Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Cirno stroked the rough surface of the oak and offered kind words of advice.

After repeating these words a few times, feeling that she had said enough, Cirno took a deep breath and grabbed the bumps on both sides of the bark with both hands, pulling back with force.

But the oak tree remained unmoved. Cirno, with her small arms and legs, was only good at catching frogs and rabbits; trying to lift this nearly ton-weight oak tree was wishful thinking.

"This shouldn't be happening! Why is it still not moving? The weight should have decreased by now. Could it be that I haven't recited it enough?" Cirno scratched her hair haphazardly, looking completely puzzled.

She tried several more times, but all attempts ended in failure.

"It must be because oak trees don't have ears, so they can't hear."

Helpless, Cirno came to a conclusion and sat down on the oak tree with some frustration, resting her chin on her hand and looking in the direction of the Akina residence.

"That guy in black and white should have arrived by now, right?"

puff~

Suddenly, Cirno heard the sound of bubbles rising. She looked down and saw that there were small pools of water under the oak tree, and bubbles were constantly rising.

This must be the ice shell she froze under the oak tree, which melted and flowed down after landing and generating heat from friction with the ground.

"Slap!" Cirno suddenly slapped her hands together, realizing something. "That's right! All I have to do is freeze the oak tree again and then use that method in the air to propel it, right?"

......

Then came the scene that Akina Sawa also witnessed.

If Marisa Kirisame's attack was a solid rocket, then Cirno's was a train crash.

However, compared to Marisa Kirisame, Cirno's situation was better, since there was only one tree, and the damage was relatively small.

Kaguya Houraisan's eyes darkened, as if she wanted to teach Cirno a lesson for interrupting her chance.

Just as she was about to make a move, Akina Sawa stepped forward, braced his legs, and spread his arms, assuming a stance as if he wanted to take the hit head-on.

Behind her, Marisa Kirisame cast a worried glance, but her magic power had not yet recovered, and she was powerless to help.

The oak train, like a skimming skip, swept past with lightness and agility, leaving the grass in its wake completely undamaged.

Logically speaking, oak wood shouldn't be associated with words like "light" or "lightweight," but the oak tree beneath Cirno's bottom strangely conveyed that feeling.

However, Akina Sawa did not pay attention to such trivial details, but focused on posing.

Behind him was the courtyard wall, and he intended to stop the runaway oak tree there.

"ah!!!"

With Cirno screaming, Akina Sawa firmly planted his feet on the ground. Even though his heels were sinking into the frozen soil, he did not let go of his arms and successfully intercepted the oak tree with its enormous momentum.

However, Cirno wasn't so lucky. The instant the oak tree blocked her, she was thrown out by inertia and crashed into the wall with a thud.

Akina Sawa also saw the parabola Cirno traversed in the air—he quickly dropped the oak log, walked to the wall, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and lifted her up, asking, "Cirno? Are you alright?!"

Cirno, who was being spun around in the air, shook her head, looking puzzled. "Hmm... why are there stars spinning in front of me?"

"Phew~" Akina Ze breathed a sigh of relief and put Cirno down.

He knew Cirno was alright when he heard that she could still speak; fairies' vitality was indeed incredibly strong.

......

Chapter 216 Fate?

In front of the temporary construction site of the brewery.

To prevent the melted water from causing the wood to mold and affecting its quality, Akina Sawa picked up the oak with one hand, shook off the ice residue, and threw it into the previously prepared pile of wood.

Now that the construction site has been selected, the building materials are available, and even the design draft has been provided by Ms. Kaguya.

Looking at the oak, Akina Sawa stroked his chin and began to ponder what to do next.

Although the site looked quite presentable, he wasn't a civil engineer and had no idea how to build a house from scratch. All he could rely on were a pair of strong arms and a tiny bit of connections.

While living in the steel city, Akina Sawa had also passively received some information that the first thing needed to build a house was to lay a foundation.

Generally speaking, the taller the house, the deeper the foundation needs to be dug.

According to Princess Kaguya's design, the brewery to be built is only one story high, about three meters high, so there should be no need to dig a very deep foundation.

Sure enough, the design draft of Princess Kaguya had already marked the required depth of the foundation, which was about 0.8 meters, just as he had expected.

