Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

"Hmph, that Lan guy..."

Behind a pillar in the hall, Cheng was plucking petals one by one, as if venting her frustration, holding a small yellow flower she had found from who-knows-where.

Petals were scattered all over the ground.

Chapter Sixty: Miss Yuyuko Loves to Eat Fish

"Nikua! I've made up my mind!"

Akina Zeya leaned his shoulder against the uneven wooden plank, his expression very serious.

"Ok?"

"Whether they are human or monster, animal or plant," Akina Sawa seemed to have an epiphany, looking up at the sky, "although they are completely different in appearance or in nature, they all have one thing in common!"

What do they have in common?

“That’s slacking off!” Akina Ze said with a righteous look.

"Tsk!"

Even for just a moment, Akina Ze was certain that he saw Nikua's brows furrow slightly, her eyes half-closed and looking sideways, and the corners of her mouth curving into a disdainful arc.

This is definitely not a cute expression. If anyone has ever seen a cute girl looking disgusted with something, then it's safe to say that this is exactly what Nikua's expression is like right now.

With things so busy, the guy who initiated and led the construction of the house is actually thinking about slacking off!

Nikua really wanted to pick up her little hammer and swing it down, not at the nails on the board, but at the forehead of the person who had said those words, to see what was inside.

Of course, Nikua's expression and the little hammer were ineffective, and she wouldn't actually swing it, but even if she did, it wouldn't change Akina Zeya's mind.

He's really serious about slacking off today.

The stream kept flowing, the second hand kept ticking, and Akina Ze walked out of the iron gate, staring at Nikua with wide, round eyes as if he had been liberated.

He has been so tired lately that even his superhuman physique can't alleviate the fatigue.

He was neither a carpenter nor a civil engineer. He could build a simple chicken coop using his experience building blocks in elementary school, but a proper, habitable wooden house could not be built with that little bit of experience.

Now Akina Sawa admits that he made a boast back then and takes back his statement that building a wooden house is like building a chicken coop.

Building a house is not so easy.

Since bringing the big tree home, Akina Sawa thought he could quickly build the wooden house.

But after countless attempts, it's still just a rough prototype, with even the foundation crooked and uneven, or rather, it doesn't even qualify as a prototype.

He underestimated the importance of working in isolation.

After working so hard for so long, he still couldn't see even a basic outline, and Akina Ze felt a bit frustrated.

If these negative emotions are not released and accumulate, bad things may happen. According to reliable surveys, most family arguments are the venting of negative emotions.

Akina Ze didn't want to vent his emotions on Nikua, so to avoid that kind of thing happening, he decided to go fishing.

This outing wasn't entirely about slacking off; there was also a desire to relax, so it's definitely not an excuse to slack off!

Stepping through the courtyard gate, Akina Ze seemed to emerge from the shadow of the mountains.

With his hands behind his back, he strolled leisurely toward the gathering place.

"Taking a break" doesn't necessarily mean enjoying yourself. Walking alone on a deserted path, looking at the surrounding scenery, and appreciating nature is also a form of "taking a break."

Experiencing nature is merely a mental exercise.

The path doesn't stretch endlessly, and there's a time limit to letting your mind wander.

The first stall we arrived at marked the end of our journey.

Or rather, it should have been this way...

"Boss, can you make it cheaper?"

"No, that's already the lowest price I've offered. If I go any lower, I'll lose money."

"Is it really not going to work...?"

I'm sorry.

......

Akina Sawa, who was standing on the other side of the street, heard the entire conversation.

The person who bought the fish was an acquaintance.

Konpaku Youmu.

The gardener from Baiyulou, with limited funds, awkwardly haggled with the stall owner.

Looking at the stall owner who refused to budge, Youmu Konpaku had no words to express her bitterness.

Lately, Ms. Yuyuko has developed a fondness for eating fish, and every few days she is sent to the Human Village to buy fish.

However, Baiyulou had a limited budget for ingredients.

Because large-scale fishing is prohibited in Gensokyo, fish are fed by anglers.

Prices naturally rose accordingly, and the expenses for buying fish in the past few days had already left Youmeng strapped for cash and simply unable to afford it.

I can no longer get fish from Akina Zeya at a low price.

Youmu Konpaku has now exhausted all her strategies.

"There's no other way; it seems we have no choice but to stage a military coup..."

Unable to buy any fish, Youmu stroked the blade of the Louguan Sword in her hand, while Mochi remained motionless beside her.

As a gardener, it is also her duty to correct her master's mistakes.

Yuyuko, far away in Hakugyokurou, would never know that her beloved gardener, Youmu, was about to stage a coup against her because she couldn't afford fish.

