Chapter 224: Stardew Valley Ranch!
On Tuesday morning, Ryohei Tanaka, on a whim, gathered the restaurant staff and brought them all to Yukimi Ranch.
First, he gave everyone half an hour of free time to tour the grounds. Next, he organized them into a team to sweep through the blueberry orchard, and they ended up picking nearly a hundred kilograms of blueberries.
Finally, everyone gathered in the living room of the mountaintop villa.
...
Ryohei himself had not participated in the picking. He had been in the kitchen, brewing a large pot of milk tea. He used black tea he'd bought that morning, fresh milk from the ranch's own cows, and some wild honey for flavoring.
When everyone returned from the orchard, Ryohei called Yusa over to make some ice. He also washed a batch of the fresh blueberries and divided them among the cups.
...
"Blueberry Milk Tea, everyone. Help yourselves! Don't be polite!"
"I won't be! What's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine!" Jashin-chan declared, snatching a cup.
Ryohei's mouth twitched. "Maybe you could be a little polite to me!"
"Yurine, your man is so fickle!" Jashin-chan ignored Ryohei and complained directly to Yurine.
Yurine rolled her eyes at her. You've got some nerve.
Perhaps because she was still shy and new to the group, Binchō-tan hesitated to take a cup. Seeing this, Ryohei picked one up from the table and handed it to her.
"Arigatou!" Binchō-tan, dressed in modern clothes, had her large, sky-blue eyes light up with joy. She took the cup with both hands, a sweet smile on her face, her voice full of delight.
Ryohei smiled and then picked up the last cup for himself.
...
This was Binchō-tan's first time ever trying milk tea; she'd never even seen such a drink before. It smelled wonderfully sweet.
Copying the others, she put the straw to her lips and took an expectant sip.
The icy-cold sensation hit her tongue first, followed immediately by the rich, mellow flavor of the tea and the creamy, smooth milk. The slight bitterness of the black tea was gently enveloped by the milk's silkiness, and a delicate sweetness from the honey emerged.
Gulp! Several plump blueberries shot up the straw and into her mouth. The moment her teeth touched them—
Pop!
A burst of sweet-and-sour juice exploded, adding a fresh, fruity fragrance to the rich milk tea.
"...This is... so good!"
Binchō-tan was completely amazed by Ryohei's creation. Her blue eyes first widened in surprise, then squinted in blissful pleasure, her face a mask of pure intoxication.
"Mmm! Not bad! My vassal makes a pretty good milk tea..." Jashin-chan took a few sips and nodded in approval. "It's silky and smooth, the tea flavor is strong, and it's sweet without being cloying. The bursting blueberries are the perfect finishing touch!"
"The richness of the tea, the sweetness of the honey, the smoothness of the milk, and the freshness of the blueberries all come in waves, finally settling into this intoxicating aftertaste..."
Pekola, the one true angel, closed her eyes, savoring the moment.
In a daze, she felt as if she had become a shepherdess, lying comfortably on a soft, grassy field, her arms pillowed behind her head as the sun warmed her body.
Beside her, an adorable black-and-white dairy cow idly swished its tail, leisurely chewing on fresh grass, occasionally letting out a soft "Moo~."
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass.
In the distance, a blueberry orchard glistened in the sun, the plump berries hanging from the branches like-crystal-clear blue sapphires.
A gentle breeze carried the sweet, fruity aroma, mingling with the scent of the ranch, refreshing her heart and soul.
A few fat honeybees buzzed "bzz bzz" through the wildflowers, their fuzzy bodies covered in golden pollen.
...
Pekola's breathing became long and deep, and she was overcome with a feeling of profound peace.
...
Unsurprisingly, Ryohei's blueberry milk tea received unanimous praise.
Holding his own cup, Ryohei stood in the center of the living room. He cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"About the name for the ranch," he asked, "does anyone have any suggestions?"
He hadn't brought everyone here just to hang out and pick blueberries. He wanted to brainstorm, finalize a name for the ranch, and also decide on the locations for the future inn and campground.
"I permit you to use my name. 'Jashin-chan Ranch' sounds perfect," Jashin-chan announced, her hand on her chest and her chin held high with unearned confidence.
"That's awful! What kind of respectable ranch would have a name like that?" Poporon squinted at her, disgusted.
JII nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yeah, yeah~! Besides, even if it were named after someone, you wouldn't be first in line."
"You two are really asking for it! Do you want to fight me?" Jashin-chan's expression immediately soured, her fists clenched.
"How about... 'The Dual-Wielding of Milk and Meat! The Peerless Ranch'!" Pino suddenly spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention.
She seemed extremely pleased with her own idea. "The inspiration comes from the dairy cows and the wagyu. How about it? Doesn't that sound grand?"
Before anyone could answer, she continued, "Or, 'Conquering the World with Milk, Meat, and Blueberries! The Delusional Farm of Great Ambition!' That one is also very good!"
"...Are you serious?" Poporon blinked her beady eyes, staring at Pino, completely dumbfounded. I've known you this long and never realized you had this side to you!
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Pino tilted her head in confusion, a golden question mark almost visibly appearing above it.
"It's too long. It needs to be shorter," Ryohei said, his toes curling in secondhand embarrassment. He was rejecting the idea as politely as he could.
Thinking about it, he realized Pino had a certain "talent" for naming. In the original Dropkick story, she had baked an apple pie and named it "The Rosy-Cheeked Bishounen in the Golden Cape." Her naming sense was on par with the Fourth Hokage.
"Eh? But a shorter name won't sound as grand!" Pino protested, trying to persuade Ryohei, but she failed. She wasn't angry about the rejection; she had only offered her "merciful" advice because they'd been getting along.
...
Next, Yusa, Kyon-Kyon, and the others offered suggestions, but Ryohei wasn't satisfied with any of them. He didn't care for Yurine's or Lucoa's ideas, either.
Finally, after thinking for a moment, Ryohei made an executive decision.
"We'll call it Stardew Valley Ranch!"
It was a tribute to the game he used to play. Besides, it sounded beautiful. You could see a magnificent "starry" sky at night, and the ranch was set in a "valley". The name fit the facts.
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