16 Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17
The sky that should have been blue was dyed in a deep scarlet.
Dusk was still approaching on this hot summer day. As if the sun didn't want to set and instead tried to clear the Scarlet Mist.
Without success, of course.
On this day, which should have been a beautiful summer day, three girls could be seen exterminating the local fairy populace.
"Fairy Squad 5! Prepare the next salve of fire!"
Dozens and dozens of fairies could be seen flying in the air, doing various maneuvers.
"Fire!"
Taking aim, it wasn't long before they released a salve of Danmaku toward their targets.
Hm? You are asking who their targets are?
Isn't it obvious? It's the three of us who are exterminating them.
"Mayday, mayday! Combatants are dropping like flies, at this rate-"
The signal got cut off.
"Dammit! More of our comrades fell! What do we do now...?"
In the face of absolute defeat, the morale of the fairies dropped to the floor.
"Now isn't the time to give up! We might be weak, but what we lack in strength, we make up in numbers. Now fairy squadron 6, 7, and 8! Resume fire!"
But even in the face of such insurmountable odds, one blue-haired fairy didn't lose courage.
Standing tall, she took command of the fairies, taking the lead. As they saw the back of the blue-haired, their morale was restored.
"Everyone, charge-!"
With great vigor, everyone charged forward with reckless abandon. At this moment, all the fairies wanted was to achieve victory for their fallen comrades. For that, they were willing to put their well-being on the line.
"There they are! ATTAAAAAACK-!!!"
*Pichuun*
"Tch-. How many more of them are going to show up? Shouldn't they realize that what they are doing is pointless?"
"Reimu, that's assuming that the fairies had a goal in mind when they attacked us, ze~☆."
"Sigh, fair enough..."
Sadly, the fairies' courage was useless in the face of absolute strength. For our protagonists, the fairies' attack was nothing more than an annoyance that could hit them if they didn't pay attention.
They were just fodder in the way of solving the incident.
"Uhm... Reimu, Marisa, I have a question..."
As they heard the nurse's voice, the witch and the miko turned around simultaneously.
""What is it, Rin?""
Both of them said in sync. They looked at each other with a bit of disbelief when it happened.
"Why are we decimating the local fairy population again?"
""Because they asked for it when they attacked us.""
Once again, Reimu and Marisa were in sync, but neither of the girls was surprised this time.
It seemed that both agreed on their stance on this topic.
"Hahaha- fair enough."
The girls shared some awkward laughter when they suddenly heard the angry cry of another fairy.
"How could you do that to her!"
A red-haired fairy wheezed out in anger before charging at our protagonists.
Still, it didn't move them very much.
"How bothersome. Another one? What did you expect would happen when you all started charging at us?"
Seeing the child-sized creature rush at them at top speed, Reimu lifted her gohei to strike her down.
"This one is mine, Reimu!"
But before the shrine maiden could do so, Marisa overtook her as she swung her broom toward the fairy.
As the fairy's field of vision was filled with those two deadly weapons, her life started to flash before her eyes.
...
It was a beautiful summer day when our red-haired fairy was basking in the sun.
Then, out of nowhere, a blue-haired fairy came flying, giving her some company.
"Hey, you~."
Blue said to Red.
"What is it?"
Red asked Blue.
Chu~♡
"Wha-!"
*Blush*
*Blush*
...
It was a short but fulfilling life.
*Whoosh-* *Clank* *Glimmer*
The big red-haired fairy waited, but the attack that should have ended her life never came.
As she realized that she was still conscious, the fairy slowly peered through one of her eyes to see what happened.
In front of her, she saw Reimu and Marisa's attack blocked by a giant icicle.
"Sigh, seriously?"
A bit of shock settled on their faces as Reimu and Marisa realized their combined attack had been successfully blocked.
"That's why weaklings like you should stay in the back if you are just going to freeze up when it matters."
Confidently, a girl wearing a pink blouse under a blue jumper dress appeared before them.
Her aqua-blue eyes radiated with confidence as she stood there with crossed arms, looking with a big smug grin plastered on her face.
"Are you hard of hearing? You are in the way! Get out!"
Realizing that the words were directed toward her, the fairy panicked a little before finally getting herself together again.
She felt dispirited being so useless. Just being a burden, being unable to take revenge for her friend.
