東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 7:Ten Desires

—19—


Toyosatomimi. It was a name given to Prince Shotoku denoting his intelligence, which had supposedly been so great as to allow him to participate in ten conversations simultaneously. It was by no means a normal name—more of a title really and by assuming it this woman had more or less declared 'my name is Prince Shotoku.'

Without a doubt, she was at least claiming to be ancient imperial royalty. Accordingly, Renko fell to one knee before her, planting her fist on the ground and bowing her head. I quickly followed suit, glancing over at her to make sure I was doing it right.

"My name is Usami Renko," she said, speaking in the most formal tone she could muster. "I beg your pardon for intruding on your presence and for entering your sacred mausoleum with my shoes on, your majesty."

"Um. My name is Maéreverie Hearn... I beg that your lordship grant us the generous gift of mercy for our thoughtless intrusion."

My mind raced. This was the sort of situation in which you could be killed for not showing the proper amount of respect, right? Or was that something that only happened back in the time of samurai? In either situation, in the past, the gap between nobles and commoners would have been much greater. Would simply being in her presence have been transgression enough to warrant our deaths? Rather than fume angrily at our lack of protocol or ignore us completely though, the woman smiled at us and, speaking with a slightly amused tone, ordered us to raise our heads.

"We can dispense with those formalities," she said, "I can see your desires. In seeing a human’s desire you can understand the entirety of that human. The past, the present and the future as well... though in your case it seems that you possess the ability to see the future as well. Are both of you clairvoyants? How interesting."

"Oh, that's probably because we're a pair of Outsiders who wandered into this world from the future."

"You came from a world that's almost a hundred years away, didn't you? How fascinating. There's much that I could learn from you. Though I don't imagine that there's anybody from whom there isn't something I could learn..."

She gestured with her shaku for us to rise and after sharing a quick glance we both stood up as she looked us over with interest. "I see... Madame Usami. Your strongest desire is a thirst for knowledge. An unquenchable curiosity about the nature of the world. The urge to satiate that desire is what drives your every action. You are remarkably pure in your focus, your all-consuming need to know. What's more, in order to satisfy that desire you're about to ask me..."

"Does being able to sense desires mean you know everything about me?" Renko blurted excitedly just as the Crown Prince calmly said the same thing. Was she trying to claim to be Joseph Joestar as well as Prince Shotoku?

"It's simple. I can understand what it is that you, or anyone in my presence, truly wants. Those wants are of course formed by their experiences and values. Thus, I can see the shape of who they truly are. Once you know how someone's personality was formed, it's easy enough to predict their actions in the future. Understanding someone's desires is all that is needed to see their past, present and future."

"So that's more or less the same as reading someone's mind, isn't it?" I asked.

"That's a good question. Your desires are more commonplace Madame Hearn, but that makes you a good compliment to Madame Usami here. When two people with overwhelmingly powerful desires meet, they nearly always clash with each other. Your combination is a stable one, with a rare degree of compatibility. You two should treasure your relationship."

"You hear that, Merry? How many people can say that they've been declared a perfect match by Prince Shotoku? When do you want to have the wedding?" she asked, turning towards me and throwing her arms wide.

"Renko, the prince is talking, save your nonsense for later." I said, reaching out to pinch her cheek.

The Prince chuckled softly as Renko whimpered and scrabbled at my hand. "Let me try to address your question directly," she continued. "My ability does not allow me to read your thoughts or feelings from moment to moment. It is more like the ability to determine the motivations of another and to understand what animates them to do the things they do. Whenever you interact face to face with someone, you’re able to gauge their intentions through their words and actions, yes? I have merely honed those abilities to the highest degree."

I considered that for a moment. Typically, one's ability to judge the motivations of others descended from a subconscious statistical analysis of their observed behaviors, leading the brain to derive a predictive model of future actions. If the Crown Prince's ability to 'sense desire' really allowed her to understand the way that others might perceive or react to the world, then she would be a walking violation of one of the major principles of Relativistic Noology. Could an individual's subjective reality really be considered inviolable if someone else could come to flawlessly understand all of another person's biases through superior pattern recognition?

