Disclaimer: As usual, Dies Irae is Masada's and Touhou is Zun's. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
It was the worst day for Usami Sumireko.
She did not desire school but she would be terrorized by her parents if she skipped school too frequently. Her fever has subsided and now she would have to catch up on classes she had missed for a few days.
"Even though I'm still sleepy."
Usami fought off a yawn and walked towards school. It took ten minutes from her house to school.
As she entered a park, she saw typical sights in everyday Japan: housewives and elders strolling around the park leisurely while the salarymen sat on benches and settled their businesses before work.
(I'm not going to end up a salaryman.)
Even though it was a busy morning, the park was quiet. It could perfectly be described as a place to relax.
Usami saw an empty bench and decided to sit down. She took out a melon pan from her bag and carefully opened the plastic covering it.
The park was the best place to eat while enjoying the serene calmness of morning. It was nothing compared to Gensokyou's beauty, but it was certainly a relaxing place following the modern standard.
After finishing her melon pan, Usami gazed listlessly up at the sky.
Somehow, the sky in this world always appeared drab regardless of the season. Usami's house was only a few stations away from the park, but she felt like entering another world whenever she left her house. She felt odd, as if this was something out of place.
Even so, she appreciated this world. Even if it was a dull world, it was a world where humans thrived.
Usami then checked the time on her phone.
(Oh. If I don't go now, it's going to be troublesome!)
Usami was a student that stood out for her laziness and intellect. She did not want to attract further unnecessary attention.
A few minutes later, Usami arrived at the gate of her high school. Higashifukami High School.
It was quite near to a Family Mart convenience store thus she could see students buying some cheap bento for 500 yen from the mart before entering school.
Although Usami hated school, she thought that this school wasn't the worst compared to her middle school. She had some freedom to do things she liked, such as establishing the Secret Sealing Club.
As she entered the school gate, she hoped that no one would talk to her.
(Please don't greet me. Please don't greet me.)
Usami finally reached her classroom and quickly settled down. She felt that a few people tossed her a look. But, it was temporary as they returned to their own businesses afterwards.
Usami knew that deep in other people's hearts, she was seen as a weirdo. Not that she cared. For Usami Sumireko had other concerns to think about.
(Karl…Ernst Krafft.)
That name revealed to her by Kochiya was surprisingly a revelation to that woman.
Even so, she thought again and took out her mobile phone. Class has not started, so it was fine to check the phone for a while.
(I tried googling that name yesterday, but nothing much came out of that name.)
Usami tried to read through some articles she bookmarked in her phone.
Karl Ernst Krafft.
An astrologist, even claimed to be one of the finest in the 20th century was hired by the Nazis for propaganda purposes. He survived for a while, despite the Nazis wiping Freemasons and occultists and considered them as degenerates unworthy of living in the Reich.
Born in Basel, he predicted the Second World War by observing the patterns of Pluto based on Nostradamus' excerpts. More impressively, he predicted an assassination attempt on Hitler's life between the 7th and 10th of November in 1939.
A bomb was detonated on the 8th, almost killing the Fuhrer of the German Reich.
(He must be an excellent astrologer or a lucky bastard!) Usami thought.
Despite that, there wasn't much information she could dig. She knew that the astrologer was detained by the Gestapo and brought to work as part of the Reich propaganda division.
"Yo, otaku! You came back to school!"
Usami felt a friendly smack on her back. It startled her and caused her to raise her head.
"You're better now? My, you looked as if you're going to die when you fell ill, y'know?"
"Shirou-kun…"
Usami's classmate, Shirou Yusa gave the high schooler a grin. He was considered someone well-known in the school for his macho-like voice. He seemed like your typical delinquent who'd happily get into trouble for the sake of increasing the production of his adrenaline.
"What are you up to?" Shirou asked. "You seemed as if you're still sick. Come on now, you're a strong girl. Don't let that disease control you!"
"Not really…"
Even so, Usami did not feel uncomfortable around that guy. He was among the few people in the Outside World Usami could talk to freely.
Their hobbies and personalities are completely different, but they could hang around and spend some time without worrying about the society.
As far as Usami remembered, that man was an adrenaline seeker. He was considered a delinquent. Yet, whenever anyone asked him his reasons, he would simply repeat the mantra: I seek the unknown.
