東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 8:Undefined Fantastic Object

—22—


"Alice! Aliiice! Come on out, dear, it's Mother! I promise we won't be angry! At least let me see your face! Aliiice? Are you here?" With a worried expression on her face, the woman in the red robes scanned the deck of the ship, flying over us and looking about frantically.

"Uh, excuse me, ma'am?" Renko called out to her. "You must be Alice's mother, yes? I'm sorry to say she's not here."

"What?" The woman said, whirling around to face her. "Alice isn't here? I thought she'd finally come home!"

"You weren't listening, Motherrr~" Louise drawled as she caught up to her mother and landed on the deck. "I said some of Alice's 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 had arrived and wanted to talk to you."

With a broken-hearted, crestfallen expression, the woman turned toward the other newcomer, the one wearing the maid's apron, who nodded in agreement.

"Oh Yumeko, she hasn't come back. She must really hate me after all."

"There, there, Mother."

"I thought she had finally come home!" she cried, floating back upward and embracing the maid, who calmly patted her on the shoulder.

"I tooold you. One of Alice's friends brought a message from her."

"What? She sent a message? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I did."

"She did, Mother. You just weren't listening."

"Because I thought Alice had finally come home!"

Watching the scene from a family drama unfold above us, it was clear from the way they referred to her that the white-haired woman must be the same 'Lady Shinki' we had been told of, the Administrator and possible creator of this world, but seeing the way she shamelessly and messily sobbed against her maid's chest, it seemed that role instilled her with about as much dignity as Remilia has. Which is to say none.

Seeing us staring up at the proceedings, Yuki flew over closer to her mother. "Umm, Mom? Everyone's staring at you."

"Yeah, they’re staring, Mom," Mai added, nodding.

Regaining some measure of self-control, Shinki finally pulled her face away from her maid’s robes then took a deep breath, composed herself and turned to face us, standing with all the poise and dignity she could muster despite the tuft of hair still sticking up from her head at an odd angle, secured with a childish hair tie.

"Ahem. Welcome to Makai, travelers. Uhm…?"

Louise floated up to her mother's side, whispering quietly to her.

"Oh! You're friends of Byakuren's?" She raised a hand to the side of her face in surprise, her expression lighting up joyously. "She'll be so happy to see you, I'm sure! It's so rare for her to have visitors, how delightful!" Her brief attempt at manifesting a stoic profundity seemed to have already ended. Any semblance of official bearing was further ruined once she recognized Reimu and Marisa. "Ah! You two! You're here again? The Makai tourism thing has already stopped, hasn't it?"

"Don’t mind us." Marisa said, smiling up at her. "We're just a pair of tagalongs this time."

"Reluctant ones." Reimu added. "They're the ones who are here to see the nun." she said, pointing toward Captain Murasa and the others.

"I see," Shinki said, looking the group over. "How is it that you all know my friend Byakuren?"

"We're her disciples," Shou volunteered, stepping forward. "We've come to release her from her imprisonment here."

Shinki's face brightened again as she regarded Shou. "Oh! You're the disciples she’s always talking about! After a thousand years you've come! Oh she'll be so happy to see you!" Shinki waved both of her hands frantically at her face as she began to tear up again. "Oh Yumeko, isn't it wonderful?"

"There, there, Mother. Please don't cry."

"It's just such a wonderful story, Yumeko! These girls, who she trained and raised up so long ago, coming after so long to free her from her prison, their hearts filled with selfless admiration even after all this time."

Yumeko fished a handkerchief out of a pocket on her apron and handed it to Shinki, who took it and wiped her tears before blowing her nose into it noisily.

"Forgive me," Shinki said, turning back to the Myouren group, "but it is a lovely tale. I'll happily lead you to Houkai where Byakuren is imprisoned, but I'm afraid there is a very powerful seal on that place, which my position forbids me from breaking."

"Lady Shinki, we would be most grateful for your guidance," Shou said, raising the pagoda in her hands. "Before Hijiri was sealed away, she placed most of her power into this pagoda I'm holding. Once this power is returned to her, I’m sure she’ll have no trouble breaking that barrier."

Hearing that, I wondered how something like that could ever have ended up in Kourindou to begin with? No wonder Nazrin hadn't wanted to let anyone know that it had been lost.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful. I hope it works for you. Now which one of you is Alice's friend?"

"Hmmm… Oh Marisaaa~" Renko called out.

"Me? You got the wrong girl," Marisa protested, avoiding Shinki’s gaze.

