Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

The hollow sound came from all directions once again.

"We are the strongest! We don't need to become stronger!"

Because the sound was coming from all directions, Cirno didn't know which way to face it, so she put her hands on her hips in each direction for a while.

"Don't you really need to? That black and white mage, don't you want to... defeat her?" The hollow voice continued to coax.

"You can defeat Marisa!?" Upon hearing this, Cirno's face first lit up with surprise, then she hesitated.

"How about it? As long as you listen to me, that black and white magician will never be able to bully you again." The hollow voice seemed to see the flame of success, and the seductive whispers seemed to be in your ears, or echoing in this space.

"No way!"

Cirno, who had been hesitant, seemed to have made up her mind and shouted her wishes out to the guy who was hiding somewhere.

"I'm the strongest! Even if I've been ambushed and defeated by Marisa, I'll still defeat her through my own efforts! I won't listen to your sneaky talk!"

After saying that, Cirno flapped her wings and flew off the rock, quickly leaving the misty area.

The mist continued to linger, and with a ripple, it finally covered the stones.

"Well, the strongest fairy isn't so easy to persuade after all. Losing one of hers won't make a difference."

A small white creature leaped from the mist onto the boulder; it was none other than Kyubey, who had escaped the Book of Demons.

Just then, two hands reached out from the mist, grabbed Cupid's body, and placed him on their shoulders.

A gust of wind blew, dispersing some of the thick fog and revealing some of the people hidden within it.

With green hair and lifeless eyes, the great fairy stood motionless in place.

Cupid turned around, found the most comfortable position, bent down with its four little paws, and lay down on the great fairy's shoulder.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: A Few Things About Logging Timber

There was once a saying that has been passed down through the ages. Although its source has been lost to the long river of time, the saying itself has been preserved.

If you want to get rich, start by chopping down trees.

Similarly, the first thing to do if you want to build a house is to cut down trees.

Surrounded by concrete jungles and sparse trees, Akina Slope can only be seen in botanical gardens.

Now we have arrived in Gensokyo, a world where the era has been fixed. Human productivity is still very low, the population is not large, and there is no way to consume trees in large quantities.

However, in the Human Village, the trees are still prohibited from being cut down at will, so Akina Sawa must also leave the Human Village to cut down trees.

Because of this regulation, the forests near the village have been over-logged, leaving only small trees that are not worth felling. These small trees are only good for firewood, but definitely not for building houses.

Generally speaking, in places where people rarely visit, there will be high-quality trees that have been growing for many years.

Therefore, Akina Sawa also plans to go to a place with a lot of high-quality timber.

Moreover, as far as he knew, there were two very suitable locations, where there must be many large trees living freely.

One of these two locations is a path near the Lake of Mist.

People walking on the path are often tricked by the fairies living nearby, so almost no residents of the human village choose to walk on this path.

Moreover, Akina Sawa also has a deep understanding of this, having encountered the three fairies of light who love to play pranks many times.

Strangely enough, this path, which has been largely untouched for a long time, is not covered by the ubiquitous weeds, making one wonder if there are other factors at play behind it.

Another one is the Magic Forest behind Kourindo, which Akina Sawa also frequents.

If the path to the Misty Lake is one that people occasionally stumble upon by accident, then the Forest of Magic is a place that most people fear and avoid at all costs.

When the people of the Human Village talk about the Magic Forest, it's a story that has been passed down since ancient times.

When the residents were still young children, stories about man-eating monsters in the Magic Forest and evil witches who turned people into toads were passed down to them by their parents.

So even now, the residents of the village still fear that forest.

However, these stories are not entirely unfounded.

For example, a man-eating monster.

But at least Akina Sawa doesn't believe it at all.

Choosing between the two destinations is quick.

Moreover, Akina Zeya already had a thought in his mind.

"We've decided to go to the Magic Forest."

Lying in a rocking chair, Akina Ze, with his eyes closed and the system map open, also marked a place called the Forest of Magic.

There's a reason why Akina Sawa would choose the seemingly farther and more dangerous Magic Forest.

A few days ago, when Akina Sawa was at home lost in thought, an unexpected person visited him.

Fujiwara no Mokou, who has suddenly become very busy lately, came to the door.

He was also told that some things had happened at the Lake of Mist recently, with many fairy maids from the Scarlet Devil Mansion abandoning their posts and disappearing without a trace. He heard that the young lady was furious about it, and he advised her not to go near the Lake of Mist unless necessary.

Therefore, Akina Sawa does not plan to go to Lake Mist anytime soon.

It wasn't because she was afraid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's young lady that she dared not go, but because of Fujiwara no Mokou.

Recently, I've been so busy that I've been eating lunchboxes brought from home. Captain Mokou even came over to tell me about this herself.

It's like they're saying, "You're under my watch! Don't cause any trouble for a while."

Fujiwara no Mokou's tall and spirited figure appeared vividly in Akina Sawaya's mind.

If it weren't for knowing that Captain Mokou is a woman, Akina Sawa might have mistaken her for a handsome young man with a strong, heroic air but somewhat feminine features.

