Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

During her rest time, Shiki Eiki often liked to go to the other side to enjoy her own leisurely life.

The endless, winding Sanzu River was reflected in Shiki Eiki's slightly green pupils.

A small boat diligently transports the souls of the dead to and fro on the Sanzu River.

In fact, Eiki Shiki came here not just to enjoy a leisurely life of rest, but also to supervise the lazy and especially lazy Grim Reaper—Komachi Onozuka.

Onozuka Komachi is a Grim Reaper who works as a ferryman on the Sanzu River.

But she has one hobby—being lazy.

She often takes her small boat to a secluded corner to sleep, sometimes for the entire day, which is why the spirits of the dead who cannot cross the river often complain about her.

As her direct superior, Shiki Eiki constantly receives these complaints.

Moreover, Shiki Eiki is a meticulous person who cannot tolerate even the slightest imperfection.

Therefore, Onozuka Komachi's behavior often led to Shiki Eiki criticizing her.

However, Onozuka Komachi is not someone who accepts criticism; she had just finished speaking in the morning, but continued to slack off in the afternoon.

If it weren't for Shiki Eiki watching from the shore, the Grim Reaper who was acting as a ferryman might have already gone off to slack off somewhere with her little boat.

"Hey hey hey~"

Being a ferryman is physically demanding. Onozuka Komachi rowed diligently with an oar, while a long sickle was casually placed in the cabin.

If Komachi weren't a Grim Reaper, her clothes would already be soaked with sweat by now, but unfortunately, they aren't.

Death doesn't sweat, and the temperature on the surface of the Sanzu River is very low.

"Lord Enma, why do you want to hold a manzai competition in the human world?"

Adjusting the distance between the shore and the boat, Komachi quickly rowed to the shore and jumped next to Shiki Eiki.

Komachi Onozuka had no idea why Eiki Shiki was holding the manzai convention, and she didn't care about it at all.

The reason I came to ask her was simply because I was lazy.

Since it's impossible to openly slack off under Eiki's nose, I'll use a conversation as an excuse to slack off.

Onozuka Komachi feels her IQ is super high today!

Shiki Eiki slightly raised her eyes to look at Onozuka Komachi, who was full of flattery, and suddenly picked up the repentance stick in her hand and slapped it on Komachi's forehead.

"During work hours, inquiries about matters unrelated to work are prohibited!"

"what!"

Onozuka Komachi screamed, a large stamp mark with black characters on her forehead...

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Time to Slack Off

Hiss~

The bright red fruitwood charcoal is evenly placed inside the iron grill, radiating enough heat to sear the food from the inside out.

On this scorching grill, a lamprey, seasoned with barbecue spices, sits on the surface. Its unseeing eyes and slightly swaying tail testify to its freshness.

Mystina used a brush that matched her slender wrist to occasionally brush a special sauce onto the lamprey.

And this special dipping sauce is the secret to the popularity of Mistina's barbecue stand.

After a busy day, Onozuka Komachi, who had a little free time, came to this barbecue stall and ordered the most delicious grilled harlequin.

Even the Grim Reaper of Hell enjoys good food.

However, there are no holidays in Hell, since the undead don't get tired.

But Komachi is an oddball. She often comes to the village to play, eat barbecue, and slack off, which basically means she skips work.

So she was always in a rush. The grilled eel, relying on the fact that Death is not afraid of heat, would sizzle from head to tail, the white flesh going in and the white bones coming out.

While this way you eat quickly, you can't fully appreciate the deliciousness of the food.

But this time, Komachi didn't need to rush, because...

Lord Yama of Hell was sitting beside her.

That's right!

Eiki Shiki was taken to the village by Komachi Onozuka under the pretext of discussing a manzai competition.

"Is it ready?" Onozuka Komachi asked.

"Almost...almost done"

Mystina was almost in tears; her legs were trembling, and she could barely hold the brush in her hand.

This is Lord Enma!

A legendary being who can preach to people for three days and three nights without repeating himself!

Such a person is absolutely terrifying!

Mystina just wanted to pack up her stall as soon as possible and escape with the other shop owners who were still setting up their stalls.

But she couldn't leave; that Yama, the Demon Lord, was sitting on a bench in her house, on the verge of tears...

The once bustling streets are now almost completely silent, except for the sound of ghouls being grilled over charcoal at Mystina's barbecue stall.

Both humans and monsters fled the place immediately.

Because being targeted by Enma, who cannot tolerate the slightest mistake, would be worse than death!

"Please...please use."

