Date: 07/02/23
Weather: Cloudy, with passing rains.
Dear Diary.
Another day another adventure here in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The morning was a little bit chillier with the clouds rolling in, but that didn't slow me down. Actually I want to sort of feel out my thoughts on Gensokyo's weather. Back home the weather tends to be on the very dry side with several cups of fluctuating weather patters to a point there's an old saying from the locals back home. "If you don't like the weather just wait five minutes." Now the old saying is clearly an exaggeration but there were times where that would literally happen. Sunny with a nice breeze one minute then a passing rainstorm the next, and it was surprisingly frequent too. Perks of being in a land locked city, with a wide stretching mountain range on one side and a massive plains on the other I suppose.
Now the weather in Gensokyo feels relatively similar in terms of humidity. The difference is that Gensokyo's weather on top of being on the dry side it also feels surprisingly milder compared to back home where summer could easily hit thirty degrees Celsius, and the weather patterns feel stable. If it's sunny, it's generally sunny all day, if it's rainy, it's rainy all day. Pretty sure Gensokyo doesn't get that hot compared to my old home either, sure there were days where the heat felt scorching but it wasn't unbearable. Does that mean the winter would be milder too? I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Thoughts on the weather aside, I thought I would sort of mix things up during my spar with Meiling. Unlike the usual "try and hit the Gatekeeper." Where the focus was more on my punches and kicks; this time I focused mostly on my breathing. Naturally that means that the efficiency of my punches and kicks would suffer, and it did. But not as much as I was expecting. Sure I was my offenses were slower, but keeping my breathing steady, slow and deep I dragged on the sparring session for a lot longer. Not only that it definitely felt like my defenses were improved just by focusing my breathing. Granted Meiling was still pulling all her punches, but I felt the difference, and I think the Gatekeeper noticed too.
Before I got to record Meling's message for Flandre I showed the little Vampire's first message out of her room. I think I got to see the Gatekeeper almost shed tears of joy. Who would have thought Youkais can cry. Meling's message felt real emotional, her getting a bit too close to the phone camera telling the little Vampire that she was so happy for her, I had to take several steps back just so I could get Meiling in frame. After the little recording session I asked if she was going to visit Flandre if she had the chance since she was going to be technically closer to the surface, and I was pretty pleased to hear a "I'll try and make the time to visit Lady Flandre!" from the Gatekeeper.
Moving on to the shift itself, now that Flandre can go into the Library with me, I just decided to mix my magic practice session with my babysitting shift. That way I can give myself more free time afterwards. Win win right? And that's exactly what I did. The little Vampire was excited as ever to see me. I remember when I was back home I always wondered why some of my friends were more excited to see me compared to some of their other friends in their circles. At times I thought they pretended to be excited out of obligation or some form or courtesy or something. I didn't think that way because I thought less of my friends or anything, it was the other way around. I've always thought that I wasn't anything special, sub-ordinary at best and a part of me still think that way. But that's never crossed my mind when it came to Flandre's excitement. That's a lie, there was at least two times during my experience with the little Vampire to this point, well... Kind of. It was more in the lines of 'I am surprised that this being of unfathomable power is excited to see a mere human that she could crush with in seconds.' Same lines of thinking in principal, but I do get why Flandre is happy to see me.
For the longest time I was the only one that would interact with her on a regular basis... Now that she can go out to the library with me, I wonder if that would change since she can talk to the librarian and her assistant... Would she think less of me with given enough time? I shouldn't think that way. Okay, back on track. The shift could have been so much better and its all my fault... Flandre and I explored the deeper areas of the massive library. That way I could actually talk to the little vampire without getting shushed by the librarian. The two of us walked for what felt like hours and the library didn't seem to end. The library seemed to have just rows and rows of book shelves several meters tall at the very least. The deeper the little Vampire and I went the more foreign the books became, and not as in it was in a foreign language, well I'm pretty sure there were books in foreign language that I couldn't even begin to fathom. What I mean was that the deeper we went the ideas and contents of there books became more abstract. Some books looked like just a bunch of loose ideas that are barely connecting together.
So while I was confused on some of the contents of the books the little Vampire looked like she was having a blast. Half way through the shift the little Vampire and I turned around to head back, only there was a slight issue. We got lost, and I could tell that the two of us were lost just from the contents of the books not really changing into the more coherent ones I remember after walking for few hours. I swear that the both of us were just walking straight. As soon as that idea of 'Are we lost?' entered my mind I could feel the anxiety slowly creep in. Intrusive thoughts like 'What if we never get out?' 'Is this how I die? I don't want to die like this.' 'What about Flandre? How is she going to get out?' That Primal almost subconscious desire to survive... I could feel it slowly taking over all my actions.
