東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 12:Subterranean Animism

—34—


In response to Renko's unexpected question, the Yama frowned slightly.

"I'm guessing you are asking about that because you suspect that Koishi may not actually exist? You wouldn't be the first to assume as much, but let me be perfectly clear. Satori does indeed have a sister named Koishi. That girl is also a satori, but she willfully closed her heart and her third eye after being unable to tolerate being hated and feared by everyone but her sister."

Renko nodded, looking somewhat relieved.

"In that case, there are a few more details I'd like to clarify, if I may. The oni moved into the Underworld, along with all of Gensokyo's most reviled youkai at about the time the Hakurei Barrier was erected, correct? Roughly 120 years ago? When I was underground I heard that you had appointed Satori to her position and assumed that had happened at after the pact between the surface youkai and the youkai living in the Underworld was concluded, but you're saying that the Komeiji sisters had been managing the Earth Spirits even before then, correct?"

"That is indeed correct. To be precise, the order of events was that I appointed her to that role, then youkai started living in the city—first the oni, then later other youkai that preferred that way of life to the stability of Gensokyo. After the migration ended and the population of the Underworld stabilized, the mutual non-aggression pact was agreed upon. That was the same year that the Great Hakurei Barrier was established. I was there when the treaty was signed, acting as a witness and officiant. Hoshiguma Yuugi signed the treaty as a representative of the Underworld and Yakumo Ran acted as a representative for the youkai of Gensokyo."

"Ran signed it, you say? Not Yakumo Yukari herself?"

"No. Yukari Yakumo doesn't like me. When the treaty was signed, Ran named the management and confinement of vengeful spirits to the Underworld as one of the terms of the agreement. I announced then that I had appointed Komeiji Satori to manage that role, so I could see how the story might have been misinterpreted to suggest that I had only just made that choice."

"Thank you, that makes things a little clearer. So if that's the case, were the Komeiji sisters original residents of the Underworld, dating back to the time when it still functioned as part of Hell?"

"No. They originally lived on the surface, just as the oni did. I specifically recruited her to manage the Earth Spirits in the Underworld and she agreed to take the role and live in the palace at the center of the abandoned city."

"I see, so she moved to the Underworld after that. When you recruited her, had Koishi already closed her third eye and become an unconscious youkai at that point?"

"Yes, she had. In fact, that was one of Satori's requirements before she would agree to take on the duties that I asked of her. She asked me to bring her sister to the Underworld in exchange. At that point I think Satori was already largely unable to keep track of her sister."

"So you tracked Koishi down and dragged her to the Underworld, then?"

"That's more or less correct. I brought her to the palace to live with her sister."

That explained why Yamame, who kept a broad social circle in the Underworld, would have only known about Koishi through hearsay. Koishi had already been down there in her current, imperceptible form for as long as the surface youkai had been down there.

"How did you manage to catch her though, Lord Yama? Can you see Koishi?"

"It is in the nature of the Yama to see all things with perfect clarity. There is no such thing as 'something that might or might not be there' for me. There is only present or absent. Black or white."

"Ah, I should have expected as much, I suppose." Renko nodded in understanding, muttering to herself for a moment as her fingers danced over the brim of her hat. "So maybe it works like I thought…" Of course I had no idea what she was mumbling about. "Lord Yama," she began looking up again, "Might I ask you how my partner is able to see Koishi?" "

"I have no understanding whatsoever of the way in which Maéreverie Hearn's abilities function."

"Really? They're beyond even the Yama's knowledge?"

"The Yama are not omniscient, we are merely given tools to allow us to see a soul's history and the ability to clearly distinguish between black and white. I can tell you whether anything falls into one category or another, but I couldn't give you my opinion on that thing or its place in that category."

"So in essence, you have the ability to answer any yes or no question?"

"Broadly speaking, that’s correct."

"It's just like Terence D'Arby's stand ability!" Sanae interjected.

I'll admit that I had been thinking the same thing but nonetheless I reached out and grabbed her by the sleeve before she could interrupt further. "Not now, Sanae."

