Chapter 21 – A Devil's Invitation
As Kyouichi finished reading the letter, a maelstrom of thoughts and questions stirred up inside his head. Why does this Patchouli even want to help him? What guarantee does he have that this invitation is not simply a trap? Does she really know of some way to transport the outsiders back to Tokyo? She IS a well known sorceress after all…
He thought long and hard about it, considering all options and chances. If he turned down this invitation now, he could be held responsible for denying the other outsiders including himself a chance to return home, if it indeed exists… He couldn't live with the thought that he would let this chance pass him by and go to waste because of his own cowardice. Now was not the time to be afraid. He brought it upon himself that he'd lead the other outsiders towards their goal, and if he really didn't try everything in his ability to find a way to Tokyo, he would regret it for the rest of his life. A decision was made. Tomorrow he'll travel personally to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. He nodded repeatedly, as if he was trying to encourage himself.
"It will be fine… It will be just fine… I want to go there… I HAVE to go there…" he tried to convince himself.
Folding the letter back and putting it inside his pocket, he stood up from the chair and told Daisuke about the content of the letter and his plans for tomorrow.
"You want to go to the mansion, huh? You sure you know what you're doing, Ishimaru?"
"Hell, no… But I'm going either way." announced Kyouichi, trying to sound resolute.
"I see…" nodded the storekeeper. "So should I not expect you to come to work tomorrow?"
"No, I need every coin I can earn. I'll skip school tomorrow and travel to the mansion with Mizuto in the morning. I should be back in the village before afternoon. And if I won't, it means I died." explained Kyouichi with a bit of black humor.
"Sounds reasonable enough… Just watch yourself inside the mansion. Try not to provoke the vampires." Daisuke warned him.
"Gee, I would have never figured that out by myself, Shimizu-san. Thanks for the tip." retorted the outsider with sarcasm. "I know how to behave myself. Even towards youkai… unlike somebody…"
"Are you hinting at Hiroto? Well, yeah, I guess you are more level-headed than him."
Kyouichi only nodded silently. It actually wasn't just Hiroto he was hinting at, but also Daisuke himself and the day when he acted so strangely when Yuuka entered his shop. It certainly wasn't very professional of him.
Daisuke closed his shop and wished Kyouichi good luck for his tomorrow's trip. The outsider had a lot to think about all the way he went home and all the time he was eating dinner with the Saitou family. He explained the whole thing to Mizuto and when he didn't believe him, he showed him the letter. After good 30 minutes of negotiating, Kyouichi finally made his point by telling him that this might be just the chance he and all the other outsiders were waiting for and the fisherman agreed with him at last.
"Thanks for understanding the situation, Mizuto-san." bowed the outsider thankfully.
Mizuto nodded a few times and chuckled forcedly. "At least I can show you where I work… However, I expect you to get up as early as me. That is at 5 in the morning."
"Oh my God, why so early?" protested Kyouichi. "The fish won't grow legs and run away from that lake if you come a bit later, will they?"
"Well, this IS Gensokyo, so I wouldn't be too sure about that statement…" joked Mizuto. "But that's how I always go to work. The walk to the lake alone takes over 3 hours, so by the time we get there, it will be 8 o'clock. And you said you wanted to be back in the village by noon, so that doesn't leave you much time for staying in the mansion."
"Hmm… you're right." admitted Kyouichi after giving it some thought. "If I want to come on time to my work, it means I've got like 2 hours for taking care of my business in the mansion."
Kyouichi sighed with contempt. "Such a long walk… If only I had a flying broom like Marisa-san…"
After he woke up from his little daydream, he figured that he'll need a lot of strength tomorrow for such a long walk and so early in the morning. So even though it was only half past seven, he decided to go to sleep.
Kyouichi didn't even sleep properly that night, so he basically just waited on his futon until Mizuto came into his room to wake him up. The fisherman woke him up at 4 a.m., so that they could both prepare themselves for their trip to the lake. Kyouichi took a quick bath and had a light breakfast. His hair didn't even get to dry up properly when Mizuto announced that it was just about time to head out.
As Mizuto packed up his fishing gear and Kyouichi some extra onigiri for the trip, they quietly left the Saitou residence and waited a few minutes until a 5 member Ryuuken patrol escorting several other fishermen marched up to them. They greeted the fisherman in a friendly manner while they curiously measured Kyouichi up with their eyes.
"Is he coming with us too?" asked the man in charge of the squad, gesturing at the outsider.
"Yes, he's with me." replied Mizuto tersely and without any further ado, the whole group set out on their way to the Misty Lake. Even though it was summer, the early mornings could be still quite chilly. The morning dew formed tiny silvery droplets on the blades of grass and the leaves of the trees, glittering in the early rising sun.
The walk was a quiet and peaceful one. Neither the Ryuuken warriors, nor the fishermen they were escorting were very chatty. As they passed the crossroad, Kyouichi instinctively looked up a hill by his right, as if in hope to see the Hakurei shrine maiden sweeping the stairs. As he suspected, he didn't see her, so he just shrugged and kept up the pace with the rest of the group.
The road was sloping up and down every few hundred meters as they walked through the foothills further north beyond the crossroad. A few times something caused the Ryuuken commander to halt the whole group and wait in complete silence until the scouts made sure there was no imminent danger. Kyouichi did see a glimpse of some youkai as they fled from the sight of the Ryuuken and quite a lot of fairies dancing on the meadows, several hundred meters away from the road. Other than that, the trip was quite uneventful.
The group took only one 10-minute break once they were halfway to the lake. Kyouichi was starting to feel the fatigue in his legs, but he was more or less used to long walks. The group came across another crossroad - this time, only 3-directional. One direction headed further north with a wooden post saying "To Kazemura", the other one turned gradually to northwest and a signpost pointing in its direction said "To Misty Lake and Youkai Mountain". The third direction was, of course, the way the group came from. After another hour of marching, Kyouichi finally saw the thick haze formed above the appropriately named Misty Lake, which formed a natural moat around the Scarlet Devil Mansion – his destination. Of course, the mist was too thick for anyone to see even the shores of the lake, much less the mansion itself.
"By noon, the mist usually dissolves, but I guess you don't have so much time, right?" asked Mizuto as he looked at the outsider.
Kyouichi nodded agreeingly. He really didn't want to idly wait at the lake's shore until the mist disperses.
At long last, the group of Ryuuken and fishermen arrived at the fishing colony on the southern side of the lake. The warriors assumed their guard posts all over the small encampment and Mizuto led Kyouichi to his modest fishing hut.
"Well, this is the place…" he announced and unlocked the hut's door. "My little fishing hut."
It consisted of only one 4 tatami room with one bed, one stove for heating and cooking, a small shelf with kitchen utensils and two tables. One table for gutting and cleaning the fish and the other one for eating. There was also a large wooden closet in the corner, probably for Mizuto's fishing outfits and gear. It was quite messy inside the hut and the strong smell of fish permeated the air.
