🌽 Episode 2: A Harvest of Hubris

Kabu and Kabocha set off properly this time, chasing down the first of the cursed seeds. They don’t get far before stumbling into Mazekane — a once-prosperous farming village that’s now gone rotten under the grip of a greedy mayor. The townsfolk are nervous, the granaries are locked up, and hanging over it all is a corn demon that’s taken up residence in the silos.

🍵 Mazekane, inspired by Kanazawa

We built Mazekane on the bones of Kanazawa, often called “Little Kyoto.” It’s a city famous for its Edo-period tea houses, lantern-lit geisha districts, and the Samurai quarter where earthen walls and narrow alleys still stand. There’s also the Ninja Temple — complete with hidden doors and stairways — and Kenroku-en, one of Japan’s three great gardens. Kanazawa has this blend of elegance and trickery, beauty and fortification, that fit perfectly with our story of greed disguised as plenty.

Just like the gold-leaf craft the city is known for, the mayor of Mazekane has coated himself in excess. He hoards, he controls, and it all feeds the cursed seed glowing in his chest.

🌸 Ume arrives

This episode also introduces Ume — pink-haired, sharp-eyed, and endlessly curious. She’s a healer, an alchemist, and she can’t take her eyes off the strange curse turning Kabu’s head into a turnip. She starts to piece together that the seeds and Kabu’s affliction are linked, though no one else is listening yet.

Kabu’s got a soft spot for her straight away. Kabocha sees it instantly and doesn’t let him live it down.

🌾 The fight in the silos

The corn demon isn’t just a monster — it regenerates every time they cut it down. What looks like victory turns into another round of snapping stalks and flying husks. When they finally spot the cursed seed pulsing inside, Kabocha makes a grab for it. She almost pulls it free, but ends up with a splinter lodged in her palm. Only she notices.

It’s Kabu who figures it out. He uses his scythe — a farmer’s tool, not a warrior’s blade — to harvest the seed properly. The demon collapses, and the town mayor lies where it once stood.

🎁 A charm for the road

To mark the win, Ume hands over a little omamori pouch woven from corn husks, a nod to the protective charms you’ll find at shrines across Japan. It’s the first time the cursed seeds are treated with respect rather than fear — carried carefully, rather than tossed aside.

🎶 Music that carries the lesson

Two songs anchor this chapter:

• Mistakes Have the Power — Ume’s gentle but firm reminder that ignoring someone’s insight can cost you dearly.
• Forest Has Ears — a warm parting tune as Kinoko reappears, nudging the group back onto the path.

🌱 Why it matters

Episode 2 is a turning point. It’s the first time Kabu and Kabocha actually manage to extract a cursed seed, and the first time we see how the seeds twist human flaws into monstrous form. It’s also the spark of bigger things: Kabocha’s hidden wound, Kabu’s unspoken crush, and Ume’s role as the one who sees what others miss.

And it all comes wrapped in the atmosphere of Kanazawa — a city gilded in beauty and tradition, where shadows still hide in the back alleys.