東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 9:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody

—25—

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞]

The next day, construction of the new Hakurei Shrine began. When we arrived on the scene, we managed to come early enough that day to catch Tenshi before she left. Immediately after greeting her, my partner had started asking her about the sword of Hisou.

"Huh? You mean this thing?" Tenshi had asked, drawing its burning blade out.

"That's the one," Renko said with a grin. "We heard from Miss Nagae that it's a priceless family heirloom that only a Celestial can use. Is that right?"

"You were talking to Iku? I guess this thing's been passed down for sort of a long time. Do you want to try it?"

"Eh? Can I?" Renko asked excitedly.

"Well, you can hold it. It won't work for an earthly being though."

Eyes gleaming with excitement, Renko reached out and took the sword from Tenshi. "I wonder how this works? How does a sword reveal an opponent's temperament, exactly?" she muttered to herself, testing its heft in her hands.

"The sword lets you cut a little slice off of someone’s temperament. The bit you cut off then boils away into a red mist."

"It cuts temperaments? Could a sword like this cut a phantom then?"

"Probably. There was even a half-phantom who came to yell at me for cutting up phantoms, so I guess they’re sort of the same thing."

I could only imagine she was referring to Konpaku Youmu. As a servant to the Administrator of the Netherworld, I imagine that having souls be slashed by a Celestial must be a problem, giving Youmu her own reasons for wanting to end the incident. Tenshi had a real knack for making enemies.

"Ok, give it back already," Tenshi said impatiently.

Renko returned the blade, with only a faint glimmer of reluctance. "So does a temperament that gets sliced like that disappear?"

"If a temperament was very weak, it might cease to exist after something like that, I guess, but any living thing shouldn't really notice. Your temperaments aren’t that weak."

"And you don't need to physically strike an opponent to pierce them in this way, right? The sword functions at a distance?"

"The sword makes people's temperaments visible. As long as I can see one, I can cut it. That's how I was gathering up everyone's temperaments from up in Heaven."

"So you were just indiscriminately watching people from Heaven and cutting their temperments? You must have good eyesight, Tenshi."

"Naturally," she said, thrusting out her chest, "I'm a Celestial. Everything about me is perfect." Personally, I could think of a few things that could stand to be improved.

"So is that sword yours, Tenshi?"

"It is now."

"Ah, so you took it without permission then."

Tenshi scowled at Renko.

"Well, it was just left out in a conspicuous place. And no one has said anything to me, so it's not like they care anyway." Tenshi said, casting a glance over her shoulder at the other Celestials who were working on rebuilding the shrine.

Renko followed her gaze, looking over the Heavenly work crew. "Who exactly are all of these Celestials you have working for you, Tenshi?"

"Them? I dunno, some of my father's subordinates, I guess."

Was that really the case? Even in Heaven did workers have to bend to the whims of bosses and clean up after other people's mistakes? Was nepotism a divine virtue? I couldn't help but feel sympathy for anyone who would have to work under Tenshi, though probably even a subordinate Celestial wouldn't like the idea of being pitied by a mortal human.

"Isn't that sword a family heirloom though? Iku seemed to think it was important."

"Maybe it used to be, but a sword is kind of a useless thing to have in Heaven. There's no conflict or strife there, so a sword is just a decoration. Even if someone else wanted to use it, that would just lead to Heaven becoming more crowded. It’s not like anyone would even need it to create earthquakes either since those happen on their own even without this sword. What's a few more matter?"

Renko chuckled. "You could at least think of it as a symbol. The Hinanawi clan's duty is to control earthquakes, right? Wouldn't the sword be like a badge of office for your father or something then?"

"Enh, maybe, but I don't really care about something like that. No one was using it and it was left out in the open, so I took it. Simple as that."

"Yikes. Forgive me for saying so, but as a mortal human, it's pretty terrifying to hear that something as dangerous as that was just left lying unattended."

"I drove a keystone into the ground here, so you're fine now. You'll never have to worry about an earthquake again."

"As long as no one pulls that keystone out, right?"

"So don't pull it out then."

"Hey, you've still got work to do! Don't spend all day just chatting!" Reimu called, emerging from her shack and shouting at Tenshi.

Tenshi sighed and stepped away, floating up off of the ground and calling out to the workers putting the roof on the shrine with instructions. Aside from her clothes, she looked every bit the part of the foreman on a construction site.

