東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 1:Ten Desires

—1—


Please forgive me for beginning this casefile with a personal anecdote. This particular story has nothing to do with the incident we got caught up in, but it does provide a critical bit of background and introduce someone who I suppose counts as the newest member of the Hifuu Detective Agency.

Like most disruptions to the status quo of our everyday existence, this change came into being as a result of my partner's curiosity.

"Merry, I think it's high time we found our own means of transportation."

"Transportation?"

Renko made this declaration one day while we were lazing around in our office, laying on the tatami mats and doing nothing much in particular since Sanae hadn’t come by. It was a completely spontaneous and non-sequitur statement, but Renko spoke it as if it were an inarguable fact.

"Absolutely. I was just thinking that it's kind of annoying that we have to cling to Sanae whenever we need to fly somewhere."

"What brings this up, Renko?"

Up until now it's true that we had more or less been using Marisa and Sanae as taxis. As our circle of friends had expanded however, it now included people so far away that it would be impossible to reach them without the ability to fly. Really if you intend to live in Gensokyo for any length of time, finding a way to fly is a must.

"I was just thinking we should figure out a way we can travel long distances on our own, don't you think? Besides, if we want our detective agency to be able to take on more cases then we need to be able to go where the action is, right?"

"You're thinking that now that Sanae has started trying to resolve incidents on her own we'd be a hindrance to her if we keep clinging on to her all the time, right?"

I thought back to the time we had accompanied Sanae during the Treasure Ship Incident. I’d feel bad if we were to put Sanae in the position of having to fight and fly with the two of us hanging off of her arm again as we had during that time. Though, if we did find some way of flying I'm sure Reimu would get angry at us for sticking our noses into even more incidents.

"Exactly, Merry. We don't want to interfere with Sanae's efforts to gather faith, and it would be a disgrace to our reputation as the Hifuu Detective Agency if we had to turn down a case simply because we couldn’t get to where the action is. We need a way to fly, Merry. Ideally, well enough that we can keep up with the major players during an incident."

"Well that would certainly be nice. I always feel bad seeing you use the branch shrine to call up Lady Yasaka any time we want to see Sanae. If we could fly up to her shrine ourselves, we wouldn't have to..." I happen to possess enough common sense that I still see the idea of using a branch shrine as a phone to call for a cab as a bit blasphemous or at least disrespectful. I don't think my partner even cares though. "...Even if I agree with you, how do you intend to fly? Are you going to ask Reimu to teach you how?"

"Hmm, being able to fly on my own would certainly be nice, but I don't think that would work, for a variety of reasons."

Having lived this long in Gensokyo, seeing Reimu or Sanae simply lift off of the ground and fly about had become so commonplace to us that it didn't even seem noteworthy any more, but really, even in Gensokyo most humans couldn’t do anything like that. Among the people we knew in the human village, most were like Akyuu and Kosuzu, and unable to fly. There was no way that two completely ordinary humans, much less Outsiders from the Scientific Century could possibly hope to soar through the air using spiritual power, divine winds, or youkai magic.

"So what's your plan then? Ask Ichirin if we can borrow Unzan? Or are you going to ask Byakuren to build us a flying ship?"

"Well, maybe I'd give that last one a shot if my plan doesn't work, but I'd like to try something that doesn't leave us so indebted to any of our acquaintances."

"What's your plan then?"

"I do have one idea in mind." Renko said, raising a finger.

"Do you actually?"

"Watch and see, dear Watson. Come on, the game's afoot!" Saying that, Renko leapt to her feet and grabbed her trademark trenchcoat. I sighed and stood up as well. It seemed once again I had no choice but to follow after her.

—

Renko had led the way out of the village's eastern gate and down the road toward the Hakurei Shrine. As we made our way up the stone steps she still hadn't told me what her plan was.

"Are you going to ask Suika to lend us some of her little versions of herself to carry us around or pull a cart or something?"

"Oh, that's an interesting prospect, but no, that's not the plan."

Renko smiled at me, offering no hint as to what she was actually thinking. If she wasn't planning on asking Reimu to train her, then what were we doing here?

We made our way through the torii at the top of the stairs and Renko continued walking, turning away from the swept path without dropping anything in the offertory box and heading for the woods that surrounded the shrine. If she wasn't here to talk to Reimu or Suika, then she must be intending to speak to the three fairies of light. She couldn't possibly be imagining setting up some sort of harness to allow the three of them to carry us through the sky, could she?

