Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Without needing to think too much, Akina Ze nodded in response.

Aya Shameimaru smiled slyly and said, "It's almost dinnertime now, so you can cook dinner when you get back."

Overall, cooking is a tedious task. After trying it a few times, the reporter found that simply enjoying the food suited her better.

"Okay, what do you want to eat?" Qiu Mingze shook his head with a chuckle.

As soon as they got home, Aya Shameimaru immediately surrounded them, just like a puppy that excitedly rushes to its owner and circles around them when the owner comes home from work...

However, Akina Ze dared not say these words aloud, after all, the reporter was a tengu, a monster.

"I want to eat meat!"

Upon hearing this, Aya Shameimaru grinned, revealing her fangs.

"No meat, only vegetables," Akina Ze replied irritably, his eyes narrowing.

Meat is a luxury in Gensokyo, since any animal here could potentially become a spirit, and they are all related to someone by blood or marriage.

The fluffy hairy dolphins have become the only wild meat resource that you don't have to worry about being attacked by monsters.

Because, even large pieces of jade are considered meat.

"No! I want to eat meat!"

Seeing that he refused, Aya Shameimaru stepped forward, grabbed Akina Sawaya's right hand, and shook it vigorously. Her fair face and delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed, making her look pitiful.

But I'm just a farmer, not a farm owner... Akina Sawa also reached out and tapped Shameimaru Aya's forehead expressionlessly.

"There's no meat, but if you really want some, how about eggs?"

"Hmm, okay~" Aya Shameimaru replied reluctantly.

Akina Sawa shook his head and turned to walk into the kitchen.

After taking out an egg, cracking it, and pouring it into a bowl, he suddenly remembered something: Tengu (heavenly dogs) seem to all emerge from eggs, right?

As he dipped his chopsticks into the bowl and stirred the contents, Akina Ze's eyes inexplicably turned melancholic.

......

Chapter 130 Yearning for Normalcy

Rumbling--

Inside the Earth Spirit Hall, long-standing dust was shaken off the ceiling by the occasional noise.

With her eyebrows slightly raised, Komeiji Satoru gazed expressionlessly into the direction of the ruins of the Flame Hell.

Over there, Kawashiro Nitori and his kappa construction team have been stationed there for several days and nights, and the large-scale engineering equipment taken out of the capsule is operating day and night in the hot pool.

It's not just a hot spring hotel; a brand-new geothermal power plant is also under construction. The ruins of the Fire Hell are full of steam fountains, making it an ideal location for the kappa to build a geothermal power plant. The electricity generated will be just enough to alleviate the power shortage in the many kappa laboratories on Monster Mountain.

Building a hot spring inn normally requires a large budget, but Akina Sawa and the Earth Spirit Palace didn't need to contribute a single penny; the expenses were entirely covered by the kappa themselves.

The reason for this is precisely because of the geothermal power plant under construction. Akina Sawa and the Earth Spirit Palace also signed an agreement with the Kappa, which allows them to use steam geothermal power generation at the Fire Hell Ruins, but on the condition that a hot spring hotel be built for free.

"Arin".

"City of Spirits," Komeiji Satoru called softly.

But after a long time, Flame Cat Rin with red cat ears did not appear in front of Komeiji Satoru upon hearing the sound.

This is strange.

Komeiji Satoru frowned slightly. If it were as usual, the vengeful spirits in the old capital would have already relayed the message to Rin the Fire Cat.

But she hasn't appeared yet. Is she preoccupied with trivial matters?

Komeiji Satoru shook her head, got up and walked into the inner room. She had originally planned to send Rin the Fire Neko to the construction site to keep the kappa construction crew quiet.

This is also for their own good, after all, the monsters living in the old capital are not just Jue.

After taking a few steps, Komeiji Satoru suddenly remembered something: the Kappa construction crew was currently working on the project, so could he be there?

Once the thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed. A wave of emotion surged in his eyes, and a long-lost look of hesitation appeared on Komeiji Satoru's face.

She is someone whose mind cannot be read, and more importantly, Akina Sawa is not afraid of her...

Komeiji Satoru gently stroked the third eye on her left chest, recalling the scene from a few days ago.

When the two first met, Akina Zeya's eyes only flashed with surprise, but then he remained calm and indifferent, ignoring the third eye floating in the air.

Otherwise, even if he couldn't read minds, Komeiji Satoru wouldn't have talked to him for so long that day.

They were treated like normal human beings when they spoke to them...

Because he couldn't read minds, Komeiji Satoru stared intently at Akina Sawaya's face, hoping to find something there.

But nothing was found.

A faint smile, calm eyes, normal conversation...

Is this what I expected?

Komeiji Satoru remained silent, but the beating of his heart was exceptionally clear; the mind-reading youkai couldn't understand his own heart...

Coming to her senses, Komeiji Satoru turned and walked outside, a hint of anticipation on her face.

Perhaps he is there?

She longed for another normal conversation, something that neither her pet nor her lover could provide.

......

Dust billowed everywhere; the combination of steam and ash was absolutely disgusting.

At the construction site of the Flaming Hell ruins, all the kappa wore filter masks to prevent inhaling dust that could burn their esophagus.

The site was large, and the tracked machinery moved through it according to the directions of the ground-based kappa, creating a well-organized appearance.

Komeiji Satoru stood on a distant, open hilltop, observing the situation at the construction site.

She cannot appear inside, because the kappa will run away if they see her.

Disgust and fear are the norm for her, and Komeiji Satoru is used to it, but she will not choose to close her eyes and shut her heart like Renren did.

