As you might expect after a serendipitous encounter like that we did not end up returning to town in a timely manner that evening.

"Alice, please tell me everything you can about that nun," Renko had demanded earnestly after recovering from her shock.

Alice had looked confused but didn't raise any objections. Instead she had asked "if we're going to chat for a bit would you like to come to my house rather than just standing in the middle of the road in the dark?"

And so, a few short minutes later we were finding seats in Alice's homey, if somewhat cramped cottage while animated dolls flitted around us, clearing away clutter and serving black tea.

"Before I start telling you about what I know, might I ask why you're suddenly so interested in an old acquaintance of mine from another world? How do you even know about her?"

Renko gave a brief, surface level explanation of the events so far -how we had met the crew of the Holy Palanquin and helped them free their ship from the depths, how the mast had been shattered and their intention to visit Byakuren in Makai. Alice listened attentively, without asking any questions, then nodded as Renko concluded.

"I see. So that's how she had ended up there. She had always seemed like she didn't belong in Makai. Now I know why. From what you've told me, I'd say there's a good chance that pagoda of your belongs to her, or at least to her temple. That's both a Buddhist artifact and a magically enchanted item, after all. That's not a combination one encounters too often. In all likelihood it's not intended to be used as a lantern though. The light it emits is probably just the result of a leakage of the high amount of magical power stored within it. That sphere in the middle of it is a large, polished chunk of crystalized magical energy in a highly purified state."

"So then the Byakuren you knew was a youkai magician as well? I heard that she learned magic and used it to restore her youth, does that make her the same kind of youkai that you are, Alice?"

"To a human we would look to be the same thing. Among magicians there's a bit of a distinction between those who used to be human and those who were born as magicians, with each side being somewhat derisive of the other." Alice said, adjusting her rigid posture as she took a sip of her tea. "Well then, what do you want to know about her? I met her numerous times and even discussed magic with her occasionally, but we didn't have that much in common as our magic descends from entirely different traditions. Really, she was more my mother's friend than my own."

"Well let's start with that friendship. Being as she lives in Makai, I assume that your mother is either a magician like yourself or a demon. How did she come to befriend a living saint?"

"Ah, perhaps it's best if I start by explaining about my mother. My mother is the ultimate god and creator of Makai."

It was a bit of a shocking revelation to hear, but Alice continued on as casually as if she had just stated that her mother was a merchant or artisan.

"Mother would often claim to have created everything in Makai, but her role is actually closer to that of Yukari Yakumo here or Yuyuko Saigyouji in the Netherworld. Makai is a world of magical proto-matter. Most of it is a formless sea of chaotic energies, but it can be shaped into whatever form is desired by someone with enough will and power. That someone was my mother, or rather my mother is in charge of overseeing what changes and creations other beings living in that realm can make. She would only occasionally bother shaping something into existence herself."

"I see. That's quite impressive. I've heard that Makai is full of demons and fallen angels, is that true?"

"It's a vast place. There are certainly enclaves of beings like that, but there are a great many other things living there too. Only a powerful and skilled magician can travel freely to or from that world. Lots and lots of beings have been sent there over the years though, and it's an ideal place for magicians to train. As a result, it's become quite cosmopolitan. Gensokyo is an isolated rural backwater compared to the cities of that world, but those cities are all islands floating on a sea of nothingness. Islands that may shift or change their nature from day to day according to their inhabitants means and wills."

"I see. So your mother held an administrative role there, making sure that people didn't make anything dangerous or mess with other people's living spaces, something like that, right? That sort of makes her a warden of the things that Makai imprisons, I guess."

"Well, she sees herself as more of a creative facilitator, attending to the needs of various factions, but you're more or less correct. She's responsible for regulating traffic in or out of the world and overseeing creation and use of its energies."

"So did your mother meet Byakuren in her role as warden? I imagine she would have been informed when anyone was sealed into that realm."

"That would make sense. I don't actually know how they met. Mother would go and visit her little corner of the world to check up on her from time to time though."

To me it sounded more like the relationship between us and Ran than a friendship, with one party clearly having power over the other. I suppose I thought of Ran as a friendly enough sort, but I wouldn't consider her any closer of a friend than I would Keine. I wondered if she was watching over us now, or if Alice's house would be considered a safe enough space that she wouldn't have to.

"Alice, you mentioned that your mother would go and visit Byakuren, not the other way around. I take it to mean that Byakuren wasn't free to travel as she pleased within Makai?"

"There's a place on the very edge of Makai that's been there forever called the Realm of Truth. It's where people sent to Makai by the Divine Ministry of Right and Wrong end up. It's surrounded by a broad stripe of nothingness that's been deprived of energy so it can't be made into anything. The beings sent there aren't allowed to leave, and she was one of them. There are also wards on that place that make it very difficult to enter it from the outside. Mother knew the keys to those though."

"So it's a prison of sort."

"I suppose, in a manner of speaking. It's not some grim dungeon though. Just mostly uninhabited mountainous terrain."

"Were you ever told why Byakuren was imprisoned there?"

"I think I asked once, as a child. Mother said something about her having been betrayed by humans and sealed away for practicing magic."

"Betrayed by humans? How interesting. I wonder if that means that it was a human who revealed that she was harboring youkai in her temple. At any rate that does suggest that the stories we heard of her being prosecuted and chased out of this world by humans of the era are correct." Renko thought for a moment, chin tucked to chest, then looked up at Alice. "Forgive me if this is inappropriate to ask, but just out of curiosity, as the two were on friendly terms, did your mother ever try to free her friend?"

"Not as far as I know. My mother is a very caring person though, so it's a good question. It may be that Byakuren didn't want to leave. I can't say she seemed unhappy with her condition. Maybe the two of them had some sort of agreement."

