(I got confused while typing the last chapter and missed a paragraph, which caused issues with the reading experience. My sincerest apologies. It has been added now, so please remember to refresh.)
The Lady with the Pointy Hat.
Also known as Big Herta.
A member of the Genius Society whose name shakes the universe, and a beautiful, powerful Emanator of Erudition. It could be said that there are few things in the entire cosmos that can pique her curiosity.
But what she had encountered right now counted as one.
"Little one, seeing your companions call for help in such a hurry, I thought something had actually happened to you."
"You made me, who just happened to be passing through this star sector, spend five precious minutes of my time to come here and see you. How do you propose to compensate me for my loss?"
Although she was speaking to Stelle, this Ms. Herta's gaze was not on her at all. Instead, she picked up the Iridium Bar lying on the ground and examined it closely.
"A metal I've never seen before. Both its physical and chemical properties are very peculiar, and it contains no Path energy." Big Herta tapped the Iridium Bar in her hand.
"Where did you get this metal, little one?"
"It's rare for there to be a material in this universe novel enough that even I haven't seen it. It looks like the periodic table might need an addition."
"You might even get the naming rights, you know?"
"I found this at the place where this Farmer Uncle is from."
Stelle was honest, showing no indication that she considered naming rights to be anything precious.
"Is this stuff very rare? I thought it was more common than gold."
"Why would you think it's more common than gold?"
"White, green, blue, purple, gold. Doesn't rarity in video games always progress like that?" Stelle asked, puzzled.
Big Herta: "..."
The Lady with the Pointy Hat was rarely rendered speechless.
Sure enough, using her intelligence and wisdom to converse with an idiot was a waste of time.
"Forget it. Although time was wasted, at least it wasn't fruitless."
"I'll take this item. Just fill in a random number and mail the bill to Asta."
Big Herta took out a checkbook stamped with Asta's exclusive seal from her bosom, tore off a check, and tossed it to Stelle.
"Next is this gentleman here. The little one said this metal comes from your place?"
"...I have to say, Sir, your outfit is really tacky. Did your spouse not teach you proper fashion sense?"
Big Herta turned to look at Suke and Tsukishiro Yuki. The latter was fine.
But the former's taste in clothes was so earthy it made her think he came from some rural farming community on The Blue, which she managed.
"I've told Animus about this point many times as well. Unfortunately, he's too lazy to listen every time."
Seemingly sharing the sentiment, Tsukishiro Yuki actually agreed with Big Herta.
"Then you really have it rough. As a partner, one's attire also reflects on the other's face."
"Sigh, if this gentleman hadn't clarified earlier, I would have thought you were his daughter, Miss."
Big Herta sighed, seemingly pitying Tsukishiro Yuki's situation.
Suke: "?"
Excuse me, how did you two start chatting so naturally?
What did his clothes do to you? He didn't eat your family's rice; he's just too lazy to change, okay!
After all, Suke couldn't feel heat or cold, and the clothes came with a self-cleaning effect, so he really didn't see the point in changing.
"I said stop!"
"Lady with the Pointy Hat, if you keep talking, I'm going to sue you for defamation of my personal reputation."
"And you too, Little Yuki. Elbow turning outward, huh?"
glared at by Suke, Tsukishiro Yuki smiled and shut her mouth.
Through Tsukishiro Yuki's eyes, Suke could tell at a glance that she was taking revenge for his secret tryst with Abigail behind her back this morning.
"Anyway, you want to buy this metal, right, Lady with the Pointy Hat?"
"What did you call me...?"
"Forget about the one Stelle sold you earlier; she fished that out of a trash can herself, after all. But if you want to buy more from now on, it's one piece of metal for one Curio!"
"Fixed price, no bargaining!"
Suke, having interrupted Big Herta, directly quoted an exorbitant price.
Although neither Iridium Bars nor Curios were urgently needed by him right now—in fact, after entering Stardew Valley, the latter might be less useful than the former—he didn't mind annoying this Lady with the Pointy Hat who had dissed him right from the start.
"...Let me ask you first. You do know who I am, right?"
Big Herta's eyes widened slightly, filled with disbelief.
