Deep within...

There is a land, in a valley untouched by the emergence of modern society...

There is a village, in this land unfazed by the labors of industrialization...

There is a society, in this village unseen by the cold stares of technology...

There is a belief, in this society unspoken of by the world...

This is the belief that, as long as there is someone...

...There will be no need to worry about the darkness...

For that someone is their guardian angel...

A guardian angel of red and white...

...

Outside Old Adam's Dateless Bar; Manchester, UK.

"Miss Bella, we have arrived."

Bella opened her eyes, as she found herself once again snapped back into reality by someone.

That someone is Usami Renko.

"Oh?" Bella fumbled, as she is still a bit drowsy.

"We took a detour, to meet a pen friend of mine who has an interest in the supernatural." Renko reminded.

It took Bella a few seconds to register. "Oh, right!" She exclaims upon remembering.

Renko took her wallet out as she prepares to pay for the taxi fares. "Thank you for the ride." She tells the taxi driver. "How much is this trip?"

The taxi driver taps on the meter to indicate the price. "That'd be this much, ma'am."

The meter reads "0312.30"

No surprise that it cost so much, considering the travel distance. Bella thought. But can Miss Renko afford to pay it?

Renko opens her wallet, and paused as she, confirming Bella's suspicion, doesn't have enough money. More precisely, Renko doesn't seem to have any British Pound bank notes in her wallet, which contained a handful of Japanese Yen...and a surprising large amount of Chinese Yuan, as though she is hoarding them for some reason.

The taxi driver notices the wallet full of Chinese Yuan. "Hoarding Chinese money? No worries, I've been hoarding them too ever since the American Dollar plummeted..." He says as he opens a compartment in front of the front row passenger seat, revealing stacks of Chinese Yuan in it.

Bella thought that she had heard about the United States doing badly in economy in recent news before she took off for the UK. But she can't recall why, despite remembering that an explanation was provided by the media.

"I accept e-Payment too. Just scan this with your mobile phone." The taxi driver then points at a QR Code sticker on the meter.

"Thank you..." Renko says, as she awkwardly puts her wallet away, and took out her mobile phone. Opening an application in her phone, she then scans the QR Code with it.

Immediately after that, the taxi driver took his own mobile phone out to check on something. Apparently, the QR Code is connected to his bank account.

"WeChat Pay transaction successful." A digital voice announced from the taxi driver's mobile phone.

"You're welcome, ma'am." The taxi driver then tells Renko.

...

And so the taxi driver took off, looking for new fares after Bella and Renko paid for theirs and got off (and Bella retrieved her luggage from the boot of the taxi).

Bella took a look at the pub that is allegedly the place where Renko's friend had a part-time job in. Unlike the bars she has seen in her hometown of Minnesota, this pub, with a classical wooden-looking sign that says Old Adam's Dateless Bar, looks to be very well-maintained. Both the welcome mat by the entrance and the pavement directly in front of it are completely free of empty bottles or cigarette butts, a departure from the typical bars and pubs where they basically outnumber the people walking past them.

In fact, the pub would've fit in better a hundred years ago, during the 1960s.

"It looks so retro...no, older than retro..." Bella remarks about the pub.

"It is his family's tradition." Renko explains.

Bella looks around the area. "Are you sure your pen friend is supposed to meet us here?" She asks Renko.

Renko shrugs. "He once admitted to me that he tends to be late for many things." She took her mobile phone out. "I'll call him again, just in ca..."

"Renko! Fancy seeing you here!" Someone with a British accent called out from elsewhere.

Bella and Renko turned toward where the voice came from, and sees a young man dismounting from his bicycle.

This young man has short black hair which he wears in a style that wouldn't look out of place in the 1980s. His outfit consist of a black polo shirt and a pair of brown khaki jeans.

"Sorry I'm late!" The young man apologizes while locking his bicycle to a bicycle rack.

Renko put her hands on her hips. "Any excuses as to why, Adam?" She asks in a joking manner.

