A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

Immediately afterwards, a look of sudden realization appeared on her face. She exclaimed "Ah!" and turned around, running back to the counter. She rummaged through a pile of books and newspapers and quickly pulled out several of the latest issues of "Wenwen News".

Holding the newspaper, she compared the front-page photo with Xia Xun's face, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"It really is you~!" Motoori Suzu exclaimed in surprise, holding the newspaper and approaching Hakurei Reimu. She blinked her big eyes and asked in a curious and gossipy tone:

"Reimu, is everything written in Aya's Daily true? Did you really fight with Marisa yesterday because you wanted to take Natsumi away from you?"

Chapter 58 Let's Make Up (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

Boom!

A light chop landed on the head of Kosuka Motoori. Reimu Hakurei pouted and said casually, "You actually believe paparazzi news?"

“Ugh—it really was fake.” Motoori Suzu covered her head and sighed regretfully. Her gaze shifted between Hakurei Reimu and Natsumi, who were standing side by side, and she muttered to herself, “What a pity. You two looked so good together when you stood together.”

"I'm a shrine maiden, what are you thinking?" Reimu Hakurei raised her hand and delivered another chop to the neck, this time with a little more force.

"Waaah—!"

Motoori Suzume immediately let out a mournful cry, rubbing her head angrily, and said indignantly, "Idiot Reimu! Love has nothing to do with status!"

"slightly--!"

She stuck her tongue out at Reimu Hakurei, made a face, and then turned her curious gaze to Xia Xun: "Mr. Xia Xun, the article in Aya's Daily yesterday that Marisa ran away crying in front of you was because you rejected her confession, that must be true, right?"

"It's not true!"

A loud, energetic shout suddenly came from the doorway. Marisa Kirisame burst in, snatched the newspaper from Suzu Motoori's hand, and tore it into pieces with a few quick "rips".

"Marisa?" Natsumi asked in surprise.

"Huh, Marisa?" Reimu Hakurei blinked as well.

"Hmph!" Marisa Kirisame first glared at Xia Xun with a huffy look, then turned her head away, not wanting to look at him. As a result, she met Reimu Hakurei's eyes, which were filled with a little embarrassment.

"Hmph!" Seeing that face, Marisa Kirisame felt the spot where she had been beaten yesterday start to ache again, so she also huffed angrily at Reimu Hakurei and turned her head away again.

Then, she saw Xia Xun again.

Marisa Kirisame was even angrier.

Xia Xun almost burst out laughing when she saw her childish behavior.

He quickly stepped forward and asked in a gentle tone, "It's been a long time, Marisa. Are you still angry?"

"Hmph! Liar Natsumi!" Marisa Kirisame's eyes widened, her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel stuffed with pine nuts. "We haven't been apart for that long! Of course I'm still angry!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her finger almost poking Xia Xun's nose: "You clearly promised to ask me to teach you magic, but you actually refused! You have no intention of practicing properly at all! You have such great talent, yet you don't cherish it at all!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Xun finally realized that her previous anger stemmed from feeling that she had wasted her magical talent.

He couldn't help but laugh, knowing how to solve the problem.

"Marisa, look."

Xia Xun raised her right hand, and a pale blue magical light shone forth.

Crystalline water forms in his palm, then changes, rises, gathers, and falls again.

Xia Xun's palm was like a tiny world, where a subtle storm was unfolding.

“This is the result of my cultivation,” Xia Xun said with a smile. “I have always been seriously cultivating magic.”

"Wow—that's amazing!" Motoori Kosuka stared at Natsumi's palm with shining eyes, clapping her hands excitedly. "I'm so envious! I wish I had magical talent too!"

Marisa Kirisame stared blankly at the self-sustaining miniature mass, her anger gradually replaced by surprise.

She looked up at Xia Xun, and the knot in her heart quietly dissipated.

It seems that he has not wasted his amazing talent.

Wow, that's amazing! The progress is incredible!

"Then I'll forgive you." Marisa Kirisame turned her face away and muttered softly, then turned back, revealing the bright smile that Xia Xun was familiar with. "When you have time, let's practice magic together again!"

"Yes, I'll leave it to Marisa-sensei then." Xia Xun nodded with a smile, feeling a sense of relief as she saw the girl regain her former radiance.

