Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Come with me.

When Izayoi-san came in, Youmu Konpaku said.

Follow Youmu Konpaku around the corner.

Akina Sawa's eyes widened as well.

A huge, withered tree stands atop the mountain, and a stone staircase made of white marble stretches upwards from the foot of the mountain...

Chapter Fourteen: On the Road

"Reimu, you'll have to walk your own path from now on."

Yukari Yakumo, who had emerged from the cave first, stood on a large rock on the edge of a cliff and gazed at the lights of the old capital in the distance.

"Zi, you're already here, aren't you planning to come with me?"

Following behind, Reimu Hakurei patted the dust off her clothes and said.

“I have other things to do,” Yukari Yakumo replied, shaking her head as she stood on the rock.

"..." Reimu Hakurei paused for a few seconds before saying, "Alright then."

He then gently jumped onto a rock below, observing the scenery of the old hell.

This is a vast subterranean world.

If this world didn't have a ceiling, those rock walls overhead, Reimu might not believe she was underground.

"The Old Hell used to be the Scorching Hell among the Eight Great Hells, but it has now been abandoned," came the eerie voice of Yukari Yakumo from above.

"Why was it abandoned?" Reimu Hakurei asked, looking at the lava lake in the distance.

She didn't see any signs of damage, and the not-too-dilapidated buildings in the distance indicated that the Old Hell was inhabited by monsters, not uninhabitable.

But why would the underworld abandon the Scorching Hell, one of the eight great hells?

Reimu Hakurei's eyes were full of confusion.

"The reason is simple: the underworld is short of money."

"What!???" Reimu Hakurei couldn't hide her surprise at all.

At that moment, she wondered if there was something wrong with her ears, and if Zi had laughed after watching it again.

But after observing Yukari Yakumo for a few seconds, Reimu Hakurei realized that she wasn't joking.

The underworld would actually abandon one of the hells because it's short of money, but why would the underworld need money in the first place...?

Reimu Hakurei silently complained.

She didn't want to be tormented by money in the underworld after she died.

"Alright, hurry up and go. Can't you feel the temperature starting to rise again?" Yukari Yakumo urged from the rock.

"Tsk," Reimu Hakurei clicked her tongue and decided to move forward. Although she was the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and possessed powerful spiritual energy, she was still just a human. If the temperature got any higher, it wouldn't be good for her.

Moreover, there was no path down the mountain; only large rocks were scattered haphazardly, and the outline of a path could be vaguely discerned.

As for why these stones are arranged like a road?

This is, of course, because Reimu Hakurei has already flown down from the mountainside to the ground.

As the shrine maiden of Hakurei, although she has now arrived in the Old Hell, her connection with the Hakurei Great Barrier still exists, and she also carries a large amount of spiritual power.

So Reimu Hakurei flew down without worrying about being attacked by youkai, or rather, those youkai were too busy hiding when they saw Reimu Hakurei appear in the Old Hell.

The infamous reputation of the modern-day Hakurei Shrine Maiden has spread to the old hell.

Guided by her shrine maiden intuition, Reimu Hakurei flew towards the center of the old capital...

"This road is really long."

On the white marble steps, Akina Ze also sighed.

Although so much time has passed, the big tree that seemed so close remains unchanged, still far away.

"Youmu-san, is this how you usually enter and leave Gensokyo?"

The seemingly endless stone steps make it hard to imagine that the petite Youmu carries such a huge and heavy load on her back every day.

"yes"

Youmu seemed to take it all for granted.

Akina Sawa was speechless for a moment.

That's right, Youmu isn't entirely human. Don't be fooled by the seemingly ordinary mochi next to her; it might be a deadly weapon.

Therefore, what is difficult for humans to do is probably just a simple matter in Youmu's eyes.

"Um, we need to speed things up. If we keep going like this, Lady Yuyuko will starve!"

Youmu Konpaku, who was walking at the front, suddenly became a little anxious.

"Miss Izayoi, Mr. Akina, take my hand, we need to speed things up."

As she spoke, Youmu Konpaku reached out her hand.

Seeing the delicate hand that Youmu extended—a hand that didn't seem like that of a swordsman at all—Akina Sawa, though wanting to hold it tightly, hesitated and said, "Isn't that necessary? I can run very fast too."

Akina Sawa had secretly tested himself at night, running a lap around the Human Village while maintaining the top speed of a sprinter the entire time.

Moreover, after running a lap, he only felt a little tired. Although it was nothing to a monster, Akina Sawa was still quite proud of himself for running.

You should keep holding on.

Sakuya Izayoi smiled and reached out to place Akina Zeya's hand on Youmu Konpaku's hand.

Akina Sawa wanted to hold on a little longer, but Miss Youmu's hands were just too comfortable, so soft and tender.

Seeing that the two had already grasped each other's hands, Youmu turned around and gestured.

咻咻 咻 ~

In an instant, Youmu, carrying the ingredients and pulling the two of them, began to move. With a tremor, Akina Sawa felt as if his entire body had broken through a barrier.

