"Excellent, now all I have to do is sit back in this throne and wait to become Gensokyo's greatest armchair detective."
"Oh. Uhm, actually, miss Remilia, it's the person who finds the culprit who's the detective. That would be Renko, not you, in this case." I had raised my objection without even thinking or paying any attention to who I was talking to. As a lover of mysteries, I couldn't allow such a misconception to stand.
"Don't be ridiculous. An armchair detective's job is to reveal the nature of a crime and extract justice from the culprit. You're just the hired help who brings the criminal in."
"Oh," I said, remembering our position. "Right."
"I will do the important work of solving the Incident, so the menial labour of catching and retrieving the criminal can be left to maids or gatekeepers or the like. That's why armchair detectives are the best sort."
Personally, I thought that sounded more like the archetype of the gentleman or lady detective. Perhaps Remilia might manage to be both sorts, though having the detective of a series being a vampire in the form of a ten-year-old girl would certainly be an abnormal twist.
"You're free to use whatever methods you see fit. If the mansion or its resources can be of any use to you, I'll also tell Sakuya to leave them at your disposal. I'll give you until tomorrow to catch the culprit and bring them here to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
"Consider it done. You can count on the Hifuu Detective Agency."
"Wait a minute, Renko. Don't sign off so quickly!"
"Don't worry, Merry. The great detective herself is on the case. We'll have this wrapped up in no time." She gave me a mischievous wink, to which I had no response but to sigh deeply.
-.-.-.-.-
After that, Remilia retired to her bedroom and the three of us headed for the library in the basement to speak to Patchouli. As soon as we reached the doors to the library, however-
"I'm sorry, Lady Patchouli has asked that she not be disturbed while she works on her research. I'm afraid I can't let you in." The little devil bowed politely and smiled kindly, then slammed the heavy door in our faces.
As such, we had no choice but to withdraw, and we made our way back up the stairs toward the entrance hall as we discussed our next moves. With the time limit Remilia had imposed on us, there was a real and sudden sense of urgency to our investigation that had been absent before.
"What do you think miss Patchouli was looking into?" I asked.
"If it's urgent enough to draw her out of the library, it has to be related to this Incident and the weather somehow. Sakuya mentioned that Patchouli had said something about wizards being sensitive to temperaments, so I have to assume there's some relationship there, but I haven't seen anything that looks like a phantom around. We might be able to figure out the link without waiting for Patchouli if we can talk to someone who's knowledgeable about ghosts and temperaments and the like."
"That would have to be the lady of Hakugyokuro right? Or Youmu? Do we get to go to the Netherworld now?" Sanae asked, bobbing excitedly.
"Well, we could also try going to Muenzuka to see if the Yama or her shinigami subordinate are there. They'd probably know, and that would be easier to get to than the Netherworld. Oh, or we could just go talk to the Prismrivers, they're even closer." I suggested.
"Oh! I've heard them, they came to play at the shrine for a party."
"All the way up on the mountain? I'm surprised the tengu would invite them."
"It was the kappa. Do they live around here?"
"Yes, they're not far at all. We'll introduce you to them, Sanae. I think you'll like Merlin."
"Awesome! Even in the Outside world it's rare to get to meet an idol group in person."
"Well, I can guarantee you've never met a group like them before. They're all poltergeists for one. I don't know if I'd call them idols though. They don't sing and superstar acts with producers and elaborate stage shows aren't really a thing in Gensokyo. After we talk to them maybe we could go by Alice's house in the Forest of Magic too, to get another magician's opinion on what Patchouli might be doing."
"I'm not sure we can get all of that done before it gets dark, Renko."
"Well then why don't you both come and sleep over at our shrine again? This time we can get Lady Kanako to appear at the branch shrine and go tell the teacher at the temple school that you guys are safe and staying with us, and you'll be back by morning."
"I'm not sure if Keine would let us off with just that, but moreover, is it really okay to ask the goddess of the mountain to run errands for you like that?"
