Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Although she was indeed old enough to be considered a very, very, very old aunt, Akina Ze silently remarked.

Of course, you can't say these things to her face.

Akina Sawa wasn't one to court death, and he didn't want to know the consequences of doing such a thing.

"Alright, you two stop looking and come with me."

Akina Ze waved to Chito and Yuri, who had been discussing architectural styles in the courtyard, to catch up.

After watching the two walk quickly behind him, Akina Sawa knocked on the somewhat dilapidated wooden door in front of him.

An antique nameplate hanging on the wooden door also trembled.

[Captain's Room]

"Bang bang!"

Although the wooden door was somewhat worn, the sound it made when knocked on was very crisp.

Based on the fact that Akina Sawaya has made a cameo appearance as a lumberjack.

This is a good piece of wood.

As the crisp sound rang out, a jumble of noises followed from the room.

But it quickly calmed down, and Mokou's familiar voice came from inside.

"Please come in"

It seems Captain Mokou is staying obediently in the office today.

After receiving permission to enter, Akina pushed open the wooden door and gestured to Chito and Yuri to go in first.

Chito looked somewhat timid, his doe-like eyes filled with worry as he glanced at Akina Zeya.

It's wet and cute.

But Yuri was quite at ease, holding Chitoge's hand and walking in casually.

Seeing that the two had already gone inside, Akina Ze also went in and closed the door behind him.

In the office, Fujiwara no Mokou sat upright in her seat.

On the desk in front of her was a wooden plaque with the four characters "Fujiwara no Mokou" engraved on it.

The characters are very beautiful; even people who don't understand calligraphy would find them pleasing to the eye.

"Hey! You didn't come here just to look at the nameplates on the table, did you!"

"I can't stand it," Fujiwara no Mokou said impatiently, while casually reaching out to rearrange the name tag.

"I told you not to write it too good, but why is it the first thing everyone looks at when they come here? It's really..."

Pretending not to hear Mokou's complaints, Akina Sawa pushed Chito and Yuri to the desk.

"Oh, two reclusive figures have arrived. How rare!"

After glancing at Chito and Yuri, Fujiwara no Mokou quickly deduced their general origins.

"Welcome to the Human Village. By the way, thieves are not welcome here."

As she spoke, Fujiwara no Mokou glanced at the stack of complaint letters that were lying on the table.

Recently, a black and white mouse living in the Magic Forest has caused her a lot of trouble.

Especially when I'm busy lately, they're causing me trouble.

Don't let me run into you, or I'll show you how chop suey is made!

Inside, Miss Mokou was clenching her fists, ready to teach that black and white mouse a painful lesson...

"Can you write?"

Fujiwara no Mokou pulled a thin piece of paper from the drawer and asked.

The information recorded above is that of all the reclusive people who have come to the human village since she became the captain of the guard team.

Over time, many blank spaces remain on this piece of paper.

This, to some extent, illustrates the difficulty for ordinary people to enter Gensokyo and reach the human village, as well as the extent to which a certain youkai sage could slack off.

Akina Ze also craned his neck to take a look.

The latest information on the paper is your own information.

However, Akina Sawa didn't want to see his own information, but rather the information from higher up, information belonging to the former farm owner.

Strangely, everything on the paper except for one's own name was blurred and illegible, as if it had been pixelated.

"meeting"

"I can do it too."

Yuri and Chito answered at the same time.

"You, when did you learn to write?"

Chito turned to look at Yuri and asked in confusion.

"I can write my own name, doesn't that mean I can write?"

Yuri said matter-of-factly.

"If you can write your name, that's fine. Write your name on this piece of paper."

Before Chito and Yuri could continue arguing, Fujiwara no Mokou handed them paper and pen.

"Is this where you write it?"

Taking the pen, Qianhu pointed to a spot on the paper and said.

"Yes, this is the spot," Fujiwara no Mokou leaned forward and patiently instructed...

Because Chito is quite petite, she looks like a mother taking care of her daughter.

Captain Mokou, this is nothing like you.

Akina Sawa silently watched Fujiwara no Mokou, whose appearance was completely different from usual, and once again silently complained in his heart.

......

It only takes a short time to write a name.

Although the writing isn't the language of this world, it seems that as long as it's accepted by the paper, it's fine even if no one can understand it.

