"The fastest way to capture a fortress is often not through a frontal assault, but by disintegrating it from the inside."
"The fortress of the human heart is no different."
Suke stood behind the counter, tossing a piece of candy in his hand, looking through the pristine glass window at the children peeking out from the edge of the forest in the distance.
"For a small town with such an intensely thick religious atmosphere, children are the softest line of defense."
Suke gazed at Elysia and Lavinia, who were active not far away.
The albino girl was wearing that oversized apron that didn't fit her, clutching a basket of candy that was almost overflowing. She was as stiff as a plaster statue that might shatter at any moment.
But with the encouragement of Elysia's supernatural charisma, coupled with the irresistible temptation of "free candy" for the children, Lavinia finally took that step.
The process went even smoother than imagined—or rather, Suke had never doubted the gold-standard quality of [Stardew Valley Productions] from the very beginning.
At first, the children avoided this "white-haired freak" like the plague.
But under Elysia's clever verbal mediation and the impact of the amazement after tasting the first piece of candy, the prejudices the children held—which only existed because they followed the adults—began to vanish like smoke.
Although it couldn't be called complete acceptance yet, at the very least, when Lavinia appeared holding the candy, the children no longer threw stones at her or ran away.
Instead, they surrounded her enthusiastically. Whether out of sincerity or gluttony, at least no one called her a "freak" anymore.
On the contrary, Suke even learned from Elysia that the children had given Lavinia a toy doll to express their gratitude.
Even Abigail didn't need to be secretive to meet her best friend anymore.
Selfish desire has never been the high wall blocking friendship; arrogance is.
And this was merely the first step of Suke's plan.
The real show only began after these children took the unfinished desserts home.
In this era where resources and entertainment were scarce, and every word and deed outside the home needed to express piety, what did a piece of Chocolate Cake, exploding with sweetness and capable of stimulating dopamine secretion, signify?
Did it signify a temptation from the Devil?
No. For those young parents who had toiled all day and dragged their exhausted bodies home, only to have a piece of soft, sweet pastry secretly stuffed into their mouths by their sensible children—
It was a sweetness that superimposed itself upon both the mind and the body.
On the first day, the adults were still shouting sternly, telling the children to stay away from that "unclean shack" at the edge of the forest.
On the second day, the scolding lessened, replaced by hushed arguments between couples late at night and a faint scent of milk lingering in the house.
By the third day, the line of defense completely collapsed.
At the edge of the forest after nightfall, there was no longer just the biting cold wind and the cawing of crows; sneaking figures began to appear one by one.
Most of them were families formed by younger couples in the town. Even though they were bound by Puritan commandments, their hearts, yearning for a better life, had not completely died out.
"Owner... this bag of wheat... how much of that... Cranberry Candy can it trade for?"
A man wearing a patched linen shirt slipped into the shop like a thief, carefully placing a bag of freshly threshed wheat on the counter, his eyes darting around like someone who had stolen something.
Suke glanced at the heavy bag of wheat. In the evaluation system of Stardew Valley agricultural products, it wasn't even comparable to un-starred wheat. Its only use was probably for him to throw into the Seed Maker to grind for Ancient Fruit seeds. Yet, a smile appeared on his face.
"Enough for two boxes, sir."
"This shop sympathizes with the hardships of everyone's lives. We do not accept copper coins for any desserts, only charging raw materials symbolically as an exchange."
When the man disappeared into the night, bowing and thanking him profusely while holding two boxes of exquisite desserts that probably only nobles were worthy of enjoying in this era, the smile at the corner of Suke's mouth deepened.
Was he short of these few bags of wheat?
The gold-star crops in his warehouse were piled up like mountains, and various agricultural derivatives like jams and fruit wines were countless.
What he cared about was the act of "trading" itself.
Once the adults began to trade with him for the sake of their appetites, that skin named "Puritan Commandments" which maintained the oppressive atmosphere of Salem was forcibly torn open.
In just three days.
The atmosphere of Salem Town, which had been lifeless with everyone smiling cautiously even when walking on the road, quietly changed.
Although everyone still went to the church to pray with solemn faces during the day, beneath that seemingly pious appearance, a trace of fresh brilliance named 'anticipation' appeared in their eyes.
That sense of oppression—being constantly tense for fear of being accused by others of abandoning their faith in the Lord—was unexpectedly diluted quite a bit by this sweet scent permeating the air.
Everyone was an accomplice; everyone had tasted the sweetness.
When the saying "the law does not punish the majority" became a reality, the so-called strict religious rules became mere decorations.
"Although the quality isn't good, the quantity is indeed large."
"I wonder how many Ancient Fruit seeds I can get if I throw all of this into the Seed Maker. I have to prepare for opening the Greenhouse in the future."
At night, Elysia was sent back to Stardew Valley by him to water the pumpkin patch.