But right now, Komeiji Satoru just wanted to talk to Akina Sawaya; she didn't intend to affect the construction progress at the site.

Watching from a distance is enough; this distance allows her to use her mind-reading ability to find Akina Zeya in the steam.

I heard that a very delicious mushroom has recently appeared in the mountains, I think it's called the "Inspiration Mushroom"?

[Cucumber is the correct one]

I want cucumbers! I want cucumbers! I want cucumbers!

......

Komeiji Satoru read several of his thoughts, but she couldn't find any trace of Akina Sawaya in them.

Is he not here?

A thought flashed through my mind.

But Komeiji Satoru has no shortage of time, and the red eyeball on his chest went from half-closed to wide open.

With his mind-reading ability operating at full power, all thoughts about the entire kappa construction camp entered Komeiji Satoru's mind.

There were many malicious thoughts of deception and betrayal, but Komeiji Satoru didn't care. She only cared whether Akina Sawa was in there.

Unfortunately, after reading through all the thoughts of the kappa in the entire camp, Komeiji Satoru only confirmed one thing.

Akina Sawa was indeed not at the construction camp, but Kawashiro Nitori was, though Komeiji Satoru wasn't interested in her.

Since she wasn't there, Komeiji Satoru wouldn't insist. She turned and left without hesitation, even as a commotion arose in the camp behind her.

Meanwhile, inside the camp, Kawashiro Nitori stared grimly at the building materials scattered on the ground.

The high-quality timber that had been piled up was now scattered and soaking in the muddy water on the ground.

Wood that has been soaked in mud cannot be used in construction; it needs to be treated again before it can be reused.

But what Kawashiro Nitori lacks most right now is time.

She paid the construction team on a daily basis, and the longer the delay, the less money she would earn from the contract.

To meet the deadline, the construction team's kappa are working non-stop, and Kawashiro Nitori has reluctantly given them a 50% pay raise.

However, since she actually spent 1.5 times the money and got twice the effect, Ms. Kawashiro Nitori still made a profit overall.

but now!

Large stockpiles of timber are almost unusable and require a lot of time to process.

This infuriated Kawashiro Nitori.

Who's causing this mess?! I just wanted to earn some cucumbers, what's wrong with that?!

"Did you see who did it?"

Her two pigtails were practically standing on end. Kawashiro Naritoshi angrily questioned the kappa who had first reported the matter to her.

"I...I don't know, it's always been like this since I arrived," the kappa replied, looking aggrieved.

"Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

Realizing he couldn't take his anger out on others, Kawashiro Nitori rubbed his eyes and said.

"Good!" The kappa reported with a sigh of relief and immediately left.

Actually, this wasn't the first time this had happened; it had occurred several times before. However, Kawashiro Nitori, with a "better safe than sorry" mentality, didn't take stricter measures to manage the situation.

But now, the accumulated damage is no small amount. Kawashiro Natsumi bit her finger lightly, her brows furrowed.

First of all, the punishment far outweighs the benefits. If a kappa causes trouble for a few more days' wages and ends up on a blacklist and never to be hired again, it would definitely be a losing proposition.

Therefore, there shouldn't be any bad people among the kappa; everyone's basic interests are aligned. So, the ones causing trouble must be monsters outside the kappa.

So, could it be a ghost?

When asked about monsters other than kappa, Kawashiro Nitori immediately thought of the oni clan, since the Old Hell was a place where oni gathered.

But after thinking for a moment, Kawashiro Nitori shook his head and denied it, saying it couldn't be a ghost.

If it were ghosts causing sabotage, it wouldn't just be a matter of materials being destroyed, a few pieces of construction machinery being damaged, and people blocking the camp and not leaving, which would be the normal course of development.

If it's not a ghost, then who could it be?

Kawashiro Nitori thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't come up with an idea.

However, the Ruins of Flame Hell are the territory of the Earth Spirit Palace, and as the owner of the territory, Komeiji Satoru should know what kind of monsters still live in this place.

But... a hint of fear flashed in Kawashiro Nitori's eyes. She didn't want to ask Komeiji Satoru herself. The other kappa in the camp were in the same boat as her, and besides, she was reluctant to offer a generous reward.

"Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to let someone else go."

At this moment, the meticulous Kawashiro Naritoki had a suitable candidate in mind.

Inside the Akina residence.

Akina Ze, who was leisurely resting in a rocking chair, suddenly sneezed. He wiped his nose and muttered to himself:

"Strange, who's eyeing me?"

......

Chapter 131 Pet? Home?

The leisurely days didn't last long. Looking at the open gates of the Earth Spirit Palace, Akina Sawa shook his head and went inside once again. The mind-reading youkai with short cherry blossom hair, Komeiji Satoru, was waiting for his arrival.

This morning, just as dawn was breaking, it was truly a case of "the early bird catches the worm."

Akina Sawa, who rarely gets out of bed despite being covered by a quilt, also stands in the greenhouse with a hoe and a watering can, loosening the soil and watering the plants.

Because it is currently winter, although the temperature in the greenhouse is suitable, small creatures such as earthworms have not yet become active. In addition, it has rained in the past few days, and the soil is not breathable. In order to prevent the seedlings from being waterlogged, Akina Ze had to loosen the soil himself.

A bow, a hoe—that's all there is to it.

But soon, the noise coming from the mailbox outside the door broke Akina Sawaya's rhythm of plowing the field.

A letter has arrived.

After casually tossing down his tools, Akina Ze stretched his body to relieve the soreness he had just experienced and headed towards the mailbox.