東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 8:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody

—22—

[𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫]

If you considered the crux of this incident to be the earthquake which destroyed the Hakurei shrine and the commotion that surrounded that event, then you would probably think that everything was all over at this point. Reimu had defeated the mastermind responsible, a keystone had been placed in the foundations of the rebuilt shrine to protect it from any future earthquakes and Tenshi's true purpose was fulfilled with her continued presence in Gensokyo overseeing the shrine's repairs, just as my partner had predicted. There were no outstanding mysteries to solve and no leads left uninvestigated.

Why then, does this record still continue?

Because the true mystery wrapped up in this incident was only now just beginning to reveal itself.

—

Our first hint of it was brought to us by a Messenger from the Dragon Palace. A few days after our trip with Sanae into Heaven, my partner and I were lazing idly about our office after having finished teaching our classes for the day at the temple school. Without Sanae to join us, the office was quiet as Renko leafed through the newspaper and I graded student assignments.

All at once the door to our agency was flung open and a profound voice announced: "An Earthquake will happen in the future. For no particular reason at all!" Renko and I looked up to see Nagae Iku standing in our office’s doorway, looking awkwardly between us. "Well it seems like that isn’t actually happening now though, so I suppose that will be all."

Renko was the first to recover, putting her newspaper aside and climbing to her feet. "I’m sorry, what was that?"

"A warning. I just came to warn you there won’t be any more earthquakes. I’ll be going now."

"Hold on, please don't leave just yet." Renko called out to her. "A Messenger’s message can't be considered delivered if the receiving party doesn't understand it. Let me just confirm I have a thorough understanding of the situation surrounding the earthquakes."

"What is there to not understand?"

"All of this was because Hinanawi Tenshi, a Celestial, extracted and concentrated human temperaments, which formed a scarlet cloud as it gathered up power. She was intending to use that power to cause a devastating earthquake but now that a keystone has been placed in the foundations of the Hakurei Shrine, there is no further danger of a second earthquake. Is all of that correct?"

"I was hoping to avoid explaining that story to you, but it seems you already know it. Where did you hear all of that?"

"From Tenshi herself, when we went up to Heaven the other day."

"From the Eldest Daughter? I'm surprised you were able to drag all of that out of her."

"I'm a detective. Getting information out of people is my trade. Speaking of which, now that it's over, did you really come all the way down here just to tell everyone involved not to worry about the earthquake?"

"I actually came here to warn people to prepare for a calamity, not knowing that the Eldest Daughter had installed a keystone. Since I already came all this way though there’s nothing for me to do now but warn people that there won’t be any more earthquakes.." Iku sighed heavily. "She always acts without thinking of anyone else." She sighed once more then turned and walked into our office without being invited as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I couldn't help but think that she seemed like the type to do whatever she pleased as well.

"I already ran into the Eldest Daughter at the shrine and delivered a few choice criticisms of my own to her, but ultimately I doubt she's the sort of person to be dissuaded by something like that."

"I see. What exactly is your relationship with her, Miss Nagae?"

"She is the eldest daughter of a very important and influential clan in Heaven. We're not close by any means. I doubt she even knows my name."

"But despite that you came all the way down here just to scold her?"

"I came down here to deliver a warning as instructed. That I happened to run into her in a time and place that gave me the opportunity to punish her for her thoughtless pranks is merely incidental."

"I see, I see. Well, since you're here would you mind indulging the curiosity of a mortal human for a bit longer?"

I would have expected Iku to refuse, given her brusque dismissal of such questions the other day, but to my surprise she merely nodded before I could chastise Renko for being nosy.

"Thank you very much," Renko began. "Now, if I may ask, what exactly is Heaven?"

"That's a rather philosophical question. Perhaps it would be easier for you to understand if I were to explain its origin."

"Please do."

"All of the islands you saw in the heavens were once a single enormous stone. That stone itself was once a part of the Earth long ago. In fact, it was a great keystone. Long ago that keystone was ripped from the ground. This caused a tremendous quake so violent that every living thing upon the surface of the world was killed. With the keystone suspended in the heavens and shattered, there is nothing left to pin down the great catfish within the earth from writhing about. Whenever it awakens, its convulsions shake your world."

