Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

The room wasn't big, and Hieda Akyuu, who had gone to get a towel, returned quickly. A few beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, and a few strands of purple hair clung to it. He was breathing heavily.

It seems that Ms. Hieda's body has become extremely weak; even this short distance has exhausted her.

"Let me do it!"

Seeing that Ah Qiu was about to bend down and wipe the table with her slender wrists, Xiao Ling couldn't sit still and immediately stood up to take the towel from her hand.

But Hieda Akyuu shook her head firmly and stubbornly wiped the slightly dusty table clean by herself. Her movements were very meticulous, cleaning every corner thoroughly, although she had to catch her breath after each step.

Even so, Hieda Akyuu still wouldn't let Akina Sawa and Suzu help him.

Motoori Kosui was almost in tears. She never expected to see Akyuu like this. If Akina Sawa hadn't brought her along, she might never have realized her best friend's predicament.

Akina Ze also frowned deeply.

The Hieda family couldn't possibly lack servants to clean, yet they left the ailing Miss Hieda to struggle alone...

Needless to say, this is definitely a big problem!

......

Chapter 188 Akyuu's Dilemma

Despite his current predicament, Hieda Akyuu still possesses a simple and elegant demeanor.

This comes from historical accumulation, and few people can give people this feeling, but Akyu is one of them.

"Sorry for the poor hospitality."

After calmly wiping every corner of the living room table clean, Hieda Akyuu sat at the head of the table with a serene expression.

Akina Ze looked somewhat surprised, because he had taken a closer look at the small room while Akyuu was putting the used towel into the inner room. He noticed that there was some fine dust in many places, which meant that the Hieda family's servants had stopped cleaning the room. The dust he saw now was probably left behind by Akyuu himself after he dragged his sick body to clean it.

Judging from this, Akyuu's situation in the Hieda family can't be good. She was the head of the family when we last met, how did she end up like this...? Although she herself doesn't seem to care much...

So something must have happened, and Akina Sawa frowned slightly.

As a close friend of Akyuu, Motoori Kosuzu couldn't contain herself any longer, her eyes slightly reddening as she couldn't help but ask:

"What happened... why are they ignoring you?"

"I'm sorry, Suzu... This is a family matter, it has nothing to do with you." Hieda Akyuu looked apologetic, and instead of responding, changed the subject, saying, "What brings you here today?"

"I..." Motoori Kosuzu opened her mouth to ask further, but Akina Sawa also raised his hand to stop her.

He knew that Miss Akyuu would not accept help from others so easily. Although Akina Sawa had not spent much time with her, he could see the resilience in Miss Akyuu's bones from those few interactions.

Miss Akyuu seems to intend to resolve her current predicament herself.

However, Akina Ze didn't want to do nothing. After all, he and Xiaoling had come to Akyuu for help and found her in trouble. How could he possibly stand idly by?

Raising his hand to stop Xiaoling from asking further questions, Qiumingze smiled and placed the zongzi on the table. "Miss Aqiu, I heard you've been seriously ill recently. These are Maoyu zongzi we brought for you. Would you like to try some? The aroma you smelled by the window just now was coming from them."

Recalling the smell from earlier, Hieda Akyuu involuntarily swallowed.

Logically, one should recuperate after a serious illness, but she fell into this predicament because she violated a taboo of her clan. Even her usual diet has been drastically reduced, let alone supplementing her nutrition to recuperate.

Seeing that A-Qiu's expression had changed, Qiu-Ningze also had an idea. He reached out and lifted a bamboo leaf to fully reveal the glutinous rice dumplings inside.

Instantly, a rich aroma filled the room, and Hieda Akyuu's expression grew increasingly impatient; her malnourished body craved to eat it.

Maoyu meat is already a highly nutritious food, and now that it's wrapped in glutinous rice, its appeal is doubled.

"I...I can't accept it..." Hieda Akyuu was still being stubborn, but her purple eyes, fixed on the rice dumplings on the table, had already betrayed her.

"Please eat, consider this a tasting. This is my first time making this kind of dish. Ms. Hieda, you must have eaten a lot of things. How about giving me your evaluation?"

Sometimes being stubborn actually means wavering. Akina Ze seized the opportunity and changed the subject, asking her to taste it.

