Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

The more challenging the task, the greater the reward upon success.

Akina Ze touched the tree bark, which was smooth due to the moss, with satisfaction. He opened his system inventory and dragged the small icon marked with a big tree into it.

A few flashes of light appeared, and the large, fallen tree that covered a vast area disappeared into the outside world, turning into an inconspicuous little icon in the backpack.

This backpack can be considered useless, as small items can fill it up, but it can also be considered powerful, as a large tree only occupies a small space, and items can be stacked.

"So you're a mage too, and you even know such complex spatial magic."

Alice Margotrov, the seven-colored puppeteer, emerged from behind a tree. She had just witnessed how that large tree vanished without a trace after a burst of light.

Moreover, she didn't feel any overflowing magic, something even Alice's mother, whom she didn't want to mention, couldn't do.

Alice was sitting at home sewing dolls when suddenly a wave of energy emanated from the ground and entered the house. Many things placed on high places were bounced up by this wave and fell straight to the ground.

At the critical moment, Alice reacted quickly, but because she was sewing a doll, she couldn't operate it. She had to transform her magic into threads, using them to draw out all the dolls within sight that were about to...

All the items that had fallen to the ground were pulled back to their original positions.

But the mansion was very large, and many items fell heavily to the ground from a height in corners that Alice couldn't see.

In an instant, the crisp sounds of various fragile items shattering burst forth, like a silver bottle suddenly breaking.

Alice's mansion, which had enjoyed peace for so long, had never suffered such a loss. Even the losses accumulated from Marisa's occasional scavenging did not compare to this.

She wanted to go and see for herself, not to take her anger out on others, but simply to find out who had caused this upheaval.

To be honest, in this monotonous daily life, these unexpected situations are what Alice is most interested in, and incidentally, Marisa is also one of these unexpected situations.

Moreover, those broken, valuable ceramic items were nothing more than things her mother had forced her to bring; their loss was no big deal to Alice, and she wouldn't feel any emotional distress because of them.

With her two frequently used dolls from Penglai and Shanghai by her side, Alice floated slightly in the air and swiftly darted through the gaps in the trees she had traversed countless times before, quickly arriving at the scene of the incident.

A not-so-edge area of ​​the Magic Forest.

But Alice didn't step forward immediately; instead, she hid behind a tree, intending to observe first.

Magicians are generally very cautious, except for one person.

Through the gaps in the trees, Alice quickly spotted Akina Zeya sitting on a tree stump and the large tree next to him.

It seems that the big tree was the culprit behind this tremor.

Alice glanced briefly at the tree before turning her attention back to Akina Zeya.

Who is this?

Alice felt that the person sitting on the tree stump looked familiar, and soon found his chapter in a corner of her memory.

"Isn't that Marisa's chef?!" Alice recognized Akina Zeya.

Such a large tree, even if three or five ordinary people worked together to cut it down, it would take them three to five days to break it down.

If you look closely, there is only the mark of an axe on the tree fracture, which means that he cut down the tree by himself. Judging from his small axe, he must have spent more than 10 days sharpening it.

And how would he possibly drag such a large tree out of the forest after cutting it down? He probably couldn't do it all by himself.

Alice hid behind a tree, secretly analyzing the situation.

At this moment, she was not the dignified and elegant Seven-Colored Puppet Master. In this corner where no one could see her, she was just a bored girl who had come out for a stroll.

Isn't it perfectly normal for a bored pretty girl to occasionally do detective work?

But how did this detective hobby develop?

Alice couldn't quite remember, only vaguely recalling that it was probably cultivated when analyzing how Marisa had taken certain things.

Alice, who had been living alone for a long time, did not pursue the black and white thief who used all sorts of means to steal her collection from her home. Instead, she analyzed the methods the thief used, patched up the loophole, and then took a collection from the Demon World and deliberately put it on her person when she went to perform in the Human Village so that Marisa could see it. Finally, she went home and waited to see how the black and white thief would break through the security measures that had been patched up.

Playing with another little girl at will was the same kind of fun that young Alice had back then.

However, since the two became acquainted, such incidents have not occurred again.

Since Marisa has evolved into someone shameless enough to "borrow" directly from her, Alice removed the mansion's defenses.

In this respect, Alice is different from Patchouli; Patchouli still updates the underground library's defenses.

After careful analysis.

Alice concluded that Akina Sawaya couldn't move the big tree by himself and would have to seek help from others.

But if you're going to seek help from others, why not just have someone else help you cut down the tree in the first place?

Alice watched from the shadows, waiting to see how things would unfold.

Until a flash of light, the tree vanished into thin air, and all the judgments were completely wrong.

Hey! You're not following basic logic!

Shouldn't an ordinary person find a group of people to help tow it away?

If that's the case, then there's only one way to judge!

This guy is also a mage, and the kind who's hiding it!

Alice, who firmly believed there was only one truth, jumped out from behind the tree.

Chapter 59 Even a Monster Cat is a Cat

Space magician?

What it is?

The words were quite unfamiliar to Alice.

This combination of space and magic reminded Akina Ze of his own immature and chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) days.

What a cool title!

But along with that painful past, Akina shook his head violently, trying to completely erase that memory from his mind.

After calming down, Akina Sawa looked back.

He wanted to know what the person Alice called the space magician looked like, because he was certain that, given his insignificant status, it couldn't be him.

