Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

The courtyard gate was tightly closed, the house doors were locked, and even the windows were all shut. After all, Akina Ze was rather shy, and he couldn't let others find out about this.

Gollum~

Akina Sawa also eagerly took out the photos, and the first photo showed the torii gate of Hakurei Shrine.

Oh, there's a plot too.

In the dimly lit room, Akina Sawa smiled and flipped to the second photo.

Yes, this is a close-up photo of the torii gate.

The third one, the fourth one...

All of these are photos of the torii gate from various angles.

Click!

Is this a picture of a shrine maiden?

Ah!

Ha ha!

Hahahaha!

What am I even thinking?! Damn it!

That damn Aya Shameimaru, you just wait!!!

……

"Haha!"

Inside the Tengu's residence, Aya Shameimaru rubbed her nose, revealing a triumphant expression.

"Akina, you're still too naive."

"Ah, hahaha!"

……

That concludes today's event, ending in victory for Aya Shameimaru!

[Planting: +100]

[Copper Coins: 600]

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Picking Grapes

There were many grapes growing in the yard, but Reimu only took a tiny fraction of them. It wouldn't be right to leave the grapes on the vines if they weren't picked sooner.

However, Akina Sawa alone could not possibly pick them all in a short time, so he called for some help.

The first to be found were Cirno and Daiyousei. Hearing that there were grapes to eat, Cirno readily agreed. However, Akina Sawa is now somewhat regretting inviting this idiot Cirno.

Cirno stood in front of the house, looking eagerly at the grapevines covering the yard. Judging from her excited expression, Akina Sawa wondered if she could freeze all the grapes in the yard.

But the Great Fairy is here too, so she should keep a close eye on Cirno and prevent her from doing anything reckless, right?

Then Motoori Kosuzu and Hieda Akyuu also arrived. Motoori Kosuzu heard that there were grapes that grew in February, so she came straight here without even caring about the shop. She said she wanted to see these amazing grapes and agreed. Hieda Akyuu also came along.

To be honest, Akina Sawa and Hieda Akyuu didn't know each other very well, since they had only met once.

So this was something he hadn't expected; Hieda no Akyuu would also come to help.

However, Akina Sawa dared not let Hieda Akyuu, who looked so delicate and frail, do any work. Although picking grapes wasn't tiring, the sun was out, and if something happened, he didn't know where the nearest hospital was in the village.

As for the other three helpers, Akina Ze felt there was no need to worry at all. Motoori Korin looked weak, but that was not the case at all. Cirno was impatient, and Daiyousei looked the most reliable, but was actually the most reliable. If something happened to these three, Akina Ze would have nothing to say.

As for Fujiwara no Mokou, Akina Sawa didn't dare to ask her. He felt that Mokou probably wouldn't agree, since she had a job as a guardian.

The suicidal tengu didn't show up, which is quite sensible. It would be shameless for someone to show up again right after tricking Akina Zeya.

These people should be enough for picking grapes. There are already four helpers (not counting one), and it seems they are ready. Akina Ze nodded.

"Then let's begin!"

……

The yard wasn't very big, but there were a lot of grapes growing there. Akina Sawa guessed that it was because of the system that so many grapes had grown. However, this was something to be happy about. Although it increased the workload, it was still good overall. After transporting the grapes needed by the Scarlet Devil Mansion, there should still be quite a few grapes left.

The afternoon sun wasn't very strong, but Akina was still working, and sweat dripped down his face, landing on the ground.

Akina Ze wiped away his sweat, wondering how the others were doing.

"Let's check on how Ms. Motoori is doing," Akina Sawa thought to himself, turning his head to look at where Motoori Kosuzu should be.

Unable to find her, they continued their search. Akina Sawa also spotted Motoori Kosuzu at the place where Hieda Akyuu was resting. She was covered in sweat and her cheeks were flushed, indicating that she had overexerted herself.

Noticing Akina Zeya's gaze, Motoori Kosuzu gave him an embarrassed smile.

Looks like she's exhausted. Akina Ze shook his head and nodded to her. Luckily, a plate of grapes had been placed in the resting area beforehand, so she could eat fresh grapes while resting and recovering her strength.

Since Motoori Kosuzu is alright, let's see what Cirno and the Great Fairy are up to.

Cirno and Daiyousei were quickly spotted among the grapevines. Akina was somewhat surprised to see them picking grapes. He had expected to see Daiyousei picking grapes at most, but Cirno was also working diligently. "Am I using child labor?" he wondered.

Akina Sawa smiled slightly.

and many more?

Something seems wrong. Akina Sawa also noticed that the baskets given to Cirno and the others were only half full. Normally, they should be almost full by now. What's going on?

"Hey, Cirno, why is there only so few grapes in your basket?"

Still unable to understand, Akina Sawa asked Cirno.

"This was my idea! Want to know?"

Cirno wore a very smug expression.

No, I'm asking where the grapes went.

Seeing that Cirno was completely on a different wavelength, Akina Sawa asked again.

"Want to know?"

"Yes, I want to know."

There was no other way, so Akina Sawa could only let Kinoru speak first, since it was some strange main character anyway.

"Hmph! Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you. You see, once this basket is full, isn't it troublesome to walk back and empty it? So I've come up with a great idea: pick four skewers and eat one, that way the basket won't be full!"

