Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

"Yes, don't let his unassuming appearance fool you, he's incredibly wealthy. Once I convert all the land near the shrine into farmland and take over your market, let's see if you can still talk like that," Reimu Hakurei thought to herself.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden completely forgot that she couldn't even get up early, or rather, she couldn't even take the first step of turning the land into farmland—being a farmer wasn't so easy.

Akina Ze didn't pay attention to Reimu's little scheme. He looked around at the people and yokai nearby, and everything was as harmonious as usual, with no strange fainting incidents occurring.

"Do you think it's possible that if we just swagger down the street like this, the person will see us and hide?"

"Huh? Really?"

Reimu Hakurei replied blankly, her mind still on the candied hawthorn in her hand.

"...Never mind, let's wait until you finish eating."

Feeling stifled by the strong Tang flavor, Qiu Mingze chose to keep quiet and wait until they finished eating before continuing the conversation.

“Miyaguchi Ruiling,” Komeiji Satori said calmly, licking a candied hawthorn.

"what?"

"The culprit's name is Miyaguchi Zuirei." Komeiji Satoru silently turned his gaze to Hakurei Reimu.

“This name… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.” Reimu Hakurei looked puzzled.

"Do you know her?" Akina Ze also asked.

Reimu Hakurei shook her head. "No, it's just that I feel like I've seen the name 'Miyaguchi' somewhere before."

Lost in the throes of memory, Reimu Hakurei only realized what had happened after she had completely finished eating a candied hawthorn skewer:

"That's right! I remember now, I saw this name mentioned in a book in the storage room before!"

......

Chapter 146 'Normal'

"You two sit here first, I'll be back in a bit."

"Shouldn't we look for it together?"

Akina Ze also put his hands behind his back, sat cross-legged on the tatami, and asked Reimu.

Having learned the vengeful spirit's real name from Komeiji Satori and that the Hakurei Shrine had a record of that name, the three, having gained little from their exploration of the Human Village, returned to the Hakurei Shrine without delay.

"No need! I can manage by myself. The shrine's storage room is very small; if too many people crowd in, it will be harder to find things." Reimu Hakurei waved her hands repeatedly in refusal.

Old, worn-out white bandages that I couldn't bear to throw away, clothes that no longer fit, and messy doodles...

Over the long years, the storage room accumulated many things that belonged to the girl's secrets, but these were the things she didn't want others to see. She preferred to search for them alone rather than let anyone see them.

"She doesn't seem to mind being tired at all; that's not like Reimu's usual style..."

Akina Sawa muttered a few words under his breath, then readily replied:

"Alright then, Ms. Komeiji and I will wait for you here."

Although it was unclear why Reimu Hakurei refused, sitting and slacking off was fine, and Akina Sawa massaged his sore thighs, which had been aching from walking all day.

"are you tired?"

Komeiji Satoru was sitting on a cushion less than a meter away from him when he asked.

Taken aback by the unexpected question, Akina looked up and casually replied, "It's alright, much easier than tilling the fields."

At this moment, Reimu Hakurei was rummaging through the storage room, causing mischief. Unbeknownst to them, the room had become a private space for two. Akina Sawa didn't seem to mind much; he was already past the stage of getting shy around cute girls.

"Tilling the land? I've never done that before."

Komeiji Satoru stood very straight, like a straight line from front to back, communicating with the unknown. This was what she longed for and needed to face with the utmost respect.

"Lianlian often massages my shoulders when I get tired of reading."

Unwilling to let the topic she started end like this, Komeiji Satoru reminisced about the little things about tiredness in her daily life and told Akina Sawaya about them.

"Oh, so Miss Lianlian is quite nice to you too."

“We are sisters.” Komeiji Satoru nodded gently.

"Do monsters also have relationships like humans?"

Akina Sawa had always been curious about these kinds of questions between yokai, but as soon as he said it, he realized he had said the wrong thing and apologized, scratching his head, "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

"It's alright. Humans have many misunderstandings about yokai, but at the same time, many of their perceptions are correct. It's a mix of truth and falsehood." Komeiji Satoru didn't seem offended at all; his expression was very calm.

"The name 'yokai' is just a general term... but as you can see, the relationship between me and Renren is that of sisters in your human understanding."

Akina Ze nodded silently; he had gained a lot.

Aside from her eye-catching, floating eyeball, what makes Ms. Komeiji, who sits opposite me, different from an ordinary human?

"Would you like me to massage your thighs to relieve fatigue?"

"..."

Akina Ze's face immediately went blank. This is where the difference comes in... You can't just touch a human's thigh like that.

“Um, Miss Komeiji, please listen to me first, this won’t do.” Akina Sawa also shook his head vigorously.

"Why? Isn't this the same as a shoulder massage?"

"Of course it's different!" Qiu Mingze's voice rose a few decibels, then fell back down. "You and Lianlian are sisters, so it's normal for you to pinch each other, but I'm a guy. Pinching shoulders is fine... but I can't just do things like pinching thighs."

"There are no male monsters among the awakened ones."

"But humans have it!"

"I am not human."

"..."

Forcing human concepts onto yokai only leads to some ridiculous results. Akina Sawa also felt numb; he shouldn't have discussed such issues with yokai.

"Pfft~"

Komeiji Satoru suddenly laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, a faint smile playing in her violet eyes. "I've read quite a few human books."

"I am aware of everything you are saying."

