Within the forest by the Misty Lake in Gensokyo.
Miketsu stood frozen in place, appearing for all the world as if she had been hit by a crowd-control skill.
In a sense, Miketsu was currently being 'time-stopped' by Sakuya. Sakuya never would have imagined that even her 'THE WORLD' at 50,000x speed would be unable to stop Miketsu. Miketsu silently watched the dazed maid before her, not knowing quite what to say for a moment. Meanwhile, the maid—now looking three years younger—lowered her head, her body trembling slightly.
"I-I am terribly sorry! For a maid, this is far too disgraceful!"
'Ahhh! How embarrassing! This is too humiliating! To make such a fool of myself in front of a Great Being is a lifetime of shame!' Screaming inwardly, Sakuya pulled out her Lunar Clock and once again activated her time acceleration at its maximum of 50,000x speed. In that extreme acceleration, Sakuya frantically scrambled to fix her loose undergarments. She snatched up the unidentified white, soft objects from in front of Miketsu and, after a flurry of apologies, covered her face and flew off toward the mansion.
Because her clothes were unexpectedly baggy and her movements were so frantic, she accidentally dropped a trail of other items along the way—shoes, socks, the thigh straps for her knives, even her panties... In short, the more Sakuya hurried, the more things fell off her and the more skin was exposed. This frantic shower of 'fanservice' caused a surge of heat to rise in the dazed Miketsu's chest. Consequently, without Sakuya noticing in the slightest, Miketsu activated her own time stop, pulled out her phone, and took a flurry of photos from every possible angle.
A few minutes later, Miketsu watched the disheveled maid fly toward the Scarlet Devil Mansion with a face flushed deep red. Miketsu let out a soft sigh, crossing her arms as she marveled.
"Ah... a sharp, silver-haired time maid seems quite nice too. I almost want to give her fox ears... No, dog ears would be more appropriate for her. I wonder if I should check the Inari Honsha later to see if there are any little foxes like her, and train one in that direction..."
Muttering to herself, Miketsu leisurely turned around and continued walking deeper into the forest. She had a specific goal for this trip to Gensokyo.
The Bamboo Forest of Lost.
This was a vast bamboo grove within Gensokyo. For the human residents, it was not a safe place. As the name implied, the forest caused creatures within it to lose their way. Coupled with the presence of many wandering yokai, its danger level was significantly high.
Hidden within the dense expanse of emerald bamboo was a large Japanese-style courtyard. Numerous rabbit yokai lived and nested around this courtyard, and one could often see them wandering about in various stages of transformation.
This courtyard hidden deep within the bamboo forest was the Eternal Pavilion. It was the secluded residence of the Great Sage of the Moon and chief scientist, Eirin Yagokoro, and the Moon Princess.
At this very moment, the Eternal Pavilion was welcoming a special guest.
Inside a simple yet elegant room within the pavilion, Eirin, with her long silver braid and red-and-blue dress, sat at a table. She personally brewed a pot of tea and pushed a steaming cup toward the guest across from her.
"Go ahead. It's a medicinal tea I brewed myself. It has many positive effects for both humans and yokai. Portions of it that accidentally leaked to the outside world are now regarded as treasures fought over by practitioners. Rumor has it that a single sip can extend one's life by a hundred years, increase cultivation by three hundred years, and cure all illnesses."
Eirin spoke calmly as she handed the tea to the familiar priestess. Hearing this, Miketsu's eyes lit up.
"Oh? It has those effects? That's amazing, Eirin."
Miketsu took the cup and took a sip immediately.
"...It's quite good, though a bit bitter. By the way, Eirin, do you happen to have any Cola here?"
As Miketsu tilted her head while holding the teacup, a metaphorical cross-vein of annoyance popped onto Eirin's forehead.
"Hey, this is an extremely precious medicinal tea. In the outside world, it's a priceless treasure that humans and yokai alike fight for. It's very troublesome to make. I usually keep it for myself, and I only brought it out because you're here. And yet you're asking me for Cola? Does my medicinal tea not even compare to a mass-produced industrial product?"
Eirin spoke with clear dissatisfaction. Knowing Miketsu's true identity, she knew Miketsu wouldn't be awestruck by her treasures, but comparing it to Cola was going too far! How could mass-produced items from a mechanized assembly line compare to the medicinal tea meticulously crafted by the God of Wisdom!
"Ahaha... It's not like that. In terms of value, your work is obviously higher, Eirin. It's just that when I drink things now, I only care about the taste. Any other effects, positive or negative, don't really mean anything to me."