Holding her head low, she flew past the aqua blue-haired fairy, but right when she passed her, she heard some words of encouragement.
"Leave the fighting to the strong. And remember! There is nobody better fitting for fighting than me. After all, I, Cirno, am the strongest!"
As a gust of wind suddenly rushed past, the red-haired fairies' eyes looked at Cirno's back.
As the blue dress gently swayed in the wind, the fairy thought that that back was the most reliable back in the world.
Seeing that back, she couldn't help but...
"Cirno-chan! Go show them who's boss!"
...cheer for the strongest fairy.
"Hmpf-. The strongest doesn't need something like cheering for her to win."
Still, as she heard the words of encouragement from the departing fairy, Cirno couldn't help but feel a little bit happy about receiving them.
Despite that, the words didn't stay long in her mind as she welcomed her new guests.
"Who dares to encroach on the territory of the strongest! You weren't the first fools today that ambushed me today! But like the rest, you won't stand a chance against me! You might be able to bully the weaklings around here, but I, Cirno, will show you what true strength is."
With Cirno's bold declaration, the air grew solemn as the summer breeze turned cold.
"Ha...haha...hahaha!"
A tense atmosphere that was cut short by a certain magician's laughter.
"A fairy declaring themselves the strongest? This is a first."
Holding her stomach, I thought it was comedic how she started rolling on the floor, laughing.
Especially considering that we are in the middle of the air and there is no floor to roll on.
"Come on, Marisa. Don't you think you are being quite disrespectful to react like that when someone introduces themselves? Look at Reimu! She is taking this... seriously..."
As I looked over, I saw Reimu hunched over as she held her stomach, barely suppressing her laughter.
Am I the only one here who takes the situation seriously?
"O-Oy! What's so funny! Why is everyone laughing? Did I miss a joke?"
And what could you expect from a fairy? Cirno is just confused about the whole thing.
Sigh...
Good grief.
In all seriousness, what did I expect? While Cirno certainly would not be wrong if she called herself the strongest fairy, extrapolating it to just be the strongest was a bit much.
Especially in terms of strength, fairies are practically the bottom of the barrel in Gensokyo.
For calling out loud, but they are the fodder enemies that fill your screen in the games.
You aren't supposed to lose a life on them! That is unless you have a massive skill issue and/or are playing on Lunatic.
Though, that's speaking in terms of playing a Touhou Game.
Now that it's a reality...
Fairies aren't to be underestimated. While it's correct that a fairy only had the strength of an average adult, you need to remember that those aren't normal human adults, but humans still living in the age of mystery.
The average level of a fairy was in the low 20s, which should be correct since the usual level of an adult in the human village here in Gensokyo was in their high 10s.
To remind you, the average strength of a human adult was level 1.
As for me?
[Lvl. 15 Soul Idol, Rin Satsuki]
If it weren't for Spellcards...
No, I wouldn't have stood a chance if it weren't for Reimu and Marisa,
Each fairy I saw on the way was way stronger than me.
For Reimu and Marisa, this might be another day, a joke even, but as for me, this felt deadly serious.
Cirno, who is screaming at Reimu and Marisa for an explanation.
Cirno is on another level compared to the fodder fairies. Even her status as a stage boss proved that she was more than just fodder, showing how much presence her strength asked for.
So...
[Lvl. ⑨ Fairy of the Lake, Cirno]
Why the hell was her level lower than mine!
Hey, System, explain!
[Shrug]
...
Did it just shrug at me?
[Before Rin could snap at the System, Marisa's remark towards Cirno pulled her out of her thoughts.]
That's not what happens-
"Phew."
As the laughter slowly died down, Marisa wiped away the tears that emerged from the corner of her eyes.
"Man, that's a good one. I can count on one hand the times that straight-laced Miko there broke out in laughter like that. That's quite an impressive accomplishment, you know. Are you trying to become a comedian, ze~☆?"
If gazes could kill, Marisa would be super dead right now. Reimu didn't take too kindly to what Marisa said about her.
Cirno, on the other hand...
"Ehehe~, of course, I, the mighty Cirno, am even well-versed in comedy."
She just took the compliment.
...
Great, now Reimu struggles even more to keep herself from laughing to maintain her serious personality.
