Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

"puff!"

Upon hearing this, Akina Ze spat out the water he had just drunk, wiped his mouth, and said, "How can this be called flirting!"

"Okay, okay, I'm not trying to flirt. I'm just curious. Logically speaking, you two shouldn't end up together, right?"

As the saying goes, things come full circle. Aya Shameimaru, who was always curious about other people's gossip, finally found herself being the subject of gossip herself.

“I don’t know either,” Akina Ze replied thoughtfully. “It was like water flowing into a channel; it had already developed into this state by the time I realized it.”

"Oh~" Kawashiro Nitori seemed to understand, but she was actually a pure science and engineering kappa who had never experienced this feeling before; she just looked like she understood.

"Stop gossiping, Ms. Kawashiro Nitori. Don't you kappa have any kind of alternative transportation? Like a car?"

Unwilling to delve further into her love life, Akina Sawa abruptly changed the subject.

"Okay, fine," Kawashiro Narito reluctantly replied, still wanting to learn more about things she had never experienced before.

After a moment's thought, Kawashiro Nitori continued Akina Sawaya's topic and said, "Are you referring to four-wheeled vehicles powered by internal combustion engines?"

The reason Kawashiro Nitori would think about it is because this method of obtaining energy by burning oil has been abandoned by the kappa long time ago, after the oil reserves were used up.

Use it or lose it, survival of the fittest. It's not that using oil as fuel is low-end for kappa, it's just that there's no oil in Gensokyo at all!

As the leading technological group in Gensokyo, the kappa surveyed every inch of Gensokyo's land, only to announce in disappointment that such energy did not exist there.

However, they were not discouraged, after all, if they couldn't use oil, they could still use nuclear energy and cucumber energy.

"No," Kawashiro Nitori shook his head and replied, "We don't usually use four-wheeled vehicles as a means of transportation."

"Not usually used?" Akina Sawa also noticed a suspicious point in Kawashiro Nitori's words.

Kawashiro Nitori explained, "The roads in Gensokyo are terrible, mostly dirt roads, and Yukari Yakumo doesn't allow us to use anything too high-tech outside."

"why?"

“I don’t know~” Kawashiro Nitori lifted the large backpack behind him. “This has been the agreement since the establishment of Gensokyo.”

She added, "Moreover, the widespread adoption of electricity was also due to the fact that too many external devices using electricity were being discovered and hidden, which made it impossible for Yukari Yakumo to suppress them, thus prompting us to do it."

"Is that so?" Akina Ze also looked surprised. He didn't understand why Yakumo Yukari wanted to suppress the popularization of electricity.

"always like this."

"..."

When asked about surprising things, Akina Sawa fell silent for a moment. During his year living in Gensokyo, he had seen many illogical things, such as electricity being used only for light bulbs and residents living lives no different from those in the agricultural era...

Akina Sawa couldn't judge whether it was good or bad. He had personally experienced the corruption of people outside the village and the simplicity of the residents of Gensokyo... But I was just a farmer.

"By the way, are you heading towards that small cave halfway up the mountain?"

Seemingly finding an opportunity to talk, Kawashiro Nitori voiced a question that had been bothering him.

As he crossed the snow-covered path and walked across the small bridge over the stream, the more he headed towards the mountains, the more his doubts grew.

"Yes." Akina Ze nodded as well.

Kawashiro Nitori is a long-time resident of Gensokyo. Akina Sawa doesn't believe that someone as knowledgeable as him, who has only been there for less than a year, wouldn't know this.

"Actually, I know another route, one that's shorter!"

Seeing that Akina Sawa had also turned around and was looking at him, Kawashiro Nitori replied.

......

"The Jade Pavilion of the Underworld?"

Following the kappa's light steps, Akina Sawa once again crossed the barrier between the living and the dead and arrived in the underworld.

"If we're talking about which place is closest to the Old Hell or has the weakest barrier, it's definitely the Underworld."