But thinking about it carefully, if Captain Mokou is actually male, then wouldn't Kamishirasawa-sensei, who lives with him, be...?

"Huhuhu~"

The scene had barely surfaced in his mind when Akina Sawa shuddered and banished all thoughts from his head.

Such a scenario is too early for him to grasp and not easily accessible.

Before going to cut down the tree, Akina Ze also planned to tidy up the system belt first.

The items placed in the belt are weightless, which is very useful for carrying things.

However, the belt has a very obvious drawback: its capacity is too small.

This is very unfriendly to Akina Zeya, who has a collecting obsession.

Akina Zeya carries most of the interesting little objects he encounters in his daily life in his belt so that he can play with them.

So we need to clear these things out first.

Akina Sawa specially made a small box to store these things.

The first thing he took out was half a piece of paper with unreadable writing on it. I vaguely remember that this half piece of paper was given to me by Motoori Kozue. Now it seems that this should be the fragment of the so-called demon book she mentioned.

Smooth it out, fold it in half, and put it in the box.

Not only this tattered page, but also some other things were put in there.

Soon, the fanny pack was emptied except for the essentials.

The small box contained only worthless items, but they were the most important things to Akina Sawa.

After taking one last look at the contents of the box, Akina Ze covered it up and carefully placed it in the corner of the wardrobe.

As the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new.

Akina Zeya's belt has always been filled with these little gadgets. The belt's capacity is limited, but the gadgets are endless.

It's incredibly frustrating to see something that looks interesting but can't take it because the store is full.

This time, I finally made up my mind to clear everything out, and I will never part with it again because my belt is full.

But there's also a saying that goes, "Old is not as good as new," meaning that putting something down and picking it up again is not so easy.

Putting things away in a box means saying goodbye to yesterday's self and welcoming a new self.

The contents of the box will likely never be seen again.

After rambling on for a while, Akina Sawa finally decided to set off.

Shouldering his beloved little axe, Akina Ze pushed open the courtyard gate and strode towards the Magic Forest.

In the yard, two little yellow chicks huddled trembling in their nest, waiting for the axe with its sharp edges to fall...

Where did everyone go?

Cirno, having left the Lake of Mist, planned to go and play with other fairies.

But strangely, she couldn't find the great fairy.

Originally, Cirno could find the Great Fairy in any corner if she wanted to, but now she has searched every corner and still can't find any trace of the Great Fairy.

Not only the great fairy, but also the three fairies of light who used to ambush him, as well as some other lesser fairies, have disappeared.

Cirno looked puzzled and flapped her wings to fly over the forest.

The presence of tiny fairies, which used to be numerous and small, that permeated the forest has also disappeared.

Unable to understand, Cirno flapped her wings and left the shore of the Misty Lake.

I'm not asking humans for help!

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Alice's Detective Analysis

"Boom~"

The earth trembled, and flocks of birds hidden in the treetops were startled and took flight, circling above the forest and chirping incessantly...

I am a lumberjack, and the small axe I carry in my hand, with its metallic edge gleaming, is proof of my identity.

I am also a seasoned lumberjack, and the three-inch-deep wounds on the moss-covered ancient tree prove my identity.

The results of striking a tree with the axe from different angles and with full force will vary.

Akina Ze sat astride a tree stump, summarizing his experience in cutting down trees. It would have been even more enjoyable if he had a cigarette nearby, but unfortunately, he didn't.

Tobacco is listed as a restricted plant in Gensokyo and is strictly controlled.

My right index finger clenched and unclenched a few times in a daze, but there was nothing there; it was just a habit from before.

A lush forest lies right before Akina Sawa's eyes, with countless towering trees.

Coming to the Magic Forest was the right decision, but he overlooked one factor...

A large tree covered in thick moss lay forlornly on the ground, its branches all cut off, leaving the entire tree bare.

And the tree stump under Akina Zeya's buttocks was the only one in the vicinity.

In other words, after all that work, Akina Sawa only managed to cut down one tree.

It wasn't because I lacked strength, but because...

The axe slammed into the tree, and the thick moss absorbed most of the force.

The remaining strength was only enough for the axe blade to penetrate the wood three inches.

By the way, he guessed the three inches himself.

The size difference between an axe and a tree is simply too great.

This was something he hadn't anticipated.

The trees are indeed fine trees; each one is a towering giant, requiring several people to encircle its trunk.

The axe he carried was small; even if he were to penetrate it completely, it would only be like a mosquito bite on the bark of a tree—not painful or itchy at all.

Despite the current difficulties, Akina Sawa has no intention of giving up. Since he has come all this way, how can he leave empty-handed?

As the saying goes, "Many ants can kill an elephant, and an iron rod can be ground into a needle." Akina Ze didn't believe it, thinking that with his own stubbornness, he couldn't cut down a tree.

Then......

That's how things turned out. After cutting down a tree, Akina Zeya was exhausted and sat on the tree stump to rest.

However, everything has two sides. Since such a difficult tree to cut down has its disadvantages, it must also have its advantages.

According to Akina Sawaya's visual estimation, this one large tree is enough to provide all the timber needed to build the house, and there will even be some left over.