A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

He adjusted his posture, leaning his back against the pillar behind him, his gaze fixed on the two figures in the courtyard that seemed to dance with each other.

Watching Reimu Hakurei manipulate the talismans with effortless grace, watching Marisa Kirisame unleash her explosive magical power, watching those extraordinary and dazzling forces bloom in the air.

An overwhelming sense of excitement welled up from the deepest part of my heart.

Blood rushed through the veins, the heart pounded violently in the chest, and every cell screamed and trembled.

This is magic!

This is extraordinary knowledge!

This was the magnificent yet dangerous mysterious world he had only ever seen in his fantasies!

To be able to witness such a battle between extraordinary beings at such close range and feel that earth-shattering power.

Even if I really die here, it'll be worth it!

The thought of bloodlust flashed through his mind, but he suppressed it fiercely the next second.

But his gaze remained fixed on the battle in the courtyard, unblinking.

An overwhelming surge of excitement burned fiercely in my chest, like wildfire spreading across the land.

He wanted that kind of power.

Someday.

He will surely possess that power too!

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Paparazzi! There are paparazzi!

"Marisa!"

"Reimu!"

In the front courtyard of Hakurei Shrine, the aftershocks of spiritual and magical energy had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was filled with an atmosphere of simmering tension.

Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame faced each other a few meters apart, both bearing the marks of a fierce battle. They stared intently at each other, their eyes burning with an unwavering determination to defeat the other completely.

"Reimu, I'll show you how powerful I am!" Marisa Kirisame raised the miniature octagonal stove high in her hand, and a breathtakingly compressed seven-colored magical light began to gather at the stove's mouth.

"Marisa, I will definitely avenge my potato chips!" Reimu Hakurei's voice was icy cold. She formed hand seals in front of her, and talismans with different glows appeared out of thin air, slowly swirling around her.

As their momentum reached its peak, almost simultaneously, they delivered their final declaration and attack.

"Extreme Spark!"

"Dream Seal!"

Within Marisa's Eight Trigrams Furnace, an incomparably powerful torrent of seven-colored magic cannons erupted with a destructive aura that tore everything apart.

The talisman in front of Reimu transformed into countless streams of dazzling light, weaving into an inescapable net that swept forward.

Boom!

Two completely different yet equally terrifying forces collided violently in mid-air!

The blinding light instantly engulfed the entire courtyard, even briefly overshadowing the afternoon sun.

The deafening roar caused the shrine's buildings to tremble slightly. The shockwave transformed into a visible ring of air that spread outwards, so strong that even sitting indoors, Xia Xun could feel the wind blowing against his face and had to squint.

At the core of the light, Marisa Kirisame gritted her teeth, her golden-brown eyes reflecting the blazing fire. She squeezed every last bit of magic power from her body, trying to make the seven-colored torrent break through the seal of the talisman.

Sweat dripped from her forehead, and her arm, gripping the Bagua stove, trembled slightly from the excessive force.

However, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden's power is beyond the norm in Gensokyo.

The seemingly dazzling and soft barrage of spirit runes actually contained immense toughness and purifying power. Under the wear and tear of countless runes, the seven-colored magic cannon gradually dimmed and its range was continuously compressed.

Finally, with a muffled groan of resentment, Marisa's magic ran out of steam.

The light from the Dream Seal completely overwhelmed the afterglow of the Limit Spark. Several remaining streaks of spiritual light swept past her side. Although they did not directly hit her, the impact and the shock of spiritual energy still drained her of her last bit of strength.

puff.

Marisa Kirisame's octagonal stove drooped limply. She swayed, her vision went black, and she fell straight backward, crashing onto the dusty and scorched ground of the courtyard, losing consciousness.

"hehe……"

Reimu Hakurei was not unharmed either; she was breathing heavily, and her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.

But seeing her opponent fall, a sinister smile of a victor and victim still appeared on her face.

"Now, let's see where you can run, you thieving rat!" She panted, as more than a dozen ways to deal with the thieving rat flashed through her mind.

Reimu Hakurei took a step forward, preparing to approach the collapsed Marisa and carry out her righteous judgment.

However, after taking only two or three steps, a feeling of weakness and dizziness far stronger than ever before suddenly struck his entire body.

