Chapter 47: Remilia: You are Completely Filled with Yourself.
....
The moment Flandre returned to Gensokyo, she did not even pay attention to Kaguya's inquiries, flying straight toward the Scarlet Devil Mansion without delay.
Differing from her usual routine, Remilia—who normally only appeared outside during the night—was currently bathing in the sunlight, looking as though she had transformed into a perfect being.
She sat upon a chair, crossing her legs with supreme elegance as she savored her black tea. A gentle breeze lightly rustled her silky blue hair. Closing her eyes, she asked the head maid standing beside her, "The wind is quite noisy today, is it not, Sakuya?"
"Indeed, Young Miss."
"Big Sister! Sakuya! I'm back!"
The hand Remilia used to hold her teacup trembled slightly. A flash of joy gleamed in her eyes, though she quickly masked it, putting on a grand display of majesty as she replied indifferently, "I recall you only left for that side a few minutes ago. Why are you back already?"
"Young Miss, the flow of time in the alternative world differs from ours. The Second Young Miss may have spent several days over there already."
"Is that so? Fran, did you gain anything from your trip over there?"
Remilia merely asked out of formality. She did not expect her younger sister, who was entirely focused on playing around, to accomplish anything that would spread the grand reputation of the Scarlet family.
"Hmm, Big Sister is so boring! But I actually gained quite a lot this time!"
"Oh!?" Remilia set down her teacup in surprise, looking at Flandre with intense expectation. "What was it?"
Puffing out her flat-as-a-board chest, Flandre raised her small head with immense pride. "I held Big Brother and drank his blood for a really long time, and he even fed me food personally, and..."
"Hold on!"
Remilia interrupted her sister's excited chatter with a darkened expression. Suspecting that Flandre—whose mind was entirely filled with "Big Brother"—had completely forgotten the task she had entrusted to her earlier, she pressed, "Fran, did you tell Kihara that I want him to come back to Gensokyo for a visit?"
"Ah! I forgot..."
"Second Young Miss..."
Sakuya Izayoi rubbed her temples with a helpless sigh. Knowing Remilia as well as she did, learning that her sister had failed to pass along her message and had instead enjoyed drinking blood all by herself would undoubtedly make her throw a furious tantrum and send her straight into solitary confinement.
"Fran! You sister whose head is completely filled with yourself! Don't you know I've been wanting to drink Kihara's blood for a long time too?! You're banished to the basement for a full day!!"
Hearing those words, Flandre, who had originally planned to share the secret about the amazingly delicious milk on Kihara, instantly scrapped the idea.
Pulling a funny face, she stuck her tongue out at Remilia. "Blehh! Lock me up then, see if I care! I hate Big Sister the most!!"
Without even needing Sakuya to supervise her, Flandre ran back down to the basement all on her own.
"She makes me so mad, Sakuya!" Remilia stomped her small feet in frustration.
"I am here, Young Miss."
"Go notify that shut-in girl. I want to sign up for the trip to the alternative world too!"
"Do you need me to come along?"
"You stay home and keep an eye on Fran, just to save me from her causing trouble while I'm away. I'll head over, drink my fill of blood, and come right back."
"Understood!"
At the exact same time, within the Sun Flower Field that resembled a sea of golden blossoms, Yuuka Kazami spun the parasol in her hand out of sheer boredom.
She had not seen her "rebellious, master-attacking disciple" for quite some time now. Suddenly having no one around to act as a punchbag felt a bit unnatural; her fists genuinely missed the fantastic impact of hitting him.
"How about... heading over to Eientei to sign up?" The thought did not trouble the legendary yokai for long. After pondering for less than a minute, she began walking toward the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.
...
"Today is Golden Week, and it's also a fantastic opportunity when all of us in the Serious Weight Loss Alliance are free. Therefore... it's time to decide how we're going to lose weight!"
Anna Yanami stood in front of a mobile whiteboard wearing a loose tracksuit, her solemn expression matching those of Nana and Momo sitting across from her.
Kihara had originally promised to help her lose weight using his past methods, but seeing as two more people needed to shed pounds now, he simply let them figure it out themselves. Perhaps supervising each other would prove even more effective than his own efforts.
Momo and Nana were both encountering a weight crisis for the very first time in their lives. Rather than thinking about how to lose weight, they were far more curious about the underlying cause of their weight gain.
"Coach Yanami, how did you gain weight in the first place?"
"Gah!" Anna clutched her aching chest, stumbling back two steps as a tear of deep regret dripped from the corner of her eye. "Aside from the food made by the blockhead, is there any other possible reason?! It's just way too delicious, I can't stop eating at all!"
"I have a feeling... it might also have something to do with your massive portion sizes."
"What I eat isn't called 'a lot'! It's called 'eating smaller meals more frequently'!"
Hearing that, a drop of cold sweat rolled down Momo's forehead, her lips twitching slightly.
'Eating four slices of cake, three milkshakes, and half a pizza between breakfast and lunch is called 'eating smaller meals more frequently'?!'
"Don't just talk about me! Didn't you two eat plenty of the dishes Kihara made as well?!"
"We just ate normal meals. We shouldn't be gaining weight like this."
Now it was Anna's turn to be left completely speechless. She cast a deadpan glance at the coffee table, which was loaded to the brim with snacks.
'Eating normal meals while munching on snacks continuously without stopping—it'd be a miracle if you didn't gain weight!'
Seeing that they had been chatting for ages without actually starting the weight loss plan, Anna hurriedly knocked on the whiteboard to pull the topic back on track.
"Let's stop talking about those details! My most frequently used weight loss method is dieting. Do you two know any other ways?"
"No idea! Never been fat before!"
The twin sisters' simultaneous answer nearly drove her to tears. Reminding herself that they were currently allies on the exact same front line, she forced down her frustration.
"Feeling hungry is way too painful, and seeing other people eat makes it extremely hard to control yourself. How about we pick a different method instead?"
"Then running?"
Nana had no objections to the idea, but Momo—who possessed poor physical endurance and was thoroughly indoor-oriented—had zero desire to run outside under the blazing sun every day. If her pale, delicate skin got tanned dark, she wouldn't even have the face to show up in front of Kihara.
"No way! A girl's skin is extremely delicate. The sun is so intense right now; what if we get sunburned?"
"Put it that way... you actually have a point." Anna was equally worried about getting tanned after finishing her running routine. Reversing a tan and getting her skin pale again would take a tremendous amount of time. Rather than letting Kihara see her face turn completely black, she'd rather not lose weight at all.
The three discussed the matter for a long while before barely managing to pick "jump rope" from a vast list of weight-loss exercises—a simple workout that carried no location restrictions and could easily be performed indoors.
Initially, Anna enthusiastically brought jump ropes from her home to demonstrate for Momo and Nana. However, as time dragged on, her arms began to ache intensely from constantly swinging the rope, followed rapidly by her knees and thigh muscles.
After the twin sisters gave it a try, their condition proved to be pretty much identical to hers.
Right at the critical moment when the Serious Weight Loss Alliance encountered a major crisis, the ever-helpful Lala materialized. Slapping her chest with supreme confidence, she declared:
"Let me help you build a jump rope that can swing all by itself!!"
In the eyes of the trio, Lala at this moment looked as dazzling as a savior. Tears of deep gratitude filled their eyes, completely forgetting the undeniable fact that her inventions always came with a few minor glitches.
....
Thank you for reading.