Still, how different was Usami from that boy? She too, sought the unknown like him.
"Well, you really need to cheer up! I know life sucks, but that's how it goes! Deal with it."
Usami laughed.
"Well, I was expecting better encouragement from you but looks like you really suck at it."
"Heh, dream on, four eyes!"
Shirou's eyes glanced on Usami's phone. Usami felt odd and pulled her chair away from her table to create distance between herself and the guy. She could not let him know about her secret research.
"Heh, keeping secrets from me! This is odd. Well, I guess there are women problems I shouldn't peek at," Shirou spoke.
Usami sighed. She was grateful for the guy's understanding words.
"So, were you reading about the Mount Fuji Incident?"
Usami Sumireko's eyes widened. She was lost on track as she was too concentrated on finding information about Karl Krafft that she missed out the latest news.
"Well, news suggests that the incident was a major accident that burned the entire area. But when you think about it, this incident makes no sense whatsoever."
Usami nodded lazily. She was in no position to comment on the topic as she knew about it.
"Can you imagine this: more than a hundred thousand people apparently got caught in a fire and did nothing about it. Even police officers, the JSDF and firefighters were caught in this unnatural fire. I heard the Yamaguchi-gumi lost a lot of men from that fire, their power basically waned in a day. Man…"
"Was the fire really that terrible?" Usami asked.
"Haven't you seen the video?" the man replied. "It was bad, but nothing firefighters couldn't handle. In fact, the released video raised criticism from other firemen about the local firemen's inability to handle it."
"They must've sucked really bad. We need to improvise out emergency aid training then."
But Shirou replied with a simple question.
Is this really an accident?"
(What the hell?) Usami thought.
"What if there was something going on and they're masking it as an accident? I mean, we can handle the Kanto earthquake. This fire shouldn't be a problem to authorities, right? Still…"
(Ahh…)
Usami realized something. He was right.
It was impossible for this incident to be a mere accident. Even for a dumb person, the thought of such large number of people being killed in a fire and with no one taking any action was a thought reserved for fantasy stories.
Even calling it fantasy would be pure stupidity. No resident of Gensokyou would let such a major incident happen easily. Even Hakurei would have moved to investigate and apprehend the culprit quickly.
"This is just my thinking but it's impossible for this to be a mere accident. There has to be something major going on. Don't you think so?"
Usami gave some serious thought about the incident.
"Oh shit. Homeroom's starting soon! See ya later!" Shirou replied as he hastily returned to his seat.
The Government of Japan is truly ashamed that this incident happened.
This is an incident of unprecedented circumstances. We are investigating this as we speak.
I ensure all of you that we will investigate this swiftly and apprehend anyone responsible, if any. Current information suggests that this is an accident. We did not foresee this to happen.
As such, it is my responsibility as the Prime Minister to resign from my position as I have failed to deliver my promise of protecting Japanese lives.
As of now, the Deputy Prime Minister will replace me as the new Prime Minister until the next election.
I apologize for the problems I've caused. I truly regret that this incident happened.
It was a live broadcasted press conference streamed in all channels.
As the Mount Fuji Incident caught international attention, this press conference was a global hit. Major news stations worldwide and online media content providers covered this issue at live times.
Even in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau, the press conference was televised for officers to watch.
"Politicians have it easy. I'm envious of them. I wish I could just say those insincere words and apologize to the public before resigning too."
A mature-looking but young woman sighed and turned her face away.
It was typical to expect such reaction from politicians who refuse to be responsible. Still, she believes these politicians were taking a quick way out from problems in the country.
"Huh. I swear that guy's going to hell after death," the brawny-looking man replied. His rough and scarred face gave him the look of a seasoned war veteran, while his body composition gave him a projection of strength despite being covered by corporate-style clothing.
"Well…that's pretty reassuring to hear, especially from someone like you."
The mature-looking woman then handed few pieces of paper at that man and the woman beside the brawny man.
To be honest, the woman disliked the presence of the other female beside that man. The odd female brought with her an aura of elitism, crude arrogance and disrespect. Besides, the odd female's beauty that could only be described as unearthly ignited the flame in the mature woman's heart.