"There is one: I simply got up late." The young man, Adam, answers in an also joking manner. He then notices Bella standing next to Renko. "And this beautiful miss is...?"

Bella is about to introduce herself, but Renko beat her to doing it. "Adam, this is the friend I told you about on the phone earlier. Her name is Maribel Lutwidge Hearn." The theoretical physics major puts an emphasis on Bella's middle name.

Adam blinked as he approaches Bella. "Maribel? Lutwidge? Ain't that a strange name?"

"I get that a lot, so I prefer being called Bella." Bella explains, then extends her right hand forward for a handshake. "And you're Adam Latency Junior, I suppose?"

Adam accepts the handshake. "You can just call me Adam..." He briefly averts his gaze on the skies. "...And I think its about to rain. Let's take this inside, shall we?"

...

Inside Old Adam's Dateless Bar

The interior of the pub is fairly simple. It consists of ten tables with four chairs each, a pool table with two cues, and the drinks-serving bar with eight stools. There is also a dart board on one of the walls, though it looks like it hasn't been used for a long time.

Because the pub is closed for the day, the only people currently inside it are Bella, Renko, and Adam.

"So, I take it that you can see what most people can't?" Adam summarizes what he was told.

Bella took a sip from her glass of water before answering, "More or less..."

Renko puts a hand on Bella's shoulder. "Miss Bella, you saw something back on the cab, did you not?" She asks. "Why don't you tell me and Adam what it was?"

Adam lifts up Bella's glass of water to let a small cleaning robot move over the bar counter unimpeded. "I am quite curious to know about it myself." He says as he sets the glass back down on the counter.

Bella is hesitant to spill it out at first, but then decided to do it anyway. "When I looked into Miss Renko's eyes, I...uh...saw something...a person..."

Renko raised her eyebrows upon hearing that.

"You sure it isn't just Renko herself?" Adam asks, while lightly tapping a whiskey dispenser with his left hand.

"Maybe it is her..." Bella continues. "But what I saw...is of her with a ponytail tied with a red ribbon...and wears what looked like a sleeveless top with a rectangular collar, a pair of detached sleeves, and a knee-length skirt." Bella recall what she saw. "The entire outfit is kind of frilly, now that I think about it..."

"That sounds like..." Adam makes half a comment.

"...Something from a magical girl anime?" Renko, snickering, finishes the comment for Adam.

Adam basically laughed out loud upon hearing that, leaving both Bella and Renko feeling awkward. The laughing lasted only five seconds before he regained his composure. "Pardon me. It was so funny I just can't help but laugh at it." He apologizes. "Do continue if you have anything else to add."

Bella tries to recall what else was there to describe. There was none left. "I think that's all there is to it..." She says.

"For now?" Renko and Adam says in unison.

"Yes. For now." Bella answers.

"Well, I don't blame you." Adam reassures. "The supernatural is some difficult stuff to understand, after all. Just like ESP and the people who can use them..."

Not something that can be explained by science, that's for sure. Bella thought. Just like ESP...

Then something figuratively hit the American girl.

"Adam..." Bella says to the British young man. "Can you tell me anything about the...um...Espers?"

Adam at first found the question strange. "What is strange about Espers? These people are every..." He then remembers something crucial about it. "Oh, right! There literally has never been any Espers born in America!"

Renko can be seen smirking, as though she knows something but is keeping it back.

"I could show you an example of an Esper if you want." Adam offers to Bella.

Bella accepts the offer, expecting to be shown newspaper clippings or recordings of the subject.

So Bella is thoroughly surprised, once again, when Adam outright demonstrated it by rearranging all the bottles of alcohol, glass mugs, and shot glasses on the shelves behind him...all without being near the shelves, turning around to face them, or even moving his hands at all.

Adam decides to top it off by moving a jug of water over, and refill Bella and Renko's glasses, again without touching either objects. "This, my dear lady, is ESP." He quips.

Bella's mouth went agape at the sight. "Wow. I must say that I am surprised..." She remarks. "Something nonexistent in the US is so common outside of it that the whole world basically treat it like an everyday occurrence."

