東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 3:Imperishable Night

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟’𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒, ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑-𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦.

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒, ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘹 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 — 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘻𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘒𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘈𝘣𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘫𝘪, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘖𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘔𝘪𝘺𝘶𝘬𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘯𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪.

—7—


In this world of fantasy called Gensokyo, perception and recognition are forces with the power to overwrite reality. This is a world where youkai who were no longer believed to exist in the Outside world, and gods who had lost their worshippers could find refuge free from the existential threat to their existence that human empiricism presented. Here, gods could be believed in and youkai could be feared. According to Renko, it was not only the existence of once revered or feared supernatural beings that was affected by the nature of Gensokyo though, but the perceived truth of popular conceptions or superstitions that could take hold and become real here as well. In her view, just as the kitsune we had met in this world really did crave tofu fried to a perfect golden fox color, any mouse youkai we might ever meet would probably be fond of cheese.

After all, this was a land where it seems like Taira no Masakado really had hatched a frustrated conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and the story of Saigyou building an artificial human was neither apocryphal nor metaphorical. Mundane myths that in the Outside World might be dismissed as conspiracy theories or mere supposition held weight here, and could evidently even alter the course of history.

If you subscribe to Renko's theory that all of reality in this world was controlled by common beliefs no matter how mistaken or counterfactual they might be, then it would probably be unsurprising to find that the characters from an ancient legend were walking around this world, where the 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 was seen as a historical record rather than a fairy tale. But even under that interpretation, Kaguya's assertion was hard to believe.

"I thought Princess Kaguya was supposed to have returned to the moon at the end of the story."

"Yes, most humans do. The truth is a more complicated story, and humans like simple ones. I've been living right here for more than a thousand years." Saying this, Kaguya turned to glance at Mokou as if expecting a comment or rebuttal. Instead, Mokou was silently glaring at the ground. Kaguya was still smiling cruelly. To see a look of such calm malice decorating so beautiful a face was truly disconcerting.

"I never expected that someone would steal and drink my parting gift for the emperor."

"Hey, shut up about that." Mokou groused, morosely.

"Really Mokotan, you did it to yourself. It's about time you stop resenting me for it."

"I said shut up!" Mokou roared, standing up suddenly, her face contorted into an ugly mask of hatred and disgust. As she rose, red fire once again began to crawl along her arm, as if summoned by instinct rather than any art or practice. I could feel the stinging heat of the flames already.

"Don't start a fire in a wooden building!" I cried, running to grab the water bucket from the veranda. Hefting it, I turned to face Mokou. With great effort she let out a long breath and the flames retreated down her arm, dwindling to a single glowing ember in her palm.

"Ohhh very scary. You'd better be careful, human. Mokotan here is the sort of person with no sense of self-preservation whatsoever."

"And just who's fault is it that I'm like that, do you think?"

"I don't remember making that choice for you."

"You're the ones who left that stuff here. You knew what would happen."

"Oh poor Mokotan. It's everyone else's fault when you make bad choices, right? Too bad that's one mistake you don't get to live down. Just think about what you're saying, you've got no reason to hold a grudge."

Mokou gritted her teeth, but maintained her composure. "I'm not falling for it. If you're only here to try and goad me, then just go back to the mansion. There's a sick person here we're taking care of, and we don't need a plague like you fouling the air. For all we know you might even be the reason Renko is like this, so unless you're here to accept responsibility, you can get out of my sight."

"My my. Blaming everyone else again, Mokotan. It comes so easily to you. Eirin told me that that girl's condition was just an unfortunate accident. Not unlike yourself, I suppose."

"So you're admitting the distorted moon is your doing then?"

"We've nothing to hide from the likes of you. Yes. Eirin created that illusion and placed it in the sky."

"What are you scheming?"

"Don't say it like it's some grand evil plan, we're not hurting anyone and we have our reasons."

"That sounds exactly like something a grand evil schemer would say."

"Well it is a big deal for us, would you like to hear about it?"

"I couldn't care less about your life."

"Well then perhaps you should mind your own business."

"You made it my business when you hurt my friend! This is what you do! You toy with humans, thinking they're all so beneath you."

"What a strange thing to say. Don't tell me you're so deluded as to still think of yourself as a human after what you did?"

Mokou paused, trying to hold her emotions in check. "...I'm going to kill you."

"Well, you're welcome to try, but am I really the one you want to kill, Mokotan?"