Despite that, the woman handled her compatriots professionally as one would expect from a high-ranking officer in the police force.
"Superintendent Kirika, I don't pass judgement. I hunt for those who break the laws and punish them. Leave the judgement to the Yama," the male replied.
"Ah…well," the mature woman smiled politely. "Of course. We of the Special Investigations Unit do not do intelligence gathering on afterlife matters. Please forgive this woman for her silly mistakes."
The two ignored the police officers and instead looked at the papers given to them.
The police officer continued as they were looking at the papers.
"Your suspicion was accurate. The damned organization, Longinus Dreizhen Orden was the one behind the incident. Despite it being the most lethal organization in the world, there is lack of publicity among the public about it."
"Can't let people about it or it'll create unnecessary panic," the otherworldly woman replied. "That is basic public sentiment management."
The police officer nodded. If they revealed the organization behind the incident freely to the public, it would create unnecessary fear in the society. No society has ever witnessed terror at the scale of tens of thousands of people at once. Even radical terrorism, such as ISIS could not claim such number of casualties.
"So," the brawny man finally spoke, "any idea about their current whereabouts?"
The otherworldly woman nodded as if agreeing to the man's questions.
The police officer turned her laptop towards them.
"Overall, we could not exactly pinpoint their locations as they are scattered. Still, we found some suspects believed to be members of the LDO, if I may use that short form."
The other woman looked at the screen.
Usami Sumireko was not left out from the recent developments happening due to the Mount Fuji incident.
"This is quite a roller coaster ride," she muttered. The nation has frequently faced disasters such as the Fukushima incident. But the Mount Fuji incident was the most impactful of all incidents happening in Japan right now.
Usami even halted her search on the mysterious figure, Karl Ernst Krafft to learn about the new incident.
As it was break time, Usami took the opportunity to catch up with recent news. She lied on the floor of her school's flat roof alone. That was her favorite spot to unwind herself from the stress of living 'an ordinary life'.
"Mount Fuji Incident…was it?"
As Usami was about to drift into her thoughts, an unexpected voice interrupted her thoughts.
"So, what'cha thinking about?"
Usami turned around and replied lazily. Standing there was her classmate, Shirou Yusa. There were two people tagging along with the boy, a girl and a boy.
"Oh, Shirou. You brought others along?"
Usami recognized the girl.
Hinata Kazumi. The girl was a well-known upperclassman of hers who could be described as the perfect girl: stellar academic performance, a beauty, and athletic. The girl's only blind spot was her inexperience in love, if that could be considered a weakness.
However, Usami did not know that boy's name. She recognized that boy as a student in the same year as her as she frequently saw his face. He was a student in another class.
"Ah, Hinata-sempai is here. What an honor to be in the presence of such magnificent figure," Usami spoke snarkily.
In the presence of other people, Usami felt an overwhelming pressure to 'blend in society' as a 'normal girl'. For that 'abnormal psychic', there was no way she could accept such pressure.
"Come on, its not like you own the roof. This belongs to the school, y'know?" Shirou replied. "Besides, what's with that sarcastic remark of yours?"
Usami gave a short glare, as if suggesting that Shirou should know the answer better than anyone else.
The boy replied with a naughty grin.
"Heh," Usami replied. "Its not like you'd listen to me anyway."
Usami raised her palms and used them as pillows for her head. She did not have the energy to engage with 'normies', especially infamous 'normies'.
The infamous girl, Hinata Kazumi then spoke.
"Actually…Shirou told us about what you're doing."
(What?) Usami thought.
"Shirou…you…bas"
Usami was about to curse Shirou, but Hinata continued speaking.
"We think it's cool. Y'know…fantasy and stuff like that. Discovering things that we, humans have long abandoned in pursuit of science and technology."
Usami turned her face away to hide her embarrassed face from being seen.
The boy then asked a question.
"Is it true that you're the one posting about Gensokyou on the web?"
Usami thought for a few seconds and responded lazily.
"That's…cool! Can we go there as well? From the pictures you posted online, it feels like traveling back in time!" the boy continued.
"That's difficult," Usami replied. "You'd need some preparations to do that, unlike me."
Shirou Yusa then interrupted their casual chatter.
