Suke decided to put Seele's matter aside for the time being.
It wasn't that he didn't care about Seele, but after learning from Mabel that the danger level was indeed extraordinary, Suke naturally wanted to be fully prepared before setting off.
He was saving the usage count of the Iridium Key for Seele. At the same time, he wanted to let Seele get familiar with the environment of Stardew Valley, to see if she could reveal more important information known only to her, an experiencer of the loops, after her condition recovered a bit.
As things stood, Suke planned to first retrieve the essence left behind by Elysia from the Star Rail universe. Having experienced so much, he could also deduce who the essence of the Miss Pink Elf was related to.
Viewing the Will of the Honkai of the Previous Era as the Father, the Herrscher of Origin as the Son, and Elysia as the Holy Spirit, the framework of the entire Previous Era's plot development became very clear. Wasn't it just another 'Carpenter God'? His farm was practically becoming a flock of doves.
As long as he retrieved Elysia's essence and had Boss Mabel activate it, in a sense, his side would gain another combatant. If Miss Pink Elf was still useless after the essence activation, he could only send her to the Graveyard as a tribute monster to summon the Dark Great Witch!
Elysia: I have no objections.jpg
Of course, Suke also wanted to see if he could use Old Yang's connections to make a trip to the Honkai Impact 3rd Earth. Although it was the Seele from the Azure Waters arc who had the accident, perhaps some clues could be found from the Honkai 3rd Seele. He also planned to visit the Seele of Jarilo. How did the saying go? It's always good to be cautious, right?
Fortunately, there weren't enough 'Seeles' yet to be as exaggerated as a certain ahoge in the neighboring Type-Moon World, where all the variants added up could fill two tables of a Holy Grail War. So says the famous actress.
Stardew Valley, Festival of Ice, Day 1, Dusk.
After coming out of the main house, which had turned into a Mahjong parlor, Suke was studying some characteristics of the Stardew Valley Festival of Ice. Just like the haunted house in Spirit's Eve that allowed people to see the things they feared most in their hearts, the Festival of Ice, also being a festival, had special mechanisms.
For example, Suke discovered that if someone could catch more than a certain number of fish within a time limit in the frozen lake of Cindersap Forest, they seemed to be able to obtain a special reward issued by this world. This reward manifested differently for different people; as long as the conditions were met, everyone could obtain it.
For instance, Nikaido Hiro obtained an old amulet. According to her, it was one she prayed for at a roadside shrine many years ago when walking home from school with Sakuraba Emma and Tsukishiro Yuki. She had lost this amulet when she went abroad to study before, which made her depressed for two days. She didn't expect to find it back here.
And Tachibana Sherri obtained a group photo. It showed the scene when she was just adopted by her foster parents after leaving the orphanage as a child. In the photo, she looked very happy. Although the current Tachibana Sherri did not intend to return to her foster parents for the time being. According to her, she hadn't learned how to become a 'human' yet and didn't want to cause trouble for others.
Are you going to go 'Gugu Gaga' too?
"Boss, who is the person in my photo? I don't recognize them at all, huh?"
Stelle, who had just successfully caught enough fish under Suke's guidance, walked over scratching her head. Unlike others who couldn't win the fight against the Pikes in the ice lake, she still had some strength. She just lacked the corresponding technique, so after being temporarily tutored by Suke, she quickly met the standard.
"Yours is a photo too?"
"Let me see... Isn't this Firefly?"
Suke took the photo from Stelle's hand. After a glance, the corner of his eye twitched. Could it be that the existence of time-reversal creatures like the Terminus caused the particularity of the Star Rail universe? When he saw Stelle in the photo and the Stellaron Hunter Firefly beside her making a peace sign, he didn't know how to explain it to Stelle for a moment.
Asking for a friend, does this count as a spoiler?
"Firefly? Who is Firefly?"
"Firefly is a member of the Stellaron Hunters. You know Kafka and Silver Wolf, right? She's their comrade... In short, you can consider her someone who will have significant interactions with you in the future."
