Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Feeling the large hand massaging her head, Nikua squinted her eyes comfortably.

Sniff sniff~

Suddenly, Nikua twitched her pretty little nose twice, a look of confusion on her face.

She smelled a pleasant fragrance coming from the two snakeskin bags next to her.

"Huh? This smells so good, aren't we just keeping it for ourselves? Why are we selling it?" Nikua asked, puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Akina Sawa was momentarily at a loss for words.

Because there isn’t actually such a rule as Nikua mentioned, but it’s become a common practice. Whenever Akina Sawa brings things to the market to sell, he always keeps the best ones at home and takes the slightly lower quality ones.

However, this slightly lower quality is relative; in fact, they are all very good.

"Don't worry about that, of course I saved some for ourselves!"

Akina Sawa crouched down to be at the same height as Nikua, looking into her eyes. His broad figure and the faint smile on her face were reflected in her light blue pupils.

Fairies and children really don't look that different...

But fairies... never grow up.

......

"Whoo~"

Akina Ze also put his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and looked back at the imperial road that stretched all the way to the foot of the mountain, a smug look on his face.

After selling two sacks of white radishes and potatoes at the Human Village Market, which were almost completely sold out in a short time, Akina Sawa rushed to the Hakurei Shrine without taking a break.

If he could provide clues that would allow the Hakurei Shrine Maiden to arrest the culprit sooner, that would be a good thing, and it would also benefit him.

He prefers farming as he pleases rather than farming because of urgent tasks, without worrying about having an extra burden added to his shoulders.

After passing the torii gate at the end of the imperial road, Akina Sawa stepped into the Hakurei Shrine without any hesitation.

"Are you here too?"

With one hand supporting her cheek, the red and white shrine maiden asked Akina Sawa, who had just sat down on the tatami mat opposite her.

Besides me, were there other people here just now?

A hint of doubt arose in Akina Ze's mind, but he quickly shook his head to dispel it. It didn't matter who had come just now; he had only come to provide clues.

"Reimu, are you aware of what's happening in the human village?"

There was a half-finished cup of tea in front of him, but Akina Ze didn't even glance at it before asking the question.

"How many times has this happened...?"

Upon hearing this, Reimu Hakurei pouted, pointed at her cup, and whispered.

Seeing the puzzled look on Akina Sawa's face as he leaned closer to hear what she had just whispered, Reimu Hakurei sighed and replied, "I know what happened in the Human Village, but I've already been there and can't find that vengeful spirit at all."

"You know who committed the crime?" Akina Sawa replied in surprise.

"I'm not a good-for-nothing!" Reimu Hakurei glared at Zeya Akina across from her. "Fujiwara no Mokou has already told me about what happened between you and Suzu."

"Judging from the timeline, the case you encountered should have been the first one."

"I came here today to talk about this matter."

“Yes.” Reimu Hakurei nodded in response, “It was thanks to this clue that I was able to confirm that the perpetrator was a vengeful spirit.”

"Now that you know, why don't you arrest them?" Akina Ze asked, puzzled.

“It’s not that simple…” Reimu Hakurei sighed. “This vengeful spirit is even more powerful than the ones we’ve encountered before. It can completely disguise itself as a possessed person; I couldn’t tell at all…”

"Then we have no way to deal with her?" Qiu Mingze realized the seriousness of the situation, and his tone became solemn.

He thought Reimu Hakurei was omnipotent, and if even she couldn't do anything about it... was it too late to expand the greenhouse now?

"So, here I am."

The two looked in the direction the sound came from and saw a girl with shoulder-length pink hair standing at the door—Komeiji Satoru.

......

Chapter 143 Stubbornness

"A mind-reading monster? Why is she here?"

In front of the two of them, these words were read aloud by Komeiji Satoru, word by word.

What is this talking about?

Akina Zeya's face showed a hint of doubt, but then he remembered that she could read minds, and he understood. He turned to look at Hakurei Reimu beside him.