"Okay, Kyouichi, I need some time to prepare my rods and bait, but you can already go to the mansion. You can borrow one of my boats. Come, I'll show you the way…" he gestured to Kyouichi to follow him and led him to one of the small wooden piers built on the southern shore of the lake. He gestured towards a couple of boats tied up to the pier.
"Nice boat…" stated Kyouichi with a smirk on his face.
"Pick whichever one you like, I need to get to work. If you won't find me at my hut, I'm probably still fishing. But you don't have to wait for me. Just wait until the Ryuuken patrol gets relieved and go with them back to the village." said the fisherman before he returned back to his hut. Kyouichi took a while to choose a boat before he got on one of them which looked the safest and untied it from the pier.
The mist was so thick that the visibility was less than 10 meters. He grabbed the oars tightly in his hands and in one stroke he set the boat into motion, distancing himself from the pier. He steered it to the left so that the boat's front faced the direction where he presumed the Scarlet Island to be. He didn't really see where he was going, so he slowly rowed on and on, hoping that he'd see the island's shore before he'd crash into it.
After one minute of rowing and looking back over his shoulder, he noticed a single dim white light shining in the distance, as if calling him to come closer. Kyouichi was a bit freaked out, but he didn't stop. He rowed the boat in slow long strokes until the light grew brighter and closer. The chilling silence was only disturbed by the quiet splashes of waves.
In less than two minutes, he could already make out the faint silhouette of the island's shoreline, the light was still some distance further away. Since the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion had obviously no use for boats, it was also expected that there'd be no piers on the island to tie the boat to.
With one final stroke of the oars, the boat reached the shallow waters before it was stopped by the island's shore and Kyouichi could get out. To make sure the waves wouldn't carry the boat away, he laboriously dragged the boat up to dry land. He was finally standing on the mysterious Scarlet Island, staring at the light that guided him here. He still didn't know what was its source, but he didn't take his time to stand there and contemplate. He walked towards it, carefully watching his step so that he wouldn't trip over something in that dense fog.
After a while he could make out the barely visible silhouette of the tall iron bar fence, marking the borderline of the premises of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The light that led him here was coming from a single lantern placed in front of the ominously looking gate. Sitting on a chair at the side of the gate was a single person – a tall young female, resting her back against one of the gate's pillars. It looked like she was sleeping. Kyouichi didn't recognize her. She had long scarlet hair with two long braids by the sides of her face and the rest, flowing freely. She was wearing a green outfit, similar to a traditional Chinese dress and a beret of matching color with a golden star on its front side. Engraved into the star was a single Chinese character: "long", meaning "dragon".
Kyouichi stood there for a while, looking at her and wondering when she would notice him. After his patience ran out, he decided that he'd gently wake the girl up to let her know that he's been invited to the mansion.
"Umm… excuse me." he addressed her in a low voice. The girl didn't react. "Young lady, please wake up…" he spoke to her gently again.
"Umm.. mfmummsum…" mumbled the girl out of her sleep. "Wha…? What is it…?" she asked, obviously still sleep talking.
Kyouichi saw that trying to wake her up gently didn't bear much fruit, so he had to try a different approach. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath and from the top of his lungs he shouted: "ATTEEEEEEEN-TION!"
In an instant, the girl was on her feet, saluting, with her eyes widely open. "Yes, general…! Huh? Oh… it was just a dream…"
"Good morning." greeted Kyouichi, with an innocent smile and bowed politely.
Only now did the girl notice him. "Eh? Who are you? What are you doing here? You better not try to trespass into the mansion." she warned him and assumed a fighting stance.
Kyouichi just smiled at her reaction and calmly took out Patchouli's letter from his pocket and gave it to her. The girl's aqua-colored eyes raced quickly through the text and her mouth opened slightly as she finished reading it. She looked up at Kyouichi again, who in the meantime took out his ID card and was now showing it to her, smile not leaving his face. The girl nodded understandingly.
"You're Ishimaru-san… My apologies for startling you."
"I'm the one who should be apologizing for that…" said Kyouichi as he got his letter back.
"No, no… I'm a gate guard and I shouldn't be really sleeping on duty, but… it's just so… boring."
"So, will you let me through the gate, miss?"
"But of course!" nodded the girl and hurried to unlock the iron gate. "Remilia-sama and Patchouli-sama said they were expecting you, they just didn't know when you'd arrive." explained the gate guard. "My name is Meiling. Hong Meiling."
"Pleased to meet you, Meiling-san. Are you Chinese?"
"Uhh… yes. Not that hard to guess, huh?"
"You speak perfect Japanese."
"Oh… Thank you." smiled Meiling and opened the gate with a loud shriek. "The mansion's straight ahead. Just follow the pavement."
Kyouichi thanked her for letting him through and let her continue her guard duty as he walked towards the mansion. He swallowed his fear and kept on walking until he reached the massive wooden door and knocked on it. A second later, the sound of the door unlocking came from the other side and the door slowly opened as if moved by some unseen force. He found himself inside the main foyer of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It was really huge. The interior as well as the exterior of the mansion was built in a renaissance style. The floor was covered by dark-red carpet and the tinted windows were letting in a dim dark-red light. The additional lighting was provided by numerous candlesticks attached to the walls and one large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. As soon as Kyouichi entered, the door behind him closed.
Frightened by the sound of the shutting door, he turned around and saw a tall, slender figure.
"Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion." sounded a female voice, greeting him formally.
"S-Sakuya-san?" asked the outsider as he recognized the person standing in front of him. He had no idea where she appeared from, but she was now standing there, looking at him with her dark-blue eyes. She was the head maid of the mansion and this time, she was wearing slightly darker uniform with a seductively short skirt. It appeared she also had a silver pocket watch hanging on a small chain tied to the side of her apron. Kyouichi also noticed that she had a thigh strap on her left thigh, stocked with what looked like a set of throwing knives.
"Yes." confirmed the maid. "Please follow me. Patchouli-sama is waiting in the library."
She turned to the left and walked into a long narrow corridor lined with numerous doors. Kyouichi followed her silently and obediently. Her formal attitude combined with her calm voice, elegant movements and cold look in her eyes gave away an aura of respect as well as fear. Even though she was very attractive, Kyouichi felt uneasy in her presence.
"Remilia-sama hasn't woken up yet, so you'll be seeing Patchouli-sama first."
"Okay…" shrugged Kyouichi and followed the maid's lead.
She turned at the corner of the corridor and led the way further until she came to a staircase leading to the lower, underground level of the mansion. After descending down the stairs and passing another long hallway lined with lit torches, they stopped in front of a massive wooden door.
"This is the library." she announced and opened the door, leading Kyouichi inside.
