The very next day

"He came back?!"

"Whatever are his motifs, I stumbled upon him trying to sneak past me!" Reimu said to the Dreamer.

Usami was surprised to hear about the Tanker, afterall, it was 3 months since she last saw him. Would his objective be finally at reach? Who the hell is he? What the hell was he?

"There has to be a reason he was looking for Gensokyo in the first place" Usami asked Reimu, despite herself already knowing the answer.

"Well, you are the one who got him into his mess, did he ever tell you why he came here?"

Usami is just scrambling in her mind looking for what to say…

"No, he was very reserved when we met…" Usami lied.

Rumors from the crow tengu about a new type of youkai entering Gensokyo have been spreading everywhere, but never in my life have I met someone with the ability to manipulate smoke, and I'll say, I'm curious about your abilities.

I, Remilia Scarlet, Proud Owner of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the most feared name in all Gensokyo, cordially invite you to my mansion for a casual exchange that without any doubt, will capture your attention. The mastery of smoke and manipulation of it at will, such an ability that separates you from your kind here in Gensokyo, has caught my attention with an intrigue and need so immense as the Misty lake itself, that I demand you make haste to my lair as soon as day dawns a new light.

You'll find my Mansion without any problem, Standing out from the common masses and the traditional housing that this land has to offer, with such elegant baroque construction and style. After All, My lair hasn't earned its name via rumors and legends alone.

My set of demands for you to enter are not hard to comply: you must come unarmed, arrive in a presentable state, And behave yourself, I am trusting you to comply with my demands, if you fail to follow my code, I will not hesitate to make you regret your existence

Awaiting your arrival with ardent anticipation.

-Remilia Scarlet
Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Mastery of smoke? Who does this woman think I am, an overlord of smoke? I literally just stole wood to make concrete molds just 3 days ago. But I'm respectful enough to change clothes out of my stash, something perfect for a Mansion is not but something it is.

In the envelope aside from the letter, also came a photograph of the mansion to know where i should arrive, an immense state, painted scarlet red with a clock tower in the middle, the letter just said to follow the path towards the Misty Lake but the path I am following right now is to where know who, am I even going the right place?

I'm walking straight on the path to a single direction, with the photo only as reference. It's a little late morning, I could tell from the shadow my figure is leaving on the floor, just a little to being in the middle of me. It's about noon and I'm still lost.

"oh?"

I Hear from behind a female voice directed to me, I jump in place surprised but turn around to see who said that. It was the Lady I met back at my base! This time she is carrying big and heavy looking grocery bags on both her hands and a back mounted basket full to the brim with groceries. How does one like her carry such an amount of weight?

"oh! umm… hello, uhh" I scramble to say something, she didn't bother to tell me a name back when we met.

"Sakuya…Izayoi Sakuya" She responds, "I'm the head chief maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"um, p-pleasure to meet you! Plyush Canmoore at your service!" I said, at your service!? I just met her and I already feel dumb saying that, what is gaining over me?

"I see" the maid says to me, "tell you what, you seem lost to your way to my mistress' Mansion. I can escort you there, but be a sweetheart and help me with these bags"

"sure!" I respond as quickly before my mind realizes what I just said. Internally I'm panicking, but something deep within me… within my core, compels me to keep going.

"but are you sure you need help with the bags in your hands, you could use more help with that basket in your back"

"oh no need! I can take care of that on my own, but these bags are more of a hassle to carry" the maid responded as she handed me the bags in her hands.

"Sure! Allow me" I take both the bags into both of my hands.

"Right this way Mr. Canmoore" she says as she continues her stride towards where we are headed.

The road seems to never end, with the heat of noon finally hitting our bodies, but the good thing is it's February now, the fresh breeze is overcoming the sun, well not that i could feel it, but surely she is enjoying the breeze.

From my years in fight, i've learned that the wind is both my enemy and my ally, my core became sensitive to changes of wind like the strength and direction, but I never got the ability to sense changes in temperature, but i could tell it was a nice breeze, the wind blew moderately into the world, with the plains waving as the wind blew towards us. The wind blowing on the maid's beautiful hair, like loose ivy in a white birch, waving majestically with such serene prowess.

"I take it you are enjoying the view…" the maid says without looking at me.

Crap! have I been staring at her the whole time!? Damnit! I became so lost in her beauty I just went on yet another trance, so to break the ice I try to ask for more answers.

"So uh… how'd your mistress know about my existence? I haven't been out exploring at all, so i'm surprised you managed to find me" I ask the maid.

"The crow tengu happened to be near the hakurei shrine when your little escape stunt happened, she witnessed your escape and your effects on camera, in her latest article she described and I quote: "A dangerous newcomer in gensokyo causes havoc on the hakurei shrine." My mistress saw the article and ordered me to track you." the maid answers.

"Who now?" I asked in intrigue, I thought the night sky camouflaged me perfectly.

"Aya Shameimaru, she runs the Gensokyo paper "bunbunmaru" directed to the youkai and those unfortunate enough who get their hands on it, she is not to be trusted."

"A newspaper? How advanced is this place?" I ask about the state of this land

"Gensokyo is a land with multiple landmarks, but Gensokyo runs on a mostly ordered hierarchy employed by the sages, but it's hard to employ with the human village in mind…"

"Human village… so that's where the lost end up!" I exclaim.

"I beg your pardon?" she says.

"I heard legends of people getting lost and never coming back, some people do come back but with no knowledge of where they end up. I figured that the people that do end up somewhere had to be in a place, but I never knew that humans survived here." i respond to her

"And that's precisely why it is hard to employ a society with humans and the mythical coexisting. How do they survive? In a world where some youkai must subsist on human flesh, you would think they would be devoured within days, but some beings are bent on protecting the humans from the youkai, others are bent on exploiting them and some just see them as numbers to be added to their beliefs. With colliding ideals and actions, Gensokyo appears a peaceful land, but behind the blinds, deviousness is needed to keep that illusion of peace." she explained to me

"Personally, I only see humans as a source source of food for my mistress, they can fend for themselves if they are strong enough"

…

"This is gonna be a long journey isn't it…" I thought to myself

"say… how long till we reach there?" I ask.

"We are closer now, look." She says as she turns her view to the front.

I look to the front, and I see not too far from the horizon, the Scarlet red mansion, opulent and imperial, gazing proudly from its stoic perch above the moor. *(¬‿¬)

But there is something that is keeping me uneasy about this whole trip, it's not about the maid, or about what she said about humans.

it's like… I'm being followed.