Suffocation.
It felt as if a rough, freezing hemp rope was digging fiercely into her neck, attempting to cut off every mouthful of air struggling to enter her lungs.
Her feet hung in the void. Gravity, at this moment, transformed into the most vicious instrument of torture, dragging her soul down toward the abyss.
"Witch!"
"Burn her!"
"Damned heretic!"
Her ears were filled with chaotic roars. The faces of those neighborhood uncles and aunties, usually so kind, were now twisted like evil spirits.
Abigail wanted to explain, wanted to scream, wanted to tell everyone that she wasn't a bad child, that she hadn't made a deal with the devil.
She had clearly just... played a fortune-telling game with her friends... she just wanted everyone's attention...
But her throat could only produce a rasping, broken sound like a leaking bellows.
Her vision began to blur. The world was being swallowed by scarlet and gloom.
——Is this how I die?
In this endless pain and despair, at the very moment her consciousness was about to snap, a strange flavor suddenly bloomed on the tip of her tongue.
It wasn't the metallic sweetness of death, nor the bitterness of dust.
It was something soft and delicious, as sweet as honey.
It was a rich aroma impossible to describe in words, carrying a hint of bitterness, yet instantly melting into a silky sweetness that smoothed away all fear.
With a fluffy texture, it felt like swallowing a cloud.
That big brother said... this is called Chocolate Cake?
'Is it good?'
In that blurry dream, a gentle voice asked her.
She seemed to have experienced a wonderful time in a rural town that resembled her hometown of Salem.
"Ngh!"
Abigail's eyes snapped open, her upper body springing up from the bed as if electrocuted.
"Hah...!"
The little blonde girl gasped rapidly for air. Cold sweat soaked her thin white nightgown, making it cling clammily to her petite frame.
She seemed to have had a roller-coaster of a dream—first painful, then sweet.
A dream about Chocolate Cake, and a farm full of golden pumpkins.
But after waking from the dream.
There was only the dim, oppressive narrow attic before her eyes, smelling of old, moldy wood.
This was the house belonging to her uncle in Salem, and also her home.
The little blonde girl looked at the ray of pale morning light filtering through the window, her emerald green eyes filled with confusion.
"Was it... a dream?"
She subconsciously touched her own neck.
It was as smooth as ever, with no strangle marks and no pain.
That suffocating sensation of near-death seemed to be just an absurd nightmare. And that warm farm which followed, that big sister with pink hair and the gentle farmer brother...
If that was a dream, it was a bit too realistic.
The taste brought by that thing named Chocolate, was something Abigail had never tasted in her entire life.
"Abigail, get up! Morning prayers are about to begin!"
From downstairs came the stern and unquestionable voice of her uncle, Randolph Carter, instantly dragging Abigail back to the cold reality.
"Y-Yes! Uncle!"
Abigail responded in a panic and hurriedly got out of bed.
There is no pumpkin farm, and there is no Chocolate Cake.
You are Abigail Williams, a Puritan. You need to atone for your sins, and you must stay away from all pleasures.
She warned herself over and over in her heart, trying to suppress that unrealistic throbbing back into the depths of her soul.
However, just as she put on those old leather shoes that chafed her feet a little and prepared to push the door open to go downstairs—
Sniff.
Abigail's delicate little nose twitched slightly.
A faint fragrance, one that seemed not to belong to this gray and dark era, drifted in through the cracks of the window along with the crisp morning wind.
It was the scorched aroma of baking wheat, the richness of heated milk, and...
That intoxicating sweet scent named "Chocolate" that had only appeared in her "dream" just now.
Abigail froze.
This sweet smell... why was it exactly the same as the one in her dream?
Like a conditioned reflex, her stomach made a longing sound before her mind could even process it.
...
At the edge of Salem town, at the junction with the silent forest.
This was the border of the so-called "Unclean Land." Usually, apart from woodcutters, almost no one would approach this forest, which was rumored to hide wolf packs and the ghosts of Indians.
But today, a strange pair had arrived here.
"Wow~ Mr. Farmer, are you sure we want to open a shop in a place like this?"
Elysia held two heavy wooden crates in her hands, stepping on the soft earth covered in humus, yet she still maintained an elegant and light posture.
She had changed her outfit today.
The magnificent Herrscher of Human dress had been put away, replaced by a set of medieval-style coarse cloth apron and shirt—this was made for her on the spot by Suke using Emily's sewing machine in town.
Of course, after undergoing another round of Elysia's skillful modifications, even coarse linen clothes were worn with an indescribable sense of fashion and playfulness.
A floral headscarf was specially wrapped over her pink hair, making her look like a beautiful kitchen maid from a foreign land.
"A fragrant wine fears no dark alley."
Suke, walking in front, also stopped.
He had also changed into a white chef's uniform—he had swiped this from the back room of the Stardew Valley saloon; nobody wanted it anyway.
Although, what he held in his hand was not a kitchen knife, but a Golden Axe fresh from chopping wood, which somewhat ruined the aesthetic.
"This is the closest spot to the gate leading to our farm, and it's less than five hundred meters in a straight line from Abigail's home."