With delicious food in front of him, Hieda Akyuu kept glancing at the rice dumplings. Suddenly, he bit his lip, looked up and stared intently into Akina Sawaya's eyes. "Why did you have to go to this extent... You and I don't actually have much of a relationship, do we? The previous supply was just a transaction."

Because I was probably just a kind passerby...

Carefully choosing his words, Akina Sawa smiled and replied, "You're Xiaoling's good friend, so you're my good friend too. And have you forgotten? You once lent me a handcart, which helped me a lot back then."

"trolley......?"

A scene suddenly appeared in Hieda Akyuu's mind.

It was springtime, and she was standing in front of the gate of the Hieda mansion admiring the wildflowers growing by the roadside when she suddenly saw Akina Sawa carrying a large pile of vegetables to her door.

Although Akyuu didn't know Akina Sawaya at the time, he could tell from the way Akina was carrying things that he was having a hard time.

So, feeling sorry for it, he asked someone to lend it a handcart, which he later reportedly bought at the original price.

Similar things happened frequently in Hieda Akyuu's long memory, and she didn't think it was anything to be grateful for.

But seeing the faint smile on Akina Sawa's face across from him, Hieda Akyuu suddenly sighed, letting go of what seemed like some of his inner convictions, "Then I'll just have a bite."

After saying that, Hieda Akyuu reached out and took a small piece from the rice dumpling, and like a hamster eating, shyly put it into his mouth.

The moment the rice dumpling entered his mouth, a look of surprise flashed across Hieda Akyuu's face...

A rich, mellow aroma of glutinous rice permeates the rice, making it incredibly appetizing.

This taste...this taste...how can it be so delicious!

Hieda Akyuu suddenly looked up at Akina Sawaya and saw him nodding with a smile.

At this point, A-Qiu lost all restraint. Like someone who had been starving for days suddenly finding a pile of food in front of him, he quickly devoured it all.

Xiaoling, who was standing to the side, was also greatly shocked. She had never seen Akyuu look like this before. He was just... just exactly like that Miss Saigyouji!

Motoori Kosuzu once caught a glimpse of Yuyuko wreaking havoc in the market's food street from afar, and ever since then, she has never been able to forget that ruthless scene.

"Hiccup~"

After eating and drinking his fill, Hieda no Akyuu couldn't help but let out a burp.

Upon realizing she had done this, she covered her mouth with her hand in surprise, her face turning red.

She was, after all, a genuine lady from a respectable family, and had never done anything like hiccuping in front of others.

She considers burping in front of others to be impolite, even if they are good friends.

Fortunately, Akina Sawa and Motoori Kosuzu both knew that Akyuu was a bit shy and pretended not to hear, which allowed Akyuu to gradually calm down. Otherwise, she might have run away into the bedroom.

"Mr. Akina, the rice dumplings you brought are delicious, thank you."

Hieda Akyuu, feeling a little embarrassed, thanked him after realizing that he had eaten all the rice dumplings by himself.

"It's alright, it was just a gift to comfort you. If it's not enough, I have some more at home, I'll bring some more next time."

"No need, I'm already satisfied," Hieda Akyuu said with a faint smile.

"Okay, then I have a question, can you answer it for me?"

“Please speak…” Hieda Akyuu took a deep breath; she knew what was coming had finally arrived.

"I want to know what happened to you, and why the Hieda family treated you this way, even though you are the head of the family," Akina Sawa asked in a deep voice.

......

Chapter 189 A Long-cherished Wish

Hieda Akyuu's eyes were filled with bitterness, and her fair face was etched with sorrow as she slowly spoke:

"I don't blame anyone, because I was the one who broke the limits."

Suddenly, Hieda Akyuu looked at Motoori Kosuzu apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I've been hiding something from you."

"Actually, I should have died a long time ago..."

Upon hearing this, Motoori Kosuzu stared in disbelief. "Akyuu, what are you saying? You're perfectly fine!"

"So... that's the limit I broke, and that's why my people ignore me."

Hieda Akyuu got up and walked slowly to the window, silently looking at the artificial hill outside, exuding a strong sense of loneliness.

"Do you know... what the son of O-A-Rei is?"

"What does this have to do with anything! Ah-qiu, you are just Ah-qiu!"