"Alright, I give up then, what's your plan, Renko?"

"Come on, Merry. Think for yourself. We're nearly there anyway."

"You're going to talk to the three fairies. I know that much, but what are you planning on asking them to do? You must be after information rather than direct aid, but I don't know what you're planning to ask that you couldn't just ask Reimu."

"Oh, you're so close, Merry! Just one step away."

"One step away, she says..."

"For the record, I probably could have asked Reimu, but I'm not sure if she would have remembered, and even if she did she might not tell us. The fairies are more likely to give me a straight answer."

"A straight answer about what? What are we looking for, Renko?"

"Come on, think about it, what else could be back here? Do you remember what Marisa told us before, about when she and Reimu were kids?"

Marisa had mentioned to us at one point that when Reimu was a child she was looked after by an old turtle that lived near the shrine, so maybe that’s who Renko was looking for. "That was Marisa talking, Renko. You know you can’t believe more than a third of what she tells you."

"That may be true, but if that turtle exists then he’s probably retired now that Reimu can fly on her own. if that’s the case and if the turtle was able to fly with Reimu on its back, then it might be able to carry us."

"Wait, you're not planning on trying to bring that turtle home with us, are you? Renko, we can't keep a pet like that. First off, where would it live?"

"There’s the pond at the school. Wouldn't a friendly turtle be a nice addition to it?"

I stared at Renko in disbelief as we walked. Surely she had to realize that if this turtle could fly and had raised Reimu, it must presumably be a youkai turtle. Sanae and Suwako had sometimes talked about some old movie they liked that featured a monstrous turtle, but I couldn't imagine such an entity would consent to be kept as a pet by a human, even if they had once served as the guardian of a young Hakurei shrine maiden.

Before I could raise any further objections, however, we emerged from the thicket of trees into the clearing where the huge oak that served as a home for the three fairies stood. Renko wasted no time in calling out to the fairies as soon as we arrived.

As before, at the sound of Renko calling out there arose a great clattering from within the tree along with the appearance of three fairies bursting forth from three different locations on the tree.

"It's those humans!" Sunny declared as she rushed towards us. "Have you come to play?"

"Hello you three. Actually today there was something I was hoping you could teach me about."

"A human wants us to teach them something?"

The three fairies looked at each other, seeming confused for just a moment before Sunny puffed out her chest proudly and said "You can ask me anything!"

"Ask Luna instead," Star suggested, pushing Luna forward. "You'll get a better answer."

"Why me?" Luna protested.

"Any of you can answer. I just wanted to know if there's an old turtle living somewhere around here."

"A turtle?" they all asked in unison.

Sunny took a step back and leaned toward Luna to whisper. "Is that thing that lives in the pond a turtle?"

"It's in the pond but I don't know if it's a turtle."

"Is it even alive?"

The three fairies fussed and chattered amongst themselves.

"It's in a pond, you say?" Renko asked, interjecting before their conversation could go in a circle.

"It's behind the shrine. There's definitely a turtle there, but I don't know if it's alive or not."

"It doesn't move at all."

"Nuh-uh! I've seen it move. Just a little though."

"Really?" Once again the three fairies dissolved into a storm of bickering.

"Do you think you could show it to me?" Renko asked, poking the brim of her hat back with one finger and smiling.

The three fairies looked up at her as one, tilting their heads in surprise.

—

And so the three fairies pointed us toward a pond. It was a still, shallow body of water that was technically on the grounds of the shrine, but being as it was located behind the storehouse, it wasn’t visible from the shrine’s veranda, and as such, I had never noticed it before.

"I never knew there was a pond here. Helllooo! Any turtles about?"

Without any fish to disturb the surface, the pond was calm and still, with only a rounded, mossy boulder rising out of the pond's center.

"I don't think there's anything here, Renko."

"You're off your game today, Merry. I see a turtle, and I bet you do too."

"What? Where?"

I don't know if this was supposed to be a Koyogoku Natsuhiko-style mystery or something more like one of Chesterton's stories but I didn't see anything that looked at all like a turtle. Renko grinned at me then took a step back, followed by another. I tilted my head inquisitively at her, but she said nothing, only giving me a cheeky wink before suddenly sprinting forward and leaping with all the force and grace she could muster onto the rock in the center of the pond. She landed perfectly—then immediately slipped on the moss and lost her footing, bashing her knee onto the rock. She pulled herself up and sat cross-legged atop it. What the hell was she doing? Still grinning at me she sat upright and started her fist on the surface of the boulder. "Hello there mister turtle, are you still alive, by chance?"