Suke looked around and nodded with satisfaction.
After investigation, he had basically confirmed that this Salem Singularity was still in the early stages before the plot had truly begun.
Although the atmosphere in the town was oppressive now, it hadn't yet reached the crazy level where people were arrested and put on trial on sight.
Having died inexplicably last night, Suke had calmed down to review the situation.
Barging in was too reckless. The Demon God Pillar had the home-field advantage here after all, so he had to change his approach.
Defeat magic with magic, and corrode faith with capital.
Aren't these Puritans repressed? Aren't they ascetic? Don't they think eating and drinking well is original sin?
Then he, Suke, would be right here, stuffing the joy of greed and gluttony into everyone's mouths!
As long as these villagers ate the food he made, raising their trust and reputation, he would have plenty of ways to openly abduct... ah, no, bring Abigail back to Stardew Valley.
"But, this doesn't look like a place where customers would come, does it?"
Elysia blinked, looking at the desolate patch of weeds before her.
"Are we going to have an open-air picnic? Although that sounds romantic, there seem to be a bit too many bugs here."
"Heh heh, I've prepared for this long ago."
Suke smirked, revealing a confident smile.
With a wave of his hand, he took out a wand from his backpack. It looked seventy or eighty percent like the Return Scepter, but the gemstone embedded in it was an emerald.
That's right. Thanks to Elysia's defy-the-heavens luck, he had opened some unexpected good items from the last three Golden Mystery Boxes.
They were: [Rain Totem *10], [Fairy Dust Recipe], and [Utility Scepter].
The Fairy Dust Recipe and Rain Totem were items that already existed in Stardew Valley. Their functions were to make production facilities complete their work immediately and to make it rain, respectively. Both were rare late-game items.
As for the Utility Scepter, it was something akin to installing a "MOD" for Stardew Valley.
[Seed Shop, JojaMart, Blacksmith, Carpenter's Shop, Ranch...]
The gem on the scepter glowed, and functions that originally required him to run three hundred and sixty-five miles to reach the site to use suddenly floated before Suke's eyes.
This was great. In the future, if he had Golden Mystery Boxes or Geodes, he could smash them right on the spot.
As for right now, the function Suke wanted to use was precisely "Carpenter (Buildings)."
"Let's place it right here."
After confirming that the building function could be used normally even in this other world of Salem, Suke selected the only building that required no construction time from a list of buildings that usually took days to complete.
Of course, to avoid accidents, he had also stuffed his backpack with several stacks of Wood, Stone, and Hardwood in groups of 999 beforehand.
"Watch closely, Elysia."
Suke aimed the Utility Scepter at the ground not far away and moved his consciousness.
[Cost: Gold 100, Hardwood 100 (Cross-map construction extra cost)]
[Rustic Cabin (Multiplayer Cabin) — Generate!]
Boom!
No construction period, no sound of hammers or saws.
Only a dull vibration was heard, accompanied by a burst of white smoke like a magic trick.
Under Elysia's gaze, her small mouth slightly open in surprise, an exquisite, cozy, double-story wooden house with a rich pastoral style simply "grew" out of the ground out of thin air!
Even the signboard at the door, the fresh flowers on the windowsill, and the curling smoke rising from the chimney were all in place in that instant.
"This..."
Even the knowledgeable Herrscher of Origin couldn't help but exclaim at this moment.
"This is too incredible, Mr. Farmer. You never said you could do this, hmm?"
"There will be plenty more to surprise you in the future."
Suke dusted the woodchips off his hands, his face calm.
In the original game, most buildings actually required at least three days of construction time.
But the Multiplayer Cabin was an exception. One could be placed instantly for 100 Gold, and a farm could have up to seven of them.
He had exploited a bug, so to speak.
Although as the Farm Owner, neither he nor Elysia—who was already bound to another cabin—could place items inside this new Multiplayer Cabin, the cabin itself was more than enough to serve as a storefront and temporary base.
After all, his goods were pre-made dishes and didn't require an open flame.
If he couldn't place production facilities here, couldn't he just make things in Stardew Valley and bring them over?
Suke walked up to the brand-new signboard, took out a pen, and wrote a line of English text that was extremely out of place in this oppressively atmospheric 1692 world, yet filled with temptation—
[Stardew Sweet House]
[Today's Special: Chocolate Cake (Free Tasting)]
Suke pushed open the shop door and placed the several portions of steaming hot Chocolate Cake he had prepared long ago onto the counter.
"Alright, Elysia. You remember the identities we discussed for this place, right?"
"Of course I remember~ Darling, you are the owner here, and I am your proprietress~"
As Elysia spoke, she playfully winked at Suke.
"Ahem, it's just acting."
Facing the Pink Elf who had gotten into character extremely quickly, Suke turned his head away unnaturally.
Now the bait was set, waiting for the fish to bite.
But before that.
Gazing at Randolph Carter's mansion in the distance—the place where Abigail lived—Suke put on the Ruby Ring. As he picked up a plate of cake, he activated optical camouflage.
He still had to go and chum the waters personally.
___
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