Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

......

"Such a thing must not happen again in the human world." Akina Ze also looked slightly serious.

He paused for a moment and then continued, "I have a rough idea that the black aura is something that can stir up people's obsessions."

“Take you for example, Suzu.” Akina Ze also looked at Motoori Suzu and explained, “The reason you ignored the danger of the hairy jade and went to the beast path to hunt is probably because your obsession with eating hairy jade meat was amplified and influenced by this item.”

"Moreover, jade pendants, bookmarks, and CDs are merely external forms; what's important is that dark aura..."

Akina Ze also spoke slowly.

When the incident from that day was brought up again, Motoori Kosuzu's face turned slightly pale. The adorable Maoyu had left a deep impression on her.

If she could do it all over again, she would definitely not choose to go alone, at least...

Motoori Kosuka involuntarily glanced at Akina Zeya, whose expression was serious, but quickly lowered her head, her ears turning red, looking shy and bashful.

Hieda Akyuu, who was sitting opposite him, pretended not to see him and asked Akina Sawa, "So what do you plan to do?"

Akina Ze also cautiously responded: "The culprit behind the black aura is probably the kappa. We must go and find them to find out the truth."

Still a little dazed, Motoori Kosuzu interrupted when she heard the word "kappa" and asked.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Don't rush." ​​Qiu Mingze casually ruffled Xiaoling's head; her deep orange hair felt quite nice to the touch.

"Don't~"

A soft, gentle murmur came from Xiao Ling's throat, and her fair, jade-like face revealed an expression like that of a kitten being stroked.

Tsk, that's too much...

No matter how much Hieda Akyuu pretended not to see what the two were doing, he still noticed it, after all, they were only a table apart.

When exactly did Suzu and Akina become so close...? I have no idea...

Recalling the correspondence with Suzu that year, Hieda Akyuu found no clues in them, only a few envelopes mentioned the name.

Her impression of Akina Sawaya was limited to him being a good person in the conventional sense...

Or is Suzu deliberately hiding what happened between her and Akina?

Suddenly, the thought popped into Hieda Akyuu's mind, and he involuntarily looked at Suzu, only to find her staring intently at Akina Sawaya...

No, that's absolutely impossible... Hieda Akyuu shook her head vigorously to banish the thought, but some lingering ideas remained deep within her mind.

......

Since the problem involves causing trouble for a kappa, it might be better to find an accomplice first rather than going there alone.

Having decided on an assistant in his mind, Akina Sawa stood up and turned to Xiaoling, saying, "You stay here with Akyuu. I can handle the rest on my own."

"I'll go with you!" Motoi Kosuzu also tried to get up.

“No, I can manage on my own.” Akina Ze shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to cause trouble for the Kappa, it’s inconvenient to take you with me.”

A steady weight pressed down on her shoulder, and Motoori Kosuzu couldn't get up no matter what she did. She could only grumble unhappily, "Fine..."

"Don't be sad, I was just worried something might happen to you," Qiu Mingze replied with a smile.

Just as Akina Sawa was about to walk out the door, he suddenly paused, looked at Akyuu and said, "You also wait for my good news. Believe me, it will be soon."

Without further hesitation, Akina Ze pushed open the door and strode away.

Hieda Akyuu sat on the cushion, staring blankly at the doorway. A gentle breeze blew across the Enchantress on the table, causing the pages to rustle. She turned her head, closed the book with one hand, and a blush gradually rose on her fair cheeks.

"A-Qiu..."

Realizing the danger, Motoori Kosuzu opened her mouth as if to say something, but a pair of jet-black wings suddenly flashed through her mind, and she ultimately shut her mouth and remained silent, only a faint sorrow reflected in her eyes.

......

Chapter 192 Comic Book

Compared to an ordinary farmer like myself, wouldn't the shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine be more suitable to handle the trouble caused by the kappa? Besides, it's not like I'm asking her to start from scratch and find clues; it's just asking her to directly arrest the culprit. Surely she wouldn't refuse such a simple task?

This was Akina Sawa's thought before he was explicitly rejected by Hakurei Reimu.

Sitting cross-legged on the mat, Akina Ze watched Reimu's back as she lay on the straw mat, her legs dangling in the air, and was speechless.

Are you really not going?

Having finally made it up the mountain, only to be rejected, Akina Ze was unwilling to give up and asked again.

"No~ I want to slack off, I want to read comic books." Reimu's voice was lazy.

Her pale fingers turned the pages of the comic book in front of her, a smile that lingered on her lips. Her once bright eyes had become listless, staring intently at the contents of the comic book, occasionally letting out a silly grin.

How about I roast a sweet potato for you?

Unable to achieve righteousness, he resorted to bribery. Akina Ze gestured with his hands to resemble a sweet potato, and his face showed the look of someone smelling the tempting aroma of a sweet potato.

“Roasted sweet potatoes…” Reimu hesitated for a moment, and just when Akina Sawa thought there was a chance, she shook her head, “The sweet potatoes you roast aren’t as good as the ones I make myself, I don’t want them.”

After saying that, Reimu Hakurei turned to another page of the manga and immediately became immersed in the world within the book again.

Even bribery didn't work, what should we do... Akina Sawa also looked troubled.

Since gentle methods don't work, let's try force—anyone who dares to use force against a shrine maiden must have a death wish!

"thump."

Akina Ze also leaped up and lay down next to Reimu, asking, "What will it take for you to come with me to find the kappa?"

"I already told you I wanted to slack off!"

Reimu Hakurei muttered a complaint and turned her back to Zeya Akina.

If one plan fails, another will be devised.