It was quite a story to hear out of the blue. I wondered if in Gensokyo at least this could have been what had caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. In a world where perception influenced reality maybe old legends like that could actually be true. Did that mean that all earthquakes really were caused by the convulsions of a monstrous catfish that dwelled somewhere beneath Gensokyo?

"So why was the great keystone originally removed from the Earth then?"

"That was long before my time of course, but my understanding is that it had something to do with ensuring that the gods of the heavens would be able to establish dominion over the gods of the Earth. Even the great catfish that is the source of all earthquakes was originally a divine beast of the heavens."

"So by removing the keystone and bringing the power of earthquakes to the land, the gods of the heavens intended to establish a means of ruling over the Earth, is that it?"

"That is what I was told, yes."

A reign of terror ruled over from a seat in the heavens. What a terrible story.

"What about the moon then? Is that a part of the heavens as well? Was it once a piece of the great keystone?"

"Almost. At the time that the islands of the heavens were created, multiple keystones were pulled from the Earth. The moon is one that was set in the heavens by the heavenly gods."

If you applied the modern Outside World theory that the moon had once been a piece of the Earth that had been cleaved off by the impact of a giant meteorite early in the planet's history to the context of Gensokyo, this might be the sort of story that would result.

"Then the moon and the Heaven where Miss Hinanawi lives are two different places, correct? One is not a part of the other?"

"That's correct. The moon is much further away."

"Then how about the Dragon Palace? You said you are its messenger, but what is the Dragon Palace, exactly?"

"It is the home of the great Dragon God to whom I am but a humble messenger."

"The Dragon God must be truly impressive. Here in Gensokyo it's revered as the supreme deity, but most everyone in the village only knows of its existence from the statue in the town square."

"That is as it should be. Any situation that required the Dragon God to descend to Earth would have to be something terrible indeed."

No one we had ever talked to in the village had ever told us of a time when Dragon God had been seen in Gensokyo since its founding, but such a thing might have happened less than a year before our initial arrival in Gensokyo. If you want to know more about that though, I'll have to refer you to our earlier casefiles.

"So the Dragon Palace is separate from the moon as well then?" Renko asked, pursuing a line of questioning I couldn't imagine the point of once again.

"It is," Iku confirmed.

"Well then, I'd like you to take a look at this," Renko said, retrieving her copy of the 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑘𝑦𝑜 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒, flipping to a marked passage and then handing it to Iku. "This is a human book, representing mortal knowledge of this realm. It says here that Heaven was created to assist those dwelling within it in attaining Buddhahood, but that it's full now. As a result, almost no one attains enlightenment anymore."

"Oh, does it really?"

"Right there", Renko said, pointing out the passage. "It's in Lady Saigyouji's entry. Would you characterize the statement in that book as accurate?"

Iku looked over the text for a moment before responding haltingly.

"...I’m afraid I can’t answer that."

"Really? When we went to Heaven, it really didn’t look very crowded to me."

"...No comment."

"Oh? Should I take that to mean you don't know or you're not permitted to say?"

"You can take it however you like."

Renko laughed. "Fair enough. In that case, let's talk about Tenshi. Who is she, and why is she in Heaven? She doesn't seem like a hermit who has transcended earthly desires, not does she seem to be on the path toward Buddhahood."

"She is the eldest daughter of the Hinanawi household, as I mentioned. The Hinanawi family were once priests in service of the Nawi clan and charged with controlling earthquakes. When the Nawi clan were elevated to the rank of divine spirits and enshrined as gods, the Hinanawi were allowed to ascend to Heaven for their service. Tenshi was but a young child at the time, but she was allowed to accompany her parents and become a Celestial as well. She has not, in any way, earned the right to such a prestigious position."

"Oh my, such a harsh judgement. So in that case is she a human?"

"She once was. She had a different name then, I'm told. Upon rebirth as a Celestial, her name was changed."

