“Hey kid, we’re here!
Are your big mushrooms ready yet?” A Gap opened, and a vibrant voice rang out.
Marisa walked out, dragging a “Red-and-White” whose mental state was quite “beautiful.” Shiki was very familiar with that look; it was like someone who had worked night shifts for two months straight—the kind of state where the heart is deader than dead, a “whatever happens, happens” attitude, living if possible, and fine with dying if not.
“Ah…
hello.” The girl in the red-and-white shrine maiden outfit gestured weakly to Shiki.
Damn Marisa, didn’t she know what time it was?
When did she ever wake up at the shrine before noon?
Dragging her out before 7:00 AM was practically murder!
Hakurei Reimu Race: Human, Shrine Maiden Ability: Hakurei Shrine Maiden Residence: Shrine Occupation: Shrine Maiden, Urban Manager Unlock Condition: Have 100,000 in savings “Hello, Miss Reimu.” He greeted Reimu and the Yakumo family who stepped out of the Gap.
Yakumo Ran brought out the goods from the order Shiki had commissioned yesterday.
Mystia Lorelei had taken this commission; since the Night Sparrow Diner was short on ingredients and didn’t need so many seasonings and jars, they were all sold off at a low price.
“Come on, let’s go to the cave and see how the mushrooms are growing.” Ever since she arrived, Reimu had found a patch of grass, flopped down on it, and closed her eyes to rest.
Chen had run off to play in the nearby woods, and Yakumo Ran was preparing the cooking utensils.
As for Yukari, she followed along too.
She wanted to make sure if these mushrooms were edible and how they tasted.
Over the past two days, her reputation in Gensokyo was quickly catching up to that of the paparazzi reporter Shameimaru Aya.
Everyone who saw her would spit in unison, so she desperately needed to get some edible, delicious things to consolidate her status.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be long before her name, Yukari, was added to the signs on people’s doors that read ‘Shameimaru Aya and dogs not allowed.’ “Whoa, there’s so many.” Marisa held up her eight trigrams furnace as a light source.
The three of them walked in and saw the mushroom boxes, which were currently “breathing,” covered in a dense growth of mushrooms.
Knowing they couldn’t interfere with things in this world, Shiki stepped forward to harvest all the mushrooms first, then took them from his backpack and handed them to the two.
Only after this process could Yukari and Marisa touch the mushrooms.
Each of these mushroom boxes could produce 10 units of mushrooms.
The quantity was quite large, but because they were artificially cultivated, they had no star rating and were of the most common grade.
Five boxes of common mushrooms, one box of purple mushrooms, one box of red mushrooms, two boxes of morel mushrooms, and one box of chanterelle mushrooms.
Marisa didn’t care at all that these mushrooms had been growing in the dirt just a second ago; she took a bite and began to critique while tilting her head and chewing.
“Munch munch…
this small brown mushroom is average, just a normal mushroom flavor.
This yellow one is called a chanterelle mushroom, right?
It has a very unique taste, hard to describe, but excellent.
This mushroom that looks like a little umbrella has a very rich aroma, and the texture is a bit crunchy.
Full marks!” At this moment, Marisa was critiquing the mushrooms in her hand like a true potion scholar.
When she tasted the purple mushroom, she froze after one bite.
“This…
what is this flavor?
It’s as sweet and fragrant as cream, yet the texture is as smooth as a popsicle.
This is the best mushroom I’ve ever eaten in my life!” Marisa’s eyes widened, and she swallowed the entire purple mushroom in one go, standing there to savor the aftertaste.
“Aren’t you going to try some?” Shiki looked at Yukari.
After taking the mushroom, she just stared at it without eating.
“Uh…
Marisa can do it.
I don’t have her iron stomach.
When it comes to mushrooms, she really is the strongest in Gensokyo, I’ll admit that.” Yukari shook her head.
No way.
This girl Marisa spent every day in the Forest of Magic; what hadn’t she eaten?
She was practically immune to all poisons by now.
Sometimes Eirin Yagokoro looked at Marisa with a strange expression, wanting to draw a couple of tubes of blood to study how a human magician could be so lively after eating so many toxic things.
“Hey kid, there’s one more kind of mushroom.
I saw there was a red mushroom too.
You’re not being stingy, are you?” After savoring the taste, Marisa reached out for the red mushroom Shiki had hidden away.
“This is a poisonous mushroom.
The kind where you drop dead if you eat it.
I don’t know if anything would happen to you, but if I eat it, I’ll be back in bed waiting to respawn.” Shiki took out the red mushroom and explained clearly to Marisa that it was poisonous before handing it over.
He hadn’t given it to her immediately just now because he was afraid she’d swallow it and cause some kind of diplomatic incident.
“Poisonous?
That’s easy.
Let’s go find Reimu to appraise it.” Marisa took the mushroom and led everyone back to the farm, shaking awake Reimu, who had only just closed her eyes.
“You’d better have a good reason, or you’re going to have a problem.” Reimu, forced to open her eyes, glared at Marisa.
What sin had she committed to be friends with this girl?
She couldn’t even get a decent sleep.
“Try this.
Kid Shiki says this mushroom is poisonous.
Give it a taste.” She handed the suspicious-looking red mushroom to Reimu.
This mushroom looked exactly like it was saying, ‘I’m poisonous, don’t touch me.’ It had a red cap with white spots and fine, hair-like fuzz on it.
Anyone with a normal IQ wouldn’t even think about taking a bite.
“Give it here.” Reimu sighed helplessly, sat up, took the mushroom, and ate half of it in one bite under Shiki’s horrified gaze.
Reimu’s body visibly turned purple for a moment, then mysteriously returned to normal, as if she had just eaten an ordinary mushroom.
“Yeah, it’s poisonous.
A rule-level poisoning, commonly known as true damage.
It’s not fatal, but eating it will immediately drop your vitality to zero and knock you unconscious.
I’m not sure how long it takes to wake up, but judging by the effect, probably a day or two.” Reimu calmly finished the sleep-inducing poisonous mushroom, completely unfazed.
“Are…
are you okay?” Shiki was a bit worried.
To him, this thing was basically a sleeping pill that would knock him out for a whole day.
How did Reimu seem to have no reaction at all after eating it?
“Oh, don’t worry about me.
I’m bound to the Hakurei Barrier.
I’m immune to all negative status effects, have infinite mana and infinite stamina—the kind where I’m invincible under the Barrier.
That’s just how my stats are written; I can’t help it.” While Reimu was showing off her ‘hard work and sweat,’ on the other side, Yukari quietly hid the red mushroom Shiki had given her.
Rule-level, huh?
Looks like it’s time to invite Miss Iizuna Maru to dinner.
The Youkai Sage was very petty.
Did they think they could offend her and get away with it?
She was currently at odds with Iizuna Maru; if she didn’t mess with her properly, people might actually think she was a good person.
Author’s Note Twenty thousand words yesterday, ten thousand today.
I’m amazing.