Seeing that Renko was too busy messing around to get to the point, I stepped forward. "Excuse me, Lady Shinki. I'm another of Alice's friends. I have the message she asked us to carry to you."

Shinki turned to face me then zoomed forward with surprising speed, instantly drawing so close she was nearly leaning into my face.

"Is Alice alright? Why hasn't she come home yet? Are you holding her in your world?"

"Um no, well I mean, yes, she's fine, but no she isn't..."

"I've got this, Merry," Renko said, stepping in. Shinki immediately turned her attention to my partner "This is Miss Alice's message, Lady Shinki: I'm doing fine, don't worry about me."

"...Is that all? Did she say she was coming home?"

"No, she didn't. I actually asked her about that, but she didn't seem to have any interest in the idea."

Shinki stumbled as if she had been struck, taking a step backward. Yumeko stepped forward to support her before she could collapse. Instantly she turned and wailed into her maid’s chest once more. "Yumeeeko! Alice hates meee!"

"There, there, Mother" Yumeko said with another practiced suppression of a sigh. "I’m sure she just has something keeping her busy."

"Why else would she run away from home and leave us nothing but a note, Yumeko? She must hate me, what other reason could there be?"

"The note said she left to train, remember? I’m sure she’ll return once she becomes a great magician like you. Please respect her decision, Mother."

"But she's my daughter, Yumeko! What is a mother's duty but to protect her children?"

"It’s also a mother’s duty to let her children become independent."

"She doesn't need to be so independent! Why can't she just stay and be my cute little Alice forever? Please tell me you'll stay by my side at least!"

"...Well I wouldn't want to leave you all alone."

"Yumeeekooo!"

I began to wonder if Alice had perhaps left home as a result of her mother's overbearing nature. Behind Shinki, Louise, Mai and Yuki were all watching their mother with tired, awkward expressions.

"Lady Shinki? Alice did say she would like to stop by for a visit at some point. From everything she had to say when I talked to her, I never got the impression that she disliked you at all."

"Really? Is that true?" Shinki detached herself from Yumeko and charged at Renko.

"Well, that was the impression I got, anyway," Renko said, flinching back from her.

"So she doesn't hate me? Then what's been keeping her away all this time? Has she fallen in with a bad crowd? Is she being led astray? What kind of people does she spend her time with?"

"Marisa, I think that would be a question for you."

"Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, Renko?"

"You!" Shinki cried, whirling around to look at the witch. "What have you done to my sweet little Alice, human?"

"I haven't done nothin’!"

"Well, the two of you do work together to resolve incidents, like at Eientei and again down in the Underworld. Oh, that reminds me, Marisa, did you ever manage to beat Dragon Quest 3 with Alice?"

"Hey, both of those times were Alice draggin' me along, not the other way around. And as for that game, the whole thing stopped working so I gave it back to Sanae."

"It didn't stop working, the battery just ran out. I told you we could recharge it," Sanae grumbled.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ALICE!?" Shinki thundered, turning back toward Marisa.

"Like I said, I didn’t do nothin’!"

Marisa's screams echoed through the skies of Makai as Shinki descended to violently shake her.


—23—


After the confrontation was defused, Yuki, Mai and Louise parted ways with us, and the rest of the party proceeded without them, letting the 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛 turn to follow the beam of light emitted by the jeweled pagoda. With Shinki and Yumeko aboard to act as guides, the complement of the ship was larger than ever.

"Miss Byakuren is a very quiet person. Whenever I go to check on her, I find her sitting in lotus position and meditating when I arrive. I've asked her on occasion if she gets bored being sealed away and her response is always 'I have been placed here to atone for my sins.' She's never tried to escape from Houkai to my knowledge."

The members of the Myouren Temple listened solemnly to Shinki's account as we waited for the ship to slowly make its way across Makai.

"I don't get it," Murasa muttered, looking dissatisfied. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"I wonder if she's blaming herself?" Ichirin said, crossing her arms with a sigh.

"For what?" Nazrin grumbled. "She saved you and the Captain and preached equality between humans and youkai. From a human perspective all of those actions would be sins. If she's come to regret those actions over the course of her imprisonment, what will you do, Captain?"

"That's impossible!" Murasa declared. "She'd never do that!"

"That's right, Nazrin. She dedicated her life to protecting youkai from persecution. She knew from the beginning that humans would condemn her actions. That's why she made Murasa and Ichirin pretend to be human. No punishment could ever make her regret those decisions."

"If you say so, Master." Nazrin said, looking away. To me, Nazrin's view seemed practical, but there was a clear difference in the level of enthusiasm for this quest between her and Byakuren's disciples.