Renko points a finger at Adam. "This, Miss Bella, is an example of an Esper~" She says in a teasing manner.

"ESP isn't always telekinesis, though, despite it being the most common." Adam adds. He then goes on to further his explanation. "For example: some can make water freeze even during a heatwave; some have the sixth sense; some can run faster than a race car; some can create wind indoors..." He pauses briefly to take a breath. "...And some can even fly on their own power, no aircraft or jet packs required..."

"Like Sakurasaki Hirano, a teen idol from my hometown of Kyoto." Renko suddenly cuts in. She seems a little bit excited to say this, even getting up from her seat.

Bella and Adam paused to look at Renko.

The Japanese astrophysics major sat down with an awkward look on her face. "I was swooning over Miss Hirano again, am I?"

Adam leaned in close to Bella and whispers to her, "Not the first time on Sina Weibo or LINE either..."

Bella giggled as she hears that.

"Anyway..." Adam claps his hands to get the girls' attention. "It has been a long day for you two, flying in from Japan and America respectively, then taking a cab all the way from Gatwick Airport in London. Why don't I show you two my flat just down the street? Maybe I can arrange with the estate agent to get you two a room each..." He offers.

"I was just going to ask that." Bella remarks. "Are you...um...telepathic?"

"Read minds? No bloody way, little miss." Adam answers while waving his left hand at Bella in dismissal.

...

Flat near Old Adam's Dateless Bar

Thankfully, Adam's estate agent is a friendly fellow. Adam is able to get Bella and Renko a room each, at a slightly lower rent for the first three months than usual (the estate agent's operating policy is that foreigners get to pay less for the first three months). The two rooms are right next to each other on the fifth floor, both having a small kitchen and bedroom each, and an adequately-sized living room.

The balconies of both rooms also grants a clear view of much of downtown Manchester, including the main campus of Y.G. International Academy which according to Adam, is actually the most iconic structure in this part of the city.

Bella mentally compared this to her family's apartment back in Minnesota. This Manchester flat isn't perfect, but still better than her home back in the States.

"Well, that's all I can give you two." Adam tells Bella and Renko after introducing their rooms to them. "If you ladies are expecting something better, you're on the wrong side of the English Channel." He also points at a phone hung on the wall next to the main door. "If either of you need anything else, and for some reason can't use your mobile phones, you can call me up with this."

"I appreciated your help, Adam Latency Junior." Bella tells Adam.

Adam shushed. "No need for the formalities, Bella Hearn. You can just call me Adam." He extends his right hand for a handshake.

Bella shook the hand in an appreciating manner. "I'll be sure to remember that, Adam..." She turns toward Renko who is still standing outside the room. "Miss Renko, let's drop the 'miss' whenever we greet each other from now on, shall we?"

Renko nods. "I will...Bella..."

Adam breaks off the handshake. "By the way, about your description of what you saw in Renko's eyes back in the pub..." He then kneels down to dig through a post-delivered box (labelled as 'From Usami Renko in Kyoto, Japan, to Adam Latency Junior in Manchester, UK'), ending his rummage with him pulling a small puppet out of it, which he shows to Bella. "Were you describing her?"

The puppet Adam is holding in his hands right now is of a girl with a ponytail tied with a red ribbon, wears a blouse with long poofy sleeves with a rectangular collar and a short knee-length skirt. The puppet's entire outfit also happens to be very frilly.

"This is a doll of Flying Maiden, the mascot of Y.G. International Academy." Renko explains. "She is created by a Dutch artist, but is very popular in Japan."

Bella had her third major surprise for the day. She laughed out loud in reaction to it. "Wow. It does look very similar to what I saw..." The American girl remarks. "Although what I saw is a brunette wearing a yellow ascot, and this doll here is a blonde with blue bowtie."

"Really?" Adam says as he turns the doll to face him. "Still very much of a coincidence, then..."

"A cosmic coincidence, I would say..." Renko remarks.


