Chapter 57 – If Only We Could Fly
One month has passed, and the Human Village was now fortified like it once used to be before the Great Hakurei Border was put up. But life within its walls continued in the same way as it always has. While not too thick or tall, the walls were now giving some of the villagers a feeling of increased safety, and on the other hand, to some they represented a restriction of freedom. The outsiders never asked at the village hall about the reason for their construction, but from what they could observe, it seemed that the Ryuuken have been using the fortifications and the gates to keep a better control over trade with other villages, for the purpose of tax collection and to prevent or at least, to hamper smuggling attempts. For any outside merchants that wanted to sell their goods in Human Village, there was now an entry toll in effect. Naturally, the guards were now checking everyone entering or leaving the village, but rumors were that they were not very serious and diligent about it. Soudai and Kyouichi went through those gates every day on their way to the farms and back. The first few times they had to show their official contract with their employer's signature to the guards to pass, but soon even their faces became known among the Ryuuken, and now all it took them to enter and leave was to show them their ID cards.
However, not all outsiders could benefit from that convenience. If someone had no business outside the village, the militia would simply send them back. Arguments about having basic human rights were of no help when talking to them. But there were always a few individuals who kept passing through as they pleased. Those who had their homes outside of the village were not halted when leaving, but most of them preferred to simply fly over the walls and avoid the annoying guards altogether. As the outsiders could see, the fortifications were not perfect.
Still, they now posed a certain problem to their future plans of leaving Gensokyo. For this reason, the Transfer Students' Club had to have another meeting in the school's library to discuss the issue and find a solution.
"The Ryuuken are now checking the content of every trade wagon entering or leaving the village." Yuujin Ueda, a man who now worked as a caravan runner explained the situation to the rest of the club members. "Even if we were to put you into empty sacks and try to smuggle you through the gates, they'd find out."
"The walls are barely three meters tall." the vice-president, Midori Iwakami stood up and walked up to the chalkboard. She took a piece of chalk and drew an irregular oval shape. "This is our village." she made a dot in the middle of the oval shape. "And these are the walls." she pointed at the chalk line.
"Artistic." Soudai Asakura made fun of her drawing. "Almost unrecognizable from the real thing."
But it seemed that Midori wasn't in a mood for jokes today. "Have you been addressed, Asakura-san?"
"Why is she so formal all of a sudden?"
Midori waited for the chuckling of other club members to die down and then resumed her explanation. "As I was saying; these are the walls, right?" she sketched a few lines across certain points of the fortifications. "And here are the three gates. As you can see, the eastern section of the village does not have a gate, which means it is also the least guarded area. If we are to leave the village without detection, we should do it there."
"But how are we going to climb over?" Sayuri Hayashi, the ever laid-back office lady raised her hand.
"With a ladder of course." the vice-president replied.
"And I suppose there will be another ladder waiting for us on the other side of the wall so we could get down without risking any fractures."
"Ehh… no, Hayashi-san, there won't be another ladder. The walls aren't tall enough to be too dangerous to jump down from."
"Well, for you maybe not, young lady, but…"
"Hmm… Then how about you two?" Midori got an idea, and for some reason she was now gazing at Soudai and Kyouichi.
"Hm? What about us?"
"You two work on the farms, don't you?"
"Yes, we do, as does Daniel over there and Yuujin drives the caravan wagon." Kyouichi summed up. "All of us have permission to leave and enter the village. Now that I think about it… why don't all of you get a job that would give you the same benefits?"
"And the Ryuuken won't suspect anything when a dozen of outsiders suddenly declare that they want to work on the fields." Midori retorted sarcastically. "Really, Kyouichi... Think a little before you say some nonsense again."
"Okay, okay. It was just a thought."
"My idea," she continued explaining, "was to ask some of you to check out the situation from outside the village to see if there aren't any patrols around the eastern wall. And if there aren't, you could stack up some hay on a pile that we could use as a cushion when jumping down."
"Oh… That's quite… simple, yet it sounds like it might work." Kyouichi nodded in acknowledgement."
"But Midori." this time, it was Soudai, who had his hand in the air. "I have to object."
"What? Are you allergic to hay or something?" she asked in jest.
"No, Ishimaru is." Soudai replied seriously. "But that's not the issue here."
"Really? I didn't know."
"Midori, you no longer live in the barracks as most of us, so you probably haven't heard some rumors I have when the guards were talking about the walls."