It felt like the shelves were closing in, it was hard to control my breathing, every breath getting slightly faster slightly more shallow. Flandre seemed completely unbothered though, her curious eyes looking around, flipping through the pages. I think her focus shifted only when she saw me, asking if I was alright and I could only apologize. I think the little Vampire got the gist of my little freak out and the misadventures ended with me feeling pretty pathetic when Flandre had to come to my rescue and just fly the two of us out of the maze of books.
I know that most people would have had a similar reaction if they were in my shoes... But still... I was suppose to look after Flandre, not the other way around. I honestly felt awful. And the shift ended after I brought the little Vampire back to her room and emotionally break down. I think this was my very first time where I would cry in front of someone in Gensokyo. Sucks that it was in front of a kid, even worse when the kid get caught off guard and have to comfort the adult... Great my eyes are welling up again. With my emotional instability, recording Flandre's little Video message for Meiling was tough to say the least, and I know Flandre means well but it hit me in the gut when she basically told Meiling to look after me in her message...
So the shift didn't end well for me, and I was too in the dumps to go outside, I didn't want Meiling to see me at such a state. I stayed in my room for a few hours to mellow out and eventually walked back out into the mansion halls. For the first bits, I was aimlessly wandering around the halls of the mansion, but in the end decided to help around the mansion. It's been a while since I've done it and it really helped distract me from my little panic attack that I got from the shift. I think helping around the mansion really helped in the end. The Fairy maids were grateful and I felt a lot better emotionally. Win win. I also had some time to help Izayoi on top of learning a thing or two from her. Different cleaning techniques and what not. I think Izayoi isn't used to people approaching her to learn stuff from her. Do Fairy Maids not do that? How to they learn to clean and cook? Surely Izayoi can't do everything by herself even with her time stop powers. Well the more I learn from her the more I can help around the mansion more efficiently.
Date: 07/03/23
Weather: More cloud, less rains.
Dear Diary.
I honestly thought Meiling would tease me to no end, but no if anything she was more worried. Showing the Gatekeeper the video she asked question regarding my shift from yesterday. It brought a fair amount of memories back just enough to relive the embarrassment but not enough to break down. Meiling seemed pretty understanding of my little predicament. The Gatekeeper even told me that she never ventured too deep into the depths of the library fearing pretty much the same thing. And with that The Gatekeeper and I started the exercise and the sparring match, granted it was cut a little short. I guess I was just too distracted and Meiling saw that. Instead the two of us made small talks and learned a little more about each other. Well Meiling learned more about me, for a pretty lax gatekeeper she's surprisingly secretive where she never delved too deep about her past and just gave me some vague answers. Meiling's message to the little Vampire had a similar vibe compared to yesterday's just flipped around, essentially Meiling telling Flandre to look after me when I freak out like that. Once again, I know they mean well but that hits sort hard on my self-esteem.
I got to say, today's babysitting shift felt a lot better than yesterday's. Mostly because I didn't get lost, but also partially I got to see more Danmaku. This time though, it wasn't from Marisa and Patchouli, it was from Marisa and Flandre. The start of the shift was fairly ordinary, Flandre asking if I was feeling better since I had an emotional breakdown, and me assuring her that I felt better. I got the video recording fairly quickly out of the way. The video was pretty short too. It was just Flandre acknowledging Meiling's little request to look after me in the time of my need.
For the first bit the little Vampire and I re-explored parts of the library, naturally after what happened yesterday I was hesitant but Flandre's morale support was enough to agree with the second exploration of the seemingly infinite library. The second run was actually much shorter, and although we did get lost Flandre just picked me up and flew over the shelves like yesterday for a quick recovery. Getting carried twice did get me thinking though. Just what kind of flying magics are there? Returning to the front of the library is where we encountered the Witch Marisa. As per usual the witch was quite audacious in the library making quite the entrance. That did get Flandre's attention and enough time for me to ask the Assistant if she could recommend me on a book for flying magic.
I probably should have paid a bit more attention to Flandre though, because it didn't take long for the little Vampire to start throwing Danmaku bullets at the Witch, and naturally the Librarian wasn't having it. We got shoved to the back of the library for the two of them to have their Danmaku fun. I think this was my first time ever seeing Flandre's Danmaku. It was all over the place, chaotic bullets seeming popping into existence in every direction, scarlet red lasers lighting up the library. There were many times I couldn't get a good look at Flandre's Danmaku due to me being too busy taking cover. In the end the Witch was once again the victor. Both of the girl's clothes were burnt and tattered and much like Marisa's duel with Patchouli the books are somehow unscathed. Just what kind of magic are these Danmaku bullets fuelled by? The shift came to an end with me bringing the little Vampire to her room. While the Witch stayed behind. Flandre's excitement seemed to resonate in her video for Meiling. Even in her tattered clothes the little Vampire's smile beamed bright telling the Gatekeeper how much fun she had, and that in turn made me pretty happy.
