what he had done—this was going to be bad...

"Don't worry too much. There are very few characters that seal monsters. You won't be so unlucky as to pronounce the characters that contain monsters," Motoori Kosuki suddenly laughed, revealing eight white teeth.

"Haha, you're right." Akina Ze could tell that Motoori Kozue was trying to comfort him, so he grinned, revealing his eight big teeth, and smiled ingratiatingly.

Now that this has already happened, I can't let Xiaoling worry about me anymore.

With this in mind, and through their shared efforts, the atmosphere gradually shifted from serious to casual.

Where no one was watching, a shadowy figure peeked out from the notebook lying on the grass, making a feint. After a while, realizing that no one was really paying attention, a small white animal crawled out of the book, took the last dumpling from the bag, and disappeared...

Meanwhile, Sanae Kochiya had arrived at Kourindo following the instructions of Sawaya Akina.

Looking at the somewhat dilapidated house in front of her, Sanae put on the expression she would when preaching and went inside.

As soon as she stepped inside, Sanae Kochiya sensed the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

"Shop owner? Are you there?"

Trying to ignore the feeling, Sanae Kochiya tapped the counter a few times.

There was no response; the shop owner seemed to be out of the house.