"Oh really? Such as?"
"Well, it wasn't about the walls directly, but I overheard some of the higher ranked officers talking about some device that they're using to detect movement of youkai and villagers that they call the Dragon's Eye. They must have it somewhere in the command center where civilians like us have no access to. And maybe there's even more of them. We may already be monitored by them as we speak."
Although doubtful, Soudai's rumor has still caused quite a stir among the outsiders, whose chattering filled up the cramped library.
"Are you sure you heard them well?" Midori raised her eyebrow questioningly.
"As clear as you. And they even mentioned a familiar name. Kirisame. That's that blonde witch girl, right? Reimu-san's friend. She must have been the one who made it for them."
Kyouichi opened his mouth, but words got stuck in his throat as he was piecing together a few details that he heard.
"Wait a second…" he suddenly pulled out his magic detector and placed it on a desk. "Soudai… Marisa isn't the only Kirisame in Gensokyo. Her father has a shop here."
"Her dad?"
"Yeah. I don't know his first name, but he invented this thing right here."
"A magic detector?"
"Exactly. He even revealed that he originally invented this detection technology for the militia and after he successfully sold a whole batch of those detectors, he figured he could start making smaller, short-range detectors for civilians too. Like this one on the desk."
"So you believe that the Dragon's Eye is actually just a big magic detector?"
"Well, based on what you said, and what I heard from Kirisame-san, I suspect it is. Which is good."
"Good? How?" Soudai scratched his head.
"Why, just take a look at my little magic detector right now."
The club members sitting near him leaned over and observed the lens. "I don't see anything."
"Me neither."
"Ah, there's a white dot near the edge just now."
"And another one…"
The white dots that appeared passed right through the middle of the lens and disappeared at the opposite edge.
"What was that? Ghosts?" Soudai who had a slight idea about the device's purpose asked a rather silly question.
"No. Probably just students on the floor below."
"Ah, I see… But… what about us? I don't see us on that detector."
"Exactly." Kyouichi smiled and crossed his arms. "We are outsiders. There's not a speck of magic about us. So if this Dragon's Eye thing is indeed Kirisame-san's invention akin to this one, we should be invisible to them."
"That's one moment I'm actually grateful for not having any magic." Soudai nodded to himself.
"Then I agree with Midori's plan." Kyouichi straightened up and pocketed the magic detector. "Even with my allergy, I think we should be able to pile up some hay on the outer side of the wall. As for the rest of you, your homework will be to casually stroll around the eastern part of the village and closely observe the patrol routes of the Ryuuken. We should not risk anything unless we are sure about our success. In the meantime, all of us should also come up with alternate solutions in case Midori's plan would have some critical flaw."
Even as he said that, Kyouichi already had one more idea on his mind, but it was a risky one. He wasn't even sure if it was worth mentioning, so he didn't even bring it up during the meeting.
"That is all, friends. Dismissed."
As the outsiders were leaving the library, Midori threw an inquisitive glance at the club's president. "Aren't you even going to ask me if you can copy my homework?"
"Hm? Did we have any?"
The girl buried her face into her palm. "You are so hopeless…"
"Huh? What did you say, Midorin?" Soudai caught up to them. "Homework? Surely you'll be kind enough to let us copy it, right~?"
With a sigh of reluctance and disgust from her friends' carelessness about their education, she continued treading down the hallway without words. Another class was about to begin soon…
It was almost alarming how Kyouichi's marks went downhill since his earliest days on the Kamishirasawa Academy. He lost his focus and interest in Gensokyo's locations, youkai and its history. His answer to Midori's questions about it was always along the lines of: "Like I'll need to know any of that when I'll be home in less than two months…" Even the teacher, Keine Kamishirasawa has reprimanded him several times, but Kyouichi didn't take her words to heart. He no longer cared if he'd pass the next exam or not. Or whether he got punished for his neglect of homework. All that mattered to him now was to somehow wait through the next 45 days – the time remaining until the 1st of Kannazuki.
The outsiders already had all the necessary supplies stored in the safety of the Hakurei Shrine. Now all that they needed to work for was their own comfort. According to Midori's plan, Kyouichi and Soudai had sacrificed their time of lunch break and loaded their hand cart with a stack full of dry hay. As expected, Kyouichi's allergic reaction didn't take long to show up, but even with teary eyes and forced into sneezing every minute, he helped his friend drag the cart all the way to the outer section of the eastern walls. But as soon as they turned around the corner, they both stopped dead in their tracks.