She stumbled and almost lost her balance.

Gurgle gurgle—! ! !

At the same time, a cry that was extremely loud, even drowning out her gasps, rang out with unparalleled clarity.

Reimu Hakurei froze, her sinister smile instantly turning to dust.

"Oh no..." The thought had barely crossed her mind when the world began to spin around her.

摲通.

Following Marisa, the red and white shrine maiden also collapsed softly on the ground in the courtyard, not far from Marisa.

Excessive consumption of spiritual energy, coupled with more than two days of hunger debuff, completely overwhelmed her at this moment.

The shrine's living room was completely silent.

Xia Xun picked up the cup of light tea and took a sip.

Hmm, it really doesn't have much flavor.

He put down his teacup, looked at the two beautiful girls lying in different positions in the courtyard, and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh, "They've both perished..."

Xia Xun finally understood the cause of this fierce battle.

Marisa Kirisame stole and ate the potato chips that he had given to Reimu Hakurei as a thank you gift.

That bag of potato chips seemed to be the last decent food Reimu Hakurei had left, which directly caused the shrine maiden to fall into a prolonged state of hunger, which is why her stomach was growling so loudly just now.

To be honest, as I watched further, I gradually understood the reason why the two were fighting so fiercely. Although Xia Xun could understand it, she still felt a strong sense of speechlessness.

Click! Click! Click!

Suddenly, a series of rapid and crisp camera shutter sounds rang out like a sudden storm, breaking the lingering silence of the courtyard.

Xia Xun felt a series of blinding white flashes in front of her eyes; it was the light from a camera flash.

Then, a black figure appeared silently and swiftly in the center of the courtyard, just between Reimu and Marisa who were lying on the ground, like a leaf falling in the wind.

It was a girl wearing a distinctive red five-pointed star hair ornament and a black five-pointed hat, with short, neat black hair and a pair of jet-black crow wings behind her.

She was wearing a shirt and skirt that allowed her to move around easily, and she was holding an old-fashioned camera in her hand. She was frantically snapping photos of the two people on the ground and Xia Xun inside the house from all angles, her face flushed with the excitement of discovering an amazing treasure.

"Breaking news! Super breaking news!" She muttered rapidly as she clapped her hands, her voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "The shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine and the magician of the Enchanted Forest have engaged in a life-or-death battle within the shrine grounds for a mysterious man! The battle is fierce, and both sides are severely injured!"

"Is this a tangled web of emotions or a conflict of interests? A love triangle, a broken friendship—you love him, she loves him, who will he choose? Gensokyo's annual emotional drama is about to unfold!"

This series of mutterings, resembling gossip headlines, was like a bucket of ice water poured over Xia Xun's head, instantly snapping him out of his observer's mind and making the hairs on his body stand on end.

Oh no! It's that paparazzi! My reputation!!!

Xia Xun immediately recalled the other party's identity information.

Aya Shameimaru, the most famous paparazzi in Gensokyo, renowned for her lightning speed, and the tengu girl in charge of "Aya's News"!

"Wait! It's not what you think! I can explain!!" Xia Xun suddenly jumped up from the cushion, and in his haste, he even stretched out the classic "Erkang hand" gesture, trying to stop the other party and clarify this terrible misunderstanding.

"Hello, hello~" Aya Shameimaru's movements were faster than anyone could imagine. Xia Xun only felt a warmth in his hand before the other person appeared in front of him as if by teleportation, warmly grasping his outstretched hand and shaking it vigorously up and down a few times.

Her smile was bright and sunny, as if those explosive mutterings just now hadn't come from her mouth at all. "My name is Aya Shameimaru, a reporter and editor-in-chief of 'Aya's News.' May I ask your name? Where are you from? And what is your relationship with these two... um, beautiful girls on the ground?"

She bombarded him with questions, and with her other hand, she had somehow produced a notebook and pen, the pen tip hovering over the paper, ready to fire.

Surprised by such a professional and polite interview, Xia Xun subconsciously replied, "Hello, my name is Xia Xun. I am a new farmer who has just arrived in Gensokyo from the outside world and settled near the Human Village."