"I see. How did you get to meet Byakuren yourself?"

"Mother took me to see her a few times. I think she wanted me to be exposed to a variety of different types of magic."

"Oh, was she your instructor?"

"Hardly. She taught me a few tricks, but our approaches to magic were radically different even at that point in my career. There wasn't much she could teach me."

"Oh, why is that?"

"Her practice is all about physical enhancement and embodiment of magical power. Focusing one's power within, rather than without. Mine's almost completely the opposite of that, both in terms of results and methods."

I don't know why, but I was surprised to hear that Byakuren was a master of enhancement magic. Maybe I've played too many old RPGs and defaulted to imagining a monk as a healer.

"At any rate though," Alice continued, "because our approaches to magic were so different, we ended up not having much to talk about. She seemed kindly and polite, but I only met with her a handful of times as a result of that. I never asked her much about herself or why she had been sealed in Makai. I was a child then and she just didn't interest me much, I'm sorry to say."

"No need to apologize, even that much is some very useful information, and more that we had before. In your opinion, would it be safe to assume that Byakuren is probably still right where you last saw her, trapped in the Realm of Truth in Makai?"

"I certainly haven't heard otherwise, but I also haven't been back home since I came to Gensokyo."

"Oh? When was that, exactly?"

"Not that long ago. Only a few months before I first met the both of you, actually."

"Oh, you arrived in Gensokyo just after we did then! You've done a great job blending in. I bet no one ever calls you an Outsider. Do you intend to ever go home?"

"Perhaps at some point. Time flows much more slowly there than here though. If I were to go back now it would be as if I only just left a few months ago, so I'm in no hurry."

"I see. May I ask what you think of captain Murasa's plan? If she manages to make it to Makai, do you think she'll face opposition? Would your mother try to stop her?"

"I can't say. In general most residents of Makai can't leave unless they either have my mother's permission or someone in another world performs a summoning to bring them out. If you do get summoned, you're supposed to forge a contract with the summoner, who's then held responsible for your travel. There's a lot of paperwork involved. She tried to make it easier for people to leave on daytrips once, but that turned into a disaster. Byakuren's not originally from Makai though. I've never heard of someone in that situation going to another world, but I wouldn't think Makai's policies would apply to them. From what I know of their relationship I think my mother would be happy for her to be freed, but I can't say for certain."

"I take it that when you came to Gensokyo you didn't have to bother with a summoning or an escape plan or the like, your mother just let you out?"

"No comment on that. I found a method that worked for me," she said, again straightening her posture and turning to look out the window rather than meet Renko's eyes.

"Ah, my apologies. I didn't mean to pry. So if I wanted to go to Makai, is there a way that I could?"

"Well, there's a cave right near the Hakurei shrine that leads there."

I gasped in surprise at that and nearly choked on the tea I had been sipping. Alice handed me a handkerchief, asking "Are you quite alright?"

Renko chuckled to herself. "I see, so maybe that's why Byakuren was sealed in Makai. If the Hakurei shrine maiden of that era was responsible for sealing her, Makai would have been a convenient place to sweep someone like Byakuren under the rug." Renko crossed her arms and nodded to herself. "Alright, I think I get it. Thank you very much, miss Alice. That was very helpful."

"Really? I don't feel like I told you much of anything."

"Well, I'm sure just hearing that Byakuren was alive and well a few short years ago will be welcome news to captain Murasa."

"I hope so," Alice said, standing up. "Now then, it's rather late, and I wouldn't want you two to chance trying to walk all the way back to the village right now. Shall I fly you home, or would you prefer to stay the night?"

"Oh, I couldn't ask either of those of you, you've already gone to the trouble of flying us here after we just ran into you on the road. Just dropping us off at the edge of the forest will be fine."

"Don't be ridiculous. It's dark out now. Not only are you likely to get attacked on the road, anyone who saw me fly off with you would assume I was the culprit if you got eaten. I'll fly you home."

Thus, hand in hand with Alice we were flown back to the gates of the village. Alice respectfully dropped us off perhaps twenty meters from the gate, making it clear to the guards in the towers that she had no intention of entering the village.

"Thank you again for the information, Alice, as well as for the tea, the hospitality and the flight home."

"It's no trouble. I assume you intend to sail into Makai on that boat once you can?"

"That's our aim, if we can make it work."

"I wish you luck then. If you should happen to meet my mother there, please give her my regards and let her know I'm doing well."

"I'd be happy to. If she asks when she might see you again, should I give her any sort of answer?"

Alice frowned and thought for a moment. "Tell her that I plan to come to visit at some point in the future. Sometime soon. We can leave it at that." Renko nodded and didn't pursue the question any further. Clearly there was something going on between Alice and her mother, but prying into private affairs of a friend wouldn't do us any good. "Well then, good night, Alice."

"Yes, goodnight."

We turned and went to make our way into the village, but before we had gone three steps Alice suddenly called out to us again.

"Oh! I just remembered something!"

"Oh? What's that?" Renko asked, turning around.

"Something Byakuren said to me once, when I was visiting her in the Realm of Truth." Alice looked up at the moon, thinking back, speaking as much to herself as either of us. "I had just told her that I didn't think I could learn anything from her. She had seemed sad but had told me to do as I thought best. I was about to leave when she looked down at me and asked if I had any siblings."

"Well, do you, Alice?"

"Yes, sort of, but it's a slightly complicated question. My mother claims to have created all of Makai and everything in it. Depending on how you take that, then I might have thousands of brothers and sisters. At the very least though, there were five other older sisters who I was raised alongside when I was a child."

"Six kids! That's a big family!"

"Family is important," Alice said, letting out a sigh as she looked up at the moon. "Siblings should look out for one another when they're young. If they don't, they might not get a chance to later on. That's what Byakuren said to me when I told her that."