"Cocoa beans?"
The woman who had led the disturbance froze for a moment, and her calloused hand recoiled sharply as if she had been electrocuted.
She stared at Suke with a mix of suspicion and uncertainty, then glanced at the pastries on the counter. To people of this era, that lethal sweet fragrance and the pitch-black color looked somewhat eerie.
Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Suke realized he seemed to have made a common sense error.
The development of the Americas was still in its early stages. In the closed-off countryside of 17th-century North America, for this group of Puritans who spent their lives toiling in the fields and viewed even sugar as a luxury, cocoa beans from South America were definitely outside their scope of knowledge.
"Black... is that dirt? Or some medium for witchcraft?"
"It must be the Devil's sludge... otherwise, how could it be so black and give off such a strange aroma!"
Suppressing murmurs rose from the crowd. Suspicion and fear spread rapidly like a spark dropped into a pile of dry straw.
Although the sweet scent created by the combination of heavy sugar and spices made their throats bob involuntarily—and several children were already drooling uncontrollably—the ascetic atmosphere that had long prevailed under Salem's religious fervor still held the upper hand.
Moreover, this exquisite wooden house that had appeared out of thin air, along with this man from the Far East, exuded an unsettling aura of heresy.
"Oh my, Darling, it seems the guests here are a bit shy~?"
Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, the light chime of a bell rang out.
Elysia was leaning against the counter before anyone had realized it.
A beautiful floral headscarf was wrapped over her flowing pink hair. Although she was still wearing that modified coarse cloth kitchen maid outfit, her mere appearance was enough to attract the gaze of everyone present.
She held a tray in her hand containing cake cut into small sample sizes, that signature perfect smile hanging on her exquisite face.
"Or perhaps... everyone actually wants a taste, but is too embarrassed to ask~?"
She tilted her head slightly, her sparkling eyes sweeping over every villager present.
Her perfect image was like a fairy, or perhaps a sprite. As her crisp voice fell, several villagers wavered almost instantly.
'It's them, the Big Brother who made the cake and the beautiful Big Sister with pink hair!'
At the same time, Abigail's eyes lit up slightly.
The people from her dream had come to reality; it gave her the feeling of being inside a fairy tale.
However, prejudice and tradition temporarily triumphed over rationality and desire.
"That... that color of hair..."
An old man pointed a trembling finger at Elysia's pink hair, which was as gorgeous as a crystal flower, his voice filled with genuine fear.
"That is the color of flesh and blood! She is a witch! A terrifying witch who charms people's hearts!"
In this era where being "different" was regarded as a sin, Elysia's existence itself was a violent shock to the narrow worldview of the Salem townspeople.
They dared not look directly at that radiance, lowering their heads in terror one after another, as if stealing one more glance would cause their souls to be sucked away by Elysia's bewitching eyes.
"Oh my, how can you say that about me?"
Elysia pouted. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear—she had even covered her pointed ears with her hair specifically to avoid gossip.
"Since you all refuse to accept our goodwill, then so be it."
Suke frowned. He knew that with these conservative elders present, even if some of the younger townspeople wanted to taste the cake, they wouldn't dare to act due to the atmosphere.
Let's leave it at this for now. The seed has been planted; sooner or later, it will take root and sprout.
Suke took a step to the side, blocking Elysia from view and cutting off the ignorant and malicious gazes of some of the townspeople.
Although his hands, accustomed to gripping hoes and scythes, held no weapon at this moment, the imposing aura of a Farm Owner who had disregarded life and death suddenly erupted from him.
"As I said just now, we husband and wife are just traveling pastry chefs passing through Salem. We originally intended to go to Boston, but seeing signs of human habitation here, we thought we'd stop for a while and do a little business."
Suke scanned the crowd. His voice wasn't loud, but his presence was intense.
He casually picked up a stainless steel table knife from the counter used for cutting cake—it was an item that came with the Stardew Valley furniture catalogue.
"Since you do not welcome us, we will not force it. But if anyone tries to use force against my guests, or speaks any disrespectful words towards my wife..."
Suke pinched the blade with two fingers and applied a slight amount of force.
Snap.
The metal table knife was snapped cleanly in two by him, as if it were a dry biscuit.
The crisp sound of breaking metal echoed at the edge of the silent forest, sounding exceptionally piercing.
The crowd fell into a deathly silence instantly.
The villagers looked at the knife broken in two with horror, then looked at Suke's expressionless face, backing away involuntarily one by one.
Is this even a human? That was iron! To break iron with bare hands—is this really a monstrous strength a human can possess?
This was only because they didn't know that Suke, as the Owner of a Stardew Valley farm, had effectively infinite stamina as long as he wasn't performing specific tasks like logging or mining. Otherwise, who knows how shocked they would be.
"M-Monster!"
"Even the strongest blacksmith in town couldn't do that..."
"Run! Go tell Mr. Carter... and Judge Hopkins!"
"There are unclean things here... get away from here!"
Faced with the extraordinary strength Suke displayed, the few elders who had wanted to mutter something else wisely shut their mouths.
The villagers exchanged glances; no one dared to be the bird that sticks its neck out to challenge a freak who could snap steel with his bare hands.
Many villagers began chanting exorcism scriptures while retreating in a panic toward the town like a receding tide.
As for the others who had been swayed by Suke and Elysia's words and actions, they had no choice but to leave with the group.
Before leaving, the woman who had led the mob didn't forget to glare viciously at Abigail and Lavinia, hissing in a voice that only a venomous snake would make:
"The Williams girl, and that white-haired freak, you just wait! You ate the Devil's tribute; Judge Hopkins will not let you off!"
Soon, the edge of the forest returned to silence.
Only the messy footprints on the ground remained to prove that an unpleasant confrontation had just occurred here.
"Phew... this is why I hate religion. Always using non-existent creeds to restrict actual, existing needs."
Suke tossed the broken knife away casually and shrugged helplessly.
"What a pity, when the cake is so delicious~"
"But Darling, I think everyone's reaction was fine~ As long as we work hard, we can definitely change the atmosphere here~"
As someone who had been through a lot, Elysia had seen plenty of so-called arrogance and prejudice, so she didn't take the townspeople's attacks to heart.
She merely looked with some regret at the sample tray she hadn't managed to give out, then casually picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth, narrowing her eyes in bliss.
"Mmm~ Still so delicious. Darling, your craftsmanship is truly excellent; it doesn't lose out at all to the desserts made by the world-class chefs at the Golden Courtyard, you know?"
"Of course. Look at the quality of the raw ingredients."
Jokes aside, it wasn't like Suke hadn't tasted it himself. As long as Stardew Valley agricultural products reached the system-designated 'Gold Star' standard, their quality would undergo a change beyond imagination.
If he had to make a comparison, Suke dared to say that his produce was at a level where it could serve as a decisive trump card even in a gourmet anime.
Actually, he had always been curious if there were real buyers for the produce he used to throw into the shipping bin that turned into money.
But regardless of whether there were or not, now that he was financially free, he didn't plan to exchange his produce for money anymore. If his farm became more populated in the future, all of this would definitely be consumed.
If these townspeople wouldn't eat it, well, that was their loss.
___
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