Just then, Reimu Hakurei silently reached out and handed the two daifuku she had just bought to Marisa Kirisame.

"Here, this is for you." Her voice was a little awkward, and her gaze drifted to the side. "I misunderstood you yesterday, I'm sorry."

Marisa Kirisame looked down at the daifuku handed to her, then looked up at the red and white shrine maiden who was clearly embarrassed but trying to appear calm, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

"Well, since Reimu is so kind, I'll forgive you!"

Marisa Kirisame took the two daifuku and looked at them before suddenly giving one of them to Natsumi.

Then she tore open the one in her hand, broke it in half, and handed one half to Reimu Hakurei.

Reimu Hakurei glanced at the small half of a daifuku that Marisa Kirisame was handing her, then looked at Marisa again, and suddenly said, "Marisa, I want the half you're holding. Yours is more than mine."

"Reimu!" ​​Marisa Kirisame's face instantly turned red, and she pounced on the wretched shrine maiden, wanting to teach her a lesson.

With lightning speed, Reimu Hakurei snatched the half-eaten daifuku from her hand, quickly stuffed it into her mouth, and turned to run away.

"Don't run! Stop right there!"

"No way! Do you think that idiot Marisa can catch up?"

The two immediately began chasing each other among the not-so-spacious bookshelves of Suzuna-an.

Xia Xun and Motoori Xiaoling exchanged a smile and made up. That's great.

Then, Xia Xun tore open the package of daifuku in her hand, broke it in half, and handed one half to Motoori Kosuzu beside her.

"Thank you!" Motoori Suzu happily took it, took a small bite, and squinted her eyes happily.

Xia Xun also tried it.

Hmm, the taste wasn't particularly delicious, but the filling was sweet.

“Ms. Motoori,” Xia Xun swallowed her snack, then remembered the important matter and asked curiously, “You asked Reimu to come here, so where exactly did the monster appear?”

“Mr. Natsumi, just call me Xiaoling.” Motoori Kosuki said enthusiastically, “It’s a temple school. A strange mark was left there by a yokai last night, so a shrine maiden is needed to check it.”

"I had just awakened the ability to read all texts and was invited to look up the meaning of that mark."

"I wonder what kind of monster it will be? I'm really looking forward to it!"

Hearing Motoori Kozuka's obviously overly excited tone, Xia Xun couldn't help but look down at the small girl beside him.

Surprisingly, this native of the Human Village seems quite interested in monsters, whereas normal villagers are usually very afraid of and repulsed by them.

"Xiaoling, are you grateful to the monster?" Xia Xun couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid of being attacked by the monster?"

“Yes, I’m scared. After all, it’s a yokai.” Motoori Kosuzu nodded naturally, but then her eyes lit up and she said, “But I’m also very curious. I really want to know what kind of beings yokai are.”

"Because they are all very novel and interesting."

As she spoke, Motoori Suzu ran into the counter again, then took out a scroll and proudly shared it with Xia Xun: "Look, this is the Demon Book, a book that truly records and seals demons."

"I love these books very much, and I have become the number one collector of demon books in Gensokyo!"

Xia Xun looked at the excited Motoori Kosuzu and could understand her feelings, but she also felt that the other person seemed to be courting death.

Looking at the demon book in her hand, one could indeed see streaks of black malevolent energy swirling within her elemental vision, clearly indicating that it was not a good thing.

But since Reimu Hakurei didn't care, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?

—Author's Note—

P.S.: Ah, I'm such a complete idiot!

In my nervousness, I accidentally sent chapters 53 and 54 in the wrong order.

Chapter Fifty-Nine: See you tonight, Mr. Xia Xun

Temple house.

Xia Xun came here with Reimu Hakurei and her group to investigate the problem of the appearance of yokai.

After Marisa Kirisame and Reimu Hakurei reconciled, he should have continued fishing to earn money.

But now that he's being targeted by Eryan Mingzang, he really doesn't dare to be alone.

"Akyuu~!"

At the intersection, Motoi Suzume, who was leading the way with lively skipping and jumping, saw her friend and waved her little hand happily.