Kawashiro Nitori, who was walking in front, responded.

"However, this road to the old hell was only completed in the last ten years or so, so those old fogies probably don't know about it."

"An old relic..."

“Of course, I wasn’t talking about you.” Seeing Akina Sawa muttering to himself, Kawashiro Nitori added, “I was talking about the kind of guy who doesn’t want to learn about new things.”

Upon hearing this, Akina Ze felt a little embarrassed, as he was actually someone who was unwilling to learn about new things in some ways.

After walking for a while, Kawashiro Naritori, who was ahead, suddenly stopped and said, "This is it."

"arrive?"

Akina Sawa took two steps forward, and a brick path hidden among the weeds and extending downwards came into view.

The dim, quiet atmosphere, combined with the underworld's somber hues, made it look like a path leading to a murder scene from a horror movie. But then again, it was actually a path to hell, or rather, the old hell; it's hard to say which is better.

"let's go."

Previously, Kawashiro Nitori was afraid of meeting the two sisters of the Earth Spirit Palace, but now she has become resolute, her eyes filled with a flame, a desire to turn her life around.

......

Chapter 127 The Incomprehensible

"I do not want!"

The petite kappa girl timidly hid behind a pillar in front of the hall.

"Since you're already here, Miss Kawashiro Nitori, muster your courage! It's not that scary!"

Akina Ze reluctantly walked behind the kappa, put his hand on her shoulder, but his eyes couldn't help but look up at the plaque hanging high on the door, on which several large characters were clearly written.

The Temple of the Earth

......

Pushing open the bronze gate at the end of the road, one is greeted by the dilapidated buildings of the old capital.

"That saves trouble; we don't even need to cross that bridge."

Looking around at the familiar houses, Akina Ze sighed.

"This is an intersection between boundaries, and geographical factors are not significant."

Kawashiro Narito, who emerged from the bronze gate behind him, shook the dust off his hat that had accumulated in the passageway and explained.

"Have you been to the old capital before?" Akina Ze asked, puzzled.

"No," He Chenghe replied immediately.

"This is the gathering place of the Oni clan. Not only humans, but even ordinary monsters don't want to deal with them."

"You know, drunkards don't listen to reason."

Kawashiro Nitori spoke cautiously, then took out a round device from his pocket that was entirely silver-white, with a grid-like green glass mesh covering most of its surface.

"What are these yellow dots on top?" Akina Ze asked curiously, pointing to the scattered yellow dots on the circular device within the grid-like green glass mesh.

"Shh!"

Noticing the yellow lights approaching, Kawashiro Nitori's expression changed. He grabbed Akina Sawaya's collar, hid behind a corner, and whispered, "These yellow lights are the locations of the nearby demons."

"The ghost's location? How would you know?"

Kawashiro Nitori did not respond to Akina Sawaya's question. Instead, he stared intently at the light spots displayed on the disc in his hand before leaving and said with a sigh of relief, "You can think of it as a principle similar to radar scanning."

“But I only have this one right now. If you want to learn, I can teach you how to do it.” Kawashiro Nitori added, shaking his finger, “It’s free. Everyone should have one of these devices.”

"No, no, no, I don't want it." Qiu Mingze waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.

In order to avoid encountering ghosts, they developed a device to detect the location of nearby ghosts... Is this not a ghost-tracking radar?

“Alright, you’ll need it someday.” Kawashiro Nitori shook his head, focusing on the Oni radar in his hand.

"Next, we need to bypass every yellow dot to reach the Temple of the Underworld in the center of the map."

"What if we run into them?" Akina Ze asked, scratching his nose.

When he and Marisa Kirisame came to the old capital last time, they saw a lot of oni. It has to be said that each of them was tall and beautiful. There was none like that little drunkard loli dwarf who lived in the Hakurei Shrine.

So, as a demon, why does Suika live at the Hakurei Shrine instead of in the old capital? Is it because she's too short and can't get along with her fellow demons?