"Isn't it great!" Kinoru struck an extremely arrogant pose and said with great pride.

It seems she's completely satisfied with her idea.

"Oh"

Akina Sawa gave a brief response and then turned to look at the Great Fairy.

"Don't look at me, I don't know!"

Upon noticing Akina Zeya's gaze, Daiyousei turned and hid behind Cirno.

Well, let's just consider the grapes that were eaten as wages. Akina Sawa knows that fairies are all like this. Since he hired a fairy to work for him, he should be mentally prepared.

Thinking this way, Akina Zeya suddenly realized that it was alright. He should be happy that someone came to help, and he shouldn't ask for too much.

However, the sun is already high in the sky, and although it is a spring sun, the heat is still very high. It's time to rest.

"Hey, Cirno, it's break time. Let's go to the rest area and eat some grapes. It's not convenient to eat them in the vineyard!"

Akina Ze greeted Cirno and then went to rest.

Meanwhile, Motoori Kosuzu and Hieda Akyuu were seated. Upon seeing Akina Sawa arrive, Hieda Akyuu stood up and said…

"I'm sorry, Mr. Akina. I came here to help, but I couldn't help and ended up eating grapes instead. I'm really sorry."

"Haha, no need to apologize, consider this my treat."

Hieda Akyuu's polite apology surprised Akina Sawa, who was surprised to find such a person in the Human Village.

"No, I'll pay for these grapes."

But Hieda Akyuu insisted on paying.

"No need for that. It's fate that you've come here today. I was going to treat you, but if you insist on paying, one copper coin will do."

Hieda Akyuu, with her refined manners and knowledge, is unlike Reimu and Marisa whom Akina Sawa also met, which makes Akina Sawa unconsciously want to get along with her better.

"Since that's the case, then so be it."

Akina Zeya's attitude was also firm, which made Hieda Akyuu agree.

"Stop talking, eat some grapes, you must be tired."

Motoori Kozue, who was standing nearby, gestured to Akina Sawa, who was covered in sweat, to eat some grapes and rest for a while.

Three people sat around a small table under the eaves...

As for Cirno and the others, they were still picking grapes in the field. Perhaps they didn't consider it work and treated grape picking as a game.

And so, under the watchful eyes of the three, Cirno led the great fairy, as if in a competition, to harvest all the grapes in the field. Although Cirno picked four and ate one, fairies actually have small appetites, so very little of the grapes were actually eaten...

"How about that! Aren't I amazing!"

After picking all the grapes, Cirno still stood arrogantly in front of Akina Zeya, but her voice carried an undisguised weariness.

"Amazing! The great fairy is amazing too!"

This was something Akina Ze also sincerely admired. The fairy, whom he hadn't had high expectations for, had actually made the greatest contribution, which made him feel somewhat ashamed.

"Eat it"

During his break, he specially made a dessert, and Akina Sawa also pushed the dessert in front of the fairies as a special treat for them. Of course, Motoori Kosuzu and the others also received some.

The leisurely afternoon tea begins. The time to rest after work is the happiest time, at least that's what Akina Ze thinks. Of course, it would be even better if there were beautiful women by his side.

……

That concludes today.

[Planting: +500]

[Upgrade planting level to gain the skill: Purification]

……

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Preparing to Head to the Scarlet Devil Mansion

"Purify!"

Since waking up this morning, Akina Ze has been excited after learning from the system that he had gained an active skill. He used to struggle for a long time in his warm bed in the morning, but he immediately got up after hearing the news.

After all, it's an active skill! As for the passive skill that accelerates plant growth, Akina Ze couldn't observe the special effects and didn't feel much about it. But now the system suddenly tells him that he has a skill that he can actively release. Isn't that exciting?

Akina Sawa has always considered himself an ordinary person, and it's impossible for him to be completely indifferent to the extraordinary things that happen in the Human Village.

Now that he can do some unusual things, Akina Sawa decided to experiment with the grapes himself before sending them to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

The ten grapes merged into one in the white light emanating from Akina Sawa's fingertips, transforming into the small white sphere before us.

But this already excited him immensely. Ordinary humans could never emit light with their physical bodies alone, but now he could emit light with his fingertips. Although the light was very thin, Akina Ze had indeed surpassed humans.

Like a child who has received a toy, Akina Sawa is constantly experimenting with the things around him.

First of all, it is certain that this ability has great limitations. Currently, it only works on grapes, but it does not work on the two chicks in the house or any furniture. Moreover, using this ability will consume stamina.

Akina Ze only used his ability on the grapes a few more times before feeling physically exhausted.

So for now, this ability isn't very useful. Its only use might be that you don't have to buy candy anymore.

This conclusion was drawn from the white sugar cubes that turned from grapes. Akina also tasted those white spheres and found them to be very sweet, so he decided to treat them as sugar for the time being.

but……

This room full of white sugar cubes already uses too many grapes. Although there are still many grapes left, they are all going to be transported to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and cannot be used casually anymore.

"Alright, let's end the ability test here. Let's think about how to get these grapes to the Scarlet Devil Mansion first."

This presented Akina Ze with a new problem: it would take several days to transport so many grapes to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and his own system-provided backpack was too small to handle the heavy load. This was a real dilemma.

Akina Ze also recalled that when he was wandering around the Human Village, he had seen a lot of handcarts, and he might be able to rent one from them to transport grapes.