—

After that, we asked to see the keystone which had been placed in the field just behind the shrine. It had been driven into the ground and what was visible above the surface just looked like a grey boulder with a shimenawa around it. Shortly thereafter, Tenshi dismissed the workers for the day and we took our leave as well.

"I don't like it, Merry. I don't think this is over yet," Renko said to me as we walked along the trail back to the village.

"With Tenshi, you mean?"

"It seems likely. I don't know what's going on in Heaven of course, but even if those Celestials she has working for her can't object to what she's done, I'm sure there's someone who could. They might come after her to get the Sword of Hisou back, or worse still they might come and rip up that keystone she planted."

"Having the sword taken away from her I wouldn't mind, but having the keystone ripped out would be a problem."

"Well it's only a suspicion at the moment. We'll have to wait and see if anything happens." Renko let out a sigh as she crossed her arms behind her head and stretched, looking up at the cerulean sky from beneath her hat as she walked. "Even celestial beings have to worry about pleasing their superiors, looking good in front of the boss and working overtime when someone screws up. Even the afterlife can be a cruel place, huh?"

"What would you know about office politics, Renko? You’re a freelancer."

"If only I could make my living being a freelancer."

"Well then maybe you could put a little more effort into making our business profitable sometimes instead of pursuing cases based solely on your own curiosity?"

"I'm beginning to think that being a detective is more of a city gig." It's true that hard-boiled detective stories usually take place in the city. The most rural detective series I can think of would be Higashikawa Atsuya's novels. "Let's talk about something less horrible than a career though. Like the Youkai Sage. I still want to know what she's up to. I'd like to at least be able to keep an eye on her movements."

"How do you intend to do that, Renko? You've never even met her."

"I was hoping you could help me with that. Do you think you could sniff her out somehow? Follow her gaps with your eyes or look for boundaries she's messed with?"

"I'm not a bloodhound, Renko.."

And so, with such pointless idle banter we passed a pleasant summer afternoon as we walked back to town.

—

It was a little less than two weeks later when things once again took a turn for the worse.

At this point it was midsummer and the temple school was dismissed for summer break. As usual during this time of year, our office was nearly deserted (with the exception of a special family reunion of songbirds), sadly. It was not particularly unusual that Sanae would stop by to visit during this time. What she said as she arrived on this particular morning, however, definitely grabbed our attention.

"Disaster! Disaster! Renko, Merry, it's a disaster!"

I rushed to the door, pulling it open to reveal Sanae, panting and out of breath.

"Sanae! What is it, has there been another earthquake?"

"No! Just now the Youkai Sage came to our shrine. The one who looks like Merry’s older sister or something. Do you know her?"

Renko, who had been lying on her belly on the tatami, bolted upright as if a switch had been flipped. "What!? Sanae, you got to meet the Youkai Sage!?"

"Eh, well sort of. She just walked into the shrine and started a fight with me. I lost, then came here right away."

"Gah! Why didn't you call me! I would've come right over!"

"How could I call you? Even if I did, how would you get there? I live on the mountain, remember?"

"Did she say anything? Or wait, how did you know she was the Youkai Sage? Have you met her before?"

"Once. Right after we first arrived in Gensokyo, before I met you or Merry. I didn't really meet her then either though, I just watched afar while Lady Kanako went out to meet her. "

"So this was your first time seeing her face then?"

"Yeah. I was surprised to see she looked like Merry, but I was even more surprised when she immediately started shooting."

"Could you have done something to anger her?"

"I don't think so, I was just standing in front of the outer shrine, sweeping the grounds and eating one of those delicious peaches I stole... uh, I mean found in Heaven. She told me that humans shouldn't be going to Heaven whenever they please as she left."

"You're a peach thief now, Sanae? Are you trying to take Marisa's job?"

"They're really good, though! And there are lots of them up there!"

"I doubt the Youkai Sage would come all the way to the Moriya Shrine just to scold you for that. Did she stop to talk to Kanako or anything?"

"No, after she beat me she walked off. She was complaining about how hard it was to climb the mountain. I think she must have been headed up to Heaven."

Renko turned to look at me. A youkai, perhaps the greatest of all the youkai in Gensokyo, heading to Heaven? I didn't know what it meant, but it couldn't be good. Without a word, Renko brushed past me, grabbing her trenchcoat and hat off of the pegs on the wall and turning to Sanae with a serious expression.

