Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

He froze at just one glance.

Sure enough, Aya Shameimaru was sitting by the kotatsu, hugging her knees with her arms around her chest, her snowy chin resting slightly on the table.

Due to the angle, Akina Ze couldn't see the expression on Wenwen's face at that moment, but that didn't stop him from imagining it.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly... she must have been angry.

Hearing the noise, Aya Shameimaru turned around and looked towards the door. When she saw that it was Zeya Akina standing at the door, her expression was full of joy.

"You're home? You must have had a long day."

Her gentle voice made it seem as if the angry look on Aya Shameimaru's face just hours before was a lie.

It was truly shocking. Akina Sawa was also astonished, his jaw dropping. He really hadn't expected to be greeted like this instead of being scolded.

“I’ve already gone to see Suzu and learned more about the situation. I shouldn’t have wronged you.” Aya Shameimaru stood up, took Sawa Akina’s arm, and pulled him down to sit.

Akina Zeya felt lightheaded, as if he were in a dream, and was about to say something that fit the current atmosphere.

But he found that the hand that was holding his arm was very strong, and it hurt him a little.

Sensing something was wrong, Akina Sawa also looked up and saw Shameimaru Aya gritting her teeth and saying, "This is all those guys' fault! It has nothing to do with you, Sawa."

Although it's unclear what exactly Aya Shameimaru heard from Suzu, Akina Sawa vaguely knows who the guys she was referring to are.

A few drops of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and Akina Sawa recalled what had happened before leaving Marisa's cabin.

Because the Hakurei Shrine Maidens kindly wanted to check the injury on his back, he couldn't refuse, so he took off his shirt.

But in return, she was met with several not-so-clean little hands groping her back. Admittedly, her back was muscular and attractive, honed from working the land, but what they were doing was still going too far...

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Akina Sawa reached out and hugged Aya Shameimaru, who was by the fireplace, burying his head in her hair and inhaling its fragrance. He thought to himself that he had been going out more often lately, which had caused him to neglect Aya, making her feel uneasy. It seemed that he should reduce the number of times he went out and spend more time with Aya.

Furthermore, he's already asked Reimu to go to the Hieda family about Akyuu's matter, since she's the one who's been touching her the most enthusiastically...

With the Hakurei Shrine Maiden's upright posture, it's likely that the Hieda family won't continue, since a shrine maiden is ultimately just a shrine maiden.

Lost in thought, Akina Sawa was completely unaware that Shameimaru Aya was trembling slightly.

The unexpected surprise left Aya Shameimaru at a loss. She felt as if she were surrounded by the sun, but it was the sun of early morning, full of warmth.

Shameimaru Aya parted her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing, letting her body gradually go limp and weak, gently resting her head on Akina Sawaya's shoulder...

The gloom that had been buried deep in my heart during this period was swept away.

.......

The next day, at six o'clock in the morning.

His biological clock promptly woke Akina Sawa from his deep sleep.

He yawned and looked out the window. The winter sun rises late, and the yard outside was still pitch black. He would probably see the dawn in about 10 minutes—but right now it was the darkest and quietest time before dawn.

Akina Ze also tiptoed to get dressed without waking the two fairies who slept very badly.

Pushing open the door and walking into the living room, Akina Sawa also bent over and sat down next to the kotatsu.

Although the kotatsu is not currently lit, even after a night, Akina Sawa can still faintly feel the residual warmth.

He glanced at the study, and smiled knowingly as he recalled what had happened last night.

However, Akina Ze didn't want to spend all of this precious time before dawn on this, so he gathered his thoughts and began to think about the next steps.

Because of Miss Wenwen's situation, he plans to spend more time with her at home in the near future, rather than going out for leisurely strolls.

But it's unrealistic to spend all your time on this. Not to mention that Ms. Wenwen needs to run around for her newspaper and may not be able to stay in the house all the time, Akina Ze also doesn't want this to affect her journalism career.

So Akina Sawa also had to find something to do besides keeping company, at least to make it so that Aya Shameimaru wouldn't realize that he was deliberately staying at home.

"But what can we do..." Akina Ze said in a low voice, looking somewhat troubled.

Plowing and watering the fields wouldn't actually take up much of his time, since the greenhouse is only so big. Besides, he had promised Marisa yesterday that she would help out in her field as punishment, so he wouldn't have much work to do.