Seeing the Flandre and Marisa's little scrimmage got me excited to practice more magic. And returning to the Library the Witch was nowhere to be found, and the Librarian seemed pretty miffed. Asking the librarian's assistant I got to learn that Marisa once again stole some books. That Witch is quite the kleptomaniac. Seeing me though I think I got a passing comment from the Librarian saying something like "At least that one is smart enough to not steal my books." It was pretty hard to make out what Patchouli was saying, barely a whisper. Koakuma also got me a book on a beginner to intermediate magic spells and enchantments. She apparently wanted to give me the book during my shift but I was too busy looking after Flandre. Helpful little Devil that one.
I gave myself a good hour to look through the books and learned a fair amounts on just flying alone. According to the book flying magic came in multiple different flavours, but the majority if not all of them were a type of enchantments. To name a few, there are flight magic that's mostly focuses on self levitation, self flotation which is somehow different from levitation, and self propulsion to name a few. There are alternate to these spells that are essentially enchanting an object to make them fly. Both styles with their own pros and cons. Maybe I should learn both self enchantments and item enchantments. As much as I want to teach myself how to fly, I knew that I wasn't ready for magic of this calibre, so it was back to basic magic circles for me. My practice sessions went pretty well. I can now officially draw the foundation spell circles with ease and can cast the object glow spell with no issues or headaches. I do have to work out some kinks on the teleport spell though, but I think I'll have to leave that to future me.
Date: 07/04/23
Weather: Spots of clouds, ray of sun.
Dear Diary.
With the rainfall slowing down and mister golden sun shining bright, I got the opportunity to go forage for more Dandelions, but more on that much later. Lets start from the top. My exercise and sparring session with Meiling just got so much harder. Well not the exercise part, that was fine. It was the sparring session that got a massive difficulty spike. Right before starting the Gatekeeper had to stop me and ask for a favour. Sparring without my glasses... Being near sighted anything farther than what, thirty? Forty centimetres away becomes blurry and hard to see. Apparently Meiling wanted to make sure I spar without them so I don't break them by accident. I get what she means and I appreciate the sentiment but now I'm practically sparring blind. As expected I straight up got my butt kicked. The Gatekeeper seemed fairly satisfied with the result though, well I could see after I got my glasses back on. After the sparring match Meiling mentioned that the future sparring matches will be much slower paced so I can get used to sparring half blind. Sounds like fun...
Well I may have gotten my butt kicked but Flandre's happy little video message did numbers on her. Just looking at her I could tell that she was scolded by Izayoi last night when she accidentally let the Witch break into the mansion, again. And seeing the video must have reminded of her little mistake. Poor thing. Meiling's reply to Flandre was a quick one telling her to continue behaving well. She even made a passing remark on if Flandre behaved maybe she could even go outside. Wait isn't Flandre a vampire? Wouldn't the Sun turn her to ash? Or glitter or something?
I know that Meiling's passing remark on the whole Flandre and the outside thing was just that, a passing remark but that message stuck with me for the first bit of my shift. I was apparently distracted enough for Flandre to catch not paying attention to her on several occasion on the way to the library. Eventually I did explain the reason for my distraction and naturally Flandre couldn't give me a solid answer since she pretty much never went outside. I did however got an answer when we got to the library itself. I was going to ask the Librarian if she knew anything about the whole Scarlet sister and the might of the Sun, but Flandre beat me to the punch.
According to Patchouli, Remilia can stay out on a bright sunny day for hours on end, she will sustain minor injuries but she can almost instantly recover. I did ask about the Little Vampire and the Sun, and the Librarian speculated that since Flandre isn't used to the sun she'll probably sustain more moderate injuries compared to her older sister but still nothing too serious in the end. Does that mean if Flandre keeps behaving and I keep doing my job well, the little Vampire can actually visit the outside? Well I'll have to let future me deal with that.
Theories aside the shift was pretty quiet. No Witches to barge in and throw magic bullets, and the little Vampire and I explored more of the library. The fact that Flandre was very willing to be my personal escape rope. I got more confident in exploring the seemingly infinite library. I also decided to do something that I never thought I'd do. Record the exploration itself. Making brief commentaries here and there, letting Flandre take the spotlight every now and then, showing off different kinds of books. Oh Gog isn't what some video Content creators do back home? Well they don't have an honest to Gog Vampire assistant in their explorations.
