Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

"Hehe~ Hehe~" Marisa's eyes lost their sparkle. "After preparing for so long... why are there one unexpected event after another...?"

“Hey, Master Akina.”

Marisa's tone was unusually calm, without the slightest inflection, "You didn't see anything just now, did you?"

The cicadas are crying mournfully.

Akina Sawa also looked away and slowly shook his head, "No, nothing."

"That's good... good my foot!!"

In the silence, Marisa Kirisame suddenly sprang to life, leaping over the table and straddling Sawa Akina, grabbing his head and shaking it violently.

"Forget about it! Forget about it!"

He shouted himself hoarse, shaking so hard that Akina Ze felt as if his head had been shaken into a tangled mess.

......

Chapter 82 Mutation or Hybridization?

After a long while, Akina Ze finally felt that Marisa's shaking of his head was gradually lessening. He quietly opened his left eye, only to find Marisa with her head down, not uttering a sound.

But Akina didn't dare to move, maintaining the position for fear of upsetting her.

The scene remained eerily calm for a time.

Suddenly, Akina Ze felt the pressure on his lower back begin to lessen. It turned out that Marisa was gradually getting up, moving off him, and moving to the sofa next to him. She wrapped her arms around her legs, bent her knees, and buried her face in her arms.

Looking at the seemingly withdrawn Marisa Kirisame beside him, Akina Sawa also widened his eyes and didn't dare to breathe.

He hadn't expected that Marisa would react so strongly just because an outsider had seen her panties; she really was a pure and innocent girl.

Now that he was in this situation, Akina Sawa was at a loss. Rather than offering words of comfort, perhaps the best course of action was to quietly leave.

Thinking of this, Akina Ze slowly got up from the sofa, worried that making a loud noise might disturb her.

"squeak~"

Just as he completely left the sofa and took his first step toward the door, he heard Marisa's somewhat muffled voice behind him.

You are not allowed to tell anyone what just happened.

Upon hearing this, Akina Sawa stiffly turned his head and looked at Marisa, who still had her head buried in her arms, and replied, "Did something just happen? How come I don't know anything?"

Marisa, having received the promise, did not respond. Instead, she curled up, looking just like a pitiful little animal soaked in the rain in a roadside cardboard box.

Boom~boom~

Akina Sawa felt his heart skip a beat for no reason; he had never seen Marisa like this before. In his mind, Marisa had always been a sunny and cheerful person.

Turning around, Akina Sawa, completely bewildered, also wanted to escape this eerie atmosphere.

But behind him, Marisa Kirisame's voice rang out once again.

"Master Akina...didn't you come to see me about something?"

Before anyone knew it, while Akina Sawa was also in a daze, Marisa had already composed herself, lifted her head from her arms, and looked directly at the person in front of her with her pale golden eyes.

hum.

The escape was interrupted, and Akina Sawa turned around stiffly, not daring to look Marisa in the eye. Instead, he looked at the corner of the sofa and said:

"It's hard to say what will happen in this situation..."

“What’s there to be ashamed of? Master Akina, you’ve come to me for a commission, and since it’s a commission, I have no reason not to listen.”

“And…” Marisa suddenly stood up, grabbed Akina Sawaya’s sleeve and pulled him to sit down on the sofa. “It’s easier to talk if you sit down.”

She glanced guiltily at the corner of the sofa where Akina Ze was also staring, and stuffed her right pocket even tighter.

......

The Misty Rain Magic Shop has returned to its working atmosphere.

Unlike before, Akina Sawa, who had become much more reserved, honestly explained the problems he was facing to Kirisame Marisa.

"So, you need a solution to the problem of the odor from the kappa's special ink, right?"

Putting down her pen, Marisa Kirisame summarized what she had heard and said.

"Yes." Akina Ze nodded, shifting his position slightly. For some reason, he was a little hesitant to get too close to Marisa.

"I remember Reimu should be able to do something like that, right?"

Having received confirmation, Marisa Kirisame put down her notebook and asked in confusion, "Wouldn't it be enough for her to use her spiritual power to create a barrier that can isolate the stench?"

“No.” Akina Ze immediately shook his head and replied, “Reimu said she can’t do it, and she’s the one who sent me to find you.”