"Lady Shinki, did you ever ask Byakuren what sins she was atoning for?" Shou asked, turning back toward Shinki.

"I never wanted to pry by asking her. Do you know, Yumeko?"

"No, Mother. You rarely brought me to see her. I barely know her."

"Hmmm. Well, at any rate, she never seemed depressed or worried about it to me. Most of the time that I went to see her I'd bring tea and some of Yumeko's home-made sweets and we'd just sit and talk. She often talked fondly about her disciples, saying things like ' They were all so kind and I've abandoned them. I hope they're all doing alright.'"

"Hijiri..." Shou said, and began to sniffle.

"Don't cry, Big Shou. We can all cry as hard as we want after our work is done and Hijiri has been released," Murasa said, looking a little teary-eyed herself. Ichirin patted them both on the shoulders. I suppose when on the verge of fulfilling a thousand year old goal, even youkai will get weepy.

"We've nearly arrived," Yumeko announced from the bow suddenly. Long gone were the cityscapes that had once sprawled beneath us. Now there was nothing but desolate darkness spread out on the ground. Even the ominous fog that had ringed the city had vanished, leaving nothing but clear air in its place. On the furthest edge of the horizon we could just make out a dim shadow that must be a landmass. Something there was giving off a dull orange glow bright enough to illuminate the sky and turn the dark, empty void into something like twilight. The light from the pagoda pointed straight toward the heart of that mysterious glow.

"There's absolutely nothing out here," Sanae said, marveling at the blank horizons. "It's hard to believe that we're still in Makai."

"It’s because Houkai is on the very edge of Makai" Yumeko replied.

"Lady Shinki, is Houkai something that you created as well?"

"That's right. I created everything in this world." she said, looking a little smug.

"Mother went so far as to create a world so vast that even she can't know what the point of most of it is." Yumeko said, nodding.

Shinki coughed quietly and quickly changed the topic. "It was actually Byakuren who named this area Houkai. She had a whole little speech about it. 'One day, when my sins have been atoned for, I will create a world where everyone will be equal in the name of the Buddha. When I’ve spread the teachings of the Buddha, and once everyone attains enlightenment, there will be no more discrimination or persecution. In honor of that goal, I shall begin by attaining enlightenment in this place. This place shall become my Houkai—My Realm of Truth.' It went something like that, I think."

"I see, so that's why it's called Houkai," Shou said, nodding sagely.

“What do you mean, Big Shou?" Murasa asked.

"The Realm of Truth is spoken of in Buddhist scripture. Did you not spend any of your thousand years underground reviewing Hijiri's teachings, Murasa? It's supposed to be one of the eighteen realms of perception, specifically, it’s the realm of our thoughts, where the truth and the source of reality, exists. In truth, all things are equal without discrimination. It’s exactly like Hijiri’s ideal world. It’s a perfect name for a world where youkai, humans, and all living creatures are equal."

"Oh. Right." Murasa said, nodding unconvincingly.

For my part, I was not particularly familiar with Buddhist thought, but it sounded like the general idea was that a single objective truth existed and that it was possible to perceive it? Or something like that, maybe.

"Equality between humans and youkai?" Reimu grunted. "That sounds suspicious."

"She got sealed away for helpin' out youkai right? That doesn't sound very equal." Marisa added.

"Don't you realize that it's the youkai who are the ones being unjustly persecuted!?" Ichirin shouted.

"It kind of sounds like you just have a persecution complex," Sanae replied with her usual bluntness.

"Well equality and fairness can't truly exist in a world full of desires." Renko interjected.

For most people the only equality that they really cared about was the way that they themselves were treated by others. Anything that fell short of the treatment they felt they deserved would be called 'inequality.' The same action could be seen as supporting equality or detracting from it, depending on the perceptions of the individual observing the action, leading to a state where no one could agree on what a truly equal existence would even look like. The inherent and unavoidable subjectivity of human beings meant that subjective and objective thought were fated to be endlessly confused with one another, tangling everyone up in a million different individualized perceptions of right and wrong.

"That's precisely why Hijiri is trying to spread the teachings of the Buddha," Shou replied. "If everyone could attain enlightenment and free themselves from worldly desire, then we could all live in an equitable world filled with kindness. A shared sense of morality and a truly just society would be natural consequences."

"It sounds like this Byakuren has been reading Clarke. Is she an Overlord? Is her aim to guide humanity into joining the Overmind?" Sanae asked.