Nearing the end of the shift and on the return journey back to the front of the library, I asked the little Vampire a question wondering what she thought on the out doors, and if she had the chance she would go outside. Kind of silly to think that she would say no; Flandre obviously said yes. Following up to the question, I also gave her a hypothetical possibility. That if she kept up the good girl streak and I kept up the good employee streak the little Vampire might be able to go outside, and Flandre was ecstatic at the idea promising me that she'll behave. I did have to clarify that it might not happen but eventually I'd ask her older sister to try and let her outside at least once. Flandre's video message even reflected the possibility of her exploring the great outdoors, promising Meiling that she'll behave. Looking back I don't know if that was the right thing to do, filling that kid's head with an idea like that... What if either of us fail? Or worse, what if either of us do a good job and Remilia still say no?
Post shift I made my way back to the Library, because I was busy exploring the Library I didn't give myself the time to practice any of the magic. The practice session was mostly focused on the teleporter spell, and while I was practicing drawing the circle itself I had a bit of an epiphany. So spell circles act as a catalyst for magic right? If that's the case do I really need a circle for the Point "A"? Well If I'm teleporting an object maybe but technically I could just be a walking Point "A" and teleport to preset Point "B" right? Well that's the theory anyway. First I need to get good at actually teleporting things without setting them on fire. By the end I got a whopping headache but did managed to get pretty consistent at teleporting a small rock. Next is Human trials. Aka. Me.
I finished the day off with a forage run for some Dandelions and a bath, well forage first bath second. My little craving for some coffee returned once again and the weather was nice enough for me to go grab some. On my way I got to talk to the Mermaid from a while back on the edge of the lake. And there one other Youkai that she was talking too. Well I could tell that she was a Youkai just my her looks. A bit shorter than me, with strange looking wings, short pinkish hair? And a fairly long and pointy looking nails. The Mermaid ran a quick introduction, the bird Youkai's name is Mystia Lorelei and she was apparently fishing for Lampreys to grill and sell. Lampreys? Those parasitic jaw-less fish? Strange things to fish. According to this Youkai grilled Lampreys help with night blindness. Just from that I got to learn a few things. Lampreys can be eaten, they help cure night blindness, and night blindness is a thing. The new Youkai seemed to also like singing, she would hum along to whatever tune, and it was pretty alright on the ear. I guess some Youkai prefer fish over humans, but why Lamprey specifically? Wait selling? I had no idea that Youkai could be independent sales person... Well saying goodbye to the Mermaid and her friend I got to forage for some Dandelion roots. Now that we're well past mid summer maybe I should start foraging and drying some Dandelion roots, for the winter.
Date: 07/05/23
Weather: Sunny days.
Dear Diary.
Today was a fairly lax day, but there were some little bits that's worth mentioning. First is my sparring session with Meiling. This is the second time that I've sparred with Meiling without my glasses. Normally I'd use my eyes to track movements and make appropriate measures to not get hit. Sort of like anyone with functioning eyeballs. But like yesterday's entry the world was more or less a blur of shapes. So I thought I'd change my approach.
On top of trying to be conscious of my breathing I had to use my other sense to try and judge and react to Meiling's slowed down punches and kicks. I tried using mostly my hearing on top of the blurry vision that I had. It felt like I was learning to fight for the very first time. I got beaten, but there were almost eureka moments where I would successfully block a punch. Maybe there might be some merit to this half blind sparring after all.
Post sparring I got to show the Gatekeeper both the exploration video and Flandre's message. What I didn't expect was Meiling's reaction. She's visited and somewhat explored the library on multiple occasion during her employment but never seen the parts of the library in the video, and didn't really have an answer to how she could miss those parts. I did suggest a crackpot theory that the library might be magically expanding and the Gatekeeper seemed to agree with that plausible idea. Her reaction to Flandre's message looked like she was conflicted but also hopeful, and before I got to record her message mentioned that she would love to see the little Vampire outside so they can both play, but according to her the chances are pretty low even with her recent positive development. Well... I got her out this far, I'm still pretty hopeful. Finishing off my morning exercise I got to record Meiling's message, with some minor setbacks. The Gatekeeper seemed to struggle to find her words, maybe she was still trying to feel out how she was feeling about the odds of Flandre seeing the outside world. Eventually though, she did manage to record a quick message telling Flandre that she believes that the little Vampire will get to see the outside soon. Real smooth Meiling.