For a moment, she really suspected that Suke, like his tacky outfit suggested, came from a pre-space age 0.5-level civilization that hadn't even connected to the internet yet.
"I know. Genius Society Member #83, the Pointy-Hatted Big Herta."
"Since you know my identity, and I am sincerely trying to cooperate with you, this is your attitude?"
"What's wrong with my attitude? Weren't you the one who said my fashion sense was bad first? Can't I say your hat is pointy?"
This rendered Big Herta speechless for the second time.
It wasn't that she felt she was superior to Suke, but objectively speaking, Suke's reaction didn't align with a farmer at all.
Even those people from the Interastral Peace Corporation would spend a fortune fighting for a chance to cooperate with the illustrious Ms. Herta.
Was her, Herta's, name so worthless to him?
"Hey, hey, everyone, don't fight! It was all fine just a moment ago!"
Seeing the situation turn sour, March 7th hurriedly tried to smooth things over. Having witnessed Suke raise his hand to restore the Astral Express, she naturally knew Suke was extraordinary.
Moreover, Suke had a mysterious Great Witch lady with him who, according to what Uncle Yang said in the mobile chat group, made even him feel breathless.
"Right, right, don't argue. Farmer Uncle, you and Herta are both good people!"
"One let me rummage through trash cans, and the other let me play the Simulated Universe for a fee. You absolutely must not fight!"
Stelle went straight ahead and issued 'Good Person Cards' to both Suke and Big Herta.
Alright, for the sake of the child, Suke and Big Herta stopped there, not letting the conflict escalate further.
This stinking farmer really pisses me off.
Did my brain short-circuit? Why couldn't I help but initiate a conversation with him? Wouldn't it have been better to let Asta handle the business negotiations?
Turning her head away in a sullen mood, Big Herta felt her state just now was a bit strange.
Logically speaking, with her efficiency-first style of conduct, it was absolutely impossible for her to waste time bickering with a seemingly ordinary farmer.
Usually, if she met someone who conflicted with her, she wouldn't even bother to pay them any attention. Would a human care about the whispers of ants?
Could it be because he was handsome?
That shouldn't be it. The other party already had a fiancée. Was she the kind of person interested in married men...?
...No, there's a problem!
Why did she feel like her train of thought had been weird from just now until this very moment?!
Had she contracted the terminal illness known as 'Love-Brain'??
Suke was unaware of the mental storm currently raging inside the Lady with the Pointy Hat's skull.
If he knew, he would only immediately distance himself from Herta and find a way to turn off the passive 'Witch's Pheromones' on his body.
It wasn't that Suke disliked Herta for being ugly or anything; he simply felt that flirting with others right in front of Tsukishiro Yuki wasn't a good idea.
If this went on, Suke really worried that one day Tsukishiro Yuki would take advantage of a time when they weren't in Stardew Valley to imprison him.
Then, she would spam infinite combos of 'Healing' magic on him, draining him dry until he developed a phobia of women!
"By the way, Farmer Uncle, how do I get to your place?"
Stelle raised her hand to ask about what she didn't understand. In fact, she still hadn't figured out how she had gone back and forth between the universe and that small town.
After all, she was unconscious the whole time and couldn't remember anything after being flung out of the train by the violent impact.
"Oh right, almost forgot."
Hearing this, Suke remembered the important purpose of his trip.
"That Memo Keeper over there, it's fine if I put the door next to your 'Forgotten Hall', right?"
Suke took out the functional wand and, using his God's Eye perspective, moved the 'Door'—which was judged as furniture—over.
Everyone watched as, with a flash of light from the wand in Suke's hand, a doorframe that looked to be made of wood appeared out of thin air in the main hall of the train!
Memo Keeper Messenger: "?"
Wait, wasn't it supposed to be a specific memetic manifestation? How can you see her?
"Whoa, Farmer Uncle, you can see that masked person too!"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Then, Uncle, have you beaten the 'Forgotten Hall'? You have no idea, her recently updated Memory of Chaos gets harder each time!"
"It's simply like a stat-bloated trash monster in an MMO. Compared to a few months ago, the HP of the monsters inside has tripled!"