"I was thinking the same thing, Sanae, but isn't Clarke a little old-fashioned for you? I would have thought you'd be reading things like Project Itoh's 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑦/."

"Who's Project Itoh?" Sanae asked, tilting her head.

"Had that not come out yet when you came here? That's a shame," Renko said, looking toward me for confirmation. I don't know much about sci-fi myself, so I could only shrug.

"I'm still bothered by the idea that Hijiri thinks she's here to atone for some sin," Nazrin said, staring at the stone pagoda and the beam of light radiating out from it. "Whether or not you think she did anything wrong, if she thinks she's got something to atone for, she won't want to come back with us, don't you think?"

"What do you mean, Nazrin?"

"A thousand years ago, when the Yama showed up with the Hakurei shrine maiden, Hijiri got all of us out of the temple, but she never tried to leave herself. She just accepted her punishment. Doesn't that suggest that she felt that she had done something to deserve it? What if Hijiri feels she needs to remain here, that she hasn't finished atoning for whatever she did."

Byakuren's disciples fell silent for a moment. Shou was the first to speak. "If that's the case, then I would choose to be sealed here alongside her."

"Me too!" Ichirin and Murasa echoed, speaking over top of one another.

"Oh, that would be the least troublesome way to do it, let's hope that happens." Reimu said with a nod, earning her a glare from Murasa.

"Well I hope it doesn't come to that, but I'll understand if that's what you and the others want, Captain," Renko said solemnly. "I think there's one additional concern to consider though: the Yama who sealed Byakuren into Makai a thousand years ago. In the worst case scenario we might have to fight her to release Byakuren. If that happens we'll need to come up with some sort of countermeasure."

Indeed, what we were attempting would probably be seen as a prison break. It was something Renko had mentioned before we had met back up with the captain and her crew, but we had never come up with a solution, and had no advice to offer.

"Lady Shinki, was there ever a time limit proposed for the length of Saint Byakuren's imprisonment?"

"Oh, I certainly don't remember, but a thousand years seems like long enough to me. What do you think, Yumeko?"

"I'm not in a position to judge that, Mother."

"Oh Yumeko, you're so heartless!"

"Gah. Just stewing over everything that could go wrong isn't going to help," Murasa grumbled, rising to her feet with her fists clenched. "I don't care what the Yama says. I'm going to do everything I can to release Hijiri! If she wants to stay I'll respect that, but if she doesn't then we're busting her out! I don't think she did anything wrong, and a thousand years of banishment is too harsh! I'll fight anyone who tries to seal her again! It doesn't matter if it's the Hakurei shrine maiden or the Yama herself!"

Ichirin and Shou rose to stand beside her, and Nazrin, while she remained seated, nodded along in agreement.

"You're right."

"I agree. We'll go along with whatever Hijiri decides."

"I'll stay by your side, Master, whatever you decide to do."

"Loyalty's nice an' all, but it's no reason to keep from thinkin'" Marisa declared, looking over as Murasa and her friends stood up. "Didja forget that we just kicked all a your butts just a little while ago?"

"That doesn't matter. If we have Hijiri with us, we're sure to win!" Murasa declared.

"I suppose she might be an issue," Reimu said, standing up with her gohei in hand. "In that case, the sensible thing to do would be to beat you all up now and seal you before we get to her."

"Oops, now you've done it," Marisa grinned as she watched Reimu square off with Murasa. The two of them glared at each other, as Marisa egged them on. I had worried that the truce Renko had negotiated couldn't last. I watched nervously as Reimu and Murasa glared at one another, both drawing forth their weapons.

"Wait! The pagoda! Look!" Shou cried.

All eyes turned toward the stone pagoda. The beam of light had disappeared.

"Oh! It's the UFOs!" Sanae suddenly cried, as a chunk of glowing wood shot past, hurtling up from the hold. A dozen more pieces followed it, then a continuous stream as the broken sections of the mast poured out of the hold and gathered together, converging around the houtou. The pagoda then rose up out of Shou's hands and into the sky, orbited by a cloud of wooden splinters.

The deck of the ship rumbled and shook, forcing everyone who couldn't find something to grab onto down to their knees. As the light from the pagoda intensified, spreading further and further, it reflected off of something. A vast and sprawling wall that rose before us, encircling a huge area of barren land before us in an enormous, shimmering boundary.


—24—


An enormous hemispherical boundary was shining before our eyes.

"Is that the barrier sealing Saint Byakuren?" Shou asked in wonder as she turned to stare at it.