"Then being a daughter of the Hinanawi clan, her ability to control earthquakes using keystones is hereditary then?"

"I would assume so."

"Excellent. Alright then, just one more thing I wanted to ask about. We saw Tenshi carrying a very unusual sword. What exactly is that thing?"

"The Sword of Hisou? It's a divine implement which can only be wielded by a Celestial. It has the power to read the true nature of anyone it's pointed at by drawing out their temperament as a scarlet mist. That cloud you saw was the result of her doing that."

"That's more or less what I heard from Tenshi too, but how exactly does that work? How does a person's temperament become a scarlet mist, and what does that have to do with unusual weather or earthquakes?"

"Hmm, how could I explain this in a way an Earthling would understand? A temperament is the essence of someone. The Sword of Hisou reveals that essence."

"So its purpose is to reveal an opponent's strengths and weaknesses, I suppose?"

"You suppose correctly."

What a terrible weapon. A blade designed to find and strike at whatever was most vulnerable in an opponent's personality stuck me as a uniquely inhumane sort of tool. Hearing this certainly explained why it had been so unpleasant to have my temperament read at the shrine the other day though.

"So when enough of that power builds up it causes an earthquake. Earthquakes are at the very core of the dominion of the heavenly gods over the earth though. Doesn't that make that sword an extremely important item to the Celestials?"

"Yes, it's the treasure of the Hinanawi family, and has been kept in their possession for generations."

"Forgive me for saying this, but is it alright for someone like Tenshi to have something like that? She doesn't seem to be treating it like an important artifact considering that she used it to cause earthquakes just because she was bored."

"It should never be in the hands of someone like her. I have no idea what her father was thinking." Iku sighed again, resting her cheek against a palm propped on the desk. "It's possible that he may not even know she has it."

"That’s all the more reason that someone like her shouldn’t be running around with something like that, I’d think."

"Indeed it is… I can't imagine her father doesn't know she has it, though. I'm sure he's just busy with other matters. For the moment it’s probably best just to watch and see what happens."

At that Renko merely groaned, running her palm down her face in concern.


—23—


"Thank you for all of that information, Miss Nagae," Renko said as we showed Iku to the door. "I appreciate your cooperation, but what made you decide to answer my questions today?"

"I simply read the atmosphere," Iku said matter-of-factly. Somehow, I don't feel like she was reading the atmosphere at all.

We watched her leave after that, her shawl fluttering in the wind behind her, then returned to our office where my partner stretched out on her back on the tatami, looking up at the ceiling, her brain hard at work.

I sat down beside her, looking down at her face. After a moment, I broke the silence. "What's got you so concerned? Do you think Tenshi will cause another earthquake in protest? Or are you worried that Tenshi read your temperament and discovered your secret weakness?"

"Enh, that doesn't really matter..." She let out a puff of air then sat up sharply, turning to face me. "I thought this was going to be a simple Incident, but it doesn't look that way. Someone's hiding something again."

"You don't think Tenshi was being honest about her aim in starting all of this?"

This was generally the way it had always gone with the incidents we had been involved in. The mastermind set out to achieve something, safeguarding their goal by concealing their true intention behind a false façade. Then upon being defeated by Reimu, as almost inevitably happened, only their ostensible goal was sacrificed and recorded in the 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑘𝑦𝑜 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 as another of Reimu's victories while their real aim for the most part went off unimpeded. Of course whether there had ever been a 'real goal' hidden behind the surface appearance to begin with was a matter of some contention and hinged on just how much you could trust my partner's delusions.

This time, however, Renko shook her head slowly. "No, Tenshi is easy to figure out, she's not subtle enough to have concealed her purpose beyond what I already discovered. She wanted to put a keystone in the Hakurei Shrine to give herself a reason to come down to earth from time to time. Everything we know about her points to her actions being guided by that motivation. That's not what concerns me."

"Oh? Then what's the problem?"