Sanae laughed off my concerns as we made our way out of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Sakuya appeared at the door to bid us farewell and see us down the flower-lined path to the gate. As we stepped through, Meiling called out to us while swinging the heavy iron bars shut again.
"Were you able to meet with Lady Patchouli?"
"No, she was busy. We got turned away at the door."
"Ah, that's a shame. Thanks for coming by all the same though, I'm sure Lady Remilia appreciated the visit."
"Actually while we're here, Meiling, have you noticed anything unusual about the weather lately?"
"The weather? That's a little out of the blue, why do you ask?"
"We've been hired by the lady of the house to investigate the source of some unusual weather-related phenomena she's been experiencing."
"She hired you? Rather than just getting Sakuya to do it? That's impressive, you must have really earned her trust. I envy you, miss Usami."
"Well, I hope to prove worthy of it, but back to the question, Meiling, have you noticed anything odd?"
"Before I answer that, can I ask why you're asking me? I'm sure anyone else would probably be more knowledgeable, I'm just the gate guard."
"No deep reason to it, I'm asking everyone is all."
Renko said that, but there were layers to the question. On the surface, it seemed a reasonable enough question to ask, and one that we might not expect Meiling to have an answer for beyond what she might have noticed from standing outside all day. If Renko's theories about Meiling's origins were right though, she might have a deeper and unique knowledge of heavenly phenomena. If you don't know what I'm talking about there, then you're in much the same boat as Sanae, who was regarding Renko with a quizzical look. I refer you to my first book, concerning the events of the Scarlet Mist Incident and Renko's deductions from shortly after our arrival in this world if you'd like to know all the details.
Meiling crossed her arms and closed her eyes, grumbling as she tried to think back. "Well, the weather's been changeable lately, but the will of heaven is beyond the knowing of any earthly youkai. I can't say if anything's really been unusual or not." Opening her eyes she looked upward. There was no wind at the moment and the azure sky was mostly obscured behind patchy layers of clouds. Beneath that, fog clung to the lake, as it frequently did, obscuring vision. Further out, toward the village, the clouds were heavier and lower, threatening rain.
"I can't really point to any particular bit of weather that seems out of place but..."
"What is it?"
"The qi of the world has been odd recently."
"How so?"
"Hmmm, I guess you could say that nature has a 'feeling' to it, or a 'temperament.' A normal range of 'moods' you might expect of its energies, if that makes any sense. Sometimes it's sunny and sometimes its stormy, but it always fits within the patterns and flows of what you might expect for a given time of year. Except, lately it's not like that. The weather seems likely to change in an instant, and the temperament of its qi changes too. I don't really know why that would be, but I think that's what Patchouli has been looking into. I couldn't tell you what any of it means, but if I had to guess... I'd say something major is about to happen."
"Oh I get it now!" Sanae suddenly declared. "Miss gatekeeper, you're the culprit behind this Incident!" She said, clapping her fist into an upturned palm.
"What?" The word had been spoken by both Meiling and myself.
"Don't you see, Renko? The villain was hiding right under their master's nose, too close to be seen. Meiling can manipulate qi. She's been using that to alter the temperament of nature and the weather changes as a result. Let's haul her back inside and collect our pay!"
"Wait, why am I the culprit?"
"No questions, criminal. You have the right to remain silent!"
"Okay, cut, cut, that's enough." Renko said, spreading her arms and stepping in front of Sanae, who had drawn out her wand again.
"Renko, why are you stopping me? Has she messed with your qi too?"
"Sorry about this, Meiling. Our new part-timer is very eager, but a bit quick to jump to conclusions."
"I see. No offense taken, that's just the nature of kids right?"
"Hey! I'm not a kid! Don't group me together with the pipsqueak vampire!"
"Whoa there, Sanae. Say any more and Sakuya will be sending you home with a few shiny silver souvenirs. Just stop for now." Renko said, and clapped a hand over Sanae's mouth.