As I pondered that, I released Renko, who rubbed her cheek for only a moment before immediately launching into another question. "So when the legends say you could listen to ten conversations at once, you weren't really listening to them, were you? You were just reading the desires of everyone speaking and giving them the answers they most wanted to hear, weren't you?"

The Prince smiled gently. "You're quite a sharp one, aren't you? You can think of it that way if you like." The way she smiled looked genuine and straightforward, but with her dignified aura, she didn't seem any more vulnerable or diminished in majesty. If she really was who she claimed to be, it was easy to see how she could have become a vaunted statesman.

"Madame Usami, would you like to become one of my disciples? You are merely mortal now, but if you were to become an immortal hermit like me, you could become one of my advisors and be part of my efforts to transform the world for the better."

"Oh, that's a very generous offer," Renko said, once again prostrating herself before the prince. "I'm deeply grateful for your kind words, your majesty, but I think I'm still a bit too young and uneducated to be of any service to you. I want to learn everything there is to know about being a human before I consider leaving my humanity behind."

"Please, no need to be so formal, I'm not offended by your refusal," she said with a small sigh. "Seeing your desires, I had expected as much. Next to your curiosity, your second greatest desire is to maintain for yourself a world of infinite possibilities. You wish to have every option open to you without the requirement to commit to any single course. In short, you wish to remain forever a child, free to indulge your childish curiosity. You desire to find a way to live in which you are neither indebted to nor acting in the service of others."

From where I was standing, it seemed to me like the Crown Prince had hit the nail directly on the head. She seemed to understand Renko perfectly, perhaps to an even greater extent than the Yama had. Describing my partner as an eternal child was certainly fitting. I thought back to the discussion I had once had with Renko in Kyoto, when she had, without hesitation, said she would have drank an elixir of immortality if she could.

"As a leader," the prince continued, "that sort of careful consideration and willingness to seek alternative answers is exactly the sort of quality I would want in an advisor. People who scheme and seek to use others to their advantage are confounded by people like you, who are hesitant to commit to any course of action even if it seems unquestionably beneficial. To be able to make use of people like you without squandering their abilities is the ultimate test of a true leader's capabilities."

"I see..."

"Please give my offer some consideration. If you should ever change your mind and wish to study the secrets of the Tao at my side, you will be most welcome."

I wondered how this could keep happening. Nearly every time we met some new power making their presence known in Gensokyo, Renko had a way of ingratiating herself with them almost as soon as they met. It seemed natural to her. Reimu was similar, in that she was liked by many powerful youkai. I remember that Tenshi had once mentioned that Renko and Reimu both had similar temperament. Could that be the quality that kept endearing them both to powerful youkai?

"Now, if I cannot convince you at this time to join my efforts, then can I ask you if you have seen either of my subordinates? They should have awakened before me and I would have expected to see them here," the Crown Prince said, glancing around the still and quiet chamber.

"Ah, if you're talking about Miss Tojiko or Miss Futo, they both would have liked to be here, I'm sure, but they're busy defending this tower from intruders. You see, before you awakened..." My explanation only ever got that far.

All at once there was a loud bang and the doors of the inner chamber flew open, knocking heavily against the wall of the adjoining corridor. As a dim light streamed into the chamber from the hallway, it silhouetted four figures who flew without hesitation into the sacred space. With only the faint illumination of the colored starlight we recognized the faces of our friends as they noticed us in turn and stopped in their tracks.

"Oh! Miss Merry! Boss! We've come to rescue you!" Sanae cried.

"Yeah, only you don't look very captured," Marisa added, tilting her head curiously.

"Who cares?" Reimu sighed, scratching her head. "It's not like rescuing them was the reason we came here."

"Putting that aside" Youmu started, then pointed at the Crown Prince with one of her swords. "Is that lady the mastermind...?"