Suke explained the causes and consequences to Stelle, such as her experiences after going to Penacony according to the original timeline, the meeting with Firefly who was the person inside Sam, and Brother Sunday's attempt to ascend as the Aeon of [Order].
Of course, the plot of the Star Rail universe would definitely change drastically now. Not to mention Nous's act of making itself open-source, Nanook and Xipe were beaten into fleeing by Tsukishiro Yuki and the other two in full view of the public.
Especially Nanook. BB, who was in the Star Rail universe, didn't know how to write the word 'low-key' at all. She directly hung His avatar's divine body, dripping with golden blood, under MOONDUBAI above the Xianzhou Alliance as a Teru Teru Bozu. Oh no, perhaps 'air-dried cured meat' was more appropriate.
It was also this action that directly caused the three of them to become three suddenly appearing 'Unknown Aeons' in the records of the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Xianzhou Alliance.
The entire universe's major factions who learned of this basically exploded with commotion. They thought that a sudden appearance of an Emanator-level figure of unknown origin who could instantly kill the Lord Ravager Zephyro was thrilling enough. But now you're saying there are three such figures, and they aren't just Emanator-level, but three unknown Aeons with 'humanity'!
The most ridiculous part was that They were suspected to be on the same side!
Whether Jing Yuan-yuan, who first reported this intelligence to the Xianzhou Alliance, was scared to tears is unknown, but other major cosmic powers, including the Interastral Peace Corporation, were scared to tears. This was something Stelle had only told Suke a few days ago.
After all, the current Astral Express crew was incredibly popular. The Interastral Peace Corporation and the Xianzhou Alliance were already treating the Astral Express she was on like their own father. They would clear the way in advance wherever the train went, to prevent any blind fools from offending them, all for the sake of universal stability.
How is this not a form of [Preservation]?
It was also unknown if Brother Sunday would still dare to try releasing [Order] under such volatile circumstances. Whether Stelle could experience that rooftop meeting with Firefly again naturally became an unknown as well.
"Oh, oh, so she's a member of the Stellaron Hunters!"
"Then it's not strange, not strange at all."
Hearing Suke's explanation, Stelle nodded, not even asking why the other party wanted to approach her and become good friends. After all, the Stellaron Hunters, who were positioned as riddlers, were just like that. The current Stelle had already assumed by default that she was one of them before her amnesia; otherwise, why would they always find ways to be nice to her?
"Animus~"
Tsukishiro Yuki's voice suddenly came.
Suke followed the sound and saw her and Hikami Meruru behind her, carrying bags big and small, almost out of breath. They looked like they had just returned from a shopping spree in their own world.
"You're back?"
"Why so many things? What did you buy?"
Suke stepped forward and took the heavy shopping bags from Meruru one by one. In principle, he should have accompanied Tsukishiro Yuki shopping. But alas, it clashed with the schedule for hosting the Festival of Ice, so he had no choice but to let Hikami Meruru accompany Tsukishiro Yuki.
"I bought something that will surprise Animus~"
Tsukishiro Yuki smiled mysteriously. She walked up to Suke, rummaged through the bags he had taken from Meruru, and finally took out a garment box. The box opened, and a western-style wedding dress embroidered with white rose patterns and light blue wavy lace lay folded within.
"!"
"You still remember this style of wedding dress, right, Animus?"
"This is the set I wore when you were courting 'me' back then. Although it's a pity I couldn't bring it out from that time, I remembered its appearance and had Meruru design and custom-make it."
Tsukishiro Yuki seemed to be in a very good mood; no wonder Suke felt she was being mysterious when she went out this morning.
"And this set, this is the formal suit Animus wore that day. Although it's just a standard style, I also asked Meruru..."
"Look at this."
Before Tsukishiro Yuki could finish speaking, Suke took out a garment box he had just obtained from the Festival of Ice fishing reward from his inventory. Like Nikaido Hiro and the others, this box was a reward exclusive to him.
"?"
Tsukishiro Yuki paused, a look of surprise flowing in her eyes.
"Animus, where did you..."