"...Since you already know, why are you still asking?" Akina Ze was truly numb. Asking the most difficult question in the world must involve making someone pretend not to understand, because they already know.

Has anyone ever told you that you're weird, Mr. Akina?

Komeiji Satoru stopped laughing and regained her usual calm expression, but a faint, almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Strange? I think I'm pretty normal." Akina Ze also touched his nose.

Every day, I get up to plow the fields and water the plants, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on time, and spend my free time fishing and taking walks by the river. I go to bed early every night.

If this isn't normal, Akina Sawa feels that there's no one more normal than him in Gensokyo.

"Mr. 'Normal' who can communicate normally with monsters?"

"You may call yourselves monsters, but I honestly don't see any difference between you and humans."

Akina Zeya's expression was very serious. This was something he believed in; what was normal and abnormal was, after all, a subjective judgment.

This is normal for him.

The shrine's reception room fell silent for a moment until Komeiji Satoru stood up from her cushion.

"Miss Komeiji? What are you trying to do?"

Akina Ze also looked terrified, because Jue, wearing a light pink dress, was standing behind him.

"Don't turn around." A soft reminder came from beside my ear.

Straightening his body, Akina Sawa's mind was a complete mess; he had no idea what Komeiji was up to.

—Until I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder.

"If you won't let me massage your thighs, then can I massage your shoulders?"

Satoru Komeiji spoke in a flat, indistinct tone, standing behind Zeya Akina, her fair hands gently massaging his shoulders.

"Do you know? I first heard your name from Lianlian."

"I was thinking then, how could she remember you?"

"When we first met at the Earth Spirit Palace, I was actually a little disappointed..."

"But you are definitely different, you're just too ordinary."

The calm voice from behind continued, but Akina Zeya's heart remained restless.

Forcibly calming the turmoil in his heart, Akina Ze spoke under immense pressure:

"I'm just doing what I want to do. Whether it's Lianlian or Miss Jue, it's just a part of my daily life... Thank you for your consideration."

As soon as he finished speaking, Akina Ze felt the force on his shoulder suddenly increase, causing him to wince in pain.

"You're overthinking it!" With a slight frown, Komeiji Satoru's fair and indifferent face showed a rare hint of anger.

Unfortunately, he was facing away from her, so he couldn't see it from Akina Sawaya's perspective.

"What are you doing? I found the thing."

Reimu Hakurei, who had just returned from the storage room, witnessed this scene and asked in confusion, holding up her notebook.

"It's nothing, Miss Jue is just doing me a favor." Qiu Mingze grinned and said.

"Oh, let's get started quickly. Hopefully, this notebook has enough clues."

Reimu Hakurei can't wait to share what she just found with everyone.

Watching Komeiji Satoru leave behind him and return to his seat, Akina Sawa was momentarily at a loss for whether to be happy or sad.

He thought Miss Jue must be very angry, but to his surprise, she gently drew a few words on his back with her finger.

Akina Sawa, having grasped this, also pondered silently.

I'm probably just asking for trouble again...

......

Chapter 147 What's the Price?

"Yukari, Reimu and the others are currently investigating that person's background. Should we stop them?"

The drowsy demon, with her slender waist, sat sideways on a mahogany chair embroidered with exquisite patterns. Her golden hair, which felt wonderful to the touch, hung down to her waist. She held a cup of sake in her hand and lightly touched the ground with her toes.

Yukari Yakumo glanced at Ran, who was bowing and reporting the situation, then lightly flicked her wrist, causing the crystal-clear liquid in the glass to scatter a hazy luster, so pure...

"There's no need to stop it; it's all just a matter of seeing things through a fog. Those who had no real knowledge of the situation have long since disappeared, leaving only participants like us."

"But it seems they've already obtained that book that records things related to Miyakojima?" Yakumo Ran asked, puzzled.

"It's alright, let them look." Yakumo Yukari casually took a sip of sake, the rich flavor lingering on her lips and teeth.

After waking up from a long sleep, a glass of sake can help refresh you.

Upon hearing Yukari Yakumo's response, Ran Yakumo's eyes flashed with a thoughtful light. After considering for a moment, she said, "Has the content in the book been processed?"

"No, that's not true. Everything written in the book is true."

"this?"

Blinking, Yakumo Ran was about to ask another question, but Yukari simply shook her head and drank the sake in her cup in one gulp. "Let's not talk about things from the past. Forget about them, pretend they didn't exist, Ran."

“…Okay.” Yakumo Ran bowed respectfully and left.

Watching her departing figure, Yakumo Yukari sighed and refilled her wine cup with the sake bottle beside her.

"Alas, how could I possibly want that..."

The torrent surges forward; only those who adapt to the times survive, while those who go against it are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—why bother?

......

"...The former Miyaguchi family shrine maiden, Zuirei, attacked the residents of the human village and was judged to have become a demon and fallen. As a result, the Miyaguchi family was expelled from the Hakurei Shrine. Several days later, the Hakurei Great Barrier was officially completed, and the human village entered a long-awaited period of great harmony."

"That's how it's recorded in the book..."

After finishing reading and closing the book, Reimu Hakurei's brows furrowed noticeably. "She's actually a shrine maiden..."

The image of her predecessors, who vanquished demons, helped the weak, and stood up for justice, appeared in Reimu Hakurei's mind. The reason she was acting so slacking off was because she felt she could never catch up with her mother's figure. In Reimu Hakurei's heart, this was the true shrine maiden, and she was far from being able to reach her level.