Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

The scene before him was completely unexpected. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and then looked at Yuuka Kazami beside him.

But Yuuka Kazami didn't respond to him; she just stood there quietly, as if the scene before her was something she was used to.

Akina Sawa, who had never doubted her, now had a deep question: Who exactly is Kazami-san?

"Quiet."

With just two simple words, the previously noisy classroom instantly fell silent. Akina Sawa licked his lips, looking at Kazami Yuuka with a hint of disbelief.

The demons, hiding and fleeing, dared not utter a sound, remaining in the same pose as they were a second ago, like wax figures.

But this is just an ordinary fairy; a fairy like the March Fairy wouldn't surrender so easily.

A sudden ripple appeared near the classroom door, and the Three Moon Spirit materialized out of thin air and rushed out of the door.

Pong!

A vine appeared at the doorway without anyone noticing and closed it.

"Ouch!" The March spirits crashed into the door one by one, making a solid impact.

At this moment, they finally calmed down, each touching the bumps on their foreheads, pouting but daring not to speak out.

The vines, as thick as an arm, were flying in the air, and there were even a few flowers growing on them, which was not something that would appear in winter.

Under Akina Zeya's gaze, Kazami Yuuka stepped forward and stroked it.

"Are you scared, Akina Zeya?" she asked.

"There's nothing to be afraid of."

Qiu Mingze placed the pancake on the podium and walked over curiously to observe the flowers growing on the vine. "Why should I be afraid? You won't do anything to me."

"Is this yellow one a chrysanthemum?" Akina Ze asked Kazami Yuuka, pointing to one of the large, unusually large, golden-yellow flowers.

“…It is indeed a chrysanthemum.” Kazami Yuuka shook her head after a moment of silence. “You are truly not afraid at all.”

"In my eyes, Kazami-san, you haven't done anything bad. Although you may be a yokai, I've never cared about that."

Akina Sawa walked up to Sonnymilk and reached out to touch the spot on her forehead where she had just bumped her head.

"Does it still hurt?"

“…” Sonnymilk didn’t want to respond to the guy who had invited him in, but when he looked up and saw his sincere smile, he finally said softly, “A little.”

"Don't run so fast next time, don't be afraid."

Akina Ze said with a smile, "I broke half of the pancake and put it in Sonny's hand."

“…Mmm.” Sunny ate in small bites. Although this guy was just a human, he gave her a sense of security, and his hands were warm.

Kazami Yuuka watched everything unfold before her eyes.

Chapter Sixty: It's better not to know than to know.

Fairies are indeed childlike. Their emotions come and go quickly. After giving away all the pancakes they had, the fairies settled down.

Having squatted for too long, his lower back was a little sore. After standing up and massaging it, Akina Sawa realized that Ms. Kazami, who had been standing next to him just moments before, was no longer there.

Where did she go?

Puzzled, Akina Sawa walked to the corridor outside the classroom, looked around, but there was no sign of anyone.

To be honest, he did feel relieved to see that she wasn't there. After all, the idea of ​​her transforming into a monster was too far-fetched, and Akina Sawa had always treated her as a human.

However, this explains all the previous anomalies. But even Aya Shameimaru was forced to leave and didn't dare to reveal the truth... Thinking about it now, it's a bit chilling.

"Now you know that the human world is full of hidden talents, right?" A calming voice rang in my ears.

Akina Ze also looked in the direction of the sound and saw Kamishirasawa Keine, dressed in plain clothes, walking in from outside the door.

The moment Akina Ze saw her, the sense of urgency in his heart vanished without a trace.

"Teacher Huiyin," he called out.

"It's alright, she's already gone."

After a moment of silence, Akina Ze looked up and asked, "When did she leave?"

Yawning, Kamishirasawa Keine replied, "It's been a while."

"But don't worry about her, that's just how she is. Once she gets the answer she wants, she won't dawdle anymore," Kamishirasawa Keine comforted her.

"Okay... I was thinking of reintroducing the fairies to her." Akina Ze hadn't given up on his idea.

“Hehe~” Kamishirasawa Keine, who was usually serious, said with a smile, “She’s not the kind of person who would accept kindness from others. I’ve never seen her go to this extent before. This is the best outcome we can hope for.”

Hearing this, Akina Ze nodded. But a question lingered in his mind; after all this, he had developed a great curiosity about Kazami-san's identity. He asked:

"Teacher Keine, can you tell me what Kazami-san's true identity is?"

Aya Shameimaru's hiding, the fairies' panic, and the vines trembling like snakes in the air all hint at her special nature.

"You want to know?"

"Yes."

Under Akina Zeya's gaze, Kamishirasawa Keine walked to the corridor window, pushed it open, and a gust of cold wind blew in, making Akina Zeya shiver.

“In that direction,” she said.

"There?"

Kamishirasawa Keine continued, "Did you notice any large open spaces in that direction?"

Upon hearing this, Akina Ze recalled that there did indeed seem to be a large open space at that location, which he had seen when he was taken into the air.

“I’ve seen it,” Akina Ze nodded in response.

"That's a restricted area."

"A restricted area?" Akina Sawa had never heard of this term before; this was the first time he had heard it from Kamishirasawa Keine.

"A forbidden zone between humans and monsters. It's normal that you don't know, after all, the real forbidden zone is one that no one dares to even mention."

Even monsters consider this place a forbidden zone, and Akina Sawa also had a vague impression of how dangerous it was.

"Do you know why I'm saying all this? Because the Kazami-san you mentioned is the owner of that flower field, Kazami Yuuka."