"It certainly has become lively here all of a sudden, and so soon after I've just awoken," the prince said, stepping away from us and towards the four new arrivals. "Let me see. You four all want to resolve incidents and bring peace to Gensokyo. Oh, I see. How convenient. Madame Usami, Madame Hearn, please step back." She began walking directly toward the group.

"Are you the one who's been gathering up all of these spirits?" Reimu asked, raising her gohei.

"The spirits have gathered of their own accord. My name is Toyosatomimi no Miko. You may know me better by the name 'Prince Shotoku.'

"Prince Shotoku?" Sanae spluttered. "Like the one on the old 10,000 yen bill? Was she a woman?"

I remembered hearing that Prince Shotoku's portrait used to be on banknotes, but was Sanae really from far enough back to have used one of those?

"Oh, is she some kinda celebrity?" Marisa asked, bouncing her broom on her shoulder.

"Um, I'm not very good at history, but Prince Shotoku is super famous. I think they were from the Heian period?"

"It was the Asuka period!" Renko shouted, cupping her hands and interjecting from behind the prince. I guess Sanae really wasn't very good at history.

"Well if this is the tomb of some famous person, I bet there's some nice stuff here..." Marisa said, looking around.

"Don't rob graves," Youmu said with exasperation.

"You’re all quite interesting people. By reading your ten desires I can understand everything about your past and future. For now, you’ve all come here just to defeat me, haven’t you?" The Crown Prince paused then, hesitating for a moment before turning to look at Youmu. "...Hmm? You lack two desires. From among the ten that I expected, your attachment to life and your envy of death are missing.

"Huh?" Youmu replied, blinking.

"You must also be one who walks the path toward eternal life. Are you also a shikaisen like me?"

"What? No, I'm not..."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Reimu shouted, "give me a chance to talk, too!"

"There is no need for that. You all wish to defeat me for your own reasons. That would be convenient for me as well. If I were to fight you as the mastermind responsible for the incident you all believe to be occurring, then my existence will be recognized in this world and I will be cemented as a part of this 'Gensokyo' you all desire to protect. So be it then."

Saying that, the prince drew the ornamented sword from the scabbard at her side and raised it to the sky.

"Now! Attempt to defeat me! And I shall become a living legend!"


—20—


Once more, dear reader, I must beg your forgiveness. I have neither the space nor the skill to properly describe the splendid danmaku battle that unfolded inside that void within the mausoleum, and I fear that mere words could never do it justice anyway. The prince's danmaku were meticulous - organized, dynamic, turning and descending in precise patterns that seemed carefully planned. Their design was a bit over the top though, with nearly every Spell Card she unleashed seeming to reference some part of the legends surrounding prince Shotoku, which must have been by design. There was one card with seventeen beams shining through it, one for each article of the constitution she had drafted. Another featured danmaku of twelve colors organized into broad stripes, each matching one of the colors of the imperial cap system used in the courts of the prince's time. I don't think anyone would have had time to make those connections while trying to dodge bullets though.

At one point during the battle Futo and Tojiko showed up to help, but even with their assistance it was a match of four against three and both of the Crown Prince's subordinates were quickly eliminated. The Crown Prince herself didn't seem to have much trouble holding her own against the four incident resolvers at once though. If you want more detail about the battle than that, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to come talk to Sanae at our office.

In the end, it was Reimu and her team who won the day, but not by virtue of a knockout. After an intense and ferocious battle, the Crown Prince simply stopped shooting. "That's enough, you've won," she said, sheathing her sword and descending to the ground.

After a brief hesitation, the girls looked at one another, scattered as they were, then regrouped and landed in front of the prince. "That's a little unsatisfying," Reimu grumbled as her feet touched down on the inner chamber.

"Is that because she wasn't actually planning to do anything bad?" Youmu asked.

"Does that mean it's like fightin' Tenshi again? All she wanted was for you to beat her up, Reimu?"

"Wait, Tenshi's into that sort of thing?" Sanae asked, looking genuinely surprised. Somehow I expected she might have been getting the wrong idea.

"The important thing is it's all over now and you're the winners! Good work, everyone." Renko said, clapping her hands together as she emerged from cover.