"It might not be. Well…speaking about extraordinary places, isn't there a power spot nearby?"
"A power spot?" Usami asked. "Since when are you into power spots, Shirou?"
Shirou replied with a naughty grin on his face.
"I seek adventure. I'm not picky about what kind of challenge I take, as long as I can break free from this sense of foreknowledge."
Usami snorted. Ever since she knew that boy, that was the only thing he'd talk about.
Déjà vu.
"Yes, yes, I get it. Anyway, where is this power spot you're talking about?"
The other boy took out his phone and walked towards Usami. Usami woke from her current position as she wanted to see better.
"That is…a church?"
"That is…a church?" the woman asked.
"Exactly, Miss Suhijini. It is a church. We suspect this man to be a member of the LDO."
The Police Superintendent Tachibana Kirika gave a mad smile.
"Huh, for a mad cult to be hiding behind churches, how hilarious. Well, at least they don't go and hide behind shrines. That'd be a trouble to me, y'know?" the other woman, Suhijini replied. "After all, my friends and acquaintances are enshrined there. It'd trouble if I go around and destroy shrines, no?"
The brawny man twitched his lips.
"As usual, you need to go around and talk about your little friends in a bragging manner. Fucked-up lunarian, when will you learn basic manners?"
He then folded his arms as if showing his displeasure towards Suhijini's attitude.
"How dare a disgusting Hellion try and teach me about manners! I don't want to hear you lecturing me when you Hellions have unrefined ways of settling things!" Suhijini replied. "I heard you guys brawl to death to settle issues."
"Strength is power," the man replied. "Unlike you faggots on the moon, we fight and decide everything through meritocracy. Not through stupid lineages."
"What makes you think we're not following meritocracy?"
"Then tell me, why do idiots get to power simply because of their family names? Eh, eh, eh?" the brawny man retorted.
"What? Who are you talking about? Stop talking nonsense, will you?"
"Oh, let me give some names. The Watatsukis, for example. Hmm…Chang'e would be another example. Let me think of some other examples…like…"
"Stop slandering unrelated people!" the lunarian retorted.
"I did not slander! I merely spoke the facts!" the brawny man replied. "Yeah, sure. How could you miss out Hecatia-sama's trick that you'd need to purify Gensokyou? Hahahahaha!"
"We are an honorable people!" the lunarian replied. "We do not use dirty tricks unlike disgusting Hellions like yourself. Get it, Kyoudo-san?"
"Sure, no dirty tricks. That's why your stupid Sagume had to hold Gensokyou hostage, huh? Hmm, delivering lectures isn't exactly my thing. I'm not Eiki. I merely torture people who refuse to reflect on their sins and ego. Ah, that includes you."
The lunarian Suhijini's temples were pulsating in fury. Her desire of beating the man beside her was burning passionately from the depths of her soul.
Meanwhile, the kishin Kyoudo gave an intimidating look as if he challenged the lunarian to battle him now.
Superintendent Kirika interfered as she tried to calm them down. The police officer knew that if they started fighting, the casualties caused would be enormous.
"Well…if you continued fighting, I'd have to arrest both of you for disturbing public order."
In response to the police officer's 'threat', the two gazed at the officer and spoke in unison.
"You can try."
Of course, the police officer knew she could not apprehend the pair. They were otherworldly beings. She doubted the police force was equipped with enough skills to handle otherworldly beings of their level.
The Special Investigations Unit was a hidden unit in the Tokyo Metropolitan Office. It was so small and concealed that even other officers thought they were merely a backup unit to assist other units.
In reality, this was a special unit that dealt with the occult. Its core competency was to deal with threats caused by magic, supernatural beings such as youkai and psychics. Still, the officers of this unit weren't trained to handle a true kishin from Hell and a lunarian.
"If you keep fighting, we'll miss out the opportunity to clamp down the Longinus Dreizhen Orden. Please, you can kill each other after the mission."
The two nemesis gave some thoughts to the superintendent's words and reached a temporary truce.
The sky was dyed golden indicating transition between day and night.
Still in their school uniforms, Usami Sumireko, Shirou Yusa, Hinata Kazumi and the other boy now stood in front of a solemn building.
Usami began by talking calmly to the boy.