As soon as he stepped inside, his jaw dropped out of sheer bewilderment. The library was one gigantic 2 storey hall, large enough to house several Boeing 747 airliners. A line of tinted windows near the ceiling was giving the place just enough natural light so that it wouldn't be buried in pitch-black darkness. He couldn't even see where the library ends. Even with countless candles, lamps and torches lighting the place up, it was still eerily dark inside.
Besides wondering how anyone could read books in this poor lighting, he couldn't understand how the library could be so enormous, since the mansion definitely didn't look as large from the outside. And that was just one part of it. It was truly mind-boggling. And those bookshelves… They were at least 5 meters tall and there were so many of them that they made the whole library look like a labyrinth, or almost like a little city. He kept following Sakuya with his eyes and mouth wide open as he couldn't even find words to describe the grandeur of the whole place.
It took almost 2 minutes to reach a clear area in the center of the library. There were several tables for reading and several comfortable armchairs as well. Sitting in one of those armchairs and reading a thick book was another young girl. She could be around Reimu's age, judging by her height and appearance, but Kyouichi knew that appearances may be deceiving. The girl had long purple hair decorated by several colorful ribbons. Her eyes had the same color and her skin complexion was as pale as Kyouichi's. She was wearing a long light-purple nightgown and a matching nightcap decorated by a few more of the colorful ribbons and a golden crescent-shaped decoration. It seemed like she just woke up recently, since she didn't even get changed from her sleeping wear. Actually, she looked quite lovely. As she saw Sakuya leading a guest, she closed the book and put in on a table next to her.
"Are you Ishimaru-san?" she asked in a quiet, but pleasant voice.
"Yes, I'm Ishimaru. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."
"I am also pleased to meet you in person." she smiled gently and nodded instead of bowing. "As you might have already guessed, I'm Patchouli Knowledge and before you ask, yes, that is my real name…"
Kyouichi didn't say a thing, just put on an amused smile.
"Please take a seat. Make yourself comfortable." she gestured to another armchair opposite of her. "Sakuya, please make us some tea and bring some dessert."
The maid bowed with respect. "Yes, Patchouli-sama, I'll be right back."
A loud popping sound echoed throughout the library and a platter appeared in Sakuya's hand with a porcelain tea set and two plates with tiramisu. Kyouichi blinked a few times, not too sure of what just happened. Sakuya elegantly poured the tea into both cups and bowed again once she was done.
"Thank you very much, Sakuya. That will be all for now." thanked Patchouli and as soon as she finished her sentence, another loud pop sounded and Sakuya was no longer there.
"Wow…" uttered the amazed outsider. "How did…?"
"Time manipulation." said Patchouli suddenly, before Kyouichi even got to ask his question.
"Huh?"
"Sakuya has the power to manipulate time." she continued. "That's why it looks like she appears out of nowhere and disappears just as suddenly. She can also manipulate space, that's why the inside of the mansion is so large."
"Oh…"
"Apropos, welcome to my library, Ishimaru-san." she welcomed him in a more easygoing tone.
It took a couple of seconds for Kyouichi to realize that he should say something. "Uh… yes, thank you for the invitation, Miss Knowledge."
"You don't have to pretend your gratitude." said Patchouli, looking at him intensely, but smiling to show that she doesn't mean any offense. "You turned down my invitation at first, because you feared this place, am I right?"
Kyouichi only managed to open his mouth slightly in admiration to this girl's logic. "Wow… she's sharp… As if she can see right through me…" thought the outsider to himself.
"As for the formalities, I don't insist on them at my presence as much as Remilia, so feel free to call me Patchouli or just Patchy." she explained on a side note and took a sip of tea from her cup.
"Well then, Patchouli-sama," Kyouichi decided to address her in the same way as the head maid did, "I'm sorry that I turned down the invitation the first time, but…"
"No need to apologize, Ishimaru-san." she interrupted him half-way. "I should have given it some more thought and time to explain my intentions. But I'm glad that you accepted it and arrived sooner than I expected. Let me explain everything to you, Ishimaru-san."
"Kyouichi."
"Pardon?"
"That's my name… You said yourself you don't need me to address you formally, so you don't need to be formal with me either." explained the outsider and smiled at the thought that he met another sympathetic and friendly person.
"I understand." murmured Patchouli and took the plate with tiramisu into her hand. She took a bite of the dessert and savored its taste for a while before she continued. "As I mentioned in the letter, I want to help you."
Kyouichi raised his eyebrow and gave her a distrustful look. "Why?"
"Let's just say that we share the same goal." said the purple-haired girl and took another bite of tiramisu.
"What, you want to go to Tokyo?"
Patchouli giggled and shook her head. "No, Kyouichi, I want to find out the reason for the unusual absence of Yukari Yakumo. In other words, I wish to find her and speak to her about certain… issues concerning whole Gensokyo."
"I see…" muttered the outsider and as he thought about his next questions, he helped himself to the tiramisu. In the meantime, Patchouli kept explaining.
"There is also quite a high possibility that Yukari decided to entertain herself by causing an incident and see who will be the first one to take the initiative in its resolution. If that is the case, then we must all prepare ourselves for unpredictable things to happen and hope that someone can find her and do a formal duel with her. I'm 99.9 percent positive that Yukari would not do anything that would harm anyone, be they human or youkai. However, given the nature of the event from 3 weeks ago, I'm no longer sure…"
"You mean our spiriting away?"
"Yes." said Patchouli quietly, almost whispering. "If it was indeed her job, which I suspect it to be; it would be an unprecedented incident responsible for the deaths of dozens of people from the outside world."
"What?! So there have been so many deaths confirmed?!" asked Kyouichi with a shocked expression. Even though he knew that only a small percentage of the people riding the subway made it to the Human Village and that a lot of them probably didn't make it, but now Patchouli said it as a fact.
"Yes, unfortunately… Over 25 bodies of outsiders were reported to be found in random locations all over Gensokyo. They've had the misfortune to be spirited away into some of Gensokyo's most dangerous areas and fell a victim to the youkai or were unable to find their way to the village and died of starvation or dehydration. If that's Yukari-sama's new idea of entertainment, Gensokyo is in big trouble. I still don't believe that a loving protector of Gensokyo would let so many outsiders die, but her long absence has only increased my suspicion in her. If my theory proves to be correct, we'll need to stop her at all costs before she repeats it or does something even worse…"
"But haven't youkai been killing people in Gensokyo all the time?"
"Yes, some indeed have." confirmed the librarian. "We can't really blame the youkai for that; it's in their nature. If a few humans die here and there, it's considered normal, natural. As sad as it may sound, it's the everyday reality of not just Gensokyo, but also the world where you and I come from. Youkai hunt people and vice versa. It's a natural cycle and not even Hakurei's Spell Card system is a guarantee for no bloodshed. Nobody pays much mind if a few humans die in Gensokyo, but when a few hundred people suddenly appear here, it's bound to attract everyone's attention. I really can't tell why were you all spirited away here. I'm afraid only Yukari may have answers for that."