The Yama glanced toward Sanae at that comment and sighed before turning back to Renko. "If you would excuse me, Miss Usami, I am very busy and I shouldn't be putting aside my workload to chat like this. I promise to deliver your lecture another time."

"Just one more question then, Lord Yama, if you'd be so kind." Renko pleaded, poking her hat back on her head as she grinned.

"All right, but make it quick."

"Do you recall having sealed a nun by the name of Hijiri Byakuren into Makai about 1,000 years ago?"

"Yes."

"And is she still sealed there, to your knowledge?"

"Yes."

"For what crime was she imprisoned?"

"Why do you ask that, Usami Renko?"

"I have a duty to fulfil regarding her."

The Yama looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded. "Ah the disciples of that nun who was sealed in the Underworld, I imagine. All I can tell you is that she committed a terrible sin and for that she was sealed away. You are not involved in her case and not entitled to any further information beyond that. Now, if you will excuse me."

With that, the Yama turned on a heel, receding back into the mists shrouding the Sanzu river. Komachi shrugged at us and followed her, disappearing into the billowing clouds behind her boss. As they vanished, Renko eased her hat back down over eyes and turned away, her face unreadable.


—35—


"What was all of that about, Miss Renko? You seem like you're investigating something again. Is something going on?" Sanae asked, craning her neck around to peer at Renko as we flew back towards the village.

"Hmm, it's a bit complicated to explain. I'll tell you all of the details once Lady Yasaka makes her power generation project public."

"What? No fair! What's Lady Kanako's plan got to do with it all? Are you working on something together with her? Are you and Merry having secret midnight rendezvous with her or something?"

"Sanae, don't phrase it that way, you're making it sound lewd. You know how Renko gets when you give her the faintest chance for a double-entendre."

"Who, me? I'm perfectly innocent. If you're reading something like that into Sanae's words though, maybe there's something on your mind?"

"You're delusional, Renko."

"You’re flirting again! You really can do this sort of thing anywhere, can’t you?"

"I wasn't flirting!"

We spent the flight back to the village engaged in such idle chatter. I was curious about what Renko might have been thinking with her line of questioning to the Yama. It seemed to me like she had already reached some kind of conclusion, but of course I didn’t expect that I’d hear anything about it until she had finished organizing her thoughts.

Before long we were landing near the western gate to the village.

"Sanae, do you want to come hang out at our office for a bit?"

"No, I think I'd better head home."

"Ah, I see, you want to go and question Lady Yasaka right away, right?"

"Well, that's part of it, but I've also been doing some training I want to get back to. I'm working on a new technique."

"A new technique?"

"Mm-hmm!" she nodded happily. "A new miracle to win over the hearts and faith of the people of this world. I've already mastered parting the sea, but there's no ocean in Gensokyo, so I'm working on something more relevant to the lives of people here. It's going to be my ultimate secret art. My hyper limit breaker super move." She said, pulling her wand out of her sleeve and raising it above her head. "I just need to decide what it will be first. But it's going to be something really cool!"

Looking at Sanae posing, legs spread wide and wand raised high, eyes turned toward the heavens, I wondered if this was the usual process by which new miracles were created.

"Ah, I see," Renko replied, grinning. "That explains why you haven't been coming by as often recently, if you're tied up with important work like that. What have you come up with so far?"

Sanae's shoulders slumped as the wand fell to her side. "Well actually, I've been playing around with a bunch of different ideas, but I haven't really been able to decide. Do you have any ideas, Renko?"

Renko twisted her head, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm. The Moriya Shrine is trying to gather faith by assuring people of a good harvest, right? Why not play into that theme? How about an overwhelming number of crops falling from the sky? Like a rain of rice or veggies or something."

"Boss! That's brilliant!"

"It is?" Renko asked, genuinely surprised.

Sanae stepped forward and grabbed Renko by the shoulders, leaning in close enough that Renko flinched back, reflexively. "It's perfect! I can’t be held back by common-sense miracles like parting the sea. I need a miracle that will actually help people! A bumper crop of divine blessings! A meal made from a miracle! Everyone who sees it will love it!" Sanae released Renko and danced happily from side to side, twirling in the snow. Renko and I turned and stared at each other, neither of us having anything more to say.

