Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Standing at the store entrance, Akina Ze wasn't a stranger to this place; he had come here before to get his house connected to the power supply.

Pushing open the glass revolving door that seemed out of place with the surrounding shops, Akina Sawa and Shameimaru Aya walked in one after the other.

The store looks the same as it did in the spring.

But as soon as he stepped inside, Akina Ze felt a sense of warmth—the store had air conditioning on.

This is worlds apart from the shops on the street outside; it's no wonder it's a shop run by kappa (water sprites).

"Excuse me? Is anyone there?" Akina Ze asked.

"Someone's here~" Only the voice could be heard, but no one was seen.

Then came a series of footsteps, and then a kappa's head popped out from behind the front desk.

Akina Sawa had always wanted to complain about this: why do the kappa have to put up such a tall reception desk for themselves? If they don't sit on a high stool, no one can see them.

Before the kappa-themed receptionist could even sit up straight and speak, she reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, timidly saying, "Quick, get out! We don't welcome reporters here!"

“I’m not here as a reporter today,” Aya Shameimaru said with a smile as she walked to the front desk. “And why are you all so unwelcoming to me? Are you hiding something?”

"No, no!" the kappa waiter stammered in rebuttal.

"Miss Aya, what's going on?" Akina Ze also beckoned to Shameimaru Aya and asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing serious. I published their shoddy workmanship in the newspaper, and that's how this happened," Aya Shameimaru explained.

"No, that's not true!" The kappa-themed waitress exclaimed anxiously upon hearing this explanation. "We made it according to the newly optimized proportions. Although we used less material, there are absolutely no problems with its performance!"

How do you know there's no problem?

"No problem means no problem!"

The two started arguing as if they were having a verbal battle.

"Stop!" Seeing that the two were arguing endlessly, Qiu Mingze quickly called for a halt. It was impossible to win an argument when each side had their own reasons; it would only be an endless waste of time.

"Hmph, I'll talk to you next time." Ayami Shameimaru stopped Akina Sawa as well, and although he was not very willing, he still made way for her.

Seeing the receptionist approach, Akina Ze stepped forward and asked, "We're here to inquire about house extension services. Could you please arrange it as soon as possible?"

"Okay, no problem." The kappa-like waiter smiled, revealing his teeth.

It has to be said that Kappa's professional skills are quite high. Although they were just arguing, he immediately changed his attitude when it came to business.

She asked, "Are you sure you want to proceed with the house extension?"

"Yes." Akina Ze nodded as well.

"No problem, I'll check for you right away." The Kappa waiter took a walkie-talkie out of his pocket in front of Akina Zeya.

With its black body and long antenna, this must be a walkie-talkie... Akina Sawa was also somewhat amazed, never expecting to see such a thing in Gensokyo.

After a while, the kappa-like waiter said with a troubled expression, "I'm sorry, we don't have enough staff to handle your business right now."

"Huh? Why?" Akina Sawa, who thought things would go smoothly, asked dumbfounded.

"Sorry, due to business confidentiality, we cannot disclose that information to you," the kappa-like receptionist replied in standard script.

"Is there really no way to reveal it?" Akina Ze asked, unwilling to give up.

“This…” The kappa-like waiter glanced around cleverly, then stood on the chair and skillfully pulled a black screen from his pocket to cover the camera on the wall.

Under their gazes, the kappa-like waiter said matter-of-factly, "I can reveal it, but it will cost extra."

As he spoke, the kappa stretched out his arm, his long sleeves almost reaching the table.

"What is this?" Akina Ze was also somewhat puzzled.

"Put your hand in," the kappa waiter said, pointing to his sleeve.

Turning his head to look at Aya Shameimaru, he saw that she was also shaking her head. Akina had no choice but to put his hand into the kappa's sleeve.

Um! ?

Akina Sawa looked somewhat surprised as he sensed the movement of the kappa's hand inside his sleeve.

But the kappa himself said with satisfaction, "Remember, I want this number of cucumbers."

"..." Akina Ze also withdrew his hand, his face full of black lines. "Couldn't you just say it directly?"

“That fits the premise of a clandestine transaction.” The kappa waitress shook her finger, looking smug. She had learned this from a storybook, and now she was finally putting it to use.

"Tell us right now, where have all your people gone!" Aya Shameimaru couldn't take it anymore and stepped forward, speaking fiercely.