But....

Ancient blue-green tree bark, wild grass growing haphazardly, and a red-eyed rabbit passing by.

Apart from the rabbit, no one resembling a space mage or monster was found.

Could it be that rabbit?

Immediately, Akina Ze looked at Alice with a puzzled expression and tentatively took a few steps back.

Unexpectedly, Alice's eyes followed her gaze.

No way? I'm a space mage?

Akina Sawa was also dumbfounded.

This should have been told to me when I first arrived in Gensokyo, instead of coming so late when it was almost over!

So it's not that I have the identity of a space mage; she must have seen me when I was manipulating the backpack.

Thinking about this, Akina Ze felt a little embarrassed to explain to Alice.

Although his backpack is just a minor ability in this Gensokyo, it's not some kind of secret.

But now everyone thinks my ability is just to accelerate crop growth and improve quality.

If it were to have an additional spatial ability, it would be difficult to explain, since the two are completely unrelated.

You can't exactly say that you used your spatial abilities to pull up other people's crops and put them in your own field, can you?

No, only a fool would say that.

How to explain that? Akina Sawa was at a loss.

Time is constantly flowing, but patience has its limits.

"Why would a spatial mage like you use such a troublesome method to cut down a tree? With your abilities, the tree shouldn't have made a sound at all."

Alice's slightly indifferent eyes reflected Akina Zeya's figure. Faced with his lack of response, Alice asked her question once again.

"No... I am not the space mage you are talking about..." Akina Ze replied, forcing a smile.

In a secluded forest, at an arbitrary time, a randomly selected tree was cut down, and then it was stored away.

To be discovered like this... I really don't know what to say.

At this moment, Akina Sawa could only sigh to the heavens, but ultimately he still had to face reality.

"Since you're not a space mage, how did you manage to store it?" Alice's face clearly showed distrust. "And as far as I know, there are no items in Gensokyo that can hold such a large object."

On the edge of the Magic Forest, a slightly cool summer breeze blew through the gaps in the dense forest and onto Akina Zeya's face.

In the past, if someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere and bombarded him with questions, Akina Sawa would simply ignore them, even if they were a beautiful girl.

However, this time I was discovered using the system inventory. If I just leave, there might be some hidden dangers. It would be better to just admit it openly.

Although he knew Alice wouldn't talk nonsense, Akina Ze didn't want to take the risk.

"Sigh, I'll just tell you the truth..."

After much deliberation, he decided to tell both the truth and lies, so that if they were mixed together, the lies would come true.

"I don't know magic, so I can't possibly be a space magic user..." Akina Ze also opened his arms and looked at Alice. Seeing that she was just looking at him quietly, he continued, "As for what you saw—that I put away the big tree—that was a storage item I brought from the outside world. You misunderstood."

"is it?"

I have no reason to lie to you.

I'm sorry, but according to established rules, the system cannot be known by others, as doing so could lead to unpleasant consequences.

"What do you like to eat? I'll bring you some next time," Akina Ze silently clasped his hands together in his heart.

"Since that's the case, then I have no further questions. Please forgive my rudeness."

Alice lifted the hem of her skirt, gracefully performed a ladylike curtsy, and then walked out of Akina Zeya's sight.

Akina Sawa breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he felt this was somewhat inexplicable, he didn't want to cause any more trouble; getting the timber back to build the house as soon as possible was the most important thing.

Shrugging, Akina Sawa picked up the axe stuck in the stake and headed back the way he came...

Before Akina Sawaya had even left the Forest of Magic, Alice had already returned to the mansion.

The furniture, warped by the impact, lay scattered haphazardly.

Alice shook her head, her fingertips twitching slightly, and Penglai, Shanghai, and some other puppets danced in the air...

Inside a building of unknown location, an unseen conversation is taking place.

"Orange, do you know why I brought you here from the Lost Home?"

A young cat demon named Orange was held in the arms of a woman with a magnanimous heart. Her long, fluffy tails, which looked like they had been carefully maintained, were neatly arranged on her back.

"I don't know, meow~"

Orange wriggled her body, and Yakumo Ran's hand was on her back, doing what was called petting a cat.

"Something's going to happen in the Human Village lately, so don't sneak out!"

Yakumo Ran gently scratched Orange's nose.

"Huh? What about the cats I keep at the Lost Home? Will Lady Purple send them some food? Meow~"

Orange squinted and nuzzled Yakumo Ran's hand.

"Zi is still sleeping, so she probably can't be sent away. But the cats you keep at the Lost Home are all stray cats, right? And as for their food, they usually go out and find their own food, right?" Yakumo Ran said with a smile, revealing the truth.

"Waaah! I don't care, it's our pet, meow!"

Orange jumped out of Yakumo Ran's arms, landed on all fours, and in the blink of an eye, she was nowhere to be seen.

Although she didn't know where Orange had gone, Yakumo Ran wasn't worried that she had run away, because Orange was the most obedient girl, and was probably hiding in some corner sulking right now.

That kid was so eager to be the leader that he even gathered a bunch of wild cats for it.

However, as soon as it's dinner time, Orange will definitely pop out from some corner, just like when she disappeared.

By the way, I wonder how much fried tofu we have left at home.

As soon as she thought of dinner, Yakumo Ran thought of fried tofu and hurriedly walked towards the kitchen.