As for expanding the area of ​​greenhouses?

Akina Sawa also shook his head. After all, winter will eventually pass, and the current area is enough. Any larger would be too wasteful and inefficient.

If greenhouses aren't an option, what else can be done?

Akina Sawa was deep in thought, his fingers interlaced.

Unable to find inspiration, Akina Zeze also stood up and looked around the room.

The house was spotless, much better than Marisa's little house.

Inside the openwork cabinet, various miscellaneous items were neatly arranged. These were all mementos that Akina Zeya had collected over the past year, such as a frying pan with a dented bottom, the deposit for his first order from Youmu from Hakugyokurou, and the bottle of red wine he chose during the Scarlet Devil Mansion's sampling evaluation...

Behind each item lies its own story, and Akina Ze's lips curled into a slight smile.

Wait, what? Alcohol?!

Before the nostalgic feeling had faded, Akina Sawa suddenly looked at the bottle of red wine, and an idea suddenly came to him.

......

Chapter 205 The Brewing Plan

But it's too late to start planting grapes again now, and the original grape trellises are now occupied by cucumbers, so making wine is not feasible.

Are there any wines made with readily available and convenient ingredients? The answer is yes.

Akina Sawa also opened the system page, which he hadn't used in a long time, and selected a type of alcohol.

Sake.

People in Gensokyo generally like to drink this, and although Akina Sawa doesn't really like the taste, he can still manage to swallow it.

Moreover, although the brewing of sake has become much simpler with the help of the system, it is not so easy.

As required, he had to build a standard brewing room and provide enough wood to build special sake barrels so that the sake could be brewed quickly with the blessing, instead of waiting for at least a month like ordinary sake brewing.

After thinking for a moment, Akina Sawa also got up and walked outside.

It was already daylight outside. He planned to wash up first, since Kirisame Marisa might come later, and it wouldn't look good if he looked sloppy.

Slapping the cold well water on his face, Akina Ze's brain, which had been overheated from thinking, immediately cooled down.

Meanwhile, rustling sounds came from the study; it must be Aya Shameimaru getting up, probably to deliver the newspapers. As for those two fairies? Why are they getting up so early without a care in the world?

It's actually time to plow and water the fields now, but Akina Sawa didn't specifically tell Marisa when. Saying it was a punishment was just a joke. Hakurei Reimu couldn't really send Marisa to the Youkai Mountain. The kappa just understood it internally and that was it.

It would be reasonable if Marisa Kirisame didn't come.

Akina Sawa also wiped the water droplets off his face with a towel and walked towards the greenhouse. He was more concerned about his idea of ​​brewing wine than about Marisa.

As he wielded his hoe, Akina Ze was also conceiving the specific details of brewing wine and the things he might need to do in his mind.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Akina Sawa, who was hoeing the field, raised an eyebrow. It must be Marisa. He hadn't expected her to actually come as promised...

He casually tossed aside his hoe, wiped his sweat as usual, and then walked out of the greenhouse toward the gate.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, Akina Sawa saw Kirisame Marisa standing obediently at the door, her fingers fidgeting helplessly, even the broom was neatly placed in the corner.

It seems she's serious.

Upon seeing Akina Sawa, who had also opened the door, Kirisame Marisa, who had been waiting for a long time, beamed with joy and exclaimed happily:

"Master Akina, I'm here~"

"Well, it's good that you're here. Come in with me first, but let me make this clear: tilling the land is no easy task." Akina Ze replied calmly, and then led Kirisame Marisa toward the greenhouse.

"Please rest assured, Master Akina, I will definitely persevere!"

Following behind, Marisa Kirisame clenched her fist and replied confidently.

Akina Sawa shook his head, neither confirming nor denying the matter.

Just as he pushed open the greenhouse door to let Marisa in, Akina Sawa also caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flying up from behind his own yard. It seemed that Miss Wenwen had also begun her newspaper delivery journey for the day.

However, Ms. Wenwen already knew that Kirisame Marisa might come to the yard to till the land today, because Akina Sawa had told her last night, but she did not object and seemed not to care.

"Marisa, have you ever tilled the land before?"

"Close the greenhouse door to prevent the warm air inside from escaping," Akina Sawa asked.

"No, but I've picked a lot of mushrooms, I'm quite good at it!"