Throughout the entire process, Mistina kept her head down as much as possible to avoid attracting attention. She shakily picked up the golden-brown, crispy, and fragrant hagfish and placed it on the table where Shiki Eiki and Onozuka Komachi were sitting.

After setting the harpy down, Mystina nervously raised her head and found that Shiki Eiki hadn't made a move.

Overjoyed, Mistina immediately wanted to slip away.

But the next moment...

"Wait a minute," Shiki Eiki said.

With a jolt, Mystina recalled her deceased mother, who was now standing with open arms, smiling at her.

Mother, I'm coming to be with you.

Mystina turned her head stiffly, her face bearing a smile more sorrowful than tears.

"Is there anything I can help you with, guest?"

"So, what do you think should be emphasized in this manzai competition?"

Shiki Eiki asked

She felt that Mystina, as a barbecue stall owner, and considering that barbecue stalls are public places, weren't much different from pubs or similar establishments.

Since it's a public place, there must be many people there, and there's probably a lot of discussion about the Manzai comedy convention. Mystina must have heard quite a few of these discussions.

Therefore, Shiki Eiki wanted to seek some advice from Mystina first.

"Huh? I...I..."

For a moment, Mistina couldn't answer, and her legs trembled.

Her bird-like brain was working at lightning speed.

As for Lord Enma's problem, it's definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface.

If I don't answer correctly, won't I be doomed?

Plucking feathers, removing bones, chopping into pieces, and braising...

A series of horrific punishments flashed through Mystina's mind like a slideshow.

This was followed by waves of dizziness and lightheadedness.

While struggling, Mistina vaguely caught a glimpse of the repentance staff that Lord Enma always held in his hand.

There seem to be some words engraved on it.

Mystina slightly opened her eyes and looked over...

【die】

"what!"

With a scream, Mystina fainted on the spot...

Upon hearing the mournful, desperate, and piercing cry of the nightingale, the nearby residents covered their ears with their blankets.

The legendary Lord Enma is terrifying!

the other side.

The pitiful cries of Little Broken Bones made Shiki Eiki frown slightly.

Even the voices of the dead in hell, condemned to their punishments, are no more than this.

Looking at Mystina lying on the ground with her eyes shaped like mosquito coils, Shiki Eiki stared blankly at Komachi.

"Am I really that scary...?"

"Uh..."

Komachi looked to the side and scratched her nose.

Lord Enma has two states: terrifying and not terrifying.

Lord Enma is really scary when he's lecturing!

What's even more terrifying is that she has absolutely no awareness of how horrific she is...

Of course, Wenwen's instigation also played a part.

Otherwise, how could news of hell have reached the human world, and that celestial dog even embellished the story in her newspaper?

Even Komachi thought this guy was definitely making things up.

Otherwise, people wouldn't be so afraid of Shiki Eiki.

Therefore, the rumors fabricated by unscrupulous reporters are extremely harmful.

While it's not entirely without reason, learning to read the atmosphere is a skill that Komachi, as a seasoned Shinigami, has mastered, since she needs to be lazy.

"The boss of Little Broken Bones probably collapsed from exhaustion..." Komachi casually made up a lie.

"..." Shiki Eiki silently raised the repentance stick and slapped Komachi on the forehead.

Enma is the presiding judge of the Hall of Right and Wrong.

You can tell whether a prisoner is telling the truth or lying just by listening.

Komachi's careless lie was like a torch in the dark—too conspicuous.

"Lord Enma is renowned for his impartiality; this little rascal must have something to hide!"

Komachi covered her forehead with one hand and sold off all of Mistina on the ground.

As the saying goes, "Better to die a friend than a poor one," so Little Broken Bone, I will gratefully devour the eight-eyed eel you made yourself.

"Hmm? Something's up?" Shiki Eiki's expression hardened. "Wake Mystina up. I want to ask her what's going on."

"Ah, this..." Onozuka Komachi's expression froze as she looked at the small broken bone lying on the ground with difficulty.

She had received many benefits in her daily life, and if she were to help the poor little broken bone again, even she would feel guilty.

"Lord Enma, let's talk about the Manzai competition instead. Look, this yakiniku will get cold if we don't eat it soon," Komachi said with a wry smile.

"Yes, waste is a major enemy."

Shiki Eiki nodded, put down the repentance stick in her hand, and looked at the yakiniku that was still emitting a roasting aroma.

.......

单章说明

Due to work and study issues (a real 996 work schedule).

The stagnation of my thinking and the bottleneck in the plot meant that I really couldn't think of anything in the limited few hours I had at night after a long day.