Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Aya Shameimaru quietly moved a few steps, intending to slip away, but Sawa Akina grabbed her shoulder and persuaded her, "No, we'll clean your room too. I'll help you. If you don't want your room to smell like pickled vegetables, you'd better hurry up and get started."

"It stinks! I don't want to miss lunch!" Aya Shameimaru protested as her shoulders were being grabbed.

The protest was ineffective, and Akina Sawa was not about to let Shameimaru Aya escape. He grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her to find Niqua. Once the water fairy joined the team, the complete cleanup of the bookstore could begin.

Chapter Seventy-Five Cleanup Work

The partition between the doors was not completely sealed, and the stench of ink quickly spread throughout the room.

The fairies who were playing and frolicking in the front room were driven out by the fumes, but they were quite happy. Since they couldn't play inside the house, they ran to the riverbank, since playing anywhere was fine.

The river wasn't far from Akina's house, separated only by a grove of trees. Akina stood at the edge of the grove and called out, and Nikua ran out from inside.

But besides that, Akina Ze also seemed to catch a glimpse of a light blue figure, a few shades lighter than Nikua's dark blue dress.

He roughly knew who it was, but now was not the time to concern himself with her. Akina Sawa shook his head, took Nikua's hand, and walked over to Aya Shameimaru, who was waiting by the roadside.

"Akina-kun? What are you doing?" Nikua asked in confusion, because she realized that they were heading towards the house.

"What are we doing?" Akina Ze chuckled. "Of course, we're cleaning up Miss Wenwen's mess."

"You talk like you're the one who had no problem with it. Didn't you and I spill the ink together?" Aya Shameimaru said unhappily, arms crossed and pouting.

Akina Ze didn't refute, just smiled and remained silent, while Nikua, standing to the side, got impatient.

"Akina-nii! Let me go, there's poop in the house!" Nikua struggled to pry open Akina Ze's hand, which was tightly gripping her right hand.

However, the power difference between fairies and humans is vast, especially since she is facing Akina Zeya, a human who has cultivated 'ki', so it is impossible for her to break through.

"Stop fooling around." Akina Ze patted Nikua's still-fussy head and laughed, "After you've cleaned up with your abilities, your brother will take you to eat cotton candy."

Hearing that there would be something delicious to eat afterward, Nikua reluctantly succumbed to the temptation of the desserts. "I want two marshmallows, one in my left hand and one in my right hand."

"No problem." Akina Sawa readily agreed to Nikua's request, then turned to Aya Shameimaru, "Do you want some too?"

"No way!" Aya Shameimaru seemed to realize that her tone might have been too harsh, and awkwardly added, "At least candied apples would satisfy me."

"Huh?" Akina Ze also looked surprised. "I was just saying it casually, and you actually believed it? You're not a fairy."

"Hey!"

Now, Aya Shameimaru's face turned as red as an apple. She was both angry and annoyed, and she grabbed Sawaya Akina's right arm and twisted it.

"Ouch! Don't pinch my flesh!" Akina Ze also showed a pained expression on his face; it was genuine pain.

Amidst their playful antics, Akina Zeya and his group returned to the front of the mansion.

The room was now a den of tigers and wolves; without some protective measures, one would surely be driven out by the fumes.

While Aya Shameimaru stared blankly, Sawa Akina conjured two mops and two towels out of thin air from his belt.

These were all junk items he won in the winter lottery, but now they've come in handy, a kind of recycling.

"Here you go." Akina Sawa handed the two items to Shameimaru Aya and Niqua, instructing them, "Use the mop to clean the floor, and wrap the towel around your mouth and nose to block the smell."

"Where did you get these things from?" Aya Shameimaru circled around Akina Sawa but couldn't find any space where these things were hidden.

"It's a bit complicated to explain, so just think of me as having some special abilities too." Since they're already living together, they'll definitely be found out eventually, so Akina Ze doesn't plan to hide it.

Besides, there are plenty of guys in Gensokyo with weird and wonderful abilities, so one more won't make a difference.

Although Aya Shameimaru wanted to ask more questions, Akina Sawa didn't give her the chance. He urged the two of them to quickly wrap themselves in towels, and he himself took out a towel and wrapped it around his face.

"Niqua, do you know that Akina has special abilities?" While Akina Zeya was still wrapping himself in a towel, Shameimaru Aya whispered to Niqua.

“I know, I can spray water too.” Nikua raised her chin and replied proudly.

"..."

You won't get anything out of an idiot. After patting Niqua's head, Aya Shameimaru looked at Zeya Akina. She would figure out what was going on later.