Throughout their argument I had moved away from them, both to avoid the threatening aura of barely contained rage emanating from Mokou and to try to protect Renko. With my partner unconscious, I doubt I could have done much more than cover her with my body if the two of them decided to fight, but if it came to that I was prepared to do so. I hoped that Mokou would be able to remember her promise to Keine before things went that far.

As I was making such dark calculations, a voice called out from beyond the door as another figure approached the veranda from the courtyard.

"Kaguya, that's enough."

“I'm just here to play with Mokotan for a little bit.”

“You shouldn't be here, princess. You should go back to the mansion, where it's safe.”

"Oh Eirin, you're so overprotective. Besides, it's not like I’m going to die."

Kaguya looked like she was about to protest further, but after locking eyes with Eirin for a moment she stood up and turned on her heel. As we watched her go, Mokou looked like she was about to say something but thought better of it after another hard look from Eirin. As she disappeared back into the house Eirin let out a breath and turned to us.

"I apologize for the princess' behavior."

Mokou scoffed. "Someone ought to beat some sense into her."

"Don't you start now," Eirin warned. She then turned her appraising glare to me. "I'd like to examine you as well, if I may."

Although the immediate threat had passed I was still a bundle of nerves. I shrunk back at the suggestion. "Me?"

"Yes, there are several questions I'd like to clear up as well. If you'd come this way, please." She raised an arm to indicate the sliding door leading out to the courtyard.

I turned to look back at Renko, who was still sleeping peacefully. She looked untroubled, but I didn't like the idea of leaving her alone here.

"You can leave her here," Eirin said dismissively.

"What are you going to do with Merry?" Mokou grunted warily.

"No need to be concerned. I'm not going to eat her. She'll come back to you safe and sound."

Apparently the idea that I might refuse to be examined of my own volition hadn't crossed her mind. I didn't like leaving Renko undefended, not given how I had just seen Mokou react, but I was already indebted to Eirin for her help, and an interview and examination didn't seem too much to ask that I endure. Given that Eiren was going to the trouble of caring for Renko, I didn’t imagine she’d do me any harm.. Probably.

"I'll watch over Renko," Mokou said, trying to sound reassuring.

I nodded and followed Eirin out of the room.


—8—


She led me to the edge of the veranda surrounding the main mansion, rather than its entryway.

"I'm sorry to have to examine you here, but I can't allow anyone from the outside to pass the wards protecting the mansion. Now, have a seat, if you would,” she said, tapping a spot on the veranda beside her.

As soon as I sat down, Eirin moved her face close to mine and peered into my eyes. She used neither any light sources nor tools in her examination, but seemed to have no difficulty in the dimness of the moonlight. I groaned slightly as used the sides of her fingers to pry my eyelids wide and look into my pupils from other angles. After a moment she released me and started asking questions, staring down at me with an appraising look the whole time.

"Do you have any training in hermit magic, the Taoist esoteric arts or shamanic practices?" she asked with an air of consideration.

"No, I'm an ordinary human being."

"Would you consider a person who can see barriers with the naked eye without any knowledge of magic or spiritual refinement 'ordinary'?"

There was nothing for me to say.

"You really are a most unusual specimen. Would you consider letting me use you as a test subject?"

"What? I'd rather not. What sort of test subject?"

"Well to start with, I think it would be easiest if we remove your eyes and brain."

"I refuse! Completely!"

"I'm kidding."

If either this last statement or the one before had been intended as jokes, then her sense of humor must be very dry. Both lines had been delivered with an absolutely straight face.

"So, about your friend. Has she always been able to calculate time and position from heavenly bodies?"

"According to her, yes. She says she can tell the time by looking at the stars and her position by looking at the moon." I'd always thought to myself that it really should have been the other way around. Assuming she was triangulating her position and just doing quick mental math, anyway. Just that would be a pretty impressive ability for a human to have.

"Let's focus on you for the moment. What's your name?"

"It's Maéreverie Hearn."

"And your friend?"

"...Usami Renko."

"Usami? How is that written?"

"宇佐見, with the 宇, u, being the same character from 𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘶 — outer space." I wondered if 'outer space' was even a concept that would be understood here.

"and 見, mi, being the same kanji as 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘶, I suppose? —To watch?" Eirin smirked, amused by some irony that was unclear to me. "What an unfortunate name. Well, tell your friend to avoid looking at the moon when she wakes up. Her eyes are far too sensitive to the moon's influence. You should probably refrain from moon-gazing as well, unless you want to end up a lunatic."

