Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Upon seeing the frozen frog, Akina Ze understood everything; Cirno must have mistaken it for a coin.

"Excuse me, here's the money."

Having understood what had happened, Akina Sawa took out some copper coins from his wallet and handed them to the uncle.

The man left after receiving the money.

After the matter is resolved.

Akina Ze also turned his head and glared angrily at Cirno.

"Cirno, do you have anything else to explain?"

"Can't you trade frozen frogs for something else?"

Unexpectedly, Cirno looked indignant.

"I used to trade frozen frogs for them, and all the old men and women traded them for me, which means it's true that you can trade frozen frogs for them! This uncle actually said no, he must be trying to extort more frozen frogs from me!"

"..."

Akina Ze was also completely stunned by Cirno's refreshing and unconventional idea. He silently thanked the old men and women who were willing to exchange their frozen frogs with Cirno.

Seeing the other two looking completely clueless, Akina Sawa also sighed.

"Now you know, frozen frogs can't be used to barter for anything. Look, these are the copper coins that can be used to barter for things."

As he spoke, Akina Sawa took out a few copper coins from his pocket and handed them to Cirno.

“1,2,⑨”

Cirno took the copper coins and counted them, then looked up and asked in confusion.

"You can get something delicious just by trading these few small stones?"

Although he wanted to complain about how Cirno counted to 9, Akina Ze forced himself to suppress the urge and nodded.

"I don't believe you unless you use these things to buy those things over there for me."

But Cirno still didn't believe it and pointed to a small stall to the side.

Akina Sawa also looked in the direction Cirno was pointing.

There was a stall selling candied hawthorn berries.

Chapter Ninety-Five: Death

I feel like I've been tricked by Cirno... No way? How could this be?

On the bustling street, Akina Ze, seemingly sensing something was amiss, strolled around with three little girls.

Just now, in order to prove to Cirno that only copper coins could be used to buy things, he bought a candied hawthorn from the vendor.

Use this candied hawthorn to prove yourself right, that Cirno's frozen frog was wrong.

Although Akina Zeya bought this candied hawthorn as a prop to prove something, it is still food and should be eaten eventually.

But here's the problem.

Who should eat this candied hawthorn? There are four people present. Even if Akina Ze says no, there are still three people left.

One candied hawthorn skewer is definitely not enough for three people.

With no other option, under the watchful eyes of the three adorable little fairies, Akina Ze had no choice but to buy two more candied hawthorns from the shopkeeper.

I divided it equally among the three little fairies, one for each of them. Luckily, I have money in my pocket now, unlike before when I was penniless, otherwise it would have been a real problem.

Now that the candied hawthorns have been bought, Cirno has admitted that frozen frogs can no longer be used to buy things.

But Akina Ze stood silently to the side, watching the three little devils taste the candied hawthorns in their hands, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

What did I originally intend to do here? I came to teach Cirno a lesson.

But what did I do? I bought each of the three of them a candied hawthorn.

Isn't this completely backwards? No, I have to teach them a lesson! Akina Ze made up his mind.

But seeing the three of them happily eating candied hawthorns, especially Daiyousei and Nikua sticking out their pink tongues and gently licking the tips of the candied hawthorns with their tongues, occasionally showing expressions of surprise.

"..."

"Never mind, let's talk about it next time."

Faced with such a lovely and heartwarming scene, Akina Ze still softened and ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it.

"You lot are not allowed to do this again next time." He could only scold them with a fierce expression on his face.

"I know, I know"

With her mouth stuffed with candied hawthorns, Cirno readily agreed, though her tone was rather perfunctory.

This guy...

Looking at Cirno's expression, you could tell she definitely hadn't listened.

However, Nikua and Daiyousei nodded in agreement, which made Akina Ze somewhat relieved.

It seems that Cirno is a special fairy and cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes.

But seeing Cirno's smug and nonchalant expression, Akina Ze felt that he had wasted his money.

That old man should have taught Cirno a lesson; after all, she won't learn unless she's taught a lesson.

But it's too late now; there's no way to get the old man to return the money and then hand Cirno over himself.

Oh well, it's a holiday today, so we should try to be happy.

After figuring things out, Akina shook his head to shake off those annoying thoughts. He still had things to do later, and he couldn't let them affect his good mood.

The sun was already quite strong in late spring.

Stopping thinking about Cirno, Akina looked up at the sky and realized it wasn't time yet.

Come to think of it, Akina Sawa didn't really take a proper stroll through the Flower Dance Festival market.

I've been so busy with other things that I haven't had a chance to really enjoy the market. I feel like I'm missing out.