"Miss Youmu, I heard you want to buy fish?"

An unknown entity forced its way into Youmu's thoughts. (Actually, it came from across the street.)

"Mr. Akina, do you have fish for sale now!?"

Youmu Konpaku recognized Akina Zeya at a glance and grabbed his arm as if she had grasped a drowning straw.

"no"

"what..."

Even straws were no use; Youmu's spirit sank into despair. She picked up the Louguan Sword again, thinking, "It seems I still have to resort to military remonstrance..."

"No, let me finish. I don't have any fish right now, but I will soon!"

"Soon?" Youmu's big eyes were full of doubt.

"Yes"

"Then hurry up and take me to find fish!" Hope rekindled in Youmu's eyes once again.

Miss Yuyuko of Hakugyokurou has once again escaped hardship.

"Don't rush, come with me..."

Akina Sawa leaned close to Youmu's ear, speaking mysteriously.

......

"...So, this is what you mean by 'immediately available'...?"

Beside a narrow stream, Youmu Konpaku had a look on her face that said she'd been tricked.

What we saw was Akina Sawa sitting on a small stool with a fishing rod in his hand.

"If you fish by the river, you'll catch something right away, won't you?"

"...I'd better go clean my sword."

"Don't rush, fishing is quick. Believe me, a fish will bite soon."

Seeing that Youmu was about to draw her sword again, Akina Ze quickly spoke up.

"Don't lie to me. I may not know how to fish, but I know that fishing isn't about patiently waiting to catch fish, right?"

Youmu Konpaku didn't believe it; she thought Akina Sawa was talking nonsense too.

"I'm different from others; my fishing skills are top-notch!"

Akina Sawa calmly cast his fishing rod.

The buoy landed steadily on the not-too-swift stream, bobbing up and down.

"Oh? Then I'll have to take a look."

Seeing Akina Sawa's confident demeanor, Youmu Konpaku suppressed her urge to clean her sword and began to observe the buoy floating on the water's surface.

Even a novice like her knows that whether you've caught a fish or not is determined by the float...

A withered leaf, fallen prematurely at the end of summer, twirled down and landed in the stream, creating tiny ripples.

"They've taken the bait!" Youmu Konpaku suddenly shouted.

Ripples appeared where the buoy was, and Akina Sawa knew that it could be that a fish was touching the hook, but it was more likely that something else in the water had accidentally touched it.

Even if the fish really touched the hook, that scream would scare it away.

"This hasn't been uploaded..."

As a seasoned angler, Akina Sawa also decided to pass on some of his experience to Youmu Konpaku.

But the words are not yet finished.

Then, Youmu Konpaku picked up the Loukan Sword and swung it with a drawing-slash motion.

This strike was faster than lightning, landing precisely where the buoy was creating ripples.

Water splashed up, like a landmine exploding in the water.

The gushing stream water turned into rain and poured down from the sky.

Akina Sawa, who was sitting on the bench, was also soaked to the bone.

Youmu Konpaku, standing nearby, did the same, but she didn't care.

She called out to Mochi and picked up a fish the size of an arm from the stream.

"So fishing is such a simple thing!"

Youmu Konpaku held up the fish that had been stunned, her joy barely contained.

Akina Sawa, who was sitting on a bench contemplating life, looked at the soaked Youmu Konpaku without any emotion in his eyes, and even wanted to laugh.

Is there any hope left to start teaching basic knowledge about Gensokyo from scratch?

Chapter Sixty-One: This fish smells delicious.

"Alright, calm down! If you keep going like this, all the fish around here will get scared away!"

"Ahem, excuse me..."

This was the first time Youmu Konpaku had ever caught a fish in a stream since birth. Although she had someone else help her, she had still managed to catch the fish herself, which made her a little excited.

However, excitement is fleeting, and once reminded, Youmu quickly calmed down from her feverish state.

The fish scales felt smooth and even to the touch, and the subtle texture of the surface made up for the shyness that Akina Zeya had just reminded me of.

But this fish seems a bit strange?

As she touched it, Youmu Konpaku noticed that although the fish's scales were neatly arranged, their surface luster was somewhat dull, and the whole fish seemed to lack vitality.

Holding it in my hand, it only swayed its tail slightly, with a very small amplitude.

Perhaps I just knocked him unconscious with the back of the knife?

The spirit demon couldn't figure it out and could only attribute it to the aftereffects of being knocked unconscious.

"Catch it! Another fish has taken the bait!"

"Oh? I'm coming right away!"

One after another, before Youmu could even put down the fish in her hand, another fish took the bait.