A glint flashed in Akina Zeya's eyes, and he gently poked Reimu's armpit with his finger—

"Hahaha! What are you doing?!"

This was like stirring up a rabbit's burrow; Reimu burst into laughter, even laughing through her tears.

Even though she was being teased like this, she only complained and didn't take any real action to respond to Akina Sawaya, as if she had also given up on any revenge plan.

Something's a bit strange...

As he watched Reimu Hakurei wriggle away from him, Akina Sawa sensed something was wrong. Judging from his assessment, Reimu would at least retaliate by scratching him, and there was no way the matter would be settled peacefully like this.

Noticing that Reimu's lips seemed a little dry as she continued reading the comic book, Akina Sawa stood up and walked towards the kitchen. After a sound of running water, he brought out a glass of clear water.

"drink water?"

As he spoke, Akina Ze placed the water glass on the table, at a height that required the shrine maiden to stand up to reach it.

“Yes, I want to drink.” Reimu Hakurei replied cheerfully.

But she looked around and couldn't find the water cup on the straw mat, and a look of doubt appeared on her face.

Akina Ze naturally took in her expression and reminded her, "I've put the water on the table, get up and get it yourself."

"Ugh, why is this so troublesome?" Upon hearing that it was on the table, Reimu Hakurei's expression showed impatience. Suddenly, she said in a coquettish tone, "Akina-kun, can you just feed me the water directly?"

Her jade-like feet, clad in short white socks, swayed slightly in the air. Reimu Hakurei turned her head, gently raised her fair chin, and gazed at Zeya Akina with a hint of teasing charm in her eyes.

This scenery...this scenery...there's definitely something wrong with it!

Having confirmed that the shrine maiden had also been affected by the dark aura, Akina Sawa could no longer sit still. He searched through the shrine's belongings, trying to find the object where the dark aura was hidden.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Reimu's surprised voice came from beside him.

Akina Ze didn't pay any attention; instead, he frowned and pondered seriously.

Kaguya's item was a game disc, and Suzume's was a bookmark, which suggests that the black aura can only hide in small items.

This significantly narrowed down the scope of his judgment. Akina Sawa scanned the shrine's living room, his gaze lingering only briefly on Reimu...

Wait a minute?! That comic book?

Akina Sawa also stared intently at the comic book that Hakurei Reimu was clutching tightly in her hand.

"What do you want? Let me make this clear first, this is mine!"

Miss Shrine Maiden seemed to realize that Akina Sawa was also looking at something. Her expression tightened, and she hugged the comic book tightly to her chest.

Reimu's unremarkable chest didn't arouse any interest in Akina Sawaya; he was simply focused on the comic book. "Give me the book; there's something wrong with this thing."

"No way!" Reimu Hakurei raised an eyebrow and refused, "I think the problem lies with you!"

Upon hearing this, Akina Ze said helplessly, "Don't you look at yourself? You're still lying on the straw mat talking to me. Don't you even want to get up?"

"I'm just slacking off. You have to understand that not slacking off completely is the same as not slacking off at all!"

"Touched to this extent?"

"Big, probably...?"

Reimu Hakurei's tone wavered; she herself couldn't believe it.

"Then give me the comic book, and I'll help you find the problem."

Akina Sawa also bent down and placed his palm about ten centimeters away from Reimu's chest, close to the comic book.

"A mere farmer speaks so arrogantly? I... I won't listen to you." Reimu Hakurei turned her head away from Zeya Akina's face and muttered to herself.

"Yes, my words have no effect; the priestess is the one in charge."

Akina Sawa smiled and reached out, easily pulling the comic book that Reimu was holding in her arms.

"Be careful." Reimu Hakurei looked somewhat lost.

"Okay, don't worry, I'll take good care of it." Akina Ze glanced at Reimu, whose neck was already fair and pink, but who was still obsessed with the comic book, before turning his gaze back to the book in his hand.

My fingertips traced the slightly rough surface of the comic book upwards until they reached the center of the hinge, with my left and right hands each gripping the left and right sides of the comic book.

"Wait?! Don't do that!"

Reimu Hakurei saw through Sawaya Akina's intentions, and her expression immediately turned panicked. She struggled as if trying to get up.

But unfortunately... it was too late!

"Tear~"

"Tear~"

"Tear~"

Akina Sawa tore it three times with all his might, as if afraid that the thing hadn't been destroyed.

Shredded paper drifted down from the sky and reflected in Reimu Hakurei's eyes, her expression blank.

Suddenly, she saw the scrap of paper depicting the wedding of the couple float past her eyes...

"That should be fine."

Akina Sawa nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Reimu, about to say, "It's all gone..."

Before he could finish speaking, Akina Sawa's expression clearly turned flustered, because—

He saw that the shrine maiden's eyes were red, and her slender white fingers wiped away some glistening tears from the corners of her eyes—this was a vulnerable side of the shrine maiden that he had never seen before.

"Sorry, I just wanted to..."

Turning around, Reimu Hakurei knelt on the straw mat and replied, "Don't overthink it. You don't need to apologize. It's all because of that dark energy!"

"Okay, okay..."

Akina Ze also showed some apology in his eyes.

......

Chapter 193 The Shrine Maiden's Thoughts

"I'm definitely going to Monster Mountain. Count me in when you're looking for trouble with the kappa!"

Reimu Hakurei looked like she was gritting her teeth, a stark contrast to her state just a few minutes ago. It was as if that fragile demeanor was merely a mirage, a result of the influence of the kappa prop.

Akina Sawa blinked as well. He didn't have the ability to read minds, so he couldn't guess what the shrine maiden was thinking.

However, I still hope that Reimu is really just because of the dark energy... Akina Ze also showed a few helpless smiles.