As expected, Reimu Hakurei frowned slightly, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked at Satoru Komeiji with her eyebrows furrowed. "Reading minds as soon as we meet, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Reimu Hakurei forcibly suppressed her thoughts, feeling as if she were standing naked on the street in front of someone who could read minds.

This feeling is truly disgusting.

"Don't worry, I won't read your thoughts anymore." Komeiji Satoru shifted his gaze from Reimu Hakurei to Sawaya Akina.

"I can't believe what you're saying."

Her cold voice revealed Reimu Hakurei's deep distrust.

The monster from the earth immediately asked her to trust him, especially since it concerned her personal secrets. She couldn't help but be cautious if she were to cooperate with the investigation for an extended period of time.

"Akina, aren't you going to say something?"

Reimu Hakurei turned the conversation to Zeya Akina, who had been silent since the beginning. Didn't he care at all that his thoughts were being read?

"Me?" Akina Sawa, who was detached from the incident, responded with a puzzled voice.

“When I met Mr. Akina before, I couldn’t read his mind, so he doesn’t need to worry about this.”

Komeiji Satoru didn't want the flames of war to spread to Akina Sawaya, so she stepped forward to explain.

"Ah? Really fake?"

Upon learning something she didn't know, Reimu Hakurei was astonished. She had thought the farmer was just an ordinary farmer, but he actually possessed the ability to block mind-reading youkai... something even Yukari couldn't stop.

Akina Sawa felt the gentle touch of Reimu Hakurei's small hand on his head and smiled awkwardly, realizing he wasn't wearing an invisible iron helmet.

Seeing the two of them playfully bickering as if no one else was around, Komeiji Satoru's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible hint of envy. He cleared his throat and interrupted:

“I have no reason to lie; on the contrary, I can assure you that I will not read your thoughts during the subsequent investigation, Ms. Hakurei Reimu.”

"What's the reason?" Reimu Hakurei asked, turning her head.

"Because I can't read Mr. Akina's thoughts. If I concentrate all my abilities on Mr. Akina, it's equivalent to not being able to read the thoughts of the people around him."

Akina Ze raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, as long as I stand with Reimu, you won't be able to read Reimu's age?"

“That’s how it is in theory.” Komeiji Satoru nodded.

"Then how do I know you're going all out against Akina, uh...?" Reimu Hakurei still didn't quite believe it.

Since she couldn't tell whether Komeiji Satoru possessed the ability to use full power, relying solely on words greatly reduced their credibility.

“It’s not difficult, Miss Hakurei. Do you see the eyeball floating next to me?”

Komeiji Satoru reached out and grabbed his third eye, holding it in front of his chest with both hands. "When it uses its power at full strength, the eye will open completely, and the direction it faces is the direction in which the power is used."

Reimu Hakurei scrutinized him closely, and indeed, as she had said, his red eyes were wide open, and his deep red pupils were staring straight at Zeya Akina. Not only that, Satoru Komeiji's fair face also unconsciously flushed slightly; this was probably one of the characteristics of releasing full power.

"I believe you."

Having reached her conclusion, Reimu Hakurei no longer hesitated and extended her right hand to shake hands with Satoru Komeiji. For her, once she trusted someone, she would trust them wholeheartedly.

For Reimu Hakurei, hesitation halfway through is simply not an option.

When faced with Reimu Hakurei's outstretched hand, Satoru Komeiji's expression clearly showed surprise. She raised her left hand and then lowered it, at a loss for what to do. None of the youkai in the underground would do this; they were either drinking or fighting.

As the tallest of the three, Akina Sawa naturally had a clear view of the scene before him, and a smile crept onto his face.

What kind of monsters are they... what kind of shrine maidens are they...? They're all pretty much the same as ordinary people, aren't they? They just have a few more abilities...

"Count me in." Akina Ze also extended his right hand, palm down.

Reimu Hakurei looked up in surprise at Zeya Akina, only to find him smiling at her. She turned her head away in a panic, her ears turning bright red. "Of course!"

"Come on, Miss Komeiji."

Seeing that the shrine maiden was alright, Akina Sawa also looked at Komeiji Satoru, who had remained silent all along.