Miketsu laughed it off. Seeing Miketsu like this, Eirin could only let out a long sigh and spoke slowly.
"Fine, fine... I don't have Cola here. I didn't expect you to suddenly come looking for me today; otherwise, I would have prepared more things. After all, you have a lot on your plate."
"It couldn't be helped. You've hidden yourself so well that even your two disciples couldn't find you. I had no choice but to come to your door personally."
Miketsu took another sip of tea while Eirin continued to ask questions.
"It's unavoidable. If I told them, it wouldn't be a true seclusion. Before long, they'd find all sorts of excuses to drag the affairs of the Lunar Capital to me. I can't even get a quiet retirement."
Eirin poured herself a cup of tea and sat across from Miketsu to savor it. Miketsu thought to herself that Eirin was simply afraid of trouble and had found a place to rest. Although the majority of the population in the Lunar Capital was now moon rabbits, the top leaders were still Watatsuki no Yorihime, Watatsuki no Toyohime, and Princess Kaguya. After Eirin retired, she threw off all those burdens. As for Chang'e, she had obtained a perfect new body centuries ago and had set out into the vast universe to explore and find a new home suitable for herself.
Incidentally, after Chang'e retracted her abilities, the power of 'purity' gradually weakened on the Moon. With the influence of purity decreasing, the lifespans of the moon rabbits' descendants began to shorten, but their reproductive capacity grew stronger. To solve the population explosion of moon rabbits, the Lunar Capital—with Chang'e as a pioneer—had begun to establish colonial planets in other star systems.
Overall, although Chang'e said she was going to find a planet to settle on, she still couldn't stop worrying about the moon rabbits. She provided immense help in establishing colonial planets, even directly giving them the technology for faster-than-light engines. Chang'e began to resemble an Earth deity, treating the moon rabbits—a race that had split from her and eventually become independent—as her own chosen people.
"Alright, back to business. Why have you come to see me? I doubt there's any problem the illustrious Inari of the outside world can't solve, unless it's a particularly difficult medical case."
Eirin sipped her tea and spoke slowly. Miketsu nodded.
"That's about right. I have two former yokai subordinates who are currently suffering from very troublesome illnesses that normal methods can't cure. So, I wanted to ask for your help."
Miketsu responded to Eirin's question. Eirin blew on her tea and answered.
"I see. That's no problem. In a few days, bring them to the Lunar Capital, and I'll take a look."
"Haha, then I'll be in your debt!"
After that, Miketsu and Eirin spent some time reminiscing and chatting about trivial matters. Eventually, the conversation shifted to Eirin's current place of seclusion.
"Oh? You mean Gensokyo? This place was established by several great yokai calling themselves the Great Sages of Yokai. They said they wanted to preserve the atmosphere of the old era. I thought it was a nice place, so I chose it for my seclusion."
Eirin finished her tea and continued.
"As it turns out, this place really is suitable for an old timer like me who doesn't want to handle other affairs, has lived a bit too long, and enjoys nostalgia. While it's quiet here, it never makes you feel bored. There are all sorts of yokai and humans—foreigners, locals, practitioners of the Dao, practitioners of Buddhism... When this interesting bunch gathers, they always manage to stir up some fun trouble."
Eirin spoke with a smile. Miketsu listened, feeling as if she were hearing someone describe a lively neighborhood.
"I see. Indeed... I noticed when I came here that it's quite a fun place. It wouldn't be bad to come here for a few days during my vacations."
Miketsu added. Hearing this, Eirin raised an eyebrow and replied.
"More or less. Based on what you said, I seem to have many old friends here, and there's plenty of entertainment. Since that's the case, to make it easier for me to stay here when I'm on vacation in the future, I plan to build a branch shrine here."
With that, Miketsu drained the medicinal tea in her hand. There was still some time left in her vacation, and she had been getting a bit bored in Tokyo lately. This was the perfect place to find some amusement.
"A branch shrine? Are you planning to compete for faith with those people on the mountain?"
Hearing Miketsu's words, Eirin spoke with a smile as she refilled Miketsu's cup.
"Faith? Do you think I'm the type who lacks faith? The combined faith of all living beings in this tiny place doesn't even equal one of my middle-rank districts. Other guys can fight over the faith here all they want; I'm only building a shrine so I have a better place to stay."
"Yes, I can't nap comfortably without a torii. And if I set up a torii, it wouldn't make sense not to have a matching shrine to go with it."
Drinking her tea, Miketsu waved her hand dismissively. Hearing this, Eirin spoke with a bit of a sweat-drop.