"Oh~"

Upon hearing this response, Marisa Kirisame's eyes flickered as she thoughtfully stroked her fair chin.

"Do you have a solution?" Akina asked, seeing Marisa lost in thought.

"Who am I? How could there be no way?"

Setting aside her thoughts for the moment, Marisa stood up from the sofa and confidently patted her chest, saying, "There are so many things that can deodorize. I remember there's a book in the Scarlet Devil Mansion's underground library that mentions it. I'll go look it up."

"The Grand Library? Marisa, are you going to the Scarlet Devil Mansion now? I remember that area is still a construction site."

"No need~" Marisa Kirisame turned around and chuckled, "I've already borrowed it."

When the Scarlet Devil Mansion experienced the Iceberg Incident, Marisa happened to 'pass by' and, while resolving the incident, casually 'borrowed' a few books, and Patchouli didn't object anyway.

Soon, under the watchful eyes of Akina Zeya, Kirisame Marisa climbed up to the attic and found the book that described the deodorizing tool among the piles of books.

"That's it."

With practiced ease, she opened the book, found the page, and pointed to the things described on it, showing them to Akina Sawa.

"'Radiation Cat Mushroom' is a mushroom that grows near the ruins of the Hellfire and feeds on the stench of corpses and heat radiation. It is orange-yellow all over and has two cat-ear-shaped protrusions on top..." Following the guidance, Akina Ze read out its description.

"So, this kind of mushroom can solve the odor problem?"

“It should work.” Marisa nodded and said, “According to the specific description in the book, this mushroom uses the color of its body to absorb heat radiation and uses the ‘ears’ that grow on its head to absorb the stench in the nearby air.”

"It feels weird. I can understand absorbing radiation, but why does it grow 'ears' to absorb stench..." Akina Ze also complained.

"It's said that there's a cat-cart monster there that carries corpses around," Marisa Kirisame patiently explained. "If too many corpses pile up, coupled with the high temperature outside, the corpses will rot and stink. Once there's too much stench, it will inhibit the efficiency of this cat mushroom in absorbing radiation, so it grows a pair of ears to absorb the stench."

"What you said seems to make a lot of sense..."

After his explanation, Akina Ze inexplicably believed Marisa's statement, and concluded that it was definitely not because he had been staring at her delicate, slightly curled eyelashes.

"So all I have to do next is go to this place called the Flame Hell Ruins, find the cat-ear mushrooms, and plant them in my house, right?" Following this line of thought, Akina Ze also said.

“That’s true, but!” After closing the book, Marisa Kirisame changed the subject and said, “The Ruins of the Flame Hell are said to be located in the Old Hell, and that place is not one that ordinary people can enter.”

"The Old Hell? Is it a real hell or just a name?" Akina Sawa asked, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

“It’s the hell you’re thinking of,” Marisa Kirisame replied. “But as for why it’s prefixed with ‘old,’ there’s a long story behind it. You might have to ask that drunken loli at the shrine.”

"No, no, no, I have no interest in hell." Akina Ze shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"I'll tell you something in secret." Marisa looked around and whispered in Akina Sawa's left ear, "It's said that there's a kind of youkai in the old hell who can read minds. If you encounter her, run away quickly, or you'll become a blank sheet of paper in front of her."

"Holy crap! Is it that terrifying?" Akina Ze's face immediately paled in shock. A mind-reading monster? If he were to be caught doing this, wouldn't all the little schemes in his head be exposed? How terrifying!

"Hehe~"

Seeing that her scare tactic had worked perfectly, Marisa Kirisame covered her mouth, her eyes crinkling into slits with laughter, and added, "So we have to sneak in quietly, without letting them find us."

"Marisa, are you going too?" Akina Sawa asked in surprise.

"Of course, I won't go. You don't even know the way. Besides... I'll need to find those mushrooms."

When she got to the second half of the story, Marisa blushed slightly and glanced guiltily at the shoe cabinet.

......

Chapter 83 The episode with the strongest smell

Logically speaking, it should be winter now, but Akina Sawa feels as if he has returned to the hot summer.

It's probably all because of a large geyser nearby, which spews out geysers that are hundreds of meters high, and the water is boiling hot.