"Oi, I didn't get your name. What was it again?"
"Miyazaki Kureo."
"I'll call you Miyazaki then."
The four then looked at the solemn building.
It was a peaceful church located a bit far from the city. It was surrounded by trees giving it the feeling of entering a sole building in a forest. The gentle wind blew and the leaves moved slightly following the wind's resonance.
Under the evening sky, it was dyed in golden light giving it a view of illusory majesty.
It gave a similar vibe to when Usami visited the Hakurei shrine, only that this place possessed majesty the former lacked. Perhaps such magnificence was necessary for a religious building.
Otherwise, the building would just fade away like the Hakurei shrine, visited only in special circumstances.
"Ah…I thought this is a power spot?" Usami asked.
"It is," Miyazaki replied. "Not one that you'd expect, anyway."
Without any hesitation, the four walked through the entrance gate of the church.
"This place is peaceful, don't you think?" Hinata asked. "It feels as if we're entering the domain of God."
Usami and Shirou did not comment on that woman's statement. Usami felt that entering god's domain wasn't exactly an enlightening moment, especially after her nightmares that involved her fighting gods as well.
Miyazaki approached the main door of the church. The wooden door seemed old but well-preserved.
Without any hesitation, he pulled the door and opened it.
"Oh!" a man replied from the inside of the church.
The four was left speechless. They had expected the place to be an abandoned site. That was the typical situation in many power spots – abandoned places.
The man gave a calm smile. His dress was that of a servant of the divine – a priestly robe and a cross on his chest.
"I thought there's no one coming here," the priest replied. "How may I be of service?"
"This is a good spot to power up. As expected from a power spot," muttered Suhijini. "This is quite an unexpected place."
"Power spots are usually abandoned. This building…doesn't seem to be abandoned at all," Kyoudo replied. "Hmm…"
Suhijini, Kyoudo and Tachibana were five hundred meters away from the main gate of the church.
They too, wanted to observe the church said to harbor a mad criminal that threatened the balance of the living, the dead and the realm of gods.
Four high schoolers entered their vision.
"Who are those youngsters?" Kyoudo asked. A tinge of annoyance could be felt from his words.
"They can't be the ones we're hunting, right?" Suhijini asked in an annoyed voice. The lunarian did not believe such young high schoolers to be the ones pulling the string of major events throughout history.
"Those uniforms…Higashifukami High School's uniform. Why are those high schoolers here?"
"Wait…they may not be core members…but an organization usually has their own allies, right?" Kyoudo replied. "They may be informants, local collaborators or simply being used without realizing what they're dealing with."
Suhijini did not deny that statement. The youngsters may be indirectly involved with the criminal syndicate. Thus, it would be wise to observe them.
"No, that's not it," Tachibana replied. "We've been spying this place for a few days. This is the first time they've come here. Look, that boy is hesitating to open the door."
"…He might be hesitating because he realized he's being watched. Or felt as if he was stalked."
The three turned their attention to a priest that greeted the four high-schoolers that explored the
"There he is," the police superintendent spoke. "The suspect."
"Are you sure, Tachibana? That doesn't look like a member of the LDO." Suhijini commented as she observed the priest.
Suhijini remembered her encounter with one of the members of the criminal organization.
A mad vampire with a foul mouth. She recalled how she felt when fighting that monster that could no longer be classified as a youkai.
In contrast, this priest…felt humane. The priest gave an aura of servitude and humility.
The lunarian could not believe that the priest was a member of a cold, blood lusted organization.
"The fact that this guy resides here for some time…means that he's up to something. I'm certain of it," the police spoke. She was certain of her hypothesis.
"The LDO are lunatic necromancers. I have no clue how they're able to conceal such large number of souls in their body," Kyoudo replied. "Still, is that guy really one of them? He looks like a frail priest to me."
Superintendent Tachibana scratched her head.
"He is, at this stage, a suspect. We're putting him under surveillance."
"Any suspicious activity?" Suhijini asked. "You know…"
"None notable as of now."
The police superintendent sighed. Even if there was suspicion, suspicion was meaningless without confirmation or evidence of crime. It was not enough.
"Hmm…this is quite tough. If there's no evidence, then we're simply wasting time and resources," Kyoudo retorted. "We can't afford to do that."
