Chapter 52: Reimu: Could This Green Light Be Good Fortune?
....
Kihara ended his call with Anna Yanami and finally released his hand from Ibuki Suika's head. Dry-heaving slightly, she straightened her body and shot him an exasperated glare.
"It's a good thing I'm an Oni. Anyone else would have suffocated to death from not being able to breathe."
"It's precisely because I knew you were an Oni that I did it."
"Huh? Couldn't you be a little gentler to a girl?"
"But you clearly enjoyed it just now too, didn't you?"
A faint flush swept across Suika's face. Turning to the side, she picked up her liquor gourd to rinse her mouth. The fruit wine swirled left and right in her mouth, washing away the cloudy liquid clinging to her teeth and oral mucosa before she swallowed it all down into her stomach.
A soothing warmth from the wine rose from her lower abdomen. Shifting from her duck-kneeling posture, she extended her legs out in front of her, joining her two mischievous, snow-white feet together. Under the bright moonlight, they resembled two pieces of lustrous, glowing jade.
"I actually quite liked your forceful attitude just now, but shouldn't you offer something as an apology?"
"Are you... saying something?" Kihara asked in a muffled, unclear voice.
"Forget I said anything. Your moves are way too fast."
Propping her left hand behind her back and leaning slightly, Suika tilted her head back to gulp down another mouthful of fragrant fruit wine. The dual pleasure from the alcohol and the tips of her toes was gradually painting her fair cheeks a vivid red.
...
Gensokyo, Hakurei Shrine.
Reimu was sprawled out in a spread-eagle posture on the wooden porch, bathing in the warm sunlight, ready to spend a wonderful, peaceful day doing absolutely nothing.
A gentle breeze rustled the wind chimes, producing a crisp, melodic tinkling like a pleasant lullaby. It quickly weighed down her eyelids, guiding her consciousness toward the gates of dreamland.
Just as Reimu had one foot planted inside her dream, a voice—one that wasn't particularly familiar yet impossible to ignore—suddenly drifted into her ears, snapping her instantly back to reality.
"Excuse me... is Miss Reimu here?"
"Sanae? What is that girl doing coming over to my place out of nowhere? Don't tell me she's scheming to annex my shrine again and came to challenge me to a match?"
She dug her pinky into her ear in annoyance, reluctantly crawling up and shuffling lazily toward the front courtyard of the shrine.
Catching sight of Sanae, Reimu was surprised to see that she wasn't wearing her shrine maiden outfit. Instead, she wore clothing from the Outside World similar to that of her cheap fiancé. Reimu raised her eyebrows in astonishment, demanding in a loud, accusing voice:
"Did you sneak off to find my man?!"
Sanae was genuinely startled by her words at first, assuming Reimu had somehow evolved the ability to predict the future or see through to the truth. She quickly composed herself, however, offering a cool, indifferent reply: "Miss Reimu, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"What is up with those clothes then?"
Reimu approached her with a stern face, leaning in to sniff her, only to let out a loud sneeze from the sharp perfume scent radiating off her.
"Achoo! What is this weird smell?"
"Perfume."
"Perfume?" Reimu repeated in confusion, before suddenly recalling something.
"Those outrageously expensive little glass bottles sold at Kourindou?"
"Mmhmm. Though I bought this in the alternative world."
"Alternative world... I feel like I've heard about that somewhere recently..."
Sanae found Reimu's dazed and completely indifferent attitude proof that having Kihara as her fiancé was truly like sticking a fresh flower into cow dung.
'You don't even know what your own fiancé has been up to lately, yet you still treat him like a cash cow! Thank goodness I moved fast enough. Otherwise, Kihara might have ended up with a permanent stereotype of shrine maidens being lazy and money-grubbing!'
"Let's not talk about those unrelated matters. Reimu, I came here looking for you today."
"Oh?" The lazy look in Reimu's eyes vanished, turning sharp in an instant. Her Gohei materialized in her hand out of nowhere. "Are you planning to fight me? The loser owes ten thousand yen."
"Of course not. Didn't you say that as long as I pay you, I can pick a fight with Mr. Kihara?"
"What are you talking about? You're an honored guest! Come, come, step inside and let's talk!"
Sanae was left completely speechless by Reimu's flattering demeanor. Reaching into her pocket, she briskly whipped out a stack of ten thousand yen notes and shoved them over. "I had a great time messing with him last time, so I'm topping up for another round."
"As long as you're satisfied! But I must repeat myself: you are not allowed to hurt Kihara. If I find out he's injured anywhere, you can go explain yourself to my Fantasy Seal!"
'The one who got hurt was clearly me, okay?! I even bled!'
Sanae forced herself down from blurting out her inner thoughts. She didn't want to spend another single second in this shrine reeking of money. "I'm leaving. Goodbye."
"Hey, hey, hey! Valued... honored guest! What's the rush? Have a cup of tea first!"
"No need, thank you."
Watching Sanae's figure vanish around the corner of the stone stairs, Reimu happily carried the money inside the shrine. Passing by a peculiar gem displayed on an altar she had casually cobbled together out of wood and stone, she unexpectedly noticed that the green hue inside seemed to have deepened a bit more.
Staring thoughtfully at the money in her hand, realization seemed to dawn upon her.
"Could it be that the green light inside this stone represents my financial luck?"
"It seems like every time I receive money, the green inside gets a bit richer."
"In that case, I'll call you the Orb of Wealth from now on!"
Reimu gleefully named the gem, humming a triumphant little tune as she placed her massive earnings into the donation box inside her bedroom.
Meanwhile, inside the Yakumo Residence, a gem identical in shape to the Orb of Wealth—except glowing with a crimson red light inside—was placed on the wooden table in front of Yukari Yakumo.
Letting out a helpless sigh, she waved her hand to close the gap she had opened to peek at the Hakurei Shrine. "I really shouldn't have let Reimu learn how to make money from her mother back then. She didn't pick up a single good trait, yet she mastered stinginess and greed down to their absolute essence."
Shifting her gaze onto the gem before her, the worry between Yukari's brows dissolved slightly. Her delicate fingers gently caressed its smooth surface.
These two gems were tools used to monitor how deeply Kihara was connected to Gensokyo, as well as the progress bar for resurrecting Reimu's mother. As long as the red light completely filled the gem, she was confident she could use the phantom image from the "Gensokyo Sacred Chant Technique" to pull her dear friend's soul out from the Hakurei Border.
Through days and nights of observation and experimentation, Yukari had discovered that as long as Kihara continuously established bonds with the yokai of Gensokyo, the phantom image of her dear friend would become increasingly solid.
And intimate, deep interactions yielded the absolute best results.
That was why she had orchestrated the current "Alternative World Tourism" plan, continuously sending over yokai who were interested in Kihara—or those who already harbored such intentions.
The fruits of her plan had not disappointed her; the red light inside the gem was noticeably richer than before.
As for why the gem on Reimu's end glowed green, it was simply Yukari's silent mockery and wicked humor after realizing Reimu was beyond saving.
"Speaking of which, the Palace of the Earth Spirits seems to have thoughts of visiting the alternative world too... Should I let those two head over?"
....
Thank you for reading.