Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

This is not surprising. Recently, Alice, a blonde girl whose every move exudes elegance, has been writing to me frequently, asking about my well-being or other interesting things in my life.

At first, Akina Sawa was also uncomfortable and didn't know how to respond, only replying with similar things.

Yes, that's right.

[I think so.]

【hehe. 】

Such a simple question.

But Alice didn't give up, and they eventually became pen pals.

The most likely reason for the sudden letter was Alice. As Akina Sawa walked toward the mailbox, he felt a little disappointed because Kirisame Marisa seemed to be busy with a research project and couldn't get away. The two hadn't seen each other since that day.

"If it's a letter from Marisa..." he murmured to himself.

Shaking his head, Akina Ze suppressed his wandering thoughts. Although it wasn't a letter from Marisa, he still had to take it seriously.

But after taking the envelope out of the mailbox and glancing at it closely, Akina Zeya frowned immediately, because this was not Alice's letter either.

This is a letter seeking help, addressed to the construction site of the Old Hell Scorching Hot Spring Hotel.

......

"The kappa are really ordering me around, they're all so timid."

Akina Ze, who was fearless at reading minds, also complained casually as he stepped into the Earth Spirit Hall.

Komeiji Satoru was already sitting on the cushion, waiting for his arrival.

Upon seeing Akina Zeya enter the hall, Komeiji Satoru showed no expression on his face, simply saying:

"Sit down."

Upon hearing this, Akina Sawa looked around in confusion and scratched his head, because apart from the empty seat next to Komeiji Satoru, there were no other seats available.

"Is it there?" Akina Ze hesitated and pointed to the mats placed side by side.

His hesitation stemmed from the fact that the two cushions were so close together, less than 10 centimeters apart. In the quiet of the hall, they could already hear each other's soft breathing.

Komeiji Satoru, who was sitting upright, did not speak, but simply nodded slightly.

Since the master had already made the arrangements, Akina Ze naturally had no choice but to sit down. With a nervous heart, he plopped down on the seat.

"I'm here to ask about hot spring accommodations..."

As soon as he sat down, Akina Ze asked eagerly, after all, this was also the purpose of his visit: to get the answer to the Kappa's concerns from Komeiji Satoru.

"How's the weather in the village?"

But before Akina Sawa could finish speaking, Komeiji Satoru asked a question on his own.

Those violet eyes gazed silently at Akina Zeya.

Why are you asking this?

A moment of doubt flashed through Akina Zeya's mind, but those beautiful eyes were like a whirlpool, impossible to escape.

Realizing that he wouldn't get the answer he wanted without answering Komeiji Satoru's question, Akina Sawa stammered in response:

"I'm... alright..."

He left home too early in the morning, when it was dark and foggy. As for the weather, Akina Zeya himself had no idea.

Komeiji Satoru nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing with Akina Sawaya's answer, and she parted her cherry lips slightly.

"It's your turn to ask."

The sound was calm and still, like a deep lake, without any ripples.

Looking at Komeiji Satoru, who was kneeling quietly with his hands in front of his abdomen, waiting for the question, Akina Sawaya suddenly felt a sense of unease.

The mind-reading monster that the residents despise?

No... He only saw a quiet and taciturn, lovely girl.

Perhaps because he had been sitting there for a while, Akina Ze also smelled a faint fragrance of gardenias coming from beside him.

"It smells good."

The thoughts in my mind just came out.

Realizing what had happened, Akina Sawa quickly waved his hand, trying to explain, since no one wanted to be easily seen as a lecher.

But to his surprise, the girl in front of him tilted her head, blinked her adorable big eyes, and replied:

"Thank you."

"Forehead......"

Faced with such an adorable performance, Akina Sawa was momentarily speechless, then, as if remembering something, tried to salvage the situation: "Didn't you say you couldn't read my mind? How do you know what I'm saying?"

Upon hearing this, Komeiji Satoru did not respond, but his large, curved eyes seemed to speak volumes, and a look of confusion immediately arose.

"Okay, I admit it's my fault..."

Faced with a barrage of facial expressions, Akina Sawa also surrendered, raising his hands in defeat.

It was all because of a careless remark, and now he's trying to run away from it—that's just too despicable, especially in front of such a lovely girl.

Gathering his thoughts, Akina Sawa was about to continue the question he hadn't finished asking earlier, but Komeiji Satoru asked again:

"Can you live in the Temple of the Underworld?"

"No, no."

It was another offhand response, but this time Akina Sawa knew what he was saying.

Although she didn't know why Komeiji Satori had invited her to stay at the Earth Spirit Palace, even the cutest girl couldn't resist the temptation to go home, especially with those people in her family there.

Hmm... It's mainly due to the influence of the fields in the yard," Akina Ze nodded as if to confirm his own thoughts.

"Let's get back to the main topic," Akina Ze also said.

“Okay,” Komeiji Satoru replied.

Although she had just said those words and was immediately rejected by Akina Sawa, Komeiji Satoru's face remained expressionless, and no one knew what she was thinking.

......

"Akong"

After a brief exchange, Komeiji Satoru uttered these two words.

"Who is that?"

Upon hearing this, Akina Ze asked in confusion, vaguely remembering that someone else had mentioned those two words.