"There's one mystery still outstanding about this whole affair: how'd she do it? Or moreover, why didn't anyone stop her? How did she manage to end up with something that's not only an incredibly dangerous weapon but a priceless heirloom to boot and then use it to cause a ruckus without any of the other Celestials objecting? Why did everyone in Heaven turn a blind eye to Tenshi's misdeeds?"

Renko got up to get herself a cushion, then sat back down beside me. "Not only does she get her hands on that sword and wave it around like it's nothing, she also put down a keystone. If the dominion of Heaven over the Earth is enforced by earthquakes, then fooling with something like this should not only be a problem down here, but a huge scandal in Heaven too. For her to then go a step further and implant something that would prevent future earthquakes from occurring endangers the rule of Heaven over Gensokyo. There's no way they could ignore that."

"Well, Gensokyo's a small place. If Heaven extends over the Outside World too, then maybe it's not worth noticing what happens to a quaint little backwater like this world." Although I said that, the thought terrified me. If it were the case that this world could be smashed by the idle boredom of a single unruly Celestial then that was a frightening situation to live in.

"Hmmm, I suppose that's a possibility, Merry, though we don't have any evidence one way or the other to suggest whether or not the heavenly realms hold dominion over the earth of the Outside World too. I should have asked Iku when she was here. Shoot."

"Heaven operates according to the laws of the gods," responded a voice as the door to our office slid open again. Once again the Messenger of the Dragon Palace was standing in our doorway.

"Huh? Iku? You're back? I thought you left." Renko spluttered, rising to her feet.

"I read the atmosphere and it seemed like you still had some questions you wanted to ask, so here I am."

"Oh! Well, thank you for being so perceptive and for coming back. So when you say that Heaven operates under the laws of the gods, does that mean it can be wherever they chose for it to be, or it only exists here, in Gensokyo?"

"The realm you visited is known by many different names and is connected to many different places. Where there is sufficient faith to sustain a connection, that connection is present, and where there is not, it is absent. The Hells, the Netherworld and Higan operate much the same way. However, here in Gensokyo there are none who doubt the existence of Heaven. As such, you might say that Heaven is closer to here than to any other place on Earth. It is because of that that a living creature like yourself was able to visit."

"So although Gensokyo is closer to Heaven than any other point, it's still a small place and no one would be too concerned over anything that happened here, is that correct?"

"Hmmm, in some ways that's true, however Gensokyo is only separated from what you call the Outside World by a barrier. Thus, if an earthquake of sufficient intensity were to strike Gensokyo, it would doubtlessly affect the Outside World too. That's the reason I'm bothered that the Eldest Daughter has placed a keystone here."

"Why would that bother you? Keystones are used to prevent earthquakes, aren't they?"

"They are, but they do so by absorbing and storing the energy that would have otherwise become a quake. If one is damaged or removed, then that energy will be catastrophically released. Over time, they can accumulate energy and become even more dangerous than any single earthquake would have been. Well, I suppose as long as the keystone isn’t disturbed there’s no need for me to worry…"

"I see..." Renko said, crossing her arms and pondering.

"At least with the keystone in place there will be fewer messages about upcoming earthquakes to deliver." Iku said, looking almost sad at the thought.

"So will the keystone placed here in Gensokyo also reduce earthquakes in the Outside World?"

"Only those that would have originated here, from the thrashing of Gensokyo’s heavenly catfish. Earthquakes in the Outside World wouldn't be affected."

That much made sense at least. Japan has always been an earthquake-prone country and the history of the 21st century was dotted with a number of major quakes that had caused significant upheaval and loss of life. If those quakes had been prevented by the placing of the keystone here and now, it would represent a significant departure from the history we knew.

"I see, I see. So in that case, what do the ruling powers of the heavens think of Tenshi's actions?"

"I can't know what Lord Hinanawi himself thinks of the matter, but now that the keystone has already been put in place there's nothing anyone can do about it without causing a bigger mess."

I couldn't help but think that as big of a mess as removing the keystone might be for the heavenly bureaucracy, it would be a bigger mess for us mortals living here on the surface of the Earth. At any rate, it seemed clear that a question like Renko's wasn't going to find a satisfactory answer from Iku.

