Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

"If you don't trust me, then please leave." Akina Ze didn't intend to continue arguing with Sakuya. Although he didn't have a good impression of the Kappa, he also didn't like the Scarlet Devil Mansion for delaying the final payment.

Of course, this could all be a misunderstanding, but based on the information that Akina Sawaya currently possesses, it has indeed given him such a bad impression.

Hearing Akina Sawa's resolute words, Izayoi Sakuya's eyes flickered with conflicting emotions. She bit her lower lip hard, her pearly teeth clenching her teeth. Although she didn't want to agree, this might truly be her last chance. If she didn't choose to trust the man before her...

Sakuya Izayoi, who was very strong-willed, finally relented. She sighed and replied, "I can take you to see the young lady, but you'd better not have any bad ideas."

"Is this how you ask for a favor?" Akina Ze raised an eyebrow, his tone somewhat cold and unfriendly.

"You?!" Izayoi Sakuya was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Akina Sawa to say such a thing, but Sakuya still said with an annoyed look, "Please! Mr. Akina, please meet my young lady!"

Izayoi Sakuya said this through gritted teeth but had no choice. The clock tower at the core of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's warning barrier could only be completed with the heavy cranes of the kappa. Right now, the kappa had concentrated all their mechanical resources on the underground world construction project, and the final payment had caused the project manager, Kawashiro Nitori, to have a grudge against the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Meanwhile, the client of the underground project, the Earth Spirit Palace, entrusted the task to Akina Zeya. Only by having him speak could they persuade the kappa to allocate some resources to build the Scarlet Devil Mansion. And now, Akina Zeya claims that he can get the young lady out of her bedroom and restore it to its original state without completing the clock tower...

"Okay, I agree. So when do we set off?" Akina Ze nodded and asked Sakuya.

"Now!" Izayoi Sakuya said with an icy expression, grabbing Akina Sawaya's wrist with one hand and silently chanting, "The World."

A silver-gray light curtain instantly covered the entire world from the inside out.

She planned to bring Akina Sawa to the Scarlet Devil Mansion in this world where time had stopped, so as not to waste time. Since Lady Remilia hid in her bedroom, Sakuya hadn't been able to absorb Remilia's energy for a long time.

"Sakuya-san? What's going on?"

An unexpected voice reached her ears, and Izayoi Sakuya was startled. She turned her head and saw that Akina Sawa was also looking around in the world where time had stopped.

My time-stopping technique didn't work on him?!

This was unprecedented, and Izayoi Sakuya was greatly shocked, hurriedly letting go of Akina Zeya's wrist.

What happened next made Izayoi Sakuya breathe a sigh of relief. After she released her wrist, Akina Sawa, like everything else in the world where time had stopped, came to a standstill.

"Can I move through a world where time is stopped just by touching his skin?"

After a moment's thought, Izayoi Sakuya came to this conclusion. She looked at the motionless Akina Zeya, seemingly lost in thought.

But there were more important things to do right now, so the investigation could wait until later. Without further hesitation, Izayoi Sakuya grasped Akina Sawaya's wrist again.

Suddenly, Akina Sawa seemed to come back to life, gaining color in the gloomy world. He looked at Izayoi Sakuya, about to ask a question.

But Sakuya Izayoi said in advance, as if giving a heads-up, "Don't ask questions, don't speak, just keep traveling quietly."

Upon hearing this, Akina Ze swallowed his doubts for the time being. The still world intrigued him. He glanced at the solidified ripples on the surface of the teacup, wanting to ask a question, but then remembered what Izayoi Sakuya had said, so he could only keep quiet.

Pushing open the door, Izayoi Sakuya tightly gripped Akina Sawaya's wrist behind her and began to travel through this still world.

Looking up, the sun in the sky seemed to be frozen at the same angle as when time stood still. Akina Sawa was also stunned for a moment because he discovered that Ms. Shameimaru Aya was secretly squatting under the window eavesdropping.

"You really don't trust me at all..." Akina Ze muttered slightly, but the next moment he was carried forward by the power coming from Miss Izayoi in front of him.

Although Akina Ze could easily turn the tables, this isn't a tug-of-war, so he doesn't need to do that.

After a long journey, and given that both of them were ordinary humans, Akina Sawa soon spotted the outline of the Scarlet Devil Mansion in the distance.

