Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

This desolate world looks much more pleasing to the eye now that it's draped in this snowflake-covered cloak.

This silent performance by snowflakes and debris also has an end.

Rumble~

A worn-out half-track motorcycle peeked out from the horizon.

The tracks made little noise as they rolled over the snow, but the engine's roar echoed through the silent world.

Chito and Yuri sat on the hard leather seats of the half-track vehicle.

In the end times, winter arrived early.

Or to put it another way, summer is just a brief interlude in this long winter, while spring and autumn have long since disappeared.

"Chii, how much longer until the next supply station? Huff huff huff~" Yuri, with her back to the front of the vehicle, curled up her small body, and the breath she exhaled turned into a white mist in the outside world.

"We're almost there, just past this block," Qianhu said, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Contact with Mr. Note has been intermittent; the last time we spoke was several weeks ago.

The food given by Mr. Paper Note, also known as Akina Sawaya, was completely consumed by a gluttonous Yuri a few days ago.

After Chito had thoroughly manipulated Yuri, she had no choice but to accept her fate, abandon her illusions, and continue her struggle for survival.

But hardship always follows one after another. The brief summer interlude passed, and the long winter once again dominated the skies of this world.

Yuri was relatively fortunate; she could curl up and hide in a small corner.

Qianhu, however, had to sit in the driver's seat and stretch out his limbs to operate this half-track vehicle, which, although well-maintained, was nearing the end of its lifespan.

Her feet, encased in thick overshoes, were already ice-cold, and even her hands, covered in thick gloves, were almost numb. But Chito couldn't curl up comfortably like Yuri.

At this moment, Qianhu's eyes were as lifeless as the eyes of the long statues that passed by from time to time along the roadside.

"Chief, do you think we can get to Mr. Paper's place in our half-track?"

Yuri, curled up in a ball, stared blankly at the gray sky and said...

The engine roared, and snowflakes fell incessantly on this hopeless land.

After a long while, a voice that seemed to come from a distant world came from the front of the car.

"I have no idea..."

A crystal-clear snowflake twirled and drifted into Yuri's wide-open mouth, instantly melting into snow water.

Yuri, unaware of her surroundings, closed her mouth and chewed, oblivious to the fact that the snowflakes had already vanished.

The journey continues...

-----------------------------

Take a sip of white tea.

Akina Sawa also raised his head and looked directly at Hakurei Reimu sitting opposite him.

The job fair, which was simply decorated as a shrine, was completely empty.

Besides myself, there's only Reimu Hakurei.

However, this languid posture is not accompanied by tea.

Is this really what it looks like to look for a partner? It's normal that there's no one at the job fair.

"Stop looking, no matter how much you look, there won't be any tea leaves in the water," Reimu said, resting her cheek on her hand.

"So you also think this is water, not tea, right?" Akina Sawa rolled her eyes at Reimu.

Reimu Hakurei pouted in dissatisfaction when someone pointed out the grammatical error in her "tsk".

"Is what you wrote in the newspaper about seeking a festival organizer true?" Akina Ze also intended to get straight to the point.

“It is true, but I didn’t write it,” Reimu Hakurei said lazily.

"Huh? Impossible, if it wasn't you who wrote it, then who was?"

Akina Sawa was also a little puzzled. He glanced at the empty shrine and it didn't seem like anyone else would come.

Reimu Hakurei raised her eyebrows slightly, still looking like she hadn't woken up yet, and didn't answer him.

"Forget about that for now. Tell me, how exactly are you going to do this shrine partner thing?" Since he couldn't figure it out, Akina Sawa gave up on thinking about it and moved on to the next topic.

"It's probably just so you can attract attention at the festival market by using the name of Hakurei Shrine," Reimu Hakurei said after swirling her teacup in her hand and thinking for a moment.

"That's all?" Akina Ze was also somewhat incredulous at this small matter, looking at Reimu with a skeptical expression.

"Because Yukari said that the name of Moriya Shrine cannot be too great as that of Hakurei Shrine, because that would be detrimental to the relationship..." At this point, Reimu Hakurei seemed to realize something and fell silent.

Although Akina Sawa was still a little confused, he felt that he had understood.

If there is competition among vegetable farmers in the market, and competition among businesses, then it's not so hard to understand that there is also competition among shrines.

In the end, Renjian Village is just a small town.

But in this place that is neither too big nor too small, there are two shrines, as far as Akina Sawa knows.

It's not hard to understand why some sordid things happened between them.

But this purple...

Is that the blonde beauty?

Akina Sawa also recalled from a corner of his memory the youkai who claimed to be an ordinary person named Yakumo Yukari.

Akina Ze didn't believe what she said either.

Since she's a monster, how could she be ordinary? Thinking back to that time, I realize she was probably just teasing me.

Akina Sawa shook his head to clear his mind of distractions and looked at Reimu.

"So, specifically, what do you want me to do?"

"Do whatever you want, just make sure the Hakurei Shrine's name doesn't fall too far behind Moriya's at the Human Banquet."

Reimu Hakurei said nonchalantly that she wouldn't have asked anyone to do these things if Yukari hadn't insisted.

"A feast for the mortals?"

Akina Sawa had only ever heard about summer festivals, but where did this human feast come from?

