Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

"Are you sure this is here?"

Looking at the eerie building, Reimu Hakurei asked Satoru Komeiji in a hesitant tone.

"Yes, this is it. Lianlian showed me a photo; the building in the photo is here."

Komeiji Satoru said with certainty.

"Alright then, let's get this sorted out quickly. I've exercised too much today, I need to go home and rest."

Reimu Hakurei yawned and said.

Although she didn't know how Komeiji Satoru could determine that this was the source of the incident based on just one photo, Reimu Hakurei didn't care. Even if it was a trap, she would just walk over it.

squeak~

The heavy wooden door was pushed open, but no dust fell from it.

Without lingering, the two walked one after the other into the dark doorway...

-----------------

"It's so hot~"

In the Forest of Magic, in a small, long-neglected house, Marisa Kirisame slumped in a chair, while a small doll dressed in an exquisite dress stood on a table beside her, constantly fanning herself with a fan disproportionately large to her body, creating a slight breeze.

Marisa begged Alice for this doll, and she wanted to borrow a few more, but Alice just wouldn't agree.

"It's so hot!"

Despite the cool breeze blowing from the doll, Marisa was still finding it hard to bear.

The numerous trees and unique miasma in the Magic Forest trapped all the heat inside.

Normally, the temperature doesn't rise too high due to evaporation, but recently, not only from the scorching sun, but also from an unknown source, heat has been continuously pouring into the Magic Forest.

These temperatures have no effect on the trees or the magical creatures in the forest, but for Marisa, a self-taught mage who specializes in firepower, the impact is enormous.

Marisa's house was filled with things she had taken from who-knows-where, as well as a huge furnace specifically used for alchemy.

This made the room, which was already reasonably comfortable, suddenly feel cramped. The hot weather and the cramped room combined made the doll's attempt to blow air into the room futile.

"Forget it, I'll just go to Master Akina's."

Unable to bear it any longer, Marisa recalled the round, air-conditioned creature at Akina Sawaya's house that day, and the cool indoor environment.

She planned to go to Akina Sawaya's house to enjoy the air conditioning and maybe even get a free meal.

"Master Akina definitely won't mind."

Having made up her mind, Marisa stood up from the chair; the back of the chair was already soaked.

The doll, unaware of its owner's intentions, continued to fan itself diligently.

Marisa disconnected from the doll, and without its magical power, the doll lay on the table.

I haven't stopped using this doll since I borrowed it from Alice, so I should give it a break.

"I'm going!"

"Get on the broom," Marisa called out habitually.

The dilapidated mansion stood there quietly, and no one responded to her; of course, this was just Marisa's habit.

This distance didn't seem very far to Marisa, who was flying in the sky. This time, there was no one else sitting on the broom behind her.

Marisa can fly freely in the sky.

The scorching sun beat down on Marisa's back, and all she could do was respond with even greater speed.

Although the sun was hot, the high-speed flight turned the heated air into a cool breeze, whistling past Marisa's body and providing her with some relief from the heat.

At high speed, Marisa quickly spotted the yard of Akina Sawaya's house, but she didn't want to make too much of a commotion, as such high-speed movement was not allowed in the human village.

If that phoenix sees us, we'll be in big trouble—not because Fujiwara no Mokou will give us a hard time, but because we'll be getting close to her.

On such a hot day, if you get close to a human-shaped flame, the scene... tsk tsk.

So, Marisa slowed down as she approached the Human Village, but a broom traveling at high speed is not so easy to stop.

Even magicians must abide by inertia.

As she approached the ground, Marisa stood the broom upright, clamped her legs tightly together, and gripped the broom handle with one hand. The lower end of the broom scraped against the ground, making a sound like tire brakes.

Marisa's long, light blonde hair fluttered in the wind as she jumped off the broom, completing a perfect crash landing!

This challenge was also a success!

Marisa was extremely pleased with herself, even though no one saw it.

At that moment, Nikua came out of the house.

Marisa's landing in the yard was so loud that Niqua, who was in the air-conditioned room, heard it very clearly.

"Yo! I'm here, DA?ZE!"

Upon seeing Niqua, Marisa greeted her with a wide smile...

Chapter Twenty-One: The Lazy Marisa

"Hey, Nikua, when do you think Master Akina is coming back?"

"I don't know. He said he was going to buy hop seeds when he went out this morning. Although it's only been a few hours since I last saw him, it feels like a long time has passed."

"Hahaha! I didn't expect you to like him so much. Is this what they call 'times dragging on forever'?"

Marisa sat comfortably in the rocking chair that originally belonged to Akina Sawaya and joked.

This small room was completely covered by the cold air emitted by the air conditioner, that round machine named by Akina Sawaya.

"Don't talk nonsense! My relationship with Akina-nii-san is not like that at all!"

After being teased by Marisa, Niqua's face instantly turned bright red, and she glared at her with her azure eyes, embarrassed and annoyed.

Okay, okay, I won't say anything more.

Seeing Niqua's excited reaction, Marisa chose not to provoke her further.

Gululu~

A sound came from her stomach, and Marisa touched her abdomen.