Reimu shifted her weight from one leg to the other, turning slightly to look at Renko as she approached, an unimpressed expression on her face. "Renko. Why is it that whenever something strange starts happening, I always find you tangled up with the mastermind behind it somehow?"

"Don't be like that, Reimu. I understand you might be a little unhappy about being used as a part of this scheme, but it wasn't hurting anyone, so please bear with it."

"Wait, she was used? How do you mean, boss?" Sanae interjected.

"It's simple, Sanae. Prince Shotoku here wanted to be reborn as a living legend in Gensokyo. If she just came back without anyone noticing she'd just be some random suspicious stranger. But if she gets to fight Reimu and accepts responsibility for this incident then she gets to be known as a mastermind and get her legend recorded by Akyuu in the 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑘𝑦𝑜 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒."

"...In other words you're saying she just used me for free publicity?" Reimu asked, crossing her arms and turning her glare back to the prince.

"I suppose I can't deny that. My intention is to become an administrator here in Gensokyo."

The furrows on Reimu's brow deepened as the prince smiled brazenly. "I see why Byakuren was worried about you. You're powerful and ambitious. I probably ought to seal you down here for good."

"Thou unconscionable fiend! I shan't allow you to lay hands on the Crown Prince!" This had been shouted by Futo, who, having recovered from her earlier beating, was now charging across the room toward Reimu. Reimu waved an arm in her direction without even bothering to look and there was a sharp crack as one of her yin-yang orbs sailed up from somewhere unseen to strike Futo in the face. She collapsed instantly to the dirt, laying still.

"Um, I have a question," Sanae said, raising her hand, seemingly oblivious to Futo's groans. "You said you wanted to become a leader here. Does that mean you're planning to become prime minister of Gensokyo?"

"What's a prime minister?" Youmu asked, tilting her head.

"Do we even have one of those in Gensokyo?" Marisa asked, looking just as confused.

"In the Human Village there's not really an established leader. When a political decision affecting the whole village needs to be made, the heads of the most influential households just get together and come to a consensus," Renko volunteered.

"What about Lady Yukari? She's Gensokyo's creator and Administrator." Youmu asked.

"Yukari? No way. She’s no leader.'"

"There's not really any one person in charge of runnin’ everythin’” Marisa explained, turning to the prince. "There a few basic rules that’ve been set down, but most everyone just sits as they please."

"But it was Lady Yukari who set down rules like youkai not being allowed to attack the humans in the village, or putting Lady Yuyuko in charge of all the ghosts in the Netherworld." Youmu added.

"Yeah, she just made the rules and left ‘em for everyone else to deal with."

"She always leaves all of her work to others," Reimu grumbled. "Even the maintenance of the Great Hakurei Barrier is left to Ran."

"I see," said the prince, nodding. "Seiga told me as much as I was slumbering. This land of Gensokyo is truly without a leader. The people of this world need a strong ruler to unify them and guide them. It seems I shall have to fill that role."

"Hey, nobody's asking you to do that!" Reimu objected.

"Don't worry. I will ensure that Gensokyo is led towards a better future."

"That's not something you can just decide to do on your own!"

Reimu was clearly getting angry again, but the Crown Prince seemed completely unbothered.

"Miss Hakurei Reimu, it is your job to resolve any incidents occurring in Gensokyo, is it not?"

"That's right. And that includes getting rid of dangerous schemers like you."

"And you are paid by the Administrator for this duty?"

"What? Paid?" Reimu blinked in surprise, almost looking like she was hearing that word for the first time.

"She's got a point, Reimu. You're always sayin' solvin' incidents is your job, but it's not like you get paid or nuthin'. You barely even get any donations. You're pretty much workin' for free."

"I've never been paid for my work as a gardener either..." Youmu mumbled.

"I've been working for free...?" Reimu muttered, staring straight ahead. Her tone made it sound like she had just realized one of the fundamental hidden truths of the world. She groaned softly to herself as her hands rose to clutch at the sides of her head. In response the prince merely shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh.