Akina Sawa was still stroking his chin, pondering the meaning of the term, but Motoori Kosuzu had already stood up excitedly and shouted.

Hieda Akyuu turned around, her purple hair swaying in the wind, a faint smile playing on her lips:

"Xiaoling, I knew you knew about this, but what I'm about to say is related to it."

"As the son of Mi-A-Rei, I possess the ability to remember everything I see; this is a gift from Lord Enma."

“Even though he’s Lord Enma… you can’t do this…” Motoori Kosuzu seemed to realize something and couldn’t stop sobbing.

Suzuna-an had several books in her collection that mentioned the son of Mio-rei. She had thought it was just a supernatural tale, but it turned out to be true, and that it was Hieda no Akyuu.

"Don't be sad, because all of this was done voluntarily by me and by us, for that book, to die... just a chance to start over."

His words were quite frank, but as Hieda Akyuu's slender fingers brushed against the windowsill, a hint of reluctance flickered in his eyes.

"Wait? What are you guys talking about? I can't understand a word you're saying."

Akina Sawa asked, looking completely bewildered.

What about the son of Ooari, what about death, what about Enma... etc. He did know Enma, he had heard the Great Thunder Reaper mention him, but he really didn't know the others.

“The son of Oori… refers to someone who possesses the power of reincarnation through a contract with Lord Enma,” Motoori Kosuzu explained in a hoarse voice.

She should have known sooner; the so-called serious illness was just a cover-up...

"Reincarnation? Isn't that great?"

After dying, he retained his memories and started over. Akina Ze thought about it and didn't find anything wrong with it. Although reincarnation was still not as good as his resurrection, he didn't have the perseverance to grow from a fetus back into an adult.

"But there is one drawback..."

Recalling what the library said, Motoori Kosuzu explained, "Because it's a reincarnation technique, all of Miori's children are physically weak..."

Akina Sawa also glanced at Hieda Akyuu and found that, as Suzu had said, he was indeed very thin.

Of course, this could also be due to her age; Miss Akyuu is still a little girl, right?

Composing himself, Akina Sawa continued to listen to Suzu's explanation.

"And there's another fatal flaw... all, all..."

Motoori Kosuzu couldn't bring herself to say the last few words, but Hieda Akyuu picked up where she left off, saying, "They all died young."

Short-lived?

Akina Sawa was also taken aback for a moment. He rubbed his eyes again and carefully examined Hieda Akyuu, muttering to himself:

"Aside from being a little pale, there's nothing strange about it."

"This is not physical, but caused by a flaw in the reincarnation technique."

Hieda Akyuu made no attempt to hide anything and directly addressed Akina Sawa's doubts.

This cleared up some of the doubts, but Akina Sawa still shook his head and said:

"But you didn't die, so that doesn't explain why your people would treat you like this."

"It's because I didn't die!" Hieda Akyuu, in a fit of despair, plopped down on the cushion. "There's actually a book in the clan that records the pattern of the birth of each generation of Miyako's sons, which can be used to deduce the time of death directly from the birth date."

"...How can such a bizarre thing happen?" Akina Ze was also speechless.

Feudal superstition even contains some mathematical reasoning...

However, if he were told from birth that he was destined to die at a certain time, he would definitely pick up a stick and drive all those guys away once he had the ability!

“And my ‘death’ was actually just a while ago,” Hieda Akyuu continued. “Everyone thought I was seriously ill and about to die, and many things had already been prepared for my funeral.”

“But I didn’t expect…” Hieda Akyuu paused abruptly at this point.

"I didn't expect you to be cured again, did I?" Akina Ze added.

Hieda Akyuu remained silent.

"That's wonderful! Akyuu, you don't have to die!" Motoori Kosuzu cried tears of joy; she was genuinely happy that Akyuu wouldn't have to die.

Upon hearing the words "son of Mi-Are" from Akyuu, Motoori Kosuzu thought of the contents recorded in her family's books—a pitiful, tragic, yet also great group of people...

Xiaoling didn't quite understand what great things were, but she was really worried that Akyuu would leave this world like this, and as a friend, she was very reluctant to let him go.

Apart from Suzune's joyful voice, there was nothing else in the room; Hieda Akyuu and Akina Sawa were also silent.