"And what the hell is this?" Kyouichi let go of the cart's handle and wiped his eyes to observe the image before him.
"Looks like the Ryuuken have their favorite lunch spot here." Soudai stated bluntly.
"I can see that. But why here of all places?"
Upon closer look, Soudai figured that eating lunch wasn't the only thing that the group of militia guards preferred to do at this place. The less dutiful of the Ryuuken were enjoying full cups of sake, while others were gambling with each other for their money or small belongings. Out of sight of their superiors, it seemed that these men were not restricted by their conscience which would prevent them from ignoring their duty and forming their little outdoor tavern. Nevertheless, the outsiders quickly realized that getting over the walls without detection was going to be much harder than they thought.
"Man! That was a total waste of time!" Soudai angrily kicked the wheel of the cart, making the hay stack wobble lightly from the impact. "And I didn't even get to eat my lunch."
"We'll just have to think of another way."
"Another way, you say… But what another way? Should we report those slackers to their superiors?"
"If we did that, then the Ryuuken would probably send regular patrols to check the area to make sure none of their men are getting drunk over there. That wouldn't solve our problem. But I've had another idea on my mind. Do you still remember Lt. Takamori from our stay in Eientei?"
"Uhh… yeah… what about him?"
"If he's by any chance assigned to one of the gates, he could… I don't know… maybe he'd let us pass even without permission."
"And if not? Is it really worth the risk of spilling our beans to one of them?"
"I don't know, but we're running out of options here. We should try whatever we can."
"How about we asked Reimu-san?"
"Reimu? And what will she do? Fly us over the walls one by one?" Kyouichi asked a joke question.
"Well maybe not her, but that little oni had no problems with hopping over the Hakurei Shrine with you during the festival." Soudai reminded him the event during Tanabata.
"Fine… We'll go to the shrine on our next delivery run, but if Reimu won't give us any helpful suggestions, then we're going to try talking to Lt. Takamori."
"Alright." Soudai shrugged, which was more or less a gesture of agreement. "But hey… Maybe Midori or someone will think of some other plans how to sneak out of the village."
"Maybe they will." the long-haired young man threw a quick glace back towards the village gates. "We shouldn't underestimate them."
Walking back towards the fields where they spent most of their work shift, the two outsiders stopped for a while at Fumiaki Kinjo's cabin. It was a rather sad sight now that its reconstruction was left half-finished. Neither Naota, nor his former apprentices showed up ever since the fortifications were built. Kyouichi and Soudai believed that this was also due to the fact that Naota had no real business outside the village, so the Ryuuken wouldn't let him leave. It is true that he bought off the cabin, but it was Kyouichi's name that was written on the ownership documents.
"It's a shame we won't get to rebuild it as we planned."
"Well, you know what they say, Kyouichi. If you want something done right…"
"You have to do it yourself." he finished the rest of the proverb. "Do you really think I alone can do anything about it?"
"Well, perhaps not you alone, but the two of us, with guidance from Naota-san… I think we can at least make it habitable. Look, all the building materials are still here. Piece by piece, I think we should be able to finish the rest of this work."
Soudai's words were brimming with confidence, even though he had no experience in construction work himself. And despite his younger friend's skepticism, he managed to convince him that the two of them had what it takes to finish the roof by themselves.
"Maybe we should ask Hijiri-san how she re-fitted the Palanquin Ship to a temple in a day." Kyouichi jested as he and Soudai were walking past the Temple of Myouren.
As the summer was in its prime stage, the workers on the fields were making preparations for harvest. These duties didn't leave out even the two young men from the outside world. During the recent days they were busy more than ever, and their physical strength was being put to test every day. But even with the tiresome and often dirty work, the mood on the farms was always cheerful. The farmers were often throwing parties and inviting everyone over for a few mugs of beer or even to dinner. The parties were often accompanied by mirthful singing and dancing or even some folk drama performances. It was a much simpler lifestyle than in the big city, but certainly not boring. It were simple joys such as these small parties that were motivating most of the farm workers to work hard another day, so they could enjoy their reward later in the evening. Recently, however, there was a big fuss on the farms due to preparations for something much grander then the typical Friday evening drinking party.