When the scalding hot subsurface water comes into contact with the cold, moist air, the reaction that occurs results in the formation of a large cloud of misty vapor.

This resulted in a large area being shrouded in this damp and sultry mist, including the cave leading to the Old Hell, which could not be found without following the path on the ground.

It was an uphill road, and Akina Ze pulled at his thick clothes. The damp steam and the sweat seeping from his skin in the sweltering environment made him feel uncomfortable on the inside of his shirt.

Following the steep mountain path, he slowly followed Marisa, who was sitting sideways on a flying broomstick leading the way. As they passed a bend, he subconsciously glanced at the cliff on his left. The thick fog completely obscured the bottom of the cliff, and if he couldn't see the path clearly and fell, he would surely be smashed to pieces.

It was damp, sweltering, and the road ahead was obscured. He didn't think an ordinary human could get this far.

Things associated with the word "hell" are definitely not as simple as they seem.

The deeper they went into the fog, the more intense the sticky and uncomfortable feeling became, and Akina Ze's expression gradually turned irritable.

He looked up at Marisa flying ahead, his thoughts wandering. Perhaps he could sit in the empty space behind her broom, which would allow him to quickly pass through this large 'sauna' area.

Subconsciously, he took a few quick steps forward, but before he got close, Marisa's slightly nervous voice rang out.

Don't get too close to me!

Akina Sawa paused, looking at Marisa's retreating figure with a thoughtful expression.

After a moment of silence, Marisa didn't turn around, but stammered, "Master Akina, there's a little problem here, please don't get too close to me."

"What's going on? Do you need my help?"

"No, no need. I can take care of it quickly, and we're not far from our destination."

"Okay, but if you can't handle it yourself, call me as soon as possible. Maybe I can help," Akina Ze said worriedly.

"...That's probably not necessary." Marisa's tone carried a strange hint of resentment.

After confirming it several times, Akina Sawa had no choice but to go with Marisa, and he gave up his idea of ​​sitting behind her broom and leaving quickly.

From an angle that Akina Sawa couldn't see, Kirisame Marisa picked up her once-white but now slightly yellowed collar and smelled it, her face immediately showing a look of disgust.

It seems that Akina Sawaya isn't the only one troubled by this 'sauna'; Marisa is also sweating profusely, or worse.

Just as Marisa said, we are not far from our destination.

Before long, after squeezing through the narrow cliffside path, a wide open platform appeared before them.

The dense fog was still there, but it had thinned out considerably here.

Or perhaps it was because the constant wind blowing out from the half-person-high opening in the center of the platform dispersed all the surrounding mist.

With the humid and stuffy conditions resolved, Akina Ze asked Marisa, who was still some distance away from him:

"Is this the entrance to the Old Hell?"

“Yes, if the book is correct, that’s where you go down,” Marisa replied.

So... you haven't been to the Old Hell either... Akina Ze nodded slowly, then casually asked, "Marisa, what kind of shower gel do you usually use? It smells pretty good."

"Aki, Akina-sensei, what are you saying?!"

Upon suddenly hearing this question, Marisa's language function completely went haywire, and a series of short sentences burst from her mouth.

But upon hearing such a hasty response, Akina Sawa, as if prepared, scratched his nose and said:

"Oh? I just thought it smelled nice; I smelled it on the way here, so I was just asking."

"...Really?" After a long silence, Marisa Kirisame looked up and asked, looking into Zeya Akina's eyes, "Don't you think it smells bad?"

Without avoiding her gaze, Akina Ze looked back at her and said with a smile, "It's alright. Compared to the smell on me, yours isn't that bad."

"By the way, do you want to smell me?" Akina Ze also moved closer to Marisa, waving his arms exaggeratedly.

Seeing Akina Zeya's goofy expression, Kirisame Marisa, who had just been looking serious, burst out laughing and pushed him away, saying, "I don't want to! Besides, Akina-sensei, you smell too bad!"

"Does it smell bad? It doesn't really smell bad."

Seeing Marisa grinning from ear to ear, Akina Ze also smiled faintly.

On the way, when Marisa uttered those words, he understood everything.

Marisa is just too sensitive, but Akina doesn't know how to tell her, "You don't need to worry about these things in front of me. I don't care."