The shift compared to the morning exercise was a bit more eventful. Starting off with a bit more exploration, but before going into the details I'd like to quickly write out how the layout of the Library works. The walls are basically made of bookshelves from the ground to ceiling that goes many floors up. There are maybe three or four ladders that only goes up to maybe two stories? But nothing higher than that. The bookshelves in the library itself also act almost like a maze, fractally branching out into different hallway made of bookshelves. Even though these shelves are almost dizzying to look at I think the books are categorized and organized extremely well. I wonder how they do it when there's a certain Witch that just drops by and steals the books. Magic maybe?
That aside the little Vampire and I decided to try the left path of the library, but even before that I did have to tell Flandre that the exploration would be cut short for today since I wanted to practice some magic. Seeing Flandre's wings flapped about in excitement was pretty cute learning that some human dude can do magic. I did have to reiterate that I pretty much just started magic and can't do anything fancy. Wait... doesn't Flandre know that I know how to perform magic? I swear I've told her once before...
Anyway I think the books on the left side of the library were more focused on world history in every language imaginable, but the lettering on some of the books were pretty well worn out. Much like the last time the deeper we delved into the library's depths the more jumbled the contents of each books got. Letters symbols and shapes mixed together into an incoherent mess. I wonder if the Library is trying to create books from the outside world or even Gensokyo and the books in the depths of the library are in the process of becoming a legible book. That or its magic that I don't understand.
Half way through the shift the little Vampire and I returned to the front of the library, greeted by the Assistant.
So yesterday I decided to try out the teleport spell on myself, but unfortunately there was a minor setback. Well setback isn't exactly the right word. I explained to the little Vampire what I wanted to do and she for some reason immediately volunteered herself to be the test subject. Naturally that got me worried. What if I failed and hurt her or something? Or worse... I tried to talk her out of it but Flandre didn't listen. Pouting and saying stuff like "I'm a lot tougher than you are. You don't trust me?" I mean she's not wrong, but I really didn't want to have the thought of 'I hurt a kid because she wanted to volunteer to a possibly catastrophic magic experiment' weigh down my conscience...
In the end though I did cave into the little Vampire's demands, but I did get some metaphorical safety nets set up. That being Koakuma, I did try to ask Patchouli but she immediately pointed to the Assistant without saying a word. But I think a part of her did care a little since I could see her taking glances at us working on the whole magic stuff. The first run was once again with the rock that I picked up a while back and thank goodness Koakuma was there to point out any possible faults in the spell circles. The assistant pointed out a few minor mistakes in the spell circles and a major one that could have killed me if I tried to enter it without a fix.
With the Spell Circle fixed and increased in size to fit me or Flandre I began the attempt to teleport Flandre from point A to point B. I have to say that the difference between teleporting a rock and teleporting a living thing felt like night and day. Just one attempt although it was a success left me mentally drained. I could barely notice ecstatic little Vampire having a blast on being teleported, asking if I can do that again, and being shushed by the Librarian once. The rest of the shift was just me sitting in the corner drained while Flandre was flying about looking through different books and checking on how I was doing. By the end of the shift I did feel a tad better but not enough to practice anymore magic... Such a shame...
The last bit of my days were just doing Laundry but slower, I was feeling sluggish after all. Even in the early evening, the Summer heat was not doing any favours, though it good for my wet clothes. The sound of ambience of the bugs and birds chirping about, the slight breeze coming from the lake, the little waves splashing on the lake shore and the cool lake water did help me push through the laundry run with no soap. All in all not a bad day. Could be better though.
Date: 07/06/23
Weather: Not a spot of cloud in the sky
Dear Diary.
Woke up feeling better than yesterday's end, but still with still with a bit of a headache. Naturally that affected how well I did during the sparring session. Blurry vision from the lack of glasses, the mild headache that came and went messing me up. In the end Meiling stopped the sparring session and asked some questions. Hearing what I had to say she seemed to sympathize that I had to juggle both magic and physical work mentioning that I should focus on just one thing.
I do appreciate the sentiment but this is a once in a life time opportunity to be mighty fit and have magic powers. I reassured the gatekeeper that I'll be fine. Surprisingly enough by the start of my shift I did feel like I was back to a hundred percent. The one thing I didn't do for the shift was record Meiling's message for Flandre. It's not like I forgot to record it, its just that Meiling said she was passing on the recording.
Well clever Girl. I guess the Gatekeeper had a plan all along. Walking the little Vampire to the library I did have to apologize for Flandre for the lack of a video message for today. The little Vampire was visibly upset and tried to pass it off as 'maybe she was busy' which was not the case since I was there to actually make the recording. The apology was short lived though, because we had another surprise visitor. It wasn't the kleptomaniac Witch, but Meiling herself. I don't think I've ever seen Flandre fly that fast before. For half the shift the little Vampire got to hang out with her favourite Gatekeeper at the mild displeasure of the Librarian from the noise the two were making. While I was happy for both of them but I was a little worried that the gate was pretty much wide open. Asking Meiling if anyone was covering for her, she had that covered.