After going through the process in his mind, Akina Ze turned to everyone and said, "I'm going to dig the foundation now. Excuse me, everyone, I'll have to leave now."

"Master Akina, I want to go too!"

Marisa Kirisame struggled to her feet from the tree stump, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, a pained frown appeared on her face.

"This indicates a depletion of your magical energy. I suggest you avoid moving around unnecessarily," Kaguya Houraisan advised from the side.

“Miss Kaguya is right.” Akina Ze also said with a serious expression, “Let me take you to the bedroom to rest first. I can take care of digging the foundation. You’ve done a good job.”

"But, Master Akina, I can still..." Marisa Kirisame pouted, seemingly unwilling to give up.

Marisa's condition is already so serious... we can't let her continue to help.

Akina Sawa shook his head and, without saying a word, picked Marisa up from the tree stump, gently comforting her, "Let's go to my room and rest first. I'll make you something delicious for lunch."

In an instant, Marisa Kirisame quieted down, nestled obediently in Zeya Akina's arms, her ears turning bright red.

Akina Ze didn't notice Marisa's movements in his arms, but turned to Kaguya and said, "It's still quite cold outside, Kaguya-san, why don't you come along too?"

“Since it is Akina-kun’s kind invitation, then I will not refuse.” With a faint smile on her face, Houraisan Kaguya gracefully bowed and followed behind Akina Zeya.

Cirno, who had just recovered from feeling dizzy, suddenly became anxious. She rushed forward and hugged Akina Zeya's leg, looking up at him pitifully and asking, "What about me? What about me? I helped a lot too!"

“Hey…” Akina Ze was also amused. He wanted to reach out and pat Cirno’s head, but he couldn’t because he was holding the blonde girl. He could only laugh and say, “Cirno, do you need to ask me where you want to go? Don’t worry, you’ll get your lunch.”

"Yay! I want tempura! I want shrimp, and I want ice cream!" Cirno was overjoyed and ran ahead to push open the gate before dashing inside.

"Making ice cream requires milk, right... Where am I supposed to get milk now? Cirno is really something else." Akina Sawa shook his head with a wry smile.

Suddenly, a faint voice came from within his arms, and Akina Sawa immediately listened intently, "Master Akina, I'd like some cream of mushroom soup, I wonder if that's alright..."

“Of course, I’ll make a big bowl of cream of mushroom soup. You can eat as much as you want.” Akina Ze agreed without any hesitation.

For his sake, Marisa Kirisame cut down so many trees and expended so much energy. Whether it's out of sentiment or reason, Akina Sawa would agree to her request.

"Hmm~ Thank you, Master Akina~"

Accompanied by Marisa Kirisame's almost cloyingly sweet voice, Akina Sawa carried her into the courtyard.

As for Kaguya Houraisan... she stood there, somewhat dazed.

Because she detected a hint of humility in Marisa's tone just now...

Unbelievable... Is this really the same black and white mage who stormed into Eientei with Reimu Hakurei?

Where did that arrogance, confidence, and flamboyance go?

Although it was only a brief battle during the Eientei incident, Princess Kaguya was able to discern Marisa's personality through the characteristics of the spell cards she released...

It's like a completely different person compared to who I am now... Or did I guess wrong from the start...?

Kaguya Houraisan looked slightly dazed. She stared at the threshold of the courtyard gate, which protruded only a few centimeters, and hesitated to lift her leg to step inside.

Some changes happen gradually and imperceptibly... Kaguya Houraisan bit her lip, staring intently at the threshold. She didn't want to be changed, preferring to stay home alone rather than go out...

Suddenly, Kaguya Houraisan realized that she had already left home on her own... Was I really just here to teach him a lesson?

If it's just for the sake of teaching a lesson... then what am I doing right now?

Princess Kaguya frowned and remained silent. She couldn't find the answer, or rather... she didn't want to point it out.

Because this whole thing seems like a complete fantasy; she's the Moon Princess, but...

Upon realizing this, Kaguya Houraisan staggered a few steps and walked away without looking back, but she seemed to have forgotten her abilities, and just kept walking, step by step.

Let fate decide everything. "Heh..." Kaguya Houraisan seemed to be mocking herself. Weakness is not unique to her.

Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice came from the courtyard.

"Miss Kaguya? What are you doing standing at the door? Come in and have a seat. There's a treat at noon."