So that was it? She expected me to just accept that we couldn’t look at the moon any more and leave it at that? There were so many unanswered questions here, that I expect anyone would have felt compelled to say something. Normally, I’d leave this sort of thing to Renko, but with her not here, I made up my mind.

"Forgive me for prying, but there are a lot of unanswered questions. What happened to the moon? Why do you seem to know about it? Who are all of you people and why are you living in a hidden mansion in the bamboo forest? Why does everyone here hate Miss Mokou?"

"Oh, have you not been told anything then?"

"Um, only that the girl we met earlier who was antagonizing Miss Mokou is supposedly Princess Kaguya from the 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. Is that true?"

"I think that's what they call her on Earth, yes. As for myself, you can call me Eirin Yagokoro. I am Princess Houraisan Kaguya's attendant. That's not my real name of course, but Lunarian names are unpronounceable to Earthlings, so it will do."

"Then you come from the moon as well?"

"Yes. I was one of the emissaries sent from the moon to collect the princess. Instead of returning with her though, circumstances compelled me to go into hiding here on Earth. We've been living here ever since."
It was clear that Eirin had no interest in discussing these 'circumstances.' In the story though, the moon had been a place free from suffering or disease, filled with immortals from which the princess had been banished for some unspecified crime. I couldn't help but wonder what 'circumstances' could compel a messenger from that kingdom and the princess to not want to return. I had a more pressing question though.

"Does that mean that Miss Mokou is from the moon too?"

"No, that person is just the princess' playmate. An idle distraction to pass the time." I couldn't imagine thinking of someone with such clear and open animosity as a 'playmate.'

"Miss Kaguya had claimed that Miss Mokou was the daughter of a nobleman who had proposed to her, is that true…?”

The 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 is more than a thousand years old. If she were that noble's daughter there's no way she could have lived that long, so Kaguya must have been lying, I figured.

"Indeed it is." Eirin seemed surprised by the dumbfounded expression I must have been wearing in response to her confirmation. “You knew that she’s an immortal, didn’t you?”

"An immortal?"

"Yes, a true immortal. In the 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 as you call it, is there no longer any mention of the Hourai Elixir?"

My eyes must have looked like dinner plates with the shock I felt. That was how the 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 ended of course. Princess Kaguya gives the elixir of immortality to the emperor and returns to the moon. The emperor, for his part, couldn't bear the thought of living forever without the princess, and so ordered his soldiers to carry the elixir to the top of the tallest mountain and burn it. That's apparently where the name 'Mt. Fuji' comes from: it's a corruption of 𝘧𝘶𝘫𝘪𝘮𝘪 —immortality, since the elixir of immortality was supposed to burn forever, producing the never-ending smoke from the mountain. Nowadays though, the volcano is dormant.

"That elixir was something I made. It seems that girl stole it."

"So you mean to say Miss Mokou drank that elixir? And became immortal as a result?"

"Of course. Just like myself and the princess as well."

There was simply no way to greet a statement like that other than to gape in stunned, slack-jawed silence. And so that’s exactly what I did.


—9—

"I've hated them for... a long time." That's what Mokou had said, but was this really what she had meant? Could any human hold a grudge for more than a thousand years? If it were true, it would explain at least why Mokou lived in the forest, apart from the village. As an immortal, she couldn't hope to blend in with other humans for more than a generation or so and she wouldn't need to worry about the dangers of living outside the village which might be lethal to anyone else. What's more, it was all too likely that she might have faced prejudice from the humans living in the village if she had tried to stay there. After all, a creature that can't die and doesn't age would hardly seem human, and the border of the village was the line that divided what was human from what wasn't. To be an outcast like that, human but unable to live among humans... well I could see why Keine felt the need to take care of Mokou, though I wondered how much care an immortal could actually need.

These thoughts tumbled through my mind, and I tried to grasp them, to sort out the implications, to evaluate their meaning, but try though I might, my mind wouldn't stick to the topic. Instead, after all I heard, my thoughts kept drifting elsewhere, to a discussion I had had a long time ago, in a time that was now far in the future. Memories of Renko's voice filled my mind.

"What if there were a whole hidden world on the moon? A lunar capital with an advanced civilization of noble scholars. There could be rabbits making immortality elixirs and watching the three-legged crow living in the sun while worrying about humans being excited over Moon Tours."

I had heard her say that as we sat on the patio of a trendy café on our university's campus, eating cake made with artificial strawberries and dreaming of taking a trip to the moon we couldn't afford. How far away all of that seemed now.