What should I do if I encounter this?

Hearing the question, Kawashiro Nitori looked up with a strange expression and said, "Of course we're running away. You don't mean to knock them out, do you?"

"It doesn't necessarily have to be about running away. I think we can try to reason with them."

"Their only justification is their drinking capacity!" Kawashiro Narito rolled her eyes at Akina Sawa and said, "If you don't want to be dead drunk in the streets, you'd better do as I say!"

"All right......"

Kawashiro Nitori spoke with absolute certainty, and Akina Sawa had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Speechless all the way.

After navigating around the dense array of yellow lights, Akina Sawaya and Kawashiro Nitori finally arrived at the Earth Spirit Palace without encountering a single demon.

The spacious area in front of the door was spotless, with only specks of moss scattered in the cracks of the marble floor, struggling to survive in the dim light.

......

Grabbing Kawashiro Nitori's wrist with one hand, Akina Sawa also knocked on the door knocker of the Earth Spirit Palace.

The sound of metal clanging echoed in the open square in front of the gate.

"I didn't think about anything! I didn't think about anything!" The muttered voice of Kawashiro Narito beside him reached Akina Sawaya's ears.

She's genuinely afraid that the little secrets in her head will be completely exposed to others, and she's currently resisting mind-reading by frantically repeating her studies.

Gollum~

Akina Sawa couldn't help but swallow. He wasn't nervous at first, but seeing Kawashiro Nitori so nervous made him a little nervous himself, and his mind started racing.

What kind of mind-reading ability does Ms. Komeiji Satoru possess? Does she simply know what other people are thinking right now?

If I were to imagine a scene in my mind, could Ms. Komeiji Satoru accurately depict it?

This ability might be quite convenient...

"Who?"

A wary voice from inside the gate shattered Akina Zeya's illusions.

"Ah!" Kawashiro Nitori screamed upon hearing the sound and hid behind Akina Sawaya's broad back.

In times of crisis, people tend to instinctively hide in what they perceive as a safe location.

Akina Sawa ignored the kappa and replied loudly, "I am Akina Sawa. I received your letter from a few days ago. I am here with a plan to see Miss Komeiji. Please open the door."

"Sawara Akina..."

Upon hearing the response, Komeiji Satoru's eyes narrowed. She hadn't expected that a mere human would find the Earth Spirit Palace. Wasn't he afraid that I could read minds?

This is the first time a human has ever approached her on their own initiative...

Her open red eyes floated silently behind Komeiji Satoru, a symbol of her being a mind-reading youkai.

In reality, meeting them would only lead to being disliked. Komeiji Satoru has seen too many people who say they don't care, but whose minds are constantly filled with fear and disgust.

"Go back. You can decide for yourself. You don't need to ask for my opinion." Komeiji Satoru said after a moment's thought, through the gate.

"Did you hear that? She said we can decide for ourselves!"

Upon hearing that they didn't need to meet, Kawashiro Nitori was overjoyed and grabbed Akina Sawaya's clothes, wanting to leave the place.

"This..." Akina Ze also hesitated. Running away without even seeing him was a bit against the determination he had made when he left home.

"Don't hesitate, let's go!"

This is the true feeling... Separated by a door, Komeiji Satoru listened expressionlessly to the voices urging him to leave from outside.

It was just an accident that someone suddenly came to the door; it's normal for mind-reading monsters to be disliked.

Komeiji Satoru, who had confined himself to the Earth Spirit Hall, shook his head and turned to leave, but suddenly a nimble figure darted past him.

"Love, no." Komeiji Satoru said, raising his hand.

But it was too late; the gates of the Earth Spirit Temple opened from the inside.

"Fine," Komeiji Satoru sighed and calmly turned around.

Looking at the human man outside the door, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed expression, Komeiji Satoru quietly waited for thoughts of fear and even disgust to enter his mind.