According to Meiling she asked a few Fairy maids and Hobgoblins to look after the gate for a while. Wait what? The mansion has Hobgoblins? Since when? Why haven't I seen any of them? Now I want to see them. My new found interest of the coworkers that I've never seen aside, Meiling leaving her post to hang out with Flandre did give me some time to practice a bit more magic. This time I was the test subject with Koakuma once again looking after the operation. The sensation of being teleported feels... otherworldly... It sort of feels like the teleportation is in two separate parts, the consciousness, then the body... Or is it the other way around? I'm honestly not sure, but it definitely feels like my mind and body gets split in two for a second during the entire process. Other than that I don't feel any different, well minus the headache from using up that much MP for a single spell. Is that what the headache is? Low MP? I'll just assume it is.
The latter half of the shift was when Meiling tried to return to her post, but almost like clock work Flandre was against the idea, in the end though Flandre sort of gave in asking Meiling if shes going to visit again, and naturally the Gatekeeper said "Yes." I guess it was my turn to look after Flandre. And surprisingly I was already feeling better. According to the Librarian who surprisingly gave an explanation when asked why I was recovering from my headache faster with each magic spell. The short answer was that I was building a tolerance to the usage of magic. The long answer would be with each successful spell cast my body and mind is sort of remembering how the spell works on top of my recovery improving with each successful spell cast, but that was the one caveat. It had to be a successful spell cast. All failed spell cast sort of sets the tolerance back a little due to the mind trying to figure out why the spell failed. To explain quickly in a video game term. Every successful spell cast increases my MP recovery. Wait, so how do I increase my max MP though? Well I got to learn about that after the shift ended.
After bringing the little Vampire back to her room it was more Magic practice run for me. Now that my 'MP Recovery' for the two spells that I've been practising was going pretty well, I though I'd kick it up a notch, but first I got to learn about how 'Max MP' worked. According to Patchouli it was as simple as just learning and practising new spells. I thought I'd get a much more complicated answer but this works. As much as I wanted to learn more spells I first wanted to try out the idea of using myself as the 'Point A' of the teleport spell. Result was mixed to put it lightly. The first few times I was actually successful in teleporting to the paper with the spell circle marked with the Point 'B' or the exit point. But the more attempts I made the more fatigued I got, and eventually failed and got hit with a massive headache. A good cue to wrap up my session. Headache aside I'm happy that I'm making strides in progress.
Last bit of the day was focused on two things, first was ridding of my throbbing headache, which would go away with enough time. But the more important thing I focused on was the apparent Hobgoblin coworkers that I didn't know about. Trying to juggle my headache and the search no no fun but it was worth it. Eventually I did have to ask the Fairy maids after an hour with no result, and that results within several minutes. Compared to the numbers of Fairy maids working in the mansion, the Hobgoblins are in much fewer numbers. They apparently take shifts night shifts, which explains why I've never seen them. I did manage to talk to one of them, and its safe to say that they have a bit of a short fuse. Other than that though the Hobgoblins don't seem like a bad a bunch. Maybe I'll get to know them more if the opportunity arises.
Date: 07/07/23
Weather: Spot of sun, and Storms galore.
Dear Diary.
So I haven't really covered this before because it never really came up. Most of the time I go to bed, I wake up either with no dreams the night before, or I almost instantly forget what I was dreaming about, but last night was a bit different. Not only did I have a lucid dream, I could remember most of it long after I woke up. I remember being under a spot light, and for a third of the dream all I could do was stare into the almost infinite abyss. Then another spot light right in front of me. I could see a shape swirling Red and White dancing in the second spot light. Then an absolute darkness. The spotlight over me disappeared too and for a while I felt like I was just floating in pure darkness. I couldn't even see my hands just centimeters away from my face.
The last bit was the most vivid of the entire lucid dream. The floating sensation slowly turning into a falling sensation, and eventually my butt hit a floor of sorts, still enveloped in darkness. Then the two spot light once again, and the constantly changing shape of Red and White. The shape would just do its own thing, floating around, but the moment I tried to reach out, it changed shape. Sharp, jagged; and before I could pull my hand away it would go right through my hand. I didn't feel any pain, when it pierced my hand but definitely felt pain when the jagged shape of Red and White went right through my chest. And then I woke up.