Sure enough, the Scarlet Devil Mansion's iconic clock tower was missing a large section, but its overall appearance was quite different from the almost complete ruins that Akina Sawaya had seen a few weeks earlier.

As Akina Sawa entered the Scarlet Devil Mansion through the main gate, he saw a girl in a military green dress standing there. He recognized her name: Akina Meiling.

But judging from her current appearance, she's sleeping? Akina Sawa also noticed that Miss Hong Meiling had her head down, eyes closed, and a contented expression, as if she were enjoying a wonderful dream.

Sakuya Izayoi, of course, also saw this scene, and a surge of anger rose within her, causing her to tighten her grip on the object.

Akina Ze, who was holding her hand tightly, naturally felt this boost in power and asked in confusion, "Sakuya-san, what's wrong?"

"It's alright, let's keep going." Izayoi Sakuya shook her head and continued leading Akina Sawa into the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Lady Remilia was still waiting ahead, and she didn't have time to deal with the lazy gatekeeper.

After circling the Scarlet Devil Mansion's various corridors, Sakuya Izayoi released Akina Sawaya's hand in front of the innermost bedroom. In that instant, the gloomy world regained its color.

Akina Sawa also looked around curiously.

"Lady Remilia is inside, but I still want to remind you that what I said before was actually for your own good."

Standing at the bedroom door, Izayoi Sakuya paused and continued to warn, "Although the young lady may look like just a loli, she can tear apart a human like you with ease. Don't provoke her."

"Okay, I remember."

Since it was advice, Akina Ze naturally nodded in response seriously. Although he didn't think he could be easily torn apart with his current physical condition, and his purpose in coming here was not to fight, but simply to tell this Miss Remilia some information.

......

Chapter 161 Cherishing and Sacrifice

The crystal chandelier, suspended in mid-air, is arranged in layers like flower petals. At the very center is a red crystal the size of a fist, from which soft but dim light emanates, covering the entire room.

Meanwhile, Remilia Scarlett, the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, sat on a high stool, her right hand supporting her delicate white chin, looking at the person who walked in. Her red eyes stood out in the extremely dark room.

Akina Ze also saw Remilia in front of him, who exuded an elegant and mysterious aura. His expression twitched slightly. He had thought that, according to Izayoi Sakuya's description, Miss Remilia should be hiding and vulnerable now, but he did not expect that she was completely different from what he imagined, or rather, she had not changed at all.

Miss Remilia remained just as he had when they first met: mysterious, powerful, and exuding elegance.

"I remember you, Akina Zeya. I really like your red wine~" Remilia spoke in a calm, unhurried voice, her free left index finger tapping the table rhythmically, 'tap-tap~ tap-tap~ tap-tap~'

One blow after another, and he felt inexplicably suffocated. Qiu Mingze felt as if he were being stared at by a ferocious beast, and the sounds were like the beating of drums after locking onto its prey.

However, Akina Ze also had a strong heart, and in the short time it took for his pulse to beat, he shook off the influence and nodded in response: "I am very grateful to Miss Remilia for liking my wine. If there is an opportunity, I will provide you with more types of wine, but on the condition that payment is made in advance."

A single breach of trust often comes at a greater price, and Akina Zeya's words provide a completely new condition for the current situation.

Remilia naturally understood the implication in Akina Zeya's words, and her expression immediately turned angry. An extremely oppressive aura burst forth from her small body. Akina Zeya, who was directly hit, remained unmoved, ignoring this aura.

"I've already given her two paintings, does she want to take the last one too?!"

As she said this, Remilia looked at a wall to the left, her red eyes filled with rage.

Akina Ze also curiously looked over and saw a square object covered by a red curtain hanging on the wall. It was nearly two meters long and about half a meter wide. This must be the painting that Miss Remilia was talking about.

Seemingly realizing she had lost her composure, Remilia suppressed her emotions, sat back on her high stool, slightly raised her left leg and rested it on her right knee, looking straight at Akina Zeya, who was at the same height as her. Her irritated tone was almost overflowing, "Just tell me, why did Sakuya let you in? I don't think my dashing head maid would do anything unnecessary."

Unfortunately, because the room was very soundproof, Izayoi Sakuya, who was standing outside the bedroom door, didn't hear Remilia's words, otherwise she would have had a nosebleed all over the floor again.

Is the time for casual conversation over? Akina Ze also noticed a long, sharp canine tooth peeking out from the left corner of the young lady's lip, and he didn't want to get bitten by it.