After a bit of asking around, the outsiders learned that there was going to be a festival to thank the harvest gods for the bountiful harvest. Supposedly there was a great feast that attracted a lot of villagers to leave the village and celebrate with the farmers. Rumors had it that even the Ryuuken at the gates might actually permit everyone to attend this feast without halting them.
At first it seemed like a perfect opportunity for the outsiders to sneak out of the village, but where would they stay until the first of Kannazuki? Besides, their sudden disappearance would likely alarm the village officials to initiate a search for them, which was the last thing the outsiders needed.
When Kyouichi and Soudai were tasked with another delivery run, they planned to visit Reimu. They didn't waste any time on the farms. Once their cart was loaded with goods, they headed off towards Kourindou. They didn't want to stay there too long ever since they learned what the half-youkai shopkeeper stored in his little shop, but a sudden downpour made them prolong their stay.
"You haven't got rid of those explosives by any chance, have you, Rinnosuke-san?" Kyouichi asked him nervously.
"Well, no." the bespectacled man shook his head negatively. "Nobody seems to be interested in buying it. So I figured that in order to sell it, I needed to prove that it really works for the purpose it was made for. The clay itself is harmless. You can even put it in a fire and nothing will happen. Just as you said, you need to use the detonator device in order to awaken the fire kami resting within the clay."
"Don't tell me you already tested it."
"Hehe, what did you blow up, Rinnosuke-san?" Soudai was now more curious than scared.
"I didn't really test it yet, though I must admit, the temptation was great. However, what I did learn is that the detonator needed its battery replaced in order to work. However, none of the batteries I have in stock were compatible with it. So I made a few slight adjustments to the device, so that it could use the standard 9 volt batteries and this is the result."
He reached under the counter and pulled out a jury-rigged detonator with a few lose cables coiling around its frame, connected to a battery holder.
"I admit it isn't the most elegant design, but at least I made it work." He then turned on the mini switch on the side of the detonator and the red trigger button started glowing.
"For God's sake, turn it off! Do you want to kill us?!" Kyouichi yelled out in panic.
Even Soudai quickly lost his relatively calm composure at the sight of the ominously glowing red button.
"If you don't turn it off this instant, then we'll never come to your shop again!"
With a stoic expression on his face, Rinnosuke shrugged and switched the detonator off. "Your disinterest is obvious, but as a salesman I can tell you that it's hard to sell goods that haven't been tested."
"Like I said, don't try to sell it! Just get rid of it… in a non-explosive fashion."
"Selling it IS a non-explosive way of getting rid of it." the half-youkai replied teasingly.
"I swear, if it wasn't for this sudden rain, I'd be out of this shop half an hour ago." Soudai muttered as he took a wishful glance through the window.
"I could offer you a raincoat or a variety of umbrellas if you like."
Soudai raised his eyebrow at him with suspicion. For a half a minute the two of them just silently stared at each other. Then the outsider finally made his decision. He noticed an umbrella stand just by the counter. He walked up to it, took the first umbrella that he reached for and put 2000 yen on Rinnosuke's counter, not even caring about getting his change.
Rinnosuke counted the money and before he realized that something was not quite right, Soudai was already standing at the shop's exit.
"Come on, Kyou! I don't want to be here when this place becomes a big smoking crater."
The white-haired shopkeeper peeked over his counter into the umbrella stand and figured out that the umbrella that Soudai took was not a regular one.
"Hold on, mister! That umbrella! Please put it back and pick a different one. Slowly…"
"Hm? What's the problem? I paid for it. Probably more than it's really worth. I'm not staying in this arsenal any longer. We're leaving."
"No, wait! You don't understand!" Rinnosuke called after him, but Kyouichi was already opening the door and Soudai was already on his way out.
"Good bye, Rinnosuke-san!" Soudai said his parting words, raised his newly bought umbrella and pushed its button to spread it open.
But instead of spreading up, a horrendous bang not dissimilar to a gunshot thundered from the umbrella's tip. Both outsiders froze in terror. The raindrops falling on their heads made them slowly raise their glances upwards. They found a large gaping hole in Kourindou's roof and a thin pillar of smoke rising from the tip of Soudai's umbrella.
With his mouth agape, Rinnosuke thoughtfully rubbed his chin. He was too late to stop the damage from happening, but at least nobody was injured.