Superintendent Tachibana nodded as he acknowledged the kishin's advice.
"Still, there are reasons why I suspected him…"
In the spacious church, the priest sat with the four visitors on a dining table.
The priest wore a friendly smile as he entertained the guests that visited this holy place.
"I see…so you thought this was a power spot? That's quite hilarious…although it might be true."
Usami stared at the priest.
The priest continued with a soothing voice, like a father that was trying to calm his children that was lost.
"This is a place where God listens to prayers and grants our innermost desires. It is possible that the miracle of God and his Son casted a light of blessings onto this church, thus turning it into a power spot."
Usami sighed. Deep in her heart, she expected such words to come out from a priest.
(He is a pious Christian, after all.)
"Anyway, the church is the place God reserved for His children. Please, make yourself comfortable. Ah, I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Valeria Trifa. As you can see, I am a priest of this church. I work here, although I am from Germany."
(Germany?) Usami thought. She remembered everything she was looking for and felt that she might know something if she asked this man.
However, it would be odd to ask a new acquaintance from Germany about an issue as sensitive as World War 2. Especially on themes such as the Nazi Party and the Holocaust.
(Should I ask him? Should I not ask him?)
As he spoke, a purple-haired nun came out from the church's dining room.
"I'm sorry for taking quite some time…" the nun spoke cheerfully. She carefully placed plates of spaghetti on the table.
The aroma of the seemingly mouth-watering dish was enough to weaken the will of the four explorers.
"This thing smells really good!" Shirou shouted.
The purple-haired nun smiled gracefully upon that praise.
The priest smiled and looked at his guests.
"Ah, this is Lisa Brenner. She's a nun in this church. Don't worry, she's a great cook!" spoke Valeria. "Right, Lisa?"
"Do not worry about me. All of you may call me Lisa. Please, help yourselves with the food. There are still more servings if you need extra," the nun replied.
The four youngsters forgot about everything else and started indulging in a feast of European food.
"This is really good!" Miyazaki spoke.
"Really! I would like to learn from you, Lisa!" Hinata replied.
"God, this is the tastiest meal I've ever had!" Shirou replied.
"Even better than what I've ever tasted before!" Usami praised.
Hearing those compliments, Lisa lowered her head as she walked away while the priest enjoyed the meal with the others.
"Lisa isn't joining us?" Hinata asked.
"Ah," Valeria replied, "she has other things to do. Personal issues."
"Can't be helped. The more the merrier, though…" Miyazaki replied.
Usami couldn't bring herself to ask the question she wanted to know badly on a dining table. She felt it might ruin the mood. As such, she stuffed her mouth with as much spaghetti she could eat to hide her frustration.
"Is it really that good?" Valeria asked as he observed Usami's compulsive eating behavior.
Usami nodded. She did not lie. The spaghetti was excellent.
"Haha. Back to what we were discussing about…power spots, was it? As a priest, I do not believe in power spots but I've heard rumors going on about it for some time. Additionally, I've come across information about the existence of places beyond human reach…like the one going wild in 2channel. What was it again…Gensokyou?"
Usami and the rest of her gang stopped eating.
"Wait, you have a 2channel account?" Hinata asked. "Wow, a priest accessing 2channel! Must be an otaku!"
"Chuunibyou!" Miyazaki replied.
"What an updated priest. I thought priests don't scroll through those troll sites," Shirou commented.
"Ahahaha…I have a Reddit account as well!" Valeria replied and took out his smartphone.
The priest calmly opened his Reddit account and showed it to the group of four.
"Unbelievable!" Shirou screamed. "Good taste down there, Priest-san!"
"So, were you guys hoping that this church is something like this Gensokyou?"
Hinata, Miyazaki and Shirou looked at the food and laughed.
Only Usami remained calm.
"Gensokyou exists. It definitely is," the psychic stressed.
"Oh?" the priest replied. "You seem to know something about that place. Mind sharing it with me?"
Usami Sumireko was shocked by the priest's request. She was expecting a retort, especially from a Christian priest that rejected a supernatural realm where non-Christian deities exist.
"My stomach is hungry…" mumbled Suhijiri. "I wanna eat…it smells so good."