As Renko sat, banging on the rock, it began to move a little. I suppose at this point I should stop calling it a rock. Ever so slowly it began to rise up out of the water, revealing that it was plainly nothing of the sort, but instead the rounded and moss-covered shell of a surprisingly large turtle.

With achingly slow movements, the turtle rose up and, with Renko still seated on its back, began to slowly march toward the shore of the pond. It was only once it had reached the water's edge and Renko had hopped off its back and onto the shore that a wizened, wrinkly head sporting surprisingly human-like features and a long white beard which floated on the surface of the pond emerged, ever-so-slowly, from the water.

The turtle's head swung from side to side as he looked the both of us over, his calm yellow eyes peering at each of ours. At length he spoke, in a slightly wheezy voice. "Eh? Who's that there?"

It was a bit surprising to see a creature that, for the most part, looked exactly like a normal turtle, speaking like a human. The only other youkai we knew who didn't take an at least mostly-human form was Unzan, and if he could speak at all, it wasn't in any way I had ever heard.

"Hello there, it's a pleasure to meet you," Renko said, squatting down on her haunches to bring herself eye to eye with the turtle. "My name is Usami Renko, and this is my partner, Merry. We're two of Reimu’s friends who live in the human village. I understand that you took care of Reimu when she was young, is that correct?"

"You're friends of Master Reimu? How troublesome. It was less that I took care of her and more that I was forced to care for her. My name is Genji. I was captured by Master Reimu many years ago and forced to serve as her valet. I think I'm retired now though."

It seems like Marisa had, as usual, told us only a half-truth. Genji existed, but if he was calling Reimu 'Master' then there's no way he had been anything like a foster parent to her.

"I take it you retired because Reimu learned how to fly on her own and didn't need you any more?"

"Yes, that's right. I think she might have even forgotten I exist." Having said that, Genji took a few more slow steps forward and emerged completely from the pond, swiveling his head to look from Renko to me and back again. "So what business do two human villagers have with me?"

"Well actually, I've come to offer you a job," Renko said, grinning broadly.

"A job?"

"Yes. My partner and I operate the Hifuu Detective Agency in the human village. Occasionally, our work involves us assisting Reimu in resolving incidents, which often means travelling all over Gensokyo. Neither Merry nor I can fly, and we've more or less reached the limit of how much we can ask our friends to carry us around. We thought we'd ask if you'd be willing to take a position as our chauffeur. We would, of course, pay you for your services. I'd be happy to negotiate whatever form of contract you would find most agreeable."

In my mind, saying that we 'assisted Reimu in resolving incidents' was bending the truth more than a little. ‘Interrupted Reimu while she was resolving incidents’ would probably be more accurate.

"...So you're proposing that I should take a pair of humans as my new master?"

"You can think of it that way if you like. To start with, I can offer you three meals a day and a lovely new pond, located in a lively, family-friendly neighborhood to live in. If there's anything else you'd like, just let me know."

Genji stared at her in silence with what looked like a suspicious expression. I can't blame him. If a stranger had come and woken me up out of the blue with such an offer I can only imagine suspicion to be the natural response.

"To be clear," Genji said wheezily, "I can't be expected to protect you. I can fly but I'm not strong enough to fight. Is that alright?"

"That's completely reasonable. Although I'm just a human, I'm widely known in Gensokyo, and as such there's little chance of being attacked by stray youkai. When it comes to incidents and individuals strong enough to incite them, I leave the fighting to Reimu and just follow from a safe distance."

Genji once again craned his head around to look at me. "Would the both of you be riding together?"

"Would that be a problem?"

"No, I think I could manage two women without an issue. Where is it that you'd want me to live?"

"There's a pond in the yard of the village's schoolhouse. It might not be quite as large as this one, but it's cleaned regularly so you wouldn't have to worry about moss and algae and I'll see to it you're provided with all the food you need."

"Oh, I don't need much food. Did you say the pond would be at a school?"

"Yes, the Hieda Public Temple School in the village. It's run by Miss Kamishirasawa Keine and owned by the Hieda family. We work there as teachers there in addition to being detectives."

