Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

"Tch!" Marisa clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Reimu is used to living a poor life. Last year at the banquet, all the dishes she made were very bland, with very little seasoning! If Alice hadn't made some desserts at the last minute, those youkai wouldn't have been so satisfied!"

"Oh? There was such a story last year?"

"Yes, yes, so please, Master Akina, cook!" Marisa pleaded, her eyes sparkling with stars as she clasped her hands together.

"Haha, let's talk about that when we get to the shrine," Akina Sawa laughed a few times, choosing to postpone the matter for a while.

But I don't really want to cook...

Thinking back to when I hosted my own banquet, only a handful of people were exhausted; imagine how much more strenuous this large-scale event must be...

After all, I'm going to a banquet, so I can just help out. The most important part, cooking, is very tiring, so I'll leave it to Reimu-san to do herself.

At most, I'll just stand by and guide Reimu on what to do.

Akina Sawa also shook his head secretly.

"Hey! Marisa! I wasn't paying attention and you ambushed me! Let's do it again! Prove that I'm the strongest!"

With the help of the Great Fairy, the strong Cirno got up from the ground and was then washed by Niqua with water to remove the black stuff from her body, making her look brand new.

Once again, full of energy, he shouted at Marisa.

"Tsk, that's why these fairies are so annoying," Marisa clicked her tongue and took out the miniature Bagua furnace that she had already put away.

Without even glancing behind him, he lifted the mini Bagua furnace over his shoulder.

"Cirno-chan, run!"

Upon seeing Marisa's actions, Daiyousei, realizing what was happening, desperately shouted towards Cirno.

"Big Spinach, don't worry, I'm serious this time! Mere magic..."

Before Cirno could finish speaking, a dazzling beam of light shot straight towards her, then pierced the sky!

Another dark, lying-on-the-ground object appeared on the spot. The Great Fairy rushed over to help it up, but didn't know where to start. Nikua then began to gather water balloons in her hands.

I wonder how long it will take to recover this time?

Cirno, you can never rise again!

"Ha~"

Meanwhile, Marisa yawned boredly, "Master Akina, where were we?"

"This..." Qiu Mingze's face was also covered in cold sweat. Where were we just talking about? This beam of light made him forget everything.

Just then, a takoyaki stall came into view, and Akina Sawa had a sudden inspiration. "By the way, Marisa, do you like takoyaki?"

"Ah! I love to eat it!" Marisa's face lit up with joy, but then her expression fell again. "But I don't have any money..."

"It's alright, I'll treat you to a meal," Qiu Mingze generously patted the wallet in his pocket, the copper coins clinking together.

"Waaaaah~ Master Akina, you're so kind to me, next time I'll treat you to my mushroom feast too!" Marisa was so touched that she wanted to treat Akina Sawa to her special mushroom feast as well.

"Let's forget about this one, I'll go buy some meatballs first!"

Upon hearing that Marisa planned to treat him to a mushroom feast, Akina Sawa fled the scene as fast as he could...

At the street corner, in front of a takoyaki (octopus ball) stall.

"Boss, give me five skewers of takoyaki!"

"Okay, almost done!"

The takoyaki was ready quickly. The takoyaki in the Human Village was quite large, much larger than those outside.

The stall owner specially packed them in a small bag and handed them to Akina Zeya.

Just as Akina Sawa took the bag and was about to leave.

"Gululu~"

A voice came from around the corner.

Looking at Marisa and the others who were still waiting for him not far away, Akina hesitated for a moment before curiously carrying the bag over to see what was making the sound.

After turning the corner, a girl appeared in front of you, squatting on the ground.

The girl had her head down, her hands wrapped around her knees, and she was wearing a patched-up dress. Her dark blue hair was covered with talismans with strange writing on them.

"Gululu~"

The gurgling sound appeared again, this time coming from the girl's stomach.

Now Akina Sawa was certain that it was she who posted it.

And she looks like she's still very hungry.

Akina Sawa also wanted to go up and ask her what had happened.

But seeing that the girl clearly didn't want to talk to him, Akina Sawa hesitated again.

After much deliberation, Akina Sawa decided to quietly let go and leave quietly, since one must ultimately rely on oneself to navigate life's path.

I can't help much, but I'll do my part.

So, Akina took out most of the money from his wallet and put it into the bowl in front of the girl. He also placed a piece of paper under a takoyaki from his bag on top of the bowl and then quietly walked away.

Once Akina Sawa had completely left, the deep blue-haired girl lifted her head from her arms, glanced over, and was immediately captivated by the fragrant takoyaki in front of her, her mouth watering uncontrollably...

"Ahem, come and get your takoyaki!"

Back where Marisa and the others were, Akina Sawa distributed one takoyaki to each person from the bag, and held one for himself as well.

"Mr. Akina, don't you have Cirno?"

The great demon looked at the empty bag and asked.

"There are no troublemakers, you know~"

Akina Sawa also deliberately responded loudly to the Great Fairy's words in Cirno's direction.

"Cirno-chan is so pitiful."

With that, the great fairy swallowed a takoyaki in one gulp.

Cirno, still lying on the ground, had glistening tears streaming down her dark face.

"Alright, alright, get up now, or there really won't be any left!"

