Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

This bright red tofu, which looks incredibly spicy, is actually sweet!

Yuyuko and Izayoi Sakuya looked at each other in bewilderment.

I've never seen sweet Mapo Tofu before, but judging from Yukari Yakumo's surprised look, it must be delicious, right?

Without further hesitation, Izayoi Sakuya scooped up a large piece of Mapo Tofu with a spoon and stuffed it into her mouth.

Ah!

It's really sweet and delicious!

Sakuya Izayoi thought to herself, she even considered asking Akina Sawa about the recipe for this sweet Mapo Tofu.

As for Miss Yuyuko, she had already swallowed the entire plate of Mapo Tofu in one gulp.

They were already eyeing the plate in Yukari Yakumo's hand with longing.

But this time, Yukari Yakumo pretended not to see it and kept stuffing the sweet Mapo Tofu into her mouth.

Seeing that Yukari Yakumo ignored her, Yuyuko closed her eyes, paused for a moment, and then appeared before Yukari Yakumo with teary eyes, looking extremely pitiful.

Seeing Yuyuko's expression, Yukari Yakumo smiled helplessly, scooped a large piece of tofu from her bowl and put it into Yuyuko's mouth. Yuyuko smiled happily.

"9 seconds left"

Meanwhile, Akina Sawa stood silently in front of the dining table, watching the people in front of him stuff the sweet Mapo Tofu into their mouths.

But can a non-spicy Mapo Tofu still be called Mapo Tofu?

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Cold-Hearted Girl, Komeiji Satoru

The corridor, which seemed like it would be quick to walk through, turned out to be surprisingly long, and the further in you went, the higher the temperature became, with a stuffy feeling.

This is an ancient corridor with rock walls on both sides. The surface of these rock walls seems to be covered with a layer of something, which looks very dark.

After entering through the main gate, you will find yourself in this wooden corridor.

"Do you think your sister might be involved in this strange incident?"

Reimu Hakurei walked ahead, holding the Yin-Yang Jewel that emitted a red glow.

Komeiji Satoru followed behind Hakurei Reimu in silence, his swaying third eye seemingly lost in thought.

"If your sister was the one who caused this incident, what would you do?"

Reimu Hakurei, who was walking in front, continued speaking, her face covered with a layer of red light.

I'll make her stop.

What if she doesn't listen to you?

No, she will listen to me.

Komeiji Satori, a girl with no emotions, spoke those words one by one.

Although this passage was spoken without much change in tone and was extremely flat, Reimu Hakurei felt that she heard something different in those words.

She couldn't help but turn around and glance at Komeiji Satoru.

Her delicate face was flat and expressionless, just like Nagato Yuki, no, there were some differences, namely that she had one more eye and was missing a pair of glasses.

She couldn't make out anything at all. Reimu Hakurei turned her head away again. Her words bothered her, but the meaning hidden in the words was like raindrops falling from the sky, visible through a window but impossible to grasp, shrouded in mist.

Komeiji Satoru is radiating that feeling right now, but Reimu Hakurei can't do anything about it, not even open the window.

It's incredibly difficult to do anything in front of Komeiji Satoru, who has the ability to read minds.

No matter what, this mind-reading ability is just too abnormal!

Reimu Hakurei was filled with resentment.

At the same time, she understood that Komeiji Satori behind her was fully aware of what she was thinking, but she just couldn't help but let the thought pop into her head.

A restless mind is not something that can be easily tamed; at least, Reimu Hakurei couldn't do it.

----------

A constant stream of noisy and fragmented things kept emanating from the shameless guy in front of her, dressed in a leaky shrine maiden outfit.

Komeiji Satoru accepted this information with a blank expression.

She was already used to these thoughts. From birth until now, everyone who knew she had the ability to read minds had these thoughts without exception, and some even thought of more outrageous things in front of her.

Having grown up in these environments filled with malice, goodwill, and even greater malice, Komeiji Satoru no longer cares.

As a mind-reading monster, it's inevitable to encounter the immense malice hidden in people's hearts. The old woman, who appears outwardly kind and gentle, has a heart blacker than ink.

The saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" is a lesson that Komeiji Satoru learned long ago. The idea that you can know a person's face but not their heart is a joke in her eyes. No matter how glamorous the exterior may be, the heart is what it is.

Therefore, as mind-reading monsters who can remove people's masks, Kaku and Ren are naturally hated by people.

It was because she witnessed too much evil that Lianlian chose to close her eyes.

Komeiji Satoru's eyes darkened slightly.

Even her expressionless face was honed through years of practice.

Getting back to the main topic---

Because she can read minds, Reimu Hakurei's innermost thoughts are completely transparent to her.

It was precisely because Komeiji Satoru knew that Reimu Hakurei was thinking about going back to slack off after resolving the incident that he chose to travel with her.

She was certain that this strange incident was caused by Lianlian.

Since closing her eyes, Lianlian has become completely unconscious. Even her older sister, if she's not paying attention, will sometimes forget Lianlian's existence.

Koishi Satoru is unconscious; no matter what she does, Koishi Satoru will always choose to forgive her.

Because we're sisters.

Just a moment ago, Reimu Hakurei, who had been secretly observing behind her, thought she saw Satoru Komeiji smile.

Although it was brief and could easily be dismissed as an illusion, she was certain that the guy had indeed laughed just now.

