There is so much to say about Gensokyo. From the geography, to the people, to the customs, to the dangers, to the history, to the metaphysics of it all. There is too much to say, far more than we could hope to impart in one afternoon.
After all, just since our own arrival in this world four years ago, my partner and I had already been involved in five Incidents, each with the potential to reshape the landscape of power in this world. Just telling the stories of those Incidents would fill five books. Akyuu had produced a new addendum to the Gensokyo Chronicle in this period as well and Keine had filled dozens of scrolls in her monthly trips to the bamboo grove.
Our purpose in coming to this shrine had been to gather information on Sanae and anyone else dwelling here, but confronted with another Outsider like ourselves who was newly arrived in this land, we had a duty as her more experienced peers to guide and protect her, as Keine had done for us. Finding out more about the Moriya shrine would have to come later. In this situation even Renko, whose curiosity normally trumped all other concerns, was able to understand the necessity of postponing our fact-finding mission.
We quickly determined that although Sanae had willingly crossed into this world knowing that she was entering a land of fantasy and illusion, she had little concept of what this world was actually like. So far, she had mostly only seen parts of the mountain and the area directly around the Moriya shrine, though she knew that the human village existed on the plains far below. Her visit to the Hakurei shrine had been her first venture out in to this world. Her trip had been on Kanako's insistence after the goddess had apparently heard from the villagers that it was the only shrine in Gensokyo.
"Our initial goal is to gather the faith of the tengu and kappa who live on this mountain, but it hasn't been easy. The Kappa flee at the sight of us and we haven't been able to proselytize to any of them yet. The tengu have sent spies and messengers, but they are very reluctant to say much of anything, so we haven't had much luck in convincing them to worship Lady Yasaka yet. They've been ignoring all of our attempts to reach out to them for almost a month now, so going to the Hakurei shrine seemed like a logical next step."
"And was negotiating with Reimu to take over her shrine something you planned or just something you came up with in the moment?"
"It's a natural response! You saw that place. Being the only shrine in Gensokyo, I expected something grand and awe-inspiring, with worshippers present day and night, but it's just a little shack on a hill! How can you have a land full of such wonder but so devoid of faith? The people of this land are besieged on all sides by youkai and ghosts, so there should be strong religion to guide and protect them. One decaying shrine far from the village is an insult to the power of the gods. After Lady Yasaka remodels the place and we get some proper observances and ceremonies going, her blessings will revitalize this land. I can't imagine the miserable poverty the people here must live in, but with the bounty of Lady Yasaka, that burden will be relieved."
It seems like Sanae's bid to take over the Hakurei shrine was founded on the best of intentions. It was a relief to hear that these newcomers had arrived in this world without any malicious aim. I smiled at the naiveté of her response, but Renko's reaction was more uncouth.
"Bwahahahaha!" Renko had to set her teacup down on the table with a thunk to keep from spilling it. "Oh man. I can see why you might think the people of Gensokyo live in poverty if Reimu was your only exposure to them, but she's kind of an edge case. The shrine is a bit rough, I'll admit, but Reimu is well recognized in the village and the first person they turn to in the event of any sort of supernatural trouble. As for poverty, well, it's hard to say compared to the Outside world. There are certainly fewer luxuries, but there are fewer demands as well. No one in Gensokyo ever got into credit card debt or had to pay back a student loan. At the very least you can rest assured that no one in the village goes hungry."
"Oh, I see. Do you two know the miko at that shrine well?"
"Hmmm, well enough to be invited to parties she holds, I'd say."
"Ah, then I should have you two talk to her about me. Let her know I didn't mean any insult and help me convince her to join in worshipping Lady Yasaka. Oh! Before that though, I should be gathering faith from you two. Let me show you the divine virtues of Lady Yasaka so that you can benefit from the blessings of this shrine."
"Ah, well, before we get to that, I'd like to ask you something else." Renko said, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. I imagined that for a dedicated empiricist like her, the question of religion was a settled one, though with all we had witnessed in Gensokyo, who knows? "Why did you call out to us as we were leaving the shrine?"
Sanae blushed and answered while looking away in embarrassment. "Ah... well, I noticed you both coming up the path as I was leaving. You were humans interested in visiting a shrine, so I thought you might be good people to talk to about spreading our faith. I... might have hidden in the woods and watched you talk to the shrine maiden and that girl with the horns. I couldn't hear you though. Not all of it anyway. When you left I came out to talk to you. Are you two regular worshippers at that shrine?"
"Well, not exactly."
"Then we extend you and your faith the warmest of welcomes! Simply devote yourself to the glory of Lady Yasaka and you will receive blessings in kind!"