"Sanae, there's no time to waste. We need to follow the Youkai Sage at once. Can you get us back to Heaven?"

"Eh? What? Why?"

"No time for that now, this is an emergency dispatch. Hifuu Detective Agency, move out!"

Sanae snapped to attention, standing stiff as a board and saluting. "Yes, ma'am! Part-time assistant Kochiya Sanae, ready for launch, boss!"

I sighed and grabbed my cap. I had no idea if I would be seeing the youkai sage again today or not, but I couldn't deny that I was curious as well. If we did run across her, I'd have to make a point to try and wedge a question in edgewise between everything Renko was sure to ask. I had plenty of questions of my own that I had been thinking about for some time now.


—26—


On our way up to Heaven, we again ran into Iku.

"Oh! You're back again? Or wait, you're a different person, aren't you? Did you know that there's a youkai who looks exactly like you? She just left here, looking for the Eldest Daughter. I think she was headed to the shrine."

That was as far as the conversation got before, at Renko's insistence, Sanae wheeled around and brought us down and eastward, hurtling toward the grounds of the Hakurei Shrine.

Upon landing there, we encountered Suika, who told us much the same story.

"Yukari? She just left. I think she was looking for Tenshi. She said she was going to crush her."

Once again we had arrived too late. Renko looked over at Sanae, but she had collapsed on the stone steps of the shrine, panting heavily. Being as she had just carried us all the way up Youkai Mountain and then back down, we could hardly ask her to fly us any further. We sat down on the steps beside her and I patted her on the shoulder.

"Good work, Sanae," I said as sat down. "You did all you could."

Sanae groaned and attempted to go limp, but there was no way to do so comfortably on the stone stairs. "What were we chasing her for anyway?"

"She's the key to a puzzle. I need to know what she thinks of this whole situation."

"The incident?"

"If the Youkai Sage is looking for Tenshi now, it must not be. Suika said she was looking for Tenshi to 'crush her' so I imagine she must be mad about something. But…"

"But what?"

"I don’t know. I don’t understand what reason she might have to be so mad. There has to be more going on here than we originally thought."

"Are you sure this isn't just another one of your delusions, Renko?" I asked, looking over at her.

"Don't say that, Merry, that option would be boring. Now, what do you suppose the best way to find the sage would be? If she's looking for Tenshi, I suppose we could just stay right here and stake out the shrine until she comes back to finish it."

"You have classes to teach at the temple school. It's summer break now but how long do you think Tenshi will be at this? Besides, I think the sage won't come here as long as you're waiting for her, Renko. She's done everything she can to avoid you."

"Am I really that awful, Merry? How can she hate me so much if she's never met me?"

"Maybe she doesn't like people who constantly stick their nose into affairs when no one's asked them to."

"I guess I'll just have to keep settling for discount Yukari and stay with you, Merry." Renko said, leaning over to where I had taken a seat beside her and throwing an arm over my shoulder to latch on in a lamprey-like hug.

"How am I 'discount Yukari'? And why are you clinging to me? Get off, you're hot!"

"Hey you two, come on, could you not flirt right in front of me? We talked about this already." I pushed Renko off of me as Sanae sighed. "So what now, boss? Are we done for the day?"

Renko raised herself up to her feet. "Before that, there's one more thing we should try." Without another word, she turned and climbed up the steps the rest of the way to the Hakurei Shrine grounds and proceeded over to the side of the establishment where the meagre form of the Moriya branch shrine still stood. I got up and followed her, arriving just as she clapped her hands together and bowed respectfully in front of the branch shrine. Rising up only part-way, with her head still bowed, she said "Lady Yasaka, are you there? Sorry to disturb you, but might I beseech you to appear here for a moment?"

For a moment there was only silence, then a voice sounded in all of our heads at once. "It's very bold for a person who isn't a shrine maiden or wind priestess to summon a god."

A moment after saying that, however, Yasaka Kanako appeared on the spot. "Nonetheless, I am here now. What did you want?" Being able to appear instantly at any branch shrine without having to travel must be pretty convenient.

Sanae, who had followed along behind me, had arrived now and excitedly greeted the goddess as soon as she saw her. "Ah! Lady Kanako! You came to the branch shrine, welcome!"

