Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Page 181

A golden light flashed in Marisa's eyes as she lay underground.

"It's now!"

She raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.

"Snapped!"

Almost at the same time, with the snap of fingers.

The light stone in the air exploded in response.

The light and heat trapped within were suddenly released.

In an instant, the small stone expanded, transforming into a liquid mass a hundred times larger than its original size, and releasing an astonishingly bright light.

Reimu Hakurei looked at the liquid in the air with some confusion and said somewhat uneasily:

"Marisa... was this also part of your plan?"

"You... should be there...?"

"..."

......

On his way home, Akina Ze also noticed that some green buds had sprouted on the branches that had lost all their leaves.

How is this going?

This is not something that should grow in winter.

Taking a deep breath, Akina Ze quickened his pace.

Chapter Twenty-One Pastries

"Sigh... Marisa, you've gotten into trouble again."

Reimu Hakurei sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

The once bare branches in the surrounding woods are now sprouting tiny, tender green buds.

The problem didn't stop there. Reimu Hakurei used her spiritual energy to fly into the air, and what came into view was a sea of tender green.

Clearly, all the areas illuminated by the light emitted by that prop were affected.

The scope of this impact is quite wide.

Reimu Hakurei frowned slightly.

She picked up a tender bud from a branch and examined it, but found no trace of magic left behind.

This is trouble.

Marisa's items are likely only used to accelerate her growth.

The new shoots that are now growing in this large area are actually the result of the trees using up their stored nutrients in advance.

This situation cannot be repaired.

"...Marisa."

Reimu Hakurei stood up and turned to look at Marisa, who seemed to know she had gotten into trouble again and was behaving unusually well.

"Ah! Don't look at me, I didn't mean to either!" Marisa Kirisame hurriedly explained, "I originally wanted to make a super-sized firework with an emerald green effect to attract Master Akina home, but I didn't expect it to also have the effect of accelerating growth."

"Marisa, while the scope of your impact this time is large, it's not very serious; it hasn't reached the level of an anomaly..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Marisa's face lit up with obvious joy.

"Hey, you'd better be more careful next time."

With a sigh, Reimu Hakurei lightly touched Marisa's forehead with her fingertip.

......

The human world.

The unidentified light rising in the suburbs was truly eye-catching, as it was extremely close to people.

Some people, fearing some danger, rushed home and locked their doors, praying to the shrine maiden as usual.

However, some of the bolder people curiously looked at the strange object that was emitting light.

The same goes for Fujiwara no Mokou.

Although she felt that if she flew into the air and emitted light, it would definitely be brighter than this, she didn't know if there would be any problems with this thing appearing near people, so it was definitely okay to take precautions first.

There were people who were afraid, people who were just watching the spectacle, and people who were on guard.

But there are also people who keep records.

In the big house of the Hieda family.

Inside the carved window, a withered bonsai placed on the table has now blossomed with a touch of tender green.

Hieda Akyuu looked curiously at the unidentified object emitting light in the distance, and at the potted plant in front of him that was growing out of season.

After briefly recalling the memories in his mind, Hieda Akyuu was certain that this was a scene he had never seen before.

If that's the case, then there's a reason to record it.

Hieda Akyuu sat on a high chair, hunched over his desk, writing.

"...In the deep winter of that year, strange things appeared in the countryside and the plants sprouted early."

After pausing to write, Hieda Akyuu pondered for a moment and then added from behind.

"Without the priestess's confirmation, it is suspected that something unusual has occurred."

Having finished recording, Hieda Akyuu put down his pen and looked in the direction where the strange object had risen into the air.

A hint of worry flickered in his eyes; that was Mr. Akina's home.

Although she didn't have much contact with Mr. Akina, Akyuu knew that Mr. Akina was a good person.

It would be so unfair to Mr. Akina if a dangerous incident happened to him.

He is a good man.

Akyuu remembered that Mr. Akina would always give away some pastries as a bonus whenever he delivered ingredients.

Moreover, he always likes to put his hands on other people's heads, and he won't listen no matter how many times I've told him to.

So every time Mr. Akina came, Hieda Akyuu was both happy and shy.

They're really treating people like children!

At this thought, Hieda Akyuu's cheeks puffed up with anger.

But if something really happens to Mr. Akina, Xiaoling will definitely be heartbroken, right?

Hieda Akyuu recalled the time she went to Suzunaan to borrow books and, along with Rin, enjoyed the pastries that Mr. Akina had given her.

Xiaoling wasn't a talkative person in her memory, but that day she kept bringing up how Mr. Akina used various methods to get free books at her shop.

Although Akyuu remembered that Xiaoling's tone wasn't very nice at the time, her face was smiling...

Moreover, Xiaoling seemed to really like the pastries she brought, eating them one after another, which was quite different from her usual quiet demeanor.

Snap out of my reverie.

Shaking his head, Hieda Akyuu closed his notebook and jumped off the high chair.

She remembered something.

It wasn't a big deal; she just forgot to tell Xiaoling that all the pastries were actually made by Mr. Akina.

......

Akina Sawa, whose safety was inexplicably being worried about, was also on his way home.

Because Niqua had to take care of the sick fairy with Cirno, he returned alone.

That's why he was much faster than he was going.

So not much time has passed.

Akina Sawa then arrived at the courtyard gate.

Before reaching the gate, he took a quick look at the condition of his house.

There was no damage, so it seems that the unknown light source did not affect the house.

The house is very important; if it's damaged, he'll have no choice but to stay at the Hakurei Shrine temporarily while waiting for it to be repaired.

With the burden lifted from his heart, Akina Sawa let out a long sigh of relief.

Along the way, Akina Ze also noticed that the closer the plants were to this place, the faster they were developing.

He noticed that the bushes next to the courtyard gate, which had lost all their leaves in the autumn, were now covered with dense leaves.

This confirms the point that Akina Sawaya had just made.

The closer you are to the light source, the greater the influence you will be.

So what exactly is the origin of that light source?

Akina Ze also recalled that although his system was called a farming system, the growth speed bonus it provided didn't seem to be that significant.

This is simply magic!

Akina Ze, who constantly complained about his own system, also vaguely heard two voices coming from the courtyard, as if there were people in his yard.

I glanced at the large padlock hanging perfectly intact and quietly on the courtyard gate...

Akina Ze also wore a helpless smile.

Forget it, so be it.

Take out the key, unlock the door, and push open the gate.

Before my eyes came Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden, and Marisa Kirisame... Hmm...? An ordinary mage?

As soon as he entered the door, Akina Ze sensed that something was wrong.

An indescribable gravitational field was covering the courtyard.

It's not physical, but psychological.

But soon, this gravitational field dissipated like snow after a spring rain.

Reimu and Marisa noticed Akina Zeya pushing open the courtyard gate.

"Akina-kun, you're back!" "Akina-master!"

Different opinions.