"Again, my apologies, miss Meiling. We'll be taking our leave now." She turned and frog-marched Sanae away from the gate, one hand still clamped over her mouth. She kept it there until we were a good dozen meters away.
"Mmmuhua-pwah! Renko! Why did you stop me? How can I use the power of miracles to solve an Incident if you won't let me fight?"
"Sanae, are you trying to act like a foil on purpose?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Merry?"
In detective novels, you always have the great detective first. That would be Renko. The second character is usually their assistant, or someone they're telling the story to after the fact. That's my role. When a third character accompanies those two, it's almost always a gendarme or rival investigator. Someone to present their own theories and complicate the matter. I was sure that Sanae was just being herself, but I couldn't help but see the parallels. The main difference was that in detective stories, the foil was often a comedic character. For us here in reality though, it was actually quite a nuisance.
"Anyway, come on, Renko! She's a youkai who can manipulate qi, and that affects the temperament of nature. That's what you call 'self-incrimination,' right? It's gotta be her. Now's when you're supposed to say 'It's elementary, Watson!' and reveal how she did it."
"Sherlock Holmes is a bit dated, Sanae. The key to being a modern great detective is humility."
"Humility?"
"Exactly. No matter how many clues you've gathered or how reasonable your deductions are, you can never be certain that you haven't missed a clue somewhere. There's always the chance that there's some crucial bit of evidence that would completely overturn all of your previous deductions."
"What? How can you be a great detective if you can't be sure of your conclusions?"
"That just the reality of it. An infallible detective is just an outdated idea. Approaching deduction with a scientific mindset that seeks to constantly disprove and test their own theories is the proper approach for the modern era."
"Wooow. I guess it's hard to be a great detective, huh?"
"Take what Renko says with a grain of salt, Sanae. She just likes to use that excuse so she can't be held responsible when her grandiose delusions miss the mark."
"That's not true, Merry. My aim is just to make the world a more interesting place by exposing its hidden truths. Postulation and hypothesizing are just a part of that process. Being wrong is just part of being an honest scientist."
"I wonder just how many times now I've risked my life so that you could boldly and unapologetically come to the wrong conclusion? Do I have to go find the Yama to give you another lecture?"
"But those risks are part and parcel of making the world more interesting. I don't see you up and leaving our little operation, so I assume you're still having fun, aren't you? If not for me, we wouldn't be investigating this interesting conundrum now, and we wouldn't have Sanae here to keep us company either. I think you could spare the occasional 'thank you', couldn't you Merry? Even just a little one?"
"I might have been willing to say it, but now it sounds like you're trying to shake me down for gratitude. You can't claim Sanae's friendship as your accomplishment either, it was her choice."
"You're so adversarial, Merry. Are you getting jealous again?"
"I should hit you Renko. No, scratch that. I am hitting you." she scampered away as my hands hammered down on her shoulders.
"Ah, why are you always so violent, Merry? This is anti-intellectual terrorism!" she said as she flinched and laughed.
"Um, would you two mind not flirting so openly in front of me?" Sanae asked. "It's kind of awkward. I can give you some couple time later if you need it."
I whirled on Sanae. "Flirting? Who's flirting?" I asked incredulously.
"Oh, was that flirting? It's hard to tell with Merry. I don't mind flirting more if that's what you're after."
"It wasn't flirting!" I shouted, turning back to Renko. "Now come on, we were headed to the Prismrivers', weren't we? Let's get moving before it gets dark."
"Oh hey, Merry, wait for us!"
"She totally was flirting, Renko, she's just the tsundere type."
"Do you really think so?"
I strode indignantly away from the two of them, making my way down the shore of the lake. Behind me I could hear them continue to chatter as they chased along. With the two of them egging eachother on, this level of constant tension was simply exhausting. I made no effort to conceal my sigh as I lead the way forward.