It didn't take long for the three of them to finish dressing after wrapping their faces in towels.

Looking at the two people in front of him, who were fully dressed, Qiu Mingze nodded in satisfaction. However, in addition to a towel, he also stuffed two pieces of soft paper into his nostrils, with a few drops of orange juice on them, so that the odor-blocking effect would be more obvious.

I don't know when the wind blew and closed the bookstore door, but the stench inside must have been brewing for a while longer, and maybe it's even stronger now.

Holding his breath slightly, Akina Ze placed his left hand on the doorknob and raised the mop with his right hand to confirm with the two people behind him.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm ready..."

Their responses were also weak and listless, which is understandable, as facing a cesspool is not a pleasant experience.

However, there is no other way at the moment, and the house must be cleaned up before the stench permeates it!

Click.

He yanked the wooden door open, and in an instant, a stench that had been building up for so long burst forth. Although Akina couldn't see the stench, he could feel a stinging sensation on his skin... What on earth is this Kappa ink made of? How can it be so irritating?

Akina Sawa was about to steel himself and go in, but was stopped by Shameimaru Aya behind him.

"Wait a moment." Aya Shameimaru's voice was muffled, but there was nothing he could do, as he was completely wrapped in a towel.

Under Akina Sawa's puzzled gaze, Shameimaru Aya took out a fan from his waist and waved it towards the study.

A sudden gust of wind arose out of nowhere and swept into the house.

The windows and door frames rattled loudly in the wind, but fortunately these parts were sturdy enough not to be damaged.

"Let's go in now," Aya Shameimaru said, her voice muffled as she covered herself with a towel.

The gust of wind was indeed very effective, blowing away most of the strong stench in the house. However, this was only a temporary solution, as the source of the stench remained.

The next step is to clean them up.

With the stinging sensation no longer emanating from his skin, Akina Sawa immediately went inside, first righting the overturned ink container and putting the lid back on, then swishing a mop onto the blob of ink.

The ink had spread over a considerable area, even leaving traces in the cracks of the floor, so cleaning it completely wouldn't be easy.

The war between bookstores and ink has begun...

Monster Mountain.

An ominous crow circled in the air, cawing incessantly.

Inside a private family workshop dozens of meters underground, a kappa-like girl dressed in a full-body top-of-the-line anti-gas suit is holding a booklet and following the instructions in it to put ingredients into a large pot.

The large pot was filled with pitch-black liquid, and visible black fumes rose from it.

As she tossed the last mandrake into the pot, the kappa loli put away the booklet and muttered to herself, "Once the mandrake is incorporated, this special ink will be complete."

Gulu gulu~

Countless bubbles surged from the bottom of the pot. They were very viscous and, despite being bubbles, showed no signs of bursting.

Behind the kappa, incandescent light bulbs emitted a pale white light, and rows of strangely shaped materials were arranged in order and soaked in glass containers.

......

Chapter Seventy-Six: A Waste of Time

When there are too many stimuli, the human body will become desensitized to them. This is the case with the smell of the toilet, and even more so with the smell right now.

Most of the ink that had leaked onto the floor surface had been cleaned up, but the ink that had seeped into the gaps between the floorboards was still emitting a foul odor.

During the cleaning process, Akina Sawa also discovered that the ink-like lumps on the floor were very sticky and could not be washed off with water. He had to press hard on the mop handle to remove them.

Is this even considered ink? Akina Ze thought to himself, he had never seen ink like this before.

Akina was powerless to remove the ink from the cracks in the floor; Nikua could only use water to flush it out.

Crystal-clear water spheres floated in the air, constantly changing their shape as they swooped down.

With each flick, turn, shake, and pinch of Nikua's fingers, streams of water, under her controlled direction, cleaned away the sticky ink from the cracks in the floor.

The situation looked very promising, but Akina Sawa frowned slightly.

Perhaps the water summoned by Nikua was too pure, and some of the ink's components dissolved into the water, causing the air to smell of ammonia in addition to the sour smell of ink.

Under multiple blows, Akina Ze felt that the nasal stuffing with orange juice was only of limited use, and he still couldn't avoid smelling the nauseating odor.

The other two had their own methods. Nikua enveloped herself in a thin film of water, though it was unclear how effective it would be. Aya, on the other hand, used wind to create a physical barrier around herself, preventing the stench from reaching her.

Looking at it this way, my little trick of using orange juice to clear my nose wasn't so surprising after all.