Kanako raised a hand in greeting as Renko began speaking. "Sanae is very tired, having helped us chase the Youkai Sage around all day. Rather than exhaust Sanae any further, I was hoping perhaps you could tell me a bit about her."

"You mean Yakumo Yukari? I've only met her a few times. What did you want to know?"

"Well, for one, I'd like to know what she talked to you about."

"The first time I met her was shortly after we came to this world. She seemed to be curious how we were doing, having crossed the barrier into this world on our own. Afterwards, she sent her shikigami to explain the ways and customs of Gensokyo. Other than that she's shown up twice just to check up on us and ask what we thought of Gensokyo. Her conversation was generally light and trivial, as you might expect for someone who's just stopping by to introduce themselves."

"At any point did she or Ran lay down any restrictions on how to gather faith?"

"No. I took that to mean we were free to pursue our goals as we saw fit."

"I see. If she didn't tell you anything, what kind of impression did she make on you? As a youkai, I mean."

At that question, Kanako frowned, crossing her arms and tilting her head in consideration. "Hmmm, that's an odd question. As a god, I've known many youkai in my lifetime, but she was definitely something special."

"Special? How so?"

"It's difficult to explain it in a way a human would understand. Youkai are more or less fear given shape and a name. This is why when the source of that fear gains a new explanation, the youkai will disappear. For example, the yamabiko disappeared once the phenomenon of echoes in the mountains was understood as a reflection of sound waves."

"So youkai depend on being feared in order to continue existing, right?"

"That's right. But for someone like Yakumo Yukari... I'm not sure if you could even really call her a youkai by that definition. I've heard it said that she's supposedly the youkai of gaps, but I think she's far more powerful than the fear people have of something so trivial would allow a youkai like that to be."

"Interesting. So what kind of youkai do you think she might actually be then?"

"I've only met her a few times, I couldn't say for sure."

"If you were to speculate though, what would your guess be?"

Kanako exhaled slowly, looking upward and folding her arms in front of her as she thought. "I've only talked to her a little, you understand, but she seems to have a much broader understanding of science and technology as it exists in the Outside World than anyone else in Gensokyo. Maybe that's to be expected of someone who imports things into this world from there, but if I were to hazard a guess, I would think that she was actually the youkai born of some esoteric concept that is beyond the understanding of the science of the modern day. Renko, if you really are from the end of the 21st century, I would be interested to hear how her understanding of scientific concepts compares to your own. Indeed, perhaps she’s a youkai created by the fear of a concept for which 21st century science has yet to find an explanation."

Renko's gaze suddenly lost focus and her hand came up to grasp her chin as she muttered to herself. "Could that really be it? Is that why she won't appear in front of me? Is she afraid that I might have some understanding of what she really is?"

I wondered if that could really be the case. Was the Youkai Sage avoiding my partner out of fear? The fear that Renko might be able to reveal her true nature?


—27—


As soon as we got home, Renko pulled out her copy of the 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑘𝑦𝑜 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒. Upon opening it, she flipped immediately to the entry on the Youkai Sage, Yakumo Yukari. The book, which had been written by Miss Akyuu, described the Youkai Sage as the creator of Gensokyo and an elusive youkai capable of manipulating boundaries of all sorts, but it was unclear just how much of Akyuu’s writing could be trusted. There was even a passage in there suggesting that she might have originally come from the Outside World, but that this was only a rumor. Renko took the time to read over the page, then looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

Putting the book down, she removed her coat and hat, then stretched herself out on the tatami, looking up at the ceiling and saying "Hey Merry, we were talking the other day about why the Youkai Sage allowed the Hakurei Shrine to be destroyed, right?"

"Oh right."

"Well I've been thinking about that. Maybe she kind of has to be slow to react, or rather maybe Gensokyo is set up in such a way that it has rules and she follows them just like everyone else."

"You're thinking that one of those rules is that incidents are to be resolved by the Hakurei shrine maiden?"

"Exactly. When someone causes an incident, The Hakurei shrine maiden stops them. You could even look at the Hakurei shrine maiden as the equivalent of a police force in the Outside World. A detective can catch a culprit, but it’s up to the police to actually arrest them."

"That's an interesting idea, but what about the Vampire Incident that occurred before we got here?"