“…Damn it.” Kaguya Houraisan suddenly froze, as if a wish she had made without leaving a trace had suddenly come true in the next second.

Looking up at the sky, Kaguya Houraisan suddenly uttered a sentence out of the blue.

"Is it too late to break free from fate...?"

No one could answer her question.

The winter wind howled, and Kaguya of Houraisan slowly turned around, walking step by step back to the courtyard gate.

Looking at the insignificant threshold in front of her, Kaguya Houraisan's eyes flashed with determination, and she stepped inside without hesitation.

Since we've chosen to get involved in this battle... let's fight to the end and see who the final winner is.

Standing in the courtyard, Akina Ze also looked at Kaguya-hime walking in through the gate with some surprise. He felt that there must have been some changes in Miss Kaguya.

In the blink of an eye, Princess Kaguya, who had walked gracefully to Akina Zeya's side, suddenly chuckled softly:

"Is Akina-kun so smitten with me that he can't see through me?"

"No way..." Akina Ze blushed and subconsciously retorted.

It must be said that Kaguya Houraisan is indeed the most beautiful woman in Gensokyo. Although Akina Sawaya has developed a strong resistance to beautiful girls, he still finds it difficult to resist Kaguya-hime when she is fully enchanted.

"Hehe, no need to explain, just follow your heart." Princess Kaguya smiled calmly, drifting past Akina Zeya and entering the inner room.

"What's going on..." Akina Ze scratched his head, somewhat confused, and followed him into the house.

......

Chapter 217 Probably no fever

Step into the living room.

Before Akina Sawa could even greet her, Princess Kaguya gracefully knelt on the tatami mat next to the kotatsu.

It must be said that although she was only wearing a simple and neat short outfit, you could still see the elegant temperament that Kaguya exuded.

After glancing at her twice, Akina Ze turned his gaze to Cirno, who seemed a little downcast. "Why do you look a little unhappy?"

“Those two guys went off to play by themselves and didn’t even ask me to come with them…” Cirno said in a muffled voice.

She rushed into the courtyard first, her immediate goal being to find Nikua and the Great Fairy to play with, but she couldn't find them anywhere after searching.

As expected... Akina Sawa smiled knowingly and comforted her, "It's also possible that the two of them came to visit you, but it's very likely that you just missed each other."

Upon hearing this, Cirno's expression immediately improved; as long as it wasn't the situation she was thinking of, that was fine.

Cirno let out a sigh of relief, stretched out her arms and lay down, her whole body becoming lazy, her chubby little face looking like a flat dumpling stuck to the kotatsu.

Seeing that Cirno had quieted down, Akina Sawa didn't linger any longer and turned to walk towards the kitchen, where he was going to serve tea to the guests.

Princess Kaguya, maintaining her elegant posture, bit her lip and gazed wistfully at Akina Zeya's retreating figure, her eyes dark and unfathomable.

......

Akina's tea ceremony is simply brewing tea leaves with water; it's not a complicated tea ceremony.

Soon, in no time at all, Akina Ze came out carrying several cups of freshly brewed, still steaming green tea.

He put about 3g of tea leaves in each cup of green tea, but one cup was different.

Akina Ze didn't just add tea leaves; he also added a few dark red goji berries.

I've heard that goji berries can have health benefits, so I'm going to give it a try.

Although these goji berries were brought by Miss Wenwen, Akina Ze didn't drink them because he felt he didn't need them.

Akina Sawa also planned to serve this cup of green tea with goji berries to Kirisame Marisa, who was currently resting on the bed in the bedroom.

Earlier, when Akina Sawa helped Marisa into the house, she shook her head and said that she should just sit on the tatami mat and rest.

But how could he possibly let the weakened Marisa sit on the tatami mat? If he was going to take care of her, he had to do it to the best of his ability.

So, Akina Sawa ignored Marisa's protests and carried her to his bed.

Akina Sawa was initially a little worried that Marisa might find the smell on his bed bothersome, since it was, after all, a man's bed. Even if he was used to it and couldn't smell it, others might be able to.

However, Akina Zeya's worries soon subsided considerably.

Although Marisa Kirisame verbally protested, she obediently lay down on the bed as soon as she touched it, her expression unchanged, though it's possible she secretly disliked it...