“Let’s get straight to the point, Miss Remilia.” Akina Ze returned the gaze without being humble or arrogant. “I heard from Miss Sakuya that you’ve been hiding in your bedroom because you’re worried about being attacked by vengeful spirits again. Is that true?”

He said it on purpose, because doing so would provoke Remilia, and when a person is angry, that's often when she's most vulnerable.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Remilia's little face turned bright red, just like a monkey's bottom.

Remilia grinned, revealing her sharp fangs, and replied as if exhaling, "How could that be!? How could I, a vampire, be afraid of a vengeful spirit? You, a mere human, have no idea about the darkness of vampires!"

"Yes, of course I know that Miss Remilia is not afraid of a vengeful spirit at all, so why does the invincible Lady Remilia keep hiding in the bedroom and refuse to come out?"

Following this line of reasoning, since Remilia herself said that she wasn't hiding in the bedroom because of a vengeful spirit, what could be the other reason?

If it's due to something else, as she says, he can look into it together, but if she's just being stubborn, that would be even better.

Akina Ze also smiled slightly. He hoped it was the latter, because that was the simplest solution.

"I'm not hiding!" Remilia snapped again. She hadn't been this angry in a long time, and she had never been treated with such rudeness in her long life.

Being mocked to her face by humans, Remilia was furious. She urgently retorted, "I sealed myself away! Possessed by a vengeful spirit, I did something similar to Flandre. How can I restrain my sister if I don't set a good example myself?!"

"Flandre?"

Upon hearing an unexpected name, Akina Sawa also looked somewhat puzzled.

He had played with Flandre several times, and Akina Sawa knew that Flandre was a cute little girl with short blonde hair and adorable mannerisms. But why did the young lady say that it was because she wanted to restrict Flandre that she chose to seal herself away and hide in her bedroom and refuse to go out?

Asking questions when you don't understand is always a good habit, and Akina Ze asked directly, "Why are you restricting Miss Flandre? Isn't that strange?"

"You said it's strange...?"

Remilia chuckled twice, then suddenly looked up and said, "You have no idea how terrifying she is!"

Horrible? What's so scary about it?

Although Akina Ze saw Remilia speaking very seriously, he just couldn't see anything terrifying about Flandre. Although Flandre could sometimes be a bit unreasonable and insist on getting him to buy her pudding, that was just childish play and had nothing to do with being scary.

"Hehe~ I can smell Akina-nii's scent~ Why do you only look for my sister and not for me, Fran~"

The tightly closed bedroom door was flung open, letting in the dim light from the hallway. Backlit, Flandre skipped merrily to Akina Zeya, her hands behind her back, the crystals hanging from her wings swaying casually, and her adorable little head peeked out. "Have you fallen for someone else?"

"Gulp~" Akina Ze also swallowed. The people who were just discussing it appeared in front of him in less than a few seconds. It was a bit awkward, but now was not the time to be stunned.

Akina Ze also reached out and gently patted Flandre's little head. "How could that be? I just came to see your sister about something. Besides, children shouldn't talk about adult matters."

“I’m not a little kid~” With a smug look on her face, Flandre didn’t forget to protest, “I’m much, much older than you!”

"Mmm, Miss Flandre is no longer a child~"

Akina Sawa had long since adapted to Gensokyo's distorted worldview. When he first learned that people like Cirno had lived there for countless years, he was indeed quite surprised, but he got used to it later. Because although people are old, their minds are not. No matter how old they are, they are still the same.

Remilia watched this heartwarming scene quietly, saying nothing. She had already made up her mind when she chose to lock Flandre in the basement... but why... were her eyes still a little wet?

She silently turned her head to look at the portrait hidden beneath the red curtain. Remilia remembered that this was the first and last time she and Flandre had seen the scene through the artist's eyes...

Chapter 162 Deep Sisterly Affection

With two little fairies and a giant tengu at home, Akina Ze had honed his head-patting skills to perfection. Before long, Flandre, who had been pouting and throwing a tantrum, quieted down and lay on her owner's lap like a kitten that had been stroked.

Akina Sawa smiled, continuing his actions while glancing at Remilia, who remained motionless on the high stool, aloof and unmoving.

He hadn't forgotten the purpose of asking Sakuya Izayoi to bring him here. Although Flandre's sudden intrusion distracted him slightly, it didn't have a major impact.