The Vampire Incident was something that had apparently occurred roughly six months before the Scarlet Mist Incident. Our findings regarding that incident are mentioned in my first casebook, so I won't repeat them here, but the point she was making was that Reimu wasn't even involved in fighting the mastermind behind that incident. It had supposedly been resolved by the Youkai Sage herself.

"Well, Reimu did have a little bit of an involvement in that one. Yukari had her create the Spell Card rules afterward, remember? Maybe that counts as her resolving the incident."

"That sounds like a bit of a technicality to me."

"Well technicality or not, I think would explain the Youkai Sage's actions here. She had to let the Hakurei shrine maiden resolve the incident first. That's the law of Gensokyo."

"If that's the case, she's an awfully humble creator to let herself be bound by the rules of her own creation, don't you think? Also, if that's how things are then why would Yukari be chasing Tenshi down now? The incident's already been resolved and the mastermind has been punished, right?"

"Well that's just the point. Now that the incident is over, she's free to act however she likes. Reimu's already resolved things, but Tenshi building a new shrine, putting in a keystone or having a reason to come and visit Gensokyo aren’t things that qualify as incidents, so Reimu doesn’t have to be the one to stop them. Not that she would anyway, since she needs a place to live. Being defeated is something Tenshi had planned on from the beginning. Even having to rebuild the shrine is a win for her since she gets the keystone and a reason to come down to visit Gensokyo out of it."

"So you think Yukari's aim is to thwart Tenshi's plan?"

"It could be... Maybe we'll find out once the new shrine is completed." Renko grumbled thoughtfully and closed her eyes. I thought back to all of the incidents that we had witnessed since arriving in Gensokyo. The last one in which the Youkai Sage had taken any action had been the Eternal Night Incident.

If I applied Renko's theory to that incident then it might explain why the Youkai Sage had taken action there and why she had waited as long as she had to do so. As far as Reimu was concerned, and as far as was recorded, that incident was about an eternal night and not a fake moon. Reimu had punished the person responsible for that particular problem when she fought Sakuya. The fact that Reimu hadn't suspected that there was anything more to that incident than the long night meant that Yukari would have had to take action herself, but she could only do so once Reimu had acted first. That would explain why there had been the confrontation between Alice, Marisa, Sakuya and Remilia in the bamboo forest before Yukari joined forces with Reimu and guided her towards Eientei.

"Maybe that's it..." I muttered to myself.

"Maybe what's it?" Renko asked, sitting up.

"I've just realized something. About what Lady Yasaka was saying earlier."

"You mean the idea that the Youkai Sage might be the youkai of a concept that can’t be explained by the science of the current day?"

"Exactly. That can't be the case because she stormed into Eientei with Reimu. If she were really afraid of the idea of someone with an advanced understanding of science grasping her nature, then she wouldn't want to go anywhere near Eirin, right?"

"Oh, very good, Merry. That's some perceptive reasoning. You're sharp today."

Eirin's lunar science relies on a different model of reality than any I'd ever learned about but it was more advanced than anything I or Renko had ever learned about. If Yukari's only concern was that someone might understand the principles she operates on, then I imagine Eirin would be a much scarier person to her than my partner could be.

"But if that's the case, then what's the real explanation?" Renko continued. "There must be some reason that the Youkai Sage is determined to never appear before me."

"Maybe the reason isn't as deep as you think. Maybe she just doesn't want to have to deal with someone who spouts idiotic theories at random."

"Don't be ridiculous, Merry! We're the Hifuu Detective Agency. Our mission is to make things more interesting. If given a choice between boring truths and interesting delusions, Gensokyo more or less exists to choose the latter. This is a world where every fictive imagining of humankind might well become the truth."

"Spreading rumors that everything is the result of some youkai’s scheming is exactly the sort of thing that's likely to get you eaten."

And thus, we passed another afternoon with idle and pointless chatter.

—

My partner spent the next ten days staking out the Hakurei Shrine, spending every spare minute watching the ongoing process of reconstruction. During all of that time, Tenshi showed up every day, but the Youkai Sage never did.

Four weeks after the collapse of the Hakurei Shrine was the first day back in school after summer break. Just before classes began for the morning Renko was grumbling in frustration as she tied her necktie. "Why do classes have to resume now? I just know that if something is going to happen at the shrine it's going to happen today. Merry, do you think Keine has any sort of a paid time off policy? Maybe if I tell her there's something odd going on there I could talk her into letting me take the day off."