Character profiles

Bella Hearn - The Eyes That Saw Boundaries

Birthday: 27th of June, 2041

Hometown: Minnesota, United States of America

Skills and Abilities: Mystic Eyes (seeing supernatural phenomena)

Hobby: Reading about supernatural phenomenon.

Likes: Artistic materials.

Dislikes: Fundamentalists.

Maribel Lutwidge Hearn (Bella for short) has always had the ability to catch glimpse of supernatural phenomena that no one else could. She found some of these visions nice to experience, others not so much. She hoped she could one day unlock the secrets to her mysterious ability.

Bella is a major in the study of psychology, and came to Y.G. International Academy to further her studies.

...

Usami Renko - Stellar Girl of the 2060s

Birthday: 7th of July, 2039

Hometown: Kyoto, Japan

Skills and Abilities: Identifying current coordinates and time by looking at the positions of the stars.

Hobby: Stargazing.

Likes: Following pop cultures.

Dislikes: Political discussions.

Usami Renko is practically a human GPS. She could tell the coordinates of her current position by just analyzing the positions of the stars in the sky, and she could even tell the time. This skill came from years of stargazing, when Renko would pass the time by analyzing which star is located at which position in the sky at a specific time, and she eventually got so good at it she could do the calculations in her mind near instantly.

Being able to perform complex calculations in her mind at a fast pace made it easier for her in studying astrophysics. She came to Y.G. International Academy to further her studies, in hopes that she can become a theoretical physicist in the future, just like Stephen Hawking (minus the paralysis).

Is secretly a fan of Sakurasaki Hirano, a J-pop teen idol themed after Shinto shrine maidens.

...

Adam Latency Junior - The Bar-Tending Freak Reporter

Birthday: 13th of August, 2033

Hometown: Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain

Skills and Abilities: Mixing genuine British cocktails; telekinesis.

Hobby: Surfing the internet, collecting information on the occult, running the International Sealing Club.

Likes: Having fun.

Dislikes: People who takes fun things very seriously.

Adam's family has been running the pub, Old Adam's Dateless Bar, for generations, and he is the next in line to inherit his father's position as the owner of the pub.

Adam has already graduated Harvard two years ago, but Latency Senior, finding American education untrustworthy, decided to get him enrolled in Y.G. International Academy for a "better education".

Adam also runs on the internet a group known as the International Sealing Club, which consists of people from around the world who are fascinated in the mystics, with him serving as the club's president.

As an Esper, he is also capable of telekinesis, the ability to manipulate physical objects without actual physical contact.


And here's where Bella and Renko's adventures begin, starting with the introduction of Adam Latency Junior, the first of multiple OCs that will be appearing in this fan remake of the Sealing Club stories.

I've hidden several references to Touhou, either subtle or obvious, over several parts of this chapters. See if you can spot them all. Future chapters, and all future Young Maiden's Chronicles works will also contain subtle references to both Touhou and Seihou as Mythology Gags. What Adam Latency Junior and Old Adam's Dateless Bar are referencing should be very obvious.

About the concept of Espers, I have decided that for the YMC-Verse, Sumireko isn't the only Esper on Earth, and that Espers are so commonplace around the world that someone doing telekinesis is nothing to be surprised about. Why the USA has never had any Espers (aside from Bella, and even then its ambiguous), that's a question for another time...

See the character profiles up there? I plan on making one for any chapter in Mystical Knowledge in which new characters are introduced, even if they're just extras ala Nitori's Kappa Mob from Wild and Horned Hermit. For Spirit Dream, though, the character profiles of its cast members will be reserve for after the story has concluded. Mere mentions does not warrant an introduction, which is why I didn't write a profile for Sakurasaki Hirano (she will appear in a future chapter).

Reminder: as remakes usually have many differences than the original works, things that are completely different than the original work's portrayal are to be expected, such as the Young Maiden's Chronicles version of Sakurasaki Hirano (secondary protagonist of Seihou Banshiryuu) being a shrine maiden-themed J-pop teen idol instead of an actual shrine maiden.

"And that, as they say, is that..."

Afterwords end here.