Is this Ms. Kazami's full name?

A thought flashed through Akina Ze's mind, and he continued to ask, "Then why is that flower field considered a restricted area?"

"You want to know why?" Kamishirasawa Keine smiled and said in a calm tone, "There are too many corpses buried underneath, so it naturally became a forbidden zone."

-------------------------------------Meaty stool

It wasn't until the sound of reading reached Akina Zeya's ears that he came back to his senses.

The corpses buried below... Could Kazami be a murderer?

Akina Sawa truly couldn't imagine that a quiet girl who always listened attentively to his conversations could be a murderer, a vicious monster...

Moreover, she was the owner of a flower shop. Although it had been a long time since their first meeting, he still remembered the scene that day.

In the cozy, transparent greenhouse, a girl hidden among the flowers is carefully watering them with a watering can. Sunlight shines on her hair, creating a mesmerizing blush.

It's hard to accept...

With a sigh, Akina Sawa now regretted knowing the truth; he wished he had never known.

I just wanted to help out... I never expected it to cause so much trouble.

While he was thinking, Akina Sawa had already reached the front of the temple house. Trying his best to suppress his melancholy, he opened the door, and the sunlight outside shone directly on his face.

"Why did you come out just now?"

Approaching her was Aya Shameimaru. Although she had been inside for quite some time, she hadn't left.

"She didn't do anything to you, did she?" Aya Shameimaru circled around Akina Sawa with some concern.

“I’m fine,” Akina Ze comforted her.

Seeing that he was really alright, Aya Shameimaru finally let out her pent-up emotions, "Do you even know who that guy is?!"

"That's the Flower Field Tyrant! A real monster! You could lose your life in no time!" Aya Shameimaru's voice choked with emotion, though she herself probably didn't realize it.

"I'm really fine, and Kazami-san won't lay a hand on me." Akina Sawa also comforted Shameimaru Aya by pressing her shoulder. "Don't think too much about it. You must be hungry too, right? Let's go get some ramen, it's on me."

"You're still thinking about noodles? Noodles? What about your life?"

"I didn't realize Miss Aya was so concerned about me." Akina Sawa teased, looking at Aya Shameimaru's slightly red eyes.

"What are you saying... I didn't say anything!" Aya Shameimaru turned her head away so he wouldn't see.

She was genuinely terrified that Akina Sawa would turn into fertilizer right in front of her...

"Let's go get some noodles." Akina Sawa patted Shameimaru Aya on the back and asked, "Do you prefer noodles with more or less meat?"

Taking a deep sniff, Aya Shameimaru said in a strange tone, "Is that even a question? I want lots of meat!"

Their voices drifted away.

A pale yellow flower sways in the wind by the cracks in the paving stones by the roadside.

Chapter Sixty-One (approximately)

Just thinking about that bowl of ramen covered with a thick layer of pork fat made Akina Zeya's stomach churn.

It's unclear whether the enthusiastic shop owner knew he wasn't a regular customer, so they gave Akina Zeya a generous amount of food, hoping he would become a regular.

But clearly, this had a side effect.

For a long time afterward, Akina Ze also felt that if he saw anything too greasy again, he would probably feel nauseous on the spot.

Aya Shameimaru, who went with them, received a normal amount of food, neither too much nor too little.

He really wanted to switch places with her, but unfortunately, they didn't.

The sun is gradually setting in the west; it's now late afternoon, and the temperature is starting to drop.

Akina Ze, glancing at the full bag of potatoes in his hand, suddenly turned around and said, "Miss Wenwen, how long are you going to follow me? Meat!"

All day long, I felt like someone was staring at my back, like a ghost was haunting me.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m very free today!” Aya Shameimaru emphasized the last few words.

So... are you still holding a grudge about what happened this morning? Akina Ze was also a little helpless, "Fine... whatever makes you happy."

For a fleeting moment, Akina Sawa also felt that she was interested in him, but after careful consideration, this thought was the first thing he rejected.

Because it's simply impossible, just like one of the three great illusions of life—that she likes me.

This feeling is most likely wrong, because people who are addicted to it will unconsciously ignore most of the negative behaviors and only retain the parts they find interesting.

So the saying "the more you think about it, the more wrong you become" is not an empty phrase. Akina Sawa also admitted that he almost got caught up in this kind of thinking.

Fortunately, I am self-aware and know how to examine myself.

Akina Sawa also considered himself to be of average appearance, and had no special talents to boast about except for farming.

So, if a beautiful girl like Aya Shameimaru falls for him, then the question is... what is it that she likes?

Moreover, there is a major premise: she is a tengu, while Akina Sawa is human.

Humans and youkai probably can't fall in love... He's lived in Gensokyo for so long, and he's never heard of anything like it.

Therefore, in conclusion, it's all an illusion.

Putting aside his random thoughts, Akina Ze decided to do something to make up for his disappointment.

He took a potato out of the bag.

Round and plump potatoes are perfect for stir-frying; I'm sure they'll taste great.

However, he doesn't intend to eat it; burying it back in the soil will be its final fate.

"Can we just bury this potato directly in the ground?" Aya Shameimaru, who knew that Akina Sawa was also planning to grow potatoes, came over and asked curiously.

It's common for people to only know how to eat but not how to grow crops.

At Tengu Mountain, Aya Shameimaru wasn't a tengu who specialized in farming; she was quite curious about how potatoes grew from the ground.

“Planting the whole thing would be possible, but that would be too wasteful,” Akina Ze explained, shaking his head.