Miss Pink Elf was lazy and gluttonous every day; if this went on, she would sooner or later become a Pink Fatty.
It was time to let her do some farm work and feel his pain.
Suke remained in Salem, taking inventory of the piles of local Salem agricultural products in the Sweet House. The wind chime on the door suddenly made a soft sound.
But this sound was not because a guest pushed the door open; it was more like someone had passed through the crack of the door like a ghost.
"Who is it?"
Suke paused his movements without looking up, although he had already guessed the visitor.
"It is me."
A low, hoarse voice carrying a bit of exhaustion came from the shadows.
The dematerialize was canceled, and Sanson's figure slowly emerged.
Compared to three days ago, the complexion of this Servant who served as the Executioner of France was much better. The sense of confusion from being assimilated by the Singularity had completely disappeared.
He glanced at the desserts on the counter that emitted just the right amount of steam regardless of the time. His eyes were complicated; it was unclear whether he was shocked by Suke's magical means or surprised by the change Suke had brought to the town's atmosphere.
"What is it? Did our Mr. Guard run over here in the middle of the night wanting to trade for a midnight snack too?"
Suke turned around, teasing with a smile.
The smooth execution of his plan over the past few days was also thanks to Sanson's assistance. He had secretly intercepted many flies who originally wanted to come and cause trouble for Suke.
Although Suke didn't fear those flies, having to drive them away personally every time was truly too tiring.
It could only be said that as a lifelong civil servant of France in life, Sanson indeed had the discernment to handle many troubles for him without needing to be asked.
"My condition has basically recovered, so I will not waste Mr. Suke's kindness."
He walked slowly to the counter and lowered his voice:
"I came this time to inform you of something, Sir."
"Although I admire your methods of changing the town's atmosphere, your movements are too big and have already attracted the attention of quite a few interested parties in this town."
"Your behavior, which is almost an explicit 'corruption,' has caused dissatisfaction among the upper class of this town, especially that person."
"That person?"
Suke raised an eyebrow. What, the Demon God Pillar couldn't hold back and wants to make a move?
"It is Salem's Judge, or rather, the Inquisitor Hopkins who will incite the Witch Trials in the future of the original history."
"That Judge Matthew Hopkins has already noted your location, Sir."
When Sanson spat out this name, a trace of apprehension flashed in his eyes.
Although he, as a Servant who had recovered some of his strength, did not fear the so-called Judge, in this Singularity, that Judge seemed to be protected by some invisible power.
Just last night, he had attempted to dematerialize and infiltrate the Judge's residence again to search for intelligence. But just as Sanson wanted to go deeper into the residence, a terrifying aura caused him to conceive the idea of retreating.
That seemed to be an aura that only a high-level Greater Demon would possess, restricted to the vicinity of the residence for some reason, unable to manifest outside.
Sanson even suspected: Could Hopkins be the incarnation of the Demon God Pillar of the Salem Singularity?
"His order has been sent down tonight. The Town Guard is to 'invite' you, Sir, to the Meeting House in town tomorrow morning."
"What are your plans next?"
Following that, Sanson shared the oddities of the Hopkins residence and other noteworthy intelligence with Suke.
Plans?
What plans did he need? A lousy small-town judge wants to ask him, a Grand Farm Owner, for his plans?
On this land of America beneath their feet, you are the one who needs to apologize for your crimes!
Let Randolph... no, let Raum (the Demon God Pillar) come!
"Great. I was just worrying about not having a chance to trouble him, and now he wants to come and trouble me."
Upon hearing this, Suke keenly realized that the thing Sanson suspected to be a "high-level Greater Demon" was absolutely related to the "First-Encounter Kill" he suffered on his first day in Salem.
"Let's go! Isn't it just a demon? I've seen plenty of those things!"
Hasn't he seen plenty? He had probably killed a thousand or so just to farm for Demon Hearts.
"Mr. Suke! That is a Greater Demon. In terms of combat power, it is on par with us Servants..."
Sanson, fearing that Suke had no concept of a lifeform like a demon, hurriedly explained.
"I know that, of course. You just need to lead the way for me. Don't worry about my safety; I know what I'm doing."
Don't think that just because Suke can respawn infinitely, he doesn't hold a grudge. He was just worrying that the thousands of bombs in his backpack had nowhere to be used.
He had already tested the power of the bombs in the uninhabited areas of the forest.
Unlike in Stardew Valley where they cannot destroy the terrain, here, every single bomb has a blast radius of nearly ten meters, equivalent to a kilogram of TNT.
And he had nearly a thousand in his backpack. If he weren't afraid of hurting the innocent, he would have blown up that Demon God Pillar addicted to role-playing long ago.
Gunplay is also a law; ballistics are also a Path.
Today, he is definitely going to exorcise this demon!
_____
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