"Don't, Renko. You're just going to get yourself in trouble again."

The construction of the new Hakurei Shrine had been completed yesterday and Reimu was supposed to be holding a ceremony to re-open the shrine later this morning. It was a Monday though, and that meant my partner and I had classes to teach. It seems Celestials care nothing for the demands of the earthly calendar. Those who don't work don't eat.

"If you wanted to have a more flexible working arrangement or spare money to cover the occasional absence, maybe you should have decided to use your spare time to do something a little more profitable than founding a detective agency."

"Ugh, right in my weak spot. Have mercy on poor Renko, Merry."

I ignored her as I slid the door open and stepped out into the sunlight. She joined me with a sigh and we made our way to the school where the children were already gathering. After greeting Keine, we made our way down the hall. Several children who were here saw us coming and greeted us excitedly.

"Miss Merry! Miss Merry! I heard that there's a new Hakurei Shrine!"

"Miss Renko, the new shrine is opening today! We should go see it!

"Field trip!"

"Oh, that's a great idea! Today's math lesson will be a field trip to the Hakurei Shrine."

"You can't just decide that on your own!" Keine said, storming up behind her and smacking the attendance book against the back of Renko's head.

"Sorry, sorry Miss Keine," Renko said, stooping to pick up her hat.

"I'm not against the idea of a field trip, but it will need to be after class."

"By then it will be too late though! The reopening ceremony is today! There's also the chance that something might happen there today. Recently, the Youkai Sage was—"

"If anything happens there today, it'll be up to Reimu to deal with, or the neighborhood watch if it affects the village. It's not your place to get involved."

"Seriously? This could be important! Merry back me up here."

"Miss Keine has a point, Renko. You have a class to teach."

"Betrayed by my own partner! This is our best chance to learn the secrets of the Youkai Sage! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"If you go there then she probably won't even show up, Renko."

"All the more reason to go! It would be an experiment!"

"Alright everyone, time to take your seats. Into the classroom please."

"Alright, fine. Merry, you don't have any students in the first period. Switch with me. I'll go to the shrine and I can take your class later."

"Merry, please watch Renko and make sure she doesn't try to sneak out during class."

"Understood, I'll sit in on her lecture to make sure she doesn't make a break for it."

"TRAITOR!" Renko cried as I shoved her down the hall toward the classroom.

"Yes, yes. How terrible. To class, Renko."

I won't deny that I was curious to see the shrine's reopening as well, but there's a time and a place. The world would fall apart if people weren't willing to make compromises now and then.

Still grumbling, she stomped her way up to the front of the classroom then turned to her students, falling instantly into the cadence and tone that so endeared her to the children. "Good morning, everyone! Welcome back. Today is the day of the reopening ceremony at the new Hakurei Shrine. As your teacher, I would love to take you all, but unfortunately this world is full of devils, like Miss Merry back there, who has told me I'm not allowed. So instead, let's all swallow our tears and study arithmetic together, doesn't that sound great?"

The class reacted with a mix of laughter and cheers as Renko heaved a theatrical sigh, wiped at imaginary tears and began her lecture. I watched from the back of the room, enjoying her lesson while she shot me dirty looks.

And so, for the rest of the first period, Keine taught her history class while Renko taught advanced mathematics. In the second period, I switched with Keine (who took over watching for any sign of Renko sneaking out) to teach my literature and composition class to the older students, while Renko moved over to the old classroom to teach basic arithmetic and numeracy to the younger students. In all, classes at the temple school continued as usual until the end of the second period.

It was just minutes before the ringing of the lunch bell that our normal operations were disrupted.

"Disaster! Disaster! Boss, it's a disaster!"

The shouting was coming from the school's entryway, but it didn't sound like Sanae for once. Looking out of my class toward the hall, I saw Keine and Renko peering out of their rooms toward the hallway just as the front doors of the school were thrown open. Standing before them, panting rapidly, covered in dust and with her kimono slipping off of one shoulder stood Kotohime, Keine's subordinate and colleague in the neighborhood watch.

"Kotohime? What are you doing here? What happened?"

"It's the Hakurei Shrine—" she began. I turned just in time to see Renko glaring at me from her doorway, with an insufferable 'told you so' expression on her face before Kotohime could swallow enough air to complete the sentence. "—It's been destroyed! Again!"