It was also Renko who had first mentioned an immortality elixir, but it was me who had put the question to her first.

"So would you take it, Renko? If you happened to get your hands on it?"

"The elixir of immortality? Of course I'd take it!"

She had said that then, without a moment's hesitation, but that had only been idle chatter. Presented with the actual opportunity would she really be so ready to leave humanity behind? If Mokou had been in that conversation instead of me, would Renko's answer have been different? Confronted with an unthinkable scenario, my mind seems to have a tendency to run in a million directions at once, all of them seemingly concerned only with trivialities like these.

I realized that Eirin was still looking at me, a little uneasily now. I made a point of closing my mouth.
"Is it really so shocking of a concept to you? There are plenty of youkai here which, compared to a human’s lifespan, might as well be immortal and gods can live as long as there is belief in them, which is much the same. Though I suppose to be fair, if you were to divide the lifespan of those beings by my own, the result would be close to zero."

Close to zero? Just how old was she?

"Well, at any rate that's enough about me and your friends. I'm here to find out about you now. I'll give you a one-week supply of medicine for your friend in the morning. That should be enough to help her rest until she's recovered. I think answering a few of my questions is a reasonable fee to pay in trade."

When she put it that way it was hard to refuse. I swallowed unconsciously as she moved to peer into my eyes again, looking directly at me, but seeing only the organs of my vision themselves.

These eyes that could see the boundaries between worlds seemed also to have a knack for getting me into trouble that somehow they could never see coming.

"So do you only perceive the borders between things, or can you interfere with them as well?

"Uh, well..." I generally thought of myself as someone who only observes, but I couldn't deny that there had been times where my curiosity or Renko's insistence had pushed me to do more than casually regard these borders. Whether it was the door to Flandre's room or our entry into this world in the first place, I couldn't deny that my presence had had an effect on boundaries whether such was my intention or not.

"So you can affect them then, at least to some extent. How does that work?"

I fidgeted nervously with the fabric of my dress. I couldn't describe the process by which I had made those changes. In general I tried my hardest not to think about how my abilities worked or what it meant for me, as a human, to be capable of such things. If I tried to though, there wasn't much I could say. Boundaries changed when I got near them, becoming more malleable and predictable. There wasn't any technique to it, any more than there was technique to digesting food or growing hair.

"I think I’d like to have your help in performing a few tasks. As payment for treating you friend."

I blinked in surprise.

Eirin sighed. "Maybe I should start by explaining why we placed that illusory moon in the sky." She rose to her feet and, motioning for me to follow, began to walk toward the gate in the wall surrounding the mansion, looking up at the moon as she did so.

Walking alongside her, I could see the barrier that concealed the mansion from the inside just beyond the outer wall. It was similar to the sort of barrier you might find around a shrine or temple, but much stronger and less permeable, reinforced and built up with enough strength to physically distort perception, but still flexible enough that those who knew the right approach could effortlessly pass through it.

"After I descended to Earth to rescue the princess, the both of us were unable to return to the moon," Eirin began. "This mansion, and the wards around it have served as our refuge for more than a millennium, concealing us from the eyes of any pursuers from the Lunar Capital who might have sought us out. Until your arrival tonight, the only visitors to Eientei in the past thousand years have been the rabbits that call this bamboo grove home."

"...alright"

"As luck would have it, the situation recently changed. Not long ago a rabbit escaped from the moon, crashing down in this very forest. Initially, we had thought she might be a scout or a member of a hunting team sent to locate us, but it soon became apparent that she was a defector from lunar society, and had come to Earth to flee an invasion of the moon by humans. As exiles ourselves, we decided to give her shelter here."

"Would you be talking about that rabbit we met earlier, by chance?"

"Yes, Udonge, I call her. Reisen Udongein Inaba. She lives here as my research assistant and the princess' pet.

"That's quite a long name."

"Is it strange? The princess and I came up with it together, we were hoping for a normal, Earth-like name."

In my opinion the name was anything but normal, but I kept my view to myself. I recognized the word 'Udonge' as being the name of a mythical flower said to bloom only once every 3,000 years, and I had heard the princess refer to her as Inaba, but 'Reisen' was still a complete mystery. I wondered if it might be a common name on the moon. Rather than focus on the awkward mouthful of a name, I asked another question that had been bothering me.

"Um, roughly how long ago was that? That Reisen came here, I mean?"