Seeing that the Great Tengu seemed to be getting angry, the Kappa waiter immediately spilled the beans, "It's the Scarlet Devil Mansion reconstruction project, and all the Kappa we at Kappa Heavy Industries can do are there!"

Upon hearing that it was about the Scarlet Devil Mansion being rebuilt, Aya Shameimaru, who had initially thought there might be some big news, immediately lost interest. The Scarlet Devil Mansion had been exploded and rebuilt more than once or twice, and now it had completely lost its eligibility to be featured in the news.

"The Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Akina Sawa, who was standing next to him, also frowned slightly.

"Well, we've been there since the beginning of winter. You could try asking the engineering manager at the Scarlet Devil Mansion; maybe they can spare one or two people," the kappa attendant suggested.

“Alright,” Akina Sawa also turned to Shameimaru Aya and said, “Looks like we still have to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.”

"Let's go then."

Just like when they arrived, Akina Sawa and Shameimaru Aya left the store one after the other.

On the wall, the camera, shrouded in black cloth, still had its recording light on; it was still working normally.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Pudding + Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes?

The Scarlet Devil Mansion used to be most notable for its towering clock tower, but now it's a tower crane with a Kappa Heavy Industries sign.

The Scarlet Devil Mansion reconstruction project is still in full swing, but the joy belongs to the kappa, while the Scarlet Devil Mansion staff, as the client, are full of worries.

To be precise, it should be Izayoi Sakuya alone. She managed the expenses of so many kappa over so many days and calculated how long the Scarlet Devil Mansion's remaining food could last.

As the days went by, expenses grew larger and larger. Sakuya Izayoi was now constantly monitoring the kappa's work progress. Using her time-stopping ability, she could complete her patrols in an instant, record any kappa slacking off, and then have Kawashiro Nitori, who was in charge of the project, deduct that amount from the bill.

Sakuya Izayoi has devoted herself to the project's progress, but where is the head of the family, Remilia?

All she had to do was bask in the sun amidst the thick fog by the Lake of Mist.

In the construction camp, there were kappa lolis under 1.5 meters tall everywhere, but even with his height advantage, Akina Sawa couldn't find Kawashiro Nitori among them.

"Please give way."

The first thing that catches the eye is a thick log, followed by a kappa carrying the log as it passes by.

Akina Sawa also noticed that the kappa was equipped with some metal devices and long joint structures... Was that an exoskeleton?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Akina Sawa asked the passing kappa, "Do you know where your supervisor is?"

"You mean Lady Kawashiro Nitori? She's in that tent over there." The kappa pointed in the direction with the log.

"Thank you."

Just as Akina Sawa was saying thank you and about to leave, the kappa, having answered the question, said, "Thank you for the consultation fee of a cucumber!"

"Miss Aya, let's go." Akina Sawa pretended not to hear and tried to slip away with Aya Shameimaru.

"Hey! You haven't paid for the cucumbers yet!" the kappa behind her shouted. She wanted to chase after them, but the long log she was holding blocked her way, and she could only watch helplessly as Akina Sawa also left.

After avoiding the kappa and finding a corner, Akina Sawa complained to Shameimaru Aya, "They need cucumbers just to ask for directions. Are these kappa crazy for cucumbers?"

“Haha, that’s normal. I’ve seen plenty of them on Youkai Mountain,” Aya Shameimaru added with a laugh. “But not all kappa are like that. Some kappa are still in the stage of accumulating cucumbers, so they seem rather stingy. When the temperature is right and the cucumbers grow in large quantities, this situation will be much better.”

...It seems Miss Wenwen has a deep understanding of this, and Akina Ze also nodded silently.

"Found him! It's Akina-nii-san!"

Turning his head to look at the direction from which the sound came, Akina Sawa saw a red figure rushing towards him like lightning from afar.

Before he could dodge, Akina Sawa was also knocked into the room and fell backward. Fortunately, Aya Shameimaru grabbed him and prevented him from falling.

"Isn't this Fran?"

When he looked closely, he realized that the girl in his arms was Flandre, wearing a white pleated dress with a red background, and she was grinning at him.

"Hehe, I knew I could smell Akina-nii-san's scent~" Flandre jumped off his chest, steadied herself, and grabbed his arm. "Did you come here specifically to play with Flandre, big brother?"