It seems that not only I but everyone present could see the boundary. Shou looked up at it in amazement as the light from the beams circling the jeweled pagoda shimmered off of its surface.

"It looks just like Tokyo Jupiter!" Sanae said from beside her in a tone of awe. "Maybe this living saint is actually a blue-blooded Mulian!" I had no idea what she was talking about, but this wasn't the time for an explanation.

"That’s the barrier that was created by the Hakurei shrine maiden who sealed Byakuren a thousand years ago," Shinki informed us.

"You're not expecting 𝑚𝑒 to break that, are you?" Reimu asked incredulously.

"Do you think we could?" Sanae asked. It doesn't look like the wards I've seen you or Lady Kanako make."

"It's a magic barrier," Marisa said, staring at it in awe. "A huge one." She flicked a single glowing star from her finger. It collided with the barrier with no discernible effect whatsoever. "Just like how Reimu has barrier techniques, magic can make barriers and wards too, but it’s not the type of magic I’m any good at. Patchouli would know more about it."

"This Saint was supposed to be a nun and a magician right?"

"Yeah, this has to be something that was created with her power."

"So your boss wasn't sealed by the Hakurei shrine maiden from a thousand years ago, she sealed herself in?" Reimu asked incredulously.

"No, that's impossible," Shou said, turning from the shining barrier to look at Reimu. "She placed much of her power into ritual implements, like this ship and the pagoda. The Hakurei shrine maiden must have used one of those tools to make this."

"Nah, that doesn't make any sense," Marisa replied, tilting her head in consideration.

"Why not?" Renko asked.

Marisa shrugged. "Cuz you can't do that. Any magician can control an object that has their own power worked into it, like my broom or Alice's dolls, but —"

"Alice is still playing with dolls!?"

"Mother, not now please." Yumeko said, gracefully and elegantly restraining Shinki by both of her arms before she could pounce on Marisa.

"...You were saying, Marisa?"

"It'd be like if I gave you one a' my brooms, Renko. You know you wouldn't be able to use it to fly, right?"

"Of course not, I'm not a magician."

"Well it's the same thing even between magicians. If Alice gave me one of her dolls that she'd filled with power, I’d still have to use my own power to make it move. If I gave my hakkero to Reimu, she’d have to use her spiritual power instead of my magic. So even if this saint lady left behind a buncha magical tools containing her power, she'd be the only one who could use ‘em. The only way the Hakurei shrine maiden from back then coulda made a barrier like this outta magic is if she was a magician."

"...or Byakuren put this barrier up herself..." Sanae concluded.

"That can't be true," said Shou, shaking her head.

"Hold on, Marisa," Renko said, turning to her. "If that were the case then it would mean that this ship would have to rely on Murasa's power, and not Byakuren's right? Otherwise, how would it be flying?"

"What? I thought that's what was happenin' already. Are you sayin' it's not?" Marisa asked, looking back at Murasa in shock.

"No, I couldn't... This is Hijiri's ship, it moves with the power she placed into it..."

By Marisa’s theory that shouldn't be possible. If she was right then only Byakuren would have been able to make the ship fly…

Murasa was stunned into silence by Renko's question, mouthing the words "that's impossible..." silently to herself.

Any further discussion there might have been was cut short as the light from the pagoda suddenly intensified. Instantly it grew bright enough that everyone instinctually covered their faces.

When the glow had faded enough that we could open our eyes again, a large glowing crack had appeared in the barrier. As we watched, the crack spread, spider webbing its way across the surface of the hemispherical dome. There was a deep thrumming from somewhere beyond the limits of the barrier and pieces of it began to fall away, crumbling into motes of glittering energy, then disappearing altogether as they fell. As the breach widened and more of the shell crumbled, we could make out details of the land ahead.

Everyone on board leaned over the edge of the deck, staring at the spectacle as the barrier crumbled inward. The stone pagoda floated shakily downward, coming to rest in Shou's hands, its light vanishing.

"O, The Realm of Truth is filled with light..."

A single human figure was slowly flying toward us through the air. As she came closer, I could make out a few details of her appearance. Her long hair was mysteriously colored, graduating from a deep purple near the roots to golden at the tips, looking like the sky at dusk. She was wearing a black dress with cords crisscrossing her chest and sleeves and holding something that resembled and moved like a scroll but appeared to be made of scintillating rainbow light in her hands.

Silhouetted against the orange glow of the fires of Houkai the woman opened her eyes as she floated upward and spoke with a voice that seemed to possess an infinite sense of calm. "Are you the ones who liberated this world?"