This whole situation has just become a joke.
Not to mention that the status bar above Cirno is just a big joke.
"Oy, Reimu. How long do you want to keep laughing like that? We have an incident to solve, ze~☆."
Sigh, the two of them aren't taking the ice fairy seriously.
And I can hardly blame them. Seeing a level 9 in a status bar was one of the most non-threatening things I have seen since the start of my third life.
"H-Hey, I don't want to hear that from you, Marisa! You broke out into laughter just like me!"
And now they are bantering just like usual.
Seeing how the two didn't take the situation seriously, I looked into the Scarlet Sky. I wondered. I wondered if I took everything too seriously or not seriously enough.
As I stood there, pondering, I was inclined to believe that maybe I did take things too seriously.
After all, this was Touhou. Everybody was too strong, and because of that, a non-lethal way of combat had to be enforced for everyone's sake.
Nobody had to die, and after an incident was resolved, everyone would go to the Hakurei-Shrine and celebrate.
It was genuinely a laid-back and easygoing setting.
Then again, this is a five-star mission.
...
Are there penalties if I fail a mission?
[There are penalties, and they scale with the star amount.]
There are penalties.
"Grrr-argh! What is with you all ignoring me like that! How dare you be occupied with something else in my presence!"
As the ice fairy's frustration exploded, a giant icicle appeared above her head.
Something larger than something a level 9 should be able to conjure.
Reimu and Marisa's faces also changed from relaxed to tense.
As I thought, this wasn't a laughing mat... gyahhhhhhhh!
As the giant ice lump got thrown at them, everyone did their best to dodge it, which was simpler said than done and, in theory, quite simple at the same time.
On one hand, it was just a straight bullet, so they only had to fly in one direction until they got out of the way.
On the other hand, it was a really big bullet, so they had to be very fast to get out of the way for this one.
Cryh-Plash!
Not paying attention to her surroundings or how much strength she put into the attack, Cirno recklessly threw the giant icicle toward the girls with all her might.
"Oh... this won't be good for the economy..."
In minutes, the giant icicle touched the lake, freezing the water solid, quickly cooling the air and transforming this hot summer day into a winter wonderland.
If I compared this to the magic of the sage in my past life, this would be...
Did...
Did she ever reach this level?
"Hehehe~, this will show you not to get distracted in my presence! After all, I am the strongest!"
But seeing the scale of this attack, my beliefs were reaffirmed. It was not me who was too serious, but Reimu and Marisa who were too laid back!
"Phew, that was too close for comfort, right Reimu-ze~☆?"
Not that it mattered if they were serious or not. With their strength, this was just a game for them.
While Marisa is acting distressed, not a single hair on her head is affected by the attack.
And if Marisa was fine after such an attack, Reimu was well.
"That impudent fairy..."
Great. Reimu snapped, and the crimson slasher was released. Just what we needed. Not!
Daiyousei asked us to help Cirno! Admittedly, Cirno never needed the help, but that didn't mean we could kill the rescue target!
"If she wants to get exterminated that much, I'll fulfill her wish."
Hrngh!
What horrible pressure. It's almost as bad as when I met Yukari.
Hmm?
Comparing it to the demon lord from my previous life? Do I still need to do that?
It should have been clearly established for a while now that the scale of this world is leagues above the last.
Still, I have to stop Reimu! We promised Daiyousei!
If only my body wasn't so weak!
But it was already too late. High-strung like that, it was only a question of time before Cirno would turn into smoke at the hands of the crimson slasher.
Right in front of my eyes, she's ready to take the initiative-
"Oy Reimu, calm down. You can't exterminate her."
Putting her hand on Reimu's shoulder, Marisa held Reimu back.
"Hah? What are you on about, Marisa?"
Suddenly stopped like that, Reimu got pissed at Marisa's sudden declaration.
Something that Marisa seemed overly familiar with. Shaking her head as if to say, "This again?"
Marisa let out an exasperated sigh that expressed many things, but mainly, "That's how Reimu is."
"Don't tell me you already forgot what a big fairy requested from us, Reimu-daze~☆? But knowing you, I bet you didn't listen to her story in the first place, did you Reimu?"
"Hrngh-"
Getting called out like that, Reimu averted her eyes as she felt guilty all of a sudden.
