Gensokyo Population Revitalization Plan

Page 112

Soon, the mushrooms skewered on the wooden sticks began to emit the unique aroma of fungi. Marisa then sprinkled on a handful of seasoning mixed with green leaf fragments, making the aroma even more intense and adding a subtle hint of meaty fragrance.

"It's done! Marisa's custom-made Super...Misty Mushroom!"

Although she seemed a little bothered by the strange pauses in her speech, as if she almost said her real name but then changed her mind, seeing the fragrant mushrooms being offered to her, and knowing that Mengmeng, a plant expert, had confirmed they were safe, she was reassured.

Nana took the grilled mushroom skewers and devoured them in no time, licking her lips with lingering satisfaction at the end.

"It really tastes delicious. Where did you pick these mushrooms?"

"Hehe, it's a trade secret!"

Seeing that "Little White Rabbit" Nana had finished eating without any adverse effects, Mengmeng finally felt relieved enough to try the grilled mushroom skewers. It wasn't that she was deliberately lying to Nana that the mushrooms were safe, but rather that she was worried that the seasoning combined with the mushrooms might produce some unknown toxic side effects.

There were quite a few aliens in the galaxy who wanted the three princesses dead. It was not uncommon for them to be poisoned by someone who had bribed them in the kitchen when they were young. It was only after Chido fought again in the galaxy and wiped out most of their enemies that their lives became much more peaceful.

However, it cannot be guaranteed that there are no enemies in the galaxy. That is why Momo is so cautious about the food offered by Marisa. Even if Nana is poisoned on the spot, she has special plants in her garden that can neutralize all toxins.

These plants were the most precious among the plants she collected; the invisibility grass was nothing compared to them.

As Mengmeng took a small bite of the mushroom, the cap, which she had expected to be somewhat firm, was surprisingly soft, like softened cheese that could be stretched into strands.

As she chewed, the indescribably delicious aroma lingered between her lips and teeth, and before she knew it, the entire bunch of mushrooms had been swallowed.

Mengmeng covered her mouth in surprise: "I've never tasted this before, Miss Marisa. Do you have any extra uncooked mushrooms? I'd like to buy some and plant them in my garden."

"These mushrooms have all been grilled and eaten. I'll give you some other kinds instead. There's no need to spend money; these mushrooms are practically worthless."

As she spoke, Marisa reached behind her and pulled out a few fresh mushrooms still covered in mud, handing them to Momo.

"Well... thank you."

After receiving the mushroom, Mengmeng immediately took out her teleportation phone and sent it to her garden, where a plant race called the Mushroom Queen would automatically take care of the fungi she sent.

The three chatted and ate, quickly finishing the small amount of mushrooms.

Marisa cleaned up the barbecue grill and the eight-diagram stove, clapped her hands, and put her magic hat back on. "Since Brother Mu Huai has gone to school, I'll come back to find him another day. Thanks for the reminder, I'll be going now!"

"There's no need to leave in such a hurry. You can sit down and have a cup of tea. You are a guest, after all."

"Yeah, Mengmeng and I are pretty bored at home anyway, it's nice to have someone to talk to."

"No, thank you." Marisa laughed heartily, finally revealing her "evil scheme": "Judging by the time, the mushroom should have taken effect by now. If we don't leave, we'll run into a lot more trouble."

Mengmeng and Nana's expressions changed drastically. Before they could even take out their phones, the scene before their eyes blurred, and then they both collapsed onto the grass with a thud.

"The real problem is that mushroom I put into the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Didn't you notice that I was standing upwind the whole time? You're such a young girl. If it were Brother Mu Huai, he probably would have noticed the problem long ago."

Marisa shook her head as she carried the two back to the bed in Mu Huai's bedroom and put them down. This kind of mushroom only erases a person's memory for about an hour.

She didn't want to leave any potential threat in this world that might expose her infidelity, which is why she did this.

......

When Mu Huai got home from school, he found his two sisters-in-law sleeping on his bed, their clothes disheveled, and fell into a long silence.

Volume 3, "The Loser, the Alien Sisters, and Gensokyo High School": Chapter 33 The Reason Why Lao Ba Became a Foodie

Mu Huai wasn't sure if this was a trap set by his cunning sisters-in-law. Maybe there was a hidden camera in some corner of the room, just waiting to record the moment he took advantage of her so she could run to Lala and complain.

Judging from their attitude yesterday, I am clearly still under their observation period, and I absolutely cannot let my guard down at this time.

Faced with the alluring sight of his sister-in-law lying on the bed, ready to be picked at, all he had to do was keep smiling, cover them with the blanket, and turn away.

After finishing these tasks, Mu Huai quickly went downstairs.

Seeing Anzu looking at him with curiosity at his strange expression, Bana put down the pineapple bun in her hand and asked, "Huh, why did you come down so quickly? Where are Mengmeng and the others?"

"Maybe he's tired from playing and is sleeping on my bed."

"What!?"