"Well…" he spoke up after a pause. "That's another leak in the roof for me to fix."
The umbrella suddenly made a mechanical clicking sound comparable to the reloading mechanism of a pump-action shotgun and a single 12 gauge shell case fell out from the side of its handle.
With trembling hands and face pale with fear, Soudai slowly put the shotgun umbrella on the floor, making sure the tip wasn't pointing at anyone and then took a few big steps back away from it.
"I… I'm not even going to ask…"
"I'm sorry; I forgot to put that dangerous piece on a safer place." Rinnosuke made a belated apology.
Rain or shine, Soudai couldn't stay in Kourindou another second. The departure of the two outsiders was very similar to the one from one month ago when Rinnosuke revealed his stash of plastic explosives. This time, however, the weather was less inviting.
"What about your money~?" Rinnosuke called after them, since Soudai did pay for the umbrella, but left the store empty-handed. Seeing that the two humans were not tracing their steps back, Rinnosuke shrugged and put the money in his pocket. "I guess that's what Reimu-san would call a donation…"
He didn't have many reasons to enjoy it, as it was more like Soudai's compensation for accidentally blasting a hole in Kourindou's roof.
A couple of hours later when the outsiders finally made it all the way to the Hakurei Shrine, they found Reimu hanging out in front of the shrine with Marisa and someone they haven't seen before. Based on her clothes, which were very similar to Reimu's with the exception of color, they deduced the green-haired girl to be another shrine maiden.
"Good afternoon, everyone." Kyouichi greeted them tentatively. He felt as though as he arrived at the wrong moment, because all three girls who were having a lively conversation just a moment ago were now oddly silent. "Sorry to barge in uninvited."
"Who are these two?" the guest shrine maiden asked and alternated glances between Reimu and Marisa.
"Tourists." Marisa gave a short and slightly humorous reply.
The other shrine maiden nodded understandingly and turned to Reimu. "See, Reimu? Your shrine does get some visitors after all."
The "tourists" properly introduced themselves to the green-haired miko, and she in turn introduced herself to them.
"Kochiya Sanae. Wind priestess of the Moriya Shrine. Pleased to meet you."
"Ah, so you are Sanae-san! We heard a bit about you, right, Soudai?"
"Something about her shrine being attacked by fairies…" the older outsider vaguely recalled an article from the newspaper.
"Ah, that was over a month ago. Just the day before that big battle in Kazemura." she gave a confirming nod. "But it was nothing serious. And ever since the village is guarded by tengu and since our spirit ward is in place we haven't been troubled by any fairies or vengeful spirits anymore."
"That doesn't mean the end of the incident." Reimu reminded her. "And there is still one certain vengeful spirit that poses a certain degree of trouble for me…"
"True, but at least now we don't have to worry about that village so much."
"By the way, Sanae-san?" Kyouichi remembered one bit of information he heard about the wind priestess from someone, so he wanted to confirm it.
"Yes?"
"Are you an outsider too?"
"Why yes~. I am. This is my third year of living in Gensokyo." She replied with a smile, but then she suddenly opened her mouth as if she just realized something. "Wait… You said "too", so the two of you are…"
"That's right. Just like Marisa said." Soudai played along with the witch's joke.
"Tourists, huh?" it wasn't clear whether she took the joke seriously or not. "So judging by that I assume you won't be staying here."
"No, that we won't. I don't know what made you move here or stay here, but we and a few other people are already firmly determined to return home."
"What made me move here? That's a bit longer story." said Sanae.
"And I'd like to hear it once, but unfortunately, we're in the middle of our shift, so we should cut to the chase."
"Oh great. Now they're going to ask me another favor…" Reimu predicted the situation with an annoyed tone in her voice.
"Point for you, Reimu-san." Soudai nodded in confirmation.
The black-haired miko breathed a sigh. "I prefer money over points."
"We'll pay." Soudai added quickly.
Instantly, Reimu straightened up from her comfortable sitting position and sharpened her senses. "I'm listening."
"It's a wonder you haven't sold your soul to the Devil yet, ze." a satiric remark on Reimu's address escaped Marisa's lips.
"The walls, Reimu… Those walls…" Kyouichi made the explanation extremely terse.
The shrine maiden made a hissing sound as she inhaled through her mouth. "They're a problem, aren't they?"
"We non-natives have a problem with them, alright."
"But you made it to the shrine just fine." Marisa pointed out.