Tachibana Kirika and Kyoudo nodded. Apparently, they shared the same sentiment as well.
"Well, I'll treat you guys after this," the police superintendent spoke. She could not resist the temptation of the spaghetti's aroma escaping the church.
"Yakuniku!" Kyoudo replied. "I want yakuniku!"
"Typical Hellions. Vegetable hotpot is great too!" Suhijiri interrupted.
"Shut up, herbivore! I don't only eat peaches! Peaches are nice, but you get sick of eating the same thing again and again!"
Tachibana Kirika folded her arms and shook her head.
"The most important thing is not yakuniku or hotpot!" Tachibana exclaimed. "It's sake!"
"That's right!" Kyoudo and Suhijiri replied together. For the first time, they were able to agree on something outside of work.
The priest nodded. He expressed his interest upon listening to Usami's stories.
"Really, reading them on the net is something else, but hearing it from the one who has been to Gensokyou is another unbelievable experience!"
Usami lowered her head. She wasn't sure if it was a compliment or a mere fake pleasantry.
"I wish to visit this Gensokyou someday too!" the priest continued. "Surely, God will help me on my journey there!"
(Ah…god) Usami thought.
For some reason, flashes of Hecatia, Yasaka Kanako and Kishin Sagume came to her mind.
(Those ain't god. Those are nuisance!)
"Anyway, Priest-san," Usami spoke.
Valeria immediately interrupted, asking Usami to call her by his name, Valeria.
"Ah…if you insist, Valeria-san. Is it fine if I ask you something related to World War 2?"
The priest's expression changed, but he welcomed the question.
"What is it that you seek?"
"Who is Karl Ernst Krafft?"
Valeria smiled at that question. However, there was inexplicable bitterness from his expression.
"What a peculiar name. Hmm…I can't seem to remember anything about that name, although I might have heard it in history class…ah, yes. He was an astrologer. I heard he served the Propaganda ministry after being arrested and apprehended by the leader of the Gestapo himself, Reinhard Heydrich-sa…I mean, Reinhard Heydrich."
"Reinhard Heydrich…" Usami mumbled.
"Why do you ask?" Valeria inquired.
"No, just…I'm a history and occult buff, so when I heard that the Nazis employed astrologers…"
"Ah, you love the occult!" Valeria interrupted. "I see, I see. That is fine, too."
The four students stood in front of the church's gate, with Valeria escorting them like a bodyguard.
"Thanks for the meal, Valeria-san! Send our gratitude to Lisa-san as well! She is the best!" Hinata spoke.
The priest smiled.
"Take care. Its late, you guys need to be careful."
The priest watched the children as they walked away from the church like a caring father.
Truly, it was expected from a servant of God.
As the children went further from the church, the priest's expression changed slightly.
"Usami Sumireko, was it? What an interesting fellow. How much does she know about Longinus Dreizhen Orden?"
Another silhouette appeared from behind the priest. The silhouette of a woman was kneeling respectfully at the priest.
"Apologies, the Lord Substitute and the Divine Vessel of the Lord Commander."
"It is fine."
"Why does she know of that name, Karl Ernst Krafft? Is she the Zarathustra?"
The priest smiled calmly.
"No. Do not worry too much about it, Leonhard. She's just a girl driven by curiosity. Ah, but I need her. She is the one who knows of Zarathustra. Zarathustra is not in this world."
The woman understood the meaning of that sentence.
"To find Zarathustra, we need to enter Gensokyou, is it?" the kneeling silhouette spoke.
The priest nodded.
"Before that…I think we need to settle something. Don't you agree?"
"The stalker from the lunar capital and hell, I believe?"
"Rusalka and Wilhelm should be enough to knock some sense to those idiots. Tell them to prepare for an engagement."
The silhouette nodded and disappeared in the darkness of night.
Author's note: For those of you who followed this story, welcome back. For those of you who read from the beginning, thanks! The pace is a bit faster since Zarathustra is in another world. No Ren, no Rea and no Marie. But I hope a better love story will come in this fanfic of mine. As usual, leave your comments and thanks for reading.
For flitterflux: Touhou and Dies Irae are both wank-level due to vagueness/absolute power. I'll try my best and hope you enjoy!