"And if she wasn't responsible?"
"True, there are several ways how to breach the barrier and enter or leave Gensokyo, which would exculpate Yukari from being responsible. However, the only known and possible way a mass of people from a faraway place such as Tokyo could appear suddenly in Gensokyo, is by the means of Yukari's boundary manipulation. But that still leaves us with plenty of unanswered questions…" continued Patchouli and took another refreshing sip of tea. "Such as: Why would she do it? Or perhaps it would be more fitting to ask: Why didn't she watch over these people and left them at the mercy of deadly youkai and the unforgiving land? Which brings me to another interesting question: What if she wasn't able to protect these humans? As doubtful as it may sound, what if Yukari is experiencing some serious difficulties and is unable to control her power? Like I said; too many questions and no certain answers… That is why I wish to find her."
"I've heard she lives in Mayohiga…" said the outsider. "And from a very reliable source… However, not even that reliable source knows the way to that place as does nobody else in Gensokyo…"
Oddly enough, Patchouli didn't look the slightest bit surprised. "I know of Mayohiga, but very little about its actual location. Still, I have a way of contacting her. I'm in possession of a communicating amulet, by the means of which I could contact Yukari in case of need. I didn't really want to, but two years ago, during the so called Subterranean Animism incident, when earth spirits began emerging from the underground through a geyser near the Hakurei Shrine, I figured that it would be best to consult the matter with Yukari. She told me that only humans could enter the underground for some reason and since both of us are youkai, we had to once again rely on the humans…"
"Reimu and Marisa?"
"Yes… They took care of the problems. But I've digressed. The amulet, which I could contact Yukari with, seems to have either lost its power, or she simply ignores my attempts to talk to her, which I find also very unsettling. That would not surprise me as much, given the fact that our relationship is more of a formal one, but if she even avoids contact with her best friends, something must be going on… I'll let you in on a secret, Kyouichi-san; I hate to be left in uncertainty… when I can't find the answers to my questions in any book…"
Kyouichi drank some more of his tea and tried to explain another theory. "Well, I don't really know much about Yukari, but I asked Reimu-san once if it was possible that the youkai of boundaries could be in some sort of trouble. She said that it was out of question, but still…"
"Yes, that theory crossed my mind as well. Surely, Yukari is youkai with unbelievable power, but even that power has its limits. For example she said that she couldn't enter the underground…" remarked Patchouli and paused herself in a thoughtful expression. "But I still find it weird how could she talk about the underground locations and the youkai living there in such detail…"
"Wait a second…" Kyouichi interrupted her. "Did you say youkai living in the underground? Doesn't that contradict with what Yukari said about the fact that youkai can't enter that place?"
"She said that the youkai from the surface cannot enter underground, but I have a feeling that it doesn't apply to her… Anyway, even if the shrine maiden claims that Yukari cannot be in trouble, I certainly can't omit this theory… But like I said, the most probable theory is that Yukari is the culprit behind your spiriting away and is planning something more…"
"What if there is another youkai of boundaries?" asked the outsider out of the blue.
Patchouli opened her mouth as if she realized something. "I… never even considered such a possibility. But I'm 99.9 percent certain, that there is only one in Gensokyo and the whole world…"
Kyouichi shrugged and smiled. "Well, it was just an idea… Anyway, Patchouli-sama, how do you plan to find Yukari?"
She took the last bite of tiramisu on her plate and finished the tea in her cup before she spoke.
"If she's planning an incident and if she really was responsible for your spiriting away, we'll probably just have to wait until she makes an appearance. So far, she always did whenever she played some prank or caused an incident…"
"Well beg your pardon, Patchouli-sama, but why did you even invite me here then? Everyone keeps telling me that it's just a matter of time before she appears to someone, but waiting is hardly a solution."
A smile crept again to Patchouli's otherwise serious face. "You didn't let me finish, Kyouichi-san. There is a way we could use my communicating amulet to locate her, but it won't be so simple…"
Kyouichi's eyes widened. "You have my full attention, Patchouli-sama."
"There is a youkai with a very useful ability living in the underground who could use that amulet to pinpoint Yukari. But the problem is that I cannot go to the underground as I explained earlier."
"But why tell this to me? Why not Reimu-san or Marisa-san?" wondered Kyouichi.
"I would, Kyouichi-san… But recently our relationship hasn't been exactly what you'd call friendly. Besides, I have… other duties in the mansion besides my work in the library, but you… From what I've heard from Remilia, you seemed to be on good terms with both the witch and the miko."
"What about Sakuya-san or Meiling-san?"
"Meiling's a youkai, so she can't go there. Sakuya may be a human, but she's never been in the underground. On the other hand, Reimu and Marisa already know their way around, so it would take them less time to get into contact with that youkai… But since we've had quite a serious quarrel recently, I don't think any of the two will listen to me."
"Oh, I've heard something from Marisa…" said Kyouichi, trying to recall what the witch mentioned at the hanami. "Something about stealing books and some Royal Flare or something…"
Patchouli again giggled in her lovely voice, but soon after, she began coughing abruptly.
"Patchouli-sama, are you alright?" asked surprised Kyouichi, standing up from his chair and coming closer to the librarian.
"Yes… I'll be fine..." uttered the girl through her coughing as she took out some kind of inhaler from her pocket and took one deep breath from it. Her coughing subsided and she was breathing slowly and calmly. She smiled again, this time a little bitterly and murmured: "Hah… I can't even laugh with this stupid asthma…" she poured some more tea into her cup, and drank it all in one go. "But when I recalled that day, I just couldn't help it… Royal Flare is actually one of my most powerful Spell Cards. I used it on Marisa when she was stealing books from me. But now I also regret it. I'm afraid that was the end of our friendship…"
As Kyouichi saw that Patchouli stopped coughing, he took his seat again, looked at her and smiled reassuringly. "Patchouli-sama…"
"What is it?" she looked back at him with her beautiful violet eyes.
"You need not worry about your friendship with Marisa. She said herself that you're one of her best friends when I asked her about you."
"Really? She said that?"
This information surprised her and Kyouichi could also see that she looked relieved to hear it.
"She did." confirmed the outsider. "And she's not angry at you at all… In fact, she's the one who thinks that it will take some time before you can forgive her."
"So even after that, she still speaks of me as a friend? I… I'm glad to hear that…"
"As for Reimu… Well, I think she mentioned you a couple of times as well… I think she wanted to invite you to the hanami, but Marisa said that you wouldn't come because you're mad at her… I don't think any of the two has anything against you, Patchouli-sama. On the contrary, I'm sure they'd hear you out…"
A happy and relieved smile settled on Patchouli's face. "I'm so glad…" she sighed and stood up from the chair. "In that case, let's not waste any more time. I'm going to send them letters and inform them about the situation."