"Well that seems rather inequitable," the Crown Prince declared. "Anyone responsible for managing a society should be rewarding those involved in keeping the peace. When I become the leader of this world, I will define your incident resolution work with an official contract. Of course I won't be so stingy as to base your pay on the successful resolution of incidents or the like. The first annual budget of Gensokyo will set aside funding for the care and maintenance of the Hakurei Shrine and its maiden, defining them as a part of the state's official security apparatus. It should be sufficient for you to live a comfortable life" Saying this, the prince gestured with her shaku, tapping Reimu gently on the shoulder while smiling kindly.

"Official funding?'" Reimu asked in confusion. "Does that mean... a stable income?"

"A living wage." The prince said with a nod.

"Alright, well then you're forgiven." Reimu declared instantly.

"Miss Reimu, no! You can't accept that! You're being bribed!" Sanae cried.

The Crown Prince turned her gaze toward Sanae. "Miss Kochiya Sanae. You are a guardian of another shrine, this one deep in the mountains. I see your desires as well. You are concerned that your shrine is located in a remote area and as such receives very few worshippers, are you not?"

"Um, well yes, but isn't that..."

"You are working with the kappa of the mountain to attempt to develop a safe means of transportation for the people of the village, but your modernization efforts have made little progress, correct?"

"H-how do you know all of that?"

"Once I become a leader, I will support your plan as a public works project. Expanding the range in which humans can travel without fear of youkai will be beneficial to Gensokyo's development."

"Um, wait, what? Um, I'd have to talk to Lady Kanako about all of that first, hold on..."

The Crown Prince then turned toward Youmu. "You. You are an interesting one. You have less desire for me to see and some of your desires appear to be completely absent. I've never met a being like you before. Have you already become an immortal hermit yourself?"

"Um, I'm a half-phantom," Youmu said, reaching out to grab her floating phantom half and cuddling it to her chest. "I work as a gardener at Hakugyokurou, which is where the spirits of the Netherworld are managed."

"And as you mentioned earlier, you are not paid for that work, correct?"

"Um, no."

"And this place's role in managing the souls of the dead is part of the order set down by the Youkai Sage, is that correct?"

"Um, yes, I think so."

"Then you too are a public employee working for the good and stability of this world, and you should be entitled to a fair wage. When I become the leader of this world, I promise to improve your working conditions."

"Really? Oh. Um, I wonder what Lady Yuyuko would think about that..."

The prince gently patted the troubled-looking Youmu on the shoulder as well. Then she turned to Marisa.

"Miss Kirisame Marisa. You are an outlaw, who intentionally lives beyond the bounds of society and cares not for political affairs. You dislike authority in all its forms and value curiosity and freedom above all else. You have little regard for peace and stability and find antisocial acts such as theft and brigandry perfectly acceptable."

"Well, that's about right."

"You think that, as a ruler, I would have little to offer you. In fact if I were to offer you any sort of boon, you would likely reject it based solely on the fact that I was the one offering it."

"Heh, you get it."

"Then I will merely say that you should do as you please. A healthy society is not troubled by the presence of those who live outside of its bounds."

"Well heck, I woulda' kept doin' that whether or not you told me to. Speakin' of which, this place looks pretty empty. You got any treasure hidden in here?"

"I possess the treasure of wisdom in my knowledge of the true nature of the Tao. Knowledge of that sort would be a prize greater than any amount of gold or jewels. Would you be interested in learning what I have to teach you?"

"Nah, I don't feel like givin' up my humanity just yet. I'mma just have myself a look around your house though, so long as you're busy here." Saying that, Marisa sat back on her broom, letting it carry her away. She grinned at us all for a moment before sailing out of the chamber.

"Hey Marisa, wait!" Reimu pivoted, looking for a moment like she was about to chase after the witch before grumbling and turning back to the prince. "Whatever, it's fine. You sound like you're looking out for Gensokyo in your own way, so I'll let you go for now."