Yes, the box opened, and lying inside was precisely the wedding dress gown that Tsukishiro Yuki had truly worn in her memories. Her scent still lingered on it, as if the event of her wearing it had happened just yesterday. She had once frolicked with him in an empty clothing mall, searching for the outfit that suited her for a wedding known only to the two of them.
This was the wedding dress Tsukishiro Yuki had carefully selected with his company, a precious item carrying the memories of the two. Tsukishiro Yuki had thought she would never find it again; she had even regretted it for a while before. After all, items of the cycle cannot be brought out of the cycle.
"A festival reward fished up from fishing. How about you try too, Little Yuki?"
"I'm really curious about what you can get. It's fine, it doesn't matter if you can't fish; I'll teach you hand-in-hand!"
Holding Tsukishiro Yuki's hand, he let Meruru go wait at The Stardrop Saloon in Pelican Town first, while Suke brought her to the ice lake.
At this time, there were few people left on the ice lake. After all, fishing is a technical skill. Even knowing they could obtain rewards related to themselves, many people had the will but not the ability. Moreover, this reward couldn't be called valuable; at most, obtaining it would make one feel emotional.
More people had already gone to The Stardrop Saloon located in Pelican Town to wait for dinner to be served, such as a certain greedy pink puppy. Those still remaining here were mostly people persistent about the Festival of Ice rewards, commonly known as nostalgic old fogies.
"Such good affection, Your Highness the Great Witch, and the gentleman who is your partner."
On the ice lake, two Witches of Sin from the Re:Zero world were standing not far away. They were the Witch of Vainglory, Pandora, and the Witch of Greed, Echidna.
As for why there were only the two of them, naturally, it was because the other Witches were either too lazy to move, couldn't pass through the Cross-Realm Gate normally due to their own reasons, or didn't get along with a certain Witch of Vainglory and refused to associate with her.
Even though she had paid off her karmic debt using the ability enhanced by Tsukishiro Yuki, that terrible personality hadn't changed in the slightest.
"As the world where the Witch's partner resides, this place is truly an incomparably gentle place, Sir."
Pandora did not participate in the fishing activity. She simply watched others fish the entire time, observing the process of them obtaining rewards belonging to the 'love' they possessed. She seemed to enjoy this very much, even though she was only a mortal here. But because of this, her empathy with others' emotions had also increased.
"Gentlely bestowing love upon everyone, awakening the love within their hearts to prove the value of life's existence."
"This is indeed something my 'Vainglory' cannot achieve. It is truly enviable..."
Pandora was muttering to herself as always, not changing at all just because she had become mortal. Suke felt she might as well go to the neighboring Star Rail universe and try walking the Path of Remembrance or something, given that she liked to spy on others every day.
"Greetings to you both."
Echidna also bowed to the two, though she was mostly sitting on a chair reading a book. Her thirst for knowledge was as vigorous as ever; this book was one she had taken from the open Wizard's Tower with Suke's permission. Even though it was full of text she couldn't understand, deciphering a book in a new language was also a kind of pleasure for this Witch of Sin, so Suke just let her be.
As for why she was here instead of going elsewhere, naturally, it was to watch over the Witch of Vainglory, ensuring this dangerous element wouldn't stir up trouble. This was one of her main tasks on this trip.
"Uwah, failed again!"
On the other side, March 7th, who had escaped from the card table, had reunited with Stelle. At this moment, she was trying to fight the school of fish alone, but obviously, her ability was far inferior to Stelle's; after a long time, she let the fish escape every time.
"Animus, am I really okay..."
Seeing March 7th, who looked much sturdier than herself, fail repeatedly, Tsukishiro Yuki hesitated.
"No problem, come."
However, Suke grasped her hands, and in the physical sense of 'hand-in-hand,' let her hold the fishing rod, casting the line and letting the hook fall into the ice lake. It didn't even take ten seconds before a fish took the bait immediately!
A massive force capable of pulling Tsukishiro Yuki's delicate body directly into the water came through. If it were Tsukishiro Yuki fishing here alone, she would probably be bubbling in the water already. But regrettably, what the school of fish under the ice had to face was a Farmer with Fishing Level 10 plus Mastery!