"Hehe~" Aya Shameimaru's eyes lit up, and her pen flew across the page. "A mysterious storm from the outside world instantly swept through the hearts of two girls in Gensokyo, causing a tragic love triangle. Could it be a code name to conceal his true identity? The amazing charm hidden behind an ordinary job?"

"Wait! I haven't explained anything in detail yet! Don't start writing nonsense!" Xia Xun finally realized what was happening and hurriedly interrupted her obviously wildly imaginative speculation, "I don't have that kind of relationship with them! I just..."

But Aya Shameimaru had clearly obtained the key information she wanted.

Before Xia Xun could finish speaking, she gave Xia Xun an extremely cheerful, even overly bright, smile, slammed her notebook shut with a "snap," and neatly put away her pen.

"I see! I understand completely! Thank you, Mr. Xia Xun, for accepting my interview and providing such a valuable 'person-in-charge' perspective! For a detailed report, please stay tuned to the latest issue of Wenwen News Weekly! Goodbye!"

Before he could finish speaking, giving Xia Xun no chance to explain, Aya Shameimaru was enveloped in a gust of wind. Her black figure blurred as if it had merged into the air, and then vanished completely from Xia Xun's sight, leaving only a few leaves that had been swept up by the wind and slowly drifted down.

“It’s over…” Xia Xun’s outstretched hand fell limply to his side, his face filled with despair.

He could already imagine how vivid and illustrated the front page headline of the next issue of "Bunbun News" would be, and how his still-honest reputation, which had just begun in Gensokyo, would be completely distorted by the sensationalism of paparazzi literature.

"No! We can't just sit here and wait to die! Maybe we can still save him!" A strong will to survive jolted Xia Xun awake.

He turned abruptly, rushed out of the living room, took a few steps across the broken sliding door, came to the courtyard, and rushed to Hakurei Reimu's side.

He crouched down, grabbed Reimu's shoulders and shook her gently, calling out anxiously, "Reimu! Reimu! Wake up! Don't sleep! Something terrible has happened!"

"Paparazzi! Paparazzi! Get up and think of something!!!"

Chapter Thirty: Debut in Gensokyo

Reimu Hakurei was awakened by a strong aroma of food.

In the instant her consciousness emerged from her drowsiness, she vaguely thought she had returned to her childhood.

Every time she woke up from a long nap, her mother would bring a hot meal to the table, the warm aroma of the food gently enveloping her.

At that moment, she groggily opened her eyes, and in her field of vision came a figure that was being steamed by rising heat.

The figure was carrying something and was slightly bent over beside the low table.

Is that your mother...?

Almost without conscious thought, the body acts before the mind.

Reimu Hakurei stood up, staggered over, wrapped her arms around his waist, and unconsciously rubbed her cheek against his smoky clothes.

boom!

"W-What are you doing?!"

Xia Xun was placing the last plate of stir-fried cauliflower on the table when she was suddenly embraced tightly by a warm, soft body, leaving her frozen in place.

He looked down and met a pair of half-open, half-closed brown eyes filled with moisture.

Is it half-asleep and starving, ready to just start eating right away?!

A quick thinking in a crisis.

Xia Xun swiftly grabbed a hot, slightly charred roasted potato from the plate in her hand and stuffed it into Hakurei Reimu's slightly open mouth.

"Well……!"

The shrine maiden, who was about to say something, had her mouth sealed shut with warm food.

The potatoes have a crispy outer skin and a soft interior, with a unique caramelized aroma and starchy sweetness that instantly fills the mouth.

The already ravenous stomach seemed to be ignited by the aroma, emitting an even louder whine, urging its owner to swallow quickly.

Go, go, go.

Reimu Hakurei unconsciously began to chew.

The sweet taste spread along the tip of the tongue, and the warm feeling slid from the throat all the way into the stomach, dispelling the long-standing coldness and emptiness.

From childhood to adulthood, she had never eaten such delicious, blissful roasted potatoes.

"Miss Reimu, you've eaten, but you can't bite me now!"

A slightly panicked male voice rang out from above.

Reimu Hakurei suddenly snapped out of her daze and realized that she was holding Natsume tightly, practically clinging to him.

You hugged the wrong person!