I could feel the pain even after I woke up, like it was real... Was it real? I mean it went through the left side of my chest. It would have gotten my heart or at the very least my lung, but all I could feel is pain. It did go away after a while when I was just laying in bed. Do... dreams have any meaning in Gensokyo? I couldn't get any answer from Meiling when I asked before the sparring match regarding the whole dream bit. Speaking of which, do Youkai's dream? I wonder what they dream about. The sparring session with Meiling went as well as I could make it, basically half blind and leagues behind in terms of strength, techniques, experience, and whatever else that makes a good martial artist, it sometimes feels pretty Sisyphean. Meiling didn't think so, she thinks that I'm making a pretty good progress in improvement, I sure hope that's the case. The morning routine was topped off with a recording session for the little Vampire. Meiling apologized that she can't make it down to the library but will try and make the time in the near future.
The shift went fairly well. My new found magic powers definitely helped when exploring the library. Flandre and I, aka the crew of two explored the right side of the library this time around, the right side had a bunch of books of every topic imaginable. From non-magic manuals, fiction books of all genres and language? Comic books? Man what does this library not have? Now the return trip was where I got to flex my newly developed magic powers. Asking the little Vampire to hold on to my shirt, focus, and then presto! Teleporting to an exit point without an entry point with only a mild headache that went away with in minutes! After the one teleport, a bit of my shift involved the Flandre flying me to the depths of the library me teleporting the two of us back. Unfortunately it didn't last long. After almost an hour of non-stop teleporting I was exhausted, eventually failing the spell cast and the little Vampire had to fly the two of us back disappointed. Flandre's message for Meiling at the end of the shift was a quick reply telling the Gatekeeper know that she'll wait for her. Now that I got the teleport spell down pat, I spent the rest of the day setting up exit points around the mansion, starting with the library's entrance, and my room. letting the Fairy maids to not take them down. I know that I can easily make more exits and put them everywhere in the mansion, but that would be just lazy. So just two points are good start. Now... What about beyond the mansion itself?
Date: 07/08/23
Weather: Rainfall.
Dear Diary.
Well, I clearly didn't think this through, I thought about putting exit points for my teleport spell on the outside of the mansion, but there's a problem. My exit points for the teleport spells are drawn on paper, and I totes forgot to factor in the weather. Waking up to the sound of raindrops gave me the reminder that I need a different way to permanently leave behind an exit point. I'd have to let future me figure that out. The morning exercise still went about as well as a kid trying to fight a professional martial artist. After getting my butt kicked my Meiling I asked the her what I can do to improve my physical skills a bit faster. The Gatekeeper suggested that I could focus more on martial arts more often than practising my magic. I have to say I was put off by that suggestion but looking back I think Meiling has a bit of a point. I think I'll have to change up my daily routines moving forward. Around the end of the morning routine, I asked Meiling if she was going to record her message for Flandre, but seeing the little Vampire's message from yesterday Meiling to my surprise politely refused. Apparently she wants to hold off on recording messages for a bit, to make her surprise visit more impactful. Wait, can't she just record a message and visit anyway? Oh well.
The shift today had a bit of a focus on my magic practice as Flandre as my little assistant, but first was more Library exploring. I swear even if I explore the library for the rest of my life, I wouldn't even scratch the surface. With my magic practice as Flandre as my assistant I learned that how I place the exit points matter. Essentially my feet will always be touching the circle on the exit. Meaning the little Vampire holding the paper vertically makes my body end up parallel to the ground, follow up by me falling flat on my face. Hold up the circle upside down, and exit upside down. A painful but interesting discovery. Which got me thinking. Can I exit without an exit point? The experiment ended up in failure. Either I'm just not good enough or the spell itself won't let me exit without an exit point. I sure hope its the former. The shift ended on more of a quiet note with everyone in the library reading their own books until the end of the shift.
Well the shift ended on a quiet note but the rest of my day was anything but Quiet... Because I've made so much free time by combining my magic practice session and my job a week prior, I decided to do something that I wouldn't have even think of doing like a weeks or months ago. Visit the Human village all by myself. With Izayoi just perpetually busy running the mansion all by herself since it was the end of the week I could just do the Grocery run for her on top of other personal objectives that I wanted to see through. That way I get to build a positive rapport with my Boss, on top of building my self confidence on travelling outside the mansion. Win win right? Before the little misadventure though, I did some pre-prepping. First was finding and offering the head Maid to do the grocery run for her. Izayoi seemed pretty surprised as if this was the first time ever on someone actively offering some extra helping hand. The Boss gave me a list and the necessary money for the grocery run. Izayoi has some real elegant penmanship, and the best part is its actually legible. The second thing that I wanted to get done was creating an exit point for the mansion's front gate so I can just teleport back, but with the rainfall, I had to put a rain check on that. The trek to the village was pretty uneventful, maybe a little chilly from the light win and rain but nothing of significance to note, the ambience was nice though.