"Heh... you really are a big spender. But since you want to build a branch shrine and visit occasionally, you can be considered a semi-resident. In that case, do you plan to follow the custom?"
"What custom? Does this place have specific customs?"
Miketsu asked with a smile, while Eirin revealed a mysterious grin before continuing.
"Of course. Within Gensokyo, there is a custom known as an 'Incident.'"
In Gensokyo, there was a massive barrier covering everything. This invisible, giant barrier isolated Gensokyo from the outside world, creating a highly closed environment. Within this environment, many powerful beings gathered alongside even greater numbers of the weak. To properly restrain the various residents of Gensokyo and create a stable order—fulfilling the promise of eternal peace made to the Dragon God—the sages established a set of special rules. And an important part of those rules was the Incident system.
At the edge of Gensokyo, near the Great Barrier, stood a small shrine. Walking up the winding sando through the forest, one would see the simple shrine after passing through a weathered torii.
Unlike other shrines with many buildings, this one seemed to have only a single, somewhat shabby Haiden. Beside the hall was a storehouse. The entire shrine was located far from the Human Village. However, despite being so humble, this small shrine was a very important institution in Gensokyo. It was the residence of Reimu Hakurei, the Hakurei Priestess and enforcer of Gensokyo.
"Achoo!"
Inside a spacious room in the shrine, a girl about fourteen or fifteen years old with long black hair slowly woke up in her futon. Dressed in thin pajamas, her expression was dazed.
"Ahhh... the weather seems to have turned a bit cold. It was clearly fine a few days ago."
Muttering to herself, the girl named Reimu Hakurei slowly rose from her bedding and began to dress. Soon, a priestess in a modified miko outfit appeared in the room.
Red clothes, a red skirt, white detached sleeves that exposed her shoulders and armpits, and a large red ribbon tied at the back of her head—the priestess's appearance was quite different from the traditional miko image of the outside world.
"Another day... ah... what should I do today? Should I sweep the yard first?"
Just as Reimu was wondering what to do first after waking up, her stomach suddenly growled with a loud, resounding rumble. This caused Reimu to reflexively clutch her belly while leaning against the wall with her other hand.
"How can I be this hungry so early... I can usually hold out until the afternoon..."
Leaning against the wall, Reimu spoke breathlessly, then slowly straightened herself.
"No, I have to eat something first. Waiting for Marisa to come over in the afternoon isn't realistic. But it seems like the shrine's food was almost all wasted during the last banquet, and the little that was left was eaten yesterday..."
Muttering to herself, she continued.
"Looks like I'll have to buy food... but not a single worshiper has come for a month... it seems I have absolutely no savings left."
Reimu frowned and muttered, and at that moment her stomach growled again, even louder than before.
"...Fine. I can only go check the saisen-bako for money now. Although the hope is slim, I have to look... If all else fails, I'll have to dig for wild vegetables. Those damn bastards ate so much at the banquet; they finished all my stored food!"
Muttering away, Reimu wobbled toward the saisen-bako in front of the shrine. When she reached it, she didn't rush to open the grate. Instead, she took a deep breath and began to pray.
'Gods protect me, let there be some offering money... I don't care which god it is... even the idiot gods on the mountain will do... whoever protects me is the god I will loyally serve.'
After finishing her prayer, Reimu took another deep breath and opened the lid of the saisen-bako without any expectation. Just as she was about to give her usual sigh at an empty box containing nothing but a frozen frog, her eyes suddenly went wide.
"Th-this is..."
At this very moment, the bottom of the saisen-bako was covered in coins. While it wasn't an astronomical amount, it already surpassed the sum of Reimu's income from the past three months. And there wasn't a single frozen frog!
"S-so much money! What's going on? How did it suddenly increase so much? There wasn't a single cent when I checked yesterday afternoon. How is there so much all of a sudden!"
Staring straight at the wealth in the box, Reimu's hands trembled as she whispered.
"This... this is an Incident, right? It must be an Incident! How could I suddenly have so much money? No, wait! This isn't an Incident; this is the result of divine protection!"
With trembling hands and an excited expression, Reimu was about to collect the coins—which weren't actually that many—from the box. However, at that moment, a familiar voice called out from the sky.
"Reimu! Things are bad! An Incident has occurred!"
"It's not an Incident! Shut up!"
Reimu suddenly spun around and roared at the gold-haired girl leisurely flying down on a broom. The gold-haired girl was startled, falling directly from her broom onto the ground.
Rate on N.U.