Although my body felt as if it were enveloped by something, the gale kept blowing against me.

Akina Sawa also opened his eyes with great difficulty, and what he saw was...!

Youmu's leg movements had a frequency that was completely invisible to the naked eye.

She is moving up these stone steps in the simplest and most common form of exercise that everyone can do: running! And she has even broken the sound barrier.

Akina Sawa, due to inertia, seemed to fly up, being pulled along by Youmu Konpaku.

He looked to his left, wanting to see what was going on with Sakuya Izayoi.

Miss Izayoi seemed to be looking ahead calmly, the ends of her hair were blown back, revealing her fair forehead. Although she was flying behind in the same way as me, she was very composed.

Turning back, Akina Sawa began to observe his surroundings, but he couldn't see anything clearly.

Only in the instant between opening and closing your eyes can you clearly see the surrounding scenery.

Is this the desolate and empty land, the underworld?

"arrive"

Before Akina Ze could think too much, he was gently reminded by Konpaku Youmu.

We've arrived at our destination: Baiyulou.

As Youmu's speed decreased, the first thing that came into view was a three-story classical wooden pavilion, followed by a surrounding courtyard wall.

Of course, the most impossible thing to ignore is that huge cherry blossom tree.

This cherry blossom tree must be very beautiful when it blooms, right?

Akina Sawa couldn't help but think of it too.

Youmu Konpaku came to a steady stop at the entrance of the courtyard.

Akina Zeya and Izayoi Sakuya also steadied themselves and straightened their clothes.

"Miss Youmu, I didn't expect you to be so fast!"

After the clothes were tidied up, Akina Ze said with a wry smile.

In no time at all, the seemingly endless white marble steps were completely covered by the ghostly youmu.

If Akina Sawa were to walk on his own, who knows how long it would take.

"Don't you know that Miss Konpaku is the fastest in Gensokyo?"

"That's what Izayoi Sakuya said from the side."

"No, Miss Izayoi, please don't say that..."

Despite being praised so highly by Izayoi, Konpaku Youmu blushed slightly and gave an embarrassed smile.

Seeing that Miss Youmu's face was slightly flushed.

Akina Ze calmed down; no matter how fast he ran, he was still just an innocent child.

Miss Yuyuko is truly blessed.

"By the way, you said Youmu is the fastest on land, so who is the fastest in the air?"

Akina Sawa, noticing Izayoi Sakuya's choice of words, also asked.

"It's someone you know, the tengu from Youkai Mountain, Aya Shameimaru."

Sakuya Izayoi said this.

Chapter Fifteen: The Bridge Princess Without Jealousy

"So it was Aya Shameimaru..."

Akina Sawa also muttered these words to himself.

He heard this familiar name from Izayoi Sakuya, but he wasn't surprised.

Aya Shameimaru's ideas are wildly imaginative, and her speed is unparalleled.

He wouldn't be surprised to hear this name anywhere or from anyone, because Aya Shameimaru was such an unbelievable guy.

Since the last Flower Dance Festival, Akina Sawa hasn't met with Shameimaru Aya, and even the newspapers have been out of print for a long time.

I wonder what she's busy with right now?

"Mr. Akina, Ms. Izayoi, welcome to Hakugyokurou."

While lost in thought, Akina Ze had unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Hakugyokurou.

Meanwhile, Youmu jogged a few steps, pushed open the wooden door of Hakugyokurou, and made a gesture that Akina Sawa couldn't understand but guessed was a polite gesture to welcome the guest inside.

Akina Sawa and Izayoi Sakuya nodded in greeting and followed Youmu Konpaku inside.

This is a large house.

The style is classical Japanese and somewhat similar to Eientei, but the similarities are only slight. This is the conclusion that Akina Sawaya came to from observing the surrounding buildings.

Click!

A sliding door opened, and Yuyuko, her graceful figure hidden beneath her clothes, ran towards Youmu Konpaku and hugged her tightly.

"Youmu~ you're finally back!"

"Lady Yuyuko! Yes, I have successfully brought back all the ingredients!"

Youmu Konpaku's frail body stood steadily on the ground, with Yuyuko leaning against her, her two large objects pressed tightly against Youmu's face, rubbing against it incessantly.

"Yu-Yuko-sama, stop fooling around~" Youmu Konpaku turned her flushed face away, not wanting it to face the thing that Yuyuko had but she didn't, and stammered, "We...we have guests at home~"

"I remember you, you're the one who cooks so well!"

With Youmu's prompting, Yuyuko spotted Akina Zeya at a glance; she still remembered the banquet that had filled her stomach to bursting.

"Hello, Miss Yuyuko, I am Akina Zeya. It was my honor that you were satisfied with the last banquet," Akina Zeya said with a smile and narrowed his eyes.

"You're the little bat maid that Zi mentioned, right?"

Yuyuko and Akina Sawa nodded to each other and then looked at the maid standing to the side.