"Because going out of the village is a part of our job. Look, we just wanted to ask you how you would deal with this situation if you were in our position."
Reimu didn't really take long to come up with an ingenious solution. "I'd fly over it."
"By "in our position" I also meant having no superpowers."
"Superpowers? They're pretty standard shrine maiden talents handed down the generations of the Hakurei clan."
"And do I look like a shr… uhh… actually, never mind." Kyouichi silenced himself before he'd remind everyone of his embarrassing experience that he wanted to be forgotten. "Anyway, I've already seen a whole platoon of shrine maidens in the outside world and I doubt any of them could fly or shoot homing orbs of divine energy."
"Not to mention eating tons of sweets and never getting fat." Sanae mentioned another one of Reimu's interesting abilities. From the look in her eyes, one could even assume that she was a little envious of that.
"Yeah, Reimu is so slim because it makes it easier for her to dodge danmaku that way." Marisa explained while trying to grab Reimu by the waist. Giggling from the ticklish sensation, the shrine maiden was attempting to resist Marisa's grapple.
"Yahahaha! That tickles! Cut it out, Marisa!"
When the girls calmed down a bit, Reimu remembered that she still hasn't answered Kyouichi's question, so she gave it a bit of thought and came up with an even more brilliant solution.
"Well, if I couldn't fly over the walls, and the guards wouldn't let me through the gates, I'd just beat them up with danmaku."
"Gee, why haven't we thought of that in the first place?" Kyouichi asked his comrade sarcastically.
"I'd really like to see you wipe the floor with some of the Ryuuken that we live with in the barracks." Soudai admitted. "Some of them are really getting on my nerves. But actually, I've been thinking that flying over the walls might not be such a bad idea."
The blonde magician raised her eyebrow at him. "You can fly?"
The two males replied with grimaced smiles, which could convey their question "Are you serious?" even without saying any words.
"I guess that if they could, they wouldn't be asking us for help." Sanae tried to keep the conversation on a serious level.
"So how many of you would need a lift?" Marisa stopped joking around and asked seriously this time.
"Thirteen. If nobody changes their mind before the 1st of Kannazuki."
Marisa hummed in deep thought. "My broom can take two passengers at max. So I'd have to make seven trips to the village and to the shrine."
"Like a taxi driver." Sanae giggled at the thought.
"That's too much of a hassle, ze…"
"Then how about creating a distraction or something?" Reimu suggested another idea. "Like smoke or something. Then someone will just shout: "Help! Fire, fire!" and the guards at the gates will have to abandon their posts to check it out."
"Sorry, Reimu, but that idea is just wrong on several levels." Sanae disapprovingly shook her head.
"Well, they why don't you suggest something? Although it would probably be just like that idea with your weird cold fusion experiment…" Reimu jabbed back at the other shrine maiden.
Kyouichi and Soudai tilted their heads to express their surprise and curiosity. "Did you just say cold fusion experiment?"
"That's right~!" Sanae excitedly confirmed. "We made an experiment here a few days ago. A lot of youkai and people from the village came to see. You haven't been here?"
"Not really. So what exactly did you do for your experiment?"
"We tested the possibility of cold fusion by applying electricity to a rod made out of palladium alloy dipped into a tub of water. And it was a success! Right~?"
"It made the water boil." Reimu muttered unamusedly. "Amazing… for heating up tea and powering hot springs."
The outsiders were still in great puzzlement. "What does a shrine maiden's job have to do with performing cold fusion experiments? And where the heck did you get electricity and a palladium rod from?"
"The alloy was provided by Reimu, who made a request from Kanayamabiko no Mikoto, the god of metals. The rod was made in just one night."
"Whoa! Reimu can do such things too?" Kyouichi was quite impressed by her. "Say, Reimu, do you happen to know any gods of… I don't know… instant travel from Gensokyo to Tokyo?"
"I don't."
"Then at least some gods of passing undetected through the Human Village's gates?" Soudai made a more modest, but still ridiculous request.
"There is no such a god, you know."
"What a pity… So anyway, where did you get electricity from?"
"That was applied by Kanako-sama." answered Sanae. "The goddess of the Moriya Shrine."
"I see. But why would a shrine maiden be conducting an experiment straight out of a sci-fi movie?"
Before Sanae could answer, Marisa beat her to it. "Why else? For gathering faith for her shrine, of course."