I really don't understand.....

Reimu Hakurei was completely bewildered, having no idea what the guy behind her was thinking.

The mind reader and the mind being read walked together in this corridor, but Reimu Hakurei was about to give up.

The thought that her thoughts had been completely exposed, like being stared at naked with an aggressive gaze, made Reimu Hakurei feel extremely uncomfortable.

Regardless, with her skull ripped open and her brain constantly exposed to X-rays, Reimu Hakurei would have run away long ago if it weren't for the need to resolve the anomaly. She is a shrine maiden, but at the same time, she is also a human.

But the good news is...

A light appeared ahead.

An orange-yellow light emanated from the wooden door in front.

"Let's go in quickly!"

Reimu Hakurei was pleasantly surprised and unconsciously took Satoru Komeiji's hand, wanting to quickly push open the wooden door and leave the scene of the two of them alone.

Komeiji Satoru's brow twitched slightly, but she did not push away the hand that Hakurei Reimu was holding.

Reimu Hakurei's simple thoughts made it impossible for her to refuse.

Because her heart was there, and she could see it.

This could be considered a drawback of mind-reading abilities.

Komeiji Satoru shook his head helplessly, letting himself be led by Reimu Hakurei and moved quickly.

--------Bang!

The orange-glowing door was violently pushed open by Reimu Hakurei, slamming against the wall with a loud bang.

A surging heat wave suddenly swept in.

Within a second of contact, Reimu Hakurei felt like she was about to faint from the heat.

Without hesitation, a deep blue spiritual energy shield emanated from Gohei, enveloping Reimu Hakurei and Satoru Komeiji within it.

With the help of the spiritual energy shield, Reimu Hakurei was finally able to relax and observe her surroundings.

This was a place filled with thick white fog. The source of the orange light was shrouded in the fog, and only a blurry object could be seen.

Covered in mist, Reimu Hakurei couldn't see anything in the orange light at all.

She tried waving her purification staff to dispel the fog.

At first, the fog was indeed dispersed somewhat, but once you stop waving, the fog will surge back from all sides.

For a moment, Reimu Hakurei was caught in a dilemma. If she didn't move forward, how could she resolve the incident? But would it be dangerous to head towards the orange light through the thick fog?

Just then, Reimu Hakurei felt a force coming from her waist.

She looked back and saw that Komeiji Satoru had his hand on her waist and was pushing her forward.

Reimu Hakurei glanced at Satoru Komeiji.

I tried to read something from her face, but unfortunately, I still couldn't see anything.

Hey ~

Reimu Hakurei let out a soft breath.

Without hesitation, he strode forward, his eyes regaining their usual composure.

I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden!

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Truth Comes Out

"Your tofu is delicious, but this isn't Mapo Tofu, is it?"

Yukari Yakumo scooped a spoonful of tofu from the plate, put it in her mouth, and commented.

To be fair, Youmu's animal-shaped steamed buns weren't as delicious as Akina Zeya's Mapo Tofu, but as a judge, Yakumo Yukari had her own criteria for judgment.

This Mapo Tofu isn't spicy at all, so it can't really be called Mapo Tofu.

Although it is indeed delicious, I can only apologize. Sweet tofu is sweet tofu. Why is it called Mapo tofu?

Shaking her head, Yukari Yakumo decided to cast her vote for the adorable animal-shaped steamed buns made by the honest and cute Youmu.

Bang!

Akina Ze, who had been silent until now, suddenly snapped his fingers, drawing everyone's curious gazes.

"Time is up"

Akina Zeya revealed a mysterious smile as he looked at the three judges on the panel before speaking.

"Mapo tofu is very spicy, that's common knowledge. Some people like this spiciness and can finish the whole plate of Mapo tofu."

Akina Sawa also looked at Saigyouji Yuyuko, whose plate of Mapo Tofu was completely empty.

"However, for most people, they will only eat one bite of the whole plate of Mapo Tofu and then not another. This is because Mapo Tofu is just too spicy. If they are only trying it out of curiosity, they will take one bite and then be afraid of Mapo Tofu. In that case, the whole dish is wasted, and they will not be able to appreciate the true essence of Mapo Tofu."

"So," Akina Ze also gently scooped a spoonful of Mapo Tofu and put it in his mouth.

"I made a change. I made sure the spiciness of Mapo Tofu didn't come out all at once; it would wait a while before it exploded. That's what you call 'aftertaste'."

Youmu, who hadn't eaten Mapo Tofu, looked at Zeya Akina with utter confusion, unable to understand what he was talking about.

"Miss Youmu, would you like some too? I have some more here."

Noticing Youmu's gaze, Akina Sawa casually moved away, revealing a large plate of bright red Mapo Tofu.

"Miss Youmu, I advise you not to eat it."

Sakuya Izayoi said with a wry smile.

She already knew what was going to happen next, and her belly was already starting to move.

The pain receptors are already sending out frantic warnings.

I ate a few extra bites of this Mapo Tofu because I was curious why it was sweet, and now it seems...

"You're not going to eat, Youmu-chan? Then Mr. Akina, give me the whole thing. Look, I've already finished."

Saigyouji Yuyuko grinned foolishly and pointed to the empty plate. She stood up, intending to eat all the remaining Mapo Tofu that Akina Zeya had left.