"Oy, are you serious?"
Marisa only said that in a half-serious, half-joking manner. But as she saw Reimu's reaction, it quickly turned from half-serious to fully serious.
"You really are Reimu, "shoot first, ask questions later," Hakurei, aren't you?"
Phew, at least this situation was resolved...
"Hey, guys? Isn't anyone wondering why that loudmouthed fairy who launched this giant attack because we've been ignoring her has been silent despite us ignoring her again?"
As I asked that question, Reimu and Marisa exchanged glances with each other, then with me, which continued until we all coincidentally decided to look at the location where Cirno was previously.
"I... am... the... strongest!..."
Seeing a soaked ice fairy. Honestly, it was a weird sight to see an ice fairy sweat.
But then again, Cirno's ice powers work by taking away the heat from the surrounding area by absorbing it. That means to freeze a large area such as this, Cirno would need to take quite a lot of heat into her body.
How hot-blooded of her. How unexpected for an ice fairy to have a personality like that.
Wait...
If that's how her abilities work, wouldn't that mean she isn't sweating right now but is melting from the inside instead?
"Ba-hahahaha-! Are you seriously telling me that you put all your strength in the last attack to the point of complete exhaustion? Talk about foolhardy, ze~☆."
"S-shut up! This is just the start! I-I'll show you!"
Her words would have been more convincing if she wasn't looking like she was about to keel over from exhaustion.
Still, looking at Cirno, a feeling of pity started to arise from the bottom of my heart.
She is indeed strong.
In fact, she is the strongest fairy there is. Not to mention that she was also pretty smart for her kind.
Not that it really meant much on the scale of Gensokyo since fairies weren't known for being particularly strong or intelligent.
Yet, or maybe because of it, she wasn't taken seriously. She's pretty much the butt of a joke for most of her appearances.
And even if she only has the mentality of a grade school child, it's frustrating to not get taken seriously, even if you are just a young child.
"O-oy, Rin! What are you doing?!"
"Can't we just sit down and talk things through? I, for one, find it weird that we've just been shooting down everything at sight, and now that I am thinking about it, why have we been just shooting everything down?"
As if the answer was obvious, everyone looked at Reimu.
"Sigh. Who was it again that complained that I took too long? Or that I am going at this incident too slowly?"
"That's a lot of words for saying "it's a hassle," Reimu."
"And that's precisely the reason. Though, it's not as if I am opposed to talking things through if that's what you want to do, Rin. Just know that if things go south-"
"Thanks... Reimu."
"Hrngh- whatever! Don't blame me if something happens!"
Oh my, did Reimu just get flustered by my smile?
That's payback for flustering me with yours earlier!
With my mood lightened, I made my way to Cirno. Slowly jumping towards the melting ice fairy.
"Hey Cirno-chan. Could you explain why my friends and I can't pass through here?"
Caught off-guard by my approach, Cirno still seemed pretty wary, even with my best attempts to appear as non-threatening as possible.
"Is there a reason why we can't pass?"
Crouching down, I gently asked Cirno, hoping to convince the fairy.
Averting her eyes from me, it seemed that Cirno needed a moment to process what was happening.
It seemed that this was something new for her. Getting taken seriously.
Honestly, this was so cute. As expected from-
"Sigh..."
When I heard such a guttural sigh leave Cirno's mouth, my stomach started to turn.
"If you could pass here or not? Naturally, you can. Why shouldn't you be able to? The lake is everybody's home. You can leave and come here as you please."
Should I say this? But this was the first time I was surprised. Not only since arriving in Gensokyo, but the feeling of being caught off-guard was a distant memory for me.
Feeling the unease in my gut, for the first time, I came to a realization.
That uneasy feeling...
"If that's the case, why did you stop us?"
"Are you seriously asking me that after what you three did to all the fairies living here?"
...of falling back into my habit of treating someone like a template when talking to them.
As I was still dazed, despite Cirno still melting, before I could reply, Cirno held her hand in front of my face before activating a Spellcard.
"Freeze Sign: [Freeze Actress]!"
"RIN!"
The next moment I regained my composure, I found myself being held by the scruff of my dress by Reimu.
The situation was so tense you could cut through the air with a knife.