—

After waving goodbye to Sanae, we made our way back towards our office behind the temple school. On the way, we came across a group of children playing in the snow. I recognized some of the faces in the group from my classes. As we passed by, one of the girls stopped chasing a boy around and waved energetically at us.

"Hi, Miss Merry! Hi, Miss Renko!" Upon hearing her, several other children turned around and waved too.

"Hello kids, are you all having fun on this snow day?" Renko asked, crouching down to look them in the eye.

"Make sure to stay wrapped up nice and warm, it's cold out here today" I added.

"Yes, teacher." several of the kids shouted in unison.

Renko clapped her hands and nodded to them. "Good, good," she continued. "I have a question for you kids. Have you ever been playing together on your own and suddenly found that there was another kid who you don't know playing with you?"

The children turned and looked at each other in silence before one of them piped up. "A kid we don't know?"

"A strange kid. She wears a hat that's black like mine," she said, pointing to herself.

The children looked at each other before turning back to Renko. "Nope!"

"Ah, nevermind then. Sorry for asking such a weird question. Alright, run along and play everyone and make sure to be home before it gets dark. If any of you are late for dinner because you were too busy playing in the snow, you'll get a headbutt from Miss Keine."

At that cue, Renko stood up and the children all scattered —all but one, that is. One child remained alone in the snow-covered lot, staring wide-eyed at Renko. He was the youngest of the children who had been playing together, and one I didn't recognize from any of our classes. He glanced around, realizing that his friends had all run away, then looked hesitantly back at Renko.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked, meeting his gaze.

The child nodded, seeming to have made up his mind and stepped closer. I bent down to be at eye level for him. "...I know that girl." He began, haltingly.

"The one Miss Renko was just talking about? You've seen her?"

"...Yeah. We play together sometimes, but other people don't believe me when I say I've seen her."

Renko and I exchanged looks. It seemed undeniable that he must be talking about Koishi.

"Some people told me I must have seen a ghost, but she didn't look like a ghost. She was really there."

"I see. Thank you for telling us, that's very brave." I said, patting the boy on the head.

The boy beamed at me. "You believe me?"

"I believe you," I said, smiling back at him as his face lit up.

"Hey what are you doing?" One of the other children called out. Instantly the boy turned away from me, sprinting after the others and shouting "Wait for me!" I chalked his behavior up to the capriciousness of youth as I sighed and stood back up. Beside me Renko was fiddling with the brim of her hat with a worried expression on her face.

"What's the matter, Renko?"

"It’s nothing. Probably. That kid though... I think we'd better go talk to Miss Keine."

"What for?"

"I need to check something" she said, striding off down the road, "I need to test a hypothesis."

I was about to open my mouth to ask what she meant, but then thought better of it. I knew there'd be no answer just yet. Hustling through the snow, I chased after her.

—

"Oh, Keine? She went to look into reports of a dine-and-dash up on the north side of town." Kotohime said with a lazy smile. She was sitting behind the desk in the neighborhood watch office, drinking tea.

"Is that so? Well in that case maybe I could ask you about this then, Kotohime." Renko said, taking a seat across from her.

"Oh? What's this about? Is there an incident going on?"

"No, it's just some simple questions. First off, we just ran into a kid in town who doesn't attend Keine's school but who I think I've seen around a bit. Maybe you know him." Renko proceeded to give a description of the child as Kotohime nodded.

"Sure, I know him. He's the child of another of the village's founding families, like I am. His family were all shamans and mine were samurai though." She smiled wryly.

Back before the Great Hakurei Barrier had been erected this village had been founded by groups of humans who had banded together for survival. Even before the establishment of Gensokyo, or the foundation of the village, this area had, according to local legend, been a hotbed of hostile youkai activity. Most of the humans who had founded the village had originally been youkai hunters of some description. Kotohime, like many of the volunteers who made up the neighborhood watch, was a descendant of a long line of youkai exterminators.