Akina Sawa, who was pondering whether expelling 'qi' from the body could achieve the same odor-blocking effect, noticed that the water sphere floating in the air was too close to the bedside and pointed it out:

"Be careful not to get the bed wet."

“It’s okay, it won’t get wet,” Nikua demonstrated, skillfully manipulating the water sphere as it spun in the air.

“It doesn’t matter if it gets wet. I’m not sleeping in this room tonight anyway. Let it air out for a few days and let the smell dissipate,” said Aya Shameimaru from the side.

Does it need ventilation? Akina Ze also looked at the white blankets on the bed. Although they looked fine on the surface, pure white and flawless, they were very likely already permeated with the smell of fumes.

But then, it seems like we'll have to share a bed again, right? Akina Sawa was also thinking about how to curl up comfortably while sleeping at night, but still nodded in response:

"Ok."

During their conversation, the last bit of ink remaining on the floor was sprayed out by Nikua with a water jet. The Fairy Brand high-pressure water gun was quite powerful; it might drill a hole in someone, but Akina Ze didn't want to try it.

Seeing Nikua's bright, praise-seeking eyes, Akina nodded encouragingly and then walked out of the room that still smelled bad.

Upon entering the courtyard, Akina Sawa exhaled a breath of stale air and then inhaled the fresh air into his lungs, finally feeling alive again.

After finishing heavy work, it's easy to reflect on life when you're quiet. Akina Ze stood under the tree, gazing at the distant blue sky. The azure sky gave him a dreamlike feeling.

Do you have a place to wash your blankets here?

The clear voice of Aya Shameimaru beside him pulled him back to reality from his illusion.

He turned to look at Aya Shameimaru, only to see her holding the pristine white blanket in her hands with a look of disgust. Judging from her expression, it probably did have a smell.

"You can even wash blankets?" he asked with a smile.

"What?" Aya Shameimaru raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Do you think only humans wash their blankets?"

Listening to Aya Shameimaru's words, Akina Sawa also pictured a several-meter-tall elephant covered by a blanket in his mind. Perhaps the difference between demons is about the same as the difference between humans and demons.

“That was my stereotype,” Akina Ze smiled and apologized. “As for washing the blankets, you can go to the well to fetch water, or just have Nikua wash them for you. Her water puffs are very clean.”

Shameimaru Aya held the blanket and remained silent for a moment, then twirled a strand of hair behind her right ear with her finger and said, "You don't have anything like a washing machine?"

Washing machine...? Akina Sawa wondered if he had misheard, that this word actually came from Aya Shameimaru's mouth.

Besides, there might not even be a single washing machine in the entire village.

"Sorry, I don't have a washing machine here." Swallowing his words of complaint, Akina Ze replied.

Before Aya Shameimaru could respond, he added, "If all else fails, just soak it in water and then put in some fragrance-enhancing stuff. It's just for deodorizing anyway."

A breeze swept through the suddenly quiet courtyard, creating a slightly eerie atmosphere. Just then, a third person barged in.

Fujiwara no Mokou arrived at the Akina residence at some point, covering her nose with an unfriendly expression.

"I need an explanation!"

......

Today, the village was as peaceful as ever, with blue skies and white clouds—a beautiful day that even a shrine maiden would praise.

But a foul odor carried by the north wind shattered the tranquility.

The stench spreads throughout the streets and alleys, wherever the wind can reach.

The place instantly descended into chaos. People strolling through the market hurriedly ran home and tightly closed their doors and windows to prevent the smell from entering their houses.

Some residents did a great job of completely blocking the stench, but there were also some unlucky ones.

At the Hieda residence, Hieda Akyuu, who had just won against Lord Enma and obtained an extension of her term, was in a weakened state. She was sitting at her desk recording the events of the year.

Unexpectedly, a foul odor wafted in through the window, catching Hieda Akyuu off guard. He was so overwhelmed by the smell that he collapsed onto the table, unconscious, and his term of office was almost wiped out.

This applies to those with poor physical fitness, while Fujiwara no Mokou, who has excellent physical fitness, is no exception.

Just as she finished her daily morning exercise routine and was taking a deep breath to relax.

With each inhale and exhale, the lungs expand dramatically, and just then, a foul odor drifts nearby, without any preparation or filtration.

The extremely sour and foul-smelling gas was deeply inhaled by Fujiwara no Mokou, making it a unique and top-notch inhalation experience.

In just a moment, Fujiwara no Megumi's face turned a bitter green. She felt as if her lungs were filled with garbage, and every breath she took had a lingering smell. Now, her lungs were dirty and useless.