Chapter 2A: The Estate of the Scarlet Devil

I remember when Remilia first came here. It was the first big incident that I dealt with as a shrine maiden, and the first test of my spellcard system. I was so unsure of myself then, so easily flustered. I think that's what makes it one of my favorite incidents. Everything was much more frightening! I can't believe that I actually considered Cirno a threat! Or that I believed that Meiling would eat me. Even then, I'd prefer going back to those naïve days than living like this. Even now, I can't solve this my way, needles blazing. I have to do things carefully and quietly, or I'll have that green-haired bitch on my tail.

These thoughts ran through Reimu's head as she walked through the gate to the estate, tugging uncomfortably at the modern blouse and skirt that she wore.

Inside the gate, a thin line of flowers lined the bottom of the wall. They traced the edges of the many curving roads that meandered through the estate. Eventually, they all ended at one of the multiple attractions offered: the open-air pavilion which held many Prismriver concerts before their breakup, the small beach at the shore, the indoor pool, the gate to the mansion (which remained closed to the public), the public wing of the library. Behind all of it, the Lake shone in the late winter sun, the mist shimmering in the light. Reimu saw all this from the giant map at the top of the souvenir shop by the entrance.

"Hey, you there!" said the cashier fairy to the spaced-out woman in front of her. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to buy—" she ducked below the cash register as Reimu tossed a dozen needles at her head. By the time she stood up to protest, the woman was gone

In a few minutes, Reimu found herself at the doors of the library. The building, large but ordinary, stood silently to the north of the estate, surrounded by a small courtyard. Above the doors, there was a small bronze plaque emblazoned with a red "7". Below it were the symbols of the seven elements. Just like Patchy, Reimu thought. She pulled a letter, adorned with a watermark of red wings, and read the very bottom:

"Once you reach the library, go to the back and open the basement door. The guards have been instructed to let you in. Koakuma will lead you to the scene of the crime.

-R.S."

It's waiting. Right beneath my feet. Everything that I've been waiting for. Reimu quickly flew around the library, completely focused on her goal rather than the tengu watching from the library window.

"…so we mainly keep regular books up there. Some history texts, copies of old newspapers, cookbooks, and one or two basic magic books. We keep all the old grimoires down here in the original library. Can't have every kappa and tengu pawing over the ancient texts, you know?" Koakuma stopped at the end of the spiral staircase, a big grin on her face. "Anyways, here we are! The old library! Brings back memories, don't it?"

"Yes, memories of Patchouli trying to burn the hair off my head and of your kunai." Koakuma winced as Reimu landed at the foot of the stairs.

"Ancient memories, Ms. Reimu! This is no time to be focusing on the past! We're working together now, remember?"

"Yes, yes of course." Reimu glanced around at the miles of perfectly aligned bookshelves, twiddling her fingers impatiently. "So, where was the theft?"

"Oh, it's right over there, miko! I'll just…" Koakuma, unsuccessfully, tried to drag Reimu by her sleeve. Reimu simply stared until Koa let go of her shirt. "O….kay, just follow behind me then." Koakuma took off, Reimu trailing her.

"…So, wonderful weather we're having" said Koakuma.

"Uh huh."

"It's already like winter's over and spring's here, even though we haven't had Setsubuun."

"Uh huh." Reimu silently wills Koakuma to go faster.

"Of course, Setsubuun might be a bit troublesome after this little incident."

"Uh huh." Koakuma giggled nervously.

"You know, I'm kind of glad that this happened. Uh, I mean, it's a terrible thing to happen! It's just that ever since Miss Remilia expanded the estate and opened it to the public, I've been worried that something like this would happen."

"Uh huh."

"You see, I've had my hands full with the upstairs library, you know?"

"Uh huh." Reimu silently cursed the youkai's talkativeness.

Well, everybody has their hands full, you know? Meiling has to take care of the entire estate, and Sakuya's been cleaning non-stop since, well, I don't even know! But for me, everybody and their shikigami comes in here and asks for 17 books to be checked out. I barely spend any time in the old library anymore, and with Patchouli as she is—"

"Where is the Seven Days Magician anyways?" Koakuma turned to Reimu, flying backwards.

"Oh, her asthma's gotten a lot worse lately. She's been hooked up to one of the new kappa contraptions." Reimu frowned at this. "It helps her, but it's bulky, so she rarely comes out of her personal quarters." With a wave of her hand, she gestured to a staircase in a far-off corner. "Even with the machinery, she hasn't been able to talk in weeks, so you'll just have to put up with me." With a playful shrug, Koakuma turned around.