If she weren't hearing properly, she would have doubted what she'd heard. Her sister-in-law, whom she'd only seen for less than 24 hours, had already gotten into her brother-in-law's bed?!

(What kind of melodramatic TV drama plot is this, or are aliens' habits completely different from those of Earthlings?)

Without much thought, Banai saw Anzu devour the pineapple bun in no time and headed straight upstairs to Muhuai's bedroom.

Lala was in the kitchen learning from Sanae how to make a simple yet delicious dinner, so they were unaware of this.

The slippers slammed on the wooden floor as Banami saw Anja burst into the bedroom. The scene she had imagined—the two sisters with their clothes disheveled—did not appear. Instead, they were sleeping peacefully under the covers.

"Why!?"

The reality, so different from what she had imagined, left her stunned. Mu Huai slowly followed from behind, playfully reaching out to pinch her soft, candy-like earlobe: "What, you didn't think they were wearing weird clothes in my room, did you?"

"N-no, that's not true. I just didn't want them to oversleep and miss dinner, since Sanae's cooking is really delicious."

"Then go and wake them up. I need to go downstairs and prepare seafood clam soup."

"Ah."

After watching Anzu see him off, Bana breathed a sigh of relief, gently stroking her full chest.

(Maybe I'm just overthinking it. No matter how charming he is, it's impossible for him to make these two sisters fall in love with him so quickly, especially since he's their brother-in-law. That kind of thing is simply impossible.)

After being woken up, Mengmeng and Nana both looked groggy and not fully awake.

Turning her head to look at the twilight outside the window, Mengmeng frowned in confusion: "Is it already night? What did we do during the day?"

"I don't know... I feel a little dizzy after sleeping for so long..."

"You're probably new to Earth and not quite used to the environment yet. Wood cooked for you today, and his food is delicious! Come downstairs and eat!"

Whenever the topic turns to Mu Huai's culinary skills, which far surpass those of Michelin-starred chefs, even the food-obsessed Hachimi Anzu would proudly puff out her chest. In her mind, no one in the world could make food that could compare to his.

Even Lala's gourmet machine wouldn't work.

Seeing her exaggerated expression, Mengmeng and Nana's stomachs were also whetted, and they really wanted to experience the cooking skills that she praised so highly.

"Miss Yami Nai, I remember you are my brother-in-law's childhood friend. Haven't you ever gotten tired of his cooking since you were little?"

"How could I possibly get tired of it? If one day I do get tired of it, it's because there's something wrong with my taste buds, not because of my cooking skills!"

"Hahaha...that's really...a very enthusiastic statement."

"Is it really that delicious?" Nana was highly skeptical.

After all, the food that Sanae made yesterday smelled almost as good as the dishes made by the royal chefs in the Deviluke Palace. Mu Huai is just a native Earthling who has never been exposed to molecular gastronomy techniques in the galaxy, so it is hard to believe that he can make dishes that surpass those made by royal chefs.

"Oh, you'll know once you've tried it!"

After tasting the seafood clam soup that Mu Huai had made with a skeptical attitude, the two sisters almost swallowed the plate that served the soup.

The salty, savory, and fragrant flavors blend together perfectly, and the soup is so delicious that it makes your tongue melt as soon as you put it in your mouth, without the fishy smell that seafood has.

Immediately afterwards, the salty and savory flavor exploded in my mouth, filling every cell of my body, as if I were being enveloped in a bubble and strolling freely on the blue seabed.

After tasting Mu Huai's cooking, the two turned and looked at each other.

(This cooking skill far surpasses that of the imperial chefs. Add 10 points?)

(How about adding 20 points? Mr. Mu Huai is an Earthling, after all. He has honed his culinary skills to the pinnacle of the galaxy through the combined efforts of seven masters and five chefs. Adding 10 points would be an insult to him.)

(Since you've said that... how about we give him 30 points? That way we'll have a better reason to ask him to make desserts next time.)

(That makes sense!)

Unbeknownst to Mu Huai, his two sisters-in-law's affection for him had increased significantly, proving that the saying "to win someone's heart, first win their stomach" applies to both men and women.

For Hachimi Anna, ever since she first tasted the dishes he made himself, her foodie soul was awakened, and she knew: she had to become Mu Huai's wife!

......

Aya Shameimaru, a journalist and tengu, believed herself to have a keen news sense, and that was indeed the case.

So when Marisa was humming a smug little tune and flying over Gensokyo on her magic broom, she was stopped by her.

"Marisa, I remember you were among the first people to go to another world. You look so happy, you must have had a lot of fun there, right?"

"Huh? Was my expression that obvious!?"

“Yes, with a rosy complexion and smiling eyes, if you think you haven’t encountered anything good, then I suggest you go and see Yagokoro Eirin.”

"Who are you calling crazy?!"

"I didn't. You're the one who's taking it personally."

Marisa rolled her eyes at her: "Tch, I'm not going to argue with you, I'm going back to do my experiments!"