Among the village's founding families of youkai exterminators, there had been two groups. One group of families had once been warriors who had challenged and exterminated youkai directly and the other were families who had dealt with ghosts and curses. Apparently those two groups of families had a complex web of relationships between them, sometimes friendly, sometimes not.

"That was a long time ago, of course. I think his father sells furniture now."

"Even if his family aren't shamans any more, would people descended from that line still have some sort of ability?"

"Maybe. If he did, he might have powers similar to those of a shrine maiden."

"What do you mean?"

"People from those families could talk to ghosts or spirits better than most people. They claimed to be able to hear and exorcise mischievous spirits or weak youkai that might be hiding in people's houses that nobody else could see."

"I see, that's quite helpful to know," Renko said as she sipped on the warm tea Kotohime had given us.

I suppose even in Gensokyo, where ghosts are readily visible to humans, there are still some things that most people can’t see.

"It's not surprising that they're not in the youkai hunting business any more, I suppose. There's not much demand for that kind of thing nowadays. I'm probably the last one in my family who will be trained at all." She nodded and sipped her tea, savoring the warmth but staring wistfully into the middle distance. Not only were youkai attacks on the village much less common nowadays, but the Hakurei shrine maiden quickly resolved any incidents that came up involving youkai on her own. There wasn’t much room for anyone else to make a living as a professional youkai exterminator. The neighborhood watch might be the closest thing there was to that sort of a profession any more.

"That's just the way things go though. Things the world has no use for fade away, and trying to force them to stay will just turn them into something they were never meant to be. If someone were to ask the youkai to attack the village just to justify their job as a youkai hunter then they wouldn't really live up to that title any more, would they?"

Her tone was light and jovial as she said this, but I couldn't help but think her smile looked a little sad.


—36—


"So Renko, have you settled on an explanation?"

We had returned to our office behind the temple school and sat down around the brazier, loaded with a fresh batch of warm coals. My partner kept her coat on as the cold room slowly warmed.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it an 'explanation.' A working theory, maybe."

"A theory? About what?"

"You know I can't answer that, Merry. Why not think on it for yourself? Just try and lay out everything we know this far and I'm sure you'll see what I'm worried about." Having said that, Renko flopped over backward onto the tatami, unfolding her legs and pulling her hat down over her eyes.

I stared incredulously at her for a moment, then got out my writing supplies with a sigh. Writing has always been the best way for me to organize my thoughts and if a timeline was going to be critical to understanding the mystery of this case, then I supposed that I should treat it with the same formal gravity that I normally would give to our typical list of questions. Please feel free to do the same yourself, dear reader.

Once I had written everything down, remembered bits and pieces and rearranged everything until I was sure it was all in the right order, my timeline looked like this:

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞]
1. In order to secure a source of energy to power future innovation Yasaka Kanako (and presumably Moriya Suwako?) dug a hole leading from Youkai Mountain directly to the Hell of Blazing Fires. There they gave the power of Yatagarasu to Okuu in the hopes of harnessing the power of nuclear fusion.
2. At some point prior to this, this plan was discussed with Komeiji Satori, the master of the Palace of the Earth Spirits and was met with her approval. It was kept secret from Sanae, however.
3. Okuu, having gained the power of fusion, devised a plan to invade the surface world and turn it into a new Hell. Kanako was not aware of this.

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨 - 𝐎𝐤𝐮𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧]
1. Prior to any of this Okuu and Orin lived in the Hell of Blazing Fires. When the Palace of the Earth Spirits was given to Satori to allow her to monitor the vengeful spirits bound beneath it, they both became her pets.
2. When Okuu gained the power of Yatagarasu, she caused the temperature of the Hell of Blazing Fires to increase and steam geysers erupted from the surface near the Hakurei Shrine.
3. Okuu devised a plan to use her new power to burn the surface world. Her motivation for doing so is unknown (she has forgotten it.)

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬 - 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚]
1. Prior to Satori becoming master of the Palace of the Earth Spirits, Orin, a Kasha, lived with Okuu in the Hell of Blazing Fires. After Satori's arrival, she was entrusted with the task of managing the vengeful spirits bound to the Hell of Blazing Fires.
2. Orin learned of Okuu's plan to burn all of Gensokyo and became worried that if Satori learned of it, then Okuu and possibly herself would be killed - either by the oni or by Satori herself.
3. Orin released vengeful spirits to the surface in the hopes that someone from above would come down and put and end to Okuu's scheme.
4. Orin probably didn't know that Satori had been in conversation with Lady Yasaka prior to all of this.