"Marisa, Rin. No more games. I'll deal with the situation as I see fit."
"But Reimu! What about-!"
"What about her? You know, Marisa, I reflected a bit about the whole incident. I came to a simple conclusion in the process. I have to agree with Rin. I am fed up with all of this right now."
"That's not what I meant-"
"You had your moment, Rin. Talking failed. Not it's time for our Spellcards to do the talking, and if that's not working, extermination will do."
As the conflict intensified, so did Reimu's bloodlust, to the point that even the foolhardy Cirno couldn't help but take a few steps back.
"...what is it you are doing, Marisa?"
"I am sorry, Reimu. But a hero doesn't go back on her words, and just because you are a bit grumpy does not mean I am willing to break my promise."
Aiming her Hakkero at Reimu's back, the already tense situation somehow turned even more suffocating than it already was.
"We just had a Spellcard Battle! Why are you pointing your weapons against each other again."
Both of them didn't reply to me. Instead, they flashed a crazed smile as if to say they yearned for this serious confrontation with each other.
"Now isn't the time-"
Like the useless fodder I am, unable to adequately contribute anything in an incident beyond my strength and means, or even knowledge as a fact, my words got stuck in my throat as an icicle flew past my face by a hair's breadth.
"I am done being treated as a sideshow. Are the lives of us fairies just a joke to you? No matter how much strength I show, you continuously treat it as a minor inconvenience."
As the icicle blitzed past me, Reimu deflected the attack with her gohei instead of dodging like we did the entire time.
The air around Cirno felt...
...different.
That much each of us had to admit.
"I..."
To simplify what was happening...
"AM THE STRONGEST. SO TREAT ME AS THAT!"
She was powering up. Something Reimu wasn't happy about.
"That's it. I've held back long enough. It's extermination time."
"Wait, Reimu. But Dai-"
"I'll exterminate Daiyousei next if you keep bothering me with all this stuff that prevents me from resolving the incident!"
"What..."
As if a switch was flipped, silence spread amidst the turmoil.
"Exterminate... Daiyousei?"
You know, humans are curious creatures. The sense humans rely on the most is sight. So, it only makes sense for our field of view to be quite large.
Still, if I had to put our field of view in numbers, the horizontal range is 200 to 220 degrees, and the vertical is 130 to 135 degrees.
Yet, despite all that visible area, we don't see all of it. Even ignoring that binocular vision covers only 120 degrees from the 200 to 220 degrees of horizontal view and central vision only 60 degrees from the 130 to 135 of vertical view, we still don't see all of it.
Or, to say it differently, we don't pay attention to all of it.
Information the brain perceives as unimportant gets filtered out, so we only pay attention to what we see as important.
Why am I mentioning this?
It's simple. Something I should have noticed long ago escaped my attention because I thought it was unimportant.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO DAIYOUSEI!"
The tiny circled nine floating above Cirno's head, the nine that was indicating her level...
"YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"
It was cracking.
"Wait! It's not what you think, Daiyousei-"
"OH GEEZ. I WONDER WHAT FAIRY KILLERS LIKE YOU COULD HAVE POSSIBLY DONE TO A FAIRY. DON'T TRY TO FOOL ME! IT'S OBVIOUS."
"...Touché."
For the first time since the start of the incident, the smile on the tomboyish magician's face disappeared, replaced with an expression of pure shock.
Sigh...
"This is ridiculous."
[Lvl. 99 Righteous Innocence, Cirno]
Her level was even higher than Reimu's.
If previously her presence changed a hot summer day into a gentle and breezy summer day, now her presence felt like it changed summer into winter.
"Icicle Sword."
Charging at Reimu first, Cirno conjured a sword made of ice before facing her.
As the frozen blade was brought down, it clashed with Reimu's gohei, creating a devastating shock throughout the area.
That's when I saw it for the first time. The one who lost the exchange was Reimu.
"Gah-"
Ugh! I was pushed back? This can't be...
This is ridiculous! This is dangerous. Really dangerous. How can a fairy be this strong?
But if there was a silver lining to this whole situation...
"Spellcard! Dream Sign: [Duplex Barrier]!"
It's the fact that this ice fairy already declared a Spellcard.
So, this is a Spellcard Battle. Be it damned that we didn't declare the amounts of spells we would use!