That meant, of course, that our next step was to ask a bunch of questions of someone else.


—24—


After seeing Iku off once again, we headed for the Hakurei Shrine, or the place where the Hakurei Shrine used to be, at any rate. Our intention was to talk to Tenshi, but when we arrived at the grounds of the shrine, Reimu answered our question by saying simply:

"That Celestial? She's already left for the day."

Reimu was sitting on a simple stool in front of a temporary shack that had been built beside the rubble of the shrine. Somehow whenever we tried to visit someone it seemed to be the wrong time lately.

"What did you two want with her?"

"We just had some questions about the nature of Heaven. Standard mortal curiosity about the beyond."

"Stop sticking your nose into incidents. I’ve been warning you two but that doesn’t seem to have worked. I don’t want to have to end up having to exterminate you both."

"We're just a pair of regular humans, Reimu."

"There's nothing 'regular' about either of you." Reimu said, fixing us with an untrusting stare.

Renko watched Reimu's eyes bore into me for a moment, then clapped her hands, saying "Oh, That's right! I had something I wanted to ask you too, Reimu. Have you seen the Youkai Sage lately? Either before or after the earthquake?"

"Yukari?" Reimu blinked in surprise then tilted her head back as she thought. "She came by on the evening of the day the shrine was destroyed, just to mock me. She was all 'oh your shrine looks a little worse than usual, Reimu. It makes for a very pretty ruin though.'" Reimu imitated Yukari's voice. "I had already caught the culprit by then and told Yukari I was going to make Tenshi rebuild my house, but she didn't seem to care much about the whole affair, just saying 'That's good'. I can never tell what she’s thinking. You’d think she’d at least help me rebuild the shrine."

Reimu then turned her eyes from Renko over to me and frowned. "It feels really weird talking about Yukari with Merry here though." As if there was anything I could do about that.

"Huh. Is that all she said?"

"I think so. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that Suika had said that the threat of a major earthquake would be a big deal to her, so I'm surprised she was so blasé about it."

"She said that any future earthquakes would be absorbed by that keystone Tenshi put down, so there's nothing for her to worry about, right?"

"I suppose so."

Suddenly Reimu jumped up and pointed at Renko. "Ah! You just reminded me. Yukari 𝑑𝑖𝑑 say something weird. She's always doing that though, so I didn't notice at the time."

"What was it?"

"In the end, the earthquake will happen regardless of what I do" She intoned. We looked at Reimu, hoping there was more or some explanation, but she merely shrugged. "It was something like that, anyway. She was talking to herself at the time and nobody ever knows what she's thinking."

—

On our way back to the village, Renko was constantly fiddling with the brim of her hat, a sure sign she was deep in thought.

"Renko, are you trying to figure out what the Youkai Sage is thinking again?"

"Well, sort of. I'm thinking about why Suika would have told us that Yukari would have thought this whole business was a big deal."

Back during the Spring Snow Incident and the Night Parade of 100 Oni Every Three Days, trying to figure out the motivations behind the Youkai Sage's actions or inactions had occupied most of my partner's time. After all, the Administrator had clearly taken enough of an interest in us to directly send the two of us (along with Alice) to the Netherworld, so it was natural for us to wonder what might have motivated her to do so.

"Let's see if I can read your mind and tell you what you're thinking now, Renko."

"Oh deductive reasoning from Merry? This should be good."

"We've been living together here for more than five years now, Renko. It's natural that I'd be able to understand how you think."

"Well then, what am I thinking about?" Renko stopped walking and narrowed her eyes, arms crossed in front of her chest and an expectant expression on her face.

I let out a sigh at her theatrics then glanced back toward the hill where the Hakurei Shrine had once stood. "You're wondering why Yukari didn't take action to end the incident sooner, especially given that numerous people both noticed the changes in temperament and knew they were omens of an earthquake long before Reimu's shrine was destroyed."