Kyouichi raised a palm to halt her. "No need to waste ink, Patchouli-sama. I will tell them personally. Or better yet, send them here, so you can all discuss this issue together."
"But you don't have to…" said the librarian, but Kyouichi didn't let her finish.
"It's okay. It's the least I can do for you after coming all the way here."
The youkai sorceress was in a loss for words for a moment. "I… Thank you, Kyouichi-san."
"No, Patchouli-sama. I thank you for wanting to help us outsiders…"
"In that case, I'm going to give you the amulet. You'll give it to either Reimu or Marisa, but only after they agree to go to the underground."
"As you wish…" shrugged the outsider, and stretched out a palm, expecting to receive the amulet.
"Wait a minute, Kyouichi-san. I don't have it with me. It's in my room. Please wait here for a while…"
"Okay." muttered the outsider and sat down again as he watched Patchouli walk away towards a large double door.
"Please don't wander off anywhere…" she warned him before she opened the door. "And don't touch anything."
"Understood." nodded Kyouichi and crossed his arms.
Even though Patchouli said she'd be back in a minute, that minute lasted at least 15 minutes and Kyouichi was starting to grow impatient. He stood up from the armchair and slowly strolled back and forth around the center of the library, curiously observing the books in the shelves. There were books of all sorts, colors, genres and sizes. Some of them were written in some unknown language. Some didn't even have any titles at all. Kyouichi obeyed Patchouli's warning and didn't touch a single book. He was just looking. Suddenly, he thought that he heard a silent sound of a door opening somewhere in the distance, but as he looked behind him, the big double door was still firmly closed and there was nobody there. Shrugging it off as just his own imagination, he continued to browse though the library's endless collection, trying to see if he wouldn't find any books from the outside world. After a couple of more minutes, he could hear light footsteps dampened by the carpet coming closer to him and a young girl's voice humming some melody. It didn't sound like Patchouli's voice, but the outsider still didn't pay it any mind and kept on browsing through the shelves. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped and after a few seconds of silence, the girl's voice sounded from behind him: "Hey, Onii-chan, good morning… Will you play with me?"
Kyouichi let out a sigh and muttered to himself: "Oh, great… Just what I needed… More people calling me Onii-chan."
He stood up from his crouching position and turned around to see the girl talking to him. As he saw her, he curiously tilted his head to the side and blinked a few times.
She was a short young girl who appeared to be something over 10 years old. Her eyes were dark-red, just as Remilia's or Yuuka's. She had short blond hair tied into a single ponytail on the left side of her head. She was wearing a red skirt and a vest with a pink shirt underneath. She also wore a pink mob cap decorated by a small red ribbon. And she had wings. A very intriguing pair of wings… They looked… artificial. Their black crooked frame seemed to be made of iron and each wing was decorated by a set of colorful gem-like shards. There were 8 of them on each wing: light-blue, blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow, green and light-blue again.
She was standing there and looking curiously at him. Kyouichi observed her with the same curiosity. He stretched out his hands forward and drew an outline of her wings with his fingers in the air. The girl noticed it, smiled cutely and gently waved her wings up and down making the crystal shards clink like a chime.
"Do you like my wings?" she asked in a childish voice.
"Umm… yeah… they're nice." replied Kyouichi, still quite confused by the girl's appearance. "Are you Remilia-sama's…?"
"Younger sister." said the girl, finishing Kyouichi's sentence. "My name is Flandre."
"O-oh… I see…" stuttered the outsider for a moment. "I'm Kyouichi. Nice to meet you, Flandre-sama." Only now he recalled that Marisa mentioned that Remilia had a younger sister. However, she didn't look any younger or older than her.
"Hey, Onii-chan, you smell like a human…" commented the girl after taking a few whiffs of air. "Are you a human?"
Kyouichi embarrassedly lowered his head and whiffed at his own armpit. "I just bathed this morning… But yes, I'm a human."
"Really? You're the fourth human I've met~." rejoiced little Flandre and smiled. "Are you my playmate or a drink?"
That question really unsettled him, but he tried to hide his fear and reply truthfully. "Actually, I've been invited by your sister and Patchouli-sama to talk about something… Which reminds me that she should have been here already. I wonder what's taking her so long."
"So you know Onee-chan and Patchouli-sensei?" she asked with a curious face. "I guess I shouldn't eat you if you're their friend…" she murmured with a little disappointed voice. "Then… Will you play with me?"
"Play? And what game do you want to play?"
"Danmaku~." said Flandre with a joyful sparkle in her eyes.
Kyouichi mustered a crooked smile and chuckled. "I'm sorry, but I can't play danmaku."
Flandre looked at him with an unbelieving expression. "Eeeh~? What do you mean, can't play danmaku? Everyone knows how to play danmaku."
Kyouichi shook his head in disagreement. "No, only those from Gensokyo."
"So, you're not from Gensokyo?"
"No, Flandre-sama, I'm a completely ordinary human, who doesn't have any cool magic. You'll have to find some other playmate or think of some other game…"
The younger Scarlet sister hummed thoughtfully. "How about I just shot danmaku and you just dodged?"
"I don't think I'd last for longer than 10 seconds. Besides, what would Patchouli-sama say?"
Flandre seemed to suddenly realize something. "Oh… You're right… She wouldn't be too happy… So, what does Onee-chan want from you anyway?"
"I don't know yet… I've met her only once before and we didn't talk much."
"Hey, hey, Onii-chan…?" asked the little vampire again. "Tell me about the outside… Are there more humans?"
Kyouichi raised his eyebrow at her weird question. "You don't go outside much, do you?"
Flandre frowned and lowered her head. "Onee-chan says I can't. She says it would be too dangerous. But I've been outside a few times. I think it's very nice. But only when it's not raining."
"Well, yes, people usually stay indoors when it's raining…" confirmed Kyouichi and smiled at her. "I think your sister loves you so much that she's too worried about you. But I don't think it's right to make somebody stay inside all the time."
"That's just what I think too…" said the vampire and walked up to the table and stared at Kyouichi's unfinished tiramisu.
"You can have it if you want."
Flandre smiled joyfully and took the fork into her hand and tried to cut off a piece of dessert with it, but she pushed the fork a bit too hard and a piece of tiramisu fell on the carpet.
Kyouichi immediately picked it up and ate it. "Hehe… 3 second rule…" he smiled and came closer to the cute vampire girl. "Here, let me help you." he took the fork and sliced off another piece of tiramisu. "Say aaaah~."
Flandre closed her eyes and opened her mouth. "Aaaaah~."
Kyouichi could see that she indeed had vampiric fangs, but since she was so adorable, he wasn't really afraid. He fed the girl with tiramisu and she looked like she was enjoying it.
