The way to the main room of the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion could not have been any more confusing, I felt like I was walking inside yet another realm: big rooms that seemed disproportionate from the rest of the mansion, hallways that seemed to never end and paths that lead to dead ends. Something inspired by the likes of the Winchester Mansion. But Sakuya somehow managed to lead the way flawlessly, she obviously had to learn the likes of this place, something my limited "mind" could not comprehend.
It got even more confusing when we entered yet another big room, it felt like a coal mine: dark, dusty, with only the solace of carefully placed lights to guide our way. This was no mine, but the Mansion's library, massive bookshelves between the walls and the room to create more halls to paths where many books met, crossroads that led to the middle of the library, in which rested a massive generator like contraption that resembled the solar system. Whoever runs this place is far beyond a bookworm…
"What kind of library is this? Did your mistress somehow steal a chunk of the library of Alexandria?" I joked to Sakuya in order to ease my confusion.
"No, but we do keep a registry of items that date far beyond Roman times." Sakuya answered me in the most formal tone.
"My Mistress has a habit of collecting artifacts and information whenever the chance is possible, whether via interchange of goods or 'questionable means' " Sakuya added, "If you have questions about the items the library keeps, you better ask the Librarian herself"
But the library's items had me thinking, I got nowhere to start my search, perhaps I should start on paper? So many books… so many possibilities.
After we passed the library, we passed another series of endless halls that Sakuya flawlessly guided us through without any trouble. Eventually we reached a room with a big oak door at the end of it, decorated with various events of some sort.
"straight with your answers, don't slur your words, be straight to the point and not change subjects to avoid any subject my mistress wants to know, are we clear?" Sakuya set her demands before I entered the door, but I just responded in a big dry gulp of anxiety.
The door opens, and I am welcome to a big room. paintings and artifacts decorating the sides of the walls, a big red carpet dragging itself vertically up to the end of the room, in which there lay a big wall made of a big window that was covered in a big gigantic blind that split into two. All I could see with my neon eyes was a throne in the end of the room, but no one to sit upon its majestic beauty.
"Relax, my mistress doesn't bite…sometimes." Sakuya said before closing the big wooden door.
So… i'm now alone, in the big dark room, decorated in such a way that any art appraiser would drop their jaw to the core of the earth. I would've too, but being in the raider business never gave me that taste in art. I sometimes steal valuable pieces for some clients, but I barely get the time to understand why they want something so bad, that they want me to get it for them. All the intricate details, hidden messages and intent in the painting they saw? I saw as rehearsed strokes and smudges of paint, just another artist painting for rent and food. However, due to that alone, I was obligated to differentiate artists so I would not take the wrong painting.
But I am open to any experience. So there I stood looking at some of the select collection of this "Remilia", all I saw was tragic paintings, every painting in the side of the room I was looking at had something in common, all had no happy ending, they all had that realism touch. For example, one of the paintings I saw was of Napoleon crossing the alps, but the real story: the painting showed Napoleon crossing the alps in a mule, instead of the famous one with the glorious steed that everyone recognizes. Then we have another one, this one I also recognize as a Rembrandt, anatomy lesson or something? with a doctor opening a corpse while scholars aside took note of the observations the lead doctor noted…
"I see you have quite the taste in realism Mr. Canmoore"
…
Who said that?!
"You must be 'Le'tranger'" A young voice resonated somewhere in the dark room.
"huh?" I said as I took two steps from where I heard the voice.
"Oh but where are my manners? Welcome to my precious state. I… am Remilia Scarlet, the most feared name in all Gensokyo, the mistress of the night, descendant of Vlad Tepes, the Scarlet Devil!"
Descendant of Vlad Tepes?
"I take it that you are a vampire, right?" I said blindly towards the voice.
"What business does a noblewoman need to make with a dirty raider?"
Right after I said that, a subtle sound echoed in the room, the sound of shoes touching the ground. I looked to where the sound came from and there laid the mistress of the mansion, sitting on her throne. A girl, possibly in her early teens, dressed in light pink garments such as her dress and a mob cap, and red accessories like ribbons decorating parts of her dress and a noticeable ribbon that held the mob cap in shape, with a bow swaying to the right side of the cap, short light blue hair and piercing scarlet blood eyes that looked towards mine.
"Let me guess… you're actually 500 years old?" I cynically said to her.
"Razor Sharp! I'm impressed by your perceptive skills." she said in a surprised manner.
"Wow, that worked?" I thought to myself
"All in the day's work in the raider business" I responded with the first thing I thought of.
"Now then" Remilia said, "shall we resume business?"
It's been a few days since Plyush appeared once more in Gensokyo, his appearance has caught the eyes of the public due to the bunbunmaru paper spreading the word around. Despite no sightings whatsoever, that single event that occurred in the Hakurei Shrine was enough to make people stay on their toes, hell! The picture Aya used for the article is already making people so nervous, many are attributing his arrival as an omen for an incident.
I wish I could worry about that but I haven't been visiting Gensokyo that much, however, what Plyush said about realms in the real world, it has me worried, what other things may be real aside Gensokyo and realms. But nothing to worry for the moment.
Today I actually had the time to actually bring Maribel with me. We agreed with Marisa to spend some time in her house for some tea, as she wanted to brag about this new magic ability "borrowed" from Alice, but mostly casual exchange. We actually ended up talking about Plyush for a while, I did let Maribel know about my encounter with him back in japan and what had happened in Eintei, but Maribel could not formulate anything about what he wanted with me, she mostly came to the conclusion that it just happened to be a weird coincidence and i just happened to be in the path.
"And then he ran off to the horizon!" Marisa said, "Reimu hasn't seen anything like it before, let alone a male youkai!"
"I thought youkai could manifest in many ways… why is it so strange that one happened to be male? I'm very sure that Rinnosuke is not the only one." Maribel asked Marisa before taking a sip of her cup.
"Kourin? Aside from that, you are aware he is half youkai. And yes there are other beings that are male, but you can't cross the street without bumping into either a youkai or a goddess that is not female" Marisa responds.
"Oh! And how is Rinnosuke' shop going? It's been a while since I have visited the shop" I asked Marisa.
"Business as usual… The shop is quiet, same amount of clients, though he told me that Sakuya hasn't visited in a while." Marisa answered as she finished her tea.
"Hmm, I wonder what the SDM is up to now." Maribel says.
Everything is going wonderful, sharing anecdotes and the latest pranks the fairies were up to, when we hear a knock on the door.
"Coming!" Marisa said as she got up her seat.
She got up to the door and opened to greet whoever was on the other side. It was that leader tengu's right hand.
"Tsukasa? It's a surprise you came here! How may I help you? Marisa exclaimed.
"Greeting Marisa. Unfortunately I came not for you, but for someone else. I heard that you and the human girls from the outside are having a small tea party right?" Tsukasa says to Marisa
"Yeah, wait… who told you that?" Marisa asks.
"That doesn't matter now, the Great leader Megumu has requested the Presence of one the girls at once." Tsukasa states her business, "Miss Renko? Do not be worried, we just simply want to ask you questions about your encounter with the foreigner. This is of utmost importance to maintain the safety of Gensokyo."
"I thought that was Reimu and Yukari's job.'' I say in a skeptical tone. Of all the people, why are the tengus interested in Plyush?
"We'll make sure to… inform, yes, Ms. Yukari and Ms. Hakurei after you speak with Megumu-sama." Tsukasa said to me.
"If you please may accompany me. I shall escort you to her personally."