Akina Ze pondered for a moment, organized his thoughts, and nodded slightly, saying, "The vengeful spirit that attacked you before was eliminated by the Hakurei Shrine Maiden a few days ago."

Remilia, who was looking at the portrait on the wall, paused, turned her head, and her red eyes narrowed slightly, radiating a dangerous light. "Why did you bring this up? Didn't I tell you? I didn't hide in the bedroom because I was afraid of being attacked again."

"And it's already been destroyed?" Remilia looked disappointed, her left leg gently resting on her right, her exquisite dress sliding down to completely cover her white jade underneath. "I was thinking of taking matters into my own hands in a while to let it know what happens when it offends the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but it seems I won't have the chance."

Actually, there's still a chance. Miss Miyaguchi Ruiling is currently living in my house, albeit as a tsukumogami... Akina Sawa's expression remained unchanged. The fact that Miss Ruiling still exists is a secret, and he doesn't intend to tell anyone.

oooo~

Suddenly, Akina Ze also felt a stinging sensation in his index finger, which was used to pat his head, and he hurriedly looked down.

Unexpectedly, Flandre was biting into it, and Akina Sawa subconsciously pulled hard, "pop~", bringing out a string of crystal-clear liquid.

In the dim red light of the bedroom, the bitten index finger was covered in a glistening liquid, with a small cut on the fingertip from which a single drop of bright red blood oozed...

How did I suddenly get bitten?!

Akina Ze also looked at Flandre, who was grinning, with an uncertain expression. Although the little scratch was not as bad as the barbs on the hoe stick that had pierced his finger when he was plowing the field, it was still strange to be bitten like that... It's not like your index finger is a teething stick, it's made of flesh!

"Hehe, even though I'm already lying on top of Akina-nii, why does he still go and talk to my sister?" Flandre slowly curled her pink tongue, her eyes glazed as she licked the blood off her lips.

"Hmm~ Why is Akina-nii's blood so delicious?" Flandre raised her head, her deep red eyes, the same as Remilia's, exuding a dangerous aura. Her still childlike face smiled faintly, and her canine teeth gradually emerged from the corners of her mouth.

As if being targeted by a natural enemy, Akina Ze felt that the kitten on his lap had suddenly turned into an aggressive tiger, ready to pounce on him the moment he let his guard down.

"enough!"

A soft snort—that was Remilia's angry rebuke.

She jumped off the high stool, walked straight to Akina Zeya, grabbed Flandre's wrist, and pulled her down.

"But, Akina-nii's blood tastes really delicious! I've never tasted such delicious blood before. Sister, why don't you try some?" Flandre replied pitifully, her wrist being forcibly pulled, but her gaze remained fixed on the cut on Akina Zeya's index finger, where a drop of deep red blood hung.

Do you want to be locked up by me again?

Remilia showed no mercy and increased the pressure in her hand.

"It hurts! It hurts! I was wrong!" Flandre's face showed a hint of pain.

Seeing this, Remilia sighed and released her wrist. After all, Flandre was still her sister, and the two depended on each other for survival in this Gensokyo.

She turned around and bowed slightly to Qiu Mingze, her face full of apology. "I'm sorry, it was my fault for not disciplining her properly. I will keep her in check in the future."

"It's alright, it's alright. After all, you're vampires, so I know you have to drink blood." Akina Ze waved his hand to indicate that he didn't care. He wasn't out of options just now. When Flandre looked at him again, he had already covered his skin with his internal energy.

With the accumulation of a large amount of gas, the skin becomes as hard as granite.

Akina Zeya had just had an idea to put his fully inflated index finger back into Fran's mouth to see if it would hit her teeth, but before he could do it, Remilia stopped him.

"It's good that you can forgive us." Remilia sighed deeply again. After the Red Mist Incident, their rights as vampires were firmly restricted by the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. They could only make a living by buying blood and were not allowed to actively absorb human blood without permission.

Now that things are so difficult, she doesn't want to invite any more trouble.

"By the way, sister, shouldn't we give Akina-nii a gift to express our apology?"

Flandre, who had just been gently scolded and quieted down for a moment, quickly became energetic again, her little eyes darting around, as if she was up to something again.

Upon hearing this, Remilia's anger surged even higher, but she glanced at Akina Zeya, who was still in the bedroom, and knew she had to maintain her dignity as the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.