"Is it delicious?"
"Yes~." smiled Flandre and asked Kyouichi to feed her some more. And so, Kyouichi fed her the rest of the dessert until it was all gone.
"You remind me how my Onee-chan used to feed me long ago…" reminisced the little vampire.
"Your sister fed you? Not your mom?" asked the outsider.
Flandre looked absentmindedly at him, her mouth slightly open as if she was trying to remember something from a very long time ago. "I don't even remember my parents… For over 500 years it's been just me and my sister… Well, now there's also Patchouli-sensei and Meiling-san and Sakuya-san, so it's not so lonely… "
"You said that I'm the fourth human you've met… Who are the other three?"
"Umm… well, Sakuya-san, then sometimes a witch named Marisa comes to visit, but she just comes to see Patchouli-sensei… And the third one is a shrine maiden. But I've met her only once. She didn't want to play with me."
"Oh, I see... Reimu… But did you really not meet anyone else before?"
"No… I didn't even know how people looked like. I hadn't seen them in any other form than drinks or snacks. But after meeting some of them and learning something from Patchouli-sansei, I became curious… I'd really like to go outside and make many friends, but then Onee-chan would yell at me for disobeying her… Say, Onii-chan, will you be coming here for a visit from now on?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't think so… I'm here because Patchouli-sama wants to help me return home." said the outsider with a little bit of regret. "I'm not sure if it's even possible, but we're all going to try our best…"
"But if you won't be able to return, will you come and visit me again?"
Kyouichi paused himself in a serious expression and after a moment of silence he again smiled at the younger of the Scarlet sisters and nodded. "If I won't be able to return home, not only will I come to visit you, but I'll convince your sister and take you for a walk around the Human Village and buy you some ice-cream or something…"
Flandre's eyes again widened with joy and she smiled endearingly. "Yaay~! I love ice-cream~!" she rejoiced and happily flapped her wings. After calming down a little, she turned again at Kyouichi with a questioning look. "Do you promise, Onii-chan?"
Kyouichi frowned and with a cold tone he replied: "I don't make any promises… ever…"
Flandre pouted and for a moment she looked really angry, but Kyouichi continued.
"…But in your case, …I'll make an exception…" he added and smiled at her sweetly, stretching out his right pinky finger.
Flandre returned back to her cute, joyful expression. "Pinky promise~!" she called out and interlocked her little pinky with Kyouichi's. The both shook their hands, singing the pinky promise song and the promise was made.
"I almost wish you didn't succeed in getting home now…" said Flandre once she parted her hand with the outsider.
"Now that's a little selfish wish there, Flandre… I can imagine how you feel, but I feel the same way here… Like I said, I'll be sure to keep my promise if I won't be able to get back."
"And how long should I wait?"
"Until autumn." replied Kyouichi after a pause. "We have a plan… me and other people from the outside world, that we're going to try our luck and walk on our own from the Hakurei Shrine to find our way home…"
Flandre pouted in a thoughtful expression and shrugged. "Well, I don't really know what you're talking about, Onii-chan, but I know what autumn is… It's one of the four seasons of the year that comes right after summer and before winter."
Kyouichi nodded affirmatively. "That's correct. It would be very hard for us to travel through the mountains in winter, so we must go before winter comes. However, Patchouli-sama may have some plan that could help us all return even sooner."
"Patchouli-sensei is very smart, but she is a little boring sometimes…" revealed Flandre about the librarian.
Just as soon as she mentioned her, the large double door of the library opened and Patchouli stepped inside, accompanied by the mistress of the mansion – Remilia Scarlet. Both were indulged in a lively conversation as they entered the library, but as soon as they saw Kyouichi and Flandre they stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes and mouths wide open.
"Onee-chan, good morning~!" Flandre greeted her big sister cheerfully. "And you too, Patchouli-sensei~!"
"F-F-Flan?!" stuttered the older Scarlet sister with a very surprised expression. "What are you...?"
"I was just waiting for another lesson with Patchouli-sensei and met Onii-chan instead…"
"I'm Kyouichi…" murmured the outsider to her.
"Hey, human…" called Remilia at him. "Are you alright?"
"I'd feel better if I had some sleep last night, but otherwise I feel fine." replied Kyouichi and bowed deeply to greet her. "By the way, good morning to you, Remilia-sama."
Remilia turned to Patchouli with the same half-frightened expression and asked her to take Flandre back to her room. The librarian complied with her request and took the younger Scarlet sister by the hand and led her somewhere away. Flandre turned back at Kyouichi one last time and waved at him, smiling cutely as ever. He also smiled and waved back at her before she and Patchouli disappeared behind one of the massive bookshelves.
"Are you sure she didn't try to rip you into shreds?" asked Remilia again as she measured Kyouichi up.
"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about, Remilia-sama… Your sister is one of the nicest and cutest girls I've ever met. We just talked a little…"
"Hehehe…" chuckled Remilia in disbelief. "You sure are one lucky outsider…"
"Why would you say that?"
"My sister…" she spoke uncertainly and carefully picked words. "She's… well… not very used to humans…"
"Yes, she told me… But she's very sweet. And apparently she loves you a lot…" argued the outsider on Flandre's defense.
Remilia again gave him a very surprised look and couldn't find a word to let out of her mouth. It really wasn't common to see her like that. So unsure of herself…
"Um… Remilia-sama? Are you feeling alright?"
She finally woke up from her trance and repeatedly nodded. "Yes, yes, I'm fine…"
She took a seat in the armchair where Patchouli was sitting just a couple of minutes ago and asked the outsider to sit down as well. He obliged and sat opposite of her, looking straight into her eyes, waiting until she spoke first. But the vampire just sat there quietly, resting her cheek on her palm and scanned the outsider like an x-ray.
Unbeknownst to Kyouichi, Remilia possessed a unique power – the power to see a person's "strings of fate" and the ability to manipulate those strings to a certain degree. She could see them around everyone and the young outsider was, of course, no exception. She saw all the thin red strings, invisible to anyone but her, stretching out from all parts of the outsider's body. Each of them meant this human's fate in various respective aspects of life. His lifespan, health development, school, career, family, wealth, friendship, love, everything… Depending on how each string curved and twined, she could already tell how each of the person's life aspects were going to develop up to several decades into the future. She carefully studied each of Kyouichi's fate strings and traced them with her finger. Kyouichi only stared at her confusedly, wondering what she might be doing. Remilia didn't pay him any mind at the moment and curiously read his fate. She could see that the string representing his school life has been severed at one point and after a blank spot, continued in a quite different direction. His family fate string, stretching from the area of his heart was strangely curled up, separated into two, with one end severed and the second, continuing in an uncertain pattern until it gradually faded out of Remilia's fate vision. She wasn't sure if the second of the ends also wasn't severed and was tempted to pull the string a bit to see further into his future, but that would also mean that she'd irreversibly manipulate his fate in some way and that was something she didn't do very often. Summing up all of the strings' patterns, Remilia amusedly nodded to herself and stated: "Interesting life…"
Even as she spoke to him, she could see the fate strings subtly change their formation – some to better, others to worse. Such was her ability. She could change people's fate even unwittingly, just by talking to them.