She looked up at Akina Zeya, following the arm she was holding, her big, bright eyes seeming to speak volumes.

Before Akina Ze could respond, Flandre continued, "It's because Flandre hasn't been visiting her older brother lately, so she came here alone because she's lonely, right?"

To be honest, Flandre with her little tiger teeth is indeed very cute, but Akina Ze had to refuse to play with her because he had things to do that day.

Just as he was about to refuse, he saw Aya Shameimaru give him a hard look and nod her chin vigorously.

Akina Ze understood immediately; she meant for me to agree to Flandre's request.

But...wouldn't it be better to finish the study sooner?

Smiling and shaking his head, Akina Ze squatted down and stroked Flandre's head, saying, "Brother came to play with Flandre~ But not now, brother has something to do with Kappa-san."

"Big brother is going to play with the kappa, so he won't play with Flandre?" Flandre said, looking aggrieved. "If I chase all the kappa away, can big brother play with me then?"

As she spoke, Flandre exuded a visible aura of danger. The kappa lolis who were diligently scavenging for a living at the construction site suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

"That's not how it is," Akina Ze quickly added, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "It's my own business, it has nothing to do with the Kappa girls!"

“That’s still the kappa’s problem,” Flandre pouted angrily. “I’ve decided, I’m going to destroy…”

"Big brother will give you pudding!" Seeing that things were about to get out of hand, Akina Ze quickly came up with a clever idea.

Upon hearing the word "pudding," Flandre immediately beamed with joy, "Pudding~ Pudding~, Flandre wants to eat pudding~"

Of course, this was just an excuse; Akina Sawaya certainly didn't have any pudding at that time.

He blinked and said, "I left the pudding with Miss Kappa. I'm going to go get the pudding from her now."

"Really? Then Flandre wants to come too~" Flandre shook Akina Zeya's arm as if she were being coquettish.

"no!"

"why?"

"Because this pudding... it's still on its way on horseback!" Faced with Flandre's question, Akina Ze also spouted nonsense.

Upon hearing this, Aya Shameimaru immediately turned her head away and covered her mouth, afraid that she might burst out laughing.

"Why ride a horse? Wouldn't it be faster to have Sakuya bring it?" Flandre asked, counting on her fingers and shaking her head.

Thank goodness she didn't realize the problem. Akina Ze also breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, Fran, you can't go with me now. I'll come back to find you later."

"Okay, then big brother, you go quickly." There was no other way; this was related to her beloved little pudding. Flandre let go of Akina Zeya's arm with a pitiful expression.

After a while, Flandre said seriously, "If the kappa doesn't want to hand over the pudding, big brother can ask Flandre to come along~"

"no problem."

Under Flandre's watchful gaze, Akina Sawa waved and turned to leave with Shameimaru Aya.

Before they had gone far, Aya Shameimaru, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! I didn't know you could make up such a story. You could even come up with something as ridiculous as Pudding riding a horse. It's hilarious!"

"I was just trying to coax a child..." Akina Ze said with a helpless expression.

"Then let me tell you, you'd better actually conjure up a pudding from the kappa, otherwise the second young lady isn't as innocent as she seems." Having laughed enough, Aya Shameimaru warned.

"Of course I know. Let's just take it one step at a time. If all else fails, Wenwen, go to the market and buy a pudding. You're fast anyway."

“Hey! I’m not a gofer,” Aya Shameimaru protested.

"Then, considering how much effort I put into building your study, could you help me out this once?" Qiu Mingze also put his hands together and pretended to look pitiful.

"Well, that depends on how you perform."

"Is my performance not good enough?" Akina Sawa shouted at Shameimaru Aya, who suddenly quickened her pace.

"Whether it works or not is up to me," Aya Shameimaru replied with a wave from afar.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Pudding and Her Sister

The camp was huge, as it contained a lot of heavy equipment. It seemed like Kappa had used every available, experimental piece of equipment on this project.

From another perspective, could the almost annual Scarlet Devil Mansion bombing be a kind of annual equipment inspection period for Kappa Heavy Industries?

The ground is full of potholes, all traces left by heavy machinery passing by.

Following Aya Shameimaru around these pits, Akina Sawa arrived at the tent of the project manager, Kawashiro Nitori.