This is unlimited! Spellcards are going to be declared until one of us collapses!
Something that the ice fairy probably already realized. Not that it changed anything. Cirno was still struggling to dodge my Spellcard.
Not to mention that I wasn't alone in this battle.
"I am sorry, Cirno!"
Flying on her broom, Marisa didn't hesitate before firing countless magic missiles at the ice fairy.
Right while she was in the middle of dodging my Spellcard. To tell a short story as it is, it broke her concentration, and she received the full brunt of my card.
"Whatever happened to not harming her due to a promise you made."
"Extended circumstances. The situation escalated beyond a recoverable point. I am sure Daiyousei would understand if we explained it to her, ze~☆."
Still, something felt different about the whole situation. That ice fairy, Cirno, might not have been weak, but she was nowhere near this strong before.
"Reimu, Marisa! Behind you, you two idiots!"
Feeling a tingling sensation on my back, I quickly turned around, seeing Cirno emerge from the mist, holding a Spellcard.
That's when a question emerged in my head.
"When has it gotten this foggy?"
But ultimately, it was my fault for letting my guard down after getting just one hit in.
"Snow Sign "Diamond Blizzard"."
Sitting in the middle of this icy trap, the fog surrounding us turned against us as the water in the air crystallized and turned into a raging snowstorm.
It wasn't an ordinary snowstorm either. It was a diamond dust snowstorm.
Standing in the middle of this, it honestly seemed hopeless. I mean, what is a human supposed to do? A snowstorm was a force of nature, close to a natural catastrophe, also known as a blizzard.
As they are seen as divine judgment, natural phenomena surpass the common sense of humans and thus get exalted as the gods themselves, hoping to make sense of the forces they cannot stand against.
While it might not mean anything for humans of the outside world, here in Gensokyo, it meant everything.
The meaning was in every sense of the word "power" in this world. The more something meant, the more belief something had, the more power it carried.
After all, Gensokyo exists for the sake of faith, and what is faith but nothing other than belief?
Still...
Thinking about it, I didn't know what overcame me, but...
I just boldly stuck my hand into the middle of the blizzard.
Maybe it was my anger that the situation was needlessly dragging on, or perhaps I felt frustration at my incompetence for letting things escalate in the first place...
...but perhaps, at that moment, my feelings accumulated into a singular, simple thought.
"There's no way in hell a fairy of all beings thought that deeply about anything!"
What?
Did you think that it was something grand? Pffft-. Sorry, I wasn't making fun of you. It's just that sometimes, getting something done is better than trying to do something well but not taking action because you fear failure.
Hm? You wonder what happened next?
"Divine Arts: [Sky-Conquering Wind God Kick]!"
I broke through the snowstorm. That's what happened.
Honestly, Marisa's surprised expression was priceless. Don't know about Rin. Somehow, she wasn't in the eye of the storm with us.
Sadly, things were never as easy as one hoped they would be. After all, if things went too easy, you likely messed up somewhere.
"Freeze Sign: "Minus K"."
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
How could I let my guard down twice after getting a hit in!
The air was already freezing from Cirno's relentless attacks. Yet, despite that, the bullets that filled the air right now somehow managed to feel colder than the previous projectiles she had used before.
Like beautiful chandeliers, the ice crystals floated still in the air without the slightest hints of movement.
A moment stretched for what felt like an eternity. The five senses process more information in a shorter timeframe, all to find the best option for survival.
Half a second passed. The air crystals were still forming in the air.
An eighth of a second passed. Marisa's stomach felt queasy.
One second passed. Marisa accelerated on her broom to reach for Reimu.
One and a half seconds passed. The ice crystals in the air started to crack from the temperature difference between them and the "hot" air.
Two seconds passed. Marisa barely managed to grab Reimu's wrist.
Two and a tenth seconds passed. Reimu's head slowly turned back at the sensation of someone grabbing her.
Two and a seventh seconds passed. Marisa pulls Reimu into her embrace, trying to shield Reimu from what's going to happen next.
Two and a sixth seconds passed. The crystals ultimately explode because of the temperature difference.
Two and a half seconds passed. Reimu saw everything clearly play out in front of her eyes.