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬 - 𝐊𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐢𝐣𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢]
1. Satori is a satori, and was tasked by the Yama to watch over the vengeful spirits bound to the Hell of Blazing Fires. To do this she moved into the Palace of the Earth Spirits prior to the oni or anyone else migrating to Old Hell. This is likely about when Orin and Okuu became her pets.
2. As part of her payment for taking on this responsibility, Satori had the Yama locate and capture Satori's sister Koishi and bring her to the palace as well.
3. Other youkai moved into the city of Former Hell but avoided and scorned Satori because of her ability to read minds.
4. Satori is unable to read her sister's mind and has only a limited ability to perceive her. As such, she frequently loses track of her sister's location.
5. When we met Satori, she asked Renko to locate her sister again.

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 - 𝐊𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐢𝐣𝐢 𝐊𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢]
1. Satori's younger sister is also a satori, however she is said to have forcibly closed her third eye after having grown tired of being hated by everyone because of her ability to read minds.
2. Since then, Koishi seems to have become a youkai of unconscious thought, wandering around at random, but sometimes playing with children on the surface.
3. For some reason I can see her, but she runs away from Renko.
4. Some human children in the village can also see her.
5. Is there any meaning to her actions? Could there be? Or are they completely random?

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥 - 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐘𝐮𝐮𝐠𝐢]
1. She is one of the oni who was once called one of the 'Four Devas of Youkai Mountain.' Other members of this group include Ibuki Suika and an oni named Ibaraki Kasen, both of whom voluntarily left the Underworld. The identity of the fourth of the Devas is unknown.
2. About the time that the Great Hakurei Barrier was established she moved underground along with the rest of the oni and took up residence in Old Hell, where she became the chief of the oni living there—and by extension—de facto ruler of the city. Since establishing herself there, she has accepted many reviled youkai from the surface as migrants to the city.
3. She seems to take good care of even youkai who live in the Underworld, but not within the city itself, such as Parsee.
4. She seems to have an interest in aiding Captain Murasa and Ichirin in their quest to return to the surface with their ship.
5. She does not seem to have any knowledge of the goings-on in the Hell of Blazing Fires.

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥 - 𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐘𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞]
1. They are a cheerful, outgoing tsuchigumo and a quiet and shy tsurube otoshi who frequently work together.
2. They often play in the vertical shaft connecting the surface to the Underworld. Yamame claims that she sets nets up there to catch suicidal humans to eat.
3. Yamame is a very outgoing person and knows Yuugi, Parsee and Captain Murasa well.
4. She also seems to not have had any knowledge of the ongoing incident.

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 - 𝐌𝐢𝐳𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐞]
1. She is a hashihime who guards the bridge connecting the vertical shaft to the surface to Former Hell. She has the ability to manipulate jealousy and evoke it in others with her gaze. For this reason she is either unwilling to live in the city or unwelcome there. Despite the old stories about the origin of the hashihime, there does not seem to be any connection between her and Ibaraki Douji.
2. Yuugi often visits to check up on her, but she complains about that a lot. I wonder if their relationship might be a bit like Mokou and Kaguya’s?
3. Yuugi seems to have asked a favor of her. (Perhaps related to making sure that no youkai try to escape to the surface?)

[𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 - 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐚, 𝐈𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐳𝐚𝐧]
1. Captain Murasa is a ship phantom, Ichirin is a youkai capable of commanding a nyuudo and Unzan is her nyuudo partner. All three of them were once sealed underground along with the wreckage of a large sailing ship (the 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛).
2. All three are disciples of Hijiri Byakuren, who was supposedly a Buddhist nun who became a magician and has been sealed in Makai. Their goal is to escape from the Underworld along with their ship, then use that ship to release Hijiri from her prison. At current though, they have no means to extricate the 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛 from the depths.
3. Another unidentified youkai who is probably not Koishi seems to haunt the area around their ship as well.

