"If the kids like to play, just let them play," Fujiwara no Mokou remarked casually, squatting behind the two girls and watching the high-speed screen with great interest.
"Have you ever considered getting them to step aside and eat so you can play yourself?" Remilia chimed in, her voice taking on the sweet, coaxing cadence of a mischievous little devil.
"Uh, never mind. I much prefer watching—I don't have any real urge to grab a controller myself," Mokou said, shaking her head. While she found the bright, flashing combat mechanics fascinating, she treated it more like a captivating, fast-paced television show than a game she wanted to master.
Seeing that her subtle persuasion hadn't worked, Remilia yielded to fate with a quiet, regretful sigh. After all, with so many guests gathered in the parlor, she had to grant her sister a measure of social dignity.
"By the way, Flandre, did you ever call Sister Hoshiguma like you said you would?" Remilia asked, suddenly remembering the dinner plans as she turned toward the refreshment table.
"Oh! I totally forgot!"
Without taking her eyes off the television, Flandre instantly split a clone off from her main body. The secondary Flandre reached into the main body's skirt pocket, pulled out her smartphone, and dialed Hoshiguma's number.
"Hello, Flandre?" The call connected after a few brief rings, Hoshiguma's deep, relaxed voice echoing through the speaker.
"Sister Hoshiguma! My sister just arrived from back home and brought a few friends along, so about tonight..." the clone said, her voice turning unusually cautious.
"Oh? How many people crossed over? How about I call ahead to the restaurant and book a grand table for ten?" Hoshiguma offered heartily.
The clone quickly turned back and counted the headcount filling the living room: Remilia, Patchouli, Meiling, Sakuya, Satori, Koishi, Mokou, Yuugi, Yuuka, plus Junko and Hecatia. That was already eleven people right there, plus herself.
"Uh... ten might not be quite enough. There are twelve of us in total on our side!" Flandre reported after finishing her mental math.
"Hmm, a single table definitely won't comfortably fit a crowd that large. I'll just have the owner reserve two adjacent private tables for us!" Hoshiguma replied without a single second of hesitation.
"Thank you so much, Sister Hoshiguma!"
"Haha, it's no trouble at all, kiddo! Everyone just come hungry so we can have a good time together."
After confirming the arrangement, Hoshiguma hung up.
Remilia looked over at the clone. "That's it? Everything settled?"
The cloned Flandre tilted her head. "Yup! What else would there be?"
"Alright then!" Remilia turned on her heel and began tackling the platter of snacks resting on the coffee table.
A couple of minutes later, Flandre's phone buzzed with an incoming call. The clone tapped the screen to answer. "Hello?"
"Flandre? Is that you?"
"Sister Beatrice! Is something the matter?" It was still the clone handling the conversation, as Flandre's main body was completely absorbed in pulling off a seventy-hit combo on Koishi.
"I heard from Hoshiguma that you have a massive group of guests staying at the villa today," Beatrice's crisp voice chimed over the speaker. "My place probably can't comfortably host a group that large without feeling cramped. The two private villas on either side of yours are also registered under my family's estate holdings, and the maids keep spare keys. If you don't mind the minor trouble of splitting up, your guests can rest over in those two properties!"
The wealthy heiress casually showcased the overwhelming flex of a true Lungmen tycoon.
"Wait, both of those neighboring villas belong to you, Sister Beatrice?!"
Flandre was no longer the clueless newcomer who had first arrived in Terra. She knew full well how outrageously expensive real estate was in this premier residential district. Calling it 'an inch of land worth an inch of gold' was no exaggeration whatsoever.
"Of course they're mine! Didn't you mention a while back that you had lots of friends back home who might visit?" Beatrice replied matter-of-factly. "I figured if a large party actually arrived, I couldn't possibly let your guests sleep on floor futons or shuttle back and forth from some hotel kilometers away from the estate. So I bought the two adjacent villas in advance. They're convenient for storage, and I have the estate maids clean them on a regular rotation. I'll make sure everything is immaculate so you won't lose face in front of your family."
Flandre turned her head toward the kitchen, glancing at the two estate maids working nearby. A sudden wave of understanding washed over her—that explained why the two maids disappeared for half a day every few afternoons! They had been routinely cleaning the neighboring mansions all along!