Akina Sawa also walked over and squatted down next to Cirno, saying something.

"Really give it to me?"

Cirno, who was pitch black, opened her azure eyes, which looked like a splash of blue paint suddenly appearing on black charcoal, completely out of place.

Of course, Akina Ze also held back his laughter. After all, Cirno had already been defeated twice and was pitiful enough, so there was no need to provoke her further.

"Of course, but if you don't get up, I'll eat you!"

As he spoke, Akina Ze pretended to open his mouth as if he was about to eat it.

Cirno, who was lying on the ground, sprang up with lightning speed and hugged Akina Zeya.

"Woooooo~"

Cirno was now leaning on Akina Zeya's shoulder, tears streaming down her face, while she kept stuffing takoyaki into her mouth.

Feeling the gentle weight, Akina Sawa silently reached out and placed his hand on Cirno's back.

"Oh dear, I guess I'll have to wash these clothes..."

Chapter Ninety-Seven: People Under the Setting Sun

"Marisa, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. The audience's enthusiasm was just too much, I couldn't refuse..."

As the sun began to set, Alice finally squeezed out of the crowded throng and stood in front of Marisa with an embarrassed expression.

"It's alright, Alice, after all, you're an idol," Marisa said with a smile, adjusting her hat. "Besides, I'm not the only one waiting~"

"Ugh! Marisa, what are you saying?" Alice blushed and punched Marisa's flat chest with her little fist before noticing the crowd standing to the side.

Three fairies and one human... this combination feels a little strange...

"Hi Alice, we meet again."

When he saw Alice looking over, Akina Ze greeted her first.

"It's you, Mr. Akina."

Only then did Alice realize that the human in front of her was Akina Zeya, whom she had met at Marisa's house before.

"Yes, it's me. I was also planning to go to the shrine, and I ran into Marisa. I found out she was going too, so we waited for you here together."

"Thank you for spending so much time with Marisa. After all, Marisa is quite impatient; if no one was with her, she might have caused some trouble again."

Alice covered her mouth and laughed as she looked at Marisa. "Last year, Marisa was..."

"Alright, alright! Alice, stop talking. It's getting late. If we don't go to the shrine soon, Reimu might not even have started preparing yet!"

In a panic, Marisa quickly covered Alice's mouth, interrupting her from revealing more of her dark past. Then, turning to Alice with a pleading look, she said, "You guys go ahead. Reimu is waiting for you. Alice and I have some things to take care of. Please! DA★ZE!"

"Okay, we'll be going then."

Since Marisa had already said so, and judging from the situation, it was probably another secret matter, Akina Sawa, wanting to know as little as possible, immediately agreed to Marisa's request and prepared to leave with the three fairies.

"Huh? They're leaving already? I wanted to hear more!"

Cirno licked the candied hawthorn that Akina Sawa had just bought for her and asked in confusion.

"Cirno, there are lots of delicious foods along the way to the shrine, won't you come with us?"

"I want to go! I want to go!" Upon hearing that there was still a lot of delicious food waiting on the way, Cirno immediately forgot about Marisa and ran ahead of the others.

"Hurry up and catch up! Why are you so slow!" Cirno complained to the group behind her, having already run some distance.

Akina Sawa chuckled and shook his head. Cirno, that girl, has an unusually high level of energy...

Once Akina Zeya and the others had gone far away, Marisa breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her hand from Alice's.

"Alice, please don't tell anyone about these things anymore."

Marisa looked at Alice, who was still laughing, with a helpless expression.

"But I find these things very interesting."

Alice tilted her head, looking puzzled, but her eyes held an obvious smile.

"But I don't find it funny at all!" Marisa said, her cheeks puffed up in anger.

"Huh? Really? Then I won't say anything more. Marisa, let's go too."

Alice reached out and took Marisa's hand, pulling her along as they strode towards the shrine.

"Alice, don't walk so fast, DA★ZE!" Marisa adjusted her hat with one hand and followed closely behind Alice.

Hehe, it's a secret only I know.

Facing the direction of the setting sun, Alice's lips curled into a smile.

......

"Phew~ Finally finished cleaning!"

Inside the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu Hakurei reached out and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Today, Reimu Hakurei was unusually diligent, washing the shrine inside and out with clean water and tidying up the furniture and other cluttered items inside.

This really exhausted Reimu Hakurei.

The laziness of not cleaning the house on ordinary days paid the price on this day.

You don't know until you sweep it up, and what a shock you are when you sweep it up. Reimu Hakurei found that many places inside the shrine that she would not normally notice had accumulated a thick layer of dust, and there were even spider webs.

This disgusted Reimu. After all, no matter how powerful the Hakurei Shrine Maiden is, she is still a woman, and she will still feel uncomfortable with dirty things.

So, taking advantage of the banquet to be held that evening, Reimu Hakurei began cleaning.

Now that the room has been cleaned, Reimu Hakurei is lying on the table, not wanting to move an inch.

The food we eat every day is light and simple, which is enough for our daily energy-saving lifestyle.

But now, the scarce food available is no longer enough to sustain Reimu Hakurei's calorie expenditure.

This is one of the reasons why Reimu Hakurei often stays in the shrine without moving, and doesn't even bother to clean the fur balls in the beast path leading to the shrine.