"That's not the main reason." the green-haired girl mustered a pout. "It was because I realized that the underground nuclear reactor in Old Hell is imperfect as long as it relies on the power of a yatagarasu. Its cost is too high. We chose this shrine for the public experiment because our shrine is quite hard to reach and we wouldn't get as much publicity as here."
"Yatagarasu?" Kyouichi repeated after her. "Does it have anything to do with Satori-sama's certain pet?"
"The very one. It was actually Kanako-sama's doing that the otherwise ordinary, although exceptionally airheaded hell raven now possesses the powers of a sun god. You see, Kanako-sama is a goddess who supports technological progress. Although it was that very same progress that has resulted in the decrease of faith in gods in the outside world. And since in Gensokyo, things that have become illusions in the outside world could be used, the Old Hell's reactor is imperfect."
"I never even knew there was such a thing in Gensokyo." Soudai couldn't hide his amazement. "So what is it powering?"
"The hot springs." Reimu snuck in a reply before Sanae.
"How many times do I have to tell you it has nothing to do with the hot springs?! It powers the industry of the kappa. But it could be used for so much more…"
"Still… one thing doesn't quite add up." Kyouichi thoughtfully bit his lower lip.
"Is there something confusing about what I just said?"
"If the outside world's illusions such as youkai, ghosts, and… I don't know… UFO's are becoming real here in Gensokyo, then wouldn't that make the reactor you just mentioned actually perfect?"
"How so?" this time it was Sanae who blinked in confusion.
"Due to the fact that perfect things don't exist in the outside world. They are an illusion of an ideal product or result, or a person… Wouldn't that reactor be also one such an illusion of a perfect energy source?"
"Well, not exactly." the wind priestess corrected him. "While it's true that there is no such thing as perfection in the outside world, the things that happen to become reality in Gensokyo are more often than not things that were once real in the outside world and became obsolete, forgotten, disused, no longer needed…"
"Are you saying that we are no longer needed in our world?" Soudai looked a little offended by the idea. "What a cruel thing to say. I thought at least my family would care."
"Wait a second." Marisa interrupted his laments. "There are more ways to get to Gensokyo. Just because you're here doesn't necessarily mean that you've been forgotten by everyone."
Looking a bit relieved, Soudai exhaled his worries and let Sanae carry on with her speech.
"So where was I?" the green-haired miko lost track of what she was talking about due to derailment of topic.
"Sitting on my porch." Reimu muttered quietly.
"Oh yeah, cold fusion! So in order to utilize the reactor's true potential, it would need to become self-sustaining energy source. And to achieve that, it would need to become a nuclear fusion reactor powered by Hell's geothermal energy. But the main problem with the reactor is not its reliance on the powers of a yatagarasu, but its inaccessibility. It lies deep in the underground protected by multiple barriers. Not to mention the underground is inhabited by some of the most fearsome youkai the world has ever known."
"But Satori-sama is actually very cute." Kyouichi argued, but the girls pretended they hadn't heard anything.
"For that reason," Sanae continued without getting sidetracked, "it's become necessary to search for a new source of energy. And that source lies in cold fusion. In theory, it would allow nuclear fusion at lower temperatures and pressures that the currently existing fusion technologies require. Although, as you already said, it's something that you'd only find mentioned in science fiction. The topic of cold fusion has become a taboo within the community of physicists. Even Julian Schwinger, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics was shunned among the fellow physicists, just because he showed genuine interest in cold fusion experiments. A technology that could not be spoken of in the outside world made a perfect candidate for implementation in Gensokyo. If our experiment would turn out to be successful, it would be a first step to shutting down the inefficient Old Hell's reactor."
"And you said your experiment succeeded?"
"Just read the upcoming issue of Bunbunmaru!" the shrine maiden of the outside world smiled contently.
"It was quite disappointing, really." Reimu expressed he opinion. "They just boiled the water in the tub. That's about the only thing that this cold fusion is good for."
"And for making hotpots." Marisa added.
"It's just the first step, but a successful one nonetheless." Sanae concluded the discussion.
"Too bad I wasn't ever good at physics." Kyouichi chuckled afterwards.
"Don't worry, Kyouichi," Soudai comfortingly tapped his shoulder, "I was even worse… I don't even remember the Pythagorean Theorem anymore."
"That's a geometry relation though."
