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The custom clothes Alice made for Leo weren't nearly as ornate, frilly, and complicated as the elaborate gothic dresses worn by the other residents of Gensokyo. Considering Leo ran a working farm and often had to sweat in the dirt fields, these tailored clothes focused entirely on being loose, breathable, comfortable, and easy to move in.
If she had made Leo an outfit like the heavy, half-nightgown, half-Taoist robe style favored by the residents of the Lost Home, doing daily chores would have been a real, suffocating headache.
Sitting on the sun-warmed wooden bench in the town square, Leo ran his fingers over the smooth, incredibly durable fabric specially supplied from Makai. He re-tied the neat cloth bundle with great satisfaction. In a few days, after the newly commissioned bathhouse was finished and he took a proper, scorching hot soak, he could finally change out of the cheap, scratchy polyester clothes he was currently wearing, which had cost him less than a hundred yuan in total back on Earth.
"Good job, Marisa. If you want anything, just order it directly on your phone. I'll have a Little Fairy deliver the red mushrooms to you tonight after I get back."
The golden afternoon weather was so pleasant and the breeze so gentle that Leo didn't want to move a single muscle while leaning heavily against the bench. For simple delivery tasks like transporting red mushrooms, he could just summon a Little Fairy looking for a quest by metaphorically putting a golden exclamation mark over his head at night. Two big, juicy strawberries were more than enough to get a Little Fairy to do a high-speed delivery run; it was a very cost-effective deal.
"You're going to rot from laziness. I'm off."
After openly mocking Leo's completely boneless, slumped 'Geyou slouch,' Marisa Kirisame hopped onto her bamboo broom and flew up into the crisp blue sky.
She had to hurry. She needed to quickly buy the mundane fruits and ingredients Alice wanted and deliver them before sunset. It was common knowledge that someone like Alice, who hid away in a dark, gloomy Dollhouse playing by herself every single day, was bound to have some severe, festering psychological issues.
As she flew, Marisa's active imagination began to vividly simulate what would happen if she arrived late. A terrifying, yandere version of Alice materialized in her mind's eye:
"Jie jie jie, you're back late, Marisa. It seems you've found another woman outside." "No! Alice, let me explain!" "I'm not listening, I'm not listening! No matter how I think about it, Marisa being late means she has a new lover outside. Since that's the case, I'll just have to turn you into a doll to stay and keep me company." "Be good now. It'll hurt a little when the needle and thread pass through your skin, but just bear with it. And these eyes made of buttons—don't be afraid, keep your eyes open, I'll be done very soon." "Marisa, deceased."
Although Marisa knew the real Alice was just severely socially anxious and the horrific, bloody situation she just imagined definitely wouldn't happen, a violent shudder still ran down her spine. She silently increased her magic output, the broom accelerating with a sonic boom. She quickly purchased the items Alice wanted from the shop interface without a moment's delay and rushed frantically back toward Gensokyo.
It wasn't until the sun went down, painting the sky in deep purples and oranges, that Leo finally returned home. He was accompanied by One-Eyed Xiao San and Kogasa Tatara, who had played all afternoon and were now leaning against his legs contentedly, the umbrella literally panting with its tongue hanging out like a tired golden retriever.
Since he had agreed to be their master, he had to take them out to the town square whenever he had free time to bond. If he just left them to gather dust in a corner, how would he be any different from those neglectful people who had abandoned Kogasa before?
Ran Yakumo didn't come back tonight, which disappointed Leo a bit. The farmhouse felt slightly emptier without the Great Fox's warm presence.
Yawning, he peeled Flandre—who was gradually aligning her chaotic vampire biological clock with that of a normal daytime person—off of his back. Leo hugged the softly purring, curled-up black cat to his chest and fell into a deep sleep.
Baa~~ Oink! Oink! Cheep! Cheep!
Waking up in the hazy, early morning light, Leo heard a cacophony of strange, loud animal noises coming from outside his window.
He jolted awake, sat straight up in bed, tossed aside the sleeping Flandre who was currently drooling on his chest, and ran frantically out of the bedroom.
As his bare feet hit the cold floorboards, he was immensely grateful for Flandre's continued presence, as it had forced him to finally develop the habit of actually wearing clothes to sleep; otherwise, streaking across the farm in the freezing early morning air to check on the noise would have been a bit too avant-garde.
These pajamas he wore were a specific, terrifying gift from Miss Sakuya Izayoi.
As for the reason—upon hearing that the Second Miss Flandre wanted to sleep in the same bed with him, and that he had a bachelor's habit of sleeping completely naked, Miss Sakuya's eyes had flashed red. She used her time-stop ability on the spot to violently tailor a set of high-quality silk pajamas and forced Leo to wear them under threat of dismemberment.