"What? Here in the mansion?" wondered Kyouichi about Remilia's last statement. "Yes, I'm sure I could get used to all the luxury pretty quickly…"
"No." retorted the vampire, shaking her head. "I meant YOUR life, human…" she spoke in a deeper, more serious voice.
"I have a name, you know…" murmured the outsider under his nose. "Wait a minute… Did you just say MY life? What would be so interesting about it?" he wondered. "I'd say it's been rather boring."
"Perhaps until, now… Kyouichi." she finally addressed him by his name. "But as for your future… I see some interesting development here."
"Are you an oracle, Remilia-sama?"
The vampire giggled childishly, smiling wryly so that one of her upper fangs jutted over her lower lip. "Something better." she replied. "Do you believe in fate, Kyouichi?"
"No." he answered immediately and with absolute certainty in his voice.
"Why not?" she asked him teasingly as she playfully coiled a strand of her hair around her slim white finger.
"I don't like the thought that I'm not in control of my own life."
"Ah, but the existence of fate does not depend on whether we like it or not." she continued with her teasing, drawly speech. "Just as afterlife exits, independent of people's belief or disbelief in it…"
"Regardless, I still don't believe in fate." insisted Kyouichi on his opinion.
Again, the blue-haired vampire girl giggled, amused by his obstinate beliefs. "And tell me, Kyouichi, with your hand on heart, did you also believe in the existence of vampires or youkai until three weeks ago?"
Kyouichi's lips parted in a silent, wordless expression, revealing to Remilia that she made a good point. "Now that you say it… No, I didn't…" replied the outsider after processing the thought.
Remilia's smile slightly widened as she blinked slowly. "Then is it really so hard to accept the existence of fate?"
Kyouichi hummed thoughtfully, pulling his lower lip. "Perhaps it would be easier for me if you specified what you mean by "fate"."
"By fate I mean a certain predestined path all living beings take at certain points in their lives. A complexity of actions and consequences depending on their decisions and their possibilities. Every living being lives in belief that they decide their own path. That they choose their own fate. Ironically, they're almost correct. However, strings of fate are tied to everyone and they are the representative of their current beliefs upon which each individual acts and decides, thus, unwittingly, follows their inevitable fate – their predestined path… And I am able to see those strings and even alter them as I please."
"But if you can change it, you can no longer call it fate, can you?" argued the outsider.
"If you believe that fate is a series of events that are going to happen in your life based on your decisions, than fate is nothing more than your state of mind that determines how you are going to act in those future situations. In a sense, you've already made your future decisions based on your current beliefs, opinions and world view. You may now think that you can decide on what path your life will take, but in the end, you will take only THAT one path, which you had chosen now or perhaps even long ago. But fate does not consist of our individual beliefs and decisions alone. It is a complex equation with many variables: random natural occurrences, supernatural occurrences and the fates of other beings that are all entwined together in one gigantic mass of strings. Sometimes, when I see two people standing close to each other, I can see some of their fate lines bound together. I can see that with members of one family, colleagues at work, childhood friends, lovers, enemies and even complete strangers… However, even my sight is limited, and I cannot see all the strings' patterns too far in the future."
"You still didn't answer my question." Kyouichi pointed out.
"You are indeed a perceptive one…" giggled the mistress of the mansion amusedly. "I can change people's fate and alter their lives, but only as long as they are not aware of the future that awaits them… If I told you that you'll be struck by a lightning tomorrow and die, naturally, you'd try to oppose that fate and stay inside your house for the whole day. Thus, you'd break and change your fate. Such are the limitations of my power…"
"So… were you manipulating my fate strings just now?"
"Yes and no…" replied Remilia unclearly. "I didn't touch any of your fate strings directly, but I'm speaking to you right now… That alone is altering your fate slightly, but the full extent of that alteration I cannot yet see... However, I can see that your fate… is an interesting one."
She could see the strings forming patterns that meant both great sadness and great happiness in the life of the human before her. However, she did not tell him anything more.
"O-kay… If you say so. But I guess you haven't invited me here to tell me my fortune, have you, Remilia-sama?"
"You're right. That is indeed not the reason why I summoned you here." nodded the noble vampire. "Don't worry, I'm not going to drink your blood…" she jestingly added, showing both of her fangs over her sweet, but mischievous smile.
Kyouichi was somewhat relieved to hear that, but still feeling the tension hanging in the air.
"I wanted to talk about the same matter as Patchouli did…"
"Yukari?"
"That's right." said Remilia. "Patchouli might have told you a way to find her, but I don't think she told you the exact reason."
"She said she wanted to talk to her and ask her why she spirited away so many people at once." Kyouichi informed her. "And she also said something about some issues concerning the whole Gensokyo, but I guess she meant that thing with the outsiders…"
"There is another reason." explained the vampire. She paused herself as if she was looking around for something and called her maid: "Sakuyaaaa~!"
Instantaneously, the silver-haired maid appeared out of nowhere, her hands folded one over the other. "Yes, mistress?"
"Tell Patchouli to come here, please." she ordered her with a nonchalant tone.
Two popping sounds echoed and Patchouli was standing next to Sakuya, holding the maid's hand.
"What is it, Remi?" asked the surprised sorceress.
"I believe this outsider should be told the whole truth about our reason why we want to find Yukari Yakumo." said Remilia to her. "There has been something else going on in Gensokyo… Something that started even before the mass spiriting away."
Kyouichi curiously leaned forward to be able to hear her even better.
"At first, it was nothing serious." she continued. "Just a bunch of crazed fairies attacking the mansion… Meiling took care of them without much trouble. However, more recently, the attacks of the fairies seemed to have intensified. This is apparently a very unusual behavior for otherwise peaceful creatures. I'm no expert on this matter, but Patchouli here knows much more about that stuff than I do… Please, Patchouli, explain it to us once more."
Patchouli nodded affirmatively. "Yes, Remi, just a minute…"
She raised her hand with a stretched out index finger above her head and flung the arm forward. In a bright red flash of light a shining circle with a pentagram appeared on the floor. A second later, thick white smoke rose from the centre of the circle and once it lifted, another, to Kyouichi yet unfamiliar person, stood in its middle. Again, the person was or at least appeared as a young female, dressed in a simple black dress with white sleeves. For a second, the outsider thought that she was the youkai who attacked him two weeks ago, but the only similarity between her and this new person were the clothes. The girl, who was apparently summoned by Patchouli, was a little taller than the sorceress herself. She had long red hair, eyes and a pair of black batlike wings coming from her back and a much smaller pair from the sides of her head. At first glance, she looked like another vampire, but was she really? She was looking at Patchouli with a docile and curious look. "Patchouli-sama?" she asked her summoner as if expecting her order.