"Heh… Only proves my point."
"But Sanae isn't the only one who wanted to have the Old Hell's reactor shut down." said Marisa after a moment of thought.
"Right… that nagging hermit." Reimu seemed to know the person in question even without Marisa having to specify. "Something about the geyser in Hell's Valley being dangerous to humans."
"Hermit?" the outsiders were again clueless.
"They're talking about Ibaraki Kasen-san." Sanae cleared it up. "She lives on the mountain like me and she's got an impressive dojo."
"That's right." Marisa affirmed her statement. "I met her recently after some while at the Human Village. Then on the same day she showed up at the shrine and ever since then she started paying Reimu a visit every once in a while."
"And who invited her to come over so often?" the brunette miko threw an accusing look at her.
"But now you don't seem to mind her so much." the witch defended herself. "She knows methods that can extend human lifespan. I'd like to learn them one day. Who knows? Maybe she could even help you guys with leaving the village. She visits it every now and then. She's tall, has pinkish hair, usually wears white shirt and green skirt and has a bandaged right arm, so she's kind of hard to miss. If you'll hear someone in the village preaching others how they should live their lives, you've got a 50% chance it's her…"
Only now did the two outsiders realize that despite their attempts to waste as little time at the shrine as possible, they have in fact, wasted quite a lot of it. And they didn't even get any useful advice from the girls hanging out at the shrine.
"Ah, damn it! Kyouichi, we stayed here too long. Let's move it to the fishing colony." Soudai alarmed his colleague.
"It can't be helped." Kyouichi backed two steps away from the girls and bowed. "We really need to hurry. Thanks for your time. "See you again sometime."
As a good host, Reimu saw her guests off by accompanying them to the shrine's torii.
"If you two are really serious about paying me for helping you, then I'll try to come up with something, but it may take a while."
"As long as it doesn't take you longer than a month, we'll appreciate it… and pay you accordingly." Kyouichi promised her.
"That's more than enough time for me." Reimu smiled reassuringly.
"Before we part ways, have you tried finding Mayohiga again?" the outsider asked her one last question when he and his friend were already standing underneath the tall red sacred gateway.
"I gave it a try, but so far no luck. I just kept flying aimlessly in circles before I even realized it. If only I remembered how exactly I ended up in there that one time…"
"Well, good luck on your next attempt. I wish I could stay longer, but we are in a hurry. Until next time..."
"Bye now."
Reimu watched for a while as the two visitors walked down the stairs, grabbed their cart and set off towards Misty Lake, escorted by a pair of impatient militiamen. But at least those Ryuuken were willing to wait for them while the outsiders took care of their business at the shrine.
Reimu rejoined her two remaining visitors and perched herself on her favorite sitting spot. Marisa and Sanae were expecting her to say something, but since she remained silent, the witch had to ask.
"You're really willing to do anything as long as you get paid, aren't you?"
Everyone has their flaws, and Reimu's two biggest ones would be her greed and sloth. However, Marisa's concern wasn't stemming from her friend's hunger for money or her lack of self discipline.
"Shouldn't we be doing something towards the resolution of the vengeful spirit outbreak? Or at least keep trying to find a way to Mayohiga? Now you also want to think of a way to smuggle thirteen outsiders out of Human Village? Even if they are willing to pay you, you already have enough work to do as it is."
While Marisa was partially correct, Reimu apparently had to remind her of the priority in resolution of Gensokyo's numerous problems.
"Marisa… You and I both know that until Patchouli and her team discover the source or the mastermind behind the spirit outbreak, we really can't do anything, unless you'd like to take a pickaxe and help the yama-bito with digging. As for Mayohiga, finding it won't be as easy as I thought. Even with the hints from this… Kinjo-san's diary, "somewhere in the northeastern Gensokyo" is still very vague. I think that right now we should focus on the easiest of the incidents – sending the outsiders back to the outside world."
"They are not our most pressing concern, though." the magician polemized.
"They're not." Reimu agreed with her. "They plan to leave Gensokyo in over a month, so there's still plenty of time to deal with their problems. But…" she paused herself to emphasize the following statement, "the solution to their situation seems the easiest out of all our current problems."
"You say that after you couldn't give them any useful ideas?"
"Don't you worry, Marisa." Reimu tapped her shoulder and made a gesture at Sanae. "We will put Gensokyo back into order. One incident at a time."