At least that's how Fujiwara no Mokou explained it to Akina Sawaya.

As he stepped out of the guardhouse, Akina Ze also looked up at the position of the sun.

Well, it's still early, we can do some more things.

"Chito, Yuri, are you feeling very hot?"

Akina Sawa also looked at the two men who were still wearing heavy military uniforms and asked them a question.

It's not hot at all.

Qianhu shook her head in refusal, while a large string of sweat dripped from the ends of her hair.

......

"Chi-chan, how about this dress?" Yuri held up a dress embroidered with a hamburger pattern.

Although she didn't know what was embroidered on it, that didn't stop Yuri from thinking it was beautiful.

"Eh!?"

Unlike the outgoing Yuri, Chito stood somewhat reservedly in the corner, looking at the clothes in the store with a sense of helplessness.

When Yuri asked her question, she looked around nervously, afraid that others would notice her.

She had never seen so many people, so many beautiful clothes, never before.

This is the largest clothing store in the Human Village. Seeing that Yuri and Chito's clothes were not suitable for the current season, Akina Sawa brought them here as well.

I want to pick out some suitable clothes for them.

This was actually his first time here.

Akina Sawa has always lived a frugal life, adhering to the idea of ​​saving money and not needing to replace clothes unless they are torn.

But he still stepped into this place.

A store called Eight Seasons Clothing.

He claimed he was picking out some clothes for Chito and Yuri, but he had no idea how to choose clothes.

He simply let Chito and Yuri choose the clothes they wanted and then pay him.

Akina Sawa stood blankly behind Chito and Yuri, watching them move through the pile of clothes (mostly Yuri dragging Chito along), just waiting for them to quickly choose their clothes and leave.

He felt inexplicably uncomfortable staying there and just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

......

After what seemed like an indeterminate amount of time, Chito and Yuri had chosen the clothes they needed.

Is that all?

"...Yes," Qianhu said hesitantly, carrying the bag in his hand.

"You can buy a few more," Akina Ze said with a smile.

After paying the cashier, who had rabbit ears and looked like a rabbit monster.

Akina Sawa also left the Eight Seasons Clothing Store with Chito and Yuri.

For those who have escaped the end times, the simple joys of everyday life are perhaps the most precious thing...

Chapter Seventy Snowball

"Dumplings, dumplings, big dumplings~"

"Mitari dango, red bean dango, and tea dango~"

"Cheap and delicious!"

This is the cry of a food stall owner.

Although the source of the sound was several streets away, Akina Zeya and the others could hear it very clearly.

It seems like you can smell the aroma of dumplings in the air. I can't tell if the smell of dumplings has really drifted here or if it's just my imagination.

But it doesn't matter, whether it's true or not, Akina Sawa still plans to take Chito and Yuri to eat dango.

Whether in joy or sorrow, food always soothes people's fragile hearts, especially sweet foods.

Dumplings perfectly fit both of these criteria; both glutinous rice balls that are considered food and those that are not can serve this purpose.

Of course, cold food won't do.

"Shall we go eat some dumplings together?" Akina Ze turned to look at the two ladies diagonally to his right. "I gave you some before, but I don't know if they'll suit your taste."

"Dumplings?" Chito hesitated, because she wasn't quite sure which one Akina Sawa was referring to, since there was just too much aid.

"It's delicious! I love it!" Yuri clearly remembered what dumplings were, and she could even recall their appearance and taste in her mind.

Although Yuri doesn't have a very good memory for other things, once she connects something with food, especially food she's eaten, ten Chikanos wouldn't be able to match her.

......

The core area of ​​the Human Village is not very large, and the buildings are placed as close together as possible to save space.

This means that people with good hearing can hear sounds from several streets away if they listen carefully.

Of course, the most important thing is that the streets are very close to each other.

A short while later, Akina Sawa, along with Chito and Yuri, followed the sound to the street from which it came.

Even when they were still some distance from the street, Akina Ze could smell the sweet fragrance mixed with a hint of tea in the air.

That must be the smell emanating from the tea dumplings.

Nikua didn't really like the taste, so he didn't buy it much.

As for Yuri, she had already run to the stall like a wild horse the moment she stepped out.