Renko widened her eyes as her smile deepened, from her usual cat-like grin to something genuinely warm. "You really do know me quite well, Merry," she said. "But your internal clock is running several minutes behind. I'm already past thinking about that."

"So you think you have an explanation for it all then?"

"I do, but I still have my doubts. I'm just too short on any information surrounding anything to do with the Youkai Sage to make much of a deduction. Even the great detective Usami Renko can't get a read on someone she's never met before," she said with a sigh and a shrug.

I thought for a moment, tapping my cheek as I tilted my head before asking: "Hey Renko, can I be blunt?"

"You? Blunt? You're full of surprises today, Merry. Go ahead."

"I think your model of how the sage thinks is pretty uncharitable. You see her as being slow to respond to Gensokyo's various crises, but I don't think that's how it works. Under your model, whenever something happens that threatens Gensokyo, the sage would have to do something about it, or else get Reimu to. But everyone knows Reimu's always slow to act and having the sage intervene directly is really rare, apparently. If your thinking is correct, then that would mean that the sage would have to be lazy, or unwilling to do anything herself, or just not care about Gensokyo all that much, right?"

"Well, the evidence does seem to suggest that that's the case, doesn't it?" Renko asked with a sigh.

A voice suddenly interrupted us, saying "I'll thank you not to start disparaging rumors about Lady Yukari." The voice had come, unexpectedly, from directly behind. We turned to see a figure standing there who hadn't been present a moment ago. Surrounded by a glorious sea of gold as her nine fluffy tails waved in the sunlight, there stood Yakumo Ran, shikigami to the Youkai Sage.

"Oh, hello Miss Ran! What a coincidence seeing you here!" Renko said cheerfully.

"It's no coincidence, I assure you. Lady Yukari has charged me with watching over people who she has deemed 'interesting' and I overheard what you were saying, so I thought I'd come and offer some free advice. Is that really what you think of Lady Yukari?"

"Well it's hard for me to know what to think," Renko said, flashing her troublesome grin. "Seeing as I've never met her, I mean. Would it be possible for you to set up a meeting with her for me, Ran?"

It was not the first time Renko had made such a request of Ran in the years we had known her. The answer, however, was always the same.

"You know I'm going to say 'no'," Ran said with a sigh. "Lady Yukari's orders have not changed."

"And those orders would be to keep an eye on us whenever we are outside the village and to refuse me if I should ask to see her?"

"Lady Yukari's orders are that no one should meet with her except by her own request, with the sole exception of the Lady of Hakugyoukurou. You should not consider it odd that you have never met Lady Yukari, Renko. Very few human villagers ever have."

"Well, Merry got to meet her. I don't see why I shouldn't."

"Because she has not requested to meet with you. The choice as to whether to meet or not is entirely in her hands."

"In other words she doesn't want to meet me."

"If you wish to think of things that way, that's fine."

"Well, in that case, would it be alright if I started to advertise myself as the brainy detective that even the Youkai Sage fears to face!" Renko asked, spreading her hands out in front of her as if visualizing a marquis. Ran poked her in the head before turning her attention to me.

"Merry. I overheard what you were saying and I'm afraid I don't have much evidence that Lady Yukari isn't lazy or doesn't prefer to leave her work to others to do, but you should not let the notion that she does not care for her creation enter into your head."

"Oh, um, sorry," I mumbled.

"Lady Yukari loves Gensokyo. More than any other living being does. Even I can't claim to understand everything she's thinking all of the time, but of that much I am certain."

With someone as close to the Youkai Sage as Ran was saying that we could hardly claim to know better.

"In that case, do you have any insight into her lack of action concerning this incident?" Renko asked.

"Lady Yukari hatches schemes within schemes that move with a purpose that is far beyond my ability to predict. I don't know what she had in mind, but I am reasonably confident that events have and will continue to play out in exactly the way that she wishes them to." From anyone else that line would have sounded disparaging but when Ran said it, her tone was almost reverent. "I may not know what Lady Yukari is planning, but I know that she is always searching to find the best way forward for Gensokyo. Of that you can rest assured."