From when Cirno activated her Minus K Spellcard to the ice crystals forming in the air to even Marisa embracing her, Reimu saw everything clearly play out before her.
Yet, because of shock, her body was slow to respond to the signals her brain had been firing to every corner of her body.
Two and an two thirds seconds passed. Reimu created a last split-second barrier around herself and Marisa, hoping they could stop the ice shrapnel.
Three seconds passed. Weather warning as there might be ice explosions around the Misty Lake today.
Cryh-Boom!
...
"Snore..."
Cryh-Boom!
"Huh-! Wha-? Did something happen?"
"I don't think sleeping on the job is something you should do."
"Wah- I wasn't sleeping, I swear! Oh, it's just you."
"Now, what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I hardly get to know you since the jurisdictions of our duties rarely overlap."
"O-Oh..." (blush)
"Anyways, what's the reason for your visit to the gate?"
"O-Oh! Right, I was instructed to deliver your lunch for today!"
(grumble)
"Hahahaha-. It was about time for that. I am starving here. That girl should know better than to leave me unfed. Sigh, I miss the time she used to cling to me and call me big sis..."
"Wah-wah-wah! Isn't it dangerous to call miss head maid that way?"
"What? That greenhorn? I showed her the ropes when she first arrived here! If she has any complaints about me, she should come over and tell them to my face!"
"You called?"
(sweat)
"Wah-! Is it really alright to leave our gatekeeper in this bloodied state?"
"She's toughed out situations far worse than this. That's why she's our gatekeeper in the first place. She'll be fine. Though, I can't endorse the act of sleeping on the job. As punishment, you don't get to eat lunch."
"Sob... You are so cruel now... Completely different when you were a little girl..."
"Time passes, and people and their hearts change with its passage. Even more so if you are human. There is no use to cling onto distant memories and wish things to stay the same forever. Like the passings of the season, things are born, bloom, grow old, and inevitably die. In front of time, everyone is equal."
"..."
"But since everyone is equal in front of time, it's all the more reason for us to cherish and treasure the time we've been given. Whether it's the past that has long since passed or the future that's like an unpainted canvas waiting to be filled, every memory we get to make is precious. I think because everyone's equal in front of time, we are the ones who have to give meaning to the time we've been gifted, and for me, the time I had with you was one of the most precious times I've been given in this life. Is it so wrong to cherish my memories of when you were little?"
(Intense blush)
"Y-You i-idiot! It's not like I want to punish you for slacking off, but..."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Today is a special day. It's my fault for falling asleep on the job. You don't have to go easy on me."
"As long as you get it, besides..."
"Yeah, I also felt it just now, but the activity over the lake is especially fierce today."
"It seems the time our mistress has predicted is about to arrive. Can I leave guarding the gate to you?"
"Please, I might be slacking off, but when have I ever been an unreliable gatekeeper?"
"Heh, then I'll leave you to your job."
"Good luck cleaning, Miss Headmaid."
(Am I third-wheeling?)
...
The air was still vibrating from the aftermath of the shock of the explosion. If before felt like a winter day, now it felt like you somehow got lost in the Arctic.
Yet, despite everything, there was no pain. It shouldn't have been. Even if Spellcards were non-lethal, they were still painful.
Similar to how paint guns are not lethal but very much painful.
Yet, our protagonist duo was almost unharmed.
Reimu knew her last-minute barrier wasn't strong enough to properly block the attack, yet...
"Rin..."
The reason why they were unharmed was quite simple.
"So you weren't an ordinary nurse, ze."
"Never said I was~."
Rin was shielding them. Steam rising from her body, holding her Erhu in her hands, it seemed she used some magic to block the attack.
"Now leave this to me. You have somewhere else to be. Both of you."
"Woah, hold on there, buddy. As thankful as I am that you intercepted the Spellcard, I don't think that gives you any right to take over my job."
Pulling herself out of Marisa's embrace, Reimu was about to stop whatever Rin was planning. That, however, changed when she saw the nurse's pupils.
"Rin- your eyes..."
They were colored red.
Similar to the effects of...
"Lunacy-"
"Rin, we have to get you to a doc-"
"Doctor? I am a doctor! Well, that's what everyone has been calling me despite only being a nurse."
"Rin! Now is not the time for jo-"
"Jokes?"