Hieda Akyuu, who was talking with Kamishirasawa Keine, heard the voice and turned to look at Shirogane.

"Xiao Ling".

With a gentle smile on her face, Hieda Akyuu waved her hand lightly in response to Motoori Kosuzu, then turned her gaze to Hakurei Reimu, regaining the composure of a well-bred lady, and bowed respectfully.

"Reimu, it's been a long time."

"Yeah, it's been a long time, A-Qiu."

Reimu Hakurei also returned the greeting in accordance with the etiquette of a shrine maiden.

After exchanging greetings, Hieda Akyuu looked at Natsumi and Marisa Kirisame, who had appeared together, and waved with a smile, saying, "Natsumi, Marisa, you've come too."

"How could such a thing be complete without the great detective Marisa!" Marisa Kirisame replied with a thumbs-up, full of energy.

“I was the first to discover this,” Xia Xun replied with a smile, then bowed to Kamishirasawa Keine, who was standing next to Hieda Akyuu: “Excuse me, Kamishirasawa-sensei.”

"No, thank you for your help." Kamishirasawa Keine returned the greeting, her voice gentle. "The appearance of the monster has frightened the children. I will go and comfort them. Please take care of the monster."

"Master Akyuu, I'm leaving things here in your care," Kamishirasawa Keine said again before turning and entering the temple house filled with children's voices.

“Very well, then let’s begin our investigation immediately!” Marisa Kirisame, carrying a broom, grabbed Reimu Hakurei and prepared to start the investigation.

Upon seeing this, Hieda no Akyuu quickly stepped forward to explain the situation, and then stirred the fishy medicine in front of the door with its childish and strange characters.

He looked at the unfamiliar words and tried to glean some clues from them.

Xia Xun had already looked at it last night, so he only glanced at it briefly and gave up after confirming that there were no new discoveries. After all, he really didn't have much experience in detective work and decryption.

Just leave it to professionals like Hakurei Reimu and Kirisame Marisa. Now he just wants to solve this matter quickly, and then drag his personal bodyguard Reimu to go fishing to make money.

He doesn't have enough money right now to buy seeds for a full fifteen acres of farmland.

Of the four-person team that came to investigate, three huddled in front of the door, studying it intently.

Marisa Kirisame kept offering her speculations, and she, Suzu Motoori, and Reimu Hakurei were having a heated discussion about various possibilities.

Xia Xun took the opportunity to steal a moment of peace, leaning against a doorpost and watching the three argue endlessly.

From an outsider's perspective, Xia Xun suddenly noticed that Motoori Kozuki's expression was a bit off. The little girl kept glancing at the words on the door out of the corner of her eye, and when discussing things with the other two, she seemed to be talking about other things.

"Xiaoling must have discovered something, but she doesn't want to say it."

Suddenly, Hieda Akyuu's soft whisper reached her ears, and a faint, sweet fragrance wafted over. Natsumi turned around and met the gaze of the girl who was standing on tiptoe.

"Why?" Xia Xun also lowered his voice and leaned closer to Hieda Akyuu to ask.

The sudden closeness and the overwhelming masculine aura caused a flicker of panic in Hieda Akyuu's purple eyes, but she quickly calmed down because of her concern for her friend.

"Xiaoling is a very kind child. She must have used her abilities to understand the meaning of those words and then discovered something that made her choose to hide it."

Speaking softly, Hieda Akyuu's tone revealed worry:

"But that's a monster, and it's extremely dangerous for humans to come into contact with monsters."

“That child is very interested in monsters, and I’m worried that she might get into danger because of it.”

"Mr. Xia Xun, could I ask you to help me protect Xiao Ling?"

Hieda Akyuu pleaded softly, looking nervously at Natsumi.

Xia Xun was taken aback by what she heard. She looked at Hieda Akyuu strangely, then turned to look at Hakurei Reimu and Kirisame Marisa.

The meaning is very clear: there are experts over there, but you didn't invite them, and instead came to me, a half-baked expert?

"Please, Mr. Natsumi, Reimu and Marisa won't do," Hieda Akyuu said softly, his tone pleading.

Neither the Hakurei Shrine Maiden nor the Kirisame Mage can do it, but I, a new farmer, can?

What's the logic behind this?