"Okay! I'll let everyone know!" the clone replied happily.
"Good. And I heard from Hoshiguma about the dinner gathering tonight," Beatrice added smoothly. "I'll arrange a fleet of private executive cars to pick you all up at five."
After Flandre agreed, Beatrice hung up, thoroughly satisfied with her organizational efficiency.
"Was that Miss Swire?" Remilia asked elegantly, dusting crumbs from her fingers as she glided over to stand behind Flandre, resting her hands lightly on her sister's shoulders.
"Mhm! Sister Beatrice said she's sending cars to pick us up this afternoon for dinner," the clone explained before merging back into Flandre's main body. "Also, the mansions on both sides belong to her, so everyone has plenty of rooms tonight and we don't need to crowd together!"
Upon hearing this, the two estate maids stepped forward with polite bows, offering to guide the guests through the guest suites whenever they were ready.
"That truly is convenient," Patchouli noted, setting her tea down. "We hadn't properly calculated the sleeping arrangements when planning the portal coordinates."
After a quick discussion, Hoshiguma Yuugi, Junko, and Hecatia decided to take up quarters in the left villa. Their choice was practical: the three of them didn't intend to stay in Lungmen for long, meaning the suites could be freed up quickly once they set out on their respective journeys across Terra.
The remaining group—Satori, Koishi, Yuuka Kazami, and Fujiwara no Mokou—settled into the right villa. They planned on staying in Lungmen for an extended period to assist Patchouli and Remilia in permanently anchoring the dimensional bridge between Terra and Gensokyo.
Once the room assignments were finalized, the maids led the group over to settle their luggage. Upon returning to the main parlor, everyone gathered around the wide display screen, chatting leisurely while watching Remilia challenge Flandre to a high-stakes Street Fighter match.
However, compared to Flandre, who had been practicing video games for weeks, Remilia was a complete novice.
The match quickly devolved into a one-sided slaughter. Remilia was beaten so thoroughly that her characters were wiped out in seconds, prompting dramatic, indignant wails from the Scarlet mistress that completely shattered the dignified, aristocratic persona she usually guarded so fiercely.
"Sister, your gaming skills are totally terrible! Step aside and let Koishi play instead!" Flandre declared with smug, arrogant confidence.
"Flandre~!"
Before Flandre could react, an enraged Remilia grabbed her by the collar and dragged her into the adjoining guest bedroom for a round of physical "sisterly correction."
Seconds later, it was Flandre's turn to cry, wail, and squeal from inside the room.
A few minutes later, the bedroom door flew open. Flandre scampered out with ruffled hair, diving straight behind Koishi and wrapping her arms around her waist. "Big Sister is so mean! Koishi is way nicer!"
Remilia strolled out behind her, adjusting her lace cuffs with a refreshed, victorious expression. With a single sharp glare from her crimson eyes, Flandre quickly tucked her head deep behind Koishi's shoulder—though the similarly petite Satori sister couldn't actually hide her at all.
"Hmph. I'll be generous and refrain from holding your arrogance against you today..." Remilia hummed, glancing up at the ornate grandfather clock in the foyer. "My, is it three in the afternoon already? Tea time. Sakuya!"
"Right away, my lady."
Sakuya Izayoi was already standing nearby. With a subtle flick of her wrist, steaming cups of freshly brewed black tea and delicate porcelain saucers materialized before every guest in the room before anyone could even see her move.
"Sakuya's mastery over time manipulation is truly breathtaking every time I witness it," Junko remarked softly, accepting a cup of tea. Even for an ancient entity of her caliber, witnessing such absolute control over temporal physics was remarkable.
Of course, the great figures of Gensokyo possessed their own deep sense of pride; none of them would ever succumb to petty jealousy or attempt to forcibly claim another's servant as their own.
"You flatter me, Lady Junko," Sakuya replied with a flawless, low bow, her voice calm and measured. "I am merely a plain, ordinary head maid."
"A 'plain, ordinary maid'..." Junko looked Sakuya over, a gentle, contemplative smile playing on her lips as she shook her head.
While it seemed almost tragic from a divine perspective that the fundamental laws of time were being harnessed to serve tea and hot towels, if the individual derived genuine fulfillment from that choice, what right did an outsider have to judge her path?