Carrying a basket of fruit and some jerky that could double as a cleaver, Shiki returned to the farm.
The conversation with the insidious and cunning Youkai Sage, who was forever 18 and whose hands were undoubtedly stained with much blood, hadn’t instilled any fear or dread in Shiki.
If the first person he saw upon opening his eyes had been Yukari, he might have been scared, worried she might kill him if she was in a bad mood.
But once he knew this world belonged to him, and no one could even catch a fish without his permission, what was there to fear?
It was like when a prime minister from another country visited them; none of the college students watching cared that this person’s status was equivalent to their own country’s president, or that the bodyguards around them might be carrying weapons.
Everyone’s thought was, ‘Holy crap, it’s a living high official!
The highest official we’ll ever see in our lives!
This person has been on TV!’ College students and prime ministers of other countries had no conflict, so naturally, there was no fear.
Of course, this excluded a certain country; if someone from there truly visited, it would be an honor worthy of a separate page in the family tree.
So Shiki wasn’t scared at all and could chat and laugh with Yukari.
Having done so much e-commerce, he had seen all sorts of monstrous characters; he could argue with anyone.
Of course, only online.
“If I ration these fruits, they should last until the first crops mature.
Now I need to figure out how to get some food.” After putting the fruit in a box to keep it fresh, Shiki went to a pond on the farm.
He didn’t know if the pond was connected to an underground river or what, but there were fish in this pond, which was in the middle of nowhere, saving him a trip to the back mountain or the Seaside.
He ate a leek, the spicy taste making Shiki frown.
He then gnawed on a piece of fruit to feel better.
He should also get a well.
In the game, he never built wells early on, only creating one for aesthetics later.
After recovering a bit of stamina, he picked up an axe and split a log into a stick.
He had discovered this when chopping wood that morning.
At the time, he had thought that these segmented logs were a bit troublesome and wondered if they could be split into planks.
Then, when the tree fell, it didn’t break into segments but scattered into neat planks.
So, he should be able to get a straight stick now, right?
As the axe fell, a plank turned into several sticks, scattering slightly.
Shiki picked one up; it was incredibly smooth, without a single splinter.
Next was the line.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to blast fish, but the fish in the pond were not as numerous as those in the Mine Cave Lakes.
There were very few fish.
If he threw a rock and missed, and they all swam away, he would just rot on the farm.
Using the same method, he twisted the fibers from harvested weeds into a rope and tied it, creating a simple fishing rod.
Never mind how to fish without a hook or bait; he couldn’t get those now.
Anyway, he was out of stamina, so he just left it there to see if any silly fish would bite…
the rope.
Lying on the soft grass, with the fragrant spring breeze blowing, Shiki calmed down and realized that he wasn’t the only thing moving here.
There was the flowing breeze through the mountains, the river flowing from top to bottom towards the sea, the schools of fish swimming in the water, and the occasional birds flying in the distance.
The panic he felt when he got out of the car made Shiki think this world was a strange, static world, like a painting.
But after accepting everything here, Shiki found it full of life.
The afternoons of spring and autumn passed quickly, mainly because the temperature and weather were so pleasant.
Shiki fell asleep on the grass without realizing it and by the time he opened his eyes again, it was almost dark.
“Hey, these fish aren’t Stupid.” Putting away the empty fishing rod, Shiki returned to his room.
Although he no longer feared the deserted Stardew Valley, he would never step out at night until he had filled Stardew Valley with torches, and it definitely wasn’t because he was afraid of the dark!
Two in the morning.
Yakumo Ran emerged from the Gap again.
She opened the shipping box and, finding nothing inside, was a little disappointed.
Although her face showed no expression, her tail drooped.
Yesterday’s fish, though a bit dirty looking, was very delicious.
She had made a bowl of fish soup; Chen ate the meat, she sucked the fish bones, and Lady Yukari drank the soup.
Yakumo Ran stood still, thinking.
Her gaze inadvertently fell upon the crude fishing rod Shiki had left outside his house.
Her mind worked, and finally, the wooden stick wrapped with rope became equated with a fishing rod.
She suddenly realized that the owner here didn’t have the tools to catch fish.
Quickly darting into the Gap, Yakumo Ran returned to Gensokyo and immediately left.
In all of Gensokyo, if anyone knew the most about fish, it had to be Waka, who lived below the Youkai Mountain waterfall; she was a mermaid after all.
At this moment, in the river below Youkai Mountain, Waka sat idly on a large rock, her lower body’s tail unconsciously slapping the stone.
Ever since everyone in Gensokyo finished their stored food, the wild game in the mountains and the fish in the river became the last sources of ingredients.
To allow for sustainable fishing, the fish fry in this river became a protected area, and she became its guardian.
“Excuse me, I need something.
I wonder if you have it.” Yakumo Ran appeared before Waka with her hands in her sleeves, her tone a bit urgent.
“Miss Ran?
What is it?
I only have these fish and pretty stones here.
There are no more dried fish.” Waka sounded a bit wronged.
In the past, she would eat and discard dried fish without a second thought.
Now, if she craved something, she could only drink two sips of river water, and she had to worry about accidentally swallowing a fish fry.
“Fishing rods.
You know Lady Yukari contacted someone who can grow a lot of crops.
I need fishing rods now.
If we have fishing rods, we can get some fish before the crops mature.” Yakumo Ran explained.
Everyone in Gensokyo knew about this matter and strongly supported it.
When it came to this, they would give Yukari whatever she wanted.
Days without banquets were too boring.
“Fishing rods, you say?
Yes, plenty!
Many fishing rods from when the people in Human Village fished were dragged down here.
To prevent them from blocking the river, I collected all of them.
If you want them, I’ll give them all to you; they just take up space here.” Hearing about fresh fish, Waka was full of energy.
She slapped her tail forcefully on the stone, leaped high, and plunged into the river, swimming towards the distance.
After a while, she returned, dragging a large bundle of fishing rods.
“Here, take these first.
I can only carry this many at once.
I’ll go back and move a few more loads.” Looking at the dozens of fishing rods on the ground, Yakumo Ran was a bit speechless.
She truly didn’t understand why people loved fishing so much.
What was the point of such a time-wasting activity where you couldn’t catch a single fish for half a day?
If it were her, she would just blast the fish.
“No need, these are enough.
If I need more, I’ll ask you again.
Once I buy fish, these fishing rods will be exchanged for fish of equal value for you.” Yakumo Ran used her tail to pick up the fishing rods and flew back to Lost Home.