Arriving to the village I took a small stop at the walls of the village itself. The outer wall was mostly a mix of wood and clay. I was thinking of carving an exit point on the wall itself but that would mean that I'd always end up falling flat on a successful exit. I'll do a bit more research on the whole exit circle bit. Okay so the Human Village experience... I totally forgot that the paper girl did rounds in the human village too... It only took one villager to recognize me as the 'Devil Mansion's Part timer' and soon a wave of locals were crowding around me, asking a hundred questions a second. I had to politely ask the crowd clear the way since I was technically on the job, and a good portion of the villager gave me some space, the questions didn't really slow down though. Then I had a brilliant idea on suggesting the folks to ask Shameimaru their personal questions about me for them during the interview. Surely that wouldn't come back to bite me in the butt. Right? The Grocery run itself felt pretty tame. Making small talks with the grocers, getting the necessary effects, and then heading to the next grocer. Izayoi must be something of a genius. Not a single coin short or left over after the grocery run. Now... It was my return trip that was a bit... Eventful? I had a bit of an encounter with one of the villager the mixed smell of rainfall and booze, slurred speech.
A drunk in the early evening shouting profanities in my direction, directed at me. It was that one guy from like a month back... The self proclaimed other worlder. I could understand about a quarter of what he was saying, something about it not being fair that I got to live a cushy life and he didn't? Something else about how it was supposed to be him being the hero or something? Does he think that I'm a hero or a main character to some story? I'm literally the farthest thing from that. I mean sure, I have a comfortable position in the mansion but its far from cushy. I have to consistently work for my position, and one major screw up and I literally become dinner for the Vampires... I tried ignoring the drunk but he wouldn't leave me alone, getting more belligerent towards me and whoever trying to do damage control. As much as I didn't want to I had to try and calm the guy down. I tried talking to him like any civilized person would, but I think he was a bit too drunk to be civilized. The drunk got close enough to shove me around, now getting aggressive. I warned the guy one more time before he threw a punch. Something felt off though, from where I was standing it felt like the punch was coming straight at me, but noticeably slower. Just ducking low was enough to make the drunk stumble and fall, and that got a cheer from a few folks in the crowd, which in turn made the guy even more upset. The second punch was where I slowly started to realize why Meiling was saying that I was making progress.
Every punch from the drunk felt painfully predictable a side step here, and there, I felt like one of those matadors, but instead of fighting a bull I was fighting a drunk, well fighting wouldn't be right, it was more in the lines of 'I was dodging a drunk.' The 'Fight' eventually ended when another villager intervened. A lady in blue, slightly taller than me with a long silvery hair with a hint of blue, I think I heard a few people call her a teacher or something. This 'Teacher' got a couple villager to escort the drunk out while the guy was just shouting profanities into the sky. The Teacher introduced herself as Kamishirasawa Keine. And here I thought the Paper Girl's name was long... The Teacher apologized on the village's behalf, before taking her leave. I wonder where they took the drunk. The return trip was about the same as my trip to the village itself, and honestly I'm sort of okay with that. Dealing with the drunk was more than enough of an adventure. Izayoi was fairly impressed that I was able to complete the grocery run without too much incident. I did leave out the whole encounter bit but she doesn't need to know that. Which also reminds me... The fact that the boss was impressed at a regular human completing something as trivial as am grocery run troubles me... As much as I love helping around I hope she doesn't go for the 'All eggs one basket' strat on me...
Author's Note:
Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well. With the completion of the July's Second entry, I want to go over a few different things. Don't worry it's nothing super serious or anything.
First: As stated in the previous entry I've made some changes in the format. I personally like the format, but not the quality of this entry. I'd also love to hear your feed back so I can improve my writing skills and make changes if necessary.
Second: One of the now regular reviewer suggested on an Incident that the "Writer" could cause. To clarify, the Incident that the "Writer" has to pull off has been established earlier in the previous entries as 'To steal everyone's left shoe and stash it somewhere.' This was sort of the original plot of the very first DMPT and I'll most likely stick with it.
The last bit is regarding suggestions. Honestly I am open to suggestions for future entries but please don't expect every suggestions to be added into the future entries. That beings said if someone does make a suggestion that I do like I will try and contact them to ask if its alright for me to make necessary changes to fit the narrative as smooth as possible. If I have no ways to contact them I'll try make a mention in the author's notes.
That being said, one of the regular reviewer [You know who you are ;)] suggested the "Writer" creating Lava lamps to make some money and use it as a source of an Incident. Since the Incident is already set to be something else I was wondering if I can still add the 'Make and sell Lava Lamp' element a future entry. If you don't want me to, I understand.
Alright everyone I'm done rambling! See you on the 15th!