Let's take advantage of this time before going to the shrine and have some fun. Consider it a reward for myself after working so hard.

"Nikua, what have you been doing with Cirno and the others lately?"

Akina Sawa, who was strolling along the street, casually asked.

"Well..."

Nikua licked the candied hawthorn, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke: "It's a secret."

"Hmm? A secret? Can't you tell me?" Akina Sawa asked, puzzled.

“Mm,” Nikua nodded.

"Alright, since it's a secret, I won't ask."

Since Nikua had already said it was a secret, Akina Sawa naturally wouldn't press her for an answer. Although asking Cirno and the others would provide the answer, that wouldn't be a good idea.

Akina Ze smiled and patted Niqua's head, then said nothing more.

But then again, the more I touch Nikua's little head, the more comfortable it feels.

Just then, Daiyousei and Cirno's little heads also came into Akina Sawaya's view.

I wonder what their hands feel like?

On a whim, Akina Sawa also reached out and placed his hands on the two of their heads, rubbing them.

"ah!"

Upon realizing that her head was being rubbed, Daiyousei let out a startled cry, and her cheeks turned red at a visible speed, but she didn't react any other way, seemingly acquiescing to Akina Zeya's actions.

Cirno, on the other hand, paid no attention and continued to focus on eating the candied hawthorn, occasionally shaking her little head to match Akina Zeya's movements.

This reminded Akina Sawa of when he first met Cirno, when he also put his hand on her head, but it was immediately slapped away back then. He never expected that he could rub it all the time now.

Sure enough, little girls are the most heartwarming. Akina Ze's face lit up with a gentle smile, completely oblivious to the resentful gaze coming from behind him...

"Master Akina!"

Just as Akina Ze was strolling around with Cirno and the others, a voice suddenly called out to him.

Looking towards the source of the sound, it turned out to be Marisa Kirisame waving and greeting people.

"Hey, Marisa, what are you doing here?"

Since we ran into an acquaintance, we should naturally go and say hello.

"I'm waiting for... Ah!"

Suddenly, Marisa screamed.

It turned out that Cirno had secretly thrown an ice block at Akina Sawa while she was talking to Marisa.

"Hahaha! You magician ate my big block of ice!"

With her mouth full of unfinished candied hawthorn, Cirno mumbled something indistinctly.

"Marisa? Are you alright?" Akina Sawa quickly rushed forward to check on her, then turned to Cirno and demanded, "Cirno! What are you doing? Hurry up..."

But before Akina could finish asking Cirno to apologize, Marisa reached out and pressed his shoulder, shaking her head to indicate that he didn't need to say anything more.

Seeing Marisa like this, Akina Ze didn't know what else to say and could only shut his mouth, silently praying for Cirno.

I'm sorry, Cirno, I can't save you.

"Hahaha! Do you know how powerful I am now? Admit it! I, Cirno, am the strongest in Gensokyo!"

With that, Cirno took a bite of the last candied hawthorn and arrogantly put her hands on her hips.

Passersby took refuge in the shops on both sides of the road to watch the spectacle.

Click!Click!

Marisa Kirisame twisted her neck, producing a chilling sound.

"Lightly"

Akina Sawa, who was standing nearby, also reached out and put his hand on Marisa's left shoulder.

"Hmm," Marisa replied softly.

Hearing Marisa's words, Akina Sawa withdrew his hand with relief.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Marisa smiled broadly and pulled a miniature Bagua furnace from her pocket.

【Master Spark!】

Then a dazzling beam of light pierced the sky...

Chapter 96 Charcoal⑨

"Marisa, who are you waiting for here?"

Akina Ze selectively ignored the dark, murky thing on the street.

"Well, I'm waiting for Alice~"

Marisa gently blew away a wisp of smoke rising from the miniature octagonal furnace.

"You're waiting for Alice? I remember she was performing a puppet show, wasn't she?"

"Yes, so I waited for her at the agreed-upon place until she finished her performance so we could go to the shrine together."

Marisa leaned on her broom and looked towards where Alice was in the distance. "I was waiting for her here at this time last year, so we could go help Reimu together."

"That's perfect, I was planning to help Reimu too."

"Eh? Master, you're going to help Reimu too?" Marisa turned around in surprise.

"Yes, I promised Reimu I would help her."

"Hehe, I'm going to have a feast tonight, after all, it's Chef Akina's cooking," Marisa said with a wicked grin, drooling from her mouth.

"No, no, no, my cooking isn't that good, and it's not even necessarily me who'll be cooking." Akina Ze waved his hands repeatedly in denial. "I'm just there to help out. Reimu will definitely be the one preparing the main dishes, right?"