"Ah well, I'll certainly consider it. But on the topic of spreading your faith, has a newspaper reporter come to interview you yet by any chance?"
"A newspaper reporter? No, I didn't know they had such things in Gensokyo."
"The villagers don't, but the tengu produce and distribute newspapers. I take it you haven't been questioned by them yet though?"
"No, but I'd be happy to give any sort of interview they want. Using mass media to spread word of Lady Yasaka's greatness is a wonderful idea!"
I looked over at my partner. "It looks like miss Shameimaru isn't as obsessed with reporting on new developments as you thought, Renko. I can't imagine she isn't aware that this shrine has arrived."
"You may be right," Renko muttered, looking down and rubbing her chin. "I had thought the Bunbunmaru Shinbun had stopped publishing because Aya was tied up doing exhaustive coverage of the new arrivals, but there must be some other reason."
While the two of us were talking to eachother, Sanae tilted her head and asked "by the way, how did you two hear about this shrine? The miko at the shrine on the hill didn't seem to know we had arrived here yet, but you two did."
"Ah, well, being a detective, I keep a wide social circle in order to effectively gather information. We had heard a few rumors about your arrival from a kappa and and a tengu I'm acquainted with."
"Oh, you know the tengu? Do you think you could introduce us? They haven't responded to any of our requests to meet with their leaders."
"I'm afraid I can't help you there, my connections don't reach as far as the upper echelons of tengu society. I know a newspaper reporter that I'd be happy to introduce you to, but I don't know where she is. No one's seen her in a month, which is why we started asking about what was going on here on this mountain in the first place."
Sanae had leaned forward, eyes alight at the mention of the tengu, but now she retreated back to a sitting position with a downcast look of dejection, saying "I see..." She clearly had a tendency toward emotional extremes.
"So then do humans, kappa and tengu regularly interact and mingle in this world?"
I took the opportunity to answer this question before Renko could give Sanae a distorted impression. "No, they don't. Renko's just crazy that way. Humans stay in the village and the tengu fiercely defend their territory. The kappa avoid everyone, but are subordinate to and ruled by the tengu. Gensokyo is home to many peoples, but they coexist by drawing borders between societies. Very few people are stupid enough to willingly cross those borders, but my partner here happens to be one of them." I punctuated this last sentence by poking Renko in the cheek.
"Merry, that's a terrible thing to say," Renko protested, while trying to fend off my finger.
"The truth can be ugly, Renko."
"True or not, it's still defamation of character. You're intentionally painting me as untrustworthy."
"Yes, reality has a way of doing that," I said, weaving my finger around her guard to land another poke.
Seeing the two of us bicker, Sanae laughed heartily.
"Well, character assassination aside, it's also not the whole story. There are also youkai all over Gensokyo, but most of them are solitary, and each one follows its own rules. Some are gentle and will occasionally come into town to shop, but some will mercilessly attack without warning." Renko said, shooting a last glare in my direction. "But no one group ever tries to make war on or eradicate any of the others, so I guess you could call that a form of peaceful co-existence."
Sanae nodded with a look of admiration on her face. "I see. Thank you professor, I'm learning a lot."
"As for the kappa and tengu," Renko continued, "they have their own societies, which seem to be significantly more technologically advanced than that of the humans. I couldn't tell you much about them though, they've never let me inside their city. I know that they have some things that resemble or occasionally even exceed the sophistication of technology from the Outside world though. Usually small things, like cameras."
"Oh, Lady Yasaka will be delighted to hear that, she loves technology. For now though, I should focus on the human society. Can you tell me more about the village at the foot of the mountain?"
"OK, professor Merry. Tag. That's your territory."
"What? Why me? You know the village better than I do."
"It's fine. Sanae, please keep in mind we're Outsiders too, so we still don't know every nuance of the place. I'm tired of talking all the time though, so for now you can listen to a lecture from professor Merry for a change."
"Alright fine. Maybe I should draw you a map. Sanae, do you have anything to write with?"
"Oh, sure." She fished about in a drawer for a moment then came back to the table with a notepad and a ballpoint pen.
Renko's eyes lit up at the sight of it.
"Oh whoa! A ballpoint pen. That's a valuable treasure here. Usually we have to make do with horsehair brushes and inkstones."
"Really? Does that mean the collection of cute pencils and erasers in my room is worth a fortune?"
"If you've got some high-quality paper too, yeah, maybe."
"Oh wow, it's like I'm a time traveler!" She said cheerfully.
We smiled back at her, a pair of unsuspected time travelers just across the table.