"Pets, in the Ruins of the Fiery Hell." The reply was concise and to the point.

"Could you elaborate?" Akina Ze pressed.

“Lingwu Road is empty, she is there.”

It was still brief, but Akina Sawa understood its meaning.

“You can’t beat her,” Komeiji Satoru added.

"No, no, no, why bring up fighting?" Akina Ze waved his hands repeatedly.

As a law-abiding farmer, he hated violence the most, although he would sometimes practice boxing with Mao Yu to improve his meals.

"..."

Komeiji Satoru did not respond, but silently stood up and reached out to tug at Akina Sawaya's sleeve.

Looking at the girl standing before him, who was only a head taller than him despite being standing, Akina Sawa seemed to sense her current thoughts and chuckled:

"Although I don't know why you want me to live here, I also have a home. You can write to me to chat when you're bored, and I'll reply."

"......it is good."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Akina Sawa took his leave. Before leaving, he wanted to pat the girl's head, but ultimately did not.

Being delusional is never a good thing.

Watching Akina Sawa's departing figure, Komeiji Satoru stood in front of the palace gate and murmured to himself.

"Family?"

......

Chapter 132 The Allure of Cucumbers

The construction site of the hot spring inn at the ruins of the Scorching Prison was in a mess, but this time it wasn't because the building materials had been disturbed. Instead, a fire broke out last night on a wooden stake that had been erected several meters high. The flames rose several meters high and turned into a pile of charcoal before being discovered and extinguished by a kappa.

Under the large triangular tent, Kawashiro Nitori was having a terrible headache. In recent days, there had been more and more incidents of sabotage at the construction site. She had assigned kappa to guard the building materials, but there were not enough people in other places. It was like robbing Peter to pay Paul, and she couldn't stop it at all.

If the culprit cannot be caught soon, the project's progress will likely be greatly hampered, which is unacceptable to Kawashiro Nitori. The money she earns from exploiting the kappa laborers is not meant to compensate for this.

"If all else fails, then we'll just install surveillance cameras everywhere. I refuse to believe we can't catch the saboteurs!" Kawashiro Naritoki said, biting his thumbnail in extreme frustration.

"But the Sky Eye is too expensive; renting it for just one day costs a lot of money, and it consumes a huge amount of electricity..."

After much deliberation, Kawashiro Nagori still couldn't bear to part with the cucumber and the Sky Eye for protection.

Upon arriving at the construction site, Akina Ze immediately spotted Kawashiro Nitori sitting under a large gray cloth. His height made him stand out among the group of kappa.

The kappa lolis couldn't block Akina Zeya's view at all.

He casually greeted the passing laborer kappa, and then Akina Sawa walked under the gray cloth.

Akina couldn't help but laugh when she saw Kawashiro Nitori staring blankly at the table. After all, he looked like a child but acted like an adult.

However, Akina Ze didn't intend to tease her. He simply stood next to her, passively looking down at her, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

The sudden sound made Kawashiro Nitori tremble. She frowned and looked up, seemingly intending to reprimand him as the project manager, but upon seeing that it was Akina Sawaya, her expression instantly changed from anger to delight, and she said with wide, teary eyes:

"Akina, I knew you wouldn't abandon me~"

"Um, our relationship isn't that good yet."

Akina Sawa also inadvertently turned around to avoid Kawashiro Nitori's outstretched hand.

"Waaah, I even wore a maid outfit to serve you before, how come you turn your back on me?"

Kawashiro Narito rubbed her eyes in a fake manner, as if trying to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes.

"The maid outfit is just an internal requirement of your kappa, what does it have to do with me? And I didn't actually serve anyone, did I?" Akina Ze was speechless for a moment, then changed the subject, "Let's get down to business. I just came back from the Earth Spirit Palace and got the information you wanted."

"Please sit down, please sit down!"

Upon hearing this, Kawashiro Nitori was overjoyed and quickly pulled Akina Sawaya's sleeve to make him sit next to him.

This time, Akina Ze didn't avoid it either. He was indeed a bit tired after walking such a long distance, so it was good for him to rest.

"Hey you, bring me a drink." After Akina Sawa was seated, Kawashiro Nitori turned to a nearby laborer kappa and instructed him.

"Ok."

After agreeing, the laborer kappa immediately dropped the wood in its hand and turned to walk towards the storage area, while another kappa passing by picked up the wood.

The job of a kappa is not fixed, but is defined according to the importance of the task.

Do you know this person named Lingwu Lukong?

Seeing Kawashiro Nitori surrounding him, Akina Sawa didn't keep him in suspense and got straight to the point.

"So it was that big bird..."

Upon hearing this, Kawashiro Nitori's expression darkened noticeably, as if he had thought of something unpleasant.

"You know her?"

In response to Akina Sawaya's question, Kawashiro Nitori slowly nodded and began to explain:

“The construction site had only been open for a few days when Lingwu Road came knocking on our door.”

"why?"

"Because she said the construction noise was too loud and disturbing her rest, but I used the excuse that this was a mission from the Earth Spirit Temple to get her to leave."

"I never imagined she would not only leave, but also secretly sabotage things behind my back..."

Kawashiro Naritoki frowned and muttered to himself.