Stelle's eyes lit up as she poured out her grievances to Suke as if she had found a kindred spirit.
Suke: "..."
Inflation Rail, huh? Interesting.
Fortunately, he quit the game early before transmigrating; otherwise, he would definitely have looked miserable trying to clear the Abyss.
"Behind this door is..."
Compared to Stelle, who cared that Suke could see the entrance to the Forgotten Hall, the others were obviously more concerned about the door Suke had placed in their train hall.
Especially March 7th, who was already craning her neck to peek.
She could see that the scene opposite the door looked like the inner room of a country house, with a fireplace burning and emitting warmth, giving a sense of harmony and coziness.
"Don't peek randomly. People will die."
"Eh?"
Suke stopped March 7th's curiosity in time. BB had already demonstrated in the past the damage sustained by non-Stardew Valley designated individuals traversing the door.
Although his cooking could heal such trauma, that required the person to be alive enough to eat.
It would be a joke if March 7th died suddenly because her curiosity led her through the door.
"You guys wait a moment."
Suke stepped through the door back to the inner room of the General Store, collected the door—whose ownership had been transferred by Boss Mabel—as furniture, and used the Return Scepter to return to the Farm before placing it down again.
"Alright, done."
In the vision of the Astral Express crew, the scene behind the door suddenly turned into a vast whiteness.
Immediately after, the white light dispersed, revealing a field covered in snow, where neat rows of purple sprinklers—Iridium Sprinklers—could be seen.
One could even see several super-sized pumpkins, two people tall, which Suke had deliberately left unharvested as decoration. This gave the farm opposite the door a sense of unreality.
"From now on, Stelle, just use this door to go back and forth. Forgot to introduce it—this is Stardew Valley, the place where Little Yuki and I live and work. It's also quite a nice tourist spot."
"When you feel like you're about to be crushed by the difficulties before you, you might as well come to my place for a look. Maybe you'll find a way out."
"Of course, Stelle can come anytime, but for the rest of you, only during festivals."
"Otherwise, you will die very ugly deaths. Understood?"
Suke added these supplementary words with a pointed meaning, especially directed at a certain Lady with the Pointy Hat who was observing the doorframe.
Strange. Why do I sense traces of Path energy left by that machine head from here...?
Did He descend here in his true body? But that shouldn't be. The scenery on the other side looks like nothing more than a backward rural village in a backward country on a backward planet...
No one knew what the Lady with the Pointy Hat, who had personally sought audience with Nous several times, was thinking, but Suke couldn't be bothered to mind her.
He had said all the nice words he could. If Big Herta, this Emanator of Erudition, wanted to court death, he couldn't stop her.
After all, he never worried about the safety of his farm. He didn't care where the door opened.
So what if it was discovered by various ill-intentioned beings, such as the Aeon of Destruction and his Lord Ravagers?
You guys might have people above you, but above Bubbles, there is no one.
If they dared to cross the door, Suke wouldn't mind trying out the joy of personally beating up an Aeon.
Gods, gods, bullshit gods!
My Farmer's Three Punches might not necessarily be ineffective!
"This is bad, Pom!"
"Pom-Pom suddenly received a warning and distress signal from the Xianzhou ship we called for assistance! They want us to evacuate this star sector immediately and help them call for reinforcements!"
Perhaps responding to Suke's thoughts, Pom-Pom, running out of the conductor's cabin on short legs in a panic, spoke to everyone.
"What happened, Pom-Pom? Didn't we already send a message telling them Stelle was found?"
"It's like this, Pom!"
"But the Xianzhou fleet said that just as they were planning to return, they encountered a marching army of Doomsday Beasts led by the Lord Ravager Zephyro!"
"Although we can definitely escape by initiating a Warp in time, do we really want to do that, Pom?"
Pom-Pom looked extremely anxious. In such a situation, even as the conductor, it was hard to make a choice.
After all, in a sense, this Xianzhou fleet had come to help search for and rescue Stelle.
"Lord Ravager?!"
The expressions of the Astral Express crew changed drastically.
____
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