I haven't eaten since this morning, mainly because of the temperature. The hot weather makes it impossible for Marisa, who is used to eating mushrooms, to eat any mushroom-based food. She has no appetite at all.

Now that she's at Akina Sawaya's house, in such a comfortable environment, Marisa's stomach, which she had been forcibly suppressing, started growling again.

"Marisa, are you hungry?"

The rumbling of her stomach could still be heard clearly in the quiet little room. Although Marisa had just teased her, Akina-nii wasn't home, so she was the mistress of the house. As the mistress, she had to meet the guests' needs, Nikua thought to herself, hands on her hips.

"Sorry, I didn't have breakfast this morning!"

Marisa scratched the back of her head, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, but instead smiled openly and said...

"How can that be! Haven't you heard that the early bird catches the worm? Breakfast is a must! You wait here, I'll make it for you right now!"

Nikua said angrily.

Since moving to Akina, Nikua has gradually come to appreciate breakfast more than before.

Moreover, Akina Sawa treats breakfast as seriously as lunch every day. Even the great demon Shameimaru Aya would come here to eat breakfast seriously every morning, and after finishing, she would express her gratitude to Akina Sawa for making the food!

Influenced by these factors, Nikua is quite strict about her breakfast routine.

In her simple mind, eating breakfast equals taking care of one's body, while skipping breakfast equals not taking care of one's body.

Therefore, Niqua is quite angry with Marisa for not taking care of her body.

"It's just that you haven't eaten for one day, you don't need to make anything."

Marisa stopped her with a grin.

It seems she still doesn't understand Nikua's current obsession with breakfast.

Seeing that Marisa didn't care about her health, Niqua didn't say anything more and went into the kitchen.

Seeing that Niqua was too stubborn and was leaving the cool room, Marisa got up from her chair, wanting to help make breakfast. However, as soon as she opened the door and was exposed to the hot air outside, Marisa gave up the idea.

"Forget it, this is just too unpleasant..."

Forced back by this extreme contrast of ice and fire, Marisa obediently sat back down, this time in a relaxed, reclining position...

"Marisa is Akina's apprentice, right? He'll definitely be very sad if he sees that Marisa doesn't eat breakfast."

"But what's supposed to be for breakfast?"

Because of her height, Nikua stood on the stool, staring blankly at the gleaming kitchen knife on the table, her ahoge (cowlick) on her head twitching.

Despite her righteous words, Nikua was actually just waiting for Akina Ze to finish making breakfast so she could eat it herself.

Nikua, who was eager to take on the role of the mistress of the house, never considered the fact that she didn't seem to know how to cook.

Seeing how easily and quickly Akina Sawaya cooked, Nikua also thought it was a very simple thing.

So, looking at the dazzling array of kitchen tools in front of her, Nikua fell into deep thought.

However, she did not ponder for long. As a not-so-bright fairy, even if she did ponder, she would not do so for long.

By the way, this doesn't mean Nikua isn't smart; it means that fairies as a whole are generally not very smart.

Therefore, Nikua chose to abandon thinking and take action directly.

Based on her memory of how Akina Sawaya made breakfast, Nikua followed suit and did the same.

"Chop this up first, then chop that up."

Nikua muttered to herself.

She raised a kitchen knife that seemed disproportionately large for her size.

He chopped the ingredients on the table piece by piece.

Nikua didn't know what these ingredients were, nor did she want to know.

All she knew was that when Akina Sawaya cooked, he would chop up everything he had on hand and put it together.

So Nikua followed Akina Zeya's example and casually grabbed a handful of ingredients from the shelf and placed them beside her.

If I just chop these things up and mix them together, I can make some delicious food, right? Nikua thought to herself.

Marisa, comfortably enjoying the cool air conditioning in her rocking chair in the air-conditioned room, had no idea what she was about to face...

"Your Mapo Tofu doesn't look anything like the fried tofu that Lan likes to eat."

Yukari Yakumo commented on the bright red tofu in front of her.

The days of Youmu Konpaku are over; now it's time for Sawaya Akina and his signature Mapo Tofu.

"Although they both end with the word 'tofu,' they are completely different foods."

Akina Ze also said confidently.

Although he hadn't personally tried this special Mapo Tofu, he had an unwavering confidence in its quality.

Especially considering that Youmu Konpaku's entry consisted of steamed buns, although those buns were indeed very well sculpted.

While appearance is important for food, taste is the most important factor.

"Judging from the sound of it, it must taste delicious."

"You'll know once you try it."

"Oh? I'm really looking forward to it!"

Of course, this was just a polite way of putting it. Yukari Yakumo didn't like strong flavors, just like the fox in her house, who also didn't like spicy food.

But now, as a judge, especially with Yuyuko watching from the sidelines, I have no choice but to accept this offer.

Suppressing the urge to leave immediately, Yukari Yakumo scooped a spoonful from a relatively white piece of tofu and put it in her mouth.

Um! ?

The moment the tofu entered her mouth, Yukari Yakumo's eyes widened in shock.

"Why is this tofu sweet?!" And it tastes delicious!