"What? You're really going to say it's fine? Are you being bought off that easily by just the promise of a salary?" Sanae asked, suddenly opening her eyes.

"Shut up, Sanae, this isn't about you. Just go home already and take those other two Outsiders with you before they cause more trouble." She turned and began floating toward the doors.

"What about all these spirits though?" Youmu asked, looking around.

"There's no need for concern," The prince said calmly, these spirits are a natural occurrence, drawn to and sustained by my presence. Once my presence is known to the people of this world, they should fade away naturally."

"Really? Then was there any reason for us to come all the way here?" Sanae asked.

"Well you get to add another victory to your list of heroic exploits!" Renko said, grinning as she clapped Sanae on the shoulder.

"Since I've found out what all of these spirits are and where they're coming from, I suppose I can head back too." Looking a little unsure, Youmu floated off toward the doors as well.

The prince waved amiably to her as she gave us one last glance from the doorway. "Be careful on your way home. I'm sure I'll see you again at some point."

"By the way, Sanae," Renko began once Youmu had gone. "What's this about a rescue mission?"

"Oh, that's right! The head nun at that Buddhist temple said you had been captured by an evil saint and told us to come find you."

"An evil saint? Isn't that an oxymoron?" I asked

"We did get captured, I guess, but that's because we were technically trespassing. They were only planning to hold us until the resurrection process completed though and we were here without permission, so I can hardly complain, I guess. We weren't treated badly or anything."

"Oh. You weren't tortured or anything?"

"It was a little boring for a bit while we waited for the Crown Prince to be resurrected. Speaking of which I suppose we should be going now, your majesty. Hopefully we'll meet again at some point."

"Feel free to come back and see me whenever you're ready to become one of my disciples. I'll keep a position open for you."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now that you've been reborn, what will you and your followers do next?"

"We'll need to make our presence known above ground, but I think the first order of business should be to move away from the temple above us."

"I see. I'll let the people at the temple know that. It was nice to meet you, Crown Prince. Sanae, shall we go?" We both bowed once more to the prince and then made our way along with Sanae to the doors of the chamber.

Since The Crown Prince had said that she was planning to become Gensokyo's leader, it was certain that she would show up in the village at some point, meaning we should have plenty more chances to talk to her. That was probably what Renko was thinking anyway.

"Well, let's get you back to the surface," Sanae said, taking each of our hands as we walked out of the inner chamber and back to the octagonal outer hallway. Within minutes we were flying through the air and away from the tower, toward the enormous doors marking the inner seal of the mausoleum. It had been a while since we had flown with Sanae, and I was a bit relieved by how comfortable it was to be sailing along while standing, nearly weightless and surrounded by a bubble of pressurized air.
"Renko, I've got the oddest sense that we're forgetting something. Don't you?"

"Hmm, sort of vaguely, but we didn't bring any luggage. I've got my hat and other than that..." She drifted into silence for a moment and then, right as we were about to cross the barrier between the mausoleum and shaft to the surface, we both turned to each other and shouted in the same instant.

"...Genji!"

—

We found that Genji had been sleeping soundly in a corner of the room where we had first been confined the whole time. We returned as soon as we remembered and woke him up, neither of us mentioning that we had almost left him behind. Then, along with Sanae, we all made our way to the surface.


—21—


"...So to sum up, Prince Shotoku has been resurrected and is calling herself Toyosatomimi no Miko now. All of the divine spirits we've been seeing should fade away on their own once she comes up to the surface. Before she does that she's planning on relocating the Divine Spirit Mausoleum to a new location then launching a campaign to become Gensokyo's leader."

We were back at the Myouren Temple, sitting on the floor of the main prayer hall. After reaching the surface we had come straight here with Sanae to report our findings to Byakuren. That's what we had been hired to do after all. As a detective agency we couldn't neglect our duty.