"Hey! Don't rush me!" Aya Shameimaru quickly spread her arms to block her way. "There's an interview fee this time, why don't you consider it?"

"If you're offered money... I might consider it."

Recently, because Mu Huai hasn't come to buy mushrooms, and Marisa has gotten used to spending money extravagantly, her wallet is gradually becoming empty. If she has to do a few more experiments, she might have to consider living on mushrooms and moss in the Magic Forest.

Going to another world to mooch a meal from Mu Huai is one option, but she doesn't like that world with its severe magical inertia, which makes her feel uncomfortable, like a fish suddenly jumping onto land without water.

"Then it's settled. Let's find a place to discuss this in detail!"

"Let's go to Night Sparrow Diner then, I haven't had dinner yet!"

"Row!"

Volume 3, "The Loser, the Alien Sisters, and Gensokyo High School": Chapter 34 The Young Lady Also Wants to Go to Another World

"Ahem...where should I begin?"

Seeing Marisa's tantalizing look, Aya Shameimaru knew what she was about to say and waved to Mystia, the owner of the Night Sparrow Diner, without saying a word.

"Boss lady, two cups of sake and two skewers of grilled eel, please!"

"Okay, okay!"

Taking a sip of spicy sake, Marisa narrowed her eyes and slowly began to speak: "Let me tell you about what I saw and heard in that other world. The magic inertia there is very serious, so you can basically not use any magic. Moreover, the world itself has restrictions, and if you use magic, you will be permanently banned."

"A title ban?" Upon hearing the new term, Aya Shameimaru immediately pulled out her notebook and wrote it down: "Could you explain what this term means?"

"I heard it from Kaguya; in short, it means being permanently banned from entering that world."

"Wow...that sounds even stricter than the rules against going outside the Hakurei Great Barrier."

"It's alright, there's nothing inconvenient about it except that I can't use magic."

As she spoke, Marisa seemed to remember something and took out a black, square object from her pocket. It was a magical gadget called a "cellphone" that Sanae Ayami had used before, which allowed people to talk to each other from a great distance.

She was surprised that Marisa also had this, since cell phones should only appear in the hands of youkai around cell towers. Then her eyes lit up and she hurriedly asked, "Did you get the cell phone after you went to the other world?"

“That’s right, but since we don’t have that world’s currency, we need to find an identity related to Brother Mu Huai so that he can provide us with living expenses.”

"Why do you sound like a kept woman?"

Marisa's small hand holding the sake glass trembled violently, almost spilling all the sake. She pretended to be calm but was panicking inside: "How could this be? You're overthinking it. If you think there's a problem, go find Yukari Yakumo and Kaguya. They're the ones who set the rules."

"Okay, let's put that aside for later. Is there anything special about this phone?"

"Hmph~ Besides being able to make phone calls to people far away, it can also play games. But I can't show you right now because we can't connect to the other world's network. Otherwise, I'd definitely show you just how good the attributes of those racehorse girls I've raised are!"

Marisa's excited, wide-eyed waving of her phone really puzzled Aya Shameimaru. She couldn't understand what was so interesting about a small square box. Was it more fun than digging up gossip, turning it into news, and making a fortune?

Despite her complaints, she secretly took a picture of the scene with her camera, intending to use it as the cover photo for tomorrow's "Wenwen News Express".

The two chatted for over an hour, during which Marisa recounted almost everything she had seen and heard, including her nighttime secret drinking of Mokuhuai milk and ordering a number of snacks.

Aya Shameimaru recorded everything without missing a single word, then handed her the agreed-upon interview fee. After being bombarded with so much news from another world, her face was so smooth it seemed to reflect light, with an unnatural flush.

"I knew you had lots of good news here, so here's a bigger bonus for the interview!"

"Oh~ I didn't expect you, paparazzi Wen, to be so generous. Well then, I'll accept it without being polite!"

"Okay, you eat slowly, I'm going to pick a flower."

"Go ahead, go ahead." Marisa, with a sizzling, oily grilled eel in her mouth, didn't bother to look up at her, mumbled a dismissive reply, and continued eating in silence.

When she finished her second skewer of grilled eel, she realized that Aya Shameimaru hadn't returned yet, and her eating suddenly froze.

"Oh no! This guy actually made an excuse to pee!"

Marisa, realizing she'd been tricked, was about to hop on her broomstick and run away when Mystia stopped her, saying weakly, "Marisa... um... Aya Shameimaru said you'd pay for the meal, you... you're not going to skip out on the bill, are you?"

"Hahaha, I, Marisa, am not that kind of person. Mystia, you're really going too far, doubting me like that."

"Is that so? That's good..."

"Tsk, that damn paparazzi, he actually predicted my escape plan!"

Muttering to herself, Marisa had no choice but to obediently hand over the interview fee, which she hadn't even had a chance to warm up yet, and even lost a considerable amount of money herself.

(Damn it, I knew why the paparazzi were so generous in letting me order whatever I wanted to eat; they were planning to rip me off all along!)