"Still, wasn't she supposed to be decoding the journals? Shouldn't we at least check if she has anything to—" Koakuma suddenly dove down between two bookcases. "Hey, wait!" she shouted as she followed.

"Here we are! The scene of the crime!" Reimu gazed at the empty hole at the very bottom of the lines of books. "I'm not sure how much this'll help you. It was weeks between when I discovered the theft and the last time that I checked this place. For all I know, any clues could be…hey, what are you doing?" Reimu looked up from where she was sniffing the bookcase.

"There's no smell. Alice used to stuff her dolls with gunpowder. She and her dolls always smelled of it. You couldn't walk by her house without smelling sulfur. You still can't." Reimu stood up, stroking her chin. Koakuma nodded, her smile still plastered onto her face.

"Ah, yes, of course! Heh, you see, I never knew much of the doll magician myself, you know? She came by occasionally, but Patchouli usually had me doing something or another when she was—"

"It means that…" Reimu paused. Wait, why am I going to mention such things to such a blabbermouth? This is Alice's business, not hers. "…the journals were taken a while ago. If it was recent, then the bookshelf would still smell."

"Oh, yes, I see!" Koa twisted a strand of hair around her finger, looking at the floor. "Uh, is that all, Ms. Reimu?"

Is that all? Reimu wondered. The books weren't taken by Alice or her dolls. Is that really all I can learn from this? I put on this stupid outfit and tolerated Koakuma's prattling for nothing? She gritted her teeth. Dammit, I'm an incident solver, not a detective! There has to be something else here! I need something! Anything! I need to know who to shoot to get Remilia to help me! She shook her head.

"No. I want to look around a bit more."

"Oh, um, really?" Koakuma leaned in a bit, looking interested. "The mistress wanted to talk with you before you left."

"Sorry, that'll have to wait. I have to meet with someone in half an hour. I'll just take a quick look around and let myself out." Reimu turned to leave, but Koakuma grabbed Reimu's shoulder.

"Wait! You'll need someone to help you navigate! This place is huge, remember? What if you get lost?" Reimu thought for a moment before turning away.

"Incident solving is a one-woman job, Koakuma. Besides, don't you have to get back to the library?" Reimu turned around the corner, leaving Koakuma with her hand still outstretched.

45 minutes later, Reimu was still searching the library, examining all the bookcases, looking for the slightest clue. Only after she found nothing, when she dejectedly returned to the staircase to the surface, did she find what she was looking for. Right before she started climbing the stairs, she caught a glimpse of a folded piece of paper below the bannister. Stooping down to grab it, she sneezed as she caught a whiff of sulfur.

So, Reimu thought, looking up at the towering staircase, they came out through the surface library. That stupid ditz must have missed them somehow. Well, at least I have something to follow after I meet with Marisa.

Reimu opened the paper as she started climbing the stairs. One side was covered in detailed diagrams of various magical circles. Reimu recognized one as Marisa's and another as Patchouli's. Tiny notes were written in the margins concerning the power levels and advantages of each circle, a formidable amount of knowledge that easily bores Reimu. She quickly flips the paper over. On the other side, a rough sketch of a doll, with long white hair and huge eyes, stood beside a few lines in Patchouli's anemic scrawl.

January 4th, 134

After much research, it seems that each of these notebooks was written with a different cypher. Not only does this mean that my decoded cypher for the first notebook can't be applied to the others, it means that my speculations on the other notebooks that were based on that cypher are now baseless. My curiosity over these novels is only rivaled by my worries about them. I doubt that Alice spent all this effort to disguise a simple spell.

However, there has been some progress. Since I'm no longer working with the old cypher, I am now able to learn the other ones. Particularly, I've finally decoded the list in eighth notebook. It appears to be specifications for a doll that stands 7 feet tall. I've drawn a rough sketch of what it's supposed to look like. Oddly enough, there is no gunpowder on the list of components. Significantly, the list was made late in 2011, and the test reports in the first notebook stop showing "Subject Exploded" in the summer of that year. I have one theory, that this giant doll was the culmination of the experiment listed in the first journal. However, I'll have to finish decoding both notebooks before I can make a conclusion.

This situation calls for all my effort. We shall continue this research in the morning.