"Stop that-!"
"No, YOU stop it with the needless concern!"
Once again, Rin screamed at them. But her hardened expression quickly softened again as she smiled and raised her hand, making a peace sign.
"Trust me, Reimu, Marisa. There is no need for all of us to waste time on one opponent. Or better said, I don't think ganging up on a single fairy makes a good image. So, leave this fight to me. This is going to be my fight."
Of course, you might wonder what gave me the confidence to face a level 99 opponent. Ignoring the obvious answer of Spellcards...
[3* Crystallized Water]
[Cirno is really pissed. Calm her anger somehow.]
[???: 11:00 minutes remaining]
My confidence stems from the mission the System just assigned to me. Especially that mysterious timer that appeared alongside it.
11 minutes.
A huge gamble. For me, that is. If my theory proved wrong, and that is just the mission end timer...
Once that timer reached zero, I'd have to live with the consequences of failing this mission and with my body in its state right now...
Grievous bodily harm would be the best result I could hope for.
But if that timer stands for what I think it is...
"What are you two staring at! I wouldn't do this if I didn't have the confidence to pull it off! Now go and beat the cause of this incident without mercy!"
My confident declaration seemed to be the last straw to cut their hesitation as they wordlessly turned around, making their way to the dense clump of mana not inferior to Cirno's rampage that we all felt.
Let's hope that there isn't anything left that will hold them back once they arrive at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
!!!
"Did you two really think that I would any of you leave? Freeze Sign...-!"
Right before Cirno could activate her Spellcard, a red clump of...
...something appeared out of thin air before it exploded into numerous musical notes.
"Eyes on me. The one you are fighting is me. After all, I am more than enough to deal with a self-declared strongest. Also, should I mention that I am the weakest of us three?"
Taunting Cirno, Rin hopes to provoke Cirno so the girls wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of getting shot in the back.
To her pain, it succeeded. Pretty well even, as she struck a nerve.
"Oh? I am not so sure about that~."
Is it because she's an ice fairy that she gets calmer the angrier she is? Or is the shiver that I am feeling really from the coldness of the atmosphere and not the opponent in front of me?
Sigh, how much time is left?
[???: 9:59 minutes remaining]
It has been barely over a minute?
"Ice Sign:..."
This is going to be a long 10 minutes...
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
...
"Meiling..."
"Yes, mistress?"
This is something that happened before the start of the "Scarlet Mist" incident. Or should we call it
"The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil" incident?
Not that it really matters.
"If it comes down to a battle, request to fight under the rules of the Spellcard System."
What mattered was that this conversation happened before the incident.
"But why? Aren't our opponents only human this time?"
The stoic silver-haired maid, serving the mistress tea, asked the question that lay on the tongue of the red-haired gatekeeper.
"You too, Sakuya."
Hurt in her confidence, the maid almost, but only almost, slammed the scarlet tea-filled cup on the plate in front of her mistress. After all, a perfect maid is, first and foremost, elegant.
So, of course, she refrained from actually doing so.
Of course, the mistress noticed the tiny agitated action but ultimately decided to not mind it.
"Sakuya, Meiling. Considering your opponent, you must agree to it. After all, that's the only reason why you two have a chance."
Now...
Let's return to the present day.
"Ugh..."
I cut my forehead...
"You alright? We agreed on 5 Spellcards and 9 rounds, but you can withdraw if you like."
Facing the Hakurei-Shrine Maiden in person, I finally understood why I was urged to fight with Spellcard Rules.
"It seems the cause of this disaster is in this mansion. It would make my job much easier if you resigned from the fight now."
I would have died just now if it weren't for the Spellcard rules.
"Oh no, we finally get a chance to use these Spellcard Rules. Let's enjoy it some more."
I lost. There wasn't even room for arguments. It was a resounding victory for the Hakure-Shrine Maiden. Not to mention the witch that's patiently standing there in the background.
If it weren't for this Spellcard Battle, I would have to face them both simultaneously.
"Well, if you insist. Shall we move on to Round 2?"
Geez, I know I was the one to agree to nine rounds, but now that I hear that we just moved to the second one, I feel like dying.
I know I promised you that I would guard the gate properly, Sakuya, but I don't think I can keep the promise I made to you today...