"That must mean there would be a lot of children there."

"There are, you'd also have some ornamental koi as neighbors in the pond if that's alright."

"Is it alright for a flying turtle like me to live in the village?"

"I don't see why not. The school's administrator is even half-youkai."

"Ah, I'm not a youkai turtle though. I'm a turtle hermit."

"Oh, well pardon me then, I hadn't intended to insult you. In that case, you must have many hundreds of years of accumulated wisdom. You would be an invaluable asset to us not just as detectives but as teachers as well! If you'd be so gracious as to bless us and our temple school with your wisdom, that is."

"I'm simply a turtle who has lived a long time. That said, it has been a little dreary, just sitting in this pond without moving. I suppose a change of pace might be enjoyable."

"Thank you very much, Mister Genji. I'm overjoyed to welcome you to the Hifuu Detective Agency!" Renko smiled broadly and ducked her head in an awkward bow.

Genji nodded faintly in response, grunting affirmatively. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Usami Renko, at your service."

"And that golden-haired one over there?"

"I'm Maéreverie Hearn. If that's hard to say, you can just call me Merry, Mister Genji."

"Hmm. You're both rather strange humans. I feel like this isn't the first time we've met."

I looked over at Renko as Genji said that, but she just smiled at me and shrugged.


—2—


"We found this turtle at the shrine and I'd like to bring it to live in the pond at the school." Renko said after Keine had greeted us and then immediately asked about Genji, who was plodding slowly along behind us.

"Absolutely not, take it back to the shrine straight away."

"Ah." Renko said as her finger, which she had raised to begin enumerating her arguments, fell limp. "Just like that, huh? You're not even willing to consider the idea?"

Keine looked down at Genji, whose wizened face looked back up at her. She crossed her arms, looking very much like a parent confronting a child who had just brought a stray animal home to keep as a pet.

"I have Reimu's permission to take him, if that helps." Renko said pleadingly.

"That's not the problem, Renko."

◇

About an hour ago we had been walking with Genji to the edge of the Hakurei Shrine grounds when Reimu spotted us.

"Is that a turtle? What are you two doing here with something like that?"

Genji's expression was a pitiable mixture of sadness and resignation as he swung his venerable head to face her.

"Master Reimu, you forgot all about me, didn't you?" he asked in a mournful tone.

"Ah! I didn't know you were still alive."

"Master Reimu, you haven't changed a bit." Genji pronounced.

"Renko, what are you planning to do with that turtle?"

"I was hoping we could take him home to live with us, if that's alright with you. He can fly and we can't, so it would be really convenient."

"You want to bring him to the human village? Well, I can't think of any way that he could cause problems for anyone, but what about you? You're not going to use him to cause problems, are you?"

"Perish the thought, Reimu. I was just hoping to have a more convenient way to visit the Moriya Shrine or the Scarlet Devil Mansion from time to time. Having Sanae fly us around all the time is probably a little bothersome for her."

"I don’t mind letting you travel around, but I don't want you getting in the way if there's another incident."

"Oh come on, Reimu. We're not that bad. I helped out a bunch with the Myouren Temple Incident, didn't I?"

"Definitely not. You only made things more complicated."

"I was only trying to help out a friend. Besides, in the end I was able to negotiate a peaceful solution that works for everyone, right?"

"Your 'negotiation' is a lot more work than if I had just exterminated everyone like I planned."

"Now, now, don't say that, Reimu. Talking things out, understanding the other party’s circumstances, and reaching a compromise is a splendid way to resolve an incident, don’t you think?"

"Resolving an incident means beating up the mastermind responsible for it!"

—After that their conversation went back and forth a few more times, but eventually Reimu let us go along with Genji, who flew us safely back to the village.

Flying with Genji was not as bad as I might have expected. However, his shell was rather slippery due to all of the moss. I made a mental note to give it a thorough scrubbing and see if I could find a pad of some sort we might be able to tie to his back. We landed just outside of the village's eastern gate with Genji, and while the gate guards didn't give us any trouble as we approached, it wasn't long before we ran into Keine, who was standing and chatting with Kotohime just outside of the neighborhood watch office, which brings us back the conversation I started with.

◇

"You can't just bring a turtle that big into town and say you want to keep it. Who would take care of something like that?"

"We would! We come into the office every day, even if the school's not open, so it would be no trouble for us to see to his needs, and I'll pay for his food out of my own pocket."