"Koakuma…" Patchouli addressed the girl. "Please bring me the books about fairies that I asked you to bring me before… Do you still remember?"
"Yes, Patchouli-sama." bowed the winged girl and took off into the air, flying somewhere away from the center of the library. In a minute, she was flying back with three books in her hands, passing them to Patchouli once she landed.
Kyouichi curiously looked at the girl and as Patchouli turned her face to him, he asked: "Ehh… Patchouli-sama? Aren't you going to introduce us to each other?"
"Huh? Oh… but of course…" she nodded and gestured to her summoned helper. "Kyouichi-san, this is Koakuma, my library assistant. Koakuma, this is Kyouichi-san, our guest."
"Pleased to meet you." said both Kyouichi and Koakuma at the same time.
"As her name suggests," continued Patchouli explaining while turning the pages in one of the books. "Koakuma is a little devil… The devils are a quite powerful race of youkai living in Gensokyo, but their home is in Makai. Koa-chan, however, is one of the weaker ones. She's a great help to have in such a big library. She has an excellent overview about the books in this library and can find me whatever book I'm looking for in just a moment… Provided that the requested book is still in the library…" she then pretended to cough and uttered "Marisa" in-between her fake coughing.
Finally, the purple-haired sorceress found the desired chapter in the book and put it on the table.
"As Remilia already mentioned, there have already been several fairy attacks on the mansion. All happened at night and all from the same direction, each attack more intense than the last. At first, I thought that something must have startled them so much that they attacked everything in their path as they fled, however, as the attacks repeated themselves, I dismissed that theory."
"I was attacked by a bunch of fairies on the evening when I was spirited away… if it has any connection…" said Kyouichi on a side note. "But I think I just startled them when I entered their territory."
Patchouli turned to him and raised her eyebrows. "Really? There might be a connection… Where were you attacked?"
"I don't know… some tall hill in the Forest of Magic…"
"Hmm… Could be that you just disturbed them, but it could also mean that they were crazed. I'd have to be there to confirm that. The book says that the fairies hide when an intruder enters their territory. Anyway, not long after the fairy attacks on the mansion, several of our fairy maids began acting strangely and aggressively even towards their own kind. Only after eliminating them and their subsequent rebirth, they returned back to normal with no memories of what happened during their madness."
Kyouichi hummed thoughtfully and commented: "Okay, so we've got one missing border youkai, a large group of spirited away outsiders and a bunch of crazy fairies going berserk. Is that the matter you wanted to discuss with Yukari or do you blame her for this phenomenon as well?"
Remilia again entered the discussion. "Yes, that is what we wanted to discuss with Yukari. Something is definitely driving the fairies insane and it isn't the moon. And not all the fairies are affected. All the attacks came from the east which makes me think that someone is sending those fairies at us. I've sent Sakuya to investigate several times, but she didn't manage to find anything."
"From the east?" asked the outsider. "What lies to the east?"
Patchouli started naming: "Fields, meadows, foothills, mountains, forests and the old mining village of Kazemura."
Suddenly, an idea struck Kyouichi in the head. "Kazemura… I've heard rumors about some archeological discovery… They say they've found some ancient ruins in the quarry about two months ago."
Remilia's lips parted as her eyes gazed into the unknown. "Two months ago… Didn't the first fairy attack happen over two months ago?"
"I believe it did." confirmed Patchouli and drummed on the table with her fingertips.
"But, I've been to Kazemura several times, my lady." said Sakuya suddenly. "There was nothing unusual about those ruins except that they looked pretty old."
"But you've only gone to investigate in daytime." pointed out her mistress. "Our culprit or culprits act exclusively in nighttime."
"Well, should I go and investigate again tonight?" asked the maid.
"No, Sakuya." said Remilia, dismissively waving her hand. "Whoever keeps doing this must have already noticed you snooping around and is probably keeping a low profile. If you showed yourself in Kazemura again, the culprit won't do anything suspicious. If he or she is indeed from the village…"
She then raised her head and looked at Kyouichi with that mischievous smile of hers and nodded to herself. "But, you, Kyouichi-san… You're an outsider. They barely know your face even in the Human Village. That's a huge advantage for you… Furthermore, you don't draw so much attention as me or Sakuya would. I have a proposition for you, Kyouichi…"
The outsider smiled understandingly and nodded. "I see where you're getting at, Remilia-sama… Well, good news for you then. I'm planning to visit Kazemura by the end of this month. I'll be sure to take a good look around and then I'll send you a report with my findings."
Remilia's smile broadened. She looked very cute right now. "This may be a good start to a nice friendship, Kyouichi-san… Although I thought you'd go there sooner, I guess I can't rush you as an outsider who has to depend on protection of others. Very well, Kyouichi, make sure you investigate the village and the ruins properly and thoroughly and report back whatever you find out. But don't start asking everyone too openly, or they might become suspicious of you. It would be best if you stayed there overnight. If you notice anything suspicious, don't do anything. Just inform me. If our culprit is in the village, we'll take care of them. If not, well, at least we'll have our search narrowed. Either way, I'll be willing to pay you quite nicely if you give me that report. But don't try any tricks. Patchouli knows a spell that can instantly tell if your written report will be true or a lie. I would not recommend you betraying our agreement…" she added with an intimidatingly calm voice.
Kyouichi's heart started beating a little faster, but the outsider was not afraid. He never intended to deceive Remilia with a fake report.
"But what about Patchouli-sama's request with the amulet and the youkai living underground?"
"Oh, yes…" recalled Patchouli and handed out a shiny bimetallic medallion-like amulet to Kyouichi. "Of course, I don't expect you to go the underground. Let Reimu and Marisa handle that. If they succeed and find out where Yukari is, you'll be as good as home in no time."
"Very well, then." said the outsider and stood up from the armchair. "I'll go and see Reimu and inform her about your idea, Patchouli-sama. And I'll check out Kazemura in 10 days for you, Remilia-sama. I better get going right away…"
"Good luck to you, Kyouichi." said Remilia as she also got off the chair. "You'll need it…" she added with a smirk.
They bid each other farewell and Remilia tasked Sakuya to see Kyouichi off. She led him back all the way to the main foyer and opened the door for him.
A while after he left, Patchouli checked again some general facts about fairies and their behavior in the book on the table.
"Say, Remi…" she addressed her old friend.
"Hm?"
"Why did you lie to him about that truth detecting spell that I'm supposedly capable of…?"
"Just to give him a good motivation to try hard while looking for clues, that's all." answered Remilia with an innocent smile.