At that time, the look Miss Sakuya gave him was one of pure envy, intense jealousy, and homicidal hatred; she even looked like she wanted to stab him in the throat with a silver knife just on principle.
Pushing open the heavy wooden front door, the cool morning breeze hit his face.
The animals Special Week had promised had been delivered by the Three Goddesses overnight. The moment they arrived in the valley, they were instantly transformed and smoothed over by the magical, pixelated rules of the Stardew Valley world. They were all perfectly clean, free of any mud or disease, and were now leisurely wandering around the dew-covered grass of the new farm, occasionally nibbling on wild weeds.
Leo walked over and tried stroking a fluffy white sheep with his hand. The animal immediately leaned into his touch and let out a comfortable, happy cry.
"Wow! What a cute little piggy!"
Flandre, who had been rudely woken up by Leo tossing her aside, also ran out of the house rubbing her eyes. Seeing animals everywhere in the fields, her crimson eyes lit up. She excitedly pounced forward toward a pink and incredibly tender little piglet.
Leo had specifically asked for young ones, partly because they were significantly cheaper to purchase, and partly because he wanted to raise them from scratch to build maximum affection. Young animals are objectively very cute, and he wasn't in a particular rush for immediate resources, so he could just raise them for fun.
"Flandre! Watch your step!"
Seeing that Flandre's heavy black shoe was about to crush a tiny, fluffy yellow chick the size of a man's fist, Leo quickly shouted a panicked warning, narrowly avoiding the gruesome possibility of having an extra, unprompted poultry dish for today's breakfast.
Kagerou Imaizumi, who had just arrived to water the plants, also put down her heavy metal watering can with a clank.
Leo, Kagerou, and a pouting Flandre spent a long time crouching in the damp dirt field, gently chasing the tiny, fast-moving fluffballs before they finally managed to gather all the chicks, ducklings, and baby rabbits into a secure, temporary wooden fence.
These little guys were just too small; one could easily step on them if they weren't careful. Leo scattered some fresh, sweet-smelling grass on the ground inside the pen; he wouldn't dare let them roam freely outside until they grew much bigger.
As for the remaining calves, lambs, and piglets, there was no need to worry. Even as younglings, they were already the size of medium-sized dogs, so there was no fear of them being accidentally stepped on. Having been fundamentally modified by the Stardew Valley rules, these animals were incredibly docile and virtually indestructible. Even when Flandre carelessly sat directly on a piglet's back, treating it like a chair, the piglet didn't show any stress, panic, or scream. It just kept chewing grass.
Furthermore, these system-modified animals not only had radically shortened growth cycles, but no matter where they wandered across the vast mountain during the day, their programming ensured they would dutifully return to the Livestock Shed on time every night to sleep, and would even feed themselves from the silo if the trough was full. It was incredibly worry-free farming.
The Youkai and Little Fairies had already been strictly notified by Daiyousei, so no one should be meddlesome or hungry enough to attack the small animals. But just to be absolutely safe, Leo tied a bright red string around each animal's neck and hung a small, polished wooden tag.
Ding!
A large, metaphorical golden question mark seemed to light up brilliantly over Leo's head.
Immediately, a massive group of Little Fairies jumped out from the bushes and trees outside the farm fence, their translucent wings buzzing. They ran excitedly to Leo's side, lining up, completely ready to take a quest. This 'NPC's' quests were incredibly easy and the sugary rewards were astronomically high; they loved doing Leo the NPC's quests the most. The survival quests Cirno issued were too hard, and the reward was only Daiyousei's plain rice balls, which they were honestly getting a bit tired of eating every day.
"Ahem, there's a new long-term quest update. Pick a small animal you like, give it a name, and then take it out to play for an hour. You must ensure the animal's safety during that time. When the time is up, return it to the farm."
Leo paused, making sure he had their full, undivided attention.
"The quest rewards will be the milk, goat milk, and eggs produced once the animals grow up. Intimate interaction with the animals can improve the quality of the rewards and yield better animal products."
After issuing the quest with the perfectly flat, authoritative tone of a video game NPC, Leo watched as the Little Fairies swarmed the pasture, giggling and fighting to find the specific animals they wanted to 'escort'.
He nodded with profound satisfaction. Thinking about it now, the Little Fairies were much more useful and cost-effective than Kappa Heavy Industries. Kappa Heavy Industries required hard cash, but as long as you could successfully get on the same wavelength as these Little Fairies and treat them like gamers, they would happily and efficiently work for you for practically nothing.
Pulling his smartphone from his pocket, the glass cool against his thumb, Leo opened the chat app. He sent a direct message to Special Week and the Three Goddesses. He considered this a massive favor owed to them, and when the Summer Training Camp finally rolled around, he would definitely make sure everything was arranged perfectly for the horse girls.
Leo: "I received the animals. They are all very cute. Thank you, Miss Special Week."