Marisa Kirisame took off the scarf wrapped around her neck. The temperature inside the greenhouse was quite different from the outside, and she couldn't stand it.

"By the way, Master Akina, how did you build this greenhouse? I didn't see any trace of magic."

"Put the scarf on the towel rack that Akina Sawa also hangs," Kirisame Marisa asked curiously.

She had only heard that Master Akina had built a shed where he could farm in winter, but she hadn't looked into the details.

Akina Ze didn't say anything, but simply tilted her head to indicate that she should move to a spot where the view wasn't blocked by the greenhouse pillars.

Somewhat confused, Marisa Kirisame took two steps outside, her amber pupils narrowing slightly before her face lit up with joy. She turned to Akina Sawa and said, "Isn't this a Sun Mushroom? How come you have one too, Akina-sensei?"

Without waiting for Akina Sawa's response, Kirisame Marisa ran curiously toward the direction of the Sun Mushroom. She had once caught one at the Lake of Mist, but hadn't encountered it since.

Seeing that Marisa was clearly getting more excited, Akina Sawa sighed and said, "This was given to me by Aya-sensei at Lake Mist, but instead of talking about that, you should come and learn from me how to properly swing a hoe."

Marisa Kirisame looked clearly reluctant to leave, but she still obediently listened to Zeya Akina and came back.

After shoveling a hoe into Marisa's hand, Akina Sawa struck a pose and said, "Look at me here. There are tricks to the wrist and waist posture when hoeing. Only in this way can you achieve twice the result with half the effort."

As he spoke, Akina Ze also shoveled down with his hoe, and dirt flew everywhere, creating a standard pit, with the same depth and width as the several pits nearby.

Akina Ze had no intention of boasting, even though this was yet another visible improvement in his control over his body.

"Marisa, did you see it clearly?" Akina Sawa asked as well.

"See clearly."

"Then you should try it too."

"it is good."

"It's just swinging a hoe, no big deal," Marisa Kirisame said with full confidence, gathering her strength as she swung the hoe down with all her might.

"Thump~" The hoe immediately tilted as soon as it touched the ground, and Marisa used most of the strength she had stored up on the hoe for nothing.

"Hey, how can you do it like that?" Akina Ze couldn't help but shake his head and personally stepped in to give instructions.

He straightened Marisa by supporting her waist, held her wrist and placed his palm in the right position. After taking two steps back and carefully examining her, Akina Ze nodded in satisfaction and said, "Keep her in this position and swing the hoe."

At this moment, Akina Ze was also staring at the hoe, wanting to see the effect when he swung it. He didn't notice that Kirisame Marisa's face was flushed. Although she had come with this thought in mind, after the close contact, Marisa herself was almost unable to hold on. She took a deep breath.

A flash of cold light, and the hoe fell to the ground.

A standard pit has appeared; this was dug by Marisa.

Seeing this, Akina Ze nodded in satisfaction and looked at Marisa, "Well done, just keep digging the loose soil row by row."

"Hehe, thank you for the compliment, Master~" Marisa Kirisame replied with a smile.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you with peace of mind."

After saying that, Akina Sawa turned around and prepared to leave. He still had to work on the brewery plan, so he decided to let Marisa handle the greenhouse.

"Wait? Master Akina, where are you going?" Marisa Kirisame asked, sensing something was wrong.

"You go ahead with your work, I have something to do and I'll be going out for a bit." Qiu Mingze turned his back, waved his hand, and pushed open the greenhouse door.

Just as he was about to close the door, Akina Sawa suddenly remembered that Marisa's face seemed very red earlier. Now that he thought about it, it must be because the greenhouse was too hot. So he turned around and reminded her, "By the way, if it's too hot in the greenhouse, you can come out for some fresh air. That's all, I'm leaving."

"..."

Looking at the closed gate, Marisa Kirisame seemed to be in a daze. She looked down at the hoe in her hand, feeling like crying but having no tears.

......

Chapter 206 Outlining the Brewing House

The current size of the courtyard is no longer enough to accommodate a brewery.

Stepping out of the gate, Akina Ze also set his sights on a vacant lot on the right, overgrown with weeds and with flat land.

This place is located in the most remote part of the human village. There are hardly any people living nearby, so there's no need to worry about land use. You can build whatever you want, and no one will care.

Stroking his chin, Akina Sawa walked a few steps along the road to the open space, estimating how big a house he should build.