"Got it—!"
Suke's hands covered Tsukishiro Yuki's hands. With a forceful pull of the rod, a Pike was pulled out of the water without surprise!
"No way, that works too?"
March 7th on the side was dumbfounded. Her pleading gaze couldn't help but look at Stelle, who was standing not far away like a log, watching Suke and Tsukishiro Yuki fish.
"Come help me, Stelle!"
"This girl hates that you're like a block of wood!"
Ignoring the bot-like Stellaron Spirit and the Essence of Intertwined Fates beside him, Suke continued to cast the rod with Tsukishiro Yuki. And this Great Witch seemed to enjoy this rhythm very much, leaning conveniently into her beloved's embrace.
In the focused fishing process at this moment, the two seemed to merge into one, perceiving each other's heartbeats and the rhythm of their limbs clearly. Before long, a total of five Pikes were pulled out of the water surface.
It was hard to say if Tsukishiro Yuki had good luck or bad luck. The Pike was the hardest fish to catch in this Festival of Ice fishing activity, but also the most valuable. It just so happened he could take these Pikes to The Stardrop Saloon later and use the seasoning bought from the Xianzhou to make boiled fish slices for everyone to taste.
Pike: shameless.jpg
Unsurprisingly, after these Pikes were caught by Tsukishiro Yuki, a not-so-small box also appeared out of thin air beside Tsukishiro Yuki and Suke. It seemed this was the Festival of Ice reward belonging to Tsukishiro Yuki.
"Open it and see what's inside?"
Suke was genuinely curious. After all, his reward was the wedding dress Tsukishiro Yuki had worn, so he couldn't help wondering what hers would be. He remembered that on that day in the cycle, he also wore a wedding suit. Although the style was quite ordinary, it wouldn't really be that set, right? If their rewards were each other's wedding attire, that would indeed be quite romantic, though Suke himself had forgotten what the suit he wore that day in the cycle looked like.
"..."
Tsukishiro Yuki was equally curious. However, after opening the box and seeing the contents within, she blinked and suddenly fell into silence. Suke saw her pretty face, which could always maintain calmness, turn red at a speed visible to the naked eye, rivaling the time she had a fever before.
"?"
"What did you open, Little Yuki? Let me see... uh?"
However, when Suke leaned forward to look into the box, his expression also froze. This was a folded bed sheet. He remembered it quite clearly; it was the one Tsukishiro Yuki had accidentally burned with [Ignition] magic. It was also his and her first time...
Looking at the dots of red plums on the bed sheet, Suke almost, oh no, was already speechless. He hurriedly closed the box to ensure no one around saw the contents. For some reason, Suke felt his own old face blushing a bit.
"That really is... a sufficiently special festival reward, Animus~"
Tsukishiro Yuki narrowed her eyes, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. She suddenly felt a bit like exercising the second request her Animus had lost to her earlier. How about tonight?
"Who says it isn't? Let's hurry to the bar in town, lest the children starve to panic!"
Grabbing Tsukishiro Yuki's wrist, Suke hurriedly led her running towards Pelican Town. In the distance, the two Witches of Sin who had only watched the duo's reaction exchanged a glance. One closed her book in thought, the other narrowed her eyes and smiled, and they also headed in the direction the two had gone.
"Ouch, Stelle, are you trying to crush my hand!"
And so, only March 7th's echoing cry of pain remained on the frozen lake of Cindersap Forest. Whether she could obtain the festival reward was unknown, but if she didn't go to town soon, she might have to go back to the Astral Express crew with a hungry stomach tonight.
"March, I'm about to starve and lose my strength. I feel like even if I hook a fish, I won't be able to pull against it like this."
"I'll go ahead first!"
Seeing that imitating Suke and Tsukishiro Yuki's hand-in-hand action was ineffective, and instead made March 7th furious at her, Stelle knew it was time to run.
"!"
"Stelle, you remember this for this girl!"
____
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