"We already have koi living in the school pond."

The pond in the temple school’s garden had been a gift given to the school by the Hieda family when they had taken over operations of the facility from Keine. It and the koi living in it were both taken care of by the Hieda family’s gardener. Having a decorative pond on the school grounds certainly brightened the place up, and keeping living creatures around seemed to be having a beneficial effect on the mood of the students.

"He doesn't eat carp and he's big enough that he could be a playmate for the children. He's really docile, so he'd be perfectly safe." Renko squatted down and patted Genji's shell affectionately while Genji bowed his head.

Keine got up from her seat and squatted down to look Genji over more closely after a moment she fixed Renko with a cold stare. "Renko, what are you up to? You didn't just take this turtle from the shrine on a whim, did you?"

"I'm not up to anything! Is it wrong of me to want a turtle?"

"Renko, this isn't just any turtle. He has a beard. And I can tell just by his presence that he's not a regular animal."

If my partner's intention had been to pass Genji off as an ordinary turtle I wasn't surprised it had failed. Renko sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"...My name is Genji. I'm just a turtle who can fly."

Upon hearing Genji speak, Keine's eyes went wide for a moment then turned to Genji himself.

"I apologize for all the trouble these two may have caused you. I'm Kamishirasawa Keine, the guardian of these children."

"Pleased to meet you. I heard that you're a teacher at the temple school. I won't cause any trouble, so would it be alright if I stayed here? I'd like the opportunity to keep the children company."

"Really? Are you sure? Renko isn't forcing you to do this against your will?"

"No, no. I used to help out the Hakurei shrine maiden before she learned to fly, but now I'm simply retired. I don't mind having a master again. It's nice to be needed."

"Well I suppose if you don't mind yourself then there's nothing I can say about it." Keine looked back up at us and cleared her throat. "As for you two, I'm tired of telling you to behave yourselves. Maybe having someone a little more even-tempered hanging around will make you less reckless."

"There you go, Miss Keine! You see? This benefits everyone."

"You can stay here in the village, but I'm not going to give you free reign to wander around wherever you please. These girls are teachers at the school and powerless humans who like to get themselves into dangerous situations. Can I ask you to keep a close eye on them and let me know if they try to go anywhere dangerous?"

"I understand your terms completely," Genji said, nodding solemnly.

I'm not exactly sure how Genji had gone from being our ride to being recruited to spy on us, but Renko didn't seem to mind a bit, laughing carelessly as we stood in the street.


—3—


"Sanae, this is Genji, the newest member of the Hifuu Detective Agency," Renko said with a grandiose gesture.

It was a few days after Genji had first come back to the village with us and Renko was happily introducing him to Sanae, who had just stopped by for a visit. Looking down at him curiously, Sanae tilted her head slightly then looked back up at Renko.

"Boss, that's a turtle." She said plainly.

"He's not just any turtle. He can fly!"

Sanae's eyes lit up and as she released an excited gasp. "Oh wow! He's just like Master Roshi’s Turtle! Does that mean Master Roshi is around somewhere?"

Genji swung his head around to face Renko. "What's she talking about?"

"Oh! He can talk too!" Sanae gasped excitedly. "He really is just like Master Roshi’s Turtle! It's just like we're in 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝐵𝑎𝑙𝑙!"

"I'm Genji. You're dressed like a shrine maiden, but I had thought the Hakurei Shrine was the only one in Gensokyo."

"I'm Kochiya Sanae," She said, squatting down by the edge of the pond. "I'm the wind priestess of the Moriya Shrine up on Youkai Mountain. How do you fly? Can you retract your legs into your shell and shoot out flames? Are you here because Iris is about to awaken? Are we going to see a big aerial kaiju battle!?"

"Sanae, any chance you could speak in a language the rest of us understand?"

"How can you not know 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑎?" she asked, looking up at Renko with a scandalized expression. "Are you telling me people don't watch the Heisei era classics any more?" She shook her head and covered her face.

"At any rate," Renko said, ignoring Sanae's question, "now we won't have to bother you every time we need to go somewhere. During the UFO Incident I'm sure it was a pain to have to look after us while trying to fight and fly too."

"I'll admit it would be easier if I didn't have to protect you at the same time. Will this turtle be able to do that though?"

"Don’t get your hopes up," Genji replied. "All I can do is fly."

"That's a bit worrying. Are you sure you can carry them both?"