Behind Byakuren, Nazrin was sitting next to Shou, looking awkward and uncomfortable. I rather suspected that she had escaped from the mausoleum and come back here only to be scolded by Byakuren and Shou for having abandoned us. Our meeting with the Myouren crew had begun with a big apology from their side, in which Byakuren had bowed deeply to Renko for having put us in danger. I personally didn't hold anyone responsible as it had been our own decision to go beyond Byakuren's request to locate the entrance to the tomb.

"I see… Thank you for having investigated so thoroughly." Byakuren said.

"No problem. Please feel free to contact us again if you ever need our services in the future." Renko laughed cheerfully. I subtly reached over and pinched her thigh to quiet her down. Expecting her to reflect on her own recklessness was, of course, absolutely hopeless.

"So, if I may ask, what will the Myouren temple do now?" Renko queried, turning back toward Byakuren. "The prince and her companions seemed to expect some sort of interference from you. Do you intend to try and deal with them in some way?"

Byakuren closed her eyes, laying a hand on her cheek and tilting her head slightly.

"Well there's not much we can do if she's already awakened. I'm sure she'll be putting in a public appearance of some kind soon if she wants to become Gensokyo's leader. I suppose we'll have to wait and see how that goes before we make any plans."

"And once they do show their faces, then what?" Sanae asked. "A raid? A no-holds-barred wrestling match? Some sort of fighting tournament?" For some reason her eyes were shining with excitement.

"We of the Myouren Temple would prefer a nonviolent solution," Byakuren replied softly. "However, if their aim is to oppress or persecute all youkai without question, then we will of course defend ourselves and the freedom of our worshippers and practitioners."

"It might not work out that way," Renko suggested. "They may even ask for your help. During her last reign, the Crown Prince was famous for spreading the influence of Buddhism across Japan. Now that she's back, she might do the same thing."

"I suspect not," Byakuren said with a sigh. "It's likely that they see us as enemies after having their plans foiled for so long. Either way, we'll have to keep a close eye on their actions. We have a duty not to let the people of Gensokyo be led astray by false prophets. It would be a tragedy if the people of Gensokyo were to be misled by a shady hermit. Namu Amida Butsu."

It seemed like for the time being no one was about to take any action. If the Myouren Temple and the Crown Prince were to come into open conflict, that sounded like the sort of thing that Reimu or perhaps even the Youkai Sage herself would have to get involved with. Hopefully it didn't come to that.

"Well the Crown Prince seems to like us at least. If you like, We could conduct an undercover investigation on your behalf. Would you like to continue our commission?"

Byakuren shook her head. "If, as you say, she has the ability to read people's desires then she would know you were in my employ right away."

While that was probably true, I wondered if the Crown Prince would even have cared.

"Well then," Renko said, slapping her hands against her thighs and rising up. "I suppose I should bid you farewell. Feel free to send someone by our office if you have any more work for us. Merry? Sanae? Let's get going."

"Right, boss," Sanae said, climbing to her feet. I bowed slightly and then stood up as well.

We were just turning to leave when suddenly the shoji on the far side of the room was thrown open. A thin, shadowy figure was barely outlined in the doorway, a black blot against the deeper darkness behind her.

"Byakuren!" the figure shouted, "Check this out, I —auuugh!" The cry had come from Nue, who had thrown open the door excitedly, then recoiled as soon as she saw me. "It's that girl with the weird eyes! What are you doing here?" she yelled.

"Nue! Apologize to these humans, there's no reason to be so rude." Shou shouted, glaring at her.

Byakuren seemed more concerned than angry, however. "Nue! Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you."

Nue smiled evilly, hunching up her shoulders as she cackled softly. "I heard you talking about how someone powerful might be about to be reborn, so I thought it only fitting that we call in a powerful ally of our own. Someone who could put down any enemy that dares threaten us here!"

"An ally?" Everyone spoke the same word at once. We looked around at each other blankly.

"Oh come on, what sort of a reaction is that? I had to call in favors all the way from the Outside World for this! Where's the praise? You should all be happy!"

"...Nue, they've already been resurrected. We were just talking about how we're going to leave them alone and see what they do next."

Nue blinked at us incredulously for a moment then tilted her head back and screamed in frustration.