“...Okay.” Komeiji Satoru gently placed her small hand on Akina Sawa’s outstretched hand.

It's warm... a temperature unlike the heat of hell.

She looked up at Reimu Hakurei across from her and noticed that her earlobes were reddish-purple.

At that moment, Komeiji Satoru felt a pang of regret. She had promised not to read the shrine maiden's mind. She wanted to know what Hakurei was thinking now; it was probably something wonderful...

However, there's no going back in life. While Komeiji Satoru was still in a daze, Reimu Hakurei placed her hands on the two of them and pressed down.

The ceremony seems to be over?

With her left hand gently stroking the skin on the back of her right hand, Komeiji Satoru remained silent, lost in memories.

......

"I never expected that person would have come from outside Gensokyo."

After leaving the possessing demon, Miyaguchi Ruiling's expression seemed to be a mixture of confusion and delight.

She received good news.

Nowadays, there are people coming into Gensokyo from outside the barrier... He must be very disappointed to see the human village now ruled by youkai.

Miyaguchi Rui Ling recalled the two people who rushed out to help when she first possessed a kappa and caused trouble in the Human Village.

Suzuna-an shop owner's daughter, Motoori Suzu, is a native of the human village. She has lived in this environment of Gensokyo since birth and has never witnessed the ferocity of the past, so it is not hard to understand why she chooses to help the youkai.

And Akina Sawaya, this man who came from the outside world...

Miyako Deguchi Ruiling learned that many people in the Human Village considered him an honest and kind farmer.

If that's the case, such a kind person must have never witnessed the wickedness of yokai in the outside world, or perhaps the yokai in the outside world are all tamed, which is why they have a misconception about the yokai in Gensokyo who keep humans as pets, and thus choose to help them.

"He must realize that monsters are all evil and that we cannot feel any sympathy for them!"

After days of causing trouble, Miyaguchi Ruiren found that none of the residents of the human village had developed any genuine hatred for the yokai, so she placed all her hopes on Akina Zeya.

“At least… at least one person knows what the truth really is…” Miyaguchi Ruiling clenched her fists and muttered to herself.

......

Chapter 144 He's not here...

On the streets of the Human Village, the three walked side by side, with Akina Sawa occupying the center position, while Hakurei Reimu and Komeiji Satoru stood on either side.

Although Reimu Hakurei chose to believe, she was still a little afraid and hid next to Zeya Akina, who was her natural human shield, avoiding Satoru Komeiji's gaze.

"Seriously, can we just walk down the street like this?"

There weren't many pedestrians on the road in winter. Bored, Reimu Hakurei scanned the crowd one by one before asking in confusion. It wasn't that she was tired, but she felt that this method wasn't very effective, like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Although the area of ​​the Human Village is only the size of a town, it still takes a lot of time to walk through every corner of it. Moreover, the three of them agreed to meet the next morning to start their patrol, but as they walked until nearly noon, apart from their stomachs rumbling, they had not found anything else.

Komeiji Satoru remained silent, hovering in the air with wide pupils, examining the bloodshot eyes of every passerby—a sign of prolonged overuse.

Akina Sawa looked up at the sky with a troubled expression. He had been forcibly dragged here by Hakurei Reimu. Yesterday, he had only intended to provide clues, but he hadn't expected to end up in this search team composed of shrine maidens and youkai.

He followed the two around like a headless fly all morning, initially thinking they had some kind of plan in mind, so he didn't say anything.

But unexpectedly, it seems we were just traveling...

Isn't this a complete waste of time...? Akina Ze also rubbed his flat stomach; he was indeed a bit hungry after walking this far.

Akina Ze also turned his head to look at the two people on his left and right.

With her lips pursed, Reimu Hakurei began to show signs of impatience; Komeiji Satoru remained silent throughout, only pursing her lips.

Since these two really didn't think of anything, I'll do it myself...

Turning his gaze back, Akina Sawa also rubbed his chin. Judging from the previous examples, the criminals were all on top of the monsters. So, if we follow this clue, wouldn't the probability of criminals appearing in places where monsters gather be greatly increased?

Which place has the most monsters?