"The Feast for Humans, as the name suggests, is a banquet in the Human Village. It is probably a feast where all the residents of the Human Village cook together in one pot. I don't know the specifics, since I have never participated in it," Reimu Hakurei said, a hint of melancholy in her voice.

“I think I understand what you want me to do,” Akina Ze nodded.

As for why Reimu's tone conveyed a sense of melancholy, Akina Sawa wanted to know the story behind it but dared not inquire.

Everyone faces difficulties in life, and only the protagonist of a novel can arbitrarily interfere in other people's affairs.

Akina Sawa also admitted that he was not the protagonist of the novel, but rather just an ordinary, ordinary farmer.

Although there were some coincidences involved, it was nothing special...

The teacup opposite was empty, and the person had already left.

Actually, she had just lied. She had attended this human banquet before, but it was a long time ago, so long that Reimu had forgotten about it.

Reimu Hakurei lay face down on the table, her hands supporting her weight.

Chapter Fifty-Six: A Few Things About Building the Cabin

"Nikua, please move that rock out of here."

"Um"

In an open space near the courtyard wall, Nikua gripped the edge of a stone about half the size of a bucket with both hands, and lifted it up with all her might, her little face turning bright red.

Not far from Nikua, Akina Zeya was drawing lines in the mud with a stick.

From the sky, several straight lines together perfectly enclose a fairly large area.

"Let's use this place as the foundation for our friend's cottage."

Akina Ze also reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his eyes fixed on the land that had been processed all morning and was now beginning to take shape.

The area being cleaned is an open space near Akina Zeya's house, very close to the courtyard wall, almost touching it.

Originally, this piece of land was covered with tall weeds, stones that could block the way, and other odds and ends.

Akina Sawa also plans to build a small house on this land. He doesn't have high requirements; he just needs something to shelter him from the wind and rain, as the system requires.

There's still some free time before the summer feast, and Akina Sawa plans to use this time to build the Friend's Hut mentioned by the system.

However, unlike other system buildings, the Friend's Hut isn't something you can simply build with a single click once you've gathered all the materials. Instead, you have to manually construct a basic house, ensuring all requirements are met before the system grants it the status of a Friend's Hut. Akina Ze also wanted to see what functions the Friend's Hut actually offered.

So early this morning, Akina Ze called Nikua to help him clear the vacant lot next to the yard.

"That's roughly the area."

Akina Ze casually tossed the wooden stick aside, put his hands on his hips, and looked at the roughly cleared wasteland with satisfaction. Nikua followed suit, standing to the side with her hands on her hips and her little head held high.

If someone were to pass by now and see this scene, they would surely marvel at how loving this father and daughter are.

"Nikua, do you know where to start when building a house?" Akina Ze patted Nikua's soft little head.

Although Akina Sawa himself didn't know, that didn't stop him from asking others.

The person asking the question doesn't need to know the correct answer. As long as they ask the question in a calm and composed tone, others will subconsciously assume that they know the answer.

Of course, this only applies to individuals who are simply talented.

"I know"

"Huh? You know how to build a house?" Akina Ze was also shocked.

"Huh? Isn't it just a matter of sticking three boards into the mud and then putting a big wooden board on top, and that's it?" Nikua gestured with her hands, placing the wooden board on top of the other board, looking completely matter-of-fact.

"Phew~" Akina Ze also breathed a long sigh of relief. It seems that our Nikua didn't become smart all at once.

But why does this sound so familiar?

Akina Ze frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly relaxed, clapped his hands, and realized something.

Isn't this the chicken coop I was talking about the other day?

Thinking of this, Akina Ze looked at Nikua with a smile in his eyes, like a kind old father.

Feeling uncomfortable under her father's imposing aura, Nikua turned her head to look to the right, then to the left, and then spun around in a 360-degree circle, but still couldn't find anything.

Instead, her aura became even stronger. Unable to find the problem, Nikua pouted and glared at Akina Sawa...

-------------------

Cirno recently discovered a problem.

The frogs in the Misty Lake are becoming fewer and fewer, and they are getting harder and harder to catch. Every time I appear, the frogs disappear without a trace as if they have seen some natural enemy.

This left Cirno's little head full of confusion.

Is our aura so strong that even frogs can't stand it?

"Hahaha! As expected, I am the strongest!"

Cirno stood with her hands on her hips, facing the empty shore of the Misty Lake.

After posing for a while, Cirno felt a little tired, so she flapped her decorative wings and landed on a large rock on the shore.

This large rock is a very eye-catching spot on the shore of Lake Mist.

After all, it's hard not to notice such a large rock when it suddenly appears on a flat beach.

Moreover, this rock is warm in winter and cool in summer, making it the perfect place to sunbathe. Although some people in the Scarlet Devil Mansion don't like it, it is loved by most of the fairies in the vicinity.

Cirno lay flat on the large rock, the cool air making her feel comfortable.

Looking at the cloudless sky, Cirno felt as if something was missing, but she couldn't remember what it was.

The mist gradually spread over the shore of the Misty Lake, covering the beach with a thick fog. Only the giant rocks floated in the mist like a small boat on the sea.

Do you want to become stronger?

A hollow voice suddenly came from the fog, coming from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint its source.

"Who is it!?" Cirno jumped up from the rock, looking warily at the surroundings shrouded in mist.

"You don't need to know who I am, you just need to know that I can make you stronger."