And that was about everything. I sighed and looked over my jumbled notes then rested my head on my hands. To me, everything still seemed to make sense. There were a few unusual irregularities such as Okuu forgetting her motive for wanting to burn the surface world to ash, but since even she couldn’t remember what her motive was, it didn’t seem like the sort of thing that could be solved.

Beyond that there were a few other inexplicable details, like why Koishi avoids Renko so assiduously, what Yuugi might have asked Parsee to do for her, or who the unidentified youkai affecting people who go near Captain Murasa's ship might be, but I couldn't see any connection between those details and the incident. Certainly, I couldn't imagine that there was some overarching secret connecting the Moriya Shrine, Orin and Okuu, Hijiri Byakuren and Parsee, for example.

To me the most unfathomable mystery of all was just why my partner had been so surprised to hear that Satori was aware of Lady Yasaka's plan to feed the eye of Yatagarasu to Okuu. Personally, I didn't see how having her be party to that plan or unaware of it made any difference. What exactly was the mystery Renko was trying to solve? From the questions she had asked and the people she had chosen to talk to, it seemed to me like she was focused on something concerning Koishi and her sister, but I couldn't see how that had anything to do with the events going on in the Hell of Blazing Fires.

"Well, what have you got, Merry?" Renko asked, sitting up and placing her hat back on her head as I sighed over my paper.

"Nothing at all. I'm not a delusional megalomaniac like you, Renko."

"Oh? That's a strange thing to hear. You out-guessed me during the last incident."

"That was just a coincidence."

"Coincidence, or hard work?"

Renko let out a sigh and sat up to hold her hands over the brazier.

"For now, let's just pray that Reimu and Marisa can stop Okuu. If she manages to escape and starts burning up all of Gensokyo, I'll never manage to solve this mystery."

"Look on the bright side, Renko. If Gensokyo gets turned into a sea of fire, you'll never have to hear me tell you 'I told you so' ever again."

"As nice as that might be, I'd rather hope that this all gets resolved in such a way that Reimu gets her hot springs. Maybe if she wins against Okuu we can all have a party at the Hakurei Shrine’s onsen after."

"If that happens I don’t know if there will even be a Hakurei Shrine any more. She might just convert the whole thing into the Hakurei Onsen."

"Well even if that’s what happens as long as I get to go to a hot springs with Merry, I think I'd end up enjoying myself. For now though, Merry, do you really not have any idea of what I'm thinking about?"


[𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫]

And so, once again, we've come to the end of a lengthy list of questions and to your role in this mystery, dear reader. Will you pit your imagination against the great detective's? If you wish to, I advise you to once again consider the question I asked at the very beginning of this book: who among them was the one for whom my partner's delusions would derive a mystery to solve?'

Let your mind run wild and see what kind of theories you can come up with to connect some or all of the seemingly disparate events of this case. For those of you who, like me, have not even the faintest glimmer of a theory at this point or for those whose minds are too full of countless possibilities to settle on any one definite idea, let me give you a little hint:

The story of the disciples of Hijiri Byakuren has little to do with the events of this incident. It is not completely unrelated, of course, or I wouldn't have included it in this book, but you can safely ignore them and the question of the unidentified youkai associated with them when trying to understand how all of the other events are connected.

The only other hint I can give you is to remind you once again that in Gensokyo perception has power. Many of the previous casebooks were stories in which, according to my partner at least, someone attempted to change some aspect of the nature of Gensokyo or some element within it by affecting public perception. This story is no different in that regard, though I can't tell you who is trying to change what beliefs or to what end, of course.

As it is, I feel that I may already have given out too many clues. Knowing the conclusion that Renko came to already as I do, it is difficult for me to guess just what sort of deductions you might be able to pull from these stories that I have written. I just hope that I have not at any point spoiled any of my partner’s deductions for you. If I have, I apologize.

And so, I ask you once again, dear reader. Will you pit your fantasies against those of Usami Renko? If the answer is yes, then you need only answer this question:

What is the true nature of the Vengeful Spirit Incident?