Eirin paused for a moment to ponder. "By human calendars it must have been 30 or 40 years ago. Talking to her was the first I had heard of humankind landing on the moon. Quite frankly, I had always imagined such a feat to be beyond Earthlings."

I had to do the mental math for a moment and try to remember my history. Roughly 40 years before 2004... Could she have been referring to the 1969 Apollo moon landings? Certainly no astronaut or moon orbiter had ever reported discovering a lunar civilization, but in a world where the 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 was apparently a historical record, I could hardly expect history as I knew it to be the same. While I was thinking about such things, Eirin continued her story.

"After Udonge came to live here we were quite suspicious for some time, expecting lunar invaders to follow her at any moment. When none did though, we eventually relaxed. Until just the other day that is, when she received a message from the Lunar Capital. The message was an indication that an emissary from the moon was being sent to take Udonge back. If that were to happen, the citizens of the moon would inevitably learn of our hideout here. Thus, I created that illusion in the sky with the express purpose of making navigation between Earth and the moon impossible."

"So all of this is a result of your attempt to hide from the people of the moon?"

"Yes. As long as that illusion is in the sky, there will be no passage between the moon and Earth. However, I'm going to have to put up another ward just to be safe."

I could see her reaching out to touch the barrier that hung in the air, but what could I do about it? I could clearly see the barrier, but I had no way of counteracting it. I had a vague suspicion that this could harm Renko somehow, but no proof that it was something I would want to stop even if I could. As I watched, Eirin laced her outstretched fingers into the latticework of the barrier's wards.

"You can see what I'm doing, can't you?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Your eyes seem to be similar to Udonge's. I suspect you'd be able to see any changes I made to this barrier by the way the changes altered its wavelength and phase. Well, let's conduct a little experiment then." Eirin smiled and released her hand from the barrier. "Udonge, I know you can hear us. Come here, please."

"Yes, master!" came a shouted reply from the opposite side of the inner stone wall.

A moment later Udonge appeared in the air as she leapt clear over the wall to land in the courtyard — easily four meters straight up. I tried to remember the long name Eirin had mentioned for her. She called the girl 'Udonge', but I think she had said her given name was 'Reisen'? I wondered what I should call her as I watched the tips of her long, springy ears bob up and down as she walked toward us.

"You called, master?" She had a worried expression on her face, a far cry from the look of beleaguered annoyance she had worn while caring for Renko. "I heard you mention an experiment..."

"Don't worry, Udonge. I'm not testing any new drugs this time."

Reisen let out a sigh of relief and lowered her tensed shoulders. Eirin had called the rabbit girl a 'research assistant' but I wondered if her role was closer to that of a lab rat (or perhaps a lab rabbit?).

"Now Udonge, change your phase and try to hide for a moment."

"What, right now? Hide from what?"

"From us. Hurry up."

"Alright." Reisen sounded unsure, but a moment later, her red eyes began to give off an unsettling glow. In the space of a second, the air directly in front of her warped and distorted nauseatingly and she vanished. I couldn't see Reisen any longer, but I could see a large, wavering gap right between us and where she had been.

"Now, do you know where Udonge is?" Eirin asked, turning to me.

At first glance the place where Reisen had disappeared from looked completely empty, but if I looked carefully I could see something like a shadow that shouldn’t have been there. The distortion Reisen had created was odd, unlike any I had seen before - it almost like a cardboard poster of exactly the scene in front of me, minus Reisen's image had been cut out and held up in front of her, but with an aura of blurry distortion around the edges of the cutout. Mutely, I raised an arm to point at the barrier.

The distortion dissipated into visual fuzz and faded away, revealing an upset-looking Reisen.

"No way! How could an ordinary human have spotted me?"

"I'm suspecting more and more that this girl and her friend are not what might be considered 'ordinary.' Well, Maéreverie Hearn, you pass."

"...Huh?"

Eirin ignored me. "Reisen, we need to extend the outer barrier. Assist me, please."

"What? If we do that, the mansion will become visible, won’t it?”

"Yes. Doing so will also weaken our protection against impurity, but we need to avoid detection from the Lunar emissaries at all costs."

"Understood, master."

"Maéreverie Hearn, you may return. However I'm afraid that I'm going to have to alter my earlier instructions. After your friend awakens you won't be able to return home."

"What?"

"I'm admitting her to long-term care for observation. You will also need to stay as her escort and caretaker."

I looked up at her in alarm.

"Don't worry, we avoid using humans as test subjects."

In response to that I could only sigh. "...Alright," I replied with uncertainty.