"Why don't you see for yourself? How about we continue this discussion at the Moriya Shrine? Would you mind, Genji?"

"I don't mind. I've only ever seen the Hakurei Shrine, it would be nice to see another shrine for once."

Sanae frowned when she heard that. "We've been here for years now, but you've never heard of the Moriya Shrine? I guess we're still not that well known. Where did you find this turtle, Boss?"

"At the Hakurei Shrine. He was living in the pond there. Reimu used to ride him before she learned to fly, actually."

"What? Miss Reimu used to not be able to fly? When was this?"

"Oh, it was quite some time ago," Genji replied.

"Huh, well I suppose even Goku had to ride on the flying nimbus at first. I would have thought Miss Reimu would have been flying since she was small though."

"Didn't you have to learn to fly too?" Renko asked. "You were already doing it when we met you, but I assumed you must have learned in the Outside World, right?"

"I had to go through secret Moriya priestess training. I tried to avoid flying where anyone might see me though. My grandmother and Lady Kanako always warned me that if anyone saw me I'd end up on TV and cause a huge fuss."

To think that such a seemingly impossible ability had ever existed in the Outside World or that it had managed to persist through the years without ever being recorded seemed impossible to me. But maybe that's because when Sanae crossed over into Gensokyo, her powers had literally become nothing more than fantasies in the Outside World.

"That's a shame," Renko lamented. "Physics would have been much more interesting if at some point in the early 21st century you had been discovered and documented. Imagine if someone had found you, they'd have had real incontestable proof of actual psychic phenomena—"

Renko stopped what she was saying mid-sentence and suddenly opened her eyes wide as her fingers drifted upward to rustle her hair.

"Renko?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Oh my God, Merry, I completely forgot!" she declared, whirling to face me. "I'd gotten so used to living in Gensokyo that it totally slipped my mind!"

"What are you talking about, Renko?"

"The reason we came here in the first place!"

"Huh? Oh! You mean a psychic!"

Without even thinking about it I clapped my hands together in surprise. "Oh! I had forgotten too." It had been a long time since I had given any thought to Renko's great aunt Sumireko. Finding a mysterious chunk of glimmering amber in her long-abandoned room at Renko's grandfather's house had been the catalyst for our arrival in Gensokyo, and just after the end of the Spring Snow Incident, I had been guided by the Youkai Sage back to the Outside World of the current day, where I had been compelled to give a piece of amber to a young girl who would have been about the right age to have been Renko's great aunt as a child.

There were still many questions concerning the origin of that amber, why I had been tasked with giving it to Sumireko and what she had to do with our arrival in this world, but there were no more answers now then there had been directly after our arrival. In the ensuing years of living in Gensokyo, the whole affair had been pushed into a dusty corner of my mind.

"Sanae, does the name 'Usami Sumireko' ring any bells for you?"

"Usami Sumireko? No, is she a relative of yours?"

"My grandfather's younger sister. She lived in Tokyo during the 21st century. I never met her, but according to my grandfather's diary, she's supposed to have been a psychic."

"A psychic? Could she bend spoons with her mind?"

"No, not like that. My grandfather at least thought she had real powers though."

"Huh, well I don't know anyone like that. I lived near Nagano, not Tokyo though, so I probably wouldn't have met her. Maybe Lady Kanako or Lady Suwako might know something?"

"Maybe. I can't believe I never asked you about this before. This was the whole reason we came here, and I feel like I've only just now remembered it..."

"It's because we've both decided to stay here for the rest of our lives, haven't we?" I blurted out without thinking. "We'll both be buried here in the village eventually."

"Oh my, Merry. Are you saying we should both be buried in the same grave? Is that a proposal?"

"Stop being ridiculous, Renko."

"Oh are you two going to start flirting in public again?"

"We're not flirting!"

—

It was a relief when we departed for the Moriya Shrine a little later. Once we arrived at the Moriya Shrine we asked Lady Kanako and Lady Suwako about Renko's great aunt, but neither of them had ever heard of her. At the time that Sanae came to Gensokyo Sumireko would still have been a child, but by that point at least, it seems she hadn't made a name for herself in the Outside World.

And just like that the mystery of Usami Sumireko, which we had put aside for many years since coming to Gensokyo, was once again shelved. I'll say right now that she won't feature in this particular case file again. In fact, it's time I got on to the main focus of this story: the Divine Spirit Incident.